Correspondence 0001575872-22-001206 from Destiny Tech100 Inc. (DXYZ)
Destiny Tech100 Inc.
Date: Dec. 1, 2022 · CIK: 0001843974 · Accession: 0001575872-22-001206
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-264909, 811-23802
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CORRESP
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Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP
700 Sixth Street, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001-3980
D: +1 202.383.0262
F: +1 202.637.3593
owenpinkerton@eversheds-sutherland.us
November 30, 2022
Karen Rossotto, Senior Counsel
Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Investment Management
100 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549
Re: Destiny Tech100 Inc.
Registration
Statement on Form N-2
File Nos. 811-23802; 333-264909
Dear Ms. Rossotto:
On behalf of Destiny Tech100 Inc. (the
“Company”), set forth below is the Company’s supplemental response to Comment #12(d) from the comment
letter issued by the staff of the Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “Commission”) on June 13, 2022. This supplemental response is designed to address concerns voiced
by the Staff in a call with counsel on September 29, 2022 related to the Company’s prior response to such comment. Capitalized
terms used but not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Registration Statement.
COMMENT RELATED TO PRIOR RESPONSE
LETTER
1. In your prior response letter, it was stated that the expiration
date of the Warrants in 2026 does not violate Section 18(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, because the Warrants
were issued in connection with the Private Offering while the Company operated as a private fund exempt from registration under
Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act. As support for this position, it was stated that the issuance of the Warrants was consistent with
the no action position taken by the staff in The South American Fund N.V. (September 2, 1993). Please explain to us how
the Company’s factual circumstances are similar to the company at question in the South American Fund no-action letter and
why allowing the Warrants to remain outstanding is consistent with Section 48 of the 1940 Act.
Background
The Company was formed on November 18,
2020 as a Maryland corporation and operated as a private fund exempt from registration as a management investment company under
the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Company relied on the exception from registration
found in Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act from its inception until May 13, 2022, when the Company registered as an investment company
through the filing of Form N-8A with the Commission.
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is part
of a global legal practice, operating through various separate and distinct legal entities, under Eversheds Sutherland. For
a full description of the structure and a list of offices, please visit www.eversheds-sutherland.com.
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Karen Rossotto, Senior Counsel
November 30, 2022
Page 2
In January 2021, the Company commenced
a private offering (the “Private Offering”) of Simple Agreements for Future Equity (“SAFEs”)
pursuant to Rule 506(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to a limited number of qualified purchasers, as such term
is defined under Section 2(a)(51)(A) of the 1940 Act. As additional consideration in connection with the offer and sale of the
SAFEs, the Company granted to investors warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase additional shares of the Company’s
common stock at a purchase price of $11.50 per Warrant, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the SAFE Agreement entered
into between the Company and purchasers of SAFEs (the “SAFE Agreement”). Pursuant to the terms of the Warrant
Agreement, the Warrants had an expiration date of January 1, 2026.
Throughout 2021 and the first part of
2022, the Company was fully operational as a private fund. It raised an aggregate of nearly $100 million and
deployed approximately $73 million in investments in 21 portfolio companies, consistent with its investment objective and
strategy as detailed in the PPM. This activity stands in contrast to funds that raise capital privately and commence
activities following registration under the 1940 Act. The Company deployed proceeds from its private offering expeditiously
and otherwise conducted its operations pursuant to its exception from registration found in Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940
Act.
As further described below, the Company
believes that the issuance of the Warrants did not violate Section 18(d) of the 1940 Act and was consistent with prior no-action
positions taken by the staff of the Commission.
Statutory Language and Commission Interpretations
Section 18(d) of the 1940 Act declares
it unlawful
for
any registered management company to issue any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase a security of which such
company is the issuer, except in the form of warrants or rights to subscribe expiring not later than 120 days after their issuance…
(emphasis added).
The
express language of Section 18(d) makes it clear that only the issuance of warrants by registered investment companies that surpass
the 120-day limit is prohibited. The Commission has confirmed this position through the issuance of two separate no-action letters.
