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SCO Possibly Delisted from NASDAQ

canfirman writes "Reuters is reporting that SCO could be delisted from the NASDAQ because "it has not filed its annual 10-K report with the SEC". The company claims it's because "it is examining matters related to stock issued as part of its compensation plans". SCO Stock is sitting at $4.30 at opening today. It'll be interesing to see where it goes from here."

84 of 366 comments (clear)

  1. Summing up the SCO vs IBM trial by robyannetta · · Score: 5, Funny
    Judge (to SCO): Where's your evidence?

    SCO Lawyer: Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk...

    Judge: Wait a minute! I'm not going to let you use the Chewbacca defense. This is a carny-like head game from the television show South Park.

    SCO Lawyer: But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now, think about that. That does not make sense! Why would a Wookiee--an eight foot tall Wookiee--want to live on Endor with a bunch of two foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself, what does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! "Look at me, I'm a lawyer defending SCO, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca. Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense. None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberating and conjugating the Emancipation Proclamation... does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense. If Chewbacca lives on Endor, IBM must have stolen our code we GPL'ed and put on our public FTP site. [pulling a monkey out of his pocket] Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey! [Judge's head explodes]

    --
    - Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
  2. NASDAQ Confirms It... by Your+Anus · · Score: 5, Funny

    SCO is dying...

    --

    In the USA, we like stuff watered down, like beer, television, and freedom.
  3. Gloating? by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful
    SCO Stock is sitting at $4.30 at opening today. It'll be interesing to see where it goes from here."

    While I'm no fan of SCO, particularly after their get-rich-quick plan to sue IBM and license code-which-may-or-may-not-be in Linux, this whole story seems little more than gloating and hardly worthy of a /. post. Is the news that slow today?

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    1. Re:Gloating? by grub · · Score: 2, Funny


      Is the news that slow today?

      You and I are both subscribers... looking into the mysterious future, I'd have to say "Yes."

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    2. Re:Gloating? by JPelorat · · Score: 2

      What can we say... they need a good kicking.

      Their stock is down over $0.25.. that's a good start. People are dumping it like a psycho girlfriend.

      --
      Hokey statistics and ancient misconceptions are no match for a good thought in your head, kid!
    3. Re:Gloating? by seanadams.com · · Score: 5, Insightful

      this whole story seems little more than gloating and hardly worthy of a /. post

      This isn't gloating, it's war. We can gloat when the litigious bastards are out of business completely.

      Slashdot is read by zillions of people who can not only sell their SCO, but also advise others to do so. Slashdot is also read by all kinds of mainstream journalists who might not otherwise notice what SCO is up to. One could argue it's been a damned effective campaign so far. Were it not for /. clearing up the FUD, their stock would probably still be flying high on rampant speculation.

    4. Re:Gloating? by ArmchairGenius · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not filing your SEC filings is always bad. When it gets so bad NASDAQ delists you, it means that you are about to get sued, and get sued hard. I can pretty much guarantee a Section 10(b) fraud class action gets filed against SCO in the near future. And I also am willing to bet the SEC will start investigating them as well... Good thing they have plenty of lawyers....

    5. Re:Gloating? by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful
      While I'm no fan of SCO, particularly after their get-rich-quick plan to sue IBM and license code-which-may-or-may-not-be in Linux, this whole story seems little more than gloating and hardly worthy of a /. post. Is the news that slow today?


      Well, TFA is a Reuters article pointing out that the SEC is considering de-listing a publically traded company because they are in arrears wrt the paper-work they are required to have on file.

      This publically traded company is involved in lawsuits that affect several companies and technologies.

      It's not as if it's a link to some guys blog -- clearly Reuters thinks it's worth mentioning.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    6. Re:Gloating? by turtledot · · Score: 2, Funny

      >"When it gets so bad NASDAQ delists you, it means that you are about to get sued, and get sued hard."
      Next we'll see an anouncement from SCO complaining about the litigious nature of society today.

      Maybe they'll take out a full page ad in NY Times..

      To a chemist it's Fe-y, to everyone else it's iron-y...

    7. Re:Gloating? by sconeu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Were it not for /. clearing up the FUD, their stock would probably still be flying high on rampant speculation.

      I suspect that GrokLaw has quite a bit to do with it, too...

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    8. Re:Gloating? by Feyr · · Score: 3, Funny

      that's unfair to the psycho girlfriends of the world!

    9. Re:Gloating? by Locke2005 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Correction: Were it not for Groklaw cleaning up the FUD...

