brit in michigan
29 Mar 2016
A Farewell to Amis Thank you all for the interesting comments and views over the years.Take care of yourselvesBrit in Monroe Michigan. 
Bravon
18 Mar 2016
Re: FAIRWELL TO A GREAT BUNCH OF PI'S Hi Guys. I'll just add my endorsement of Pete's remarks. We may not all have seen eye-to-eye on every issue with FTO, and there were quite a few issues over the years, but the input was remarkably good, and there was very little 'silly stuff'.It's a great shame that the FTO guys did not see fit to at least make some small gesture to the PIs who had stuck with them for so long. That's not a gripe for myself, because (you've heard it all before) my averaging down strategy worked like a dream with FTO, but I know there were many who had a small and promising investment which didn't realise its true worth. But that's speculative investing for you !At least we've just had a great Budget for investors, and I wish you all happy investing for many years to come. Best wishes. B.
Phillip Reid
16 Mar 2016
Re: RE; FAREWELL Thanks for those kind words Pete, but it does make me feel a bit flattered.I do like to find the info that I think is significant, and if I am invested in a company, it is because I believe in that company, so philosophically I should not be criticising them - just my way of thinking, and I try not to post a load of BS though. I also think you made a really positive contribution to this bb. ATB
CF
16 Mar 2016
Its wonderful that despite the sharks , these boards also include so many decent and helpful people
pete44
16 Mar 2016
RE; FAREWELL Thanks for your reply Phil. I have read a lot of your reports on many companies. You are a very knowledgeable guy. They have been appreciated.AMS reported today..another set of good figures, increased divi, good results now in USA.SXX up over 8% this morning and doing a presentation tomorrow which hopefully will increase SPKind regards... Pete
Phillip Reid
15 Mar 2016
Re: FAIRWELL TO A GREAT BUNCH OF PI'S PeteI will go along with your sentiments on that - a very civilised, helpful, discussion board. Congrats on your more recent success. I put my FTO money mainly in blue-chips with high yield - doing OK generally. Tried to steer clear of AIM stocks as I reckon I would be a 6 figure sum better off over the last 8 years if I had never touched them. XTR was one of them, but I am still in there hoping! Some of my AIM have disappeared (e.g. MAX, from which I salvaged about 10%, AFE which I just a paper certificate for now) and others are just vestiges of what they were e.g. GBP, TRP, LDP, ORM - still hopeful etc.Anyway - well done!Regards
Phillip Reid
15 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! Hi RogerYes I am back in China. I love my home here and still enjoy socialising with the students - went for a run with a couple of students a few hours ago and they couldn't keep up with me, but me old ticker had me worried for a short while just after I finished. Some students called me yesterday and invited me to climb the small local mountain with them. I often play table tennis/tennis/badminton and occasionally volleyball, all outdoors, when it is not raining. I had about 5 months in the UK last year from late May to near the end of October. one of the main reasons was to sort out my delayed state pension (8 years late). Another reason, there is a reunion of my old Technical Secondary School towards the end of October every year, which I hung on for, and it had been 11 years since I last attended, so I didn't want to put that off any longer. The school closed in 1964, with the advent of comprehensives, so the Old Boys' Reunion is open to anyone who ever attended. Good to see 3 or 4 of my old classmates (and not so good to hear about the demise of others), but also to see others who attend every year, both younger and older than myself (about 60 to 70 OBs in total). At least 2 of my classmates went on to professorships, one of them being Knighted. Another bought out the engineering firm he worked for, and sold it on retirement for many millions, his twin brother became a top boss in the NHS admin. I think most have done better than I. Still I haven't given up yet, in my mid 70s! LOLI think we should come good eventually with SEV - but bought in more than I should have and sitting on 50+% loss at pres!!Regards
pete44
15 Mar 2016
FAIRWELL TO A GREAT BUNCH OF PI'S I would like to thank all contributors who took part in the FTO BB whom I came to respect and I think it was one of the best BB I have had the privilege to read.I invested my FTO money mostly in AMS ( up 28% ) SXX up 58% and it is ready for further takeoffI am down on AFC and XTR but hoping for recovery.Thanks again for the wisdom that was apparent.It's my 72nd birthday tomorrow and I was hoping?????? for a nice birthday present. ( We all know about HOPE )Cheers and good investing.Pete
Roger Baron
15 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! Most down with the general market Phil, but I have used the drop in SEV to significantly increase my holding. Foolishly bought a few globo when the price looked oversold hahaha!You back in China?
