What Is a Direct Listing?
Companies that have been waiting to do their IPO until conditions improve are gearing up. In fact, EY predicts the global IPO market will turn around in 2024 due to some improvements in key macroeconomic factors and...more
On June 1, 2023, the US Supreme Court held in a unanimous decision in Slack Technologies LLC v. Pirani that Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) “requires a plaintiff to plead and prove that he purchased...more
Our Securities Litigation Group reviews the Supreme Court’s Slack opinion that upheld decades of case law requiring a narrow reading of Section 11 of the 1933 Act. The case addressed the scope of liability for claims brought...more
On June 1, 2023, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that a stockholder bringing claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 must plead and prove that they purchased shares traceable to the allegedly...more
The unanimous opinion requires shareholder plaintiffs to plead and prove that they purchased shares traceable to an allegedly false or misleading registration statement. On June 1, 2023, the US Supreme Court issued its...more
The U.S. Supreme Court held that purchasers of shares sold to the public through a direct listing cannot sue under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 unless they can trace their shares to an allegedly defective...more
The D&O liability landscape is poised to change—or not—depending on how the US Supreme Court rules in the long-running Section 11 case against Slack. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this case on April 17, 2023, and...more
Non-US companies are attracted to going public on a US exchange for a variety of reasons, such as access to capital, increased liquidity, and in some cases, more flexible rules and regulations compared to other markets....more
On December 15, 2022, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to modify certain pricing limitations for companies undertaking a direct listing involving sales...more
Woodruff Sawyer is the market leader when it comes to placing D&O insurance for companies going public. Experience matters when it comes to IPOs and direct listings. You want a specialist on your insurance brokerage team to...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee held a panel discussion on recent trends in taking a company public during its October 13, 2022 meeting. The panel, “Update on the...more
Becoming a public company is a big undertaking for any private company; there is added complexity for foreign filers, which is to say private issuers incorporated under the laws of a country other than the United States. One...more
Following a record-breaking year for IPOs and other going-public transactions in 2021, the beginning of 2022 has presented a challenging environment. That’s largely a result of volatile market conditions due to the ongoing...more
Following a record-breaking year for IPOs and other going-public transactions, the beginning of 2022 has presented a challenging environment. That’s largely a result of volatile market conditions due to the ongoing conflict...more
[Editor's Note (1/25/22): This article includes an update regarding the amended rule proposal Nasdaq filed with the SEC in January 2022.] [Editor's Note (6/1/21): This article includes an update regarding a proposed rule...more
Takeaways - U.S. IPOs skyrocketed in 2021, with SPAC IPOs and direct listings contributing meaningfully to the increase. Along with the rise in IPO activity, companies are receiving more SEC comments on their filings....more
The NYSE’s yearly statistics release highlights a second consecutive year of record new listings and the exchange’s increased focus on sustainability. This year’s listings added $1 trillion of new market capitalization to...more
On September 20, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its much anticipated decision in Pirani v. Slack Technologies, Inc., which raised the novel question (a question of first impression,...more
On September 20, 2021, in the first case by a U.S. Court of Appeals to have considered the issue, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that a shareholder plaintiff had statutory standing to pursue claims under...more
The decision appears to create a new rule for determining standing to bring Securities Act claims in the context of direct listings. The Slack Direct Listing Decision - On September 20, 2021, the US Court of Appeals...more
On September 20, 2021, in a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (1933 Act) apply to direct listings of company shares, including...more
When the SEC was considering the NYSE’s proposal to permit direct listings of primary offerings, one of the frequently raised problems related to the potential “vulnerability” of “shareholder legal rights under Section 11 of...more
Strict liability is the “strong medicine” that the federal securities laws impose for misleading statements made in connection with initial public offering documents. That strict liability regime attracts a steady stream of...more
Technology and life sciences companies went public at an extraordinary rate in the first half of 2021 and they continued to do so via different paths: initial public offerings, de-SPAC mergers and direct listings. Our...more
Trendy eyewear-maker (and Daily Dose fave) Warby Parker revealed plans on Tuesday to go public via direct listing—the latest in a series of companies in recent months to sidestep the traditional IPO process in favor of the...more