Controversial fertiliser tycoon Pankaj Oswal says PPB Advisory, the receiver and manager appointed by ANZ Bank to Burrup Fertilisers, is ”irresponsibly” using company funds.

Mr Oswal is suing Burrup Fertilisers for $US491 million ($A475 million) in cost overruns and is challenging the validity of the receivership.

Mr Oswal says PPB Advisory charging $7 million in fees and disbursements in less than six months is ”scandalous”, as is the $4.6 million in legal fees.

”It should be noted that virtually all my legal actions are against PPB Advisory, not Burrup Fertilisers,” he said.

”It is also interesting that even after all of this expenditure, Burrup still has $US41 million in cash.

”Not bad for a company put into receivership.”

Mr Oswal said it was ”one of many reasons” why he and his wife Radhika were challenging the receivership.

PPB Advisory was appointed receivers in December 2010.

Mr Oswal said the plant since then has lost 60 days of operations due to fire, equipment failure and mismanagement.

He said insurance premiums had skyrocketed, staff morale was low and lost operations had cost the company $80 million in revenue.

”It is worth noting that by comparison, when I ran the operation the plant ran for 420 consecutive days at 115 per cent of the name plate capacity,” Mr Oswal said.

He also said he believed there was collusion between ANZ, fertiliser company Yara and PPB Advisory to force him to sell at the lowest possible price.

Mr Oswal is also taking action against the Commonwealth Bank for selling his Gulfstream jet at a discounted price to an organisation in the United States.

”I am informed that ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank have also colluded to put me under further pressure,” he said.

Mr Oswal will take the matters to the Supreme Court in Melbourne in the next several months.

A spokesman for PPB Advisory said they were not interested in a public slanging match with Mr Oswal.

He said the sale process was continuing and the fees were ”firmly in line” with industry standards.

AAP

Tom Mckaskill is Australia’s leading expert on how successful entrepreneurs start, develop and harvest their ventures. He is acknowledged as the world’s leading expert on exit strategies for high growth enterprises and strategic value exits.

Over a twenty year period as an active entrepreneur, Dr. McKaskill’s experience included multiple start-ups in the UK and USA, raising venture capital twice, undertaking two acquisitions and strategic trade sales of three businesses.

Below is a link to a series of 4 E-books and 1 Workbook focused around the topics of developing your business with a Strategic Exit in mind.

To download this series of Ebooks, Click Here

Also check out Tom’s website at www.drexit.net/

Regards,
Steve Torso
Managing Director
Wholesale Investor
s.torso@wholesaleinvestor.com.au

Received & published by Henry Sapiecha

& daily deals sites ignite

• Why daily deals is the next internet gold rush

THE world’s largest daily deals website, Groupon, which Google tried to buy this month for $US6 billion, has confirmed it is entering the Australian market.

The company is recruiting people to sign up to its email database before a launch next month into a market that is becoming crowded. The No. 2 player, Living Social, abandoned plans to start from scratch in Australia, opting instead for a joint venture with an existing company, Jumponit. 

But because an existing Australian deals company has had its application to use the Groupon name in Australia approved, the Chicago company has been forced to use the domain name of Stardeals in Australia.

Groupon has engaged the lawyers Clayton Utz to take action against Scoopon, a Victorian company that has been offering online deals on products and services in Australian cities for more than four years.

Groupon lodged an intellectual property action in the Federal Court in Victoria in August and is due to go for mediation on January 21 or, failing that, to the courts on February 4.

Groupon is also taking Scoopon to court in its home state of Illinois, claiming federal trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices, even though Scoopon’s business is limited to Australian shores.

Do a deal a day websites offer discounts from local retailers, merchants and leisure operators, thereby restricting their operations to local businesses and consumers.

A Groupon spokeswoman, Julie Mossler, said: “The [Stardeals] site is live to accept subscribers but we are not yet offering deals currently. We hope to do so in the next month.”

An intellectual property lawyer, Trevor Choy, said Groupon was paying the price for failing to register its trademark or name as it expanded globally. The US case was doomed to fail, he said. “Groupon’s lawyers should have known that US trademarks can’t be enforced outside of the US against a company not doing business there.”

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Andrew Mason, founder and chief executive officer of Groupon. Photo: Bloomberg

You might think anyone would jump at a $6 billion offer from Google, but Andrew Mason, founder of Groupon, amazingly rejected such a bid from the search giant to buy his online coupon business.

The 30-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Groupon, a Chicago-based internet-coupon service with more than 35 million users, walked away from an acquisition offer from Google, said a person with knowledge of the matter.

The proposed acquisition fell through amid hesitation by Groupon’s founding team, said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.

The start-up will decide next year whether to sell shares in an initial public offering instead, the person said. The discussions could resume if both sides overcome their differences.

