- While in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company works with a committee from the U.S. Trustee Program, a division of the U.S. Justice Department. The committee works with corporate executives to develop new fiscal and operational plans with the goal of the company emerging from bankruptcy as profitable. Since the overall value of a company decreases in bankruptcy, investors sell their stocks. This typically causes the price of the stock to drop far enough for the major exchanges to begin delisting procedures.
- Stock prices for companies listed on major U.S. stock exchanges, such as the Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange must maintain a minimum value for continued listing. The exchanges begin delisting procedures when the stock value drops below $1 per share for 30 consecutive days of trading. Once delisted, the stock continues to trade on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board. The OTCBB is not open to the public and only investment brokers can actively trade on this market.
- When a company emerges from Chapter 11, it may issue new stocks to replace its existing pre-bankruptcy stocks. The company may offer an exchange of old stocks for new stocks. The new stock issues may be worth less than the original value of the old stock issues. The company may also offer bondholders to exchange their existing pre-bankruptcy bonds for new stock issues. In these exchanges, the company can decide on an exchange ratio for old stock to new stocks. For example, the company can decide on a 2:1 ratio, meaning it will exchange two pre-bankruptcy stocks for one newly issued stock
- When emerging from bankruptcy, a company does not have to offer an exchange of existing pre-bankruptcy shares for new stock issues. In this case, the company cancels the pre-bankruptcy stock and they become worthless. The possibility of this occurring is also a reason many investors choose to sell their stock, even if they end up taking a loss, at the time of the company announces its plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
previous post
next post