Source: OJ L, 2025/413, 31.3.2025
Current language: EN
RTS on acquisition of qualified holding in ART issuer
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2025/413
of 18 December 2024
supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the detailed content of information necessary to carry out the assessment of a proposed acquisition of a qualifying holding in an issuer of an asset-referenced token
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937(1)OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 40, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj., and in particular Article 42(4), third subparagraph, thereof,
Whereas:
Recital 1
In accordance with Article 41(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, a proposed acquirer of a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in an issuermeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of an asset-referenced tokenmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies; is to submit to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; the detailed information that is necessary for the prudential assessment of the proposed acquisition, at the time of the notification of the proposed acquisition or increase of the qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists;.
Recital 2
The information contained in the notification submitted by the proposed acquirer should be true, accurate, complete and up-to-date from the moment of submission of the notification until the completion of the assessment by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. For that purpose, the proposed acquirer should inform the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of any changes to the information provided in the notification.
Recital 3
The notification should contain data about the proposed acquirer, including the members of its management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity;, the indirect shareholders and the ultimate beneficial owner, and of the members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of the target entity where the proposed acquirer intends to appoint any. That information would include personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;. In line with the principle of data minimisation enshrined in Article 5(1), point (c), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2)Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj)., only personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; that is necessary and sufficient to enable the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; to thoroughly assess the criteria laid down in Article 42(1), points (a) to (e) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 should be provided to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. When assessing the notification of the proposed acquisition and processing the personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; included therein, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Furthermore, in line with the principles relating to processing of personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; laid down in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; should keep such personal datameans personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679; for no longer than it is necessary to the performance of their supervisory tasks.
Recital 4
Where the proposed acquirer is a legal person, information on the identity of the ultimate beneficial owners and on the reputation and experience, over the last 10 years, of the persons who effectively direct the business of the proposed acquirer is also necessary to perform the prudential assessment. Therefore, the proposed acquirer should submit that information to competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;.
Recital 5
Where the proposed acquirer is or is intended to be a trust structure, it is necessary for the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to obtain information on both the identity of the trustees who will manage the assets of the trust, and on the identity of the settlor and of the beneficial owners of those assets to be able to assess the reputation and experience of those persons.
Recital 6
Where the proposed acquirer is an alternative investment fund (AIF), as defined in Article 4(1), point (a), of Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(3)Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2011/61/oj)., or an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), authorised in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(4)Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 32, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/65/oj)., its alternative investment fund managermeans an AIFM as defined in Article 4(1), point (b), of Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(34) Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1).; (AIFM) or the AIF in the case of an internally-managed AIF, or its UCITS management companymeans a management company as defined in Article 2(1), point (b), of Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(33) Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) (OJ L 302, 17.11.2009, p. 32).; or the UCITS investment company in the case of a self-managed UCITS, should provide the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity with the identity of the individuals in charge of making the investment decisions for the fund and the information necessary for the assessment of their reputation.
Recital 7
Where the proposed acquirer is a sovereign wealth fund, that proposed acquirer should provide the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; with comprehensive information relevant to the assessment of reputation, including information on the identity and reputation of the persons holding high-level positions in the ministry, government department or other public body in charge of making the investment decisions for the fund.
Recital 8
Where the proposed acquirer is a natural person, it is necessary to obtain information both in relation to the proposed acquirer and in relation to any undertaking formally directed or controlled by the proposed acquirer over the last 10 years to provide the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity with full information relevant to the assessment of reputation.
Recital 9
Where the proposed acquirer is a legal person, it is necessary to obtain information in relation to any undertaking under the proposed acquirer’s control, and any shareholder with a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the proposed acquirer, to provide the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity with full information relevant to the assessment of reputation.
Recital 10
The information relevant to the assessment of reputation should include the information on the absence of criminal convictions and criminal proceedings, historical or ongoing, as well as information on civil or administrative cases. Similarly, information should be provided in relation to all open investigations and proceedings, sanctions or other enforcement decisions against the proposed acquirer, and any other relevant information including refusal of registration or dismissal from employment or from a position of trust that is deemed relevant for the assessment of the reputation of the proposed acquirer.
