PVECD
MARCH 16, 2014 BY ALEXANDER J. DAVIE: “Tier 2” offering exemption for offerings up to $50 million in addition to the existing Reg. A exemption for $5 million, now called a “Tier 1” offering. Changes to the rule comprise issuer eligibility requirements, requirements for the content and filing of offering statements, and ongoing issuer reporting requirements. Use of Tier 2 will trigger:
Enhanced disclosure requirements, including a requirement to provide audited financial statements.
Electronic filing of annual and semiannual reports and updates and other reporting requirements so long as stock is held by at least 300 record holders or until the issuer begins reporting under the Exchange Act.
A requirement that the investors’ purchase in the Reg. A offering be no more than 10% of the greater of their net worth or net income.
Preemption of state securities law registration.
In my view, the last item on that list is the most significant element of the proposed rules. The JOBS Act amended the Securities Act to add securities sold in a Tier 2 offering to the category of securities exempt from state registration if they were either offered or sold on a national securities exchange or offered or sold to a “qualified purchaser,” as defined by the SEC. The SEC took a very expansive approach to preemption, as the proposed rules do not require that the Tier 2 securities be listed on a national exchange, but rather that they be offered or sold to “qualified purchasers,” and define that term as all purchasers in a Tier 2 offering. If adopted, this would mean that all Reg. A Tier 2 offerings would have preemption, just as Rule 506 offerings do. Without preemption, issuers in a Tier 2 offering would have to either register or seek an applicable exemption in each state in which they wished to offer securities. With state preemption, issuers may find the new exemption an effective alternative for capital formation.
