MoviePass Owner Cancels Stock Split, Moves Closer to Delisting

(Bloomberg) -- Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc., owner of the struggling MoviePass subscription service, has canceled a 1-for-500 reverse stock split it had hoped would bolster its sagging share price.

The company proposed the reverse split in September after its stock dipped below 2 cents, hoping to regain compliance with the $1 minimum bid price required to be listed on the Nasdaq. The company needs to regain compliance by Dec. 18 or risk having its stock delisted from the exchange, it said in a filing Tuesday.

Helios & Matheson said in the filing that its board canceled a special meeting to vote on the proposed reverse split because it does not expect to have the shareholder votes. The shares have lost almost all of their value this year, battered by fears that the unprofitable MoviePass service won’t survive.

The New York-based company has been losing money after attracting millions of subscribers with the promise of seeing unlimited theatrical movies for $9.95 a month. It has had to restrict use of its service to retain cash and already did a stock split on July 24.

Helios & Matheson, which acquired MoviePass last year and became synonymous with the service, said last month it plans to spin off the entity as a publicly held company.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, John J. Edwards III, David Welch

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