Popular and institutional interest in digital assets, decentralized applications, NFTs, and blockchain technology skyrocketed, and regulators sprinted to catch up. For the digital asset markets, 2021 was a banner year....more
Some interesting links we found across the web this week: The Top Recent African Fintech Funding Rounds including Flutterwave, Adumo and Kuda Covid-19 has accelerated digital transformation globally and Africa is no...more
Direct listings have been a hot topic in the news lately, particularly in light of the recent submission of proposals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) (and indications...more
In Bell v. Brockett, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the certification of a class of defendants, a rare procedural maneuver that the court referred to as a “unicorn.” ...more
Shared workspace giant We Work is joining the growing wave of major start-ups planning to go public this year. And like many of its unicorn peers (as we’ve documented), the company “shows no sign of turning a profit anytime...more
Elon Musk and the SEC have reached an agreement to revise their earlier agreement to settle the latest round of issues caused by Musk’s Twitter habit. Under its terms, a Tesla securities attorney must now “preapprove any of...more
Last week the SEC announced a settlement of fraud claims against the founder of Jumio, Inc, a private mobile payments company, for misstating the company’s financial results and using those financials to sell his company...more
Monsanto’s (and, in turn, Bayer AG’s) terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in court over its Roundup products’ links to cancer continued yesterday, as a jury awarded $80 million to the California man who it had already...more
The Fed will wrap up its Open Markets Committee meeting today, and the recent dive on Wall Street has rather suddenly brought a bit of drama to what was a long-promised rate hike. Here’s a bit of background on what it’s been...more
Potential disputes involving unicorns have been a hot topic for the last several years. We predicted that would continue this year in in our webinar and related blog post: The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for...more
With the public equity markets at an all-time high and private equity fund raising setting new records, it might seem counter-intuitive to forecast litigation and regulatory risks. The opposite is true. Disputes typically...more
In June 2017, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (“Corp Fin”) announced a new policy effective July 2017 that essentially extends the confidential submission process to all issuers while keeping the EGC process...more
Last week the SEC announced it had reached an agreement with privately-held company Zenefits, and its co-founder and former CEO Parker Conrad, to settle allegations that Zenefits materially misled Series B and C investors....more
If Netflix is to be believed (and, you know, it is a public company), there’s a LOT more Stranger Things and House of Cards on the way... Turns out Nelson Peltz’s failed quest for a P&G board seat was crazy close. As in,...more
The recent IPOs of Snap, Inc. and Blue Apron indicate that while the IPO pipeline continues to flow, there may be a cautionary tale for “unicorns” – venture-backed companies with estimated valuations in excess of $1 billion....more
Even amidst all the other news crowding the headlines these days, it would be hard to miss the many stories discussing the U.S. initial public offering (“IPO”) market. By now, the trends are well-reported. Many promising U.S....more
For private fund managers, the valuation of privately-held securities has been subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny. As the IPO on-ramp for private “unicorn” investments has lengthened, fund managers may hold illiquid...more
Seniority Matters - There is little doubt that activity in the trading of secondary shares of private companies remains robust. Private companies are staying private longer and there seems to be an unlimited demand to buy...more
Private investment funds and advisers are likely to face new regulatory challenges and increased litigation risks in 2017, not only because of a change in the administration, but also because many advisers have not corrected...more
- AXA Prevails at First Post-Jones v. Harris Excessive Fee Trial - Potential Secondary Effects of Regulatory Examinations: Evidentiary Issues and Preclusion in Parallel Litigation - On The Horizon: Global...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff has reportedly been asking mutual funds how they value their investments in “unicorns” – i.e., dynamic pre-IPO companies with market capitalization exceeding $1 billion, and...more
In the wake of a host of negative developments, Theranos Inc. is reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC and DOJ inquiries are likely to focus on...more
As we previously discussed, SEC Chair Mary Jo White recently delivered the keynote address at the Silicon Valley Initiative hosted by the SEC-Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. While the speech and...more
Some interesting links we found across the web this week: - Postscript: Bill Campbell, 1940-2016 - He may not be the most globally famous person who passed away this week, but Bill Campbell’s quiet influence on...more