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Chapter 8
FOCUS
In this chapter we introduce several major legal aspects of fundraising for the new
venture. We discuss the central role of the Securities Act of 1933 and the exemptions
available to ventures seeking to issue securities without having to register them with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
CHAPTER OUTLINE
133
134 Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing
APPENDIX A:
Schedule A (Securities Act of 1933, as Amended)
Requirements for Registration of Securities other than a Security Issued by
Foreign Government or Political Subdivision Thereof
APPENDIX B:
Selected Regulation D Materials
Regulation D’s “Preliminary Notes”
Rule 501: Definitions and Terms used in Regulation D
Rule 502: General Conditions to be Met
Rule 503: Filing of Notice of Sales
Rule 507: Reg D Disqualification Provisions
Rule 508: Reg D Insignificant Deviations Clause
Rule 144 (§ 230.144)
APPENDIX C:
Other Forms of Registration Exemptions and Breaks
Rule 701
Rule 1001
Regulation SB
1. Briefly define the (a) Securities Act of 1933 and (b) Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
The Securities Act of 1933 is the main body of federal law governing the creation
and sale of securities. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 deals with the
mechanisms and standards for public security trading.
2. Briefly discuss the (a) Investment Company Act of 1940 and (b) Investment Advisers
Act of 1940.
3. What is meant by the term “blue sky” laws and how do these laws apply when issuing
securities?
Blue Sky Laws are the state laws designed to protect individuals from investing in
fraudulent securities offerings. They are the state equivalent of the federal securities
laws.
The term “security” means any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture,
evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest or participation in any profit-
sharing agreement, collateral-trust certificate, preorganization certificate or
subscription, transferable share, investment contract, voting-trust certificate,
certificate of deposit for a security, fractional undivided interest in oil, gas, or
other mineral rights, any put, call, straddle, option, or privilege on any
security, certificate of deposit, or group or index of securities (including any
interest therein or based on the value thereof), or any put, call, straddle,
option, or privilege entered into on a national securities exchange relating to
foreign currency, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known
as a “security,” or any certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or
interim certificate for, receipt for, guarantee of, or warrant or right to
subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing.
Any investment considered to be a security under the 1933 Act comes under its
provisions. In particular, unless an exemption is secured, it must be registered with
the SEC prior to being offered to the public.
6. Briefly describe what is meant by the statement “Registering securities with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is both costly and a time-consuming
process.”
There is a great deal of expertise involved in preparing the documents and filings
associated with a public offering. Most ventures do not have the resources to employ
a staff specializing in this area. Consequently the venture will retain legal and
investment banking experts to assist in the offering. The associated costs are
substantial and require much of the information be provided by venture insiders (the
time element) who typically have been working on the non-financial aspects of
growing the venture.
7. Identify some of the types of securities that are “exempt” from registration with the
SEC.
136 Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing
Some of the exempt securities are: government securities (federal and state),
securities issued by banks, certain securities issued by insurance companies and
certain securities of not-for-profit issuers.
8. Briefly describe what is meant by an intrastate offering. What are the major
difficulties in assuring that an offer is intrastate?
An intrastate offering is one where the issuer and investors are considered by federal
securities law to be confined to one state. SEC Rule 147 lays out guidelines under
which the SEC will consider the offering to be intrastate.
9. Identify and briefly describe two basic types of transactions that are exempt from
registration with the SEC.
The most widely used exemption is the private placement exemption: transactions by
an issuer not involving any public offerings. The accredited investor exemption is a
second transaction exemption and lays much of the groundwork for the types of
exemptions that involve a certain type of investor.
10. What does the term accredited investor mean in terms of the Securities Act of 1933?
Why does the designation matter?
Accredited investors under the 1933 Act are assumed to have sufficient financial
expertise and wherewithal to make an intelligent and informed investment decision.
Formally:
11. Briefly describe the importance of the 1953 SEC vs. Ralston Purina case in terms of
securities registration requirements.
The U.S. Supreme Court took an important step toward defining a private (nonpublic)
offering in SEC v. Ralston Purina. The case involved the sale of securities to
employees. The court found that because Ralston Purina’s offering included
employees who would not necessarily have access to the appropriate type of
information, it did not fall within the private placement exemption of the 1933 Act.
