In connection with the resolution of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (https://www.gpw.pl/pub/GPW/uchwaly/2023/1032_2023.pdf) of September 26, 2023 regarding the suspension of trading in shares of MCI Capital ASI S.A. (“MCI ASI”; “company”), as of September 29, 2023, the company explains that the decision of the WSE Management Board has no impact on its plans and the financial and business situation of the MCI group.
According to the position of the WSE, the decision of the WSE Management Board results from the amendment to the law provided for in the Act of August 16, 2023 on amending certain acts in connection with ensuring the development of the financial market and investor protection on this market, coming into force on September 29, 2023.
The decision of the Stock Exchange Management Board is surprising for MCI ASI, as well as for the entire market, in particular in the context of the public announcement of the Ministry of Finance and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority of September 1, 2023 (https://www.knf.gov.pl/knf/pl/komponenty/img/Komunikat_MF_UKNF_ws_alternatywnych_spolek_inwestycyjnych_83594.pdf).
The position of the Ministry of Finance and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority clearly confirms that the legal provisions coming into force on September 29, 2023 do not apply to ASI whose shares are already admitted to trading on the regulated market on the date of entry into force of the amended legal provisions.
In their communication, the Ministry of Finance and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority indicate that the legislator’s intention was to regulate trading in ASI participation rights from the point of view of the possibility of purchasing them by retail clients outside organized trading, and the amended legal provisions should not be interpreted in a way that would lead to the exclusion of such ASIs from trading.
The position of the Ministry of Finance and UNKF applies to all alternative investment companies admitted to organized trading. However, due to the specific shareholding structure, MCI ASI benefits from an additional exemption provided for in the amended law, which excludes restrictions on trading in its shares, even if MCI ASI was not a public company.
The decision of the WSE does not have a negative impact on MCI’s plans and the business and financial situation of the MCI group, however, we understand that it may negatively affect the interests of minority investors who planned to conduct stock exchange transactions in the company’s shares. Therefore, if the suspension of trading in MCI ASI shares is not of a temporary nature, the company will consider accelerating and increasing the volume of the program planned for next year enabling MCI shareholders to sell their shares in the formulas provided for by law, bypassing the WSE