Privately held companies preparing for an initial public offering often undertake a public company readiness assessment and seek to identify the gaps that must be addressed prior to their becoming subject to the corporate governance and other rules applicable to public companies. Often, this assessment is conducted over a period of months and the IPO
Global Corporate VC Trends in 2020
CB Insights summarized 2020 corporate venture capital (“CVC”) financing trends in 2020 in its recent report. Globally, CVC-led deals raised over $73.1 billion in 2020 in 3,359 transactions. While global deal levels declined by 1.7%, CVC-backed funding rose by 24% year-over-year. CVC-backed funding increased by 24% year-over-year in the United States. The number of
SEC Investor Advisory Committee Approves Recommendation on Minority and Underserved Inclusion
During its recent meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee (the “Committee”) approved a recommendation to the SEC regarding minority and underserved community inclusion in investment and financial services. The Committee previously held a panel discussion on September 24, 2020, which focused on how minority community inclusion in investment and financial services is
SEC Investor Advisory Committee Discusses SPACs
On March 11, 2021, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee convened and hosted a panel discussion regarding special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The panel aimed to shed light on the recent increase in SPAC activity, the risks associated with this increased activity, and potential policy implications.
Acting SEC Chair Allison Lee delivered opening remarks. She noted
SEC Warns Against Celebrity Sponsored SPACs
On March 10, 2021, the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) published an Investor Alert cautioning investors not to make SPAC-related investment decisions based on celebrity involvement alone. With media coverage of celebrity involvement in SPACs dominating the news cycle for the past week, the OIEA warns investors of the particular risks associated
Primary Direct Listings: A Hybrid Approach to a Traditional IPO Alternative
Shortly before the end of his tenure as Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Chair Jay Clayton presided over the SEC as it considered and approved the New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) proposed rule change modifying the NYSE’s rules in order to permit, as described in this Legal Update, primary issuances in
A Deep Dive Into Capital Raising Alternatives: IFLR’s New Book and Free Webinars
In the International Financial Law Review’s latest publication, A Deep Dive Into Capital Raising Alternatives, Mayer Brown provides context on the changes in market structure and market dynamics that led to the enactment of the JOBS Act. Specifically, the trend for many private companies to remain private longer, defer or dispense with traditional
Update on the PIPE Market
Private investment in public equity (“PIPE”) transactions completed in 2020* have raised over $53.0 billion, in aggregate, in 1055 transactions. This is the largest sum of capital raised in PIPE transactions since 2008. While industrials companies (chemicals, metals, mining and paper-focused companies) lead the market by number of PIPEs completed, the 323 deals in this
A Survey of Middle Market Life Sciences Companies
The National Center of the Middle Market (NCMM) conducted a survey from March 12-23, 2020 of 400 strategic decision makers from life sciences companies in the United States and Canada. The report noted middle market life sciences companies, which include companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion, have experienced robust growth. Between
COVID-19 Related Middle Market Trends
The National Center for the Middle Market recently published the results of a survey of 1,000 financial decision-makers in June 2020 relating to results from the fourth quarter of 2019 and a March 2020 survey of 260 middle market companies, which include companies with annual revenues between $10 million and $1 billion.
The survey found