Legend Requirements for Private Placements of Book-Entry Only Securities
With the coming into force of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus and Registration Exemptions(NI 45-106), the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) also adopted a number of consequential amendments to various related policies and instruments. These included consequential amendments to Multilateral Instrument 45-102 - Resale of Securities (now National Instrument 45-102 or NI 45-102).
Under NI 45-102, the first sale of securities issued in reliance upon certain private placement exemptions is considered to be a distribution (i.e. generally requiring a prospectus), unless certain prescribed conditions are satisfied. One of these conditions is that the certificate representing the security carries a legend indicating that the securityholder may not sell the security until the later of four months and a day after the acquisition date or the date the issuer becomes a reporting issuer. This requirement was amended, effective March 30, 2004 to respond to the increased use of book-entry-only securities. Since the time of this amendment, subsection 2.5(2)3 of NI 45-102 has required that the certificate representing the security, or an ownership statement issued under a direct registration system or other electronic book-entry system, carry the prescribed legend. Section 1.7 of the Companion Policy to NI 45-102 (the Companion Policy) stated (prior to the implementation of the amendment discussed below) that "[i]nvestors may receive either a paper certificate representing their security or an electronic alternative such as an ownership statement under a direct registration system."
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