Sulja acquisition not closed
Friday, November 24, 2006
BY GARY RENNIE
STAR STAFF REPORTER
canada.com
Harrow-based Sulja Brothers Building Supplies Ltd. announced to shareholders the acquisition of another local company eight weeks ago, but The Star has learned the deal hasn’t been concluded yet, and may never be.
In an Oct. 10 news release circulated to investors on the Internet, former Sulja CEO Petar Vucicevich said the purchase of SAM Building Materials on County Road 17 in Tecumseh was “finalized” Oct. 2 and would add $6 million in annual revenue to the overall operation.
A search at the land registry office by The Star found the title for the SAM’s property was still in the name of Serge Bigaouette.
“Sulja made an offer, but it’s not closed,” Bigaouette said Thursday. “I don’t know if it ever will be or not.”
Bigaouette said he didn’t know Vucicevich was going to issue a news release in October that would be spread over the Internet. He said he’s got a lot of calls since then from anxious shareholders and others in the community.
Bigaouette said family members are upset at all the attention. “It’s starting to become a nightmare for all concerned,” he said.
Lawyers are still discussing a deal, but Bigaouette said he hasn’t had an update recently and has just carried on the business. He said he hasn’t purchased any Sulja stock, which has been getting worldwide attention from investors who follow the penny stock market.
Bigaouette said he has been trying to get some retractions to clarify the ownership situation, but word of the deal has been spread so widely over the Internet that it’s been difficult.
Internet discussion forums like Investor Hub, Silicon Investor and Raging Bull frequently refer to the purchase of SAM Building Materials as a sign of Sulja’s growth. Some have come to Essex County for a look and to take pictures, along with a trip to Sulja’s Harrow lumber yard.
To end uncertainty over what properties are owned by the public company, many shareholders are demanding to see audited financial statements and other records, said Ronan Levy, a Toronto corporate lawyer and Sulja stock owner.
Levy is circulating a petition to force the company to disclose financial statements and other records that would reveal the assets of the company and how well the business is doing financially.
Levy said about 150 investors who hold about 40 million shares have joined the petition, about half of the number needed. Based on Nevada law, the state where Sulja Brothers was incorporated, shareholders representing 15 cent of the 500 million shares believed to be outstanding can demand to inspect financial statements, Levy said.
Sulja Brothers has been promising for months to release audited financial statements to shareholders and finally set Nov. 15 as its deadline, but so far hasn’t delivered them. The company earlier released an unaudited financial statement which said overall revenues for the 12 months ending May 31, 2006, would be US$65.5 million with a pre-tax profit of US$28 million. Vucicevich later backed away from that financial statement in an interview with The Star, but didn’t release corrected figures.
Shahid Khan, lawyer for Sulja, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday. His Ouellette Avenue office was closed and calls to his office and home weren’t returned. Calls made to Steve Sulja, who has become CEO again after the departure earlier this week of Vucicevich, were also not returned.
Screen shot of article -
digitaltradz.com |
