Tag: private securities exemptions

SEC adopts amendments to harmonize private offering exemptions

Yesterday, the SEC adopted, by a vote of three to two, amendments designed to harmonize and simplify the patchwork universe of private offering exemptions. The final amendments were informed by feedback received from the March 2020 proposal, the SEC’s advisory committees and the SEC’s Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation, as well as engagement with investors and companies. According to Chair Jay Clayton, the amendments “reflect a comprehensive, retrospective review of a framework that has, over time, unfortunately become difficult to navigate, for both investors and businesses, particularly smaller and medium-sized businesses…. Today’s amendments would rationalize that framework, increase efficiency and facilitate capital formation, while preserving or enhancing important investor protections.” Here is the almost 400-page adopting release. The final amendments will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

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SEC posts proposal to harmonize private securities offering exemptions

As seems to be common practice these days, the SEC cancelled its open meeting scheduled for this morning and instead went ahead and posted its proposal to amend the rules to harmonize and simplify the framework for private securities offering exemptions. Here is the 341-page proposing release and the related press release. The proposal draws on input received in response to the SEC’s concept release issued in June of last year (see this PubCo post), which sought public comment on ways to  promote capital formation, to harmonize and streamline the patchwork universe of private placement exemptions and “to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor protections.”  Currently, the framework has 10 different exemptions or safe harbors, with different sets of requirements. As SEC Chair Jay Clayton said in a 2018 speech, the current framework would not likely exist as it is if the SEC were starting with blank slate. The comment period will be open for 60 days.