The staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) relating to the clawback disclosures required in an...more
A few months ago, we put out our own set of a dozen FAQs about the clawback checkboxes on the Form 10-K cover page in this blog. Now, Corp Fin has issued six CDIs on the topic. The new CDIs, which are set forth below,...more
On April 4, the SEC released a Statement on Stablecoins. In the statement, the Division of Corporation Finance provides its view that offers and sales of a certain subset of crypto assets commonly known as “stablecoins”...more
Corp Fin continues its project of updating CDIs. This new tranche relates to effectiveness of Form S-3 relative to timing of filing of Forms 10-K and proxy statements, allowing non-automatically effective Forms S-3 to be...more
Last week, Corp Fin issued guidance about how to verify accredited investors in two different forms. It issued two CDIs on the topic, as well as a no-action letter that goes into more detail. [As noted in this blog by...more
Corp Fin has just posted some new CDIs related to M&A transactions, more specifically, a revised CDI related to Form S-4 and lock-up agreements and a new group of CDIs related primarily to material changes in tender offers....more
As expected when we heard that BlackRock had resumed shareholder engagements shortly after it paused them in the wake of Corp Fin’s new CDI positions regarding “control” and “influencing” a company when engaging, Vanguard...more
A few days ago, Corp Fin issued this guidance expanding the accommodations available for nonpublic review of draft registration statements to all issuers, building on the 2017 expansion of nonpublic reviews initiated by the...more
As noted in the Cooley Alert from Brad Goldberg, Beth Sasfai, Reid Hooper and Michael Mencher that I blogged about yesterday, Corp Fin issued guidance last week that some thought could alter the nature of shareholder...more
Corp Fin has announced that, presumably in light of the imminent government shutdown, if you want Corp Fin to “consider a request for acceleration of the effective date of a pending registration statement or qualification of...more
But apparently there’s one looming—serious enough to cause Corp Fin to issue its now-standard shutdown announcement. The shutdown deadline is Friday night, and apparently there’s currently an impasse over farm aid. Corp Fin’s...more
Wow. By a 9-8 vote – that’s a close one! – the 5th Circuit decided that the SEC exceeded its authority when it approved the Nasdaq’s board diversity rule in Alliance for Fair Board Recruitment v. SEC last week. ...more
The SEC has just announced the departure of Corp Fin Director Erik Gerding at the end of this year. On his departure, Cicely LaMothe, the current Corp Fin Deputy Director, Disclosure Operations, will serve as Acting...more
You might recall that, in 2023, the National Center for Public Policy Research submitted a shareholder proposal to The Kroger Co., which operates supermarkets, regarding the omission of consideration of “viewpoint” and...more
Last week, Cooley’s Reid Hooper attended the annual meeting of shareholder proposal stakeholders that Corp Fin hosts. Here are a few facts to help you glean some information about these meetings from Reid, who has been an...more
We’ve known for some time that Corp Fin is reviewing Form 8-Ks filed after a company experiences a cybersecurity incident – including whether those 8-Ks should be filed under Item 1.05 or Item 8.01. These reviews have...more
Corp Fin issues statement, new C&DIs on disclosure of cybersecurity incidents - On May 21, 2024, Erik Gerding, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin), issued a...more
The 2012 JOBS Act permitted Emerging Growth Companies to initiate the IPO process by submitting their IPO registration statements confidentially to the SEC for nonpublic review by the SEC staff. The confidential process was...more
Corp Fin has just issued a new set of CDIs under Form 8-K, Item 1.05, Material Cybersecurity Incidents. The SEC adopted final rules regarding cybersecurity disclosure in 2023, requiring companies “to disclose material...more
Yesterday, Corp Fin Director Erik Gerding issued a new statement, Selective Disclosure of Information Regarding Cybersecurity Incidents. As you know, last year the SEC adopted new rules regarding cybersecurity disclosure,...more
On May 21, 2024, Corp Fin Director Erik Gerding issued a statement designed to clarify the use of Form 8-K Item 1.05 versus Form 8-K Item 8.01 when reporting cybersecurity incidents. Sounds like some of us might be doing it...more
At the Corp Fin Workshop last week, a segment of PLI’s SEC Speaks 2024, the panel focused on disclosure review, a task that occupies 70% of Corp Fin attorneys and accountants. The panel discussed several key topics, looking...more
Many thanks to thecorporatecounsel.net blog for posting this memorandum to the ABA’s Joint Committee on Employee Benefits from three members of that committee regarding their informal discussions with SEC staff about a couple...more
On December 19, a Fifth Circuit panel pulled the plug on the SEC’s Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization rule, issuing an opinion vacating the rule. On Friday last week, Corp Fin announced that, yes, the rule had been...more
To start the new year, Corp Fin has posted an updated version of Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 7, Confidential Treatment Applications Submitted Pursuant to Rules 406 and 24b-2. The guidance addresses procedures for CTRs that...more