The SEC is reportedly in discussions with Nasdaq and NYSE about ways to ease the burden of becoming—and remaining—a public company....more
The New York Stock Exchange (Exchange) has recently adopted two rule changes, one to reduce fees for the initial period of a company’s listing on the Exchange and another to formally expand the universe of holders that will...more
The SEC recently approved Nasdaq’s proposed changes to the initial listing requirements related to liquidity. Nasdaq proposed to change Listing Rules 5405 and 5505 to...more
Acting SEC Chair Mark T. Uyeda outlined potential regulatory changes to make IPOs more attractive and to scale public company disclosures at the Florida Bar’s 41st Annual Federal Securities Institute and M&A Conference. ...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has expanded the confidential filing options, including...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains updates and important reminders on...more
9/20/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Chevron Deference ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deadlines ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Export Controls ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 10-Q ,
Independent Directors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Nasdaq ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
US Trade Policies ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
After 2022’s challenging capital markets environment, leaders in the technology and life sciences industries have set their sights on 2023 and beyond—evaluating the private fundraising market, looking for ways to extend their...more
3/10/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Raising ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Life Sciences ,
Mergers ,
Private Sector ,
Public Offerings ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector
Fenwick corporate partner Ran Ben-Tzur recently led a small group discussion, “How can GCs identify, prepare for, and respond to pitfalls on the road to IPO?” at TechGC’s IPO Conference held in San Francisco. Below are some...more
10/5/2022
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Statements ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Internal Controls ,
PCAOB ,
Shareholders
Following a record-breaking year for IPOs and other going-public transactions in 2021, the beginning of 2022 has presented a challenging environment. That’s largely a result of volatile market conditions due to the ongoing...more
Following a record-breaking year for IPOs and other going-public transactions, the beginning of 2022 has presented a challenging environment. That’s largely a result of volatile market conditions due to the ongoing conflict...more
3/30/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Direct Listing ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Life Sciences ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Technology
[Editor's Note (1/25/22): This article includes an update regarding the amended rule proposal Nasdaq filed with the SEC in January 2022.]
[Editor's Note (6/1/21): This article includes an update regarding a proposed rule...more
Technology and life sciences companies went public at an extraordinary rate in the first half of 2021 and they continued to do so via different paths: initial public offerings, de-SPAC mergers and direct listings.
Our...more
In our prior article on the latest and greatest in direct listings, we noted that we were expecting that Nasdaq would follow the NYSE’s lead to allow for capital raising concurrently with a direct listing. On May 19, 2021,...more
5/27/2021
/ Capital Markets ,
Capital Raising ,
Direct Listing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Listing Standards ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
John Coates, Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), issued a public statement providing insight into the SEC’s views on the application of federal...more
4/12/2021
/ D&O Insurance ,
Due Diligence ,
Financial Adviser ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
New Guidance ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
PSLRA ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
With a new U.S. administration, an economic rebound in sight and historically low interest rates that are unlikely to budge in the near-term, equity markets have been on a tear since late 2020. The torrid pace of technology...more
A recent Fenwick survey found that the length of IPO lock-up agreements for technology companies continues to predominantly be 180 days but that lock-ups are now increasingly subject to early release provisions in connection...more
9/1/2020
/ Blackout Rules ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Officers ,
Direct Listing ,
Employees ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Lock-Up Agreement ,
Performance Standards ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Surveys ,
Technology Sector ,
Venture Capital
Our last in a series of articles on direct listings noted that we were expecting significant regulatory developments to give companies more flexibility to pursue alternatives to a traditional initial public offering. Those...more
9/1/2020
/ Capital Raising ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Direct Listing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Lock-Up Agreement ,
Nasdaq ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Venture Capital
Key Metrics for Recent Technology and Life Sciences Initial Public Offerings -
Following a volatile spring 2020 due to the rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus, the capital markets, including IPOs, appear to be...more
8/28/2020
/ Biopharmaceutical ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
Public Offerings ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Surveys ,
Technology ,
Technology Sector
Executing a successful IPO or direct listing in the United States requires a significant amount of work. Much of this work has to be done well in advance of the anticipated date of the company’s organizational meeting with...more
Direct Listings: The What, The Why and Common Misconceptions -
Spotify did it. Slack did it. Many other late-stage private technology companies are reported to be seriously considering doing it. Should yours? In this...more
12/6/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Board of Directors ,
Capital Raising ,
Corporate Governance ,
Direct Listing ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Banks ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholders ,
Venture Capital
On September 26, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), to expand the “testing-the-waters” (TTW) accommodation —...more
10/3/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
General Solicitation ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investors ,
JOBS Act ,
New Rules ,
Public Offerings ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Regulation FD ,
Rule 163B ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
On February 19, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to propose Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), that would expand the “testing-the-waters” accommodation —...more
2/26/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Emerging Growth Companies ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Companies ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulation FD ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testing-the-Waters Communications
In response to investor concerns regarding an increase in the number of technology companies that have been implementing multi-class capital structures, index providers S&P Dow Jones, FTSE Russell and MSCI have adopted or...more