Initial Public Offerings & the Securities Act of 1933> Registration of Securities> Registration Statement Filing

Pros and Cons for a Company Going Public

Directors' Ignorance of Corporate Affairs

To carry out fully their duties and responsibilities to shareholders and the corporation, directors must be reasonably familiar with the workings of the corporation and have a general knowledge of how the corporation conducts its business. Directors are not expected to have superior knowledge about all business and financial aspects of the corporation, but they are assumed to have competent knowledge of the duties they have taken on when named to the board.

Federal Antitrust Actions by States

States are "persons" within the meaning of the Clayton Act and are entitled to bring actions on their own behalf for damages resulting to State property from violation of provisions of federal antitrust laws. For example, a state may bring a federal antitrust action for treble damages against companies that agreed on what bids would be made on a state construction project.

The Federal Antitrust Law Exemption for State Action

Federal antitrust laws are considered inapplicable to economic regulation by the States. In Parker v. Brown, 317 U.S. 341 (1943), the Supreme Court reasoned that in the "dual system of government" of the United States, any subtraction by Congress from the sovereign powers of the states must be explicitly stated. Nothing in the Sherman Act (the first federal antitrust law) or in the legislative history of the Sherman Act indicated a Congressional intent to subject state regulatory activities to the Sherman Act.

WASTE OF CORPORATE ASSETS

WASTE OF CORPORATE ASSETS