|
FACT SHEETEliminating the Prohibition on General Solicitation and General Advertising in Certain OfferingsSEC Open MeetingJuly 10, 2013BackgroundCurrent 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 purchasers of the securities are accredited investors, using such methods as determined by the Commission." In other words, there is no restriction on who an issuer can solicit, but an issuer faces restrictions on who is permitted to purchase its securities. The law also directed the SEC to amend Rule 144A under the Securities Act, an exemption from registration that applies to the resale of securities to larger institutional investors known as qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Under current Rule 144A, offers of securities can only be made to QIBs. Under the new rule, Rule 144A is amended so that offers of securities can be made to investors who are not QIBs as long as the securities are sold only to persons whom the seller reasonably believes are QIBs. 2012 Proposal Last August, in order to comply with the Congressional mandate to implement Section 201(a)(1) of the JOBS Act, the Commission proposed a rule that would remove the general solicitation ban for certain 506 offerings in which sales of securities would be limited to accredited investors and issuers would be required to take reasonable steps to verify such accredited status. After doing so, the Commission received numerous comments, including requests seeking greater clarification on the types of verification that would be considered reasonable under the rule. Commenters also suggested that the SEC consider measures that they believed would provide additional protections for investors in connection with removing the general solicitation ban. Several of those additional measures identified by these commenters are included in a separate proposal that the Commission approved today. New RulemakingRule 506 The final rule approved today makes changes to Rule 506 to permit issuers to use general solicitation and general advertising to offer their securities provided that:
Under existing Rule 501, a person qualifies as an accredited investor if he or she has either:
The determination of the reasonableness of the steps taken to verify an accredited investor is an objective assessment by an issuer. An issuer is required to consider the facts and circumstances of each purchaser and the transaction. Nevertheless, in response to commenters' requests, the final rule provides a non-exclusive list of methods that issuers may use to satisfy the verification requirement for individual investors. The methods described in the final rule include the following:
The existing provisions of Rule 506 as a separate exemption are not affected by the final rule. Issuers conducting Rule 506 offerings without the use of general solicitation or general advertising can continue to conduct securities offerings in the same manner and aren't subject to the new verification rule. Rule 144A Under the final rule, securities sold pursuant to Rule 144A can be offered to persons other than QIBs, including by means of general solicitation, provided that the securities are sold only to persons whom the seller and any person acting on behalf of the seller reasonably believe to be QIBs. Form D The final rule amends Form D, which is the notice that issuers must file with the SEC when they sell securities under Regulation D. The revised form adds a separate box for issuers to check if they are claiming the new Rule 506 exemption that would permit general solicitation or general advertising. What's Next The rule amendments become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2013/2013-124-item1.htm
|