NewLead Holdings Ltd. Receives NASDAQ Notification Letter Regarding Minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares Rule

PIRAEUS, Greece, Sept. 6, 2012

NewLead Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ: NEWL) ("NewLead" or "the Company") 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.

As of August 29, 2012, the reference date for NASDAQ, we had 38,969,814 common shares that are expected to be considered as Publicly Held Shares by the NASDAQ of the total 309,339,711 common shares outstanding.

About NewLead Holdings Ltd.
NewLead Holdings Ltd. is an international, vertically integrated shipping company that owns and manages product tankers and dry bulk vessels. NewLead currently controls four vessels, including two double-hull product tankers and two dry bulk vessels. NewLead's common shares are traded under the symbol "NEWL" on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. To learn more about NewLead Holdings Ltd., please visit the new website at www.newleadholdings.com.

Source: NewLead Holdings Ltd. press release