Today, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, also known as the JOBS Act. The Act will ease the rules for IPOs, and reduce compliance burdens post IPO, for Emerging Growth Companies, a new category of issuers that have less than $1 billion in annual gross revenue and meet certain other requirements. Separately, the Act will permit enhanced publicity for Rule 144A and other private offerings, raise the maximum number of shareholders for private companies, and facilitate crowdfunding and offerings of $50 million or less.

Under the Act, an Emerging Growth Company can confidentially submit registration statements to the SEC prior to the completion of its IPO. The SEC has announced a process for these submissions. They should be delivered to the SEC in the form of text-searchable PDF files on CD/DVDs, or as paper copies, accompanied by a transmittal letter confirming the company's status as an Emerging Growth Company. Offerings by foreign private issuers eligible for confidential submission will also use this process. This is a temporary process until the SEC implements a system for electronic transmission of confidential submissions.

Confidential Submission of Registration Statements Announcement

Some of the changes that the Act makes to existing law become effective immediately upon enactment, while others will need to await implementation by SEC rule-making. The following table summarizes when the various changes to existing law brought about by the Act will become effective: