Fenwick partner Jeff Vetter was quoted by The Wall Street Journal on the risks that business leaders take when engaging in social or other media around the time of an initial public offering, when SEC rules bar companies from promoting their stocks.
The quiet period typically begins when a company has hired banks to begin the IPO process, Vetter told The Wall Street Journal, and remains in effect until 25 days after the first day of trading. If the SEC believes a quiet period has been violated, the IPO may be delayed.
Vetter said that delays to an IPO can be “very serious.” When stocks are volatile, he said, “you’d really hate to have a market window close as a result of having to wait for the impact of a news story to die down.”
The full article is available through the Wall Street Journal website.