Phillip Reid
15 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! No chance ever intended IMO (twas a get out clause).Also never, ever, on AIM, but he is not the first to think it.Hope your other investments are going well Roger - I am still living in hopes with SER.
Roger Baron
14 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! Rather surprised that Thomson ever thought there was any chance at all of getting the 5p. Come to that, you would think he would know that Fortune was listed on the main market and not on AIM!
r21442
14 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! Comment in IC Thomson column today........My interest in the Hong Kong stock market extends beyond the Plethora bid situation. That's because a consortium which controlled almost the majority of the issued share capital of Hong Kong-based energy group Fortune Oil(FTO) completed the takeover of the London-listed company 12 months ago in a deal that valued the equity at £259m or 10p a share. Shareholders were also given a contingent value right worth 5p a share, and one which meant they would benefit from a material share in any value realised from Fortune's valuable 11.3 per cent shareholding in Hong Kong-listed China Gas Holdings (HK:384), an energy giant which had a market capitalisation of £5bn at the time. The initial 10p a share cash offer for Fortune Oil was ahead of the 9p price level at which I advised buying at in my 2014 Bargain shares portfolio.I recommended accepting the cash offer as I felt that there was a fair chance that shareholders would also receive the other 5p a share as the stake in China Gas Holdings was worth £565m at the time, or 21.8p per Fortune share. The 15p a share offer also represented a small premium to Fortune Oil's last reported net asset value of 13.8p, but this only valued the China Gas stake at £400m in the accounts, or 6.3p per Fortune Oil share less than its open market value. Since the deal completed on 9 March 2015 shares in China Gas Holdings have fallen by around 17.5 per cent, and the bidders have just released a statement to the London Stock Exchange stating that the trigger conditions for the contingent value rights have not been met so the 5p a share payment will not be made. It's not a great result considering that the shareholding in China Gas Holdings is still worth way in excess of the effective price the consortium paid for Fortune Oil. It also highlights a number of issues worth considering when investing in foreign companies listed on the London market. Issues worth considering Firstly, the combination of low liquidity, low trading volumes and lower levels of institutional interest means there is a greater chance of share prices failing to adequately reflect the true value of a company's equity. Predators are clearly aware of this, which is why 11 companies on my watchlist have delisted following corporate activity in the past 14 months. True, you will have reaped handsome rewards in all bar one of these special situations if you had followed my buy advice, but it's not always the case as the exit of Fortune Oil highlights. Indeed, the consortium who acquired the company has effectively used their majority shareholdings in Fortune Oil to get hold of its assets on the cheap. There was little minority shareholders could have done to stop this happening given they had majority control to start with. Furthermore, share prices of small-cap companies can stay depressed for long periods of time before corporate activity emerges to spark investor interest. That's something worth considering when you spot an apparent valuation anomaly.Secondly, one direct consequence of the lack of liquidity and interest from institutional investors in small-cap companies is that raising capital is more difficult than it should be; and due to the chronic undervaluation of some of these foreign Aim-traded companies, directors are also being deterred from considering corporate activity as it invariably would constitute a reverse takeover under Aim rules. This is an important factor for small-cap companies as entering reverse takeover transactions entails significant additional cost, time and uncertainty to execute, so holding back the development of the companies concerned.Thirdly, the administrative costs and management time spent on maintaining an Aim listing can be disproportionate when weighed up against the benefits, especially if a company's paper is significantly undervalued. In many cases, this time could be far better spent by senior management on developin
Rhigos
14 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! No point in the discussion group any more. Will delete it from my portfolio. Could have been worse, lots more opportunities out there.
Roger Baron
10 Mar 2016
Re: NO CVR PAYABLE !!! Over to you then Mercersroad.
theprior
10 Mar 2016
NO CVR PAYABLE !!! That's it then.
