I was just reading the business section of SMH I saw another INT...

I was just reading the business section of SMH I saw another INT article today:

http://www.smh.com.au/business/share-plan-ticks-over-and-over-for-smart-meter-boss-20110719-1hn9t.html


Share plan ticks over and over for smart meter boss

Scott Rochfort
July 20, 2011

Share consolidations are typically mundane affairs. Not in the case of the smart meter company Intermoco, whose new chairman, John Evans, is facing stiff opposition from shareholders on his proposed one-for- 20 share consolidation.

In response to concerns raised in a recent letter by the 2.3 per cent shareholder, the financial adviser Kiril Ruvinsky, Evans assured investors yesterday the consolidation was not part of a plan to manipulate the share price in order to allow a predator to ''mop up'' the company at a bargain basement price.

''The regulators (ASIC and ASX) are devoting ever increasing scrutiny to possible market manipulation, and the penalties for such conduct are severe. Should we become aware of such activities, we would report this to the regulators,'' Evans said.

Advertisement: Story continues below The company is more than 10 per cent owned by Evans's business associate, the chicken takeaway shop mogul Stephen Copulos.

''Whether or not there is a share consolidation, the company - like most small listed companies - could at any time be the subject of approaches by third parties,'' said Evans in the statement.

This is a slightly different argument to Evans's statement earlier this month, when he said: ''We believe that, with its current price and number of shares, Intermoco is simply 'off the radar screen' of many potential strategic investors.''

Ruvinsky yesterday in response to Evans's latest statement said: ''Perhaps if you spent more time concentrating on improving profitability the share price might rise on its own accord.''