Also immer schon das Kleingedruckte lesen.
Die australische Horror-Aktie
Quelle: http://www.boersenman.de/Artikel/Die-australische-Horror-Akie
Dienstag, 30. Dezember 2008 12:32:56, Florian von Hennet
Der Dax hat innerhalb eines Jahres gut 40 Prozent seines Wertes eingebüßt. Abgesehen von Volkswagenaktionären haben alle Anleger, die in die deutschen Top-30 Werte investiert haben, Geld verloren. So ärgerlich das ist, zahlreichen Aktionären in Australien ist es noch viel viel schlechter ergangen.
Nämlich dann, wenn sie Aktien der Firma Brisconnections gekauft haben. Brisconnections baut derzeit in der ostaustralischen Stadt Brisbane eine später mautpflichtige Verbindungsstraße zum Flughafen. Die Finanzierung des Projekts erfolgte teilweise über die Ausgabe von Aktien. Doch schon kurz nach dem Börsengang im vergangenen Sommer fiel der Kurs immer weiter, bis er irgendwann bei einem Zehntes Australischen Cent angelangt war - dem niedrigsten Kurs des ein Wert nach der dortigen Börsenvorschrift überhaupt erreichen kann. Doch statt als Warnsignal, wirkte diese Tatsache für viele Anleger als Lockmittel.
Was kann man schon verlieren, wenn es tiefer nicht mehr gehen kann und obendrein eine nette Dividende von fast sechs Cent winkt. Einige Anleger griffen daher reichlich zu und kauften teilweise hunderttausende oder gar Millionen Aktien auf einen Schlag. Dabei haben sie offensichtlich eine pikante Besonderheit der Birsconnections-Anteile übersehen: sie muss nämlich in drei Raten bezahlt werden. Am 29 April 2009 ist die nächste Rate fällig. Dann müssen die Aktionäre für jede Aktie die sie besitzen einen Australischen Dollar nachzahlen. Der gleiche Betrag wird dann noch einmal am 29 Januar 2010 fällig.
Zahlreiche Aktionäre stehen plötzlich am finanziellen Abgrund. Wer für ein paar hundert Dollar Aktien gekauft hat, wird in Kürze aufgefordert mehr als eine Million Dollar nachzuzahlen. Die Anteile wieder loszuwerden, ist derzeit so gut wie unmöglich. Brisconnections selbst zeigt sich unnachgiebig und will das Geld auf jeden Fall eintreiben.
BrisConnections share deal nightmare
Article from: The Sunday Telegraph
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By Sharon Labi
December 28, 2008 12:00am
SMALL investors who rushed to buy millions of shares in a toll company when they slumped to less than a cent now face multi-million-dollar debts that will bankrupt them.
The mum-and-dad shareholders, many from NSW, say they did not realise they were required to pay another $1 per share on April 29 - turning their bargain buys into potentially ruinous financial millstones.
The company in question is BrisConnections, which has a contract to build Brisbane's airport toll road.
It floated in July with shares issued at $3 to be paid in three instalments, but the price plummeted to one-tenth of one cent in early November - the lowest price the Australian Stock Exchange will allow.
Lured by a promised 5.95c dividend, investors thought they could not lose as the share price was at rock bottom. They loaded up, buying huge parcels of shares for a few hundred dollars, not realising the downside of their shareholdings. To make things worse the company slashed the dividend to 0.05c and delayed it until after the April instalment deadline.
Now the company is threatening to take investors to court unless they cough up, in some cases millions of dollars.
BrisConnections chairman Trevor Rowe wrote to shareholders last week saying the company had a legal obligation to use its best endeavours to pursue the debts.
Australian Shareholders' Association chief executive Stuart Wilson said the situation was unheard of.
"This is an unprecedented circumstance where an investor can click a button, spend $500 and end up with a $1 million debt without any warning," he said.
Mr Wilson has asked the regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, to force brokers to warn investors about any future liability associated with their purchase.
The float was underwritten by the Macquarie Capital Advisers and Deutsche Bank, who will take over the liabilities and commence legal action against shareholders who don't pay. Macquarie reaped around $100 million in fees for setting up the deal but sold out soon after it floated. On its first trading day it reached a high of 79c, but closed at 41c.
Shareholders have been trying to sell their holdings.
Mr Wilson said the BrisConnections letter goes to some pains to say it will use every reasonable avenue to recover the debts.
"So, that means selling up people's assets including people's homes and cars," Mr Wilson said.
"With the size of the debts that people have inadvertently found themselves in, it does mean people's life savings will be gone unless a solution is found."
Sydney man Gerhard Limnios bought two million shares for $3200 for his 82-year-old pensioner mother, hoping she might make a small profit, not knowing she would owe $2 million in April.
He bought the shares through an online trading site and said there was no warning.
"Luckily, she doesn't own anything so therefore I doubt it if someone would pursue her. It's the only little bit of comfort in the whole situation," Mr Limnios said.
"I've told her there's no point in panicking at the moment."
Another investor, Rod Marshall, said he did his homework but only learned it was a partially paid share after making the purchase. He now owes $4 million in April.
Lynn and Nguyen Phan, who owe $2 million in April and another $2 million in 2010, said they were desperate and had not slept.
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