Flowtech Fluidpower Share Discussion Threads

[mudbath] 03/5/2008 17:13

battlebus, hello as well!What you say is totally correct.If a bid materialises-OK.Your view is just the other side of the coin.Heads or tails, whichever way it falls, no one should have egg on their face,just cash in the bank.I fully appreciate that Mentor could absorb FLO without measurable impact.It just strikes me that they will not bid.Neither do I see FLO as a competitor to Mentor-although there can be little doubt that the Flomerics software would materially compliment the Mentor product suite.

[varies] 03/5/2008 17:11

Many thanks to the 3 of you, especially mudbath, for your informative comments.

[battlebus] 03/5/2008 16:34

Mentor is also a worldwide business Mudbath and would have no problem in removing a smaller worldwide competitor which would certainly be of more benefit than taking a stake in the hope it would give them some leverage. Just compare the turnover of the two businesses they could takeover Flo and you wouldn't even notice it on the balance sheet.

[mudbath] 03/5/2008 15:27

Hello varies and psolomons:- I believe the correct position regarding the current equity is that there are 22,757,450 shares in issue... 1,100,724 ++906 went to the NIKA vendors and a further 21500 were created in satisfaction of options.The interesting point,for me,is that Primark(W.B.-the NIKA owner)now,once again, controls a KEY stake in FLO.Will Mentor then,acquire their critical additional stock--if control is indeed their target,from this source.You pose the question..why did Mentor buy such a significant holding? As you are aware I just cannot see Mentor concerning themselves with the day to day running of FLO,which after all is quite complex, spread,as it is, over four continents.More probable is that they can see SIGNIFICANT potential for a huge expansion of Flomeric software sales in the USA,AND, have realised that they have the potential to assist levering those sales upwards fairly rapidly.Flomerics are at a CRITICAL STAGE of their development-standing on the cusp of serious profitabiity, IF, sales can be increased significanly--say by £5million this year,or next.Overhead costs(OC) have been allowed to escalate ,in 2007,by around £2million to accomodate higher research costs and an expanded sales team.Possibly OC will increase further in 2008 by say £1.5million,reflecting full year costs for the enhanced sales facility.A T/O of say £19million should (OTBE) generate an adjusted net profit of circa £4 million,which would tranlate to a conservative S.P. of around £2.50--(more if T/O were projected to continue on an upward trajectory.)Such a scenario would provide Mentor with a short gain from their investment of £10million--surely a sound enough reason for their recent purchases.

It follows that if T/O for some reason fell....or even stagnated....then FLO's profits would mutate into losses and their future would become unclear.Hopefully this scenario-in the short term at least-appears unlikely.

[psolomons] 03/5/2008 14:40

I simply dont believe that Mentor would take a 29 % stake in Flo without having decided on a strategy. They have invested either as a prelude to a bid or they have taken a commercial stake. Personally I simply dont see the point in a stake. Flo has the potential to make significant money so why wouldn't mentor take out the whole thing for a fraction of its potential value. I still see a bid coming, its the timing we need to discover.

[varies] 03/5/2008 13:25

re no. of shares in issue :
I see from the latest announcement that Mentor have 6,821,715 amounting to 29.98%.
So 100% = 22,754,219.
Whether this figure includes the 100,000 referred to in a separate announcement is not clear.

[varies] 03/5/2008 13:17

mudbath
Although most of my shares are in nominee accounts, I have some in my own name (held for many years) and therefore receive the printed accounts.
These came accompanied by a short letter from Mr. Carter drawing attention to the "very positive" start for 2008 which reinforces the impression that the board feel a bid might be coming.
If Mentor Graphics do not bid, then presumably they will want to nominate a director.
It looks as if Mentor are still making their minds up but I suspect (as I think you do)that they will not bid yet.If they do not, they will surely want some influence.
I hope to attend the AGM on 28 May and would expect to hear more about the Mentor connection then.
The Business Review tells us that a further 1,265,000 shares were issued in March 2008 to the vendors of NIKA "as part of the completion terms". These are presumably the shares held in escrow pending the end of the warranty period under the acquisition agreement.
I find this rather confusing. There were 21,631,516 shares in issue at 31 Dec 2007 and there have been a few more issued on exercise of options. So it seems there there must be c23 million in issue now. I dare say that FLO has announced the exact figure and will check.

