Marketing Public Offerings In Canada: New Rules Provide Additional Flexibility

Recent amendments to the pre-marketing and marketing rules in connection with public securities offerings (other than offerings by mutual funds and investment funds) give both issuers and dealers additional flexibility in marketing public offerings (including the introduction of a limited exemption to the prohibition against marketing before the filing of a preliminary prospectus), while also imposing additional regulatory burdens, both during and after the waiting period. Many of the changes reflect the codification and clarification of existing practices and reflect the regulators' view that the prospectus is still the key disclosure document for investors. The revised rules also reduce some of the regulatory conflicts in Canada-U.S. public offerings. The amendments take effect on August 13, 2013.