Posted by Andrew Brady, Phyllis Korff and Michael Zeidel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, on Saturday, February 24, 2018
Editor's Note: Andrew Brady and Phyllis Korff are Of Counsel and Michael Zeidel is Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. This post is based on a Skadden publication by Mr. Brady, Ms. Korff, Mr. Zeidel, and Ryan Adams.
On February 2, 2018, the SEC approved the New York Stock Exchange’s proposal to permit qualifying private companies to use “direct listings” to list their shares on the NYSE and become publicly traded without conducting an initial public offering so long as the direct listing is accompanied by a concurrent Securities Act resale registration statement. Direct listings may provide an attractive alternative to a traditional IPO for private companies that do not need to raise public capital but desire to provide greater liquidity for existing shareholders and/or make their shares a more attractive currency for mergers and acquisitions activity.