[mudbath] 02/5/2008 10:17

PHEW!!!! No mention by posters of Mentor take-overs for 2 days. Any thoughts on the final results ???

[1968jmw] 30/4/2008 22:41

Arty

Don't forget the additional listing of 100k announced this morning coming in tomorrow

Puts the figure at 35520

Anyway - Good luck to all here
Made the mistake of taking my eye of the ball at 81p when should have got in.

Now caught between waiting for dip or being late and it going north

Will sleep on it

[cockneyrebel] 30/4/2008 17:09

I'll keep an eye for more 104p trades.

Mind you, they could leave it here I guess, wait for the trader sto get bored and the price to drift so their offer looks more attractive if the price is lower at the time of bidding. They look like they are too keen for that tho to me.

CR

[tonyx] 30/4/2008 16:38

Nice one ARTY.

[arty] 30/4/2008 16:36

tonyx, By my reckoning a mere 4551 share purchase by Mentor should see us to the next stage of the saga, then we'll have some real fun (o8

[tonyx] 30/4/2008 16:30

How many more do they need to buy for exactly 30%? Hopefully see a buy of that amount in due course ;-)

[dave88] 30/4/2008 16:27

29.98% lol

[cwa1] 30/4/2008 16:26

. Full name of person(s) subject to notification Mentor Graphics Corporation
obligation:

4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from
3):


5. Date of transaction (and date on which the 28 April 2008
threshold is crossed or reached if different):

6. Date on which issuer notified: 29 April 2008


7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or reached: Passed the 25% threshold (29.98%)


8: Notified Details
A: Voting rights attached to shares


Class/type of Situation previous to the Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
shares triggering transaction
Number of Number of Number of Number of voting rights Percentage of voting
If possible use shares voting shares rights
ISIN code rights

Direct Indirect Direct Indirect

Ordinary shares 6,541,715 6,541,715 6,821,715 6,821,715 0 29.98% 0

[cockneyrebel] 30/4/2008 15:21

I'd have thought a buy before the divi would be nice and save them money, not sure the £350K will be big enough to tempt them tho.

GVC are in a bid sit and go xd for a 6% final divi next week - that is an incentive at that size in my opinion. Whether it happens before then I don't know.

CR

[bungler] 30/4/2008 15:17

They'd have to move very fast for that! (And they haven't shown much sign of great haste so far).

[psolomons] 30/4/2008 15:05

You have to hold on may the 9th to qualify for the dividend. If you have sold as part of a bid from mentor before that date you do not hold on the 9th and therefore don't qualify for the dividend.

[bungler] 30/4/2008 14:34

I suppose a quick buy-out before the ex divi date (9th May) would save Mentor the cost of the dividend - approx £350,000. Or would they be obliged to pay it anyway now it's been announced does anyone know?

[psolomons] 30/4/2008 13:22

Im sure you have always been good at history tsmith !

Now mentor have bought as many as they can without making a formal bid and the results are published we will see what happens next.
I wonder what mentor will do when the institutional holders of flo reject the 104p they want to pay.

[tsmith2] 29/4/2008 21:48

The Times

March 19, 2008

Hope grows of a possible bid for Flomerics

Robert Lindsay

Growing hope of a bid for Flomerics, a supplier of simulation software, helped its shares to jump another 22p to 84p as Mentor Graphics, the Nasdaq-listed design software group, which bought 20 per cent on Monday, acquired a further 6 per cent at 104p, a big premium and setting a floor to any offer price.

I hear 130p

[battlebus] 29/4/2008 18:21

No harm in trading if you make a profit. I've just sold my shares in Mentor leaving the 15% profit to grow once they aquire Flomerics.

[bungler] 29/4/2008 17:11

Where did you see that it was over 30% please tsmith2? Presume that Thomson report was from a couple of weeks ago?

[tsmith2] 29/4/2008 16:30

this is about to end up on the end of a bid

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Flomerics Group PLC, the simulation software
company, said Mentor Graphics Corp has confirmed in a Stock Exchange filing that
it holds a 25.77 pct stake in the company.


Now reportedly over 30%!