RE: influential industry investment players working behind the scenes.
This is probably just coincidence and I remember somebody posted this on Yahoo or here earlier this year. And the reference dates back to September 1995, but just for the heck of it
Our Vancouver fund manager is Rick Koe of San Francisco-based Astoria Capital Partners. Mr. Koe is a value investor, a rare bird in the high-multiple world of technology. His strategy is to hunt for the living dead that are coming around, or for wherever he believes he
is buying $1.00's worth of assets for $0.50.......
......He now holds a strong position in Ampex, a maker of digital storage systems primarily for video. In Mr. Koe's view, "If it were a two year-old company, its stock would be trading at $20." Ampex's CEO, Ed Bramson, completed an LBO and then mounted a huge reorganization. The head-count is down from 7,000 to 500, real estate and a division are being sold off, the product line has been cut from hundreds of offerings to only 16 in the last two years, and 80% of revenues are from products less than two years old. The company's products have found new vertical markets, including a large account with Visa.
Another sleepy technology sector that Mr. Koe thinks is underestimated is input devices. His favorite is Canada's Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, a joystick maker with a large market position. The company has unveiled new technology that lets multiple users play on one PC without using much storage and memory. Mr. Koe believes the company has received no multiple because it's Canadian and the founder has not stressed profitability. But the company recently hired Michael Cooper, the executive responsible for turning around Keytronics, the largest keyboard manufacturer in the world.
redherring.com |
