Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Form N-14

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-2736

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") is soliciting comments on the proposed collection of information discussed below.

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.

The following estimates of average burden hours and costs are made solely for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and are not derived from a comprehensive or even representative survey or study of the cost of Commission rules and forms. Compliance with Form N-14 is mandatory. Responses to the collection of information will not be kept confidential.

We estimate that approximately 141 new registration statements and 92 amendments to a registration statement are filed on Form N-14 annually, for a total of 233 registration statements. Based on conversations with fund representatives and the Commission's experience with the filing and amending of Form N-14 and with disclosure documents generally, we estimate that the reporting burden of compliance with Form N-14 is approximately 590 hours per respondent for a new Form N-14 registration statement, and 300 hours per respondent for amending the Form N-14 registration statement. This time is spent, for example, preparing and reviewing the registration statements. Accordingly, we calculate the total estimated annual internal burden of responding to Form N-14 to be approximately 103,685 hours. In addition to the burden hours, we estimate that the total cost burden of compliance with the information collection requirements of Form N-14 is approximately $3,401,800 for the cost of goods and services purchased to prepare and update registration statements on Form N-14, such as for the services of outside counsel.

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 this proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the SEC, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the SEC's estimate of the burden imposed by the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and the assumptions used; (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, electronic collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please direct your written comments on this 60-Day Collection Notice to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg, via an email to: [email protected] by March 17, 2026. There will be a second opportunity to comment on this SEC request following the Federal Register publishing a 30-Day Submission Notice.