growth

Promoting growth! Tailored funding models to help create new, future-proof jobs

Labour markets, money markets and capital markets are important for economic growth. The products and services offered by exchanges create properly functioning capital markets. They also contribute to the funding of young and growing companies and thus promote job creation.

Improved equity and venture capital funding enables companies to start and grow: access to the capital market offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups alternative funding options alongside the traditional route of raising funds internally and from banks.

Only if these companies also find support and an ideal economic environment (ecosystem) will Germany and Europe be attractive to start-ups over the long term and can there be more initial public offerings and more jobs.

When it comes to capital market funding, the European Union is underdeveloped compared with the US


“90 per cent of global growth will be generated outside Europe over the next five years – only with competitive industries can we benefit from global growth and create jobs in Europe.”

Ulrich Grillo
Former President of Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e.V. (BDI, Federation of German Industries)

 

The ecosystem for companies

Particularly during the initial growth phases – from business idea through to the organised distribution of the first products or services – companies repeatedly need capital and advice – and therefore tailored support for the different stages of growth. An initial public offering is a key milestone. It offers many opportunities: a better capital structure, faster growth, a more favourable competitive position and more visibility.

Deutsche Börse Group has created an ecosystem for growth so that SMEs that are not yet ready for the stock market can also grow. They can use us to carry out initial funding rounds and raise tens of millions in follow-up funding. Our Deutsche Börse Venture Network® grants these enterprises direct access to Europe’s largest network of investors from a variety of sectors – online and through Investor Talks. Venture Match is our service for funding rounds between investors and growth companies. The network’s service platform currently connects almost 200 international investors and over 100 growth companies from Germany and Europe.

Scale, our exchange segment for growth capital, offers an efficient equity funding option for SMEs and helps them to raise the capital they need to be able to respond to market challenges.

Our going public IPO line helps companies to best prepare for their IPO – step by step through to the first pricing in the trading room at the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (FWB®, Frankfurt Stock Exchange). This includes selecting the listing partners, developing a conceptual model for the issue, preparing all the necessary documentation, placing the securities and admitting them to trading.

Deutsche Börse Group offers the ideal segment for every company: depending on the goals a company aims to achieve by going public, the investors it primarily wishes to address and the degree of transparency the company is able and willing to ensure, the FWB Regulated Market provides the General Standard and the Prime Standard. The General Standard is intended for firms with a mainly national focus; companies with an international target group choose the Prime Standard, which has higher transparency requirements.

Initial public offering (IPO)

The process whereby a company offers its securities to the public for the first time by listing on an exchange. In an IPO, a company places shares on an exchange around the globe for the first time. In doing so, it makes a public offering requiring a prospectus and places the shares with qualifying investors (as defined by the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin, German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) and at least 100 private individuals.

Companies opt for an IPO mainly to raise additional capital. For the original investors (venture capital companies) and existing shareholders, the IPO provides an exit channel. Additional benefits include a higher profile for the company and a broader investor base.

 

Deutsche Börse Group

Deutsche Börse Group is one of the largest exchange organisations worldwide. It operates markets that provide integrity, transparency and security for investors wishing to invest capital and for companies wishing to raise capital. On these markets, institutional traders buy and sell shares, derivatives and other financial instruments in accordance with clear rules and under strict supervision.

Deutsche Börse Group is now more than just a trading venue or exchange – it is a provider of financial market infrastructure. Its products and services span the entire finance process chain – its business areas range from pre-IPO services and the admission of securities, through trading, clearing, settlement and custody of securities and other financial instruments to collateral management. It also offers IT services, indices and market data worldwide.