Audacy Stock Trading Halted

[JJSPC]

Will be interesting to see what happens. Last share price was 0.936.

Audacy Shares Halted Amidst Speculation and Struggles

On May 16, 2023, trading of Audacy shares has been halted due to undisclosed reasons. Speculation is rife that the

beststocks.com

 

[exdjted]

 

[TheBigA]

Might have something to do with the reverse stock split they announced in March.

To Get Out Of NYSE Noncompliance Jam, Audacy Plans Reverse Stock Split For May.

To come back into the New York Stock Exchange’s good graces and avoid having its faltering stock delisted, Audacy will implement a reverse stock split in May, subject to shareholder

www.insideradio.com

They told the NYSE that they'd do a reverse split "in May," once they have their stockholder's meeting.

The meeting takes place next week:

What Institutional Holders Are Most Impacted By Audacy Dip? | Radio & Television Business Report

On Wednesday, May 24, the Audacy Corp. annual shareholders meeting will be held, and among the most important matters is a vote on whether the company can engineer a reverse stock split, which would keep it on the NYSE. While the ratio of the stock split is yet to be finalized, what is known are...

rbr.com

 

[Mediafrog+]

Will be interesting to see what happens. Last share price was 0.936.

Move the decimal point to the left; was actually $0.0936

 

[mightynine]

According to Inside Radio:

Trading of Audacy ‘s stock was abruptly halted shortly after 2pm today on the New York Stock Exchange. According to several Wall Street sources, the company has requested trading of the stock be halted while they release material news. Audacy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Might have something to do with the reverse stock split they announced in March.

To Get Out Of NYSE Noncompliance Jam, Audacy Plans Reverse Stock Split For May.

To come back into the New York Stock Exchange’s good graces and avoid having its faltering stock delisted, Audacy will implement a reverse stock split in May, subject to shareholder

www.insideradio.com

They told the NYSE that they'd do a reverse split "in May," once they have their stockholder's meeting.

The meeting takes place next week:

What Institutional Holders Are Most Impacted By Audacy Dip? | Radio & Television Business Report

On Wednesday, May 24, the Audacy Corp. annual shareholders meeting will be held, and among the most important matters is a vote on whether the company can engineer a reverse stock split, which would keep it on the NYSE. While the ratio of the stock split is yet to be finalized, what is known are...

rbr.com

That would make sense (was aware about the reverse stock split), but having this happen in the middle of the trading session feels ... weird?

Or maybe it's that lunch I had earlier that's acting up with me...

@Sammi Brie tipped me that Gray Television halted trading on their stock on April 29, 2021, right before they announced their merger with Quincy Broadcasting. So this apparently isn't THAT uncommon at all?

 

[Sammi Brie]

Companies halt for news pending all the time when they have, you know, big news to announce.

 

[Rusty Muck]

@lanceventa tweeted a few minutes ago that trading was apparently halted due to an "abnormally low selling price", FWIW.

That's not good.

 

[mightynine]

@lanceventa tweeted a few minutes ago that trading was apparently halted due to an "abnormally low selling price", FWIW.

That's not good.

One thin dime could get you a share of Audacy stock - and you'd get change back!

EDIT: All Access got a statement.

AUDACY released an email, stating, "This afternoon, the NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE (NYSE) notified us that we are not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards because our common stock traded at an 'abnormally low selling price.' As a result, the NYSE has suspended trading in our stock and will initiate a proceeding to delist our stock from the NYSE."

In addition, "While this news is disappointing, it has zero impact on AUDACY’s ability to serve listeners and customers or run our operations effectively. To be clear, we are business as usual. Our radio stations, digital platforms, podcasts, and all other products and services will continue operating normally. We continue to execute a robust action plan to emerge healthy from current conditions. It’s important to note that our liquidity was $124 million as of March 31, 2023, and that we have no debt due until July 2024."

https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/228101/trading-of-audacy-stock-shares-halted

 

[Barry]

Quite an understatement in the article linked to the OP:
"The earnings growth of AUD for the last year was -3,757.79%, which is a significant decline."

 

[Rusty Muck]

Of note, trading on Conseco stock was halted for nearly identical wording in 2002 before being delisted... and Conseco entered Chapter 11 later in the year.

 

[TheBigA]

At the time trading was stopped, the stock had dropped 12-1/2% today.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

Kicking the can down the road. Audacy will eventually have to merge with another company with cash or access to cash. Either that or go down the "pre-packaged" bankruptcy route.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Kicking the can down the road. Audacy will eventually have to merge with another company with cash or access to cash. Either that or go down the "pre-packaged" bankruptcy route.

Pre-packaged is more likely IMO. No company is going to want to merge with Audacy (or even can merge because of regulatory issues) and Audacy is too big to fail.

I really don't see how the Fields lose control of the company, either; if anything, the company is structured that they aren't at risk at all.

 

[Barry]

The article referenced in the OP also stated, "The market capitalization of the company stood at $16.5 million."
I guess that indicates that the value of their assets are being assessed as nearly worthless in comparison with their debts.

 

[tall_guy1]

Will Audacy soon be "for sale?"

 

[TheBigA]

Will Audacy soon be "for sale?"

What do you mean? A public company is always for sale. Someone could have bought controlling interest at 10 cents a share. But then they'd have to eat $2 billion in debt. That's the problem.

 

[mightynine]

iHeart and Cumulus went through it, looks like Audacy will soon get their chance on the Chapter 11 carousel.

 

[davideduardo]

Will Audacy soon be "for sale?"

Don't jump to conclusions. This is mostly a stock price issue, not an operations issue.

The owners of the company will first look for refinancing and trade of debt for equity. That may require a bankruptcy where current shareholders lose equity and debt holders gain partial ownership.

But the stock price represents the view of "the market" about the future of the company as well as the future of the radio business. This is a long-term issue.

 

[TheBigA]

Once again, the stockholders meeting is May 24. So I expect they'll wait until after that for any announcements.