Congress Adopts Capital Access Reform
The U.S. Congress today passed The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”), a package of capital access reforms intended to (1) encourage initial public offerings by “emerging growth companies” and (2) facilitate the ability of companies to raise capital in private and small public offerings without registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The JOBS Act passed the Senate by a vote of 73-26 and the House of Representatives by a vote of 380-41 and President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law shortly. The legislation passed by Congress is identical to the version initially passed by the House on March 8, with the exception of the provisions relating to “crowdfunding,” which were amended to provide for additional investor protections.