Rob Lando
Jun 4, 2020
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published amendments to their “at-the-market” (ATM) offerings rules that will allow Canadian issuers more “flexibility,” Osler partner Rob Lando tells The Globe and Mail. In his article, author Mark Rendell explains how these amendments will remove “requirements that companies apply for certain securities law exemptions before launching an ATM, and removing caps on the number of shares a company can sell using an ATM.” Rob, a partner in Osler’s Corporate Group and an expert in Capital Markets, says that traditionally, the lack of Canadian interest in ATMs was in part due to “regulatory hurdles issuers needed to jump through to launch ATMs.” He says that while the CSA almost always granted the necessary exemptions, “having to apply for them was an unnecessary speed bump.” That’s why Rob says that these new amendments, which become effective on August 31, 2020, will make things easier for Canadian issuers.
The changes “provide people with the flexibility of putting the option of an ATM program right into their shelf prospectus at the outset without having to spend extra time or money applying for permission to have it,” Rob tells The Globe and Mail.
For more information on the impact of the CSA amendments, read our Osler Update, “Amendments to ‘at-the-market’ equity offerings a welcome change.”
If you subscribe to The Globe and Mail online, read more in author Mark Rendell’s article, “Canadian regulators ease rules, make it easier for companies to issue shares and raise new capital” on June 4, 2020.