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Foreign private issuers<br />
individual investors. Alternatively,<br />
capital can be raised from qualified<br />
institutional investors only via a private<br />
placement, known as a Rule 144A<br />
offering.<br />
A Level II ADR program allows a foreign<br />
issuer to list on a U.S. stock exchange, but<br />
not raise capital. Under a Level I program,<br />
the ADRs are not listed, trading instead in<br />
the over-the-counter market.<br />
How ADRs are created: ADRs are<br />
normally created when the shares of a<br />
foreign issuer—either those currently<br />
trading in its local market or newly<br />
issued shares in connection with an<br />
offering of securities—are deposited<br />
with a depositary bank’s custodian<br />
in the issuer’s home market. The<br />
depository then issues to investors<br />
ADRs representing those shares. At<br />
any time thereafter, an investor can sell<br />
these ADRs in the secondary market<br />
(e.g., the NYSE) or have the sponsoring<br />
depositary bank cancel the ADRs and<br />
receive the underlying ordinary shares<br />
that can be sold in the foreign issuer’s<br />
local market.<br />
Setting up an ADR program: Once<br />
a foreign issuer has chosen an ADR<br />
structure, it will work closely with a<br />
depositary bank to establish and maintain<br />
the ADR program. Time frames and<br />
requirements for launching a program will<br />
vary. However, certain characteristics are<br />
common to any ADR structure.<br />
Setting the ADR-to-share ratio: Each<br />
ADR issued will represent a certain<br />
number of underlying ordinary shares<br />
held in custody in the foreign issuer’s<br />
home market. There is no official rule<br />
for setting the ratio for ADRs. However,<br />
the share prices of sector peers should<br />
be taken into consideration in order to<br />
establish a ratio that will result in an<br />
initial price per ADR that investors will<br />
perceive to be “attractive.”<br />
The ratio initially selected may affect<br />
the transaction costs that a foreign issuer’s<br />
investors will pay. For instance, since fees<br />
for issuance (and cancellation) are assessed<br />
in cents per ADR, an ADR that is priced<br />
“too low” can add incremental transaction<br />
costs for investors.<br />
U.S. investment in foreign equities<br />
6.0<br />
5.0<br />
4.0<br />
3.0<br />
2.0<br />
1.0<br />
0<br />
2.6<br />
2004<br />
Value ($ trillions)<br />
% Equity portfolio<br />
3.3<br />
2005<br />
4.3<br />
2006<br />
2007<br />
2008<br />
2009<br />
Parties that work with the foreign issuer:<br />
Establishing an ADR program requires close<br />
coordination between the foreign issuer,<br />
its chosen depositary bank and each firm’s<br />
legal counsel. When raising capital in the<br />
United States, the issuer also relies on other<br />
advisors, such as accountants, investment<br />
bankers and investor relations firms. The<br />
chart on page 100 summarizes the roles<br />
and responsibilities of each party involved.<br />
On page 101 is a sample timetable for the<br />
establishment of a Level III ADR program.<br />
The deposit agreement: As a first step<br />
toward establishing an ADR program, the<br />
foreign issuer and its chosen depositary<br />
bank negotiate a deposit agreement. This<br />
contract details the legal relationship<br />
and obligations of the depositary bank<br />
and the issuer, describes the services the<br />
depositary and issuer will provide and sets<br />
forth the rights of ADR holders and the<br />
fees they must pay the depositary bank.<br />
Some terms are standard, but deposit<br />
agreement provisions may vary from<br />
program to program depending on the legal<br />
requirements of the foreign issuer’s home<br />
market, the objectives of the depositary<br />
bank and individual issuer specifications.<br />
5.2<br />
2.7<br />
4.0<br />
4.6<br />
2010<br />
4.2<br />
2011<br />
4.6<br />
Q1 2012<br />
4.2<br />
Q2 2012<br />
Q3 2012<br />
Q4 2012<br />
The deposit agreement includes<br />
provisions relating to the following:<br />
• deposit of the issuer’s shares;<br />
• execution and delivery of the ADRs;<br />
• issuance of additional shares by the<br />
issuer in compliance with applicable<br />
securities laws;<br />
• transfer and surrender of the ADRs;<br />
• setting of record dates by the depositary;<br />
• voting of the foreign issuer’s<br />
underlying shares (i.e., the shares<br />
evidenced by the ADRs);<br />
• obligations and rights of the depositary<br />
bank and the holders of the ADRs;<br />
• distribution by the depositary of cash<br />
dividends, stock dividends, rights to<br />
acquire additional shares of the issuer and<br />
other distributions made by the issuer;<br />
• circumstances in which reports and<br />
proxies are to be made available to ADR<br />
holders;<br />
• tax obligations of depositary receipt<br />
holders;<br />
• fees and expenses to be incurred by<br />
the issuer, the depositary and ADR<br />
holders;<br />
• prerelease of ADRs; and<br />
• protections for the depositary and the<br />
issuer (i.e., limitations on liabilities)<br />
4.5<br />
4.7<br />
25%<br />
20%<br />
15%<br />
10%<br />
5%<br />
0%<br />
Source: Federal Reserve, March 2013<br />
NYSE IPO Guide<br />
99