It prompted CNNMoney.com to publish a video interview recorded two months ago with Mason that was cut from the final version. In it, Mason was asked if the company had ever had any buy-out offers.

“I’m hoping that McDonald’s or Exxon tries to buy us – like someone totally weird,” he responded.

Asked if he would sell to Google, he said: “No, I want to be part of someone like GE or something.”

Google had offered $US6 billion, including incentives that would be paid to Groupon’s managers if performance targets were met, people familiar with the matter had said.

Groupon would have helped its new owner expand in the $US133 billion local-ad market and lessen its reliance on internet-search advertising.

“Clearly Google wants to get into the local space and Groupon was one way,” said Aaron Kessler, an analyst at ThinkEquity in San Francisco, who has a “buy” rating on Google and does not own shares in it.

“I don’t think from a Google perspective that if they miss out, that there’s not other ways to get into local.”

Mason had the biggest say in the decision as the largest shareholder, said another person familiar with the talks. He had concerns about the strategic direction the company would take under new management, the person said.

Mason was also concerned about what could happen to merchant relationships and his employees, the person said.

Google’s biggest deal

Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt was willing to pay almost twice the $US3.2 billion he spent on DoubleClick, his next-most expensive target, to add features and repel a threat from such rivals as Facebook.

Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for Google, said the company did not comment on rumours or speculation.

Julie Mossler, a Groupon spokeswoman, also declined to comment.

Google, which boasts $US33.4 billion in cash and marketable securities, had initially offered between $US3.5 billion and $US4 billion to buy Groupon, a person familiar with the matter has said. The start-up, which was also contemplating raising new venture funding, held out, eliciting a sweetened offer from Google, the person said.

The Chicago Tribune initially reported Groupon’s rejection.

Groupon’s growth

Groupon’s allure has rubbed off on lookalike coupon sites. Amazon.com said on December 2 it invested $US175 million in LivingSocial.com, another provider of daily online deals.

Founded by Mason in 2008, Groupon has attracted 35 million users in more than 300 global markets by offering steep discounts on such items as pedicures, hotel stays and bike tune-ups. The company makes money by keeping part of the revenue raised by the coupons. Groupon’s sales may top $US500 million this year, two people familiar with the matter have said.

Groupon had a valuation of about $US1.3 billion in April, after Digital Sky Technologies led a group that invested in the company. It has raised $US170 million from investors, including Facebook backer Accel Partners and New Enterprise Associates.

Google could have used Groupon to gather data on consumers as they interact around the time of a purchase, and then use that information to hone other products, including ads, said Ben Schachter, an analyst at Macquarie Securities Group.

Local focus

“Locally focused e-commerce transaction data tied to one’s Google account could be used to improve personalisation of other Google features as well as improve ad targeting,” Schachter, who rates the stock an “outperform”, wrote in a research note.

Google could also have incorporated Groupon coupons into the location-based services of its Android mobile operating system, said Yun Kim, an analyst at Gleacher & Co in New York, who rates the stock “neutral” and doesn’t own it. For example, as an Android user passes by a mall, Google could deliver coupons for nearby stores.

Still, Groupon was an unusual acquisition target for Google, which tends to buy companies that boast a technological advantage, such as online video, as was the case with YouTube.

To distinguish itself from lookalikes, Groupon plans to test new features that let businesses easily create deals through an online service called Groupon Stores. The company is also testing a feature called Deal Feed that lets users track favourite businesses as they might on blogging site Twitter.

Regulators would probably have scrutinised the planned acquisition of Groupon to ensure it doesn’t harm consumers.

“People are going to be concerned about what happens when you link Groupon’s daily-deal services to Google search,” said Dan Wall, an antitrust lawyer and partner at Latham & Watkins in San Francisco.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Andy McLoughlin, 10.21.10, 06:00 AM EDT

Mobile devices, Internet-based software and social media are transforming the workplace.

Andy McLoughlin

Due to advances in connectivity, hardware and software, the enterprise as we know it is changing. With high-speed Internet connections (fixed and mobile), laptops, PDAs, tablets and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), people can now work as effectively when they’re on the move as they can when sitting at their office desks. Whether in a satellite office, working from home or traveling to and from meetings, employees now have the ability to access whatever files and information they require on whichever device they are using.

You only have to look at recent media stories for evidence that enterprise mobility is becoming an increasingly hot topic. A couple of recent examples are the launch of BlackBerry’s PlayBook, described as the “the world’s first professional tablet” by the company’s CEO, Mike Lazaridis, and the announcement of Salesforce.com‘s ( CRM – news – people ) Chatter Mobile for all major smartphone platforms.

