Sky Blog
On May 19, 2021, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposed rule change[1] to permit primary direct floor listings. This will permit companies to undertake an initial public offering and concurrent Nasdaq listing without the use of underwriters to market the …
In December 2020, Nasdaq asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a new boardroom diversity rule.[1] The aim is for most Nasdaq-listed companies to have at least one director self-identifying as a woman and another self-identifying as …
On December 1, the Nasdaq Stock Market asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for authority to adopt new listing rules aimed at increasing board gender and racial diversity. If approved, Nasdaq-listed companies will be required to disclose their board …
In the summer of 2020, with the U.S. economy bearing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate was as high as it had been any time since 1948, and the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 indices reached their …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
A stock market is a key feature found in any economy with a substantial private sector. For example, in the United States, we see the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, in the U.K, the London Stock Exchange, and in …
On March 28, 2019 the Nasdaq Listing Council invited me to respond to the recent proposal by the Council of Institutional Investors (“CII”) to Nasdaq, requesting it to adopt a rule requiring any company going public with dual class shares …
Amidst the clamorous and wide-ranging debate over poison pills, few commentators have addressed whether these corporate defenses are consistent with NYSE’s and NASDAQ’s well-known prohibitions against large issuances absent shareholder approval (the “20 Percent Rule”). While poison pills are often …
In my last post[1], I focused on the Council of Institutional Investors’ (“CII”) recent proposal to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq to impose a listing condition that any super-voting rights on dual class stock must expire …
The most important issue in corporate governance today is dual class capitalization, and the most important recent development is the petition submitted on October 24, 2018 by the Council of Institutional Investors (“CII”) to both the New York Stock Exchange …
Thank you so much, J.W. [Verret] and Ty [Gellasch], for that incredibly kind introduction. It’s a real honor to be here with you both today at George Mason, talking about the only issue you two have ever agreed on.[*
On April 3, 2018, the Swedish online music company Spotify Technology disrupted the traditional initial public offering (IPO) marketplace when it directly listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “SPOT.” With a valuation …
Bitcoin is a currency, technology, and, most recently, futures product. Several clearinghouses have allowed bitcoin futures trading. For example, CBOE launched trading in bitcoin futures on December 10, 2017, while CME Group did so a week later.[1] NASDAQ and …
Several major corporate scandals in the United States during the early 2000s brought attention to corporate governance of large U.S. companies. As a result, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced several regulations …
Press reports indicate that Spotify, the music streaming company, is planning an initial public offering in March or April of this year, and that it plans to use a novel “direct listing” approach that has not previously been used at …
In March 2016, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed new rules regarding disclosure of third-party compensation of directors. This third-party compensation, which may not be publicly disclosed, arises when a party other than the issuer, such as an activist …