[Logan]

BCG is setting up entities under the brand name Trenova Corporation in EMEA and APAC markets.

Good update but is it a genuine one or just a tactic deployed to divert us from the delay in sharing last FY results? I get it that taking initiatives to grow the business is very important but more important than that is the survival of the company and the need to take care of your shareholders. Under normal circumstances we’d have been very happy and excited with such updates but I expect them to share updates on the results and pending issues first.

(Plan to start looking at the APAC region seriously was initiated last year and they were getting ready to appoint people but the SCN2 put all that in jeopardy I guess)

Also, why the name Trenova and not OMS? I understand why they might not want to start something with the Brightcom name (bad press) but why not OMS? Won’t the OMS people get involved? And why Kallol and others moved to the new entity from the parent company and why not stay in the parent company also? Is it because it’s difficult to be the rubber stamp of SKR while staying in the parent company?

There’s no point expecting answers from them.

[Logan]

It’s either they want to show complete dependency on SKR (and Raju) and are making the case for reinstating them or since SKR was handling almost everything (like a private company and all others were his rubber stamp), no one in the company knows anything or maybe like I previously said, some things might be fraud and the revenues and profits are not as reported previously and they don’t want to admit that.

Like I say, SKR & co are selfish to the core and they don’t have humanity and sympathy towards lakhs of shareholders. They’d rather see lakhs suffer instead of doing the right thing. I didn’t lose all my hope and that was only because of OMS but it’s getting clear that SKR and co will not let good things happen to us (unless he’s in charge). He’s holding us hostage until he gets what he wants.

I’m guessing that SKR is negotiating with SEBI to change the order and that is why they’re asking for adjournments all the time.

“We have been informed that the appellants filed an application
for settlement which is pending consideration. In view of the
aforesaid, we are not inclined to consider the stay application at this
state. Exemption application is allowed.”

The above was in December and there’s no progress on that. I’m not sure why SEBI is not giving a definite answer and reject the settlement. There’s zero chance that Sebi would accept what SKR is proposing but it did change the order against previous CFO, Raju.

I haven’t seen a drastic drop in Brightcom’s publisher count mentioned in Adauth or Builtwith or Web Tech Survey. Not that relying on these guarantees that the revenues are legit but these show some trends at least. Mediamath, which filed for bankruptcy last year saw drastic drop in publisher count for many years but I haven’t seen that happening in Brightcom. I could see that the publisher count reducing in companies like PubMatic, Magnite (Rubicon), Perion (Vidazoo) but not Brightcom. BCG also has brands like Audienciad (maybe subsidary dream ad’s brand), Get Media MX, Onomagic, Boldwin etc. OMS and the Israeli leadership is the only reason I hadn’t lost all hope but now seeing the actions of board (SKR), I’m losing hope.

(These are my guesses and opinions and please don’t take my opinions for buy/sell decisions and if you have any doubts please contact SEBI as contacting the management is of no use)

[Logan]

Board meeting on 31st to appoint independent directors and company secretary but no news on results.

Looks like 2 directors might resign (I’m guessing one independent and one executive or two independent). I’ll not be surprised if Mr.Kallol resigns, anything is possible looking at how things are going on in the company. Maybe Mr.Raghu was appointed so that Kallol could leave/resign. Maybe he doesn’t want to be in SKR’s control losing respect (I’m guessing this because Kallol used to sign these notification letters but today Mr.Raghu has signed).

Why can’t they appoint CEO and CFO? What’s the use in appointing independent directors and them resigning in 2-3 months?

[Logan]

They’ll send a notification on the 31st evening/night and tell us that the auditor is getting upto speed and that the audit is not complete and they’ll share the results ASAP.

And, they’ll also mention that they are sad to see the plight of shareholders and that they’ll follow the highest standards of corporate governance, they’ll be very honest, transparent and use fancy words to describe themselves. There’ll be zero progress and again give some random date and they’ll miss that also and the cycle will repeat

They don’t have any humanity left.

[Logan]

Kallol lost all his credibility when he didn’t share the results in March. He fooled us then and he fooled us again (before suspension of trading) and he will continue to fool us if there is no supervision from SEBI.

SKR’s arrogance is the root cause for our sufferings. No one should be this evil and prey on people’s lives. He single-handedly destroyed the dreams and hard earned money of lakhs of shareholders and now he’s not letting others do good also. Our curses and Karma should not leave him.

[Logan]

Board meeting on Friday to appoint executive and independent directors (one each). Going by the recent trends, maybe one or two directors will resign.

