Shelby Buyout sanity check

[mr bruce]

Guys, do you really think Shelby would sell his name, and/or FoMoCo would sell the Cobra name, , or that a multinational corporation like Venture($Billion$) would sell out for $2 million.Why did F5start the rumor? PUBLICITY!

[Mark IV]

..no I don't think Shelby would sell his name for 2 million...of course he has "sold" it for much less in the past but that is a different issue.

Everybody keep in mind that Venture is in re-orginazation and there would be legal restrictions on what and how they can sell. The "Cobra" name would not be sold, they don't own it. SAI is licensed by FoMoCo to use it under a guideline. Most licensing agreements, including the one I held with Ford, restrict the transfer of the license. Therefor FFR may or may not be able to continue use of the trademark. Ford may choose to approve or deny any request to use the mark.

As CS is a minority shareholder in SAI he will have little say in what happens. If the company should sell (and my bet is it will NOT at this time) he may choose to just walk away and not lend his efforts to sales, marketing or any other areas. CS may not be able to stop the company from selling "Shelbys" however he may and probably can restrict the use of the "Carroll Shelby" image, signature and other related marks as I am understand these are in his licensing company and are probably licenswed to SAI. He may or may not have recieving payment for their use but I imagine he would discontinue the allowance of their use if SAI changes hands to an entity he deens unworthty.

As has been mentioned SAI has only "goodwill" and "name" as real value. I would imagine the real "hard asset" balance sheet is not very pretty and that there is a LARGE entry for goodwill on the asset side. The Series 1 would be a loser to any purchaser and even the Cobra line cannot generate gross profits enough to completely offset the high overhead SAI has. While the prison labor may be cheap they have a "big nut" in the facilty, staff and marketing department. Have you seen the transports and other vehicles SAI has? If Series 1s were spitting out to waiting customers these could be justified but at the current rate of sale I understand SAI has about a 15 year supply of Series 1 engines and chassis'. Imagine this: Kirkham buys SAI, they already build the cars, they would only need to add the name and VIN and Voila! new Shelbys. Keep in mind that the "CSX" number is not a trademarked item and that it was assigned by AC Cars, not SAI. There are replicas, kits, whatever you want to call them out there now that are registered with a "made up" CSX number.

I am not privvy to the figures involved but my assesment of SAI is based on public information and industry buzz. I could be wrong....but then I could be right. As Billy Joel sang "I'm either right or or maybe I'm wrong.."

Rick

[Dan Semko]

I believe that this continuous debate is being subsidized by the makers of Prozac, Zoloft and Viagra with vested interests by Nexium and Tagamet.

The reality is regardless of speculation: this is a business transaction, nothing more, nothing less and certainly will not change the course of history.

[BILL WARREN]

THANK YOU DAN, I WILL TAKE 2 PROZAC ORDERS, 5 ZOLOFT ORDERS, AND 167 ORDERS OF VIAGRA!!!

PLEASE FED-X TODAY!!!

BILL WARREN

[Dan Semko]

No problem Bill,
Did you want tablets or suppositories?
Looking forward to meeting you at the Spring Fling!

[Tom T.]

Sanity? US?

TT

[SSS]

I would expect that if FFR actually were trying to purchase SAI, access to the names Shelby and CSX would not count in a $2 million deal. Shelby has proven himself to be a money-grubber in the last few years, so he probably can be bought, but I would imagine for quite a bit more. As for the Cobra name, that's a Ford property, and since they sued FFR over the use of the name, I find it difficult to believe they would change their minds.

If FFR can't get the names, I don't see why they'd make the deal.

[Excaliber]

SSS,,,,,,exactly!

Ernie

[c_dundee]

Good On Ya Mate!

You are right, SAI do not own the rights to Cobra, Shelby, his signature or image. If look back through the Shelby/Ford court docs you can see that Shelby was given the rights to Cobra as it applies to 1960's cars, so the facts are that Shelby owns all brands and trademarks used by SAI. My source tells me that these brands and trademarks were licensed to SAI by Shelby's licensing company and due to a number or reasons were revoked 6 months ago! Beware FFR...SAI have nothing but old pieces and parts to cars with no name or brand, I understand that even Shelby American Inc. was licensed in the deal.
You know mates, I have watched this board for several months and have seen a lot of speculation on the Venture/Shelby/SAI world. I felt I had to tell ya what I know.
But no worries...through it all Cobra will survive!!!!

[Cobra20646]

Stop and picture this for a minute.......

What if the Smiths only reason for attempting to "take over" SAI was to put a lid on SAI and shove CS out the door and back to his Texas farm. Some would see this as just a waste of money... but vendetta's don't come cheap.....

Just a thought

[SSS]

Originally posted by Cobra20646

Stop and picture this for a minute.......

What if the Smiths only reason for attempting to "take over" SAI was to put a lid on SAI and shove CS out the door and back to his Texas farm. Some would see this as just a waste of money... but vendetta's don't come cheap.....

Just a thought

I think Carroll himself building Cobra replicas is a boon to the whole industry, including FFR. It's a resounding confirmation. Even though I think Shelby's made an ass of himself in recent years, I'd still be pissed if he were unceremoniously dumped. It seems like most people envision this deal building up the credibility of FFR, but I think the end result would be quite different. I thought FFR winning the lawsuit over trade dress was vindication enough.

[xlr8or]

Dr. Dan scrap the Zoloft and Prozak.. just bring the Viagra with you to the fling, we'll all take care of distribution.

Oh to be 17 again.......

[casaleenie]

Originally posted by xlr8or


Dr. Dan scrap the Zoloft and Prozak.. just bring the Viagra with you to the fling, we'll all take care of distribution.

Oh to be 17 again.......

Tablets or suppositories on the Viagra????

[Slow Dawg]

Viagra suppository????? Ooooohhh, so that's how they win the Harley Iron Butt Challenge!


Ron

[xlr8or]

Uh tablets please.

No in through the out door. Do not backup! serious tire damage.

[CRZN427]

I have read most, not all, of the posts on the aleged FFR / SAI deal here and on FFCobra.

I have yet to see where the Smith brothers "initiated the deal" or the "rumor" that FFR was intending to purchase SAI, can some one provide the link that shows this to be the case?

I think it would be interesting reading, like I said I might have missed that in what I did see.

[Excaliber]

Someone said he had a friend who's mailman over heard one of the Smith brothers saying, "It was a done deal".

,,,or something like that,,,

Ernie

[BILL WARREN]

WELL MY MAILMAN WHO KNOWS YOUR MAILMAN WHO KNOWS THE SMITH BROTHERS MAILMAN WHO KNOW CARROLL'S MAILMAN, SAID THE CHECK IS IN THE-----MAIL!!!!

[Dan Semko]

If you guys have EVER seen Bill's girlfriend, you'll understand why the mailman hangs around!
Bill please leave for the theater a little earlier today, they're starting to get suspicious about me hanging around the mail truck garage and taking the vehicles out for safety inspections!

[hodgey]

Happiness is: prunes, low fat-milk and a large sapository!