June 21, 2008 by Konner McDonnell
Three weeks ago, I wrote an article on the proposed merger of Crystal Springs Land and Loan(CSL) and Crystal Spring Virtual Capital (CSV). Supplementing that article was list of my concerns with specific terms governing the proposal set forth by CSL/CSV CEO Skip Oceanlane.
Apparently, it's no longer an issue.
According to a reliable source, CSL/CSV shareholders received the following in-world group announcement earlier today:
Please be advised that the public merger offer between Crystal Springs Land and Loan (CSL) and Crystal Springs Virtual Capital (CSV) has been withdrawn. The meeting scheduled tonight has been canceled. I will be in contact with shareholders over the next few days as to what will happen next. Please be assured that everything will work out fine :-) Thank you for your patience.
Skip Oceanlane, CEO
Crystal Springs Land and Loan Crystal Springs Virtual Capital
A search of the VSTEX Forums and the Crystal Springs Virtual Capital General Information Page for similar notification yielded no such announcement.
Most intriguing. After a trading halt that has lasted for upwards of a month, the merger is suddenly withdrawn hours before shareholders are to vote on the terms of the proposed merger?
Since I criticized the aforementioned proposition based on its terms, most notably CEO Oceanlane's retention of his right to vote on the merger with owner shares, perhaps I should be inclined to commend the recension of the proposition. But I am not and I won't. It did come hours before shareholders were to chime in. Why not simply abstain from voting and let the shareholders make the final call?
Perhaps it is just me, but this bodes ominously.
Update
CEO Oceanlane has announced that he is taking both companies private. Rather than treating you to lengthy analysis of Oceanlane's announcement, I'm simply going to say that given everything we've seen in the last few months, I wholly approve of this decision. And if the conga line that has formed on the beach surrounding VSTEX Headquarters is any indication - I'm not alone.
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An announcement by CEO of CSL & CSV from their website
This is directly from the Crystal Sprinds Land And Loans website: http://www.csll-sl.com/
Dear CSLL & CSVC Shareholders:
I have decided to stop the merger of Crystal Springs Virtual Capital (CSV) and Crystal Springs Land and Loan (CSL), and take them both private. I am doing this because of many different reasons.
The main reason is that scammers are making doing business in the "public" financial sector of Second Life impossible. I believe that there are major changes coming soon, and it's best for me to just go private with my companies now. I hope Linden Lab steps in sooner rather than later and starts regulating the financial sector here, before thousands more lose their Lindens in SL companies and other stock exchanges scams.
I wish to note that Vstex and the International Stock Exchange are by far the most honest stock exchanges within Second Life. Vstex staff Samantha Goldflake and Tobia Forcella have been very helpful to my two companies, and I do greatly appreciate all their past help. However, they cannot control the outside factors that are disrupting my ability to be listed on their stock exchange. I wish Vstex the best of luck in their future endeavors.
For now, I will continue to operate the companies with just my own money/Lindens, privately. We'll see what happens in the future, but for now I'm still profitable and the companies will continue to run, profitably.
I will pay Crystal Springs Virtual Capital (CSV) shareholders 1.00 Linden per share directly to the shareholder within the next few weeks. The current Net Value Per Share is around .13L, so CSV shareholders are getting a great deal.
I will pay Crystal Springs Land and Loan (CSL) shareholders .55 Linden per share directly to the shareholder within the next few weeks. The current Net Value Per Share is around .19L, so CSL shareholders are getting a great deal too.
Thank you all for your past support and trust, and if you need land or a land loan within Second Life, please feel free to IM me.
Skip Oceanlane, CEO
Crystal Springs Land and Loan
Crystal Springs Virtual Capital
So basically in one instance
So basically in one instance Skip Oceanline gets an interest free loan, and in the other he gets to buy back everything for a fraction of what was given to him, netting a nice profit.
"The main reason is that scammers are making doing business in the "public" financial sector of Second Life impossible." Thanks for helping out with that perception Skipper.
It's not YOUR companies. If you wanted them to be you should have never taken anyone else's money.
It is a first
"The main reason is that scammers are making doing business in the "public" financial sector of Second Life impossible."
Yea I laughed when I saw this part also, the first time in SL finanial history the CEO calls the investors a scammers. He's a joke, I said that since day one. I tryied to get everyone I knew to vote against his CSV company when it was a pending company on the exchange.
On the other hand he is not profiting from the IPO's, CSV IPO'd at 1L$ and he is giving that back at 1L$, he also paid a dividend of .01L$, and also lost 2.5% of the IPO money to VSTex in commision for the IPO. Same with CSL, not sure on what the dividends were on the company, but it was also a joke, he is buying that back at .55L$ and IPO'd at .50L$ And you do have to be glad he didn't 'skip out with out paying the investors back. Well that is still yet to be seen.
Bart Heart
Yeah
The fact that he's buying out the company is why I opted for a mild update. I didn't buy for his explanation and I've criticized his ethics on more than one occasion. But in going private he is paying of shareholders and most importantly, he's going away.
I do realize the latter comment sounds rude, but Skip's behavior has been erratic and often paranoid to a point where I found myself wondering if he'd run the company in the ground. I was relieved to see him take it private. So long as he makes good on paying every shareholder their due, I wish him nothing but the best in his future.
Yet, I would have liked to see VSTEX hold onto the companies' risk funds until after he paid every shareholder back. Followed by a period of 3-5 days where shareholders could contact the exchange if they weren't paid. I'm sure there's problems with that idea, but I'll leave that to you folks.
It must be noted
that the risk funds related to CSL and CSV are still being held by the VSTEX. As per our June 22 news those funds will be transferred. The exact date was not specified.
My apologies for not being crystal clear about that. The VSTEX never moves money around unless everything is settled and ironed out. The risk funds will be transferred only after the buyback will be completed and when we'll have enough guarantees that everything has been settled with CSL and CSV shareholders.
It must also be noted that CEO Skip Oceanlane, in the very first place, asked us to hold those funds until completion of the buyback. Credit given where credit is due.
Samantha Goldflake - Director
VSTEX Communication and Public Relations
http://www.vstex.net
We believe that some data
We believe that some data should be released to benefit the general public. I just published a document for public viewing.
The data is in anonymous form. It must be noted that nobody asked us to release or even look at that data.
About dividends:
Hope that helps.
Samantha Goldflake - Director
VSTEX Communication and Public Relations
http://www.vstex.net
complete joke
a punch in the face of all his investors who trusted him.
Big Joke
that is