mfs announcement due this coming week

Lookings like MFS is getting ready to deliver the news.

Hoping for this week coming.

Also...seems Merryl Lynch's stake in MFS has increased due to margin calls. See latest "substantial holding announcement"


MFS sells down Diversified stake
Nick Nichols
26Jan08
MFS Ltd has sold most of its 16.9 per cent stake in property development offshoot MFS Diversified as the embattled funds manager continues to lighten its debt load.
Heavy trading in MFS Diversified over the past three days has pushed securities in the property group lower, culminating in an announcement last night that a 6.4 per cent parcel of stapled securities had been crossed over to a range of institutions.
MFS Diversified chief executive Guy Farrands yesterday confirmed the seller had been MFS Ltd, which earlier this week owned almost 41.8 million MFS Diversified securities.
Thursday's sale of 28 million sec-urities comes on top of seven million securities sold on Wednesday at 55c each for $3.85 million.
The strike price for Thursday's sale has yet to be disclosed.
Mr Farrands said the sale would benefit the MFS Diversified share register, conceding the MFS stake was considered to be an 'overhang' by investors.
He said the institutions that had snared the latest holding were committed, long-term investors.
MFS Diversified owns the Gold Coast-bred Villa World business and is undertaking a number of housing projects in Queensland and Victoria.
"Shareholders have been very supportive of MFS Diversified and its business," said Mr Farrands, who conceded that he has enjoyed better weeks.
MFS Diversified's stapled securities dipped 1c yesterday to 58c, after trading as low as 53c.
They were trading as high as 98c last month.
Meanwhile, MFS has also announced the selldown of its holding in retirement village owner Babcock & Brown Communities Group (BBC).
MFS has sold a 3.5 per cent stake in BBC, part of a 5 per cent holding it had owned since August last year.
The sale price has not been disclosed, with BBC securities closing yesterday at 63c, up 4c from Thursday's close when the sale was effected.
Based on trading lows, the MFS Diversified and BBC sales would have brought more than $30 million into MFS coffers this week.
In a separate announcement last night, financial services giant Merryl Lynch said it had lifted its holding in MFS Ltd from 7.26 per cent to 8.59 per cent in the days leading up to MFS's share price collapse a week ago.
The holding would appear to have increased as a result of a series of margin calls, triggered by the near 70 per cent share collapse, on funds lent by Merryl Lynch to investors.
MFS directors, including new chief executive Craig White, remained in lockdown yesterday as they worked through a deal for the sale of the company's key asset, the tourism and travel group Stella.
Analysts have said the future of the company, which has total net debts of $1.55 billion, will depend on the sale at fair value of a majority stake in Stella, with an announcement expected in the next week.


http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/01/26/7134_gold-coast-business.html