Post de Boardpost:
Quote: Uncle Bo
First, I wanted to say that it was a pleasure to meet some of the fellow shareholders yesterday and speak with them about the future of WMIH. Now for the meeting.
There was a better attendance compared to last year (I think) and the audience asked more reasonable questions. On the other hand the BOD was not so apprehensive and better organized. Gene Davis was sitting up front in the room (not in the back like last year) next to Dianne Glossman and Michael Renoff (Greywolf) - the business development committee. Notably, item 10 from the Rules of conduct explicitly stated that questions may not be related to litigation. In my view, this was to say don't ask us why we dropped the charges against GS for one thing and for another to underline that there is no conflict of interest stemming from MW being on the BOD and in the WMILT litigation subcommittee. They also made sure that all questions are addressed to him as the person in charge.
1. The website - Phony or not (Jay has a post on that) it was mentioned in the meeting and the CFO said it will be up very soon. This is a positive sign as it will increase the visibility of the company.
2. Both MW and the CFO mentioned the payoff of the RONs. There will be only 3.5 million of this expensive (13%) debt left after the commutation agreement 65 million and the special dividend 16.5 million are used to call and retire the notes. This is also very positive at least to me.
3. Both MW and the CFO spoke about our continuing filing of the necessary regulatory forms and strengthening of internal and audit controls. This is a huge positive. To me this means that we are almost ready to do a capital raise and be listed on a major exchange. Since our proxy mentions NASDAQ listing requirements often - those would be a good start to try and determine whether we are there yet or not.
4. The bankruptcy, NOLs and the PLR - both MW and the CFO directed the attending to review the SEC filings regarding the risks. However, they also said that the 5.97B in NOLs have been around for two years and that according to our advisors represent a fairly solid number. PLR is not required and they would not comment whether we have requested one. What I think, is that PLR would only make sense with regards to a particular deal and capitalization structure and therefore if there is one in the works naturally they cannot disclose.
5.Gene Davis - he was the one in charge of commenting on the business development efforts. He said that the KKR commitment has allowed us to talk people we did not imagine we can talk to. Also that we now "at least" appear to have capital. Some deal size was too small or the deal structure too complex among the rejected deals. My interpretation:
-"too small": they are aware of the time value of money and want utilize the NOLs as quickly as possible.
-"too complex": there is additional risk due to variety of reasons - business, section 382 and the capitalization to name a few.
He also spoke about the relationship with Blackstone and the fact that we are dealing with the financial advisory and not private equity. Therefore we do not have visibility into their pipeline.
My comment: there is no conflict of interest and perhaps we are not buying anything from their portfolio.
6. What industry and deal size - MW reiterated that the financial services industry would be a good start to look for deals. However, there is no limitation as to what type of business we can acquire. The deal size and the leverage applied would be structured in a way to "move the needle" or make a difference for the shareholders. And NO we do not have a bank charter. My comment: I would think that we are still looking at the insurance market as one option.
7. No we are not tapping the 150 million from KKR just to put them in the bank before we have a deal.
In my opinion, a deal could be expected anytime between now and March 2015, this is when is the deadline for tapping into the credit facility obtained at the exit. I would also expect the annual stock grants to come out before a deal announcement. Staying fully invested and if the price declines unexpectedly will look to add to my position. :'(
GLTA
Uncle Bo