Rws Share Discussion Threads

[whites10] 28/12/2011 16:22

Why the sudden drop? trades seem ok....anyone......

[robinnicolson] 14/12/2011 17:54

A good set of results, especially in such a tough economic climate. Very happy to be a long term shareholder in this excellent business.

[phillis] 14/12/2011 09:54

happiness!

[phillis] 13/12/2011 11:25

looking forward to tomorrow's RNS and a goodly increase in the divi

[jmmoss] 10/12/2011 14:10

Everything seems to indicate a buy on this one too; charts, balacance sheet, my computer program and trading update on the way...

[phillis] 05/12/2011 10:40

in the run up to an 11p (?) dividend

[grahamburn] 14/10/2011 10:33

So, Brode has reduced his stake in the business by giving half a million shares to a school trust (his old school?). He still holds 18 million shares (42% of the company). Doubt one can draw any significant conclusions from this one-off transaction (charitable gift) unless it's followed by further reductions in in his holdings.

[phillis] 13/10/2011 07:36

futher
based on yesterday's organisational announcement I assume the management are being lined up as one potential bidding party (along with an appropriate private equity investor) - always assuming they acquit themselves well over the next financial period

[jeffian] 13/10/2011 00:00

Now there's a thing!

[phillis] 12/10/2011 22:40

i know otherwise

[grahamburn] 12/10/2011 18:55

Do you have any evidence for that statement - or is it just supposition on your part? Brode may be getting on, but he isn't as old as many others (eg Warren Buffett, Leonard Polonsky of Hansard) so, unless you know otherwise, there seems no particular reason why he needs "a solution". Apart from knowing how many shares he owns and his long term relationship with the company, I do not know his personal circumstances, motivations or succession arrangements - or whether he'd like a shedload of cash rather than a bucketful of shares!

[phillis] 12/10/2011 17:54

Brode needs a solution

[grahamburn] 12/10/2011 17:49

Sorry, Phillis, I thought YOU were the person in a hurry for a capital gain! I am most certainly a loooooooooooooong term investor (added to my holding afew weeks back). However, my point was that because the new acquisition has a fairly long timescale to completion, that may well deter any potential suitor for RWS and, right now, I cannot see who would be interested, especially as any deal is totally dependent on Brode wanting one.

[phillis] 12/10/2011 17:09

so you think everything stops when a sale process takes place?
rather the opposite I think
in particular, giving over the Company executive management to a wider based younger team is PRECISELY what a buyer would be looking for

Note the word "eventually" - let's say within the next 2 years
do you have the patience to sit on appreciating asset, collect the dividends and wait that long?

[grahamburn] 12/10/2011 16:45

The announcements yesterday and today, particularly the acquisition and the board changes, hardly indicate an imminent change to the company structure, so wouldn't hold your breath for a takeover!

[phillis] 12/10/2011 16:31

Eventually I expect Mr Brode to cash in his investment
A sale of his stake (if the Company is not offered for sale) would trigger a compulsory offer for the remainder.
This is a silly postition for a purchaser so an outright sale of the Company seems to be the most likely outcome
I fully expect him to secure the best price possible and generate a large capital gain for me!

[grahamburn] 12/10/2011 15:04

Phillis, not sure of your reasoning about "capital gain when Mr Brode exits his stake". Can you expand, please? A market sale (even on a dripfeed basis) would hardly enhance the share price or are you expecting a takeover? If so, from whom and on what basis/valuation? Brode already has a tremendous gain at the current price, much of which would be tax free, I guess.

[jeffian] 12/10/2011 14:31

david,
In view of our shared experience at MUBL, it is also worth noting that this is another case where an Executive holds a dominant stake, although corporate governance here seems better and Chairman Andrew Brode, who holds around 45% of the equity, seems to have other shareholders' interests at heart. I wrote to the NED (without response!) in connection with the Resolutions at the last AGM because the effect of the share buy-back plan, if implemented in full, would be to increase Brode's stake from 45% to 49%. In the longer term, it would be nice to see that shareholding spread among more hands, both to improve liquidity and reduce the obvious risks associated with a dominant Executive/shareholder.

[phillis] 12/10/2011 10:55

can't afford to miss out on the dividend stream held in SIPP
plus of course the hoped for capital gain when Mr Brode exits his stake ( he is over 70)

[davidosh] 12/10/2011 08:34

Yes a very reasonable update and interesting to read about the management changes and how they conduct board arrangements !

Overall there should be nothing to worry about but the past year was always likely to be a strong one and the share price has risen to a level where compared to my other stocks of which many are below half the rating for RWS I decided to trim back here over the last two weeks and my holding is now just half what it was but certainly would be topping back up on any weakness. At 16 times earnings it just became harder to justify not trimming some when I needed money out of my portfolio.

For those interested in meeting management RWS should be in attendance today at the Growth Company Investor Show at the Barbican as they have a stand there(they did last year too) and it helps investors understand the business. That is probably why the trading update was announced today as that allows open discussion on the information released.

[phillis] 12/10/2011 08:12

well - all in all v satisfactory

[phillis] 11/10/2011 17:40

yes indeed
what catches the eye is the use of technology
obviously it seems an efficient way to do this and should be replicable across other markets with RWS help

TS tomorrow or Thursday?

[jeffian] 11/10/2011 10:39

Morning, Phillis. It shows the advantages of having/generating cash. Although the deal doesn't seem to have caught the market's imagination yet, it's great to be able to make a move like this when others will be constrained by lack of banking liquidity. The effect of the delayed completion plus current levels of cash generation mean they will almost be paying for it out of cashflow. Onwards and upwards!

[phillis] 11/10/2011 07:53

fast growing acquisition
Pay as you go (or perhaps grow!)

[mw8156] 09/10/2011 21:12

Trading update due soon...