London Stock Exchange proposes special offers for private companies – WSJ | Investing News

(Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange Group has proposed a special market for private companies to trade their shares publicly on the exchange on certain days, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday at https://on.wsj.com/3nt8j9h, under mention of a person familiar with the matter.

The move is part of a plan to attract high-growth tech companies to the UK stock exchange in the wake of Brexit, the Journal said.

Shares of private companies would trade publicly between one and five days into each trading window, once a month or quarter, or every six months, the report added, citing proposals the LSE’s Journal had seen to its regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority, and the UK Treasury.

The companies would not be subject to the same level of regulatory oversight as a fully publicly traded company, requirements that startup founders say are a deterrent to stock listing, the Journal said.

London Stock Exchange Group and the UK Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment. An FCA spokesperson declined to comment.

The Journal said that in the document it sent to the FCA and the Treasury on Dec. 21, the LSE wrote that “the new type of location would act as a stepping stone between private and fully public markets.” It “should be seen as an improvement on the current options available to companies that want to raise capital without imposing regulation that inhibits growth.”

Last year, Britain’s market watchdog confirmed new rules to bolster London’s role as a global center for listed companies following increased competition from the European Union after Brexit.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by David Evans)

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