On October 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to propose new rules that would permit companies to offer and sell securities through “crowdfunding.” Title III of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act requires the SEC to adopt rules implementing the exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) provided by Section 4(a)(6) of the Securities Act (Crowdfunding Exemption) for offers and sales of securities through online crowdfunding platforms. Generally speaking, the Crowdfunding Exemption is intended to facilitate capital formation by startups and small businesses by allowing certain companies to raise up to $1 million in any 12-month period through online crowdfunding “portals” in exchange for securities.
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Matthew S. Brown
Matthew S. Brown is head of Katten’s Entrepreneurial Ventures practice and represents a wide range of businesses, entrepreneurs and investors in mergers and acquisitions, venture and angel capital financings, public securities offerings, reporting and compliance, governance and general corporate matters. He also counsels directors and special committees in connection with special transactions and investigations.
Matt has counseled clients from start-up and initial organization through angel and growth equity fundings, redemptions and recapitalizations, initial and follow on public offerings and multibillion dollar liquidity events. He has closed billions of dollars of transactions for clients in varied businesses, including enterprise software, Internet commerce platforms, air to ground telephone service, ed-tech and e-learning, for-profit education, big box retailers, industrial chemical distribution, high speed printer manufacturing, IT services, major sports franchises, scrap yards, metal roll coating, food manufacturing and automated facilities maintenance services management.
Matt was appointed by former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley to serve on the Mayor’s Council of Technology Advisors and served for two years as co-chair of the Access to Capital Working Group. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center since its inception and helped establish Chicago’s 1871, one of the most ambitious incubator projects in the country, which is home to more than 225 digital start-up companies.