Buhrmann, a Dutch office supply company, started bookbuilding on Tuesday for a €700m ($644.4m) secondary offering - just a day after the launch of an €800m accelerated tender for TNT Post Group.

These two large secondary offerings underline the weak start to the year for Euronext Amsterdam, which has yet to see an initial public offering in 2001. They also reflect the fact that investors have more confidence in companies they already know rather than supporting IPOs.