The train of bad news continues to hit Konami hard. After both the announcement of P.T.‘s removal and the cancellation of Silent Hills, Konami is now going to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Konami is coming off the New York Stock Exchange as a cost saving move as the developer now has to start new projects to avoid further trouble. This move will become official sometime in July once the Securities and Exchange Commission has finished processing the move. While it should be noted that this is a voluntary delisting on Konami’s part, moves like this usually spell financial trouble.
Konami issued an official statement on the decision to delist from the New York Stock Exchange.
The Company listed its ADSs on the NYSE in September 2002 mainly to diversify its opportunities for fund-raising and to raise the visibility of the KONAMI brand. Since then, the Company has made efforts to enhance disclosures for shareholders and investors with the goal of deepening their understanding of the Company, in addition to complying with the disclosure requirements of U.S. securities laws and regulations, providing consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (‘U.S. GAAP’), and establishing internal controls in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Meanwhile, the external environment has significantly changed as indicated by the increases in trading volume of Japanese stocks through stock exchanges in Japan by overseas investors due to the internationalization of the Japanese financial and capital markets, as well as the narrowing of the gap between U.S. and Japanese disclosure standards with respect to financial reporting due to a series of amendments to Japanese laws and regulations and accounting standards.
While the Company believes the initial objectives of the U.S. ADS listing were mainly achieved, it has judged that the continued listing on the NYSE is not economically justified, taking into account the market changes as stated above and the fact that the trading volume of its ADSs on the NYSE accounts for only a small fraction of the total trading volume of its shares. Therefore, the Company has decided to apply for voluntary delisting of its ADSs from the NYSE and for termination of registration of its ADSs with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘SEC’) under the Exchange Act.
Konami’s future is starting to look bleak. If Konami is unable to receive some good news in the coming weeks and months, we may have to start saying goodbye to the famed company. Hopefully, some light will be shed on this whole issue when their latest earnings report comes out in a couple of weeks.
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