View Single Post
Old 01-12-2010, 12:30 PM   #3
Bob.Kerns
Advanced Member
Bob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of lightBob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of lightBob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of lightBob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of lightBob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of lightBob.Kerns is a glorious beacon of light
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Marin County, CA
Posts: 3,783
5 yr Member HT/PT Owner
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnG View Post
Well, I received my stockholder letter yesterday. You know it's not good when it starts off with "Dear Former Stockholder of Segway Inc." It's dated 12 days ago, but was FedEx'd to me just yesterday.

JWH Holdings, Inc. turns out to be a holding company formed for just this transaction (incorporated in Delaware). But if you look up the contact address for notices in the agreement, you'll find that it appears to be the same address as Segway UK. So the upshot is that Segway UK purchased Segway Inc.

My favorite line in the entire document appears on page 13:

Pretty much says it all. The agreement is structured in such a way as to make putting a price tag on it a little difficult. But it's not really a "merger" any more than Chrysler and MB was a merger (e.g., in name only).

Jim Norrod appears out as CEO. Tricia Laidler is the new CEO and Wayne Mitchell is the new COO.

I hope this means a bright future for the remaining company.

John

So often, the common stockholders get nothing. I wonder what the preferred stockholders got. The later investors, at least, probably lost money but got something.

However you look at it, from the stockholder's standpoint, this is not a success. However, it may mean a stronger company. This will make any future stock sale much easier, and it could even lead to the company going public down the road. (I don't expect it to, actually, but it would be more feasible now).

Whether this is good for us, depends on what the new management and the new owners do with the new money.

MY agenda would be to reduce costs, come out with a lower-priced (but still high quality) model, and improve marketing visibility.

I don't see a lot of room for production cost reduction, though. I wonder how much labor costs are -- my guess is not that much. I think a lower-cost model would pretty much have to sacrifice battery size.

So I'll go out on a limb and make that my prediction. Minor cost reductions that add to the bottom line (not lowering the price), and a lower-end model that's basically just a smaller battery.

I wonder if the timing of this is tied to finally getting some (vague) motion on the issue with the UK transportation folks? And whether it will have any influence on that?
__________________
Bob Kerns:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
,
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Obviously, we can't have infinite voltage, or the universe would tear itself to shreds, and we wouldn't be discussing Segways.
Bob.Kerns is offline   Reply With Quote