AUO Corporation (“AUO” or the “Company”; OTC: AUOTY; TWSE: 2409) today announced that the Company will apply for the deregistration of its American depositary shares (“ADSs”) and underlying ordinary shares with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and subsequently terminate its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
The Board of Directors of AUO approved the deregistration of its ADSs and the underlying ordinary shares under the Exchange Act due to a number of considerations, including the significant administrative burden and costs of maintaining the registration of the ADSs with the SEC and complying with the periodic reporting and other related obligations of the Exchange Act.
AUO filed a Form 25 with the SEC on September 20, 2019 to delist its ADSs from the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and transferred to U.S. over-the-counter market on October 1, 2019. Since AUO has met the criteria for deregistration, AUO intends to file a Form 15F with the SEC on or about October 28, 2020 to deregister its ADSs and the underlying ordinary shares under the Exchange Act. Thereafter, all of AUO’s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act will be suspended unless the Form 15F is subsequently withdrawn or denied. Deregistration of our ADSs with the SEC and termination of AUO’s reporting obligations under the Exchange Act are expected to become effective 90 days after its filing of Form 15F with the SEC.
After deregistration, AUO will maintain its ADS program as a sponsored level I ADS program, which enables American investors and current holders of AUO ADSs to continue to hold and trade AUO ADSs in the US over-the-counter market.
Once the Form 15F is filed, AUO will publish the information required under Rule 12g3-2(b) of the Exchange Act on its website, www.auo.com. AUO will also continue to comply with its financial reporting and other obligations as a listed-issuer on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. As Taiwan securities laws and regulations have increasingly become more advanced, international investors can also refer to the Market Observation Post System (MOPS) for financial and regulatory information related to AUO.
AUO reserves its rights in all respects to delay or withdraw the aforementioned filings prior to their effectiveness and will issue any further announcement if required under applicable laws.
FAQs about ADSs delisting and deregistration:
https://www.auo.com/en-global/Stock_Services/index/Shareholder_and_Service