The SEC has not explicitly defined the terms "general solicitation" or "general advertising" in Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933. However, Rule 502(c) of Regulation D lists several examples of general solicitation and general advertising, including (1) any advertisement, article, notice or other communication published in any newspaper, magazine, or similar media or broadcast over television or radio and (2) any seminar or meetings whose attendees have been invited by any general solicitation or general advertising. These are communications that are not targeted or directed to a specific individual or to a particular audience, but rather broad-based communications that may reach potential investors not known to the issuer or its financial intermediary. Over time, the SEC Staff has provided guidance, mainly through no-action letters and more recently through Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations, regarding the types of communications that would be viewed as a "general solicitation." In our "Practice Pointers on Navigating the Securities Act's Prohibition on General Solicitation and General Advertising," we summarize the SEC Staff's guidance in this area for issuers, broker-dealers and other third-party participants.
The practice pointers are available at: http://www.mofo.com/~/media/Files/Articles/2016/06/160600PracticePointersGeneralSolicitation.pdf
Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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