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One of the problems of the Nokia issues is the total lack of clarity around Sony/Ericsson. The company keeps saying they are not connected yet in 7 years since Howard called them an honarable company we have no license. The fact is that if IDCC got SNE signed, Nokia woud be a smaller issue.
I'm not for a dividend. GOOG doesn't pay one. Neither does AMZN.
While I'd like to see a buy back I don't have a problem with the company holding onto the cash. Kind of like a War Chest. With Nokia not settled we still have litagation risk. If Nokia gets settled then I can see no need to keep a war chest and start paying a dividend.
The main reason for so much insider selling is that they can. Under the old chariman of the board extremely generous options and share plans have been in place. This goes back 10 to 15 years of high percentage grants. In recent years these grants have been less frequent and not as big. Also the share grants are now tied to performance. Case in point Board member Roath sold 76K shares that he acquired many years ago from a plan in place to get insiders to buy. I don't remember the exact number but it was like a two for one sale.
So for years insiders have sold only to have the shares replenished by new incentive plans. Also the old COB consistantly sold via 10b PLANS. The follow the leader mentality became the norm.
No, we need new/major analyst coverage. Also they need to see increased revenue from existing licenses.
Without a big house, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Well Fargo, JP Morgan, Goldman, the stock simply won't get the volume or buying interest to push it to proper valuation. The earnings are great. The financials are even better. No debt, low PE, growing market. Litagation risk will continue to keep the price down until Nokia gets resolved but some how, somebody needs to bring the big boys to the table.
It seems to me since the new COB took over that this stock is being made more attractive. The voluntary removal of the pen and the vote on yearly elections for BOD members are very big pluses when trying to obtain new coverage.
New Coverage will bring new investors will bring new buying will bring higher share prices.
I do remember about 2 years ago that Merrit was grilled by Carpenter on a CC regarding the Apple licence.
From one of my posts in 2008.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=30387808
Merrit was grilled at length by Carpenter about the Apple license as well as the RIMM license and he basically stated that these licenses would be paying within the range of everyone else. He stated it would be foolish for the company to sign a license that is under value with the ITC investigation going on.
Still have to beleive him when they were fighting both Nokia and Samsung at the ITC when he stated that the Apple license would not be below the value of what they were asking.
Posted by: Dishfan Date: Thursday, June 12, 2003 8:18:24 PM
In reply to: mickeybritt who wrote msg# 32447 Post # of 287403
Mickey - Espy info:
Friday, June 9, 2000
WRITER: Larry B. Dendy, 706/542-8078
CONTACT: Jackie Kohler, 706/ 542-0054
NEW TRUSTEES ELECTED TO UGA FOUNDATION
ATHENS, Ga. -- New members have been elected as advisory and managing trustees on the Board of Trustees of the University of Georgia Foundation. They were elected at the board's recent spring meeting.
The new advisory trustees, who will serve one-year terms, are:
Jay M. Davis of Atlanta, president and CEO of National Distributing Co.; William W. Espy of Atlanta, managing partner of The Espy Company; William A. Sterne of Atlanta, an executive with SunTrust; and Nelson E. Bowers II of Lookout Mountain, Tenn., an executive in an investment banking firm that services automobile dealers.
Seven people were elected as managing trustees. Three are new to the board, and four are advisory trustees who were elected managing trustees.
New managing trustees, who were elected to the class of 2005, are Zell Miller of Young Harris, former governor of Georgia; Sanford Orkin of Atlanta, an investor and real estate developer; and Otis Brumby of Marietta, publisher of the Marietta Daily Journal and Neighbor Newspapers.
Three advisory trustees were elected managing trustees in the class of 2005. They are Waldo Bradley of Savannah, chairman of Bradley Plywood Corp.; Rachel Conway of Atlanta, president and CEO of House Parts, Inc.; and Hoyt "Jack" Turner of Athens, a retired investment firm executive. In addition, C. Read Morton of Atlanta, an attorney with the law firm of Burman & Forman, LLP who has been an advisory trustee, was elected to the managing trustee class of 2004.
