The Crystallex Take on The Reverse Split
posted on
May 20, 2011 09:16AM
Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian-based gold company with a successful record of developing and operating gold mines in Venezuela and elsewhere in South America
Personally, I was not too happy when I saw the news, but I wrote RM for the Crystallex line on why. Here was my email, which was fairly blunt:
Richard, Do you (Crystallex) have a cogent rational for the effort and expense of a reverse split? Does anyone believe that it will have any impact on our delisting? I ask this because we were not selected for delisting based on share price or market capitalization, which obviously is unchanged by this action, but because we are no longer an operating company. I am somewhat disappointed because I think that Bob could raise the existing share price to a dollar by simply making a deal with the note holders and arranging sufficient suitable financing to carry us through the arbitration. If arbitration is truly our only remaining option, and Bob is simply vacationing in Hong Kong, then the only important issue to the markets and shareholders is our ability to survive financially until the end of the process. We have been repeatedly assured that financing is no problem, perhaps now is the time to make that clear to the world. If you read the Agoracom board, I am sure that you are aware that current lack of any viable financing plan, followed by the reverse split news is not popular with the retail base. Perhaps you have some comments that shed light on the sensibility of this? Thanks
RM quickly replied as always:
Hello Mr. XXX The Company believes it has a very arguable and defensible position relating to the Amex delisting decision and hearing. In 1998, when the TSJ ruled to disallow the advancement of the 11 motions regarding the Las Cristinas title, the Company had no operating assets and was in search of a few opportunities that in 1999 and 2000 it took advantage of. There is a similar history, pattern, cycle to the current position of Crystallex .... who knows maybe the restoration, recovery or resurrection the lost asset may reoccur like it did back then. In the brief letter we received from Amex, the Company does believe it meets the listing criteria raised. However, there was a comment about the low share price which is discretionary by the exchange. Certainly the Company believes some of the initiatives underway to deal with the short term working capital (e.g sale of the equipment) and the restructuring/refinancing of the notes should favorably impact shareholder concerns and lead to better valuations. If it comes down to share price in the near term, the company asked the shareholders to consider and vote for an ability to reverse split the shares to maintain the Amex listing. I'm sure most would agree that a higher profiled US exchange listing should help improve valuations in the longer term especially if successful in some of these other initiatives and with respect to a resolution, settlement or judgment regarding the las Cristinas. An application or reapplication to a higher profile US exchange can take months or years. No one is vacationing or focused elsewhere! Rgds, Richard Marshall