Consultation from Oslo Børs on changes to Euronext Growth Oslo rules

Oslo Børs has published a consultation on proposed changes to the Euronext Growth Oslo rules. The proposed changes mainly relate to the Euronext Growth Advisor role, as well as certain aspects of the admission process. Such proposed changes include:

• Introduction of conditions and an application process for becoming a Euronext Growth Advisor, subject to approval by Oslo Børs. Euronext Growth Advisor must be authorized to provide corporate finance services. Furthermore, Oslo Børs will consider the suitability of the applicant, hereunder other authorizations held, knowledge and experience with the securities market, relevant expertise of employees and any previous breaches of stock exchange rules or other securities legislation. The Euronext Growth Advisor must also attend a training course at Oslo Børs.
• The independence requirement to Euronext Growth Advisors shall also entail that beneficial owners or persons with managerial responsibility in Euronext Growth Advisor on a consolidated basis cannot own more than 10% of the shares or voting rights in an issuer in which the Euronext Growth Advisor is assisting with the admission to trading. Any ownership in the issuer by such persons in Euronext Growth Advisor must be disclosed in the information document. Furthermore, employees in the Euronext Growth Advisor who are advisors to an issuer in an admission process cannot own shares or voting rights in such issuer.
• Euronext Growth Advisors must consider whether the issuer fulfils the admission rules for trading on Euronext Growth, including suitability of the issuer, and present the grounds for such assessment and its conclusion to Oslo Børs.
• New requirement of independence of due diligence advisors, similar to applicable rules on Oslo Børs and Euronext Expand. Furthermore, Euronext Growth Advisor must at the time of the issuer’s listing application submit a due diligence form to Oslo Børs. The form must account for the due diligence investigations that have been carried out and the Euronext Growth Advisor’s assessment of these. Oslo Børs will continue its practice on Euronext Growth of not receiving the due diligence reports as such.
• Changes to the checklist for the information document to be published by the issuer in connection with the admission to trading on Euronext Growth. The new content requirements are more aligned with content requirements of the Prospectus Regulation and guidelines and Q&A from ESMA can also be relevant. The checklist will accordingly be more in line with the checklist that was applicable prior to the harmonization with the other Euronext Growth market places.
• Euronext Growth Advisor will also be responsible for ensuring that all relevant information is submitted to Oslo Børs so that Oslo Børs can make an assessment of whether the admission rules for trading on Euronext Growth are fulfilled for the relevant issuer, as well as the content requirements of the information document.

The consultation is available on the website of Oslo Børs under “Consultation” and the deadline for market participants to submit comments to the proposed changes is set to 1 March 2022.