Governance & Compliance Insider

What the LIBOR Phase-out Means for Debt Capital Market Participants

What the LIBOR Phase-out Means for Debt Capital Market Participants

The London Interbank Overnight Rate (“LIBOR”) is an interest rate calculation that is used globally for purposes of debt capital market transactions including bond issuances, loans, and derivatives. In particular, LIBOR underpins many Floating Rate Notes (“FRNs”), which use the rate as a reference for purposes of calculating coupon. The intention is that LIBOR reflects the overall health of the financial system, which in turn...

Recent Dorsey eUpdate: New Streamlined Procedure for Extension of Confidential Treatment

Recent Dorsey eUpdate: New Streamlined Procedure for Extension of Confidential Treatment

Public companies that have previously obtained a confidential treatment order from the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission for a material contract filed as an exhibit under the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 must continue to file extension applications if they want to protect the confidential information from public release pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request after...

Recent Dorsey eUpdate: Summary of SEC’s FAST Act Amendments and Additional Guidance on Confidential Treatment Requests

Recent Dorsey eUpdate: Summary of SEC’s FAST Act Amendments and Additional Guidance on Confidential Treatment Requests

The SEC recently finalized amendments to its regulations to modernize and simplify disclosure requirements for public companies, investment advisors and investment companies, consistent with the Commission’s mandate under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. The SEC subsequently released an additional announcement on the amendments to the confidential treatment request requirements. More information on the amendments relevant to public companies, including markups of the Form...

SEC Proposes to Expand “Test-the-Waters” Modernization Reform to All Issuers

SEC Proposes to Expand “Test-the-Waters” Modernization Reform to All Issuers

The SEC proposed a new rule and related amendments that would expand the “test-the-waters” accommodation—currently available to emerging growth companies—to all issuers, including investment company issuers. Proposed Securities Act Rule 163B, if adopted, would significantly enhance an issuer’s ability to cost-effectively assess the demand for and valuation of its securities, and also provide insights into the structural components for the offering that are important to investors....

Upcoming Webinar on the SEC’s New Mining Disclosure Rules – 2/26

Upcoming Webinar on the SEC’s New Mining Disclosure Rules – 2/26

You are invited to join us on February 26, 2019, at 11 am PT/2 pm ET, for a webinar discussing the SEC’s new mining disclosure rules. On October 31, 2018, the SEC adopted final rules effecting a complete overhaul of the technical disclosure requirements applicable to companies engaged in material mining operations, including royalties. Upon effectiveness in 2021, the new rules will replace the SEC’s...

Johnson & Johnson May Exclude Shareholder Proposal for Binding Arbitration on Securities Claims

Johnson & Johnson May Exclude Shareholder Proposal for Binding Arbitration on Securities Claims

On February 11, 2019, the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance granted no-action relief permitting Johnson & Johnson to omit a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement.  The shareholder proposal requested mandatory arbitration of shareholder claims arising under the federal securities laws. The Staff relied on Rule 14a-8(i)(2), which permits exclusion of a proposal that, if implemented, would cause the company to violate any...

When It Comes to Self-Identified Diversity: Trust But Verify

When It Comes to Self-Identified Diversity: Trust But Verify

On February 6, 2019, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance released Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (identical Questions 116.11 and 133.13) advising companies on how they should disclose directors’ self-identified specific diversity characteristics (such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or cultural background) in proxy statements. In brief, Corp Fin would expect the company’s discussion of directors’ experience, qualifications, attributes or skills pursuant...

Did you catch these developments for the 2019 proxy statement and Form 10-K?

Did you catch these developments for the 2019 proxy statement and Form 10-K?

The 10-K and proxy season begins in a little over a month for companies with calendar fiscal year-ends.  The following governance and disclosure developments should be considered in the course of preparing these filings. For additional background, see our presentation and supplemental materials for Preparing for the 2019 SEC Reporting Season. Proxy Statement Impact of the government shutdown: During the government shut down, the SEC is...

SEC Updates FAQs Regarding the Ongoing Government Shutdown

SEC Updates FAQs Regarding the Ongoing Government Shutdown

On January 10, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about how to handle certain filing matters during the U.S. government shutdown, which is now entering its fourth week. (See, sec.gov/page/corpfin-section-landing.) The staff revised questions 4 and 5 and added new questions 6 and 9. Question 4 was revised to emphasize that Rule 430A is...

SEC Fines ADT Inc. $100k for Non-GAAP Disclosure in Earnings Releases

SEC Fines ADT Inc. $100k for Non-GAAP Disclosure in Earnings Releases

On December 26, 2018, the SEC filed a cease-and-desist order and fined ADT Inc. (“ADT”) $100,000 for its use of non-GAAP financial measures without giving equal or greater prominence to the comparable GAAP financial measures. The order serves as a reminder of the importance of the SEC’s “equal or greater prominence” rule when disclosing non-GAAP financial measures, even when comparable GAAP financial measures are also...