Reg D provides a set of safe harbor conditions under which an issuer can shield
themselves from SEC action for failure to register securities.
13. What are the restrictions on general solicitation and advertising covered in Rule
504?
Rule 504 is the most lenient and the only exemption in Reg D that allows for any
conditions under which the solicitation can be to the general public. The specific
conditions under which general solicitation and advertising are allowed, in the current
form of Reg D, relates to state registrations and information dissemination. Issuers
considering general solicitation in connection with a 504 offering would be well-
advised to seek specific legal counsel on the current conditions required in a 504
offering.
14. How do Rules 504, 505, and 506 of Reg D differ from one another?
Rule 506 has no limits on the amount raised, but has a limit of 35 investors that fall in
categories that have to be counted and those 35 must be “sophisticated.” Rule 505
has a monetary limit of $5 million and a limit of 35 investors that fall into categories
that must be counted. Rule 504 has a $1 million limit but no limit on the number or
sophistication of investors.
15. Provide a brief description of the use of Regulation A when issuing securities.
16. Briefly describe how the SEC’s Regulation D expanded the original Securities Act of
1933 definition of an “accredited investor.”
138 Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing
For the purposes of Reg D, investors are considered accredited if they fall into one of
eight categories. Rather than leaving the notion of “accredited” as vague (thus
making the safe harbor less certain), the SEC chose to provide specific criterion
whereby an individual can be designated as “accredited.”
17. What are the income and net worth requirements for being an accredited investor?
What in the requirements for designation as an accredited investor relates to the level
of sophistication? Do the criteria act as good proxies for sophistication?
The income requirements are currently $200,000 for single filers and $300,000 for
married filers. The wealth requirement is $1,000,000. While the requirements for
accredited investor status do not necessarily reflect “sophistication”, they appear to
create categories highly correlated with sophistication or the ability to hire
sophisticated advisers during the investment decision process.
18. What are the four conditions of a Reg D offering that are covered under Rule 502?
Rule 502 (§ 230.502) deals with four conditions of a Reg D offering: integration
(when multiple issues count as one), information (what you need to disclose when
you must formally disclose), solicitation (what you can’t do when promoting the
offering) and resale (serious restrictions).
19. What is integration as it applies to securities offerings and why does it matter?
Integrated offerings are those that may be treated as combined into one offering. For
integrated offerings it is the aggregated total dollar amount which must not exceed the
dollar limits of the Reg D exemption being sought.
When required, the type of information to be disclosed varies by the venture’s status
and size. Summarizing from the Reg D text:
(B) financial statement information depending on the size of the offering and
ranging from S-B and S-B2 type information up to the same financial
statements as required in a regular registration.
21. What is a restricted security? Why does this designation matter? What types of
buyers must the owner of restricted securities find?
Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing 139
Restricted securities cannot be freely resold. This is the typical status of securities
sold in a private placement. The resale of restricted securities typically requires
locating an accredited investor as a buyer.
Rule 508 allows for the possibility that an offering will be granted safe harbor when
the only deviations from Reg D’s requirements are deemed to be “insignificant.”
24. Briefly describe the types of exemptions from registration of securities covered under
Rules 701 and 1001.
25. From the Headlines – Sustainable Northwest: Describe the organizational structure
of Sustainable Northwest Wood and its relationship to the 501(c)3 firm Sustainable
Northwest. Do you see any financing limitations under that structure that would not
arise if both were for-profit operations?
Answers will vary: Sustainable Northwest Wood is a for-profit lumber yard selling
wood products harvested in a sustainable fashion. Supporting such commercial
operations and fostering such industries is one of the goals of the 501(c)3 firm
Sustainable Northwest. Financiers could rightly be concerned that the 501(c)3
would exert too much influence on the profit-seeking behavior of the for-profit
lumber yard. This could cause them to be reluctant to offer financing. If both
entities were for-profit, there would most likely be less concern, but there would also
be no tax deductibility for donations to the 501(c)3 entity, cutting of some of the
support base for the wider aims of the 501(c)3.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
3. Access the Nolo Press Web site at http://www.nolo.com. Develop a list of legal
references relating to securities laws.
