560.27(5)
(5) The assets transferred to, and the assets and liabilities of, the high-technology business development corporation shall be separate from all other assets and liabilities of the state, of all political subdivisions of the state and of the department. Neither the state, any political subdivision of the state nor the department guarantees any obligation of or has any obligation to the high-technology business development corporation. Neither the state, any political subdivision of the state nor the department is liable for any debt or liability of the high-technology business development corporation.
560.27 History
History: 1999 a. 106.
CERTIFIED CAPITAL COMPANIES
560.30
560.30
Definitions. In this subchapter:
560.30(1)
(1) "Affiliate" means, with respect to a certified capital company or a certified investor, any of the following:
560.30(1)(a)
(a) A person who, directly or indirectly, owns, controls, or holds power to vote, 10% or more of the outstanding voting securities or other voting ownership interests of the certified capital company or certified investor.
560.30(1)(b)
(b) A person, 10% of whose outstanding voting securities or other voting ownership interests are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or held with power to vote by the certified capital company or certified investor.
560.30(1)(c)
(c) A person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, the certified capital company or certified investor.
560.30(1)(d)
(d) A partnership in which the certified capital company or certified investor is a general partner.
560.30(1)(e)
(e) A person who is an officer, director or agent of the certified capital company or certified investor, or is an immediate family member of such an officer, director or agent.
560.30(2)
(2) "Certified capital company" means a person that has been certified by the department under
s. 560.31 and that has not been decertified under
s. 560.37 (3) or
(3m).
560.30(3)
(3) "Certified capital company tax credit" means the tax credit under
s. 76.635.
560.30(4)
(4) "Certified capital investment" means an investment in a certified capital company that is certified under
s. 560.32 (2) and that fully funds either the investor's equity interest in a certified capital company, a qualified debt instrument that a certified capital company issues, or both.
560.30(5)
(5) "Certified investor" means a person who makes a certified capital investment.
560.30(6)
(6) "Investment date" means, with respect to each investment pool, the date on which the last certified capital that is part of that investment pool was invested in the certified capital company.
560.30(7)
(7) "Investment pool" means the aggregate of all investments of certified capital in a certified capital company that are made as part of the same transaction, except that investments received more than 30 days apart may not be considered part of the same investment pool.
560.30(8)
(8) "Qualified business" means a business which is a qualified business under
s. 560.33.
560.30(9)
(9) "Qualified debt instrument" means a debt instrument that a certified capital company issues at par value or at a premium; that has an original maturity date of at least 5 years from the date on which it was issued; that has a repayment schedule that is no faster than a level principal amortization and, until the certified capital company may make distributions other than qualified distributions, the interest, distribution or payment features of which are not related to the certified capital company's profitability or the performance of its investment portfolio.
560.30(10)
(10) "Qualified distribution" means a distribution or payment by a certified capital company to its equity holders for any of the following:
560.30(10)(a)
(a) The costs of forming, syndicating, managing or operating the certified capital company.
560.30(10)(b)
(b) An annual management fee that does not exceed 2.5% of the certified capital company's total certified capital.
560.30(10)(c)
(c) Reasonable and necessary fees paid for professional services related to the operation of the certified capital company.
560.30(10)(d)
(d) A projected increase in federal or state taxes, including penalties and interest on those taxes, of the equity owners of the certified capital company if those amounts are related to the certified capital company's ownership, management or operation.
560.30(11)
(11) "Qualified investment" means an investment in a qualified business by a certified capital company that meets the requirements under
s. 560.34 (1).
560.30 History
History: 1997 a. 215.
560.31
560.31
Certification of certified capital companies. 560.31(1)(1)
Application. The department shall promulgate rules establishing procedures under which a person may apply to become a certified capital company. The department shall grant or deny an application for certification under this section within 30 days of the date of application. If the department denies certification, the department shall include with the denial a detailed description of the grounds for the refusal, including suggestions for removal of those grounds.
560.31(2)
(2) Requirements for certification. The department shall certify a person as a certified capital company if the department determines that all of the following conditions have been met:
560.31(2)(a)
(a) The person is a partnership, corporation, trust or limited liability company, whether organized for profit or not for profit, that has as its primary business activity the investment of cash in qualified businesses.
560.31(2)(b)
(b) The person has a net worth, at the time of application, of at least $500,000 and has at least $500,000 in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
560.31(2)(c)
(c) The directors, officers, general partners, trustees, managers or members or persons having a similar function are familiar with the requirements of this subchapter.
560.31(2)(d)
(d) At least 2 officers, directors, general partners, trustees, managers or members each have at least 2 years of experience in the venture capital industry.
