Securities Offerings 2012: Preparing Your Registration Statement, Negotiating the Underwriting Agreement

Transcription

Securities Offerings 2012: Preparing Your Registration Statement, Negotiating the Underwriting Agreement
Securities Offerings 2012:
Preparing Your Registration Statement,
Negotiating the Underwriting Agreement
and
Offering Mechanics
Presentation to the
Practising Law Institute
April 11, 2012
David K. Boston
Robert Evans III
Pamela A. Long
Topics
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Preparing Your Registration Statement
Underwriting and Distribution Arrangements
Offering Mechanics
Corporation Finance’s “Top 10” List for the IPO Process
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Preparing Your Registration
Statement
April 11, 2012
Presented by
Robert Evans III
Shearman & Sterling LLP
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Form S-1 and S-3

Form S-1: The default form for U.S. issuers, and used in IPOs
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Form S-3: Allows more flexibility if certain requirements are met,
including:
U.S. issuer must be required to file reports under the Exchange Act, and
have done so for the last 12 months
 Reports must have been timely filed for the last 12 months
 Since the end of the last year covered by its audited financial statements,
issuer cannot have failed to pay dividends on preferred stock or defaulted on
installments on indebtedness or on material leases
 Transaction requirements
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Form S-1 and S-3 (cont.)

Using a Form Check:
Start with the appropriate form;
 Identify all the information it requires;
 Consult the Rules (S-K and S-X) it refers to; and
 Do the same with all incorporated documents.
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Finding an appropriate model: comparable industry and comparable
size
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Deal Specific Registration vs. Shelf Registration
Deal Specific Registration
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More Details
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You register the amount and type of securities and go effective
Shelf
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Fewer Details
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Registration statement is filed for one or more classes of securities, not a specific
transaction
Less Time Needed
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A deal can take less time off an effective shelf than filing a new deal-specific
registration statement
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WKSIs
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WKSI – seasoned issuer that has either:
$700 million of worldwide public common equity float; or
 Issued $1 billion of non-convertible securities, other than common equity, in
registered offerings for cash, in the preceding three years.
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Automatic shelf registration – effective upon filing
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Typically need a new registration statement every three years
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Underwriting and Distribution
Arrangements
David K. Boston
April 11, 2012
Copyright © 2012 by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. All Rights Reserved. These course materials may not be reproduced or
disseminated in any form without the express permission of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
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Basic Underwriting Documents
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Underwriting Agreement (“UA”)
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Establishes basic relationship between issuer and underwriter
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Sets forth rights and obligations of issuer and underwriter
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Until executed, no binding agreement to purchase and sell securities
Agreement Among Underwriters
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Establishes terms of the relationship among members of an underwriting
syndicate
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Designates managing underwriter with the power to act on behalf of
syndicate
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Generally, the managing underwriter’s standing master agreement is used
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Underwriting Agreement—Introduction

UA generally executed after effectiveness of registration statement and at the
time the offering is priced

UA is basic agreement between the issuer (and any selling securityholders) and the
underwriters
 Contains issuer’s obligation to sell and the underwriters’ obligation to buy securities,
including terms and conditions applicable to offering
 Each underwriter’s obligation to purchase is several

The various component parts of the UA reflect that:
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Closing of the sale of securities occurs 3-4 business days after the UA is signed
– Closing conditions and termination provisions
Underwriters resell the securities they buy to investors and have securities law
liability for material misstatements in, and omissions from, the offering documents
– Indemnification and contribution provisions; issuer and selling securityholder
representations and warranties
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UA—Negotiations

Underwriters prefer to negotiate UA as early in registration process as
possible
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Actual negotiations limited, and most often underwriters’ counsel drafts the
UA based upon the managing underwriter’s form

Underwriters strongly resist straying too far from form UA
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However, a few sections are generally subject to negotiation, including
issuer’s representations and warranties, opinion of issuer’s counsel and
the “comfort” letter
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UA—Representations and Warranties
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Review of representations and warranties while negotiating the UA is a helpful due diligence exercise
Two basic categories: representations regarding the offering and representations regarding the issuer’s
business
In general, the representations regarding the business should be qualified by materiality; purpose is not to
generate breach claims
Offering representations include:
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Absence of material misstatement or omission in the preliminary prospectus, prospectus or any
free writing prospectuses (“FWPs”)
Due authorization of the securities to be offered
Due authorization of the UA
Business representations include:
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Absence of a material adverse change in the issuer’s business
Absence of defaults under charter and contracts
Absence of undisclosed liabilities and litigation
Possession of all necessary licenses and permits
Title to assets, etc.
Not subject to sanctions administered by OFAC
Absence of any violations of FCPA or anti-money-laundering laws
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UA—Representations and Warranties (Cont’d)
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Scope of business representations depends on the nature of the
issuer’s business

