focusIR May 2024 Investor Webinar: Blue Whale, Kavango, Taseko Mines & CQS Natural Resources. Catch up with the webinar here.
Thanks Victor. Just to make sure I'm understanding this correctly, as I don't have access to Pacermonitor, this seems to be suggesting the European Patent Office does not find Sycurio's patent to be valid? Anything else that seems important in there?
I wouldn't have thought so tbh, Victor.
This patent seems to cover the core voice payment product. I think the new payment options are not done by voice - more likely to be a link that the customer clicks to pay in some other fashion.
I would imagine the greater issue is the technical debt that these old companies like Sycurio and Eckoh have, whereby it is very cumbersome to develop new products and too much time has to be spent maintaining old ones!
Good find, Victor.
Always telling when a company doesn't report organic growth following a material acquisition. Looks like it might have been in the 10% sort of range.
Interesting that they also don't mention expanding into other payment options at all - still very much focused on the original PCI product. PCIP leaving them in the dust.
Am I reading this correctly that Eckoh have joined the fight to invalidate Sycrurio's European patents? That's quite something. Guess they would no longer have to pay a royalty if it gets invalidated.
Lucretuis, where did you see the resignation of Sycurio's patent attorneys?
I do see what you're saying, but there's a lot of value in not having the distraction. James did make a point of saying that they are open to settling in the results presentation.
Btw, completely agree with your points on Livingbridge having massively overpaid for Sycurio and them likely not investing enough. It was interesting in the annual accounts that they mention they are transitioning to a 100% channel approach. That's all well and good, but you need to have your own salesforce to attract larger enterprise accounts as PCIP is doing. Saves a lot of money in the short-term, but you can't land the big contracts without a salesforce!
Got it - thanks. I continue to think a settlement is the most likely thing here. Took about 19 months for Eckoh and Semafone to reach an agreement (the same timeframe would put us around March '23). Surely that will happen before the court date in June. It would make no sense to pursue this to the end, for either party.
Part of my wonders if Livingbridge are trying to apply pressure to PCIP so they can acquire them on the cheap. Lawsuit started pretty quickly after they acquired Semafone. Worth spending a couple mil in legal fees if you get more than that off the price.