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ARTICLE · 04 APRIL 2019

Nasdaq Direct Listing Rules

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Consistent with the rule adopted by the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 in order to facilitate direct listings, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a similar Nasdaq rule

United StatesFinance and Banking

Consistent with the rule adopted by the New York Stock Exchange in 2018 in order to facilitate direct listings, the Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved a similar Nasdaq rule for the Nasdaq Global Select Market, Rule IM-5315-1. Although prior to the effectiveness of the rule, the Nasdaq had permitted companies to undertake direct listings, the requirements were discretionary. The new rule clarifies the circumstances under which an issuer that has not previously registered a class of its securities under the Securities Exchange Act may list its securities without undertaking a public offering of its securities under the Securities Act. The Nasdaq will consider the market value of the securities of a company that have been trading on a private secondary market prior to the Nasdaq listing. Also, the Nasdaq rule allows Nasdaq to determine whether a company has met the market value of publicly held shares listing requirement for the exchange based on

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