Overview

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today adopted rules and forms under the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 ("Trust Indenture Act") to facilitate capital raising by small businesses and reduce the costs of compliance with the federal securities laws. Specifically, the Commission has revised its general small issues exemption from the Securities Act registration requirements, Regulation A, as well as the Rule 504 exemption, and has adopted simplified registration and reporting disclosure requirements for "small business issuers," as defined. The Commission also is soliciting further public comment on Rule 504 with respect to excluding blank check companies from the exemption as adopted.