It has to be legally binding.
Bankruptcy procedures must be filed that accounts for liquidation of existing assets and which ones can be retained. Once filed, the filing has to be approved and a court date is set. Once the judge approves of the filing for bankruptcy, there could be a time set before it is effective. No, it is not simply issuing a public statement saying DCTH is filing for bankruptcy. Laws are in place to protect the company until it can be approved. That is my limited experience with companies I have invested in who have gone BK.
James
I currently own shares in a company who has gone bankrupt, the stock was supposed to be de-listed and shareholders given nothing but it still trades and investors are making money. A BK can be quite complicated.