The Financial Conduct Authority has introduced changes to the rules on information sharing during UK equity initial public offerings (IPOs), removing the mandatory seven-day waiting period between publishing an approved prospectus and connected analyst research, and ending the requirement for issuers to provide the same information to unconnected analysts.
The regulator says the changes will shorten the IPO timetable, reduce execution risk and lower costs for issuers while supporting the competitiveness of the UK's public markets.
Commenting, Inigo Esteve, Partner in the Capital Markets group of global law firm White & Case LLP, said:
"These are sensible, targeted reforms that remove unnecessary friction from the UK IPO process. Shortening the timetable for issuers will help reduce execution risk during the IPO period, while simplifying information sharing requirements will ease the administrative burden for companies and their advisers.
"Alongside the wider programme of UK capital markets reforms introduced over the past two years, these changes demonstrate the FCA's continued willingness to refine the regulatory framework where it can improve the efficiency and competitiveness of London's public markets."
