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5300. The Nasdaq Global Select Market
5305. General Information for The Nasdaq Global Select Market

(a) A Company that applies for listing its securities on the Nasdaq Global Market and meets the requirements for initial listing contained in Rule 5315 shall be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

(b) An Equity Investment Tracking Stock may be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, provided it must also meet the initial listing requirements set forth in Rule 5222.

(c) At any time, a Company may apply to transfer a security listed on the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Such an application will be approved and effected as soon as practicable if the security meets the requirements for initial listing contained in Rule 5315. A Company will not owe any application or entry fees in connection with such a transfer.

(d) At any time, a Company may apply to transfer a security listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Such an application will be approved and effected as soon as practicable if the security meets the requirements for initial listing contained in Rule 5315. A Company transferring from the Nasdaq Capital Market to the Nasdaq Global Select Market will be required to pay the applicable fees contained in Rule 5910.

(e) After initial inclusion on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, a Company will remain on the Nasdaq Global Select Market provided it continues to meet the applicable requirements of the Listing Rules, including the continued listing requirements contained in the Rule 5400 Series, the requirements of the Rule 5100 Series, and the qualitative requirements of Rule 5200 and 5600 Series. An Equity Investment Tracking Stock must also meet the continued listing and disclosure requirements set forth in Rule 5222(c) and (d).

(f) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the securities of any Company that is non-compliant with a qualitative listing requirement that does not provide for a grace period, or where Nasdaq staff has raised a public interest concern, will not be permitted to transfer to the Global Select Market until the underlying deficiency is resolved. In addition, any security that is below a quantitative continued listing requirement for the Nasdaq Global Market, even if the Company has not been below the requirement for a sufficient period of time to be considered non-compliant, and any Company in a grace or compliance period with respect to a quantitative listing requirement, will not be allowed to transfer from the Nasdaq Global or Capital Markets to the Nasdaq Global Select Market until the underlying deficiency is resolved. A Company before a Hearings Panel will not be allowed to transfer to the Global Select Market until the underlying deficiency is resolved. A Company that is in a grace or compliance period with respect to a qualitative listing standard, such as the cure period for filling an audit committee vacancy, will be allowed to transfer to the Global Select Market, subject to the continuation of that grace period.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended Aug. 22, 2014 (SR-NASDAQ-2014-067); amended June 8, 2017 (SR-NASDAQ-2017-058), operative July 8, 2017.

5310. Definitions and Computations

(a) For Global Select purposes, a Company is affiliated with another Company if that other Company, directly or indirectly though one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control of the Company. Control, for these purposes, means having the ability to exercise significant influence. Ability to exercise significant influence will be presumed to exist where the parent or affiliated Company directly or indirectly owns 20% or more of the other Company's voting securities, and also can be indicated by representation on the board of directors, participation in policy making processes, material intercompany transactions, interchange of managerial personnel, or technological dependency.

(b) In computing Cash Flows for Global Select purposes, Nasdaq will rely on the net cash provided by operating activities, as reported in the Company's financial information as filed with the Commission in the Company's most recent periodic report and/or registration statement excluding changes in working capital or in operating assets and liabilities.

(c) In computing Income from Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes for Global Select purposes, Nasdaq will rely on a Company's financial information as filed with the Commission in the Company's most recent periodic report and/or registration statement.

(d) In computing the number of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares for Global Select purposes, Nasdaq will not consider shares held by an officer, director or 10% or greater Shareholder of the Company.

(e) In the case of a Company listing in connection with its initial public offering, compliance with the market capitalization requirements of Rules 5315(f)(3)(B), (C) and (D) will be based on the Company's market capitalization at the time of listing.

(f) A period of less than three months shall not be considered a Fiscal Year, even if reported as a stub period in the Company's publicly reported financial statements.

(g) If a Company has less than three years of publicly reported financial data, it may qualify under Rule 5315(f)(3)(A) if it has (1) reported aggregate income from continuing operations before income taxes of at least $11 million, and (2) positive income from continuing operations before income taxes in each of the reported fiscal years.

(h) If a Company has less than three years of publicly reported financial data, it may qualify under Rule 5315(f)(3)(C) if it has (1) reported aggregate cash flows of at least $27.5 million, and (2) positive cash flows in each of the reported fiscal years.

(i) A Company whose business plan is to complete an initial public offering and engage in a merger or acquisition with one or more unidentified companies within a specific period of time, as described in IM-5101-2, is not eligible to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

(j) In computing total assets and stockholders' equity for purposes of Rule 5315(f)(3)(D), Nasdaq will rely on a Company's most recent publicly reported financial statements subject to the adjustments described below:

(1) Application of Use of Proceeds - If a company is in registration with the SEC and is in the process of an equity offering, adjustments should be made to reflect the net proceeds of that offering, and the specified intended application(s) of such proceeds to:

(A) Pay off existing debt or other financial instruments: The adjustment will include elimination of the actual historical interest expense on debt or other financial instruments classified as liabilities under generally accepted accounting principles being retired with offering proceeds of all relevant periods or by conversion into common stock at the time of an initial public offering occurring in conjunction with the company's listing. If the event giving rise to the adjustment occurred during a time-period such that pro forma amounts are not set forth in the SEC registration statement (typically, the pro forma effect of repayment of debt will be provided in the current registration statement only with respect to the last fiscal year plus any interim period in accordance with SEC rules), the company must prepare the relevant adjusted financial data to reflect the adjustment to its historical financial data, and its outside audit firm must provide a report of having applied agreed-upon procedures with respect to such adjustments. Such report must be prepared in accordance with the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

(B) Fund an acquisition:

(i) The adjustments will include those applicable with respect to acquisition(s) to be funded with the proceeds. Adjustments will be made that are disclosed as such in accordance with Rule 3-05 "Financial Statements of Business Acquired or to be Acquired" and Article 11 of Regulation S-X. Adjustments will be made for all the relevant periods for those acquisitions for which historical financial information of the acquiree is required to be disclosed in the SEC registration statement; and

(ii) Adjustments applicable to any period for which pro forma numbers are not set forth in the registration statement shall be accompanied by the relevant adjusted financial data to combine the historical results of the acquiree (or relevant portion thereof) and acquiror, as disclosed in the company's SEC filing. Under SEC rules, the number of periods disclosed depends upon the significance level of the acquiree to the acquiror. The adjustments will include those necessary to reflect (a) the allocation of the purchase price, including adjusting assets and liabilities of the acquiree to fair value recognizing any intangibles (and associated amortization and depreciation), and (b) the effects of additional financing to complete the acquisition. The company must prepare the relevant adjusted financial data to reflect the adjustment to its historical financial data, and its outside audit firm must provide a report of having applied agreed-upon procedures with respect to such adjustments. Such report must be prepared in accordance with the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

(2) Acquisitions and Dispositions - In instances other than acquisitions (and related dispositions of part of the acquiree) funded with the use of proceeds, adjustments will be made for those acquisitions and dispositions that are disclosed as such in a company's financial statements in accordance with Rule 3-05 "Financial Statements of Business Acquired or to be Acquired" and Article 11 of Regulation S-X. If the disclosure does not specify pre-tax earnings from continuing operations, minority interest, and equity in the earnings or losses of investees, then such data must be prepared by the company's outside audit firm for the Exchange's consideration. In this regard, the audit firm would have to issue an independent accountant's report on applying agreed-upon procedures in accordance with the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Adopted Mar. 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended Apr. 6, 2010 (SR-NASDAQ-2010-047), operative May 6, 2010; amended Apr. 1, 2011 (SR-NASDAQ-2011-050); amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019.

5315. Initial Listing Requirements for Primary Equity Securities

Rule 5310 provides guidance about computations made under this Rule 5315.

(a) For inclusion in the Global Select Market, a Company must meet all requirements in Rule 5315(e), all applicable requirements of Rules 5315(f)(1), 5315(f)(2) and 5315(f)(3) and all applicable requirements in the Listing Rules.

(b) However, if a Company is a closed end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, it must meet all requirements in Rule 5315(e), all applicable requirements in each of Rules 5315(f)(1) and 5315(f)(2), but not requirements of 5315(f)(3).

(c) A closed end management investment company that is listed concurrently with other closed end management investment companies that have a common investment adviser or whose investment advisers are "affiliated persons" as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (a "Fund Family") shall be eligible if:

(1) the total Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares in such Fund Family is at least $220 million;

(2) the average Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares for all funds in the Fund Family is $50 million; and

(3) each fund in the Fund Family has a Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares of at least $35 million.

(d) A business development company as defined in Section 2 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 must meet all requirements in Rule 5315(e), and all applicable requirements in each of Rules 5315(f)(1) and 5315(f)(2), but not the requirements in 5315(f)(3). In lieu of meeting Rule 5315(f)(3), a business development company must have a Market Value of Listed Securities of at least $80 million.

(e) The Primary Equity Security shall meet all of the following:

(1) If the Company is not listed on the NGM, a bid price of at least $4 per share;

(2) At least 1,250,000 Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares;

(3) Market Makers

A Company that meets the requirements of the NGM Income Standard ( Rule 5405(b)(1)) or the NGM Equity Standard ( Rule 5405(b)(2)) shall have at least three registered and active Market Makers. Otherwise, a Company shall have at least four registered and active Market Makers;

(4) If the security is trading in the U.S. over-the-counter market as of the date of application, such security must have a minimum average daily trading volume of 2,000 shares over the 30 trading day period prior to listing (including trading volume of the underlying security on the primary market with respect to an ADR), with trading occurring on more than half of those 30 days, unless such security is listed on the Exchange in connection with a firm commitment underwritten public offering of at least $4 million; and

(5) In the case of ADRs, at least 400,000 issued.

