Odimo Announces Nasdaq Delisting

Online watch and luxury goods retailer Odimo has announced that it will be delisted from The Nasdaq Global Market effective August 14. The company was informed by Nasdaq that it is being delisted because it failed to maintain a minimum value of $5 million.

Effective August 14, Odimo will no longer be traded on Nasdaq, closing a chapter on what was one of the most promising online diamond ventures. Odimo, controlled by diamond giant Steinmetz, owned diamond.com. The website and company suffered losses, ending in the selling of diamond.com to competitor ice.com last May. Odimo still owns ashford.com and worldofwatches.com.

After filing for an IPO in July 2004, with the declared intention of raising $57.5, the company realized that they are aiming too high, and downgraded their plans in January 2005, hoping to raise about $45 million.

The following month it raised $28 million, selling less shares at $9 each, far less than the intended $13 per share.

With the share price dropping from $5 in August 2005, to below $2 by late September. On May 2, Nasdaq informed Odimo that it has not maintained a minimum value of publicly held shares of $5 million over the previous 30 consecutive trading days, and, as a result, it had 90 calendar days, or until July 31 to regain the minimum value.

The share value dropped since then below $1 and continued trading below $1.50. On Thursday Nasdaq pulled the plug on Odimo’s trading on The Nasdaq Global Market, announcing trade will effectively end Friday August 11.