Member Info for dickupham

You seem to be very confused, RR. I'd normally be pleased to help you understand basic economics, but the dearth of your knowledge is such that it would be impossible. As a general pointer, you'd be wise not to accept at face value everything that's being spread by the media with a view to unseating this government (led of course by the BBC).

Inflation busting dividends paid by Shell??

Aggregate dividends (paid and proposed) in 2022 were $1.0375 per share vs $0.89 in 2021 - up 16%. But in the four years prior they were:
2020:$0.65
2019: $1.88
2018: $1.88
2017: $1.88

So...............from $1.88ps in 2017 to $1.0375 today. Inflation busting? I haven't checked whether or not there were any "capital events" that might have impacted on the level of dividends paid, but on the face of it I'd hardly call what shareholders have been paid exciting. At $1.0375p a share, Shell is yielding 3.47%. I assume you understand what the various terms mean but, if not, you can always ask an adult who knows something about investing.

As for Shell's net income:
https://reports.shell.com/annual-report/2020/strategic-report/strategy-business-and-market-overview/selected-financial-data.php
https://reports.shell.com/annual-report/2015/strategic-report/selected-financial-data.php

Yes, the bottom line profit in 2022 was exceptional, but you'll note that over the last 12 years the good years have made up for the mediocre and bad ones. T'was always thus in the O&G industry. Selectively take away the good years and see how long O&G companies remain in the NS working for nothing. As a matter of fact, many NS participants have indicated to Government that they'd have no objection to a WFT - if it was a genuine and fair one. But what's been introduced is anything but. The EPL is here to stay (until 2028 according to Sunakhunt but can anyone sane see Labour abolishing it when it gets in?).

What the O&G companies object to is the absense of a floor in the price of oil & natural gas, below which the punitive 75% tax rate wouldn't apply. But Sunakhunt won't do it? Why? Because it might (ie would) make him unpopular with the masses (ie people like you who don't understand).

Hunt has a chance to at least make a small move in the right direction by setting a floor on March 15th. But I doubt he will. Why? Because the price of Brent Crude today is about 20% less pb than it was when Russia invaded Ukraine ($79 vs $94). UK Natural gas even lower (150ppt vs 322ppt). There have been spikes in those 12 months, which the traders on the derivatives side have been able to take advantage of by locking in future prices. It's a complicated business I struggle to understand fully, but at least I get the gist of it. You've got no chance, Robsroom.

I don't read the Daily Mail and Im not wedded to a political party btw. I always vote for the party that's likely to cause me the least damage. The last few have done a great job: https://www.usdebtclock.org/world-debt-clock

You come across as an unpleasant individual JB. Did something happen to make you so vindictive?

I'm not suggesting anything, MPO818 - merely passing on the thoughts of a fellow-shareholder, with which I happen to concur.

fwiw I wouldn't sign an agreement if I was in the driving seat, with the Budget just around the corner, given the unpredictable way the d.ickheads in the Conservacommie Party have been behaving in their insincere and unprincipled quest for popularity and votes from the great unwashed.

I've only ever aspired to shelf-stacking in supermarkets, mostly night shift 8pm to 4am (plus a bit of moonlighting when I've been extra hard up in the 24 hr Spar shop in North Hill and once or twice at Londis a couple of miles down the lane) so my views probably aren't up to much. If I were you I'd do the opposite.

II was hoping to go to Paignton tomorrow to see my elderly aunt who used to run a Post Office there (she often sends me postal orders) but it's a bit chilly and my back is killing me. At the rate I'm declining I'll probably be dead before I get any fun out of my super-long-term holding in JOG. I was hoping to use some of the money to be a real nuisance to a few people I've encountered on the way to the pavement of despair I seem to have ended up falling onto. It's probably for the best.........................

One day, Rodney.

Have a good weekend all. Enjoy the rugby.........

"On 15 March 2023, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, will deliver his first Spring Budget. The Statement will be delivered alongside a full forecast from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility"................

Question:
If you were the CEO or chairman of a big oil company which was considering signing a contractual agreement with another party/ies lasting 30 years, involving billions of pounds and thousands of jobs...........
....... given everything that's been going on in the UK oil and gas industry as a result of the crowd-pleasing socialist objectives of the Conservative Government and the catastrophic effect it has had on Britain's future - with the single redeeming feature being the availability of concessionary tax relief that enables investment in new oil & gas developments to be made for an effective 9p in the £ from a cash perspective; and with Jeremy Hunt and the "ever so eager to please" Mr Big Ears already having twice changed their minds about imposing a so-called "windfall tax" on the industry and how hard to hit it:
(1. "We would never consider imposing such a tax; it would be unConservative"
2. "We think a temporary WFT of 35% should be charged for a short period".............is anyone in the Red Wall constituencies listening??
3. "Was that not loud enough? OK - we'll make it an extra 45% and permanent...........will you vote for us now?" ............)

