On 5 December 2026, new rules will enter into force allowing companies whose shares are admitted to trading on an MTF to acquire and transfer their own shares in the same manner as companies whose shares are traded on a regulated market. At the same time, it will become possible for the company to handle excess bonus shares arising in connection with reverse share splits and share splits through a central sale without the consent of the affected shareholders, which is currently only possible for companies whose shares are traded on a regulated market. The changes will affect approximately 600 companies whose shares are traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market, Spotlight Stock Market and NGM Growth Market.
The possibility of carrying out share buy-backs is a particularly significant change and provides MTF companies with an entirely new tool. Share buy-backs may, among other things, be used to return capital to shareholders as an alternative to dividends.
At the same time, share buy-backs raise several practical and regulatory questions, including:
• What disclosure and reporting requirements apply in relation to the trading venue and the SFSA?
• How many shares may be repurchased, and how quickly?
• How do share buy-backs interact with the prohibitions on insider dealing and market manipulation under MAR?
In the article, we provide an overview of the new rules and a Q&A over the key practical issues for MTF companies considering a share buy-back or reverse share split.
Read the article here QA_ New rules on share buy-backs and reverse share splits on MTF
