Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization

<RULE> SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION <CFR>17 CFR Parts 229, 232, 240, 249, and 274</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Release Nos. 34-99778; IC-35157; File No. S7-21-21]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Securities and Exchange Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule; technical amendments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is adopting technical amendments to various rules and forms under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) to reflect a Federal court's vacatur of rule amendments that the Commission adopted on May 3, 2023, to modernize and improve disclosure about repurchases of an issuer's equity securities that are registered under the Exchange Act (“Repurchase Rule”). The court's vacatur of the Repurchase Rule was effective as of December 19, 2023, and had the legal effect of reverting to the rules and forms that existed prior to the effective date of the Repurchase Rule. These technical amendments revise the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) to reflect the court's vacatur of the Repurchase Rule. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective April 8, 2024. The Federal court's vacatur of the rule amendments was applicable as of December 19, 2023. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Brian D. Sims, Special Counsel, Office of Rulemaking, at (202) 551-3430, Division of Corporation Finance; and, with respect to the application to investment companies, Andrew Deglin, Counsel, at (202) 551-6792, Investment Company Regulation Office, Division of Investment Management; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> The Commission is adopting technical amendments to the following rules and forms: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,r100"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Commission reference</CHED> <ENT>§§ 229.10 through 229.1305.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Item 408</ENT> <ENT>§ 229.408.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Item 601</ENT> <ENT>§ 229.601.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Item 703</ENT> <ENT>§ 229.703.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="22">Regulation S-T:</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Rules 10 through 903</ENT> <ENT>§§ 232.10 through 232.903.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Rule 405</ENT> <ENT>§ 232.405.</ENT> <ENT>§ 240.13a-21.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Form F-SR</ENT> <ENT>§ 249.333.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Form 20-F</ENT> <ENT>§ 249.220f.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Form 10-Q</ENT> <ENT>§ 249.308a.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Form 10-K</ENT> <ENT>§ 249.310.</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03">Form N-CSR</ENT> <ENT>§§ 249.331 and 274.128.</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1"> I. Background <FTREF/> </HD> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  15 U.S.C. 78a <E T="03">et seq.</E> </FTNT> On May 3, 2023, the Commission adopted the Repurchase Rule, which modernized and improved disclosures about repurchases of an issuer's equity securities that are registered under the Exchange Act, and it became effective on July 31, 2023. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Repurchase Rule. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The court's vacatur of the Repurchase Rule was effective as of December 19, 2023 and had the legal effect of reverting to the rules and forms that existed prior to the effective date of the Repurchase Rule. These technical amendments reflect the vacatur in the CFR by rescinding the changes to the rules and forms promulgated under the Exchange Act and the Investment Company Act, including the addition of new Form F-SR, that were implemented under the now vacated Repurchase Rule. The text of Forms 20-F, 10-Q, 10-K, and N-CSR do not appear in the CFR. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">Share Repurchase Disclosure Modernization,</E> Release No. 34-97424 (May 3, 2023) [88 FR 36002 (June 1, 2023)]. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">Chamber of Com. of the USA</E> v. <E T="03">SEC,</E> 88 F.4th 1115 (5th Cir. 2023). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Forms 20-F, 10-Q and 10-K can be found at: <E T="03">https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/forms/exchange.shtml</E> and Form N-CSR can be found at: <E T="03">https://www.sec.gov/files/formn-csr.pdf.</E> The court's order vacated new Form F-SR. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Procedural and Other Matters</HD> The Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) generally requires an agency to publish notice of a rulemaking in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> and provide an opportunity for public comment. This requirement does not apply, however, if the agency “for good cause finds . . . that notice and public procedure are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.”  <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B). </FTNT> The technical amendments do not impose any new substantive regulatory requirements on any person and merely reflect the vacatur of the Repurchase Rule. For these reasons, for good cause, the Commission finds that notice and public comment are unnecessary. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  This finding also satisfies the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 808(2), allowing the amendments to become effective notwithstanding the requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 (if a federal agency finds that notice and public comment are impractical, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest, a rule shall take effect at such time as the federal agency promulgating the rule determines). The amendments also do not require analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. <E T="03">See</E> 5 U.S.C. 604(a) (requiring a final regulatory flexibility analysis only for rules required by the APA or other law to undergo notice and comment). </FTNT> For similar reasons, although the APA generally requires publication of a rule at least 30 days before its effective date, the Commission finds there is good cause for the amendments to take effect on April 8, 2024. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). </FTNT> Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has designated these amendments not a “major rule,” as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). <HD SOURCE="HD1">Statutory Authority</HD> The amendments contained in this release are being adopted under the authority set forth in sections 12, 13, 15, and 23(a) of the Exchange Act, and Sections 8, 23, 24(a), 30, 31, and 38 of the Investment Company Act. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 17 CFR Parts 229, 232, 240, 249, and 274</HD> Reporting and record keeping requirements, Securities. </LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Text of Amendments</HD> For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Commission amends title 17, chapter II of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 229—STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILING FORMS UNDER SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 AND ENERGY POLICY AND CONSERVATION ACT OF 1975—REGULATION S-K</HD> <REGTEXT TITLE="17" PART="229"> 1. The authority citation for part 229 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority:</HD> 15 U.S.C. 77e, 77f, 77g, 77h, 77j, 77k, 77s, 77z-2, 77z-3, 77aa(25), 77aa(26), 77ddd, 77eee, 77ggg, 77hhh, 77iii, 77jjj, 77nnn, 77sss, 78c, 78i, 78j, 78j-3, 78l, 78m, 78n, 78n-1, 78o, 78u-5, 78w, 78ll, 78 mm, 80a-8, 80a-9, 80a-20, 80a-29, 80a-30, 80a-31(c), 80a-37, 80a-38(a), 80a-39, 80b-11 and 7201 <E T="03">et seq.;</E> 18 U.S.C. 1350; sec. 953(b), Pub. L. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1904 (2010); and sec. 102(c), Pub. L. 112-106, 126 Stat. 310 (2012). </REGTEXT> <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 229.408</SECTNO> <SUBJECT> [Amended]</SUBJECT> </SECTION> <REGTEXT TITLE="17" PART="229"> 2. Amend § 229.408 by removing and reserving paragraph (d). </REGTEXT> <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 229.601</SECTNO> <SUBJECT> [Amended]</SUBJECT> </SECTION> <REGTEXT TITLE="17" PART="229"> 3. Amend § 229.601 by: a. In the exhibit table in paragraph (a), removing and reserving entry (26); and b. Removing and reserving paragraph (b)(26). </REGTEXT> <REGTEXT TITLE="17" PART="229"> 4. Revise § 229.703 to read as follows: <SECTION> <SECTNO>§ 229.703</SECTNO> <SUBJECT> (Item 703) Purchases of equity securities by the issuer and affiliated purchasers.</SUBJECT> (a) In the following tabular format, provide the information specified in paragraph (b) of this Item with respect to any purchase made by or on behalf of the issuer or any “affiliated purchaser,” as defined in § 240.10b-18(a)(3) of this chapter of shares or other units of any class of the issuer's equity securities that is registered by the issuer pursuant to section 12 of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78 <E T="03">1</E> ). <GPOTABLE COLS="5" OPTS="L2,p8,8/8,i1" CDEF="s50,15,15,20,20"> <TTITLE>Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities</TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Period</CHED> <CHED H="1"> (a) Total number of shares (or units) <ENT I="22">Month #1 (identify beginning and ending dates).</ENT> </ROW> <ROW RUL="s"> <ENT I="22">Month #2 (identify beginning and ending dates).</ENT> </ROW> <ROW RUL="s"> <ENT I="22">Month #3 (identify beginning and ending dates).</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="03" O="xl">Total</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> (b) The table shall include the following information for each class or series of securities for each month included in the period covered by the report: (1) The total number of shares (or units) purchased (column (a)); <E T="03">Instruction to paragraph (b)(1) of Item 703:</E> Include in this column all issuer r ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 38k characters. 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