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In Europe, there are two paths open to companies wishing to tap the capital markets. On the one hand, there are markets regulated by the EU and, on the other, markets that are regulated by the exchanges themselves. 

Legal markets

Regulated Market: Prime Standard, General Standard

The Regulated Market constitutes an organised market in the sense of the Securities Trading Act (section 2 para. 11 WpHG) and is therefore an EU-regulated market. The conditions for admission and the follow-up duties that apply here are regulated by law, thus derive from EU law and accord with uniform EU-wide standards. The regulations are primarily set out in the Exchange Act, the Decree on Exchange Admissions, in the Securities Prospectus Act, in the Securities Trading Act and in Rules and Regulations of FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Unlike the Open Market which is governed by private law, the Regulated Market is an official market segment under public law.  

Issuers in the regulated market meet high standards that apply throughout the EU. In this way, the Regulated Market is above all geared to large and medium-sized corporations that are already able to meet these standards and wish to attract national and international investors.  

On FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, an IPO in the Regulated Market leads to a listing in the General Standard or the Prime Standard, a segment of the Regulated Market subject to additional follow-up duties and thus higher transparency requirements. 

Open Market (Freiverkehr): Scale, Quotation Board

The Open Market (Freiverkehr) is a regulated exchange market and not an organised market in the meaning of the German Securities Trading Act (section 2 para. 5 WpHG). Unlike the Regulated Market, which is subject to public law, the Open Market is subject to private law. The General Terms and Conditions of Deutsche Börse AG for the Regulated Open Market (Freiverkehr) on Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (FWB®) regulate the conditions for admission to and the follow-up duties for securities in the Open Market segment. Admission to the Open Market is possible for securities that are neither admitted to trading on the Regulated Market nor included in trading on the Regulated Market. In the Open market segments of the FWB®, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, alongside German shares, it is primarily foreign shares, German and foreign bonds, certificates and warrants that are traded. Equities from over 60 different countries are traded in the Open Market segment. 

Issuers and participants in the Open Market are subject to lower transparency requirements than in the Regulated Market. The Open Market segment is therefore an attractive alternative for both young, growth-oriented and medium-sized companies. 

In the Open Market, a company’s securities can be listed in the Scale or on the Quotation Board.  

 

Segments in the Regulated Market

Prime Standard – The premium segment for raising equity 

The Prime Standard sets the very highest transparency requirements of all segments at FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and, indeed, in all of Europe. The additional admission follow-up duties for the Prime Standard stand out not only for the higher transparency yardstick but above all by the fact that the requirements have always to be met in English, too. The Prime Standard is therefore the right choice for issuers who in particular want to appeal to international investors. 
 

The admission conditions and the individual follow-up duties are set out in the Exchange Rules for FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. On receipt of an application, the management of FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange decides on approval for admission to the Prime Standard. The application can be submitted together with the application for admission to the Regulated Market (General Standard). 

General Standard 

In the General Standard segment, the mandatory stipulations for the Regulated Market apply. The individual admission criteria and follow-up duties are to be found in the Exchange Act, in the Decree on Exchange Admissions and in the Exchange Rules and Regulations for FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. On receipt of an application, the management of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange decides on admission to the Regulated Market (General Standard).  

Issuers in the General Standard meet the Regulated Market’s high transparency requirements. The General Standard is therefore primarily intended for medium-sized and large corporations who seek to address national investors and want to use a cost-effective listing for that purpose.  

Further documents Regulated Market


Segments in the Open Market (Freiverkehr) 

Scale – Equity financing via an SME Growth Market

Scale – Capital market financing for SMEs

 

Scale is a segment of the Open Market admitted by Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (FWB®, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange). Detailed inclusion criteria and follow-up duties are to be found in the General Terms and Conditions of Deutsche Börse AG for the Regulated Unofficial Market on Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse.  

Scale for shares, the segment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), offers an efficient way of equity financing via a formally registered SME Growth Market according to EU-standards.  

