NewLead Receives NASDAQ Notification Letter of Non-Compliance

NewLead Holdings NEWL today announced that on August 30, 2012 the Company received a written notification from The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC ("NASDAQ") indicating that the Company is not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(b)(3)(C) for continued listing on The NASDAQ Global Select Market because the Market Value of the Company's Publicly Held Shares ("MVPHS") was below $15,000,000 for the previous 30 consecutive business days. In accordance with the NASDAQ Listing Rules, the Company has been granted a 180-day compliance period to regain compliance with the requirements of the NASDAQ Listing Rules. The compliance period for the MVPHS requirement ends on February 26, 2013. During the compliance period, the Company's common shares will continue to be listed and traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. Pursuant to its discussions with the NASDAQ, the Company intends to regain compliance with the MVPHS requirement by furnishing updated information regarding the Company's principal stockholders in a Form 6-K. It is anticipated that the information in such Form 6-K will show that the Company had maintained compliance with the MVPHS requirement as of August 29, 2012.