      I don't ask my Lawyer how to install Linux, and I don't go to slashdot for legal opinions!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    10. Re:Gloating? by ReelOddeeo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Slashdot only occaisionally has a story about SCO. And when they do, such as the current thread, it is already (very) old news.

      If you want to know what is going on with SCOXE, you need to follow Growlaw every day, and also the SCOX message board at Yahoo.

      This is very worthy of a Slashdot post. These bastards have told huge lies in the media and press. Made the most outrageous claims about Open Source, the GPL (unconstitutional, communists, etc.), created a cloud of FUD about Linux intellectual property, and even a FUD cloud about open source in general. They have engaged in a stock scam to unjustly enrich themselves while doing the previously mentioned things. They have claimed to own rights that they do not own. They have accused everyone who uses Linux (that is me personally) of owing them license money. They have sued Linux users (although not over Linux use per se). They have threatened to sue any Linux user (i.e. me personally). They have produced not one shred of evidence that they own anything in Linux.

      This is not gloating.

      The truth needs to come to light. Anyone found to have engaged in criminal activity should be prosecuted.

      --

      Those who would give up liberty in exchange for security and DRM should switch to Microsoft Palladium!
    11. Re:Gloating? by iminplaya · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So SCO gets sued. What will be won from that? Are the individuals responsible going to pay anything. I don't think so. Will SCO be banned from something? So SCO dissolves and becomes something else. Here we'll go again. So...what's the likes of Charles Keating doing these days? Hmm? Are they on welfare? Are they living in South Central? Anybody think he's actually reformed? Anybody think that if he has the chance to do it again, that he wouldn't(if he thought he could get it right this time)? How many corporate criminals are actually in the poor house due to being caught? Anybody think that corporate scandals have diminished at all since Teapot Dome? As long as we grant corporations all sorts of special privileges and power, and we don't watch them like hawks, nothing will change. Take a step back from your credit card madness and take a look. This world you see is a byproduct of our actions, our decisions. We let this happen, and we continue to let it happen. Gotta go. My soap opera is back on. You can let me know how it pans out during the next commercial.

      --
      What?
    12. Re:Gloating? by jacksonj04 · · Score: 2, Funny

      would have been better as "I am a psycho girlfriend, you insentitive clod!"

      --
      How many people can read hex if only you and dead people can read hex?
    13. Re:Gloating? by FecesFlingingRhesus · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah and it's unfair to taunt the people of Slashdot with the idea of a girlfriend even a psycho one. You know there are some that have to just go without.

  4. That's what happens... by Jimpqfly · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... when you don't fill your TPS Report.

  5. requirements? by AviLazar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Since SCO has stocks issued to the public, aren't they required to fill out the proper paperwork? How does one who own SCO stock supposed to sell his stock? Can they do this w/o getting sued by their share holders?

    --

    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
    1. Re:requirements? by DenDave · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually the district attorney will probably end up dragging McBride and his CFO in his office asking what the heck the monkey business is about. After reading above post I expect that McBride will pull a monkey out of his sleeve ..
      Whilst I am not purporting to give legal advice, common sense dictates that if you own SCO stock, you should be on the horn to your lawyer jsut about.... now...

      --
      -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
    2. Re:requirements? by oliana · · Score: 3, Informative

      Being publicly traded and being available on a regulated stock exchange (NASDAQ, NYSE) are two different things. People who own the stock if it gets de-listed will have to find buyers in a different market.

      There are several non-regulated stock markets out there. http://www.otcbb.com/Is one.

      --
      In Soviet Russia, asses suck this joke.
    3. Re:requirements? by oliana · · Score: 5, Funny

      1999

      --
      In Soviet Russia, asses suck this joke.
    4. Re:requirements? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
      why would shareholders sue their own business?

      Because the company was mismanaged. Because the executives were negligent in performing their duties.

      Shareholder lawsuits happen all the time. You don't follow business news, do you?

    5. Re:requirements? by BreadMan · · Score: 4, Informative

      Companies that don't do the minimal filings can get trade on the pink sheets market, but that's not very liquid.

      IIRC, I don't think a copy can list on the bulletin board unless they do the necessary filings under the 1934 securities act, like the 10-K and other annual reports. Maybe I'm confusing the bulletin board with something else.

      Getting a delisting notice is not good, but not the end of the world. Having that "E" on the end of your symbol until you get your paper work in will get you dropped out of a lot of mutual funds who won't hold stocks that don't conform to the market's rules. If you want to make a bet on SCOX, you can try going short if you think they won't make the reporting deadline. Peeking at the short ratio, looks like a lot of people are thinking the same.

