Member Info for picstloup

I'm voting yes, seems the only sensible choice. Doesn't make much difference to me, as most of my investment is already list, but might as well save the last quarter and help keep the mine going and the local jobs. But many here, having made a poor investment decision, clearly prefer to cut their noses to spite their faces. Makes little difference to me, but does seem odd.

c20% up in the last week, very nice

I voted yes today on my HL and Investec accounts, must check tomorrow if I can on my First Direct ISA.

A few self-harmers here are unlikely to make much difference.

RBC has just raised its target for AAL from £26.50 to £30.50 and made it a "top pick". May explain part of the 5% rise today.

Just put my "yes" votes in for my accounts with Hargreaves L, Halifax and Investec. Don't seem to have heard from First Direct but will check when back from Tignes - the snow's excellent.

The offer from AAL seems quite reasonable to me, given that they have a responsibility to their shareholders, not SXX's.

I've lost quite a lot of money (for me - everything is relative) which is tiresome.

As the EGM is apparently to be in London on March 3, and I will be in the middle of lambing up the dales then, I won't be able to get to the meeting, which is a pity, but my three nominee accounts with SSX shares in them - my ISA, my SIPP and my main portfolio - will all register a yes vote unless something very surprising comes out of the woodwork. The vociferous little dogs in the manger here are highly unlikely to have any material effect.

I expect the vote will go through, and if it does, will use the proceeds of my c200,000 remaining shares to buy another c500 shares in AAL, which seems quite a good bet. If I'd put what I put into SXX over the last 5 years into AAL, I'd now have about 5000 shares in AAL, but I didn't, so I don't. So it goes.

As I believe Woodsmith is an attractive investment, and am impressed by AAL - its profitability, its dividend, its ability to raise capital, its diamonds, etc - I intend to invest about a quarter of my dividends from my ISA this year into AAL, taking my holding up to about 4000 shares, or about 5% of my ISA - I think it is unwise to put too many eggs in the same basket, and am glad I didn't with SXX, so my losses here, while depressing, are not catastrophic.

A large number of PIs have clearly already taken their losses and sold out, reducing the chances of a no vote. I'm holding as I think their is an outside chance of an improved bid, and I can't believe Polygon will have put this much money into buying out so many PIs if they didn't have a good reason for believing their was something in it for them. But I could well be wrong, as I was in investing in SXX in the first place.

Cash from the buy-out arrived safely in my ISA this morning, and stuck half into AAL, which I think has a bargain on its hands in the form of SXX, and which pays a well-covered divi and has slashed its borrowing this year, while enhancing eps with the share buy-back. Not sure what to do with the other half of the dosh.

If the EGM is in York I might turn up and, almost certainly, vote in favour of the AAL bid. I've lost quite a lot of money in SXX - most of last year's other ISA gains wiped out - and would rather not lose any more.

The deal seems quite fair to me. Obviously, AAL is obliged to get shareholder value for their shareholders, not for SXX's, and they have no moral or legal obligation to pay a penny more than necessary to anybody foolish and/or unlucky enough to have invested in SXX in the past.

People claiming theft or illegal activity by SXX's board and CEO are just being silly (and possibly in some danger from the libel laws as well).

As a "proud Yorkshireman", I've accepted that I made a foolish decision over-investing in an inherently risky business which wasn't up to delivering on its ambitions, and had to call in the grown ups. I don't expect anybody to bail me out.

AAL is a well established and successful business currently throwing off huge amounts of cash, and paying a respectable divi. I've started building up a modest stake at between £19.50 and £21.50, and will probably put the remains of my SXX dosh in as well if the take-over goes through. It's good that an experienced company will be there to safe-guard jobs and the wider economic benefits of this resource.

Bought a few more as it dropped under £20. My first addition since bigging up my BG holding a few months before the takeover. Now nudging 8% of my portfolio, and considerably more of my divi income. Don't normally like to have more than 10% in any one company, but I've made an exception for Berkshire Hathaway, and might may one for Shell if it climbs back up, as I expect it will, although probably not in the short term.

