953Failure to comply with rules about bid documentation
(1)This section applies where a takeover bid is made for a company that has securities carrying voting rights admitted to trading on a regulated market in the United Kingdom.
(2)Where an offer document published in respect of the bid does not comply with offer document rules, an offence is committed by—
(a)the person making the bid, and
(b)where the person making the bid is a body of persons, any director, officer or member of that body who caused the document to be published.
(3)A person commits an offence under subsection (2) only if—
(a)he knew that the offer document did not comply, or was reckless as to whether it complied, and
(b)he failed to take all reasonable steps to secure that it did comply.
(4)Where a response document published in respect of the bid does not comply with response document rules, an offence is committed by any director or other officer of the company referred to in subsection (1) who—
(a)knew that the response document did not comply, or was reckless as to whether it complied, and
(b)failed to take all reasonable steps to secure that it did comply.
(5)Where an offence is committed under subsection (2)(b) or (4) by a company or other body corporate (“the relevant body”)—
(a)subsection (2)(b) has effect as if the reference to a director, officer or member of the person making the bid included a reference to a director, officer or member of the relevant body;
(b)subsection (4) has effect as if the reference to a director or other officer of the company referred to in subsection (1) included a reference to a director, officer or member of the relevant body.
(6)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment, to a fine;
(b)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.
(7)Nothing in this section affects any power of the Panel in relation to the enforcement of its rules.
(8)Section 1 (meaning of “company”) does not apply for the purposes of this section.
(9)In this section—
“designated” means designated in rules;
“offer document” means a document required to be published by rules giving effect to Article 6.2 of the Takeovers Directive;
“offer document rules” means rules designated as rules that give effect to Article 6.3 of that Directive;
“response document” means a document required to be published by rules giving effect to Article 9.5 of that Directive;
“response document rules” means rules designated as rules that give effect to the first sentence of Article 9.5 of that Directive;
“securities” means shares or debentures;
“takeover bid” has the same meaning as in that Directive;
“voting rights” means rights to vote at general meetings of the company in question, including rights that arise only in certain circumstances.