On Thursday, March 24th, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an agenda for a March 30th open meeting for the Divisions on Corporate Finance and Investment Management. The meeting has only one agenda item: SPACs,...more
On January 28, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against HeadSpin, Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up....more
Nikola Corporation stormed onto the electric vehicle scene in 2016 offering concepts for zero-emission vehicles. While the SEC does not set emission standards, they have long had standards for omissions – and Nikola is being...more
SEC Chair Gary Gensler made news again last week with a series of statements regarding SPACs, noting their similarities with traditional IPOs and hinting at future regulatory action aimed at these investment vehicles....more
In April 2021, the SEC released several public statements that may have begun to cool a superheated SPAC market. FINRA soon followed suit, announcing in July 2021 a regulatory sweep aimed at SPACs. Now, for the first time, a...more
8/31/2021
/ Capital Raising ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Statements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
General Motors ,
Indictments ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Subpoenas ,
Wire Fraud
SPACs remain on everyone’s mind, especially the country’s chief regulator. On May 26, 2021, SEC Chair Gary Gensler testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on “key capital...more
If 2020 was the “Year of the SPAC,” 2021 may be turning into the year of the SPAC class action. We have already followed numerous cases where recently formed SPACs have been challenged in federal court for alleged violations...more
SPACs seem to be having their moment in the financial world, especially in 2021. In less than three months, U.S.-based SPACs have raised more money – almost $88 billion – than all SPACs combined in 2020 (which held the...more
In the financial world, 2020 was the year of the SPAC. During the past few years, many Silicon Valley start-ups were chomping at the bit to get listed and cash out via initial public offering (IPO). And in 2020, over half of...more
On February 20, 2019, the SEC announced that it settled charges against Gladius Network LLC (“Gladius”) for failing to register non-exempt offers and sales of securities in violation of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the...more
4/1/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Section 5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Self-Reporting ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities