Nasdaq Threatens To "Delist" Atari

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You know, there was a time when the name was on everyone's lips, and the video game industry wouldn't exist without that name. They were pioneers in the '70s and early '80s, but unfortunately, that was a long time ago, and Atari simply isn't the major player they once were (no pun intended).

According to Next-Gen.biz, the publisher continues to struggle, as they've received another disheartening notice on December 21 from the Nasdaq stock exchange. Atari keeps falling shy of listing requirements, and if it continues, they will be removed from the public stock listing. Whenever a company's publicly-traded shares dip below the $15 million mark for 30 consecutive business days, they are in danger of being "delisted." Therefore, if Atari can't bring their share price back up into that minimum $15 million bracket for at least 10 consecutive days before March 20, 2008...it's over. Nasdaq will delist the publisher, although Atari will certainly appeal.

If their appeal is successful, the stock will remain listed, though. As of closing time yesterday, Atari's shares were down $0.04, or about 2.7%, and currently sit at $1.44. Normally, we don't report stock numbers for video game publishers ('snore'), but this is a special case. Atari could be in danger of disappearing, and those of us who grew up with that name find this fact a difficult pill to swallow.

12/28/2007 Ben Dutka

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