Portal to launch this week, boost for private placements?

We've noted that in the Sarbanes-Oxley era, private placements have really taken off. Last year, private placement offerings raised $162 billion versus $154 billion raised in all major-exchange IPOs combined. That has prompted some innovations when it comes to trading such securities. One has to wonder whether the Nasdaq's launch of its Portal service, coming this week, will fuel the market anew. It certainly has its critics. Well, the industry seems to agree there's money to be had. Goldman Sachs has formed its own service for clients, GSTrUE. Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are banding together for another service. A lot is riding on Portal. If it hits a home run, it could give the Nasdaq the early lead. The last thing you want is a bunch of technical snafus. I would think Nasdaq has a detailed media program to tout the launch.

For more:
- here's the article from Financial Week