What are filing forms?
What it means and how to read it on a deal.
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What it is
The code on a source label names the kind of filing a fact comes from.
Also called8-KDEFM14ASC TO-T
How to read it
The ones a cash deal usually has:
- 8-KCurrent report
- A short report a public company files when something important happens, usually within four business days. Numbered items say what happened, such as signing or completing a deal.
- PREM14APreliminary proxy statement
- The first draft of the merger proxy. It's usually filed at least 10 calendar days before the final version is sent, so the SEC can review it. The meeting date may still be blank.
- DEFM14ADefinitive proxy statement
- The final merger proxy, sent to shareholders. It gives the meeting date and the record date, which usually decides who can vote. It also tells how the deal came about.
- DEFA14AAdditional proxy materials
- Other material the company uses to ask for votes, such as press releases, letters to shareholders and extra disclosures added to the proxy. It can be filed from the day the deal is announced.
- DEFM14CDefinitive information statement
- The final information statement, sent to shareholders. The deal can't be completed until at least 20 calendar days after it is sent.
- SC TO-TTender offer statement
- The tender offer itself, filed by the buyer: the price, the conditions and when it expires. It must usually stay open at least 20 business days. Since April 16, 2026, an agreed offer for all the shares, all in cash at a fixed price, can use 10, under conditions. Amendments report changes, extensions and, at the end, the result.
- SC 14D9The company's response
- The target company's answer to a tender offer, usually within 10 business days after it starts. In a 10-day offer, it's due by the next business day. It says whether the board recommends tendering, and why.
- SC 13E3Going-private statement
- Filed for certain going-private deals, where the company or an insider, such as a controlling shareholder, is on the buying side. Each filer must say whether it believes the deal is fair to unaffiliated holders, and why. The checklist says whether the deal's filings say this statement may be required, will be filed or has been filed.
Tracking AlphaBy Jera Value
