Ailing Majesco makes move to avoid getting kicked off Nasdaq

Zumba Fitness publisher Majesco Entertainment is asking shareholders to approve a reverse stock split that could potentially increase the company's stock price, preventing it from being delisted from the Nasdaq stock market. Majesco's stock has been trading at a bid price of less than $1 for quite a while now -- Nasdaq representatives previously informed the company that it must boost its share price back over the $1.00 mark or be delisted from the exchange, then granted the company an 180-day grace period when the company failed to do so last August. That grace period ends next week, on February 24, and given that Majesco's stock price is still trading too low -- $0.55 a share at time of publication -- it's no surprise that the publisher has filed an appeal with Nasdaq for more time. The company is also calling for shareholders to vote to approve a reverse stock split, which would consolidate shares -- at a rate between 10-1 and 3-1, decided by the Board -- and hopefully improve the price per share. "The primary reason for implementing a reverse stock split would be to increase the market price per share of our common stock," reads the notice sent to shareholders. "The Board of Directors believes that a higher price per share would better enable the Company to maintain the listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market." While being delisted from the Nasdaq market isn't a death knell for a company, it is typically a sign the organization is in poor financial health. THQ enacted its own reverse stock split in 2012 in a bid to remain listed on the Nasdaq, and it worked -- the company remained in compliance with Nasdaq regulations for roughly six months until filing for bankruptcy in December of the same year. Majesco is worth keeping an eye on because it recently announced that it was stepping away from the Zumba franchise to focus on making casino games and publishing indie games via its new Midnight City indie games label.