On 16 October 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a Final Report setting out revised Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) guidelines on the delay in the disclosure of inside information.
Background
The Final Report follows a consultation that ESMA issued on the guidelines in February 2026. It sets out ESMA’s assessment and the final approach on the basis of the feedback received from stakeholders to the initial proposals made in the consultation.
Among other things ESMA has maintained its proposal to delete from the guidelines all those legitimate interests for the delayed disclosure that relate to protracted processes. This is in light of protracted processes no longer being subject to disclosure obligations until completion. ESMA has also introduced into the guidelines certain additional legitimate interests for the delay, such as where the issuer is requested not to disclose information by a public authority, needs to collect additional information or may risk the loss of business opportunities as a result of the disclosure of sensitive commercial information. Furthermore, ESMA has added to its initial proposal two legitimate interests relating respectively to (i) the appointment of a member of the issuer’s governing body or a manager holding a key position and (ii) the delay of disclosure of inside information among companies within the same group.
Next steps
The revised guidelines will become applicable from the date of their publication on ESMA’s website in the 24 official languages of the European Union.
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