Q&A

The XING share is mainly traded via the XETRA trading platform, but can also be acquired on the Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich stock exchanges.

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Click here for an overview of the current shareholder structure.

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At a meeting held on February 29, 2012, the Executive Board agreed to put forward a proposal to the Supervisory Board suggesting the Company’s first-ever dividend payment of around €3 million or €0.56 per share to be paid out to the XING AG shareholders one day after the AGM on June 15, 2012. XING AG intends to continue paying its shareholders a dividend in the coming years.

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On February 7, 2012, XING AG paid out a special distribution of funds from capital reserves amounting to €3.76 per share. People in possession of XING shares on August 1, 2011, received the relevant amount in their brokerage account in February 2012.

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XING’s IPO on December 7, 2006, meant that it was the first ever Web 2.0 to go public and had an initial issue price of 30 euros. It entered the Prime Standard with 2.5 million shares including greenshoe option.

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XING AG was founded in August 2003 as a German limited liability company by Lars Hinrichs. The platform was officially launched on November 1, 2003 under the name “openBC”.

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XING is the leading social network for business professionals in German-speaking countries with 5.5 million members there. The network has more than 12 million members (March 2012) and can be used to search for and find contacts, jobs, clients and events.Businesses use XING as a recruiting and sales channel. On top of that they are also active in groups that allow them to communicate with their own employees as well as XING members who may be interested in working there. XING is an ideal opportunity for businesses to create and maintain a professional online profile. The company has four main divisions: Paid memberships, e-Recruiting, Events and Advertising.

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Business professionals use XING to manage their online reputation based around their profile. The platform offers a wide range of interaction options such as sharing relevant contact with personal contacts, expert discussions in over 50,000 groups, and references and job recommendations.

XING members can build up and maintain a network of contacts that can help them to kick-start or get ahead in their career as job vacancies are often filled through personal contacts. The Jobs & Careers section provides members with job ads that match their profile. Unlike other job portals, more than 90,000 recruiters and headhunters use XING to get in touch with potential candidates. 

In January 2011, XING expanded its Events segment by acquiring amiando, Europe’s leading tool for online event registration. This move allows XING to offer its customers end-to-end business event organization, advertising and execution services.

On top of its online activities, XING also promotes offline contact fostering as the company’s more than 300 Ambassadors regularly organize regional and specialist get-togethers in almost 50 countries. 

XING’s Premium membership offers its users a comprehensive networking package that includes messaging to the entire XING network, document uploads and references. Premium members also have access to powerful search tools, can see who visited their profile, and take advantage of the entire Top Deals section.

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Businesses can use XING as a way of directly contacting their target groups which includes business professionals, i.e. academics or employees with a net monthly household income of 3,500 euros or more. According to a study conducted by AGOF, no other business website in Germany hosts as many such people as XING (AGOF internet facts 2012–01). The company also provides businesses with a number of opportunities to position themselves among their target groups: 

Freelancers, companies, associations and organizations can all manage their own Company Profile on XING. The two paid profiles, STANDARD and PLUS, offer greater visibility than the free BASIC profile while the PLUS profile can be used to build up a follower community consisting of customers, job applicants and business partners.

Companies use XING both to promote their brand image and to boost their employer branding as they can direct messages at their intended target groups. Businesses can also post job ads and offer special deals on their products and services in the Top Deals section. 

By posting job ads in the Jobs & Careers section, companies can advertise their current vacancies among people not actively on the lookout for a new job. XING’s Recruiter membership provides recruiters with an extended range of search and filter tools to help them find the right people for their vacancies.

A XING Sales membership is aimed at simplifying and speeding up users’ sales processes by providing them with special search features and filters as well as the option to assign tags.

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XING AG has more than 12 million members as of March 2012. 793 thousand of its members are paying Premium members.

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XING AG employs around 490 people from 28 countries (March 2012). 

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Please visit our management page for more information.

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Please visit our Investor Relations and press pages.

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