Canadian securities regulators seek comment on proposed amendments to business acquisition report requirements

Montreal – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published for comment proposed amendments to the business acquisition report (BAR) requirements for reporting issuers that are not venture issuers.

The proposed amendments aim to reduce regulatory burden and address certain concerns expressed by stakeholders by narrowing the circumstances under which a BAR must be filed.

“Reporting requirements should be based on the relevance of the information to investors’ decision-making,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “These proposed changes align with the CSA’s goal of streamlining regulation without compromising investor protection.”

Currently, a reporting issuer that is not a venture issuer must file a BAR after completing a significant acquisition if any one of the three significance tests set out in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102) exceeds 20 per cent.

For reporting issuers that are not venture issuers, the proposed amendments will:

  • alter the determination of significance such that an acquisition of a business or related businesses is significant only if at least two of the three existing significance tests set out in NI 51-102 are triggered; and
  • increase the significance threshold from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.

The comment period will close on December 4, 2019.

The proposed amendments to NI 51-102 and related changes to certain companion policies can be found on CSA members’ websites.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

For Investor inquiries, please refer to your respective securities regulator. You can contact them here

For media inquiries, please refer to the list of provincial and territorial representatives below or contact us at media@acvm-csa.ca:

Kristen Rose
Ontario Securities Commission
416-593-2336

Sylvain Théberge
Autorité des marchés financiers
514-940-2176            

Brian Kladko
British Columbia Securities Commission
(604) 899-6713

Hilary McMeekin
Alberta Securities Commission
403-592-8186

Jason (Jay) Booth
Manitoba Securities Commission
204-945-1660

Sara Wilson
Financial and Consumer Services
Commission, New Brunswick
506-643-7045

David Harrison
Nova Scotia Securities Commission
902-424-8586

Steve Dowling
Government of
Prince Edward Island,
Superintendent of Securities
902-368-4550

Renée Dyer
Office of the Superintendent
of Securities,
Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-4909

Rhonda Horte
Office of the Yukon Superintendent
of Securities
867-667-5466

Jeff Mason
Nunavut Securities Office
867-975-6587

Tom Hall
Office of the Superintendent
of Securities
Northwest Territories
(867) 767-9305

Shannon McMillan
Financial and Consumer Affairs
Authority of Saskatchewan
306-798-4160