SMEs about to get facilitated access to financing: a new prospectus exemption

12/06/2018

The Belgian government recently endorsed a series of legal initiatives jointly tabled by the Minister of Economic Affairs and the Minister of Finance. One of the main objectives is to make it easier for SMEs to raise funds through public offerings.

A company wishing to raise less than EUR 5 million via a public offering or EUR 8 million on an unregulated market (e.g. Euronext Growth) will no longer have to produce a prospectus and have it approved by the FSMA. Instead, the company will draw up a much simpler document in the form of a 15-page information note. For the smallest companies, raising up to EUR 500,000 willnot require a single document.

This fresh approach should ensure the right balance between proportionate protection of investors and inexpensive and straightforward access to fundraising for SMEs.