Since last year, 2012 has been heralded as something of a comeback year for IPOs, with financial news outlet 24/7 Wall St. estimating that more than 200 companies are poised to go public this year (including a little startup called Facebook). A recent bill will make that process easier for those companies. President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act into law April 5, commenting in a statement that “America’s high-growth entrepreneurs and small businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and growing the economy,” and that the act would help them raise capital, create jobs and strengthen the economy.
That’s a tall order. But in aiming to shore up the U.S. IPO market, the JOBS Act brings major change, creating a new category of issuer—the emerging-growth company, which it defines as having less than $1 billion in annual revenues—and creating a streamlined route to IPOs with fewer regulatory burdens along the way. And experts say some of its numerous provisions could become critical tools for companies in a broad range of positions.
