Post by oldman on Nov 1, 2013 5:26:23 GMT 7
Before I invest in any company, one of the things that I look for in the annual report is that management has a significant stake in the company. Ideally, this is a controlling stake (though this too has its pros and cons) and management owns this stake directly.
If the stake is held by a bank instead, this may mean that management has pledged their shares to the bank. This is usually the case if management wants to take a loan from the bank as they have to put down a collateral. Hence they may use their shares as collateral to the bank. However, this does not mean that all deemed interests to banks are loans as there may also be other valid reasons.
When a company lists on the stock exchange, it is not easy for management to sell vendor shares. This means that management cannot take money out of their companies on listing. So one way of encouraging management to list their company is for the banks to extend them a loan for which they have to put their shares as collateral to the banks.
Management can then buy their dream house outright and everything seems wonderful until their shares fall in value. Then, they may have margin calls and the nightmare begins. They cannot sell their dream house in any hurry and hence, they have to find ways of raising money quickly. This is not a good situation to be in and management may not be fully aware of this risk when they took up the loan.
Yes, even direct stakes can be disguised as some lenders may allow management to hold on to their direct stakes while having a side letter of understanding such that these lenders can take over their shares if these fall below a certain level. Maybe one of the reasons for this disguise is because there is a risk of short sellers taking advantage if they knew that these shares have been loaned out.
As always, the best advice even to the rich, is always to live within one's means and not to have any loans.
Worth looking at this case: pertama.freeforums.net/post/401/thread
If the stake is held by a bank instead, this may mean that management has pledged their shares to the bank. This is usually the case if management wants to take a loan from the bank as they have to put down a collateral. Hence they may use their shares as collateral to the bank. However, this does not mean that all deemed interests to banks are loans as there may also be other valid reasons.
When a company lists on the stock exchange, it is not easy for management to sell vendor shares. This means that management cannot take money out of their companies on listing. So one way of encouraging management to list their company is for the banks to extend them a loan for which they have to put their shares as collateral to the banks.
Management can then buy their dream house outright and everything seems wonderful until their shares fall in value. Then, they may have margin calls and the nightmare begins. They cannot sell their dream house in any hurry and hence, they have to find ways of raising money quickly. This is not a good situation to be in and management may not be fully aware of this risk when they took up the loan.
Yes, even direct stakes can be disguised as some lenders may allow management to hold on to their direct stakes while having a side letter of understanding such that these lenders can take over their shares if these fall below a certain level. Maybe one of the reasons for this disguise is because there is a risk of short sellers taking advantage if they knew that these shares have been loaned out.
As always, the best advice even to the rich, is always to live within one's means and not to have any loans.
Worth looking at this case: pertama.freeforums.net/post/401/thread
