Nasdaq IPO Execution

Companies go public to raise capital and provide liquidity. The capital can be deployed for potential growth and expansion opportunities. Listing their shares on the exchange provides liquidity to early shareholders and investors.

The main difference between a direct listing and an IPO is that a company does not raise capital with a direct listing. When a company decides to go public, there are typically existing shareholders including founders, employees, and various early stage investors who seek liquidity. Both an IPO and a direct listing enable these investors to have the opportunity to sell their shares. In an IPO, there is a lock-up period—typically 180 days—in which shareholders are restricted from selling outside of the initial public offering. In a direct listing, there are no lock-up restrictions.

At Nasdaq our “Modern Day IPO” process leverages data and technology to open IPOs electronically and remotely. Even when physical trading floors were closed during the pandemic, Nasdaq used its same technology to launch IPO first trades in coordination with the lead underwriter to provide best-in-class IPO execution.

The Bookviewer is Nasdaq’s state-of-the-art technology platform that allows a stabilization agent 100% of the aggregated order book. All the information provided by the Bookviewer helps to enable the lead bank to efficiently open an IPO on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

At Nasdaq, we believe in transparency and a marketplace where investors can compete for the best price. We provide this information through our Bookviewer technology, an innovative web-based solution designed to help banks mitigate volatility and ensure the security opens at the right price.