All companies as of July 10 will be allowed to submit secret draft registrations to the SEC in advance of an initial public offering, in an effort by the agency to boost IPO offerings.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's division of corporate finance on Thursday issued the change in IPO registration rules "as part of the division's ongoing efforts to facilitate capital formation," according to a statement on the division's website.
Early registration will be allowed for all companies "provided that the issuer confirms ... that it will publicly file its registration statement and non-public draft submissions at least 15 days prior to any road show or, in the absence of a road show, at least 15 days prior to the requested effective date of the registration statement," according to the division statement.
Currently, early private IPO registration is allowed only for companies with less than $1 billion in annual revenues. Those firms will continue to be allowed to submit non-public registrations in advance of an IPO, according to the division. Smaller companies were allowed early registration under the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act.
"By expanding a popular JOBS Act benefit to all companies, we hope that the next American success story will look to our public markets when they need access to affordable capital," said Jay Clayton, SEC chairman, in a separate news release on the division's action. "We are striving for efficiency in our processes to encourage more companies to consider going public."
The full statement is available on the SEC's website.