However, advances in technology are having a greater impact on the enterprise than just mobilizing the workforce. They have ensured that the enterprise is no longer a closed entity. As well as enabling employees to work outside of physical office walls, SaaS tools have made it possible for people to communicate effectively over firewalls and across the communication silos that have developed in traditional businesses. Boundaries have blurred and you now have a group of people working together, regardless of whether they’re in the same department, company or country.

With SaaS coming of age and concerns around security and control being overcome, the social and enterprise worlds are colliding and social software is becoming more common in the workplace. Rather than having a fragmented flow of information due to red tape and inward-facing technology, business-grade Web 2.0 tools are enabling knowledge to flow more freely and efficiently. Information can be stored centrally and be accessible to anyone who needs it, rather than locked away on people’s laptops, buried in their inboxes or hidden in piles of paper on their desks. External experts and staff from other organizations can instantly access relevant project information rather than having to wait for files saved on in-house networks and shared drives to be e-mailed to them. There are no gatekeepers to required intelligence, and cross-department, cross-company and cross-territory collaboration becomes far simpler.

As a result of this free-flow of information and ease of communication, the enterprise is becoming a more level playing field. The flat structure that is starting to replace the traditional business hierarchies can benefit everyone in the enterprise–from the management team to interns. With social technologies such as wiki-style whiteboards, instant messaging and discussion tools, user profiles and cloud-based file storage transforming the workplace, managers are no longer limited to using just the people within their team for a project. They have the ability to collaborate with people across all levels of the business and outside of the organization. There is a global, boundary-less pool of talent available and they can select the best people for the job based on their knowledge and expertise rather than their location or department.

Managers have full visibility of who is contributing what to a project, what deadlines have been set (and missed) and what elements of the project require their approval. This level of transparency is also a benefit to the unsung heroes on the workforce. Rather than being overlooked because they don’t have the correct job title or because they’re new to the team, everyone has the opportunity to participate in a project and share their ideas. People that would never come into contact with the management team can communicate with them directly and become part of the decision-making process.

Sourced & published by Henry Sapiecha

Meet The Fastest Growing Company

Ever

Andrew Mason figured out how to inject hysteria into the process of bargain hunting on the Web.

The result is an overnight success story called Groupon.

At least Mark Zuckerberg wrote a few lines of computer code at Harvard before he left to launch Facebook. Now Andrew Mason, a relaxed and lanky 29-year-old music major from Northwestern, has managed to build the fastest-growing company in Web history. Groupon represents what the dot-com boom was supposed to be all about: huge sales, easy profits and solid connection between bricks-and-mortar retailers and online consumers.

Groupon, a name that blends “group” and “coupon,” presents an online audience with deep discounts on a product or service. Act now, says the pitch: You have only so many hours before this offer expires. That’s a familiar come-on, but it’s coupled with a novel element: You get the deal only if a certain number of fellow citizens buy the same thing on the same day. It’s a cents-off coupon married to a Friday-after-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy.

What’s in it for the vendor–which might be a museum, a yoga studio or an ice cream shop? Exposure. Since the resulting revenue is not only discounted but shared (typically, 50/50) with Groupon, the vendor may scarcely break even on the incremental sales. But it now has customers who might never have thought of patronizing the business. Groupon gets its offers in front of eyeballs by buying ad space through Google ( GOOG – news – people ) and Facebook and via the word of mouth of its 13 million subscribers.

Video: Growing Groupon

Unlike so many dot-com rockets, Groupon is a real business. Occupying 85,000 square feet inside a rehabbed eight-story former Montgomery Ward warehouse in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, the company is on track to pass $500 million in revenue this year, according to a report Morgan Stanley ( MS – news – people ) put together to win some underwriting business. No technology stalwart–including Ebay, Amazon.com ( AMZN – news – people ), Yahoo ( YHOO – news – people ), AOL and Google–grew that big that fast. At just 17 months old this April Groupon boasted a $1.35 billion valuation when it raised $135 million, the biggest chunk of it from Digital Sky Technologies, the curious Moscow investment fund behind Facebook and Zynga. (Mason will not disclose his stake, which he says is less than 50%.) The only company to reach a $1 billion valuation faster was YouTube (now part of Google), founded in 2005 and still waiting to turn its first profit. Groupon broke into the black just seven months after inception.

Mason’s model is transforming the way companies–especially smaller ones with limited marketing budgets–snag sales. In May Groupon sold 6,561 tickets to a King Tut exhibit in New York’s Times Square for $18 apiece, little more than half the list price. The campaign brought in $120,000 at virtually no marginal cost to the exhibit; Groupon pocketed about 50% for a day’s effort. The most popular item so far: a $25 ticket for a Chicago architectural boat tour sold for $12. In May Groupon moved 19,822 tickets in eight hours and split the $238,000 with the tour operator.

