AlphaStar Regulatory Filings Delayed; Faces Nasdaq Hearing

The Bermuda-based AlphaStar Insurance Group Limited (the successor company to Stirling Cooke Brown) reported that it had received a notification from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department on May 21 that the Company “has failed to comply with the filing requirements for continued listing set forth in NASD Marketplace Rule 4310 (c)(14). NASD Marketplace Rule 4310 (c)(14) requires that Nasdaq issuers timely file their periodic reports in compliance with the reporting obligations under the federal securities laws. The Company has not timely filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2003.”

The filing of the reports, including AlphaStar’s 2002 10-K Annual Report, were expected to have been filed earlier. The company had indicated that it expected to file the reports by May 2, but that date has long passed. It said that as a result “Nasdaq had notified it that its securities were subject to delisting from The Nasdaq Stock Market.”

The announcement indicated that “The Company was not able to file the 2002 Form 10-K within the stated period,” but added, “The Form 10-K is in the final stages of review by the Company’s auditors.” It also anticipates “that its Form 10-Q for the first quarter of 2003 will be filed shortly after the Form 10-K.” It also said that it “continues to believe that neither the 10-K nor the 10-Q will reflect any restatement of prior results (except to reflect certain discontinued operations).”

The Company’s late 10-K and 10-Q filings will be considered at an oral hearing on May 22, 2003 before a panel authorized by the Nasdaq Stock Market.