SEC Final Rule Changes For Exempt Offerings – Part 3
Posted by Securities Attorney Laura Anthony | February 19, 2021 Tags:

On November 2, 2020, the SEC adopted final rule changes to harmonize, simplify and improve the exempt offering framework.  The new rules go into effect on March 14, 2021. The 388-page rule release provides a comprehensive overhaul to the exempt offering and integration rules worthy of in-depth discussion.  As such, like the proposed rules, I am breaking it down over a series of blogs with this second blog discussing offering communications including new rules related to demo days and generic testing the waters.  The first blog in the series discussed the new integration rules (see HERE).  The second blog in the series covered offering communications (see HERE).  This third blog focuses on amendments to Rule 504, Rule 506(b) and 506(c) of Regulation D.

Background

The Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) requires that every offer and sale of securities either be registered with the SEC or exempt from registration.  The purpose of registration is to provide investors with full and fair disclosure of material information so that they are able to make their own informed investment and voting decisions.

Offering exemptions are found in Sections 3 and 4 of the Securities Act.  Section 3 exempts certain classes of securities (for example, government-backed securities or short-term notes) and certain transactions (for example, Section 3(a)(9) exchanges of one security for another).  Section 3(b) allows the SEC to exempt certain smaller offerings and is the statutory basis for Rule 504 and Regulation A.  Section 4 contains all transactional exemptions including Section 4(a)(2), which is the statutory basis for Regulation D and its Rules 506(b) and 506(c).  The requirements to rely on exemptions vary from the type of company making the offering (private or public, U.S. or not, investment companies…), the offering amount, manner of offering (solicitation allowable or not), bad actor rules, type of investor (accredited) and amount and type of disclosure required.  In general, the greater the ability to sell to non-accredited investors, the more offering requirements are imposed.

Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act exempts transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering from the Act’s registration requirements.  Section 4(a)(2) does not limit the amount a company can raise or the amount any investor can invest.  Rule 506 is “safe harbor” promulgated under Section 4(a)(2).  If all the requirements of Rule 506 are complied with, then the exemption under Section 4(a)(2) would likewise be complied with.

Rule 506 is bifurcated into two separate offering exemptions.  Rule 506(b) allows offers and sales to an unlimited number of accredited investors and up to 35 unaccredited investors – provided, however, that if any unaccredited investors are included in the offering, certain delineated disclosures, including an audited balance sheet and financial statements, must be provided to potential investors. Rule 506(b) prohibits the use of any general solicitation or advertising in association with the offering. Rule 506(c) allows for general solicitation and advertising; however, all sales must be strictly made to accredited investors and the company has an additional burden of verifying such accredited status. In a 506(c) offering, it is not enough for the investor to check a box confirming that they are accredited, as it is with a 506(b) offering.

For a chart on the exemption framework incorporating the new rules, see Part 1 in this blog series HERE.

Rule 506(c) Verification Requirements

Rule 506(c) allows for general solicitation and advertising; however, all sales must be made to accredited investors and the company must take reasonable steps to verify that purchasers are accredited.  It is not enough for the investor to check a box confirming that they are accredited, as it is with a 506(b) offering.  For more on Rules 506(b) and 506(c), see HERE.

Rule 506(c) provides for a principles-based approach to determine whether an investor is accredited as well as setting forth a non-exclusive list of methods to determine accreditation.  After consideration of the facts and circumstances of the purchaser and of the transaction, the more likely it appears that a purchaser qualifies as an accredited investor, the fewer steps the company would have to take to verify accredited investor status, and vice versa. Where accreditation has been verified by a trusted third party, it would be reasonable for an issuer to rely on that verification.

Examples of the type of information that companies can review and rely upon include: (i) publicly available information in filings with federal, state and local regulatory bodies (for example: Exchange Act reports; public property records; public recorded documents such as deeds and mortgages); (ii) third-party evidentiary information including, but not limited to, pay stubs, tax returns, and W-2 forms; and (iii) third-party accredited investor verification service providers.

The SEC has added a new item to the non-exclusive methods of verification.  In particular, where the company has previously gone through the steps to verify accredited status for an existing investor, it can rely on the written representation that the investor continues to qualify as an accredited investor as long as the company is not aware of information to the contrary.  With the rule change, the entire non-exclusive methods of verification included in the rule are:

