Obtaining a Listing or Quotation
As a company you have several decisions to make when selecting a secondary trading system for your publicly held securities. First, do you go with a formal exchange or do you chose a quotation system. NYSE, AMEX, TSX, TSX Venture are all formal exchanges. NASDAQSM, NASDAQNM, OTCBB and the OTC Pink Sheets are all quote systems. AMEX and NASDAQ are formal exchanges.
Another decision is where to list. Some choices will be eliminated on the basis that your company doesn't meet the listing requirements of all secondary trading systems. Out of the choices which remain you will need to decide which market will serve you and your stockholders best. You also always have the option of moving to a different trading system as your economic and stockholder needs change.
A master chart summarizing the main North American markets you may choose to list your company's securities follows. This chart provides a general overview of the minimum tier requirements for technology and industrial companies. It is important to understand that several of these trading systems have more than one tier or standard with different requirements for each.
|
Requirements |
NYSE1 |
AMEX2 |
NASDAQ NM4 |
NASDAQ SM5 |
OTCBB |
|
Pre-Tax Income Last Year |
$2,500,000 |
$750,000 |
N/A |
$750,000 |
N/A |
|
Two Year Avg. Pre-Tax Income |
$2,000,000 |
$750,000 (2 of 3 years) |
$1,000,000 |
$750,000 |
N/A |
|
Net Tangible Assets |
$60 MM |
N/A |
$75 MM and $75MM revenue |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Market Value Public Float |
$18,000,000 |
$3,000,000 |
$8MM/$18MM/ $20MM |
$5,000,000 |
N/A |
|
No. Shares Publicly Held |
1,100,000 |
1MM/500K |
1,100,000 |
1,000,000 |
N/A |
|
Trading Price |
No minimum |
$3.00 |
$5.00 |
$4.00 |
N/A |
|
Shareholder Equity |
No minimum |
$4,000,000 |
$15MM/$30MM /N/A |
$5,000,000 |
N/A |
|
No. Shareholders |
2,000 |
400/800 |
400 |
300 |
N/A |