Nasdaq Applauds Decision of Aeroflex Board to Switch from NYSE - First "NYSE-Eligible" Company To Voluntarily Leave The Exchange Since 1939

The Nasdaq Stock Market® announced today that it welcomed the decision of the board of directors of Aeroflex, Inc. (NYSE:ARX) to switch the listing of its equities from the New York Stock Exchange to Nasdaq. The switch will be effective on March 21, 2000, and the company will trade under the symbol Nasdaq:ARXX. The switch is significant because Aeroflex is the first company that meets the New York Stock Exchange continued listing standards to voluntary leave that market since the imposition of the NYSE's Rule 500 in 1939. Aeroflex designs, engineers, and manufactures state-of-the-art microelectronic modules, integrated circuits, and interconnect and testing solutions that are used in communication applications for commercial and defense markets, as well as motion control systems and shock and vibration isolation systems used for commercial, industrial and defense applications. "We salute Aeroflex for being the first NYSE company to switch to Nasdaq," said Frank G. Zarb, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)-the parent of Nasdaq. "We welcome them to our family of companies that include some of the fastest growing, most innovative, and most internationally active companies in the world." The NYSE's Rule 500 was adopted in 1939 after a Canadian company, Dominion Stores, sought to delist voluntarily over the objections of the NYSE. At that time, the NYSE had no specific rule and the Securities and Exchange Commission found no investor protection concerns to prevent Dominion from leaving the exchange. The NYSE then proposed a new rule, Rule 500, which was approved by the SEC, to defend the NYSE against future voluntary delistings. The most onerous provision required two-thirds of a company's shareholders to approve a decision to leave with no more than ten percent objecting. In July, 1999, the SEC approved an amendment to Rule 500 that allows a company to delist from the NYSE if it obtains approval of its board of directors, issues a press release informing shareholders of its intention to delist, obtains the approval of its audit committee, notifies its 35 largest stockholders of record in writing of its intention to delist, and waits a minimum of 20 business days to a maximum of 60 business days before actually switching to another market. Nasdaq requires no notice to the shareholders of its delisting issuers and permits most companies to move to another market usually within 48 hours or less. The Nasdaq Stock Market lists nearly 5,000 companies, has a larger dollar volume, and trades more shares per day than any other market in the world. Nasdaq is a subsidiary of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD®), the largest securities-industry, self-regulatory organization in the United States. For more information about Nasdaq, visit the Nasdaq Web site at www.nasdaq.comSM or the Nasdaq Newsroom at www.nasdaqnews.com.