  1. Review of copies of any Internal Revenue Service form that reports income including, but not limited to, a Form W-2, Form 1099, Schedule K-1 and a copy of a filed Form 1040 for the two most recent years along with a written representation that the person reasonably expects to reach the level necessary to qualify as an accredited investor during the current year.  If such forms and information are joint with a spouse, the written representation must be from both spouses.
  2. Review of one or more of the following, dated within three months, together with a written representation that all liabilities necessary to determine net worth have been disclosed.  For assets: bank statements, brokerage statements and other statements of securities holdings, certificates of deposit, tax assessments and appraiser reports issued by third parties and for liabilities, credit reports from a nationwide agency.
  3. Obtaining a written confirmation from a registered broker-dealer, an SEC registered investment advisor, a licensed attorney, or a CPA that such person or entity has taken reasonable steps to verify that the purchaser is an accredited investor within the prior three months.
  4. A written certification verifying accredited investor status from existing accredited investors of the company that have previously invested in a 506(b) offering with the same issuer prior to the enactment of 506(c); and
  5. A written representation from a person at the time of sale that he or she qualifies as an accredited investor where the company previously took reasonable steps to verify such person as an accredited investor in accordance with the rules, and so long as the company is not aware of information to the contrary.  A written representation under this method of verification will satisfy the issuer’s obligation to verify the person’s accredited investor status for a period of five years from the date the person was previously verified as an accredited investor.

The SEC has provided guidance on the application of some of the non-exclusive methods of verifying accredited status.  To wit:  related to jointly held property, assets in an account or property held jointly with a person who is not the purchaser’s spouse may be included in the calculation for the accredited investor net worth test, but only to the extent of his or her percentage ownership of the account or property.  Where the most recent tax return is not available but the two years prior are, a company may rely on the available returns together with a written representation from the purchaser that (i) an Internal Revenue Service form that reports the purchaser’s income for the recently completed year is not available, (ii) specifies the amount of income the purchaser received for the recently completed year and that such amount reached the level needed to qualify as an accredited investor, and (iii) the purchaser has a reasonable expectation of reaching the requisite income level for the current year.  However, if the evidence is at all questionable, further inquiry should be made.

The new rule release reaffirms that the rule is meant to be principles-based and that by offering suggested methods of verification, the SEC is not discouraging any reasonable methods a company may deem appropriate.  Companies are encouraged to consider (i) the nature of the purchaser and the type of accredited investor that the purchaser claims to be; (ii) the amount and type of information that the company has about the purchaser; and (iii) the nature of the offering, such as the manner in which the purchaser was solicited to participate in the offering, and the terms of the offering, such as a minimum investment amount.

Rule 506(b); Harmonization of Disclosure Requirements

Rule 506(b) has scaled disclosure requirements based on the size of the offering, where unaccredited investors are included.  Prior to the amendments, the scaled requirements were broken into 4 categories.  The amended rules update the information requirements for investors under Rule 506(b) where any unaccredited investors are solicited to align with information required under Regulation A.  For Rule 506(b) offerings up to $20 million, the same financial information that is required for Tier 1 Regulation A offerings, is now required.  For offerings greater than $20 million, the same financial information that is required for Tier 2 Regulation A offerings is now required.

In standardizing the 506(b) and Regulation A disclosures, the SEC has eliminated the ability to only provide a balance sheet where a company has trouble getting financial statements when conducting a Rule 506(b) offering.  Foreign private issuers may provide the financial information in either U.S. GAAP or IFRS as would be permitted in a registration statement.

If the company is not subject to the Exchange Act reporting requirements, it must also furnish the non-financial statement information required by Part II of Form 1-A or Part I of a Securities Act registration statement on a form that the issuer would be eligible to use (usually Form S-1).  If the company is subject to the Exchange Act reporting requirements, it must provide its definitive proxy with annual report, or its most recent Form 10-K.  These information requirements only apply where non-accredited investors will be solicited to participate in the offering.

Finally, as mentioned in Part I of this blog series related to integration where an issuer conducts more than one offering under Rule 506(b), the number of non-accredited investors purchasing in all such offerings within 90 calendar days of each other is limited to 35.

Rule 504

On October 26, 2016, the SEC passed new rules to modernize intrastate and regional securities offerings. The final new rules amended Rule 147 to allow companies to continue to conduct intrastate offerings under Section 3(a)(11) of the Securities Act and created a new Rule 147A to accommodate adopted state intrastate crowdfunding provisions.  Rule 147A allows intrastate offerings to access out-of-state residents and companies that are incorporated out of state, but that conduct business in the state in which the offering is being conducted.  At that time, the SEC also amended Rule 504 of Regulation D to increase the aggregate offering amount from $1 million to $5 million and to add bad-actor disqualifications from reliance on the rule.  For more on the 2016 rule amendments, see HERE.

Even with the increased offering limits, as of today only approximately 2% of all Regulation D offerings under $5 million, rely on Rule 504.  The amended rules hope to encourage the use of Rule 504 by raising the offering limits to $10 million in any 12-month period.

Rule 504 is unavailable to companies that are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, are investment companies or are blank-check companies.  Rule 504 does not have any specific investor qualification or limitations.  However, Rule 504 does not pre-empt state law and as such, the law of each state in which an offering will be conducted must be reviewed and complied with.

Bad-Actor Provisions

Rules 504, 506(b), 506(c), Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding all have bad-actor disqualification provisions.  While the disqualification provisions are substantially similar, the look-back period for determining whether a covered person is disqualified differed between Regulation D and the other exemptions.  The amended rules harmonize the bad-actor provisions among Regulations D, A and Crowdfunding by adjusting the look-back requirements in Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding to include the time of sale in addition to the time of filing.

