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Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) Sale Re-Opening Announcement

news.com

As part of its market transparency role, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) owns and operates certain quote and trade reporting facilities, including the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB). The OTCBB is an inter-dealer quotation system on which FINRA-regulated broker-dealers may post OTC quotations in unlisted equity securities.



FINRA is proposing to shift its role from operating the OTCBB to acting as the consolidator and disseminator of all quotation and trade information for unlisted equity securities—non-listed, publicly traded equity securities. FINRA would continue to be the primary regulator of all over-the-counter trading activity.



As part of these changes, FINRA is proposing to divest itself of the ownership and operation of the OTCBB as an OTC inter-dealer quote system. To achieve this, FINRA intends to sell to an independent third party certain FINRA assets, including:



the OTCBB.com Web site URL and reservation rights;
certain OTCBB.com content; and
the OTCBB trademark.


FINRA first announced on September 14th, 2009 that it was offering the assets listed above for sale. FINRA entered into good faith negotiations with the one bidder but has not been able to reach final terms. In the interim, a number of new bidders have stepped forward and indicated an interest in submitting bids for the OTCBB. As a result, FINRA is re-opening the bidding process at this time and invites parties interested in the purchase of certain OTCBB sale assets to contact us. The substance and structure of the assets for sale have not changed since the original offering.



No FINRA contractual obligation whatsoever shall arise from the publication of this announcement. FINRA reserves the right to accept or reject any and all requests to engage in discussions with third parties, to change or limit the assets for sale listed above and/or to cancel the OTCBB sale process entirely. FINRA intends to re-open the bidding on the sale assets until July 30, 2010. Interested parties should contact FINRA for additional information concerning the sale assets and bid form and content requirements. All new or modified bids must be submitted by July 30, 2010.



Interested parties should contact: Christopher B. Stone, FINRA Transparency Services Department.



About FINRA
FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through comprehensive regulation. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business—from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms; writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms.



For more information, please visit www.finra.org.

http://www.finra.org/Industry/Compliance/MarketTransparency/P121694