The Disciplinary Committee of Nasdaq Stockholm has found that CLX Communications AB (“CLX” or the “Company”) has not breached Nasdaq Stockholm’s Rule Book for Issuers (the “Rule Book”) and therefore not found reason to impose any sanction on CLX.
On September 1, 2017, CLX issued a press release with information that the Company had signed a “strategic agreement with one of the world’s largest mobile handset and software brands”. In the press release the counterparty was described as a leading US manufacturer of mobile telephones, software and other consumer electronics, with one of the world’s absolute strongest trademarks.
The Exchange argued that CLX had breached item 3.1 of the Rule Book by not including the identity of the counterparty to the agreement in the press release, nor an alternative description of the counterparty making possible an assessment of the information in the same way as if the identity had been included.
CLX argued that the press release made possible a complete and correct assessment of the agreement and its effect on the Company’s financial instruments, and that a disclosure of the counterparty’s identity would not have affected the Company’s share price more than was actually the case.
According to the Disciplinary Committee, information on an agreement which is likely to have a significant effect on the price of the issuer’s financial instruments, must as a general rule include the identity of the counterparty to the agreement. In exceptional cases where the counterparty’s identity is not stated, an alternative description of the counterparty must be provided which makes possible an assessment of the information in the same way as if the identity had been included.
In the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee, the Company’s alternative description of the counterparty to the agreement limited the potential counterparties to such a specific and small group of companies, with such small differences amongst them, that a disclosure of the counterparty’s identity could not be assumed to have had any additional material effect on the price of the Company’s shares. The Disciplinary Committee therefore found that the information contained in the press release was sufficient.
A more detailed description of the matter case and the Disciplinary Committee’s decision are available at:
Please see the attached documents for Swedish and English versions of the decision.
For further information about this exchange notice please contact Issuer Surveillance, telephone +46 8 405 60 00, or iss@nasdaq.com.
