NEW YORK, May 18 - Stanley Bing said on Monday that he plans to sell an undesignated amount of stock in his formerly privately held BingCo., and also plans a note sale to help repay funds he has borrowed from various sources. He also announced that he was taking a $872 million charge against earnings. The notes are being designed by his friend Stu right now, according to Bing, and will be very attractive.
The charge reflects losses on quite a few assets, mostly due to bad investments made after consultation with the best advisors in the business world.
These losses have been a drag on BingCo.'s cash position, which has declined since June '08. The New York-based content company also announced the slashing of weekly dividends to children and pets, and an elimination of bonuses to all employees, of which there really aren't any. At the same time, BingCo. management hopes the message will resound with Wall Street, which has shown virtually no interest in the Company since it went public some 18 months ago.
"We have no idea what it is the company does," said Reed Barfinger of Barfinger & McGuffin, a firm that makes itself available for quotes to reporters who call it. "This lack of clarity used to be a huge asset, particularly in the online content world, but now people want at least an ounce or two of steak along with their sizzle."
This could spell potential trouble for BingCo. In pre-market trading, the company's shares fell about 2 percent to $0.14. Their 52-week high is $0.15, set last July 23.
BingCo. Executive Chairman and Chief Everything Officer Stanley Bing said in a statement that he will use the proceeds from the sale of shares and notes to pay back the $23,000 loan he received from CitiBank to finance the construction of a paved driveway at company headquarters.
Bing did not specify the size of the debt offering but said it would not be backed by the federal government, to which he also expects to owe some money very shortly in the form of a quarterly estimate.
Bing was among the institutions that recently underwent a "stress tests" of their ability to handle a deep recession, and was among those found to be quizzical.
BingCo. does not give guidance. The company did however indicate it expects to be alive at the end of the year, mostly by accumulating more debt in order to pay the debt that comes with responsibilities and consequences.