We will be presenting at the Society for Corporate Governance: Southeastern Chapter Multi-City Meeting. The multi-city meeting will include speakers across five different host cities in the Southeast – Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Miami, and Nashville.
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Please join us for a virtual broadcast and replay of our 4th Annual Corporate & Securities Counsel Public Company Forum.
This half-day complimentary program will be broadcast virtually on February 2 and features timely and practical guidance on the latest developments in corporate and securities matters impacting public company in-house counsel.
Continue Reading Virtual Broadcast: 4th Annual Corporate & Securities Counsel Public Company Forum
Institutional investors and proxy advisory firms continue developing and refining their policies regarding board diversity. While gender diversity on public company boards has been in focus for some time now, institutional investors and proxy advisory firms are also increasingly focusing on racial and ethnic diversity as part of their evolving approach to board diversity.
This post summarizes published board diversity policies of several institutional investors and proxy advisory firms into a singular resource for ease of reference. Below the initial breakdown is a description of specific policies concerning board diversity shareholder proposals.
As public companies continue to navigate the ongoing economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunistic activist investors may find the resulting economic conditions conducive to accumulating significant ownership positions, agitating for changes in corporate strategy and management, and pursuing public activist campaigns. Although the number of overt activist campaigns were down during the primary 2020 proxy season, as the annual meeting season for most public companies took place during the initial months of the pandemic lockdown, the third and fourth quarters generally tend to see an increase in activist activity as hedge funds make initial preparations for the following year’s proxy season. Given these circumstances, this is an opportune time for public companies to make preparations by reviewing and evaluating their defensive profiles.
The following summarizes most of the common defensive mechanisms that companies utilize when faced with activist campaigns, hostile takeover attempts, and other attempts to influence corporate policy in ways that may not be in the best interest of all shareholders. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to defensive measures, an evaluation of the existing defensive profile of the company is a critical first step. In our experience advising on behalf of companies and their boards of directors, an analysis of the corporation’s defenses under its organizational documents and applicable law is usually undertaken and summarized for the board in connection with a defensive profile review.
Section 228(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) generally provides that, unless restricted by the certificate of incorporation, the requisite stockholders needed to approve an action may do so by written consent instead of a meeting—including actions to elect new directors or to approve a takeover proposal. Limiting stockholder action by written consent is particularly important for companies with large blocks of its common stock concentrated among one or several large stockholders, including holdings by large institutional holders, which could otherwise take swift action by written consent and without holding a stockholder meeting.
Continue Reading A Practical Guide to Evaluating a Company’s Defensive Profile
Please join the Bass, Berry & Sims Corporate & Securities Practice Group for a series of complimentary webinars exploring various public company-related securities law issues. These programs are an extension of our Securities Law Exchange Blog and feature timely and practical guidance to SEC disclosure counsel on key topics of interest.
The COVID-19 global pandemic
Recently, I provided guidance for an article in Agenda about best practices for conducting virtual board meetings. Some best practices mentioned in the article involve facilitating discussion, completing minutes in a timely manner, and protecting the privacy of the meeting’s discussion.
I’ve advised, “If you’re talking about something that relates to finances, your financial experts are the ones you might want to direct discussion to after you finish the introduction so questions are flowing to people with expertise first. Then, other directors can interject with their questions or thoughts.”
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Bass, Berry & Sims invites you to join us for our inaugural Corporate & Securities Counsel Public Company Forum on Thursday, December 12.
This half-day program will feature timely and practical guidance on the latest developments in corporate and securities matters impacting public company in-house counsel.
Panel discussion topics will include:
The Bass, Berry & Sims Corporate & Securities Practice Group recently hosted its first in a series of complimentary webinars exploring various public company-related securities law issues.
The first webinar, Key Insights into Financial Reporting Considerations: MD&A, Earnings Releases & Regulation FD, was held on July 18 and shared guidance on the preparation of the Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A), key disclosure issues regarding earnings releases and calls, and important considerations for public companies under Regulation FD.
Continue Reading 5 Key Takeaways from Our Public Company Financial Reporting Webinar
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tatjana Paterno will take part in a CLE webinar titled, “Negotiating Earnouts in M&A Transactions: Effective Approaches to Bridging the Valuation Gap” on July 25, 2019. The webinar, hosted by Strafford Publications, will guide deal counsel in negotiating and structuring earnout clauses in M&A agreements that benefit buyers and sellers
The American Law Institute (ALI) approved a new project last month – Restatement of the Law, Corporate Governance. Over 25 years ago, the ALI approved and published the Principles of Law, Corporate Governance and this new project will examine the evolution of corporate governance over the last 25 years and reflect the current state of