Facebook opts for Nasdaq over the NYSE: report

Facebook, the world's biggest social networking site that is planning a $5-billion initial public offering (IPO), has overlooked the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and opted to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market, The New York Times yesterday reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

For Nasdaq, this is a big victory over its main competitor, especially for an IPO that is pegged at $5 billion and could place the value of Facebook at $100 billion.

The valuation would make it one of the world's most valuable companies eight years after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg co-founded the company in a dorm-room at Harvard.

Both Nasdaq and NYSE have been fighting to bag Silicon Valley Internet and technology companies to list at their exchanges. While Google, Apple and Microsoft have opted for Nasdaq, the NYSE, which is the home exchange for International Business Machines, has recently grabbed listings of Linkedin, Pandora Media and Yelp.

The NYSE has raised $4.9 billion by listing 24 IPO's, while Nasdaq has raised $1.3 billion from 16 listings.

Companies often weigh the costs of listing and other related expenses charges by the exchanges while launching an IPO. A company can pay as much as $500,000 annually for an NYSE listing fee, while all Nasdaq fees are capped at about $100,000, according to The Wall Street Journal.