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Well said Terry - all they want is votes. No politicians care about anything else. Listened to Sir Keir - when asked direct questions he couldn’t answer any, probably was the same with Rishi.
Our politics and country is broken
I don’t think he’s even that bothered. He’s a successful businessman and won’t be losing any sleep of the t/o not going ahead. I bet he’s moved on and looking for the next deal.
If things don’t go the way Mitch sees this going him and the BOD are toast. I’ve been saying it since the KISTOS disaster that our BOD are useless - always patting themselves on the back of one deal. Time to move on and get someone who wants to grow the business with the interest of us sh at the heart.
I’ve said for a long time that our BOD are not up to the job. Fine in the early days and BKR was a massive result. You are now talking big league Company which, in my opinion, they are not able to run. It’s like going from conference to premier league in football terms.
After reading all the comments on here this deal is so unclear especially with MF’s answers on the analysts questions. I really cannot make a decision whether it is a good deal or not so a load more clarity is needed so we can all see the detail. You would think that the deal has been rushed through with no thought unless our BOD confirm further details. Without this, no one can really make a decision.
My issues on the face of it are as follows;
1) share dilution - why? That’s not benefitting shareholders. Explanation required.
2) why is Tailwind in debt. People might know this but I don’t know anything about them.
3) Where have the huge tax losses come from for Tailwind?
4) oil is about $80 a barrel and we are just about to enter a worldwide recession. What happens when the price goes down to $40 or lower? Isn’t there a chance that it would be loss making?
5) We’re taking on a pile of debt - not good in today’s environment when interest rates are increasing.
Loads more questions but these key points need answering.
Has MF got something else up his sleeve?
I wrote a post on this not too long back.
Cannot ever imagine our ageing board wanting to buy some other assets abroad. MF says so but then he's been on about a deal for 4+ yrs so I wouldn't hold your breath......
It’s amazing how our political system has gone to the wall.
We had labour calling for an additional WFT and because Rishi and Hunt are so weak accepted this. It’s almost like all politicians met round the table instead of coming up with their own policies.
You now have about 20 politicians from all sides saying that they will not be standing at the next election but happy to keep their £85,000 odd salary for now. Unheard of that you give 2 years notice to quit a job - just get gone. Then you have a couple more politicians having the whip suspended for being naughty. Our politics is in the sewer and nobody cares about Jo public all they want is votes to keep them in a job.
Any decent government would invest to grow but no chance now. In all this SQZ have been caught up in this game being played.
Bank deposit rate yep I agree. Only difference is that your capital deposit is not guaranteed with SQZ as it is with the bank and vice versa if sp was to increase. I wonder what kind of interest rate SQZ are getting on their money? With 500-600m I’d be wanting a top rate please.
Had a think about purchasing overseas and just cannot see this happening. Reasons as below:
Anyone on the board any experience in dealing with overseas assets?
Cost implication
Control - you’d probably have to set up an office abroad
Labour - local or fly people out
What are the tax rates like in other countries
Our board are ageing - can’t see anyone wanting to jet off around the world
So what MF and others like SQZ should do is not to buy one single licence which sticks up 2 fingers to the government. Unless that is the epl is changed.
When MF said he’d be looking overseas it just reminded me of all those years when he said that we were looking to acquire. What’s happened is nothing so I honestly don’t believe him for the reasons above.
A change at the top is required to a younger and more dynamic bod.
Aimo
The lack of understanding by politicians with regards to O&G companies is quite unbelievable. Even the media don’t get it. Every time bp and Shell announce record profits they call for a WFT - but we know that probably most of their profits are made outside of the UK so they will pay very little. It is amazing how you can influence the public with inaccurate facts. I did see that a labour politician say that the government could have done more and scrap the investment allowance in full. When we need more O&G to reduce prices what incentive does this give to any company operating in the ns? What has been said if prices go down and there is a ceasefire in Ukraine? There is a total lack of forethought in applying the additional conditions.
The fact sheet to explain the changes has been poorly worded and whoever wrote it should go back to school. I thought these people both Civil Servants and politicians were supposed to be educated??
The way I see it as follows:
Additional epl levy making a total of 75% up from 65%.
5 years of levy increased from 3
No mention of prices go back to normal will the epl levy not be applied
Investment allowance reduced to 29% from 90%
All the above should make investing in O&G companies a no go. Still cannot understand why Blackrock increased their position in us just before the budget - they must surely now regret this and look to sell down. Gas and electricity prices will probably increase and production reduced.
The only small shinning lights for us are:
Cash in the bank that will prop the sp up
NE could provide additional reserves and longer life
M&A activity will increase as most small companies simply won’t be able to make a profit.
If the NS O&G companies get together it will make it hard for the government not to listen.
It’s time for SQZ to look outside the NS or if they don’t want to do this is sell up. We have an ageing bod so would think that they will be more open to offers. You might also see the bod looking to cash in some of their share options in the short term. Our bod need a clear strategy and plan going forward.