Brian K. Rosenzweig

July 27, 2020, Covington Alert

On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted several proxy rule amendments dealing with proxy advisory firms as part of its ongoing effort to modernize the proxy voting system. The proxy rule amendments, which were proposed in November 2019, codify the SEC’s view that proxy voting advice generally constitutes a solicitation under the ...

July 20, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present public companies with new regulatory compliance and financial reporting challenges. Adjusting the presentation of GAAP financial measures to take into account COVID-19-related expenses is one such challenge and should be considered carefully in light of the SEC’s heightened scrutiny in this area. The SEC’s Division of ...

July 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The second quarter of 2020 is the first period in which most U.S. public companies were fully confronted with challenges presented by the COVID-19 global pandemic. The SEC and its staff (the “Staff”) have recently issued a number of statements regarding disclosure considerations and updates to reporting relief that will affect various aspects of companies’ ...

June 11, 2020, Covington Alert

On May 20, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to requirements for financial disclosures about acquired and disposed businesses. These rules have remained largely static for several decades, even as many other SEC rules and forms have undergone significant revisions in that time period. The amendments are intended to reduce the complexity and costs associated with ...

June 2, 2020, Covington Alert

Increased attention has recently been given by both investors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promoting clear and comparable disclosures of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. On May 21, the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee (Committee) debated and endorsed recommendations of the Investor as Owner Subcommittee that the SEC ...

May 14, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as rule amendments. Recently, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) issued several frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) relating to the SEC’s March 25, 2020 Order that ...

May 7, 2020, Covington Alert

In response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, Nasdaq has adopted temporary relief through June 30, 2020 from shareholder approval requirements pertaining to the so-called “20% rule.” The relief is effective immediately and intended to give Nasdaq-listed companies additional flexibility to raise capital through private placements in situations where ...

April 2020, Covington Alert

This is a playbook for a virtual meeting of shareholders of a public company, with a particular focus on the unique situation facing companies due to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It includes answers to questions that companies may have in deciding upon and planning for such a meeting.

April 16, 2020, Covington Alert

The leading proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., recently published their approaches on key governance topics facing public companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Generally, both firms seek to balance flexibility in responding to current circumstances against established corporate governance policies.

April 9, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC and its staff have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing public companies and other filers affected by the pandemic with relief from certain reporting requirements, as well as helpful disclosure guidance.

April 7, 2020, Covington Alert

Boards of directors, compensation committees and executive officers have begun to confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their compensation programs. This alert highlights key considerations for public companies as they make important decisions regarding these programs.

April 2, 2020, Covington Alert

When an executive officer or director becomes seriously ill, including due to COVID-19, U.S. public companies and foreign private issuers must consider their disclosure obligations as well as governance and other key topics. This alert discusses these considerations.

March 30, 2020, Law360

Brian Rosenzweig spoke with Law360 about the lack of funding for equity capital markets  created by coronavirus. Some companies have resulted to at-the-market offerings for funding. Mr. Rosenzweig says, “The ability to be opportunistic on days with less volatility and generate smaller amounts of cash on a more frequent basis through ATM programs is very relevant ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

The SEC has provided additional relief for public companies and other filers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance (the "Division") has issued disclosure guidance regarding COVID-19 and related business and market disruptions Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 (the "Disclosure Topic 9"). This alert discusses the key ...

March 27, 2020, Covington Alert

While Board duties remain unchanged in a crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of a board of directors continues to be one of oversight, the disruption and dislocation resulting from the pandemic warrants greater and more frequent coordination between boards of directors and management teams which have responsibility for day-to-day ...

March 27, 2020, Law360

Brian Rosenzweig is quoted in Law360 regarding the effects of coronavirus on startup business funding. Mr. Rosenzweig says, "There will still be [funding] opportunities, but it will be more competitive.”

March 26, 2020, Covington Alert

Companies incorporated in the United States are required to hold annual shareholder meetings. These meetings have traditionally been held at a physical location, sometimes with the option to participate remotely. In recent years, however, some public companies have adopted virtual-only annual shareholder meetings. Due to growing concerns around the global ...

March 25, 2020, Covington Alert

The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have spurred a tremendous amount of market volatility, and many public companies can expect questions from shareholders and analysts regarding the effect of these factors on companies’ current and future operations and liquidity. The uncertainty of the pandemic’s duration and impact on the economy may lead some ...

March 23, 2020

NEW YORK—The American Lawyer has named Covington lawyers Sergio Urías and Laura Torre as “Dealmakers of the Year.” The annual feature highlights “the most impressive and significant matters that deal lawyers worked on in 2019.” Shareholders of Covington’s client Prisma Medios de Pago, Argentina’s largest payment processing company, were mandated by the antitrust ...

