Van der Moolen

Van der Moolen was a Dutch equity trading firm, with its headquarters located in Amsterdam.[2] They were mainly active in the United States and in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.[3] Van der Moolen, which at its peak was one of the largest registered marketmakers on the New York Stock Exchange, filed for bankruptcy in September 2009 after mounting losses.[4]

Van der Moolen NV.
TypePublic
IndustryFinancial services
FoundedAmsterdam, Netherlands (1892)
HeadquartersSchiphol, Netherlands
ProductsTrading
Revenue EUR110.8 million (2007)
EUR 77.7 million (2007)
Total equityUS $1040 million (2007) [1]
Number of employees
440

Originally known as Van der Moolen & Co., it was founded in July 1892 as a 'jobber' or 'hoekman' which traded in equities and bonds. The company started its expansion in the derivatives markets in the late 1970s. Van der Moolen became a limited liability company in December 1986 and soon afterwards was listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX). The company's shares were also listed on the New York Stock Exchange ('NYSE') in October 2001.[5]

In 2001, Van der Moolen launched VDM Bonds to provide fixed income liquidity in less-than-wholesale transaction sizes to banks and other intermediaries.[6] VDM Bonds[7] was sold to Zions Bancorporation in March 2004 after its management team left the company.[8][9][10] In January 2006, VDM acquired Curvalue, a Dutch trading company specialized in derivative trading.[11] In late 2006, VDM acquired the assets of London-based prop trading firm Hills Independent Traders Ltd. In 2008, VDM UK's proprietary equity and futures trading unit was closed after an ill-fated move to a new site in Colchester.[12]

On the New York Stock Exchange, Van der Moolen served as specialist until 2007 when it sold the activities to Lehman Brothers.[13] At one point, Van der Moolen USA's specialist book had represented 15% of the NYSE listed common stocks and accounted 11% of the NYSE's volume.[14] Regulatory changes which slashed margins for market makers and allowed a flood of new competition for trading volume significantly impaired the profitability of this VDM unit.[15] Previously in 2003, Van der Moolen Specialists became subject to an investigation by the SEC on allegations of front running. In 2004, Van der Moolen reached a settlement with the SEC and paid a fine of $57.7 million. Some employees were convicted of fraud, while others (Robert Scavone Jr.) were later acquitted.[16][17]

On August 10, 2009, Van der Moolen requested protection from its creditors a short time after opening its new headquarters near Amsterdam airport.[18] The new HQ office project had been reportedly delivered on time and under budget.[19] On September 10, 2009, Van der Moolen filed for bankruptcy a week later.[20] The company assets in the Netherlands were liquidated in January 2010 with an auction raising Euro 400,000[21] against creditor claims for Euro 28.3 million.[22] An announcement of a tax reclaim from the German Tax authorities arrived a week after the bankruptcy filing. The Euro 32 million tax reclaim was transferred to VDM's liquidator in October 2009 (with a condition and it may still have to be returned).[19][23] This tax refund could have saved the company—but simply arrived too late. Van der Moolen's dealings are being investigated by the Dutch market regulator AFM.[24]

As of 23 December 2010, Van der Moolen shares were no longer listed on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.[25][26][27]

According to a report dated 13 May 2011 by the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Appeals Court, prior to bankruptcy Van der Moolen's management did not seem in control of the company's dividend arbitrage activities, and attention to capital management and external financing was limited. The Dutch investor group VEB and insurer ASR Nederland NV had asked the Enterprise Chamber to investigate the firm's management. The VEB also asked for the court to assess mismanagement and damage claims.[28][29]

By May 2018, Van der Moolen's trustees announced that all creditors, including a number of former employees of the company, could fully recover their claims against the company including interest.[30]

References
  1. "Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  2. "Van der Moolen expects to be granted bankruptcy Friday Wed Sep 9, 2009". Reuters.com.
  3. Company Profile for Van der Moolen Holding NV, June 27 2003 Archived September 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Tim Cave, German Firm Quits Over Tough High-Frequency Trading Rules, https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/06/05/german-firm-quits-over-tough-high-frequency-trading-rules/, Wall Street Journal Money Beat, accessed 05/10/2013
  5. "Van der Moolen Holding NV Annual Report 2006 (Ernst & Young), p. 8". Xbrl.rienks.biz. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  6. "Van der Moolen, Odd-Lot Trading With a Very Experienced Team in Capital Markets Magazine of Q2 2001" (PDF). Speedwell.net.
  7. "Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP advises Van Der Moolen on sale of bonds trading subsidiary". Mayerbrown.com.
  8. "Van der Moolen Signs Agreement To Sell VDM UK Bonds". Business Wire. January 7, 2004. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
  9. "Team profile details team move to ABN AMRO". Uk.linkedin.com. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  10. "Tullett raids ABN's e-commerce team". FXWeek.com. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  11. "Van der Moolen Holding NV Annual Report 2006 (Ernst & Young), p.8". Xbrl.rienks.biz. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  12. "Moss Trading". Moss Trading Professional Traders in Equity Markets. 2012-09-06. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
  13. "Lehman Swipes Up Van der Moolen Specialist Ops". 247wallst.com. December 4, 2007.
  14. "Van der Moolen Holding N.V., SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION FORM 6-K, December 2001". Secinfo.com. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  15. Moyer, Liz (2011-01-06). "Goldman's NYSE Floor Operations Struggle as Market Changes Wall Street Journal Accessed 11 January 2011". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  16. "CORRECTED - Ex-NYSE trader sentenced to 6 months for fraud, Reuters.com, Jan 19, 2007". Reuters.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  17. Glovin, David (2008-07-30). "Ex-Van der Moolen Specialists Win Conviction Reversal Bloomberg.com, July 30, 2008". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  18. "Van der Moolen granted creditor protection, Reuters.com, Mon Aug 10, 2009". Reuters.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  19. http://www.veb.net/content/Bestanden/acties/VDM/vdmverzoekschrift1aug.pdf
  20. "Dutch Van der Moolen declares bankruptcy Reuters.com, Wed Sep 9, 2009 5:57 pm". Reuters.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  21. "Van der Moolen's garage sale". Amsterdamtrader.com. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  22. "Van der Moolen to Auction Statuettes, Cars in Bankruptcy Sale". Bloomberg Businessweek. January 5, 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
  23. "Who is Frank Vogel?". amsterdamtrader. 2011-07-31. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  24. "Dutch court orders Van der Moolen investigation". Reuters. 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  25. "Euronext Listings". Euronext.com. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  26. "Whodunit at VDM, Oct 9,2009". Amsterdamtrader.com. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  27. "Aandeel Van der Moolen officieel verleden tijd rtz.nl 23-12-2010" (in Dutch). Rtl.nl. 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  28. van Gaal, Maud; Pals, Fred. "Van Der Moolen Governance Was Flawed Before Bankruptcy, Dutch Probe Says". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  29. Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Appeals Court Report on Van der Moolen N.V. Bankruptcy of 13 May 2011, http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2013:BZ1149 (Dutch), Rechtspraak.nl, accessdate= 16 July 2011
  30. Het Financieele Dagblad Curatoren Van der Moolen kunnen extraatjes uitdelen, 2 mei 2018 (in Dutch)
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