16 Nov M&A Broker Bill Clears House Committee 57-0

Led by Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and eight other sponsors (including one Democrat), this past Thursday the House Financial Services Committee unanimously approved HR 2274. The bill, known as the Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2013, was originally introduced back in June.

Many are expecting that this bill will be combined with others working their way through the legislature to comprise the next iteration of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act. It is very encouraging that all members of the committee from both parties approved to send the bill to the full House. The original JOBS Act also had very wide bipartisan support in Congress. Some are saying JOBS Act 2.0 could come together early next year. If not, it will probably have to wait until after the midterm elections.

The SMBASBSA (some acronym!) says if you are a broker of the sale of control of a small business with revenues under $250 million or profit under $25 million you can become registered with a simple filing with the SEC which would be effective upon filing. If you have some bad stuff in your background then the SEC would have to approve you. The broker would not be permitted to have custody of funds or be involved in a public offering. We’ll keep an eye on this one, but looking good!