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Category Archives: Private Placements

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Private Placements and Other Financing Alternatives

Posted in Events, Private Placements

On April 15, 2013, Anna Pinedo will be chairing a one-day Practising Law Institute conference (live in New York City, with various groupcast locations, as well as live webcast) titled Private Placements and Other Financing Alternatives 2013.  This year’s conference will feature a number of sessions addressing JOBS Act-related developments, including an update on the… Continue Reading

JOBS Act at Year 1

Posted in Crowdfunding, Decimalization, Emerging Growth Company Status, Exchange Act Registration Thresholds, IPO On-Ramp, Private Placements, Regulation A+, Research, Rule 506 Rulemaking

Any milestone, such as an anniversary, provides an opportunity for reflection and evaluation.  At the one-year anniversary of the JOBS Act, preliminary experience gives reason for some optimism.  The centerpiece of the JOBS Act, the “IPO on-ramp” provisions contained in Title I, have proven quite useful.  The SEC Staff’s guidance in the form of Frequently… Continue Reading

FundersClub Obtains Broker-Dealer Registration No-Action Relief

Posted in Broker-Dealer Registration, Crowdfunding, Private Placements, Rule 506 Rulemaking, SEC News

On March 26, 2013, the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets provided no-action relief to FundersClub Inc. and FundersClub Management LLC, indicating that the Division would not recommend enforcement action under Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act if FundersClub and FundersClub Management LLC operated a platform through which its members could participate in Rule 506… Continue Reading

NASDAQ Private Secondary Market

Posted in Private Placements

According to a recent press release, Nasdaq will partner with SharesPost to establish the NASDAQ Private Market as a private secondary market, subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals.  Presumably, the market will benefit from increased private placement activity following enactment of the JOBS Act.

SecondMarket Study on Blue Sky Exemptions for Private Resales

Posted in Private Placements

We encourage you to read the in-depth study recently published by SecondMarket relating to the state blue sky exemptions available for private, or secondary, transfers by stockholders.  The study is available here: https://www.secondmarket.com/education/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SecondMarket-Blue_Sky_Report.pdf.  The study makes clear that there are significant inconsistencies in the exemptions that are available for private resales of securities by existing… Continue Reading

FINRA Updates Private Placement Filing Requirements FAQs

Posted in Private Placements

FINRA recently posted two updates to its Private Placement Filing Requirements FAQs. http://www.finra.org/Industry/Compliance/RegulatoryFilings/PrivatePlacements/FAQ/index.htm?utm_source=MM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly_Update_012313_FINAL#1-4. In the first update, FINRA clarified that the Rule 5123 filing obligation applies to private placements to any individual accredited investor, which includes officers, directors and general partners of the issuer (Rule 510(a)(4)) and entities in which all the equity owners are… Continue Reading

FINRA 5123 Becomes Effective; FINRA Releases FAQs

Posted in Private Placements

Earlier this week, FINRA Rule 5123 relating to private placements became effective, and FINRA released a set of FAQs (see http://www.finra.org/Industry/Compliance/RegulatoryFilings/PrivatePlacements/FAQ/index.htm) to provide market participants with additional guidance.  The FAQs clarify that only private placements that are made to institutional accredited investors are exempt from the filing requirements, while those made to accredited investors that… Continue Reading

Recent SEC Staff Comments on JOBS Act Implementation

Posted in Crowdfunding, Emerging Growth Company Status, Exchange Act Registration Thresholds, IPO On-Ramp, Private Placements, Regulation A+

The Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance has been discussing the JOBS Act at recent conferences, including the Practising Law Institute’s 44th Annual Securities Regulation Institute in New York and the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section Fall Meeting in Washington, DC.  David Lynn was the moderator of a JOBS Act panel at… Continue Reading

FINRA Rule 5123 to Become Effective in December

Posted in Private Placements

We have previously written about FINRA Rule 5123 (see http://www.mofo.com/files/Uploads/Images/120615-FINRA-Rule-5123.pdf) which will apply to private placements in which a FINRA member firm participates.  On September 5th, FINRA announced that the rule will become effective on December 3, 2012 for offerings commencing after such date.  See the full notice at http://www.finra.org/web/groups/industry/@ip/@reg/@notice/documents/notices/p163707.pdf FINRA Rule 5123 applies to… Continue Reading