Ackermans & van Haaren shares were listed on the Antwerp and Brussels stock exchanges on 20 June 1984. Three factors played a decisive role in this historic decision: the ambition to grow, the favourable stock market climate at the time and the desire to offer family shareholders a choice.
Growth ambition
In 1983, 85 percent of Ackermans & van Haaren’s portfolio, measured by book or acquisition value, consisted of its core activities at the time: dredging and marine engineering works, and services to the oil sector. These two major core activities, both highly cyclical in nature, were not facing their easiest years. A wave of consolidation seemed inevitable in both the dredging sector and oil services. To continue growing and further diversify, Ackermans & van Haaren needed substantial resources and wanted to attract new capital.
Favourable stock market climate
The Western economy, and the Belgian economy in particular, went through a severe crisis in the early 1980s. Companies in Belgium had lost considerable competitiveness and were often deeply indebted. With the high interest rates prevailing at the time, this was not sustainable for long. Refinancing through the stock market was the ultimate solution for companies. In 1982, the Belgian government encouraged investment in risk capital through the “Cooreman-De Clercq Act”. This made a stock market listing very attractive for many companies, including Ackermans & van Haaren, which did have a healthy balance sheet.
Choice for family shareholders
With the arrival of the third and fourth generations, family share ownership had become widely dispersed during that period. Some family shareholders had concerns about the risks associated with the dredging and oil services sectors. They wanted to balance those risks through diversification — either within the company’s portfolio or through their own investment portfolios. On the one hand, family shareholders wishing to exit were given the opportunity to do so at a fair price. On the other hand, the stock market listing also brought in fresh capital that could be used to further diversify the company’s portfolio. Moreover, the listing did not jeopardise the family anchoring. Prior to the 1984 IPO, the founding families directly held 54 percent of the shares; 26 percent was held by reference shareholder Belfimas, while the remaining 20 percent was distributed mainly among institutional investors.
The IPO
The decision had been made. Ackermans & van Haaren went public and was among the first companies to turn to the stock market to raise capital after the launch of the ‘Cooreman-De Clercq’ measures. Some facts and figures:
- At the IPO (Initial Public Offering), the capital was increased by 5,125,198 euros, bringing equity to 36,926,431 euros according to the statutory financial statements.
- To this end, 40,000 new shares were issued, bringing the total number of shares to 265,000. Today, the number of issued shares is 33,157,750; after the IPO, there were two further capital increases and a 10-for-1 share split.
- The percentage of shares held by non-reference shareholders, or free float, increased from 20 percent to 30 to 35 percent at the IPO. Today, approximately 65% of the shares are freely tradable.
- The introductory share price at the listing was 7,650 Belgian francs (189.64 euros) for the ordinary shares and 8,400 Belgian francs (208.23 euros) for the AFV shares. AFV stands for ‘Avantage Fiscale/Fiscaal Voordeel’, a Belgian measure for shares issued between 1982 and 1984 to encourage equity investments.
- On the first trading day, 20 June 1984, the closing price was 8,150 Belgian francs (202.03 euros), an increase of 6.5% compared with the introductory price. Today, the AvH share price is around 285 euros. At first sight this may seem like a modest evolution, but it should be noted that the number of issued shares is significantly higher than at the time of the IPO, mainly as a result of the 10-for-1 share split in 1999.
- Market capitalisation at the IPO amounted to 51 million euros. Today, market capitalisation is around 9.5 billion euros.
Other milestones in AvH’s stock market history
- 1992: capital increase related to the merger through absorption of Delen Bank, bringing the total number of new shares to 3,076,292
- 25 June 1999: share split (10 ‘new’ shares for 1 ‘old’ share), translating the share price of 555.64 euros on 25 June 1999 into 55.56 euros per ‘new’ share after the split.
- 1999: capital increase related to the merger through absorption of Belcofi, involving the issuance of 2,733,984 new shares and bringing the total number of shares to 33,496,904
- 1 March 2007: inclusion of the share in the BEL20 index of Euronext Brussels.
- 27 November 2014: the closing share price exceeded the 100-euro threshold.
- 15 February 2023: inclusion of the share in the BEL ESG index of Euronext Brussels.
- 3 September 2024: the closing share price exceeded the 200-euro threshold.
- 27 February 2025: the intraday share price reached 300 euros for the first time.
