The Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB) is a sub-market of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles

Bolsas y Mercados Españoles

Bolsas y Mercados Españoles is the operator of all stock Markets and financial systems in Spain. BME has been a listed company since 14 July 2006 and an IBEX 35® constituent since July 2007. In the last few years it has become a reference in the sector in terms of solvency, efficiency and...

 (BME), the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 company that deals with the organizational aspects of the Spanish stock exchange

Stock exchange

A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...

s and financial markets, which includes the stock exchanges in Madrid

Bolsa de Madrid

Bolsa de Madrid is the largest and most international of Spain's four regional stock exchanges that trade shares and convertible bonds and fixed income securities, and both government and private-sector debt...

, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Bilbao

Bilbao

Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

 and Valencia.

MAB, created in 2008, is akin to London's AIM

Alternative Investment Market

AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....

, Frankfurt's Neuer Markt or Paris' Nouveau marché, and allows smaller companies to float

Initial public offering

An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...

 shares

Stock

The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

 with a more flexible regulatory system

Financial regulation

Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the integrity of the financial system...

 than is applicable to the main market.

To join the MAB, companies must have fully paid-up capital, audited accounts and list through an initial public offering with a minimum free float of €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

2m.

The first listing on MAB, Zinkia

Zinkia Entertainment

Zinkia Entertainment is a company founded in 2001 by David Cantolla, Colman López and José María Castillejo. Located in Madrid, Spain, its main focus is to create animated series for TV and games for mobile devices and for game platforms...

, took place on July 2009 and managed to raise €7m.