The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. and Reuters are forming a new company to help public companies obtain independent analyst coverage.

The new company, Independent Research Network (IRN), plans to aggregate independent research providers and distribute equity research on behalf of issuers. The service will be targeted to all companies listed in the U.S. as well as private companies looking for research coverage.

Neither Nasdaq, Reuters nor IRN will play a role in preparing the research or issuing recommendations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

IRN will be governed by a board made up of representatives selected by Reuters and Nasdaq and operated by a management team selected by the board. IRN will incorporate a panel made up of experts in the legal, research and regulatory fields. The panel’s mandate is to preserve the independent nature of IRN by ensuring the integrity and independence of the research being created. The IRN will deliver multiple research opinions per issuer over a multi-year contract term.

Reuters will provide research aggregation and distribution technology to IRN, including an innovative content management solution that was developed in connection with the Global Analyst Settlement.

Nasdaq reports that approximately 50% of all public companies receive coverage from two or fewer analysts and approximately 35% of all public companies have no analyst coverage. According to Reuters Estimates, since January 2002, 691 companies have lost analyst coverage representing over 17% of the entire universe of companies with analyst coverage.

“We know that a lack of research coverage impacts company valuation, liquidity and ultimately the welfare and growth of public companies,” said Bob Greifeld, president and chief executive officer of Nasdaq. “It has long been a concern of ours that approximately 1,200 of Nasdaq’s 3,200 listed companies and 35% of all public companies have no research coverage. The Independent Research Network’s model addresses the issues of independence, credibility and distribution that have held the research category back. We believe IRN can begin to reverse the trend away from less information for investors to more and provide a better window into public companies.”

A significant reduction in the scope and scale of independent research coverage has resulted in a real “information gap” for thousands of companies and their investors,” said Devin Wenig, president of Business Divisions at Reuters. “We look forward to using our content management and distribution capabilities in our new venture with Nasdaq to provide industry leadership to address this issue.”