  6. Ding Dong! by scmason · · Score: 2, Funny

    The witch is dead the wicked witch is dead! OK, now I have to work...

    --
    "I am a patient boy. I wait I wait I wait. My time is water down the drain..." Fugazi
    1. Re:Ding Dong! by DataPath · · Score: 4, Funny

      You're getting ahead of yourself. We're still at the part where the which is saying "I'm melting! I'm melting!"

      Only after the witch is well and truly gone do you sing that. In the meantime, we stare in simultaneous horror, awe, and delight.

      --
      Inconceivable!
  7. Up up and away by vivek7006 · · Score: 4, Funny

    SCO Stock is sitting at $4.30 at opening today. It'll be interesing to see where it goes from here.

    It will go up. Where else would it go? Afterall they own linux code. And very soon every linux user will be paying them $699 license fees

  8. It's a trick... by RyanFenton · · Score: 4, Funny

    They just don't want people to be able to watch their stock anymore, so they've made this move to change their stock symbol. Security through obscurity, indeed.

    Ryan Fenton

  9. Re:"We're sorry, that story is not available" by AviLazar · · Score: 2, Funny

    Opened just fine for me...quick...almost too quick actually {shifty eyes}

    --

    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
  10. Another link.. by slashkitty · · Score: 4, Informative
    --
    -- these are only opinions and they might not be mine.
  11. A funny SCO joke... by PortHaven · · Score: 5, Funny

    Knock! Knock!

    Who's there?

    SCO!

    SCO who?

  12. SCOX - SCOXE by ballpoint · · Score: 5, Informative
    --
    Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
    1. Re:SCOX - SCOXE by mapmaker · · Score: 2, Funny

      SCOX, SCOXE, SUXOR

      These haxors and their funny spellings. Why can't they just write "SUCKS"?

    2. Re:SCOX - SCOXE by Jerky+McNaughty · · Score: 5, Informative

      E means they are deliquent in SEC filings; usually it's related to earnings (as it is in SCO's case). Other letters used commonly are Q (bankruptcy filings; bad) or Y (trading as depository receipts (ADRs); not bad, for example, ERICY).

    3. Re:SCOX - SCOXE by saldek · · Score: 3, Funny

      The google adwords below that article are hilarious :

      Sponsor Results
      Fast Bankruptcy Auto Loans
      Qualify for an auto loan after bankruptcy in 30 seconds before you apply. 93% approved nationwide. Rapid decisions to your e-mail. Amistoso Español.
      www.fundingway.com
      Bankruptcy Auto Title Loan
      LoanMart's mission is to advance cash to any automobile owner who needs extra money. LoanMart is a direct financer - not a bank. Find out how we can help you. Visit us today.
      www.800loanmart.com
      Auto Loan Application - Bankruptcy OK
      Driverloans.com provides auto loan financing regardless of credit history. Quick application. 100% free with no obligation. All credit situations are OK.
      www.driverloans.com

  13. I hope they make sure... by macserv · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...to use the new cover sheet on their 10-K report. Did SCO get that memo?

  14. Yeah, interesting's right... by GillBates0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It'll be interesing to see where it goes from here.

    I predict it'll be going downhill....if there's any downhill left, that is.

    /\ \o/
    \ | <--- Darryl
    \^
    \
    \

    --
    An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
    1. Re:Yeah, interesting's right... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's Darl not Darryl. How come no one can get that right?

    2. Re:Yeah, interesting's right... by DarkMantle · · Score: 2, Funny

      I didn't realize Darryls legs were so short

      --
      DarkMantle I been bored, so I started a blog.
  15. They'll appeal by sfjoe · · Score: 4, Interesting


    The rules that lead to being delisted are pretty cut-and-dried. However, a company with a solid business plan to rescue themselves will more often than not be given a break and allowed to remain listed while they work things out. Failing to file your 10-K is almost never an "accident". Add to that the fact that SCO really has no business plan beyond lawsuits and I think we'll likely be seeing them de-listed fairly rapidly.

    --
    It's simple: I demand prosecution for torture.
  16. Buying stock certificates? by drdanny_orig · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Is there any way to purchase a single share and get a hardcopy certificate? I think an SCO stock cert from this month might be a really cool thing to hang on the wall.

    Yes, I'm serious.

    --
    .nosig
    1. Re:Buying stock certificates? by Pfau · · Score: 2, Funny

      I would buy one myself, but the only place I found it wants over $100: http://www.singleshare.com/stocks/scox.shtml I don't want to be the guy that paid $117.30 for a single share of SCO.

