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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008 Nasdaq to de-list Lumera of Bothell By Yoshiaki Nohara Herald Writer BOTHELL -- Lumera Corp. is expected to be removed from the Nasdaq Global Market listing because of its dwindling assets, the Bothell-based firm said Wednesday. Nasdaq decided on the move because the firm doesn't have a minimum stockholders' equity of $10 million to stay on the listing, according to Lumera. Stockholders' equity, or the book value of a company, represents a company's total assets minus its total liabilities. For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, the company's stockholders' equity was about $8.72 million. That still enables the company to stay on the Nasdaq Capital Market listing, said Helene Jaillet, director of investor relations and corporate communications for Lumera. Lumera is trying to have Nasdaq delay the action until the company decides on its merger with GigOptix LLC, a private firm in Palo Alto, Calif., Jaillet said. "If the merger is approved, we will meet the listing requirement," Jaillet said. The company's shareholders are expected to decide on the merger Dec. 4, Jaillet said. Lumera shares on Wednesday closed at 30 cents, down 1 cent, or 3.2 percent. The company's shares were above $2 before it announced the proposed merger in March, Jaillet said. Since then, its shares have tumbled. "What hurt us is we are very restricted in what we can say" about the merger, she said. Lumera, a spinoff of Microvision Inc., designs electro-optic components based on proprietary polymer compounds for the telecommunications and computing industries. The ongoing declines of Lumera shares don't surprise Tim Raetzloff, an Edmonds businessman who monitors local companies' stocks. Raetzloff created the Abarim Snohomish County Stock Index, which lists 10 local publicly traded firms. The index only lists companies whose share price is $1 a share or higher. Companies such as Lumera require long-term investments to develop products and put them on the market, Raetzloff said. They are struggling to attract investors in the current volatile market. It's a bad time for most businesses no matter what industry they are in, Raetzloff said. The Abarim Snohomish County Stock Index on Wednesday closed at its lowest point since Jan. 16, 1996. Two bio-tech firms listed on the index are OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Seattle Genetics Inc., both of which are based in Bothell. OncoGenex shares ended at $2.40, down 25 cents, or 9.43 percent for the day. Seattle Genetics' shares closed at $9.38, down 66 cents, or 6.57 percent. Seattle Genetics is faring well because it is close to obtaining government approval for its drugs to hit the market, Raetzloff said. Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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