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Midway receives delisting notice from NYSE
Industry folks have been joking that Midway is the new Atari; however, while Atari is finding redemption in rebirth, Midway continues to sink deeper into the Swamps of Sadness. The latest bit of bad news comes from the New York Stock Exchange, which has put the publisher on notice for potential delisting.NYSE states that Midway needs a closing price of at least $1 over 30 consecutive days -- the stock is currently trading at about 25¢. According to NYSE rules, the publisher has six months to save itself from delisting. At this time, the house of Booty has its financial future pinned on the performance of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Wheelman. Do you have the heart to tell Midway how this will end?
Virgin Mobile USA falls into non-compliance on NYSE, plans to get back on track
Virgin Mobile USA was one of the few outfits out there who managed to post a Q3 net profit, but even that couldn't help it avoid the unfortunate delivery of a non-compliance letter from the New York Stock Exchange. Just a few days before it slashed ten percent of its workforce, the company was notified by the NYSE that it was "not in compliance with certain listing criteria." More specifically, it's considered "below the applicable standards because the average market capitalization of its Class A common stock and substantial equivalents, over a period of 30 trading days, is less than $100 million." Now, it has 45 days to respond with a business plan that demonstrates its ability to get back into compliance within 18 months. Virgin Mobile USA has already texted (at least that's what we heard) the bigwigs on Wall Street with a confirmation that it would be working to get back on track, but even the best intentions fall through sometimes. Godspeed, VM.[Via mocoNews]
Publisher stocks hit by market freefall; analysts optimistic
If you haven't looked out your window today, you might have missed stocks that are falling faster than Chicken Little can blink. Game publishers were not immune, as the NASDAQ (where most publishers are listed) Composite Index fell 199.61 points, or 9.14 percent. As for the individual publishers, Gamespot points out that Electronic Arts saw a 9.16 percent drop to $36 a share. Activision Blizzard was hit hard with a 13.8 percent drop to $14.12 a share. As for the console makers, Sony and Microsoft saw a 5.09 and 8.72 respective percent drop. Overseas, Ubisoft's stock dropped a whopping 21.5% to €45.50 (US $65.37) on the Euronext market.Despite these stock drops, analysts speaking to Gamasutra remain optimistic, with Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter expecting none of the companies to be affected by the lending crisis. Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian predicts a "cocooning" effect where people flock to games as a cost-efficient form of escapism. In what is surely the most "no duh" prediction, Sebastian expects World of Warcraft to continue serving as an unwavering money stream for Activision Blizzard.[Image Source: Digg]
Giant Interactive breaks the fourth wall by issuing virtual stocks
In a strange bit of news from the far east, we've just learned that Giant Interactive, the Chinese game developer/publisher behind Zhengtu Online, will be doling out virtual shares of their stocks that will be redeemable for gold in-game, with the in-game value varying depending on the market value of their real-world stock at any given time. Giant Interactive officially goes public on the NYSE this Wednesday.We're still a bit confused by what they mean by issuing stock. Will shares be available for purchase with in-game gold or is it being handed out for free as some sort of PR stunt? If they're using in-game gold (or even real cash), is this an attempt to gain market capitalization? We know China's laws are bit a different than what we're used to, but is this sort of thing even legal? Does it even matter? It is a mystery!Either way, we'll find out soon enough. They'll be issuing the virtual in-game stocks from November 1 through the end of the year. Happy trading![Via Warcry]
Virgin Mobile to file for IPO
Virgin Mobile's distinction of being the first MVNO in the U.S. means it is the "granddaddy" of virtual operators, at least stateside. Enough bragging time has now gone by apparently, as Virgin Mobile has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). The move will take the company public where shares of the company will be traded in the U.S. marketplace. Some pundits believe this signals a maturation of the MVNO segment in the U.S. wireless landscape, but don't tell that to the scrappy folks at Amp'd Mobile or Helio, will ya? Anyhoo, Virgin Mobile has filed to be listed as "VM" on the New York Stock Exchange and it's possible the company will raise up to $100 million in the offering. That wad of cash will most likely be used to pay off debt and give a certain, unknown sum to Sprint Nextel, the carrier representing the American half of the joint venture -- the other half, of course, being Virgin proper.
SEC investigates Take-Two
There is no peace for Take-Two Interactive. Seeing as the now-infamous publisher of some of the most reputable (Civilization) and disreputable (Grand Theft Auto) does not have enough trouble on its hands, it will now be investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC notified the company that it was launching an informal probe into how the publisher has granted stock options from 1997 until present. Take-Two has confirmed its intentions to cooperate with the non-public investigation. The Associated Press reports that Take-Two is one of many companies being investigated by the SEC for having "backdated stock option grants to time them at share price lows, thus boosting gains on the sale of the stock."[via GamesIndustry.biz]
