MTI seeks to change listing with Nasdaq

Mechanical Technology Inc. said it has asked to move to a smaller Nasdaq market, after the stock exchange informed the company that it has failed to meet minimum equity thresholds.

MTI (Nasdaq: MKTY), based in Albany, N.Y., designs test instruments and micro fuel cells for portable devices such as cell phones and cameras. It is the parent company to MTI Instruments and MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc.

MTI is now seeking a transfer from the Nasdaq global market to the Nasdaq capital market, formerly known as the “small cap” market. The move comes several months after shareholders approved a reserve split of common stock to avoid delisting.

On Aug. 20, MTI was notified that it failed to meet the $10 million minimum requirement of stockholder equity. The company decided it would be “more advantageous” to pursue a change to the smaller capital market, rather than attempt to maintain a listing on Nasdaq’s global market.

“It’s a market that operates in the same manner as the global market, but this is for companies who have smaller market capitalizations,” said MTI spokesman George Relan. He emphasized that Nasdaq did not delist the company.

On Tuesday, shares ended up 2 cents a share at $2.15.

MTI’s 2007 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission included an auditor’s concern about the company’s ability to continue operating.

According to the auditor’s opinion, the company continues to accrue significant losses with the funding of MTI Micro’s methanol fuel cell product development programs. It had an accumulated deficit of $105 million and working capital of $11.3 million on Dec. 31, 2007.

But the company has taken steps to address those concerns, including selling shares of Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG) stock. MTI was a co-founder of the Latham-based fuel-cell developer.

In May, shareholders voted to effect an 8-to-1 reverse split of its common stock to avoid delisting. MTI faced delisting earlier this year when the Securities and Exchange Commission gave the company until July 7 to raise its stock price to $1.

In July, a failed plan by MTI to sell 7 million shares of stock to support further Mobion research forced the company to sell debt instead. The ongoing offering involves the sale of units consisting of senior convertible notes and warrants to purchase common stock. The units are priced at $1,000 each.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/08/25/daily17.html

Source: The Business Review