(f)

(1) Ownership Requirement

The Primary Equity Security shall meet no less than one of the following:

(A) At least 550 Total Holders and an average monthly trading volume over the prior 12 months of at least 1,100,000 shares per month; or

(B) At least 2,200 Total Holders; or

(C) (i) A minimum of 450 Round Lot Holders; and (ii) at least 50% of such Round Lot Holders must each hold Unrestricted Securities with a Market Value of at least $2,500; provided that (ii) shall not apply to a Company whose business plan is to complete one or more acquisitions, as described in IM-5101-2.

(2) Market Value Requirement

The Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares shall meet one of the following:

(A) A Market Value of at least $110 million; or

(B) A Market Value of at least $100 million, if the Company has stockholders' equity of at least $110 million; or

(C) A Market Value of at least $45 million in the case of: (i) a Company listing in connection with its initial public offering; and (ii) a Company that is affiliated with, or a spin-off from, another Company listed on the Global Select Market; or

(D) A Market Value of at least $70 million in the case of a closed end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

(3) Valuation Requirement

A Company, other than a closed end management investment company, shall meet the requirements of sub-paragraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) below:

(A) (i) Aggregate income from continuing operations before income taxes of at least $11 million over the prior three fiscal years, (ii) positive income from continuing operations before income taxes in each of the prior three fiscal years, and (iii) at least $2.2 million income from continuing operations before income taxes in each of the two most recent fiscal years; or

(B) (i) Aggregate cash flows of at least $27.5 million over the prior three fiscal years, (ii) positive cash flows in each of the prior three fiscal years, and (iii) average market capitalization of at least $550 million over the prior 12 months and total revenue of at least $110 million in the previous fiscal year; or

(C) (i) Average market capitalization of at least $850 million over the prior 12 months, and (ii) total revenue of at least $90 million in the previous fiscal year; or

(D) (i) Market capitalization of at least $160 million, (ii) total assets of at least $80 million, and (iii) stockholders' equity of at least $55 million.

Adopted Mar. 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018); amended Apr. 6, 2010 (SR-NASDAQ-2010-047), operative May 6, 2010; amended Apr. 1, 2011 (SR-NASDAQ-2011-050); amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019; amended Jan. 21, 2021 (SR-NASDAQ-2020-069); amended March 24, 2021 (SR-NASDAQ-2021-013).

IM-5315-1. Determination of Price-Based Requirements for Direct Listings on the Nasdaq Global Select Market

Nasdaq recognizes that some companies that have sold common equity securities in private placements, which have not been listed on a national securities exchange or traded in the over-the-counter market pursuant to FINRA Form 211 immediately prior to the initial pricing, may wish to list those securities on Nasdaq (a "Direct Listing"). Such companies are permitted to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, provided the Company meets all applicable initial listing requirements and lists at the time of effectiveness of a registration statement filed solely for the purpose of allowing existing shareholders to sell their shares. This Interpretative Material describes when a Company whose stock is not previously registered under the Exchange Act may list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, where such Company is listing without a related underwritten offering upon effectiveness of a registration statement registering only the resale of shares sold by the company in earlier private placements.

In determining whether such Company satisfies the initial listing requirements for the Nasdaq Global Select Market based on the price of a security, including the bid price, market capitalization and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares requirements, Nasdaq will determine the security's price as follows:

(a) If the Company's security has had sustained recent trading in a Private Placement Market, Nasdaq will attribute a price, market capitalization, and Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares to the Company equal to the lesser of (i) the value calculable based on an independent third-party valuation (a "Valuation") and (ii) the value calculable based on the most recent trading price in a Private Placement Market.

(b) For a security that has not had sustained recent trading in a Private Placement Market prior to listing, Nasdaq will determine that such Company has met the Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares requirement if the Company satisfies the applicable Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares requirement and provides a Valuation evidencing a Market Value of Publicly Held Shares of at least $250,000,000. Nasdaq will also determine the bid price and market capitalization based on such Valuation.

(c) For a Company transferring from a foreign regulated exchange or listing on Nasdaq while trading on such exchange, Nasdaq will determine that the Company has met the applicable price-based requirements based on the most recent trading price in such market. This provision applies only where there is a broad, liquid market for the Company's shares in its country of origin.

(d) Nasdaq will examine the trading price trends for the stock in the Private Placement Market over a period of several months prior to listing and will only rely on a Private Placement Market price if it is consistent with a sustained history over that several month period evidencing a market value in excess of Nasdaq's market value requirement.

