B&K delists from NASDAQ
Published 12:05 am Saturday, June 30, 2012
NATCHEZ — Britton and Koontz Capital Corporation announced Friday its intention to be voluntarily delisted from the NASDAQ stock market.
B&K Capital is the parent company of Britton & Koontz Bank, which has its headquarters in Natchez.
A news release from the company states that the delisting is in the company and shareholders’ best interests.
The news release states that the company’s board of directors found several reasons for the delisting:
• The disproportionately high costs to a community bank of preparing and filing periodic reports with the SEC and complying with NASDAQ listing rules.
• The accounting, audit, legal and other costs and expenses associated with being a public company.
• The demands placed on company management and other personnel to comply with SEC reporting requirements.
• The historically low trading volume of the company’s common stock.
“Our desire to achieve substantial savings from reduced accounting, legal and administrative costs associated with being a public company drove our decision to delist and deregister our common stock,” B&K CEO W. Page Ogden said. “These savings will directly benefit the company’s earnings and regulatory capital.”
The company anticipates its common stock will be traded in the over-the-counter markets following the delisting.
Natchez Financial Advisor Bill Byrne said he considered the decision to be a positive one for B&K.
“The stock was very thinly traded, so it was a smart move for them to delist and save some money,” Byrne said.
The delisting doesn’t mean anything for shareholders, he said.
“Anyone that owns the stock, there will still be ways to trade it,” he said.