Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
Sagi sells Otherside to NPT and then takes 40% of NPT sale to Betsson 11. Arrangements between NetPlay and the NetPlay Board Prior to commencing discussions with Betsson, the NetPlay Board implemented a scheme to compensate the executive directors of NetPlay for the successful completion of an offer for the Company (the "Incentive Scheme"). Under the terms of the Incentive Scheme, Bjarke Larsen and Akshay Kumar are each entitled to receive an amount equal to 0.625 per cent. of the value of an Offer, based on the Offer Price multiplied by the fully diluted issued share capital. In addition, as part of the settlement agreements in respect of the above mentioned resignations of Messrs Larsen and Kumar as executive directors and employees of NetPlay, it has been agreed by Betsson and the NetPlay Board that they will be paid the sums of £7,500 and £15,000, respectively, on termination of their employment being the dates falling one month and six months, respectively, from the Scheme becoming Effective (the "Executive Termination Payments"). Strand Hanson, as the Company's financial adviser for the purposes of Rule 3 of the Takeover Code, and the independent directors of NetPlay (being Charles Butler, Andrew Lapping, Tim Mickley and Graham Stevens) have confirmed that, in their opinion, both the Incentive Scheme and the Executive Termination Payments are fair and reasonable so far as NetPlay Shareholders are concerned. 12. Arrangements between each of NetPlay and Betsson and Playtech The largest shareholders of both NetPlay (Directforce Trading Limited, which holds 27.8 per cent. of the issued share capital of NetPlay) and Playtech (Brickington Trading Limited, which holds 21.6 per cent. of the issued share capital of Playtech) are wholly owned subsidiaries of trusts, the ultimate beneficiary of each such trust being Teddy Sagi. Playtech provides NetPlay with software and related services in order to allow NetPlay to conduct its business. In addition, Playtech licenses gaming technology and software and online games to members of the Betsson Group. The value of these contracts is less than 0.5 per cent. of the market capitalisation of Betsson as at 1 February 2017 (being the last Business Day before the date of this Announcement). Save as set out in this Announcement, no agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any compensation arrangement) exists between Betsson or any person acting in concert with it and any of the NetPlay Directors, or any recent directors, shareholders or recent shareholders of NetPlay or any person interested or recently interested in Ordinary Shares, having any connection with, or dependence upon, the Offer. In particular, no agreement, arrangement or understanding exists between Betsson or any person acting in concert with it and any of (i) Playtech or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) Directforce Trading Limited, (iii) Brickington Trading Limited or (iv)
I wouldn't be too concerned - they both had to pay for the shares at 8p so they simply bought them out of option status and sold to clear the 50k costs and net the balance of 128,000 as shares paid up and hopefully held for long term. The more pressing question for me relates to what is going to be put in place moving forward to incentivize this team to get this stock back into the 18p range.
So, they say everything is in line for 2015 but specifics on just what that means would help. Will have to wait until April to see the final results for 2015 but anyone know where to find previous guidance on what 2015 was intended to look like? BOD, it might be nice to share more publicly (ie: not just with your institutional folks) in your next statement your goals for 2016. The last 24 months have simply been terrible for your small shareholders. if you want support, you need to communicate more clearly.
Been a holder of this share for far too long - have taken two (or maybe more) round trips over the years and have been bullish on the sector. Averaged in at around 11p. NPT management simply has to share more, particularly after how this stock has performed over the last 14 months. If you want to acquire other firms to grow yourself, you need the shares to be of value. I cannot see many new buyers taking an interest in NPT with the information that is available. Inform the market NPT BOD - it cannot get much worse for you unless there is something material wrong and you are hoping for a miracle - obviously I hope that this is not the case.
Please expand on what basis your 'spideysense' bases its views. Unless something its terribly wrong within NPT, that would pretty much value it at its cash position...am I wrong?
Maybe it is time to show some buying action directors?
Looks like NPT is holding in a very stable range at around 10p. This is good though we are looking for some good news guys or some indication that the recent acquisition or some tactical activity is underway and working. Anyone wanna add anything?
I do not think 17p is at all unreasonable - just not sure of the time horizon required to get there. The broader market is a concern at present but my feel after following this company for a very long time is that the underlying business is strong. It maxed at about 24p going back to Q3 2014 and while there was a shock based on a poor marketing trial in 2014, I feel the sell-off was far beyond reasonable. The POC tax was always on the horizon since it was announced and I think steps were taken to address and account for it. This business sits in the sweet spot of several intersecting sectors (gaming, TV, online, mobile etc.) So, I am holding for now to see what Q2 looks like...I am averaged in at around 10p.