................would you sign it a few weeks before a Budget you knew was scheduled for 15 March in which the unpredictable ignorant and morally vacuous Chancellor was going to outline his and Mr BE's latest thoughts on how best to further damage a country most of us at one point believed was the best in the world in which to live..............

.................or would you wait until it was clear the assault on Britain's O&G industry would not get worse

Unlike the constipated mathematician, you wil not need a pencil to work it out.

It's just a theory - I don't say it's right. A fellow-shareholder alerted me to it - I'm just the scribe.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paint+it+black&rlz=1C2CHBF_en-GBGB985GB1009&newwindow=1&sxsrf=AJOqlzX_psGRL2EgVbHqOYLiyJ4ySQAv5A%3A1675441282080&source=hp&ei=gjTdY6LPAo-W8gKGo5X4Dg&iflsig=AK50M_UAAAAAY91Ckp1QK1Tmquz0eDzbJxky9appaGFG&gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zcsNM0qLDA3szBg9OIrSMzMK1HILFFIyklMzgYAifEJYg&oq=paint+it+black&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIICC4QgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMggILhDUAhCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQ6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOgsIABCABBCxAxCDAToICAAQgAQQsQM6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDOgsILhCABBDHARDRAzoLCC4QsQMQgwEQ1AI6CAguELEDEIMBOhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzoRCC4QgAQQsQMQgwEQxwEQrwE6CAgAELEDEIMBOg4IABCABBCxAxCDARDJAzoOCC4QgAQQsQMQxwEQrwE6CwguEIAEEMcBEK8BUABY-CNggUloAHAAeACAAesFiAH8IJIBDTEuNC4zLjMuMS4xLjGYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:0bbd36c3,vid:5wCUlPNlQuA

"I suspect many wished they had been more fearful when AB was so excited and reassuring about the verbier appraisal. Eh, Dick".

Shows how little you know (or indeed understand) Johnny B. .........Equinor was the operator and decided where to drill the appraisal well - not JOG. Although nothing was said at the time, it was pretty clear to me JOG's choice of location would have been different.

I see "Verbier Deep" is regarded as a promising prospect.

dyor

Stop exaggerating, zeus. I didn't wish you a car accident - I wished you an early transmission failure (ie a breakdown), preferably at around 4.30am on the M25. As punishment, I'm now upgrading that to the M62 in mid winter when there's a howling easterly. It should be reasonably clear even to you that there was no malice in my comment - call it a warped sense of humour if you like - we're all different . And the term "low-life" often comes to my mind. It's up to you how you interpret this. If the cap fits and all that.

You're unlikely to do well in your investment activities if you base your decisions on 18 months-old videos made by people with no credibility. In this in instance a clueless individual who chose to rely on the opinions of one supposed "industry expert" who didn't want to be identified. The so-called "industry expert" can't have had sight of any of the data the tinpot outfit Schlumberger and the many industry consultants and JOG's own experienced team spent 32,000 hours producing, after studying 36 years of production history. All this work was done in the full knowledge that the results (170mmboe of 2C resources) would be subject to rigorus technical due diligence by extremely competent people in a number of different companies before any kind of farm out could be contemplated.

I base my confidence in a successful farm out (or possibly outright sale) on being explicitly told the DD would be completed by all interested parties by the end of October 2022. The 29 November RNS and CEO's comments then followed a month later. AB's comments left little room for doubt. If a farm out is not secured by 31 March AB will surely have to go? His credilbility would be shot to pieces regardless of any reasons (eg Government incompetence and dishonesty; Labour are even worse) for failing to achieve what he as good as promised.

There are no certainties in oil & gas, particuarly at the junior end of the scale. I welcome well-researched arguments by those whose views differ to mine. But I don't react well to either ill-informed or unintelligent commentary by people who have spent precious little time understanding the company they claim to suddenly be interested in, or imv have an ulterior motive in posting what amounts to drivel. Anyone can make a video and put it up on YouTube. The investment world is full of so called ANALysts who don't understand even the basics about investment. Yet people like you take whatever they say (even though it's woefully outdated) as fact. Don't tell me: Simply Wall Street has no equal and the Motley Fool is full of people who make Warren Buffett seem like a beginner.

