RE: Columbus ...25 Nov 2021 16:10
Dickupham,
Hope you are keeping well. :-)
"To get a realistic fix on what's likely to happen next, I think you'd have to get to the bottom of what produces the best result for ACW & Flegg. I doubt they'll be too keen to give up multi years' worth of free shares under the various (supposed) long term incentive schemes that's ensured millions of fully-transferable 'nil-cost shares' have flowed into ACW's & MF's ownership, on top of half a million each...."
Interesting conundrum Dickupham, when is enough, enough .... guess many of us will be thinking that very thought ourselves in a few months time too.
As for ACW / MF it's clear they have done very well from Serica and as you point out, continue to do so .... which tbf, I don't begrudge them one bit, (at the moment) but are they now acting in the best interest of SH, I too ask myself.
We are shortly to hit the high point afaic in terms of both revenue in Q1 (possibly never to be repeated) and probably production too at some point in 2022 with planned work-overs. With no known additional revenue earning potential in the near term, next few weeks are SQZ strongest position for brokering a deal to sell SQZ before we top-out.
ACW and MF have an enormous amount of LTIP / CSOP / 2005 OP share awards / options waiting to be 'claimed' and some yet to be vested, so as you mentioned, "why sell". Well for me the shares / options / salary gravy-train is likely to continue as both Ian and Malcolm, life long friends of ACW, head our Remuneration Committee but at some point the realisation of old age and the draw of retirement will prove influential.
At the moment, I estimate that ACW has approx 4,225,000 shares waiting at various option costs inc nil cost. With an additional 797,000 waiting to be fully vested, ( MF 1,725,000 / 797,000) these exclude dividend accrual awards.
So what would happen to these 'unclaimed' shares / options if a takeover was agreed upon .... well in essence, as I understand it, they get the lot. Under the Takeover Code, ACW / MF plus all other holders in SQZ Share Option Plan etc will be contacted regarding the effective acquisition of their rights, ie the acquirer makes them an individual offer for their options. Options waiting to be fully vested will, due to a t/o, trigger an accelerated vesting, allowing qualifying unvested options to be vested immediately.
So, with, for example an offer for 300p/s, ACW could be awarded over £15,000,000 ( who, btw is 79 in a few months ) and MF £7,500,000 would that prove sufficiently influential to give up ~£500k pa .... for me it would and a crowning achievement for ACW and his team that they all should be rightly proud of.
All very much imo & dyor
Sign In
Follow the stocks
