If you are willing to raise investments for your company, you should ensure not to disclose too much information about your company. In this way, you will be able to secure yourself from investors. In case things fall apart and they try to sue you for the securities fraud, you can use those disclosures in your defense. But do you know the best way to do this? You can use a Private Placement Memorandum or PPM for short, in order to secure your company.
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So, the next time you are about to score a private investor for your company, do it with a PPM so that it can provide you and your investor with the much needed security. Also, this memorandum can help kick start an honest and open business relationship. PPM are really complex, comprehensive and detailed documents which can take a lot of time to prepare. This is why there are several private placement memorandum templates available on our website to help you save time and effort.
In order to know more about private placement memorandum, let’s help you in understanding the nuts and bolts about it.
Private Placement Memorandum Templates
What is a Private Placement Memorandum?
A PPM is a legal document that is provided by the potential investors when companies are selling securities and stocks in a business. It may also be called as an offering document or offering memorandum. Additionally, it is normally used in private transactions when the securities are unregistered under state or federal law. Moreover, the PPM elaborates about the company’s selling the stocks and securities, the risks of the investment, the terms of offering, and other necessary aspects. We will be discussing these in the further sections. The disclosures vary in terms of exemptions from the target investors, the registration being used, and the complexity of the terms of the offering.
Additionally, the PPM includes items such as management biographies, financial statements, detailed description of the business operations, and much more. When the business offers stocks and securities, they need to ensure the investor about every single detail of the firm. This is why they present information on the offering to secure the sellers from the claims that could arise upon selling the unregistered securities.
The PPM is used by privately held companies to attract external investors. PPM is one of the ways to help investors understand the investment vehicle. These PPMs are placed together by bankers for the business owners. These bankers use these offering memorandums in order to conduct an auction among the specific investors to get interested and qualified buyers.
Practically, these documents are just a formality in order to meet the requirement of the securities. Investors likely perform their own extensive due diligence before making investments in the securities and stocks. These PPM can act as help though, as investors can see them to cross check their information.
When Do You Need to Use a Private Placement Memorandum Sample?
There are several private placement memorandum samples available on our main website. You can look through them all and simply download them online for free to save your time and effort. Generally, you will require a PPM when you are selling the private placement to an angel investor. But there are some more reasons for using the PPM.
They are Required by Law
Sometimes, a PPM is required when you are offering securities to the potential accredited investors. In such a case, the contents of the PPM will be more or less dictated with respect to the disclosure requirements for the securities’ regulations.
They Can Act as Insurance
As private placement memorandums help with disclosures, therefore, an offering memorandum can also act as insurance against many pitfalls and risks inherent in the offering of private securities.
It Can Act as Protection against Security Fraud Claims
When the law does not authorize the written disclosures, the PPM acts as anti-fraud requirement for the federal and state government. Besides this, the issuer must not make any false statements when offering securities to the investor. Also, they should not avoid stating a material fact that is necessary to make the statements. In short, you should not hide anything against the issuer at all.
In case, there is misstated material, despite of being intentional or unintentional, investors may make a security fraud claim against directors, officers and issuers too. Moreover, there can be some aggrieved investors who can also legally file to the Securities and Exchange Commission which can leave you with criminal and civil penalties. This is where you may require a PPM.
A well-prepared PPM can help you in avoiding security fraud claims. It communicates about the offerings and other necessary details of what is going to be offered to the company in the long run, avoiding any potential misunderstandings for the future.
It Can Act as a Sales Document
In addition to acting as insurance and protection against security fraud claims, a professional and good PPM can also act as a sales document. Directors and officers communicate about the deals and offerings of the business, to the prospective investors, ensuring everything is understood properly. This can bring both parties close together and can also finalize the deal for sales.
There can be many reasons for using a PPM out of which highlighting details and the potential risks, remains the core aspect. In order to understand more about private placement memorandum, keep reading this article.
What to Include in a Private Placement Memorandum?
Generally, all security transactions are based on the anti-fraud provision for the federal securities, which means that you cannot mislead the statements of the company. The core aim behind PPM is to inform the potential investor about each and every aspect of the business, financial performance, management, hierarchy, risks involved and future prospects.