  17. not really likely to get delisted... by draos · · Score: 5, Informative

    If the nasdaq adds an 'e' to the symbol then SCO will have 30 days to file the 10-k before they are delisted. Also the nasdaq routinely allows companies to extend the 30 day deadline if the company can make a case for why they are late in filing....so while they are likely to get an e I find it unlikely they will allow themselves to be delisted.

    1. Re:not really likely to get delisted... by DrXym · · Score: 5, Informative

      According to the news release, they'll be delisted on February 25 - i.e. one full week from now unless they appeal.

  18. Re:It this the first sign that they are folding by The+Angry+Mick · · Score: 4, Funny
    Problems filing 10-K indicate serious problems in their accounting department.

    Like the slow realization that all of their income was just sent to David Boies and now there's nothing left to pay the temps that put together the filing for the SEC?

    --

    I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly, alert.

  19. If they go down. by DrStrangeLug · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If SCO dies during the trial , where does that leave the whole Linux IP issue ? Not proven ? Wouldn't it be better if they can at least survive until they get totally defeated in court, as a deterrent against other legal attacks ?

    1. Re:If they go down. by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Interesting

      > If SCO dies during the trial , where does that
      > leave the whole Linux IP issue ? Not proven ?
      > Wouldn't it be better if they can at least survive
      > until they get totally defeated in court, as a
      > deterrent against other legal attacks ?

      That is my fear. I'd prefer to put up with another year of SCO, and have them handed their balls on a platter by a court, than to have them simply cease functioning, and some other company come along, by the foetid remains and restart the process, bringing another two or three years of litigation and threats.

      To my mind, having SCO sink now would be bad, because the fundemental claims would not be tested, and it would only invite another attack.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:If they go down. by Jason+Earl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Getting buried in a countersuit that completely bankrupts your company without even getting all the way through trial is about the biggest deterrent that I can imagine. The next SCO wannabe will think twice before suing Big Blue. Once SCO is gone the entire question of whether or not Linux is tainted with illegal UNIX code becomes moot. With SCO out of the way the only company that has even a little bit of a shot of using UNIX copyrights against Linux becomes Novell, and Novell has essentially bet the future of the company on Linux.

      It was a stretch for Caldera (now SCO), a long time Linux distributor to pretend that they didn't know that their copyrighted code had been included in Linux. After Novell's involvement in the SCO vs. IBM case even the dimmest jury would find it impossible to believe that Novell didn't intend to distribute Linux under the terms of the GPL.

      In essence, as long as the folks who own and control the old UNIX copyrights are actively distributing Linux the community has very little to fear.

      It would be nice if the GPL was tested in court, if only to shut up all of the GPL naysayers, but that would simply be a bonus.

    3. Re:If they go down. by iabervon · · Score: 2, Informative

      There is no Linux IP issue. SCO dropped those claims. SCO's current claims are breach of contract against IBM and copyright infringement in AIX from IBM continuing their AIX work after SCO said they couldn't. Chances are that nobody actually wants SCO's assets, since they're probably mostly liabilities at this point, and there's nothing really unique and useful. So it wouldn't, at that point, matter if there was SCO IP in Linux, so long as nobody wanted to acquire it and try to argue it.

  20. poor ol darl by ocularDeathRay · · Score: 3, Funny

    the wolves at his door
    are starting to snarl
    this is a sad day
    for our dear ol friend darl

    We hoped and we prayed
    we would see this day come
    now the world shall see
    suing linux is dumb

    The stock on the nasdaq
    is being delisted
    I hope darls ass
    is feeling quite fisted

    writing this poem
    has been so much fun
    under my bosses nose
    so I am under the gun

    thank you for allowing
    my poetic roll
    now go ahead and mod me
    a useless old troll

    --
    Obama is a twitter sock puppet
  21. Same thing happened with Enron stocks by ishmalius · · Score: 4, Interesting

    After Enron crashed, their stocks certificates actually became worth more as souvenirs than any possible redemption value (little or none.)

  22. Re:It this the first sign that they are folding by oliana · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The article said they are having difficulties with reporting their stock based compensation. There are new (and quite ridiculous) laws concerning stock option expensing. There are various methods to calculate the value of stock options, and every way is more "correct" than the others, and even more "wrong." They are probably having a disagreement with their auditors on their estimates of the value of their stock options.

    There is probably nothing wrong with the Accounting department.

