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Parent Disclosure: Why Is Everybody Always Picking on Me?

By John R. F. Baer

If there's one group that may be unhappy about the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Staff Report's proposed revisions to the FTC Franchise Rule, it's got to be the parents of franchisors (or maybe franchisors who have parents). The FTC really zapped it to parents, increasing the franchisor's disclosure burden with respect to its parent.

The current UFOC Guidelines do not define “parent,” although the Item 21 Instructions say that a company owning 80% or more of a franchisor may be required to include its financial statements. The FTC Staff Report recommends adding a definition of parent: “an entity that controls the franchisor directly, or indirectly through one or more subsidiaries.” (Proposed Section 436.2(m).) This definition is broad and at first blush seems appropriate, until we understand the impact the definition will have on franchisors and their parents. This definition affects Items 1, 3, 4 and 21. While the FTC Franchise Rule currently requires disclosure of certain information about the parent, most franchisors comply with the UFOC Guidelines, which do not directly reference the parent. Let's review the impact of the FTC Staff Report.

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