It’s been almost a year since Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (or JOBS Act). At the time, the passage of this bill was greeted with significant enthusiasm from the start-up community. Among other things, it provided for a crowdfunding exemption from securities registration requirements and a repeal of the prohibition on general solicitation of investors in connection with certain private offerings. A year later, how do things stand? In this first of a series of posts, I’ll explore how implementation of the JOBS Act has progressed and what we might expect in the future. [Read more…]
Private Offering Archives
U.S. House Votes to Adopt Six Measures Loosening Securities Regulation for Smaller Companies; Provisions Include Crowdfunding and “IPO On Ramp”
March 8, 2012 by
The U.S. House of Representatives voted earlier today (March 8, 2012) to pass the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. The bill is actually a compilation of six separate measures that have been proposed in Congress (and in some instances already passed in the House) which loosen securities restrictions on smaller companies. Here are brief summaries of each measure: [Read more…]
Working Effectively with Your Lawyer: Don’t “Recycle” Legal Work
December 29, 2011 by
Recycling is generally considered a good thing when it comes to trash. It helps the environment and conserves resources. However, in the context of legal work, it is not such a good thing. Of course, when I use the word “recycle,” I don’t mean recycling the paper that the legal documents are on. I’m talking about recycling the actual words on the page. When a client “recycles” their lawyer’s work which was performed on a previous deal and uses it in a new deal, the client is asking for trouble. [Read more…]
What does the future hold for crowdfunding legislation?
November 17, 2011 by
Previous, I summarized the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act (H.R. 2930), a bill which provides for a crowdfunding exemption to the registration requirements of federal and state securities laws. The bill was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, and now awaits U.S. Senate action. In this post, I’ll provide some of my thoughts on what is to come. [Read more…]
Rep. McCarthy (R-CA) introduces legislation to eliminate ban on general solicitation for private placements.
October 4, 2011 by
Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-CA and House Majority Whip) recently introduced the Access to Capital for Job Creators Act (H.R. 2940), which would remove the ban on general solicitation for securities offering conducted under Rule 506 of Regulation D. Rule 506 is a safe harbor regulation which sets forth some conditions that if met, will assure an issuer that its securities offering is exempt from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. The rule permits the sale of securities to up to 35 non-accredited but sophisticated investors and an unlimited number of accredited investors. However, the issuer must also avoid engaging in a “general solicitation,” which prohibits the issuer from conducting any public advertising of the offering. Rep. McCarthy’s bill would remove this prohibition on any offering conducted exclusively to accredited investors. [Read more…]
