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They've been
some of the most coveted investments of recent years -- pre-IPO
shares of technology companies such as Facebook and Twitter -- and
the demand for them has spurred the emergence of a hot new private
marketplace, but some investors in that market have been duped, the
Securities and Exchange Commission said. In a series of enforcement
actions, the SEC spotlighted hazards on stock trading's new
frontier.
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(Source: The Washington
Post (free reg. req'd), 2012-03-14)
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Dan Salcedo left Chicago last year for Silicon
Valley to take a three-month course in launching a technology business,
but the entrepreneur plans to return to Chicago this spring as a
member of a growing group of tech founders drawn to the city's
brewing start-up scene. Mr. Salcedo aims
to launch a social-network-based online shopping business.
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(Source: The Wall Street
Journal, 2012-03-16)
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A decade
after the dot-com bubble popped and Enron became synonymous with spectacular
fraud, Congress is on the verge of scrapping numerous safeguards
against investment fraud and allowing some small companies to sell
stock to the public with minimal disclosure or oversight. The JOBS
Act, whose acronym stands for Jump-start Our Business Start-ups,
intends to make it easier for emerging companies to raise money and
court investors.
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(Source: The New York
Times, 2012-03-19)
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Among
Internet start-ups, South by Southwest's 19-year-old
"interactive" festival is a traditional launch pad,
having given a boost to current stars Twitter, Foursquare Labs and Airbnb. But the dot-com rat race is becoming a
circus.
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(Source: The Wall Street
Journal, 2012-03-14)
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More than
8,000 businesses will make the transition from "other than
small" to "small," thanks to new Small Business Administration
size limits for the Professional, Technical, and Scientific
Services sector. The consequences? Under the revised standards for
the sector, newly defined small businesses would get an added $15
million to $20 million in federal loans through the 7(a) and 504
loan programs.
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(Source: CFO.com,
2012-03-09)
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Many
small-business owners say that they want to offer their workers a retirement
plan but obstacles are holding them back. A Senate panel said it
would introduce legislation to help address the problem.
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(Source: USA Today (free
reg. req'd), 2012-03-07)
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Private
equity is set to ramp up investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, as
demand from a growing middle class for iPads,
Nike sneakers and fast food adds to the region's traditional
attraction as a continent of rich natural resources. Africa has 10
percent of the world's oil, as much as 90 percent of its platinum
group metals and 60 percent of the world's uncultivated arable
land, but an emerging middle class with growing disposable income
has grabbed the attention of a range of investors from global
buyout giants such as Carlyle Group to rock star and humanitarian
Bob Geldof.
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(Source: MarketWatch (free reg. req'd),
2012-03-07)
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As companies
battle over control of the technology used in some of the hottest devices
and websites, leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee say they
fear patents could be used to stifle competition. Rather than
resolving patent disputes in court, some companies may use trade
laws to inappropriately block other companies' patents, Judiciary
Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee
Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., said in a
letter to the Justice Department.
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(Source: National
Journal, 2012-03-15)
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SylvanSport founder Thomas Dempsey learned last summer that a product
similar to one he'd patented was being made in China when a
customer sent him a link to a Chinese company's website. It was the
beginning of what would be a nightmare for any small-business
owner.
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(Source: USA Today (free
reg. req'd), 2012-03-18)
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The Michigan Court of Appeals recently decided a case that
should be of interest to lenders and borrowers alike, particularly
those who are parties to CMBS financings with
separateness covenants and limited recourse provisions. In Wells Fargo
Bank, N.A. v. Cherryland
Mall Limited Partnership, et al. (Mich. App. December 27, 2011), the
Court affirmed a trial court’s holding that a guarantor was liable for
the entire post-foreclosure loan deficiency because the insolvency of
the borrower violated its single purpose entity (SPE)
status, thereby triggering recourse under the guaranty.
Read full article online.
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A workplace accident resulting in fatality. A mass exodus
of key employees. A flood. A tornado.
A crisis can hit any business. At any time.
How does one prepare for the unexpected?
While one cannot predict the nature or timing of a crisis, each
business can develop a crisis management plan, which will serve as the
framework for dealing with a crisis when one arises.
Read full article online.
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced on Feb. 8, 2012 that a new
competition has been launched to allow patent owners and licensees to
pageant their technology in front of a panel of judges for the chance
to win a “special” prize. This voluntary competition, known as Patents
for Humanity, is a twelve-month pilot program designed to reward
patents that address public health or quality of life issues faced by
an impoverished population. Applications will be accepted from March 1,
2012, through August 31, 2012. The judges will be selected from
researchers in academia with backgrounds in the sciences and public
policy to review the applications on humanitarian technology.
Read full article online.
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Only 52 venture-backed companies went public in 2011, down
from 75 in 2010, according to the National Venture Capital Association.
Source: CFO Magazine
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Ice Miller has been one of the most active law firms in the
private equity industry over the last decade, representing both
entrepreneurs building great companies and the private equity firms and
individuals that invest in them. We have extensive experience
with all types of funds (formations and operations); mezzanine and
senior secured financing; leveraged buyouts, roll-ups, build-ups, and
consolidations; divestitures and exits; and complex litigation on
behalf of investors and privately financed companies. In
addition, over the past 10 years, Ice Miller has represented hundreds
of emerging growth businesses in various industries on such matters as
entity formation, capitalization, capital raising, alternative
financing, intellectual property rights and protection, growth and exit
strategies, corporate governance, tax matters, and many other legal
issues that are critical to the growth and success of an emerging
company.
Read the complete profile of the Private Equity and Venture Services Group.
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