December 4, 2023
Repurchase Disclosure Rule: SEC Unable to Meet Deadline
Just before Thanksgiving, the SEC announced an order officially staying the share repurchase disclosure rule and filed a motion with the 5th Circuit requesting more time to remedy deficiencies in the rule. Both the order and request followed the Court’s October ruling that the share repurchase rulemaking was “arbitrary & capricious” — requiring that the Commission fix it by November 30. As Liz shared last week, the Court denied that motion, which left the SEC only a few days to comply.
On December 1, following the expiration of the remand deadline, the SEC’s Office of General Counsel submitted a letter to the Court acknowledging the Commission was unable “to correct the defects in the rule” within the required 30-day period. Cooley’s Cydney Posner addressed the expected next steps in this blog:
Presumably, the Court will now vacate the rule and it will be up to the SEC to decide whether to appeal the decision or to try again with a new share repurchase proposal—this time one that addresses the defects identified by the Court.
– Meredith Ervine