The IPO Process in Germany

• With a good 350 listings since the Neuer Markt was established in Frankfurt, this most successful European junior market now has a market capitalization in excess of 1.2 bn Euros (February 2001). The requirement for new entrants to publish their offering prospectus in both German and English has driven up demand for prospectus translations into English to new highs, a situation that is likely to continue despite the recent slowdown in IPO activity. The number of non-German IPO candidates has also risen steadily, in turn generating growing demand for translations into German.

• Over the past couple of years, however, the average quality of prospectus translations has experienced a steady slide. In addition to a lack of understanding about the objectives and structure of German offering prospectuses, fundamental ignorance about the IPO process and difficulties in grasping the core terminology evidently play a major role in this deterioration of translation quality. This session will provide an overview of the IPO process in Germany, followed by a look at the structure of a typical prospectus and an introduction to the core terminology in both German and English.

• Speaker: Robin Bonthrone