Warning Sign #183: THQ Threatened With NASDAQ Delisting

No matter how great Saints Row: The Third was, there’s no denying that THQ, as a company, is in trouble. It's impossible to ignore.

The publisher has not been totally clear about its financial situation, but when Nasdaq sends a notice about being delisted, the result of company stock falling below $1.00 per share, trouble is afoot.

THQ received word from Nasdaq on January 25, according to a SEC filing disclosed this morning.

“On January 25, 2012, THQ Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”)," reads the filing, "received a written notification from Nasdaq notifying the Company that it fails to comply with Nasdaq's Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(1) (the “Rule”) because the bid price for the Company's common stock, over the last 30 consecutive business days, has closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued listing. The notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company's common stock.”

THQ has 180 calendar days (July 23, 2012) to regain compliance or face delisting. If THQ’s stock moves above $1.00 and remains there for at least 10 days, the company will be removed from the Nasdaq watch list. If the company faces true delisting, several options are available to THQ, including filing an appeal and possibly moving securities elsewhere.

“The Company will continue to monitor the bid price for its common stock and consider various options available to it if its common stock does not trade at a level that is likely to regain compliance,” concluded the SEC filing.

Yikes.

Oh my...

That's too bad

Youch!

uh oh

I blame Vince McMahon's botching the WCW Invasion angle causing me to lose interest in wrestling and stop buying wrestling games every year!

EDIT: Also myself, for renting and beating Saints Row instead of buying it haha

EDIT 2: Also, I'd like to point out that I don't understand stocks on a level where I don't even get why they exist haha

Shit, man. I feel bad for THQ. They've been putting out some pretty damn good games in the past year or two.

I hope the Relic guys don't get eaten up by a terrible place like EA or Activision. I love those guys and hope they get to keep making awesome games.

Currently sitting at 0.67, hasn't been above $1.00 since Dec 7th.

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=THQI+Interactive#symbol=thqi;range=3m;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;

so many jobs will be lost :(

sad panda is real sad now :(.

Man. I don't want THQ to go under.... No more saints row! =(

So much for Saints Row 4.

So it is either a brilliant move or an incredibly dumb move to buy THQ stock right now. Not sure if THQ is big enough name to create waves like 2K did during all the acquisition rumors.

If they go down, who keeps their licenses? I'd be sad if Relic could no longer make Warhammer games.

I do not understand.

Well THQ's situation is more dire then I thought.

everyone knows that when you get delisted from nasdaq you don't exist anymore

guys get a grip, it's a bad scene but they're not going to go out of business because of it

"The Company" "The Rule"

I was not aware the Crackdown Naming Committee had law degrees...

@Demoskinos said:

Man. I don't want THQ to go under.... No more saints row! =(

@Arker101 said:

So much for Saints Row 4.

Yup, because we all know that was the end of Mortal Kombat, NFL Blitz and NBA Jam when Midway Games went under.

I do not understand.

Well, yeah. This is what happens when your stock is worthless. I posted right here on GB about two weeks ago, where I stated THQ was going to be delisted. They'll go under and have to liquidate so their talent and IP will end up going to more stable homes. It's a bit like how brush fires make for a healthier forest.

They've been bleeding cash for years, suffering low sales, and taking on a lot of debt. The 90% drop from their 52wk high reflects this. No, being delisted doesn't have anything to do with "no longer being a company", but being unable to make money does. They don't appear to have enough money to buy back their shares and go private and if they can't seem to demonstrate that they can provide a return to investors, they're going to pull out and the next step from there is either restructuring or liquidation. Remember that the only thing that matters here is the valuation by investors. If they have no faith in the future of the company, then the reality of the company matters little.

weak...

I really want THQ to stick around

Yikes indeed.

No good.

maybe another company gets a hold of the WWE license now.

I just hope the Homeworld IP and Relic don't go end up in different places. I'm still holding out for a Homeworld 3!

Bittersweet memories that is all I'm taking with me. So, goodbye. Please, don't cry. We both know I'm not what you, you need...

