The Venture Alley - A blog about business and legal issues important to entrepreneurs, startups, venture capitalists and angel investors.

CONTRIBUTED BYAndrew Ledbetterandrew.ledbetter@dlapiper.com   As anticipated in our previous blogs, the SEC yesterday proposed rules to permit general solicitation and general advertising in Rule 506 and Rule 144A offerings.  The release proposes to create a new Rule 506(c), in which the prohibition against general solicitation would not apply to offers and sales of securities, provided that: The issuer takes reasonable steps to verify that the purchasers are accredited investors; All purchasers of the securities are accredited investors, either because they come within one of the enumerated categories or the issuer reasonably believes that they do, at the time of the... More

CONTRIBUTED BYAndrew Ledbetterandrew.ledbetter@dlapiper.com The SEC has made official what we blogged about yesterday:  Late yesterday it removed from its agenda for today’s meeting the consideration of general solicitation in Rule 506 and Rule 144A offerings.  The SEC also released a separate meeting notice for August 29, 2012, which states it will consider whether to propose rules to eliminate the prohibition against general solicitation and general advertising in securities offerings conducted pursuant to Rule 506 and Rule 144A. Since the SEC’s action would be to propose rules, it will follow the typical rulemaking process of accepting comments, considering them, and thereafter... More

CONTRIBUTED BYAndrew Ledbetterandrew.ledbetter@dlapiper.com Earlier this month, the SEC announced that at its meeting tomorrow it would be considering rules to eliminate the prohibition against general solicitation and general advertising in securities offerings conducted pursuant to Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act and Rule 144A under the Securities Act. However, in response to a flurry of comments, the SEC has clarified it will not be adopting interim final rules at the meeting tomorrow and, instead, would follow the usual rulemaking process of proposing revisions to the rules, receiving public comment on the proposals, considering those comments, and then... More

CONTRIBUTED BYMegan Muirmegan.muir@dlapiper.com  The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the JOBS Act), enacted in April this year, makes a variety of significant changes to securities laws, some of which relate to early-stage entrepreneurs, startup companies and venture capitalists concerned about fund raising with respect to their portfolio companies. In this article, I address provisions of the JOBS Act most applicable to startup companies and venture capitalists that fund them. In this piece, I will not be covering other changes in the Act such as broker/dealer regulations, “Reg A+”, or the changes to research reporting and analyst rules.  IPO On-Ramp The... More

CONTRIBUTED BYMegan Muirmegan.muir@dlapiper.com  Join us for a complimentary webinar regarding the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the "JOBS Act").  This one-hour webinar for venture capital investors, private equity firms, startup entrepreneurs, late stage companies and management of portfolio companies will cover the following provisions of the Act: The IPO “on-ramp” Reduced initial and ongoing reporting requirements for “emerging growth companies” Confidentiality of SEC registration statements Easing of restrictions on issuance of research reports by participating underwriters Private offerings Relaxation of prohibition on general solicitation in private offerings to accredited investors Increased stockholder thresholds before public company reporting requirements are triggered New... More