Why aren’t they trying to appoint an interim CEO or CFO at least? It’s no secret that SKR and Raju are trying to come back but why not appoint someone on an interim basis at least? It’s close to 1 year since they both left and there’s zero progression.

[Logan]

@saach, stocks or warrants can be allotted on a preferential basis to raise funds instead of issuing those to all the shareholders which is time consuming and expensive.

Please refer below link for details.

What is Preferential Allotment

In case of BCG, both shares and warrants were issued to people on a preferential basis in 2019-20 (shares), 2020-21 (warrants) and 2021-22 (and shares). Those shares or warrants weren’t preferred stocks or converted to preferred stocks but were issued on a preferential basis (they had a preferred buyer).

[Logan]

@saach, the scenario which you have mentioned doesn’t apply here. In case of liquidation, the first priority (seniority) will be given to debt holders, the second to preferred stock holders and the last to equity holders.

BCG doesn’t have any investors who hold preferred stock. The stocks issued were on a preferential basis but those stocks weren’t preferred stocks. And BCG doesn’t have any debt so there will be no priority given to anyone and in case of liquidation (in theory) the assets will be distributed to equity holders.

Hope this clarifies your doubt.

[Logan]

@radhutheoptimist, it’s good to know that Mr. Shankar Sharma is also a member of the association.

If you don’t mind, can you please share some details about the association’s meet with the management? I know it’s sensitive but lakhs of shareholders are very curious to know the developments happening in the company. Our anxiety and stress levels have reached the maximum and your updates will help us cool a bit.

Thanks in advance.

[Logan]

Thanks @saach and @spamfortress.

I’m not an expert on body language etc but it’s clear that the recently shared letter was from SKR and not from Kallol. Not just this but seems like all the clarifications came from SKR. I’m tired of seeing only clarifications and words but no action from the company/board. Only comforting factor is that BCG owns OMS. I guess/think they decided to change the brand name to come out of the Brightcom name because of negative press.

The main reason I supported SKR was because he kept the company from going out of business when many other companies failed. Adtech is a very tough industry to be in and also, it’s very hard to even guess short term future and will always be very unpredictable.

Check Perion Network’s recent developments, last 3-4 years it was everyone’s favourite company but no one wants it now. They are facing significant revenue loss because of Microsoft Bing’s policy changes. People have filed class action suit against the company for misguiding investors and the stock has tanked more than 80% in the last year (more than 40% in a single day in April).

Not just Perion but Direct Digital Holdings also. Last year it was below $3 (or below $2) and went above $35 and it fell to below $3 again this year (more than 90% down). It also tanked more than 40% in a single day (it was trading above $30 in March but fell below $3 in less than 2 months). One company said Direct Digital’s subsidiary, Colossus Media, misrepresented user IDs and showed wrong users or something (I’m not sure what that is as it’s very technical to understand for a layman). Many people have filed class action suit against Direct Digital too.

Some people will say that BCG couldn’t have that much revenue etc but that can be said of many adtech companies too as they have high growth rates with fewer employees like BCG.

Direct Digital revenue was less than $7M in 2019 but $160M in 2023 (increase of more than 20 times in just 4 years). I think it was started in 2018.

Perion Network – $4M in 2002 to $35M in 2011 but suddenly to $326M in 2013. In 2019 it was $261M but in 2023 it was $743M.

Magnite Inc – $37M in 2011 to $248M in 2015 and $156M in 2019 to $620M in 2023.

TTD – $45M in 2014 to $661M in 2019 and almost $2B in 2023.

I’m not cherry picking data and I’ve selected 2019 because it was the year before COVID. Everything is there in public domain and anyone can check anytime. I’m showing sudden growth or very high growth levels in many companies.

I didn’t suspect SKR’s intentions because adtech companies will always be looking for acquisitions. Perion has acquired Undertone, Vidazoo and recently acquired Hivestack which is a Digital Out of Home company, similar to Consumables Inc which BCG wanted to acquire. Hivestack has grown it’s revenue 20 times from 2019. Check the expectations Perion has set for Hivestack. Currently Hivestack’s revenue maybe is $45M but Perion wants it to do $300M+ in 2024-26. More than 6 times in 2 years which is crazy.

And, adtech companies need cash always. Affle has raised money many times (once in it’s IPO, then a QIP and maybe in 2022 or 2023).

BCG/Ybrant is older than many of the companies mentioned above. OMS was very big (maybe among the top 10) when it was acquired by BCG (in 2007-08). So, it’s not easy to say whether the numbers are real or fake because other companies have grown similarly or have done better. I don’t know whether SKR used MediaMint and Consumable Inc news to hype the stock or it was really genuine. One thing is that with other companies, they will also hype their target companies but unlike BCG they will share the name of the target companies sooner and won’t be like SKR saying the names of the companies after 1 year.

