The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) of Germany has imposed an administrative fine of €240,000 on TeamViewer SE for violations of the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR).
The fact that TeamViewer SE had fallen victim to a cyberattack should have been disclosed by the company without delay as inside information.
Companies such as TeamViewer SE are subject to the ad hoc disclosure requirement if they are based in Germany and issue securities and other financial instruments that are traded on an organised market in Germany.
These companies are required to publish inside information as soon as possible. Inside information is information of a precise nature which has not been made public, relating directly or indirectly to one or more issuers or to one or more financial instruments, and which, if it were made public, would be likely to have a significant effect on the prices of those financial instruments or on the price of related derivative financial instruments.
TeamViewer SE had been the target of a cyberattack. The information regarding the cyberattack constituted inside information – particularly given that TeamViewer SE is a software company.
The ad hoc disclosure requirement is stipulated by MAR. It is important for several reasons that inside information is published as soon as possible. First, insiders must be prevented from gaining an advantage when trading in securities and other financial instruments due to their privileged access to information. Second, it must be ensured that investors are not misled when making investment decisions.
If a company fails to publish inside information as soon as possible, it contravenes subparagraph 1 of Article 17(1) of MAR. Bafin may impose an administrative fine for failure to comply with this obligation. The maximum amount for this fine is €2.5 million or up to 2% of total revenue.