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Technology Stocks : IRID - Iridium World Communications IPO Announced! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: regine who wrote (1799)	5/18/1999 5:48:00 AM
From: Maurice Winn	Respond to of 2693

Whining shareholders who misjudged shouldn't try to sue. I've watched Iridium reasonably closely for 3 years [and more] and any investor who was even half awake should have been aware that the problems which sunk it were evident for anyone to see at least two years ago. To sue the company or management for being optimistic is absurd. Of course they are optimistic. Anyone who tries to get out of bed in the morning is being optimistic. There are a billion things which can do them in before nightfall, but they still think they'll get through the day and maybe enjoy it and do some good things. The investors buying the stock last year were more negligent than the company they are now trying to sue. The company had designed and built a system, starting from way back about 1985. By the end of 1997, they had to either can the whole thing, or go ahead. It was already obviously going to have trouble in the face of Globalstar and other telecommunications options. They minute price was high. Success was very far from a sure bet. Reasonably enough, the company went ahead and launched. They had already spent most of the money so the incremental amount to get the system up was reasonably [though not to me] a good bet. Otherwise intelligent investors went ahead with their investments despite contrary discussions right here. The company couldn't realistically back out. The whining shareholders could have done. To now complain that management and the company should be sued is absurd. Sure, Motorola has lined their nest, but the shareholders could see that and chose to ignore it as being the price of admission to milking the rich stupid business people who would be indifferent to the cost of the minutes because the benefit would be so great. Bad judgement! You can't sue for that. You'd sue most people in the USA. Well, all of them if you could get the evidence. The shareholders who are indulging the litigation will incur extra costs on the company, achieve nothing, get no payout and further damage the possibility of the company having some small success following bankruptcy or debt cancellation negotiations. [Forget debt 'rescheduling']. But it's no skin off my nose, and if Iridium shuts completely it is good for me. So go for it folks. Maurice