Transactions

Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue we discuss: FCA Consultation Paper: Changes to Information Flows for UK Equity IPOs The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Consultation Paper CP26/14, which proposes to remove the mandatory seven-day waiting period before syndicate banks can publish connected research on an IPO issuer, and to remove the requirement for syndicate banks to share equal information with unconnected analysts. FCA review: key takeaways for market sounding practices The FCA’s review of market sounding practices has found no material impact on market quality but cautioned that the risk of information leakage increases with the scale of the sounding exercise. FCA Primary Market Bulletin No.62 This edition covers the FCA's enforcement action against Carillion's former directors, concerns regarding manipulative schemes targeting UK small-cap issuers, and observations from the FCA's review of sponsors' work on the modified transfer process. FTSE UK Index Series – What the New Free Float Rules Mean for Market Participants FTSE Russell has announced plans to align the minimum free float requirement for non-UK incorporated companies with that of UK incorporated entities. The proposed changes could have significant implications for non-UK incorporated companies seeking index inclusion. Equality (Race and Disability) Bill Following strong consultation support, the government has announced plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers with 250 or more employees.

The société par actions simplifiée (SAS) has become the dominant corporate vehicle for private equity investments, foreign investors and holding structures in France. However, unlike its more heavily regulated counterpart the société anonyme (SA), it provides minority shareholders with almost no statutory protections by default. This article sets out what the statutory framework actually provides, where the gaps are, and what a well-advised investor should insist upon before investing in a French SAS.