Member Info for droderick

Dear Setanta,

So you expect the following:
1. That the board works for free
2. They spend no money on progressing Infa because of dilution
3. Make all the progress made in the past year for a total expenditure of zero
4. Work very hard with zero expectation to run a successful business because no one should fund the company
5. Finally if at all they need funds, they should pay for it from their own pockets but, obviously, all shareholders should benefit from it

I can appreciate the disappointment of LTHs when this company was dead in the water, but with the kind of momentum and strategy the current board have, I am actually disappointed by your pessimism.

If you can honestly tell everyone that the work put in and milestones achieved by the current board over the last 12 months is far lower than what was achieved collectively in the past 10 years , then there is merit in your pessimism. Otherwise, I don't see the point of your discouragement.

I would certainly encourage participating in the primary bid. If someone is indeed going to put hard cash down, it might as well go to the company rather than to an unknown market participant. Let us not forget that whilst the fund raise was successful, every little helps to keep the company liquid and well cashed up. I really don't see the point in buying in the open market rather than giving the cash to company who will actually use our cash and grow the business.

SpannerHappily: at these levels, I am sure the directors would love to come in. However, the sad reality is that till the GM, they are in a closed period and cannot do anything. That's AIM rules for us - frustrating for all of us and probably more so for the directors.

At the end of the day, two mechanisms to buy more into the company, which is fantastic. Its fair, democratic and most importantly, provides extra cash to the company, which no one should complain about!

I called Primary Bid and they will process non UK investors if those non-UK investors can do the trade via their FCA regulated UK brokers.

The circular is now on the Infa website. There are 4 resolutions that need voting on. Having read through the notice in detail, it looks very good and the rationale still holds strong. I am a shareholder and continue to be a big supporter of the company and the management team. There will be an open offer for shareholders like all of us which is excellent news. Buying in at these levels is highly attractive. More importantly, it is a highly democratic way of raising monies and this placing, which is significant at so many levels, and does not disenfranchise existing shareholders. Regardless of the final quantum that will come out of the open offer, I appreciate the thought process of the management team.

The marine licence is in play and due process is being followed. JW has been true to his word and has met that submission milestone on 31 October as confirmed by DAERA. The news of the type 31 frigate contract is another positive piece that is coming together. All in all, this company has the makings of a very successful business in the months to come.

The next two weeks are crucial and I would expect fellow shareholders to be fully supportive of the vision, strategy and, most importantly, the management team that are putting this business back in shape. If JW reads these posts - well done and keep pushing on!

You are right and I stand corrected.
Apologies to all for misreading the DAERA Q&A.

This is very useful Radders,

It clearly shows deadlines have been met by Infa as published in the RNS and they have been on top of things. To get to third party audits, DAERA would have had to conduct their own internal analyses to be satisfied enough to get to the third party audit stage.

Excellent progress in my view. The INFA management team have done a great job in the midst of the Harland acquisition. This should be more than adequate evidence for all the shareholders that the BoD are absolutely committed to everything that they are doing and are fully aligned to our interests.

Dear Setanta,

The equity and debt for Islandmagee is coming at the project level. Why would an incoming equity investor at the project level get to decide who becomes Chairman at the PLC level when such investor has nothing to do with the overall business of InfraStrata? More importantly, why would our BoD accept the investor's chairman when all that the investor should be concerned with is Islandmagee?

Regarding Vitol, I have heard this time and again from you and others that they should either put some monies in or have the chair to "show commitment". I don't quite understand this logic. They are a client. They are going to lease capacity for 12 years. They are due to sign a 12 year binding contract. What more do we expect from them and why should we expect anything more?

This is like renting a car but the showroom owner expecting you to not only pay the rent but also the cost of showroom refurbishment and join that business' management team.

That sound illogical really.

Only institutions have the capability of putting in £6MM on a £5MM company. That itself shows the confidence that institutions have in the overall strategy.

Other comments:
I think it is myopic for shareholders to expect that this company will live and die with the gas storage project. The team has not taken its eyes of that ball and Harland will actually help reduce project capex. In the interim, if this multi-purpose fabrication facility can attract other businesses and generate much needed revenues, how exactly is that a bad thing? Do we, as shareholders, want to live and die with one project or be participants in a vibrant company that has multiple assets and multiple revenue streams in its portfolio? I think the answer is self evident.

A lot has been made of a lack of a Chairman. Yes it is important from a corporate governance perspective. But if anyone thinks that a chairman is the silver bullet that will solve all of Infa's woes, then that thinking is misplaced. A chairman can open some doors and have a certain degree of positive influence. But ultimately if the overall business model does not stack up, even the most dynamic chairman will be toothless. So let us not be under any illusions here. This company needs a new chairman undoubtedly but a certain degree of pragmatism is also necessary.

Any new bodies in the team comes with additional costs. I find it bizarre that we demand more members in the team and also crib about overheads. We cant have it both ways. There is a fine balance to be struck here. I personally think our team is very thin on the ground and I don't particularly think they relish that situation. But cash conservation is crucial. If you look at the two fund raises done earlier totalling £1.90MM, they have gone for very specific purposes - land acquisitions, completion of marine surveys etc. Where has there been any extra monies to hire additional people and pay the existing team fancy salaries? Lets give some credit where credit is due. On a shoestring budget, this team has taken us to touching distance of FID and got Harland under OUR belts. And yet we slate them? I don't think that is fair at all.