IP and patent representations included for a technology company

Regulatory compliance representations included for a regulated
business such as an insurer or a telecom company
Subsidiaries: If issuer has many subsidiaries, issuer will seek to
make representations only with respect to “important”
subsidiaries
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UA—Representations and Warranties (Cont’d)

In a secondary offering by securityholders:

Each selling securityholder should represent as to its authority to
act, title to securities being sold and accuracy of information
contained in prospectus with respect to that selling securityholder

Often a debate on whether and to what extent a selling
securityholder should give representations overlapping the
issuer’s representations
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UA—Issuer’s Covenants
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Refrain from using issuer FWPs without underwriters’ prior written consent
File issuer FWPs and any necessary amendments or supplements to
registration statement and prospectus and make requisite filings pursuant to
Rule 430A, 430B or 430C
Advise underwriters of any action taken by SEC or state authorities
Refrain from selling securities of same class, or securities convertible into
same class (often for 90 to 180 days), without consent of underwriters
 Time period may be extended if expiration of lock-up coincides with
issuer’s earnings release, so as to comply with FINRA rules regarding
publication of research reports by underwriters participating in a
previous offering of issuer
Qualify securities for listing on NYSE or Nasdaq
Deliver an “earning statement” as contemplated by Rule 158
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UA—Conditions to Closing
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Registration Statement declared effective, Rule 424 prospectus filed, no stop order
Issuer has not suffered a material adverse change
Neither the registration statement, prospectus nor pricing disclosure package includes
an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact
 The pricing disclosure package is the information conveyed to investors at the
time of sale – the most recent preliminary prospectus plus any pricing term sheet
(or comparable pricing information)
Underwriters receive certificates from senior officers of the issuer certifying that:
 The issuer’s representations and warranties are accurate as of closing date
 The issuer performed all its obligations under UA
 The registration statement, prospectus and pricing disclosure package are
materially correct
 No event has occurred since the pricing that would be required to be set forth in
an amendment or supplement to the registration statement or prospectus
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UA—Conditions to Closing (Cont’d)
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Opinion of issuer’s counsel
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Subject to extensive negotiation and varies widely from offering
to offering
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Possible “split” of opinions between issuer’s inside and outside
counsel
Opinion covers matters such as:
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Valid existence and good standing of issuer
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Securities, upon issuance, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully
paid and nonassessable
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Effectiveness of registration statement and that no stop order is in effect
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UA is duly authorized, executed and delivered by issuer
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UA—Conditions to Closing (Cont’d)
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Opinion covers matters such as (Cont’d):
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Issue and sale of securities will not conflict with issuer’s charter
or by-laws, applicable law or specified material contracts
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Other issuer-specific matters related to intellectual property,
regulatory approvals and regulatory disclosure, and material
foreign subsidiaries (these opinions often require intellectual
property, special regulatory and/or foreign counsel)
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UA—Conditions to Closing (Cont’d)

Issuer’s counsel delivers:
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Negative Assurance Letter (also referred to as a “10b-5
statement”)
–
Not an opinion, but instead a statement of the counsel’s view
regarding the absence of material misstatements in or omissions from
the offering documents
–
Financial statements and sometimes statistical data excluded from
scope of negative assurances
–
Also addresses pricing disclosure package as of the time of pricing
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UA—Conditions to Closing (Cont’d)
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“Comfort” letter
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Issuer must provide “comfort” letter from its independent
registered public accountants to underwriters in a form
satisfactory to the underwriters
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Delivered at time of execution of UA and on the closing date
(referred to as a “Bring-Down Comfort Letter”)
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Covers audited and unaudited financial statements and specified
financial information appearing throughout the preliminary
prospectus and the prospectus
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UA—Indemnification

Issuers indemnify underwriters for losses arising out of
untrue statements and omissions of material facts or
alleged untrue statements or omissions of material
facts contained in the registration statement, any
preliminary prospectus, any prospectus, the pricing
disclosure package and any issuer FWP

