Member Info for addicknt

Oke, what it shows is that discussions are ongoing and are obviously serious. If they weren't, we'd have seen an RNS. Mind you, there's no certainty a deal will emerge...egos are involved. Fingers crossed!

Kyk, absolutely right. An mbo allows him a second roll of the dice and given his loathing of public markets you'd assume he's doing everything he can to come to terms with Apollo.

NM supported the merger and, by implication, we can infer he supports the current direction of travel. This was a huge step for him as it represented a complete break from the past. Whilst he may have been able to dictate matters when DC was in charge, life has now changed and the axis of power has shifted firmly away from the old guard - thank heavens.

Just as a reminder, both Clare and Caldwell divi'd up $200k in December. I'm certain they did this knowing the whole thing was a total s**t show.

Well said, RK.

"I don't think there ever was a firm t/o..." no there wasn't. The RNS is perfectly clear - it's a preliminary approach and is no guarantee of a firm offer. However, to suggest it's "all just games by MM" is total nonsense. If it was he'd have been arrested by now and Apollo would be suing his backside off.

needalife, I'm fully aware of the political risk and over the years have never been slow to refer to it. Neither do I think it's sensible to ignore it. But it needs to weighed against all other factors and sometimes I get the impression you focus too much on the negative, which, given the history of this company, is easy to do.
However, I'm putting my faith in what I believe is a totally different approach by our new management. This is not the old SOLG and I'm prepared to give them the time to deliver on their promises. If I wasn't, I'd have already sold.

Careful, Max. You're talking common sense, which some people have a problem with.
It's interesting to see how frustration is turning into hysteria.

Talatum, even if there isn't a buyer, why would they call administrators?

Thanks, DBW. It surprises me that some people appear not to understand this point. The radio silence should provide comfort, not concern.
Mind you, it would be helpful to have some news as to what else is going on. Do you recall DC saying he was going to slow down the newsflow? It didn't happen, but the new guys seem to be religiously pursuing that path.

Yes there is. Sue Farr appointed senior NED. She's there to make sure a "fair and reasonable" deal is done.

Leave 50m in the plc, raise another 25m and a 100 for 1 consolidation. The option beneficiaries will then really have to earn their keep to create value over the coming years. Of course, there's the 'minor' issue of the royalty debt, which I guess will go with Cascabel, thus reducing the amount a buyer will pay.
The truth is I don't have a scoobie which will way this will go - none of us do. Each possible route has advantages and disadvantages and perhaps the cleanest and best option is simply to sell the whole thing, although we'll get the square root of fa for the regionals.
In the meantime my attention has been focussed on THG. For the first time in ages, last Monday I decided to have a punt and took advantage of the strange delay in the market reaction to the weekend press commentary. I think there was about an hour delay between the market opening and the significant price rise, which created a nice opportunity for private punters. As far as corporate shenanigans go, THG takes some beating.

Divi out the proceeds, or most of them. This should satisfy everyone.

Bozi, they'd sell the subsidiary and leave the regionals in the plc. A standard transaction. The value of Cascabel will be negotiated and as Mather has said, it'll be valued on the asset not the sp...Hopefully.

Bozi, I'm not sure I can see the point of spinning out the regionals and selling SOLG as an entity. Why not simply sell Cascabel and keep the regionals under the SOLG entity? If this is what they're thinking it would offer another explanation of why options are being granted in the plc. It would also avoid the hassle of establishing another plc and would keep the accumulated losses on the balance sheet, which will helpful for the future.

Bozi, precisely - although I'm a bit more optimistic about the exit price than you!

Moulding lead a buy-out?

Random thoughts:

1. Apollo, or indeed any other pe house, need MM to lead an mbo.
2. MM couldn't have been more straightforward in terms of his frustrations with the public arena.
3. An mbo gives MM the opportunity to roll the dice again.
4. The chances of success hinge on the NEDs and company's advisors being happy any deal is 'fair and reasonable', which, given every thing that's been said, will have to be at a significant premium to the current price.
5. Other pe houses may enter the fray and offer MM better terms for the management team. A bidding war would ensue with our advisors running the process.

This company cannot remain as a public company. Moulding has the chance to make a huge amount of money again by rolling his shares over into the new acquisition vehicle. The only question is will he be able to cope with the interference and demands of a pe house, which are far more stringent than coping with public company investors? He will be doing the rounds with other interested parties trying to extract a better deal for himself and his team and he will have appointed advisors to represent him.
This situation has a pe led mbo written all over it and it's difficult to see why something wouldn't emerge...unless MM gets too greedy.

One thing's for sure, if they haven't delivered some real shareholder value between now and them seeking approval I won't vote in favour of anything which gives them more options/remuneration etc.

DM, because they are designed to give him a good return in the short term and are instead of an exit related bonus. At least that's my theory.

The clue is in the exercise price. If these were genuine long term options the price would have been set at a far more ambitious target.