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public offerings
Covington & Burling Discusses Key Takeaways from the SEC’s Proposed Public-Offering Reforms
“Registered Offering Reform,” released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on May 19, 2026, represents one of the most consequential SEC rulemaking initiatives in decades. The proposed rule and form amendments aim to further the SEC’s …
SEC Comment Letters for Regulation A Filings Send Quality Signals to Investors
Can the tone or sentiment of an SEC comment letter provide a signal to investors about the quality of an underlying firm? In a new study, I examine that question in the context of Reg A filings.[1]
My study, …
Regulatory Costs of Being Public: Evidence from Bunching Estimation
Disclosure and internal governance regulations are, along with accounting rules, distinguishing features of the public firm. Deregulation agendas such as those of the Trump administration typically assume that many regulations on public firms have imposed high compliance costs. Such arguments …
Securities Regulation in Cryptoasset Markets: A Cost-Benefit Analysis
Rapid technological innovation over the past five years has created unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs – often outside the world of traditional finance and capital markets. Cryptoassets, for example, may prove to be socially beneficial tools for enabling entrepreneurs to more …
Morrison & Foerster Discusses Investor Exits: U.S. Direct Listing Rules in Flux
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 …
How Do Small Issuers React to Innovation in Securities Offering Methods?
In 2015 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments that significantly expanded Regulation A, a previously little used provision that allows companies to conduct small public securities offerings without having to comply with all the requirements applicable to traditional …
The Agency Costs of Teamwork
It is common wisdom among transactional lawyers that good teamwork results in smoother deals and better service for their clients. Perhaps for this reason, capital-markets practices frequently tout their teamwork skills as a source of value for clients, especially in …