Zoom and Five9 are walking away from their proposed $15 billion deal for lack of Five9 shareholder support. Zoom’s acquisition “had drawn national security scrutiny” over funding links to China...more
As expected, Wells Fargo has promoted former Fed governor and current vice chair Elizabeth Duke to succeed Board chair Stephen Sanger. Incredibly, the move makes Duke the first woman to hold the top spot at one of the...more
Barclays and a group of its former execs are facing charges of fraud by false representation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office over deals they struck with Qatar in 2008 to avoid a government bailout....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Corporation Finance (Division) has issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H (SLB14H), which contains guidance on the exclusion of shareholder proposals that...more
Just in time for calendar year companies to begin receiving shareholder proposals, the SEC staff has released Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H, which closes the loop on the controversy initiated by a Whole Foods proxy access...more
On October 22, 2015, the staff of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14H (SLB 14H), which provides significant guidance for companies about the Staff’s views on the scope and application...more
In Staff Legal Bulletin 14H released on October 22, 2015, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance weighed in on two important means by which a company may exclude a shareholder proposal from company proxy...more
Shareholder proponent James McRitchie, who was successful in persuading the SEC to reconsider its no-action position with Whole Foods on proxy access, has hinted at his intentions for the upcoming proxy season, or at least...more
Some will want to start preliminary planning for the 2016 proxy season. It has been a bewildering year of developments, but most will be thankful that there are relatively few new rules that must be implemented at this time....more
The SEC has finally proposed clawback rules, here, required by Section 954 of the Dodd-Frank Act. When adopted, the rules will require stock exchanges to propose and adopt listing standards that implement the requirements;...more
Improving the proxy process remains front and center at the SEC and continues to garner media headlines. A recent high-profile example was this past proxy season’s focus on proxy access shareholder proposals, including the...more
We knew someone would do this for us if we just waited long enough. A summary of early trends in proxy access responses suggests most are including the shareholder proposal and recommending a no vote. See here. Only a single...more
Last month, I wrote that the SEC’s about face in responding to the no-action letter request of Whole Foods Market, Inc. “clearly wasn’t the SEC’s finest hour.” Several days later, a coalition of some 17 different...more
On January 16, 2015, the SEC withdrew its December 1, 2014 no-action letter in which it concurred with the view of Whole Foods Market, Inc. that the company was entitled under SEC Rule 14a-8(i)(9) to exclude from its proxy...more
Readers may recall that last December Whole Foods Market, Inc. had secured the SEC staff’s concurrence in excluding a shareholder access proposal submitted by Jim McRitchie. Then, SEC Chair Mary Jo White directed the staff...more
On February 10, 2015, Keith Higgins, Director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, provided his informal views (available here) on the Division’s controversial decision to “express no views” on the application of...more
It’s still the case that commentators have said nothing revelationary about “proxy access ,” the recent private-ordering push, and the SEC’s flip-floppery on its Whole Foods no-action letter. “Proxy access” is short hand for...more
Recent activity by shareholder governance advocates and the SEC has thrust proxy access back into the spotlight. Here we provide a brief refresher on proxy access and our thoughts on recent developments....more
On January 16, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that, for the 2015 proxy season, the Division of Corporation Finance will not express any views as to whether a company may exclude a shareholder...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “SEC Staff”) recently announced that it would refuse to grant no-action relief during the 2015 proxy season to companies seeking...more
In this issue: - SEC Chair Directs Staff to Review Commission Rule Excluding Conflicting Proxy Proposals - SEC Comments on FINRA's Proposed Rule Amendment to Increase Pricing Disclosure - CFTC Grants...more
Yesterday, Broc Romanek posted on SEC Chair Mary Jo White’s Friday surprise with respect the no-action letter request submitted by Whole Foods Market, Inc. Readers may recall that in December Whole Foods had obtained the...more
In This “Appeal” Of Whole Foods’ No-Action Letter Isn’t Very Appealing, I wrote about Jim McRitchie’s attempt to “appeal” the staff’s decision with respect to the exclusion of his proxy access proposal to Whole Foods Market,...more
Some public companies have requested the SEC to permit exclusion of proxy access proposals by stating the shareholder proposal directly conflicts with the issuers own proposal that will be included in the proxy statement. ...more
In her NYT column this past Sunday, Gretchen Morgenson provides an interesting update on the saga of James McRitchie’s proxy access proposal submitted to Whole Foods....more