Bye Bye Fountain Stock
 

Fountain will be De-listed from the NYSE...

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/index....-delisted.html

This is the kicker:

Fountain also was not in compliance because the aggregate market value of its publicly held shares has been less than $1 million for more than 90 consecutive days.

Mkt value of less then 1 Million? The land that the factory is on is worth more then that I am sure....I'll buy Fountain for less then a mill...anyone want in with me?

That is the key. I'm sure Reggie has a large block of privately held ownership. I would not be surprised if Fountain Powerboats leases it's plant from Reggie.

Yeah, Reggie is not going to be out on the streets anytime soon.

What you would also get is the $25 million in debt. And the land is mortgaged in that debt figure. Fountain owes it's soul to the bank.

Hope they can hang in there!
 

Understand that just a few months ago the State of NC or County gave Fountain a 12 million dollar loan just to save the jobs at the plant! I hope they can hang on and survive, be a shame to loose a fine performance boat builder like Fountain! Damn the people who screwed up our Economy!

Best Regard,
Ray @ Raylar

with that ego i bet he is leveraged to the hilt on the factory/plant/real estate

I hope he (Fountain) can survive...but it sounds like he's toast.

How did/does it work now that he builds the Baja's seems like he would be like Chevy/Gmc/Pontiac, Toyota/Scion, Dodge,Chrysler. Seems he should be worth more with two lines. Bad part nobody needs a boat so if he is broke I dont see a bail out and I would hate to see him fail this way I still am not going to buy either of the boats he builds.

AWSOME!!! Now Reggie doesn't have that hassle anymore. Now what are the finger pointing idiots going to gossip about? I can tell everyone this. Fountain is doing well. Not great but well. Reggie and stall will streamline that plant down and make it through. One thing about Reggie that sets him apart from all the rest.....hard work. If Reggie himself has to layup boats or detail himself he will do it. Nothing is beneath him. I think this delisting is a load off of his shoulders!!!

I agree:ernaehrung004:I met him in South Hampton afterwards he was working closing up boats & helping with sales:DI don't think he's the type to go down easy!:nhl_fight:

Well if he goes under and he still owns his own molds he should start building boats that are more high end like OL & NT he has the speed just lacks in fit and finish and the higher end stuff in the cabin. Just build 5 42's to the 9'S not 50 5's don't build a boat unless you have a buyer.

My 2 cents - I think this is what he wanted to happen, he will be able to operate without everyone looking over his shoulder. Let me ask, do any of you sit at the helm of a public company, is it fun or grief?

And I say well put, again!!! ;)

he should start building boats that are more high end like OL & NT :confused::nhl_fight::Whatever:

A lot of misinformation here. The fact that it is delisted does not mean that the stock is gone or that it is no longer a public company. It's still a public company and a going concern, it's just that the stock is now traded over the counter(OTC) instead of on the American Stock Exchange.

I think the State and / or local gov deal was a development deal of sorts. If I remember right it was to assure that the added jobs connected with the acquisition of Baja would end up in NC. The state of Ohio and local governments there were talking to Fountain in an effort to keep those jobs there as well. You must remember the Reggie bashing that was going on then, what a SOB he was for taking all those jobs away to NC. Low interest loans, outright grants, grants with performance conditions attached, all a very common thing these days, jobs are a precious commodity in this economy.

Here in northern New York the Power Authority of the State of New York recently finalized their deal with Alcoa. Providing support in the way of large blocks of cheap hydro power in exchange for Alcoa's promise of plant investment and jobs to be kept here locally for many years to come. Similar efforts were made by state and local officials to work with GM to keep the jobs at the Massena, NY GM Powertrain plant. That one hasn't worked out so well, this mornings local newspaper in bold print, says all operations will cease as of May 1, 2009. A 50 year old facility, that at one time employed over 1200 people, gone. It's a sign of the times I guess, but a big blow to a small community that grew and prospered for decades around those jobs. The Alcoa plant I mention above is located in the same community.

Reggie is a sharp individual, I assume he made himself a fair deal to place those jobs in NC.

skullcrusher - a lot less eyes then sitting on the big board. I think you will see Reggie buy it all back up somehow and go private again?

Reggie has a good following, good marketing and a fast product at a resonable price. The timing is right to let the price nose dive and buy it back at a bargin if he has the cash/credit and take control back.

What's to say he won't bankrupt it and then buy it all back for pennys on the dollar and get rid of that public headache?

People might say his ego will prevent that but on the other hand since it's not really Reggie's anymore but the shareholders, their disessions/hand holding/ meddling are what put Fountain in this position and if he were in total control it would be a different story - hence his inflated ego rules the day!

Couldn't he do that?

:D

Why would anyone on this board want to see Reggie or anyone in the marine business fail?

I hope he makes it through these hard times. And all the others too.

First of he was delisted on Nasdaq is still a public traded company just listed on AMEX.Did drop 27% to .24 from .31 with no afterhours trading yet.I don't think fountain is going anywhere and if you read there quarterly report they made money last quarter.
Risky and may take a while but when this economy turns around if Fountain goes back up to $5.00 a $1000.00 investment is $20835.00.Might not happen but I would write a lot of other companys off before Reggie

It's fun to pick on Reggie but I've got to agree with you. I don't want any marine business to fail; dealer, manufacturer, supplier, commercial, marina, tourism, etc.

As a corporation, Fountain has been mismanaged even before the economic meltdown. Reggie ran it like it was his hobby, and shareholders suffered. Nothing to do with boats or Reggie as an icon. The company was run into severe debt as he galavanted with other people's money. If you look at the numbers the past few years, then the actions and expenses taken by the company, it's just bad business. The debts owed to Brunswick amongst others are severe.

