Having filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection earlier this week, George Economou’s offshore drilling firm Ocean Rig now faces being booted off the Nasdaq.
The company says it has received notification from The Nasdaq Stock Market that because the company has filed for protection under Chapter 15 Nasdaq intends to delist the company’s common stock in accordance with Listing Rules 5101, 5110(b) and IM-5101-1.
Nasdaq intends to suspend the stock by the opening of business on April 6, however Ocean Rig says it has requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel in order to appeal the delisting which will delay the suspension.
Ocean Rig’s restructuring plan will see the company deleveraged by an exchange of $3.69bn principal amount of debt for new equity of the company, approximately $288m of cash and $450m of new secured debt.
Existing shareholders will be diluted to an insignificant amount of post-restructuring equity of the company while 9.5% of new equity will be reserved under a new management equity plan.
Ocean Rig’s share price closed today at $0.30 having dropped from $0.73 to $0.23 on Tuesday after the company announced it was going into bankruptcy protection.