The UGA Foundation, established in 1937, is a non-profit organization that manages private financial support for the university's goals. Trustees administer the foundation's assets, provide volunteer leadrship for UGA fund-raising programs, and give advice and support to the university's president.
"The foundation is extremely fortunate to have the benefit of the vast experience and talent of this group of trustees," said Katheryn Costello, senior vice president for external affairs and president of the foundation. "Their energy, ideas and influence will be valuable assets to our goal of advancing the University of Georgia's academic excellence."
Davis, who received a bachelor's degree in marketing from UGA in 1970, is the son of the co- founder of National Distributing Co., the nation's second-largest wholesale vendor of wine, spirits and beer. His wife, Ann Leffler Davis, is a 1970 journalism graduate from UGA.
Espy, a 1969 graduate of the University of North Carolina, started The Espy Company in 1974. The firm handles mortgage banking and property brokerage and is involved in real estate development
Sterne, who received a bachelor's degree in English from UGA in 1965, is group vice president for trust and investment services with SunTrust. He is the son of the late Augustus Sterne, a 1934 UGA graduate and former trustee chair of the UGA Foundation.
Bowers received a bachelor of science degree in industrial arts education from UGA in 1968. He has owned car dealerships in Tennessee, and was a co-founder and former executive vice president of Sonic Automotive, a Charlotte, N.C.-based retailer that operates car dealerships in 13 states. He is a principal in Presidio Strategies LLC, an investment banking firm in San Francisco that specializes in advisory services to automobile dealers.
Miller earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UGA in 1957 and a master's in history in 1958. He was Georgia governor from 1990-1999, and was lieutenant governor from 1975-1990. Miller is Philip H. Alston Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at UGA, and also holds a teaching post at Young Harris College.
Orkin was a UGA student in the early 1950s but left school to serve in the U.S. Army in the Korean War. He was president of the family-owned Orkin Exterminating Co. until the firm was sold in 1964. He is involved in real estate development in Atlanta.
Brumby, who received a law degree in 1965, owns a company that publishes two daily and 28 community newspapers in the Atlanta metro area. He is also chair of the state Board of Education. He has served previously as a UGA foundation managing trustee.
Bradley received a business degree in 1956. He has been a director of First Union Bank, Savannah Foods and Atlanta Gas Light Co. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from UGA's Terry College of Business in 1982.
Conway studied art at UGA under the late Lamar Dodd and graduated from the Atlanta Art Institute. She worked in sales, modeling and real estate before taking her current position with House Parts, a manufacturer of concrete products for the home and garden. Conway and her company are major donors to UGA's Performing Arts Center, and the Rachel Cosby Conway Gallery in the Georgia Museum of Art is named in her honor.
Turner earned a bachelor's degree in finance from UGA in 1953. A supporter of the university's academic and athletic programs, he is a founding member of the Presidents Club and serves on
the executive committees of the National Alumni Association and the Georgia Student Educational Fund.
Morton earned a bachelor's degree in 1964 and a law degree in 1973. He is a partner in the Atlanta office of the Birmingham-based law firm of Burman and Forman, where he specializes in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions. A founding member of the Presidents Club, he helped establish the Morton-Payne Scholarship for law students at UGA.
##
Trip down memory lane.
No wonder Goldberg is gone.
Posted by: mschere Date: Thursday, June 12, 2003 2:55:06 PM
In reply to: magillagorilla who wrote msg# 32409 Post # of 287402
I assume that you are discussing 3G licensing..IMO: The rate for 2G is set and the rate for 3G is fluid..I believe some clues were provided by IDCC in a conference call..
TOM CARPENTER: Thanks. That's fantastic. And I just have a follow-up to one of your questions. With the dispute with Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, was just in regards to 2G, I think some of us were hoping to see an NTS (ph) deal or other forms of 3G deal in the licensing agreement. I know that probably would have taken some more time. But is that something you guys are concretely working on with Ericsson today to work out a 3G licensing deal?
