South Carolina § 11-45-70 - Venture capital investment requirements.

§ 11-45-70. Venture capital investment requirements.

In order for a designated investor group to place monies held in its revolving fund with an investor for the purpose of making a venture capital investment, the following requirements must be met:

(1) No investment by an investor in any one investment may exceed five million dollars or fifteen percent of the committed capital of the investor, whichever is less. In addition, an investor must agree to invest at least an amount equal to the designated investor group's capital commitment to that investor in South Carolina based companies.

(2)(a) While each designated investor group shall give preference to investors, otherwise qualified, that agree to maintain either a headquarters or an office staffed by an investment professional in South Carolina, investments may be made with investors not principally located in South Carolina if the investors are otherwise qualified pursuant to this chapter and, together with related companies, have other venture capital investments in South Carolina or in South Carolina-based companies or can provide evidence to the authority of prior investments in South Carolina or South Carolina-based companies at least equal to the total amount of monies placed with that investor by the designated investor group.

(b) "South Carolina based companies" for purposes of this chapter means any corporation, limited liability company, community development corporation or unincorporated business organization, including a general or limited partnership, that either: (i) has its principal place of business located in this State and has at least fifty percent of its gross assets and fifty percent of its employees located in this State at the time of the initial investment; or (ii) meets qualifications as may be determined by the authority and set forth in any designated investor contract. If a corporation, limited liability company, or unincorporated business organization is a member of an affiliated group, the gross assets and the number of employees of all of the members of the affiliated group, wherever those assets and employees are located, shall be included for the purpose of determining the percentage of the corporation's, company's, or organization's gross assets and employees located in this State.

(3) When selecting investors with which to place venture capital investments, each designated investor group shall give preference to investors that, together with their affiliates, have on or before the date of the designated investor group's capital commitment, aggregate capital commitments of at least three times the amount of the designated investor group's capital commitment. Capital commitments of an investor and its affiliates for purposes of this requirement include private, federal, or other nonstate funds secured by the investor and its affiliates.

(4) Investors must develop a repayment plan based on expected liquidity events of its portfolio investments. All repayments must occur within ten years, subject to extension as described in Section 11-45-30(11).

HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 187, SECTION 5; 2005 Act No. 125, SECTION 1; 2007 Act No. 83, SECTION 8.D; 2007 Act No. 110, SECTION 4.D; 2007 Act No. 116, SECTION 2.D.