BuzzFeed has until Nov. 27 to improve its stock’s performance or risk being delisted from Nasdaq, according to a Friday filed with the Securities Exchange Commission.
The media company received a notice from Nasdaq on Wednesday warning that the bid price for BuzzFeed’s common stock has fallen below the minimum $1 per share requirement to remain listed over the past 30 business days.
Should BuzzFeed fail to meet the November 27 deadline, the company could potentially receive an additional 180-day extension if it can meet the “continuing listing requirement for the market value of public stock” and provide written notice of its “intention to bid price shortfall” during this second period, among other requirements, the filing said. Failing to do so before this second period would delist BuzzFeed from Nasdaq, though the company could appeal the decision.
A BuzzFeed spokesperson declined to comment.
A possible delisting would be an embarrassing end for BuzzFeed after the digital media company went public in December 2021 by doing some maneuvering with a dedicated acquisition company. The SPAC merger gave BuzzFeed a valuation of $1.5 billion and $288 million in cash, allowing it to acquire media company Complex Networks as part of a larger consolidation of digital media companies, including BuzzFeed’s acquisition of HuffPost in 2020.
But BuzzFeed’s shares, which trade under BZFD and BZFDW, have struggled to perform amid a general economic downturn that has particularly hurt businesses that rely on digital advertising. The media company has made several layoffs in recent months and closed its news department BuzzFeed News. Revenue continued to take a hit, with first-quarter sales declining 27 percent year-over-year to $67.2 million, the company said in its May earnings report.