    --
    In Soviet Russia, asses suck this joke.
  23. Re:Who's next? by Dan+Ost · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I realize you say this in jest, but I'd like to point out the obvious anyway:
    Instead of targetting specific companies, the needs of the community would
    probably be better met by efforts to improve existing software and documentation. New software to cover existing gaps is good too. If our offerings
    improve, then the community and its resources will grow too, giving us more
    power to defend ourself later.

    SCO was a good wake up call. Serious enough to make us aware of the dangers,
    but weak enough that it couldn't actually harm us. The next danger might not
    be so hollow.

    --

    *sigh* back to work...
  24. It is only official when Netcraft confirms it..... by ZosX · · Score: 3, Funny

    It is now official. Netcraft confirms: SCO Unixware is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered SCO community when IDC confirmed that SCO Unixware market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that SCO has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. SCO is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be an amazing psychic random number generator to determine SCO's future. The hand writing is on the wall: SCO faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for SCO because SCO is dying. Things are looking very bad for SCO. As many of us are already aware, SCO continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    SCO Unixware is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time SCO developers Ben Dover and Rod Inasse only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: SCO is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    GNU leader Richard Stallman states that there are 20 users of NetBSD. How many users of OpenBSD are there? Let's see. The number of NetBSD versus OpenBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 20/5 = 4 OpenBSD users. SCO posts on Usenet are about 1/200,000 of the volume of homoerotic love story posts. Therefore there are about 5 million gay geeks. A recent article put homoerotic geeks at about 80 percent of the SCO market. Therefore there are (40+20+15)/2*(X+i^5) = 37.5 SCO users. This is consistent with the number of SCO Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of SCO, abysmal sales and so on, SCO went out of business and was taken over by Sun who sell another troubled OS. Now Sun is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that SCO has steadily declined in market share. SCO is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If SCO is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. SCO continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, SCO is dead.

    Fact: SCO is dying

  25. SCO Website by rokzy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    anyone else notice that under "products and services", SCO lists its court cases?

    very funny and depressing at the same time.

  26. Screw the Lawyers by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 4, Interesting

    SCO's paying their lawyers in stock, which explains their entire strategy: keep the stock price elevated, and cash them in, before they inevitably lose the case and it all collapses. Delisting SCO right away could castrate that strategy, if the lawyers haven't sold any stock yet. Maybe those sharks won't be able to afford to defend themselves from an SEC investigation of that criminal strategy, and get disbarred.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  27. Real Time Quote by MrByte420 · · Score: 3, Informative

    bid: 3.88 ask: 3.91 They're not doing so hot today...

    --
    If religous zealots don't believe in Evolution, then why are they so worried about bird flu?
  28. Lawsuits for everyone. by 955301 · · Score: 3, Funny


    Okay, so next up, SCO tries to sue the NASDAQ small cap exchange for their delisting policies.

    The current shareholders of SCO sue them for failing to file the necessary paperwork to maintain the listing and thereby affecting their ability to trade the stock.

    And I'll be sued for pointing out the obvious demise of this company. Finally.

    --
    You are checking your backups, aren't you?
  29. I predict a scooby doo ending. by RobertKozak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Were it not for /. clearing up the FUD, their stock would probably still be flying high on rampant speculation.

    Darryl : "aaarg. And I would have succeeded if it weren't for those pesky slashdotters and their stupid dog!"

    --
    Bet this .sig looks familiar.
  30. Re:Other reasons for delisting - correction by satsuke · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.nasdaq.com/about/nasdaq_listing_req_fee s.pdf Listing requirements $10mil in outstanding equity 750,000 outstanding shares $1.00 minimum share price 400 shareholders as well as other requirements for filing such as the form they missed .. triggering the reason for this artical

  31. Re:SELL SHORT? by bigtallmofo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Couple points:

    1. Many brokers don't let you short a stock that is below $5.
    2. Delisting a stock decreases liquidity which can make it very difficult to cover your short if the stock rises precipitously.

    Unlike buying a stock which has a limited downside potential (the stock goes to $0 in which case you lose your entire investment), shorting a stock has a theoretically infinite downside potential. If you short a stock at $4.30 and it goes up to $1,000,000 per share, you've lost almost a million dollars for each share you shorted. Of course, that's not realistic, but the point is that shorting a stock is not to be taken lightly.

    --
    I'm a big tall mofo.
  32. Re:It this the first sign that they are folding by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 2, Funny

    Haha - Boies was paid in stock! Take your unsaleable shares to hell, scammer!

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  33. We're about to find out the dirt on Darl by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative
    SCO can't file their 10-K because "it is examining matters related to stock issued as part of its compensation plans"? That's one of the lamer excuses sent to the SEC in a while.

