On April 27, 2018, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Nasdaq, along with certain technology and biotechnology groups, released a policy paper titled “Expanding...more
5/10/2018
/ Biotechnology ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Financial Reporting ,
ICFR ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment Banks ,
JOBS Act ,
Large Corporate Filers ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Mutual Funds ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
Offerors ,
PCAOB ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Short Sales ,
SIFMA ,
Small Business ,
Technology Sector ,
Tick Size ,
WKSIs ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
On February 2, 2018, the SEC approved the New York Stock Exchange’s proposal to permit qualifying private companies to use “direct listings” to list their shares on the NYSE and become publicly traded without conducting an...more
2/9/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Amended Rules ,
Capital Markets ,
Direct Listing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Listing Rules ,
Mergers ,
NYSE ,
Private Placements ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Registration Statement ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spinoffs ,
Valuation
The much-discussed new revenue recognition standards jointly issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to harmonize revenue recognition standards between...more
On November 1, 2017, the House of Representatives passed two bills intended to ease regulatory burdens on capital formation. The bills would amend the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) to extend the “testing the waters”...more
11/7/2017
/ Accredited Investors ,
Capital Formation ,
Corporate Finance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JOBS Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On August 17, 2017, the staff (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued new guidance that will streamline significantly the confidential submission process for emerging growth companies (EGCs) and...more
8/23/2017
/ C&DIs ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Draft Documents ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Financial Statements ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
New Guidance ,
Registration Statement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In July 2017, global index providers S&P Dow Jones (S&P DJI) and FTSE Russell (FTSE) announced changes to their index eligibility rules, with S&P DJI excluding from certain of its indices companies with multi-class capital...more
8/9/2017
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Structures ,
Dow Jones ,
Eligibility ,
FTSE ,
Index Funds ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
S&P ,
Share Class Structures ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Voting Powers ,
Voting Rights
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on June 29, 2017, that the staff (staff) of the Division of Corporation Finance will accept draft registration statement submissions from all companies for nonpublic...more
7/6/2017
/ Confidential Information ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Draft Documents ,
EDGAR ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
JOBS Act ,
Registration Statement ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
The Brexit vote and President Donald Trump’s election and proposed regulatory and other reforms have led to worldwide geopolitical uncertainty. We expect reporting companies will continue to disclose risk factors relating to...more
5/26/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Health Care Act (AHCA) ,
Basel III ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Countervailing Duties ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EU Single Market ,
Exchange Rates ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Free Movement ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Immigration Reform ,
Imports ,
Paris Agreement ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Political Parties ,
Presidential Elections ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Quarterly Report ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Repeal ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
Volcker Rule
On March 22, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted an amendment to Securities Exchange Act Rule 15c6-1(a) to shorten the standard settlement cycle for most broker-dealer securities transactions from three...more
Skadden attorneys James A. McDonald, Elizabeth Robertson and Robert W. Stirling in London; Pascal Bine and Olivier Diaz in Paris; and Matthias Horbach and Stephan Hutter in Frankfurt provide insights on the developments...more
2/1/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Customs Unions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Global Economy ,
Global Market ,
Mergers ,
Passporting ,
Presidential Elections ,
Sapin II ,
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Bribery Act
On November 3, 2016, in Lowinger v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld a district court finding that customary initial public offering (IPO) lock-up agreements do not render parties...more
As the end of the year approaches, reporting companies should be aware of the various SEC filing deadlines for 2017. Companies also should be mindful of the 2017 financial statement “staleness” dates (when financial...more
The rules under the new EU Market Abuse Regulation are in many ways similar to those under the now-repealed Market Abuse Directive. But U.S. issuers that have applied to have securities admitted to trading on EU regulated...more
In recent months, companies have experienced greater scrutiny of their use of non-GAAP financial measures by the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This greater scrutiny follows the release earlier...more
On September 19, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, with respect to claims brought against Cash America International, Inc. in...more
Three months after the United Kingdom voted to exit the European Union, the timing and scope of Brexit remain unclear. Until such details are determined with specificity, there is and will continue to be increased economic...more
10/4/2016
/ Annual Reports ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Referendums ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
On 3 July 2016, Regulation 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union (the Market Abuse Regulation) repealed and replaced Directive 2003/6/EC on Market Abuse (the Market Abuse Directive)....more
On 23 June 2016, a majority of the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union (EU). This decision, referred to as “Brexit”, has already caused significant domestic political upheaval, but the ultimate legal implications...more
7/21/2016
/ Article 50 Treaty of the EU ,
Capital Markets ,
EU ,
EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU MAR) ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Norwegian Model ,
Popular ,
Treaty of Lisbon ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
On May 17, 2016, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released new and revised Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs) regarding the use of...more
Companies commonly supplement their reported earnings under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with non-GAAP financial measures that they believe more accurately reflect their results or financial position...more
Investment-Grade Notes -
The U.S. investment-grade notes market ended the year 13 percent higher by dollar value (2 percent higher by issuances) than in 2014, with $1.3 trillion (2,021 issuances)....more
The continuation of a strong M&A market in both the U.S. and Europe, energy companies returning to the U.S. market and quantitative easing in Europe resulted in a strong first half of 2015 for U.S. and European high-yield...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently took several important steps to facilitate smaller securities offerings. First, it adopted final rules for the new Securities Act exemption for securities-based...more
11/5/2015
/ Annual Reports ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Raising ,
Corporate Officers ,
Crowdfunding ,
Exemptions ,
Funding Portal ,
JOBS Act ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Public Offerings ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation D ,
Residency Requirements ,
Rule 147 ,
Rule 501 ,
Rule 504 ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
The staff of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) recently issued new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs) and an interpretive letter regarding the general solicitation prohibition in securities...more
8/14/2015
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Angel Investors ,
CDIs ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure ,
General Solicitation ,
Interpretive Letters ,
Investment Adviser ,
No-Action Letters ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. market for new issuances of convertible notes was very active in 2014, with approximately $51.4 billion of convertible debt issued in 140 transactions. In the first quarter of 2015, approximately $15.5 billion was...more