RE:bln
Good points! On the other hand, I believe the private placement might be family-related with deep pockets (Daryl Katz = DAK Capital), but doesn't mean they want to throw that kind of money out the window. While they've been financing/buying a large part of the company, and so has management, they've also diluted the rest of the original and retail investors out to gain control of the shares. In the meantime, they've been developing an excellent base to the company while using the funds to develop the company in many facets. Now that they own a large chunk of the company, they've made themselves a prime acquisition target for bigger corporations ...very reminiscent of BW Technology, which the same people made pretty well with in the past.
At some point, they'll be able to slow the expenses/development and increase profitability, at which point institutions could take notice and want in, driving the price up rapidly (now that they also have some coverage) ...and giving that much more value to an acquisition, while they'll have reached maximum control of the shares. They've already built a decent customer base on a recurring revenue business model and the company controls most of its manufacturing giving it a good bargaining chip in the case of becoming an acquisition target.
The sectors they operate in are also big business and it takes a while to get the foot in the door and disrupt old ways of doing things ...once you prove yourself as "the better option", things can turn around quickly.
It could sink just like it could fly really quickly. Buy low, sell high ...one could also see the current price (in conjunction to a correction in the markets) as a great opportunity to accumulate positions. Small caps are always the hardest hit during a market downturn, sometimes not looking at the story.
The fact that they always have access to more funding as needs be also plays in their favor ...too much has been invested, they won't just let it go while there is still plenty of underlying value. They also still have money in the tank for some time. Getting access to cash flow is every smaller cap's biggest hurdle, it hasn't been problematic for BLN while it takes time and money to develop a good sound company. Hard not to let emotions take the better of oneself when things are going down (everywhere), but this might very well be one of those opportunities.