Category: Securities

Capital Markets / Securities

Stock Price Flexibility on the NYSE American

Many of our Canadian clients have decided to list their stock in the United States on the NYSE American exchange, instead of Nasdaq. Why? Stock price flexibility is a big factor. In Canada, it’s considered perfectly normal for a company to have stock with a price of $2, $1, $0.50 or even $0.10 per share. Not in the United States. Here, there is a long tradition of regulations and stock exchange rules disfavoring companies whose shares trade at low prices, regardless of their total market capitalization. Back in the 1990s, there were three main stock exchanges – Nasdaq, the American Stock Exchange, and for larger companies, the NYSE. While each of the exchanges...

Corporate / Securities

Inline XBRL for Foreign Private Issuers – New SEC Guidance

Yesterday, the SEC published guidance regarding Inline XBRL. The SEC adopted rules for Inline XBRL in June 2018. For those of you whose first question is “what is Inline XBRL?”, Inline XBRL allows the XBRL data to be embedded directly into an “EDGARized” HTML document. This eliminates the need to prepare a separate XBRL exhibit. The goal of Inline XBRL was to simplify the XBRL process for issuers and to improve the usability of XBRL data for investors. As a reminder, foreign private issuers will be required to comply with Inline XBRL at the following times: Basis of Accounting Filer Status Fiscal Periods Ending On or After: U.S. GAAP Large accelerated filers June...

Capital Markets / Corporate / Securities

SEC Proposes to Greatly Expand Exemption from SOX 404 Auditor Attestation Requirement

The SEC has proposed revisions to the definition of an “accelerated filer” that would exempt most companies that have both a public float of common equity of less than $700 million and annual revenues of less than $100 million from the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX 404). If adopted, these revisions would exempt many Canadian cross-reporting companies from the SOX 404 auditor attestation requirement, thereby reducing the cost of cross-border reporting. The proposal is subject to a 60-day public comment period. Additional information is available in the SEC’s press release regarding the proposed new amendments here: sec.gov/news/press-release/2019-68.

Natural Resources / Securities

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 decades-old guidelines, set forth in Industry Guide 7. The new rules will bring the U.S. reporting regime closer to global reporting standards, and will apply to all SEC reporting companies except those that report exclusively under the Canada-U.S. MJDS system. We will be providing an overview of the new...

Capital Markets / M&A / Securities

What Cross-listed Canadian Companies Need to Know About the Impact of the U.S. Government Shutdown on SEC Operations

As a result of the partial U.S. government shutdown that began on December 22, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one of nine federal agencies affected, recently published its Operations Plan Under a Lapse in Appropriations and Government Shutdown (sec.gov/files/sec-plan-of-operations-during-lapse-in-appropriations-2018.pdf), which went into effect on December 27, 2018. The Operations Plan offers important guidance regarding the significant impacts of the shutdown on the agency’s activities. Additional guidance is also available from the SEC’s Divisions of Corporation Finance (here: sec.gov/page/corpfin-section-landing) and Investment Management (here: sec.gov/investment-management). Issuers and practitioners should make contingency plans to address the effects upon ongoing or planned securities offerings, filings, and requests for interpretive guidance, among other things. A few important highlights:...

Natural Resources / Securities

The SEC Adopts New Rules Regarding Mining Disclosure

On October 31, 2018, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that it adopted rules to modernize mining property disclosure in order to harmonize SEC disclosure requirements with international standards. The SEC had proposed rules in June 2016 which received numerous comments and as a result a number of changes were made to the original proposed rules. A high level summary of the final rules and changes compared to the proposed rules can be found here: www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-248 The final rules provide for a two-year transition period so that a registrant will not be required to begin to comply with the new rules until its first fiscal year beginning on or...

Capital Markets / Corporate / Litigation / Securities

The SEC’s Recent Settlement with Tesla and Elon Musk Teaches Us a Valuable Corporate Governance Lesson

The SEC’s settlement with Tesla and Elon Musk teaches us some important corporate governance lessons on monitoring and vetting executive use of social media. As background, on August 7, 2018, the markets were surprised by a series of tweets initiated by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, Inc., in which Musk mused about taking Tesla private at $420 per share (a significant premium to the then-market price), with funding secured. The stock price jumped, trading in Tesla stock was halted, and Tesla rushed to catch up with official announcements. The deal didn’t happen, and it was questioned whether Musk was really serious, and whether funding was really “secured.” The SEC commenced an investigation....

Capital Markets / Securities

What if You Miss the Deadline to File a Form D?

As a continuation of our August 9 post regarding the deadline for Canadian companies to file a Form D for a private placement in the United States, we now address the questions, “What if our company missed the deadline to file a Form D with the SEC?” And, more importantly, “Have we lost our ability to rely upon the exemption?” The good news is that the exemption provided by Regulation D is not dependent upon the filing of the Form D. So, an issuer that fails to file the Form, or files it late, need not be concerned about the liability associated with a non-exempt offering. However, the failure to file exposes the issuer...

Capital Markets / Securities

Could Your Form D Already be Late by the Date of Closing?

Canadian companies that sell securities to U.S. investors under Regulation D must file a Form D with the SEC within 15 days after “the date of first sale.” Most people would assume that the closing of the offering is the date of sale. However, in the instructions to Form D, the SEC explains that the date of first sale is “the date on which the first investor is irrevocably contractually committed to invest, which, depending on the terms and conditions of the contract, could be the date on which the issuer receives the investor’s subscription agreement or check.” Therefore, the deadline for the Form D will depend on the wording of the agreement...

Capital Markets / Natural Resources / Securities

Analysis of the 60 Most Recent SEC Comment Letters Issued to Canadian Form 40-F Filers

Since January 1, 2016, the SEC has publicly released its correspondence relating to 60 comment letters sent to Canadian issuers with respect to annual reports filed on Form 40-F pursuant to the Canada-U.S. Multi-Jurisdictional Disclosure System (MJDS). We have analyzed the content and key takeaways from these letters, including: The SEC’s most common areas of focus; Recent trends; and Common errors to be avoided. Background The MJDS system allows Canadian issuers that satisfy certain market capitalization and other requirements to file an annual report with the SEC on Form 40-F. Except for a few items, a Form 40-F does not impose U.S. disclosure requirements upon a Canadian issuer and, instead, includes and relies...