All Bell ceremonies

Best of Book

Binck sounds gong for Best of Book

Binck (ticker symbol: BINCK) visits the Amsterdam exchange of Euronext to sound the gong. Due to better execution for shares via the Best of Book platform Binck achieved a benefit for her customers of € 5 million over 2016.

Euronext’s Best of Book is a Best Execution service for retail orders. Dedicated liquidity providers offer price improvement for the retail flow, and the service operates within Euronext’s robust and highly regulated Central Order Book. Best of Book covers over 550 stocks.

Best execution for retail investors has become increasingly important and Binck passes the whole benefit on to its customers. "This is consistent with our belief that not just to the transaction fee matters to the customer but rather the quality of the execution makes the ultimate difference for the customer," says Jeroen Sonsma, director Binck Netherlands.

For more information: www.binck.nl

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ING Women of the Year 2016

ING Women of the Year 2016 open trading

The 18 nominees, including 6 brand new winners, of the ING Women of the Year election held recently, open trading by sounding the gong at Beursplein 5. The young Romanian expat Catalina Hascu, working in HR and one of the 'Rising Talents' winners, will sound the gong on behalf of all nominees and winners of the 2016 ING Women of the Year awards.

The election for employees working in the Netherlands organised annually by ING's women's network ‘Lioness’ put strong women in the categories of 'Role model' and 'Rising Talent' in the spotlight. These are women who inspire the people around them in a special way and help others to be successful while contributing to providing the best customer experience. The six winners were selected in the sub-categories Support Functions, Domestic Bank Netherlands and ING’s Wholesale Bank. ING (ticker symbol: INGA) is listed at Euronext Amsterdam.

For more information: www.ing.nl

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Cenergy

First trading day of Cenergy

Euronext Brussels today celebrated the first trading of shares of Cenergy Holdings, a Belgian public limited liability company active in the fields of steel pipes and cables production.  Cenergy Holdings is born from the cross-border merger by absorption of two Greek listed companies: Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables.

Cenergy Holdings is listed on both Euronext Brussels (Compartment C) and the Athens Stock Exchange.

Before ringing the Euronext bell, Stratos Thomadakis, CFO of Cenergy Holdings, declared: “Today’s listing of Cenergy Holdings’ shares on Euronext Brussels represents the culmination of the efforts to combine the strengths of Corinth Pipeworks and Hellenic Cables.”

M&A Awards 2016

Sounding of the gong for M&A Awards

The M&A winners sound the gong and open the trading day. The M&A awards have been awarded for the sixteenth time to the top in terms of M&A, corporate finance and private equity. The winner in the category of Best Equity Capital Markets Banker sounds the gong. This year the award fell into the hands of Chris van Schuppen, Senior Managing Director of ABN AMRO.

The M&A Community is the network for professionals in M&A, investment bankers, corporate finance advisors, private equity and venture capital investors and professionals working for (large) corporates active in M&A as M&A Directors, Corporate Development Directors, CFOs, General Counsel and CEOs. The best deals are made with the right knowledge and best contacts. Therefore, the M&A Community offers opportunities for knowledge, networking and careers during various forums and Master classes, the Private Equity Summit, Corporate growths Summit and M&A Magazine.

For more information: www.overnames.nl

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Sponsorship personality of 2016

Sponsorship personality of 2016 visits Beursplein 5

Hans Erik Tuijt, Director Global Heineken Sponsorship, has been awarded Sponsorship personality of 2016 by Euronext. To celebrate this, he opens the trading day at the Amsterdam exchange together with his colleagues.

Earlier this year Heineken has become a Global Partner of Formula 1. Central to this significant partnership is a clearly articulated and compelling 'responsibility' message. The Formula 1 global platform provides Heineken with even greater opportunities, globally and locally, to drive positive change. Consumers will be left in no doubt that Heineken and Formula 1 are both clear; "When You Drive, Never Drink". This partnership complements existing global platforms of Heineken such as UEFA Champions League and Rugby World Cup. An overview of Heineken’s sponsorship activities can also be found at the former Heineken brewery, now known as the Heineken Experience. In 2016 the brand home welcomed over 1.000.000 visitors. This makes it the largest attraction in the city of Amsterdam.

Heineken is the world's most international brewer. It is the leading developer and marketer of premium beer and cider brands. Led by the Heineken brand, the Group has a powerful portfolio of more than 250 international, regional, local and specialty beers and ciders.

For more information: www.theheinekencompany.com

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Sponsor of the Year

KPN sounds gong for Sponsor of the Year

For the third time in six years Euronext listed KPN (ticker symbol: KPN) has been named Sponsor of the Year at the recent SponsorRing gala. KPN was nominated in three SponsorRing categories and thus the most successful sponsor in 2016.

