SB ii4 May 2019 11:55
Fozze: “…SB, just a stab in the dark but it sounds like Zaza and Steve have transferred the assets around within their subsidiary companies meaning that Hope’s claim on the asset is in effect worthless. I assume this was all triggered because of the threat by maples.”
This is what Hope’s legal team has accused FRR management of trying to do but not sure if this fact or more spurious speculation. Whatever the case, even if they tried to do this, I feel it’s all tactical to bring Hope to a settlement. Clearly, whatever FRR are offering in money, Hope is not agreeing. If there is no money, perhaps they are requesting to reschedule the notes as FRR is very close to operational success but then if that was the case, they should started negotiating with him last year rather than waiting to purposely default. But to be fair, I don’t think there was any chance of a rescheduling as Mssrs Nicandros and Zaza had handed over personal g’tees, 500m shares and pre-signed resignation letters. On Hope’s side, it is evident from his stubbornness by not approving loans last year that he wanted FRR to fail so he could get his hands on the whole Block. But what he hasn’t considered carefully is that even if he succeeds to get his hands on the collateral, the Georgian Govt most likely will step in to take the block back and he will be left with years of legal battles through arbitration hearings to get the Block back.
One can only expect that sense prevails as there is a lot of money and reputations on the line.
JMO