Fly on WallStreet

Back in the summer of 2005, fresh off the success of Nomad, Flic running at about a 50% failure rate, MVIS was desperate for more cash. The last great deal Rutkowski put together was a convertible debt package for around 10 mil. The scum pipe guys, knowing full well R.R. was capable of taking MVIS under demanded 1.75 million shares of LMRA as collateral. Let me put these pipe bastards in context so you Clerks can comprehend. You know the guy you turn to when your Dollar General credit card is maxed and you just had your Yugo repoed, that is who MVIS just got their financing with. The debt was payable over six payments in either stock or cash. The debt holders knew there was no way MVIS was paying cash because this crew couldn't even sell the cream or the clear to Barry and the boys. These guys knew they would be getting stock as long as R.R. was at the helm because that ensured MVIS was going no where.

So this is how it works, they loan 10 mil, if the stock is at $10 MVIS would have to fork over 1 million shares to cover the loan. At $5, two million shares, at $1 10 million shares, you get the point. The pipes immediately short enough shares to hedge the deal then start pounding that thing like Tyson on Givens. They can short the stock mercilessly because the lower it goes the more stock MVIS will have to hand them to pay the loan off and then they use those shares to cover the short. I know this is way more complex then the "can you break a hundy" drill you had to complete to work the graveyard shift at 7-11, but try to stay with me.

Things are going great for the shorts, the stock price is going down faster and harder than a cheap slut, R.R. is working his magic, and LMRA is falling faster than MVIS. The only asset MVIS had is now practically worthless. Things could not be working out any better for those guys, or so they thought. Rutkowski gets a Nomad enema and Tokman takes over, Tokman starts whipping things into shape and hooks up with MDB. I don't know how they got together, perhaps Fly in his infinite wisdom could shed some light here, but this is a key part of out little story. You guys remember when everything went to shit May-July of 2006? Well MDB quickly figured out what Tokman could do and they managed to complete the largest financing MVIS had ever done during the summer of death. MVIS now has some cash but the stock is still in the shit because it is not evident what is going on, yet. Still no worries for the Pipes and the massive short they put on. MDB raises some more cash for MVIS with a small straight equity deal to finish off the shelf. Then it happened, Lumera had a "succesful test" of some technical shit I know nothing about. What I do know is LMRA had a run harder and faster than my ass after fifth of Skol and a Crunch Wrap Supreme. MVIS unloads the LMRA shares they can raising even more cash. Meanwhile word is starting to get around that MVIS may actually produce something other than corn fed crap and the stock starts to creep. Tokman, still looking like Verbal Kint to the pipe boys, goes Keyser Soze on their ass and says fuck you here is your December payment in cold hard cash. Now what the hell are the pipes going to do with all those shares they are short? Tokman and the boys display the PicoP at CES, suddenly they are as popular as the prom queen going bareback, everybody all of the sudden wants to dance with MVIS. March 15 rolls around, the stock is still triple the low in September and Kobayashi shows up with more green for the pipes. Here is your cash, fuck you no stock, we owe you nothing, don't ever call again.

So, Tokman and the boys have been in charge for a scant 14 months and they have produced the world's smallest, thinnest full color laser projector in the world. With the brilliant help from MDB and a successful test they are now debt free with enough cash to get them through the year. They are in negotiations with numerous handset makers and multiple tier one auto suppliers. Three laser manufacturers are tripping over themselves to get in the game to provide lasers to an 800 million unit a year industry getting ready to open up. All of this in 14 moths of the Tokman management team being in charge. He does this in 14 months when it took the previous management team eight or nine years to make a head gear that looked like one of those things the dork in sixth grade would wear to fix his teeth. One day B-Schools around the country will be teaching this in their text books. Of course all the above is just my opinion, but it is a hell of a lot more valuable than yours. One more final post on where to from here. Below is some footage of Tokman's last meetings with the pipe boys, fuck you pipes, you're dead.