General Comments, page-93

Excellent posts this evening.

Billy and The Bride are in the process of moving house. In the process we're selling three pieces of antique furniture worth maybe $20,000 ten years ago. Now ? To the only auction house around, and grateful it's gone. Any cheque over $1000 would be a bonus. Who want's a 1910 chiffonier ? No-one. They want a built-in cupboard, and who can blame them ?

Which brings me to DD's point. If one is selling, there needs to be a buyer. In the case of Norwood, I'm guessing that APSEC and SG Hiscock and the mysterious turf accountant and maybe even the Warracknabeal syndicate wouldn't mind cash rather than scrip. Cash, after all, is King.

But would one of them be prepared to take out the others ? Perhaps, but you would have to doubt it.

After the 1987 crash, when Billy was in broking, there was a Skase stock with a last sale price of 60c, propped up by Skase. A Melbourne institution which held 5 million called me and asked me to offer 2 million at 20c. Another broker bought them and called me to ask what was going on. I pleaded client confidentiality, which was the right thing to do. The client then asked me to offer the remaining 3 million at 15c, which I did, and the other broker bought them. A gutsy effort from the seller, but the right thing to do. The stock never traded above 15c again, and eventually disappeared.

I can see one of the bigger holders in Norwood doing something similar.