560.31(2)(e)
(e) The person has included, in any offering material involving the sale of securities, the statement required under
s. 560.32 (1).
560.31(2)(f)
(f) The person has paid a nonrefundable application fee of $7,500.
560.31 History
History: 1997 a. 215.
560.32
560.32
Investments in certified capital companies. 560.32(1)(1)
Required disclosures in securities offerings. Any offering material involving the sale of securities of a certified capital company shall include all of the following statements:
560.32(1)(a)
(a) "By authorizing the formation of a certified capital company, the state does not necessarily endorse the quality of management or the potential for earnings of the company and is not liable for damages or losses to a certified investor in the company. Use of the word "certified" in an offering is not a recommendation or endorsement of the investment by the State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce."
560.32(1)(b)
(b) "Investments in a prospective certified capital company prior to the time the company is certified are not eligible for a certified capital company investment credit under section 76.635 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Investments in a certified capital company are not eligible for a certified capital company investment credit under section 76.635 of the Wisconsin Statutes unless the proposed investment is certified under section 560.32 (2) of the Wisconsin Statutes before the investment is made. In the event that certain statutory provisions are violated, the state may require forfeiture of unused certified capital company investment credits and repayment of used certified capital company investment credits."
560.32(2)
(2) Certification of certified capital investments. 560.32(2)(a)(a) A person may apply to make a certified capital investment in a certified capital company by providing notice under this paragraph to the department on a form specified by the department. The notice shall include the name of the person, the name of the certified capital company, the amount of the investment and any other information specified by the department. The notice shall also include an undertaking by the person to make the investment within 5 days after the department notifies the person that the investment has been certified.
560.32(2)(b)
(b) The department may certify an investment under this subsection only if, after the certification, the department will not have certified a total of more than $50,000,000 in investments under this subsection.
560.32(2)(c)
(c) Prior to August 1, 2000, the department may not certify an investment under this subsection if, after the certification, the investor, together with all affiliates of the investor, would have more than $10,000,000 in certified capital investments.
560.32(2)(d)
(d) If, as a result of the limitations under
par. (b) or
(c), the department may not certify the full amount requested in applications for certified capital investments submitted under
par. (a), the department shall allocate the amounts available for certification in order of priority based on the date on which the application was filed. If the amounts available for certification are insufficient to certify the full amount of all applications for certified capital investments that are submitted on the same day, the department shall prorate the available amount on the basis of the amount that the investor has committed to invest in the certified capital company under
par. (a).
560.32(3)
(3) Limitation on certified investor investment. A certified investor may not, individually, or with or through one or more affiliates, own 10% or more of the equity securities in, be a general partner or manager of, or otherwise control the investments of the certified capital company. This subsection does not preclude a certified investor from exercising its legal rights and remedies, including interim management of a certified capital company, in the event that a certified capital company is in default of its statutory or contractual obligations to the certified investor.
560.32 History
History: 1997 a. 215.
560.32 Annotation
Attracting Venture Capital for Business Start-ups. Gillman & Ross. Wis. Law. May 1999.
560.33
560.33
Qualified businesses. 560.33(1)
(1)
Qualifications. A business is a qualified business if all of the following requirements are met as of the time that a certified capital company, or any affiliate of the certified capital company, makes its first investment in the business:
560.33(1)(a)
(a) The business is headquartered in this state and its principal business operations are located in this state.
560.33(1)(am)
(am) The business is in need of venture capital and is unable to obtain conventional financing, as defined by the department by rule.
560.33(1)(b)
(b) The business has no more than 100 employees, at least 75% of whom are employed in this state.
560.33(1)(c)
(c) During its 2 most recent fiscal years, the business had, together with all of its consolidated affiliates, an average annual net income, after federal income taxes and excluding any carry-over losses, of not more than $2,000,000, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
560.33(1)(d)
(d) The business has, together with its consolidated affiliates, a net worth that is not in excess of $5,000,000.
560.33(1)(e)
(e) The business is not predominantly engaged in professional services provided by accountants, lawyers or physicians.
560.33(1)(f)
(f) The business is not engaged in the development of real estate for resale.
560.33(1)(g)
(g) The business is not engaged in banking or lending and does not make any loans to, or investments in, certified capital companies.
560.33(2)
(2) Department opinions and exceptions. A certified capital company may, prior to making an investment in a specific business, request a written opinion from the department that a business in which it proposes to invest is a qualified business. If the department determines that the business meets the requirements under
sub. (1), the department shall issue a written opinion stating that the business is a qualified business.
560.33 History
History: 1997 a. 215.
