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I don't think there can be much doubt that mgt. is clueless/incompetent in regards to how a PUBLIC company needs to interact w/ the investing public. It's also quite evident that they don't give a bleep about retail shareholders. I'm getting close to pulling all my bids as their silence may not just mean that they don't give a bleep about shareholders, but that they are experiencing severe difficulties in getting Michelex/Pristine off the ground and they don't know how to explain what is happening. Here's a tip: Just tell the truth.
Which MM filled the 600K at .0011? For the past couple of days I've had the only bid at .0011 (CSTI for 700K) but I was not filled. I have been away from the computer so I don't know if another .0011 bid showed up before the fill or if MM's are playing games.
I disagree...look at what just happened. If mgt. continues to ignore basic IR functions, if we continue to go w/out any news, this will drift downwards and we will be in triple zero's.
Really? What price are you hoping for? My guess is that 1/12/13 will be much better...of course, that assumes MLXO mgt. knows what it is doing...
Silence is golden if you are talking about children on an airline flight, but it's not so great when talking about a public company that put out information regarding contracts, financials, acquisitions, facility usage, etc., and then disconnects its phones and goes incommunicado. Speaking to certain investors via back-channel doesn't cut it.
I think most investors are not asking rosy projections, we just want truthful information. Many investors, including myself, don't expect MLXO to really pay off for another year or two. However, we still need to be kept apprised of what is occurring, whether good or bad. Delays happen, contracts fall through, etc., we know that, don't sugarcoat things, don't BS us and don't go silent. Just act like a reputable start-up company and not like some pinky scam company. Is that too much to ask? (That's a rhetorical question, lol)
MLXO will never hit 10 cents and sustain that price until they get current on financials, have verifiable contracts and have verifiable profits (e.g., financials submitted via EDGAR). Based upon what we know (which isn't much), we won't be hitting 10 cents anytime soon, if ever. The pinks are littered w/ companies that have great plans and great promise that never materialize. That's why they're on the pinks. Is MLXO different? Maybe, but right now, based upon their actions (or lack thereof), they are just another pink.
PS...Sure, we could get some type of momo-run, but will it last long enough and have enough volume so that existing shareholders can sell off? No way of knowing in advance. What we do know is that most pink investors have ignored MLXO.
I personally hope that MLXO is wildly successful. However, the performance of Mgt. in terms of marketing MLXO as 'not just another pinky' has been less than stellar. In fact, it has been pathetic.
Mgt. obviously went the route of going public via the MLXO shell in order to make money via selling shares (hopefully, shares made valuable by the financial performance of the underlying companies.) Let's hope their plans do not include making money off of the back of investors via massive dilution and/or utilizing a RS. Regardless, if they want to maximize share price and market cap., they need to effectively market MLXO to both retail and institutional investors. It's not too soon for them to start laying the foundation of a company that engenders trust and goodwill by effectively communicating with both existing and potential investors. Investors don't want BS. We do not want over-hyped pronouncements or rosy predictions, we just want to be kept informed.
I'm going by the information that mgt. has provided. Granted, that information was given to one investor who had the cell number of one of the members of the mgt. team, but that's all the information that we have to go by. When mgt. leaves an information vacuum, it will get filled, often with information that is not correct. However, the fault lies with mgt., not investors who are trying to make sense of mgt's utter disregard and/or cluelessness regarding shareholders' concerns.
However, playing along, let's assume you are correct and that mgt. cannot access the LOC to pay for a staff flunky. Mgt. supposedly made arrangements w/ an IR firm but did not like the results and terminated the arrangement. If they were not paying the IR firm cash, they most likely had an arrangement of restricted shares for services. Of course, we don't know the exact share structure even though Michelex is a publicly traded company b/c the TA is gagged; another example of utter disregard for shareholders. So let's assume that MLXO doesn't have any cash (at least not enough to pay for a working phone line...okay, they probably have enough cash for that but they apparently consider the cost of a working phone line an unnecessary expense! Besides, if they have a working phone line they might actually have to communicate w/ investors!) and that they don't have any restricted shares that they can use in exchange for IR services. The mgt. team doesn't have anyone on staff at their various companies who can take an hour or two per week to post updates on the company website? Better yet, Kakani doesn't have an hour or two per week to write the updates so he can directly communicate w/ existing shareholders and potential shareholders and keep them informed of what in heck is going on?
