Potential Sirius Delisting Postponed Until November
by John Paczkowski
Posted on January 28, 2009 at 9:13 AM PT
Sirius XM Radio caught a lucky break recently when NASDAQ added another three months to a suspension of its delisting rules. With a share price below the $1 minimum price requirement to remain listed on the exchange, the struggling satellite radio broadcaster’s delisting seemed imminent. No longer. Now that NASDAQ has extended the suspension of the $1 minimum price requirement until Monday, April 20, 2009, Sirius (SIRI) has quite a few more months to bolster its flaccid share price. Even if its shares are still trading under $1 on April 20, the company won’t receive a delisting notice until 30 days after that–May 19. Then it will have another 180 days to meet NASDAQ’s minimum price requirement. So Sirius essentially has the better part of the year to set its lands in order. If it’s to be delisted, it won’t happen until mid-November.
UPDATE: As the commenter below notes, Sirius could file for an extension in November. If it were granted, the company would then have another 180 days to meet NASDAQ’s minimum bid requirement, which would take it all the way into 2010.
Comments
I love accurate and timely news articles…
Unfortunately, this is not one of them.
TIMELY: The NASDAQ requirement announcement that YOU linked to is dated December 19th. And you are publishing this article Jan. 28th? Sloppy.
How about accurate? “Delisting postponed until November”. Not accurate at all. You see, once their first 180 day period runs out, the company can file for an extention, which is granted in 95% of cases. which would give them another 180 days. That pushed delisting potential back until May of 2010.
The site mus have been despearate for hits or something…
Posted by Brian Rayl at January 28th, 2009 at 10:25 amPoint taken, Bryan. The NASDAQ announcement was indeed released in December.
That said, I only noticed it today and I haven’t seen a discussion of its implications for Sirius anywhere, so I felt it worth reporting.
Finally, the post as written is accurate. Unlike the time periods noted in it, extension to which you refer is in no way guaranteed. You admit as much in your comment when you say they’re “granted in 95% of cases.” I have no idea whether that percentage is accurate or not, but it certainly accounts for the possibility of the Nov. date on which the post is based.
Anyway, I’ve updated the article to note your contribution.
Posted by John Paczkowski at January 28th, 2009 at 11:19 amThe mention of the possibility would have been nice. The problem with media today is that they tend to scare the crap out of people.
As far as the NASDAQ issue, perhaps you could have seen it on Siriusbuzz.com, Orbitcast.com, SeekingAlpha.com, Fool.com, or anywhere else that follows satellite radio closely. They all had it posted the same day or perhaps the day after the ruling came out.
Posted by Brian Rayl at January 28th, 2009 at 11:25 amand BTW: Thanks for updating the article. Just saw that!
Posted by Brian Rayl at January 28th, 2009 at 11:27 am