We should all invest in THQ! Start buying now and if collective bomber-mind can get a controlling stake in the company we can be the first gaming community to make it's own game.

1) Buy stock

2) Gain controlling interest

3) ?

4) Saints Row 4

5) Profit

SAVE THE SPACE MARINES!

Stock prices do not immediately affect a company, they only affect the company's owners' (the shareholders) capital. Granted, a lower stock price might make it tougher to get new capital into the company (if that's what the company needs) and it can get shareholders pissed (which could have direct consequences for the company), but the stock price itself does not directly influence a company's wealth. This is a possible sign that things aren't going well at THQ (though stock prices are also highly influenced by rumors and speculation), but the fact in itself does not mean THQ is losing money.

Still, it's not great news.

@umdesch4 said:

Currently sitting at 0.67, hasn't been above $1.00 since Dec 7th.

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=THQI+Interactive#symbol=thqi;range=3m;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;

And if you look at the MAX 10 year range, they recovered from a dismal .38 cents per share price.

I wouldn't feel bad. This is the way business' go sometimes. What can you do?

@mustachioeugene said:

We should all invest in THQ! Start buying now and if collective bomber-mind can get a controlling stake in the company we can be the first gaming community to make it's own game.

1) Buy stock

2) Gain controlling interest

3) ?

4) Saints Row 4

5) Profit

Thinking the SAME thing............

what happened to their stock on December 8th ?

Let's do it guys, we can together get the majority of shares and force Saints Row 4, with a Cameo by Jeff Gerstman instead of Cheapy D.

This is just a self-fulfilling prophecy at some point. One person says THQ is in trouble, investors freak out, more reports of THQ in even more trouble, etc etc. I hope they pull through.

I bought a butt load of stock leading up to the Saints Row release... banking on that game really kicking ass.

At least I was right about the game kicking ass... sucks that I've lost $2k if THQ doesn't pick up. I loved the stuff Bilson was spouting and I hope the company can make good on it in the long run.

QUICK! EVERYONE! GO BUY MORE COPIES OF SAINTS ROW THE THIRD AND SPACE MARINE!

Not really surprising. The only really good game they put out in 2011 was The Third. And if you try to chime in here and say that Space Marine was a good game, I might have to punch you in the throat.

This is what happens when you build in district A..

Sad to see that, but Space Marine PC is a fiasco. P2P in a PC game is the shitter. The community cannot build up without stable dedicated servers. A lot of people got angry about that.

At what point does it make sense for Take Two or Electronic Arts or Vivendi to just purchase them and cut everything that isn't relevant to their interests? Vivendi buys THQ and we can have Starcraft vs Dawn of War, the first crossover RTS fighting game.

Actually, I just realized the publisher most likely to snap up everything as they liquidate; Zenimax/Bethesda. They've been going whole hog into the 'hardcore games' market, this seems like what they'd do. When Interplay liquidated, they wound up with the Fallout license for dick all. EA has their hardcore stuff set up, it seems they're expanding more into mobile and Popcap, and Activision Blizzard is just going to do what they've been doing for eight years.

Oh man, not good THQ. They may make some shit games sometimes (I'm looking at you, RF Armageddon and Homefront) but they also put out some genuinely fantastic stuff like Saints Row and Warhammer. Given the time to really find their footing, I think they could evolve into one of the better big name publishers. I'm pulling for you THQ..

Oh, money.

I was just thinking about buying some stock in THQ last week, perfect candidate for the buy low strategy; until I looked into their financials a bit, it's unreal how much money they lose year after year after year...

I really doubt they will go under, but I would expect a huge reorganization in the company if they expect to come back from this.

Can't help but think that once the SR3 revenues hit their financial statements, that all of their ratios will improve enough to drive the stock price up substantially.

Well, my THQ-is-not-so-well thread is not that crazy now, is it?!

Get the hell out of District A!!!

Please, please, please don't let EA get their dirty hands on my Saints Row :(

@Kevin_Cogneto: No, I understand Saints Row isn't dead just yet, but I can see THQ trying to monopolize the shit out of anything it has left now.

IF they have any time left.