Atari Delisted From Nasdaq

After months of warnings, officials from Atari, Inc. have revealed that the company has received a letter from the Nasdaq stock market stating that the company will be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market and trading in its shares suspended. Officials from Atari will request a review of the decision from the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council, but this will not delay the suspension of trading due to start today. The company expects that it will instead be quoted on the “Pink Sheets” – an electronic quotation service allowing continued trading of delisted companies – and possibly the OTC Bulletin Board. The delisting has arisen because Atari’s publicly held shares failed to maintain an aggregate market value of $15.0 million or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days prior to March 20th, 2008. The delisting was delayed after Atari officials requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel, but the panel ruled that the delisting process would continue - despite French parent company Infogrames’ offer to acquire all outstanding common shares. Atari officials will now request that the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council review the Nasdaq hearings panel decision. The company has already indicated that it does not expect the delisting to affect the pending merger with Infogrames.