In Surfcastle, Inc., (Apr. 13, 1988) (“Surfcastle”), the Commission stated that “[s]ection
18, contrary to section 61(b) [which applies to business development companies], prohibits the issuance of specified securities
and the sale of those securities unless the company complies with the capital structure requirements of that section. Thus, a company
subject to section 18 does not have to change its capital structure before it becomes registered.” In The South
American Fund N.V. (September 2, 1993) (“South American Fund”), the Commission stated that “a company
whose capital structure does not comply with Section 18 may thus register with the Commission as an investment company without
changing its capital structure.” In South American Fund, the staff included a footnote that stated, in part, that “fund[s]
that issue long-term warrants prior to registering with the Commission for the purpose of evading the 1940 Act’s capital
structure requirements ... violate Section 48(a) of the 1940 Act.”
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Karen Rossotto, Senior Counsel
November 30, 2022
Page 3
In South American Fund, the issuer issued
units, which consisted of a warrant and common shares, to investors while the issuer was not subject to regulation under the 1940
Act. In connection with the issuer’s reorganization in the U.S. and intent to register as a closed-end fund under the 1940
Act, the issuer sought relief from the staff of the Commission to not have to redeem such warrants upon its registration under
the 1940 Act. The Staff provided no action relief to the issuer, subject to a number of conditions. In connection with providing
such relief, the Staff noted that the legislative history of the 1940 Act made clear that a company whose capital structure does
not conform to Section 18 of the 1940 Act at the time of registration is not required to change its capital structure upon registration.
In the South American Fund NAL, the Staff
required that the issuer list the warrants on the same exchange as the exchange where the common shares would be listed and required
the issuer to confirm that it would not conduct a rights offering at or below net asset value while the warrants were outstanding.
Further, the Staff required the issuer to undertake to obtain stockholder approval as soon as reasonably practicable after registration
to be able to issue shares below net asset value in recognition of the fact that warrants may be exercised at a price below net
asset value, which would otherwise be prohibited under Section 23(b) of the 1940 Act.
As noted in our prior response letter,
dated July 8, 2022, the Company believes that its operating history is consistent in many ways with the facts of South American
Fund. Further, the Company agrees to comply with the material conditions set forth in South American Fund. For example, the Company
has no intent to and hereby undertakes to not conduct a rights offering at a price below net asset value during the period when
the warrants remain outstanding. In addition, the Company hereby undertakes to seek stockholder approval to issue shares below
net asset value at its next annual meeting of stockholders in recognition of the fact that warrants could be exercised at a price
below net asset value. Finally, the Company intends to provide disclosure of the existence and terms of the warrants in its periodic
reports filed with the SEC and provided to stockholders as well as on its website.
As more fully discussed below, as the Company
was not registered under the 1940 Act when the Warrants were issued, the only way that the issuance of the Warrants would be prohibited
is if the Warrants were issued for the purpose of evading the 1940 Act’s capital structure requirements. Based on the facts
and circumstances noted below, the Company does not believe that it is appropriate for the Staff to take the position that the
Warrants were issued in order to evade the capital structure requirements set forth in Section 18.
1. The Company Was Not Registered,
Nor Required to Register, as a Management Company When the Warrants were Issued.
As mentioned above, at the time the Company
issued the Warrants, the Company conducted operations as a private fund exempt from registration pursuant to Section 3(c)(7) of
the 1940 Act, and, hence, was not registered as a management company under the 1940 Act, nor required to register. This is consistent
with South American Fund, where the issuer was not registered nor required to register, under the 1940 Act at the time it issued
the warrants in question.
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Karen Rossotto, Senior Counsel
November 30, 2022
Page 4
2. The Warrants Were Issued
Before the Company Decided to Register as a Management Company and Were Not Issued For the Purpose of Evading the 1940 Act’s
Capital Structure Requirements.
The Company offered and sold SAFEs as opposed
to shares of common stock for a number of reasons, one of which was the substantial uncertainty as to whether the Company would
be successful in raising capital through the Private Offering and whether it would seek to register as a management investment
company under the 1940 Act or instead liquidate its holdings and wrap up operations after a fixed initial term. The SAFEs offered
and sold in the Private Offering were not transferable and only had potential liquidity in the event of an optional or mandatory
conversion, as described in the SAFE Agreement, or the liquidation of the Company’s assets. As described in the private placement
memorandum used to offer and sell SAFEs in the Private Offering (the “PPM”), a “mandatory conversion”
of SAFEs to shares of common stock would take place if there was a direct listing of the Company’s shares of common stock
on a national securities exchange or the closing of an underwritten initial public offering of shares.
