OSC publishes report on exempt market activity
Nov 29, 2018
On November 29, 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published "Ontario Exempt Market Report 2018", which outlines capital raising activity by corporate (non-investment fund) issuers in Ontario’s exempt market during 2017. The report also provides a snapshot of key trends, particularly with respect to investors and issuers.
Institutional investors account for approximately $89.4 billion (or 98%) while individual investors contributed $2.2 billion (or 2%) of the total capital invested in Ontario’s exempt market.
The report revealed increased activity in Ontario’s exempt market, especially among Canadian issuers and small businesses. In 2017, approximately $37.6 billion was raised from Ontario investors by about 1,890 Canadian issuers. Approximately 37% of Canadian issuers that participated in Ontario’s exempt market were small issuers with under $5 million in assets and having raised less than $1 million.
The report also found that, collectively, prospectus exemptions introduced since 2015 have continued to gain traction among issuers and investors. Total capital raised under the offering memorandum and family, friends and business associates exemptions doubled in the last year to $327 million.
Review the press release and the report on the OSC's website.