Field Notes
What we look for in a related-party filing
A practical checklist for reading related-party transaction notices when the market is already reacting to the headline.
Related-party notices arrive with a ready-made story: conflict, fairness, and governance. Desks still need the dull details — consideration, valuation method named (or absent), independent advice referenced (or not), and whether the counterparty naming matches prior annual reports.
Five lines we always capture
- Parties and their disclosed relationship to the issuer
- Assets or services changing hands
- Price or pricing formula
- Approvals and abstentions described in the notice
- Cross-links to earlier circulars or annual-report related-party tables
Where briefs often stop short
We note when a fairness opinion is mentioned without an accessible summary, or when “independent” directors are named without stating who sat out. Those gaps belong in the memo; they are not automatic red flags by themselves.
Pairing with insider activity
If directors trade around the announcement, we treat that as a separate insider dealing review rather than a footnote — the questions differ even when the calendar overlaps.