Photo: DutchNews.nl
Amsterdam stock exchange is tightening up the rules for reverse listings, the process by which a private company buys a dormant public company so it can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public.
As with a normal IPO, the private company must publish detailed information about its plans, although it will not be known as a prospectus, the Financieele Dagblad said on Monday.
‘We are not against reverse listings but we are opposed to their misuse,’ an exchange spokesman told the paper. In addition to the information documents, private firms wishing to make use of a reverse listing must have a three year track record and must pay a €40,000 one-off fee, an addition to the regular listing costs.
The FD highlights small cap Phelix, which was launched 17 years ago as Newconomy by opinion pollster Maurice de Hond. Since then, the company has undergone five name changes and swallowed up 50 companies. Bed maker Dico, first listed in 1990, is now named FNG and owns the fashion chain Miss Etam.
The Dutch investors lobby group VEB had earlier called for the introduction of prospectuses for reverse listings to improve information for shareholders.