Tag: Section 13(d)(3) group

SEC approves changes to modernize beneficial ownership reporting [updated]

[This post revises and updates my earlier post primarily to reflect the contents of the adopting release.]

Last week, without an open meeting, the SEC adopted rule amendments governing beneficial ownership reporting under Exchange Act Sections 13(d) and 13(g), updating Reg 13D-G to “require market participants to provide more timely information on their positions to meet the needs of investors in today’s financial markets.”  Commissioner Hester Peirce dissented. In essence, the amendments accelerate the filing deadlines for Schedules 13D and 13G.  The adopting release also clarifies the disclosure requirements of Schedule 13D with respect to derivative securities and provides guidance on the definition of “group” formation. In addition, the amendments require that these Schedules be filed in XBRL, and to that end, the SEC made a number of technical changes to Reg S-T. The adopting release also discusses the changes that had been proposed, but that, in response to comment, were not adopted, including proposed changes to the rules that would have deemed certain holders of cash-settled derivative securities to be beneficial owners of the reference covered class, and proposed rule amendments that would have addressed formation of a group and provided two new exemptions. Instead, the SEC is amending Schedule 13D to clarify that interests in derivative securities must be disclosed and, in the adopting release, provides guidance on those two topics.  According to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the “adoption updates rules that first went into effect more than 50 years ago. Frankly, these deadlines from half a century ago feel antiquated….In our fast-paced markets, it shouldn’t take 10 days for the public to learn about an attempt to change or influence control of a public company. I am pleased to support this adoption because it updates Schedules 13D and 13G reporting requirements for modern markets, ensures investors receive material information in a timely way, and reduces information asymmetries.”