Thalassa Share Discussion Threads

[kooba] 09/9/2016 16:22

LSR has been liquidating since 2013 I'm informed...not sure how hard they are trying and how much the management are sitting on their hands taking fees?maybe there is the prospect of taking control and either executing the liquidation strategy efficiently or looking at better managing the remaining portfolio and extracting further value.I am happy that dd has been done thoroughly and that there are a few lucrative outcomes here.I do except that the company's strategy needs better explaining though and note the int's came out on the 22nd sept last year , so I'm sure we can expect the usually entertaining Chairmans statement giving some incite into plans around that time.

[cockerhoop] 09/9/2016 16:01

Tilts,

He may well have picked up his initial 2m at a lower price, then negotiated the further 10m with a single seller at 34p. You've suggested he was freely able to buy 6m at 33p today after the price rise so 34 appears a bit toppy to me but perhaps he has a plan.

Clearly it does open the possibility of the LSR end game moving forward somewhat.

[tiltonboy] 09/9/2016 15:39

kooba,

Many thanks. This certainly seems more than an aimless punt. There is undoubted value in LSR, and in addition to 43p of assets, it's retained earnings will be in excess of 2p per annum. This is no dud investment, even though it appears to be at odds to its mandate. The key to LSR is unlocking the value, with the current board/managers appearring reluctant for one reason or another to make substantial sales. Hopefully THAL have the key.

[cockerhoop] 09/9/2016 15:12

It was certainly shrewd to sell a big slug of his THAL shareholding at the top of the market to the EBT using a loan provided by THAL, just didn't benefit the shareholders!!

He certainly has a record of being profligate with shareholder cash - EBT loan, country house, bizarre Russian debt writeoff.

Whether buying LSR at 34p when it was recently available at around 25p is shrewd........time will tell.

[kooba] 09/9/2016 14:54

DS is the largest shareholder He lives in Monaco and is a multimillionaire mostly through investing in special situations.He has a history of making money in Thalassa when times were tough post credit crunch by playing the markets.Papua looks like a punt...maybe it will end up a shell for reversal?The LSR investment is obviously more meaning and looking like its growing...I'm am sure there is a game plan and the prospect of a good return on the investment.I'm sure DS will spell out what the plan is after he has bought what he wants to...not many even on advfn tell you how cheap things are when they are still buying!DS is a bit of a maverick but is certainly a shrewd player..can only say if you don't like his style you better leave...though most negative posters seem to have anyway!

[cockerhoop] 09/9/2016 14:17

Not sure there's a coherent game plan Tilton, last Friday he was buying Papua Mining!!

Maybe next Friday he'll be taking your last 350k of PEG :-)

[tiltonboy] 09/9/2016 14:07

Looks like THAL have picked up another 6m shares at 33p. Would love to know what their game plan is.

[skirbell] 09/9/2016 12:12

I also sold out last week as I thought I had invested in an oil services company with an inovative product. It now seems that THAL is actually some form of investment fund and one with a very opaque strategy.

[garbetklb] 09/9/2016 08:24

I don't think LSR is a bad investment - I've had some myself for a while now. And a lot more plausible than last week's mine........
BUT, it's not what THAL is supposed to be about - fine if it's a way of investing the cash balances, but DS should explain the strategy.
I sold out of THAL last week and don't really want to come back to a company run this way. Additionally, I suspect the IHT exemption would be looking shaky now......

[owenski] 09/9/2016 08:08

Not invested here, but DS is an astute investor, many years back if I recall he did a similar thing because of the market in oil services at that time he essentially invested the companys assets in financials until the market recovered - and he made a lot of money for the company doing so.

Looks like business remains weak and he's doing the same again, the market doesn't like it cause it's not clear what the business is now about, but judging from the past, it might turn out to be a good move even if unorthodox. IMO

[pj 1] 09/9/2016 07:51

PJ 12 Sep '16 - 07:42 - 3412 of 3433 1 1 Edit
God knows how the market will react to that. But something really stinks here imo.

varies5 Sep '16 - 13:06 - 3423 of 3433 0 0
I have been adding to my THAL holding but am not at all pleased to read of this investment in PML.
The Mount Visi prospect is on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere, accessible only by helicopter. Only a very high grade deposit would be worth exploiting as the cost of building suitable roads to it would be enormous.
In the unlikely event of a mine being developed, the local people would want a large royalty and all the usual campaigners would do what they could to interfere.
Having lost lots of money on mining speculations over many years (and being, I hope, a little wiser for this) I am sorry to find myself committed to yet another one !
PJ 15 Sep '16 - 13:18 - 3424 of 3433 0 0 Edit
You may find yourself in some others as well...................

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Its not as if the warning signs were not there is it. THAL is Totally currently uninvestable IMO

[kooba] 09/9/2016 07:01

I understand what he is doing in a world where there is no return on cash but agree an explanation of recent strategic stake acquisitions I think is necessary.Seems we are now a special situations fund with a sideline in oil services?Reit Nav ps 43p ...stake purchaed at circa 25% discount and the reit being wound up...nice asset backed return on capital?Beats .25%!

[rcturner2] 09/9/2016 06:44

An actual explanation in the RNS might have been useful, wtf?

[jmf69] 09/9/2016 06:36

Not sure what to make of all of this?Has thal become an investment company now?

[kev0856153] 09/9/2016 06:32

Shopping REIT. What the?

We've paid 34.4p per share where the LSR share price is just 28.5p. A great bit of business. NOT, but par for the course.

[masurenguy] 09/9/2016 06:26

Another esoteric share investment - this time £3.6m at a 35% discount to NAV - on a 15.56% stake in a REIT, which is in the process of being liquidated.

"In July 2013, following a strategic review, LSR's shareholders resolved to change its investment policy to enable the orderly liquidation of assets, the repayment of debt and the return of the remaining capital to its shareholders. In its most recent balance sheet as at 31 March 2016, based on a valuation of its portfolio as at that date, LSR's reported net assets amounted to £35.3m."

[bookbroker] 05/9/2016 12:41

It's too early to judge the rationale for this interest in PML, however many posters are being overtly negative on the basis of Thal wasting cash by investing here, that's an assumption that cannot be answered currently. Thal has an ongoing business in the oil sector performing reservoir moniting to the likes of Chevron, let's just until their next set of results emerge to decide what their plans are, DS. will have done some homework into PML., it could be an astute investment, as for the cash on the balance sheet, that is essentially for working capital, I hope that the poster's views do not bear out, but it is worth holding for now, they will have to bring in a bigger mining entity to achieve production at Mt. Visi, but the deposits may be very rich in ore for all we know!

[bookbroker] 05/9/2016 12:41

It's too early to judge the rationale for this interest in PML, however many posters are being overtly negative on the basis of Thal wasting cash by investing here, that's an assumption that cannot be answered currently. Thal has an ongoing business in the oil sector performing reservoir moniting to the likes of Chevron, let's just until their next set of results emerge to decide what their plans are, DS. will have done some homework into PML., it could be an astute investment, as for the cash on the balance sheet, that is essentially for working capital, I hope that the poster's views do not bear out, but it is worth holding for now, they will have to bring in a bigger mining entity to achieve production at Mt. Visi, but the deposits may be very rich in ore for all we know!

[pj 1] 05/9/2016 12:18

You may find yourself in some others as well...................