Europe: The AMF's New Measures to Streamline IPOs

The most significant change involves pre-IPO communication. Companies can now publicly announce their intention to go public as soon as they file their registration document, without waiting for the approval of the full prospectus. This strong signal aligns Paris with international practices and allows businesses to engage with the market earlier, adjust their messaging, and prepare for investor interactions. This approach aims to avoid ambiguous messages and "false secrets" that sometimes surround IPO preparations. Additionally, the AMF is introducing a tripartite review process in advance, which will validate the most stable sections of the prospectus—financial information, risk factors, and governance. A company can even request early confirmation of the completion of the review on these parts, securing one of the most sensitive aspects of the process. Another major development is that issuers can now publish a maximum price or an indicative range as soon as the operation is announced, without waiting for final approval. This change is intended to prevent leaks and ensure the smooth execution of the operation. In conjunction with this, the prospectus can now be drafted in English, accompanied by a summary in French for retail investors, simplifying the process for cross-border issuers and global investors. Finally, a market meeting can be organized at the start of the operation to manage the dissemination of information to analysts outside the syndicate and to investors. This more structured framework reduces the risks of information asymmetry while promoting a better understanding of the offering. These adjustments complement the advancements already made by the European Listing Act, the Attractiveness Law, and previous measures from the AMF, such as the optionality of the retail tranche. Together, these changes aim to accelerate IPO timelines, enhance execution reliability, and strengthen Paris's attractiveness in the global competition for listings. In this evolving landscape, this French modernization could also serve as a useful reference for other emerging markets, including Casablanca. Providing issuers with the opportunity to engage early and clearly with the public and investors—without being forced to "beat around the bush" for weeks—would help energize the issuer-market relationship and streamline pre-IPO processes for the benefit of all parties.