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On December 27, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2023-2 (the Notice), announcing their intention to issue proposed regulations addressing the application of the new one percent excise tax on certain stock repurchases and economically similar transactions undertaken by publicly traded U.S. corporations and certain foreign corporations. The Notice serves as interim guidance that may be relied upon by taxpayers pending issuance of final regulations.

Continue Reading Treasury and the IRS Release Interim Guidance on One-Percent Excise Tax on Stock Repurchases by Publicly Traded Companies

In our earlier post, we provided some early data points on the governance practices of the Silicon Valley 150, specifically relating to the prevalence of the classified board structure and dual or multi-class common stock. In this post, we provide some additional early data points into the Silicon Valley 150 companies’ governance practices, specifically the prevalence of plurality voting for director elections and proxy access bylaws.

Continue Reading Sneak Peek of the Silicon Valley 150 Companies’ Governance Practices—Part II

On January 4, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its Fall 2022 Regulatory Flexibility Agenda (Rulemaking Agenda). The Rulemaking Agenda summarizes the SEC’s planned regulatory actions over the next 12 months, thus providing insights into the priorities of SEC Chair Gary Gensler and the anticipated timing of proposed and final rules. We note that this Rulemaking Agenda is not binding on the SEC and actual rule adoption or proposal timing may vary significantly.

Continue Reading SEC Publishes Updated Rulemaking Agenda

Wilson Sonsini annually publishes the Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report, which summarizes the governance practices of the Valley’s largest public companies. The report uses the Lonergan SV1501, which includes the top 150 public companies (by annual sales) with headquarters in Silicon Valley. We will be publishing our 2022 report in early 2023, but we wanted to share some early data points.

Continue Reading Sneak Peek of the Silicon Valley 150 Companies’ Governance Practices—Part I

In our Client Alert, we discuss the final rules adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 14, 2022, which amend Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) to impose additional conditions to the availability of the affirmative defense under Exchange Act Rule 10b5-1(c)(1). In addition, the final rules require new disclosures by issuers relating to Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, insider trading policies, and the timing of certain option grants to officers, as well as new disclosures by Section 16 reporting persons on Forms 4 and 5, including disclosure of bona fide gifts on Form 4 within two business days.

Continue Reading SEC Adopts Final Amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and Related Disclosure Requirements

In our recent Client Alert, we discuss the updates made to the Non-GAAP Financial Measures Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations issued by the staff (Staff) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange on December 13, 2022. The updates, including additional commentary and examples in existing…

Continue Reading SEC Provides Important Updates to Non-GAAP Disclosure Guidance

As preparations for annual reports on Form 10-K get underway for calendar fiscal year-end companies, we wanted to provide some helpful reminders that companies should consider as they commence work on their annual reports, as well as considerations for potential updates to D&O questionnaires and company charters and bylaws. Our annual Client Alert covers the following topics:

Continue Reading Reminders for the Annual Report on Form 10-K