Nasdaq's Private Market

Buoyed by more private investment such as buyouts compared to IPO ($162b vs. $154b) for the first time ever in 2006, Nasdaq is giving options to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) to trade stocks in private companies on its new platform, called the Portal Market. The private market is developed by Goldman Sachs and called GSTrUE. The companies which will be traded on this platform doesn't need to file any report to public market regulators. However, only QIBs are allowed to participate in the private market. The QIBs are formed under the securities rule 144A in 1990, and they involve entities with at least $100m in assets.