What Does The SEC Approved NASDAQ Diversity Proposal Mean For Boards?
Financing Challenges for Small Cap Companies
On August 6, 2024, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) submitted proposed rule changes to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). If adopted, the revised rules would modify the Nasdaq delisting process in...more
Nasdaq has proposed amendments to its listing standards that would accelerate the delisting process for certain companies that fail to satisfy its minimum bid price requirement. These proposals are ostensibly in response to...more
Nasdaq is proposing accelerated compliance and delisting timelines for all companies that do not comply with its minimum bid price requirement Additionally, under the proposed rule, if a company has implemented a reverse...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains news on...more
On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notified the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that at least part of the basis for the currently pending legal attack on the Nasdaq’s proposed...more
If a company implements a reverse stock split to meet the $1.00 minimum price rule that results in failing to comply with another listing standard (e.g., minimum publicly held shares or minimum number of public stockholders),...more
Dodd-Frank clawback policies require covered companies to promptly recover any “erroneously award compensation” received by certain current or former “executive officers.” “Erroneously awarded compensation” refers to...more
Republican attorneys general (AGs) from 19 states, led by Utah AG Sean D. Reyes, filed an amicus brief urging the Fifth Circuit to rehear a case after a panel of judges declined to entertain a lawsuit challenging diversity...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied review of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of proposed rules promulgated by the Nasdaq Stock Market concerning the diversity of directors on...more
On June 9, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved proposed amendments of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) to their respective listing standards to implement the...more
New NYSE and Nasdaq Rule Deadline - As discussed in our February 27, 2023 post, the NYSE and Nasdaq previously issued their proposed listing rules (the “Proposed Listing Rules”) mandating that most companies with listed...more
The Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 added Section 10D to the Exchange Act, which requires the SEC to direct national securities exchanges to prohibit the listing of issuers that do not develop and implement a policy for the recoupment...more
It was just November last year when the SEC finally adopted rules to implement Section 954 of Dodd-Frank, the clawback provision. (Remember that Dodd-Frank dates to 2010 and the clawback rules were initially proposed by the...more
What happened - On February 22, both the NYSE and Nasdaq posted their proposals for new listing rules in response to the SEC’s final clawback rules. The proposals would establish the following compliance schedule...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has adopted amendments and updated disclosure requirements that are to be included in a reporting company’s annual report on Form 10-K or 20-F. The SEC has also proposed...more
On August 6, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing rules proposed by The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) to advance board diversity and enhance the transparency of diversity statistics...more
US de-SPAC M&A deal value has contracted significantly during the first half of 2022, sliding from US$231.31 billion during the buoyant H1 2021 period to just US$26.29 billion for H1 2022. A wider M&A slowdown as a result of...more
As noted in previous client alerts (including here), boardroom diversity continues to be an increasing focus of stakeholders ranging from legislators to institutional investors to retail stockholders. In recent years, their...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
Cryptocurrency Regulation and Enforcement at the US Federal and State Levels - The intensifying focus in recent months on cryptocurrency regulation and enforcement at both the federal and state levels demonstrates digital...more
On August 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq’s proposed rule that would require a listed company to comply with certain board diversity requirements, or explain why it does not (the Board...more
On August 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq listing rules implementing new board diversity disclosure requirements that will apply to most Nasdaq-listed companies (the Board Diversity Rules). The...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Nasdaq Stock Market LLC's proposed rule changes related to board diversity and disclosure on Aug. 6, 2021.1 A Nasdaq-listed issuer, subject to some exceptions...more
On August 6, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a Nasdaq rule change that requires its listed companies to have diverse boards or explain why they do not. Subject to certain issuer exemptions and...more
Late last year, Nasdaq submitted for approval to the Securities and Exchange Commission the proposed listing Rule 5605(f) and Rule 5606 requiring all, with a few exceptions, of Nasdaq’s roughly 3,249 listed companies to have...more