Emmis faces Nasdaq delisting hearing

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The common stock of Emmis Communications last closed above a dollar on July 29, 2011, so a notice from Nasdaq that the company was not in compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid rule was hardly a surprise at Emmis headquarters. Now Emmis management will try to convince the exchange to give the company more time and not delist its stock.


“On February 28, 2012, Emmis Communications Corporation (the ‘Company’) received a written notification (the ‘Staff Determination’) from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (‘Nasdaq’) stating that because the Company had not regained compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the ‘Rule’), the Company’s Class A Common Stock (listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ‘EMMS’) would be subject to delisting unless the Company requests a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the ‘Panel’) on or before March 6, 2012,” Emmis reported Friday (3/2) in an SEC filing.

“The Company has requested a hearing before the Panel, which will stay any delisting action in connection with the Staff Determination and allow the continued listing of the Company’s Class A Common Stock on The Nasdaq Global Select Market until the Panel renders a decision subsequent to the hearing. At the hearing, the Company intends to present a plan to regain compliance with the Rule and request that the Panel allow the Company additional time within which to regain compliance. While the Company believes that it will be able to present a viable plan to regain compliance, there can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company’s request for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, or that the Company’s plans to exercise diligent efforts to maintain the listing of its securities on Nasdaq will be successful,” Emmis said.

The stock had closed Thursday (3/1) at 70 cents, having recovered from a 52-week trading low of 58 cents back in August.