Member Info for reefles

...just by coincidence, shifted a huge one this morning!

What a relief that the attrition has stopped. I'm still disappointed I invested everything BEFORE the cheap seats were on offer, but I reckon we'll all be above water shortly.

(And for what it's worth, my bet would be that Lorne has invested in Peridot... SEED's strange cousin.)

Dear [let's say] reefles,
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This feels like writing a postcard. I'm enjoying the new job, although I do miss getting to spend more time and money with my favourite SEEDlings. It's lovely to see how you've all kept each other's spirits high and the share price buoyant.

I normally follow SEED during the day just on Google Finance... and it used to annoy me that we couldn't see a 1month chart, since the name change yonks ago. As of yesterday, we can! If you screenshot it, and flip the image left-to-right, and invert the colours, it is MAGNIFICENT. (Irritatingly, the longer term charts are still a mix of tickers.)

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and doing good. I promise to write more poetry soon! Buy buy, bye bye.

'ello 'ello. I started a new job today, so sadly won't have as much time to pull hair over SEED's performance in real time.

Momentarily, while checking trades, I thought today had been exciting - but there's still so little volume changing hands that it's irrelevant. I think yesterday's UT at COB was more interesting, in terms of what's going on. It's painful to read all of the unreferenced analysis...

... I like to think that, if I've ever made reference to "a major seller", I've put in some work looking at who our major holders are, what they would have to publicly declare if they offloaded, where the money may have been redirected, etc. (not hard, given the Mellon connection... to check if someone's pumping money into one of his ventures while ours is slumping)

It feels like something's going on. I'm invested here beyond comfort, and underwater, but still think on balance that I'm going to be pleasantly surprised. This is just an urge to maintain a high standard of scrutiny, using easily available public records, rather than pure speculation. I'll chip in where I can.

'Lad, you're fine: https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100542411

Whoa now. That's pretty offensive, Mat. My own wife identifies as imaginary, but she's part of a transgressive social movement to reclaim the term. If she heard you throwing "imaginary" around as a casual slur, against members of the Vulnerably–Inexistant Community, she would bust her notional gusset.

I'm pretty sure we did all agree that.

I, for one, will not stand by and see 6p. I will bury my head firmly in the sand first.

Really, though, look at how much volume has changed hands this week. The drop is based on nothing. If you want to reassure yourself, look at the long range chart: https://seedinnovations.co/investor-centre/shareholder-analysis and notice that al proper drops are followed by a big leg up, rather than a slow crawl.

Takayama, I don't think we'll be waiting that long for Leap. Ed said at the AGM that he's been spending a lot of his time in Leap's offices... which they share with IMG (Endeavour) who have just concluded the OpenBet acquisition (also on site)...

Just after the AGM, Ed was appointed to Chrystal's fund Peridot (renamed from Verdite, which seemingly raised $80m but with $75m of that from one mystery investor).
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13294725/filing-history

There are other companies in the structure, with different permutations of directors. James Innes is a Chrystal Capital founder. We all know Chrystal for CBD, but they used to be in property (when Agace was shuffling companies).

Later in the week, Ed bought an off the shelf company and called it Teenage Dreams and Racing Machines:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13650120

He's also been a pretty active NED for Emmerson, the fertiliser company, attending more Board meetings than any other director and owning more shares than most. It looks like Mellon was heavily involved.
https://ukinvestormagazine.co.uk/director-dealings-emmerson/
https://www.lse.co.uk/DirectorsDeals.asp?shareprice=EML&share=Emmerson

There's nothing to suggest any of it is fishy. If anything, it probably shows Ed is an extremely canny operator, and we're in for some very pleasant surprises along the way...

Cheers Barwick.

Mat, yes thank you, I thought I was seeing double for a while but I did work that one out. At some point, someone set up a range of chrystal themed companies in the BVI. These are probably not set up by James Innes, and more likely just a batch of names that the offshore services company will have used when making "off the self" co's. (I used to audit a lot of these places.)

I think it's odd to change the name of your fund from one green chrystal to another, after it has been in the news nearly a year... unless the cornerstone investor ($75m out of a total $80m ??) has a loyalty to the name peridot. Or something...?!

Re "makes sense for Ed to act as an advisor"... Well, if you say so!! I thought it would belike walking a tightrope of illegality, with pressure from a large investor on the one hand, and a listed exchange on the other?! Aren't SEED essentially in competition with Peridot? If an investment opportunity arises, don't we want Ed getting the best price for SEED? You can't really do negotiations that benefit two different parties to the exact same extent, without blatantly breaking the law, right?

So, however many peridots there are, Ed is director of one which has "acquisitions" in its title. He therefore can't acquire any part of SEED unless it's independently verified by everyone that he isn't being partial. And anything else he acquires for Peridot will have to be followed with a statement saying "I didn't think SEED would be interested, it's not really their thing". If he acquires a steak in an investment for both SEED and Peridot, which deal does he strike first? Doesn't it influence the other?

Tell me if I'm being thick. I'd love to be wrong on this one. In fact, I'm hoping there's something we can't be privy to, which massively offsets the downside!

