Forum Archive Index - July 2000

["ritchie marr" <ritchie_marr@hotmail.com>]

Well it wasn't me selling off a big 500,000 slab of shares today at 4.5c 
near on close. Dare say, they will be a happy person tomorrow when the 
heralds interpretation of todays AQL meeting is sold off to the markets. 
Definitely was an opportunity however futile to air grievances about the 
share price performance.

I must admit Ken looked pretty shaky when answering my question on NTA. 
Which I will add was not at all even answered. The question being " How is 
it possible that the company can go from a net asset backing of over 11c 
...which incorporates depreciation already( as quoted by Ron Lunken-Company 
secretary, in an Email to me prior to the meeting today), in September 1999 
to just under 0.4c  by June 30th 2000.
Write downs was his reply; " but how is that possible...how can you legally 
write off that value when the original asset is still intact just as it was 
back in June".
That's just how it is...was the answer. In other words, they ( Oceanis ), 
have AQL over a barrel because they have the cash to pay off the debts, and 
get on with the development and marketing of the asset.

The bottom line was that without this sale the company would be bankrupt. 
So, why didn't Oceanis simply let Aql go bankrupt and pick up a bargain 
basement priced aquarium from the receivers? Simple, AQl management offered 
them the opportunity to buy the asset at the same price that they would have 
got from the receivers, on even better terms. This situation saves face for 
the directors of AQL, ( ie no Bankruptcy tags following their future), and 
the shareholders who would have got nothing at all are left with the 
slightest glimmer of a dream to hold onto.

Has my vote, not much choice really.

I was out the back digging a deep hole to store my Aql shares ( bottom draw 
not deep enough ), when it occurred to me that perhaps we will actually see 
something happen a little sooner than we expect.

This is my conclusion of the following pieces of the puzzle.
Phil Hudson's deemed role( most recently appointed director), is to find an 
Australian business, that has growth capacity good enough to warrant and 
support a high debt to equity ratio position; evaluate and present his 
findings to the board.

Possible avenues included Bio- tech, telecommunications and a "traditional" 
style of business, the latter seemingly more unfavoured, yet none 
conclusive; probably all possessing minor hurdles.
Something is likely to be on the boil by the next meeting in four weeks 
time.

Eric Watson seems to think that he is going to get his @$4million back, from 
whatever they are going to do next ( he paid 14c if I remember correctly).

The whole current management team are going to resign upon establishing the 
new venture/direction of AQL.

Back door listing was the most unlikely scenario for returning share holder 
value, as the number of shares on issue is so high that given a 10% value 
for back door listing, (the dilution ratio of the shareholding being a 
further 90% )that at a current point 4 of a cent could not be a realisable 
starting point, unless the new idea was cold fusion or something similar.

Anyway, I still have my legendary losses to brag about, as I have still not 
sold my shares/or options. Speaking of which check out my next story for 
some interesting info for traders.

Ritchie

disclosure( still dreaming that one day his current aql stories will be 
about nice things to say about management and share price).
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