NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Vintage, the capital markets, corporate services and institutional & fund services division of PR Newswire, has announced that the company is the 2016 leading filing agent for Securities and Exchange Commission Form 1-A, commonly referred to as a Mini-IPO.
"When we relaunched Vintage in 2014, we cemented our guiding principles of delivering intelligent value to companies," said Vintage President, Liam Power. "Intelligent value means we provide a flexible balance of people, facilities and technology to ensure that regulatory processes are smoothly executed. I believe it is this flexibility that allows us to best serve Emerging Growth Companies," said Power.
Reg A+ is an updated rule to the existing Regulation A exemption for smaller issuers and was mandated by Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. It allows smaller companies to offer and sell up to $50 million of securities within a 12-month period, subject to eligibility, disclosure and reporting requirements.
Power further explained that Vintage has adapted its traditional S-1 IPO team to guide clients through the Form 1-A process, exercising the same detailed oversight in the offering's drafting and filing with the SEC. "Certainly, a mini-IPO is a smaller filing, but it is no less compliant than the large S-1 filings we create each week for later-stage companies."
To help companies prepare for their Reg A+ Form 1-A drafting, Vintage has created a DIY worksheet that guides a company through the different information they will need to collect.
The worksheet can be downloaded here: http://e.prnewswire.com/Vintage_RegA_Worksheet.html.
"We researched the ruling in-depth when it was announced and finalized, always keeping in close contact with securities attorneys as well as the SEC, post-implementation, to ensure full compliance for our clients," explained Gordon Ruckdeschel, Vintage's Vice President of Operations. "We immediately recognized that this new approach to offer securities would be very attractive, particularly to small-cap and mid-cap companies. Our operations teams' goal is to work aside our clients throughout their offering and well into their ongoing SEC reporting requirements," continued Ruckdeschel. "There is nothing 'mini' about the level of detail the filing requires."
In addition to 2016's leadership, Vintage has been the #1 filing agent since Reg A+ became effective in June 2015. Vintage has worked with as many companies as the three next filing agents combined.
"Reg A+ was launched without an instruction manual – it's new ground for the capital markets and as a result of that, the successes and failures are being closely monitored by companies, investors and regulators alike," said Bradley H. Smith, Director of Marketing at Vintage. "One point is clear - that marketing and shareholder communications are playing a critical role in inviting investors into the offering. However, we're seeing that success is driven in nontraditional ways."
Rather than the usual institutional IPO roadshow, mini-IPOs are digging deep into their existing owned channels like social media, customer database and their corporate websites. Earned channels including press releases and paid channels including crowdfunding portals and, for example, VirtualInvestorConferences.com are also being utilized.
"Companies need to first excite their fan base and then execute their Reg A+," closed Smith.
About Vintage
Vintage, a PR Newswire division, is a top-three provider of full-service regulatory compliance and shareholder communications services, delivered across our three practice areas: Capital Markets, Corporate Services and Institutional & Fund Services. Founded in 2002 and acquired by PR Newswire in 2007, Vintage has evolved to become the industry's intelligent value choice. We deliver a flexible balance of people, facilities and technology to ensure that regulatory compliance and shareholder communications processes are efficient, transparent and painless. Services include IPO registrations, transactions, virtual data rooms, EDGAR & XBRL filing, typesetting, financial printing and investor relations websites.
About PR Newswire
PR Newswire, a Cision company, is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms and distribution that marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers leverage to engage key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry over 60 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to- end solutions to produce, optimize and target content -- and then distribute and measure results. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire powers the stories of organizations around the world. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.
Cision is a leading global media intelligence company, serving the complete workflow of today's communication professionals.
Media Contact:
Bradley H. Smith
Director of Marketing, IR and Compliance Services
PR Newswire & Vintage
+1 201.942.7157
bradley.smith@prnewswire.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160906/404263-INFO
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160906/404261-INFO
SOURCE Vintage