As Washington’s budget standoff drags on, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled new guidance to keep America’s IPO pipeline from grinding to a halt. The regulator is offering an unprecedented workaround that allows companies to proceed with public listings even as nearly 90% of SEC staff remain furloughed.
The updated guidance, released Thursday, lets firms leave pricing details blank in their registration statements—giving them a rare chance to finalize prices later, once the agency reopens.
How the SEC’s New Strategy Works
Ordinarily, companies filing to go public include a “delaying amendment” in their registration documents. This legal mechanism pauses a filing’s automatic effectiveness after 20 days, ensuring SEC staff have time to review and comment. But with desks empty and emails unanswered during the shutdown, the usual process has stalled.
Under the new rules, firms can strip out that delaying amendment—allowing their registration statements to automatically become effective after 20 days without staff involvement. It’s a risky move that leaves companies vulnerable to mispricing or future enforcement actions once regulators return.
Still, Thursday’s guidance from the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance softens the blow by permitting companies to use a price range instead of locking in a fixed IPO price—an adjustment industry lawyers are calling “significant and unprecedented.”
