Amwest Insurance Group Applies for Delisting from American Stock Exchange

The Calabasas, Calif.-based insurance holding company Amwest Insurance Group Inc. announced on June 25 that it has applied to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to remove its shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (“Common Stock”), and its Preferred Stock Purchase Rights (“Rights”), from listing on the American Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”).

The company cited its continuing inability to comply with its listing agreement with the Exchange and its continuing inability to file periodic reports with the SEC as the principal reasons for its application to withdraw from trading on the Exchange. The company noted that the Exchange has consented to the company’s filing with the SEC for delisting.

Trading in the company’s Common Stock was halted by the Exchange on April 17, 2001, when the company announced that it was further delaying the filing of its Form 10-K for the 2000 fiscal year beyond the required April 17, 2001 deadline due to its inability to finalize year-end financial statements, principally relating to its reinsurance arrangements.

The company has been advised by the Exchange that it anticipates that the trading will remain halted until the delisting is completed. The company expects that the SEC will approve the delisting in the next several weeks. The company has also commenced the process of delisting its Common Stock and Rights from the Pacific Exchange and will not seek to have the Common Stock or Rights traded on the over-the-counter-market.