So a couple of additional provinces might sign up for Ottawa's deal to create some sort of centralized securities regulator.
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On July 9, 2014, the federal Canadian government and the Saskatchewan and New Brunswick provincial governments entered into an amended agreement in principle (the Agreement) to join the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System (the Cooperative System). This amends the September 19, 2013, agreement in principle among the federal government and the British Columbia and Ontario provincial governments to establish the Cooperative System.
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Shareholder activism is perhaps the most important M&A development of the past decade. The number of activists, the amount of capital they have at their disposal, the range of their targets, the scope of their activities and tactics, and the success of their efforts all continue to expand significantly. While they were
initially derided as 1980s-style corporate raiders and excoriated for self-interested agendas at the expense of
companies' long-term growth prospects, shareholder activists today are often admired for their tenacity and success in forcing change in corporate boardrooms and enhancing shareholder value.
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The ability to raise capital from investors is critical to the success of most emerging businesses. Founders of early stage companies often look to enlist their networks and employees to assist in that
effort, in many cases seeking to compensate such individuals for their efforts. What on the surface may seem to be a simple and sensible proposition - "help me find investors from whom I can raise capital, and I'll reward you with a commission" - can turn into a legal nightmare with a far reaching
impact if the company uses a finder or solicitor who is effectively acting, but not registered, as a broker. Emerging businesses should proceed with caution when employing and compensating such individuals who may help to reel in investors.
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The federal government's most recent initiative to create a cooperative capital markets regulatory system for Canada took another step forward today with the announcement that New Brunswick and Saskatchewan had signed on to the existing agreement to join the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System.
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In just over a year, Canada's securities landscape could go from fractured to distinctly divided between two go-it-alone large provinces and all the rest.
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Last Monday, June 30, the Division of Investment Management and the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC released Staff Legal Bulletin No. 20 on "Proxy Voting Responsibilities of Investment Advisers and Availability of Exemptions from the Proxy Rules for Proxy Advisory Firms," following complaints by corporations that such advisers have too much influence.
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The Ontario Superior Court recently offered new guidance on interpreting advance notice bylaws in the context of proxy contests for control of an issuer. In Orange Capital, LLC v Partners Real Estate Investment Trust, the court held that such bylaws should be interpreted in accordance with their plain meaning and purpose, and with the view to preserving shareholders' voting rights.
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When your company has reached "hot stock" status, how do you sustain your success? What do you need to do to attract and retain the kind of long-term investors who will help you continue your growth trajectory?
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SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar recently spoke at the New York Stock Exchange Conference "Cyber Risks and the Boardroom." In his speech, Commissioner Aguilar emphasized the importance of cybersecurity and how fast the need for cybersecurity has grown in such a short time period, pointing out that U.S. companies experienced a 42% increase between 2011 and 2012 in the number of successful cyber-attacks they incurred per week.
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