Should you seek professional advice before entering into an EquityShield Purchase Option Contract?
Legally, you are not required to take professional advice, as this is neither a financial services nor an insurance product. If you would feel more comfortable, you may choose to do so.
More specifically, the legal advice and legal opinions are summarised as follows:
The entering into the Purchase Option Contracts do not constitute the offering of “securities” by the Company. As a consequence of the Contracts not constituting the offering of Securities in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), there is no requirement of the Company to comply with the disclosure requirements as contained in Sections 704, 706 and 707 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
The entering into the Purchase Option Contracts does not constitute the provision of a “Financial Product” as defined in Section 763A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) nor the offering of a “Financial Service” as defined in Section 766A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
As a consequence of the Contracts not constituting the provision of a financial product or the offering of a financial service by the Company, there is no requirement for the Company to maintain a financial service licence as required by Section 911A of the corporations Act 2001 (Cth), or be licensed by a financial services licence holder as required by Section 911B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).