HOWARD GOLDBERG: Tom, we're very focused on what is included, as well as what is not presently included within the scope of the Ericsson and Sony Ericsson license agreements. We have established operating protocols with them. They certainly understand that situation and they understand that InterDigital is going to be around for a while.</B>
But, more importantly, we're developing a framework of trust and a framework of - a relationship framework and the ability to talk through issues, as opposed to what we faced in the past. So we took the clear decision to resolve the issues that were under litigation. Which we had a mandate, we had certain pressures to do that, and we wanted to be able to resolve that issue first.
Having done that, <B>I believe that there is a positive framework going forward. </B>And with a company that has a lot of integrity. And I believe that in this new environment going forward, we will be able to resolve those issues.
Appologies in advance to the Janet Point fans out there but...
IDCC needs to add a real head of IR. And I may be in correct in assuming it is IR's job to bring in analyst coverage but whoever is responsible for this task needs to be demoted.
The fact is other than HL and B&S we have no active analyst covering this stock. This is like having a great product with no sales team in place. Selling a stock is just like selling any other commodity. For example Green Mountain coffee. Great coffee, not to mention great stock. But the only way it got out to us was that they were able to convince supermarket chains like stop and shop to put it on their shelfs. Major brokerage houses are the chains that would create the buying interest for us.
IDCC is a great stock. We need it to get on the radar so people know about it and can actually buy it. Brokers do not recommend stocks as a rule that are not covered by the brokerage house. Too much liability.
Bottomline, this stock is too good not to have more coverage than we have. Someone is not doing their job at IDCC in getting analysts on board. This needs to be improved. So while it may or may not be Janet Point's job to bring analysts to the table it sure irks me when I see her cashing out without producing.
Lucked out?
This isn't luck, this is real upside volume. With no real selling pressure anyone who wants to accumulate shares of IDCC is paying a premium. The last hour volume was about 150k shares. This buying is very bulish. Let's hope it is not over and whoever is buying continues to do so.
The buying pattern appears to be very orderly. Consistant volume all day yesterday and continuing today. Traders have price ranges which they are instructed to buy within. Stock goes up, volume will slow so the stock can go down a bit. If a fund or group decide they want to buy a milion shares they won't just put a market order in. They will try to accumulate at the best price possible. This accumulation pattern of the last 2 days looks very bulish.
My guess on the volume increase is new coverage. Boy we sure can use it. Firm may be acquiring shares for its customers prior to issuance on a new report.
Volume yesterday almost triple previous days. Someone trying to buy shares and is willing to pay for them. Up on high volume is always a good thing.
6-Apr-10 27.84 29.35 27.84 28.91 726,000 28.91
5-Apr-10 27.63 28.03 27.42 28.03 265,400 28.03
1-Apr-10 27.90 28.20 27.52 27.63 298,000 27.63
31-Mar-10 27.53 27.98 27.50 27.86 296,800 27.86
30-Mar-10 27.62 28.04 27.59 27.67 273,500 27.67
29-Mar-10 27.91 28.05 27.49 27.54 309,900 27.54
Hey, I hope you are right. My feeling is the new COB understands the playing field. The move to get rid of the pill will help bring new institutional money in. If we can nail a major brokerage house to put a buy rating the manipulators will get caught.
It also looked like some of the insider transactions in Jan were designed to just sell enough shares for tax purposes and keep remaining shares.
15-Jan-10 ISAACS GARY D Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 ISAACS GARY D Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 MCQUILKIN SCOTT A Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 MCQUILKIN SCOTT A Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 KIERNAN BRIAN G Officer 328 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 KIERNAN BRIAN G Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 LEMMO MARK A Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 LEMMO MARK A Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 SONI NARESH HIMATLAL Officer 358 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 SONI NARESH HIMATLAL Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 POINT JANET MEENEHAN Officer 335 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 POINT JANET MEENEHAN Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 SPRECHER STEVEN WAYNE Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 SPRECHER STEVEN WAYNE Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 NOLAN JAMES J Officer 338 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 NOLAN JAMES J Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 SHAY LAWRENCE F Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 SHAY LAWRENCE F Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
15-Jan-10 MERRITT WILLIAM J Officer 296 Direct Disposition
15-Jan-10 MERRITT WILLIAM J Officer 1,000 Direct Acquisition
In my opinion the main reason for the price stall is the court case with Nokia. Wall Street hates litagation risk and when IDCC lost after the CEO had basically descripted this case as a slam dunk many people headed for the hills. Over 9 million shares traded in 2 days.
