A Sirius (SIRI) delisting?

There are a number of reasons that a company can be delisted from the Nasdaq. One is failure to maintain a share price above $1. A firm's shares cannot close below $1 for 30 days without a warning. That gives the member company time to "cure" the problem.

Sometimes, the problem cannot be "cured." Most recently that happened to newspaper chain Journal Register, which faced similar rules on the NYSE where it had been traded. It lost its listing.

Shares of Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) closed at 98 cents Wednesday and traded as low as 90 cents. The market does not like the company's new plans to cut costs. Even worse, it does not like the firm's forecast that growth may slow considerably next year.

The future of Sirius is still in doubt. Before the merger, each company had over $1 billion in debt and neither had ever had an operating profit. Refinancing the bonds of the new Sirius XM may be very difficult during the current credit crunch.

It would not be a huge shock to see the satellite radio company go into Chapter 11 next year. It might be able to use that to restructure its balance sheet just as many airlines have done in the past.

At this early stage, the merger is a flop and it does not look like that will change.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.