Nasdaq Opens New Office In Chicago

The Nasdaq Stock Market® announced today the opening of a new business development and sales office in Chicago, Illinois. The new Nasdaq® Midwest office will provide support to high-growth and innovative companies in the Midwest United States seeking to go public on The Nasdaq Stock Market and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) companies seeking to change their listing to Nasdaq. The new office is located at 10 South LaSalle, Suite 1110, Chicago, Illinois. "Nasdaq's new office in Chicago is testimony to the tremendous entrepreneurial growth of the high-technology industries in the Midwest," said George Berry, Senior Director of the Nasdaq Midwest office. "We are very excited about the creativity and dynamism of the region. Our new Chicago base will make it easier for us to contact Midwest 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 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." In 1999, The Nasdaq Stock Market welcomed 27 companies from the Midwest region-(Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). These 27 initial public offerings (IPOs) raised $5.3 billion on Nasdaq. During this same time period NYSE launched 8 IPOs from companies within the Midwest region that raised $3.7 billion. The following three companies were among the largest Midwest region IPOs on Nasdaq in 1999: Charter Communications (CHTR) of St. Louis, Missouri with an offering value of $3.7 billion; National Information Consortium, Inc. (EGOV), of Lawrence, Kansas with an offering value of $156 million; and Focal Communications Corporation (FCOM) of Chicago, Illinois with an offering value of $148 million. So far this year, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of Midwest companies preparing to go public on The Nasdaq Stock Market. The Midwest economy is poised for great growth and expansion. Nasdaq is proud to partner with Midwest companies in the formation of corporate capital. If you are interested in contacting the Nasdaq Chicago office, please call (312)899-4426. 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.