Search Results for “Do I have to report trades before becoming a director?”

Q: Do I have to report trades before becoming a director?

A: Yes, in certain situations, the look-back rules in subsections 1.2(2) and 1.2(3) and section 3.5 of Ni 55-104 may require you to file an insider report on SEDi in relation to certain historical transactions. If an issuer becomes an insider of a reporting issuer, the CEO, CFO, COO, and every director of the first issuer must file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of the second issuer that occurred in the previous six months or for such a shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO, or director of the first issuer. Similarly, if a reporting issuer becomes an insider of another issuer, the CEO, CFO, COO, and every director of the second issuer must file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of the first issuer that occurred in the previous six months or for such a shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO, or director of the second issuer.

Section 4.1.10

Do I Need To Report For a Period Before I Was a Director, CEO, CFO or COO of the Relevant Reporting Issuer?

Yes. In certain situations, the “look-back” rules in subsections 1.2(2) and 1.2(3) and section 3.5 of NI 55-104 may require you to file an insider report on SEDI in relation to certain historical transactions.

Issuer as insider of reporting issuer – If an issuer (the first issuer) becomes an insider of a reporting issuer (the second issuer), the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of the first issuer must file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of the second issuer that occurred in the previous six months or for such shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO or director of the first issuer.

Reporting issuer as insider of other issuer – If a reporting issuer (the first issuer) becomes an insider of another issuer (the second issuer), the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of the second issuer must file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of the first issuer that occurred in the previous six months or for such shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO or director of the second issuer.

Example – If a reporting issuer (A Co) owns 5% of the common shares of another reporting issuer (B Co), and then acquires, on June 30, 2011, an additional 25% of B Co’s common shares through an exempt take-over bid, A Co will have become an “insider” (as defined in securities legislation) of B Co on June 30, 2011 because A Co has become a “significant shareholder” (as defined in NI 55-104) of B Co as of that date.

As a result of the special designation/determination provisions in subsections 1.2(2) and (3) of NI 55-104, the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of A Co are designated or determined to be insiders of B Co and the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of B Co are designated or determined to be insiders of A Co. (Section 1.2 of NI 55-104 uses the terms “designated” and “determined” to reflect the different terms used in securities legislation across Canada. They mean the same thing.)

Note that the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of A Co will also be insiders and reporting insiders of B Co under the ordinary definition of “insider” and “reporting insider”. However, the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of B Co would not normally be insiders and reporting insiders of A Co (unless they were insiders and reporting insiders in another capacity) since B Co would not be a “subsidiary” of A Co.

There are special reporting rules that apply to the period that precedes a take-over bid or similar acquisition. The purpose of these provisions is to address concerns over directors and officers of a company proposing to acquire a significant interest in another company by unlawfully “frontrunning” the acquisition through personal purchases of shares of the second company.

Section 3.5 of NI 55-104 requires the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of A Co to file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of B Co that occurred in the previous six months or for such shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO or director of A Co. Similarly, the CEO, CFO, COO and every director of B Co must file insider reports in respect of transactions relating to securities and related financial instruments of A Co that occurred in the previous six months or for such shorter period that the individual was a CEO, CFO, COO or director of B Co. When filing these transactions, we recommend that you select relationship code 8 on your insider profile.

Ontario Securities Act

Part XXI Insider Trading and Self-Dealing

Section 107

Insider Reporting

(1) Within 10 days of becoming an insider or within such other time period as may be prescribed, a person or company who becomes an insider of a reporting issuer, other than a mutual fund, shall file a report disclosing, in the prescribed manner and form, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership of or control or direction over securities of the reporting issuer and any interest in, or right or obligation associated with, a related financial instrument and the insider shall make such other disclosure as may be required by the regulations.

(2) Within 10 days, or within such other time period as may be prescribed, of any change in the direct or indirect beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, securities of the reporting issuer or any interest in, or right or obligation associated with, a related financial instrument, an insider of a reporting issuer, other than a mutual fund, shall file a report disclosing, in the prescribed manner and form, such change and the insider shall make such other disclosure as may be required by the regulations.

