Practice Area Blogs & Digests

The heat is rising in a battle that pits small popcorn manufacturer Candyland, Inc. against industry giants Cornfields and Snyder’s-Lance. 

Last week, the SEC proposed rules to enhance corporate disclosure of company policies for hedging transactions engaged in by directors, officers and other employees.

General Electric announced that it amended its bylaws to allow a shareholder or a group of up to 20 shareholders that has owned three percent or more of the company’s stock for at least three years to nominate and include in the company’s proxy materials directors constituting up to 20 percent of the board. 

A shareholder proposal sponsored by activist John Chevedden aimed at limiting long-tenured directors at Costco failed by a substantial margin at Costco’s annual meeting this year.

Glass Lewis, a prominent proxy advisory firm, has now added its views to the proxy access battlefront.

Typically, a public offer to purchase a substantial amount of a company’s debt or equity securities must remain open for 20 business days, in order to allow holders sufficient time to make an informed decision to participate.

A recent Seventh Circuit decision suggests public companies should take care when disclosing employment-related litigation.

In the wake of headline-making cyber breaches and class action lawsuits for data losses, companies face growing scrutiny and evolving legal and regulatory standards.

Pending a staff review of the scope and application of Exchange Act Rule 14a-8(i)(9), it will “express no views on the application of [that rule] during the current proxy season.”

The campaign by institutional investors to give shareholders the ability to nominate directors of U.S. public companies using the company’s ballot shows no signs of slowing and continues to evolve.