Groupon has charged into 88 U.S. cities and 22 countries, including Turkey and Chile. Hundreds of rivals, some with deep pockets, are springing up. With turf wars brewing from New York to Brazil, Mason has armed himself with 250 salespeople and 70 writers, many plucked from the Chicago improv scene, to concoct witty pitches for deals. “We want to do for local e-commerce what Amazon did for normal consumer goods,” he boasts.

Sourced & published  by Henry Sapiecha

Investors Member Services

Purpose

The objectives of the AAAI are to:

• Promote ethical and efficient angel investment and angel syndication in Australia.
• Promote the growth of angel investment in Australia, including encouraging and informing the establishment of new angel groups.
• Define best practice for angel investor members in an Australian context.
• Disseminate information on and access to formally recognised syndication models.
• Be a source and channel for information and education of angel investors and entrepreneurs seeking angel investment.
• Represent the interests of angel investor members in Australia as a peak body in dialogues with governments, peers and industry.
• Represent members internationally in dialogues with peers, industry and governments.
• Act as a channel for information and opinion from members to form the basis of advice to Government.
• Assist with, and direct, research into Australian angel investment activities.
• Organise and hold an annual summit conference on topics relevant to members.

The Australian Association of Angel Investors Ltd (AAAI) is the national association for Angel investors founded in 2007. We

• Provide a voice for Australian Angel investors;
• Offer professional education and provide other relevant information; and
• Implement programs of interest in the sector,

to build a professional community of Angel investors and to enable our members to be more successful investors.

The fundamental tenet for AAAI and its members is that by enabling our members to be more successful as investors, more entrepreneurial businesses will be successful and our members will derive greater returns from their investments. This success will then encourage members to continue to invest in similar activities, thus promoting increased and ongoing investment and a sustainable “virtuous cycle” of investment driving the Australian innovation economy.

Since establishment in late 2007, AAAI has:

• Delivered Annual conferences in 2008 (Canberra) and 2009 (Brisbane)
• Facilitated the delivery of several professional Angel education workshops from the Power of Angel Investing curriculum of the Angel Capital Education Foundation
• Secured an Australian license for the delivery of the full suite of ACEF PAI workshops and accredited 3 Australian PAI presenters
• Delivered the first full day PAI overview workshop in Adelaide
• Significantly raised the profile of angel investing and the AAAI with Federal and State Governments and been invited to several Government roundtable strategic discussions
• Facilitated the formation of 6 new angel investment groups
• Collated a significant amount of information that is available for sharing by members
• Developed and delivered submissions to the Federal Enquiry into the Australian Innovation System
• Undertaken the 2008 Annual Survey of Angel Investment in Australia – the first comprehensive survey of Angel investment in Australia
• Delivered a submission to the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Research as part of the CCI initiative post the 2009-2010 federal budget for ongoing support of the development of Angel investment infrastructure

Our goals for the next year include:

• To facilitate the establishment of more Angel investor groups around Australia
• To work with the Federal Government to secure infrastructural funding for AAAI and to support sustainable group operations
• To work with the Federal Government to set up a co-investment fund
• To organize and deliver the 2010 Annual Conference in Adelaide
• To organize and deliver in partnership with regional Angel groups and other stakeholders, a range of awareness and education programs to build awareness, recruit members and offer professional education to support our mission
• To undertake the 2009 National Survey of Angel Investment in Australia
• To build national and international networks supporting Angel investment
• To undertake a comprehensive communication program to deliver the AAAI message
• To build resources and deliver value to our individual members and to support group formation

AAAI delivers products and services to members, groups and corporate and government stakeholders.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha

Most sales people receive some portion of their remuneration based on the success of their sales effort. For some, they operate on 100% commission. And of course this is a powerful incentive to improve. Their connection to sales is obvious.

What about other people in your organisation? The receptionist. The delivery driver. The accounts clerk. In a small business, pretty much everyone will talk to your customers. But they probably don’t consider themselves in sales.

Whether they like it or not, they are in sales. And they are on commission too. After all, if sales go down dramatically, or they cause you to lose an important customer, their whole pay packet (and job) is at risk.

Do your non-sales staff see the connection between what they do and sales? Every customer contact in your business with anyone in it is a moment of truth for your business. Does everyone in your business know that they are in sales, and that everyone in your business Works on Commission?

So why not make even some small portion of their package visibly dependent on sales so that every time they answer the phone, they KNOW they are Working on Commission.

May Your Business Be – As You Plan It.

About the author:

Dr Greg Chapman is the Director of Empower Business Solutions and The Australian Business Coaching Club and is the internationally recognized author of The Five Pillars of Guaranteed Business Success.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 22nd March 2010