Kempen & Co

Kempen & Co was a Dutch financial-services and investment-banking business established in Amsterdam in 1903 by Arines Johannes Kempen and Martinus Dirk de Lange. It began as an independent stockbroker and used the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam’s commodities and securities exchange, for its trading activities. In its early years, the firm specialised in securities connected with companies operating in the Dutch East Indies, reflecting Amsterdam’s role as an important European centre for colonial-era commerce and capital markets. Over time, Kempen & Co developed from a brokerage into a specialist investment bank. Its activities came to include equity research, securities trading, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and capital-markets advice. Rather than operating as a universal retail bank, it built a more focused position serving institutional investors, listed companies, entrepreneurs and other professional clients. The business became associated with specialist research and advisory work in selected European sectors and markets. Van Lanschot acquired Kempen & Co in 2007. The transaction brought the Amsterdam investment bank into the wider Van Lanschot group, whose principal activities included private banking, asset management and investment banking. Following the acquisition, Kempen’s activities were progressively integrated into the group’s specialist investment-management and investment-banking businesses. The Kempen name continued to be used within the group, particularly in investment management, while investment banking was described as the group’s specialist European investment-bank boutique rather than as an independent Kempen & Co company. Within the successor organisation, the former Kempen investment-banking activities were associated with capital-markets transactions, debt advisory, equity research and trading, and mergers and acquisitions. The broader group later became known as Van Lanschot Kempen. Its investment-management business, formerly referred to as Kempen Capital Management, focused on selected strategies including high-dividend equities, fixed income, small-cap companies, infrastructure, real estate and funds of hedge funds. Kempen & Co is therefore best understood as a historical Dutch investment-bank brand and predecessor business within Van Lanschot Kempen, rather than as a currently independent listed company. The brand’s legacy is visible in the group’s continued use of the Kempen name and in its specialist approach to investment management and investment banking.

Kempen & Co was founded in Amsterdam in 1903 by Arines Johannes Kempen and Martinus Dirk de Lange as an independent stockbroker. Its establishment came shortly after the opening of the Beurs van Berlage, which served as the firm’s early trading venue. The company initially concentrated on securities issued by or associated with enterprises operating in the Dutch East Indies. This specialisation placed it within the commercial and financial networks that connected the Netherlands with its overseas territories during the early twentieth century. As Amsterdam’s securities markets evolved, Kempen & Co expanded beyond straightforward brokerage. The firm developed expertise in investment research, trading and corporate-finance work, eventually serving professional investors and companies involved in capital raising, strategic transactions and other financial-market activities. Its business model remained specialist rather than mass-market: the company was known primarily for investment banking and market-related services rather than consumer deposits or retail lending. The firm was acquired by Van Lanschot in 2007. Van Lanschot traced its own banking history to 1737 and had developed into an independent Dutch financial group with private banking, investment management and investment-banking activities. The acquisition broadened Van Lanschot’s specialist investment-banking capabilities and connected Kempen’s Amsterdam platform with the group’s wider wealth-management franchise. Following the transaction, Kempen & Co ceased to operate as a separately independent investment bank in the form in which it had been founded. Its capabilities and personnel were incorporated into the successor group. The Kempen name nevertheless remained important within the group, especially through Kempen Capital Management, the specialist investment-management business. The investment-banking activities formerly associated with Kempen & Co were later presented as Van Lanschot Kempen’s investment-banking business, with services including equity research and trading, capital-markets transactions, debt advisory and mergers and acquisitions. The successor group expanded its activities through additional acquisitions and international offices, while maintaining a focus on selected European markets and professional clients. The historical Kempen brand thus became part of a broader architecture combining private banking, online savings and investment services, specialist investment management and investment banking. Its legacy is represented by the continued Kempen identity within Van Lanschot Kempen and by the group’s emphasis on independent, specialist financial advice and investment expertise.

• 2007

  Acquisition by Van Lanschot

  [1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  Van Lanschot acquires Kempen & Co and incorporates its investment-banking capabilities into the group.

• 1903

  Kempen & Co is founded in Amsterdam

  [1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  Arines Johannes Kempen and Martinus Dirk de Lange establish Kempen & Co as an independent stockbroker.

• 1903

  Early specialisation in Dutch East Indies securities

  [1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  The firm begins by focusing on trading securities connected with listed companies operating in the Dutch East Indies.

• Integration into Van Lanschot Kempen

  [1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  The former Kempen investment-bank platform becomes part of the successor group’s specialist investment-banking activities.

A specialist, research-led investment bank serving professional and institutional clients, later integrated into the independent Dutch wealth-management group Van Lanschot Kempen.

• Financial advisory · 1903

  Investment banking

  Kempen & Co’s principal legacy activity was specialist investment banking for companies, institutional investors and other professional clients. The business supported capital-markets transactions, corporate finance, strategic transactions and related advisory assignments. After Van Lanschot’s 2007 acquisition, these capabilities were incorporated into the group’s investment-banking platform rather than continuing as a fully independent Kempen & Co operation.

• Securities services

  Equity research and trading

  The firm developed from its original stockbroking base into a securities business combining market research and trading. Its specialist orientation supported professional investors seeking analysis of selected companies and sectors. In the successor organisation, equity research and trading remained part of the investment-banking offering associated with Van Lanschot Kempen.

• Corporate finance

  Capital-markets and debt advisory

  Kempen’s investment-bank heritage included advice on capital-market transactions and financing structures. These services were directed at corporate and institutional clients rather than retail customers. Following the acquisition, the capabilities were retained within Van Lanschot Kempen’s specialist investment-banking business.

• Corporate finance

  Mergers and acquisitions advisory

  M&A advisory formed part of the specialist corporate-finance scope associated with Kempen & Co. The service supported companies and shareholders in strategic transactions and was later included among the activities of Van Lanschot Kempen’s investment-banking division.

• 2007

  Van Lanschot acquires Kempen & CoM&A

  Background

  Van Lanschot sought to strengthen its specialist financial-services offering by adding Kempen & Co’s investment-banking and securities-market capabilities.

  Action taken

  Van Lanschot acquired Kempen & Co and incorporated the business into its broader group.

  Aftermath

  Kempen & Co no longer operated as an independent investment bank, while the Kempen name and related expertise continued within Van Lanschot Kempen’s investment-management and investment-banking activities.

  Source

• 2007

  Van Lanschot acquires Kempen & Co[1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Van Lanschot acquired Kempen & Co, bringing the Amsterdam investment bank into its broader private-banking, investment-management and investment-banking group.

• Kempen investment-banking activities become part of Van Lanschot Kempen[1]Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After the acquisition, the former Kempen business was incorporated into the group’s specialist investment-banking platform, covering capital markets, debt advice, equity research and trading, and mergers and acquisitions.

1. 1Van Lanschot Kempenen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Kempen & Co corporate websitekempen.com