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Ron Earp · 04-25-06, 11:33 AM

Hi Peter,

My understanding is that if the assets are bought and RF is re-started it has no bearing on affected customers. I mean, the new owner might choose to call his new GT40 business Roaring Forties, or not, but it has nothing to do with the old Roaring Forties. The new business is not indebted to old customers and the asset stripping has indeed happened - the old Roaring Forties was liquidated and sold off for pennies on the dollar. Maybe Robert will be working for the new owner, who knows?

I can't see that a new owner would want to take on debts of the old company, and, they are not required by law to do so either. The magnitude of the debts would cripple a fledgling company starting out in what I think is going to be a tough marketplace, at least from an international standpoint.

Australia is, unfortunately, on the other side of the world. With so many offerings from the UK/US that are available I don't think many US/UK customers will again so easily do business with a company that far away. It is unfortunate that this is the case, but that is my estimation based on emails I've received about the issue.

Flying across the US takes about 6-9 hours with connections, actually more than a flight to the UK from the East coast, so relatively speaking these trips are "local". Not so getting to Australia from the US or UK, where getting there takes longer than a day.

When I first got my GT40 from RF Australia I didn't know what a risk I was taking - Roaring Forties was not actually incorporated until months after I sent my deposit! But, things were different then and I think Robert was different too in the way he handled things and did business.

So, we shall see how this thing all plays out. I heard the same things you did regarding offers and decisions and have received communications from some of the folks sending the offers. Amounts are low and there will be very little left over for creditors, that much is certain.

04-25-06, 11:33 AM	#6 (permalink)
Ron Earp Ron Earp Site Administrator Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 3,891 Rep Power: 54	Re: RF Update 4/24/06 Hi Peter, My understanding is that if the assets are bought and RF is re-started it has no bearing on affected customers. I mean, the new owner might choose to call his new GT40 business Roaring Forties, or not, but it has nothing to do with the old Roaring Forties. The new business is not indebted to old customers and the asset stripping has indeed happened - the old Roaring Forties was liquidated and sold off for pennies on the dollar. Maybe Robert will be working for the new owner, who knows? I can't see that a new owner would want to take on debts of the old company, and, they are not required by law to do so either. The magnitude of the debts would cripple a fledgling company starting out in what I think is going to be a tough marketplace, at least from an international standpoint. Australia is, unfortunately, on the other side of the world. With so many offerings from the UK/US that are available I don't think many US/UK customers will again so easily do business with a company that far away. It is unfortunate that this is the case, but that is my estimation based on emails I've received about the issue. Flying across the US takes about 6-9 hours with connections, actually more than a flight to the UK from the East coast, so relatively speaking these trips are "local". Not so getting to Australia from the US or UK, where getting there takes longer than a day. When I first got my GT40 from RF Australia I didn't know what a risk I was taking - Roaring Forties was not actually incorporated until months after I sent my deposit! But, things were different then and I think Robert was different too in the way he handled things and did business. So, we shall see how this thing all plays out. I heard the same things you did regarding offers and decisions and have received communications from some of the folks sending the offers. Amounts are low and there will be very little left over for creditors, that much is certain.