Recital 11
To ensure that the outcome of investigations run by other authorities are duly considered by the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity when conducting its own assessment of the proposed acquirer, the proposed acquirer should provide information on whether an assessment as acquirer, or as a person that directs the business of any relevant entity has already been conducted by another competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; or other authority, and, if so, the outcome of such assessment should be provided by the proposed acquirer.
Recital 12
To facilitate the retrieval of previous assessments in supervisory databases and facilitate cooperation among competent authoritiesmeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;, the proposed acquirer should submit an entity identifier with the information included in the notification to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. The identifiers that may be used for this purpose should be those that may be used to identify legal entities in accordance with Article 14 of the Commission Delegated Regulation establishing technical standards adopted pursuant to Article 68(10), first subparagraph, point (b), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, as these identifiers have characteristics that make them appropriate for supervisory purposes.
Recital 13
With regard to the proposed acquisition of indirect qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the target entity, it is necessary to calibrate in a proportionate way the content of the information request. For that purpose, two cases should be differentiated. The first one is the case where the natural or legal person indirectly acquiring or increasing a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the target entity intends to acquire the control of an existing holder of qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the target entity or holds control in the proposed direct acquirer of a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; in the target entity. The second one is the case where the existence of a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; is determined by multiplying the qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; held in the target entity by the percentages of the qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; held indirectly along the holding chain. In the second case, having regard to the more limited influence that such an indirect shareholder or member with qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; may exercise on the target entity, the proposed acquirer should submit a reduced information.
Recital 14
Proposed acquirers might envisage the appointment of one or more members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of the target entity. To enable the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to assess new members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of that target entity, the proposed acquirer should provide the same information that is required from members of management bodiesmeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of issuersmeans a natural or legal person, or other undertaking, who issues crypto-assets; of asset-referenced tokensmeans a type of crypto-asset that is not an electronic money token and that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right or a combination thereof, including one or more official currencies;, at the moment of authorisation.
Recital 15
To assess the financial soundness of that proposed acquirer, financial information concerning that proposed acquirer, including a description of the current business activities of the proposed acquirer, should be provided to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity.
Recital 16
It is important for the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to assess whether the existence of any potential conflict of interests could affect the financial soundness of the proposed acquirer and the sound and prudent management of the target entity. Therefore, proposed acquirers should provide information on the financial and non-financial interests or relationships of the proposed acquirer with any shareholders or directors or members of the management bodymeans the body or bodies of an issuer, offeror or person seeking admission to trading, or of a crypto-asset service provider, which are appointed in accordance with national law, which are empowered to set the entity’s strategy, objectives and overall direction, and which oversee and monitor management decision-making in the entity and include the persons who effectively direct the business of the entity; of the target entity or person entitled to exercise voting rights in the target entity, or with the target entity itself or its group.
Recital 17
The submission of additional information is necessary where the proposed acquirer is a legal person. That additional information should allow the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to complete the assessment of the proposed acquisition, including in cases where the legal and group structures involved may be complex and may necessitate detailed review in relation to reputation, potential action in concert with other parties, and the ability of the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to continue effective supervision of the target entity.
Recital 18
Where the proposed acquirer is an entity established in a third country or is part of a group whose direct or ultimate parent undertaking is established outside the Union, additional information should be provided so that the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity can assess that the legal regime of the third country does not provide obstacles to the ability of the target entity to comply with the prudential requirements, and is able to ascertain the proposed acquirer’s reputation in that third country.
Recital 19
To enable an assessment as to whether the proposed acquisition will impact the ability of the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to carry out effective supervision of that target entity, the proposed acquirer should submit specific information. For legal persons, the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity should assess the impact of the proposed acquisition on the consolidated supervision of the target entity and of the group that entity would belong to after the acquisition.
Recital 20
To enable the assessment of the proposed acquisition, the proposed acquirer should provide information identifying the target entity, details on the proposed acquirer’s intention and strategic investment, and information on the shares owned or intended to be owned by the proposed acquirer. That information should include details of any action undertaken by the proposed acquirer in concert with other parties for the purposes of the proposed acquisition and the information about the price of the proposed acquisition.
Recital 21
Furthermore, the proposed acquirer should provide information on the financing of the proposed acquisition, including information concerning all means and sources of financing. The proposed acquirer should also be able to present evidence about the origin and legitimacy of the source of all such fundsmeans funds as defined in Article 4, point (25), of Directive (EU) 2015/2366; and assets, including any crypto-assetmeans a digital representation of a value or of a right that is able to be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology; or other digital asset, in order for the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity to assess their certainty, sufficiency and legitimate origin, including whether there is a risk of money laundering or terrorist financing.