A. Amy Smith is the chief executive officer (CE0) of the NetCare Company.
B. Bruce Jones, who has a net worth of $750,000, is planning to purchase shares
of stock to be issued by the NetCare Company.
Not on the basis of net worth: a minimum net worth of $1 million is needed to
be accredited.
Yes. A minimum of $200,000 annually over the past two years and the
expectation of earning above the threshold next year is one criterion for being
accredited.
Not on the basis of his employment status: employees are not automatically
accredited unless they are officers or directors.
Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing 141
E. Julie Kukoc recently inherited some financial assets and now has a net worth
of $2 million with an annual income of $35,000.
A. A private placement
For the $4 million offering, CareAssist can consider a Rule 505, 506 or a
general Section 4(2) exemption or accredited investor exemption. Absent
securing an exemption, the firm will be subject to the full registration
requirements of U.S. securities law.
As the amount is over $1 million a Rule 504 offering to the general public is
out of the question. A Reg A offering allows up to $5 million and is a
possibility for CareAssist.
If the offering were only to investors in the single state in which CareAssist
operates, it might be possible to consider an intrastate exemption. Ben &
Jerry’s Vermont offering is an example of an offering that used the intrastate
exemption.
3. [Regulation D Exemptions] Three Rules (504, 505, and 506) under Regulation D
relate to the (a) amount of offerings and (b) number of investors. Match Rules
504, 505, and/or 506 with each of the following:
Solutions:
A. $5 million offering limit (in a 12-month period) [Rule 505]
B. $1 million offering limit (in a 12-month period) [Rule 504]
C. No limit on the amount of offering (in a 12-month period) [Rule 506]
D. No limit on the number of investors [Rule 504]
E. No limit on number of accredited investors; limit of 35 unaccredited investors
142 Chapter 8: Securities Law Considerations When Obtaining Venture Financing
The VirtualStream Company has developed proprietary server and control software for
providing communication and media-on-demand services via the Internet. The company
is in the process of collecting prerecorded video and audio content from clients and then
digitally transferring and storing the content on network servers. The content then is
available for replay by customers via the Internet. VirtualStream’s mission is to provide
the most dependable and user-friendly multimedia streaming service worldwide.
The Internet technology service industry is characterized by rapid revenue growth
with industry revenues predicted to exceed $300 billion in three years. Market
participants include companies engaged in video and audio teleconferencing, corporate
training, computer-based training, and distance learning. VirtualStream is attempting to
focus on helping large companies to communicate more effectively, using both archived
and live communications content, via the Internet. Video and audio content is digitally
stored in a central location and is available on demand to clients. This approach will
save time and money required to duplicate and ship materials. The company also offers
a service that enables transmission of live broadcasts via the Internet.
VirtualStream raised $500,000 in the form of founder’s capital last year. The
firm is now seeking additional financial capital from investors by issuing or selling
“securities” in the form of stock in the firm. The firm is planning to obtain $750,000 as
soon as possible from private investors.
A. Discuss whether you would recommend “registering” these “securities” with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Paying all of the costs (present and future) of a full public registration would most
likely not be advantageous to VirtualStream. Consequently, they should initially seek
the less expensive and faster option of a private placement.
B. Some “securities” are exempt from the SEC registration requirement. Is it likely that
VirtualStream’s “stock” would qualify for such an exemption? Why, or why not?
C. Would you recommend that the initial $750,000 be obtained through an “intrastate”
offering? Explain.
D. Briefly describe the two basic types of “transaction” exemptions that may be
available to VirtualStream that would allow the firm not to have to register its
securities with the SEC.
The two more likely transaction exemptions for VirtualStream are the private
placement exemption (Section 4(2) broadly and its Regulation D extensions) and the
accredited investor exemption (Section 4(6)). Both would allow VirtualStream to
avoid full registration costs, at least at present. Note, however, that both require that
VirtualStream screen the types of investors they allow to purchase the securities.
E. The SEC’s Regulation D offers a “safe harbor” exemption to firms from having to
register their securities with the SEC. Describe how the VirtualStream Company
could use Reg D for issuing $750,000 in stock to private investors. In developing
your answer, describe the Reg D “rules” that would likely apply to this security issue.
