NEW YORK, May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), an
interactive entertainment company, announced today that on May 7, 2008 it
received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market stating that a Nasdaq Listing
Qualifications Panel has determined to delist Atari, Inc.'s securities from
the Nasdaq Global Market and will suspend trading of Atari, Inc.'s shares
effective on the opening of business on May 9, 2008. Atari, Inc. plans to
request a review from the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council, which
could alter or dismiss the Panel's determination. However, such a request will
not delay the suspension of trading. Atari, Inc. now expects to be quoted on
the Pink Sheets, an electronic quotation service maintained by Pink Sheets
LLC. The Pink Sheets allow continued trading of securities of delisted
companies. Atari, Inc. expects its common stock to be traded on the Pink
Sheets under the symbol "ATAR" or "ATAR.PK". Atari, Inc.'s common stock may
also be quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board(R), a regulated quotation service for
over-the-counter securities, provided one or more market makers apply to quote
Atari, Inc.'s securities.
As previously announced, on December 21, 2007, the Nasdaq Listing
Qualifications Department notified Atari, Inc. that, pursuant to Nasdaq
Marketplace Rule 4450(e)(1), unless the market value of Atari, Inc.'s publicly
held shares (which is calculated by reference to Atari, Inc.'s total shares
outstanding, less any shares held by officers, directors or beneficial owners
of 10% or more) maintained an aggregate market value of $15.0 million or more
for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days prior to March 20, 2008, Atari,
Inc.'s securities would be subject to delisting. The value of Atari, Inc.'s
publicly held shares did not reach that level within the required period, and
on March 24, 2008, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department notified
Atari, Inc. that the Nasdaq Staff had determined that Atari, Inc.'s securities
were subject to delisting unless Atari, Inc. requested a hearing before a
Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel. Atari, Inc. requested a hearing on March
27, 2008, which stayed the delisting process until the hearing was held and
the hearings panel delivered a decision. The hearing was held on May 1, 2008.
The Nasdaq hearings panel thereafter ruled to proceed with the delisting
process and, effective May 9, 2008, Atari, Inc.'s common stock will no longer
trade on The Nasdaq Global Market. Atari, Inc. plans to request that the
Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council review the Nasdaq hearings panel
decision.
Atari, Inc. announced on April 30, 2008 that it intends to merge with its
majority shareholder Infogrames Entertainment S.A. ("Infogrames") which holds
approximately 51.4% of Atari, Inc.'s common shares. Atari, Inc. believes that
its delisting from The Nasdaq Stock Market will not affect the pending merger
transaction.
About Atari, Inc.
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) publishes and distributes
interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ published
titles distributed by the Company include hard-core, genre- defining
franchises such as Test Drive(R); and mass-market and children's franchises
such Dragon Ball Z(R). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-
based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), an
interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit
http://www.atari.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
With the exception of the historical information contained in this
release, the matters described herein contain certain "forward-looking
statements" that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual occurrences to differ materially from
those anticipated. These statements are based on management's current
expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and
changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any
such forward-looking statements.
The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to
conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's
expectations.
SOURCE Atari, Inc.