History
Glori Energy went public through a 2014 merger with a blank-check shell, raised about $15.8 million, then slid below Nasdaq's standards and chose to delist and later deregister.
2014: Merger and fundraising
Glori Energy's story as a listed company began in January 2014. Infinity Cross Border Acquisition Corporation, a blank-check company (a shell set up to buy a business), created a Delaware company, Glori Acquisition Corp., to merge with Glori Energy Inc. under a January 8 agreement. Infinity's shareholders were to swap their shares and warrants one-for-one for 5,750,000 shares and 5,750,000 warrants of the new company, which planned to list on Nasdaq as GLRI and GLRIW. The deal had an April 25, 2014 deadline.
It made it. The merger closed on April 14, 2014. The company became Glori Energy Inc., based in Houston, Texas, and the old operating company was renamed Glori Energy Technology Inc. The filings reviewed do not show the final tender offer and redemption results, which let Infinity holders sell shares back at $8.00.
Money followed. At closing, investors put in $8.5 million. On May 1, 2014, Glori issued 909,982 new shares at $8.00 each, raising $7,279,856 for working capital from investors who used an option under a January 7 agreement. The company put total private placements at $15.8 million and shares outstanding at about 30.5 million, which diluted existing holders. Management said the funds supported a plan to buy oil-producing properties to show off its AERO System, its microbial method of recovering more oil from fields. Year-end share counts rose from 22,450,688 in 2013 to 31,499,303 in 2014.
2014-2015: Listing trouble begins
On August 25, 2014 Nasdaq approved the common stock's listing, and it kept trading as GLRI. The warrants were another matter: they had fewer than the required 400 round lot holders, so Nasdaq delisted them from September 4, 2014. Glori did not appeal, and the filings do not say where the warrants traded afterwards.
The record is then quiet until October 2015, when Nasdaq warned that the stock had closed below $1.00 for 30 straight business days. Glori had until April 20, 2016 to recover, with a possible further 180 days, and said it might consider a reverse stock split, which was not adopted in these filings.
2016-2017: Delisting and withdrawal
In August 2016 Nasdaq said stockholders' equity at June 30, 2016 was below the $2.5 million minimum, on top of the price shortfall. On September 8, 2016 the board, citing the cost and uncertainty of staying compliant, decided to delist the stock voluntarily and move to over-the-counter trading, while continuing to file reports. Form 25 was expected around September 19, with delisting around September 29.
The company, now led by Executive Chairman and CEO Kevin Guilbeau, said it was pursuing a "Phoenix" plan to lease abandoned oil fields and had begun leasing acreage in one. It was also discussing a modest raise, weighing project financing, and awaiting a decision within 30-60 days on a Department of Energy loan guarantee application, with no assurance of success.
On January 25, 2017, Glori deregistered its securities, ending its obligation to file reports with the SEC. By then year-end shares stood at 32,369,611 for 2016.
Written from the 13 story beats below (2014 to 25 Jan 2017), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.