May 19, 2015
Fake SEC Filings: Avon’s “Unreal” Tender Offer
If you have read this blog for a while, then you know I dig fake SEC filings. As noted in this blog last year on the topic, they tend to be one of my most popular types of blogs. So last week was Christmas for me as this fake Schedule TO about a $8 billion takeover bid caused a stir and caused Avon’s stock to tank (see this DealBook piece).
This latest incident is a cautionary tale for investors as it’s not the first fake takeover announcement. My favorite dates back to 2001, as noted in this piece, when a fake “blank check” company calling itself “Toks Inc.” filed a Form SB-2 with the SEC announcing plans to take over General Motors, General Electric, AT&T, Hughes Electronics, AT&T Wireless, AOL Time Warner and Marriot International – for roughly $2 trillion in “Toks” stock. The promoter – Ade O. Ogunjobi – didn’t give up even when the SEC issued a “Stop Order” to prevent the registration statement from going effective and suing him for selling unregistered securities, later launching a website to promote his wild ambitions and plans to then hold press conferences to announce his plans for these major US companies he was to take over!
Hard to believe, but those SEC filings by Toks are still on EDGAR. Here’s my blog on “Fake Filings: How Do They Sneak a Form ID Past the SEC?” (scroll down)…
Transcript: “Form S-8: Share Counting, Fee Calculations & Other Tricks of the Trade”
We have posted the transcript for our recent webcast: “Form S-8: Share Counting, Fee Calculations & Other Tricks of the Trade.”
More on “The Mentor Blog”
We continue to post new items daily on our blog – “The Mentor Blog” – for TheCorporateCounsel.net members. Members can sign up to get that blog pushed out to them via email whenever there is a new entry by simply inputting their email address on the left side of that blog. Here are some of the latest entries:
– Study: Data Breach Preparedness
– Survey: Current (& Future) State of Compliance
– Spencer Stuart Addresses Board “Refreshment”
– Avoiding & Managing Boardroom Disputes
– Using COSO to Assess & Manage Cyber Risks
– Broc Romanek