Small Print

By Paul Hodgson – CCO and Senior Research Associate

This Week’s Winner of the Name Change of the Month Competition

Events Team Leader Mark Magee spotted this name change in a June 5^th 8-K that is a clear winner in this month’s competition, and smacks, he notes, of desperation.

Quepasa Corporation changed its name to MeetMe, Inc. and its ticker from QPSA to MEET

Quepasa is, of course, Spanish for what’s happening or what’s going on, or, as Cheech and Chong would have it “whaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssappeniiiiiiiiiiin?”

But what the heck is Quepasa Corporation, I’m sorry, MeetMe? Our company description has this: Quepasa Corporation, owns Quepasa.com, a social network and game platform for the Latino community. Well, to be honest, at least Quepasa had the merit of actually meaning something in Spanish. MeetMe doesn’t mean anything at all. Wait, I’ve got an idea, how about CaraLibro?

The Rodney Dangerfield of American Express

Company Analyst Team Leader Mike Gordon found this May 3^rd 8-K from American Express. Peter Lindner, a shareholder, nominated himself, but even so, among all those 800+ million votes, that 11 would certainly catch your eye. Of course, Mr. Lindner wasn’t on the company’s proxy statement as he wasn’t a company nominee, so 11 is probably his shares.

Election of Directors.

Generation X-cess

Events Analyst Dovid Muyderman quoted this May 31^st 8-K.

NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (the “Company”) reported today that it changed its policy regarding the generation of excess inclusion income, which generally passes through to the Company’s tax-exempt stockholders as unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. Pursuant to this new policy, the Company will not acquire any assets that will produce excess inclusion income for its stockholders.

Does anyone know what that actually means?

Best Interests at Heart

Dovid also found this in a June 1^st filing from SIGA Tech.

SIGA Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIGA), a company specializing in the development of  pharmaceutical agents to fight pathogens capable of use as bioweapons, today reported that the Delaware Chancery Court has entered its final judgment in the litigation that PharmAthene, Inc. commenced in December 2006. This action brings to a close the initial trial-level proceedings in the litigation.

As previously disclosed, the Chancery Court issued its post-trial opinion in September 2011 granting judgment to PharmAthene on two of its eight claims and denying SIGA’s counterclaim against PharmAthene. It further indicated that the remedy would be in the form of an “equitable payment stream,” pursuant to which SIGA would pay to PharmAthene for ten years 50% of its net profits from sales or other dispositions of its smallpox drug, ST-246®, after SIGA retained the first $40 million of net profits. The court also granted in part PharmAthene’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses. The court asked the parties to agree if possible on a form of final judgment embodying these rulings and filling in the details, including the definition of “net profits.” The parties were unable to agree and instead submitted competing forms of judgment and related briefings. The Chancery Court has now set the form of its final judgment, including a definition of “net profits” that largely relies on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

The parties were unable to agree? Unable to agree? They’ve just been suing each other and the court asked them to agree to the ruling details and a definition of net profits? That kind of suggestion calls into question the Chancery Court’s decision in the case. But I’d have loved to see those two different definitions of net profits. Those would have been pretty funny, I have a feeling. Total expenses? You want to hear total expenses?