SHANGHAI, June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --
China-Biotics, Inc. ("China-Biotics" or the "Company")
(NASDAQ: CHBT), a leading developer, manufacturer, and distributor
of probiotics products in China,
today announces its intent to voluntarily delist the Company's
common stock from the Nasdaq Global Stock Market ("Nasdaq"). The
Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") unanimously
determined that maintaining the listing has imposed difficult
burdens on the Company. These burdens have been compounded by the
recent resignations of the Company's former auditor, BDO Limited,
and the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Travis Cai, as reported by the Company in a
Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June
23, 2011, and the resignation of Mr. Simon Yick, the former Chairman of the Audit
Committee of the Board, as reported by the Company in a Current
Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 28, 2011.
On June 29, 2011, the Company
provided written notice to Nasdaq of its intent to file a
Notification of Removal from Listing on Form 25 ("Form 25") with
the SEC on or around July 11, 2011.
The Company expects the delisting from Nasdaq to become effective
on July 21, 2011, ten days after
filing Form 25 with the SEC.
Upon delisting from Nasdaq, the Company expects that trading by
stockholders of shares of the Company's common stock may be
effected through quotations on the Pink OTC Market (a centralized
quotation service that collects and publishes market maker quotes
for securities). This will require at least one market maker to
quote the Company's common stock on the Pink OTC Market after the
market maker complies with the Pink OTC Market rules; there is no
assurance that a market maker will comply with those rules. The
Company has not arranged for its shares to be quoted on any
securities exchange. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the
Company will remain subject to the periodic reporting requirements
of the Exchange Act.
The Company previously reported its receipt from Nasdaq of a
letter (the "Nasdaq Letter") stating that, because the Company has
not yet filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended March 31, 2011, and based upon
disclosures made by the Company in its recently filed Form 12b-25
and additional information provided to Nasdaq, the Company no
longer complies with Nasdaq Listing Rules for continued listing. In
addition, the Nasdaq Letter requested that the Company provide to
Nasdaq a formal "plan of compliance" setting forth the steps that
the Company proposes to take to regain compliance for continued
listing of the Company's common stock on the Nasdaq, as well as
certain other information relevant to Nasdaq's evaluation of the
plan of compliance. In light of the Company's decision to seek
voluntary delisting of its stock from Nasdaq, the Company has
determined that it will not provide Nasdaq with such plan of
compliance or other requested information.
The Board has determined that the effort required to challenge
Nasdaq's determination, and the uncertain outcome of any such
challenge, as well as the uncertainty of when, if ever, the Company
will be able to satisfy Nasdaq's concerns in light of the recent
resignation of its auditor, support its decision to seek delisting
of its common stock from Nasdaq in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders.
The Company will comply with all applicable provisions of
Delaware law, under which the
Company is incorporated, as well as applicable provisions of the
Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and the SEC rules applicable to the
delisting process.
About China-Biotics
China-Biotics, Inc. ("China-Biotics," or the "Company"), a
leading manufacturer of biotechnology products and supplements,
engages in the research, development, marketing, and distribution
of probiotics dietary supplements in China. Through its wholly owned subsidiary,
Shanghai Shining Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the Company develops and
produces its proprietary product portfolio, including live
microbial nutritional supplements under the "Shining" brand.
Currently, the products are sold OTC through large distributors to
pharmacies and supermarkets in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces. In February 2010, China-Biotics began its commercial
production in China's largest
probiotics production facility to meet growing demand in
China. For more information,
please visit http://www.chn-biotics.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The information in this release contains forward-looking
statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including
statements regarding the Company's capital needs, business
strategy, and expectations. Any statements contained herein that
are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements, which may be identified by terminology
such as "may," "should," "will," "expect," "plan," "intend,"
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential,"
"forecast," "project," or "continue," the negative of such terms or
other comparable terminology. Readers should not rely on
forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or
results. Any or all of the Company's forward-looking statements may
turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate
assumptions, risks and uncertainties and other factors, which could
cause actual events or results to be materially different from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. In
evaluating these statements, readers should consider various
factors, including the risks described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors"
beginning on page 17 and elsewhere in the Company's 2010 Annual
Report on Form 10-K. These factors may cause the Company's actual
results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. In
addition, new factors emerge from time to time, and it is not
possible for the Company to predict all factors that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this document, except as required
by applicable law.
For further information, please contact:
China-Biotics, Inc.
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ir@chn-biotics.com
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SOURCE China-Biotics, Inc.