One year after its introduction the Entry Standard has established itself as an alternative stock exchange segment for small and medium-sized entities with less stringent admission requirements. “The 66 companies listed, the high liquidity and the growing number of banks attending to the needs of SMEs going public are a proof of the high acceptance of this segment”, is the opinion of Mr. Rainer Riess, managing director stock market business development with Deutsche Börse voiced in a press statement.
The companies listed are from the field of technology and traditional sectors with real estate, software and financial services being the fields strongest represented. The total market capitalization of all companies listed amounts to about 4.8 billion Euro. On average the individual companies have a value of about 50 million Euro each. Six foreign companies from Switzerland, Austria, Luxemburg and Canada have also opted for a listing in the Entry Standard.
Not only is the Entry Standard a way to gain access to the capital market, but also market place for continuous trading being both flexible and cost-efficient due to its less restrictive minimum requirements. It provides companies with new opportunities of matching their increased operative businesses with a broader capital basis. With regard to gaining access to the money market by means of a public offering or a private placement there is a growing popularity of prospectus publication. Thus, more than 70 percent of new entries opted for a public offering accompanied by a prospectus. 