And the partial reply;
West Australian Sandalwood producer TFS Corporation has vigorously defended its reputation against a US hedge fund which has portrayed the company as a ponzi scheme in a blistering 40-page take-down.
TFS chief financial officer Alastair Stevens described the report from Glaucus Research Group's Soren Aandahl as one-sided and highly selective, highlighting a series of factual errors in the report that could have been cleared up if Glaucus chose to engage the company at any point in the process.
The attack has arrived at an awkward time for the company, which is rebranding itself as a wellness company named Quintis. It has a series of events taking place featuring brand ambassador and Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo in the days leading up to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend.
At a media launch yesterday TFS chief executive Frank Wilson acknowledged that the company was "one of the most heavily shorted stocks in Australia" and that this was a legacy of many other failed forestry companies that had disappointed investors.
Shares in TFS fell 7.4 per cent or 10.5¢ to $1.31 at the close. The shares have traded as high as $1.83 over the last 12 months.
Among the major shareholders in TFS are Mr Wilson with 12.5 per cent, Boston-based fund manager Fidelity with 6.37 per cent, Regal Funds Management with 5.7 per cent and T Rowe Price with 5.1 per cent.
The well-timed attack from Glaucus marks the arrival of a brash US style of activist investing in Australia, perfected by the likes of Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman.
Taking a leaf from the playbook established by the likes of Muddy Waters CEO Carson Block, the firm claims TFS has materially misled investors about future cash flows by making ludicrous assumptions about the yield from its trees and the future price of sandalwood.
'Self-serving'
The report also attempts to discredit the company's business partners and promoters, describing them as phantoms and incapable of performing the functions claimed.
TFS described the note as "a self-serving report by a shorter of the stock" and noted the "substantial and egregious inaccuracies" contained within.
While Glaucus zeroes in on the involvement in managed investment schemes TFS has noted that among the investors in its schemes are a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, an Ivy League endowment fund and the Church of England.
Glaucus claims TFS has materially misled investors about future cash flows and attempts to discredit the company's business partners and promoters, describing them as phantoms and incapable of performing the functions claimed.
However, TFS has shot back at the claims, saying Glaucus has mischaracterised the relationships and in some cases fundamentally misunderstood them.
TFS CFO Mr Stevens pointed out that among key buyers of its products were a Nestle subsidiary and a European chain store, Lush Cosmetics. The claim from Glaucus that a particular person was a "phantom buyer" was ridiculous.
"That's just wrong. She is an employee of the company. Of course she doesn't buy sandalwood from us, she's employed to sell it."
Glaucus Capital director of research Soren Aandahl toured Australia's capital cities earlier this year briefing journalists ahead of revealing its first ASX short position. ASX short sell data reveals that 12 per cent of the stock in TFS has been short sold.
Read more: http://www.copyright link/business/...fs-in-big-short-20170322-gv3rie#ixzz4c6VMuAkG
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