it's elders time, page-64

Hi Sharecall,

Clearly if this were a survey of shareholders then the idea fails - not a single positive rating for either of my posts on this idea of trying to amalgamate the classes. If no-one on hot copper likes it then its chances of ever taking off don't look great.

What I was looking for of course was a way to simplify the structure and bring all the shareholders together not make it more complex as Lionel suggested.

I do believe the existence of the two classes of shares costs both classes money because outside investors don't want to be part of it, but it does seem that the two classes are very different in their approach and don't want to amalgamate unless the other class gives way. The ordinary shareholders don't want to share the growth potential and the hybrid shareholders want their divies and their original investment price.

What some of the hybrids don't seem to appreciate is that the voting shareholders control the board and the board controls what divies are paid to the hybrids. Of course I know that the ordinaries can't get a divi while the hybrids are not being paid one, but if no divies are paid then any growth there is accumulates to the benefit of the ordinaries.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hatheway has never paid a dividend but shareholders in that company have accrued massive gains. A dividend is not the only way to accrue wealth - at least not for ordinary shareholders anyway.

What accrues to one class of shareholders is lost to the other class. I really don't think it is a good system to pit one group of shareholders against another in this way.

GPASAS