Talking of WB: "Price is what you pay; value is what you get".........
..........."Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful"

A bit daft asking me why a few sellers have emerged of late. Maybe they're fearful?

I wish you well with your future investments

dyor

...........how will they get 200m ($ or £) from a farm out, RR? Are you suggesting JOG will remain operator?

The way I've read things is that JOG might be looking to take on 2 partners, one bigger than the other. There has been said to be multi party interest in the FO. The best way to get the oil ashore will have been conceptually different for each of the interested parties. The outfit/s chosen to move forward with will have been selected by JOG, after thoroughly evaluating the concepts put forward by each of the interested parties and deciding, on balance which is the most practicable (and by inference best for JOG).

One thing I am certain of is that JOG will not, after all the risk, time, effort and setbacks along the way, settle for anything less than what is in shareholders' best long term interests. Looking at things logically, the major party farming in ( at least) will be expected to furnish JOG with enough cash to allow it to continue until the oil starts to flow, without having to go back to the market for more. Alternatively (or in addition) it might make sense to acquire a producing interest in an existing NS field to provide income. JOG's P&L account (assuming a 25% retention of the licences) when the oil starts coming out at 30kboepd+ is enough to make one's eyes water. With very little capex to recover and opex at around $10-15pb - and with oil prices set to increase significantly (in most informed people's view - I use $80 for illustration) try (all US$): 7500 x 350 (allowing for 15 days pa downtime) x 65 (BC less opex pb). I make that $170m bottom line - say £135m.
EPS £4 a share. OK - discount it back to NPV and double the opex. It's still eye-watering.

The big worry is politicians. They could kill everything with their incompetence and dishonesty.

50%:25%:25% would be my best guess on how the GBA licences might be split, with the 50% (not JOG) being operator. I'm only guessing.

News could land at any time...........

NS - the way I see it is that, on completion, SQZ gets to pick up Tailwind's net assets except the cash on hand at 31/12/21 (c.£58m), plus any increase in the period between 01/01/2022 and completion date. Thereafter SQZ (combined with Tailwind) is a much bigger fish, banging out more production and bottom line profit that turns into cash. It's common in M&As (as you of course know) for vendors to retain pre-acquisition cash; in this case the date set was 31/12/21, which is presumably when some kind of commitment was made that a T/O would follow.

None of the above changes the measurements the market uses to determine if a deal represents value. "Rule of thumb" multiples are applied in the O&G sector, the most important of which, to me anyway, are the price paid per boe and extraction cost. O&G companies aren't generally valued on their net asset value "NAV", although it's in SQZ's favour that it will be getting the benefit of any increase in Tailwind's NAV between 1/1/2022 and completion date, subject to the £58m adjustment for cash. No adjustment is proposed (that I can see) for longer term debt, said to be £272m at 30 November 2022. Cash in hand and debt (combined) on completion will refect the cash that's been generated between 1/1/2022 and completion date. Given Tailwind is generating a fair amount of cash, it's reasonable to expect a reduction in debt between 30 November 2022 and completion date (April 2023), plus maybe an increase in cash as well, given capital spend in the relevant period hasn't been highlighted.

So, what what is (or will be) the true acquisition cost in April when the deal is signed? In reality, the dilution shareholders will have suffered on the issue of 111m shares @£2.78.

I'm probably miles out with my thinking but that's how it looks to me. The market is probably factoring the increased number of shares in issue, along with SQZ's reduced cash and assumption of debt into its valuation of SQZ shares. But does this take into account the significantly increased profits that are expected to accrue, the improved management of risk and the opportunities SQZ's directors have told us the acquisition of TW will provide?

It doesn't look that clear cut to me.

What has concerned me all along - and continues to do so - is the control that's been given to Mercuria and its founders. Shareholders are clearly at risk of M taking the enlarged SQZ private for a derisory price. For ACW and MF to have basically just said: "we trust these guys" is imv a dereliction of duty to shareholders at large that exposes them all to risk of significant loss.

Not sure any of the above is either totally valid or will be of interest to the average investor.

jmofwiwdyor

PS NPV is the measure that is usually applied in this industry. It's main failing is that values depend on assumptions used, all of which are in the future. Regardless, SQZ should have asked its brokers to come up with some numbers - both before and after

You reputation isn't going to be up to much either, when you're proved to be utterly and hopelessly wrong, Johnny B.

