Tag Archives: Mark Sellers

Premier Exhibitions, Titanic

Premier Exhibitions Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2016 Earnings

PremierExhibitionslogoPremier Exhibitions, which owns RMS TItanic Inc and Titanic:The Artifact Exhibition,  has reported its second quarter 2016 results. Here is some information from that statement:

  • Gross profit decreased to $1.1 million from $3.0 million in last year’s second fiscal quarter while gross margins fell to 16.1% from 36.5% in the prior year period. The decrease in gross profit is primarily due to the decrease in revenues and an increase in production and marketing expenses related to our New York City location.
  • Total exhibition days decreased 28.4% to 1,076 as compared to 1,503 in the second fiscal quarter of 2015.
  • Average attendance per exhibition day decreased 26.7% to 366 compared to 499 in last year’s second fiscal quarter. Average ticket prices for semi-permanent and partner presented exhibitions decreased 4.1% to $16.10 from $16.79 in the second quarter of fiscal 2015.
  • Average attendance per exhibition day for semi-permanent exhibitions was 319 compared to 344 in the prior year period. Average ticket prices for semi-permanent exhibitions increased 3.7% to $22.20 from $21.40 in the second quarter of fiscal 2015.

Company president Michael Little stated that they need additional financing to keep going. “We have a working capital deficit of $1.4 million excluding the convertible debt of $13.5 million, which is included in the short term portion of note payable on the balance sheet.” Which is why they desperately want to merge with Dinoking (proxies have been mailed out for the special 29 Oct 15 meeting).

Little argues the merger will allow them to get additional capital ($5m) to fund ongoing operations and to have the company “break-even” in its operations. Otherwise he warns:

If we are unable to obtain additional financing, we will likely not be able to continue operations as they are currently anticipated or at all.

Of course there is that lawsuit out there by Mark Sellers to enforce the previous merger agreement, which could throw all plans out the window if it survives early judicial review.

Source:Premier Exhibitions Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2016 Results(Press Release-14 Oct 2015, Global Newswire)

Premier Exhibitions, Titanic

Premier Exhibitions News:Lawsuit Could Impact Pending Merger With Dinoking

explosv2A lawsuit by Mark Sellers, former chairman of Premier Exhibitions and through Sellers Capital owns 15.4 million shares in the company, is suing George Wight Jr. and his companies, Armada Enterprises and Armada Group of Florida. In 2014, Sellers agreed to sell his majority stake in Premier for $16.2 million. Sellers alleges Wight reneged on the deal. And he also alleges Wight misled the Premier board and shareholders about the money available to complete the deal. Sellers is requesting that a federal judge force Wight to follow through with original deal terms, seeks more than $12.5 million in damages. Currently Premier is the process of merging with Dinoking Tech. Dinoking exhibits animatronic dinosaurs. The deal is yet to be approved by the shareholders (to be voted on in October) and would allow Premier to acquire all shares of Dinoking for $6.4 million and its principal shareholder, Daoping Bao, will take control of the company.

Needless to say, this is going to cause some problems for the Dinoking merger. If the lawsuit succeeds, it would force Wight to consummate the original deal with Sellers. Not that everyone is entirely convinced of the Dinoking deal. There are nagging questions about Dinoking and its capital sourcing. And Andrew Shapiro who is president of Lawndale Capital Management with a five percent stake is quoted as saying:

Similarly, if new, more skilled board and management were assembled, Lawndale might be willing to participate in a rights offering to all shareholders to raise additional equity supporting a debt refinancing that together might prove to be a superior bid to that of Dinoking and its questionable capital sourcing.

Source: HopCat owner files $12.5M lawsuit over Titanic shipwreck deal(9 Sep 2015,mlive.com)

Additional articles on Premier of note:
‘Titanic’ shareholders cast doubt over merger, stunned that Chinese corruption suspect’s teenage daughter, Linda Ching, is financier(4 Sept 2015,South China Morning Post)
Premier Exhibitions – Shareholders Stunned Over Suspected Graft(4 Sep 2015, Valuewalk)
Premier Exhibitions : releases the following response regarding a potential financier linked to Michael Ching Mo Yeung(9 Sep 2015,4-traders.com)

Hat tip to Bill Willard on alerting me to this news.

