The NASDAQ Stock Market said today that it has agreed to
acquire investor services firm Shareholder.com.
The privately held Massachusetts-based firm, specializing in shareholder
communications and investor relations intelligence services, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of NASDAQ.
With the buy, NASDAQ said it plans to offer Shareholder.com’s suite of
investor relations and intelligence services to its 3,200 listed companies,
as well as other publicly held companies.
Shareholder.com currently has more than 1,000 clients, including 396
companies listed on NASDAQ.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is
expected to close in the first quarter of 2006.
“NASDAQ is continuing to find new ways to support public companies by
offering investor relations and other services essential to operating a publicly held company,” Bruce Aust, executive vice president of NASDAQ, said in a
statement.
NASDAQ has recently focused on partnering with service providers for its
companies, and expects the deal to add another level of service for its clients.
“This acquisition furthers our strategy to maximize the value companies
receive from NASDAQ, and to attract new listings,” Aust said.
Shareholder.com has been a strategic member of the NASDAQ Corporate Services
Network since October 2004.
“This acquisition is the logical next step that assures we will continue
providing the most innovative technology and client satisfaction to public
companies,” Ronald Gruner, Shareholder.com’s founder and president, said in
a statement.
The acquisition follows a series of recent moves designed to provide more
information to NASDAQ’s clients.
In September 2005 NASDAQ bought Carpenter
Moore, management liability insurance specialists, and created Independent Research Network, a joint venture with Reuters to provide public companies with research coverage.
“It is also in keeping with NASDAQ’s philosophy to maximize transparency and
to give investors equal access to information,” NASDAQ’s Aust said of the
most recent buy.
NASDAQ’s acquisition encompasses Shareholder.com’s three offices, located in
Maynard, Mass., San Francisco and Amsterdam.
