I told these stories along time ago on another board but in light of the current conversation I feel it is very relevant. The issue being discussed was dividends but the bigger issue really is protection of the shareholders, all of them.

I have the luxury of witnessing first hand and through very close ties, occasions when the parties involved do not act in the shareholders best interest. I have a very close relative who is the co-founder of a multi-billion dollar company. They had a similiar situation in that a major fund controlled a sizable amount of shares but nothing like the size of S&L. The irony is, this was a very well known, legitimate, fund. There were other brokerage funds invested as well but these guy were particularly aggressive. After the company accumulated a large cash reserve($350/million) the fund manager quietly began lobbying for a one time "special" dividend of $5. The company countered stating the money should be used for strategic long term growth. After being turned down by the CEO, the fund manager turned his attention to the BOD and lobbied intensely. Fortunately the boards loyalty lay squarely in the CEO's lap. Most of the BOD had been with him from the beginning and seen the $30 million dollar company turn into a $2.5 billion dollar company. After being defeated on all sides the fund took aggressive action to punish the company. They immediatetly unload 1/2 their position causing the intended panic selling. In the end the joke was on the fund manager. The company used the $350/million to make a major acquisition. The stock took 3 months to recover and rose to new highs .

My point concerning criminal/unethical behavior and multiple dividends is quite simple. It could not occur without the full cooperation of the BOD and the CEO. S&L makes demands and it is very obvious that those demands are tended to. I don't have to guess why those distributions occured, I know why. S&L demanded it and they have the power and position to make it happen. What didn't seem relative at the time is very much so now. Would we be better of with $50 million in liquidity versus $20 million? I can only imagine the kind of influence afforded to S&L with their own hand picked people running the show. I know the pressure put on my relative and it was intense.

The company I work for had to fight off a hostile takeover once. Unbeknownst to use the stock was under accumulation. We were sitting on millions in reserves plus valuable physical assets. We were fortunate enough to learn about the intended takeover through the grapevine. Once discovered we quickly found his intention was to break the company apart, sell the assets and keep the cash reserves. It turned out the reserves were the biggest reason for the attempted takeover. Our BOD and CEO declared an immediate one time special dividend and dumped all the cash on hand. The company was saved and the shareholders interest preserved.

The reason I tell those stories is to demonstrate what the officers and BOD should be doing for the shareholders. The alternative for PTSC is/was simple. The MMP has generated approximately $98 million dollars for PTSC. Can you account for most of it now? The money never should have left the bank for anything other than long term strategic growth. There is no other explanation for what has occured other than insider greed. TPL has literally moved leaps and bounds since last year. I don't need to list their examples, you read the releases just like I do. One company is planning for the future the other is playing in the present. I believe 100% the moves made so far by PTSC were intended to benefit the lucky few just in case things don't go as planned. If it all works out no one will ever miss the money or care. If it goes badly the corporate entity will be left virtually bone dry while the players will be untouchable.

My concerns for PTSC are based on real world experience not throwing mud against the wall and hoping it sticks. 5 employees and a very small percentage of the cash left, those are undisputable facts. I don't want instant gratification, I've owned the stock for 21 months. I want to know my investment is in safe hands.