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 announcement indicates that, in the event of a shutdown, its activities would be “extremely limited.” According to the announcement, although EDGAR will continue to operate and accept filings, Corp Fin “will not be able to accelerate the effectiveness of registration statements.” (Fortunately, there are typically fewer offerings over the holidays.) In light of the uncertainty related to acceleration, Corp Fin suggests that “registrants with pending registration or offering statements that are substantially complete, and that have met all statutory requirements to request acceleration of the effective date (including the dissemination of any draft registration statement for the required periods under Securities Act Section 6(e) or the related Division accommodations) or qualification, may want to consider requesting effectiveness or qualification while the Division continues its normal operations.”
While Corp Fin is open, it “will conduct ordinary business,” and, in the event of an imminent change in its operating status, Corp Fin “will provide as much advance notice as possible.” As in past shutdown warnings, Corp Fin has posted a series of FAQs as part of the announcement, primarily addressing companies in the registration process (or contemplating offerings) but potentially caught in the shutdown. There are a couple of FAQs about proxy statements. Corp Fin plans to post updates on operating status on the SEC’s website.
