'SamAdams' pid='21707' datel Wrote:Palm, as always I appreciate your thoughtfulness and insights. I don't really want to go down this rabbit hole too far, but what is unsaid is what intrigues me. If this was a formal part of the process it should have been disclosed and probably on the Feb. 28th call. I cannot remember anyone thinking or recommending that a new CEO had to be in place prior to deal announcement. This would have been material information in my view. I don't think anyone is surprised Phil is retiring, again it's the timing. Why would Phil announce the imminent spudding of Elk-3 and retire 3 weeks later prior to both spudding and deal announcement. I think something changed mid month. We will find out. As I said, it will become clearer in the ensuing days and weeks. Phil deserves to go out on top and with all due credit. My intent isn't to question Phil's statements as it is to understand it better. Hopefully that makes sense.
Sam,
Makes complete sense. But we don't know in what form those "retirement" discussions took place. Outside of an actual announcement of the retirement we have to assume what we were saying last week. We know the BOD met a little more than a week ago and likely made their choice "in the best interest of the shareholders", not necessarily in the best interest of the 4th largest shareholder. I believe Phil has had this dream; as stated in the corporate vision; to be an operator. Assuming the BOD made the decision we feel they may have, he really has no choice but to step down. His heart will not be in it to just be a "silent" JVOA partner. His drive won't be there. We can debate forever the semantics of how much of this was ultimately his decision, but I believe it just recently came to that point. Thus, without the current assumed deal decision by the BOD there could not have been a prior announcement. They couldn't say, "If we go this way, Phil will remain at the helm, but if we go this way, he will retire." Until the trigger event happens, nothing can or should be said. I think that trigger was pulled last week.