DRCT Direct Digital Holdings Inc

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 21, 2024

 

Direct Digital Holdings, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		001-41261		87-2306185
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(IRS Employer Identification No.)

 

1177 West Loop South, Suite 1310 Houston, Texas		77027
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (832) 402-1051

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
¨	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

 

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share		DRCT		The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company x

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

 

 

Item 3.01

Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.

 

As previously disclosed, on April 17, 2024 and May 21, 2024, Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) received notices from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) regarding the Company’s failure to timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Form 10-K”) and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024 (the “Q1 Form 10-Q”), respectively, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

 

On August 21, 2024, the Company received an additional delinquency notification letter (the “Notice”) from Nasdaq due to the Company’s failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2024 (the “Q2 Form 10-Q”, and together with the Form 10-K and Q1 Form 10-Q, the “Delinquent Filings”).

 

The Company previously submitted a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with respect to the delinquent Form 10-K and Q1 Form 10-Q (the “Plan”), and Nasdaq granted the Company an exception until October 14, 2024, to evidence compliance with the Rule. Pursuant to the Notice, the Company is required to submit an update to the Plan to Nasdaq by no later than September 5, 2024.

 

Neither the Notice nor the Company’s non-compliance with the Rule has an immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s securities on Nasdaq, which will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DRCT.” The Company continues to work diligently to complete and file the Delinquent Filings with the SEC and thereby regain compliance with the Rule as soon as practicable. 

 

Item 7.01

Regulation FD Disclosure.

 

On August 27, 2024, the Company issued a press release in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(b) announcing that the Company had received the Notice. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.

 

The information under this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that Section. The information under this Item 8.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall otherwise be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This Current Report on Form 8-K may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws that are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties.

 

As used below, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the Company. We use words such as “could,” “would,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “expect,” “likely,” “believe,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project” and other similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but not all forward-looking statements include these words. All of our forward-looking statements involve estimates and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the information described under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) and subsequent periodic and or current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K are based on assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience and our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you read and consider this Current Report on Form 8-K, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond our control) and assumptions. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual operating and financial performance and cause our performance to differ materially from the performance expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the restrictions and covenants imposed upon us by our credit facilities; our ability to secure additional financing to meet our capital needs; any significant fluctuations caused by our high customer concentration; risks related to non-payment by our clients; reputational and other harms caused by our failure to detect advertising fraud; operational and performance issues with our platform, whether real or perceived, including a failure to respond to technological changes or to upgrade our technology systems; restrictions on the use of third-party “cookies,” mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies, which could diminish our platform’s effectiveness; unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry, particularly concerns regarding data privacy and security relating to our industry’s technology and practices, and any perceived failure to comply with laws and industry self-regulation; our failure to manage our growth effectively; the difficulty in identifying and integrating any future acquisitions or strategic investments; any changes or developments in legislative, judicial, regulatory or cultural environments related to information collection, use and processing; challenges related to our buy-side clients that are destination marketing organizations and that operate as public/private partnerships; any strain on our resources or diversion of our management’s attention as a result of being a public company; the intense competition of the digital advertising industry and our ability to effectively compete against current and future competitors; any significant inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal information we hold, or of the security of our or our customers’, suppliers’ or other partners’ computer systems; as a holding company, we depend on distributions from Direct Digital Holdings, LLC (“DDH LLC”) to pay our taxes, expenses (including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement) and any amount of any dividends we may pay to the holders of our common stock; the fact that DDH LLC is controlled by DDM, whose interest may differ from those of our public stockholders; any risks associated with the material weakness that was identified in our review of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022; any failure by us to maintain or implement effective internal controls or to detect fraud; our ability to complete the audit of our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023; and other factors and assumptions discussed in our Form 10-K and subsequent periodic and current reports we may file with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual operating and financial performance may vary in material respects from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors that could cause our business not to develop as we expect emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each currently known or new factor on our results of operations or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

 

Item 9.01

Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press Release, dated August 27, 2024.
104		Cover Page Interactive Data File, formatted in Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (iXBRL).

 

 

SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

August 27, 2024 (Date)	Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (Registrant)
	/s/ Diana P. Diaz
	Diana P. Diaz
	Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

Direct Digital Holdings Announces Receipt of Anticipated Additional Delinquency Notice

 

HOUSTON, August 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Direct Digital Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") reported that the Company received an additional delinquency notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) on August 21, 2024, which indicated that, as a result of the delay in the Company’s filing of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2024 (the “Q2 Form 10-Q”) by the applicable due date, the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) (the “Rule”), which requires Nasdaq-listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The additional delinquency could serve as an additional basis for the delisting of the Company’s securities from Nasdaq.

