Your columnist has never quite understood the complex capital structure that governs the unruly dairy processor, Murray Goulburn.
But that isn't a problem since CBD never bought units in this dairy debacle.
Investors acquired units in the public float at $2.10 nearly two years ago and watched their stock hit a fresh low of 75¢ on Tuesday.
This is when CEO, Ari Mervis, announced a review of the company's strategy and corporate structure "including the profit-sharing mechanism and capital structure".
He is referring to the structure that allowed these new investors to flood in two years ago with $500 million cash and no voting rights.
Which means this adventure was always going to end well for them. Right now they own a $150 million investment and no voting rights as the new CEO repositions the goal posts.
The voting rights remained with the dairy farmers who owned the dairy business by holding real shares, not like the unitholders who "have an economic exposure to the business" via their investment in notes and convertible preference shares issued by Murray Goulburn.
The whole promise of the IPO in 2015 was that management could square the circle and balance the conflicting interests of its unitholders, who would want to maximise profits by keeping the price MG pays for its milk low. This milk is being bought from the dairy farmers who own the voting shares.
The dairy farmers are hardly in clover – after their own financial mauling at the hands of the dairy giant – but at least they have a seat at the table.
"I see this review as a fundamental next step to strengthen MG for the future," said Mervis who started in February this year.
New Newzulu
There has probably never been a better time for a person, with a smart phone, to capture a moment that gets sent around the globe. But the company that was meant to build its fortune linking these citizen journalists with the major media outlets, Newzulu, has moved on.
Company founder, Alex Hartman, sold some shares this week and removed himself from the register as a substantial shareholder to focus on his bewildering role with Formula One ace Michael Schumacher's foundation in Geneva.
Newzulu's high point as a citizen journalism business was selling iPhone video of a helicopter evacuating Schumacher after his tragic skiing accident in 2014.
But those days are over, and a new crop of investors are helping to replenish the empty coffers as Newzulu attempts to make some headway with its new business focus: Selling its technology to media companies to manage the content generated by their readers and the general public.
It is the "hot space" in the industry known as user generated content (UGC). The public provides the content while the company – using Newzulu's technology – makes the money.
"We're attracted to their software as a service platform business exposed to the fast-growing user-generated content sector and where the company is gaining significant traction globally," said Daniel Chersky, chief investment officer with Newzulu's new substantial shareholder Alceon Group.
This is the Alceon Group that was founded by Babcock & Brown boys, Phil Green and Trevor Loewensohn – who have taken a controlling stake in fashion retailer Noni B.
It is a long way from the grand days of Babcock & Brown – prior to its collapse – but we've all got to start somewhere.
Alceon was one of the sophisticated investors which picked up shares in Newzulu at 0.12¢ each.
All up, Newzulu raised around $5.84 million from its old and new investors, issuing 5.8 billion shares in the process.
It is the third capital raising in just over two years – the last was a $5 million cash injection by Kerry Stokes' Seven West Media and Alex Waislitz's Thorney Investment Group.
The new boss, Marc Milgrom, now has enough cash to last a few years and see if the new strategy stacks up as a business.
As Motley Fool put it last year, Newzulu remains a prime example of how unprofitable tech stocks can cost you a fortune.
The stock has gone from a high of 19¢ to its last trade at 0.1¢.
Retail therapy
Retail Food Group (RFG) – the company behind Donut King and Gloria Jean's coffee chain in Australia – really got its nose out of joint over UBS research this week which sent its stock price plummeting. UBS downgraded the stock, citing changes in accounting standards in a few years time.
RFG labelled the report "speculative guesswork" with "no insight", but CBD wondered who the board relied upon to shape this pithy retort.
We could not help but notice that CPA Australia director, Kerry Ryan, is one of its directors, although she is one of two board members of the embattled accounting body who are not actually accounting professionals.
Follow CBD on Twitter. Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au
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