Selling securityholders indemnify underwriters for
information provided by selling securityholders and
sometimes with respect to information about the
issuer’s business
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UA—Indemnification (Cont’d)
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An underwriter’s obligations are narrow: to severally indemnify the issuer (and any
selling securityholders) for losses arising out of any material misstatements or
omissions made in reliance upon information furnished by the underwriter
 Information provided by underwriters is limited to specified information about
the underwriters or the mechanics of the offering
 Underwriters are not responsible for information about the issuer or the issuer’s
business even if the underwriters were involved in drafting the information
Contribution: UA contains contribution provisions due in part to the possibility that
the indemnification provisions could be challenged
 If indemnification is unavailable, contribution is based on either the relative
benefits of the offering between the issuer and the underwriter or the relative
fault of the parties
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UA—Termination
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UA is terminable by the underwriters if any conditions to the underwriters’ obligations are not
met
Underwriters also typically retain the right to terminate UA if certain events occur before
closing. Some of the events are specific to the issuer; others relate to the markets generally.
They include:
 Suspension in trading of the issuer’s securities
 Downgrading of the issuer’s debt by a credit-rating agency
 General suspension or limitation of trading on stock exchanges
 Declaration of general banking moratorium
 Material disruption in securities settlement, payment or clearance services
 Attack, outbreak or escalation of hostilities, declaration of war or act of terrorism
involving the United States makes it impractical or inadvisable to conduct offering
 Underwriters’ belief, in their discretion, that financial, political or economic conditions
have adversely affected the market for the securities (sometimes called the “market out”
clause)
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At the Market Offerings
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Alternative method of raising capital to an underwritten offering
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Used by more issuers, including several large, high-profile
companies
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Prevalence of at the market offerings a response to a volatile
financial market in which an issuer may be unable to complete a
larger underwritten offering
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Issuer sets up a program to “dribble out” shares into the market
over time
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At prevailing market price
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On a registered basis
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At the Market Offerings
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Different from an underwritten offering
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Conducted over a period of time (but there is generally a
maximum aggregate offering price)
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Issuer engages one or more broker-dealers to act as agents under
the program to sell shares on an agency (rather than firm
commitment underwritten) basis
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“Equity Distribution Agreement” versus Underwriting Agreement
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Neither the issuer nor the agent is obligated to sell any shares:
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on any day in which the issuer intends to sell shares, it notifies the
agent, and
–
the agent uses reasonable efforts to sell shares
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Equity Distribution Agreement (EDA)

Similar to a UA, in part because agent may have statutory underwriter
liability
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Similar provisions and points of negotiation (for example, extensive
representations on the issuer’s business; indemnification and contribution
provisions)

Agent typically requires customary diligence protections given to
underwriters in firm commitment underwritten offerings, such as:
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Legal opinions
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Comfort letter
Updates of diligence, including legal opinions and comfort letter, at least
quarterly so long as program is in effect
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EDA—Setting Up and Maintaining the Program
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EDA describes procedures by which to set up and maintain the
program:
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Issuer must have an effective shelf registration statement
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Issuer files prospectus supplement relating to the at the market
offering
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Parties sign EDA
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Agent receives legal opinions, 10b-5 statements and comfort letter
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Issuer files 8-K that includes the EDA
Termination – either the agent or issuer can suspend or
terminate program anytime
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EDA—Continuing Obligations

EDA sets forth continuing obligations of the parties under the
program:
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Opinions and 10b-5 statements
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Comfort letters
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Certificates
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Bring-down due diligence
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Prospectus supplements or disclosure in 1934 Act periodic reports
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Offering Mechanics
April 11, 2012
Presented by
Robert Evans III
Shearman & Sterling LLP
NYDOCS01/1293301.2
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Base Prospectus and Supplement
What is filed as part of a shelf registration statement (the “base”
prospectus):
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Cover of the Prospectus
Inside Front Cover
Incorporation by Reference (a.k.a. Where you can find more information)
The Company
Risk Factors
Use of Proceeds
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
Description of the Various Types of Securities Offered
Plan of Distribution
Legal Opinions
Experts
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Base Prospectus and Supplement (cont.)
What is filed with the prospectus supplement?
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Risk Factors
Terms of the Securities
Proceeds Table
Identity of the Underwriters
Specific Use of Proceeds
Tax Considerations
Underwriting Section
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Pricing and Closing
Pricing:
 Delivery of the Comfort Letter and execution of the Underwriting
Agreement
Closing
 T+3 standard, or if you price after market close, T+4
 Wiring of the funds, delivery of the securities
 Delivery of the Bring-down Comfort Letter and Legal Opinions
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Corporation Finance’s “Top 10” List
for the IPO Process
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Thank You
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