17-Aug-09 21.50 23.85 20.86 22.52 6,938,200 22.52
14-Aug-09 30.89 30.91 27.86 29.50 2,320,800 29.50
With no major coverage and only two active analyst it is hard to get the big boys back to the table. Of the two active analyst, B&S stated that because of the Nokia verdict they think LG re-upping will be more difficult. (14m per q or close to 20% of quaterly rev's).
If they get a Nokia deal which I've been waiting over 10 years for then this stock flys. If LG re-ups then we break to the 30's. Also it may break out after next earning conference. With $1.21 per share and $116 in revs it may get noticed. June quarter is back to .64 cents and $78 mil in revs. If they can get that projection during next cc to over $80 mil in revs people may jump in.
New COB seems to be making his mark determined to become more shareholder and street friendly. Removal of the pill and bringing in a very qualified board member is a fantastic start for a guy on the job 3 months. I also expect some positive developments to happen prior to this years ASM in June.
InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC - News) announced today that its board of directors has set the date for the company’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the Dolce Valley Forge Hotel located at 301 West DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Public relations help but I think this is about getting major coverage, Sounded like we were close with UBS. Hillard and B&S just won't bring in the demand like UBS would. The story is good enought for these guys to cover. This is a very tricky game and one needs to know the rules. Making some friends in these companies like having UBS manage the $500 million in cash can help. Right now all we need is one big boy.
What Analyst's?
the analysts should start to give us a normal PE of at least 15 and I'd argue possibly 17-20 based on wireless growth especially with the rumor of the Verizon Iphone being built by Pegatron.
We only have two active guys. Now you have to love the new board member. Sounds like a guy that can help bring money in the door via these inventions a perfect fit.
I hope we get one more new director. Someone with Wall Street roots. On big house would bring all the coverage we need. Understand once a Morgan Stanley or UBS analyst initiate coverage thousands and thousands of brokers can both sell IDCC in accounts where they don't have discresion and better yet buy it for the clients who have discrestionary accounts with them. Meaning the brokkers could buy it for the clients with out asking.
Bottomline, Clontz seems to be taking this company in the right direction.
I nominate Jon Corizine for a seat on the Board of Directors
Ex senator, ex Governor, ex Goldman Sachs executive. All great criterias for a board member. Washington and Wall Street contacts. This is the kind of new blood we need. He can help get new analysts on board and help with moving toward better legislation to protect US inventors. Perfect fit.
It Depends
For Wall Street this has been the story of the Stock that cried wolf. For 10 years now we have been waiting for the next court decison. Many investors and professionals just gave up.
I thought the pill removal was a defining moment. Wall Street wants companies to play the game and bring in the right people. This ASM could be quite interesting. Without a Nokia/SNE/Mot agreement or LG reup I can't see another major catalyst to take this stock into the 30's.
So I'd like to see the move toward removing the 3 year staggered board and bringing in some Investment professionals as new board of director members. Get an ex-Goldman person as a new board member or some with strong ties to the investment community. We need new coverage and have to figure out ways to attrack new investors. Having TC start every csll and end ever call won't move the needle.
So if nothing is done we hover here. Just by bringing new buyers to the table via new analyst coverage we get back to the 30's.
My feeling is with this much money in the bank we have no down side in bringing in some top of the line talent to help this company move forward. This company has never been in this situtation before where they have recuring fantastic EPS numbers in this many consectutive quarters. The Nokia 2G payment was a lumpy one time payment that looked good for 2006 with EPS at $4.04 then 2007 EPS comes in at .40 cents and 2008 comes in at .57 cents. Would of, Should of, Could of structured that Nokia deal into a 3G deal like Samsung and we would probably be at $75 a share right now. The handling of that $253 million from Nokia resulted in a one year appreciation of the stock price and a whole bunch of repurchased shares in the $30's. Insiders had a blast selling but when the money was gone so went the 30's. That is why I beleive we have a new CFO.
