In these times of overnight and wall-crossed deals, counsel has often had the need to pull on the reins if the offering was subject to FINRA Rule 5110,1 facing underwriter and issuer displeasure. Rule 5110, the Corporate Financing Rule, provides for review by FINRA of underwriting or other arrangements in connection with specified public offerings in order to enable FINRA to assess the fairness and reasonableness of proposed underwriting compensation and arrangements. An offering that is required to be filed with FINRA may not proceed until FINRA has delivered a no-objections opinion relating to the underwriting compensation. FINRA generally requires that all documents and information be filed with it fifteen business days prior to the expected commencement of the offering, a serious problem when deals can start and close in less than a week.
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