Member Info for sasa43

Hi RELLIM - echo your sentiments on the present state of affairs, especially your preference, ideally, for Serica to announce another deal or 'farm in' to utilise some of their growing cash pile to the advantage of all us shareholders, many of whom have been on board for a very long time...

Yep, we do seem to go back a long way; near my dotage now but running the family monies keeps the 'old grey matter' stimulated which is good, after so long in the mkts - sasa.

Kistos or Serica with their respective 'indicative' offers, both of which have been rejected, as they approach their initial deadlines in a fortnight's time.

With both possible offers at a premium to their respective target's current price, the mkt reckons both will fail as things stand.

Kistos looks very stretched to me, especially after their adjusted terms this week (a bit more equity) but involving a lower cash element rendering the 'improvement' a contradiction.

Serica, on the other hand, has greater flexibility in respect of its float and, of course, its much greater 'fire power' by dint of its excessive cash accruals but does it need Kist really? Would they have proffered their counter bid for Kistos if it hadn't approached them in the first place?

I think not - Kistos covets Serica because it owns and operates more of its platforms / produces twice its production with much lower decom liabilities, no debts and, of course, there's that huge cash pile, growing like Topsy, yet just sitting there doing nothing.

C'mon, ACW / MF - you haven't come this far to be caught cold, so do move onto the front foot and do something profound about it for all our sakes - sasa.

Hi dickupham - can't disagree with any of that, especially regarding the overly generous share options / LTIPs etc., they've awarded themselves to date and thus fears that they might well go for the 'share buy back' option, in lieu of a 'special divd', if that self interest is to continue.

Interesting, too, that the latest 'improvement' in the offer included ACW being offered the Chairmanship of the combined entity if it succeeds - rather ominous that, given their record.

However, if they take any note of us on here, they'll be mindful of our views on the overall preference for a cash distribution rather than shrinking the float with the Hardy's views on the situation being pretty crucial, too, of course.

Hope springs and all that - sasa.

Hi Maverick - I realise that; that's the whole point.

If, in XD form after a 'special' hefty divd, that attracts other suitors as the sp adjusts for it, then, fine - they'll have to offer a realistic price for Serica to be seriously considered, instead of this silly game of using our cash to finance much of Kist's / AA's ambitions.

An astute deal maker he is to date, granted but not largely at our expense as things stand, thank you very much.

Would you entertain somebody offering you a volatile £4 for your fiver in your wallet? Maybe some would? I know how many beans make five - sasa.

Hi Flabby - well, I'd guess somewhere between 50p - 100p ps which, the way their cash haul is so rapidly growing, could be comfortably accommodated; that's assuming, of course, they're not working on anything else currently - sasa.

Put an end to this farce; withdraw your 'tit for tat' counter bid for KIST and, having already rightly turned down this spurious 'improvement' to their proposed offer, announce a decent 'special divd' to be paid to your shareholders which will kill it off.

'Twas always a 'bridge too far' this one for AA, as I intoned at the outset, so let's get on with running the business without the distraction - sasa.

'Morning NewK...

Yes, that, or an agreed 'farm in' might be an option under consideration, like Chariot, now the PCR is out but surely the swiftest / most effective decision would be to distribute a hefty chunk of their surplus cash, by way of a one - off 'special divd' or return of capital, as discussed many times on here?

Doing so would deny Kistos of much of what they're after (our cash to repay their borrowings supporting the deal) and such might well lead to it being abandoned and all ahead of October's Nth Eigg drilling outcome - if successful, it would materially enhance our worth to put us beyond his reach.

The silence from Serica thus far is 'deafening' - sasa.

I just gave you the website I use - sasa.

Should have said - tradingeconomics.com / commodities to be precise - sasa.

Re: your plea, Manic - tradingeconomics.com - sasa.

Anything's possible, Desmond, as we all know, with such indicative proposals.

Serica has yet to respond in any meaningful way (other than their "well, we'll bid for you, then" knee jerk reaction but when they do, I hope it brings this 'stand off' to a rapid conclusion and not at our expense - sasa.

I accept that there's a significant managerial difference between them, OilMan.

Good management is very important in running a business successfully and they've done very well from the BKR deal they pulled off a few years ago, amongst other developments they've achieved and I wouldn't deny that they've been caught 'on the hop' by AA's approach.

However, if Serica is to be acquired by Kistos, or anyone else for that matter, then I'd expect the BoD to secure a much more realistic price for the company than what's being tabled so far; after all, they have the fire power and the shareholders own the company, whilst appointing the Directors to run it successfully.

If AA was already Serica's CEO, he wouldn't have any truck with this sort of proposal - sasa.

Hi NewK - re: your 10.05 am post, if all that Serica's BoD can come up with (hopefully not!) in acquiring KIST and thereby 'feathering their own nest,' I'd regard that as a dereliction of duty in respect of us shareholders.

To think that we are twice the size of Kist, have twice the size of their production, with no debt, unlike them, minimal decom liabilities versus their much larger commitments, pay a growing divd which they don't, have an embarrassing amount of cash accruing at many x what liquidity they have - the 'chalk and cheese' comparison is self evident, as I said at the outset.

If they effectively surrender without 'firing a shot', I'll be outta here in disgust, forthwith - sasa.

Hi IANAA - I think we all have a good idea how much Serica is worth and AA clearly does, too.

Trouble is, a reverse offeror has difficulty in readily 'upping the ante' if sufficiently challenged to do so but that mustn't allow our BoD to remain complacent in not stoutly defending the company.

Agreed, they should now significantly use their growing / excessive cash surplus to our advantage by redeploying much of it, as many on here have advocated, which should then see off the opportunistic predator.

The only official response from them so far re: this approach, is 'to strongly urge shareholders to take no action' - they need to do the complete opposite, 'tout suite,' imv - sasa.

Spot on, Flabby - sasa.

Hi NewK - just seen your post on the 'psychological' aspect of regaining our ATH to be used by KIST as a persuading aspect to get holders to accept their offer once finalised - good point.

However, I'd just say that that ATH was reached before all this unfolded, given the buoyant background of much elevated energy prices, so any right minded holder should regard that as an academic consideration . It was justified back then on our own merits.

Ergo, a new ATH pretty soon / nearer my fiver ps would be more relevant as a persuader, imv - if only our BoD would announce something substantial we'd probably get there, rather than KIST continuing with their own sp booster to gain an advantage, however illusory, short term - sasa.

Hi Maverick - quite so; I've got one or two in mind, if need be but nothing of that potential magnitude, I'm sure! - sasa.

Hi D220 - understood and hope you find an appropriate replacement if / when Serica might be acquired - sasa.

Was thinking the very same, NewK, when I saw today's further 5% rise in the KIST sp - 'get the price up to give the impression of a higher bid without increasing it / costing us more' - until later on, that is...

Surely our holders are not that naive? - sasa.

Hi D220 - I was under the impression that AIM shs, which are eligible for exemption from IHT only bestow that freedom if you're still holding them in your estate when you die - might not selling them beforehand / getting T/O prior to that sad event not cancel the exemption?

Might be worth checking that out unless you already know the answer - just a thought - sasa.