SEC Adopts Revisions to the Cross-Border Business Combination Rules and Beneficial Ownership Reporting Rules for Certain Foreign Institutions

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted a number of amendments to the rules governing cross-border business combination transactions, which are scheduled to become effective on December 8, 2008. The rules were adopted in substantially the form proposed with some exceptions, and in large part codify existing staff interpretive and no-action positions and exemptive orders and address recurring areas of conflict or inconsistency between the U.S. rules and foreign regulations and practice. By adopting the rule amendments, the Commission hopes to encourage bidders for shares of foreign companies to open their offers to U.S. shareholders of those companies.