Atari facing NASDAQ delisting

Atari revealed today that it has been served with a noncompliance notice from NASDAQ and is now subject to delisting. According to the notice, the France-based publisher has not yet filed its annual report on Form 10-K for its 2007 fiscal year. Atari has requested a hearing with the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel to appeal the notice, which will postpone the delisting until the panel has reached a decision.

Unlike its previous NASDAQ delisting quandary, today's notice has nothing to do with its stock price. Atari has stated that its reason for not filing the Form 10-K in a timely manner is because it is "still determining what, if any, accounting entries it needs to make with respect to certain severance matters." Last April, Bruno Bonnell, who cofounded Atari parent company Infogrames Entertainment, vacated his post as chairman of the board, chief creative officer, and acting chief financial officer. In May, the publisher announced it would be serving pink slips to 20 percent of its workforce. The layoffs were then projected to be concluded by the end of July.