North America: Corporate/Commercial Law

In a broad set of proposals announced last week, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is considering wide-ranging amendments to Canadian securities law.

After a brief dip in popularity in the Canadian public M&A market, contingent value rights, or CVRs, have seen renewed interest as acquirors and target companies look to bridge gaps on value attributable to a future milestone, asset or performance outcome. CVRs provide target shareholders with a contractual right to receive additional consideration post-closing if specified payment triggers are satisfied during their term; they are used to address circumstances where the parties agree on the base value of a company but disagree on specific (and contingent) drivers of value.

On April 16, 2026, the Division of Corporation Finance for the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an exemptive order (the “Order”) permitting certain equity tender offers to utilize an abbreviated offer period of as few as 10 business days, rather than requiring a tender offer remain open for at least 20 business days, as is currently required under Rule 13e-4(i) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).