Companies will be affected in a variety of ways by the receivership of Signature Bank, Silicon Valley Bank or any other similarly situated financial institution. Companies may face difficulty accessing bank facilities or the capital markets or limitations on money market or commercial paper facilities. Resulting liquidity constraints may entail difficult decisions, including prioritizing the
Edward Best
SEC Adopts Amendments to Rule 10b5-1’s Affirmative Defense to Insider Trading Liability & Related Disclosures
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) unanimously adopted amendments (the “amendments”) to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and related disclosure obligations for public companies. The amendments (i) add new conditions to the availability of the affirmative defense to insider trading liability contained in Rule…
SEC Adopts Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Rule
On August 25, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally adopted a “pay versus performance” rule in accordance with a Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) mandate that requires SEC-reporting companies to disclose in a clear manner the relationship between executive compensation actually paid and the financial performance of…
PCAOB and China Sign Agreement on Audit Firm Inspections and Investigations: Too Early to Tell if it Will Prevent Delistings Under HFCAA
By Edward Best, Thomas Kollar & Andrew J. Olmem on
Posted in Public Companies, Public Policy
Last Friday, the United States and China appear to have taken a major step towards resolving their long-standing dispute over inspections and investigations by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) of audit firms based in China and Hong Kong that threatens to cause the delisting of approximately $1.5 trillion in U.S.-listed securities by…
SEC Proposes a “Sea Change” Set of New Rules Applicable to SPACs and Other Market Participants
On March 30, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed new rules and amendments to existing rules and forms (the “Proposed Rules”) addressing the treatment of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) in connection with their initial public offerings (“IPOs”) and subsequent de-SPAC transactions. Comments on the Proposed Rules are due 30 days after…
SEC Proposes Amendments to Schedules 13D and 13G
On February 10, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed amendments to Schedules 13D and 13G relating to beneficial ownership reports (the “Proposed Amendments”).
The Proposed Amendments are intended to modernize the rules that govern reporting on Schedules 13D and G by, among other things, making information available to the public in a…
Delaware Court of Chancery Allows deSPAC Litigation to Proceed Applying “Entire Fairness” Standard
On January 3, 2022, the Delaware Court of Chancery issued an opinion denying motions to dismiss in In re Multiplan Corp. Stockholders Litigation, a stockholder action arising out of the completed business combination for Churchill Capital Corp. III (“Churchill”), a SPAC, and Multiplan Inc. (“MultiPlan”). The court’s opinion has important implications for SPAC sponsors,…