Rainmaker Merger Countdown Chart-Updated 12/24/10
Stage 1: This would be a dormant shell who is suddenly reactivated
Weakest one, could be a year+ before they do anything.
Also, a shell who suddenly raises their A/S or creates some new Preferred shares would be a stage 1. Still weak.
Stage 2: This would be filing a 15-12g
Still very weak, might be nothing more than someone who couldn't afford their auditor anymore, unless coupled with a name change. Or somebody who just wanted out of the expenses of being fully reporting.
Stage 3: This would be a change in officers and company address or a new website coming online.
This one is a decent place to real radar this one, maybe nibble a bit. What you want to see is the new officers have a decent track record on past business deals especially if they did a successful merger in the past.
Stage 4: would be a name change or Change of address.
(I split this stage into two groups).
A)Weaker: One's I can't find any info on new company. These I watch but don't buy.
B)Stronger: These are my favorites and where I am willing to take a chance. An exact match between the new listed address/phone and a real company who is already doing a lot of business. A company like this should be all over google. The good one's are the one's where new company name is all over google and or appears to have decent revenue. The sexier the story for the new company the more powerful.
*Now even if you make it through these four stages, Stage 5 is the make it or break it stage.
Stage 5: Final Terms and details of the merger are disclosed.
How do they structure the merger?
What percent of new company do shell holders end up with?
20-30% of new company is a dream split. 10% workable, less not usually a good deal.
Also, do they do a R/S a deal killer almost every time unless there is some interesting wrinkle or twist thrown into the deal to bring in buyers.
Bottom line until you make it to stage 5, get the answers you need regarding share structure after the merger, potential revenue going forward and get a feel whether new management is shareholder friendly....these are lotto's you throw a few dollars at hoping to get lucky. After Stage 5 you can find some life changing deals after filtering down to a few strong one's who are about to be up and running.
