When will I close this blog?

Pyne Gould (controlled by George Kerr and Baker Street Capital Management) recently started buying back a significant amount of shares and some investors believe it is the last push to take the company private. It prompted many of you to ask whether I will stop blogging or if I "will be giving up on Mogridge and Kerr".

In the first instance, this blog is not about me. This is not my blog and the compliments you email me are giving me too much credit. At the outset we stated,
 "This is a group effort so we look forward to any information you might care to share with us by emailing transparency6@gmail.com"


In the second instance, this blog is not about George Kerr, Bryan Mogridge, Vadim Perelman, etc. It could just as well have been about Tom, Dick and Harry. At the outset we stated,

"This blog has one aim: Shed light on the topic, by becoming a central source of information on PGC and the labyrinth of business interests that surround it. Transparency is a wonderful thing!"

Ultimately, it is about a New Zealand public company being controlled by owners that are not being transparent. It does seem possible that Pyne Gould will soon be neither a New Zealand company nor public. Those of you that suggest we have "driven Pyne Gould, Kerr and those hedge funds out of the country" are wrong and missing the point. We are standing up for ourselves and are shedding must needed light on a situation, when our regulators, press and other shareholder "protectors" are incapable or should I say unwilling to do their jobs.

It is straight forward. If you want to behave like a private company, go private or if you do not want to treat your fellow public shareholders with respect then go somewhere else. We will do what we can to shape proper behaviour in this country and we would like to think that in future we will not have to write blogs like this one to bring about such behaviour. Why not simply behave like gentlemen and treat your shareholders with respect, whether it is PGC or any other public company for that matter? Duh!

Cheerio!
jA

Anderson Cooper once said, I think it's a good thing that there are bloggers out there watching very closely and holding people accountable. Everyone in the news should be able to hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I'm for as much transparency in the newsgathering process as possible

Unlikely bedfellows - Bryan Mogridge, Greg Bright, George Kerr, Vadim Perelman and Crispin Odey, Lord Ashcroft, Lord Iliffe

I have seen reports that Torchlight (controlled by Pyne Gould Corp and ultimately controlled by George Kerr and Baker Street Capital Management) invested in distressed UK newspaper assets. I did not know whether it had any substance, but the recent published comments by management confirmed it (relevant section copied below).

When we mentioned it to our contact in Los Angeles (see previous post) he laughed (once again) and said, "You want to check", so we did.

The Guardian Newspaper in the UK reported, Local World was formed in 2012, valued at about £100m. Daily Mail and General Trust (UK newspaper group) sold some regional newspapers (Northcliffe) for £53m cash and a 38.7% stake. Trinity Mirror did not contribute any newspapers, but invested £14m in cash for a 20% stake. All the reports other reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)  suggest the other investors are the Iliffe family (owners of small regional newspapers group Yattendon), a well known UK based hedge fund manager Crispin Odey and Lord Ashcroft (known as a backer of the UK’s Tory political party).




































 Local World’s own website lists three industry shareholders DMGT, Trinity Mirror and Yattendon.

A search of the official registrar in the UK (Companies House) http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ lists the shareholders as and in the following order,
Daily Mail and General Holdings Limtied
Trinity Mirror Plc
Artefact Group (Lord Ashcroft)
Odey Asset Management LLP (Crispin Odey)

If Pyne Gould chairman's statement is true then the only conclusion Iis that Pyne Gould, via Torchlight, muscled into the deal by striking a deal with the Artefact Group or Odey Asset Management. If true then they sure make for some strange bedfellows.

The Gentlemen

 

Crispin Odey - Lord Ashcroft - Lord Iliffe

 

 

 

 

 

Pyne Gould/Torchlight

Brian Mogridge, Greg Bright, George Kerr, Vadim Perelman

Odey Asset Management might have invested via one of its funds, which take money from the public and it is most likely that Torchlight invested in one of the Odey funds, which invested in Local World Media. That again would have been odd, because why would you pay another company to do your investment work for you? I'm afraid to say, it does not make much sense to me. Please email me if you have a better explanation.  

Cheerio!
jA

Anderson Cooper once said, I think it's a good thing that there are bloggers out there watching very closely and holding people accountable. Everyone in the news should be able to hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I'm for as much transparency in the newsgathering process as possible.

