The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have published amendments to the business acquisition report (BAR) requirements for non-venture reporting issuers.
The amendments aim to reduce regulatory burden and address certain concerns expressed by stakeholders, the regulators said in a release on Thursday.
“The amendments narrow the circumstances under which a BAR must be filed to transactions that are the most relevant to investors’ decision-making,” said Louis Morisset, CSA chair, and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “These changes reflect the CSA’s drive to streamline regulation without compromising investor protection.”
For non-venture issuers, the amendments will change the criteria for determining whether a completed acquisition is significant, based on three tests set out in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations.
The amendments require that at least two of the three existing significance tests in that instrument are triggered (previously, one test had to be triggered), and increase the significance threshold in those tests to 30% from 20%.
The amendments are being adopted following a consultation process, including comment letters and other stakeholder feedback, as well as consideration of historical data on past BAR filings and exemptive relief granted.
Provided all necessary ministerial approvals are obtained, the amendments will be effective on Nov. 18, 2020, the release said.