The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has decided to vary a cease trade order (CTO) that was previously issued against Poynt Corporation. The original CTO, which was mandated due to regulatory concerns, prohibited all trading in the company’s securities. The decision to vary the CTO was made under section 144(1) of the Ontario Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5, as amended, which allows for such variations if it is not prejudicial to the public interest.
The variation to the CTO was requested by a shareholder of Poynt Corporation and is specifically designed to alleviate the disadvantage faced by Ontario resident shareholders compared to certain other shareholders who are able to trade their shares on foreign markets. The OSC determined that allowing these trades would not be against the public interest.
Under the varied CTO, beneficial shareholders of Poynt Corporation who are not, and were not as of June 12, 2013, insiders or control persons of the company, are permitted to sell their securities. However, there are conditions to this exemption: the sales must be executed outside of Canada and through an investment dealer registered in Ontario.
This decision was made on July 26, 2021, by the OSC’s Manager of Corporate Finance, and it aims to balance regulatory compliance with the rights of shareholders to trade their securities under certain conditions.