Global dealmaking slowed dramatically in 2020, as the world grappled with the health, economic and political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns hobbled economies across the globe, driving deal value and volume...more
Deal activity fell dramatically in 2020, but Q3 shows signs of recovery -
Global dealmaking slowed dramatically in 2020, as the world grappled with the health, economic and political consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic....more
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted amendments to crucial SEC disclosure requirements under Regulation S-K, including Item 101 (Description of Business), Item 103 (Legal Proceedings)...more
9/5/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Human Capital ,
Item 101 ,
Item 103 ,
Item 105 ,
Modernization ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
These are unprecedented times, and companies are facing important issues as they navigate the current economic, political, and social climate. The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement have put the spotlight on...more
8/17/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Black Lives Matter ,
Board of Directors ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Training ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Ethical Standards ,
Filing Requirements ,
Fortune 100 ,
Green Finance ,
Human Capital ,
Popular ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Renewable Energy ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Socially Responsible Investments ,
Surveys ,
Sustainability ,
Workplace Safety
On May 4, 2020, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Corp Fin”) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published four COVID-19 related FAQs. This additional guidance relates to SEC’s March 25,...more
5/13/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corp Fin ,
Exceptions ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 8-K ,
Form S-3 ,
Nasdaq ,
Notice Requirements ,
Offerings ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Relief Measures ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Approval ,
Temporary Regulations
On March 27, 2020, the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (the “Act”). The purpose of the Act is to provide emergency assistance for individuals, families, and businesses affected...more
On April 2, 2020, the proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis announced that unedited company feedback may now be included with its proxy research reports and provided “directly to the voting decision makers at every investor...more
One of the most highly anticipated elements of relief in the CARES Act is the partially forgivable payroll protection loan for small business....On April 2, 2020, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) issued interim...more
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) submitted by the Senate, and President Trump just signed the bill.The bill...more
4/3/2020
/ Airlines ,
Automotive Industry ,
CARES Act ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Private Equity ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deferral
In light of the continuing impact COVID-19 is having on public companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" or the "Commission") has taken several actions to provide "temporary, targeted relief to issuers"...more
What is a PPP loan?
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the President signed the CARES Act into law. The bill provides for $2.2 trillion in emergency aid to ease the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including $349 billion...more
What is a PPP loan?
On Friday, March 27, 2020, the President signed the CARES Act into law. The bill provides for $2.2 trillion in emergency aid to ease the financial impact of the COVID-19 crisis, including $349 billion...more
On March 19, 2020, Glass Lewis announced that for the duration of the 2020 proxy season, it will "take into account the extenuating circumstance of the COVID-19 pandemic when applying [its] policy on virtual-only shareholder...more
March 14, 2020, the staff (the “Staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) provided helpful guidance to issuers, shareholders and other market...more
3/20/2020
/ Annual Meeting ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Collaboration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corp Fin ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Virtual Meetings
On March 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order (the “Order”) providing that, subject to certain conditions, public companies and other persons required to make filings with the SEC, would...more
The recent proposal by the SEC would eliminate overlapping or unnecessary disclosures and promote a principles-based approach to MD&A.
Background -
On January 30, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the...more
The release of MD&A interpretive guidance on KPIs and metrics reinforces their key role in company disclosure.
On January 30, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published guidance on the disclosure...more
On January 24, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released three new compliance and disclosure interpretations (“C&DIs”) related to revised Instruction 1 to Item 303(a) of Regulation S-K (“Instruction 1”),...more
2/10/2020
/ C&DIs ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Statements ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Incorporation by Reference ,
MD&A Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulation S-K ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In a significant development for ESG and corporate governance, BlackRock is now calling on the public companies it invests in to publish disclosures in line with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the...more
1/27/2020
/ Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule ,
BlackRock ,
Board of Directors ,
Clean Energy ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Gender Equity ,
Individual Accountability ,
Popular ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
SASB ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
United Nations
This memorandum outlines key considerations from White & Case’s Public Company Advisory Practice for foreign private issuers (“FPIs”) in preparation for the 2020 annual reporting season. It describes our key considerations...more
1/23/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
C&DIs ,
Confidential Information ,
Corp Fin ,
Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
Foreign Private Issuers ,
Form 20-F ,
IFRS ,
Libor ,
Non-GAAP Financial Measures ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
PCAOB ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Risk Factors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
State Sponsors of Terrorism ,
UK Brexit ,
XBRL Filing Requirements
On December 18, 2019, the Securities and the Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) published its proposal to amend the accredited investor definition set forth in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D under the Securities...more
1/8/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Family Offices ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Natural Person Requirement ,
Private Funds ,
Private Offerings ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 144A ,
Rule 501 ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Rural Business Investment Companies (RBICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Small Offering Exemptions
This memorandum outlines key considerations from White & Case's Public Company Advisory Practice for US public companies in preparation for the 2020 annual reporting and proxy season.
Section I of this memo describes our...more
In light of the heightened focus on environmental and social (“E&S”) disclosure, White & Case’s Public Company Advisory Group conducted a survey of E&S website disclosures of 84 small- and mid-cap US public reporting...more
12/5/2019
/ Capitalization ,
Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Health and Safety ,
Human Rights ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Life Sciences ,
Public Disclosure ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retailers ,
Services ,
Surveys ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
Websites
Private equity exits of all types have fallen, but secondary buyouts have shown the greatest decline, as the buy-side exercises caution and the sell-side seeks to maximize exit value...more
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed amendments to the federal proxy rules that would enhance the SEC’s regulation of proxy advisory firms.1 The proposed amendments to Rules 14a-1,...more
11/22/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Glass Lewis ,
Information Statements ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Materials ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Comment ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Solicitation ,
Transitional Arrangements