LV firm optimistic about remaining on Nasdaq

Kevin Ferguson

Friday, Sept. 7, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

Shares of Las Vegas-based software firm PurchasePro have been trading below $1 for 22 consecutive trading days. As a result, the firm's stock may be inching closer to being dropped from the Nasdaq Stock Market.

But still, PurchasePro management remains confident that the company will stave off delistment by inching its stock price above $1 before the 30th consecutive trading day of below-$1 trading, company spokesman Steve Stern said.

"If it hits the $1 mark by Sept. 18, the clock starts again," Stern said, noting that a forthcoming announcement of a renegotiated contract with America Online and PurchasePro's bolstered sales staff are key elements of its rejuvenated business plan.

PurchasePro shares were up 3 cents in mid-morning trading today at 72 cents.

If PurchasePro remains below $1 through Sept. 18, Nasdaq officials are expected to send a deficiency notice to the company alerting PurchasePro that it has 90 calendar days to regain compliance.

If the company regains compliance following the initial deficiency notice, it must maintain it for 10 consecutive business days.

If it doesn't, PurchasePro shares would be dropped to the sparsely traded over-the-counter (OTC) bulletin board exchange. OTC companies often find it difficult to get access to new rounds of funding or use their shares in an acquisition.

PurchasePro had been expected to pay AOL, the Internet division of media giant AOL/Time Warner, $20 million over the next three to four quarters under a partnership.

But on a conference call last month, PurchasePro Chief Executive Richard Clemmer said he told AOL those payments would not be coming because PurchasePro needed the cash to operate.

Clemmer also said the company has refocused its business around a new reverse auction software called e-Source. Clemmer said he expects the company to generate between $3 million to $8 million in revenue in the current quarter through this software.

Out of 46 businesses testing the software, two have already signed licensing contracts, Stern said.

Stern declined to say how much the specific contracts are worth, but said the cost of e-Source licenses range from $250,000 to $1 million per year.