Delisting Costs and Corporate Mobility in Europe

There is considerable variation among capital markets in the frequency of voluntary and involuntary delistings, which has been attributed by some commentators to differences in the regulatory framework governing delisting decisions. However, there have been few systematic attempts to map these differences across legal systems and quantify the regulatory costs of delistings. This article analyses delisting regimes of major EU jurisdictions and several non-EU countries and develops indices that capture delisting costs. It shows that the delisting regimes of some EU Member States are prohibitively costly. The article then considers whether such delisting regimes are consistent with EU free movement rights. It concludes by critically evaluating a menu of policy options to ensure that delisting rules facilitate corporate mobility and an efficient allocation of capital in the EU.