One of the new sponsor projects recently launched by KPN is TEAMKPN Sports Fund. With this fund, KPN annually supports one or more Dutch sports teams that are not supported by the NOC*NSF but represent the Netherlands at international tournaments. The TEAMKPN Sports Fund facilitates until 2018 up to 200 thousand euros to temporarily support this unique sport performance annually. The TEAMKPN Sports Fund only supports sports teams and not individual athletes.

In 2015 and 2016 The Men’s Water Polo, Women's Softball, Men's Basketball and Men’s Curling team are supported with startling results. The Curling Men are also again promoted to the A-Poule and can now even qualify for the Olympics in 2018 through the support of the fund. For 2018 it was recently decided to support the men’s Ice Hockey Team in their efforts to promote to the first Division during the upcoming World Cup.

For more information: www.kpn.com

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Dutch Investment Influential 2016

Dutch Investment Influential 2016 sounds gong with IEXProfs

IEXProfs holds the election of most influential investor each year, the Dutch Investment Influentials. Martin Stolker, Executive Director at ABN Amro Advisors, has been elected as Dutch Investment Influential 2016 by the readers of IEXProfs and sounds the gong at the Amsterdam exchange to celebrate.

IEXProfs is part of IEX Media. IEX Media is a subsidiary of IEX Group (ticker symbol: IEX), listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Since its inception in 1999, IEX has become one of the most common sources of investors in the Netherlands. IEX is an innovative media company with a broad portfolio of titles which reaches private and professional investors. The titles Belegger.nl and Beursduivel.be are acquired from Sanoma in 2007 and added to the portfolio of Value8 Media.

For more information: www.dutchinvestmentinfluentials.nl

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Rabobank launches GroenHypotheek

Rabobank sounds gong for launch GroenHypotheek

With its GroenHypotheek, Rabobank is the first bank to offer a ‘green mortgage’. For this occasion they visit the Amsterdam exchange. Elze Vonk, Head of Finance and Insurance Retail at Rabobank, sounds the gong.

As of now, buyers of an energy-efficient new-build home with a Green Certificate will be eligible for a Rabo GroenHypotheek. They will benefit from a 0.5% discount on the interest rate for a mortgage loan of up to € 150,000. With the Rabo GroenHypotheek, Rabobank aims to significantly accelerate the process of making housing sustainable.

The Rabo GroenHypotheek is intended for customers who purchase a sustainable new-build home. The property must have a Green Certificate confirming that it qualifies for the Green Projects Scheme. Customers with a Rabo GroenHypotheek receive a 0.5% discount on their mortgage interest for a loan of up to € 150,000. A Rabo GroenHypotheek is an annuity-based mortgage with a term of up to 30 years and a fixed-interest term of 10 years. The interest discount applies during this 10-year fixed-interest period, and will lapse thereafter.

For more information: www.rabobank.nl

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Group Parot

Listing of Group Parot on Alternext

Alexandre Parot, CEO of Parot Group, closes the trading day in Paris.

Parot Group specializes in the distribution of motor vehicles. The activity is organized around 5 areas:

• sales of personal-use vehicles: Ford, Mazda, BMW and MINI;
• sales of commercial and industrial vehicles: Iveco, Fiat, MAN, Krone and Granalu;
• trading of second-hand cars;
• sales of spare parts: gearboxes, power steerings, bridges, suspension and steering parts, shock absorbers, clutches and complete systems;
• car repair services.

At the end of 2015, the group operated 37 automotive dealerships located in France.

IPO Horizontal software

Listing of Horizontal Software Group on Alternext

Hervé Yahi, Président and Ingrid Eeckhout, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, open the trading day in Paris.

Horizontal Software specializes in publishing human capital management software in SaaS and App mode. The group offers software for talent acquisition and management (administrative management, training, interviews and careers), time management, optimization of human resource activities (team planning, planning simulation, etc.).

Ideas From Europe

Sounding of the gong for Ideas From Europe

André Meyer, SME Envoy Network, European Commission, opens trading to announce a second round of Ideas From Europe.

In 2017, a European quest for entrepreneurs with groundbreaking ideas with social impact will be held for the second time. In addition, a new method is being launched which allows ideas to be scaled up towards a socially desirable solution. Ideas From Europe was started in 2016 by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the European Commission. The initiative has grown into a network where stakeholders work together to scale up the idea and ultimately creating an eco-system in which a group can work together towards the desired solution (a joint scale-up).

Ideas From Europe kicks off in Malta in April 2017. From that moment, the quests start in all European countries. The semifinals will take place in Estonia in November 2017 and the final in Spring 2018 in The Hague, The Netherlands.

