underground poole

TELECOMMUNICATIONS entrepreneur Tony Hakim and his Swedish mates at Clear Communications obviously like to surround themselves with an air of mystique.

How else does one explain that Clear Communications is still yet to lodge a substantial shareholder's notification for the stricken Strathfield Group, despite it being the company's largest investor for the past six weeks?

The Stockholm-based Clear Communications backed its seven unidentified Australian subsidiary companies (with their combined annual revenue in excess of $100 million) into Strathfield late last year in return for 1.7 billion shares. The deal, which was valued at $115 million, saw Clear emerge with around 70 per cent of the local company.

We can only assume that Clear was planning to stick around for the long haul, unlike back in November when it made an initial but fleeting appearance on the Strathfield share register.

In return for some stock, the group was issued 105 million shares in the electronics and mobile phone retailer on November 25.

But two days later, it was gone. A notice to the Australian Securities Exchange on November 27 reveals that Clear later disposed of the shares in an off-market transaction "in part payment of a share sale consideration in an unrelated transaction".

The lucky acquirers were John Glasheen and Joseph Carrano, two Sydney lads who together run a firm called JJV Investment. They're now the proud owners of about 4 per cent of a possibly worthless company.

Anyone would think that Hakim, the founder of the controversial National Telecoms Group and now a director of Clear Communications, doesn't want to draw attention to himself.

After all, there was no mention of his name anywhere in any of Strathfield's documents pitching the Clear Communications deal to shareholders.

Perhaps Clear shouldn't be too surprised if it gets a call from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, as failing to disclose a shareholding above 5 per cent is a breach of the Corporations Act.

Underground Poole

IT seems that Richard Poole has gone into hibernation since sliding off the Strathfield board a fortnight before its implosion.

Phone calls to the office of Poole's boutique investment bank, Arthur Phillip, which advised Strathfield on last year's deal and kindly offered up its own nominee company as a safe place for Clear Communications to park some stock, have gone unreturned all week.

We can't help wonder how Poole is feeling about a pre-Christmas decision to pump a further $1.8 million into Strathfield by converting 36 million options, giving him 140 million Strathfield shares in total.

In contrast, none of the new members of Strathfield's board, which tipped the company into administration on Wednesday, have skin in the game.

New chairman Vaz Hovanessian, who has worked on boards with Clear Communications director Hakim in the past, new chief Murray Taylor and new finance director Emil Dimitrov own not a single share between them.

Meanwhile Poole and his Arthur Phillip colleague Paul Page are planning big things over at listed investment vehicle Alexanders Securities, now known as Stirling Resources.

The chaps both own a bit of stock in Stirling and sit on its board. They recently invited Perth mining identity Michael Kiernan to join them as the company's new managing director.

Like Poole, Kiernan knows a little about corporate collapses. Last year two of the companies he was involved with -- Monarch Gold and Matilda Minerals -- were placed in administration.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,24981535-5016575,00.html