Nasdaq OMX Stepping Up IPO Efforts As Market Thaw Seen Ahead

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) is intensifying its efforts to secure new initial public offering business rather than luring companies from other markets.

The strategic switch comes amid a three-way battle with NYSE Euronext (NYX) and TMX Group Inc. (X.T) in a listings market starting to show some signs of life.

"We're continuing to be very hopeful that we'll start to have some of our backlog actually come to market," said Bob McCooey, Nasdaq's head of new listings and capital markets.

McCooey said the exchange had focused on wooing existing listees when the financial crisis hit IPO activity, though it continued to chase new offerings.

"Certainly during a time when we know the market is going through a challenging environment, we do have a dedicated team and a focus on taking the Nasdaq message to other listed companies," McCooey said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Listings business is a key revenue and profit driver for an exchange sector hit by weak trading volume. Listing and transaction fees account for around 15% of revenue at U.S. equity exchanges.

Nasdaq's move follows the recent success of two new listings on rival New York Stock Exchange, doubling the tally seen in the U.S. over the previous two quarters.

McCooey is preparing a tour of prospective listees on the West Coast, the center of U.S. float activity during the technology boom.

Nasdaq and NYSE have been engaged in a fierce and often testy battle over listings switches, but Scott Cutler, NYSE Euronext's head of listings in the Americas, said the exchange company hadn't intensified its efforts to lure companies from its rival when the IPO pipeline ran low.

"We're investing in this business for the long cycle, and we continued to invest even in the financial crisis," Cutler said.

NYSE has held "IPO boot camps" for companies considering a public float, and Cutler said two technology-related IPOs will come to NYSE Euronext in May.

"We've been working with the private-equity and venture-capital community on what we can do to improve the market when it returns," said Cutler.

For the first quarter of 2009, when Nasdaq OMX had no IPOs, the exchange won four transfers from NYSE Euronext.

While NYSE Euronext pulled no listings from Nasdaq OMX over that period, it won the $720 million public float of Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (MJN) in February.

NYSE officials said they also expect a few listing switches from Nasdaq in the coming months, including Myriad Genetics Inc. (MYGN).

U.S. IPO activity has ticked up in April. Language software company Rosetta Stone Inc.'s (RST) shares climbed 40% after its public debut on NYSE Euronext last week, the best-performing IPO in 12 months.

This month also brought offerings from Bridgepoint Education Inc. (BPI), an online college that also made its debut last week on NYSE Euronext, and Changyou.com Ltd. (CYOU), a video game company that listed on Nasdaq in early April.

Nasdaq OMX's McCooey said he's "cautiously optimistic" about IPO prospects for the remainder of the year, and sees the market gaining strength in 2010.

-By Jacob Bunge, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]