Big news vanishes when released on the Venture. POET management has to have realized that by now. The detector performance stats were stunning but they did not move the stock. That lesson was learned months ago.
So perhaps the rumored completion of the VCSEL optimization is true and is purposely being held back, along with other partnership or NRE news that may be backing up as well.
Significant news could be purposefully held back until after the two-for-one deal we just saw, was completed. One part of that deal with the devil was the cash; the other part was getting a number of institutional funds in position to buy not only now at the Private Placement and buy more like on Friday when 9 million shares traded hands, but also buy in a big way over time, when the news finally starts coming out.
I think the idea of a Reverse Take Over is very logical. POET may also have a new acquisition they want to do as well, and in both cases, the cost of the R.T.O. and whatever the cash component of the acquisition may be, (if indeed one is lined up) is why POET wanted the money so quickly.
The tough terms of the private placement must in fact be the cost to a small unknown Venture company looking for quick cash. That might have been the price these funds can insist on for buying in to a risky venture with no inflection point news out yet. The funds want a near guaranteed big return for their money at this stage of yet to be released news. I bet these kinds of deals happen all the time, and that POET was aware of the what the cost was from the start.
POET's road show pitch to the funds may well have been that there are household name companies waiting on POET's announcement of VCSEL optimization. POET may not have been able to tell the funds about the specifics of the particular RTO they have lined up. But POET would made it clear that once an R.T.O. is done, and POET is on the Nasdaq, then POET will release major company building news that will drive the stock price on a higher profile stock exchange.
POET knows their news is huge and have placed a big bet that the dilution of the private placement will in the end be well worth the cost, and they must firmly believe the temporarily low share price will absolutely rebound.
They expect the stock price to jump. So must the new funds now holding the stock. They both are betting money, reputation and career that the future news will make all of us - the funds, management and existing shareholders, some big money and that POET is betting that the upset they have caused existing loyal shareholders will soon be forgotten.
The management of POET is focused on building a strong company for the long run, so I expect the reasoning behind this deal, which will be revealed soon, will make total sense, whatever it is. (Assuming they give us enough information to be able to understand it from their point of view.)
Whether my speculation above is correct or not, I expect their reasons are excellent and we will see, that from a company building point of view, this move was totally sensible.