In my final analysis, this massive dilution is painful, for me, for everyone and even for JW who will be reduced to less than TR1 status. But there is a strong undercurrent of optimism - the chance for the first time in this company's history to become revenue generating, to be cash positive and to see some cash returned to shareholders, notwithstanding the inevitable rise in the share price when things get going at Harland.

The management team and the business strategy that they have adopted have my 100% vote of confidence.

It has indeed been a very hectic and interesting day for all of us. After having analysed the opening RNS and then the closing RNS, these are my thoughts. I would also like to say a few things on other comments that have arisen in the course of these healthy discussions.

Consideration for the acquisition:
The total consideration payable is £5.25MM. The original consideration announced on 1st October was £6MM. That is a clear saving of £750k. That equates to atleast one and half months' worth of overheads - December and half of January based on the £500k that the company will pay for November. I believe this is down to some pretty hard fought negotiations and it is an excellent result. The balance consideration payable in April is now down from £2.20MM to £1.45MM. That straight away reduces the cash exposure further down the road. That itself is an excellent result.

Riverfort:
The second tranche is a mezzanine debt facility and is not convertible. The first tranche will be repaid or restructured post completion. Clearly, management is conscious of the dilutive effect that Riverfort has and are taking steps to mitigate it. On a more holistic note, I do hope all of us understand the stresses the management in raising monies for a company that has generated ZERO revenues in its entire existence. There are very limited options. No bank is going to provide debt, not even an overdraft. This team has been working on a shoestring since they came in. Whilst everyone discusses the demerits of a Riverfort facility, can anyone think, for a moment, that the team has actually been able to raise some more monies for a very specific purpose? Riverfort are not a charity and they are exposed to enormous risks. Yes, they will take their pound of flesh but it is worth remembering that we would not have got Harland had it not been for the Riverfort deal to start with. So while we can all complain about it, we will not be where we are without that facility. And I think where we are is a pretty good place to be in.

The Raise:
A total of £6MM has been raised before expenses. This should provide for the initial consideration plus some runway for the working capital. The closing RNS talks about debt discussions ongoing and coming to fruition around completion. That is a perfectly reasonable assessment of where things are likely to land. The raise has been conducted at 0.30p which is pretty close to market. There are ZERO warrants attached to the raise which makes this even better. Of course it has a massive dilutory impact but we need to understand the huge revenue generation potential this carries. The fact that the book build opened in the morning and closed by lunchtime is a fantastic achievement. The placing is conditional upon GM approval and once that is done, the identities of the new institutional investors will be automatically divulged once new TR1 announcements are made. So any criticisms on that front is rather unfounded.

Absolutely right Kibuc,

However the difference being this is corporate debt and against older assets with a legacy. I can only presume it is a timing issue than anything else.

You will find it very hard to find a lender who will lend to you when the asset doesn't as yet belong to you.

On what collateral will the lender offer debt? It's common sense really.

Asset debt is provided when one has ownership of an asset. Trade finance is provided against firm contracts. That's the way debt works.

At a consolidated level, everything flows back to the parent company which is the PLC.

It's a very sensible move given the backgrounds of our current management team. The combination of running these kinds of facilities and sound commercial knowledge of monetising these complex transactions is what the team can deliver. If this transaction has the capability of generating early revenues, which it has, there is no reason not to back the team to the hilt. Investing in AIM companies carries its associated risks but there are hidden gems within the plethora of companies around. I firmly believe Infa is one such. The medium to long term business case now looks even better.

They were possibly under-valuing what is a significantly strategic asset for NI, the UK and Europe.

These negotiations are highly sensitive and confidential so I would not be surprised if there were other bidders. To be fair, even we didn't have a clue about this till the news broke on 01 October. It goes to show it would have been a very confidential series of discussions.

Cheers Dawski,

I don't mind Drodders at all. It addresses two in one!

What this company needs is institutional support. The fact that it is 100% retail held allows MMs to ramp up and down everyday. A set of long term institutional investors that provide stability and a set of retail that bring in the liquidity is the ideal scenario

I think this is very good news. The conditional agreement is a huge milestone and shows clear intent of the BoD to get things moving and generating cash as quickly as possible.

I agree CRL123, I am hoping we get to participate too. I am under water as well but if we can and average down, I firmly believe that the share price will bounce back.

When I look at Infa's balance sheet they have a lot of intangible assets, but with Harland, they have real assets and tangible assets. Leveraging those assets is so much easier.

Ultimately, this is a multi purpose fabrication facility that can accommodate a wide range of projects. It plays perfectly into the long term strategy that was put in place by JW at the AGM this year.

Fantastic opportunity and one to watch!

That one was for Leesadee...

Typical.....it makes me yawn now.

There are locals who support the project and that's great. There are others who want to base their support or otherwise on hard facts and that is completely justified. And finally there is a really small group who are making the most noise and peddling fake news all because they choose to protest about literally everything. There is a time to ignore them and there is also a time to call their rubbish out. That's exactly what happened on Sunday gone by where Leesadee refused to answer the most basic questions.

Insofar as Twitter and this Doc Holliday guy is concerned, he really has no clue of what he is talking about. He couldn't even get the name of one of the large cranes at H&W right, calling is "Sampson" instead of "Samson". It just goes to show the level of detail that people like him go to, which, quite frankly, is shallower than a kids' paddling pool.