HR 2864, the “Improving Access to Capital Act,” passed the US House of Representatives on September 5, 2017 with a lopsided bipartisan vote of 403-3. The short bill directs the SEC to permit full Securities Exchange Act reporting companies to use Regulation A+ for a public offering. Previously, only non-reporting companies could utilize the new streamlined approach with unlimited testing the waters capabilities.
Some smaller companies trading in the over-the-counter markets have been contemplating suspending their SEC reporting obligations to be able to move forward with a Reg A+ offering. If this bill passes the Senate and is signed by Pres. Trump, that would no longer be necessary. The bill makes clear that the company would be deemed to satisfy the post-offering reporting obligations under Reg A+ so long as they continue with full quarterly and other reporting required of most Exchange Act reporting companies.
As a practical matter, this change would only help companies trading in the over-the-counter markets with under $75 million market capitalization, companies that went public in the last year or those that have not made recent filings on a timely basis, since all others have some ability to utilize short registration Form S-3, which is a very simple and quick process even compared with Reg A+. It also avoids the limits on the value of shares that can be registered on Form S-3 for smaller exchange listed companies. But help it would.
