the situation

Well guys - I've had a very interesting phone conversation with Barry Wynne - Barry was the founder of Valad - and like the rest of us is pretty much in a state of disbelief and for want of a better word, disgust at the actions of Hurley, Mcarthy (CEO Europe), Horton and Kirkby who appear to be the main players. To make matters worse, it appears that the only remaining director is Gerber, and my impression is that it appears he may not have been aware of the goings on, and may in fact be the last internal bastion of hope. The issue is that at present there is no information regarding the proposed terms of any buyout, and equally no information as regards the split of debt between Europe and Australia. In other words no information to indicate what effect any buyout would cause in terms of remaining debt. Further it would not be out of question to presume that the actions leading up to the announcement have been going on for some time, and that certainly there would have been every interest in depressing prices to as low a level as possible. As one poster indicated, it would take a serious amount of money to buy out Europe - as for the Duke arrangement, banks willing, that could be rolled on for as long as one wishes, so I'm not factoring in that debt to any large extent. So the question is as to who would be backing this malign syndicate. It's only my speculation, but given Lloyds is in discussion, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a hand in it somewhere. As far as the board is concerned, while it requires 5% or 100 holders to give notice of a request for a special meeting (the request must be made to the company, and if and only if the company refuses to initiate proceedings within 21 days can that group then call a meeting themselves), the problem is as to what the proposal would be. Removing directors is one thing and would still require the majority of holders to vote, but somewhat more difficult is the issue of replacement. There is the option to put forward a nominee that could be invited by the board to serve until the next GM, however appears difficult to actually find anyone competent who would take up that position. From my point of view, it would be essential to reconstitute the board because with the exit last week (while indicated as temporary, it might as well be considered permanent), there is a massive hole at the level of top management. From a business as usual perspective, that hole would need filling. Similarly there is difficulty in calling a meeting with the view to reject the proposal since as we know, no firm proposal has been tabled so there is nothing to reject. While somewhat theoretical, I have this belief that if we could get even one competent person on the board as a nominee (at least be able to put forward a name of competence), then there is the chance that the remaining member(s) of the board would take up the opportunity and be in a better position to start action and fight against the Hurley consortium. As it stands, it appears we only have Gerber as acting MD, and a number of angry shareholders that have a difficulty in centralizing their voice and activities. Barry Wynne has indicated he is available to assist, and is happy to discuss matters with any interested holders with a view to forming a committee or even the option to call a special meeting. However the difficulty is in establishing who amongst posters for example are interested, as well as passing on contact details since for obvious reasons would rather not post such carte blanche on the forum. Unfortunately Scott Rochfort is on vacation for a month (reporter with a somewhat sympathetic stance) to whom I approached to obtain Barry?s contact information. Further as my pseudonym somewhat implies, my residence is not in the great land down-under! So what is needed is a mechanism to get various holders in a position to be able to discuss issues with Barry if desired, and moreover act as a fulcrum point in hopefully bringing holders together to discuss courses of action. It would be appreciated if someone out there has an interest in this role, as well as some mechanism to coordinate information. Similarly if anyone is aware of any parties with an interests in acting as a nominee with some form of credential/competence, then that would go a long way ? Barry has extensive points of contact as well as a large amount of historical knowledge, and as it stands at present, there seems to be limited success in finding people of caliber in the market who would take up a role as director/nominee. Other than the above, unfortunately I have limited ideas ? approaching media is one avenue, lodging complaints with ASIC (despite them not having a wonderful track record) another, direct contact with the remaining board is an option, attempts to contact majority holders another (yet incredibly small chance of success)?regardless something needs to be done to restore a working management tier, both in Australia and Europe. The longer things go on, the happier Hurley?s group will be, and obviously the worse the morale of the remaining hardworking salaried staff employed by Valad who are probably no different than the rest of us.