Recital 22
To ensure a comprehensive assessment of the proposed acquisition, proposed acquirers intending to acquire a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; of more than 20 % and up to 50 % in the target entity should provide information on their strategy to the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; of the target entity. Similarly, proposed acquirers intending to acquire a qualifying holdingmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; of up to 20 % in the target entity but exercising an equivalent significant influence over that entity through other means, including the relationships between the proposed acquirer and the existing shareholders, the existence of shareholders’ agreements, the distribution of shares, participating interests and voting rights across shareholders or the proposed acquirer’s position within the group structure of the target entity, should also provide that information to ensure a high degree of homogeneity in assessing proposed acquisitions.
Recital 23
Where there is a proposed change in control of the target entity, the proposed acquirer should, as a general rule, submit a full business plan. However, where there is no proposed change in the control of the target entity, certain information on the entity’s future strategy and the proposed acquirer’s intentions for the target entity should be sufficient to assess whether the proposed acquisition will affect the financial soundness of the proposed acquirer.
Recital 24
Having regard to the principle of proportionality, in certain cases, the proposed acquirer should submit reduced information. In particular, where the proposed acquirer has been assessed for acquisition or increase in qualifying holdingsmeans any direct or indirect holding in an issuer of asset-referenced tokens or in a crypto-asset service provider which represents at least 10 % of the capital or of the voting rights, as set out in Articles 9 and 10 of Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(32) Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 on the harmonisation of transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market and amending Directive 2001/34/EC (OJ L 390, 31.12.2004, p. 38)., respectively, taking into account the conditions for the aggregation thereof laid down in Article 12(4) and (5) of that Directive, or which makes it possible to exercise a significant influence over the management of the issuer of asset-referenced tokens or the management of the crypto-asset service provider in which that holding subsists; by the same competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; as that of the target entity within the previous 2 years, that proposed acquirer should be required to submit only the information that has changed since the previous assessment. Similarly, where the proposed acquirer is an authorised undertaking and subject to the prudential supervision of the same competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; as that of the target entity, that proposed acquirer should be exempted from submitting certain information that is already in the possession of such competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens;. In both cases, the proposed acquirer should only submit information specific to the proposed acquisition together with a signed declaration certifying that the rest of the information that has not been submitted because already in possession of the competent authoritymeans one or more authorities:designated by each Member State in accordance with Article 93 concerning offerors, persons seeking admission to trading of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, issuers of asset-referenced tokens, or crypto-asset service providers;designated by each Member State for the application of Directive 2009/110/EC concerning issuers of e-money tokens; is true, accurate and up-to-date.
Recital 25
The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council(5)Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/1725/oj). and delivered an opinion on 16 July 2024.
Recital 26
This Regulation is based on the draft regulatory technical standards, developed in close cooperation with the European Securities and Markets Authority, submitted to the Commission by the European Banking Authority.
Recital 27
The European Banking Authority has conducted open public consultations on the draft regulatory technical standards on which this Regulation is based, analysed the potential related costs and benefits and requested the advice of the Banking Stakeholder Group established in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council(6)Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority), amending Decision No 716/2009/EC and repealing Commission Decision 2009/78/EC (OJ L 331, 15.12.2010, p. 12, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/1093/oj).,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
- Article 1General information relating to the proposed acquirer
- Article 2Additional information relating to the proposed acquirer that is a natural person
- Article 3Additional information relating to the proposed acquirer that is a legal person
- Article 4Information to be submitted by persons acquiring an indirect qualifying holding in the target entity
- Article 5Information on the persons that will direct the business of the target entity
- Article 6Information relating to the proposed acquisition
- Article 7Information on the new proposed group structure and its impact on supervision
- Article 8Information relating to the financing of the proposed acquisition
- Article 9Additional information for qualifying holdings of up to 20 %
- Article 10Additional information for qualifying holdings of more than 20 % and up to 50 %
- Article 11Additional information for qualifying holdings of more than 50 %
- Article 12Reduced information requirements
- Article 13Entry into force
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 2024.
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYEN