Proposed Rules Eliminating the Prohibition Against General Solicitation and Advertising in Rules 506 and 144A Offerings – Part II

As required by Title II of the JOBS Act, the SEC has published proposed rules eliminating the prohibition against general solicitation and advertising in Rules 506 and 144A offerings.  In a move that is widely supported by legal practitioners, including the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, the SEC has proposed simple modifications to Regulation D and Rule 144A mirroring the JOBS Act requirement.  The entire text of the rule release is available on the SEC website.

This Part II discussed the proposed amendments to Rule 144A.

Background

Title II of the JOBS Act, requires the SEC to amend Rule 144A to permit general solicitation and advertising in offerings under Rule 506, provided that all purchasers of the securities are qualified institutional buyers (QIB).  The JOBS Act requires that the rules require the issuer to take reasonable steps to verify that purchasers of the securities are QIB’s, using such