For more information: www.tedxbinnenhof.com

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Fifth anniversary Beleggingsinstituut

Beleggingsinstituut celebrates fifth anniversary by sounding gong

The independent training institute for investors celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. Recently, Het Beleggingsinstituut (the Investment Institute) reached the limit of 25,000 investors who have been trained. The demand for education is increasing and more and more individuals manage to find the institute to follow a course.

In 2017 the institute is launching an online digital platform for investors to follow courses online.

For more information: www.beleggingsinstituut.nl

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20th listing anniversary ASM International

ASM International sounds gong for 20th listing anniversary

ASM International (ticker symbol: ASM) sounds the opening gong at Euronext Amsterdam to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the company’s listing on the Amsterdam exchange.

Chuck del Prado, CEO of ASMI commented: “It is a pleasure to celebrate today the 20th anniversary of ASMI’s listing on Euronext Amsterdam. In these 20 years our company has grown its operations significantly to become a global equipment supplier of the semiconductor industry, while remaining true to our vision of driving innovation and delivering excellence. Today, ASM is a market leader in the fast growing market of atomic layer deposition (ALD), which is a critical technology for the manufacture of virtually all leading-edge semiconductor devices.”

ASM International NV, headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, its subsidiaries and participations design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International, its subsidiaries and participations provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as for assembly & packaging and surface mount technology (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia.

For more information: www.asm.com

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VoIPGRID wins FD Gazellen award

VoIPGRID fastest-growing Dutch company at FD Gazellen awards

VoIPGRID, a telcom firm, was crowned the quickest-growing company in the Netherlands at the FD Gazellen Awards. The firm saw turnover surge 1,673% over the past three years. At the awards ceremony, the company said 200 ‘partners’ were now using its telcom platforms, providing 15,000 businesses with voice over IP services. Mark Vletter, the company’s founder, sounds the gong to open trading at the Amsterdam exchange.

It was the 13th edition of The FD Gazellen, an annual competition to find the quickest-growing companies in a number of different categories. Some 617 firms participated in the FD Gazellen Awards during four regional events earlier this month. That number is a 25% increase on the previous year’s tally (490).

The FD Gazellen Awards is an initiative of Het Financieel Dagblad, Company.info,  Topicus, Payper and Businessboost. Companies have to show a minimum turnover growth of 20% over the past three years to qualify for a nomination. In addition they have to be profitable and financially sound. The companies are screened by Company.info which has a database containing the financial details of 2 million Dutch firms.

For more information: www.fd.nl

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Cofinimmo Green and Social Bonds

Cofinimmo commits to sustainable investment with Green and Social Bonds

Euronext welcomed the listing of Cofinimmo’s new Green and Social bonds through a simplified private placement procedure on Alternext in Brussels. Cofinimmo is hereby the first European Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to issue Green and Social Bonds as well as the first Belgian company to opt for this type of financing.

Jérôme Descamps, CFO of Cofinimmo: “This transaction enables us to further diversify our sources of financing and recognizes the efforts undertaken by its teams to improve the long-term environmental and social footprint of its portfolio.”

20th listing anniversary AND International Publishers

AND International Publishers sound gong for 20-years listed anniversary

Hugo van der Linde, CEO of the Euronext listed AND International Publishers (ticker symbol: AND), sounds the gong for company’s 20-years listed anniversary accompanied by his colleagues.

AND is the only independent company in the global map market for digital maps for location based services. This offers opportunities and AND will continue to improve and extend its existing maps more effectively. In addition AND will increase its added value by offering its maps and data as customized services.

Their plans to realize additional growth through an own office in the United States are a logical next step to further execute our strategy success.

For more information: www.and.com

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Lucas Bols

Lucas Bols visits Beursplein 5

Lucas Bols (ticker symbol: BOLS) has established a joint venture with the Rémy Cointreau Group which will operate and further develop the global activities of the iconic Passoã brand.

To celebrate, Joost de Vries, CFO Lucas Bols, sounds the gong: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to further build the Passoã brand. Adding Passoã to the premium and super premium portfolio fits very well within Lucas Bols’ strategic ambition to strengthen and grow the global brands.” 

Lucas Bols is the world’s oldest distilled spirits brand and one of the oldest Dutch companies still in business. Lucas Bols holds the number one position in liqueur ranges worldwide (outside the USA) and is the world’s largest player in the genever segment. Lucas Bols owns a portfolio of more than 20 premium and super premium brands of different spirits used in cocktail bars worldwide.

For more information: www.lucasbols.com

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Best of Book

Bourse Direct opens the European trading day in Paris for the launch of Best of Book

Catherine Nini, Chair of the Board and CEO of Bourse Direct, opens the European trading day in Paris for the launch of Best of Book, Euronext's new generation Best Execution service for retail. Bourse Direct is the first new French broker to connect to Best of Book. Catherine Nini explains the benefits of using Best of Book for its clients.