Gateway Announces 1-for-200 Reverse Split

Gateway Communications Inc., in an effort to beef up the value of its shares, announced a 1-for-200 reverse split of its common stock, retroactive to May 12.

The move reins in the number of outstanding shares from 727 million to 3.6 million. The Irvine communications equipment maker also cut back the number of authorized shares to 20 million from 2 billion.

According to a company spokesman, Gateway is reining in the number of shares because its directors hope that the resulting higher price per share will spark more interest in the investment community than the stock’s current price of about 6 cents a share.