Assuming that the previous round of funding falls outside the time interval where
integration is an issue, the $750,000 offering potentially falls under the guidelines of
Reg D’s 504, 505 and 506. The least restrictive of these (with respect to investor
qualification and solicitation restrictions) is Rule 504 with a limit of $1 million.
Since the future issue is for the same securities and could potentially be integrated
into the current offering (from the SEC’s viewpoint assuming that its “6-months-
either-side” safe harbor is not satisfied), VirtualStream needs to worry about
integration. Practically, this means that they should probably abandon a 504 offering
and consider the more restrictive conditions of a 505 or 506 offering.
G. The other alternative is to seek to raise the total $2,750,000 amount now by selling
securities to investors. Which Reg D “rules” and/or other securities laws would be
“triggered” by such a plan? Describe why and how.
Reg D’s 505 and 506 apply, but much care needs to be taken as the 35 investor counts
could be binding. If the offering is not targeting accredited investors, VirtualStream
might seriously consider a Regulation A filing ($5 million maximum) or even an SB
registration (with significantly higher limits).
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twenty-five hundred million bushels, which is more than three times
as much as the United States produces in a year. I do not say that
Canada will soon reach that figure, but her wheat yield will steadily
increase, and it will not be long before it will equal yours.
“We were producing grain near Winnipeg long before your
Western states existed. Wheat was raised in Manitoba by Lord
Selkirk’s colony as far back as 1812. The settlers came in through
Hudson Bay and worked their way down to the prairie. They were so
far from the markets that there was no demand outside their own
wants, and it was only when the United States had developed its
West that we began to farm in earnest. Even then we had to wait for
the railroads, which were first built through early in the 80’s.”
More than half the total wheat crop of the Dominion is raised in
Saskatchewan, and still only one fifth of the fifty-eight million acres of
arable land in that province is under cultivation. Indeed, wheat here
is what coals are to Newcastle or diamonds to Kimberley. This
applies to quality as well as quantity, for at a recent International
Grain and Hay Show held at Chicago a farmer from Saskatchewan
carried off the first prize for the best wheat grown on the North
American continent.
Wheat is to Saskatchewan what coals are to
Newcastle. With only one fifth of its arable land being
farmed, the province raises more than half the total
crop of the Dominion.
Farming is done on a largo scale on the great
wheat farms. Ploughs turning over twelve furrows at a
time are pulled by traction engines, and when the
wheat is ripe a dozen binders are started in one field.
The principal wheat area extends from the southeast corner of
the province northwesterly along the valley of the Saskatchewan
River to the Alberta boundary. This belt is five hundred miles long
and in some places two hundred miles wide. Many of its farms
contain thousands of acres, and the average holding is three
hundred and twenty acres, with one hundred and fifty acres in wheat.
When the land was first settled, wheat was the only crop raised, but
mixed farming is becoming more important each year and there are
now large crops of oats, hay, and alfalfa.
The dry climate and hot summer days of the prairies are just
right for producing a hard grain, with the high gluten content that
makes a big loaf of bread. In that quality Canadian wheat ranks
highest in the world. It is mixed with even the finest of the United
States product to produce the best flour.
The chief varieties grown are red fife and marquis. Red fife was
discovered by a Canadian farmer and is the older. Marquis was
originated by a scientist of the Dominion Agricultural Department by
crossing red fife with an early ripening Indian wheat known as hard
red Calcutta. It was distributed among the farmers for general use in
1909, and quickly became the most valuable wheat produced in
America.
During various trips to Canada I have seen the wheat belt in all
its aspects. As soon as the snow has melted and the frost is out of
the ground the ploughs are started. The ploughing may be done by
the farmers, each on his own land, or by contractors who make a
business of preparing fields for planting, and who, later on, do much
of the threshing. The ordinary farmer uses a gang plough and from
four to a half dozen horses. With four horses he is able to plough
more than two acres a day. Much of the work is done by tractors,
which pull gang ploughs that turn over a strip of sod as wide as the
average city sidewalk.
The next process is back-setting. This means going over the
field again and throwing the furrows in the opposite direction. Where
the land is new, some of the farmers plough it in the spring and back-
set it in the summer, seeding it during the following spring. Others,
who are anxious to get quick returns, sow wheat the same year that
they break up the soil. Sometimes flax is planted as the first crop and
wheat the next year.
