Muddy Waters greift SPREADTRUM an

Ist doch schön, wenn man Newsletter von MW abboniert. Folgende Nachricht habe ich heute gegen 18 Uhr bekommen:

June 28, 2011

Muddy Waters, LLC has begun researching Spreadtrum, Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD), and we have taken a short position in it. (Please see our disclaimer below.)

We have identified a number of issues in SPRD's filings, and we believe that there is a high risk of material misstatement in the reported financials. Our concerns are gravest regarding 2010 and 2011 numbers. The below link is to an open letter we have written to SPRD chairman Li regarding our concerns.

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Folgende Fragen werden an SPREADTRUM gestellt:

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Per the interview with Mr. Wu, the board lost confidence in him. Why would the
board have lost confidence in Mr. Wu when the sales pipeline was so promising?
2. Is it fair to assume that Mr. Wei voluntarily left his position as CFO?
3. If so, why would he have done so one month before completing the financing, and
with such a promising sales pipeline?
4. By how much did SPRD’s mainland China markets (by product type) grow in
2010?
5. What were 2010 sales of RF transceivers, baseband semiconductors, and any
other products SPRD began selling in 2010?
6. If SPRD generated $75.3 million in pre-tax profit in 2010, why didn’t it make any
cash tax payments?
7. Given that the turnover in the auditor, audit committee, and CFO position
occurred while SPRD was in the midst of a stunning turnaround, did the
resignations and removal have anything to do with discomfort about SPRD’s
accounting?
8. If not, what were the reasons each resigned (or was removed in the case of
Deloitte)?
9. As a general matter, can you explain why the size (in absolute value terms) of
each of the operating cash flow accounts we highlighted is much larger than in the
past?
10. What processes did the auditors undertake to confirm the sizes of each of these
accounts?
11. Why have each of advances from customers and deferred cost become so
significant?
12. Is SPRD acquiring MobilePeak in two stages because MobilePeak had an urgent
need for liquidity?
13. Why is SPRD acquiring a company that evidently was unable to raise additional
funds from its existing investors?
14. What assurance can you offer that the MobilePeak acquisition will be more
successful than the Quorum Systems acquisition?
15. Should we expect that shareholder funds will be used to purchase shares that
insiders are selling?
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Eure Meinung dazu? Wird es der nächste Sino Forest? Short-Seller Party geht weiter...