Article 4a
1.
A manager of a qualifying venture capital fund may engage in pre-marketing in the Union, except where the information presented to potential investors:
(a)
is sufficient to allow investors to commit to acquiring units or shares of a particular qualifying venture capital fund;
(b)
amounts to subscription forms or similar documents whether in a draft or a final form; or
(c)
amounts to constitutional documents, a prospectus or offering documents of a not-yet-established qualifying venture capital fund in a final form.
Where a draft prospectus or offering documents are provided, they shall not contain information sufficient to allow investors to take an investment decision and shall clearly state that:
(a)
they do not constitute an offer or an invitation to subscribe to units or shares of a qualifying venture capital fund; and
(b)
the information presented therein should not be relied upon because it is incomplete and may be subject to change.
2.
Competent authorities shall not require a manager of a qualifying venture capital fund to notify the competent authorities of the content or of the addressees of pre-marketing, or to fulfil any conditions or requirements other than those set out in this Article, before it engages in pre-marketing.
3.
Managers of qualifying venture capital funds shall ensure that investors do not acquire units or shares in a qualifying venture capital fund through pre-marketing and that investors contacted as part of pre-marketing may only acquire units or shares in that qualifying venture capital fund through marketing permitted under Article 15.
Any subscription by professional investors, within 18 months of the manager of a qualifying venture capital fund having begun pre-marketing, to units or shares of a qualifying venture capital fund referred to in the information provided in the context of pre-marketing, or of a qualifying venture capital fund established as a result of the pre-marketing, shall be considered to be the result of marketing and shall be subject to the applicable notification procedures referred to in Article 15.
4.
Within two weeks of having begun pre-marketing, a manager of a qualifying venture capital fund shall send an informal letter, in paper form or by electronic means, to the competent authorities of its home Member State. That letter shall specify the Member States in which and the periods during which the pre-marketing is taking or has taken place, a brief description of the pre-marketing including information on the investment strategies presented and, where relevant, a list of the qualifying venture capital funds which are or were the subject of pre-marketing. The competent authorities of the home Member State of the manager of a qualifying venture capital fund shall promptly inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which the manager of a qualifying venture capital fund is or was engaged in pre-marketing. The competent authorities of the Member State in which pre-marketing is taking or has taken place may request the competent authorities of the home Member State of the manager of a qualifying venture capital fund to provide further information on the pre-marketing that is taking or has taken place on its territory.
5.
A third party shall only engage in pre-marketing on behalf of an authorised manager of qualifying venture capital fund where it is authorised as an investment firm in accordance with Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (
4
), as a credit institution in accordance with Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (
5
), as a UCITS management company in accordance with Directive 2009/65/EC, as an alternative investment fund manager in accordance with Directive 2011/61/EU, or acts as a tied agent in accordance with Directive 2014/65/EU. Such a third party shall be subject to the conditions set out in this Article.
6.
A manager of a qualifying venture capital fund shall ensure that pre-marketing is adequately documented.
( 4 ) Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349).
( 5 ) Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338).