Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) today provided notice to applicants, listed issuers, securities lawyers and Participating Organizations about a temporary suspension in TSX’s listing and trading rules relating to Normal Course Issuer Bids (NCIBs) by U.S. interlisted issuers.
On September 18, 2008, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issued Release No. 34-58588 announcing that issuers listed on a U.S. national securities exchange (U.S. Exchange) are temporarily exempt from the application of certain share repurchase rules under the Exchange Act Rule 10b-18. TSX is granting similar temporary relief to TSX listed issuers that are also listed on a U.S. Exchange. The relief is being provided on the basis that the NCIB rules in the TSX Company Manual are similar to those in Rule 10b-18 and because most U.S. Interlisted Issuers make NCIB purchases both on U.S. Exchanges and on TSX.
The relief suspends restrictions for NCIB purchases in the opening and closing of a trading session and modifies the daily NCIB purchase restriction from 25% to 100% of ADTV. The full text of the TSX Staff Notice is available on www.tsx.com under TSX Issuer Resources/Staff Notices.
The relief will take effect as of 12:01 a.m. EST on September 23, 2008, and will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. EST on October 2, 2008, unless further extended.
