Public Companies Going Private
I own shares in a company that has deregistered from the SEC Stopped trading on the pink sheets - a year or so ago The company is still operating and doing business. In my recent phone contact with the, they said my shares were still good, but they will not be trading again this year. They said they were in the process of deciding to trade the shares again or go private. My questions are: When a company decides to go private, do they require stock holder approval? Are they required to buy back the outstanding shares? How much time does the company have to contact the sate and begin the privatization process? What can the shareholders do if the company does nothing? Or if they don't contact the state to start the privatization process of start trading the shares again? Thanks
Terry Says
Interesting question. It only takes a vote of the board of directors, and then a vote of either a simple majority or 2/3 of shareholders to re-organize a company to go private, and the amount of votes depends on the company's charter. Typically, they then send out a letter to all shareholders informing them of the transaction, and the price, and offering to buy the shares. Did you contact the company of the "transfer agent"? The transfer agent would have all the details on any proposed transaction. You'll find the name of the transfer agent on the back of your stock certificate if you have one (that's a quaint thought these days) or you can get it from the company's finance or shareholder relations department. If you want to write back and give me the company name, I'd enjoy researching this!
