It has been three years since Congress passed the JOBS Act in the hope that aiding “Emerging Growth Companies” would help create jobs. Among other things, the Act’s IPO on-ramp provisions were designed to encourage fledgling companies to go public, on the theory that that would boost employment. As discussed below, the legislation’s jobs creation
IPO-Related Securities Suit Filings Surge – in State Court?
A probable accompaniment of the increased IPO activity during 2013 and 2014 is an increase in IPO-related litigation, as I have previously noted. There has already been one high-profile IPO-related securities suit filed this year, the securities class action lawsuit filed last week against the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. And if the two additional
Exceptional 2014 U.S. IPO Activity Strongest in More Than a Decade
2014 was a very strong year for IPOs globally, but in the U.S., where there were more IPOs this year than any year since 2000, this was an “exceptional” year, according to the latest quarterly global IPO report from accounting and consulting firm EY. The report, entitled “EY Global IPO Trends: 2014 Q4” can be
IPO Companies and Fee-Shifting Bylaws
One of the more interesting recent developments in the D&O liability arena has been the emergence of issues surrounding fee-shifting bylaws. As readers will recall, in May 2014, the Delaware Supreme Court in the ATP Tours case upheld the validity of a non-stock corporation’s bylaw imposing attorneys’ fees on an unsuccessful claimant in an intra-corporate
JOBS Act Provisions Fuel IPO Surge, Raise Concerns
All eyes may be on the record-setting IPO of Chinese Internet firm, Alibaba, but the real IPO story for 2014 may be the significant number of IPOs this year involving smaller companies. The number of companies completing IPOs this year is on pace for the highest annual level since 2007, a surge in initial public
IPO-Related Securities Litigation Picks Up
In several posts of the last several months (most recently here), I have commented that with the increased number of IPOs, an increase in IPO-related securities litigation would likely follow. If the securities litigation filing activity over the last couple of weeks is any indication, the anticipated increase in IPO-related securities litigation has arrived.
The Pre-IPO Company and “Failure to Launch” Claims
Due to a combination of favorable circumstances, the number of companies completing initial public offerings is currently at the highest level in years. According to a recent study from Cornerstone Research (here), with the 112 IPOs in the first half of 2014, IPO activity is on pace to increase for the third consecutive
Here’s Something We Haven’t Seen for a While: An Increase in U.S. Public Companies
The number of companies with shares listed on U.S. stock exchanges increased last year compared to 2012, which is the first annual increase in the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. since 1997, according to information from the World Federation of Exchanges. As reflected in a February 5, 2014 Wall Street
Now Trending: Initial Public Offerings and IPO-Related Securities Suits
Led by Twitter’s successful offering earlier this year, IPO activity in the U.S. during 2013 has been at its highest levels since 2007. While the listing activity seems to bode well for the general economy as well as for the financial markets, the increased number of IPOs has also led to an uptick in IPO-related
First the IPO, Then the Lawsuit?
That sure didn’t take long.
GT Solar International completed its $500 million IPO on July 23, 2008. Then on August 1, 2008, a mere seven trading days later, the plaintiffs’ lawyers initiated a purported securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire against the company and