BAHR
IPOs, not IPOops! A record number of companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 2020 and 2021. Getting a listing has never been quicker, while the introduction of the Market Abuse Regulation has not made it any easier to be a listed company. - We have just been through a very special period. The Oslo Stock Exchange has been one of the top European exchanges in terms of IPOs, involving a plethora of technology, renewable energy and health companies, says Pernille Woxen Burum, BAHR Specialist Partner. She returned to BAHR in 2021 after five years as an Oslo Stock Exchange lawyer, where she primarily worked in the market surveillance department. The duties of the Oslo Stock Exchange market surveillance department include prime responsibility for the ongoing obligations of listed companies (including MAR) and this was a key focus for Woxen Burum, who was involved in regulatory follow-up, ongoing guidance to issuers and sanctioning of violations.
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- We now have a number of new issuers with varying expertise and understanding of the regulatory and administrative followup implications of a listing. In a frantic listing year, it has been imperative for us to explain to aspiring and new issuers what responsibilities and duties are entailed by the listed company status. It is important to us that those we help with a listing are in fact also ready for it, says Lars Knem Christie, BAHR partner. The Oslo Stock Exchange has in parallel with record IPO activity implemented Euronext systems and regulations, including the implementation of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) in the stock exchange regulations. - This has definitely added new layers of complexity. Requirements are stricter and expectations are higher, while companies and their management have limited time to prepare, since the majority of listing processes have been on Euronext Growth and not on the main list, says Christie, before adding:
