OTC Markets Group Achieves Blue Sky Exemptions in 30 States

NEW YORK, April 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced it has further advanced its efforts to gain regulatory recognitions for OTCQX and OTCQB markets, with Blue Sky secondary trading exemptions in 30 states.

Connecticut marks the latest addition to the growing roster of states that recognize the OTCQX and OTCQB markets, following recent exemptions in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Tennessee. Each state has tailored its approach to granting Blue Sky exemptions, using no-action letters, rule changes, administrative orders and existing trading exemptions.

Since the SEC recognized OTCQX and OTCQB as established public markets, OTC Markets Group has worked collaboratively with state regulators to apprise them of the easily accessible, free, public online disclosure of current information provided by companies traded on the OTCQX and OTCQB premium markets. The results since then have been overwhelmingly positive, with 60% of the 50 states now acknowledging the OTCQX Market for the purposes of secondary trading exemptions.

"We appreciate the thoughtful approach taken by each state in recognizing the disclosure provided by companies on our premium markets," said Dan Zinn, OTC Markets Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. "OTC Markets Group remains committed to providing easily accessible company and trading information. We look forward to continuing to work with NASAA and individual state regulators as we pursue our goal of securing Blue Sky exemptions across the country."

A breakdown of the 30 states is as follows:

• The OTCQX and OTCQB markets have exemptions in 27 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
• 3 states solely recognize the OTCQX Market: Idaho, Kansas, and Vermont.

State Blue Sky laws generally help investors make informed decisions by mandating that companies disclose accurate and current information when offering or marketing securities. Regulators and brokers across the country rely on disclosure-based exemptions from individual state Blue Sky laws. Forty-four U.S. states and jurisdictions maintain "Manual Exemptions," which generally allow for secondary trading of qualifying companies as long as certain key information about the company is published in a nationally recognized securities manual or its electronic equivalent. Each state determines which manuals qualify under its rules. 

OTC Markets Group continues to be a proponent of transparency and remains actively engaged in having OTCQX and OTCQB recognized by other states that maintain a Blue Sky Manual Exemption. In states without a Manual Exemption, the Company is actively pursuing marketplace exemptions for OTCQX and OTCQB. The Company's outreach focuses on making state regulators aware of the easily accessible current disclosure available on OTCQX and OTCQB securities at www.otcmarkets.com. All state Blue Sky exemptions may be subject to additional conditions under each state's applicable regulations. Contact our Issuer Services department for more information. 

About OTC Markets Group Inc.
OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX® Best Market, the OTCQB® Venture Market and the Pink® Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link® ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

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Media Contact:
OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

Issuer Services:
+1 212.896.4420, [email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

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https://www.otcmarkets.com