NASDAQ’s Conversion to a “National Securities Exchange�
Not much, if anything, has been written about NASDAQ’s conversion from a “national securities association� to a “national securities exchange.� (Press release here). Perhaps it’s because few people care, few people were aware that NASDAQ was not already a national securities exchange, and/or it doesn’t really matter. That all may be true, but it raises ... NASDAQ’s Conversion to a “National Securities Exchange�
Mutual Fund Name Changes
Today’s W$J has an article about mutual fund name changes entitled “The Bull Market in Mutual-Fund Name Changes.” Last year 719 funds changed their names, up from 505 the year before. Some name changes are the result of acquisitions. For example, following the acquisition of various Strong mutual funds, Wells Fargo changed their names to ... Mutual Fund Name Changes
Mastercard IPO Delayed
The W$J reports today (here) that Mastercard is likely to delay its IPO until the second quarter of this year. “The reason for the delay wasn’t clear yesterday, but two people familiar with the matter said that it isn’t related to a raft of [antitrust] lawsuits that recently have been filed by merchants against MasterCard.” ... Mastercard IPO Delayed
Vonage IPO and VoIP
Vonage, a provider of broadband telephone services, filed an IPO registration statement with the SEC today for the sale of $250 million of common stock. Basically, Vonage offers a cheap alternative to traditional phone service. For about $25 per month, you get unlimited calls to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada with all the bells ... Vonage IPO and VoIP
IPO Marketing Practices During the Waiting Period
The make or break time for an IPO from the underwriter’s perspective is the waiting period (the period of time beginning when the IPO registration statement is filed with the SEC and ending when the SEC declares the registration statement effective). This is when the underwriting syndicate is bookbuilding, i.e. actively marketing the deal and ... IPO Marketing Practices During the Waiting Period
Venture Backed Firms Going Public in London
This article from CFO.com reports that VCs have been having trouble taking their portfolio companies public in the U.S. largely because SOX has made it too expensive for small companies and the Wall Street research settlement has resulted in much less analyst coverage of small public companies. Larry Ribstein also talks about this here. As ... Venture Backed Firms Going Public in London
Live Blogging the Super Bowl
I will not be live blogging the Super Bowl. In my mind, live blogging an event is warranted only when (1) the event is not broadcast live, (2) the blogger can provide unique/insightful commentary, and (3) the event is of immediate interest to the blog’s audience. Me live blogging the Super Bowl definitely fails on ... Live Blogging the Super Bowl
A Big Bite of Whopper
The W$J reports today (click here) that Burger King will be taking on $350 million in additional debt to fund the majority of a $400 million pre-IPO special dividend to its private equity fund owners. IPO proceeds will then be used to pay down the debt, apparently leaving little, if any proceeds, leftover. The article ... A Big Bite of Whopper
Icahn Sued by Hedge Fund
Carl Icahn has been all over the news lately. I’m beginning to think it’s to garner publicty for the launch of a new reality show called something like “The Activist.� I would watch it. Anyway, today the W$J reports (click here) that Icahn is being sued by a hedge fund in connection with proposed transactions ... Icahn Sued by Hedge Fund
Record Hedge Fund Launch
The FT reports today that Jack Meyer, former manager of Harvard’s $25 billion plus endowment, has raised more than $5 billion for his new hedge fund, Convexity Capital. This represents the most successful launch in hedge fund history. Does this mean the talk of the decline of hedge funds was overblown? Perhaps not. Meyer is ... Record Hedge Fund Launch
Risk Allocation Provisions and Auditor Independence
I blogged previously about a W$J article on auditors including so-called liability caps in their client engagement letters (see here). My view was that it really wasn’t newsworthy because “liability limitation provisions are standard in contracts among sophisticated parties, so its not surprising that auditors include them in engagement letters.� Additionally, the provisions cited in ... Risk Allocation Provisions and Auditor Independence
Burger King IPO Announcement: Technical Violation of Securities Act?
Burger King announced today that it plans to file an IPO registration statement with the SEC in March (click here for a Reuters article). According to BK’s CEO: “Our goal has always been to take Burger King public . . . . We believe the transparency and stability in ownership offered by being a public ... Burger King IPO Announcement: Technical Violation of Securities Act?
