Japanese Internet company Livedoor was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange Friday, three months after it was implicated in a fraud scandal that rattled Japan's financial markets.
Livedoor shares ended their final day of trading at 94 yen (equivalent to 79 cents, based on Friday's yen/dollar rate of 118.62), a huge drop from nearly 700 yen in January, before the scandal broke.
Japanese prosecutors raided Livedoor's Tokyo headquarters in January on suspicion that company executives falsely reported profits to conceal financial losses.
Livedoor's founder, Takafumi Horie was arrested several days later and charged with financial fraud. He later resigned as company president, and remains in prison, but denies any wrongdoing.
The delisting of Livedoor from the Mothers market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange is expected to make it harder for the company to raise funds. The company had traded on the exchange for six years.
Livedoor also faces the prospect of legal action from hundreds of shareholders, who plan to sue the company next month to recover their losses.
Reports say Livedoor could also be taken over by Japanese cable broadcaster Usen, after the two companies recently formed a business alliance.
Livedoor's market value had once reached a high of $7.5 billion, but that figure had plummeted to just $830 million by this week.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.