The European Commission recently published proposals to amend the European Transparency Directive which has been enacted in Ireland by the Transparency Regulations. The aim of the proposals is to modernise and simplify the transparency regime applying to listed companies. The following key changes are proposed:    

• A reduction of the administrative burden on small and medium sized issuers by ending the requirement to publish quarterly reports
• An extension of the disclosure requirements to cover all financial instruments that could be used to acquire an interest in listed companies. This measure aims to end the possibility of secret stake building through acquiring financial instruments in listed companies that currently do not need to be disclosed
• A harmonised approach to notification requirements for major holdings by providing for the aggregation of shareholdings with financial instruments giving access to shares.  

Contributed by Susanne McMenamin.

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