Developments in Securities Regulation, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets, M&A and Other Topics of Interest. MORE

The SEC has consistently issued several comments in connection with registration statements filed by “emerging growth companies” under the JOBS Act.  It’s clear at least for now that the SEC will ask to see any test-the-waters communications with QIBs and institutional investors as well as research reports that are distributed by underwriters participating in the offering.  From a review of responses to comments submitted by issuers, it appears that issuers and underwriters are not taking advantage of these provisons of the JOBS Act.

Some frequent comments are:

Since you appear to qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“the Act”), please disclose in the beginning of your registration statement that you are an emerging growth company and revise your registration statement to:

(i) Describe how and when a company may lose emerging growth company status;

(ii) Briefly describe the various exemptions that are available to you, such as exemptions from Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Section 14A(a) and (b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

(iii) State your election under Section 107(b) of the Act:

  • If you have elected to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards pursuant to Section 107(b) of the Act, include a statement that the election is irrevocable; or
  • If you have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards under Section 102(b)(2)(B) of the Act, provide a risk factor explaining that this election allows you to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies. Please state in your risk factor that, as a result of this election, your financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. Include a similar statement in your critical accounting policy disclosures.

In addition, consider describing the extent to which any of these exemptions are available to you as a Smaller Reporting Company.

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Also, please supplementally provide us with any written materials that you or anyone authorized to do so on your behalf provides in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act to potential investors that are qualified institutional buyers or institutional accredited investors.  Similarly, please supplementally provide us with any research reports about you that are published or distributed in reliance upon Section 2(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 added by Section 105(a) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act by any broker or dealer that is participating or will participate in your offerings.

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You disclose on page 1 that you are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, and that you have elected to use the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards under Section 102(b)(2)(B) of the Act. Please include a statement in your critical accounting policy disclosures to disclose that as a result of this election, your financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.

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We note your response to comment 14 in our letter dated July 19, 2012, but we continue to believe that TS Holdings does not qualify as an emerging growth company. Accordingly, please remove this risk factor and any additional references to the company’s emerging growth company status. Alternatively, please provide your analysis as to why you believe that TS Holdings is not a successor pursuant to Rule 12g-3 of the Exchange Act. In this regard, we note that Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act includes “the acquisition of control of a shell company” within the definition of successor and that JWCAC is a shell company.

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