Nasdaq Expands Presence In Texas And The South Central United States

The Nasdaq Stock Market® announced today that it is expanding its Midwest business development and sales office to focus on the tremendous growth in Texas and the South Central U.S. with addition of Mr. Chris Santiago, Senior Director of Global Sales.

The addition to the Nasdaq® Midwest office will provide support to high-growth and innovative companies in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, that seek to go public on The Nasdaq Stock Market and to facilitate New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) companies seeking to change their listing to Nasdaq.

"Nasdaq's increased focus is testimony to the tremendous growth of multiple industries in this region," said Chris Santiago. "We are very excited about the creativity and dynamism of the region. Our expansion of the Midwest Office will make it easier for us to contact South Central companies to inform them of the benefits of listing on The Nasdaq Stock Market and assist them in the process of bringing their companies public. Also, NYSE companies now have the opportunity to evaluate and choose the proper market for their spin-off and/or listing. Listing on The Nasdaq Stock Market provides the best market model for the new economy. We look forward to the opportunity to assist NYSE companies transferring to the best-performing and fastest-growing market in the world."

Through May of 2000, The Nasdaq Stock Market welcomed 43 companies from the region (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas). These 43 initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $4.4 billion on Nasdaq.

The following three companies were among the largest South Central regional IPOs on Nasdaq in 1999 and the first quarter of 2000:

Vignette Corporation (VIGN), of Austin, TX, market cap of $9. 1 billion; Efficient Networks (EFNT), of Dallas TX, market cap of $3.2 ; and U.S. Unwired (UNWR), of Lake Charles, LA, market cap of $1.1 billion.

So far this year, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of South Central regional companies preparing to go public on The Nasdaq Stock Market. This region's economy is poised for great growth and expansion. Nasdaq is proud to partner with these companies in the formation of corporate capital.

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.