March 20, 2020, Covington Alert

January 28, 2020, Covington Alert

Critical audit matters, or “CAMs,” have been an important topic of discussion among investors, auditors, public companies and audit committees since the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) adopted Auditing Standard 3101 (“AS 3101”) on June 1, 2017.

October 11, 2019, Law360

Brian Rosenzweig spoke with Law360 about the SEC’s decision to allow all companies to pursue “testing-the-waters” communications with institutional investors before registering their offerings. Mr. Rosenzweig says, “Having a successful IPO is challenging regardless of size. So opening up those tools to the entire universe of potential IPO issuers can only help.”

October 10, 2019, International Financial Law Review

Brian Rosenzweig is quoted in the International Financial Law Review regarding the clarifications made to the SEC’s “test-the-waters” provision. Mr. Rosenzweig believes that there are no significant changes from the rules proposed earlier this year, although some minor tweaks were made. "The rules were adopted pretty much as proposed, and are generally viewed by ...

September 27, 2019, Covington Alert

On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced the adoption of new Rule 163B under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), which expands the permitted use of “test-the-waters” communications to all issuers, regardless of size or reporting status. The new rule, which the SEC proposed in February 2019, represents a ...

September 4, 2019, RIAIntel

Brian Rosenzweig spoke with RIAIntel about the continued need for registered investment advisers to file Form S-3 with the SEC. Mr. Rosenzweig says, “It is certainly customary for public companies to seek to file and declare a shelf registration statement as soon as they become shelf-eligible, which is typically one year after an IPO.” Companies routinely file ...

April 30, 2019, Covington Alert

For the better part of this decade, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been assessing and soliciting input on, and proposing and adopting changes to, the public company disclosure regime. A principal goal of this exercise has been to improve the quality of disclosure while reducing compliance costs and other burdens on public companies. ...

February 25, 2019, Covington Alert

On February 19, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed a new rule under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) that would expand issuers’ ability to gauge potential investor interest in registered securities offerings.

January 22, 2019

NEW YORK—Covington advised Prisma Medios de Pago, Argentina’s leading payments company, in the sale of a controlling stake to Advent International. Prisma’s existing shareholders will retain a 49% stake in the company. The transaction values 100 percent of Prisma at $1.42 billion.   Prisma is an Argentinian company established in 2014 through the merger of Visa ...

January/February 2018, The Corporate Governance Advisor

November 7, 2017, Covington Alert

On November 1, 2017, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Staff”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (“SLB 14I”), which includes important new guidance regarding the Staff’s administration of the SEC’s shareholder proposal rule.

November 2, 2017, Covington Alert

On October 23, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order granting approval of a proposal by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) to adopt Auditing Standard (“AS”) 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion, and related amendments to other ...

September 26, 2017, Covington Alert

On September 21, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as well as the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (the “Staff”), published new interpretive guidance to assist public companies in complying with the SEC’s pay ratio disclosure rule. The new guidance addresses many questions that have been raised regarding the rule, including how a ...

August 10, 2017

NEW YORK—Covington advised the underwriters in a $138 million follow-on public offering of common stock by Repligen Corporation. Covington previously represented the underwriters in Repligen's $115 million convertible note offering in May 2016. Repligen is a bioprocessing company focused on the manufacture of Protein A ligands, cell culture growth factors, and ...

July 5, 2017, Covington Alert

On June 29, 2017, the Division of Corporate Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Division”) announced that it will permit all companies to submit drafts of certain registration statements to the Division on a confidential basis, expanding a popular privilege that was made available to emerging growth companies (“EGCs”) under the Jumpstart Our ...

April 4-5, 2017, Needham & Company’s 16th Annual Healthcare Conference

April 12-13, 2016, Needham & Company’s 15th Annual Healthcare Conference

December 18, 2015, Covington Alert

December 14, 2015, Covington Alert

December 9, 2015, Covington Alert

August 10, 2015, Covington Alert

November 10, 2014, Covington Advisory

November 2013, Insights

September 20, 2013, Law360

September 19, 2013, Inside Compensation

On September 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed a rule that would require most public companies to disclose, annually, the ratio of the median of the annual total compensation of all of the company’s employees to the annual total compensation of the company’s principal executive officer. This rule is mandated by Section...… ...

September 19, 2013, Covington Advisory

November 20, 2012, Inside Compensation

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis & Co., LLC (“Glass Lewis”) recently updated their proxy voting guidelines for the 2013 proxy season.  The complete 2013 Updates to ISS’s U.S. Corporate Governance Policy are available here.  Key updates from both proxy advisors relating to executive compensation and compensation-related matters are ...