Always invest in your own dream, not someone elses.

Reggie has to stay he pretty much is offshore racing and he sets the bar for perfomance, I am not a big fan of his boats or ego but he has some big shoes to fill. Plus he's way too much fun to pick on with the hair and gold chains but it sucks to pick on a guy when he's down.

I remeber reading in I think powerboat mag a long time ago about him and he had a ton of property and I think it even said he owned a strip mall. Anybody know if he still does if so I would say he is fine just a snag while we all ride this mess out.

The boating industry needs Reggie. He leads the way in designing V-bottoms that perform. Today, he has boats with 525's running close to 100. Pretty cool when considering boats with this power in the 80's would run in the 70-80 mph range.

And they aren't cats either.

Other than an opportunity to raise equity when needed, I can't imagine why a company like Fountain is a Public Company. Sarbanes Oxley compliance as well as other B/S with being public wouldn't be worth it in my opinion.

I sincerely doubt that he is upset that the company was "delisted".

Whether or not he can make it through this economy, especially in light of the used inventory that is on the market is another topic all together.

No matter who owns the company
 

the biggest question is how many boats are they building now on spec and how many are orders from dealers?

Everyone loves Fountain and it has been the best and the worst here on the oso boards. I am sure Reggie is involved and will fill any position in the company because he has filled the posotion to get his company were it is today.

Lay up boats? come on that is a little far fetched. He would pay some employee's to do it and stand over them maybe but until I see him in a Tyvek suit with his hair sticking out of the hood I will never believe that.

Things Fountain should worry about:

Looking down the side of his boat you should not see the seam of the sheets of plywood the plugs were made with, take time and tool the plug, ya made it go fast in the water , now make it look fast on the trailer. The only thing they have going for them is a mitchert paint job after that they look awsome.

Take the Baja line as far as possible, I spent time at that factory working with several departments for about three weeks and they were great people who made a great product. For them to see what is happening they must be crying in there fiberglass rollers.

He has done what every member wishes they could do . Build a product that is fast, good looking and marketable.

Sunsation rings to mind, foriegn money, sales in the other countires. They are taking the USA to where it needs to be making product that sells all over the world. Because it is american made.

I am the last person to ask about diffrent brands and their sales. But it is obvious that something is happening when Fountain and Baja are not at one of the largest boat sales venues in America, the Chicago Boat Show.

One of my customers was going to go new and was not aware of the Baja line changing hands. He went to see the new Baja's and came back and signed a contract with me to restore his 38 Special and said the boats will never be the same. Color sand, new carpet and a tear down of the glued up headliner and having me change it over as I have before nation wide for Brunswick when they owned the company.

so ask yourself or others :

how many boats 08,07 are on dealers lots?

how many boats Baja or Beak are in the molds now?

when does Reggie sell his company and enjoy the fruits of his labor and will it be the same if he does sell?

Again I do not know that much about the big picture of boat building. I have built many style's of boats and repaired and helped companies build many diffrent style's of boats .
how will this end who the hell knows.

Billy

Billy,

Everything will be fine. I chose not to attend show (January 2008) after the show, not Fountain or Baja and quite frankly we had a great week at the store selling and delivering four boats.

After attending show for five years with declining mfg and consumer attendance and increwased show cost we thought the money would be better spent at an open house this spring, having a fun run with food, drinks, helicopter for pictures and music all NO CHARGE for the consumer. Other than MIAMI, boat shows are going to get smaller, it's all about the www and your site.

I was at the factory last week and everything is fine, there are more than 15 boats on production line and 30 boats in the system with approvals for builds.

Reggie has been doing this a long time and is a a surrvivor and I feel confident saying there isn't a high performance boat manufacturer out there that wouldn't love to have 15 boats on the line and 30 in the system, heck that's more than most of them would build in a total year.

Hopefully Reggie will go private soon and not be under the public microscope.

Regards,

Scott Shogren

www.teamshogren.com

"it's all about the www and your site"

And the best you have at that sir!

Whats selling right now? (size, brand, etc)

This is a good attitude to have. The more "good" businesses that survive this time the better things will be in the long run. ;) Jamie

I agree Scott. I think that the web is where many potential customers look these days. Not that shows arent fun for potential customers, but in house stuff, the web & good biz practices are what makes the business..

I too think Reggie will be fine. Every company out there is making changes & most are going thru some akward pains due to the global economy at this time. :) Jamie

money would be better spent at an open house this spring - Dates?

More than the stock might go ByeBye according to the article...

Sad state of affairs indeed.

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/index....-delisted.html

Dates Forthcoming For Shogren Show & Shine - NO CHARGE
 

ALL NO CHARGE - Just RSVP when invite goes out.

We will have dates soon for the first "Shogren Show & Shine".

A few things to look forward to

Friday
View All Models of Fountain & Baja By Fountain indoors at our new 50,000 sq ft faciltiy
Free Food
Live Music
Free Drinks
Free Parking For Your Boat & Trailer

Saturday
Fun Run - Pick the group of freinds/boaters you want to boat with. We will leave mouth of harbor around 11am (harbor to be announced)
Helicopter for photos
Return around 5PM for more free food, drinks and prizes
Live Music - Possibly "Hello Dave"
Meet & Greet with Reggie Fountain

Scott.....your a first class guy!!!! much better than a boat show.

Customer satisfaction 10/10:drink: