Some good info from Dave, thanks. Also have a little to say, since I was called by Ralph Curton at Jeff van P's suggestion, and we spoke for about an hour Thursday. Some of what follows is from him, and I have added my own take in some places. No responsibility accepted, this is hearsay, OK??
First off, I do not usually get involved with boards and chats about stocks now. They get emotional, and that is beginning of the end if you want to make good decisions. Cabec is a BB stock, highly speculative and by its nature, short on information. Do not invest any cash you cant stand to lose, and if you lose it, then tough. There's no crying in the oilpatch. In my opinion, CBNR will be a good opportunity for trading in the next several months, we are in for a bumpy ride courtesy of the market, something you and I and all cannot control. Make your own decisions, do not rely on anything I have said, or write here, and good luck.
RC took over Cabec after being a spectator to its misfortunes, cleaned it up some, paid off some debt and went looking to add some assets. Does not draw salary, but obviously has controlling interest with family/associates. Since Cabec has little cash to throw around, assets collected for stock or other trade. (It is typical for PR guys to get stock, and it is no shock that Mark Schultz got any, and I guess the current firm does too.) Schultz is out of the picture although he has a position and is free to say what the hell he likes. Finacials up to May 96 are done, up to May 97 in the works, but are basically irrelevent since they probably show a fat zero. A research report by an oilpatch research company is coming out soon, and I guess will become common knowledge here in some detail.
Running through the items:
FleurDavid: was put on hold while Cooper going on. Remember, you are dealing with a company (Cabec) with little cash, few employees, basically barebones. FleurDavid now becomes higher priority. You can drill frozen ground, so could be active after January, say. Production is occurring today, but spotty, up to 100bpd.
Wyoming: a bread'n'butter operation that has the potential to expand into servicing other equipment. Second shift (really a night shift to set-up the following days work) not a fact yet. A steady player that gets Cabec a good workaday reputation in the biz.
Cooper; I guess Cooper was 100% Cabec's while in BK. The trick is to get it out of BK. Cabec does not have the money to do that, and recapitalise for production. So Tulsa got the firm in exchange for the cut from the top and 15% undilutable. You can argue this both ways, but I agree the deal made sense. Tulsa will have to provide the capital to get prod going, Cabec just collects. As bigger clients sign contracts, they will essentially finance their own deals, and volume can pick up. Noone would deal with Cooper in BK, obviously. RC feels they will be able to announce orders and begin production in 90-120 days. Tulsa plans to grow other related businesses at same time, he says. I believe Cooper will flourish.
PPP: clearly a new venture. They are apparently attracting some impressive staff. This is entrepreneurial stuff, so you're in a crapshoot. To be honest, I think they have a hell of a chance. (For all I care, there could be 50 companies making plastic pallets already.)
Thats it. Meeting will be held soon. Eventually oil business could be spun off from Cabec, which is a whole other issue. Will it die on the vine? Isn't it better to keep the earnings consolidated? Who know's. Fact is were not in control no matter how hard we try, because the man's got majority.
So what about the man? Curton is not sentimental. He has been in the business for years, finance etc, not engineering. Had winners and losers. Been up, been down. Me too (real estate, insurance ...). For one, I give him the benefit of the doubt. Does he owe me a living? No. Will Cabec screw up? Maybe. Is it worth the risk? You decide. I intend to hold a portion (say half) of my position at least through March 98. The other I am prepared to trade, as we will see ups and downs. If the worst happens, I'd as soon sell it all tomorrow.
But yes, for now, and based only on my own feelings, I'm long. To be candid, I own 25,000 shares at an average of 38 cents.
Please don't e-mail. Good luck, and good-bye. You too, Woods. |
