HAMILTON, Bermuda, Jan. 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. (BSX:WPS) (Pink Sheets:WPSLF) ("W.P. Stewart" or the "Company") today announced that it had been granted a primary listing of its common shares on the Bermuda Stock Exchange ("BSX") effective 26 January 2009. The Company also announced that on 26 January 2009, in accordance with its previously announced intention, W.P. Stewart filed a Certification and Notice of Termination of Registration on Form 15 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to effect the termination of the registration of its common shares under Section 12(g) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
In addition, trading is expected to continue in the Company's common shares on the BSX under the current symbol "WPS" and on the Pink Sheets under the current symbol of "WPSLF."
Upon the filing of the Form 15, the Company's obligation to file periodic and current reports with the SEC, including Forms 20-F and 6-K, was immediately suspended. The Company currently intends to continue to publicly provide information necessary to maintain trading in these markets, including quarterly earnings reports consistent with its historical practice. W.P. Stewart expects that the deregistration of its common shares will become effective 90 days after the date of filing of the Form 15 with the SEC. The Company is eligible to deregister its common shares because it had fewer than 300 holders of record of its common shares at the beginning of its fiscal year.
"We expect the deregistration of the common shares to have significant cost savings and to better enable management to focus on our long-term strategy for success," said Mark Phelps, President and Chief Executive Officer.
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd.
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. is an asset management company that has provided research-intensive equity management services to clients throughout the world since 1975. The Company is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and has additional operations or affiliates in the United States, Europe and Asia.
The Company's shares are listed for trading on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX:WPS) and are currently traded on the Pink Sheets (Pink Sheets:WPSLF).
For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.wpstewart.com, or call W.P. Stewart Investor Relations (Fred M. Ryan) at 1-888-695-4092 (toll-free within the United States) or + 441-295-8585 (outside the United States) or e-mail to IRINFO@wpstewart.com.
Statements made in this release concerning our assumptions, expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans or strategies are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in these statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline or volatility in the securities markets, a general downturn in the economy, the effects of economic, financial or political events, a loss of client accounts, inability of the Company to attract or retain qualified personnel, a challenge to our U.S. tax status, competition from other companies, changes in government policy or regulation, a decline in the Company's products' performance, inability of the Company to implement its operating strategy, the effects of the Company's delisting and deregistration under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, inability of the Company to manage unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations, industry capacity and trends, changes in demand for the Company's services, changes in the Company's business strategy or development plans and contingent liabilities.
The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement included in this press release to reflect any changes in expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.