- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (31/01/2020)
- Original (As adopted by EU)
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (market abuse regulation) and repealing Directive 2003/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Directives 2003/124/EC, 2003/125/EC and 2004/72/EC (Text with EEA relevance)
When the UK left the EU, legislation.gov.uk published EU legislation that had been published by the EU up to IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.). On legislation.gov.uk, these items of legislation are kept up-to-date with any amendments made by the UK since then.
Legislation.gov.uk publishes the UK version. EUR-Lex publishes the EU version. The EU Exit Web Archive holds a snapshot of EUR-Lex’s version from IP completion day (31 December 2020 11.00 p.m.).
Version Superseded: 31/12/2020
Point in time view as at 31/01/2020. This version of this provision has been superseded.
You are viewing this legislation item as it stood at a particular point in time. A later version of this or provision, including subsequent changes and effects, supersedes this version.
Note the term provision is used to describe a definable element in a piece of legislation that has legislative effect – such as a Part, Chapter or section.
Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 11 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 17 August 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes and effects yet to be applied by the editorial team are only applicable when viewing the latest version or prospective version of legislation. They are therefore not accessible when viewing legislation as at a specific point in time. To view the ‘Changes to Legislation’ information for this provision return to the latest version view using the options provided in the ‘What Version’ box above.
1.A market sounding comprises the communication of information, prior to the announcement of a transaction, in order to gauge the interest of potential investors in a possible transaction and the conditions relating to it such as its potential size or pricing, to one or more potential investors by:
(a)an issuer;
(b)a secondary offeror of a financial instrument, in such quantity or value that the transaction is distinct from ordinary trading and involves a selling method based on the prior assessment of potential interest from potential investors;
(c)an emission allowance market participant; or
(d)a third party acting on behalf or on the account of a person referred to in point (a), (b) or (c).
2.Without prejudice to Article 23(3), disclosure of inside information by a person intending to make a takeover bid for the securities of a company or a merger with a company to parties entitled to the securities, shall also constitute a market sounding, provided that:
(a)the information is necessary to enable the parties entitled to the securities to form an opinion on their willingness to offer their securities: and
(b)the willingness of parties entitled to the securities to offer their securities is reasonably required for the decision to make the takeover bid or merger.
3.A disclosing market participant shall, prior to conducting a market sounding, specifically consider whether the market sounding will involve the disclosure of inside information. The disclosing market participant shall make a written record of its conclusion and the reasons therefor. It shall provide such written records to the competent authority upon request. This obligation shall apply to each disclosure of information throughout the course of the market sounding. The disclosing market participant shall update the written records referred to in this paragraph accordingly.
4.For the purposes of Article 10(1), disclosure of inside information made in the course of a market sounding shall be deemed to be made in the normal exercise of a person’s employment, profession or duties where the disclosing market participant complies with paragraphs 3 and 5 of this Article.
5.For the purposes of paragraph 4, the disclosing market participant shall, before making the disclosure:
(a)obtain the consent of the person receiving the market sounding to receive inside information;
(b)inform the person receiving the market sounding that he is prohibited from using that information, or attempting to use that information, by acquiring or disposing of, for his own account or for the account of a third party, directly or indirectly, financial instruments relating to that information;
(c)inform the person receiving the market sounding that he is prohibited from using that information, or attempting to use that information, by cancelling or amending an order which has already been placed concerning a financial instrument to which the information relates; and
(d)inform the person receiving the market sounding that by agreeing to receive the information he is obliged to keep the information confidential.
The disclosing market participant shall make and maintain a record of all information given to the person receiving the market sounding, including the information given in accordance with points (a) to (d) of the first subparagraph, and the identity of the potential investors to whom the information has been disclosed, including but not limited to the legal and natural persons acting on behalf of the potential investor, and the date and time of each disclosure. The disclosing market participant shall provide that record to the competent authority upon request.
6.Where information that has been disclosed in the course of a market sounding ceases to be inside information according to the assessment of the disclosing market participant, the disclosing market participant shall inform the recipient accordingly, as soon as possible.
The disclosing market participant shall maintain a record of the information given in accordance with this paragraph and shall provide it to the competent authority upon request.
7.Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, the person receiving the market sounding shall assess for itself whether it is in possession of inside information or when it ceases to be in possession of inside information.
8.The disclosing market participant shall keep the records referred to in this Article for a period of at least five years.
9.In order to ensure consistent harmonisation of this Article, ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to determine appropriate arrangements, procedures and record keeping requirements for persons to comply with the requirements laid down in paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 8.
ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 3 July 2015.
Power is delegated to the Commission to adopt the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.
10.In order to ensure uniform conditions of application of this Article, ESMA shall develop draft implementing technical standards to specify the systems and notification templates to be used by persons to comply with the requirements established by paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 8 of this Article, particularly the precise format of the records referred to in paragraphs 4 to 8 and the technical means for appropriate communication of the information referred to in paragraph 6 to the person receiving the market sounding.
ESMA shall submit those draft implementing technical standards to the Commission by 3 July 2015.
Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.
11.ESMA shall issue guidelines in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010, addressed to persons receiving market soundings, regarding:
(a)the factors that such persons are to take into account when information is disclosed to them as part of a market sounding in order for them to assess whether the information amounts to inside information;
(b)the steps that such persons are to take if inside information has been disclosed to them in order to comply with Articles 8 and 10 of this Regulation; and
(c)the records that such persons are to maintain in order to demonstrate that they have complied with Articles 8 and 10 of this Regulation.
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As adopted by EU): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was first adopted in the EU. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different versions taken from EUR-Lex before exit day and during the implementation period as well as any subsequent versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation.
The dates for the EU versions are taken from the document dates on EUR-Lex and may not always coincide with when the changes came into force for the document.
For any versions created after the implementation period as a result of changes made by UK legislation the date will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. For further information see our guide to revised legislation on Understanding Legislation.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: