Avanti Capital Share Discussion Threads

[adam] 25/1/2011 00:50

well it probably was over-valued, but who knows.

mBlox requires a valuation of circa $300m and Eclectic to be worth $0 for current price of AVA to be at par. i.e. assuming Sub 4% mblox = £7.5m versus Ava m/cap £6m n.b carried interest does not affect at this level

[hugepants] 24/1/2011 16:41

The motricity stock price is really volatile. Still falling. Now capped at $665M. Thats almost a 50% fall from its peak.

[hugepants] 06/1/2011 23:25

A little write-up at the Motely Fool

[adam] 21/12/2010 20:44

Chairman Rockefeller Announces Investigation into Telephone "Mystery Charges"
Jena Longo - Democratic Press Office [phone]

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today announced that the Senate Commerce Committee is conducting an investigation into "cramming," a deceptive practice that involves placing unauthorized "mystery charges" on telephone bills.

In June, Chairman Rockefeller sent letters to three telephone companies-AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon-and requested information from them to better understand their awareness of the "cramming" problem and the steps they have taken to address it. As part of the investigation, Chairman Rockefeller asked for a list of the companies that are allowed to place third-party charges on their customers' telephone bills. Although the investigation is ongoing, Chairman Rockefeller is making the investigation public because an initial review of the companies placing third-party charges on consumers' telephone bills has raised serious concerns.

The Committee's initial review has found that:

* A significant percentage of the companies placing third-party charges on consumers' telephone bills have "cramming" complaints from consumers filed with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, and various consumer-oriented websites.

* More than 250 of these companies have a "D" or "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau.

* Many of these companies are charging telephone customers for "services," like e-mail, online photo storage, and voice mail that are either offered for free on the Internet or can be provided to customers through their preexisting telephone service.

* While hundreds of different companies place third-party charges on American consumers' telephone bills, many of these companies appear to be controlled by just a few companies. For example, a Florida company called daData, Inc., appears to control and operate as many as 30 different companies that charge consumers' phone bills.

The Committee is taking the following steps in response to these findings:

* Sending requests for information to three companies that appear to have relationships with multiple companies that have "cramming" complaints

* Continuing the ongoing investigation into AT&T, Qwest, and Verizon to understand the telephone companies' role in "cramming"

"Protecting American consumers is one of my top priorities," Chairman Rockefeller said. "My Committee will continue to investigate businesses that engage in unscrupulous practices that harm hardworking Americans and we will not stop until consumers are no longer subjected to them. Last year, we put an end to an online practice that cost Americans more than a billion dollars in unauthorized charges on their credit and debit cards. I'm continuing this fight - if unauthorized charges are being placed on consumers' telephone bills, I'm going to put a stop to it."

Today, Chairman Rockefeller sent letters to three companies that apparently own or are partnered with companies that generated a significant number of consumer "cramming" complaints. The letters can be found below.


Also

[adam] 19/12/2010 12:45

Directors of Motricity selling bucket loads of stock.

[adam] 15/12/2010 21:06

HP. Not literally, but as good as. I won't bore you with the previous shenanigans. I believe we all just want exit now at a respectable price.

I presume you subscribe to news alerts on Google too? I see mBlox are hiring like mad, so I think they are still probably going well. Even if they don't obtain a stratospheric valuation I'm very comfortable with the booked NAV, so happy to hold.

[hugepants] 15/12/2010 19:48

adam, Did you literally tell them they had their snouts in the trough? That could explain why they didn't get back to you. I think you're right though. I did send an email to Julian Fellerman a while back but got no reply. Not even an acknowledgment.

Motricity are still capped at 3/4 of a billion dollars despite falling recently. I think Id be quite happy if mblox float at the same pre-float value as Motricity ($350,000). Even the current mblox book value is higher than the current share AVA price.

[adam] 15/12/2010 18:16

No. I was the only one there last time I went. [and given I had dared to question their track record and their snouts in the trough I am probably now persona non grata].

Motricity down $3 again today to $18. I believe major shareholder billionaire Carl Icahn is selling out.

Here is a video of Icahn [march 2008] talking about why he bought into Mortricity - "His son liked it and talked him into it.... and i'm not sure that was the right decision... "

[hugepants] 08/12/2010 15:08

Anyone go to the AGM?

[adam] 06/12/2010 18:35

I guess they are a competitor of sorts?

Bango: Enabling commerce on the mobile web


Bango at a glance
+ Play on growth of the mobile web
+ Growing App Stores earnings
+ Well funded
+ Maiden profit in 2010

- Share price assumes good growth
- Original 2011 expectations reduced
- Mobiles payments methods could move against Bango
- Delays in migration from premium SMS

[adam] 06/12/2010 18:35

I guess they are a competitor of sorts?

Bango: Enabling commerce on the mobile web


Bango at a glance
+ Play on growth of the mobile web
+ Growing App Stores earnings
+ Well funded
+ Maiden profit in 2010

- Share price assumes good growth
- Original 2011 expectations reduced
- Mobiles payments methods could move against Bango
- Delays in migration from premium SMS

[adam] 01/12/2010 20:52

Motricity Needs More Than Buzz


Exclusive: Motricity terminates contract with T-Mobile, cuts jobs

A T-Mobile spokesman declined to comment on the business relationship with Motricity. Interestingly, the termination of the contract comes just a few weeks after Ireland-based NewBay -- a Motricity rival and T-Mobile vendor -- opened its North American headquarters in Seattle.

The layoffs at Motricity, which impacted 13 of the company's 600 employees and contractors, were unrelated to the T-Mobile deal, according to a spokeswoman.

[lbo] 15/11/2010 10:57

Mblox IPO in 2011?

[errollc] 12/11/2010 15:56

All the MM's are flat or short and the purchases today took them by surprise. About time this share moved in the right direction!

[hugepants] 10/11/2010 14:51

Amazing that Motricity has now trebled since its float. Its not capped at $1.2 billion!

Lets say mBlox float at a mere $500 million (pre money) then Avanti's mBlox stake worth $20M assuming 4% ownership (could be 5% or 6% but assume low estimate). That 155p per share. I think management take 25% of (155-65) = 22.5p . So that leaves 132p. I think at some point in the next 6 months, or whenver mBlox IPOs, Avanti will have well over £1 per share in cash on top of the Eclectic Bars business which looks very undervalued as well at 90p book value.

[hugepants] 04/11/2010 22:53

Yeah we're guessing a bit. Why couldn't they just have said what the percentage was before the latest round of funding.

[adam] 04/11/2010 17:32

On an equivalent basis, assuming a 4% holding in mBlox, Avanti would have a $40m stake. That's 7x the current market cap on its own on a pre-tax pre carried interest basis. If they've got 7% then that's nearly double again. Not bad!

[adam] 04/11/2010 17:27

When I originally worked it out, I got over 7%. Maintaining their investment in mBlox does not mean they invested on a pro-rata basis, so we are left guessing what the state of affairs is. More important though is at what level it was made. If the partners invested at a higher valuation than Jan 2008, which seems likely, then it will have to be marked up in their books. I still suspect it is a pre-IPO funding and so we will not have to guess for much longer - I hope.

[hugepants] 04/11/2010 17:24

Motricity now capped at $1 billion

[hugepants] 04/11/2010 14:24

Can you work out from Avanti results what their current percentage is in mblox?

adam, I think I got the same as you. 4.65%. Maybe the upside on the mblox investment isn't as big as expected now but Id still expect considerably north of £1 per share back in cash, after the directors take their whack, when it floats. Hopefully soon.

Id say the eclectic bars business is the main asset. Its continuing to grow even in this environment and youd think they'd win market share as the weaker operators drop out.

[adam] 04/11/2010 09:26

From the mBlox site


mBlox received $22M in Series E funding. (1/28/08)

mBlox received $25M in Series D funding. (2/23/06)

mBlox received $7.5M in Series C funding. (3/9/05)

mBlox received $10M in Series B funding. (7/9/04)

Additonally we know Avanti invested $1m in Series C funding on a pro-rata basis.

Hence at that stage they had 13.3%

I guess it is a shame they have not been able to maintain their percentage, but it is a game for those with deep pockets and Avanti screwed up with the loan to Barvest and had to bail them out with their remaining cash. In retrospect it would have been better put to use elsewhere, not least mBlox.

Can you work out from Avanti results what their current percentage is in mblox?

[hugepants] 03/11/2010 16:04

I do not know why they did not IPO since it seems that a very high valuation would be attained.

I think it was only about a month ago that Motricity was about 20% below its IPO price. Its only recently its shot up. So maybe that had a bearing on postponing an IPO of mblox.

[errollc] 02/11/2010 16:03

The management have made some mistakes in the past....but the two main, large holdings (Mblox and Eclectic) are doing very well indeed. If Mblox was floated the NAV would be double the current price (at least). Similalry if one had a revaluation of Eclectic, the price would be 2x the book value (yesterday's Telegraph says Eclectic was trading very well indeed). I don't see the downside to this share (famous last words) and can see it doubling in the next 12 months or so. Seems a good bet to me.