Brussels – 17 October 2014 – Euronext announced today the successful introduction of spotlight options on the shares of Melexis (option trading symbol: MEL). The spotlight options will be available as of today on the derivatives market of Euronext Brussels.
The spotlight options on Melexis have short-term maturities of one, two and three months. The liquidity in these option classes will be supported by Susquehanna and B&Btrading, and their promotion is assured by KBC Securities as sponsoring broker.
Spotlight options are a special segment on the Brussels and Amsterdam derivative markets of Euronext, dedicated to the development of new option classes requested by market participants. Spotlight options give more visibility to underlying assets such as medium and smaller sized companies and newly listed stocks through a unique combination of liquidity provider support and strong promotion by sponsoring brokers.
Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels:“We are pleased to announce the introduction of spotlight options for Melexis on Euronext Brussels. By offering even more liquidity to Belgian small and mid capitalizations, spotlight options enable us to fulfil our aim of financing the real economy.”
Adam Rose, Head of Financial Derivatives at Euronext: “We are delighted to further expand our equity options offering with Melexis spotlight options.This new introduction brings the number of spotlight options to 13 on the Brussels and Amsterdam market. Since the launch in July almost 6,000 spotlight options were traded by a broad range of retail and institutional investors looking for innovative investment opportunities."
Geert Reynders, Investor Relations and Group Treasurer of Melexis: “After 25 years of innovation, Melexis now occupies the 5th place in the world of automotive sensors. Melexis will continue to invest in new developments in order to contribute to the reduction of the environmental footprint of our customers and to further strengthen our position in the automotive semiconductor and multimarket. The introduction of spotlight options on our shares will offer additional investing possibilities, increase liquidity and improve the visibility of the company in the financial markets.”
Steven Van de Sype, Commercial Director of Bolero-KBC Securities: "KBC Securities is the n°1 brokerage house in Belgium, specialised in Belgian Small & Midcaps. As Belgian retail investors have a strong interest in these companies, we want to offer them a full range of products, in order to deliver a five-star service. That is why we have introduced spotlight options on Bolero, the online investment platform of KBC Securities. To make sure that our customers take the right decisions, we also put a lot of effort in organising webinars and training, especially in these products."
Today, to celebrate the launch of the new spotlight options, Geert Reynders, Investor Relations and Group Treasurer of Melexis rang the bell in Brussels to open trading on Euronext financial markets. He was accompanied by Vincent Van Dessel, CEO of Euronext Brussels.