Star Bulk Breaches Minimum Bid Price on Nasdaq

Star Bulk Greece-based dry bulk shipping company Star Bulk Carriers Corp. has breached the minimum bid price requirement of USD 1 per common share on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company received a letter from Nasdaq, dated January 6, 2016, stating that its minimum bid price was below the requirement for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Star Bulk Carriers now has 180 days to regain compliance, or until July 5, 2016. According to the statement, compliance would be regained if the bid price were to be at or above USD 1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. The company added that if it does not regain compliance in the set period, it may be eligible for an additional grace period if it satisfies the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and provides written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period. Star Bulk Carriers’ common shares will continue to be listed and trade on Nasdaq under the symbol SBLK, as the notification letter does not result in the immediate delisting of the company’s common shares. The companys said that its business operations are not affected by the letter. Due to the tough dry bulk market conditions and the companys recent losses, Star Bulk entered into an agreement to sell further four newbuilding Capesize vessels under construction in China for an aggregate gross price of USD 148 million. The announcement came only a month after the company decided to sell two Capesize vessels and two Kamsarmax vessels for an aggregate gross price of USD 122 million.