Posted by chicagomedia.org on August 15, 2008 at 12:03:13:
Radio One, Regent, Others Face Nasdaq Delisting
Radio One’s executive board is in “an emergency meeting” this morning (Aug. 15) as the company’s clock ticks down to Tuesday when the company's Class A Common Shares face delisting by the Nasdaq Stock Market. The “emergency meeting” began Thursday morning and is expected to continue at least through today as executives at the nation’s seventh largest radio company deal with the company’s falling share price and overall value, and “some other things,” R&R has learned.
On May 27, the Lanham, Md.-based operator of more than 70 radio stations, Giant Magazine and a half owner of the fast-growing black entertainment cable channel TV One, had not maintained a minimum market value of publicly held shares of $5,000,000 as required for continued inclusion by Nasdaq’s marketplace rules. When the company received word from Nasdaq, it said the notification did not affect the Class D Common Shares “which represent over 95% of the company's outstanding public float.”
Radio One has rarely traded above $1 per share for weeks and closed on Thursday at 93 cents a share. The 52-week low is 77.1 cents per share reached on Wednesday. During the company’s Aug. 5 teleconference with Wall Street analysts and investors to report the company’s second quarter earnings, CEO and president Alfred Liggins III, reported that the company was making every effort possible to get the company’s share price above a dollar. At 10 a.m. this morning, shares of ROIAK were up 2.15% or 2 cents to 95 cents.
If Radio One does not achieve compliance, and it does not appear that is likely, Nasdaq will provide written notification that Radio One’s securities will be delisted. The company may appeal the Nasdaq staff delisting determination to a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel. Radio One, in a note to investors in May, said that alternatively, it can apply to transfer its securities to the Nasdaq Capital Market if it satisfies certain requirements for initial inclusion. That could give the company the balance of another 180 day period to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule.
But Radio One is not the only public radio company facing this stock market horror. Regent Communications reported Friday morning that Nasdaq also has threatened it with delisting because RGCI shares have been trading below the required $1.00 minimum for 30 consecutive trading days before Aug. 11, the date of the letter.
Nasdaq told the Cincinnati-based group it will be given 180 calendar days, or until Feb. 9, 2009, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. Compliance will be achieved if the bid price per share of Regent’s common stock -- traded under the symbol RGCI -- closes at $1.00 per share or greater for a minimum of ten consecutive trading days prior to Feb. 9.
Regent may be facing a tougher time of it since its shares are down even lower than Radio One’s shares. The issue closed at 76 cents a share Thursday, but are off by 2 cents in Friday morning trading. The stock hit a 52-week low of 46 cents on Aug. 5 while its 52-week high was $3.04 a share one year ago today.
And there are other radio groups facing the problem: Citadel Communications, which last year bought the ABC radio stations and network in a $2.3 billion deal, closed Thursday at 99 cents a share and CDL shares this morning are trading down 2 cents at 97 cents. The company hit a 52-week low of 69 cents on July 16.
Spanish Broadcasting System (SBSA) shares closed Thursday at 55 cents and hit a year-long low of 52 cents last Monday. Shares were trading unchanged at 55 cents this morning. And Westwood One, which reached an inter-day day low of 96 cents a share on Thursday, but managed to close at $1.03, continues to flirt with the $1.00 minimum despite the Los Angeles-based Gores Group investing $100 million in the syndication and programming company earlier this year. Shares of WON this morning were trading down 3 cents at $1.00 a share.
(R&R)