Earthport Share Discussion Threads

[cryptotrade] 28/1/2019 16:36

Which is why it's a shame they're buying it. Understand though, there are competitors like epo out there. The question will be, is there a cheaper alternative.The hook to ripple will grow. TransferWise, the online banks will grow. Visa know this. MASTERCARD know this. Getting into bank end payment processing with b2b clients is new for them. They've gobbled psps, now it's these guys next.The first two bids were what I call , a long shot, playtime to test the water.Now it's about a real bid, real price. 80p may well be hit. Now it's about strategy, who owns the shares, who is willing to sell at what price.

[sirrux] 28/1/2019 15:59

I shudder to think what Visa or Mastercard might do with this network. I imagine the plan will be to take this useful petri dish (active in about 80 countries) and grow it into something really big, they will have their own blockchain digital assets interfacing directly with fiat. They will wipe out everyone else who are surprisingly content playing with half the jigsaw puzzle. Whether they get there or not will be one thing (there are plenty of moving parts), but the potential is tremendous.

[cryptotrade] 28/1/2019 14:46

One point. Both are buying shares in the meantime. So if they own stock at 35p, the other counters are 70p, they double their money, get out, recover costs and the winner wind, but pays a higher price. I have expect a few more bids. Undervalued.... 42p, then 55p, then boom 80p to seal.

[arf dysg] 28/1/2019 13:32

In "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel (or maybe another book entirely), a professor of economics demonstrated the folly of entering a bidding war. It is set up as follows:

Someone auctions a dollar. The opening bid is one cent. Naturally, the next bidder will bid slightly higher, and so it goes up. However, there's a catch.

The catch is that the successful bidder AND THE PREVIOUS BIDDER have to pay. If the winning bid is 99c and the previous was 98c, the winner has made a profit of 2c and the person who is selling the dollar has made a profit of 97c, while the previous bidder has lost 98c.


Now, suppose the bidding doesn't stop there. Maybe I bid 98c and am outbid, implying that I am about to lose 98c... so I bid one dollar, meaning I break even. The other bidder then ups his bid to 101c, so as to get a tiny loss (1c) instead of a massive loss (99c). This happens to both parties: each bidder has a choice of continuing to bid at a small cost, or dropping out with a large cost. Ergo, the escalator continues. The only winner is the seller.


It's a bit like that here: both MasterCard and Visa have invested in due diligence, and they don't want to throw that investment away. Ergo, they'll keep bidding to stay in the game until the pain is so great they can't take it any more. At the end of the process, the "winner" has bought an expensive asset and the loser has used a lot of time and money on the process.

All the lawyers involved dine on champagne and caviar.

[jsforum] 27/1/2019 22:39

Well I don't think the new CEO had shareholders interests at heart - just a boat load of free shares and an easy flip. If Visa and Mastercard slug it out for EPO as I hope 30p will look opportunistic.GLA

[exbroker] 27/1/2019 20:37

js
It was so opportunistic that the board accepted it, given the bid was at 30p cash and an 8p share price I can’t see how they could say no. Can I have a few more opportunistic bids like this for some of the other stocks I own please!!
A mega company like Visa or Mastercard can always replicate the results of EPO technology its just how much and how long.

[jsforum] 27/1/2019 18:27

"They will have costed how much to build similar" - perhaps you've not followed this share for very long because it's taken years to get here 30p was an opportunistic bid and due to the uniqueness of the proposition it's worth a lot more EPO was valued on its short term profitability prior to the bid but with a wealthy parent company it has huge potential I'll feel robbed for anything less than 80p

[cryptotrade] 27/1/2019 17:47

8p was undervalued. It's price should have been 25p mind but due to certain issues the so fell.

[exbroker] 27/1/2019 13:40

I think a lot of people are getting way ahead of the game here. This stock was 8p before the bid.
The sums are not material to either buyer, but they will have costed how much to build similar capacity/technology in house so will know a top price based on that number. The real question is how much of a premium to this number each party will add to stop the other getting the prize.
I hope you guys are correct as I am very long of these, happy days!

[sirrux] 26/1/2019 19:40

True C, I still think a lot of potential buyers are half asleep here but it will be too late for some now. The Visa and Mastercard acquisition machines will be too slick for them to react, best bet for a third player to enter the fray might just be to attack in the open market the old fashioned way. That would be exciting for sure.

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 19:38

Sirrux,One is transparency. Two, a list of banks in epo so avoid using their own network.Three, link up to future cryptos like ripple. Epo contrary to the silky sausage predictions has a bright future. It needed another 50 million to see it through. If it had no history and was a super fintech it would be worth 2 million. So this is zero pence to then. Nothing wrong with 500 million for s company like this. It's making money.

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 19:29

80-£1 will seal the deal. It's peanuts. Visa may come back and say 55p. Mastercard 80p. Done deal.

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 14:24

Man financial

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 13:40

Begins with M? They could announce on Monday they have stock or a fund is buying.

[exbroker] 26/1/2019 13:40

highcliffe
Do nothing yet, keep the paperwork in case Visa end up the winner.
In the meantime sit back and enjoy the ride!

[highcliffe] 26/1/2019 13:34

So what do we do with all this paperwork that arrived in the post this morning? Ignore it?

It’s also asking me to send in my share certificate which I will dig out for fun. I shoved it down the back of the sofa with the rest of the loose change when my original investment went from £1,000 to being worth 14p.

Yes I do have a share certificate - pre Crest I guess - bought in Feb 2001.

[exbroker] 26/1/2019 12:37

Crypt
Neither Visa or Mastercard bought any stock in the market yesterday.
If they did then they would have to have announced it immediately and if they paid above their bid levels then they have to immediately lifted the bid to the highest price they had paid.
I expect to see a rule 8.3 from a London based arbitrageur who plays in contested bids on Monday.
Name begins with M

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 08:17

You predicted something silkstag, sure, but not this. Blind man leads stupidity

[cryptotrade] 26/1/2019 08:12

Sirrux, all this talk they were dead seems fake. Silkstag must be seething. Still it's up from there.

[cryptotrade] 25/1/2019 19:11

Sorry I'll ask again Silkstag could you simply say you got it WRONG?Just say you did.

[cryptotrade] 25/1/2019 19:10

Really it's worth 500/600 m

[goggin] 25/1/2019 17:21

At the very least, it would be surprising if Visa didn't make a counter bid. It just wouldn't make sense after all their due diligence if they just walked away, hence no real point in placing their original bid. However, they have to configure the bid in such away that if they win, ok they paid more but have achieved their initial objective. If they loose, they don't allow their competitor to steal a serious march on them cheaply in this crucial area. Hence a bid at 45 - 48p. They either get it or Mastercard will counter with a KO of 50 - 60p, if things get really crazy, it could hit 80p (1/2 billion) if someone else decides to step in.
What we're looking for is the Del Boy scenario :-)

[cryptotrade] 25/1/2019 16:35

I imagine MasterCard or visa are buying the stock. 5% of the company .Looking into this I suspect 60p will seal the deal.

[miti 1000] 25/1/2019 16:10

Visa are a $30 billion company..... epo will cost them around £260 million at 40p .Not even pocket change .

Mastercard are a $200 billion company .

DYOR.