Broadstone Net Lease has benefited from the passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act passed in April, according to Amy Tait, the company's chairman and CEO.
In a video interview with REIT.com at REITWeek 2012: NAREIT's Investor Forum, Tait discussed the impact of the bill on her privately held company. In the past five years, Broadstone has attracted more than 400 shareholders. However, under old regulatory standards, the company would have been forced to register with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a public company once it reached 500 shareholder.
"We're ready to become a public company at some point, but not today," Taid said. "We don't really have the critical mass we need to effectively run a public company."
Tait said being required to register with the SEC would have represented the "worst of both worlds" for Broadstone without the benefits of additional liquidity.
However, following the passage of the JOBS Act on April 5, Broadstone can now have up to 2,000 shareholders while remaining a private company. The bill was "a dream come true for us," according to Tait.
"So, we now have a much longer runway to continue our growth in an orderly fashion, quarter by quarter, just as we have been the past five years," she said.
Tait didn't hesitate to say that doing an initial public offering (IPO) is definitely on the radar for Broadstone. She said the company will wait until the timing is right and market conditions are better.
In addition to helping with efforts to pursue an IPO, Tait said the JOBS Act also gives the company the opportunity to talk to analysts and investors prior to an IPO to get a sense if the market is ready.
"The great thing is we'll have choices, and we'll continue to grow our company, whether public or private, in a more effective way," Tait said.