We are pleased to bring you a substantial update to “Going Public: A Guide to U.S. IPOs for Founders, Officers, Directors and Other Market Participants,” which provides a complete overview of the U.S. IPO process for these and other market participants. This edition expands on developments relating to: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) trends Direct listings “Testing the waters” Roadshows in the COVID-19 era This alert memo is adapted from Adam E. Fleisher & Sophie…

The EU Taxonomy Regulation, which entered into force on 12 July 2020, introduces an EU-wide taxonomy (or combined glossary and classification system) of environmentally sustainable activities, as well as new disclosure requirements for certain financial services firms and large public interest entities. In short, the Taxonomy Regulation is intended to provide certain businesses and investors with a common language to identify the extent to which an investment may be considered environmentally sustainable – and more…

The 2020 ‘perfect storm’ of global economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed global political focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and the workers of the gig economy, plus the pall of smoke from unprecedented wildfires on five continents, is reinvigorating scrutiny from consumers, regulators and employees on ecological and social sustainability considerations, providing fresh impetus to sustainable finance. Regulatory developments are moving in tandem, particularly with respect to ESG labelling and transparency…

On November 11, the UK Government proposed a new national security screening regime that would allow the Government to intervene in “potentially hostile” foreign investments that threatened UK national security while “ensuring the UK remains a global champion of free trade and an attractive place to invest.” If approved by Parliament, the National Security and Investment Bill would introduce a mandatory and suspensory CFIUS-like regime. We expect the new regime will come into force in the first half…