Purpose
The skill reviews whether for a planned issuance or admission a securities prospectus under the directly applicable Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 is required, identifies relevant exemptions (Art. 1 IV, § 3 WpPG with securities information sheet) and supports the structure and risk factors catalogue. It addresses the BaFin approval procedure (Art. 20 Prospectus Regulation) as well as prospectus liability under §§ 9–11 WpPG.
Inputs
- Issuer (legal form, registered office, balance sheet figures, EU home Member State within the meaning of Art. 2 lit. m Prospectus Regulation)
- Type of security (share, bond, convertible bond, hybrid capital)
- Project: public offer, admission to the regulated market (Prime Standard, General Standard, Scale is the open market), private placement
- Volume, minimum denomination, investor base (qualified / non-qualified investors)
- Timeline (planned pricing date, listing)
- existing financial information (audited consolidated financial statements, interim financial statements)
Sub-agent architecture
Researcher provides Prospectus Regulation articles, WpPG provisions, BaFin prospectus practice, ESMA risk factors guidelines (ESMA31-62-1293), BGH case law on prospectus liability (Telekom III). Drafter prepares a prospectus outline and risk factors catalogue specific to the issuer. Reviewer checks threshold logic, approval deadline calendar and liability framework.
Procedure
1. Trigger of the prospectus obligation (Art. 3 Prospectus Regulation)
A prospectus is required for:
- (a) a public offer of securities in the Union (Art. 3 I), and/or
- (b) admission to trading on a regulated market with registered office or activity in the Union (Art. 3 III).
Public offer = communication to persons containing sufficient information to decide on purchase/subscription (Art. 2 lit. d Prospectus Regulation).
2. Exemptions from the prospectus requirement
a) Art. 1 IV Prospectus Regulation (public offer)
| lit. | Exemption |
|---|---|
| a | Offer exclusively to qualified investors (Art. 2 lit. e in conjunction with MiFID II) |
| b | Offer to fewer than 150 non-qualified investors per EEA State |
| c | Minimum denomination ≥ 100,000 EUR per investor |
| d | Minimum nominal amount of the securities ≥ 100,000 EUR |
| e | Total consideration in the Union below 1 million EUR in 12 months |
| i | Employee/management body programmes (with information document) |
b) Art. 1 of the Prospectus Regulation (admission to the regulated market; "regulated market" within the meaning of MiFID II)
E.g. shares that are admitted for less than 20% of the shares of the same class within 12 months (Art. 1 lit. a of the Prospectus Regulation).
c) § 3 of the German Securities Prospectus Act (WpPG) – national threshold exemption up to EUR 8 million
Germany makes use of the Member State option under Art. 3 II of the Prospectus Regulation (threshold up to EUR 8 million total consideration within 12 months). Instead of a prospectus, a securities information sheet (WIB) must be prepared pursuant to § 4 WpPG and filed with BaFin at least 4 working days before the public offering . Distribution channel restricted (investment advice with suitability assessment or single investment amount limits).
3. Content of the prospectus (Art. 6 et seq. of the Prospectus Regulation)
- Minimum content: material information about the issuer and the securities offered/admitted; risk factors; financial information (audited consolidated financial statements for the last 2 or 3 years depending on the scheme; if applicable, unaudited interim financial statements); business model; management; shareholder structure; use of proceeds; legal relationships.
- Risk factors (Art. 16): specific to the issuer and the security; material (probability of occurrence + severity of impact); grouped by category, in order of materiality. The ESMA Guidelines on Risk Factors (ESMA31-62-1293) are binding interpretation.
- Summary (Art. 7 of the Prospectus Regulation): brief, generally understandable presentation; max. 7 DIN A4 pages; standardized order (introduction, security, issuer, key risks, offer).
- Base prospectus (Art. 8): for programmes of non-equity securities; final terms for each individual issue.
- Responsibility (Art. 11 of the Prospectus Regulation): issuer / offeror / person applying for admission; if applicable, guarantor. Named in the prospectus.
4. BaFin approval (Art. 20 of the Prospectus Regulation)
| Scenario | BaFin deadline |
|---|---|
| Follow-up prospectus of a known issuer | 10 working days from application (Art. 20 II subparagraph 1) |
| Regular prospectus | 20 working days from application |
| First-time issuer ("Initial Public Offer" / first prospectus) | 20 working days, extended by an additional review round — in practice up to 30 working days total duration |
| Request / supplementary submissions | Extension of the deadline by 10 working days per iteration |
A supplement obligation (Art. 23 of the Prospectus Regulation) arises if, after approval and before the final closing of the public offer or the start of trading, new material circumstances or material inaccuracies become known. The supplement must be approved by BaFin; investors have a right of withdrawal (Art. 23 II — 2 business days after publication of the supplement).
5. Prospectus liability (§§ 9–11 WpPG)
- § 9 WpPG (external liability): The acquirer may demand from the responsible persons (issuer, offeror, guarantor, persons who have assumed responsibility) rescission of the acquisition (assumption of the securities against reimbursement of the purchase price plus costs) or damages for the difference, if the prospectus is incorrect or incomplete and the incorrect statement was material to the acquisition.
- § 10 WpPG (fault): Liability is excluded if the responsible person did not know of the inaccuracy and the lack of knowledge is not based on gross negligence.
- § 11 WpPG (limitation): The claim becomes time-barred within one year from knowledge of the inaccuracy / incompleteness, at the latest three years after publication of the prospectus.
