2020-11-12
Amendments to Policy Statement to Regulation 51-102 respecting Continuous Disclosure Obligations
Canadian securities regulators amended Policy Statement 51-102 to clarify that acquisitions constituting businesses for securities law purposes may not meet accounting definitions. The amendments revise significance tests by setting a 30% threshold for two tests for non-venture issuers and a 100% threshold for asset or investment tests for venture issuers. Additionally, the policy now requires carve-out financial statements when complete financial records of an acquired business are unavailable.

AMENDMENTS TO POLICY STATEMENT TO REGULATION 51-102
RESPECTING CONTINUOUS DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS
- Section 8.1 of Policy Statement to Regulation 51-102 respecting Continuous Disclosure
Obligations is amended by adding the following at the end of paragraph (4):
“Reporting issuers are reminded that an acquisition may constitute the acquisition of a
business for securities legislation purposes, even if the acquired set of activities or assets does not
meet the definition of a “business” for accounting purposes.”.
- Section 8.2 of the Policy Statement is amended by replacing paragraph (1) with the
following:
“(1) Application of Significance Tests – Subsection 8.3(2) of the Regulation sets out
the required significance tests for determining whether an acquisition of a business by a reporting
issuer is a “significant acquisition”. The application of the significance tests depends on the status
of the reporting issuer such that:
(a) if the reporting issuer is not a venture issuer, an acquisition is significant
if it satisfies 2 or more of the significance tests at a 30% threshold; or
(b) if the reporting issuer is a venture issuer, an acquisition is significant if it
satisfies either of the asset or investment test at a 100% threshold.
The test must be applied as at the acquisition date using the most recent audited
annual financial statements of the reporting issuer and the business.”.
- Section 8.6 of the Policy Statement is amended by replacing subparagraph (b) of
paragraph (4) with the following:
“(b) When complete financial records of the business acquired do not exist, carve-out
financial statements should be prepared.”.