CSA proposes easing of rules for business acquisition reports

Securities regulators’ latest effort to curb needless regulatory costs would raise the bar on the sorts of corporate acquisitions that trigger regulatory reporting requirements.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) are proposing changes to the requirements for companies to file reports detailing significant acquisitions, known as business acquisition reports (BARs).

“The proposed amendments are aimed at reducing the regulatory burden imposed by the BAR requirements in certain instances, without compromising investor protection,” the CSA says in a notice outlining its proposals.

Among other things, the CSA is proposing to alter what constitutes a significant transaction that must be reported by requiring that an acquisition meets two of the three existing tests for significance, and by increasing the significance threshold.

“Reporting requirements should be based on the relevance of the information to investors’ decision-making,” said Louis Morisset, chair of the CSA and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).

“These proposed changes align with the CSA’s goal of streamlining regulation without compromising investor protection.”

The proposals, which are out for comment until Dec. 4, only apply to non-venture issuers.

The CSA notes that it already addressed the issue for venture issuers in 2015.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.