Right, $600K in 97, $4M in 98, $40M in 00. Over the same period of time e.Digital's interest in Jabra dropped from 12% in 97 to one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) by the closing of the (net aggregate potential) $75M acquisition.
12% to 0.1% for about $315K ($276K + $40K in share buyout from GN Netcom) in net-proceeds, over the course of three years, from the sale of their interest while the company's revenues increased 65,000% over the same period of time. From a potential of $4.8M plus additional payouts to a net-realized gain of $315K over the course of three years. Whomever was lucky enough to purchase that remaining 11.9% from e.Digital for $315K made a killing! And that is the pertinent question, who bought the ownership? Affiliated individuals? e.Digital insiders? Polis? Davric? Norris? Putnam? Falk? Joe Sixpack? Frank?
What is most unsettling is the accounting for the Jabra investment on the balance sheets. Shares start disappearing and e.Digital's theoretical carrying value (they carried it at no cost) dropped 90% over the course of one year. Extremely sloppy accounting.
Visionaries indeed! They envisioned a way to extract a extremely valuable asset from the balance sheets of a publicly held company (owned for the benefit of shareholders) and into the possession of unknown individuals and/or entities for pennies of it value just a few years thereafter.
Oh, but that's the past and has little to do with today or the future; except three of the four individuals in key management positions then are still at e.Digital now.
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"I disagree with everything you say. But I will defend to the death your right to say it." --Voltaire