Exemptive Relief Orders

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 6 Exemption for Certain Issuer Grants

Section 6.4

Alternative reporting requirement

(1) A director or officer is exempt under section 6.2 from the insider reporting requirement if the insider files an insider report within the time period described in subsection (2) disclosing, on a transaction-by-transaction basis or in acceptable summary form, each acquisition and each specified disposition of a security under a compensation arrangement that has not previously been disclosed by or on behalf of the director or officer.

(2) The deadline for filing the insider report under subsection (1) is

(a) in the case of any security acquired under the compensation arrangement that has been disposed of or transferred, other than a security that has been disposed of or transferred as part of a specified disposition of a security, within five days of the disposition or transfer; and

(b) in the case of any security acquired under the compensation arrangement during a calendar year that has not been disposed of or transferred, and any security that has been disposed of or transferred as part of a specified disposition of a security, on or before March 31 of the next calendar year.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a director or officer if, at the time the insider report described in subsection (1) is due,

(a) the director or officer is not a reporting insider; or

(b) the director or officer is exempt from the insider reporting requirement.

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 6 Exemption for Certain Issuer Grants

Section 6.2

Reporting exemption

The insider reporting requirement does not apply to a director or officer for the acquisition of a security of the reporting issuer, or a specified disposition of a security of the reporting issuer, under a compensation arrangement established by the reporting issuer or by a subsidiary of the reporting issuer, if

(a) the reporting issuer has previously disclosed the existence and material terms of the compensation arrangement in an information circular or other public document filed on SEDAR;

(b) in the case of an acquisition of securities, the reporting issuer has previously filed in respect of the acquisition an issuer grant report on SEDI in accordance with section 6.3; and

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 9 General Exemptions

Section 9.3

Reporting exemption (certain insiders of investment issuers)

The insider reporting requirement does not apply to a director or officer of a significant shareholder, or a director or officer of a subsidiary of a significant shareholder, in respect of securities of an investment issuer or a related financial instrument involving a security of the investment issuer if the director or officer

(a) does not in the ordinary course receive or have access to information as to material facts or material changes concerning the investment issuer before the material facts or material changes are generally disclosed; and

(b) is not a reporting insider of the investment issuer in any capacity other than as a director or officer of the significant shareholder or a subsidiary of the significant shareholder.

Companion Policy to NI 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 9 Exemptions

Section 9.3

Reporting Exemption (certain directors and officers of insider issuers)

The reference to “material facts or material changes concerning the investment issuer” in section 9.3 of the Instrument is intended to include information that originates at the insider issuer level but which concerns or is otherwise relevant to the investment issuer. For example, in the case of an issuer that has a subsidiary investment issuer, a decision at the parent issuer level that the subsidiary investment issuer will commence or discontinue a line of business would generally represent a “material fact or material change concerning the investment issuer”. Similarly, a decision at the parent issuer level that the parent issuer will seek to sell its holding in the subsidiary investment issuer would also generally represent a “material fact or material change concerning the investment issuer.” Accordingly, a director or officer of the parent issuer who routinely had access to such information concerning the investment issuer would not be entitled to rely on
the exemption for trades in securities of the investment issuer.

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 5 Exemption for Automatic Securities Purchase Plans

Section 5.4

Alternative reporting requirement

(1) A director or officer is exempt under section 5.2 from the insider reporting requirement if the insider files an insider report within the time period described in subsection (2) disclosing, on a transaction-by-transaction basis or in acceptable summary form, each acquisition and each specified disposition of a security under an automatic securities purchase plan that has not previously been disclosed by or on behalf of the director or officer.

(2) The Deadline for filing the insider report under subsection (1) is,

(a) in the case of any securities acquired under the automatic securities purchase plan that have been disposed of or transferred, other than securities that have been disposed of or transferred as part of a specified disposition of securities, within five days of the disposition or transfer; and

(b) in the case of any securities acquired under the automatic securities purchase plan during a calendar year that have not been disposed of or transferred, and any securities that have been disposed of or transferred as part of a specified disposition of securities, on or before March 31 of the next calendar year.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a director or officer if, at the time the insider report described in subsection (1) is due,

(a) the director or officer is not a reporting insider; or

(b) the director or officer is exempt from the insider reporting requirement.

