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The Entry Standard at Deutsche Börse has developed well as a market segment since its launch on 25 October 2005. It lists 119 companies, the majority of which (87%) are based in Germany, and its market capitalization has grown by 30 percent since 2008.
“For SMEs, the Entry Standard is the gateway to the capital market”, said Alexander Höptner, Head of Markets Services. The segment belongs to the exchange-regulated open market and enables equities to be admitted to trading easily, quickly and cost-efficiently.”
Since 2005, 165 companies have used the Entry Standard as a way into the capital market, and 16 of them have since switched to the regulated market, i.e. the General Standard or Prime Standard. “We have structured our market in such a way as to foster corporate development,” said Höptner. “These companies can use the Entry Standard to gain initial experience of the capital market”.
The segment is open to all sectors, yet at present 38 percent of companies come from the financial services sector and 34 percent from the industrial sector. Since 2008, there have been 86 capital increases in the Entry Standard, attracting a total of EUR 300 million. Market capitalization has also increased by 33 percent during this period.
Deutsche Börse, with the help of Deutsches Aktieninstitut, has taken the fifth anniversary of the Entry Standard as an occasion to conduct a comprehensive assessment of this segment among its constituents. The study brings to light that almost two thirds of the companies in the Entry Standard have an equity ratio exceeding 50 percent, three out of four companies have increased their workforce, and two thirds have seen an improvement in their market profile as well as a considerable rise in revenues.
