§ 810-25 — Direct and Co-venture Investments

Illinois § 810-25

• Jurisdiction: Illinois
• Topic: GOVERNMENT
• Ch. 20: EXECUTIVE BRANCH
• Act 20 ILCS 3501/: Illinois Finance Authority Act.
• Art.: Article 810 - Venture Investment Fund

Text

An enterprise seeking a direct investment from the Illinois Venture Investment Fund shall file an application with the Authority along with an applicable fee to be determined by the Authority. A valid application shall contain a business plan, including a description of the enterprise and its management, a statement of the amount, timing, and projected use of the capital required, a statement concerning the feasibility of the proposed technology, product, process, or invention, its state of development and likelihood of commercial success, a statement of the potential economic impact of the enterprise on the State, including the number, location, and types of jobs expected to be created, and such other information as the Authority shall require. In addition to the foregoing, the Authority shall approve an application for a direct investment and shall approve a co-venture investment only after it has made the following findings: (a) The enterprise has a reasonable chance of success; (b) If the application is for a direct investment, Authority participation is necessary to the success of the enterprise because conventional, private funding is unavailable in the traditional capital markets, or because funding has been offered on terms that would substantially hinder the success of the enterprise; (c) The technology, product, process, or invention for which the investment is being made is feasible, has the potential to achieve commercial success and the enterprise has the potential to create substantial employment within the State per dollar invested and that this employment, so far as feasible, may be expected to be for residents of areas of critical labor surplus; (d) The entrepreneur, investors, shareholders, and other founders of the enterprise have already made or are obligated to make a substantial financial and time commitment to the enterprise; (e) The securities to be purchased are qualified securities; (f) The Authority determines that the possible gains on the investment are at least commensurate with the risk of loss and that there is a reasonable possibility that the Authority will recoup its investment, within 10 years after the investment or such other time period as negotiated by the Authority, through the receipt of interest payments, dividends, capital gains, or other distribution of profits, or royalties on investments made by the Authority; and (g) Binding commitments have been made to the Authority by the enterprise for adequate reporting of financial data to the Authority and any participating professional investors or seed capital investors. The report shall include an annual audit of the books of the enterprise by an independent certified public accountant if the Authority so requires. The Authority and any participating professional investors or seed capital investors shall secure sufficient contractual rights from the enterprise as the Authority shall consider prudent to protect the investment of the Authority, including, at the discretion of the Authority and without limitation, a right of access to financial and other records of the enterprise. The Authority's interest in qualified securities from investments shall not represent more than 49% of the voting stock of any single enterprise at the time of purchase after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding convertible securities of the enterprise. In the event of severe financial difficulty that in the judgment of the Authority threatens the investment of the Authority therein, a greater percentage of those securities may be owned or acquired by the Authority.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 93-205, eff. 1-1-04.)