William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Dec 02, 2011 12:21PM EST
YRC Worldwide boosted the per share value of its stock above $9 in a 1-for-300 reverse stock split Friday that drastically reduced its number of shares.
The troubled trucking giant’s stock, which traded as low as 3 cents a share Thursday, hit the Nasdaq exchange at $9.27 a share Friday morning. If YRC can keep its per share value above $1 it will avoid delisting by Nasdaq, which requires member companies to maintain that minimum per share value.
The reverse stock split — YRC’s second in two years — cuts the number of authorized and outstanding common shares to about 40 million from 12 billion. The $4.3 billion trucking operator’s share volume skyrocketed in September when a $500 million debt restructuring plan created billions of new shares.
The majority of that stock went to the company’s lenders, who own 72.5 percent of YRC Worldwide’s stock. Teamster employees own another 25 percent.
Outside investors now own only an estimated 2.5 percent of the company’s stock, which will trade under the symbol YRCWD from Dec. 2 through Jan. 3.
The stock’s value plunged with the massive infusion of new shares in September, dropping to 7 cents a share and sinking lower over the next two months. A Nasdaq panel in October gave the company until Dec. 31 to complete a reverse stock split and boost its per share price over $1 to avoid delisting.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc