June 7, 2012
On June 6, 2012, Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairwoman Mary Landrieu, backed by the committee’s ranking member Olympia Snowe, published the Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders (EXCEL) Act.
Sen. Landrieu introduced the EXCEL Act, a bipartisan effort, during the 2012 National Small Business Week, stating that the EXCEL Act “will enhance the already successful Small Business Investment Company [Program] ... that has helped over 100,000 small businesses” at no cost to the taxpayer. The EXCEL Act provides four main amendments to the SBIC Program:
The SBIC Program has invested $60 billion in more than 109,000 small U.S. businesses since its inception in 1958, including $2.14 billion in outstanding commitments as of April 30, 2012. In addition, SBIC Funds have invested in 1,288 portfolio companies totaling $1.9 billion in FY 2012 to date (October 1, 2011, through May 31, 2012) with an average investment of $1,520,575. Sen. Landrieu believes that these “common sense” provisions should continue the SBIC Program’s successful past while contributing zero dollars to the federal deficit.
The Private Equity Practice Group at McGuireWoods LLP is dedicated to keeping clients advised of new legislative and business developments as they occur. If you have any questions regarding these issues, please feel free to contact Mark A. Kromkowski (312.849.8170), Bryan P. Bylica (312.750.3617), your primary attorney at McGuireWoods LLP, or any of the authors.