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 9 General Exemptions

Section 9.6

Reporting exemption (executor and co-executor)

The insider reporting requirement does not apply to a reporting insider for a security of an issuer beneficially owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by an estate if

(a) the reporting insider is an executor, administrator or other person or company who is a representative of the estate (referred to in this section as an executor of the estate), or a director or officer of an executor of the estate;

(b) the reporting insider is subject to the insider reporting requirement solely because of the reporting insider being an executor or a director or officer of an executor of the estate; and

(c) another executor or director or officer of an executor of the estate has filed an insider report that discloses substantially the same information as would be contained in an insider report filed by the reporting insider for securities of an issuer beneficially owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the estate.

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 3 Primary Insider Reporting Requirement

Section 3.2

Initial report

A reporting insider must file an insider report in respect of a reporting issuer, within 10 days of becoming a reporting insider, disclosing the reporting insider’s

(a) beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, whether direct or indirect, securities of the reporting issuer, and

(b) interest in, or right or obligation associated with, a related financial instrument involving a security of the reporting issuer.

Exemptive Relief Orders

National Instrument 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions

Part 6 Exemption for Certain Issuer Grants

Section 6.1

Interpretation

(1) In this Part, a reference to a director or officer means a director or officer who is

(a) a director or officer of a reporting issuer and a reporting insider of the reporting issuer, or

(b) a director or officer of a subsidiary of a reporting issuer and a reporting insider of the reporting issuer.

(2) In this Part, a reference to a security of a reporting issuer includes a related financial instrument involving a security of the reporting issuer.

(3) In this Part, a disposition or transfer of a security acquired under a compensation arrangement is a specified disposition of a security if

(a) the disposition or transfer is incidental to the operation of the compensation arrangement and does not involve a discrete investment decision by the director or officer; or

(b) the disposition or transfer is made to satisfy a tax withholding obligation arising from the distribution of a security under the compensation arrangement and either

(i) the director or officer has elected that the tax withholding obligation will be satisfied through a disposition of securities, has communicated this election to the reporting issuer or the administrator of the compensation arrangement at least 30 days before the disposition and this election is irrevocable as of the 30th day before the disposition; or

(ii) the director or officer has not communicated an election to the reporting issuer or the administrator of the compensation arrangement and, in accordance with the terms of the arrangement, the reporting issuer or the administrator is required to sell securities automatically to satisfy the tax withholding obligation.

National Instrument 62-104 Takeover Bids and Issuer Bids

Part 5 Reports and Announcements Of Acquisitions

Section 5.2

Early warning

(1) An acquiror who acquires beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, voting or equity securities of any class of a reporting issuer, or securities convertible into voting or equity securities of any class of a reporting issuer, that, together with the acquiror’s securities of that class, constitute 10% or more of the outstanding securities of that class, must

(a) promptly, and, in any event, no later than the opening of trading on the business day following the acquisition, issue and file a news release containing the information required by section 3.1 of National Instrument 62-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, and

(b) promptly, and, in any event, no later than 2 business days from the date of the acquisition, file a report containing the information required by section 3.1 of National Instrument 62-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues.

(2) An acquiror who is required to make disclosure under subsection (1) must make further disclosure, in accordance with subsection (1), each time any of the following events occur:

(a) the acquiror or any person acting jointly or in concert with the acquiror, acquires or disposes beneficial ownership of, or acquires or ceases to have control or direction over, either of the following:

(i) securities in an amount equal to 2% or more of the outstanding securities of the class of securities that was the subject of the most recent report required to be filed by the acquiror under subsection (1) or under this subsection;

(ii) securities convertible into 2% or more of the outstanding securities referred to in subparagraph (i);

(b) there is a change in a material fact contained in the most recent report required to be filed under paragraph (1)(b) or under paragraph (a) of this subsection.

(3) An acquiror must issue and file a news release and file a report in accordance with subsection (1) if beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, the outstanding securities of the class of securities that was the subject of the most recent report required to be filed by the acquiror under this section decreases to less than 10%.

(4) If an acquiror issues and files a news release and files a report under subsection (3), the requirements under subsection (2) do not apply unless subsection (1) applies in respect of a subsequent acquisition of beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, voting or equity securities of any class of a reporting issuer, or securities convertible into voting or equity securities of any class of a reporting issuer, that, together with the acquiror’s securities of that class, constitute 10% or more of the outstanding securities of that class.