This Bill has been adopted by the First Chamber of parliament and is expected to come into force on 1 January 2012. The Bill requires notification of financial instruments where the increase in value of the instruments is partly dependent on the increase in value of the underlying shares or related dividends. Cash settled instruments can be used to avoid the existing disclosure regime by secretly building up a stake in the instruments that can easily be converted into voting rights at a later stage. The Bill remedies this.
The AFM has drawn up a draft policy guideline setting out the method of calculating the number of shares to which financial instruments relate and specifying the circumstances in which a basket or index of shares should be notified. The AFM has asked interested parties to comment on the draft guidelines. The consultation closed on 16 December 2011.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