    The "10-K" is the backup data behind a company's annual report. It's the single most important disclosure of a company's financial status. The SEC allows 3 months after the close of the fiscal year for a 10-K filing. SCO's year closed at the end of October, and their 10-K was due at the end of January. Late filing of a 10-K or 10-Q (the quarterly report) is considered a major red flag for a stock. When I was following dying dot-coms, a late 10-K or 10-Q was a strong indicator of trouble. Nobody files late because they have unexpectedly good numbers.

    SCO filed an NT-12K form with the SEC, asking for a 15-day extension. "The Company currently anticipates that the Form 10-K will be filed by no later than the fifteenth calendar day following the date on which the Form 10-K was due." They missed that date, too.

    There has to be something really embarassing in the compensation plan. Really embarassing, if they're willing to risk delisting from the NASDAQ.

    Delisting kicks a stock down to the pink sheets. That's where the penny stocks favored by spammers and scammers live.

    1. Re:We're about to find out the dirt on Darl by Duhavid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I suspect it has something to do with the outster of those canopy group exe's. Yarro et al.

      --
      emt 377 emt 4
    2. Re:We're about to find out the dirt on Darl by SoTuA · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Maybe none of the accountants who have to certify the results are willing to sign, now that these "issues" have been uncovered. Perhaps, they are having trouble covering it up and/or gettting someone to certify the results?

      Remember that some months ago there was a "Senior accounting position" open in SCO? And we, in usual /. fashion, speculated that it might be due to inability to find somebody willing to sign his/her name under the mess that was going on?

      Hmmm...

    3. Re:We're about to find out the dirt on Darl by Sevenfeet · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The "excuse" that they are investigating stock issued for compensation is not a lame excuse. Given the turmoil going on at Canopy right now, William Mustard is trying to make sense of the largess of equity compensation that was given out at Canopy and its daughter-companies. SCO is probably a particular target for Mustard's investigations since he has to oust Yarro from its board on orders from the Noordas, and then investigate all of the stock and options deals these guys have been doing. Heck, they were even issuing equity to their lawyers, a highly unusual move.

      It's probably very complicated and I imagine that they are racing to do as much forensic accounting as possible to realize what's truly going on before filing the 10-K and making other appropiate financial and personnel decisions.

      I do expect that the 10-K will get filed soon before they get delisted, but the other shoe is about to drop at SCO. Hang on to your butts....

  34. Pitty by soloport · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pitty the poor fool who just dumped nearly 8-thousand shares, at $4. Hope the buy price was a cool $3 -- say in March, 2003? Let's see. That would still be $8000 in earnings, over a 24 month period.

    Ouch!

    1. Re:Pitty by soloport · · Score: 2, Informative

      Oh, boy... In the time it took me to post the parent, the price has slipped a few times. Wow.

      One must wonder: Who's doing the buying?!

    2. Re:Pitty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Probably at this point, lawyers who think they can get together and start a class action suit "on behalf of the many and varied investors in SCOX" (read "themselves"). If they win, not only do they get to keep half the winnings as their attourney fees, they get to keep the other half as their clients!

    3. Re:Pitty by d34thm0nk3y · · Score: 2, Funny

      Crap, now how am I going to get all those +5 imformatives for posting links to Yahoo stocks in SCO stories??

  35. overheard at SCO HQ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Bert: Hey Darl, got a moment?

    Darl: BERT BUDDY! Come on in. Hey, wanna brew?

    Bert: I, uh, no thanks. I have some important news.

    Darl: Lemme guess, we total kicked Linux's ass today, right? Lay it on me bro.

    Bert: Well, you see Darl, you know our stock? The ticker symbol is gonna change to SCOXE, just wanted to let you know that.

    Darl: It is? Whoa! Awesome! Why are you doing that Bert?

    Bert: It's because our stock is in the toi.., uh, actually the guys at NASDAQ think the Linux lawsuit is "eXtremelly Excellent" and they wanted to honor us with a special long ticker symbol.

    Darl: Whoooooooooa!! Bert!!! That's KILLER. HIGH FIVE BRO!

    Bert: I uh.. you've got beer all over .. oh now it's on me. Okay.

    Darl: Bert man you need to LOOSEN UP! We ROCK!

    Bert: Uhm, yes Darl, I'm just going to close the door now and get back to work. I'll send somebody by to clean up all these beer cans.

    Darl: No way I'm building a TOWER out of all these cans and I'm putting it behind the door so when somebody opens it it'll totally knock them over and make a big sound BOOM! See yah Bert!! Linux is TOAST! We're gonna be so rich!!! WOOO!!!