I'd like to see them go out and bring in some new blood specifically a person or people who can bring new analysts on board. Also make a comitment to providing the guidence and information that these analyst want to see. If IDCC was added to the recommendation list of a major brokerage house like UBS or JP Morgan it would bring some serious buying interest into this company. I've seen a lot of crappy companies over the years get coverage. If Smith Barney can recommend MKTY.PK or MKTY prior to delisting they can certainly recommend IDCC. The problem is we have never had anyone in the company that knows how to play the game. Let's get that talent now.
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to see it or hear it. Will it make any sound?
QCOM has 31 analyst following the stock we have 4. I'd like to see them hire a high powered strategist that can bring new analysts on board. These dog and pony shows are nice but I have not seen or heard of any new coverage in this stock in years. They have $500 million in the bank. They should get somebody who knows how to play this game.
RFMD has $1 billion market cap No. of Analysts 19
TIVO has 9, SWKS has 19, BRCM has 31
These guys are out there we just can't get them to the table.
More analyst = More interest = More Buying = Higher prices.
$500 Million Dollar War Chest?
I'd really like to see IDCC bring in some high priced talent in multiple areas. First, get a high powered well connected wall street type guru who can get strategies in place to increase analyst coverage.
Next I'd like to see them bring in some new product people with proven track recors who can monetize these inventions.
Lastly lets bring in some creative deal makers to help get Nokia done. My thoughts are that the company may be holding on to the $500 million as a war chest. In cash they have strength. With the consistant statements by BM about new patents and new ITC filing, Nokia realizes that the company is not going away. With $500 soon to be $600 in the bank Nokia also feels that the court foe has the financial strength to keep this battle going.
So at what point does everyone sit down at the table and say enough. Maybe some fresh faces would help.
Thanks again Jim for all your years of hard work and dedication.
Any objective investor has to really value Tom Carpenter and the work that he has done over the years. For an analyst to have this much faith in a company for such a long period of time with out it breaking out is amazing. On every call since I can remember and his calls have been very accurate on this investment. I beleive he kept this company on the map for many, many years.
I really beleive the turning point for us here was the poison pill removal. Not simply because it helps increase the value of our shares and make the shares more attractive to institutional investors but because it proves that this company is now ready to change it ways and deliver shareholder value. My hope is that this new light carries over to the Nokia negotiations and they start crafting a creative win/win settlement. Talking to Nokia year after year and both companies spending millions upon millions in legal fees seems like a lose/lose way of doing business. Somebody needs to come to the table with something fresh. Joint development agreements, equity stake in IDCC, variable rates based on court decisions.
Bottomline, it takes two parties to fail in getting an greement together and I think both sets of lawyers are doing their clients a disservice by not hammering out a win/win settlement.
$200?
Thinking like this has kept all of us invested here for so many years. I've always felt a $4 to $5 Billion dollar valuation was in reach. That is what kept me here going on my 11th year in this investment. Also if you really think in terms of buy back vs. dividend my vote has always and will continue to be buy back.
Let's dream for a moment we get a decent deal from Nokia, then SNE & Mot and have all licenses in place and no litagation risk. (Wow what a dream). The revenue stream may double $600 million a year or an extra $6+ in earnings. Hmmm $10 a share wonder what that PE would look like.
Well if anyone thinks that this is possible then the investing of the cash now in the stock will only make our shares more valuable. I didn't invest here for a .25 cent a quarter dividend. I invested here for a triple digit return on my money which still may happen. Reducing the float by 25% will increase our share values by 25% and that event may get us to the New York City 200. LOL.
Corp Buyer had a ton of his personal money invested here just like everyone else. If I remember the filing correctly it was about 43,000 shares. This stock should have made money for everyone here instead a handfull of IDCC executives over the years go rich thru options and share grants. Latest example was the 76,000 share sale by Roath with an option exercise price of $5.25. Nice deal if you can get it. Where do I sign up for that.
