Finance of America warrants face NYSE delisting

The New York Stock Exchange has suspended trading in the warrants for Finance of America in preparation for delisting.

"NYSE Regulation has determined that the warrants are no longer suitable for listing based on 'abnormally low selling price' levels, pursuant to Section 802.01D of the Listed Company Manual," an announcement on the NYSE website said.

The warrants entitle the owners to purchase shares of the company's common stock.

Finance of America's common stock remains listed on the exchange and is still trading. However, the NYSE has sent two delisting notifications regarding the common stock for failure to maintain an average daily closing price of $1 per share, the most recent in February.

On July 2, FOA's common stock closed at 45 cents per share. The last time the stock even traded above $1 per share was on Feb. 16, the day it responded to the second delisting letter.

In order to cure that deficiency, FOA is planning a reverse stock split. On June 27 it filed with the SEC a statement that a majority of the voting power for its common stock has approved the plan, in which every 10 currently outstanding shares will be exchanged for one share.

The move was approved by nearly 70% of entities with voting power, including Blackstone, FOA Chairman Brian Libman and an entity Libman controls, the filing said.

No date for the exchange has been set, but the earliest it can take place is 20 days after the notice has been mailed to stockholders, which was on or about June 27.

Another SEC filing from June 25 said FOA priced a debt exchange that would extend maturities on two groups of notes coming due next year into two new deadlines of 2026 and 2029, respectively.

"We think the company took cues from the recent debt exchange at Loandepot, which buys time for rates to fall, although we think there's higher quality beta tied to lower rates in names with deeper sources of liquidity and better proportioned expense structures in the event rates are high(er) for longer," Eric Hagen, an analyst at BTIG, wrote in a July 2 mortgage finance roundup report.

In the first quarter, FOA lost $20.3 million, as the company continued developing its focus on being a reverse mortgage lender, as well as being a services provider. At the start of June, it conducted another round of layoffs.

When it comes to the warrants, "The Company has a right to a review of this determination by a Committee of the Board of Directors of the Exchange," the delisting announcement said. "The NYSE will apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission to delist the warrants upon completion of all applicable procedures, including any appeal by the Company of the NYSE Regulation staff's decision."