The inclusion requirements and follow-up obligations of Scale are tailored to SMEs, thus facilitate raising capital and open the door to national and international investors.  

Deutsche Börse services support the IPO, increase the placement range and offer advantages for successful trading on the stock exchange: Deutsche Börse Capital Market Partner help you to prepare the step of going public and offer competent ongoing support while being public. For more transparency and visibility in Scale, Deutsche Börse Capital Market Partner prepare research reports, which the issuer must publish on its website. The DirectPlace subscription functionality gives you the opportunity to reach additional investor groups such as family offices, asset managers and retail investors during the issuance.

An IPO creates financial scope for growth and innovation and increases the public awareness of your company.

Scale for corporate bonds – Debt financing via Deutsche Börse's SME Growth Market 

Scale for corporate bonds, Deutsche Börse’s segment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), offers an efficient opportunity to raise debt capital on an SME Growth Market. 
 
Deutsche Börse's services support you in debt capital finance via the stock exchange: Deutsche Börse Capital Market Partner help you to prepare the step of going public and offer competent ongoing support while being public. The DirectPlace subscription functionality gives you the opportunity to reach additional investor groups such as family offices, asset managers and retail investors during the issuance.

Quotation Board 

The Quotation Board is a segment of the Open Market. The regulations for inclusion of securities on the Quotation Board are set out in the General Terms and Conditions of Deutsche Börse AG for the Open market on FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. 

Access to the Quotation Board is possible for securities that are neither admitted to the Regulated Market of FWB® the Frankfurt Stock Exchange nor included in trading in the same Regulated Market. In addition to bonds and funds, only shares are included in the Quotation Board as are already admitted to another exchange trading venue recognised by Deutsche Börse AG inside or outside Germany. 

In the case of the Quotation Board, the applicant is the member filing the application who shall also be a Specialist in the “Continuous Auction” trading model. As of inclusion, the member filing the application undertakes to provide information on capitalisation measures and other relevant information to Deutsche Börse AG without delay. 

Further segments of Deutsche Börse

Basic Board

This segment enables former issuers of the Entry Standard as well as issuers in Scale who do not meet the inclusion requirements or the minimum market capitalization of EUR 30 million to maintain a primary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB®). An initial public offering or technical listing in the Basic Board is not possible.

The Basic Board is not shown as a separat exchange segment, even though the companies in the Basic Board are obliged to continue to publish their financial reports (including the annual financial statements and management report as well as the half-year financial statements and interim management report).

CEINEX: D-Share Market

D-Shares refer to shares of companies based in China which are listed in Germany on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s CEINEX D-Share market. The “D” stands for “Deutschland” or “Déguo´”, which means Germany in Chinese. CEINEX, a joint venture established by the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Deutsche Börse Group, and the China Financial Futures Exchange, utilizes the infrastructure of Deutsche Börse Group for D-Share listings and trading. D-Share issuance is subject to the prior approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the prospectus shall be approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht or short BaFin). D-Share listed companies need to comply with all obligations of the market chosen for public offering, which is Deutsche Börse’s Prime Standard.

Real Estate Investment Trusts

With the REITs segment, Deutsche Börse AG offers a listing segment for shares issued by public limited real estate companies with special tax status (REIT). The REITs segment offers companies increased visibility and investor attention.

REITs are all German public limited companies (“Aktiengesellschaften”) which fulfil the requirements of the Act relating to German Public Limited Property companies with listed shares (German REIT Act). In addition, all foreign companies are considered to be REITs which have a comparable legal status.

 

The step-by-step route to an exchange listing

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Our IPO-line gives you a clear impression of all the important steps when going public through to first price determination. They include the selection of the issue partners, structuring the IPO content, compiling all the necessary documents, placement, and admission to / commencement of trading.

 
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Start your capital market readiness journey today!

Contact the Capital Markets team

E-mail: preIPOservices@deutsche-boerse.com

 

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