So, once again, it all comes down to mgt. not giving one whit about keeping investors informed about what is, or is not, happening. Given their utter disregard for shareholder concerns, how can shareholders have any confidence that mgt. will treat investors any better when it comes to issues of dilution, Reverse Splits, etc.?
IMHO, mgt. doesn't care one whit about retail shareholders. Why do I say that?
1) They claim, via back-channel, that they already have a $20M LOC, yet they cannot afford to keep a phone line open, thus forcing investors to track them down in order find out what is happening.
2) They announce contracts and potential acquisitions yet never deem it worth their while to keep investors informed of what is happening.
3) They are sitting, supposedly, on a $20M LOC, yet they cannot afford to hire someone (probably at less than $30K) or subcontract with someone to answer the phone (oh right, you don't need someone to answer the phone if you don't have a working phone!), respond to emails or post updates on the company website.
Their actions have shown how much they value or appreciate their shareholders. They may know how to produce generic drugs, but they surely do not know how to treat the investing public of a public company. Given how they have treated investors up to this point, why would anyone think they will treat investors any different going forward? Actions speak louder than words, and given that they don't even bother to publicly communicate with investors, all we have is their actions, actions that show a complete and utter disregard for shareholders.
I believe I saw their images on the side of amilk cartons with the heading:
"If you've seen these men, please tell them their shareholders are looking for them"
;)
I'm not thrilled w/ mgt., but I'm still long on MLXO. Is there a chance this is just a house of cards? Definitely, but for the time being I'm still long. Honestly, I do not see this hitting a dime, and staying around that level, until revenues are actually being booked on regular basis and we have verifiable on-going contracts that will continue to produce a nice stream of revenue and profits. Obviously, that is what we all hope will occur. My guess is that it will take at least another year for that to occur. Sure, we might get some momo-runs before then, but for a sustained price level of .10+ it's going to take awhile.
No way this hits 10 cents with a PR. Okay, if they actually had huge contracts that could be verified, maybe. But just a regular PR stating this, that and the other thing are in the works, I doubt it even hits a penny. We won't hit a penny if they announce a few nebulous contracts. Announcements in pinky-land are a dime a dozen. JMHO
Why would anyone want to buy in the 3's unless they had insider information?
Has Karbo posted any information regarding his meeting? As of this point in time, MLXO definitely qualifies as a typical stinky-pinky. That's not to say that MLXO has to remain stinky, just that it currently has the odor of a typical pinksheet stock.
Below are some valid questions that I do not believe they have answered. Curious, has anyone tracked down the supplier of the doors at the Massena plant to see if they've actually been paid? For a company that supposedly already has a $25M LOC, its rather odd they cannot pay for doors or a phone line, or do not want to pay for a phone line. Then again, if you don't have a phone, you don't have to speak with investors! Also, please verify for me, but I thought mgt informed us (via back-channel of course) that the LOC was dependent upon the audit being completed, but in their latest round of back-channel info, they said that was not the case and they already have the LOC. Am I mistaken?
================================================
Below are excerpts from some recent PR’s along with associated questions. MLXO may have ‘answered’ some of these questions via private channels, but they have not provided updates via the MLXO or PPC websites.
PRESS RELEASE-8 – 06/01/2011
New York, NY – JUNE 1, 2011
Pristine Pharma Corporation, has signed a contract with International Trade Association of America for export distribution of six over-the-counter pharmaceutical products. This contract is valued initially at $5.5 million per year, and delivery of these products is to begin in August 2011.
Questions:
1) What is the status of this contract?
2) If the contract is still valid, where will the products be manufactured, Massena, NJ or some other location?
3) When will delivery commence and when will delivery be completed?
