According to T.S. Eliot, “Between the idea and the reality falls the shadow.” Well, when it comes to compliance with government regulations on corporate deal-making, at times that shadow is cast by unnecessary legal detail.

U.S. publicly listed companies pursuing fundamental, transformative transactions are often required to obtain shareholder approval. That’s the idea and the reality. Unfortunately, that approval is often solicited though voluminous, repetitive proxy statements and other disclosure materials. The denseness and level of detail included in such materials can result in key information being drowned out, which means the materials are often ignored or misunderstood by average retail shareholders. That’s the shadow.