Shop Amazon – 74% Off National Geographic

Premier Exhibitions, Titanic

Tumult at Premier Exhibitions As Deal Goes Bust

Photo:Shutterstock
Photo:Shutterstock

Premier Exhibitions, which owns artifacts salvaged from RMS Titanic and operates a touring artifact exhibition, had a interesting filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commission. It announced in its 25 Nov 13D filing that current chairman Mark Sellers deal to sell his 31% share interest to Armada Group GP Inc has been canceled. The terms of the deal required that changes in the board of directors would have to take place and two would have to be independent. Since the deal is now cancelled, those changes are also voided. No word as to what happened but the filing states Sellers concluded Armada Group would not fulfill the obligations required. The filing also opens the possibility of legal action against Armada for not meeting its obligations.

What does this all mean? Speculation is the deal fell through because of some other deal that was tied to it. But that of course is just speculation. An an early deal to sell the artifacts fell through so they are trying to find ways to either sell the collection or a new way to monetize it. Shares of the company fell to 64 cents on the news.

Source:
Sellers Backs Away from Selling His Premier Stake(3 Dec 2014, The Street)


Titanic, Titanic Exhibitions, Titanic Miscellaneous

Sunday Titanic Newswrap

Photo courtesy George Behe
Photo courtesy George Behe

1. Crain’s Detroit Business examines the possible sale of the Titanic artifacts and who might be in the running to buy it. Candidates are Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA; Titanic Belfast museum (Belfast, N.I), and the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas along with some very wealthy individuals. I would add, considering the interest of bringing Titanic II to UAE, that wealthy business people from there are also interested. Some might scoff at that but remember they have lots of money to spend and are tightly connected to their government (in some cases, they are actually in it). Having genuine Titanic artifacts on display would be a huge tourist draw.

A good portion of the article is divided between what the valuation might be for shareholders and a examination of Mark Sellers III, who took control of Premiere some years ago after getting frustrated with it’s then leadership. Sellers tells Crain’s he is in no rush to sell quick but admits there is pressure to do so. You think? Look at how much time has passed since the salvage award came down till now. At first it seemed like things might be proceeding towards a sale and then it just stopped. This year we finally learned this mysterious consortium that signed a non-binding letter of intent could not get the money. Shareholders thought they would be reaping benefits right now and have not. Sooner or later patience will run out if Seller’s cannot get the sale done. I see lawsuits and demands for transparency about the sale coming soon if nothing happens in six months.

Source: Buyer Sought For Titanic Artifacts; One Estimate: $189 Million(11 Aug 2013,Crain’s Detroit Business)

2. You learn of people finding something spectacular in garage sales or scrap yards, but this is the first I think for a Titanic plaque. Doug Turner spotted something dusty and dirty with “Titanic” on it. He bought it for $138 and cleaned it up. Turns out it is a memorial plaque for Titanic’s musicians. He found after checking it out online that it was really one of one. A photo he saw of it in a Titanic book said its whereabouts were unknown. It was was last seen in 1982.That is when he learned it was something really special–a genuine Titanic artifact of that time. Turner, who is in law enforcement, is making sure it cannot be stolen by Titanic fortune seekers. As to its worth, he has no idea but one can fairly guess since it is one of a kind it would fetch a very high price at a Titanic auction. For now he is not interested in selling it. It is currently on loan to Titanic Experience in Orlando where it will be shown next week.

Sources:
1. Titanic Artifact Found In Naples Scrapyard(9 Aug 2013,WFTX-TV)

2. Plaque With Ties To The Titanic Ends Up In Naples Scrap Yard(9 Aug 2013,WINK)

3. The Titanic exhibit in St.Claire, MI which ended on 27 Jul had 4,2000 visitors and brought in $75,000 for the  St. Clair Endowment Fund. The exhibit focused on the engineering behind the construction and included an18 foot long model of the ship done by Gary Kohs. His model has won praise for its accuracy. Kohs began designing the model in 1997 and completed in 2002. According to Randy Maiers, president of the endowment fund, they had people from all over the country came to the exhibit at the Moore Boathouse.

Source:Titanic Exhibit Money Goes To St. Clair Fund(7 Aug 2013,Times Herald)