Going Public And Making It To Nasdaq

By Author: Michael Williams
Total Articles: 6
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As you grow your business after you go public, you will also consider moving up to NASDAQ or a similar higher market.
Unless your company has an underwritten IPO, you almost certainly cannot go directly to NASDAQ. You will start on a lower tier market such as OTCBB or OTCQX.

As you grow your business, you will also consider moving up to NASDAQ or a similar higher market. To do so, you must meet an number of additional requirements, both quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative

The numerical or quantitative listing requirements are in the following areas:

Stockholders’ equity
Market value of publicly held shares
Operating history
Market value of listed securities
Net income from continuing operations
Publicly held shares
Bid price
Shareholders (round lot holders)
Market makers

Qualitative

In addition to meeting the minimum numerical standards listed above, there are other subjective factors, which are considered. The company must be a going concern or be the successor to a going concern.

These markets have broad discretion ...
... regarding the listing of a company. They may deny listing or apply additional or more stringent criteria based on any event, condition, or circumstance that makes the listing of the company inadvisable or unwarranted in the opinion of the Exchange. Such determination can be made even if the company meets the standards set forth above.

The primary subjective factors considered are:

Nature of a company's business.
Market for its products.
Reputation of its management.
Historical record and pattern of growth.
Financial integrity and going concern.
Demonstrated earnings power.
Future outlook.
Required corporate governance procedures.

The required corporate governance procedures relate to:

Distribution of annual and interim reports
Board requirements
Independent Directors
Executive Sessions
Compensation and Nominating Committees
Audit Committees
Shareholder Meetings
Annual Meeting
Quorum
Solicitation of Proxies
Conflicts of interest
Shareholder approval
Code of conduct
Voting rights

Remember, you can Go Public Direct without a Reverse IPO reverse merger with public shell and save your company money and heartache. So if you are considering going public, get advice from an experienced SEC lawyer who knows the ins and outs of the entire process and can take a private company public directly without a Reverse IPO reverse merger with public shell.

This article, which does not constitute legal advice, was written for information purposes only by Michael T. Williams, Esq., an experienced SEC attorney of the Williams Securities Law Firm, P.A., Tampa FL, whose practice is primarily focused on taking companies public.

Website: http://www.gopublicdirect.com/