We Have Been Down This Road with Pierre Lassonde BeforeI will now be entering my third decade of six-figure share investment in OLV.V. LIke everyone else, the private placement is great news. It shows that Pierre Lassonde, who owns 18%+ of Olivut stock, is still invested in the project and has, by no means, abandoned or written off OLV.V. The question is this: Is this life-support or renewed enthusiasm via a discovery or breakthrough?
Pierre Lassonde has made similar placements through the years but since 2012, up until which time Lasssonde regularly commented on OLV.V via King World News interviews, I really haven't found too much in the way of Lassonde public discussion about Olivut. Taking into account the latter coupled with management's aversion to openly sharing inside information with investors, I find that it is hard to read too much into this latest tranche. Let it be clear: The private plaement is positive no matter how you read into it. But what does it mean? And why now?
The only insight I can offer is this: I am a huge fan of Pierre Lassonde. In fact, there are few people in the business world that I respect more. Years ago, I made a close study of Pierre Lassonde. He is a remarkable individual. His integrity if off the charts. His business insights and foresight is legendary. He is educated, wildly philantrhopic and a first class gentleman. [ And unlike his longtime partner Seymour Schulich, he knows how to dress :) ]
The one thing that intrigues me the most about Pierre Lassonde is his respect for money. If he bought a package of batteries at the drugstore and discovered they were half dead, he would be just as determined to get his money back as he would if he had made $1,000,000 investment in a start-up. Somewthing wrong with him? No. Is he cheap? Anything but. You see, Pierre Lassonde always wants to get a bang for his buck. It is not about the money per se. It is about feeling that you got the proper value for whjat youj bought. Lassonde is a billionaire. He is beyond monehy per se. It is all about "value" and "getting your money back" rom an investment.
Given the above discussion, I cannot imagine Pierre Lassonde writing a check for something he did not believe had an ex cellent chance of making money. Therefore, I see the latest tranche as a positive sign. But I would not read too much into it. We have been down this road with Pierre Lassonde many times before.