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Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission) has announced a series of initiatives reorienting the Commission’s agenda to focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. In particular, the Commission is gearing up to develop a framework to address ESG disclosures, including climate change risk and diversity and inclusion metrics. According to Chairman Gary Gensler, an ESG disclosure rulemaking is a “top priority.” Accordingly, we expect the Commission could issue a proposed rulemaking regarding such disclosures later this year.
A CLIMATE AND ESG DISCLOSURE FRAMEWORK
On 15 March 2021, then-Acting Chair (now Commissioner) Allison Herren Lee delivered a speech discussing plans to establish an “ESG reporting framework that would complement our financial reporting framework” (ESG Speech).
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To say the SEC has signaled increased attention to ESG matters would be an understatement. Between February 24
th and April 12
th of this year, the SEC has posted on its website five public statements and two press releases that have a primary focus around ESG disclosures. The SEC also announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Division of Enforcement. The task force will include 22 members from the SEC’s headquarters, regional offices, and enforcement specialized units. Initially the task force will focus on material gaps or misstatements in issuers’ disclosure of climate risks under existing rules and will analyze disclosure and compliance issues relating to investment advisers’ and funds’ ESG strategies. Acting Deputy Director of Enforcement Kelly L. Gibson, who will lead the task force, pointed out that “Proactively addressing emerging disclosure gaps that threaten investors and the marke
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In light of the dramatic upswing in the use of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued several public statements highlighting concerns and issues related to SPACs and private operating companies that are going public through business combinations with SPACs. These business combinations are referred to as de-SPAC transactions.
On April 8, 2021, John Coates, Acting Director of the SEC s Division of Corporation Finance, published a statement titled
SPACs, IPOs and Liability Risk Under the Securities Laws, discussing the legal liability risks of de-SPAC transactions and traditional initial public offerings (IPOs).
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Acting Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission s
Division of Corporation Finance, John Coates, provided additional
comments on SPACs on April 8, 2021. Acting Director Coates
noted the unprecedented surge in SPAC activity.
He focused his comments on the legal liability that attaches
to disclosures made in connection with the de-SPAC transaction and,
in particular, to claims that he says have been made by practitioners and commentators that an advantage
of SPACs over traditional IPOs is lesser securities law liability
exposure for targets and the public company itself. In