Approval of prospectuses – transferable securities
Published: 21 February 2024
Finanstilsynet controls that prospectuses contain the required information. In 2023, Finanstilsynet approved a total of 91 prospectuses, which was somewhat lower than in 2022. Two companies were fined for breaching the obligation to prepare an EEA prospectus. One company was criticised for breaching prospectus rules.
Facts – number of prospectuses approved by Finanstilsynet 2019–2023
A prospectus shall provide relevant information about the company in connection with public offerings or listing on regulated markets.
|
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Shares |
54 |
50 |
55 |
58 |
40 |
|
Bonds |
68 |
71 |
52 |
47 |
51 |
|
Total |
122 |
121 |
107 |
105 |
91 |
Source: Finanstilsynet
Approval of prospectuses in 2023
In 2023, the capital market was affected by the macroeconomic situation, with high interest rate levels and considerable uncertainty, and there was a reduction in the number of prospectuses related to initial admission to trading. The number of share prospectuses approved for listed companies was also slightly lower than in recent years, while the number of prospectuses for bond issues appears to be less affected by market conditions.
In 2023, Finanstilsynet approved a total of 91 prospectuses, which was somewhat lower than in 2022.
Finanstilsynet terminated 18 approval processes in 2023 (compared with 17 in 2022) after capital raising and/or admission to trading were discontinued.
In 2023, Finanstilsynet started to review 13 prospectuses for initial admission to trading of shares (compared with 29 in 2022). Six of these prospectuses (compared with 19 in 2022) were used for admission to trading of shares on Oslo Børs or Euronext Expand, while the other processes were disrupted. Finanstilsynet approved 29 prospectuses for listed companies and first-time listings, as well as five prospectuses for share issues by unlisted companies. The number of bond prospectuses in 2023 was roughly on a level with 2022 – 51 vs 47.
Administrative matters
In 2023, two companies were fined by Finanstilsynet for breaching the obligation to prepare an EEA prospectus. One company was criticised for breaching prospectus rules.
Regulatory development
In October, the Ministry of Finance circulated for comment a proposal from Finanstilsynet on the implementation of an expected EEA regulation on green bonds. The regulation establishes a common European standard for bonds using the designation European Green Bonds and imposes requirements for use of the proceeds and disclosure requirements for issuers.