wait a minute 24...
"...a disservice to those who previously were mislead by the posts that now stand quietly recanted."
there is no "quiet recant" whatsoever as to my view on the appearance of sleaze of the maneuver to rubber stamp the comp plan from 1994.
this is an entirely different proposition than it was almost a decade ago. the compensation structure & incentives thereto should categorically be hitched to specific, delineated performance benchmarks.
if they are no longer a "development stage" concern, they should not adopt a mere renewal of a "development stage" concern's comp plan, valid through 2009!!!
i also misunderstood yer "smoky room" queries as to the ASM. i was thinking PJS' Manhattan office & you were apparently thinking the Metropolitan Hotel. On reflection, i think it'd be a helluva lot harder for Wave execs to shove that comp plan down S/Hs throats when a few hundred of 'em (zealots or not) were staring back @ 'em in the flesh.
to that end, i *do* think there is a substantial difference in floating the proxy in a "special" meeting that will not be attended in any significant numbers.
the *only* point i conceded is that the increase in the # of shares available for options from 13.5 to 15mil could potentially have an adverse effect on the H calculations for 19.99% purposes.
i resent the "quietly recanted" implication. it would be easy to bang the drum of sleazy deals, financing SKS' private entities, Founders' Shares, still unpaid loans to Feeney that barely snuck past the Sarbannes-Oxley passage (while he flips option shares @ $5), NON-performance guaranteed bonuses, PJS buying KWI BK estate for $600K+ while not paying back the $mil ahem, "loan," (while Wave was forced to take on loan shark financing) all b/c PJS didn't wanna sell some of his 2million-odd shares (he certainly never had any problem selling shares before).
the prevailing logic on some of this stuff has been one of necessary evils (e.g., CEO & CFO did Wave a favor by flipping option shares b/c it put $2/sh into the coffers; PJS didn't wanna harm the share price by selling shares, so the company "loaned" out a badly needed mil to him in lieu of yet another sale; etc., etc., ETC!).
i opted to spare the "club" from a series of posts that would have added to Bluefang's diatribe, etc.
that in NO WAY suggests that i "quietly recanted" anything!
the fact that the newly minted option shares might have triggered the 19.99% provision does not validate it IMO as good corporate governance... NOT EVEN CLOSE!
do ya think they'll set strike prices for future emp/exec options @ the high end of the 52 week range or the low?
will the guaranteed NON-performance bonus policy continue?
the lessons of 98-00 have proven to be invaluable at this stage for me. overall my trading has been entirely successful precisely b/c of my recovering wavaholic status.
but in the 20 or so round-trips i've made in the last month or so, i have made two terrible trades. the first was a buy @ around 3:55 going into the CC (stooopid me for thinking benefit-of-the-doubt that there might be some remotely meaningful rev guidance & overly discounting the "So" factor). the second was a dump on the gap down the day after the newest 14 was released (to some degree influenced by my sksepticism as to bad corp behavior).
i have not (nor will i ever) adopted the fawning "whatever SKS' Dad's cronies decide to pay him is A-OK w/me, heck, he deserves more!" mind-set. nor will i allow myself to be wallowed in the pessimistic mire that kept HhH in cash when the INTC news gusher was tapped.
i have come to conclude (& accept) that a certain degree of sleaze is a necessary evil to owning WAVX & will not permit it to cloud my trading strategies whatsoever in future transactions.
things are what they are. the Spragues will always be what they are in this context. the market is embracing TC. Wave has a significant 1st mover advantage (which btw & fwiw does merit some hefty rewards though not to the extent, nor in the manner, that the Sprague trough has been re-filled again & again IMO).
Wave has realized some serious value from the $260mil spent over last 10 years (though it's debatable whether it is in fact $260mil worth of value, the market cap suggests, for now at least, that it isn't).
Wave had the ability to let go of their proprietary solution & turn towards the biz oppty that was present. Softee no longer has a strangle-hold on TCPA. TCG utilizes a (seemingly) equitable RAND licensing policy.
the news has been riddled w/computing security stories. Feds are ramping spending on "Homeland Security" (which brings the proprietary EMBASSY solution into play).
WXP has demonstrated value vis-a-vis HowardDeanTV & the climate for IPOs is warming (which might mitigate Wave's pauper status in terms of IB suitors & raising new capital.)
& on & on & on...
it is decidely unprofitable to delude one's self that Wave mgmt will ever win any awards for outstanding corporate governance.
almost every sign points to wavx going higher in the near-term & IDF is on the horizon & HP continues to add "Embedded Security" docs to its site by the dozen daily.
so heretofore my mantra as to Sprague conduct is:
"Jimmy crack corn & i don't care!"
have a good day,
SPIN
PS i couldn't agree more about the Vegas chatter, except that down the road (under certain circumstances), it could provide a nice sell signal.
PPS i hereby predict that some voids'll champion yer "quiet recanting" rhetoric as if it were accurate b/c it makes 'em feel warm inside irrespective of the lumpy rug of stuff swept under by years of mgmt's self-interest. cue mantra...
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