The previous year's return was distorted by a special divi of $2.43, relating to exceptional profits and disposals etc, and we've had one this year of 63c, so I would doubt the final divi would be more than last year's $1.80, and might be a little less as profits are expected to be down a bit. And in £ terms the final will almost certainly be less than last year, as the £ has risen against the $. Still, probably in the region of 6% - none so dusty, as Denry would say. Not forgetting that the share buyback of c£4m per day will enhance eps a bit.

They seem to have removed many of xxdodgerzxx posts, certainly the Caliban-rage/stupidly libellous ones from last night, which may be why it feels a bit calmer here.

at £52.70. Acceptable divi, covered several times,and at some point the gap between the market cap of £850m and the asset value of £1.95b must narrow, mustn't it?

In the mean time, I'm happy to add on a fairly regular basis, even if my holding (first started about two years ago) is 1-2% underwater at the moment.

Strudel - no I'm still in. Share price up 1% in early trading. Impressed McM and Deere honourably waived their divis meaning it's covered twice over rather than barely. I'm sticking with them as they have a long track record for innovation, but I won't be adding any time soon, and might topslice if it goes up much more.

Sales in the first cycle of 2020 $545m, up from $500 in the same period last year.

Very nice.

picstloup ,Does my refusal to give up quite yet offend you ? - asks ffcmember
_

Not offended in the least. I just feel slightly sorry for you and your blind belief that ShareSoc can pull some sort of rabbit out of this mess for you. What do you expect to gain in the very unlikely event that there is a "no" majority? As SS itself bluntly and accurately says "However, just because a large number of people have suffered a painful loss does not mean that they will be compensated. That is not how the stock market works. "

I sold about a third of my holding but remain with the rest in the (referring) hope that another bid is possible. If I thought a no vote was likely I'd sell the rest immediately as that would result in 0p, whatever the deluded dampers might think.

We made a bad investment decision and have lost our money. It wasn't a conspiracy and we weren't investing under false pretences or duress, it's just that Sirius wasn't quite up to the task of finishing the job and had to call in the grown ups.

Fraser did quite a good job under difficult circumstances. The people who are libellously vilifying him here now are often the same as the naive rampers and the ones who treated him as a local hero, as ffcmember wrote not that long ago:

"Also many of the people on here that I the utmost respect for, have met the man and regularly vouch for his integrity and that means everything to me....."

Still dribbling upwards on quite high volume. After 3 years failing to break through the fiver barrier, it's now decisively broken. Next stop £6?

ShareSoc are at least honest in admitting that "choices facing shareholders at this stage are limited, and the SSSG can make no promises that its activities will improve or expand those choices". Also that 90% of the private investors hold their shares in nominee accounts, very few of whom ever bother to vote, so ffcmember is pisding into the wind when he says 'we have a huge chance of effecting [sic] the outcome here ? don't you think !!!" No, you poor little man, 5.5p is the most you'll get.

And another 9% up today. Very nice, I'm nearly 20% up on my purchase of less than a fortnight ago. Wish that happened more often. Very much looking forward to next Thursday - there must have been some kind of leak to provoke such a rise on no news?

Morgan Stanley has upped its target to £45 and thinks RSW's Asian demand is being significantly undervalued by the market. Hope they're right, but it hardly explains today's 6% rise unless there's been a little leak somewhere. I topped up last week thinking these were undervalued, but most of my main holding was bought for £15-£20 several years ago.

Next Thursday's trading statement could be interesting.

81lucky says "Before you go onto one of yours, no it's not a hole in a ground...it's a hundred years of revenue."
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It's both actually, and SXX hasn't got the money to dig out the revenue, while AAL has very deep pockets, AAA+ rated credit and can borrow at very low rates to finish off the hole in the ground and bring out the revenue. SXX has failed to do that, so has had to call in the grown-ups, or go bust. AAL has also reduced its debt in the last couple of years from $12b to £4b, so finishing off Woodsmith wouldn't even take their debt over what it was in 2018.