The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from WS Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.
London South East prides itself on its community spirit, and in order to keep the chat section problem free, we ask all members to follow these simple rules. In these rules, we refer to ourselves as "we", "us", "our". The user of the website is referred to as "you" and "your".
By posting on our share chat boards you are agreeing to the following:
The IP address of all posts is recorded to aid in enforcing these conditions. As a user you agree to any information you have entered being stored in a database. You agree that we have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic or board at any time should we see fit. You agree that we have the right to remove any post without notice. You agree that we have the right to suspend your account without notice.
Please note some users may not behave properly and may post content that is misleading, untrue or offensive.
It is not possible for us to fully monitor all content all of the time but where we have actually received notice of any content that is potentially misleading, untrue, offensive, unlawful, infringes third party rights or is potentially in breach of these terms and conditions, then we will review such content, decide whether to remove it from this website and act accordingly.
Premium Members are members that have a premium subscription with London South East. You can subscribe here.
London South East does not endorse such members, and posts should not be construed as advice and represent the opinions of the authors, not those of London South East Ltd, or its affiliates.
Look at the bright side, while the rest of the market crashes the price of this stays roughly at the offer price.
It's a new week, but I'm still fuming about this debacle. That's all. This chat board is my only therapy.
Jamstar I mean - I so want .....
I so want you to be right!
Totally agree @Jamstar! I like the sound of the 1st outcome!
No deal is happening at this price. There are only two outcomes 1) a coalition of institutions led by Coast bring in a new management team and a new board and accelerate US listing and R&D investment into the business or 2) an offer materializes at a more reasonable level. Either way, Kingdon's days are limited.
might squeeze a few more percent out but hard to see the take out price being where many thought/hoped it would be
Just reported a 5% stake. They bought derivatives (CFDs) to prevent the stock price spiking with trying to buy in such a large position. Interesting gamble to take without actually owning shares to influence voting.
Good on Coast Capital for actually saying the words "conflict of interest". That's huge to say that publicly, even if everyone with a brain who is paying attention sees it. Shareholders need to defend their investment, decline this terrible offer, and then go about cleaning house with the execs and BOD, and then list in the U.S.
This is the case study every MBA knows the right answer to. Surely, shareholders will come to their senses.
7% out of the 25% needed to kill this deal already confirmed. You can easily add another 5% against from retail as well. Btw TPG statement was very clear, they still reserve the right to make a bid if Vista falls through or if another bidder comes in. Private equity trying to stay friends and avoid a bidding war.
Well thank Christ there's some other people out there with sense in their heads.
(Reuters) -Activist investor Coast Capital said on Thursday it was planning to vote against U.S. private equity firm Vista Equity Partners' 1.1 billion pounds ($1.48 billion) bid for software developer Blue Prism Group.
Earlier this week, Blue Prism became the latest British takeover target by a private equity firm, a trend driven by cheap UK valuations following Brexit and the pandemic.
In a letter to the software firm's board, Coast Capital said it would encourage other shareholders to reject Vista's 1,125 pence per share offer, saying the bid undervalues the London-listed firm.
"The proposed transaction leads shareholders to question the board's clear conflict of interest in unanimously supporting a transaction which values the company materially below consensus valuation, 52-week high, and its average price since IPO," Coast Capital, which owns about 3 million Blue Prism shares, said.
Blue Prism, whose customers include automaker Daimler, eBay and Britain's NHS, said on Tuesday it plans to recommend shareholders vote in favour of the Vista bid, calling the terms "fair and reasonable".
Vista and Blue Prism declined to comment.
Blue Prism's shares closed flat on Thursday at 1,150 pence.
It wasn't even last year that Kingdon said that, guru. It was this February.
What a mother****er.
Don't put your faith in the system, pal. The only thing that will let us reach potential here is the shareholders rejecting this 'deal' and the board being ousted.
I'd like to see some ruthless businesspeople at the top of this PLC. Not these ten a penny jokers robbing a living in business class. ******* s. The whole BoD.
