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Hi Synic,
I would be interested to know if you have you had a reply yet from your 11 Aug letter to ITV investor relations? Cheers.
Sorry, FCA will tell you it’s all legal.
Hi smalltrader
Don’t get your hopes up on a reply, other than a polite comment that tells you nothing. You’d only get some feedback if you were on the register as owning 5% of the company. And that would be an off the record meeting in person. If what is going on is legal then they can do nothing, and making public statements (including a private correspondence) would not help them, it might give the market the impression that something was wrong. So a policy of silence on share machinations is probably best.
The FCA are a toothless organisation, but you might want to ask them whether the GS/Liberty arrangement is tantamount to market manipulation? Given that these organisations are lawyered up the answer is likely to be yes.
I’m just going to sit and watch this play out. I reckon ITV will post increasingly better results going forward and I’ll wait for the cycle to change.
In the meantime Liberty Global has paid twice the value of ITV for a much smaller and much less profitable company. An indication of the value in ITV. You’ll need the patience of a saint.
Emailed ITV using 4 different email IDs. Alex, Nice, 5Heights can you also email pls? The more the merrier.
looks like It wasn't Goldman yesterday
ITV PLC Paloma Partners Management Company 0.62% 0.11% 10 Aug 2020
"I’d love to know in detail what they are doing but doubt I ever will. So we can only speculate, but that’s not evidence of anything."
I agree Alex, the only way we will ever know is if there is a bid, then again we won't be 100% sure, but as sure as eggs is eggs.
Just checked up the figure stated was indeed 192p and not 178p per share.
"analysts recently have said that at less than 192p a share, there would be asset strippers or a management buyout, in other words a bidding war."
I share your frustration. If Goldman Sachs have been manipulating the share price as we all suspect I really don’t know why such activity should be permitted in a trading exchange. I’m not sure ITV will make any comment on it, as it seldom helps when management teams comment on shorting activity. They’re job, as they see it, is to run the business without reference to what the market is doing ... and that’s probably as it should be.
I’d love to know in detail what they are doing but doubt I ever will. So we can only speculate, but that’s not evidence of anything.
"Wow Synic, I tip my hat to you !"
I agree, well done that man. I also agree that the board of directors know what's going on with GS, but sadly are powerless to stop it.
I read somewhere that the management would fight against any low-ball takeover bid for ITV anything less that 178p per share, that management would be prepared to offer a management buyout at this price if needed, I hope this is true. This would give some comfort to long suffering shareholder like myself.
Wow Synic, I tip my hat to you ! That's a very well worded and constructed email but sadly I don't think you'll receive too much of a response, if any at all that is . I do hope I'm wrong but as everyone knows this trading exercise by GS has nothing to do with the ITV board, although the board will no doubt be fully aware of what's going on behind the scenes.
All the posts on the other chat forum are now clued up about the antics of GS and personally I can't see the stock trading down to those mid 50p levels again as there were some big buyers around last week and GS don't want any of that at all, especially as everyone can now see what they're up to, even to the extent of fleecing their own clients from 90p after issuing an upgrade to ITV shares from 88p to 96p just a few days earlier.
They've bought back some of their short this morning and I expect this will continue and personally I don't think a bid is too far away now as there seems to be a lot more 'talk' this week.
No need to sweat the small stuff here but equally I understand your frustration as well, lets hope the investor relations team at ITV can also offer us some degree of comfort although I suspect they will be largely silent.
Would anyone like to cut and paste my email to ITV investor relations, the more the merrier. Don't know whether they ever check the inbox but will let you know if I get a reply.
Feel free to correct my logic or add your own.
_______________________________________
investor.relations@itv.com
Goldman Sachs share price manipulation
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a distressed investor who would like to know what the Board and Senior Management are doing to stop Goldman Sachs destroying ITV.
GS have interest in 20% of ITV shares by way of share borrowing, CFD's, Puts and Calls. This has given them carte blanch to sell and Buyback ITV shares to the tune of £2+ million shares a day at zero risk while making £100,000 per day upwards. They do not register as major shareholders but have the power to sell the company to Liberty or any USA Funds waiting in the background to pounce. The governer of the BOE has said that shorting is not affecting the stock market so there is no need for a ban, so currently no help from them or the government who are otherwise occupied. My fear and probably that of other investors is that any bid will be under £1 and will succeed leaving retail investors, many like myself sitting on 70% loss, taking a hit of 50%. This scenario will no doubt be great news for Dame Carolyn as she will walk away with £m's or move higher up the corporate ladder.
Last year share brokers were estimating the ITV back catalogue was worth £4 to £5billion. The company is now worth only £2.9bn and about to drop out of the Ftse100. Also with the cancellation of dividends for the foreseeable future, small investors like me are thinking the management are asleep on the job or totally incompetent.
I have scoured the latest results for any mention of action but find only Human Rights, diversity etc. which will not pay my bills.
May I suggest immediate actions might be:
1. Share buybacks to stop GS taking money out.
2. Lobby government to ban shorting and foreign company takeovers until 2022
3. Maybe a government golden share in lieu of corporate taxation until the current crisis is over.
4. Suspension of staff share options until the share price is back at £2.
5. As the ITV back catalogue is clearly now a decreasing asset, sell/auction it to Netflix/Comcast/Disney etc. Pay a special £1 dividend with the proceeds and get on rebuilding the company without the constant threat from corporate raiders.
So I'm not the professional businessman but as an investor in your company I would expect action and a clear statement of intent to block any takeover by fair means or foul from Dame Carolyn.
Regards
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
PS. If you have a secret cunning plan, a clear public statement without giving details would stop the rot. Please don't spend more money on city advice, you are paid enough to work it out yourself.
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