Nasdaq Listing Council Will Not Stay Delisting
ArthroCare Corp. (OTC: ARTC.PK) announced that it received a waiver
today from the Lenders and the Administrative Agent under its Credit
Agreement of the event of default relating to the delisting of the
Company’s stock. Under the terms of the waiver, the Company has prepaid
$10 million of the principal amount (plus accrued and unpaid interest)
outstanding under the Credit Agreement. The other terms of the waiver
are substantially identical to the waiver granted on November 26, 2008.
Management believes that, following the partial repayment under the
Credit Agreement, based on the Company’s current operating and capital
expenditure forecasts, the combination of funds currently available and
funds to be generated from operations will be adequate to finance the
Company’s ongoing operations for the short and long-term.
The Company also announced that it received notice on January 15, 2009
that the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council has rejected the
Company’s request for a review. As a result the Nasdaq Listing
Qualifications Panel’s decision to suspend trading of and delist the
Company’s common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market became effective at
the open of trading today, January 16, 2009. The Company noted that in
excess of 15 market makers are making a market in its common stock on
the “Pink Sheets” today, under the symbol ARTC.PK.
Michael Baker, ArthroCare’s CEO, said, “We are gratified by the
continuing support of our banks as evidenced by their waiver. While we
are disappointed by the delisting, we are pleased to see such a large
number of market makers continue to trade our common stock. This
provides liquidity for our shareholders as we complete the restatement
process required to bring our SEC filings up to date.”
ABOUT ARTHROCARE
Founded in 1993, ArthroCare Corp. (www.arthrocare.com)
is a highly innovative, multi-business medical device company that
develops, manufactures and markets minimally invasive surgical products.
With these products, ArthroCare targets a multi-billion dollar market
opportunity across several medical specialties, significantly improving
existing surgical procedures and enabling new, minimally invasive
procedures. Many of ArthroCare’s products are based on its patented
Coblation technology, which uses low-temperature radiofrequency energy
to gently and precisely dissolve rather than burn soft tissue —
minimizing damage to healthy tissue.
