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KIST will also have to pay the WFT for their North Sea Total asset, so that doesn’t fully explain why KIST is up and SQZ is down today
You're welcome, chinch - you're right re: your last para presenting an additional risk, possibly, for the UK O&G operators which probably explains the drift back in SQZ's sp this morning in contrast to KIST's further rally in theirs... sasa.
Thank you Sasa,
Stuck with SQZ for all these years but as I have said I think a change of direction is required and needed. Grateful for what I’ve earned and only right to take profit. Still invested and cannot rule out buying back in.
Still have other holdings including Aviva which has had a nice rise today - Amanda Blanc and a powerful management team shows what can be done.
The meeting this morning with all the big O&G companies spells danger to me. Expecting some kind of additional levy or tax to come.
Atb
Hi NormaS - "This is hilarious" you say - you're quite right, 'cos the pathetic mood swings we've seen from some on here since last night's conclusion, not to mention the intense hostility towards our BoD for having made the right decision, imv, beggars belief but there you go...
'C'est la Vie', I suppose - sasa.
Hi chinch - well, at least Serica has helped you to retire early, despite their obdurate management which has been consistent throughout your long involvement with the co - so, presumably, you'll be grateful for that...
ATB with your retirement plans, anyway - sasa.
FF,
"Dont get why some are angry we didn't buy Kist ?.."
That was not the issue ..... I never wanted us to buy KIST but I would have sold if a deal had been agreed for ~550p/s with vast majority of it in cash. That's now today's chip paper, SQZ need to move forward, prove themselves and to us, capable of another deal, transformational would be all the better and soon, otherwise, in meantime go heavy on PR and get our SP to a more reflect price to stop anymore chancer's. Having ~£500m cash and equivalents on our books will not go un-noticed for long now AA has placed us under the spotlight.
aimo & dyor
Dont get why some are angry we didn't buy Kist ? We didn't need them in the first place (IMV) its the production we want not an expensive and messy take over ,and there's plenty on offer , BP, Shell, farm outs from CHAR,PMG among others . If the BOD dont get going now they must realise their days are numbered . Other predators will be watching for sure , at least they know they wont get it too cheap and if NE is successful I would hope the next T/O offer starts with a 6 not a 5 !
ATB
TI,
"Share price was only £3.05 before the deal was first announced..."
Nice to see vultures moving in .... aside from fact we were vastly undervalued at that point :
We have since added ~£50m cash, moved one month closer to NE results and interim's in September and possibly that all elusive 'special dividend' too.
Cash and equivalents now >50% of MCap with zero debt. Whilst it remains so, we remain vulnerable, that hasn't changed, regardless of how poorly or well ACW, viewed the last month.
aimo & dyor
Might be in for some short term pain here.
Share price was only £3.05 before the deal was first announced.
Could drop back close to that. Will be a good opportunity.
QC,
"The issue here is a lack of engagement in a process that they have indicated is of strategic importance to their own company. If KIST's offers were a joke then what was SQZ's offer to acquire KIST? If it is true that SQZ's BOD failed to engage even in following up their own takeover offer, this suggests they just want to get on with running SQZ as a 'lifestyle' company...."
"For many years several of us long-time posters gave the BOD the benefit of the doubt when it came to M&A. We ascribed their inaction to discipline and patience where it now looks (to me) like, if I am being charitable, they lack the skills and experience to succeed in the competitive M&A space and, if I am being uncharitable, want to keep their noses in the trough..."
Nothing I can add, agree fully.... ACW et al, prove to us shareholders otherwise, that said, what role exactly did our 'advisors', Rothschild & Co play in this fiasco too !!
Half decent sleep last night, head re-set ready to go again ....
aimo & dyor
I've been consistent all along on this episode - critical of BOD
I posted 19th July:
My fear is that no deal will happen and AA walks away with an ageing bod just being able to do what they like and protect their own interests by way of additional shares. Bod have said they don’t want to go to main market yet but AA would take us into the 250.
Excellent buying opportunity if it does
Chich
"Reading between the lines ...."
I'm on Black Bottle. What are you drinking?
AB (And do yer own research, Bud.)
Why get out and retire. Retire to what and what is a good price. If you are seriously considering retirement why not take the dividends as part of your retirement pot in the knowledge that this is a debt free company with a solid balance sheet and a board that will not take undue risks. Also have you missed that debt is becoming more deer by the day.
Serica are debt free ..
Good luck with that “decent price” tomorrow Cinch, reckon we open up 15-20% down, back to sub 260p
Norma
Lot of angry shareholders. Better out than in. Half of them don't know if they are going for a sh**, a shave, or a haircut.
