I've been wading through company reports recently (still am..) to
further research companies I thought looked interesting. One of
those companies was AIM listed Albemarle & Bond (ABM)

During reading I found a potentially interesting piece of information
that I wish to pass on to anyone who may be interested.
This information is taken from the company report and accounts 2003,
but is written in my own words.

There appears to be a 28.93% share holding in the company by EZCorp.
International Inc.- this is the largest share holding listed. Further
there appears to be two members of EZCorp on the board of Albermarle.
The lastest addition being Philip Cohen who is(chairman of Morgan
Schiff & Co)and the controlling shareholder of EZ Corp.

I'm not offering any personal appraisal of whether the above is a
good or bad or indifferent matter to potential share-holders.
But I do think it is something a potential investor may wish to
research further. ABM's company report is available via the free
service (FT)

bargain atm 20.3 to buy - topped up
gl

H&T is understood to be one of a number of trade and financial buyers that have formally lodged interest in buying Albemarle, which has put itself up for sale recently as it continues to keep within lending limits after lower gold prices and competition has left it nursing losses as reported.

As a further prudent measure Reading-based group Albemarle , which includes Herbert Brown jewellery and pawnbroking stores, announced recently that it had been melting down non core gold jewellery stocks to improve its cash position.

A takeover by H&T would bring together Britain's two largest pawnbrokers.

But H&T faces competition from other potential bidders, including Albemarle's biggest shareholder EZ Corp, the US pawnbroking giant, as well as New York vulture fund Apollo Global Management, according to The Sunday Times and others.

Albemarle has hired Canaccord Genuity to advise on the sale process and has been granted dispensation from the UK Takeover Panel, which means bidders do not have to be publicly identified and the typical 28-day takeover offer deadline is also waived.

Top faller this morning.

Because it's bankrupt and up for sale.,.

Its not good whatever.

8p! Used to be a good earner years ago, H&T never did make a bid.

@ 12.09 I've taken a small long position.

you like living on the edge shortie, when you go long does the spread still come into play or is that only when you buy and sell the share?

Right now I can go long (buy) 12.60 and go short (sell) 12.00 so the spreads still there... At current prices ABM isn't high risk with small stakes, worst case is I lose 12.09 times my stake, on the upside though this is a viable business if it can restructure its debt. The banks know it, which is why they've extened the covenant testing.

will watch with interest.,.

Here's also another reason I view these as low risk, right now the stocks market cap is some £5m... Well last years pre-tax profit before exceptional restructuring costs was £9.5m. When you look at debt the company owes some £55m and the companies pledge book covers more than half of this. So my downside risk is 12.09 times stake, if the company does manage to refinance its debt the upside is 48p a share (first target) or 35.91 times stake (48-12.09).. So for me I don't see this as risky but common sense (good gamble, good odds), if we were loss making over the last 5 years I'd no doubt view things differently..

So you can only lose £12,090 then! :-)

ouch! thats some risk.,.

Good job I'm only playing for matchsticks then!! :-)

Worth a read, I continue to hold..
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/sharewatch/market-report-reprieve-for-struggling-pawnbroker-albemarle--bond-9193906.html

Its all over now.

Clever clog - Shortie - bits the dust
maybe not a thing one wants to do to shareholders, but after the recent ... stalking, a bit of - p!ss taking - is deserve,
and put them were they belong


Albemarle & Bond shares suspended

Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond's shares have been suspended on AIM after its lenders refused to back the management's turnaround plan for the business.

The company says the board is continuing to work with lenders on possible alternative options.

It said these options - which include the sale of the business at a level below its current indebtedness - provide no realistic prospect of any value being attributable to the company's ordinary shares.

As already announced, the company's current covenant deferral agreement expires on 31 March.

The company's lenders have indicated they may be willing to extend this agreement in certain circumstances, but if they do not then the company could be required to repay its outstanding loan facilities and although the company has sufficient cash headroom to meet current trading requirements, if the entire debt facility became repayable it would not be able to meet this liability.

The company said it requested its shares be suspended from trading on AIM pending clarification of the financial position.

Refuses to die....

Well it's gone now [ the EPIC ], replaced by an African Battery Co...oh deary.

There really should be a 10-year retirement for EPIC-codes . . . to avoid any hint of "confusion" . . . . In addition can I suggest to LSE that AIM companies are prefixed by "-AIM-" ( that's with two dashes), to make sure no-one thinks they are dealing with a fully ( some hope), monitored company? Did I see an AIM company with sp=£30 - that takes some thoughtlessness on the part of Punters. Obviously IMHO... and they will say I'm wrong.


However,
Can we shunt the old A&B-chat elsewhere? ..... so as to give fresh daylight to this new company....?