AGM 2017
Chris Fergus spoke enthusiastically about the vision all of which has been written about in here...but the passion was there which can't be picked up in asx announcements....CEO Cleaeves read power points as usual with as much vigour as BQT reader.......Bloomfield interjected but got confused from time to which hat he was wearing MSP Chair or FFT CEO which at times was uncomfortable because when MSP shareholders are attempting to address their own rights only to be sniped by FFT CEO .......that leaves a bitter taste.
Well put Klue..........this "Vote No" issue was put to them, in fact first or second question in question time and the response was what you would expect from a CEO who doesn't own a single share "well shareholders will vote accordingly".....................pretty much became the mantra to almost everything.
Question time at the AGM actually mirrored the debate here albeit less robust. The debate on here goes with a group of Vote Yes's dreaming about synergies, and expanded foot prints, and Vote No's complaining about price although at the AGM there was a new take one shareholder considering that the product mixes of FFT and BQT weren't mass market enough and needed more work (I apologise if I have misunderestood his particular argument)
The question about offers not being rejected first round? Answered with alternative paradigm...........Um we sat down in a room, with the independent committees (code for no Bloomfield or Fergus) and we nutted out a deal together that is why the deal got accepted.
I get that, I understand that the board really wants this to happen, both boards do, but the way it has been conducted , help me find the word...
The AGM almost felt like a revelation of the omission of communication: with the back room dealings, intense and very real negotiations of a merger not being not being announced to the wider market. The fact that the negotiations were not announced in conjunction to the recommendation of acceptance adds to the murkiness. but included the discussions with the recommendations may have made people understand a first round acceptance a little more (they did it in stick this in your piper and smoke way). This reeks of disrespect for the (smaller) shareholder......(which is large chunk of this company)....
There are other instances like poor commentary of 4C's , During the meeting major expense (I think it was insurance) kicked up in one of the quarters and effected the cashflow but was not revealed. handy information when I think it represented something 30% of the expenses for that quarter (any way its paid), Expenses have been rising unabated and we know why, Ava is churning a lot, but what about BQT and inventories....expenses haven't been attributed, there is no commentary I got the sense today they don't like communicating........greater detail hopefully should be forth coming, I hold my breath.
Am I sold on the merger concept more than before? Objectively yes.......but I want more for my MSP shares, and more in the new entity.
What about AVA? Vote No...........both companies are drooling over AVA therefore we shouldn't let it go cheaply.
Do I like the management any more? No, much less.........in fact I'm not comfortable with the CEO or Chairman...........Omissions of communications, disrespect for shareholders, the absence of significant skin in the game, the fact they appear that they don't care if they never win a best practice award..in fact I was looking at the Corporate Governance pages of the annual report the whole time...they haven't done anything untoward but they haven't done anything right during this process and how they conducted themselves in defence was bordering on pig headed, which is perfect when the CEO doesn't own stock.
Do I think you should Vote No? Yes.........so pig headed managers who don't own stock get a taste of success and letting it go to their heads. The unbridled corporate action that they continue to undertake and the fashion they do it is not the corporate culture I want developed. Corporate culture is critical for growth.
Hope this helps
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