I suppose you might respond the same applies to mine if it's the other way around, so to save you the troble of responding, I agree.

Do you actually own any investments, or does persistently dissing other people's bring you some kind of twisted pleasure?

NKOTB: Tailwind's 2021 accounts might help throw some light on the matter:

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/EtUh60n4VVwlOPquJEQ8hK1Gpj6bP5BFNZTlyS3RpcM/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3HJGIGBVT%2F20230130%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20230130T095347Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEA4aCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJHMEUCIQCFK2sSXl0ckb6Ju%2FVbS1EKSolAklLHFIjX5qpwQeSQCQIgSQSPrrTqcViru5hNSgLB39rybCM750C3wTPHOMptv30qxAUIh%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAEGgw0NDkyMjkwMzI4MjIiDCK0vom4YirDCW9tSiqYBU0uL7cHBMwgzTZe5Kcprwnj0ugvlztXHigzMhLXhtugpp5xn%2BzInCDw4rkfLMhRwYNlGsXocv%2FAqHaTXER4VAZGEMOeYYSpTI%2BoqvLsxP6LdHDNJJ9jVZd6sadTLtV4ZmxMEIFwfoG7WxEkd0DDzlAAH%2FL0DMMg8Gix3Y6y%2Fc6sA7VAvwS8uCQWpbemBWOOioJ%2BewwBhOzXXKdzEEf3zz4r3AwtZvSvEVXeMgBpVqy8b7%2B5UBVsWskjOUulZyLfrbgpg0pEH%2B5288pE%2FyrmKsK81%2FAtgF%2FyEYFEKzAgg295NBu4yVTIhzzkJJ8ORheSeLZxssoN1nqxVMpOm5v%2B1E4LVJB4yn7U%2FrZF8pKRhrgBNAxuS3auj21dpxV9uRvjoed0PRKiHfQDvr8MhnXMmW%2FllQj%2BFwww%2B1i%2FjBD%2FjyjKDT%2BW%2BbfPKTrH7c5D8CLpvPS4mnhYw9iyCC2MFCWUhE0A6S2Unye2k1BRgLrBkXwcT%2BcPB0fhQTLsG9s344FJCjxPWLNmoQXsWNncoBdihsfLMIrrMohzejsr8fNSIJUc7POlgt50KPrRIeG2jS96BFM6D8wCHbXaGNCd9pxYuyyL6hSXqti22NEIt9zoU7n%2BbWSNzokiXCfluA1KNQKd3I7B3GZZx%2BDxMBW8vfsgJfXz%2FUvXCnO8QG60cSeF94FwN7ajbLg3bWGLUr1izw3vCRdLCZaD3tJ9q%2FJRykFvLrrXMQZZOrV%2Fn6qKx3sorhxT%2FO1uHB7FQalxin9Z3xQ%2FJWhQwRSH%2F15q6ek1MEko%2FTJyIBCGLDcThExXCyuvgwzyCoqJNDqYC6dKsfaf2RGbjEVWkom2sF0EE9LgWCq%2F%2BE7tFjF2RY%2BpmayS27VGVGM%2BtrI0RfGHwG0w6bfdngY6sQE66Lz3y7nnaJtuxaOve6%2FE6tL4ZVU2YfUVAftGrwWmDGfd%2Bk6LzjkntknhywUHALudi%2BIaZ88RqSvyOQV4VOW2AuaAAV6mL6e1MzaNTDyMMpiSkgjnNKqBmnA27JxZOd2M8izJc9%2FLbNWnrQTYxZKXCszMPOrXx8F%2FiD7G2iUqOePFCY7%2B0Ir2PdeqxF8Z5XwwATc2kvb4Y7BticVyS%2Bh0MmuRtrHbq8Y5m2jPcuWQzk8%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%3D%22companies_house_document.pdf%22&X-Amz-Signature=21525661924c08e7bcf36666d6d36e4dda1910321cfe9ab9e62f3ad29a46bb93

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1gYJDQXPOk

Of course NDAs would have been in place - that's a given.

Some might say it's a bit naive to believe that integrity is alive and well in the the City today. Legal niceties often come a very poor second to money. Clearly one or more of the parties given price-sensitive information about the forthcoming placing behaved dishonestly and was guilty of criminal behaviour. That whoever was guilty wasn't identified and prosecuted is no surprise, because low moral behaviour in the City is taken as read - certainly by the regulators. It's good for the Treasury, after all.