By providing information to the investors, we do not mean that you also need to tell them about your confidential information. Definitely, that should be kept private, but it is necessary not to hide stuff from the prospective investors. The document will involve technical and formal language.
Additionally, if you are dealing with professional investors, they will likely be familiar with legalese and will consider it a professional act from the business’s side too. Talking about the draft and contents, the PPM can be changed for some businesses but there are some typical components found in private placement memorandums which are listed as under.
Before we explain the contents, you should keep in mind that the language of the document will be informational and formal. It is also assumed that the investor would know about the terms and technicalities of the business. In case, they do not understand them, they can communicate with the managers or representatives.
Mention the Introduction
This is the first page of the PPM. This page will outline the fundamental terms and conditions of the offering. Also, it will be followed by the brief statement about the core business functions, strategies, values, vision, mission and overall company in general. State and federal laws also require some requirements; you can also mention them from your business’s perspective.
Provide Brief Summary for Offering Terms
This section will cover a short summary over what the potential investor will want to know. Ensure to write it in an efficient manner. In a PPM, this section will be shown in the form of a term sheet. Additionally, this section will also include the capitalization of the company for both, after and before the offering. There are some other terms that should also be included in this section as follows.
- Voting rights given to the investor (if any)
- Conversion rights
- Liquidation preferences
- Anti-dilution provisions
- Protective provisions for the investor
Highlight the Risk Factors
This is again an important aspect that should be included in the private placement memorandum. The risk factors may be conceivable by the issuer of course. These risks are going to be unique to the securities and issuers. For instance, the risks may include dependence on a small number of personnel, dependence on a strategic partnership, or risks of competition.
Elaborate About the Description of the Company and Management
In addition to risk factors, this is one of the main aspects that investors are interested in reading about. This section will cover a detailed company’s history and background. Also, it is going to highlight performance history, services and products the company deals with, goals, industry, advertising, competition, marketing strategy it usually follows, suppliers, customers, customer descriptions, intellectual property, and any other related material and information that can come under this section about the company. It should all be elaborated properly.
While that was for the description of the company, the management information would include the special skills, biographical information, and other background information of the company.
Provide the Use of Proceeds
This is the main aspect to highlight in the PPM because the prospective investors would want to know how you will be using the net proceeds, in case they invest in your securities. This may also force the investors to invest if they find it interesting or in their favor.
This section will highlight how the company will be using the net proceeds in relation with the amount intended to be used for every purpose and for the offerings. This will let the investors know how their money will be utilized and how it can be of help to others and themselves.
Describe the Description of Securities
This is the section of the PPM, where you have to elaborate about the restrictions, rights, and class of securities that will be offered to them. Some investors often switch to this section directly as it is one of the most important things they want to read about. Furthermore, this section will also mention about the ability of the company to change its capitalization such as distribution of dividends and different classes of shares.
Highlight about Subscription Procedures
Under this section, you have to provide instructions for investing in the offerings. It will elaborate about the mechanics for participating in the offering.
Provide the Appendices or Exhibits
This is the section where the company has to provide the supplemental information, attaching relevant documents that can be of help to the investor in making the investment decision. Attach relevant documents and the latest ones you have talked about in the PPM. These will include some copies of financial statements, investment contracts, key contracts, licenses, organizational documents, and others.
Private Placement Memorandum Examples
Final Thoughts
If you have found an investor for your company, PPM can be one of the best ways to give investors confidence in your enterprise. From giving detailed information about your current projects, the company’s finances, and future plans, PPM can highlight everything in detail. A well-prepared PPM will ensure that your investors are fully informed about the information and the potential risks before they invest and hand over the cash to you. As a company owner, you will want to secure yourself from the future claims. In such a case, a PPM can lend a helping hand to your business.
Besides this, a PPM is a very lengthy and complex document. In order to save your time and effort, you can simple download the PPM template from our main website and edit the information and present it to your prospective investor. We hope this PPM template helps you get through the investment process smoothly. Good luck!