In my opinion, his agenda was simple to level the playing field for stockholders which is now happening, the pill, the staggered boad and the vauge incentive stock pools assigned based on some criteria that has traditionally spit out shares to executives like money trees in back yards. These policies simply don't cut it in todays world of corporate governance. Corp Buyer was simply trying to get these guys to adhere to the the proper guidelines.
I think he invested here for the same reasons everyone else did. To make money.
The fact is since BM make the statement that IDCC is moving toward better coprorate governance and the board removed the pill corp buyer has been 100% vindicated in my eyes.
If I may add CorpBuyer to that list. He was so right on so many issues.
What we need now is new blood to bring in new blood.
We need to go out and hire a guy/girl with a rolodex who can bring in new coverage as well as new fund mangers. Open up the pocket book and hire people who can bring new money into this stock. The story is the best it has ever been. We all know Nokia is the the main issue but the CEO has to somehow make this a not all about Nokia story.
All the CC lately start with TC and end with TC with one or 2 people in between. I can't beleive with all the brokerage house out there we can't get any new analyst to nibble. Bring in some wall street veterans with proven track records and see if they can start a BUZZ.
Just what we need more law suits. LOL.
One word, Litagation.
If you look a other IP companies(rambus, tivo) you will see an erractic trading pattern. Litigation risk keeps people from buying. No one wants a 50% hit in a few trading days. Look at the pricing when the ITC decision was made.
17-Aug-09 21.50 23.85 20.86 22.52 6,938,200 22.52
14-Aug-09 30.89 30.91 27.86 29.50 2,320,800 29.50
13-Aug-09 31.64 31.79 30.81 30.83 914,800 30.83
From a high of 31.64 to a low of 20.86
In my opinion the only major risk today is Nokia. Yeah, LG may not resign but even if they don't by the years end they still can sign later.
If they get Nokia done we fly. With no litagation besides the Nokia appeal we'd have everyone except SNE & MOT. Over the years speculation has been that SNE will sign right behind Nokia.
I'd like to see a full court press on Nokia. Joint venture, joint development, let them take an equity position, etc. Get creative. With Nokia out of the way this company can really focus on doing some great things. So I don't think the extra .05 or .10 cents matters. Both companies have spent fortunes in lawyer fees fighting over the years. If they just make the best deal available now, bye bye risk. Hello Houston (as in the Houston 100).
Why else would he be willing to pressure IDCC mgt to remove the pill?
Because it is good business. Part of being a public company is the ability to attrack and keep shareholders. Report after reports states that poison pills benefit management and not shareholders. The pill as it was constructed did not give shareholders the right to vote on takeover offers. Basically, set up like a parent would know better than a child so they should makke the important decisions. Institutions do not like being treated lie children.
Bravo!!!!
It is a good day to be a shareholder. It appears that the new COB gets it.
With the pill in place it would be extremely difficult to attrack new institutions. Now going into the Jeffries conference without the pill hopefully we wil get some new blood coming into this stock.
I also like the fact that they did not wait for the ASM. The pill was bad and by removing volentarily they showed that they are willing to take the proper steps toward shareholder value.
What is the same now ?Nokia
We have a problem with urgency. I don't know all the hang ups in the Nokia license but it appears to be centered around rate. Merrit seems to think this cat and mouse strategy with Nokia and the ITC is working. Nobody else does. As long as he and other team members have share grants and selling points we have no hunger by the IDCC team.
Many venture firms would like the top guys tied to the performance of the stock. It causes the urgency to get things done. Nokia is now and has been the road block for this company. Wall street prices in cash and licenses but will discount future cash flows because of expiring licenses. What was once a great soldi license(LG) now is being questioned because they haven't renewed and doubts about them renewing without Nokia. Also the fact that IDCC lost at the ITC gave them the appearence of a barking dog with no teeth.
I'm in till the ASM where I hope the pill will be removed. Then I'll join the long list of shareholders who left this stock without realizing the profit they were expecting.
