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It feels like we are entering another darkest hour. End seems near yet far with all the twists and turns and the fact that we are left in complete darkness. Hoping for some positive news in the SAT outcome this week. But to be honest, I won’t be surprised if that is “postponed” again. Judge came on-board recently, and like someone said in TG channel, they have longer overdue cases than BCG. But still I have my fingers crossed.

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PCN Associates – auditor of BGL banned for 2 years and CA banned for 10 years along with monetary fines for non compliance.

https://legal.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/regulators/nfra-slaps-rs-50-lakh-fine-on-audit-firm-imposes-2-year-ban/109631531

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There are moments in life which define you as a person, and this definitely is such a moment for me. It has been a traumatic one week so far, to say the least, with a feeling of no end in sight. But I slowly started to digest the tough pill and come to terms with reality. I stopped maniacally searching for news, chats, forums, etc for updates. I realize that the most important need of the hour (days?) is patience and strength. This situation frames me as a person and as an investor. I am still clinging on to the hope that the financials are right, at least a major part of it, and that at least from now on, things will move in the right direction.

Some random thoughts from me:

1. Why would SKR go through such hassle if he saw no value in the company. The fact that he was trying to regain some shareholding points to the fact that he saw value in the company. I am not justifying what he did and he should face consequences for what he did, but just pointing out the fact that he might have acted that way for a reason (and a strong one for that)

2. If the financials are true, especially overseas, the current structure of BCG with independent subsidiaries is good because it can still be business-as-usual even without a CEO at helm

3. Why didn’t the company announce an interim CEO already on Sunday? I, like others here, was expecting to hear it in the announcement last Sunday already. At the moment it feels like there is no one responsible, and it is hard to say who is driving us through this situation, what steps are being taken, and if business is as usual. Is there even someone dealing with this situation? What investors need at the moment is a reassurance that things are being taken care of, and are in good hands, etc. To paraphrase someone from a chat, it currently feels like we are in a plane full of passengers without a pilot.

4. SS in one of his posts said that he did his due diligence before he put in his money. To quote him from his post: “I spoke to overseas executives, noted that EY was auditing a large part of their overseas profit.” Honestly, this gives me some hope and I really hope that this is true.

I was at a temple yesterday to ask God to give me strength to navigate through this situation. We will need it in the next few days.

Disclaimer: These are just speculations, random thoughts and hope from me and should NOT be taken as an investment advice.

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On a side note: it seems like Headstead is back on BCG’s Moneycontrol forum. Long term investors in BCG will know his contributions. Can someone PM him to join this forum? (if he isn’t here already i.e.,) I don’t have rights to PM on MC. He has great insights into adtech industry and BCG and has been a long term investor in BCG. He would be a great addition to this community.

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If executed correctly, this could be the best thing that could have happened to us retail investors. Suresh was a big baggage for BCG reputation and the only way to get rid of him could have been through a black swan event like this. If not for now, such kind of event would have been inevitable somewhere down the line. In fact, it probably could be even worse than this (if this is not already the worst), as he would haven been emboldened by getting away with wrongdoings.

As a fellow hyderabadi, I feel ashamed and embarrassed of such people as SKR and Raju. I wish they get the treatment they deserve for breaking the trust of so many investors. They could have done so much better. It is sheer and utter stupidity. Anyway, I am glad they both are out.

I kinda have the feeling that the auditor had bigger role in this whole drama than what is out so far. I would not be surprised if this whole “brilliant” idea was proposed by the auditor and Suresh just went along with it. But this is a pure speculation from my side.

This step by the board is definitely a huge one in the right direction. I wish they could have already named an interim ceo, but it is probably just me eager for the next step.

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Much awaited outcome. SKR and Raju both gone. New management to take over. Honestly, this was an expected outcome, but it is still reassuring to see board taking steps in the right direction. Next step would be to see the interim ceo, and of course the next ceo and cfo.

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   4225947d-aa3b-4518-bd43-9b1781616185.pdf
   

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It all hinges on the authenticity of subsidiary earnings. We can probably rely on them as it is stamped by one of big 4. As long as these earnings are true, and if the company takes right steps from now on, there might still be some hope left. As Logan points out above, there are some similarities between this and Securekloud’s episode, but the outcome might not be same. When it comes to BCG, nothing can be predicted.

I have a feeling that SKR fell for investor pressure. He probably felt he had to increase promoter shareholding and bring some reputed name as an investor both of which he absolutely didn’t have to. Instead of increasing promoter shareholding, he could have increased trust with the markets and that could have had much higher effect than this mess.

All these nightmares started with the second bonus shares, and probably slightly earlier. The best thing now for the company is to get rid of him ASAP (if not already done internally), and as Logan suggested, to bring someone with reputation onboard. The question now though is, if anyone reputed enough will take the risk of coming onboard with all these events? Option 1 from Logan above sounds like a good plan.

I am eagerly looking forward for the board meeting outcome on Sunday.

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Having been invested in BCG/Lycos since the last 7 odd years, I have seen lot of ups and downs. This one is on a whole new level though. Markets have taught me not to fall for knee-jerk reactions and rather to digest information before acting. But this news will take some time to digest. SKR has now crossed the limit limit w.r.t. shareholders and markets trust and this is beyond repair. The day SKR announces he is stepping down, there will be many UCs from then on. This is shame for him and a slap on his face from the retailers.

Overall, I believe that this was in the best interest of us retailers. I appreciate SEBI for such thorough actions/investigations even when they have to deal with so many other ongoing issues in our markets. This will give some confidence for retailers but more importantly, will keep promoters in check (even though there will always be bad actors). It all boils down to the earnings of BCG’s subsidiaries and the fact that it was audited by one of the BIG 4. If there is a time for test of conviction, this is it. The next 3 to 4 months (remember hearing 4 months anywhere recently?) will be crucial for the company and investors. I will stay invested and will let the storm pass.

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I will start off my first post on this forum with a slightly embarrassing note: I have been mostly a passive reader on this forum since its inception. But I would like to change that.

I have been with BCG since 2016, and I still am. I am one of the investors who went from 4 to 200 (approximates), but did not sell even a single share so far. In hindsight, I would have played a different game, but as we know selling is a far more difficult decision than buying, and I don’t regret my decision not to sell.

In fact, at the risk of sounding crazy, and I might be a rare contrarian at the moment, but I still strongly believe in BCG. I think the mess we are in is partly because of events from BCG management, and partly out of BCG control. I don’t mean to say what Suresh is doing is right, neither I am backing him up, but I still honestly believe that he is trying his best. The outcome we are currently in is probably because of his lack of experience in dealing with investors and markets. I would have been more happier if we had a more market understanding person at the helm.

I have been through so many ups and downs in BCG, that I got used to these sharp rises and dips. BCG has given me something more valuable than money, which is experience. BCG went from 60 to 4 a few years back, and anyone who has been part of BCG during 2017-20 will probably know the feeling. If I had to lose my conviction, I would have sold my stake back then. I think we will get out of this mess soon, and it might turn out that Suresh is right after all when he said that we will thank him a year later for the second bonus shares (the second bonus BTW was totally unnecessary). I am strongly considering adding more of BCG in the next days and I know it will be a wild ride, but I feel it is a risk worth taking considering my conviction. It might turn out to be a wrong decision, but I feel that, given enough time, things will change for the best and the glory days are ahead.

Last but not least: Thank you all for your inputs in the forum. I highly appreciate that.

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