560.34
560.34
Operation of certified capital companies. 560.34(1)(1)
Qualified investments requirements. In order for a certified capital company to prevent disqualification under
s. 560.37 of an investment pool, the certified capital company shall ensure that the investment pool makes qualified investments in accordance with the schedule under
sub. (1m). An investment is a qualified investment if the investment meets all of the following requirements:
560.34(1)(a)
(a) The investment is a cash investment in a qualified business for the purchase of any of the following:
560.34(1)(a)2.
2. A debt security of the qualified business if the debt has a maturity of at least 5 years and if one of the following conditions is met:
560.34(1)(a)2.b.
b. The debt is convertible into equity securities or equity participation instruments such as options or warrants.
560.34(1)(b)
(b) As a condition of the investment, the qualified business agrees not to use the proceeds from the investment for the purpose of relocating its operations.
560.34(1)(c)
(c) As a condition of the investment, the qualified business agrees, as long as the certified capital corporation continues to hold the investment, not to relocate its headquarters out of this state.
560.34(1)(d)
(d) As a condition of the investment, the qualified business agrees, as long as the certified capital corporation continues to hold the investment, to maintain at least 75% of its employees in this state.
560.34(1)(e)
(e) As a condition of the investment, the qualified business agrees, as long as the certified capital corporation continues to hold the investment, to maintain at least 75% of its employees at work sites that were maintained by the qualified business at the time that the investment was made, unless the qualified business obtains an exemption from the department under this paragraph. The department may grant an exemption unless it determines that the qualified business is locating the employees at new sites to take advantage of lower wage rates in the areas where the new sites are located.
560.34(1m)(a)(a) A certified capital company shall ensure that each of its investment pools makes qualified investments according to the following schedule:
560.34(1m)(a)1.
1. Within 3 years after the investment date for a particular investment pool, at least 30% of the investment pool shall be placed in qualified investments.
560.34(1m)(a)2.
2. Within 5 years after the investment date for a particular investment pool, at least 50% of the investment pool shall be placed in qualified investments.
560.34(1m)(b)
(b) The proceeds of all capital of a qualified investment returned to a certified capital company by a qualified business may be placed in new qualified investments, which shall count toward the percentage requirements under
par. (a) and
s. 560.36 (3). The department shall promulgate rules governing the extent to which a reinvestment of proceeds from the sale of a qualified investment in a qualified business may be counted toward the percentage requirements under
par. (a) and
ss. 560.36 (3) and
560.37 (3m) (a) 2. These rules may provide that reinvested proceeds from the sale of short-term investments shall be only partially counted toward the percentage requirements under
par. (a) and
ss. 560.36 (3) and
560.37 (3m) (a) 2. The rules may also provide that proceeds from the sale of an investment in a qualified business that are reinvested in that qualified business, or an affiliate of that qualified business, shall be only partially counted toward the percentage requirements under
par. (a) and
ss. 560.36 (3) and
560.37 (3m) (a) 2.
560.34(2)
(2) Nonqualified investments. All certified capital investments in a certified capital company that are not invested in qualified investments may be held or invested by the certified capital company as it considers appropriate, except that a certified capital company may not invest certified capital investments in an insurance company or in an affiliate of an insurance company.
560.34(3)
(3) Diversification requirement. A certified capital company may not make a qualified investment in a person if, at the time of the investment, more than 15% of the total certified capital of the certified capital company would be invested in that person and affiliates of that person.
560.34(4)
(4) Restrictions on management. No certified capital company may be managed or controlled by, or have a general partner that is, an insurance company or an affiliate of an insurance company.
560.34 History
History: 1997 a. 215.
560.35
560.35
Reporting requirements and fees. 560.35(1)
(1)
Receipts of certified capital. As soon as practicable after the receipt of a certified capital investment, a certified capital company shall report all of the following to the department:
560.35(1)(a)
(a) The name of the certified investor from which the certified capital was received, including the certified investor's tax identification number.
560.35(1)(b)
(b) The amount of the certified capital investment.
560.35(1)(c)
(c) The date on which the certified capital investment was received by the certified capital company.
560.35(1)(d)
(d) The investment date for the investment pool of which the certified capital will be a part.
560.35(1m)
(1m) Violation of agreements by qualified businesses. As soon as practicable after the receipt of information by the certified capital company that a qualified business has violated an agreement made under
s. 560.34 (1) (b) to
(e), the certified capital company shall notify the department of the violation and the facts giving rise to the violation.
560.35(2)
(2) Annual reports. On or before January 31 annually, a certified capital company shall report all of the following to the department:
560.35(2)(a)
(a) The amount of the certified capital company's certified capital at the end of the preceding year.