...or does anyone know any other candidates for Chrystal Capital's "cornerstone investor" in the Verdite fund, now aka Peridot, apart from Mr Mellon. (As has been pointed out, Vedite and Peridot are both Chrystals, with Ed being appointed onto the Board of the acquisitions co immediately after SEED's AGM.)

https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/full?dockey=1323-14719443-22A16BG07DMIOAU5HCMGOJ52S1

I thought there was significance in the names being specifically green chrystals (ho! ho!) although this has made the names quite popular with eco investors too. There's a possible, though unlikely, connection to wealthy Jermery Agace via BVI / Monaco: https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/nodes/10117633

At first I thought it was pure coincidence, because of the setup date being too far in the past, but it looks as though Agace was active in the UK property market at the same time as Chrystal / James Innes were doing the same. Then it turns out Agace is really into his sports cars (which millionaires aren't... but he raced them) and Ed has set up "Teenage Dream Machines Ltd" or something similar; and Agace / son are very into sailing... as is Penelope McDermid, also of Peridot).

http://jeremyagace.crazybillionaire.org/jeremyagace.php

Could be a coincidence. Could be meaningless even if it isn't. But... I've been trying to think what benefits there are to SEED of Ed being on the Board of Verdite/Peridot, assuming that he won't do any insider trading?! He's got his fiduciary duties to SEED, so can't do anything which knowingly devalues our assets, but he can't use privileged info from his other directorship to benefit SEED.

Surely, what it does mean... is that if Peridot buy into SEED, Ed is legally bound not to give an advantage to either company for which he's a director. That would appear to disadvantage us, as Ed can't skew anything to have a SEED bias in that event. But then, I've just claimed a disadvantage to us is against his fiduciary duties as a director... so for Ed to have been comfortable taking the role, it must mean there is something significantly worthwhile in it for SEED, or else he'd not have been allowed.

Without going into detail which might be irrelevant... does anyone know of any ties we have to Mr Agace, apart from the obvious...

...wouldn't want to be out of this one over the weekend!!

GLA, hope you all enjoy a couple of days off from the nonstop addrenaline ride of SEED!

Mat - yeah, I deal directly with Chrystal. I went via them for my Northern Leaf CLNs and strongly considered their Yooma raise, before deciding I was better off adding here (bad timing...) I appreciate all your posts, but I think Ed's latest appointments are at least worthy of review - not an eye-roll - given some of the uncertainties. I'm not even saying they bode badly for us, necessarily, but I've got a lot riding on SEED, am currently underwater, and want to watch my back!

Barwick, just checked back in the presentation, and we've got £2m. Running costs are £65 to £70k / month, though, so you're right that there isn't much more than £1m to invest at the moment.

Also checked major shareholders: the top 5 individuals own 31.55% between them.

Ed's new Board appointments seem to be:
a) his own holding company, off the shelf yesterday, and hasn't done anything (even though he had one before...)
b) a shared holding company with some mates: one from Chrystal Capital, one who runs yacht races round the Isle of Wight, and one who was a director at Hemogenyx

It feels a bit rich after Ed complained he was spending far too much time in Leap's Board room (shared offices with IMG, right? round the corner from Openbet...?) and wished he had longer to spend on the day job. Still though, I'm sure it's nothing suspicious...

Bunts...

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/investor/meeting/seed-innovations-annual-general-meeting

Full video still available if you're signed up (free). It's worth watching from about 50mins in. Precise quote is at 54:10

Anyone have a quick answer to why Ed was appointed here yesterday:
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13650120/officers
...and here last week?
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13294725/officers

...before I end up down the rabbit hole?

I think his only other active directorships are irrelevant / personal. (Although it appears he rents his place in Notting Hill?!)

I KNOW!! But you could potentially go to Ed and, as IMG, and say "hello Ed, we all think Leap is worth £100m to IMG in total... SEED have got 44%, so how about we give you £50m for lock, stock and barrel... why don't you put it to a shareholder vote?"

That would explain why Ed responded to a question on share price by saying "if someone offered me £50m for SEED, I'd say no"... which is a pretty indirect way of answering a question. There could have been a bunch of junior execs from IMG who didn't "officially" know anything, but bought into SEED on the offchance Ed would sell it to IMG with a SP > 20p.

And / or... IMG would have 66% of the voting rights in Leap (I think?) if it had control over SEED. I can't remember what Mellon and cronies hold collectively, but it'd get IMG a good chunk of the way if they arranged a deal. Sorry if it sounds implausible, but if I were IMG I'd explore all the avenues before writing a cheque for £50m?!

Nope nope, I was referring to buying out SEED. If our stake in Fralis is currently worth £50m, and SEED's market cap is £15m, there could be all kinds of reasons why it would be more efficient for IMG to pick up SEED instead of buying Fralis from SEED. Not necessarily, of course, but it would explain Ed's odd comment and potentially some of the recent selling.

If IMG secured 51% of SEED, wouldn't that effectively give them total voting control over Leap??

888 do you think there was a bit of a dog whistle in Ed's shareholder Q&A, then? When he said ~ "if someone offered me £50m for SEED tomorrow, I'd say no". Do you think that's because IMG have effectively already offered £50m for SEED? (I thought at the time it was a really weird way to phrase his answer on value...)

Given our MC is curently £15m, they might have tried to buy us out of the whole caboodle?? Do you think the inexplicable selling spree recently could even be from IMG / their exec's, who have to get rid of their holdings if IMG pick up Fralis instead of SEED?

Gooner - almost spot on!! I'm younger than that and finished my degree - but that just means I listen to re-runs of the Radio 4 news shows all day, instead of Jeremy Kyle... while testing the product and looking exactly like Neil - in both dress code and hair. Good instincts!