U.S. Securities Attorney Predicts International Financing of Public Companies to Expand

Atlanta, GA, September 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Atlanta based securities attorney Michael Stegawski, Managing Director of Convergent Advisory Services, P.A., has recently taken the focus of the law firm to an international front. Forecasting an overwhelming increase in the need for cross-border financing, particularly at the small and middle capitalization levels, the firm aims to facilitate a cost-efficient platform to help companies tap into the global capital markets.

When asked to comment, Mr. Stegawski provided "international financing is not a new phenomenon. The need and opportunity for investment to flow across national boundaries has existed and will continue on at an alarming rate. However, we have seen that global offerings of debt and equity from the U.S. have generally been restricted to issuers with tremendous wealth, companies which can afford competent legal counsel to decipher the inconsistencies and conflicts of international law, or those issuers which are distributing securities in violation of the law. The change we see forthcoming is standardization of regulation to facilitate capital flows as well as transparency to broader segments of the market."

In fact, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is actively involved in the international standardization on multiple fronts. In November of 2008, a proposal was extended for the potential use of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. issuers for domestic filings; which could require U.S. issuers to begin using the international standards by 2014. In Securities Act Release No. 33-8982, the Commission noted that "as capital markets have become increasingly global, U.S. investors have a corresponding increase in international investment opportunities. Today, investors, issuers and other capital markets participants are able to engage in financial transactions across national boundaries and to make investment, capital allocation and financing decisions on a global basis more readily than ever before. This is due in large measure to today's ever faster communications, and ever more linked markets. In this environment, we believe that U.S. investors would benefit from an enhanced ability to compare financial information of U.S. companies with that of non-U.S. companies." More recently, Hector Sans of the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority met with the Commission's chairman, Mary Schapiro, to discuss approaches to global regulatory requirements; including implementation of uniform reporting requirements for hedge fund managers and advisers.

Convergent Advisory Services, P.A. will place particular emphasis on offerings conducted in reliance on the safe harbor known as "Regulation S". Mr. Stegawski again noted "Regulation S has generated negative publicity as a method to circumvent the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933; whereby stock would be sold internationally and then quickly funneled back into U.S. markets or placed with unsophisticated investors that would become permanently locked into small investment positions. However, as we have witnessed and will continue to witness the growth of tremendous wealth internationally and greater transparency, foreign capital sources will only become more attractive and the need to redistribute back to the U.S. less of a concern."

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