Corporate & Securities Blog

SEC APPROVES NASDAQ LISTING AND WRITTEN INTERPRETATION FEE INCREASES

Posted March 15, 2010

Author: Courtney C. Crouch III

On Friday, March 5, 2010, the SEC approved a proposed rule change by Nasdaq to increase the application, entry and annual fees charged to issuers listed on the Nasdaq Global and Nasdaq Global Select Markets, as well as the fee for requesting written interpretations of the Nasdaq listing rules. 

             Under the approved rule change, the fee for a company to apply to list on the Nasdaq Global Market or the Nasdaq Global Select Market increased from $5,000 to $25,000. 

             The changes to the entry fees for Nasdaq Global and Nasdaq Global Select listings are as follows: 

Total Shares Outstanding	Previous Fee	Revised Fee(1)
Up to 30 million shares	$100,000	$125,000
30+ to 50 million shares	$125,000	$150,000
50+ to 100 million shares(2)	$150,000	$200,000
Over 100 million shares(2)	$150,000	$225,000

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                      (1)  See Nasdaq Rule 5910(a).

                      (2)  Under the previous rule, the entry fee was $150,000 for all listings with over 50 million shares

                             outstanding.

             The changes to the annual fees for Nasdaq Global and Nasdaq Global Select domestic and foreign companies are as follows: 

Total Shares Outstanding	Previous Fee	Revised Fee(1)
Up to 10 million shares	$30,000	$35,000
10+ to 25 million shares	$35,000	$37,500
25+ to 50 million shares(2)	$37,500	$37,500
50+ to 75 million shares	$45,000	$46,500
75+ to 100 million shares	$65,500	$68,500
100+ to 150 million shares	$85,000	$89,000
Over 150 million shares	$95,000	$99,500

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                      (1)  See Nasdaq Rule 5910(c).

                      (2)  The annual fee did not increase for companies with 25 million to 50 million shares outstanding.

            Annual fees for American Depository Receipts (ADRs) listed on the Nasdaq Global Market or the Nasdaq Global Select Market also increased by $8,775 to $20,000 depending on the number of ADRs outstanding. 

             Finally, under the approved changes, Nasdaq eliminated the different fees for regular versus expedited requests for written interpretations of Nasdaq listing rules.  Previously, Nasdaq required a non-refundable fee of $5,000 for regular requests for written interpretations and $15,000 for expedited requests.  Under the revised Nasdaq Rule 5602, Nasdaq generally will require a $15,000 fee for all written interpretation requests and will respond within four weeks, although it will attempt to respond sooner if the company so requests.  Nasdaq will continue to provide oral interpretations of its rules at no charge. 

             The revised annual fees are effective as of January 1, 2010.  The revised application and entry fees are effective for listing applications submitted after March 5, 2010 (e.g., companies that applied before SEC approval of the rule change would pay the entry fee in effect at the time of its application).  The change to the interpretive fee is effective as of March 5, 2010.

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