Securities Lawyer's Deskbook                          published by The University of Cincinnati College of Law

Rule 605 -- Filing and Use of the Offering Circular

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1. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) or (f) of this rule and in Rule 606:
   
   
   1. No written offer of securities of any issuer shall be made under Rule 601 to Rule 610a unless an offering circular containing the information specified in Schedule A or Schedule B, as appropriate, is concurrently given or has previously been given to the person to whom the offer is made, or has been sent to such person under such circumstances that it would normally have been received by him at or prior to the time of such written offer; and
      
      
   2. No securities of such issuer shall be sold under Rule 601 to Rule 610a unless such an offering circular is given to the person to whom the securities were sold, or is sent to such person under such circumstances that it would normally be received by him, with or prior to any confirmation of the sale, or prior to the payment by him of all or any part of the purchase price of the securities, whichever first occurs.
      
      
2. Any written advertisement or other written communication, or any radio or television broadcast, which states from whom an offering circular may be obtained and in addition contains no more than the following information may be published, distributed or broadcast at or after the commencement of the public offering to any person prior to sending or giving such person a copy of such circular:
   
   
   1. The name of the issuer of such security;
      
      
   2. The title of the security, the amount being offered, and the per-unit offering price to the public; and
      
      
   3. The identity of the general type of business of the issuer.
      
      
3. 
   
   1. The offering circular may be printed, mimeographed, lithographed or typewritten, or prepared by any similar process which will result in clearly legible copies. If printed, it shall be set in roman type at least as large as ten-point modern type, except that financial statements and other statistical or tabular matter may be set in roman type at least as large as eight-point modern type. All type shall be leaded at least two points.
      
      
   2. Where an offering circular is distributed through an electronic medium, issuers may satisfy legibility requirements applicable to printed documents by presenting all required information in a format readily communicated to investors.
      
      
4. If the offering is not completed within nine months from the date of the offering circular, a revised offering circular shall be prepared, filed and used in accordance with these rules as for an original offering circular. In no event shall an offering circular be used which is false or misleading in light of the circumstances then existing.
   
   
5. Four copies of the offering circular required by this section, which is to be used at the commencement of the offering, shall be filed with the notification at the time such notification is filed and shall be deemed a part thereof. If the offering circular is thereafter revised or amended, four copies of such revised or amended circular shall be filed as an amendment to the notification at least 10 days prior to its use, or such shorter period as the Commission may, in its discretion, authorize upon a written request for such authorization.
   
   
6. An offering circular filed pursuant to paragraph (e) may be distributed prior to the expiration of the 10-day waiting periods for offerings provided for in Rule 604 (a) and (c) and paragraph (e) of this section and such distribution may be accompanied or followed by oral offers related thereto, provided the conditions in paragraphs (f)(1)through (f)(4) are met. For the purposes of this section, any offering circular distributed prior to the expiration of the ten day waiting period is called a Preliminary Offering Circular. Such Preliminary Offering Circular may be used to meet the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section, provided that if a Preliminary Offering Circular is inaccurate or inadequate in any material respect, a revised Preliminary Offering Circular or an offering circular of the type referred to in paragraph (f)(4) shall be furnished to all persons to whom the securities are to be sold at least 48 hours prior to the mailing of any confirmation of sale to such persons, or shall be sent to such persons under such circumstances that it would normally be received by them 48 hours prior to their receipt of confirmation of the sale.
   
   
   1. Such Preliminary Offering Circular contains substantially the information required by this section to be included in an offering circular, or contains substantially that information except for the omission of information with respect to the offering price, underwriting discounts or commissions, discounts or commissions to dealers, amount of proceeds, conversion rates, call prices, or other matters dependent upon the offering price.
      
      
   2. The outside front cover page of the Preliminary Offering Circular shall bear the caption "Preliminary Offering Circular," the date of its issuance, and the following statement which shall run along the left hand margin of the page and printed perpendicular to the text, in boldface type at least as large as that used generally in the body of such offering circular:
      
      

      A notification pursuant to Regulation E relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information contained in this Preliminary Offering Circular is subject to completion or amendment. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time an offering circular which is not designated as a Preliminary Offering Circular is delivered. This Preliminary Offering Circular shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sales of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

      
      
      
   3. The Preliminary Offering Circular relates to a proposed public offering of securities that is to be sold by or through one or more underwriters which are broker-dealers registered under section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each of which has furnished a signed Consent and Certification in the form prescribed as a condition to the use of such offering circular;
      
      
   4. An offering circular contains all of the information specified in Schedule A or Schedule B (Rule 610a) and which is not designated as a Preliminary Offering Circular is furnished with or prior to delivery of the confirmation of sale to any person who has been furnished with a Preliminary Offering Circular pursuant to this paragraph.
      
      

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