Makes the Q2 statement/ reporting that much more important. Bringing such marketing skill inside makes sense to me if it puts them on the front foot in terms of strategy though what all really want to know is what the underlying performance is looking like - cash generation.
Anyone know when NPT might be sharing Q2 results?
Not sure but I think my only option is to sit and wait for now...been waiting for clarity on it all since the debacle of last October so another month or so won't hurt - I am very much hoping things are clearer in the results do out in early April. I have taken several round trips on this stock over the years - no reason to get itchy now!
Any chance you can re-post some of what he said about NPT?
Understand though there are plenty that do consider his views and those folks are needed to help drive the share price. I do not think his take on NPT prior to the bizarre out-of-the-blue profit warning last October was that far off and he along with the rest of the smaller shareholders were totally blind sided.
Yes, would be nice to know which results they refer to but I think it is safe to say that the underlying business is stable, in the hands of an experienced and knowledgeable CEO, continues growing, and maintains good cash flow. I presume the bizarre occurrences from last year were the result of a narrow marketing misstep and not a result of some underlying structural issue. I think it must be up from here though that will require some good PR. While many slammed ST for his previous price targets, I think that he too was caught off guard and I would love to see him issue an updated position. Hopefully the results in April will shed light on last year's communication debacle and bring some renewed confidence in the management.
Anyone know when prelims for FY 2014 might be coming out? Price stable at 7.25 for a while now - hoping that we will be able to learn more about what occurred at the end of Q3.
Thanks for the link - I thought it was a nicely balanced analysis. I am really flummoxed by what accured on Friday and sort of angry but after reviewing the Sept RNS regarding H1 2014 and thinking some more I am going to be buying this week. When the cash is backed out of the valuation I really struggle to see how a business such as this with strong cash generation, sizeable customer base which is growing, platforms that exist and the space in which it operates in the technology, gaming and mobile sectors can only be worth less than 10 million. It really doesn't make sense. There are some pretty crappy AIM listed businesses out there with much stronger valuations so this NPT situation really doesn't add up. Though I am still confused as to how full year guidance can go from "yes, we will come in FY 2014 in line" to "ooops, we are going to miss our FY target" in just seven weeks or so. I can only think that there was some kind of error in their previous analysis and upon realizing they would miss, decided that they had to state it sooner than later. Is this a reason why Butler seems to be moving aside? And given that they are searching for a new CEO to manage the next stage of its development, which should be one of driving real growth, better to get it out and let the shares take the hit before moving forward. Also, it is not uncommon to try something, such as a marketing campaign, and have it go wrong. So, while it might take until next year, I think there is certainly upside from the current price. They use the term "material" when discussing the missed target. Just to what degree of a miss means material is open to interpretation and my guess, and it is simply a guess, is that the miss is probably not that huge but a miss it still will be.
Got ur handle wrong Mr speculator!
I agree jollyspectator - perhaps more buys over the next few days. I would like to know what current invested institutions like Henderson are planning. I would be shocked if they didn't have any warning as to what was coming.
Looks like Andrew Lapping has picked up another 250k shares at 7.4p - I take it as a sign that the underlying position cannot be that bad. Missing a target is not good but certainly not the end of the story by any means.
Well, this has been painful and now that the dirty laundry has been aired, perhaps time to reassess. But before that, I do think it is criminal that most insiders made nice exits before the wallop of this RNS. Wasn't it just in Sept that management stated trading was in line with expectations? Didn't Big Brother end in mid August? They should have known plenty in Sept. The little guys seem to always take the brunt. Makes me wonder about the likes of Hendersons of the group that actually upped their holding not long ago. Do they see something positive? I think that this company actually has a bright future, and that this valuation is cheap and yes, oversold. BTW, I have taken a round trip on this one and still have a pretty size able holding so I guess I have to look for hope. Businesses like this have to experiment in order to grow. So, a bad marketing campaign here and there is bound to happen. The reality is that NPT still operates in an interesting space at the crossroads of gaming, media, and mobile and those platforms are of value. It has plenty of cash on hand - certainly enough cash to see it through to some more successful marketing campaigns. It also generates cash - it is a high gross margin business. The cloud of taxation will hang over the sector's head until year end and presuming the broader market has not totally tanked by then, at this valuation for NPT, the future should be reasonably bright. Institutions that are long in their view of NPT should be buying and the board should be buying, even if just to send a message that the underlying state of the business is stable.