In a new paper, Alternative Venture Capital: The New Unicorn Investors, professor Anat Alon-Beck explores the rise of alternative venture capital (AVC) investors and the ways in which these investors are affecting unicorn companies. The paper cautions that that many of the calls being made by industry groups, such as the Institute for Portfolio
M&A
Fintech Sector Financing Update
Funding in the fintech sector increased 17% quarter-over-quarter, after two quarters of declines, to $9.3 billion according to CB Insights’ recent State of Fintech report. Despite the funding increase, the number of deals continued to decline globally, continuing the decline since the fourth quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2020, 397 global venture-backed…
What’s the Deal? – Special Purpose Acquisition Companies
Special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) are public shell companies that use their initial public offering (“IPO”) proceeds in order to acquire private companies within a specific timeframe. Although SPACs have existed for decades, merging into a SPAC has recently become an attractive alternative for private companies in lieu of undertaking traditional IPOs. Today, SPACs have…
SEC Amends Financial Disclosure Rules for Merger & Acquisition Transactions
This First Analysis article discusses the amendments adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 21, 2020 in connection with financial statement disclosures on business acquisitions and dispositions as required by Regulation S-X’s (17 C.F.R. §§ 210.1-01 – 12-29) Rule 3-05 (Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired or to be Acquired (Rule 3-05)), Rule…
Update on Venture Financings
PwC and CB Insights’ latest MoneyTree Report reports a 3% increase in U.S. venture capital deals this past quarter. There were 1,374 deals in the second quarter of 2020 compared to 1,336 deals in the first quarter 2020. This increase comes after a three-quarter decline in venture deals. While the number of deals is down…
On Point. – Target and Pro Forma Financial Statement Requirements for Significant Acquisitions
US reporting companies that are planning or have completed a significant acquisition of a business may be required to file separate target financial statements and related pro forma financial statements under Rule 3-05 and Article 11 of Regulation S-X. The specific US Securities and Exchange Commission rules and financial reporting obligations triggered by a significant…
Legal Update: SEC Amends Business Acquisition and Disposition Disclosure Rules
On May 21, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (Amended Rules) to financial statement disclosures with respect to business acquisitions and dispositions required by Regulation S-X’s Rule 3-05 (Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired or to be Acquired), Rule 3-14 (Special Instructions for Real Estate Operations to be Acquired),…
SEC Adopts Amendments to Disclosure Requirements Related to Acquisitions
Not deterred by the pandemic, the Securities and Exchange Commission seems to be continuing its work tackling the items on the regulatory agenda. Today, the SEC announced that adopted amendments to its requirements related to disclosures for acquisitions and dispositions. We had previously blogged and written about these proposals.
The amendments affect Regulation S-X, including…
Legal Update: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Considerations in M&A Due Diligence
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are numerous issues to contemplate in M&A due diligence. For one, parties in an M&A transaction need to consider whether the target company has established sufficient protocols to enable due diligence to be conducted entirely virtually. In this Legal Update, we provide a summary of many of…