Tuesday , August 22, 2006 08:55 ET
Today's Page One feature in the Knobias, Inc. (otcbb: KNBS) Small-cap ClipReport highlights IDS Worldwide (otc: IDWD) and its recent events. To receive the Small-Cap ClipReport Daily, please visit:
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IDWD, Don't Quote Me on That
Today's story probably isn't going to help anyone make money, but hopefully it will be informative and ward off any uninformed investment in certain Pink Sheet quoted (well sorta) stock that seems to generate more questions than answers.
In current market conditions, Over the Counter (OTC) and Pink Sheet stocks are not as widely followed as other names on the NYSE, NASDAQ, Amex and OTCBB. One reason many OTC and Pink Sheet stock carry more risk is the lack of verifiable information and regulatory oversight. Investors and analysts should feel apprehension when investing in unregulated, often unsubstantiated claims.
Outrageous claims, unfulfilled promises, and sometimes, outright fraud by a handful of penny stock operators has given the entire small-cap space a bad name. This unfortunately leads to less money invested, less trading liquidity and punitive valuations for even the best small-cap names. If only there was more transparency, oversight and truth. This is where Knobias attempts to help investors make informed decisions based on reliable due diligence.
Case in point ... IDS Worldwide Inc (otc: IDWD) first appeared on our RAiDAR screens a year ago when the company gave quasi revenue guidance of $25-30M with an EPS of 21-23c and announced that they might even revise that upward. IDWD has yet to release any credible financial information. The company also announced a buyback of 5m shares of stock and a move to the OTCBB (even though the previous month they announced a move to the NasdaqSC or Amex by Q4-05). At the time, the company's automobile portal (995ad.com) was noted as being the 2nd largest automobile site on the web.
In Sep-05, IDWD announced a major expansion into China with its 995ad.com site and that a 10M share buyback had been completed instead of the 5M previously announced. Guidance was confirmed, but not revised upward, although there were 5M less shares outstanding.
In Oct-05, IDWD announced a special dividend following "sale of the company's homeland security division for $41.5M dollars". At the time, shares were trading at 10c until IDWD noted that the minimum dividend would be 87c per share. In the same month, they changed their name and symbol to IDS Worldwide, Inc. (otc: IDWD).
Fast forward a few months when IDWD announced an increase in their dividend payment to $1.10 along with an IPO for their 995ad.com website (IDWD traded around $0.50 at the time). The next month, IDWD announced the acquisition of two overseas distributors, a $50M dollar distribution agreement for the healthcare industry, a security contract in Pakistan, and the acquisition of a 100,000 sq ft facility. They also released a clarification on the qualification of shareholders of IDWD to receive shares of the 995ad.com and suggested an impending registration statement. To our knowledge, IDWD has NEVER filed with the SEC.
In Apr-06, IDWD announced that it received 3 different offers, each one higher in value, to acquire the 995ad.com website. In May-06, an upgraded version of the company's biometric product was released and the dividend payment date was moved. In June the dividend was supposedly paid, but not in cash, instead with restricted shares of HLS Worldwide. The company then announced unsolicited buyout offers for $1.75, then $2.25, and finally $2.35 per share.
Is this IDWD’s current CEO?
seminolesheriff.org[rfn]=2613
Repeated calls to IDWD headquarters in an attempt confirm or refute the mugshot identity were ignored. Speaking of IDWD headquarters, be sure to check out the computer rendering (not a photo) of IDWD headquarters contained within their "corporate presentation" on IDS-Worldwide.com
IDWD’s press release barrage concerning unconfirmed dividends, spin-offs, contracts, buybacks and buyouts all without a whisper of audited financials, should leave the savvy investor questioning the current $40-50M marketcap. There are many questions that Knobias would like to answer for our readers, but every offer (at least 50 in the last 3 months) to quote IDWD representatives on every topic has been refused.
Speaking of quotes ... If you want to get a stock quote on IDWD, you'd better not go to the PinkSheet.com website. For some reason the Pink Sheets, IDWD's primary trading venue, has chosen to publish a WARNING to investors instead of a current stock quote. Go figure. |
