option c

I have not had the option of joining the discussion here since the announcement about Shandong - just too busy with other things. However, stepping back to review the whole situation I wonder whether we have missed something important. I have been in touch with Don Taig soon after the announcement and plan to write to him again along the following lines.

I liked the idea that Focus was developing debt-free, and I am sure that was a clear policy of the company. However, it is also trying to grow very big very quickly which I think is a great idea. Now they have run into the problem of not having enough cash generated to expand at the rate they (and we ) would like.

The Board has presented two options - growing more slowly as the cash permits, or giving Shandong 51% of the company for a good sized cash injection.

When you think about it, how did most large companies get to where they are - they borrowed - within their ability to pay off the loans and grew much more quickly. (It is what most of us do as our families start to grow too - we don't wait until we can pay cash for our home, we borrow responsibly).

So why isn't there an Option C of borrowing the cash we need to develop our great resources. It actually may not need to be anything like the $200M+, because we are starting to generate great cash from our growing operations. Of course we need to borrow responsibly, and of course we need to find a lender.

If we can't find a lender I am really worried about where the company is!

So I would be interested to hear your reactions to Option C and I will be interested to hear from Don Taig the Board's response.