JOBS Act "Regulation A+" Gets High Marks

Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) directs the SEC to write regulations providing for an exemption from Securities Act registration of public offerings of up to an aggregate of $50 million of equity, debt or convertible debt securities in a 12 month period. This provision has been termed "Regulation A+" by some observers because it is designed to be an improvement upon the SEC's Regulation A, which currently permits exempt public offerings of up to $5 million by non-SEC reporting companies. Under Title IV, the new SEC regulations must provide, among other things, that:

• all securities offered and sold within the prior 12-month period based on the exemption cannot exceed $50 million;