The old picture of the farmer going over the ploughed ground
sowing the grain broadcast is something one never sees in Canada.
The wheat here is planted with drills, usually pulled by four horses,
although on the larger farms several drills, drawn by tractors,
sometimes follow one another over the fields.
The busiest time of the year comes with the harvest, which
usually begins about the middle of August. The farmers now go to
work with a vim. In many instances the women and the girls join the
men and the boys in the fields. Nearly every man has his own
harvesting machinery and the girls sometimes drive the binders that
cut the grain. At the same time thousands of labourers are brought in
from the United States, eastern Canada, and even from England.
They are transported at reduced rates by the railroads and are sure
of work at good wages until the grain has been loaded upon the cars
that take it to the head of the Great Lakes.
Harvesting on the larger farms goes on from daybreak to dark,
and sometimes even by twilight and moonlight. After the wheat
reaches a certain point in ripening, it must be cut without delay. If it
becomes wet it will deteriorate, and if left too long it will hull during
the harvesting, or an untimely frost may ruin it. I have visited one
farm near Dundurn where sixteen hundred acres of grain all became
ripe overnight. The next morning the owner started a dozen
harvesters at work, keeping the machines going until every stalk was
cut. Horses were put on in relays every four hours and there was no
stopping to rest at the end of the field. In Alberta there is a farm five
times as large, where sixty binders, each pulled by a four-horse
team, are used to cut the crop.
Riding through the country in the fall, one is seldom away from
the sound of the threshing machine. Only a few farmers own these
machines, most of the threshing being done by contractors and their
crews who go from farm to farm.
Imagine yourself with me at threshing time, and let us see how
the work is done. The wheatfield we choose contains one thousand
acres and it is spotted with shocks, or stooks, as they are called
here. Each stook consists of a number of sheaves stood upon end
on the ground with others so arranged on top that it will shed rain. A
half dozen teams are moving over the field gathering up the stooks.
As soon as a wagon is loaded it is driven to the thresher, into whose
greedy mouth the sheaves are poured continuously from sunrise to
sunset. At the same time grain is flowing out of the thresher into the
wagons or motor trucks that carry it away.
In the United States wheat is often held by the farmers for a
favourable price. In Canada very few farms have their own
granaries. The wheat goes from the threshing machine to the local
elevator, or, if none is accessible, it is sent directly to the railroad and
shipped to Fort William and Port Arthur. There are now elevators at
fifteen hundred different places throughout the wheat region. Each of
these stations has from one to nine elevators standing out on the
landscape, indicating the productiveness of the surrounding country.
The elevators of Canada have a total capacity of two hundred and
thirty-eight million bushels. There are companies that have chains of
such granaries. They will either store the wheat for the farmer,
handle it on commission, or buy it from him directly at a price based
on the current market value of that in storage at Fort William.
The wheat begins to come to the elevators about the first of
September, and by the middle or latter part of October they are well
filled. Each has a license, and is inspected regularly by the
government. In order to maintain the high standard of western
Canadian wheat, every shipment must be weighed and tested by a
Dominion weigh-master.
Many of the country elevators are owned by milling companies.
The flour industry is centred in Ontario, the largest mill in the
Dominion being at Port Colborne at the western end of the Welland
Canal. Flour is manufactured in large quantities also at Fort William,
Toronto, Montreal, and Winnipeg. Smaller mills exist throughout
Canada, and for many years the Hudson’s Bay Company operated
one at Fort Vermilion, six hundred miles northwest of Winnipeg. Ten
million barrels of flour are annually exported, almost half of which is
taken by England.
What Canada gets for her wheat depends not only on her own
crop and that of the United States, but on conditions all over the
world. Wheat is raised in every part of the globe, and is harvested in
one place or another each month of the year. Therefore, a drought in
Australia, a frost in Argentina, monsoons in India, new tariff laws in a
given country, or a host of other reasons, may cause a drop or a rise
in the prices here. In any event, though the price in Canada may be
no higher than that paid in the United States, it represents a larger
return on the original investment. The Canadian farmer has the
advantage of raising his wheat on land that has cost him perhaps
only a third of what has been paid by his neighbour across the
border.
CHAPTER XXV
THE OPEN DOOR IN CANADA