- General bases of claims in addition: § 826 BGB (intentional damage contrary to public policy), § 823 II BGB in conjunction with § 264a StGB (capital investment fraud) — in particular for grey capital market products outside the WpPG.
6. Delimitation from the KAGB and the VermAnlG
- Investment assets within the meaning of § 1 I KAGB (in particular retail funds): KAGB sales prospectus + key investor information (PRIIPs KID) instead of the Prospectus Regulation.
- Asset investments outside securities (in particular subordinated loans, profit-participation rights, profit-participating loans): VermAnlG with an asset investment information sheet (VIB) and, if applicable, a sales prospectus.
- Crowdfunding service providers: Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 — separate regime.
Sources and citation style
Mandatory: ../../../references/zitierweise.md.
Directly applicable Union law
- Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (Prospectus Regulation) – Art. 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 16, 20, 23
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/980 (format and content)
- ESMA Guidelines on Risk Factors under the Prospectus Regulation (ESMA31-62-1293)
German law
- WpPG – §§ 3 (threshold exemption + WIB), 4 (securities information sheet), 9–11 (prospectus liability)
- KAGB – §§ 1, 162 et seq.
- VermAnlG – asset investments outside securities
- BaFin leaflet on prospectus review / securities information sheet
Commentaries
- Groß, Kapitalmarktrecht, 7th ed. 2022, § 6 WpPG / Prospectus Regulation.
- Habersack, in: Habersack/Mülbert/Schlitt, Hdb. der Kapitalmarktinformation, 4th ed. 2024, § 13 marginal no. 1 et seq. (prospectus liability).
- Versteegen, in: Habersack/Mülbert/Schlitt, Unternehmensfinanzierung am Kapitalmarkt, 4th ed. 2024, § 7 marginal no. 1 et seq. (Prospectus Regulation).
- Schwark/Zimmer, KapMRK, 5th ed. 2020, Art. 3 Prospectus Regulation marginal no. 1 et seq.
Case law ([unverifiziert – prüfen in juris/BGH-Datenbank])
- BGH, judgment of 31.05.2011 – II ZR 141/09, BGHZ 190, 7 (Telekom III – prospectus liability)
- BGH, judgment of 21.10.2014 – XI ZB 12/12, BGHZ 203, 1 (KapMuG model proceeding, Telekom prospectus liability)
- BGH line of case law on grey capital market liability (Section 826 BGB) – various decisions
- BaFin administrative practice on the threshold exemption under Section 3 WpPG (leaflets and Q&As)
Issue format
GUTACHTEN — Prospektpflicht und Prospekthaftung
Emittent: <anonymisiert> | Vorhaben: <IPO / Privatplatzierung / Anleihe>
I. Sachverhalt (knapp)
II. Frage(n)
III. Kurzantwort
– Prospektpflicht: [ja / Ausnahme Art. 1 IV lit. … / § 3 WpPG-WIB]
– Empfehlung: [Vollprospekt / WIB / Privatplatzierungs-Vermerk]
IV. Rechtliche Bewertung
1. Trigger der Prospektpflicht (Art. 3 Prospekt-VO)
2. Ausnahmenkatalog
a) Art. 1 IV Prospekt-VO
b) § 3 WpPG (8 Mio. EUR-Schwelle, WIB)
3. Inhalt und Risikofaktoren (Art. 6, 7, 16)
4. BaFin-Billigung (Art. 20) – Fristenplan
5. Nachtragspflicht (Art. 23)
6. Prospekthaftung §§ 9–11 WpPG
V. Prospekt-Outline (optional)
1. Zusammenfassung (max. 7 Seiten)
2. Risikofaktoren (spezifisch, in Wesentlichkeitsreihenfolge)
3. Angaben zum Emittenten
4. Angaben zu den Wertpapieren
5. Finanzinformationen
6. Angebot / Zulassung
7. Verantwortlichkeitserklärung
VI. Fristtabelle
- BaFin-Billigung 10 / 20 / 30 WT (Art. 20 Prospekt-VO)
- WIB-Hinterlegung 4 WT vor Angebot (§ 4 WpPG)
- Nachtrag Widerrufsrecht 2 WT (Art. 23 II)
- Prospekthaftung Verjährung 1 Jahr / 3 Jahre (§ 11 WpPG)
VII. Risiken / offene Punkte
🟢 / 🟡 / 🔴 <Einstufung mit Begründung>
VIII. Quellenverzeichnis
Risks / typical errors
- Incorrect assumption of a private placement exemption, because fewer than 150 investors per EEA state: without clean investor register documentation, the exemption does not apply.
- Section 3 WpPG threshold exceeded, if follow-on issues within the 12-month period are not aggregated.
- Generic risk factors (e.g. "general market risk") — ESMA Guidelines require issuer specificity; BaFin requires improvement, delaying approval.
- Supplementary prospectus obligation (Art. 23) misjudged between approval and pricing/listing — consequence: liability exposure, rights of withdrawal.
- Responsibility statement unclear: Which persons sign Art. 11? Management board of the issuer? Guarantor? Syndicate lead banks are in principle not prospectus responsible persons, but can be liable under general law.
- Distinction KAGB / VermAnlG misjudged — for investment funds, the KAGB distribution regime applies instead of the Prospectus Regulation.
- Investment/bank advice obligations under WpHG Sections 63 et seq. in distribution – cross-reference plugin
bankrecht(appropriateness assessment) and MiFID II anchor.