PRNewswire – New York – OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of the OTCQX®, OTCQB® and Pink® markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities announces that it has filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The petition requests that the SEC implement amendments to Regulation A+ to broaden the ability for small issuers, including all SEC Reporting Companies, to leverage this important form of online capital raising.
In March 2015, the SEC published the rules for implementing Title IV of the JOBS Act, known as Reg. A+, providing small companies with the ability to use online offerings to raise up to $50 million from individual investors. However, as currently written, Reg. A+ excludes all SEC Reporting Companies — companies that already meet the SEC’s high disclosure standards.
Online securities offerings under Reg. A+ also provide significant investor protection including a permanent record, or audit trail, of disclosures made to potential investors. The transparency of a public, online capital raising platform better serves small companies, investors and regulators in contrast to traditional, opaque offering processes which cater to larger institutional investors.
“Regulation A+ securities offerings are tailor made for smaller companies and investment banks to utilize technology to transparently offer shares online the way Amazon sells books. By excluding SEC reporting companies, the SEC missed a critical opportunity to expand access to capital, drive costs lower and support small company growth,” said R. Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group. “Online capital raising better serves small public companies and their investors as opposed to the traditional opaque, private offering processes that are restricted to the wealthy and well connected. Fighting to extend Reg. A+ to the thousands of smaller companies that have invested the time and resources in being fully SEC reporting is imperative, not only to these companies but to the American economy as a whole. We must modernize securities regulations to embrace the efficiencies of the internet age.”
The filing is now available for public comment and is accessible via the SEC’s website,https://www.sec.gov/rules/petitions.shtml
About OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX® Best Market, the OTCQB® Venture Market, and the Pink® Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link® ATS, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.
OTC Link ATS is operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.
