Pacific Drilling shares suspended from trading on NYSE

Shares of the offshore rig owner Pacific Drilling have been suspended from trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and moved to over-the-counter market on the Pink Quotes starting Wednesday, September 13. 

At the beginning of September Pacific Drilling received notice from the NYSE that the company was considered to be “below compliance” with NYSE’s continued listing standards for a listed company.

On Tuesday, September 12 the driller said it had received notice that trading of the company’s common stock on the NYSE was suspended after market closed that day.

The NYSE stated that the company was not in compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standard, which currently requires a company with listed common stock to maintain an average global market capitalization of not less than $15 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

NYSE Regulation has informed the company that application to the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the company’s common stock is pending the completion of all applicable procedures, including any appeals by the company of NYSE Regulation’s decision. While the company has the right to appeal the NYSE determination, based upon the cost of appeal and the likelihood of success, the company said it is in the best interest of its shareholders not to contest this action and has informed the NYSE that it will not appeal the NYSE’s determination.

The company’s common shares started trading in the over-the-counter (OTC) market on the Pink Quotes (formerly the Pink Sheets) on Wednesday, September 13, 2017. The company is also taking appropriate steps to work with a market maker to apply for registration and quotation of its common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). The company’s NYSE ticker symbol “PACD” will be discontinued and its OTC ticker symbol will be “PACDF”.

This transition to the over-the-counter markets does not affect the company’s business operations and will not change its obligation to file periodic and certain other reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission under applicable federal securities laws.