Deals & Deal Makers: NASD Sets Date for Membership Vote On Proposed Plan to Sell Part of Nasdaq
The National Association of Securities Dealers, pushing forward with its proposed plan to sell off part of the Nasdaq Stock Market, set April 14 as the date for a membership meeting to vote on the plan and mailed out proxy materials to its 5,500 member firms.</br></br>The NASD also opened the process by which qualified potential investors can ask for shares in Nasdaq as part of the offering, which is expected to raise roughly $1 billion.</br></br>The NASD's plan would sell Nasdaq to its members, market-making firms, listed companies and others in a two-step private-placement transaction. The first step would bring the NASD's stake in Nasdaq down to between 47% and 49%, while the second step would reduce that stake further, to around 22%.</br></br>In order for the transaction to go into effect, its first phase requires an affirmative vote by a majority of the firms voting, while the second phase has a higher bar, requiring an approval by a majority of all members.</br></br>NASD Chairman Frank Zarb, who hosted several live town-hall meetings late last year while the plan was being put together, says he will preside over a series of conference calls with members to go over the materials in the private-placement memorandum and answer questions. In an interview, he said six such meetings already are planned, with the first an all-member call planned for tomorrow.