Michael Owen Tinkler did not stay long

If you view this section of the blog then it is clear that Michael Owen Tinkler has historically been close to George Kerr and his companies. Probably not more so than when he also joined the board of Pyne Gould Corp at the beginning of 2012 only to retire several months later on 28 November (p.8).

Maybe the heat around the "controversial $28 million related-party lending", which "involved a short-term loan from Perpetual to a company directed by Michael Tinkler, also PGC's general counsel at the time" was enough to make him decide to seek greener pastures with Burton & Co in Auckland.

PGC-The Last of the Kowhai?

Last month an elderly gentleman asked;

Q: What is the difference between PGC and Kowhai flowers?
A: The Kowhai flowers will be back next year.

The observation is PGC's upcoming delisting is the last you will ever hear or see of that company.

The comment came on the back of this tale.

The Great Kiwi Shakedown

A Los Angeles based investment manager and friend of the elderly gentleman recently opined, “Ha! It’s a shake down. The Great Kiwi Shake down!” Ironically Baker Street Capital Management, which together with George Kerr controls Pyne Gould and main investment vehicle Torchlight, is based in Los Angeles. The investment manager was referring to the recent disclosure to delist from the New Zealand stock exchange and list on the London Stock Exchange. He believed this is true because,

1. Baker Street Capital Management and George Kerr are putting “legal distance” between Pyne Gould’s original jurisdiction, New Zealand and the ultimate jurisdiction Guernsey, by first moving the “core business of Torchlight” to the Cayman Islands (p45, 2013 Annual report). Why he asked? He knows (as we do) the Baker Street Capital Management funds/investment vehicles are based in the Caymans. Is it purely a coincidence? From Baker Street's Sears Holdings analysis (The Case for Sears Holdings), you will see they understand intricate legal and tax structures well and know how to deal with them.  Why did George Kerr and Baker Street not move the business straight to Guernsey?
2. According to the LA investment manager, ““Why would I buy back stock, ahead of a public listing? It does not make any sense. Unless, I have no intention to list in London in the first place. If I plan a shake down, that is how I would do it. Read what they are saying to you. They are not saying, we will list! They are saying, “the Board is recommending to shareholders that PGC embark on a path which is intended to see PGC seek admission” They can travel on that path as long as it pleases them. The moment they delist “after 12 December 2013” is the last you will ever hear from my friends here in LA and that Kerr guy. Ha! It’s a shake down. The Great Kiwi Shake down! Good luck to those shmucks Down Under that own the piece of garbage.“
3. The last question the Los Angeles manager asked the elderly gentleman, “Where the hell is your regulator?” 

 ...Guest writer..

How NOT to fire your employees

You might remember that PGC (currently controlled by Mr George Kerr and Baker Street Capital Management) was caught with the hand in the cookie jar in the beginning of 2012 and John Duncan (MD at the time) resigned in April 2012. This was not the only drama that was playing out at PGC. Details of the dismissal of the head of operations and financial controller of former subsidiary Perpetual James West recently surfaced. You can read the full transcript of the hearing below.

Mr West

Sequal to "How to lose $22m in 6 months"...How to lose $31m in 12 months

6 months ago we showed you how PGC shareholders were out of pocket by $22m. Now, 6 months on we were hoping for improved affairs, but regrettably things did not improve. Heartland shares increased significantly in price. The $22m number now increased to $31m and PGC's market value decreased by $4m. The $31m is now a staggering 22% of market value. Australia Equity Partners, ultimately controlled by Vadim Perelman

through his vehicle Baker Street Capital Management and George Kerr

has to shoulder the blame. Mr Kerr, preferred to not attend PGC's AGM, where shareholders expected him and his fellow controlling shareholder Mr Perelman to explain these deals. 

Reblogged: Pyne Gould Corporation – hedge fund discounts and shifty management

Analysis on Pyne Gould Corporation
http://fowci.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/pyne-gould-corporation-hedge-fund-discounts-and-shifty-management/

Cheerio!
jA

Anderson Cooper once said, I think it's a good thing that there are bloggers out there watching very closely and holding people accountable. Everyone in the news should be able to hold up to that kind of scrutiny. I'm for as much transparency in the newsgathering process as possible.