Mark D. Wood

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On June 23, the Division of Corporation Finance (the Division) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 9A (Topic 9A) providing additional disclosure considerations for public reporting companies regarding operations, liquidity and capital resources disclosures in light of business and market disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Topic 9A supplements CF Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 issued by the Division on March 25, 2020 and discussed in Katten’s advisory “COVID-19 Impact on Public Disclosure on SEC Reporting Companies.”…
Continue Reading SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues Additional Disclosure Guidance Related to COVID-19 Pandemic

On May 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption and immediate effectiveness of Section 312.03T of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. Recognizing that existing exceptions to the shareholder approval requirements in the NYSE Listed Company Manual are “not helpful in most situations arising from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Section 312.03T provides a temporary exception to shareholder approval requirements applicable to certain issuances of equity securities (or convertible or other securities that may result in the issuance of equity securities) representing 20 percent or more of a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed company’s common stock or voting power, as well as narrow exceptions from shareholder approval requirements in connection with issuances to a related party or equity compensation. Section 312.03T is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2020.…
Continue Reading NYSE Provides Temporary Relief From Shareholder Approval Requirements Due to COVID-19

On May 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules related to the financial disclosure requirements for acquisitions and dispositions of businesses (i.e., M&A transactions). The SEC’s release adopting the final rules is available here. These rules will be discussed in an upcoming edition of the Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest.

On April 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a release (the Release) announcing that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) had issued temporary and partial waivers from the requirement that NYSE-listed companies obtain stockholder approval in connection with certain related party and 20 percent equity issuances (the Waiver). In the Release, the NYSE acknowledged the “unprecedented disruption” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the great likelihood that many listed companies will “have urgent liquidity needs in the coming months due to lost revenues and maturing debt obligations,” which may mean that listed companies will “need to access additional capital that may not be available in the public equity or credit markets.” The Waiver provides NYSE-listed issuers with greater flexibility to engage in capital raising transactions, such as private investment in public equity (PIPE) transactions and registered direct offerings, that may otherwise be constrained by the NYSE’s existing stockholder approval rules. The Waiver remains in effect through June 30, 2020.…
Continue Reading SEC Approves Temporary NYSE Waiver of Stockholder Approval Rules to Facilitate Capital Raising in the Wake of COVID-19

On April 6, Corporate Securities  partner Mark Wood and Corporate partners Farzad Damania and Brian Hecht, together with panelists from Clermont Partners, Marcum LLP and Broadridge Financial Solutions, participated in a webinar discussing key reporting, disclosure, annual meeting and other legal issues faced by public companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To view webinar materials, please…

On April 6, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance issued a new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (C&DI) concerning the application of the SEC’s conditional relief order (the Order) that was issued in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for companies filing their annual reports on Form 10-K. …
Continue Reading SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues C&DI about Conditional Relief Order and Incorporation by Reference Into Form 10-K

On April 8, Jay Clayton, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and William Hinman, the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, issued a public statement addressing disclosure considerations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement follows other guidance and regulatory relief that the SEC has issued in recent weeks as the pandemic has developed.…
Continue Reading SEC Chairman and Division of Corporation Finance Director Issue Statement Further Addressing COVID-19 Related Disclosures

On April 7, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided guidance to issuers that may be experiencing unexpected delays with the printing and physical mailing of a “full set” of their proxy materials for their upcoming shareholder meetings. …
Continue Reading SEC Provides Guidance on Delays in Printing and Mailing of Full Sets of Proxy Materials

On March 31, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance (the Division) issued two new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) related to compliance with Rule 12b-25 in connection with the SEC’s conditional relief order (the Order) that was issued in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). …
Continue Reading SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues New C&DIs about the SEC’s Conditional Relief Order and Compliance with Rule 12b-25

On March 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order extending conditional relief (the Modified Order) for reporting and proxy delivery requirements for public company registrants and other filers in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Modified Order provides filers with an additional 45 days to make filings pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(f), 13(g), 14(a), 14(c), 14(f), 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), Exchange Act Regulations 13A, 13D-G (except for those provisions mandating the filing of Schedule 13D or amendments to Schedule 13D), 14A, 14C and 15D, and Exchange Act Rules 13f-1, and 14f-1, that would have been due during the period of March 1-July 1, 2020 (the Relief Period), subject to the conditions discussed below. This relief covers, among others, reports on Form 10-K, 20-F, 10-Q, 8-K and 6-K, as well as Schedules 13G and 13F but, as noted, expressly excludes Schedule 13D filings and also is not available for filings under Section 16 of the Exchange Act (i.e., Forms 3, 4 and 5).…
Continue Reading SEC Further Extends Filing Deadlines for Companies Impacted by COVID-19