Business & Entrepreneurship, Corporate & Securities Updates, Legal Updates
Background Under the current SEC offering process, companies seeking to raise capital through the sale of securities must either register the securities offering with the SEC or rely on an exemption from registration. Most of the exemptions from registration prohibit companies from engaging in general solicitation or general advertising – that is, advertising in newspapers or on the Internet among other things – in connection with securities offerings. Rule 506 of Regulation D is the most widely-used exemption from registration. In an offering that qualifies for the Rule 506 exemption, an issuer may raise an unlimited amount of capital from an unlimited number of “accredited investors” and up to 35 non-accredited investors. Under SEC rules, accredited investors are individuals who meet certain minimum income or net worth levels, or certain institutions such as trusts, corporations, or charitable organizations that meet certain minimum asset levels. JOBS Act In April 2012, Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act). Section 201(a)(1) of the JOBS Act directs the SEC to remove the prohibition on general solicitation or general advertising for securities offerings relying on Rule 506 provided that sales are limited to accredited investors and an issuer takes reasonable steps to verify that all purchasers of the securities are accredited investors. By requiring the SEC to remove this general solicitation restriction, Congress sought to make it easier for a company to find investors and thereby raise capital. While issuers will be able to widely solicit and advertise for potential investors, the JOBS Act required the SEC to adopt rules that “require the issuer to take reasonable steps to verify that...
