Offshore transaction.
Offshore transaction.
(1) An offer or sale of securities is made in an “offshore transaction” if:
(1) An offer or sale of securities is made in an “offshore transaction” if:
(i) The offer is not made to a person in the United States; and
(ii) Either:
(A) At the time the buy order is originated, the buyer is outside the United States, or the seller and any person acting on its behalf reasonably believe that the buyer is outside the United States; or
(B) For purposes of:
(1) Section 230.903, the transaction is executed in, on or through a physical trading floor of an established foreign securities exchange that is located outside the United States; or
(2) Section 230.904, the transaction is executed in, on or through the facilities of a designated offshore securities market described in paragraph (b) of this section, and neither the seller nor any person acting on its behalf knows that the transaction has been pre-arranged with a buyer in the United States.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (h)(1) of this section, offers and sales of securities specifically targeted at identifiable groups of U.S. citizens abroad, such as members of the U.S. armed forces serving overseas, shall not be deemed to be made in “offshore transactions.”
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (h)(1) of this section, offers and sales of securities to persons excluded from the definition of “U.S. person” pursuant to paragraph (k)(2)(vi) of this section or persons holding accounts excluded from the definition of “U.S. person” pursuant to paragraph (k)(2)(i) of this section, solely in their capacities as holders of such accounts, shall be deemed to be made in “offshore transactions.”
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (h)(1) of this section, publication or distribution of a research report in accordance with Rule 138(c) (§ 230.138(c)) or Rule 139(b) (§ 230.139(b)) by a broker or dealer at or around the time of an offering in reliance on Regulation S (§§ 230.901 through 230.905) will not cause the transaction to fail to be an offshore transaction as defined in this section.
(i) Reporting issuer. “Reporting issuer” means an issuer other than an investment company registered or required to register under the 1940 Act that:
(1) Has a class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or 12(g) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78l(b) or 78l(g)) or is required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d)); and
(2) Has filed all the material required to be filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78m(a) or 78o(d)) for a period of at least twelve months immediately preceding the offer or sale of securities made in reliance upon this Regulation S (§ 230.901 through § 230.905, and Preliminary Notes) (or for such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such material).
(j) Substantial U.S. market interest.
(1) “Substantial U.S. market interest” with respect to a class of an issuer's equity securities means:
(i) The securities exchanges and inter-dealer quotation systems in the United States in the aggregate constituted the single largest market for such class of securities in the shorter of the issuer's prior fiscal year or the period since the issuer's incorporation; or
(ii) 20 percent or more of all trading in such class of securities took place in, on or through the facilities of securities exchanges and inter-dealer quotation systems in the United States and less than 55 percent of such trading took place in, on or through the facilities of securities markets of a single foreign country in the shorter of the issuer's prior fiscal year or the period since the issuer's incorporation.
(2) “Substantial U.S. market interest” with respect to an issuer's debt securities means:
(i) Its debt securities, in the aggregate, are held of record (as that term is defined in § 240.12g5–1 of this chapter and used for purposes of paragraph (j)(2) of this section) by 300 or more U.S. persons;
(ii) $1 billion or more of: The principal amount outstanding of its debt securities, the greater of liquidation preference or par value of its securities described in § 230.902(a)(1), and the principal amount or principal balance of its securities described in § 230.902(a)(2), in the aggregate, is held of record by U.S. persons; and
(iii) 20 percent or more of: The principal amount outstanding of its debt securities, the greater of liquidation preference or par value of its securities described in § 230.902(a)(1), and the principal amount or principal balance of its securities described in § 230.902(a)(2), in the aggregate, is held of record by U.S. persons.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (j)(2) of this section, substantial U.S. market interest with respect to an issuer's debt securities is calculated without reference to securities that qualify for the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(3) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 77c(a)(3)).
(k) U.S. person.
(1) “U.S. person” means:
(i) Any natural person resident in the United States;
(ii) Any partnership or corporation organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States;
(iii) Any estate of which any executor or administrator is a U.S. person;
(iv) Any trust of which any trustee is a U.S. person;
(v) Any agency or branch of a foreign entity located in the United States;
(vi) Any non-discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary for the benefit or account of a U.S. person;
(vii) Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States; and
(viii) Any partnership or corporation if:
(A) Organized or incorporated under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction; and
(B) Formed by a U.S. person principally for the purpose of investing in securities not registered under the Act, unless it is organized or incorporated, and owned, by accredited investors (as defined in § 230.501(a)) who are not natural persons, estates or trusts.
(2) The following are not “U.S. persons”:
(i) Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held for the benefit or account of a non-U.S. person by a dealer or other professional fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States;
(ii) Any estate of which any professional fiduciary acting as executor or administrator is a U.S. person if:
(A) An executor or administrator of the estate who is not a U.S. person has sole or shared investment discretion with respect to the assets of the estate; and
(B) The estate is governed by foreign law;
(iii) Any trust of which any professional fiduciary acting as trustee is a U.S. person, if a trustee who is not a U.S. person has sole or shared investment discretion with respect to the trust assets, and no beneficiary of the trust (and no settlor if the trust is revocable) is a U.S. person;
(iv) An employee benefit plan established and administered in accordance with the law of a country other than the United States and customary practices and documentation of such country;
(v) Any agency or branch of a U.S. person located outside the United States if:
(A) The agency or branch operates for valid business reasons; and
(B) The agency or branch is engaged in the business of insurance or banking and is subject to substantive insurance or banking regulation, respectively, in the jurisdiction where located; and
(vi) The International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the United Nations, and their agencies, affiliates and pension plans, and any other similar international organizations, their agencies, affiliates and pension plans.
(l) United States. “United States” means the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any State of the United States, and the District of Columbia.