ASIC broadens pre-prospectus advertising rules for companies planning an IPO

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has expanded the rules governing how companies can advertise upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) before a prospectus is lodged, giving issuers greater flexibility to communicate with retail investors at an earlier stage.

ASIC said the reforms align the IPO pre-lodgement advertising framework with comparable domestic regimes, including those for product disclosure statements and crowd-sourced funding offers.

Under the new framework, companies can provide corrective information where necessary and engage more directly with potential retail investors during the pre-lodgement period, provided advertisements direct investors to the relevant disclosure document and application process.

ASIC said advertisers must also have arrangements in place to keep communications up to date, and that laws prohibiting misleading or deceptive conduct remain unchanged.

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said the changes followed public consultation and industry feedback, including input from the regulator's Financial Markets and Innovation Roundtable.

"These changes are an important step in encouraging greater IPO activity and opening up investment opportunities to everyday Australians at an earlier stage, while maintaining the strong tradition of disclosure that underpins Australia's robust markets," Constant said.

"Greater advertising flexibility does not mean fewer responsibilities. Offerors of quoted or unquoted securities must ensure their advertisements direct investors to the disclosure document and application process and have arrangements in place to keep advertisements or statements up to date."

ASIC said the reforms are part of a broader roadmap to support new capital flows, competition and wider investor participation across Australia's public and private markets.