@Lsoc85, it's comforting to meet someone who curses as much as I have been the past couple days! :)
I agree with you though. It's the ineptitude of the management and the rampant conflict of interest, insider trading, and/or corruption that I just can't swallow. Let's recap:
1) CFO Ijoma Maluza gives overly optimistic guidance to the market regarding fiscal 2021 only to sell 95%+ of his shares immediately after his options unlocked in February 2021 conveniently right before the stock price started to slide. The price he sold at was 50% higher than the takeover bid he is now recommending that shareholders accept. He is now receiving a big piece of a 1M pound bonus that the executives will be receiving from Vista to go along with this terrible deal.
2) CEO Jason Kingdon was quoted last year saying that Blue Prism was MULTIPLES undervalued compared to its U.S. peers, and this was back before the stock really started sliding. Now, all of a sudden he thinks this is a great deal to recommend to shareholders. In addition, the only recent purchase he made was back when the stock was at 1,100 GBP. Funny how he agreed to 1,125 GBP buyout price so he doesn't lock in losses like the other shareholders. Hmm.
3) Maybe the worst of all, Murray Rode was brought in as an "independent" member of the board of directors in 2021. Mr. Rode is the Vice Chairman and former CEO of Tibco (the company Vista wants to roll Blue Prism into). To my knowledge, he holds very little Blue Prism stock, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that he maintains a **** load of Tibco stock. He was likely the ring leader setting up the deal with Tibco, and will benefit to an enormous degree by selling Blue Prism to Tibco for very cheap. His greed and doing what is best for himself and not the shareholders is pitiful.
It says in the offer document that the acquisition will not go through until all of the appropriate regulatory authorities approve it. I'm not sure what the laws are like in the UK are, but the SEC would not let this fly in the U.S. There are blatant conflicts of interest at a minimum, and maybe worse (fraud, corruption, insider dealings, etc.).
It's not the PLC that needs disposing of here, it's the ****ing management.
Imagine taking over a company two years since and ****ing it up to such an extent that you justify a sale against a FOUR YEAR LOW because it gives a c.30% premium on the price when the offer came in (i.e when the bid period started at the end of August).
Embarrassing and pathetic this Board of Directors. And that **** Kingdon, who somehow still got the backing of 65% of shareholders this March, is the most embarrassing and pathetic of the lot.
If this dreadful deal doesn't go through, Kingdon and his ****s need to **** off. Sharpish. They've failed.
Get someone in to cull the overheads and the incredible amount of middle managers and vice presidents in the business (just look at LinkedIn for all the meaningless job titles that exist in the PLC).
Invest in the actual tech that people believe in: the value accruing part of the business.
The BoD under Kingdon have been a ****ing shambles. Not a business head between the ****s.
Hello fellow Oldhamer... Yes, bouncing around but not a very wide range. Seems to me that the prospect of a higher bid is diminishing.
share price is bouncing about all over the place, market doesn't know what to do with us
HMI completely sold out now. Shame to lose the second largest shareholder who had 6%+. Indicates they don't want to fight the offer and/or could no longer see eye to eye with the board/ management.
I'm out, it has been an interesting, if ultimately a very disappointing journey...
@Break possibly, but for the board to recommend Vista means no viable alternative has reached a late stage yet. I reluctantly trimmed my position down by 30% at 1160 once the TPG news was made
Themselves! is the answer to that one.
The market is quite clearly saying that the present offer is too low.
What were the BoD thinking of?
Maybe this could be a turning point. The biggest owners don't accept the bid, BoD is changed and then listing at Nasdaq.
30 £ in a year
There must be another buyer in the picture now, otherwise, this would have gone through the floor after the TPG announcement
David Brown, portfolio manager at Hawk Ridge Capital Management, said in an interview he is supportive of the company being sold, but not at the 1,125 pence a share price.
“It is a very low price based on our analysis of comparable companies and transactions,” Brown said.