NYSE Liffe, the Europe-based derivatives business of NYSE Euronext (NYX), will add options on the shares of the Dutch company Delta Lloyd Group to its highly successful range of equity option classes. The launch of options follows the successful initial public offering of Delta Lloyd which took place on 3 November. The Delta Lloyd IPO was the largest initial public offering of the year in Western Europe. The Delta Lloyd options will be introduced on the Amsterdam derivatives market of NYSE Liffe on 10 December 2009.
Alan van Griethuysen, Business Head Benelux and Asia of NYSE Liffe commented: “We are delighted to see that there is a very strong demand for Delta Lloyd options. During the selection procedure for liquidity providers five Primary Market Makers have been selected to participate in a ‘play-off’ for the three Primary Market Makers roles. They all committed to the highest size level and tightest spreads.”
These new American-style options (ticker symbol: DL) will expire on the third Friday of the contract month and will have initial lifetimes of one to nine months. Each option will represent 100 shares in Delta Lloyd and will be cleared via LCH.Clearnet SA. Liquidity in the options will be supported by market makers All Options International, Leopark Options, M&M Trading, Optra and Scrocca Option Trading. Trading will take place on LIFFE CONNECTÒ.
The market for Delta Lloyd options will be supported by NYSE Liffe’s highly successful ‘full screen’ central market model. This model gives investors access to competitive prices throughout the trading day by ensuring a constant display of bid and offer prices, thus improving on-screen liquidity, enhancing the quality of the market and providing added value for customers.
In the first eleven months of the year, 155 million equity options were traded on NYSE Liffe in 2009. More than 50% of this volume was traded on the Amsterdam market. NYSE Liffe trades equity futures and options on almost 1,000 leading European stocks through LIFFE CONNECTÒ and Bclear.
To mark this special occasion, Peter Kok, CFO Delta Lloyd Group, will sound the Gong on 10 December which denotes the opening of NYSE Euronext’s European market, joined by Delta Lloyd and NYSE Euronext executives.