I smell something, and it smells real bad! Basically, I think there's a major league ripoff going on here, and its the stockholders who are being shortchanged. Who is this "private investor" who wants to buy the software division? Is he/she a Docucon insider or associated with an insider? Have other bids been solicited? Has the company's Board of Directors done due diligence to see if the offered price is fair or, as I suspect, is it too low? For the past year all we've heard is how great this litigator software is and how wide the potential market is; now, the company seems willing to sell it for a pittence. Let's face it, the software division is Docucon's major asset. The document conversion business is worthless. Even if it does get the fabled DOD contract, it's a low margin business with no recurring revenue stream ( what happens when the DOD contract expires? ). So the company is in essence selling for ~$17 million a software package that has wide applicability in an as yet untapped market. Somebody is trying to steal this product from its current owners ( the stockholders ) and I have a feeling its an inside job. If the company's true worth is not reflected in the stock price, it should split into two parts ( the software and the document conversion businesses ) and let the two spinoffs trade independently.
If anyone knows how to reach investor relations, please ask them these questions:
1) Who is this mysterious "private investor?"
2) What is his/her relationship with company officers?
3) How was the price determined?
4) Were other bids solicited?
The stockholders will ultimately have to vote on this deal, and unless these questions are answered to our satisfaction AND we get fair value for our investment, I suggest we vote no. |
