THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC [OJ L 145, 30.4.2004, p. 1.], and in particular the third subparagraph of Article 10a(8) thereof,

Having regard to Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU [OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 349.], and in particular Article 12(8) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) An exhaustive list of information should be required from a proposed acquirer of a qualifying holding in an investment firm at the time of the initial notification to enable competent authorities to carry out the assessment of the proposed acquisition. Information on the identity of the proposed acquirer and of the persons who will direct the business should be provided by the proposed acquirer irrespective of whether it is a natural or a legal person, in order to enable the competent authority of the target entity to assess the reputation of that proposed acquirer.