Tag: SEC Division of Corporation Finance
Acting Corp Fin Director Coates speaks on SPACs
As has been widely reported, there has been a phenomenal increase in the volume of SPAC transactions as an alternative approach to becoming a public company. According to Bloomberg, around “300 SPACs launched on U.S. exchanges in the first quarter, raising almost $100 billion. That total was more than all of last year.” In this statement, Corp Fin Acting Director John Coates discusses liability risks potentially arising out of SPAC and de-SPAC transactions, that is, the transactions in which a private operating company undertakes a business combination with a SPAC, ultimately becoming a public operating company. The essence of his message is: why should a SPAC be treated differently from a traditional IPO?
Corp Fin and OCA have advice regarding SPACs
According to the staff of the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, in “just the first two months of 2021, both the number of new SPACs and amount of capital raised by those SPACs have been reported to already match approximately three-fourths of all such activity last year.” And there was quite a bit of SPAC activity last year. In light of the incredible volume of SPAC deals, on Wednesday, the staffs of Corp Fin and the OCA issued special guidance for SPACs. These statements address shell company, financial reporting, accounting, internal control, governance and auditor considerations in connection with a de-SPAC transaction, that is, a transaction in which a private operating company undertakes a business combination with a SPAC, ultimately becoming a public operating company. Both staffs seem to question whether the timing and other circumstances of de-SPAC transactions mean that the private operating company targets may not be fully equipped for what comes next and want stakeholders to carefully consider whether each of these private targets, in the words of OCA, has “a clear, comprehensive plan to be prepared to be a public company.” Corp Fin also wants all those who are clamoring for SPACs to be aware of all restrictions, impediments and other potential hiccups that come with the package. Could they possibly be trying to put the kibosh on SPAC fever? According to Reuters, analysts think the SEC is “worried about how much due diligence is performed by SPACs before acquiring assets, and about disclosures to investors.”
Corp Fin again amends guidance on extensions of confidential treatment orders
Corp Fin has once again amended Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 7, Confidential Treatment Applications Submitted Pursuant to Rules 406 and 24b-2, to modify—slightly—the alternatives available for companies with confidential treatment orders that are about to expire. The guidance was last amended in September 2020 (see this PubCo post), but apparently needed another revamp. The guidance addresses procedures for CTRs that were submitted, not under the new streamlined approach adopted in 2019 (see this PubCo post), but rather under the old traditional process that continues in use to a limited extent.
Coates named Acting Director of Corp Fin
On Monday, the SEC announced that John Coates has been appointed Acting Director of Corp Fin. He has been the John F. Cogan Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard University, where he also served as Vice Dean for Finance and Strategic Initiatives. If that name sounds familiar—even if you haven’t been one of his students—it may be because he sometimes pops up in Matt Levine’s column in Bloomberg as the author of “The Problem of Twelve,” which he describes as the “likelihood that in the near future roughly twelve individuals will have practical power over the majority of U.S. public companies.” Beyond that, he has been a very active member of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, and Committee recommendations he has authored may give us some insight on his perspective on issues.
Corp Fin issues disclosure guidance on SPACs
Happy new year! To complete the year- and term-end surge, just before Christmas, the Corp Fin staff issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 11 regarding disclosure considerations for special purpose acquisition companies in connection with their IPOs and subsequent business combinations, often referred to as de-SPAC transactions. As usual, the staff provides some great questions to consider when crafting disclosure.
Corp Fin provides new disclosure guidance for China-based issuers
Yesterday, Corp Fin posted CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 10, Disclosure Considerations for China-Based Issuers, which provides guidance regarding disclosure considerations for companies based in or with the majority of their operations in the People’s Republic of China (China-based Issuers). You might recall that, in August, the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, which includes Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell, SEC Chair Jay Clayton and CFTC Chair Heath P. Tarbert, issued a Report on Protecting United States Investors from Significant Risks from Chinese Companies, which made a number of recommendations, among them that regulators should require enhanced and prominent issuer disclosures of the risks of investing in China-based Issuers and should issue interpretive guidance to clarify these disclosure requirements and increase awareness of the risks of investing in these companies. (See this PubCo post.) This guidance appears designed to implement that recommendation. The clear implication of the guidance is that China-based Issuers need to consider beefing up their risk factor and related disclosures; in outlining risks and posing questions to consider, the guidance provides a great starting point.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Staff allows early use of electronic signatures
Today, the SEC staff issued a revised Statement regarding the extension, for an indeterminate period, of temporary relief related to authentication document retention requirements under Rule 302(b) of Reg S-T in light of light of public health and safety concerns regarding COVID-19. This staff Statement is temporary and remains in effect until the staff provides public notice that it no longer will be in effect; that notice will be published at least two weeks before the announced termination date. Nothing new there. But what is new is that the Statement indicates that the staff will not recommend enforcement action if filers take advantage of the new electronic signature rules even before the effective date of those rules.
Corp Fin issues new CDI on equity line financings
On Friday, Corp Fin updated CDI 139.13 under Securities Act Section 5 and withdrew CDIs 139.15 through 139.20. The updated CDI relates to equity line financings.
Corp Fin posts FAQs related to transition to new Reg S-K modernization rules
Today, Corp Fin posted a few new FAQs regarding the transition to the new amendments to Reg S-K Items 101, 103 and 105, which are designed to modernize the disclosure requirements related to the descriptions of business, legal proceedings and risk factors (see this PubCo post). Those new rule amendments will become effective November 9.
Corp Fin posts sample comment letter for offerings in context of extreme volatility
Yesterday, Corp Fin posted a sample comment letter containing the types of comments that Corp Fin staff might, depending on the particular facts and circumstances, issue to companies seeking to raise capital in securities offerings amid the current market and price volatility. In that context, Corp Fin believes that “specific, tailored disclosure about market events and conditions, the company’s situation and the potential impact on investors is warranted to provide investors with the information they need to make informed investment decisions and comply with the company’s disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws.” Corp Fin suggests that companies preparing offering disclosure documents take these sample comments into account, particularly if the disclosure documents would not typically be subject to staff review, such as automatically effective registration statements and prospectus supplements for takedowns from existing shelf registration statements. While most of the sample comments are not altogether surprising, Corp Fin does have some notable suggested additions to the prospectus cover page.