  36. Which Endgame? by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Interesting
    This isn't gloating, it's war. We can gloat when the litigious bastards are out of business completely.

    I prefer them to stay in business but completely disengage from their anti-Linux/anti-Open Source antics. Darl and his goons should leave and people with some damn sense should go in and revive the company and work with Linux and Open Source communities.

    Slashdot is read by zillions of people who can not only sell their SCO, but also advise others to do so.

    Are there actually any die-hard /. readers holding the stock? I think not, except possibly speculators who put $1000 in and are hoping for a lottery payout, but can afford to write off the loss if SCO dies. As far as advising people who hold SCO stock, if you hold stock it's in your best interests to follow it rather than rely on /.ers to call you up.

    "d00d, dr0p ur sc0 st0ck!"

    Slashdot is also read by all kinds of mainstream journalists who might not otherwise notice what SCO is up to. One could argue it's been a damned effective campaign so far. Were it not for /. clearing up the FUD, their stock would probably still be flying high on rampant speculation.

    Hm. Slashdot has some good information, but a savvy reader looks to it as a starting point, not the endpoint of seeking information.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  37. Not quite by temojen · · Score: 4, Insightful
    A low or de-listed stock does not spell death for a company. it does mean:
    • It's much harder to raise capital in the future
    • If a majority of shareholders think the company's assets are worth more than the outstanding shares, it'll be liquidated. As long as the majority of shares are held by "true believers" this can't happen.
  38. Re:SELL SHORT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Selling short requires two things:

    (1) Selling shares that you don't have (you borrow them, and pay some kind of interest on the loan usually 25-300bp over prime or so), this opens your position.

    (2) To close this position, you need to buy back the shares (to give back to the person you bought them from). If the stock is thinly traded (e.g. a delisted SCO would trade on OTC-Pink Sheets), it might be difficult to buy them back.

  39. Further excerpt from the SCO vs IBM trial by abramovs · · Score: 5, Funny

    Judge: Closing Statements.

    SCO Lawyer: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a caveman. Your world of technology frightens me. I don't understand computers and the devils inside of them that make all those pretty pictures and noises. But the one thing I do know is that SCO owns Linux.

    Jury Foreman: Your honor, we find for SCO and their Caveman Lawyer.

  40. Re:SELL SHORT? by slartibart · · Score: 2, Interesting
    I'd say that if you are really confident that SCO is going to lose (ie, 99% sure), then short it.

    You gotta figure if they lose, the price will drop well under $1. If they win, it could rise to $100. If you work out the figures you've got a winning bet (assuming your perception of the odds is correct, which is a big assumption).

    I personally shorted at $15, again at $10, and again at $8. I have only covered about 5% of what I shorted. I am tempted to short even more, but I feel like the potential gain is too small ($3 and change per share) to risk losing so much (as much as $100 per share, maybe more, maybe less).

  41. Slap a $20 down? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So.... Could I wait for the stock to drop to 0.01, then just buy the whole company for like $20.00?

    I'm serious. Would this be the vehicle by which someone Pro-Linux could acquire what actual rights SCO had, then choose to release them into the GPL for certain, as well as formally acknowledge that the debated rights had also been GPL'ed?

    In short, buy Darl out like he wanted but not at the price he wanted? Then turn what's left of the company into something useful?

  42. I can see the story now! by schon · · Score: 2

    Headline: SCOX CHANGES EXCHANGE

    Body: The SCO Group (formerly NASDAQ:SCOX) has decided to move from its' longtime home on the NASDAQ, to online auction house EBay. They will also move from electronic record keeping to issuing stock certificates. SCO CEO Darl McBride said of the move "we think this will more accurately reflect our value in the marketplace, and allow us the opportunity to continue aggressively pursuing infringements against our intellectual property. Oh yeah - cash, certified cheque, or money order only, no refunds, buyer pays shipping."

  43. Re:Sometimes Scum Sinks by Simon+Brooke · · Score: 2, Funny
    Oh the horror. Maybe I should just answer the e-mail from the nice Nigerian who wants me to transfer his millions into my bank account, instead.

    Tell you what, offer to invest them in SCOXE. He'll be so grateful!

    --
    I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
  44. SCOXE: Couldn't be better! by SCO_Shill · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't see what the problem is here, people! Things are great, couldn't be better!

    First off, as to the delays on filing, we've got some deep divers from MIT working on it right now.

    Plus, our more than 4,000 developers are being well compensated, morale couldn't be higher!

