Sparks. The SME Venue to Fuel Your Growth
Looking to grow your SME? Do you need to raise capital? Or do you want to strengthen the profile of your company? The Swiss stock exchange is the right partner for you. Sparks – The new stock exchange venue exclusively for SMEs.
The new segment will improve your visibility as an SME and the execution of trades for your investors. Of course, you will also benefit from all other well-known advantages of being a listed company at SIX Swiss Exchange, such as the efficient access to capital.
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Profit from Proven Growth Advantages
By listing on Sparks your SME will benefit from efficient capital raising and from all the other well-known advantages of being a listed company at the Swiss stock exchange.
Stand Out From the Competition
Your investors and clients are overwhelmed with a constant flow of information. Sparks puts your SME on everyone’s map. We help you be seen and heard. Sparks is exclusively made for SMEs to maximize the visibility of your SME.
Optimize the Trading in Your Shares
Your shares may not be traded at all times. Lower trading liquidity is normal for smaller companies, but it may put off some investors from investing in your exciting company. Our condensed continuous trading window optimizes price finding and the execution of trades in shares of companies with smaller market capitalization.
And there is more: Benefit from a 50% fee reduction in your listing fees. As an SME, you will benefit from this reduction when you first list on Sparks and then every time you raise follow-on equity capital on the public market.
Discover the Proven Advantages of an IPO
Are you looking for more concrete information on how your SME grows stronger with public markets?
We are convinced that SMEs belong on the stock exchange.
The public capital market is a supporting pillar of our economic resilience. The new stock market segment Sparks offers fast-growing companies a new and efficient financing channel and ensures that such companies receive sufficient capital to achieve their ambitions in Switzerland.
Daniela Stoffel, State Secretary for International Finance
Main Cornerstones of Sparks
Our requirements mean your SME gets to make the most of public markets by ensuring the necessary information flows between your SME and investors. All requirements are tailored to, and balanced between, your needs and those of your investors.
The trading model is also specifically tailored to companies with smaller market capitalization to give your investors the best possible execution. And our seamless transfer mechanics ensure that your SME is always where it benefits the most from public markets.
The following listing requirements must be fulfilled on the day of the listing:
- A market capitalization of less than CHF 500 million
- A track record > 2 years
- A shareholder base > 50 investors
- An equity capital > CHF 12.0 million
- A capital increase > CHF 8.0 million as part of the IPO (unless equity capital > CHF 25.0 million)
- Freely tradable shares of > 15% (of the outstanding shares)
- Market capitalization of freely tradable shares > CHF 15m
- Annual (audited) and semi-annual (unaudited) financial reporting
- Corporate governance reporting
- Disclosure of shareholdings, management transactions and events that could affect the share price (ad hoc publicity)
- An average market capitalization of less than CHF 1 billion over the past 12 months*
* If the average market capitalization exceeds this threshold, a Sparks-listed company must transfer to the SIX main market.
- Condensed trading window with continuous trading every day
- Opening auction at 3.00 p.m.
- Continuous trading until 5.20 p.m.
- Closing auction and “Trading at Last (TAL)” until 5.40 p.m.
- Sparks-listed companies can request a transfer to the SIX Swiss Exchange main market after a certain period.
- Sparks-listed companies must transfer to the SIX Swiss Exchange main market if their average market capitalization exceeds CHF 1 bn over a period of 12 months.
You can find the listing rules and all other applicable regulations on the SER website. Our experts are here to help you if you have any question.
How you as an Investor can Benefit from Sparks
Your Benefits
Transparency and Regulatory Oversight
Equities listed on Sparks are traded on a regulated exchange — SIX Swiss Exchange. All SMEs on Sparks are subject to the same supervision and provisions as companies traded on the main market, which means that investors benefit from the same level of transparency and regulatory oversight. The listing status also enables pension funds to allocate these Sparks shares to their equities quota.
Equal Treatment and other Legal Protections
Listed companies must treat all investors equally. Thanks to the ad hoc publicity rules, investors benefit from being immediately informed by the company of any materially price-sensitive information. And since all listed companies are subject to Swiss Takeover Rules, (minority) shareholders additionally benefit from special protection.
Optimized Trading and Price Discovery
To help pooling secondary market liquidity, we have implemented a condensed, continuous trading window. For investors, this optimizes price discovery and the execution of trades, as companies with smaller market capitalizations – such as newly-listed, fast-growing SMEs – will generally trade at lower volumes during their early days as a public company.
New Opportunities for Return and Impact
Fast-growing SMEs must oftentimes develop new, disruptive technologies or next-generation business models to challenge incumbents and change the status quo. Therefore, they may have a different risk-to-return profile compared to established blue chips and may offer Investors a higher potential upside – in terms of financial returns and social impact.