=====================================
PRESS RELEASE-7 - 4/26/2011
New York, NY – April 26, 2011
Michelex Corporation (ticker symbol:PINK SHEETS:MLXO.PK) (“Michelex”) has signed a binding letter of intent to acquire, from Girish Desai, MD, 100% of the ownership interest of Vitacoat Corp., Alpro Inc., and G&P International LLC. All three entities are under the common, privately held ownership of Dr. Girish Desai. The total acquisition cost is $5,800,000. The terms of this LOI require that the contract be executed within 30 days after due diligence is completed by Michelex.
Questions:
1) What is the status of these acquisitions? Have the acquisitions been completed? If not, why not?
2) When will these acquisitions be finalized?
[Whoops, we got this answer. Not directly from mgt. and not in a timely fashion, but only via back-channel after mgt. had been tracked down by an investor!]
=======================================
Press Release-5
[Feb 17, 2011]
Michelex (PINKSHEETS:MLXO) Announces Successful Registration of Pristine Pharma Corporation's Manufacturing Facility With the US FDA
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - February 17, 2011) - Michelex Corporation (PINKSHEETS:MLXO) (Michelex) President Mr. Albert Laclé is pleased to announce the successful registration of Pristine Pharma Corporation's (Pristine) newly constructed manufacturing facility with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Having met cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) requirements, Pristine commenced operations and will deliver, for export, the first lot of its products in February.
During the third week of January 2011, Mr. Venkat Kakani, CEO of Pristine, provided a tour of the Massena, NY, facility to Mr. Maxim Pantchenko, President of the International Trade Association of America, an export distributor of OTC pharmaceuticals to Russia. ITA placed orders with Pristine for two products worth over $2.0 million, and a contract for four more products for near term fulfillment is under negotiation. During his visit to Pristine's facility, Mr. Pantchenko confirmed that ITA will source its liquid OTC pharmaceuticals exclusively from Pristine.
Questions:
1) Has the $2.0 million contract been completed? If so, when and where were the products manufactured? If the contract has not been completed, why not?
2) What products, if any, have been manufactured at the Massena facility?
2) What products, if any, have been manufactured at facilities other than Massena? What are those products and where were they manufactured?
4) What is the status of contract negotiations with ITA for "for four more products for near term fulfillment"?
Unfortunately, I am not surprised. Of course, I am also not happy with their IR capabilities (or lack thereof). There are some questions that they should answer, and they just ignore retail investors.
Why surprised? They have made it very clear that they do not care about daily, weekly, monthly price fluctuations. I only hope that they do care about having a profitable business. If that is the case, at some point they will be concerned with the share price. If not, why go through the hassle of becoming public?
There will be more if mgt. stays incommunicado...
Back to normal...
With investments, especially pinkies, I try to go by a modified version of Reagan's mantra -regarding negotiating with the Russians- of "Trust, but Verify",
For Pinkies:
"Don't Trust, and Try to Verify"
I'm not saying that MLXO mgt. has not been truthful in regards to their operations. I am saying that the company has not publicly provided information that can be used to independently verify what supposedly has occurred (however, I'll admit that I'm not the best detective, maybe some of you are comfortable with what you have found while doing DD). Providing a password to an investor so that he can share a video with other investors doesn't cut it. They just need to publicly inform investors what has occurred, what is currently happening and what their plans are for the future. If progress is slower than anticipated, let investors know and keep them in the loop. Many of us do not expect operations and profits to occur overnight, but we'd prefer to hear that A, B and C are happening slower than expected b/c of delays relating to X, Y and Z, than be 'fed' an unreleased PR video or be told that X,Y and Z is happening if that is not the case.
Again, it would be nice to have some verification other than a PR video that was never released. Here are a few questions that seem relevant: What products? When were they made? For whom were they made? Where were they made? Was the contract to supply said generics made with Pristine or some other entity? Are the contracts on-going, was revenue generated, will revenue show up on EDGAR filings....
Is it possible that the statements made on the PR video were 'forward looking' at the time the video was made with the hope that they would be 'true' by the time the video was released?
Oh...I-Hub jail...I thought you guys meant a real jail for something like vagrancy or Drunk and Disorderly... lol
That's good to know. If they have a good business plan and know what they are doing, there is obvious potential for a much higher share price down the road. However they will never maximize share price if they present themselves as a typical pinky; if they want to maximize the shareprice/market cap down the road, they will need to have an effective IR presence.
