ASA Statement on SEC’s SPACs Disclosure Standards Rulemaking

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Securities Association (ASA) today issued the following statement from President & CEO Chris Iacovella on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopting amendments mandating new disclosure and financial statement requirements by special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs):

“While ASA welcomes efforts to increase transparency and investor protections in the SPAC market, effective policy should achieve these goals while allowing the market to function efficiently. The rules adopted today do the opposite, instead, they will chill participation in the SPAC market and reduce the ability of private companies to access public capital markets,” said ASA President & CEO Chris Iacovella. “The SEC’s rule treats de-SPAC transactions like traditional IPOs by removing existing legal protections and arbitrarily redefining what it means to be an underwriter. This directly conflicts with the Securities Act and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and completely disregards a core mission of the SEC: facilitating capital formation.”

In May 2022, ASA submitted a comment letter to the SEC in response to the SPACs proposal.  

###

About the American Securities Association

American Securities Association, based in Washington, DC, represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.

www.americansecurities.org