Photo of Sehrish Siddiqui

Sehrish Siddiqui counsels a wide variety of public companies primarily in the areas of corporate finance, compliance and governance. She regularly advises clients on ESG (environmental, social and governance) disclosures and related internal processes. She has served as counsel to underwriters, agents and issuers for more than 100 initial public offerings, follow-on offerings and at-the-market programs of various NYSE- and Nasdaq-traded entities. Her national and international clients include healthcare companies, real estate investment trusts, business development companies, retail and consumer product companies and investment banks.

On March 20, 2019, nearly a year and a half after proposing them, the SEC adopted amendments to disclosure requirements for reporting companies, as mandated by the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (the “FAST Act”).  The amendments are a part of an ongoing effort by the SEC to simplify and modernize disclosure obligations.  According to the SEC’s press release, the amendments are expected “to benefit investors by eliminating outdated and unnecessary disclosure and making it easier for them to access and analyze material information.”

Among many other items, the amendments address the following topics:

  • Greater Flexibility When Filing Under Item 601 of Regulation S-K
    • Omission of Immaterial Schedules and Exhibits—The amendments revise Item 601 of Regulation S-K to expand the ability of registrants to omit immaterial schedules and similar attachments to required exhibits, which previously was only available to schedules and exhibits to acquisitions agreements being filed under Item 601(b)(2).

Continue Reading SEC Amendments Help Streamline Reporting for Public Companies

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into legislation the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, also known as the “omnibus spending package.” Included in Title VIII therein is legislation titled the Small Business Credit Availability Act (SBCAA) that includes certain regulations under the federal securities laws impacting business development companies (BDCs).  Among other items, the SBCAA allows BDCs to incur significantly more debt and rely on relaxed SEC communication and offering rules that were previously available to operating companies.
Continue Reading Recent Legislation Means Good News for Business Development Companies