This Practical Guide is an information document which summarises the main rules and practices applicable across the European Economic Area1 (EEA) in relation to notifications of major holdings under national law in accordance with the Transparency Directive. The Practical Guide is intended as an aide to market participants and may be particularly helpful to shareholders with notification obligations under national law in accordance with the Transparency Directive.
Part I of the Practical Guide sets out a summary of the main rules and practices in relation to making and publishing notifications of major holdings under national law in accordance with the Transparency Directive. Information is presented on a country-by-country basis to allow market participants to easily identify information about the jurisdiction(s) of interest to them. The focus is on on-exchange transactions based on the assumption that these trigger the majority of notification obligations under the Transparency Directive.
Part II of the Practical Guide presents key data i.e. information on notification thresholds, the triggering event, the deadline for learning of the triggering event, the deadline for making a notification as well as permitted channels and format for the filing of such and the deadline for publishing a notification. Information in Part II is organised in transversal tables, making it possible to compare rules across different jurisdictions.
Status of information and updates to the Practical Guide
The Practical Guide has been compiled on the basis of information provided by National Competent Authorities under the Transparency Directive. Any queries regarding Member State specific content should be addressed directly to the relevant National Competent Authority in that Member State.
ESMA is responsible only for the accurate reproduction of the information received from the National Competent Authorities. ESMA does not provide any representation or warranty that the content of the Practical Guide is complete, accurate or up to date.
ESMA will update the Practical Guide on an ad hoc basis as and when necessary based on changes to national rules and practices. However, there may be a small delay between the time at which a change takes place nationally and the time at which the Practical Guide is amended. If any discrepancy is identified between the information in the Practical Guide and legislation or rules published by national legislators or National Competent Authorities, priority should be given to the latter.
The current version of the Practical Guide was published on 01 September 2021 and incorporates changes to information relating to Iceland and Italy, while information concerning the United Kingdom was removed following the end of the UK’s transition period for leaving the EU.
[…]
Source – ESMA: Practical Guide on notifications of major holdings under the Transparency Directive