The key things to know from this advertisement:
- It was in the paper on September 7th, although some posters believed that a retraction was coming from the advance news reports on September 3.
- The request for wind-up was actually filed in June -- arguably part of a negotiating stance. It is somewhat surprising to me that it was not disclosed in the Q2 10K (filed in August), but perhaps not required if the advertisement had not been placed; shareholders were already on notice about litigation by Hunt.
- The hearing is currently scheduled for September 14 at noon.
Net: looks like the story won't be retracted -- it is true. The hope is that Hunt withdraws the request as the result of negotiations with the company.
It may not be coincidental that the recent flurry of company initiated press (two PRs last week, and the article over the weekend about the 'financial crisis' impacting financing activities, and showing a picture of the six Hobart employees) appeared at approximately the same time as the advertisement. Company attempting to demonstrate commitment to finding funding so that Hunt can be paid back, thus gaining public sympathy.
BTW, the weekend article implied some slight of hand by the company in its filings, by saying the report shows $216K in salary for Mr. Bendall but Dr. Burnett says no money paid. Not fair to the company. Accounting rules require accrual of salary, even if not paid in cash. The filings also say that Mr. Bendall received no cash in 2008. 2009, and so far in 2010 (amount owed was converted to stock in the first round of the RO).
AI
