Investing in a company that is managed by the person who controls it is a bit of a mixed bag for investors. It's great when management has skin in the game, but not-so-great when management abuses its control at the expense of minority shareholders. Consider what happened in the case of NewLead Holdings (NASDAQ:NEWL), where management not only controls the equity, but also has a significant stake (in fact, larger than its equity stake) in the company's debt.
CEO Michael Zolotas not only effectively controlled NewLead's equity, but also a large portion of its debt. This is a clear conflict of interest, and here's why: Zolotas just converted his debt to equity, issuing himself shares at a 40% discount to the market price of the equity. This caught the market off-guard last Monday, causing several circuit breakers to trip as the stock fell by 60% at one point during the day.
The company is bleeding red ink and has defaulted on some payments already, so such a conversion may have been necessary anyway. But the key issue here is that any negotiation between equity and debt holders is tainted by this conflict, which may have resulted in a conversion price that ripped off minority equity holders.
Be sure you know what you're getting into when you buy into a company that is controlled by one person or group!
Disclosure: No position.
- English (UK)
- English (India)
- English (Canada)
- English (Australia)
- English (South Africa)
- English (Philippines)
- English (Nigeria)
- Deutsch
- Español (España)
- Español (México)
- Français
- Italiano
- Nederlands
- Português (Portugal)
- Polski
- Português (Brasil)
- Русский
- Türkçe
- العربية
- Ελληνικά
- Svenska
- Suomi
- עברית
- 日本語
- 한국어
- 简体中文
- 繁體中文
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Bahasa Melayu
- ไทย
- Tiếng Việt
- हिंदी
Old Tricks For New Lead
Published 06/19/2012, 06:14 AM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM
Old Tricks For New Lead
Latest comments
Install Our App
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.