Category: Securities

With a 341-page concept release, the SEC seeks to simplify and modernize the business and financial disclosure requirements of Reg S-K

by Cydney Posner The SEC has issued a new concept release, as part of its Disclosure Effectiveness Initiative, seeking comment on modernizing certain business and financial disclosure requirements in Reg S-K.   The release, which weighs in at a hefty 341 pages, focuses on business and financial disclosures in periodic reports […]

Tweet your 10-K? SEC votes to issue concept release to modernize Reg S-K

by Cydney Posner At an open meeting this morning, the SEC (all three of them) voted to issue a concept release seeking comment on modernizing certain business and financial disclosure requirements in Reg S-K, part of the SEC’s disclosure effectiveness review project. Reg S-K is 30 years old, and evolving […]

No petition for cert in Natl Assoc. of Manufacturers v. SEC, the conflict minerals case

by Cydney Posner No reason to keep checking the SCOTUS website for the SEC’s cert petition in Natl Assoc. of Manufacturers v. SEC, the conflict minerals case. According to this letter from Attorney General Loretta Lynch to House Speaker Paul Ryan (courtesy of thecorporatecounsel.net blog), “[a]lthough the Commission defended the constitutionality of […]

Senate bill introduced to reform 13D reporting by closing “loophole” exploited by activist hedge funds

by Cydney Posner Soon after the Wausau Paper Company was targeted by a hedge fund activist in 2011, Wausau’s paper mill in Brokaw, Wisconsin was shuttered by the embattled company. The mill had been established at the end of the 19th century and, since its founding, had provided employment for […]

Corp Fin allows exclusion of a conflicting shareholder proposal under Rule 14a-8(i)(9): does it represent a strategy for the future?

by Cydney Posner Well, we finally have some insight into what the Corp Fin staff had in mind in Staff Legal Bulletin 14H – of course, that’s the SLB in which Corp Fin narrowed the application of Rule 14a-8(i)(9), the exclusion for conflicting proposals. It turns out that what they had […]

We identified our shareholder proposal on our proxy card as “Shareholder Proposal.” Does that work?

by Cydney Posner Uh, no.  In a new CDI, Corp Fin tells us how not to identify proposals on proxy cards, particularly shareholder proposals. Rule 14a-4(a)(3) requires that the form of proxy “identify clearly and impartially each separate matter intended to be acted upon.”  But, when it comes to shareholder […]

Nasdaq resubmits proposal for disclosure of “golden leash” arrangements

by Cydney Posner On March 15, Nasdaq resubmitted its “golden leash” disclosure proposal to the SEC. As discussed in this Pubco post, the proposal, which originally was rejected on technical grounds, relates to third-party compensation of directors in connection with their candidacy for or service on company boards.  These “golden leash” […]

Is it just a brush-back pitch or will the SEC take steps to rein in the use of non-GAAP financial measures?

by Cydney Posner Reporting on an industry conference sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the WSJ advises that SEC Chair Mary Jo White is considering whether to restrict the use of non-GAAP financial measures. In a speech to the conference, Chair White advised the audience that “[y]our investor relations folks, your […]

In re Sanofi: 2d circuit considers misleading statements of opinion after Omnicare

by Cydney Posner In an early appellate decision applying Omnicare, Inc. v. Laborers District Council Construction Industry Pension Fund,  a three-judge panel of the 2d Circuit,  on March 4, issued its opinion in  In re Sanofi. The plaintiffs in that case had alleged that defendants’ material omissions regarding a drug candidate – […]

Nasdaq proposes “golden leash” disclosure, but will it prohibit the practice?

by Cydney Posner At the end of January, Nasdaq filed with the SEC a rule proposal related to third-party compensation of directors in connection with their candidacy for and/or service on company boards, often referred to as “golden leash” arrangements.  Golden leash arrangements are most common in connection with board nominations […]