(e) Any Valuation used for this purpose must be provided by an entity that has significant experience and demonstrable competence in the provision of such valuations. The Valuation must be of a recent date as of the time of the approval of the Company for listing and the evaluator must have considered, among other factors, the annual financial statements required to be included in the registration statement, along with financial statements for any completed fiscal quarters subsequent to the end of the last year of audited financials included in the registration statement. Nasdaq will consider any market factors or factors particular to the listing applicant that would cause concern that the value of the Company had diminished since the date of the Valuation and will continue to monitor the Company and the appropriateness of relying on the Valuation up to the time of listing. Nasdaq may withdraw its approval of the listing at any time prior to the listing date if it believes that the Valuation no longer accurately reflects the company's likely market value.

(f) A valuation agent shall not be considered independent if:

(1) At the time it provides such valuation, the valuation agent or any affiliated person or persons beneficially own in the aggregate as of the date of the valuation, more than 5% of the class of securities to be listed, including any right to receive any such securities exercisable within 60 days.

(2) The valuation agent or any affiliated entity has provided any investment banking services to the listing applicant within the 12 months preceding the date of the valuation. For purposes of this provision, "investment banking services" includes, without limitation, acting as an underwriter in an offering for the issuer; acting as a financial adviser in a merger or acquisition; providing venture capital, equity lines of credit, PIPEs (private investment, public equity transactions), or similar investments; serving as placement agent for the issuer; or acting as a member of a selling group in a securities underwriting.

(3) The valuation agent or any affiliated entity has been engaged to provide investment banking services to the listing applicant in connection with the proposed listing or any related financings or other related transactions.

Adopted Feb. 13, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-001); amended July 5, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-009), operative Aug. 4, 2019; amended Dec. 3, 2019 (SR-NASDAQ-2019-059).

IM-5315-2. Determination of Price-Based Requirements for Direct Listings with a Capital Raise

As described in Listing Rule IM-5315-1, Nasdaq recognizes that some companies that have sold common equity securities in private placements, which have not been listed on a national securities exchange or traded in the over-the-counter market pursuant to FINRA Form 211 immediately prior to the initial pricing, may wish to list those securities on Nasdaq. Such companies may list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market without an attendant initial public offering of equity securities by the Company if the Company meets the applicable initial listing requirements and the additional requirements in Listing Rule IM-5315-1.

In addition, in certain cases, a Company that has not previously had its common equity securities registered under the Exchange Act may wish to list its common equity securities on the Exchange at the time of effectiveness of a registration statement pursuant to which the Company will sell shares itself in the opening auction on the first day of trading on the Exchange in addition to or instead of facilitating sales by selling shareholders.  Any such listing is referred to as a “Direct Listing with a Capital Raise” where either: (i) only the Company itself is selling shares in the opening auction on the first day of trading; or (ii) the Company is selling shares and selling shareholders may also sell shares in such opening auction.

A Company offering securities for sale in connection with a Direct Listing with a Capital Raise must: (i) register securities by specifying the quantity of shares registered, as permitted by Securities Act Rule 457(a); and, (ii) retain an underwriter with respect to the primary sales of shares by the Company and identify the underwriter in its effective registration statement.

In determining whether such a Company satisfies the Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares for initial listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the Exchange will deem such Company to have met the applicable requirement if the amount of the Company’s Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares before the offering along with the market value of the shares to be sold by the Company in the Exchange’s opening auction in the Direct Listing with a Capital Raise is at least $110 million (or $100 million, if the Company has stockholders' equity of at least $110 million).

For this purpose, the Market Value of Unrestricted Publicly Held Shares will be calculated using a price per share equal to the price that is 20% below the lowest price of the price range disclosed by the issuer in its effective registration statement. Nasdaq will determine that the Company has met the applicable bid price and market capitalization requirements based on the same per share price. The 20% threshold below the price range will be calculated based on the high end of the price range in the registration statement at the time of effectiveness.

Securities qualified for listing under this IM-5315-2 must satisfy the additional requirements of Rule 4120(c)(9)(B) and begin trading on Nasdaq following the initial pricing through the mechanism outlined in Rule 4120(c)(9)(B) and Rule 4753.

Adopted May 19, 2021 (SR-NASDAQ-2020-057); amended Dec. 2, 2022 (SR-NASDAQ-2022-027).

5320. Other Classes of Securities

If the Primary Equity Security of a Company is included in the Global Select Market, any other security of that same Company, such as other classes of common or preferred stock, warrants and units, that qualify for listing on the Global Market shall also be included in the Global Select Market. However, exchange traded funds, index-linked securities, selected equity-linked debt securities, trust issued receipts, structured products and commodity-backed products will not be listed on the Global Select Market. See the Rule 5700 Series for rules relating to the listing of those securities and other securities not specified under the Global Select Market listing standards.

Adopted March 12, 2009 (SR-NASDAQ-2009-018).

 
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