 

As disclosed by press release on April 17, 2024 and May 21, 2024, the Company previously received delinquency notification letters from Nasdaq and thereafter submitted its plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with the Rule by filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Form 10-K”) and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 (the Q1 Form 10-Q” and together with the Q2 Form 10-Q, the “Delayed Reports”) with the SEC by October 14, 2024, which plan Nasdaq ultimately approved. Nasdaq has now requested an update to the plan, particularly with respect to the Company’s plan to file the Q2 Form 10-Q with the SEC. The Company plans to timely update Nasdaq with respect to the plan by September 5, 2024.

 

Neither the Notice nor the Company’s non-compliance with the Rule will have an immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s securities on Nasdaq, which will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “DRCT.” The Company continues to work diligently to complete and file the Delayed Reports with the SEC and thereby evidence compliance with the Rule as soon as practicable.

 

About Direct Digital Holdings

 

Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), owner of operating companies Colossus SSP, Huddled Masses, and Orange 142, brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. Direct Digital Holdings' sell-side platform, Colossus SSP, offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. The Company's subsidiaries Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare to travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings' sell- and buy-side solutions manage on average over 125,000 clients monthly, generating over 300 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app and other media channels.

 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

 

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws that are subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties.

 

 

 

 

As used below, "we," "us," and "our" refer to the Company. We use words such as "could," "would," "may," "might," "will," "expect," "likely," "believe," "continue," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "project" and other similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but not all forward-looking statements include these words. All of our forward-looking statements involve estimates and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the information described under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "Form 10-K") and subsequent periodic and or current reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on assumptions that we have made in light of our industry experience and our perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you read and consider this press release, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of performance or results. They involve risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond our control) and assumptions. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual operating and financial performance and cause our performance to differ materially from the performance expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the restrictions and covenants imposed upon us by our credit facilities; our ability to secure additional financing to meet our capital needs; any significant fluctuations caused by our high customer concentration; risks related to non-payment by our clients; reputational and other harms caused by our failure to detect advertising fraud; operational and performance issues with our platform, whether real or perceived, including a failure to respond to technological changes or to upgrade our technology systems; restrictions on the use of third-party "cookies," mobile device IDs or other tracking technologies, which could diminish our platform's effectiveness; unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry, particularly concerns regarding data privacy and security relating to our industry's technology and practices, and any perceived failure to comply with laws and industry self-regulation; our failure to manage our growth effectively; the difficulty in identifying and integrating any future acquisitions or strategic investments; any changes or developments in legislative, judicial, regulatory or cultural environments related to information collection, use and processing; challenges related to our buy-side clients that are destination marketing organizations and that operate as public/private partnerships; any strain on our resources or diversion of our management's attention as a result of being a public company; the intense competition of the digital advertising industry and our ability to effectively compete against current and future competitors; any significant inadvertent disclosure or breach of confidential and/or personal information we hold, or of the security of our or our customers', suppliers' or other partners' computer systems; as a holding company, we depend on distributions from Direct Digital Holdings, LLC ("DDH LLC") to pay our taxes, expenses (including payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement) and any amount of any dividends we may pay to the holders of our common stock; the fact that DDH LLC is controlled by DDM, whose interest may differ from those of our public stockholders; any risks associated with the material weakness that was identified in our review of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022; any failure by us to maintain or implement effective internal controls or to detect fraud; our ability to complete the audit of our financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023; and other factors and assumptions discussed in our Form 10-K and subsequent periodic and current reports we may file with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of these assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual operating and financial performance may vary in material respects from the performance projected in these forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors that could cause our business not to develop as we expect emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Further, we cannot assess the impact of each currently known or new factor on our results of operations or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

 

Contacts

 

Brett Milotte, ICR

investors@directdigitalholdings.com

 

 

 

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Cover	Aug. 21, 2024
Cover [Abstract]
Document Type	8-K
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Document Period End Date	Aug. 21, 2024
Entity File Number	001-41261
Entity Registrant Name	Direct Digital Holdings, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001880613
Entity Tax Identification Number	87-2306185
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code	DE
Entity Address, Address Line One	1177 West Loop South
Entity Address, Address Line Two	Suite 1310
Entity Address, City or Town	Houston
Entity Address, State or Province	TX
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code	77027
City Area Code	832
Local Phone Number	402-1051
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Pre-commencement Tender Offer	false
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share
Trading Symbol	DRCT
Security Exchange Name	NASDAQ
Entity Emerging Growth Company	true
Elected Not To Use the Extended Transition Period	false

---