FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION: FRAMEWORK AND PRACTICES - 2019 EDITION

96 7 z RUMOURS AND LEAKED INFORMATION RUMOURS As a general principle, issuers should not comment on rumours concerning them, regardless of the source of the rumour (market traders, media, internet forums on the market, etc.). As an exception, in the event of a persistent unfounded rumour which the issuer finds to be causing a significant disturbance in the price and/or trading volumes for its shares, it is up to the issuer to assess whether a press release denying the rumour should be published. If the rumour has a basis in truth, the matter very likely concerns leaked information, which should be treated as such (see below, “ Leaked information ”). The specific case of a rumour or leaked information relative to a takeover bid on the issuer is discussed in the section devoted to takeover bids. See Part 3, Section 3 “ Financial and digital reporting ” for further details on the use of social media to manage rumours. LEAKED INFORMATION Pursuant to article 17.7 of the Market Abuse Regulation, taken up by AMF Position/Recommendation no. 2016-08, Guide to ongoing disclosures and the management of insider information , where a rumour explicitly relates to insider information the disclosure of which has been delayed, and where that rumour is sufficiently accurate to indicate that the confidentiality of that information is no longer ensured, that information should be published by the issuer as soon as possible. The specific case of a rumour or leaked information relative to a takeover bid on the issuer is discussed in the section devoted to takeover bids. Rumors: n MARNIER LAPOSTOLLE Leaked information: n KAUFMAN &BROAD