In my opinion, the decision to halt the buy back was made by the BOD to preserve capital (hopefully not more legal battles) and to expand it technology revenue stream (new tech council). Also the possibility of showing strength in the Nokia talks by having a healthy war chest.
No legal restrictions exist on the buy back. They had an agressive one when they got the Nokia money and may feel that they have bought enough shares. I think they want to buy some companies/technology.
All in all my biggest hope is the Pill is gone by the ASM. I would like to see some exit prices for long suffering shareholders including myself in the 30's. Only way to get there now is with the pill removal and buyout priced in.
Buy back halted to preserve cash.
From 10k
[/Cash and Short-Term Investments
At December 31, 2009, we had $409.8 million of cash and short-term investments. A substantial portion of this balance relates to fixed and
prepaid royalty payments we have received that relate to future sales of our licensees’ products. As a result, our cash receipts from existing
licenses subject to fixed and prepaid royalties will be reduced in future periods. We currently plan to preserve a significant portion of our cash
and short-term investments to finance our business in the near future and will review our cash and short-term investment position if and when
we receive new prepaid royalty payments or sign new patent license agreements.b]
It sounds like we won't have to vote. If they make the appropriate changes to corporate governance then the pill will be removed or modified to the point where we get a say.
Let's hope the new COB wants deals and not more court cases. The carrot and the stick play with Nokia is clearly not working. The stick is too small to hurt Nokia. Time to make a deal. I think that Carpenter has been accurate for a long time. The per unit prices:
We believe InterDigital will receive between $0.35 to
$0.50 per phone from Nokia once the firms finalize a 3G agreement.
I don't think IDCC has been willing to accept these rates. My feeling is that they rolled the dice in the ITC and lost. Time to put the dice away and make the deal. I have been waiting 10+ years for the right Nokia deal. The market cap has not moved in the last 10 years. Time for the new COB to step up and say enough, make the deal move on sign new licenses and start building new revenue streams.
The shame is that the long term shareholders have been and continue to pay the price. Many sell out after years and years of hope and they won't be here if and when this deal is signed.
If IDCC won't settle then it is time to find a big brother or white knight who can take a percentage ownership in this company. (Apple anyone). Instead of outright selling to apple let them make an equity investment with a stake and then fight it out with Nokia, Sony/Ericsson and Motorola. Funny how SNE gets a 7 year free ride from litagation expenses.
Miracle?
Jim, LG licensed for the same reason APPL, RIMM and HTC licensed because of the patent portfolio. LG made a decision license rather than litagate. Hopefully they will make the same decision.
The problem with Nokia has always been about price. IDCC rolled the dice on the ITC to get Nokia to give them more money and lost. Would have, should have, could have. My hope is the new COB is more flexibe and creative. Now is not the time to dig in your heals and hold out for the last penny. Get this deal done and start building the company. Ten years ago this was a $1 billion company and it is still a $1 billion dollar company. Ten years ago we were all waiting for the Nokia "deal" and we are still waiting.
At some point the focus needs to shift from law suits to partnerships. Get Nokia back to the table. Take a real long hard look at the last deal they offered and work from that point. I think that is what is happening otherwise they wouldn't address the pill issue.
The clock is ticking. In my opinion we will have clarity by this years ASM. I don't think they would leave themselves in play by removing the pill if they thought the starting price would be here. Nokia shoud be done by the ASM and then the real bidding for this company will begin.
COB don't join quarterly conference calls. That is the job of the day to day people the CFO and CEO. I know I posted ad nauseum for corporate governance after the last call but I feel they got the message. Without the pill and staggered board in place these guys know they have to be very careful and sensitive to shareholders needs. Kind of like taking the net away from a trapeeze artist.
The next move should be a focus on increase institutional ownership along with more analyst coverage. We had 3 people asking questions and I beleive they even opened up the phones to the investors for the first time with no takers.
The story is still great and getting better. A 10% increase in institutional holdings would equate to $100 million dollar buyback if the institutions plan to stay around for a while.
