SEC Approves Changes To NYSE Shareholder Approval Rule

On March 20, the SEC approved the 2018 NYSE proposal to amend Sections 312.03 and 312.04 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, modifying the price requirements for purposes of determining whether shareholder approval is required for certain issuances. As previously noted in this PubCo post, this proposal is remarkably similar to the one that the SEC approved for Nasdaq in 2018 (see  this PubCo post), so its approval here was not unexpected.  Just like the Nasdaq rule, the NYSE modification:

• changes the definition of market value for purposes of the shareholder approval rule to the lower of the closing price and five-day average closing price; and
• eliminates the requirement for shareholder approval of issuances at a price less than book value but at least as great as market value.