Chemtura has some very profitable niche businesses in a sector that is screaming right now. If you compare the market capitalization to the "peer" companies listed by the brokerage houses, all of those companies are $2 to $4.5 billion with PE's around 18, whereas Chemtura is under $89 million right now, classing it as a small cap stock. Chemtura has not had the earnings because of write-downs and restructuring etc... which will disappear when we leave BK. They are in a very strong position for growth, with what is functionally a monopoly in some strategic areas. Consequently, in recognition of that, the PE multiple should probably go higher than those peers in time and the $.27 will become a multiple of that with patience.
WS was right about SVP and Canyon, those guys are really going to have to evolve or die with respect to the structure of the POR, and the creditors and debtor are also really in the same position. I am not a lawyer, just an humble working-stiff engineer who is trying to get 3 sons further along in life by working in a little investing in his sparse spare time. I cannot see or believe that there is any logic in the cancellation or non-conversion of shares bought after the chapter 11 petition. The shares have all been publicly traded and treated in the same way since the filing, all were converted to Q designation. I think the terminology would apply only if any shares had been issued after the petition, and to my knowledge none have been, and if they had, I think they would have been designated in a different class of security. I am glad someone is asking a lawyer for an authorative answer to this question.
I think we are just experiencing the hard turns of navigation through the rocks in getting to a concensual settlement. There are competing interests and each of those interests want, and are using gamesmanship to get all that they can get. As it stands now, the creditors probably know that they aren't going to get the sweetheart deal they crafted, and SVP/Canyon are going to have to deal with the fact that they aren't either and now they need to concern themselves with what is really fair and equitable. As I see it, we private shareholders, individual investors, employees, etc... will be the beneficiary of the changes that those competing interests are going to have to accomodate in order to get this thing past Judge Gerber.
Each should make their own decisions based on their own personal situation. Mine actually is OK even now, as long as the equity isn't cancelled, as even at $.27 I would still be in a profitable position. I actually benefit from the low current share price because I am divorcing a gold-digging shrew that I mistakenly married 2 years ago (divorce filed 8 months ago) and this is beneficial in expediting the goal of getting her claws out of my back at terms more favorable than they might have been at a higher share price. We are all entitled to our own opinions, and for others to respect our right to do that. We each will live with the consequences of our decisions and actions, also. If I am wrong, well, it just means I have to work harder and longer to meet my goals (nothing really changes), and if I am right, I get a lot of freedom, and my sons have a lot of opportunities that I have never had.
