An important trend discussed at the 2025 Milken Institute Global Conference was the integration of private credit into retail investor portfolios.  Assuming certain regulatory challenges can be overcome, this development would expand offering opportunities for retail investors.  Speakers highlighted the rapid expansion of the private credit market, which is projected to grow to $2.3 trillion

In recent years, private non-bank lending to private equity-owned, small- and middle-market companies has increased significantly.  According to a report from the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) detailing data from a recent survey, the U.S. private corporate credit market now exceeds $1.5 trillion and is expected to continue to grow while incurring modest amounts

On March 20, 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) proposed amendments to its rules imposing restrictions on the purchase and sale of equity securities offered in initial public offerings (IPOs) (Rule 5130) and new issue allocations and distributions (Rule 5131) to exempt business development companies (BDCs) from the rules’ prohibitions.

Currently, non-traded (and private)

On March 6, 2025, for the first time since 2008, the staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission updated its guidance on the use of lock-up agreements in connection with Rule 145(a) transactions (i.e., certain mergers, consolidations, reclassifications of securities and acquisitions of assets). Prior to the SEC’s update, if a person entering

In Thomson Reuters’ Practical Law latest Q&A, Mayer Brown Capital Markets and Tax team provides a high-level overview of the main equity and debt markets/exchanges, and the main regulators and legislation that govern them. The Q&A also covers prospectus/main offering document requirements, together with any disclosure obligations and exemptions from the requirements to publish/deliver a

On December 20, 2024, FINRA requested public comment on its proposed rule changes to Rules 5110 (Underwriting Terms and Arrangements), 5121 (Public Offerings of Securities With Conflicts of Interest) and 5123 (Private Placements of Securities).  These proposed rule changes stem from comments received from the public in response to the May 2023 Regulatory Notice 23-09

REIT capital raising in 2024 has surpassed 2023 and 2022 levels after having undergone a substantial decline after the COVID pandemic. According to the National Real Estate Investment Trust Association (Nareit), US REITs raised $23.3 billion from secondary debt and equity offerings in the third quarter of 2024 and approximately $65 billion in debt and

As part of a panel discussion at the Practising Law Institute’s 2024 SEC Speaks Conference held on April 2, 2024, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, Erik Gerding, highlighted several risks and disclosures relating to commercial real estate (CRE) that the Staff has recently focused on and expects to continue to focus