Yes, this has all gone on a long time, but we don't really know the full extent of the complexities involved in putting together a deal of such magnitude, with many interested parties and several concepts around oil extraction and delivery to shore. And all in a climate throughout where the sands have been constantly shifting, not least because politicians around the world have all bought into the populist Greta Thunberg approach that would have all carbon energy production immediately banned and directors of oil & gas cos publicly tarred and feathered. And then most recently Sunak & Hunt deciding energy companies should be taxed until the pips squeak because it'll make them popular and raise some quick cash to boast about to the frothing at the mouth Labour voters, when all it will lead to is a mass exodus from the NS, tax revenues drying up and oil prices goint through the roof.

Guess we'll have to agree to differ. I'll clearly be less supportive if a decent deal isn't put to bed quickly :-)

dyor

BM - if you're referring to the last placing and offer at 165p, there was a need to raise more money to allow the Company to continue with its work towards monetising the GBA. News of a forthcoming raise was leaked ahead of the event. This caused th share price to drop from the 220p it was then trading at to 165p, which is the price at which the funds were raised.

I don't know if the source of the leak was ever established but it cost shareholders a pretty penny because I'm pretty sure the price JOG had in mind for the placing was 210p - which was the strike price set for the options granted to the directors when the money was raised. JOG's senior people would probably have done the rounds of friendly institutions ahead of the placing to establish the level of interest they might have in participating. It goes without saying that confidentiality is always promised by those in receipt of insider information. We all know, however, that integrity is a long distant memory in the City today. Moey is always the driver and my guess (no more) is that one of the institutions on JOG's visiting list ahead of the raise was indeed interested, but preferred the prospect of being able to participate at a good bit lower than 210p.

The other suspects had to be JOG's brokers. Anyone in possession of price-sensitive information.

Was naivety on the part of AB to blame for others' dishonesty?

There don't seem to have been any leaks since.

Labeling AB as "naive and lacking in experience" doesn't seem to me to be backed up by the facts. He has been CEO of JOG since the Jersey company he set up with the now departed (and much respected) Ron Lansdell) reversed into Trap Oil in mid 2015. Before that, he was a director, rising to CEO, of Longreach OIl and Gas, a TSX listed oilco, from 2010 to 2014. AB, RL and BB (Brian Benitz - AB's father) were ousted in a boardroom coup by the chairman, other directors and a couple of activist s/hs who had come on board when Longreach acquired APIC Petroleum in 2012, then raised about $30m to provide funds for a drilling programme in Morocco. The 3 departing directors licked their wounds and got on with the task of setting up their own company (Jersey Oil & Gas) which Trap Oil was eventually renamed in 2015. The original JOG remains a subsidiary called Jersey Oil & Gas E & P Ltd.

There, what else do you want to know? We don't know the full story behind RL's departure in Nov 2021 and I don't believe it is appropriate to speculate. All I can say, having met the relevant individuals on a number of occasions, is that imo they're out of the top drawer and have certainly never come across as being remotely "naive" or "lacking in experience". Quite the opposite in fact.

When I came on board (as a former holder of TRAP shares) after a share issue that raised £800k for working capital (TRAP was a basket case), JOG had a m/c of about £1.6m. There were more placings and offers along the way, so the directors can't claim the increase to about £65m based on yesterday's closing price is all down to them - shareholders have put up something like £45m to fund JOG's growth over the years. But what they have done is to use shareholders' money to build a platform with a rocket on top. Will the rocket make it into space? We shall see.

Will the faith LTHs have shown in AB, RL and others be sufficiently well-rewarded as to make all the watching and waiting worthwhile? We'll find out soon enough.

Jumping ship at this particular time (as one or two s/hs with chunky holdings appear to be doing - causing a share overhang and a falling SP) - difficult though everything relating to carbon energy is proving to be at this very sensitive time -smacks to me of lily-livered wimpishness, perhaps typical of a fund manager (or two) more interested in not being seen to have invested money that isn't his in a dud, than hanging on for what s/he sees as a risky announcement - there are bonuses to consider after all.

Not long to wait now - one way or the other.

dyor

OMG - one can't even say P.akistan.........
..........has it really come to this?

