President Obama signed legislation this month that creates a new, explicit exemption for private resales of restricted and control securities. The legislation, contained in Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (the FAST Act), will make it easier for the holders of restricted stock to cash out their holdings, provided they sell only to accredited investors.
Here is an overview of the new exemption’s requirements:
- The seller can’t be the issuer of the stock or a direct or indirect subsidiary of the issuer
- Each purchaser must be an “accredited investor”
- There cannot be any general solicitation or advertising
- The stock must be part of a class of stock that has been authorized and outstanding for at least 90 days prior to the sale date
- The stock cannot be part of an unsold allotment to, or subscription or participation by, a broker or dealer as an underwriter or a redistribution
- The seller is subject to the “bad actor” disqualification
- If the issuer is a non-reporting issuer (not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act), there are additional information requirements. The issuer must provide the seller and prospective purchaser, upon request, with reasonably current information about the issuer’s management team, financials, etc.
This new exemption, which is found in Section 4(a)(7) of the Securities Act, should provide a useful alternative to the Rule 144 safe harbor, which requires that the securities have been outstanding for at least 6 months if the issuer is a reporting company, or 1 year in all other cases. Rule 144 also places limits on the amount of stock that can be sold, a limitation that is not present in the Section 4(a)(7) exemption.
The new exemption also will provide a simplified alternative to the “Section 4(a)(1 ½) exemption,” which has been developed over a period of several years, but which has never been officially codified into law.
Follow me on Twitter @PaulHSpitz