4.2.8.4. Current Reports: Form 8-K
Public companies must report certain important “current information” on Form 8-K. Unlike the quarterly and annual reports described previously, which must be filed regularly and which must include specific content, a company files an 8-K only when it has a material event to report to shareholders. The instructions for Form 8-K specify more than two dozen material events that must be reported. The following are the “triggering events” that are most relevant to investment bankers:
• Entry into or termination of a material definitive agreement not made in the ordinary course of business. This is an agreement that contains enforceable obligations or rights by one party against another. For example, when two companies agree to enter into a merger, a definitive agreement is signed between the two parties.
• A bankruptcy proceeding or receivership
• The acquisition or