It was formed in September 2000 from the merger of the equity and derivatives exchanges of Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris, joined in 2002 by the Portuguese exchange (BVLP) and the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE). Euronext offers an extensive range of services, including listing, cash and derivatives trading, market data dissemination and IT services and support.

Euronext has established a single market for its cash products, including equities, bonds, exchange-traded funds (or trackers) and warrants. All listed shares are now traded on a single electronic platform under harmonised market rules and are cleared through a single system, Clearing 21^®.

Euronext is Europe's largest exchange for cash trading, measured by the quantity and value of transactions processed through its central order book. A total of 1,333 companies, a quarter of them foreign, were listed on Euronext at 31 December 2004.

Euronext has firmly established its position as Europe's leading exchange for equity trading. It processed 134.5 million share trades worth €1,543 billion through its electronic order book in 2004, 13.5% more than in 2003. The total capitalization of the 1,333 companies listed on the markets of Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon and Paris at end-2004 was €1,796 billion, a rise of 9.1% year on year.

The strength of Euronext's list is that it can accommodate a broad spectrum of companies, from blue-chips to small and medium sized enterprises seeking to fund their development.

To enhance the liquidity and visibility of small and mid-sized firms on its markets and to provide European companies with new financing opportunities, Euronext began to overhaul its listing arrangements in early 2005, with input from finance industry professionals.

These reforms culminated in the creation of a single list, Eurolist by Euronext, encompassing all regulated markets. In Paris, the three main markets – Premier Marché, Second Marché and Nouveau Marché – were amalgamated in February 2005. The companies quoted on this single regulated market are classified in alphabetical order and identified on the basis of capitalization. This makes it possible to distinguish easily between small caps (market capitalization of less than €150 million), mid caps (between €150 million and €1 billion) and large caps (more than €1 billion). The single list was extended to Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon on 4 April 2005.

Companies can gain access to Eurolist by Euronext from any of the four marketplaces – Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon or Paris – depending on the domestic market and legal framework of their choosing. But all four entry points lead to a single destination, Eurolist by Euronext.