Hope your meeting goes well.
Please inform him that it would be nice if mgt. would provide information directly to all shareholders via postings on the website or via conference call rather than providing information to select investors. Granted, what they are doing is typical for many pinkies, but it really is a terrible way to communicate (or rather, not communicate) with shareholders.
Actually, that would be a bad thing in the long-term. If their compensation is not somehow tied in with the shareprice, what incentive do they have to maximize shareholder value (which is tied to market cap)?
Short-term, I do not want mgt. to worry about daily or monthly fluctuations in share price. Long-term, you better believe I want mgt. concerned with share price!
Long-term, I hope that share price is of concern to him, if not, why bother going public? It will be interesting to see (hopefully, we'll get this information at some point in time) compensation for top mgt. Is all of their compensation cash? Is part of it restricted shares or warrants? It would be nice if their compensation, or at least part of it, was tied to the share price, thus aligning their interests w/ those of investors (e.g., retail shareholders like us).
If they were going to do that, they should have done that when they took control of the company, not now. I doubt that anyone would have complained (okay, not too much and not for too long) if that occurred when they were resurrecting a dead stock.
They should definitely not do a RS to prop up the price b/c shareholders are 'antsy'.
Not much they can do if they don't have verifiable information that they can release. They could just release some 'puff' PR, but I doubt that would do much to shore up the share price, and if it did, my guess is that it would be very temporary. I'd rather have them wait and release information when they can back it up rather than have them make decisions on temporary price fluctuations and put out meaningless fluff that makes them look like a typical pinky.
For all the true believers, relax and hope this goes on for awhile as you might be able to pick up cheap shares. Many on this board claim they have this as a long-term buy (which is always risky w/ Pinks); if that is the truly the case you should be licking your chops.
This should be a question that is asked of Messr. Saleem & Kakani. Specifically:
1) From the article:
Mr. Kakani said many of the medicines produced are for Canadian store brands, which made the Massena location ideal.... Some of its domestic products can be found under store-brand labels at Kinney Drugs, Price Chopper, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart, he said.
If so, what was produced, when was it produced and where was it made? When was delivery taken? Are these on-going contracts? Are the expenses and revenue shown (or will they be) on a quarterly report? Can anything be verified?
----------------------------------
If a company does not want to be considered just another pinky, don't act like just another pinky. If you put information out, make sure it is accurate and that it is verifiable. I don't think that is too much to ask of a public company.
I have not received responses to emails in months. Every email that I have sent has been written in a professional manner.
I haven't been one that has been clamoring for 'news' or PR's. I have been critical of their utter disregard for IR. Often times, first impressions are lasting impressions, and having a disconnected number as the contact number on the websites for months is not good, nor is not replying to correspondence. Nor is forcing investors to track down mgt in order to get basic questions answered.
I do believe that before Michelex/Pristine rolls out a multifaceted IR campaign they need to make sure that they are ready for investor scrutiny (i.e., have verifiable orders, revenue stream, profits, EDGAR filings, etc.). One of the worst things they can do is make a bad first impression, and putting out videos and ads at this point in time is not wise. Of course, that's JMO. However, when the time is right, I sincerely hope that they will roll out a multifaceted IR/marketing campaign focusing on different core audiences (e.g., potential retail investors, potential buyers of their products/services, etc.).
However, they do need to do a much better job of communicating with existing investors and potential investors right now. That can be done on the cheap for the time being, but it still has to be done. IMHO, it could be done quite easily; there must be someone (and if not, hire someone or contract with a single person) other than top mgt. who can:
1) Get a working phone number and post that number on their websites.
2) Answer the phone or have a message play and then call back investors.
3) Reply to emails.
4) Post updates on the websites.
Top mgt. can provide the person with what to say or write, and obviously proof all postings before they appear on the website. My goodness, this is basic mgt. 101; delegate tasks so that you can focus on executive level issues. Instead of ignoring investors or making numerous phone calls/sending numerous emails, you do it once (i.e., answer the most common questions and give those answers to the person who will actually reply to emails and make call-backs). If a new question comes up, you answer it once and provide that answer to the person will communicate that answer to whoever needs it.
