The story of the IPO (part 3)

These past few weeks we experienced the final milestones in the run-up to the bank’s listing. The prospectus was published on 10 November. What a special moment it was when I first held this more than 700-page document in my hands. It contains all relevant information about the bank that investors need to make a well-considered decision. By 18 November the prospectus, which is published on our website, had been downloaded more than 12,000 times. A lot of people have read the story of ABN AMRO – and I have told that story many times during the presentations I’ve held for clients, colleagues and others in the past few weeks. This is one of the great things about my job.

Road show

Right after the prospectus was published, the Managing Board split up into two teams and visited institutional investors to inform them about the bank. They were well prepared. We were in touch every day, so I could hear how things were going. There was a lot of media attention. I really enjoyed watching the evening news every day, where investment specialists were enthusiastic about the depositary receipts for shares.

Paris trip cancelled

On Friday evening we heard the news about the horrific attacks in Paris. How awful for the people involved. Our Managing Board had scheduled a few appointments in Paris on Monday morning, but we quickly agreed to cancel the trip. Not so much for security reasons, but mainly because we did not feel it was appropriate to promote the depositary receipts for shares at that time. Paris had other things on its mind.

Introduction price and allocation

The subscription period for retail investors closed on Wednesday 18 November at 5.30 pm CET and for institutional investors on Thursday 19 November at 2 pm CET. The price and allocation were announced in a pricing statement as part of a press release on Friday 20 November at 06.02 am (CET).

The listing

On Friday 20 November my colleagues and I, together with other people involved in the IPO, went to Euronext Amsterdam. It is customary for a representative from the company being listed to open the trading day. Gerrit Zalm, our Chairman of the Managing Board, had the honour of doing so. He struck the gong at 9 o’clock sharp (CET). I was one of the people standing on the stage. I felt a mixture of modesty and pride, on behalf of all the employees who have worked so hard on the IPO – and on behalf of all the employees who are always there to serve our clients. I am also grateful to our clients. We have come this far thanks to their trust in us. This is a great conclusion to two special years of preparing for ABN AMRO’s listing on the stock exchange.