SEC Nears Bigger Capital-Raising Limits for Private Offerings

The SEC is preparing to boost the amount of capital that startup companies can raise without going public in some cases, despite concerns about helping private markets at the expense of public markets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will vote on whether to adopt the changes Nov. 2 in an effort to encourage capital formation at smaller companies, according to an agency notice. Companies already can use certain SEC rules to raise as much as $50 million in private capital without securing an exemption from registering their offerings with the commission.

The agency in March proposed multimillion-dollar increases for ...