New Step Toward Creation Of EURONEXT: Shareholders Circular Sent To EURONEXT Shareholders

EURONEXT, the European exchange to be created by the merger between Amsterdam Exchanges (AEX) Brussels Exchanges (BXS) and ParisBourse today announces that a shareholders circular has been made available for the shareholders of the three exchanges.

This new step toward completing the merger announced last March will be closed on September 22.

The shareholders of SBF and BXS are invited to contribute their shares to EURONEXT NV, the Dutch company incorporated on July 20, 2000 which is intended to become the holding company of the EURONEXT Group. Similarly, AEXs shareholders will have to decide upon a tripartite merger of AEX EURONEXT NV and EURONEXT Amsterdam.

The process will follow the valuation process agreed last May which is 60% for SBF shareholders, 32% for AEX shareholders and 8% for BXS shareholders.

EURONEXT will offer users a unified order driven trading platform, a central counterparty and clearing house for all trades executed on EURONEXT via CLEARNET and a unified settlement and custody platform bringing users and sharholders cost savings amounting to Euros 50 million a year,

EURONEXT has already agreed on: An organisational structure with a supervisory board (2), a managing board and an executive committee; A unified, regulatory harmonised and liquid market for equity products based on three segments: blue chips (EURONEXT 100 and NEXT 150) growth stocks (NEXT Economy) and more traditional sectors (M Prime); an IT migration timetable with full NSC implementation by the end of the first quarter 2001 and full clearing implementation by the end of the third quarter 2001

For the half-year 2000, EURONEXT revenues totalled Euros 366.2 million and net profit after tax was Euros 116.4 million compared to an income of Euros 598.1 million and net profit Euros 96 million for the entire year 1999.