On February 2, the SEC approved the New York Stock Exchange’s proposal to facilitate “direct listings” by companies that do not intend to sell shares in an initial public offering. Previously, without an IPO, spin-off or transfer from another exchange, a company could only list equity on the NYSE at the exchange’s discretion and if the market value of its publicly held shares was at least $100 million, based on an independent third-party valuation and recent trading of a sufficient volume in the unlisted market. Under its revised listing standards, the NYSE will allow a company to seek a direct listing in the absence of an IPO, and without any unlisted trading, if it can demonstrate that its publicly held shares have a market value of at least $250 million, based on an independent third-party valuation.

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