The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PrimeZone Media Network, a privately held, Los Angeles-based firm specializing in press release newswire and multimedia services.

This transaction will bolster Nasdaq’s investor relations and corporate communications offerings, the exchange said. “PrimeZone will enable Nasdaq to provide news distribution and media targeting services to public and private companies,” said Bruce Aust, executive vice president of Nasdaq. “The acquisition of PrimeZone is another example of Nasdaq partnering with the best-in-class service providers for its companies. This transaction reinforces our strategy to maximize the value companies receive from Nasdaq.”

“Nasdaq and Shareholder.com are great companies with a strong heritage of providing the highest quality financial services to publicly traded companies. PrimeZone’s newswire and multimedia distribution will fit well within the Nasdaq family. We are excited about this next logical step for our company,” said Tom Madden, CEO of PrimeZone.

This acquisition follows Nasdaq’s first quarter acquisition of Shareholder.com, an investor relations service provider; the January 2005 acquisition of The Nasdaq Insurance Agency, a full-service corporate insurance broker specializing in Directors and Officers liability insurance; the creation of Independent Research Network, a joint venture with Reuters to provide public companies with research coverage; and the September 2005 purchase of Carpenter Moore, management liability insurance specialists.