January 23, 2009

NYSE throws Lee a lifeline

The New York Stock Exchange today threw out a lifeline to the drowning Lee Enterprises, parent company of the Journal Times, whose stock is under threat of de-listing.

NYSE trading rules require that a company's stock must be selling for more than $1, and the company must have a capitalization over $25 million. Lee hasn't met either of those requirements since December.

But today the NYSE relaxed listing requirements, reducing the minimum capitalization companies must maintain to $15 million. The reprieve, according to Bloomberg, will last through April 22. Lee is just one of 19 companies on the NYSE whose stock market value is less than $25 million.

Unfortunately, the NYSE's move may not be enough: As I write this, Lee stock is selling for 31 cents per share, giving it a market cap of $13.9 million... whoops!

Lee announced last week that it will propose a reverse stock split at its March 10 annual meeting, turning anywhere from five to ten shares into one, thus raising the price of each share over the NYSE's minimum.

No comments:

Post a Comment