[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 167 (Thursday, August 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53040-53041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18808]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-297, OMB Control No. 3235-0336]


Proposal for OMB Review; Comment Request; Revision: Form N-14

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (``Paperwork Reduction Act''), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (the ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the 
collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to 
submit this existing collection of information to the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') for extension and approval.
    Form N-14 (17 CFR 239.23) is the form for registration under the 
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) (``Securities Act'') of 
securities issued by management investment companies registered under 
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) 
(``Investment Company Act'') and business development companies as 
defined by Section 2(a)(48) of the Investment Company Act in: (1) A 
transaction of the type specified in rule 145(a) under the Securities 
Act (17 CFR 230.145(a)); (2) a merger in which a vote or consent of the 
security holders of the company being acquired is not required pursuant 
to applicable state law; (3) an exchange offer for securities of the 
issuer or another person; (4) a public reoffering or resale of any 
securities acquired in an offering registered on Form N-14; or (5) two 
or more of the transactions listed in (1) through (4) registered on one 
registration statement. The principal purpose of Form N-14 is to make 
material information regarding securities to be issued in connection 
with business combination transactions available to investors. The 
information required to be filed with the Commission permits 
verification of compliance with securities law requirements and assures 
the public availability and dissemination of such information. Without 
the registration statement requirement, material information may not 
necessarily be available to investors.

                                                        Table 1--Burden Estimates for Initial Registration Statements Filed on Form N-14
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                                                                                                                                                                          Cost of
                                                                                                     Cost of      Annual             Annual        Internal burden        internal   Annual cost
                                            Internal burden                    Wage rate \1\         internal      cost             responses        (aggregate)           burden       burden
                                                                                                      burden      burden                                                (aggregate)  (aggregate)
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                                                                                  CURRENTLY APPROVED ESTIMATES
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Preparing and filing reports on Form   497.31 hours............      x   $348 (blend of            $173,063.88    $23,091      x          253  125,820 hours..........  $43,758,162   $5,842,000
 N[dash]14 generally.                                                     compliance attorney and
                                                                          senior programmer).
Preparation and review of exhibit      0.25 hours..............      x   348 (blend of compliance           87        300      x          253  63 hours...............       22,011       75,900
 hyperlinks.                                                              attorney and senior
                                                                          programmer).
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    Total Annual Burden..............  ........................  ......  ........................  ...........  .........  ......  ..........  125,883 hours..........   43,780,173    5,917,900
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                                                                                        REVISED ESTIMATES
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Preparing and filing reports on Form   610 hours...............      x   317.3 (blend of               193,554     27,500      x          156  96,160 hours...........   29,181,672    4,290,000
 N-14 generally.                                                          attorney, senior
                                                                          accountant, and
                                                                          paralegal).
Burden per amendment.................  290 hours...............      x   319 ((blend of attorney,       92,530     16,000      x           97  29,100 hours...........    8,674,710    1,552,000
                                                                          senior accountant, and
                                                                          paralegal).
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    Total Annual Burden..............  ........................  ......  ........................  ...........  .........  ......  ..........  125,260 hours..........   37,856,382    5,842,000
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Notes:
\1\ The Commission's estimates concerning the allocation of burden hours and the relevant wage rates are based on consultations with industry representatives and on salary information for the
  securities industry compiled by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's Office Salaries in the Securities Industry 2013. The estimated wage figures are modified by
  Commission staff to account for an 1800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits, overhead, and adjusted to account for the effects of
  inflation. See Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Report on Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013.

    As summarized in Table 1 above, the Commission has previously 
estimated that about 253 funds will make about 253 filings on Form N-14 
each year, incurring 125,883 hours of internal hour burden at a cost of 
about $43.78 million. The hour burden estimates for preparing and 
filing reports on Form N-14 are based on the Commission's experience 
with the contents of the form. The number of burden hours may vary 
depending on, among other things, the complexity of the filing and 
whether preparation of the forms is performed by internal staff or 
outside counsel.

[[Page 53041]]

    The amendments to Form N-14 to permit BDCs to incorporate certain 
information by reference into that form to the same extent as 
registered closed-end fund are expected to decrease the burden and 
costs for BDCs that prepare and file Forms N-14. As summarized in Table 
1 above, we estimate that the total internal burden associated with N-
14 will be 125,260 hours, at a cost of approximately $37,856,382.
    Estimates of average burden hours are made solely for the purposes 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act and are not derived from a comprehensive 
or even representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules 
and forms. The collection of information under Form N-14 is mandatory. 
The information provided under Form N-14 will not be kept confidential. 
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to 
respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate 
of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will 
be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 
days of this publication.
    Please direct your written comments to David Bottom, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Cynthia 
Roscoe, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549; or send an email to: 
[email protected].

    Dated: August 21, 2020.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-18808 Filed 8-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P