In the PPM the Company clearly stated that
it would liquidate its holdings and wind down operations unless the Company engaged in a transaction that would result in a “liquidity
event” within three years following the date of the last SAFE sold in the Private Offering. Specifically, the PPM disclosed
on page 12 under the heading “Liquidity Event”:
The Board will use its commercially
reasonable efforts to wind down and/or liquidate and dissolve the Company in an orderly manner following the three (3) year anniversary
of date of issuance of the last SAFE issued, unless (i) the Company has consummated, or is in the process of consummating, a Liquidity
Event (as defined below) or (ii) the term is extended for up to two additional one-year periods, in the sole discretion of the
Adviser. A “Liquidity Event” is defined as any of the following: (x) an initial public offering or an
initial listing of the Common Stock on a national securities exchange (a “Public Listing”), or
(y) the sale of substantially all assets of the Company. In connection with any Public Listing, we would be required to
register as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
While registration under the 1940 Act in
order to complete a transaction that would result in the conversion of SAFEs to shares of common stock was one liquidity option,
it was only one option presented to investors and was not anticipated at the time the SAFEs were offered and sold. Further, investors
were cautioned not to invest in the SAFEs if they desired liquidity as there was no assurance that the SAFEs would be converted
to shares of common stock or that the Company would seek to commence or complete a liquidity event. Registering as an investment
company under the 1940 Act and listing the shares of common stock on a national securities exchange was not conveyed to investors
as a preferred outcome or the most likely outcome. In fact, management of the Company had not previously managed a registered fund
and was uncertain as to whether it would be able to raise sufficient capital to effectuate a public listing or conduct an initial
public offering. Further, management had not previously operated under the 1940 Act and, at the time of the Private Offering, had
not engaged service providers or taken any other actions to assist in complying with the regulations under the 1940 Act, which
would be required to operate thereunder.
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Karen Rossotto, Senior Counsel
November 30, 2022
Page 5
Finally, in order to list shares on a national
securities exchange, a fund is required to meet the exchange’s listing standards, which include, among other things, a minimum
amount of assets under management, a sufficient number of record holders and approval from the exchange in order to list. It was
not foreseeable at the time the Private Offering commenced that the Company would be able to achieve any of these milestones in
order to list its shares on a national securities exchange. In addition to these factors, an underwritten initial public offering
requires engaging an investment bank to buy shares on a firm commitment basis and sell such shares to its customers. Engaging in
an IPO is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor, especially for a newly-formed sponsor, and has no guarantee of success. For
a newly-formed sponsor, while either option was a possibility, neither was seen as likely or foreseeable at the time the Private
Offering was launched and were not disclosed in such manner in the PPM.
Because of the level of uncertainty at
the time of the Private Offering related to the whether and when the Company would seek a liquidity event, regardless of the form
of such liquidity event, the Company does not believe that it is accurate to suggest that the issuance of the Warrants violated
Section 48(a) of the 1940 Act, since it was not foreseeable at such time that the Company would register as an investment company.
Section 48(a) states that “It shall be unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to cause to be done any act or thing
through or by means of any other person which it would be unlawful for such person to do under the provisions of this title or
any rule, regulation, or order thereunder.” A violation of Section 48(a) of the 1940 Act requires that the Company would
have known or reasonably would have anticipated that it would first effect a transaction that would result in the conversion of
the SAFEs to shares and then register under the 1940 Act. As demonstrated above, the Company does not believe that such an outcome
was reasonably anticipated when the Warrants were issued and, therefore, such issuance did not violate Section 48(a) of the 1940
Act.
Conclusion
As a result of the foregoing, the Company
believes that the issuance of the Warrants was permitted under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to South American Fund, the issuance of the
Warrants was permitted since the Company was not registered under the 1940 Act or required to register thereun