TheCorporateCounsel.net

Let’s say you’ve filed a registration statement & one of your directors – we’ll call him “David Dennison,” for absolutely no reason in particular – signed the document through an attorney-in-fact. Is there a possibility that the now famous “he didn’t sign it” defense could call into question the validity of David’s signature?

This Olshan blog says that if you’ve properly complied with the requirements applicable to powers of attorney, there’s no reason to be troubled by the fact that one or more signatories executed the registration statement through an attorney-in-fact:

Proper powers of attorney should cover the specific filing being made by the company and any and all amendments to that filing, as well as all other documents in connection with the filing. The power of attorney, though electronically filed with a typed conformed signature in the document, should be manually executed by the officer or director and the original should be saved for at least five years.

If the power of attorney is in the Signatures section in Part II of the registration statement (with an appropriate reference thereto in the exhibits index), the manually executed original should be saved for five years, and all amendments to the registration statement manually signed by the attorney-in-fact on behalf of the officer or director should likewise be saved.

There are many valid business reasons to utilize a power of attorney and there is no legal reason why a corporate officer or director should not be deemed to have signed a registration statement in reliance upon a valid power of attorney.

Of course, if David subsequently says that the registration statement is “fake news,” that might be another kettle of fish. . .

Should You File That Shelf Now or Later?

Check out this Bass Berry blog if you’re trying to decide whether you should file a shelf S-3 now or wait until you’re planning to do a deal. For non-WKSI’s, the answer is usually easy – since your S-3 won’t automatically go effective, you can’t be sure that you won’t be delayed when you need it unless you get it on file & effective now.

The answer for a WKSI issuer is a little more complicated – and the blog lays out the pros & cons. Here’s an excerpt addressing one of the big reasons that even a WKSI might want to get a registration statement on file before a deal is imminent:

Given the fact that filing a registration statement has the potential to trigger financial statement filing requirements (such as the potential need to file retrospectively revised financials in connection with a change in business segments, the occurrence of discontinued operations, or probable or completed significant acquisitions or dispositions), filing a registration statement on a clear day at a time when such filing does not trigger financial statement filing requirements may prove beneficial in comparison to waiting to file a registration statement at the time of a future public offering when such financial statement filing requirements could be triggered.

Cons include the need to incur the costs associated with registration and the potential adverse effect on the stock price due to the perception that the company is signaling the market that a deal is coming.

Our June Eminders is Posted!

We’ve posted the June issue of our complimentary monthly email newsletter. Sign up today to receive it by simply inputting your email address!

– John Jenkins