I wanted to share these earlier but due to health issues I was unable to. It takes a lot of time and effort to collect data and make opinions on that.

Some people will say everything is fake and don’t trust anything and others will say everything is real but please don’t listen to anyone as people are always biased and they’ll misguide us. Their only agenda will be to make you follow them. If they have sold their shares, their agenda will be to make you sell and if they’ve bought shares then their agenda will be to make you buy the shares. Always do your own research or approach sebi if you have confusions. Personally, I have remained invested because of OMS. That is the only hope for me but I’ll never force anyone to follow me. Let’s hope for the best.

[Logan]

Hi @adup, I fear we are falling into Stockholm syndrome as we have become hostages to SKR through Kallol. Everyone knew that it would take a long time to resolve the issues which BCG has but we’re not seeing any actions from the board. All the board members resigned and no other development has happened. They had so much time to publish the results but failed giving silly reasons.

With BCG/SKR, there was always drama and uncertainty but the survival of the company was never in question but now all our money will go to vain if no actions are taken. When Lycos case with Daum happened, I supported SKR’s decision because Lycos was not worth anything and the company didn’t depend on it but now there’s so much at stake. There’s no urgency or seriousness from the board to resolve the issues and they are depending on SKR to take actions which is making him more powerful. What if tomorrow all the 3 board members resign? Who will take care of the company? They are playing with us. SKR will be okay to wait for years to get back into the company but what about more than 6 lakh shareholders and their hard earned money? He has made thousands of crores cheating us whereas our life savings is at stake.

They really don’t have any humanity and are playing with our lives.

[Logan]

SKR and KS are the same. The Worst Of Times Can Bring Out The Best In People but seems this doesn’t apply to people like Kallol as he has made matters even worse.

They have no humanity and no sympathy. SKR and his friends made thousands of crores but we are losing all our life savings.

[Logan]

This is hopeless from the company.

They are saying that the auditor resigned when they were supposed to share the quarterly results. It’s either the auditor found something wrong or the company must not have provided the details which the auditor asked for and hence they’re resigning.

I think the auditors were appointed in November which is more than 6 months back and the company is saying that the review is still not complete. They think of us as fools. And now they’ve appointed a new auditor and don’t know how many months they will need to do their review.

People like SKR and Kallol are bringing bad names to prestigious institutions like IIT and IIM.

[Logan]

@radhutheoptimist, if you remember, it was me who suggested that shareholders/investors should form a legal association (not sure on other platforms but at least in this forum). I was also the one who suggested/requested people living in Hyderabad to visit the company to get more clarity. But unfortunately I won’t be able to join any association or group because of my health issues. I have informed about this when I suggested to form the association also. It’s not like I want others to do the work and I can relax but it’s very difficult to do anything when you’re having severe health issues.

Also, many things have changed a lot lately. When I suggested this, the SCN2 had not come and things were very different. Back then I had more hope and believed the numbers but since SCN2, I’m not trusting the numbers 100%. My only hope is OMS, Israel and if SKR has played with that too then there’s no hope left for me.

Personally, I don’t think I can contribute more than giving basic suggestions and for that joining the association won’t be required. If the company/board get their basics right then things will start to improve. The first basic thing for the board to do is to take actions quickly and be more transparent and good things will follow automatically.

If you remember, from day one I wanted the company to improve corporate governance and appoint a reputed auditor and I was okay with the company not paying dividends and use the same money to appoint a reputed auditor. This is an example of being more transparent which would’ve changed things a lot.

Everyone can contribute in different ways and it’s not that someone can contribute only if they join the association. They can write here or in various other platforms and share their suggestions with you and you can use those suggestions and present them to the board/management. I really appreciate your and all the shareholders efforts in creating the association but because of my health and other issues, I won’t be able to join.

[Logan]

@radhutheoptimist, great initiative, thank you for doing it.

[Logan]

BCG management/board aka SKR proxies have no shame. We all thought they’d improve after the SCN2 came but they’ve gotten even worse. They are least bothered about shareholders’ pain and concerns.

Mr Sen must be readying script for his next movie and taking stories from SKR. The title should be How to Fool and Backstab Shareholders. There’ll be sequels and SKR will be the villain in the first part and Mr Sen in the second part.

[Logan]

What the hell is going on at the company? All 3 independent board members have resigned and 2 new members have been appointed.

Were the independent directors reluctant to sign the financials or is the company trying to get rid of the people who were there when the PW fraud happened? Why Dr Radhakishore resigned? He joined after the SCN2 came so was not associated when PW fraud happened.

