纳斯达克OMX集团（NASDAQ OMX Group）周三早间宣布，该公司已与非上市公司股权交易市场SharesPost共同成立了一家合资企业，旨在“为尚未上市的成长型公司提供一个杰出的股票交易市场。”

    双方都没有透露财务细节，只是表示纳斯达克将是控股股东。SharesPost创始人兼CEO格雷格•布罗格将担任合资企业总裁，交易平台计划于2013年晚些时候推出（有待监管机构批准）。

    简言之，这是对非上市公司股份交易市场投下的重要信任一票，应该能吸引更多新的参与者（包括交易员和发行公司）。SharesPost藉此名声大噪。去年5月，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）曾因SharesPost没有事先登记经纪许可就擅自进行证券交易提出控告（双方后来以10万美元达成和解）。

    但周三的公告更多是一场市场推广，不是对新平台的实际解释。下面这几个问题依然有待解答：

    1.这家共同成立的公司如何赚钱？我猜想它会对交易员收取佣金，但公司需要支付挂牌费吗？另外，平台将提供哪些目前SharesPost没有提供的服务（数据、咨询等）？是否计划把这个平台打造成主流的融资渠道？如果是这样，未来将收取多少费用？此外，纳斯达克是否期待这个平台成为重要创收部门？或者说，它是否会成为未来纳斯达克赢得公开市场客户的主要来源?

    2.自动化程度多高？目前，非上市公司的股票市场很大程度上还是靠关系，需要很多的人际互动。纳斯达克打算改变这种现状吗？如果是这样，它打算在多大程度上改变现状？比如，将来我们会看到新兴网络公司Pinterest的高频交易吗？

    3.信息透明度怎么样？纳斯达克承诺新市场将是“透明的”，但没有解释其中含义。我猜测交易价格和交易量不会在Nasdaq.com等上公布——毕竟，这将是一个封闭的非上市平台——但纳斯达克表示，未来交易员获得的标的公司信息将比当前非上市公司二级市场更多。

    4.为什么选择SharesPost？纳斯达克选择了在非上市公司交易市场中排名第二的SharesPost，没有尝试与业内排名第一的SecondMarket达成类似的交易。据称，这个决定的根据是处于对SharesPost技术平台的推崇。但也有传言称，财务考虑也起了一定作用。简言之，如果与SecondMarket达成交易，讨价还价的过程会更艰难。（财富中文网）

    译者：杨智

    The NASDAQ OMX Group this morning announced that it has formed a joint venture with SharesPost, in order to "establish the preeminent marketplace for private growth companies."

    Neither side is disclosing financial details, except that NASDAQ (NDAQ) will be majority shareholder. SharesPost founder and CEO Greg Brogger will serve as president, with the platform to launch sometime later in 2013 (pending regulatory approvals).

    In short, this is a major vote of confidence for private trading markets -- and one that should help bring new participants to the table (both traders and issuers). It also is a much-needed reputational boost for SharesPost, which last May was charged by the SEC with engaging in securities transactions without first registering for the required broker-dealer license (the two sides later settled for $100,000).

    Today's announcement, however, was more of a marketing exercise than an actual explanation of the new platform. Here are some questions that we don't yet know the answers to:

    1. How will the joint venture make money? I'd assume that there will be commissions charged to traders, but will companies also be required to pay listing fees? Moreover, what types of services (data, advisory, etc.) might the platform offer that aren't currently offered by SharesPost? Does it plan to conduct primary capital raises and, if so, how much will it charge? Also would be interested to know if NASDAQ expects this platform to become a significant revenue generator, or if it's primarily a way for the exchange to ingratiate itself with future clients of its public market business.

    2. How much automation? Right now, the market for private shares is largely a relationship business that involves a lot of human touch. Is NASDAQ seeking to change that and, if so, by how much? For example, could we end up seeing high-frequency trading of Pinterest shares?

    3. How much info? NASDAQ is promising that the new market will be "transparent," but doesn't explain what that means. I'd assume that trading prices and volumes won't be available on Nasdaq.com, for example -- after all, this will be a closed private market -- but is NASDAQ saying that traders will get more underlying company information than currently do on private secondary markets?

    4. Why SharesPost? NASDAQ seems to have chosen the private market's number two player in SharesPost, without exploring a similar deal with top dog SecondMarket. It says the decision was based on an affinity for SharesPost's technology platform, but there also are whispers from multiple folks that financial considerations also played a role. In short, SecondMarket would have driven a harder bargain.