Newspaper ad claims NYSE held hostage

New York, Apr 29: A mysterious advertisement in yesterday's New York Times accusing the New York Stock Exchange of bowing to terrorist threats has again spotlighted the struggle of controversial animal-testing company Life Sciences Research Inc to get a listing on the Big Board.

The full-page advertisement in the front section of the paper features a man in a black ski mask below a large headline proclaiming: ''I Control Wall Street.'' A group calling itself NYSE Hostage claimed responsibility for the ad, but it is unclear who the group is.

A NYSE Hostage spokesman was not immediately available.

The New York Stock Exchange backed out of its agreement to list Life Sciences' shares on September. 7, only minutes before the opening bell. Exchange officials never provided a reason for the postponement, but people involved with the listing were harassed by animal rights activists trying to derail the research company's plan to trade on the NYSE.

The company, which does federally-mandated animal research for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, saw its shares plummet following the postponement and it was later forced to trade shares on the Pink Sheets, an over-the-counter market for stocks that do not to meet minimum listing requirements, or file with securities regulators. It has since stopped trading on the Pink Sheets as well.

Animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) has pledged to keep up the pressure until the company, parent of British-based Huntingdon Life Sciences, which has long been a target of UK animal rights activists, is shut down altogether.

A spokesman for the NYSE Group Inc, would not comment on the ad.

Richard Michaelson, Life Sciences' chief financial officer, said he ''has absolutely no idea'' who is behind the ad and the Web site address (www.nysehostage.com) that appears at the bottom of the page.

REUTERS