This is quite concerning and the market has reacted as expected.
I do not see this as a path forward. Rather I see it as going backwards for Sayona.
I'll skip most of the history lesson but will point this out. SYA was previously a close cousin of AJM. AJM operated in near secrecy regarding it's true financial situation and as a result of recklessness and can kicking by it's BOD it lost it's principal asset.
In the years since, SYA had done quite well to distance itself from the group of people controlling Altura. There was recent talk of broadening the board. What has occurred is a major step backwards.
A man with longstanding connections to James Brown has been placed on the BOD, further cementing his control over SYA and JB himself is now acting CEO.
In light of the very detail light updates in recent times surrounding NAL performance in particular, the shock departure of the CEO saw a market exodus.
There is so much about SYA and NAL that the market does not know and that was already a heavy weight on the SP. Cementing control of SYA firmly in the hands of a small group of people that in my opinion did not have a history of openness at AJM is not the confidence boost that was needed for SYA.
Maybe we will never know the true reason for the departure of Brett Lynch and Paul Crawford but losing both CEO and CFO at such a critical juncture and stacking the board more firmly towards the control of James Brown and Alan Buckler is deeply concerning.
I write it is concerning as a shareholder of PLL because quite frankly, PLL has a lot riding on the execution of NAL by SYA and events of late raise far more questions than answers.
I have already posted in the past I expect SYQ to be selling to PLL at a loss for the OTA in place. However it is important to note that PLL still has a 25% interest in the remaining product. We don't know if nameplate is achievable, at what cost production will be and whether there will be enough product left after the existing OTA at sufficient volumes and margin to cover that OTA.
I will say that the way Dougal Elder has been used as the face of the company in recent months brings back memories of Alex Cheeseman at Altura. Dougal has made public statements that he may believe were true but did not eventuate.
Are today's events a reflection of a further concentration of power and information within the JB and AB circle? If that is the case then I believe there is cause for concern.
