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with a stream of bad news which we can all probably see coming, VAST could be 2p in 2 months, this is a distinct possibility.
classy barry, really classy..
'What did he pay for the BP mine under AP Mining?'
come on then answer your own question - I think I know the answer (so maybe not that naive - lol) but as you are so well informed then it should be no problem for you
Realtimerob - youre talking tosh 'to achieve the exact same outcome - to obtain free cash, he could, for example, just create a share award scheme instead' - his salary is already £265k and a share award scheme is already in place which nets him more, but not millions! His award of the 20% of BP 1.5bn shares at 0.0017p = £2.55m at the time (now 15m shares) is now worth £750k at 5p.
What did he pay for the BP mine under AP Mining? Hence why I think he or Roy Tucker might have sold on the way down, or the broker accumulated shares in anticipation. Regarding the legal aspect, I have already commented on that, FCA dont give a sh*t as it goes on ALL the time with much bigger companies.
Pecten11 - you can jog on too. You're obviously just as naive as Sandy.
I've already said I could be wrong and am just speculating. Who else has 1% or more to sell? Maybe its something to do with the Atlas loan, £145k sell could have been anyone in reality.
Barry, you need to grow up - 'find it insultive' ?? that's someone doesnt agree with your idea?
Sandy, imo, is correct. AP and RT may be many things but deliberately breaching their directors responsibilities would leave them liable for action.
If someone who had connection to the company is selling, then Mike Kellow would be a more likely candidate and he isn't bound by corporate law
barry: in this instance, it would also be a criminal offence, as I understand. The deadline for the annual report is 31 October and I believe the regulatory closed period is at least 14 days. This sale fell within that range. So just for reference, you're alleging a criminal offence as I see it, whereas I am not. In any case, my original post raised other issues that personally interest me more so I'm not dwelling on this further.
Possibly there's been forward selling and the broker been collecting shares in advance of the lock-in period ending, Shore Capital have one of the worst reputation in the City and again I dont trust them one bit.
I see from now and end of year a lot of news and sp volatility.
Sandy - I just think its a plausible explanation to the heavy selling and obviously I dont trust the directors, Roy Tucker has been milking this company for many, many years- over £100m in placings! I find it insultive that you cant even take this idea onboard and you pass it off as a 'silly idea'. And why you say in 'a hurry to sell'? I believe the selling started straight away and been drip-fed into the system, possibly an iceberg order. I could well be wrong with this idea and genuinely hope I am, but as always with Vast you have to think the worst and hope for the best.
barry: a director in such a hurry to sell that they breach their lock-in terms (which end soon anyway) would simply be another red flag. I don't know why you're so keen on the idea.
Sandy I think you need to get a grip of how unscrupulous AIM really is, the FCA turn a blind eye to so much. Just look at Neil Woodford and the hundreds of millions private investors lost in his fund and the fact Woodford has got away with it without any financial penalty or charges, in fact he's coming back with a new fund! Knowing already how AP has acted and lied in the past, you still trust him not to have sold any shares? Brian Basham has written several times to the FCA about Vast and they do nothing. Also its not always directors that are in lock-in its HNWI or companies asked to participate in pre-ipo.
barry: as regards Vast, that would be a breach of contract, and almost certainly a statutory liability on the part of any culpable director. I'm not indulging your silly idea.
Sandy - you really think directors (especially on AIM) have never sold shares before lock-in period ends? If you really believe this then you are very naive. Just look at Guild Esports as an example, lock period ended 27th Sept and share price like Vast has kept falling last 4 months from 8p to 4p, selling shares months before end of lockin period.
Tough couple of days. Woeful SP. A very hefty sell by someone who was clearly a major holder - though not someone who is subject to a lock-in period. (That suggestion is unnecessary.)
The market seems to have twigged that when AP went on camera in summer to say that they were still on track to turn BPPM itself cash positive in August, he was being his ever-optimistic self and that, in the absence of confirmation, this has potentially not happened. Well..., if they were close to it in August, they might have made it in September, so they might still churn the management accounts in time to put a confirmatory line about that into the post-period-end information in the forthcoming October report. That's the thing I'd most want to see. Profit beats mere revenue; and profit/revenue beat finance. Ultimately, this thing has to show it can make a profit.
Secondly, where is the confirmation about tying off the restructure of the Atlas finance? This remains a convertible with a settlement date of January 2022 until the restructure is executed. It's getting a little close now and the jitters are understandable.
Thirdly, how soon can the affairs of the Romanian subsidiary operations be cleaned up? Currently, Romania is the revenue- and profit-driver, not Africa. So having a bunch of unpaid bills and court judgments is a messy and unsatisfactory way to go, which does no good for bank finance. Who would even expect to get Tier 1 bank finance when your operating subsidiaries are tied up in court cases? Unfortunately, this is really absurd and makes me wonder whether AP is hopelessly naive about banks or whether the RNSs about banks were always just flannel that was never expected to pan out. (I hate to say this but really, how do you go talking to serious banks in this parlous condition?)
Fourthly, Africa. Zimbabwe has already been a money-pit to no purpose. Now Botswana threatening to be a money-pit too. For this to be anything other than a red flag, there needs to be executed finance on solid terms - not flimflam stories and convertibles. I do not rate the chances highly but would welcome a rabbit being pulled from the hat with a flourish.
When does Vast stop being about the fireside yarns and start being about making at least one mine run at a profit, while running the rest of the show cleanly and sensibly? Is this too much to ask? If it's too much for the current Board and management, could anyone still bothering to hold shares here do the decent thing and vote the current Board out, or could some other company kindly buy Vast out please?
If the October report shows BPPM still operating cash negative and the directors are re-approved at AGM, then shareholders deserve the SP they've got and whatever comes next.
Just IMO.