With no practical experience of the effects of reverse splitting I have nothing to go on other than straight logic to make a judgement here. With the benefit of what has already been said by others here, this is my take on the situation.

This board has long advocated the advantages of a NASDAQ listing, although that will not necessarily free us from manipulation. Given there is an imperative to operate within a market more appropriate than Venture Capital - if we are to become a serious contender in the higher league of technology companies - management must then take the necessary steps to achieve this and the work on registration (F20) is clearly one step to such a listing. I doubt that anyone here will deny that a listing in a more sophisticated market is not needed.

Given what has happened to the share price on good news is yet another examples of what manipulation can be achieved by those with the clout and the desire influence SP. It seems logical to me that a management, targeting a NASDAQ listing, must engage all devices available to achieve this, one being the reverse split. However, the ground must be prepared now, it cannot be done as an after-thought later. For me the announcement seems to me to be perfectly reasonable behaviour for management to make all the necessary preparations and precautions for listings and they are covering their backs in this way, this is how you manage risk. They have to go through this process whether they use it or not.

There has been much emotional response against such a move as well as some well stated defences for such an action. I think many have over reacted and should consider this announcement as necessary preparation for the possibility of using such a device if it is needed. More justification will emerge if management wish this proposal to pass at AGM and we well may ultimately be convinced of the necessity of a reverse split. Besides I doubt retailers will have the muscle to prevent this.

Speculating why they have chosen to hide this in an after close announcement, I have the feeling that there will be big news on Monday which may well make the use of this device unnecessary. My advice is don’t agonise over this, enjoy your weekend, all will be revealed.