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Listing Council Decisions
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Identification Number
1089
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Public Interest and Quantitative Continued Listing Standards
Rule 5101: Nasdaq has broad discretionary authority over the initial and continued listing of securities in
Nasdaq in order to maintain the quality of and public confidence in its market, to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, and to protect investors and
the public interest.
Rule 5110(b): Nasdaq may use its discretionary authority under the Rule 5100 Series to suspend or terminate the listing of a Company that has filed for protection under any provision of the federal
bankruptcy laws or comparable foreign laws, or has announced that liquidation has been authorized by its board of directors and that it is committed to proceed, even though the Company's securities otherwise meet all enumerated criteria for continued listing
on Nasdaq. In the event that
Nasdaq determines to continue the listing of such a Company during a bankruptcy reorganization, the Company shall nevertheless be required to satisfy all requirements for initial listing, including the payment of initial listing fees, upon emerging from
bankruptcy proceedings.
Rule 5550(b): For continued listing, a Company shall have either:
(1) Equity Standard: Stockholders' equity of at least $2.5 million; (2) Market Value of Listed Securities Standard: Market Value of Listed Securities of at least $35 million; or (3) Net Income Standard: Net income from continuing operations of $500,000
in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the three most recently completed fiscal years.
Issue #1: As initially presented to the Listing Council, at issue in this matter is whether the Company should remain listed, yet suspended from trading, notwithstanding that the Company does not comply with Rule 5550(b), which requires
the Company to have a minimum of $2.5 million in stockholders' equity, or Rule 5110(b) as the Company filed for protection under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Staff also raised public interest concerns pursuant to Rules 5101 and IM-5101-1. Staff determined to deny
the Company continued listing. On appeal, a Panel initially determined to grant the Company additional time to regain compliance subject to certain milestone, but subsequently determined to
delist the Company for failing to meet all of the milestones.
Determination #1: Reverse the Panel decision to
delist the Company.
In its submissions to the Listing Council, the Company notes that it is diligently working to obtain all necessary approvals, complete the restructuring, emerge from bankruptcy, and immediately evidence compliance with all applicable requirements for initial
listing on the Capital Market well within the discretionary period available to the Listing Council. Moreover, the Company notes that the its Board of Directors will be reconstituted concurrent with the Company's emergence from bankruptcy so as to ensure the
Company's compliance with all applicable board composition and corporate governance criteria upon emergence from bankruptcy.
Staff argues that the Company should be delisted because it failed to meet the milestones of the Panel decision and its own deadlines, and it failed to provide evidence that it will satisfy the applicable initial
listing standards upon its emergence from bankruptcy. In addition, Staff is concerned that maintaining the Company's listing does not protect investors or the integrity of
Nasdaq, notwithstanding that its securities are suspended from trading on
Nasdaq. In support of this argument, Staff notes that prospective investors have an expectation that companies listed on
Nasdaq meet the requirements of listing.
The Listing Council notes Staff's concern, but believes the risk of investor harm is low. The Company has made ongoing disclosure of the status of the bankruptcy and reorganization. Hence investors are aware of the bankruptcy proceedings, and importantly
the Company appears to have genuine viable business operations. In this regard, the Company disclosed $328,377,000 in revenues as of the last fiscal quarter. As such, it is unclear to the Listing Council what prospective investor harm is caused by a Company
that is suspended from trading on Nasdaq, is traded with minimal volume over the counter, has provided ongoing public disclosure of its bankruptcy proceedings, and has significant other operations. The Listing Council
is aware and considered that the Company has not filed its 10-K for the last fiscal year, but it believes for the reasons set forth above that, even with that failure, the risk of investor harm is low.
Bankruptcy proceedings can take time to resolve and the bankruptcy in the present case is, at the very least, adversarial. The Listing Council is unable to continue the Company's listing in perpetuity as it has limited discretion to grant a deficient company
an extension to its listing on Nasdaq. The Panel previously granted the Company the full extent of its discretionary authority to allow the Company to regain compliance. When faced with clear evidence that the Company
would be unable to regain compliance within its discretionary period, the Panel appropriately determined to
delist the Company. The Listing Council, however, has additional discretionary authority that it can exercise in this matter. Based on the facts and circumstances of this case and for the reasons stated above, the Listing
Council has decided to exercise its discretionary authority and allow the Company to remain listed on
Nasdaq, subject to a suspension of trading.
Accordingly, the Listing Council reverses the Panel decision to
delist the Company.
Issue #2: Should the Company remain listed when, subsequent to the issuance of the Listing Council decision, the Company filed for Chapter 7 liquidation, became deficient for not meeting board independence requirements, and became delinquent
in paying its listing fees to Nasdaq. Based on the new facts and circumstances, the Listing Council revisited the matter and issued a second decision.
Decision #2: Subsequent to the issuance of the Listing Council decision in this matter, Staff notified the Company and Listing Council of two additional deficiencies: (1) Rule 5250(f), which requires payment of applicable Listing Fees
and (2) Rule 5605, which requires a majority independent board and independent directors on certain committees. Staff noted that these deficiencies served as additional bases for
delisting the Company's securities from
Nasdaq. Staff also noted that the bankruptcy proceedings were converted from Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation. In response, the Company stated that
that an interim Trustee was recently appointed and that the election for the permanent Trustee will be held in the near future, and thereafter the decision relating to the payment of the 2013
Nasdaq annual fee, and the timing of payment of such fee, will be made by the permanent Trustee. Last, the Company noted that it still remains possible that the proceeding could be converted back to a Chapter 11 proceeding
in the future.
In conducting its review of the new facts and circumstances of this matter, the Listing Council considered the entire record reviewed by the Listing Council in issuing its initial decision, as supplemented by Staff's letter and the Company's response noted
above. As disclosed by Staff's letter, the facts and circumstances on which the Listing Council based its initial decision have changed. The Company's Chapter 11 reorganization has been converted into Chapter 7 liquidation. The Company represented in its response
that it remains possible that the bankruptcy could be converted back to Chapter 11 reorganization. However, the Company provided no information on how or when such a conversion could take place. Therefore, in the absence of any evidence that the Company could
emerge from its Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings as an operating company that can comply with the listing requirements on or prior to the expiration of the discretion afforded to the Listing Council, it has determined to
delist the Company.
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Publication Date*:
8/21/2013
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Identification Number:
1089
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