The Fairness Opinion Letter and Proxy / Prospectus Disclosure
Chapters in this video
- 0:00 Blake the banker and Ingrid the issuer: two audiences, two rules
- 1:10 FINRA's short board letter and the six disclosure items
- 2:49 SEC's proxy / prospectus and the investor-protection disclosures
- 4:21 Head-to-head showdown: selection method, summary of analyses, and the two-year window
- 5:27 Rapid-fire exam recap
What this video covers
- Why the fairness opinion letter is addressed to the board or special committee, delivered by the advisory firm (not any individual banker), and deliberately kept short
- The six FINRA disclosure items that must appear when the member knows or has reason to know the letter will reach public shareholders
- Why the opinion conclusion is locked to a specific date and what a "bring down" is required for
- The SEC's Regulation M-A proxy / prospectus disclosure framework and how it differs from the FINRA letter requirements
- Who sets the consideration amount and why the SEC requires disclosure of the advisor's qualifications, selection method, and two-year material relationships
- Why the SEC proxy demands a substantive summary of the valuation analyst's actual math and methodologies, not just a copy of the short letter
- The universal two-year lookback window that both regulators apply, and which unique disclosures belong to FINRA only (fairness committee, insider compensation) versus SEC only (selection process, substantive summary)
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