Tag: Nasdaq number of public holders listing standard
SEC approves Nasdaq proposal related to bid price compliance periods and reverse splits
In July, the SEC posted a Nasdaq rule change proposal to “modify the application of the bid price compliance periods where a listed company takes an action to achieve compliance with the bid price requirement and that action causes noncompliance with another listing requirement.” (See this PubCo post.) The proposed rule change was designed to address instances where, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price required by Nasdaq listing rules, a listed company implements a reverse stock split; however, while the reverse split may bring the company into compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, it may also, at the same time, lead to non-compliance with another listing rule—particularly, the requirements for the number of publicly held shares and number of public holders, triggering a new deficiency process with a new time period for the company to seek to regain compliance. That’s excessive, Nasdaq said, and too confusing for investors, possibly adversely affecting investor confidence in the market. Because Nasdaq believed it was inappropriate for a company to receive additional time to cure non-compliance with the newly violated listing standard, it sought, with the proposal, to eliminate the additional compliance period that would otherwise result from the newly created deficiency. But by August, the SEC hadn’t yet approved the proposal and extended the deadline for approval. Now, Nasdaq has filed Amendment No. 2 to the proposal—primarily clarifications—and the SEC has just given its approval to the proposal as amended. As a result, companies will need to carefully calculate the potential impact of a reverse split on other listing requirements to avoid these consequences where possible.
Reverse split to regain bid price compliance? It may be more complicated than you think
Nasdaq has filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to “modify the application of the bid price compliance periods where a company takes action that causes non-compliance with another listing requirement.” Hmmm, how’s that again? This proposed rule change is designed to address instances where, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price required by Exchange listing rules, a listed company implements a reverse stock split; however, while the reverse split may bring the company into compliance with the minimum bid price requirement, it may also, at the same time, lead to non-compliance with another listing rule—particularly, the requirements for the number of public holders and number of publicly held shares (depending on treatment of fractional shares), triggering a new deficiency process with a new time period within which the company is permitted to seek to regain compliance. That’s excessive, Nasdaq says, and too confusing for investors, possibly adversely affecting investor confidence in the market. Because Nasdaq believes it is inappropriate for a company to receive additional time to cure non-compliance with the newly violated listing standard, it is seeking, with this proposed amendment, to eliminate the additional compliance period that would otherwise result from the newly created deficiency. Under the proposal, in the event a reverse split to achieve bid-price compliance leads to other non-compliance, the company would be deemed non-compliant with the bid price requirement until both the new deficiency (e.g., number of holders or number of publicly held shares) is cured and the company thereafter maintains a $1.00 bid price for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. If the proposal is adopted, companies will need to carefully calculate the potential impact of a reverse split on other listing requirements to avoid these consequences where possible.
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