Sorry for my delay in responding (had to take the kid's to soccer). Anyway - where were we?
I will try to be brief in my response:
1. If I wanted absolute control of an oil company, I would have started one from scratch, as opposed to getting involved in Tracer. Also, I would not be prepared to invest enough money to get absolute control of Tracer - I prefer to not have "all my eggs in one basket". I tried that before with a company called Odyssey, and it personally cost me over US$1 million.
2. I have been on enough Boards to be well-aware of my fiduciary duty to the shareholders. And remember, I am an unpaid, independent Director (not an employee whom can be "fired"), and I have put my money on the line, just like the rest of the shareholders. The only way I gain anything is by increasing shareholder value, and seeing the share price go up. Therefore, I have nothing but good intentions for all of the shareholders.
3. The only thing that I think that I have underestimated is the fact that some shareholders of this company seem to have the false illusion that Tracer can succeed without a NASDAQ listing.
4. The reason that I invited you to talk to me directly is that conversing through SI is very impersonal, and it also does not allow you to get a real "feeling" about what someone else is thinking. For that reason, I look forward to meeting you in person at the shareholders' meeting.
5. I have no "agenda" - note my comments above under #2 about the shareholders.
6. My reasons for resigning from the Board previously are personal - but I will say that I did have a real problem with Peter Viggers (here is something that we can at least agree upon). Also, I am not Saracen - I know who Saracen is, and I know him well, but I am not him.
7. I have only been active with the company for a few months. I was asked in June, 1998, by Bob Fearon to get involved again and help get things going with the company. However, I was busily working with another company on some other projects, and then in August I started my Executive MBA, and so I was unable to put in a lot of time until January of this year when I joined the Board.
8. Regarding stepping down, I will guarantee you that if the shareholders do not approve the consolidation, and Tracer is ultimately delisted from NASDAQ, then I will gladly step down as a Director - without the listing, there will be nothing that I can do to save the company.
9. I will give you one more guarantee: greater communication. I have always believed in not issuing press releases until you have something concrete to talk about (most analysts and institutional investors prefer it that way), and so, for instance, if Tracer were drilling a well my preference would be to announce only when you spud, and whatever drill results you end up with - no progress reports along the way. However, it is apparent that Tracer's shareholders would prefer to see news of whatever minor developments there may be. As such, I guarantee to you, and all the shareholders, that there will be more news during the next few months.
That is all that I have to say for now.
Ciao,
DRR |