Michelex/Pristine is obviously suffering from growing pains as they transition from a private enterprise to a publicly-traded company. I think they -and we- have suffered long enough in regards to how (or in this case, how not to) interact with investors. They've been hearing it for awhile and now it's time for them to correct the problems. Again, I'm not referring to expensive marketing campaigns or IR firms, I'm just referring to the basic task of communicating with investors and potential investors.
Just because someone is critical of mgt does not mean they are a 'basher'. I have been very critical of mgt and will continue to be if I feel their actions will not ultimately result in maximization of 'share-holder value'. These boards are not solely for cheer-leading or parroting the 'company line'. They should also be a forum for sharing DD research and for asking tough questions.
FWIW, I'm more bullish on this company than ever. However, they still have a long way to go and I still consider MLXO (like all pinkies) a gamble, not a safe investment.
GLTA
They need to get their house in order before releasing that video. I have been very critical of their IR operation (or lack thereof), but they made the right decision to not release the video until a more opportune time. They would look like just another stinky-pinky if they released the video when they don't even have a working phone number on the websites or someone to reply to investor queries in a professional manner.
There's a chance that Sarb-Ox (and Dodd-Frank too, though it isn't germane to OTC filing) will be repealed or greatly altered in the next few years. If that is the case, moving to OTCBB or an exchange would make a lot more sense, or at least be a hell of a lot cheaper.
Compliance Cost
But smaller companies, which routinely would raise money by going public in the ‘80s and 90s, are caught in a Catch-22 with the Sarbox accounting regs. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission study released this April, for small-cap and micro-cap companies with market valuations between $75 million and $250 million, the cost of first-year compliance with the "internal control" mandates equals an amazing 77 percent of their total assets. Even after four years, this cost only goes down to 41 percent the firms' total assets.
I doubt that there is much volume today. If there is, it will be on the downside.
Regarding painting the tape, I believe it is an investor (or more than one) who paints the tape and puts in '777' buys.
Some posters expect, or at least hope for, major price appreciation when the audits have been finalized (and hopefully submitted via EDGAR as part of a 10-Q or 8-K filing), but I'm not sure that will occur. Why? Assuming the numbers in the audit do not change, that information is already out. In addition, given their secrecy, I'm not sure there is much sustained price appreciation on news of contracts, especially if that news is disseminated via back-channels. My guess is that sustained price appreciation will occur when verifiable contracts and deliveries are backed up via EDGAR filings showing a good stream of revenues and profits. That's the only way* for MLXO to achieve a sustainable increase in the share-price.
Thus for longs, if you believe in MLXO, keep after mgt. to do things the right way and do not get too discouraged if you do not reach your exit price on your hoped-for timetable.
* To be sure, momo-runs can occur, and the price could rise and remain high if a merger or buy-out were to occur.
I appreciate your efforts to get information and share it with fellow investors. However, Michelex needs to share information with all of its investors in a professional manner. If they want don't want to be considered as just another pinky, they need to stop acting like just another pinky. Disseminating information via 'back-channels' does not engender confidence. Investors want to receive information via press release, conference call, direct phone/email contact with the company, etc., not via a shareholder who is a 'conduit' to management.
Also, some of us are not 'clamoring' for them to provide information. We would just like to see them be professional in their IR functions. As an example, if there isn't any news, just say so. If they don't know when financials will be completed, just say so. But don't go incommunicado and force investors to track you down.
Finally, on a personal level, acting as a conduit is a tricky business. Everyone loves you when you provide them with information, especially useful information, but they will turn on you if the information you provide turns out to be inaccurate. Best to always say, 'this is what I was told, but I have no way to verify whether this is accurate'.
You did the correct thing by posting that information. I updated my message as soon as I sent it (and sent you a PM) noting that I was not 'yelling' at you, but rather expressing my frustration with MLXO mgt. I apologize as that was not clear in my initial response.