Item 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or
Standard; Transfer of Listing.
On December 28, 2022, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (the "Company") received a
notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq
Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") indicating that, as a result of the Company's delay
in filing its Annual Report on From 10-K for the year ended September 25, 2022
(the "2022 Form 10-K"), the Company is not in compliance with the timely filing
requirements for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1).
The Company filed a Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25 (the "Form
12b-25") on December 12, 2022, stating it was unable to file the 2022 Form 10-K
within the prescribed time period without unreasonable effort or expense because
it required additional time to complete management's assessment of the
effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. The
Form 12b-25 provided a 15-calendar-day extension period for the Company to file
the 2022 Form 10-K.
At this time, management remains in the process of evaluating deficiencies
identified in connection with its assessment of the effectiveness of its
internal control over financial reporting as of September 25, 2022, based upon
criteria in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. As a result, the Company
requires additional time to finalize its financial statements and related
disclosures to be filed as part of the 2022 Form 10-K.
Notwithstanding the ongoing evaluation, the Company does not expect the
evaluation to result in any material impact on the preliminary financial results
the Company released on December 8, 2022, for the period as of and ended
September 25, 2022.
The notification letter stated that, under Nasdaq rules, the Company has 60
calendar days, or until February 27, 2023, to submit a plan to regain compliance
with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements. If the plan is accepted, Nasdaq
may grant an extension of up to 180 calendar days, or until June 26, 2023, to
regain compliance. The Company can also regain compliance with Nasdaq's
continued listing requirements at any time before February 27, 2023, by filing
the 2022 Form 10-K with the SEC, as well as any subsequent periodic reports that
may become due, and continuing to comply with Nasdaq's other continued listing
requirements. The notification letter has no immediate effect on the listing or
trading of the Company's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The Company's management intends to file the 2022 Form 10-K as soon as
practicable; however, no assurance can be given as to the definitive date on
which the 2022 Form 10-K will be filed.
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Item 8.01 Other Events
On December 28, 2022, the Company issued a press release disclosing the
Company's receipt of the Nasdaq notification letter. A copy of the press release
is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains statements that are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The
Company intends these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe
harbor provisions for such statements. All statements that do not concern
historical facts are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "could,"
"possibly," "probably," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "expect," "may,"
"will," "should," "seek," "intend," "plan," "expect," or "consider" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the
exclusive means of identifying such statements. Forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements, including, but not limited to the risk that the
Company may not be able to file the Form 10-K within the currently expected
timeframe, risks that the Company may not regain compliance with Nasdaq
continued listing requirements within the applicable grace period, as well as
the other risks set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These forward-looking statements should be considered in light of
these risks and uncertainties. The Company bases its forward-looking statements
on information currently available to it at the time of this report and
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of changes in underlying circumstances, new information,
future events or otherwise.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d)Exhibits
Press release issued by Lee Enterprises, Incorporated on December 29,
99.1 2022
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
104 document)
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