AB
This is hilarious. “We hate AA, don’t sell the company to him”. Curtain comes down. “”We hate our Board. They’re asleep at the wheel, blah blah. This is what I think BlackRock will do.”
Comedy gold tonight.
Sasa,
Reading between the lines our BOD have dismissed the KIST offer out of hand with no negotiation even though they said they could see the logic. Why would AA make this up or effectively lie - he would have no reason to as he wanted a deal.
My point is that if no discussions took place then how do we all know what our BOD wanted. Interesting to see if any meetings took place which reading from the RNS does not. Yes I am assuming but it all plays up to our BOD wanting to keep their nose in the trough. No counter offer and not even a second offer from us just tells you that the BOD didn't want to negotiate in any form.
If I can get a decent price tomorrow I'm out. Made a very decent amount here which has meant early retirement at the age of 52. Shame to lose it all to an abject BOD.
ATB
QC - straight to the jugular. Nice. :0)
In my opinion - Kist offers were/are a joke. Why ? Stalking horse?
SQZ BoD - let's hear the story from you, please., and what is now proposed to grow the business and distribute value to shareholders.
I agree with NO SHARE BUY BACKS.
To potential suitors - I agree with "It starts with a 5" based on the present valuations.
QC - The BoD get a "lifetime pass on anything they might do wrong". Eh? Behave yourself.
All in my humble opinion. Look into your own crystal ball (chuck). :0)
Aren't some lth still adding. Surely that tells you something
NewKOTB/Chinch, fully agree with your posts and echo your frustration. The issue here is a lack of engagement in a process that they have indicated is of strategic importance to their own company. If KIST's offers were a joke then what was SQZ's offer to acquire KIST? If it is true that SQZ's BOD failed to engage even in following up their own takeover offer, this suggests they just want to get on with running SQZ as a 'lifestyle' company.
I also do not agree with the line of argumentation that 'they did BKR so they get a lifetime pass on anything they might do wrong' from idiotic hedging to a lack of strategic direction to M&A inactivity... that's not the mentality that has built great companies. If Steve Jobs gave a pass to every engineer who produced a subpar idea merely because at some point he/she did something notable we'd still be phoning each other on Nokias ...
For many years several of us long-time posters gave the BOD the benefit of the doubt when it came to M&A. We ascribed their inaction to discipline and patience where it now looks (to me) like, if I am being charitable, they lack the skills and experience to succeed in the competitive M&A space and, if I am being uncharitable, want to keep their noses in the trough.
All in my opinion only and please do your own research.
Excellent posts sasa43. You approach matters far better than ever i would , but i do hold the same views. As i do with some points other lth have raised recently, but like you i am baffled as to why they have lost their resolve today.
chinch - there are many assumptions here in your post, I'd have to say...
That AA is a successful deal maker isn't disputed; that was much of the problem, I suspect. He first approached Serica, if I recall, with a 'low ball, then reduced it on his second 'improved terms' if you work it out, rather than increasing it, which is odd, to say the least...
Unless, of course, you think it's a good idea to largely assist a buyer to buy your business, well below par, with your own money? Maybe, you missed that aspect of his novel approach, too?
How do you know Serica never discussed this deal with Kistos; just because AA said so? Also, you don't know whether Serica indicated a price they were prepared to consider doing a deal at any more than I do.
Perhaps, AA couldn't afford a realistic price to pay, bearing in mind they're half the size of us, in terms of Mkt cap, energy production, operator ship, CoH, etc., - apart from Serica's seemingly lethargic approach to their, almost forgotten, M&A policy and I do agree with that criticism, there was very little synergy to be gained from such a merger that I could see, anyway.
Might not you be better off selling this poorly run outfit then, in exchange for more 'go go' Kistos shs - maybe AA will be luckier next time... sasa.
messer3,
"Far better to be seeking a deal with an ever growing bag of cash..." do you not see that is why we are in the situation we find ourselves today. AA will not be the last to see our cash as a free option, cash is net equal in any t/o, whilst it makes up >50% of our MCap ACW will need to continuously look over his shoulder.
SQZ Achilles' heel is their ability to do deals, outside of ACW BP's connections, SQZ have not completed an acquisition , if I'm correct, for over a 10 years.... what will it take for this to change.
aimo & dyor
Maybe management has had 5 years to do a deal but SQZ only started accumulating serious cash about 9 months ago. Far better to be seeking a deal with an ever growing bag of cash. The time to start chiding SQZ management if they haven't done a 'big deal' is probably at the year end when the cash balance could be £X00 mln and the Egg result will have been assessed. Meantime, if people are angry/disappointed because they won't secure any cash from the ill-fated Kistos deal, they can always sell some SQZ and, if they so wish, invest in Kistos.