Amsterdam Exchanges: New rules for IPOs

In recent years, the former Amsterdam Exchanges N.V. developed a policy on the way that certain standards laid down in the Listing and Issuing Rules (in particular listing criteria and prospectus requirements) were to be applied in practice in the case of IPOs. The background to this policy is set out in a number of documents, including the Primary Market Consultation Paper (1999).

As the legal successor to Amsterdam Exchanges N.V., Euronext Amsterdam N.V. has set new requirements for IPOs. The most important changes are:

• a reformulation of the lockup rule;
• an extension of the scope of the term "locked" persons;
• a tightening of the prospectus requirements;
• additional rules regarding the availability of prospectuses;
• new rules on advertising and research reports aimed at enhancing consistency between the prospectus and other public statements made by the issuer.

Euronext’s decision to implement these changes was based on plans initially made by Amsterdam Exchanges N.V. The new rules come into force immediately.

The full text of the new conditions governing IPOs (announcement 2000-167) can be found on Euronext’s website (www.euronext.com).