All the 3 resignation letters are generic without proper reasons and have mentioned (copy pasted) the same.

They are creating more confusion instead of providing clarity. Seriously don’t know when this drama/nightmare will end.

[Logan]

They should’ve put those people behind bars, else these type of people will never learn anything. Others will also be scared to do something similar.

Auditors should be very strict and never compromise but here they not only compromised but were also stupid to take shares in the company. Subscribing to warrants, how stupid were they? And how stupid was SKR to give them shares and think he could get away with it? Unethical people should always be punished.

[Logan]

We wanted Mr Kallol Sen to become Vibhishana but he has become Kumbhakarna. We have seen more updates on resignations than the updates which the company must and should have shared (results, AGM etc). They’re least bothered about shareholders’ pain.

I don’t think Mr Sen or the board has any answers and maybe still hoping that SKR would get a favorable verdict. SKR doesn’t understand that SAT or SEBI will be more harsh on him if he makes the company delay doing important things. Lakhs are suffering because of one person’s selfishness and stupidity.

[Logan]

@sobha, sorry for the late reply.

Regarding control, I guess it’s not only about the results but the total control of the operations etc. I don’t think SKR had planned to delay publishing results so late, I think it’s happening because the SAT judge retired. I guess he wants to know the extent of his punishment before (making) the company take decisions. The order from SAT should’ve come few months/weeks back but didn’t because there was no judge. SKR in his own delusional world must’ve thought that the judge would give him a somewhat favourable order and he could come back at least temporarily. He wants to show to the judge that the company will collapse if he’s not back as the CEO. If the results are good and if he publishes it then his case will become weak so he’s trying to drag till there’s an outcome at the SAT (maybe at least till May 9th). He resigned immediately after the SCN2 came so he’ll show that he’ll follow orders without objecting (to look good).

On the PW shares/money, it’s not fully conclusive because SEBI hasn’t shared the complete details yet. I’m curious to see what SKR’s argument is. I want to see the 187 page reply he/company sent to SAT against SEBI’s order. He must be having some evil agenda.

For me, I want stability in both – the company’s operations and its stock price. Check PERION Network and how bad it is doing in both the cases. In 2020, it was 2-3 dollars and went above 30-35-40 and fell more than 50-60% in 2022 and last year it did very well and went above 40-45 and everyone was bullish on it and its management was giving higher guidance for both revenues and profits but few weeks back they shared that they’ll not be able to meet their own guidance and expectations and the stock tanked 40-50% in a single day. Now the stock price is 10 dollars.

Interestingly, few people are trying to sue PERION and they are approaching PERION’s shareholders to join them. They’re saying that the company misguided investors by giving false guidance on its search advertising business (with Microsoft Bing) and they’re calling it a fraud. I wish someone do the same against BCG and particularly against SKR. He lied and back stabbed us and he and his friends made thousands of crores of money not paying a single rupee at the expense of small retail investors and he’s continuing to torture us by not letting go of the company.

Coming to Mr Kallol Sen, I’m guessing SKR selected him because others won’t be a rubber stamp especially in this situation. Notably he wasn’t selected as a CEO or as a Chairman but only as an executive director. There’s no role like COO or CTO etc also but only as an executive director. This is an indication that SKR is planning to comeback. We badly needed a person with integrity to come on board and take us to clear waters but Mr Sen doesn’t seem to have that. The market is changing a lot and we need leadership stability, else BCG will also become like other companies that went bust. The main reason I supported SKR in the past was because he guided BCG when there were very tough situations. Many ad tech companies went bust in the last decade and seems the companies will face similar situation in the coming few years. Only hope for me is OMS.

Some people think of ad tech companies like typical IT companies and compare dividends etc but it’s completely opposite. IT companies have stability and can use cash flows for dividend/buyback but ad tech companies have to invest most for future. The main reason I didn’t suspect the PW shares was because ad tech companies are in constant need to cash. AFFLE had raised good amount of money in its IPO but again raised hundreds/thousands of crores in 2022 and I think last year also it raised money (I’m not following it regularly). It looks like all the growth came mostly from raising money and not organically. I’m not saying AFFLE is a good or bad company but only sharing my observations.

Technology and privacy related changes will sometimes be brutal for ad tech companies and all have to tread carefully. So, repeating again – leadership stability is very important. SKR must leave the company alone and let good people take over. If he really cares about his company then he can become a consultant. He has caused enough pain to shareholders and must stop immediately. The dummy board and Mr Sen should wake up at least now and genuinely care for shareholders instead of using unnecessary fancy words. Action, not fancy words is the need of the hour.

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