Cyberian Outpost Inc. was notified earlier this month that it may lose its listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. According to Nasdaq rules, a company that fails to maintain a $1.00 minimum bid price requirement is subject to having its stock delisted, and Cyberian Outpost is definitely in that territory — the online computer retailer hasn’t seen its stock rise above $1 per share since late May.
Last May was, not coincidentally, when Cyberian Outpost announced plans to merge with catalog reseller PC Connection, as well. The companies announced plans to join forces (while keeping separate identities) in a stock-for-stock swap that is to close in the third quarter of 2001. The acquisition is dependent on a number of factors, including the revenues that Cyberian Outpost produces and the trading price of PC Connection’s stock for a period prior to the closing. It is unknown how Cyberian Outpost’s potential delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange may affect these merger plans.
Cyberian Outpost has asked to have a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications panel. The date of the hearing has not yet been set, but the hearing itself will review the staff determination that resulted in the decision to delist Cyberian Outpost’s stock, and the company’s stock will continue to be traded on the Nasdaq exchange until the hearing’s outcome.
Cyberian Outpost Inc. noted that there’s guarantee that the panel will grant the company’s request for a continued listing. If Nasdaq doesn’t see things Cyberian Outpost’s way, the company has a backup plan — it said it would apply to have its common stock traded on the OTC Bulletin Board instead.
Cyberian Outpost Inc.’s stock (COOL) closed today at $0.47, off 0.08 on the day — a 14.55 percent change on volume of 274,500 shares.