I stand corrected. I re-read the press release of the deal and it was combination of cash and non-cash - though I am not any clearer on what the non-cash portion was or what that consideration actually is...
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I stand corrected. I re-read the press release of the deal and it was combination of cash and non-cash - though I am not any clearer on what the non-cash portion was or what that consideration actually is...
How is this hard?
1. Board determines to announce Kodak's block chain scheme on day one of the CES.
2. 7 board members decide to buy Kodak stock 1 day before the start of CES.
3. Announcement made at CES- Stock pops 180%.
4. Board members sell stock next day.
Not hard at all.
Or, this variation:
1. Board decides to defer announcement of block chain scheme until after options vest.
2. Options vest.
3. Board members exercise options.
4. Block chain scheme announced.
5. Board members sell stock acquired though exercise of options at tidy profit.
1. Board decides to defer announcement of block chain scheme until after options vest.
2. Options vest.
3. Board members exercise options.
4. Block chain scheme announced.
5. Board members sell stock acquired though exercise of options at tidy profit.
Because it's absurdly-easy for the SEC too trace in an investigation unless they've carefully-engineered proxies to buy & sell the shares.
Oh, there was insider-buying all right...and it was disclosed to the SEC.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/k...isitions-prior-to-blockchain-rally-2018-01-11
But these are RSUs - which can only be sold a year from now. Do you think those RSUs will be above-water a year from now? I don't. Seems like a bunch of wealthy opportunists who can afford to lose a bit (and the acquisitions are on the order of ~$150K - $500K) of money were placing long-shot bets.
Plausible to execute - but:
KODK's share price has taken a pounding - what are the chances that those options are not underwater even with the pop? Options have a strike price.
If they spent any sort of time engineering such a scheme - it may not have been time well spent because the share price is only at the level it was 7 or 8 months ago.
We know (per my link above) that there was insider buying with RSU grants. Even if these grants were made with a 100% discount on the share price - these were on the order of a few tens of thousands of shares which can only be sold a year from now. A weak bet made with some degree of house money by men who were possibly foolish enough to drink their own Kool-Aid perhaps...
My simple minded version is 7 board members get "paid" 150 grand a year to attend a couple of board meetings a year. They were "paid" a few days before the announcement with Kodak shares at 3 bucks a pop. Less than a week later they sell stock now worth a half a million. I wish I was in "the club" these guy's sit on each other's boards. set each others compensation, and just cash in.
Bunch of Crooks.
Bunch of Crooks.
Well, they haven't actually sold it - and really can't for another year (the "R" in "RSU").
Perhaps their only real crime is being foolish enough to drink the company's own KOOL-AID?
That is a great way for the board to end up in jail. The SEC would quickly nail them. Is there no end to your Kodak hatred?
Kind of over-reacting aren't you?
The scheme RattyMouse suggested isn't really possible to execute - it's handing the SEC absurdly low-hanging fruit.
There was buying of Kodak stock via annual RSU stock grants. Those RSUs cannot be sold for a year. I wouldn't bet against those RSUs coming with a hefty discount on the share price - that's often the way of things - but there's nothing actually illegal here. And unless something unforeseen occurs that boosts KODK's share price (I'm expecting the luster of KodakCoin to fade rather fast) - I don't see this making much money for them.
I'd say the board is at far greater risk of becoming an oft-repeated and ridiculed tale of the excesses of 2018's blockchain bubble hysteria than they are of being investigated by the SEC.
Most cases brought by the SEC, btw, result in some sort of settlement by the accused, rather than his/her incarceration.
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MattKing
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Well, the release of liability with respect to the UK pension legislation was certainly an important non-cash consideration.
Ratty Mouse has been puking venom about Kodak and its employees for many months. He has made baseless claims and insults about Kodak employees including the scientists and engineers for too long. As a former Kodak systems engineer I am fed up with his crap and I will now call him on it every time.
Did you read the link?
Baseless? I think not. That's your opinion. Nothing more.
+1 . Thanks!
Good. I'm sick of his garbage too.
There really isn't any evidence of wrong-doing by the board.
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/kodk/insider-trades
Search through the history of inside buying and you'll see that most of these directors made similar buys in early-January of 2017. The RSUs purchased on those dates would now be vested - but there's no indication in the SEC filings that they have been sold.
If you want to be mad at them, you can content yourself in the knowledge that the RSUs were acquired through an Omnibus Incentive Plan - which means that these shares were likely purchased at a very-heavily-discounted price, as such discounts are de rigueur for those plans.
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/kodk/insider-trades
Search through the history of inside buying and you'll see that most of these directors made similar buys in early-January of 2017. The RSUs purchased on those dates would now be vested - but there's no indication in the SEC filings that they have been sold.
If you want to be mad at them, you can content yourself in the knowledge that the RSUs were acquired through an Omnibus Incentive Plan - which means that these shares were likely purchased at a very-heavily-discounted price, as such discounts are de rigueur for those plans.
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Speaking of the SEC and such, based on my direct experience with them (I tipped them off about some funny business in a company I was aware of), their usual course of action is nothing. At least that what my experience was. The SEC did not even lift their little finger to come down on those who had misbehaved. After a few years the stock exchange did take some action against them... delisting, but it was too little/too late for most of the shareholders who had been taken in by the company's schemes.
This proves nothing.
Kodak created this cryptocurrency scheme VERY quickly; in just a few months. The created it and timed it perfectly around an established stock trading pattern. That too could be a way to execute an insider trade.
No one outside of Kodak thinks that this idea has much validity. It's not going to generate significant revenue nor profits. Two things Kodak sorely needs.
At the end of the day, Kodak's new cryptocurrency and bitcoin mining hardware made a lot of press and juiced their stock. But this came at a significant cost of devaluing their brand and credibility.
Just looking at both of these announcements by Kodak and you see either a total lack of an ability to sell the idea (new currency) or obvious mistruths about them (leasing mining hardware).
It is impossible to understand how the executive leadership allowed this to happen.
Maybe there's a different take? Here from Bloomberg is a story worth checking out before writing the whole thing off. Jeff CLarke (bio here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Clarke_(businessman) ) and the story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...seize-blockchain-moment-and-win-over-skeptics
Think there may be (emphasis on may) more than meets the rightly, very skeptical eyes. Stock market shenanigans don't necessarily reflect the values. Interesting to look at Kodak's sales relative to its market cap - which is a fraction of sales. Kodak's assets are worth more than it's stock. Period.
Think there may be (emphasis on may) more than meets the rightly, very skeptical eyes. Stock market shenanigans don't necessarily reflect the values. Interesting to look at Kodak's sales relative to its market cap - which is a fraction of sales. Kodak's assets are worth more than it's stock. Period.
This is probably the best article that shows how questionable Kodakcoins are.
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-10/good-luck-spending-your-kodakcoins
The Levine article to me seems mostly snark and fails to really address what Kodak has actually said. Rather Levine's trying to imagine something and diss something which probably have very little resemblance to what the CEO at Kodak has in mind. Remember the dude has some fairly significant tech credentials. So I'd sit back, wait and give the company a chance rather than like Levine, diss something that hasn't even made it to a spec list.
You don't think that the fact that Kodakcoins are restricted to "accredited" investors is not a huge drawback to using this cryptocurrency? Please explain.
It is easier to criticize then to make constructive criticism. It is even easier to sit back and be critical when one knows nothing. Thank you for your observation.
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