The SEC has published a new set of guidelines for debt tender offers. The guidelines revise a set of no-action letters that have been issued over the years allowing issuers to complete debt tender offers without keeping them open for 20 business days under 14e-1(a) and/or without keeping them open for 10 business days after changing the consideration under 14e-1(b).
The new guidance opens the abbreviated procedure to high-yield issuers who previously could not take advantage of the exception. On the other hand, the new guidance imposes some additional obligations on issuers of investment grade debt.
Skadden, Arps has an excellent summary of the new SEC guidance here.