Primus Guaranty, Ltd. (NYSE:PRS) (the "Company”)
announced today that it has been notified by NYSE Regulation, Inc. that
it is not in compliance with one of the continued listing standards of
the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE”).
The NYSE will make available on its consolidated tape beginning on
November 14, 2008 an indicator, ".BC,”
on the Company’s trading symbol indicating
that the Company is below the NYSE’s
quantitative continued listing standards.
The Company is considered below criteria established by the NYSE because
the Company’s total market capitalization has
been less than $75 million over a consecutive 30 trading-day period and
its last reported shareholders’ equity was
less than $75 million.
In accordance with NYSE procedures, the Company must (i) acknowledge to
the NYSE receipt of the notification within 10 business days of receipt;
and (ii) provide the NYSE within 90 days with a business plan that
outlines the definitive action the Company has taken, or proposes to
take, in order to bring it into compliance with its continued listing
standards within 18 months of receipt of the notification. The Company
intends to provide the NYSE with both the requisite acknowledgement and
a business plan outlining the definitive action the Company has taken
and will take in order to bring it into compliance with the continued
listing standards.
If the average closing price of the Company’s
common shares is less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day
period, the Company will also receive a formal written notice from the
NYSE regarding its non-compliance with an additional NYSE listing
standard (the "Closing Price Rule”).
As of November 6, 2008, the average closing price of the Company’s
common shares over the last 30 consecutive trading days was $1.20 and
the closing price of the Company’s common
shares on November 6, 2008 was $0.64. The Company believes it will be
out of compliance with this additional listing standard, unless the
market price of its common shares increases significantly in the near
term. In order to remain in compliance with the Closing Price Rule, the
share price and the consecutive 30 trading-day closing price of the
Company’s common shares must be above $1.00
within six months from the date the Company receives formal notice of
non-compliance from the NYSE. Should the Company fail to meet these
standards at the expiration of the six month period, the NYSE will
commence suspension and delisting procedures.
About Primus Guaranty
Primus Guaranty, Ltd. is a Bermuda company, with its principal operating
subsidiaries, Primus Financial Products, LLC and Primus Asset
Management, Inc. Primus Financial Products provides protection against
the risk of default on corporate, sovereign and asset-backed security
obligations through the sale of credit swaps to dealers and banks.
Primus Asset Management provides credit portfolio management services to
Primus Financial Products, and manages private investment vehicles,
including two collateralized loan obligations and three synthetic
collateralized swap obligations for third parties.
Safe Harbor Statement
Some of the statements included in this press release and other
statements Primus Guaranty may make, particularly those anticipating
future financial performance, business prospects, growth and operating
strategies, market performance, valuations and similar matters, are
forward-looking statements that involve a number of assumptions, risks
and uncertainties, which change over time. For those statements, Primus
Guaranty claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Any such statements speak only as of the date they are made, and
Primus Guaranty assumes no duty to, and does not undertake to, update
any forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in forward-looking statements, and future results
could differ materially from historical performance. For a discussion of
the factors that could affect the company's actual results please refer
to the risk factors identified from time to time in the company's SEC
reports, including, but not limited to, Primus Guaranty's Annual Report
on Form 10-K, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