Under Regulation D, the disqualification event is measured as of the time of sale of the securities in the offering.  Prior to the amendment, the look-back period was measured from the time the company files an offering statement for both Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding.  However, the SEC believes that it is important to look to both the time of filing of the offering document and the time of the sale with respect to disqualifying bad actors from participating in an offering.  The amended rules add “or such sale” to any look back references in Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding.

As a refresher, the bad actor rules relate to certain activities or events involving covered persons.  Covered persons include:

  • The issuer and any predecessor of the issuer or affiliated issuer;
  • Any director, general partner or managing member of the issuer and executive officers (i.e., those officers that participate in policymaking functions) and officers who participate in the offering (participation is a question of fact and includes activities such as involvement in due diligence, communications with prospective investors, document preparation and control, etc.);
  • Any beneficial owner of 20% or more of the outstanding equity securities of the issuer calculated on the basis of voting power (voting power is undefined and meant to encompass the ability to control or significantly influence management or policies; accordingly, the right to elect or remove directors or veto or approve transactions would be considered voting (for SEC guidance on voting control, see HERE;
  • Investment managers of issuers that are pooled investment funds; the directors, executive officers, and other officers participating in the offering; general partners and managing members of such investment managers; the directors and executive officers of such general partners; and managing members and their other officers participating in the offering (i.e., the hedge fund coverage; the term “investment manager” is meant to encompass both registered and exempt investment advisers and other investment managers);
  • Any promoter connected with the issuer in any capacity at the time of the sale (a promoter is defined in Rule 405 as “any person, individual or legal entity, that either alone or with others, directly or indirectly takes initiative in founding the business or enterprise of the issuer, or, in connection with such founding or organization, directly or indirectly receives 10% or more of any class of issuer securities or 10% or more of the proceeds from the sale of any class of issuer securities other than securities received solely as underwriting commissions or solely in exchange for property”);
  • Any person who has been or will be paid, either directly or indirectly, remuneration for solicitation of purchasers in connection with sales of securities in the offering; and
  • Any director, officer, general partner, or managing member of any such compensated solicitor.

Disqualifying events include:

  • Criminal convictions (felony or misdemeanor) within the last five years in the case of issuers, their predecessors and affiliated issuers, and ten years in the case of other covered persons, in connection with the purchase or sale of any security; involving the making of a false filing with the Commission; or arising out of the conduct of the business of an underwriter, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, investment adviser or paid solicitor of purchasers of securities;
  • Court injunctions and restraining orders, including any order, judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, entered within five years before such sale that, at the time of such sale, restrains or enjoins such person from engaging or continuing to engage in any conduct or practice in connection with the purchase or sale of any security; involving the making of a false filing with the Commission; or arising out of the conduct of the business of an underwriter, broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, investment adviser or paid solicitor of purchasers of securities;
  • Final orders issued by a state securities commission (or any agency of a state performing like functions), a state authority that supervises or examines banks, savings and associations, or credit unions, state insurance regulators, federal banking regulators, the CFTC, or the National Credit Union Administration that, at the time of the sale, bars the person from association with any entity regulated by the regulator issuing the order or from engaging in the business of securities, insurance or banking or engaging in savings association or credit union activities; or constitutes a final order based on a violation of any law or regulation that prohibits fraudulent, manipulative, or deceptive conduct within the last ten years before the sale;
  • Any order of the SEC entered pursuant to Section 15(b) or 15B(c) of the Exchange Act or section 203(e) or (f) of the Investment Advisors Act that, at the time of such sale, suspends or revokes such person’s registration as a broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or investment advisor; places limitations on the activities, functions or operations of such person; or bars such person from being associated with any entity or from participating in the offering of any penny stock;
  • Is subject to any order of the SEC entered within five years before such sale that, at the time of such sale, orders the person to cease and desist from committing or causing a violation of future violation of any scienter-based anti-fraud provision of federal securities laws (including, without limitation, Section 17(a)(10) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, Section 15(c)(1) of the Exchange Act and Section 206(1) of the Advisor Act, or any other rule or regulation thereunder) or Section 5 of the Securities Act;
  • Suspension or expulsion from membership in, or suspension or bar from association with, a member of an SRO, i.e., a registered national securities exchange or a registered national or affiliated securities association for any act or omission to act constituting conduct inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade;
  • Has filed (as a registrant or issuer), or was or was named as an underwriter in, any registration statement or Regulation A offering statement filed with the Commission that, within five years before such sale, was the subject of a refusal order, stop order, or order suspending the Regulation A exemption, or is, at the time of such sale, the subject of an investigation or proceeding to determine whether a stop order or suspension order should be issued; and
  • U.S. Postal Service false representation orders, including temporary or preliminary orders entered within the last five years.

For further reading on SEC guidance on the bad actor provisions, see HERE.

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