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How Categorizing Companies as Unicorns Affects Their IPOs

By Badryah Alhusaini, Bradley E. Hendricks and Wayne R. Landsman September 16, 2020 by renholding

Managers, investors, the financial press, and other capital market participants often use categories to describe firms or their securities. Common examples include “bellwether,” “blue chip,” “tech,” “penny,” and “start-up.” Although these categories may increase a firm’s visibility, they can lead …

Morrison & Foerster Discusses Investor Exits: U.S. Direct Listing Rules in Flux

By Amit Kataria, Brian Snyder and John Owen September 14, 2020 by renholding

Amid intense focus on investor liquidity (and paths to potential liquidity) in private companies, we provide an update on developments around direct listings as an alternative to traditional IPOs in the United States.

On August 26, 2020, the SEC approved …

Debevoise & Plimpton Expects More New York Regulatory Enforcement of Banking and Financial Services

By Courtney Dankworth, Eric Dinallo, Greg Lyons, David Sewell and Brenna Rae Sooy September 10, 2020 by renholding

As American businesses, including financial institutions, adjust their operations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the need to work closely with state regulators has become increasingly apparent. As anticipated, under the current federal administration we have seen state …

Asking the Hard Questions: A Review of Prof. John Coffee’s New Book, Corporate Crime and Punishment

By Stephen J. Crimmins September 9, 2020 by renholding

Columbia Law Professor John C. Coffee, Jr.’s Corporate Crime and Punishment delivers a hard-hitting and provocative analysis of the securities law enforcement landscape and the choices that lie ahead. With SEC senior staff changes probable in any new administration, Coffee’s …

Securitization, Recourse Uncertainty, and Crash Risk

By Yiwei Dou, Joshua Ronen and Tuba Toksoz September 2, 2020 by renholding

Asset securitizations have become a prominent type of financial transaction in recent decades. According to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, $3.3 trillion worth of mortgage- and other asset-backed securities were issued in 2006. This number fell to $1.6 …

Insider Trading and Geographic Proximity: Evidence from Covid-19

By Erin Henry, George A. Plesko and Caleb Rawson September 1, 2020 by renholding

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed how businesses operate, resulting in unprecedented stock market effects. While the U.S. stock market has historically shown little to no reaction to an infectious disease outbreak, COVID-19 precipitated a global stock market downturn now …

Davis Polk Discusses New Developments on Direct Listings

By Marcel Fausten, Michael Kaplan, Emily Roberts, Richard Truesdell and Elizabeth Weinstein September 1, 2020 by renholding

New developments last week will allow companies to raise funds in a direct listing. On Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the NYSE’s rule change that will permit companies to raise capital in a direct listing. Prior to …

The Problem with Insider Giving

By Andrew Verstein August 31, 2020 by renholding

For a brief moment last month, Kodak Corporation’s stock soared from $2 a share to more than $33 a share on news that it might obtain substantial government financing. At that peak, Kodak director George Karfunkel unloaded shares then worth …

Arnold & Porter Discusses SEC Approval of NYSE Direct Listings Proposal

By Carol Anne Huff August 31, 2020 by renholding

The SEC has given the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) clearance to allow companies to raise capital in connection with a direct listing on the NYSE. A direct listing is an alternative to a traditional underwritten IPO that allows a …

Does Advertising Improve Access to Capital for Small Businesses?

By Anup Agrawal and Yuree Lim August 28, 2020 by renholding

Private markets have contributed significantly to capital formation in the U.S. economy, particularly for small companies that are often considered the engine for creating new jobs and for accelerating economic growth (see, e.g., Zhao, Harris, and Lam, 2019). The amount …

SEC Chair Clayton Discusses Modernizing Framework for Disclosures

By Jay Clayton August 27, 2020 by renholding

Good morning. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Government in the Sunshine Act. I would like start today’s meeting by welcoming Commissioner Crenshaw to her first open meeting.

Today [August 26], we

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SEC Commissioners Crenshaw and Lee Discuss Failure to Modernize Accredited Investor Definition

By Caroline Crenshaw and Allison Herren Lee August 27, 2020 by renholding

The accredited investor definition is the single most important investor protection in the private market.[1] Today’s amendments purport to “update” that definition while leaving in place 38-year old wealth thresholds, declining to index the thresholds to inflation, and declining

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Does Environmental and Social Disclosure Affect Innovation at Companies?

By Brian Gibbons August 26, 2020 by renholding

Companies are typically not compelled to disclose environmental and social (E&S) information because this information does not meet the materiality standard used in many jurisdictions. However, some shareholders have an explicit mandate to screen potential investments based on E&S criteria. …

SEC Officials Offer Update on the Consolidated Audit Trail

By Jay Clayton, Brett Redfearn and Manisha Kimmel August 24, 2020 by renholding

Today [August 21], the Commission proposed amendments to the national market system (“NMS”) plan governing the consolidated audit trail (“CAT NMS Plan”). The proposed amendments are designed to enhance data security related to the ongoing development and operations of the

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Lemonade, Inc.: Harbinger of Future Public Benefit Corporation IPOs?

By Robert S. Rachofsky, Claire E. James and Clifton M. Brannan August 14, 2020 by renholding

The last six months have been marked by profound changes in how we live and interact with one another. The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on societal inequities and racial injustice and reinvigorated dialogue around sustainability and environmental reform. …

Marginal Benefits of the Core Securities Laws

By Kevin S. Haeberle August 10, 2020 by renholding

To many, the core securities laws on disclosure, fraud, and insider trading are desirable from an investor-protection perspective. But the dominant law and economics view is dubious of this thinking. Under this view, securities prices are discounted to reflect obstacles …

Executive Private Misconduct

By Tom C.W. Lin August 4, 2020 by renholding

Over the last few years, misbehavior of corporate executives like Harvey Weinstein, Steve Wynn, Leslie Moonves, and Elon Musk has outraged many people around the world. The misconduct has ranged from the inadvisable to the unethical to the criminal. Almost …

SEC’s Division of Investment Management Director Takes Stock and Looks Ahead

By Dalia Blass August 3, 2020 by renholding

Good Morning. Thank you Barry [Barbash] and Paul [Roye] for the kind introduction and thank you and PLI for inviting me to speak again with you. I looked back at my remarks the last time I was with you. Two

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Lessons from Luckin Coffee: The Underappreciated Risks of Variable Interest Entities

By Jonathan Barnett July 28, 2020 by renholding

On April 2, China’s Luckin Coffee announced that some of its employees, including the chief operating officer, had fabricated over $300 million in reported revenues. On April 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight …

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