"World population is decreasing, not increasing"..............
..........with respect, your statement is a bit simplistic, Carcosa61
https://www.un.org/en/desa/world-population-projected-reach-98-billion-2050-and-112-billion-2100#:~:text=From%202017%20to%202050%2C%20it,ordered%20by%20their%20expected%20contribution
"From 2017 to 2050, it is expected that half of the world’s population growth will be concentrated in just nine countries: India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ****stan, Ethiopia, the United Republic of Tanzania, the United States of America, Uganda and Indonesia (ordered by their expected contribution to total growth)"

No doubt most Africans will be content to live happily in the land of their birth, but there's an outside chance a few will decide Britain offers better prospects for the average African couple and their 12 children. Who knows?

A rumour has been circulating where I live that Labour is already working on plans it's calling "African Powerhouse Rail (APR) 10-15". Apparently the aim is to provide high speed rail links direct from (initially) Nigeria, DRC and Ethiopia to Budleigh Salterton in South Devon. Quoting from Gordon Brown's autobiograhy entitled: "how I saved the UK from prosperity", Angela Rayner commented: "when our plans come to fruition, it will certainly rub the noses of the fascists who smugly live in the UK's second largest, formerly beautiful and predominantly ethnically white county, in diversity. Let's hope the toffs down there get on well with the 247 million Africans who'll soon be living there. They are Britain's future. If 247 million turns out to be a bit too many, they can always move to Cornwall. Independent research we've had done by experts in the Communist Party shows that Rock, Polzeath and Trevose are all crying out for more workers, so it's not out of the question they'll get what they're asking for fairly soon. We don't see any cultural issues arising out of our visionary plans. Britain is, after all, proud to be a multi-cultural country.......... (32 pages deleted here - Ed).......... so Britain's future under Labour is assured".

Nothing in our plans is designed to support the nasty oil & gas industry because, like us, those expected to arrive here when the rail link is finished will spare nothing in the global quest to reduce carbon emissions. "Wind" is the answer - and there'll be plenty of that around bearing in mind their diet is predominantlu beans-based. Work is presently going on to determine the best way to capture and store it".

The future is indeed rosy........

dyor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zrrrIbF2RQ

"Makes you appreciate the ineptitude of UK government"..........

..........and of SQZ's directors for sitting on their hands taking soft options and banking cash from their inflated salaries, while opportunities floated by, all the while relying on N Eigg to bolster reserves and provide more balance. Well, that didn't work, did it, Messrs ACW and MF? And who can forgive them for taking a bloke who was happy enough for the previous 17 years holding a role as financial controller and probably doubling his package at the age of 73. How good has he been at hedging, anyone? Use your own money if you want to dish out favours I'd say. But it's so much better doing it using someone else's. Just look at how easy it's been to give so much away now.

Can anyone educate me on how SQZ proposes to use Tailwind's losses to eliminate - or even part eliminate - the 35% EPL post acquisition? Bfwd losses (trading & capital allowances) can only be offset at the rates prevailing when they were incurred. Where is the planned development spend that would allow the combined organisation to take advantage of the investment incentive provisions, which would result in new development being achieved at an effective cash cost of 9p in the £.

SQZ would have to go back to the market to look for a candidate with the right profile to allow for EPL mitigation. I can think of at least one that would fit the bill, without really trying...........

I reduced further this morning and will continue to do so unless I find something that explains what, to me, is the inexpiclable. I don't buy ACW's bull. They've had years to do their jobs properly and plan for balanced growth and they've done jack squat except slap themselves on the back year after year for the BBKR deal - and pay themselves in spades as they've done it. Shareholders meanwhile, have grudgingly been drip fed buttons.

ACQ replied to my email but he didn't answer the only question I really asked: "why no protection for the small minority holders against being taken out for peanuts after 18 months? I even told him how it could be done (poison pill defence)".
If he genuinely thinks this is a great deal and that sharelders don't need to be protected from these really nice, well-meaning people, then it seems to me he too may need protecting. It's difficult to imagine that any of the present incumbents will be making any of the decisions in 18 months time - maybe even sooner.

Over and out. Good luck everyone - might pop back occasionally if there anything interesting to discuss. There's a danger imv that owning SQZ shares in the short to medium term will make watching paint dry seem interesting by comparison. Stand by to get screwed.

all imo
dyor

48m nays??

Come on Mr Austin - ride in. Money would surely talk this time around?

Thanks to both of you for clarifying the position.

I was vaguely hoping I'd score a bulls-eye with talk of an announcement sooner than many are currently expecting.

Must be Monday, I guess............

dyor