The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued temporary rules for companies that issued securities under Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) and Regulation A (Reg A+). The rules provide relief for victims of Hurricane Michael.
The “interim final temporary rule” extends the deadline for issuers subject to reporting obligations pursuant to Reg CF and Reg A+ in order to address the needs of companies directly or indirectly affected by Hurricane Michael. The temporary rules extend the filing deadlines for specified reports and forms due pursuant to the two exemptions.
Hurricane Michael made landfall on October 10th causing catastrophic damage to impacted areas. The SEC said the Hurrican could hamper the efforts of companies with reporting obligations to meet their filing deadlines. At the same time, investors have an interest in the timely availability of required information about these companies.
For Reg CF, the relief includes annual reports on Form C-AR, progress updates on Form C-U, and termination of reporting on Form C-TR.
For Reg A+, the relief includes post-qualification amendments required at least every 12 months after the qualification date to include updated financial statements, annual reports on Form 1-K, semi-annual reports on Form 1-SA, special financial reports on Forms 1-K or 1-SA, current reports on Form 1-U, and exit reports on Form 1-Z.
The SEC notes that between June 19, 2015 and September 30, 2018, approximately 244 filers had Reg A+ offering statements qualified by the Commission, excluding withdrawn offerings.
Approximately 1,067 issuers initiated Reg CF offerings with Form C filings between May 16, 2016 and September 30, 2018, excluding issuers that have withdrawn offerings. Approximately 41 registered intermediaries, including 32 registered funding portals and 9 registered broker-dealers, have participated in Regulation Crowdfunding offerings with Form C filings between May 16, 2016 and September 30, 2018, excluding withdrawn offerings. The SEC does not currently have the capacity to estimate how many issuers have been impacted by the Hurricane.
An issuer that is not able to meet a filing deadline for any report or form required to be filed during the period from and including October 10, 2018 to and including November 21, 2018 due to Hurricane Michael and its aftermath shall be deemed to have satisfied the filing deadline for such report or form if the issuer files such report or form with the 10 Commission on or before November 23, 2018.
More information is available here.