Their are hundreds of small and mid cap growth managers who would buy this company without a dividend. The company needs to hire someone who can get these guys on board.
I'm going to gibe BM the benefit of the doubt now. He seems to be delivering what I wanted him to better corporate governance. He delivered HTC, NEC, SHARP, SAMSUNG, RIMM, SANYO, TOSHIBA, PANTECH, ETC. He hasn't delivered Nokia. No need to question his truthfulness. My problem has been lack of corporate governance which is being addressed and over confidence in the ITC which can be fixed by signing Nokia. If he says he is in economic discussions he is. The fact is one signiture on a Nokia contract will cure all ills.
No more false starts. They don't need any news just a plan and execution. Sans Nokia the moves have been correct. If he wins the ITC we don't have any issues. They need to get Nokia done so they can focus on the $1 trillion dolars opportunity.
Indeed while the terminal unit market is very large topping $150 billion last year, the infrastructure, consumer electronics and data services markets are together significantly larger than that topping over $1 trillion. Our goal is to develop highly relevant technology for those markets allowing for the delivery of better, more compelling products that greatly enhance the user experience. If we can do so and I believe we can, those technologies will create substantial new revenue opportunities to substantially increase our profits.
Great Call!!!
From the CC.
In that regard, we are actively seeking a number of new industry savy executives to further enhance this strategic capacity of our board. Given the financial strength of the company, its technology vision and its future potential, I can tell you we are finding a wealth of very qualified talent. Assuming the process continues to move as well as it has. We would hope to have at least two new highly qualifies board members in place during the first half of the year. The company is also redoing other critical matters in corporate governance including the shareholder rights plan, the term for board members, board compensation and alike. The purpose of the exercise is to assure that we have in place the policies and practices that will drive the highest shareholder value.
I beleive the changes that will take effect regarding corporate governance will bring real permanent value to all shareholders. Also, it will attract new fund managers and institutions. Good move by the company. Instead of having ugly fights to protect the pill, they will just remove it. I'm not worried about a takeover either. Let the bidding start. Could be that they get Nokia resolved before the shareholders meeting stock pops to $50, they remove the pill and hostile takeover prices start at $75. I could think of worse things to happen to shareholders.
So many new investors asking why this stock doesn't move? They need new blood to buy this stock. I'd like to see a new hire that can bring these guys to the table. The new corporate governance along with some hire guns that have fund managers on speed dial and boom, take institutional ownership up past the 70% mark.
Looks like they are keeping the $500 million in the war chest in order to go after newer revenue markets. While I'd rather see a buy back the most important thing is to get Nokia resolved. I think the new COB's first phone call was to Nokia asking what it will take to get things done.
Lastly the new licenses could be waiting for some patents to be granted. Why else would he reference his patent guys.
All in all, I'm extremely happy that the pill will be removed without an ugly fight.
The sale while itself is insignificant I'd like to start seeing the company listen to the two top supporters more. I guess we will find out more this week.
Tom Carpenter has been writing about how he would like to see some insider buying. The percentage ownership of insiders is not high. A few token buys with a temporary halt to all sells including 10-B1's would do wonders for the perception of the company. I'd like to see if the new COB can convince other corporate executives to keep shares until after a nokia settlement.
It will also be interesting to see what response the company has if any to Bill Naz's posion pill removal proposal. A volentary removal of the pill by the compay will be worth upwards of 5 points. That would be a nice gift to the stock holders. Also if they won't announce a new buyback I'd love to see the current one move at a quicker pace.
While the best move they can make would be a Nokia settlement or a Sony/Ericsson license, they can certainlyhelp get the share price past 30 with some very easy to execute steps.
I stand by my opinions as being in the best interest of shareholders.
1. I beleive that the poison pill should be removed.
2. The election of all members of the BOD should be done on a yearly basis.
3. IDCC should finish executing the current buyback and start a new $100 million dollar one.
4. More interest needs to be generated in the form of new analyst coverage and new fund managers.
5. More insider ownership either by holding onto existing shares or purchase of new ones.
Sorry if my opinions offend you but that is what the ignore list is for.