    Finally, the new SCOXE listing will confuse our enemies at Groklaw and the Yahoo message boards, so only we can post our viewpoints there. Also, no google bombing of "SCOXE" and "litigious bastards".

    All in all, another win for us.

    (This post contains forward looking statements.)

    --
    "If you mess with us, we're going to take you on, even to our utter destruction, whatever occurs." - Ralph Yarro (SCO)
  45. Re:SELL SHORT? by Skjellifetti · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can only sell short if the last price is the same or higher than the previous price. This prevents short selling in a declining market which would have the effect of causing the price to crash. This is an SEC rule.

  46. The hope by mcc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The hope on slashdot previously seems to have been that something called "piercing the corporate veil", whatever that means, will happen and IBM will find a way to make their and Redhat's SCO countersuits and such continue-- only instead of against the defunct The SCO Group, they would continue against The SCO Group's boardmembers, or against The Canopy Group.

    I think this is highly reasonable. Despite their supposed status as "investors" The Canopy Group has treated SCOX like SCOX was a puppet and they had their hand stuck up its ass. It would be hard to not consider them responsible for literally the entire SCO mess; they're a company which before SCO had repeatedly bought up near-death companies, milked them for potential lawsuit damages that the company could claim from others, then discarded the husks. They did this with Caldera. Then once SCO gets under the Canopy, suddenly the new CEO Darl McBride starts slinging strange copyright claims everywhere-- and it's becoming increasingly clear as SCO admits in court again and again that the "evidence" they purported at the start of the mess never existed that these claims were fraud from the beginning, and everyone involved at the time knew this. How could The Canopy Group be considered not to have directly engineered this?

    Meanwhile the manners in which both SCOX's boardmembers and The Canopy Group have benefitted from SCOX's death spiral have been bizarre and incredibly poorly hidden. Right before the entire lawsuit started the SCOX board voted to issue themselves huge gobs of SCOX shares at virtually no cost, then set them all to sell once they reached a certain price-- then, funny that, started the lawsuit claims that briefly inflated the cost enough that those shares got sold. Meanwhile Canopy has done odd things such as stock transfers and "business deals" between SCOX and other Canopy holdings-- business deals that make no business sense whatsoever, what does a litigation company need with research XML technology?-- that essentially allowed them to convert SCOX stock into cash for the canopy board without directly raising anything at the SEC.

    I don't know if this is realistic, it could just be wishful thinking on the part of slashdotters. I wish someone could make it clear to me whether it is. However it seems that if there's ever a situation under which corporate veil-piercing is possible, it should be this one. Corporations shouldn't be used as a shield to run around doing illegal things and then once the corporation suddenly dies say "whoops, it wasn't me, it was the corporation".

    The people who made SCOX do this-- The Canopy Group and the boardmembers they installed-- clearly must have known big swaths of their claims early on were outright lies, and yet they used these claims to drive SCOX like a drunk driver behind the wheel of a bus, hurting others' businesses, costing IBM huge amounts in litigation that has gone and will go nowhere, violating the lanham act, misleading and defrauding investors and possibly even violating SEC rules, and placing SCOX into a situation where they are the target of multiple on-hold countersuits with real possibilities of damages being awarded-- and made fantastic amounts of money doing so. Once SCOX finally crashes with none of these debts or countersuits repaid, would the law really let them just walk away from this?

  47. Re:It this the first sign that they are folding by bstone · · Score: 2, Informative

    Boies turned down the stock deal and renegotiated a cash deal. The cash to pay them is locked in, even in the case of the company going down or being bought out.

  48. Why buy just one... by Hamster+Lover · · Score: 2, Funny

    when you can buy an entire roll of SCO stock at your local supermarket? Available in 6, 12 or 24 roll packages.

  49. Re:Interesting by nelsonal · · Score: 3, Informative

    Sort of, as a shareholder (even one share) you have full rights to place anything on the company's agenda as something to vote on at the annual meeting. Usually a vote of no confidence comes at the director rather than the managment level. Typically what happens is one big investor buys a decent sized block (say more than 10% and convinces all the little to medium sized investors) to vote with him for his slate of directors who will gut current managment and the company will follow the investor's ideas. Typically big investors only do this if they see some potential to increase the size of their portfolio (usually by splitting up the company). I've never heard of a hostile takeover that didn't involve at least one big investor coalition (Disney was pretty close, but Roy had the name in that case). If you scare managment enough but don't currently have 50% of the vote sealed up, you can sometimes get managment to buy your shares at an iflated value with an agreement you will go away. The term for that is greenmail, it was more common in the 1980s when disclosure was less available, but it does occasionally occur today.

    --
    Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.