SEC approves Nasdaq's Facebook IPO payment plan

NEW YORK — The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that it has approved a plan by the Nasdaq stock exchange to pay $62 million in reimbursements to investment firms that lost money because of technical problems during Facebook's initial public offering last year.

The Nasdaq had said in June that it would pay $40 million but later increased the amount to $62 million.

Facebook went public May 18 amid great fanfare, but computer glitches at the Nasdaq delayed the start of trading and threw the debut into chaos. Technical problems kept many investors from buying shares that morning, selling them later in the day or even from knowing whether their orders went through. Some said they were left holding shares they didn't want.

Facebook's stock originally priced at $38 and closed that first day at $38.23 after going as high as $45. The lackluster close disappointed investors who had hoped for a first-day pop. Nasdaq has said that it was embarrassed by the glitches, but that they didn't contribute to the underwhelming returns.

Shares of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook Inc. fell 39 cents to $25.34 in Monday morning trading. The stock has not hit its IPO price since the first day of trading.