Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from ShareProphets). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Shares in Quindell (QPP) were suspended for six hours today as it was caught out for once again having told investors a pack of lies. It seems that it has sold Slater & Gordon rather more than was announced on Monday. This is just a total joke of regulation – when is someone going to prison?
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Comments
Daniel Victor
Is Slater’s offer binding on Slater prior to Quindell’s actual acceptance ?
wildrides
It seems as though even the worms inside the “can of worms” are infected with worms . Fetch the Panacur.
alcira16247
Tom
Yet again, another shocking revelation regarding this pariah!
Sharing empathy with the long suffering LSE bulletin board investors in this POS! (NOT!)
The elation they felt and speculated on, during the last few days contemplating the future of the world class telemetric’ s company, to be ………. seemingly shattered, by those nasty Aussies! The only piece of the telemetric’s division with any sort of viable future……..Ingenie, taken by them?
Is all that’s left now,……. a nursing home in Canada…….. Somerset scaffolding company…….. and the biggest joke of all, the $240 million Himax operation, now, in the words of an American judge……. “in dire financial straits”!
The value of the New Quindell? Maybe, the price of a packet of crisps!
Sweet Karolina
Tom,
The issue was the total amount of bogus profit the PSD made. The circular on Mon lists all the shite companies that comprise PSD. This is the first time I have seen a list of what PSD comprised. The 2 companies whose bogus profit was not included in the original bogus profit figures were listed in the circular as belonging to PSD, they just forgot to add in those bogus profits, possible because they were originally so ashamed of how badly bogus they were.
The interesting bit is how little bogus profit the rump actually makes and when you strip out the bogus element it will be very close to zero.
Everyone has been thinking they were going to get £1+ in cash by some form of Special Dividend. The Mon announcement said “The Company proposes to use a majority of the cash to fund a substantial return of capital to its Shareholders” does not say SD, but that is what everyone assumed it meant.
Today’s announcement said “The Company intends to make a capital distribution to Shareholders as detailed in the Circular and not a distribution by way of special dividend so as to try and ensure that the return of capital is tax efficient for any private Shareholders;”
The circular uses the same wording as the Mon RNS.
What other ways are there of returning cash to shareholders? Are they saying they are going to use the money to buy their own shares in the market and then cancel them?
AJCB
Sweet Karolina,
I’m not an accountant (and I’m assuming from your post you aren’t either) but my understanding is that a dividend (whether special or not) is a distribution of distributable reserves (e.g. profits) whereas a capital distribution is a distribution of capital (it does what it says on the tin) which can be in the form of cash. Given that post PSD sale QPP will have very little other than cash then my guess is that the capital distribution will be done using cash.
AJCB
DUCK AND DIVE
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-3022041/Quindell-left-red-faced-shares-cease-trading-hours-14m-blunder.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Barford
Good piece again….. I don’t get why they paying 6.9 multiply EBITDA on figures that are going to be restated. …..
How true or bogus is the EBITDA. Or are they going to pay max 6.9 of whatever the restated is?…
I’ve asked their investor relations dept and will see what comes back (if anything) …..
Sweet Karolina
AJCB,
Not an accountant, just a PI. I have seen returning capital to shareholders mean buying back shares, not disting cash direct to shareholders. I was wondering how else returning capital to shareholders can be done that does involve the shareholder seeing cash rather than having to cash in their shares to benefit.
Sweet Karolina
I see from SGH ASX announcements that the Aussies still have not worked out what a massive pup they have been sold. Back from trading halt and up nearly 4%. Unlike QPP which fell following return from its little suspension.
dasv
TW – minor points (typos)
“We also have the bogus sales to Biogen”: Do you mean Biosign?
“I other words what remains”: In other words, what remains
“what remains at Quenron was not profitable in the real sense and certainly was not cash generative as it is this division which perennially featured a tidal wave of capitalised costs”
Currie, when asked in a conference call, whether the remainding business was cash generative replied that the remainder was about “break-even”. This is in contrast with the stated PBT figs in the latest RNS. V. contradictory. I suspect Currie is telling the truth, but that the RNS figs will subsequently be re-written to 0 pending re-statement.
“ £25 million will go on paying bank debts”
I think > 40m has been stated to go for paying debts
—
overall I’d say it’s great to see an improvement in corporate governance at QPP after hiring those “Big Hitters” Rose and Sutcliffe who, as QPP longs told us, were going to turn the ship around. He said sarcastically.
—
SK: “I see from SGH ASX announcements that the Aussies still have not worked out what a massive pup they have been sold.”
I asked SGH on Twitter why they are paying such a premium for a distressed company. Of course, no reply.
Lord Lucan
if there is no value left in Quenron then why are the shorts now going long?
the list is growing by the day.. Paul Scott, Waseem and now today Simon Cawkwell.
time to change the record Tom Pinocchio Winnifrith.
oh perhaps the £637m was a lie too? think you missed the target there Tom with your £100m.
one more thing get a proofreader. come come Oakley i have a task for you.
yours,
LTH
SD
The mistake is more (complete) incompetence than lies – although how it got missed by the directors and all the advisers is amazing. The payout will be in cash done by some form of capital reduction scheme eg issuing B shares which are then immediately cancelled. And yes perhaps Oakley could do a bit of proof reading in return for a few treats. Judging by his disappointed looks at his empty bowl in that video he needs a bit of cheering up.