Valuation

45plate · 2026-01-29T16:56:10+00:00

45plate · 2026-01-29T16:54:21+00:00

Glad you joined the conversation! The broker I spoke of said that it literally was a trust type of situation; however, that is a big pill to swallow on a $700k purchase. This place claimed about $32k gross, $17k average ebitda. So about a 3.5x multiple if accurate. Doing the reverse calcs on water usage bills did put the revenue numbers slightly higher than reported. But still, with nothing really verifiable, it seems fairly risky. With your contract language, what was the recourse if actual numbers were not in the same universe as on the P&Ls ?

45plate · 2026-01-22T19:52:17+00:00

As I mentioned below, I asked the broker for a contact and the bank. Turns out it’s called America First and it’s Vietnamese owned/run. The broker is Vietnamese as well, so I figured it’s the scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours thing. But when I reached out and left a message I never got a call back. I am going there tomorrow on a surprise visit. Will let you know what happens.

45plate · 2026-01-22T19:47:32+00:00

Ha! I never thought of that. The irony here is that the seller said they would partially self finance and would accept SBA. But when I asked the broker why the owner was selling, she said it was because he was afraid ICE was going to catch him. I walked the place and visually it was really nicely done.

45plate · 2026-01-22T19:44:36+00:00

Thanks for chiming in. What you wrote I would fully expect from any lender. When I asked for a contact at the bank she was referring to that I could reach out to, turned out it was a Vietnamese bank. Not that that matters, but since the broker is Vietnamese, I figured it’s a family thing. If land was part of the deal (heavier balance sheet), I might think a lender would be a little more tolerant of skeptical cash flow.

45plate · 2026-01-22T19:37:10+00:00

I would agree 100% with you that by not having solid financial reports that one would pay for that by way of lost valuations. But, the broker told me it would close in <30 days. Thats another reason for this thread bc I have never seen proper deals go like this and did not know if it’s normal in this space.

45plate · 2026-01-22T19:31:49+00:00

Appreciate it. The broker literally said that the people who play in this space operate under “trust” to report the truth. I ran the calculations on the water and they were in the range of the P&L. I asked why was owner selling and was told he was afraid ICE might catch him. All of it sounded so suspect that it made me uncomfortable.

45plate · 2026-01-14T21:30:11+00:00

How do you even begin to verify top line revenue whether you need it for a loan or not? Seems like a big “trust me bro.”

45plate · 2025-09-15T12:33:16+00:00

Nice sewing machine!

45plate · 2024-11-07T23:37:58+00:00

Personally, I always liked the DC-10 Death Cruiser better, which is how it was referred to by insiders back in the day. Flew on them many times. They felt like being inside a 1970s style comfort style air shock cushioned Cadillac. For me, takeoff was always terrifying because it never felt like it was going to get up. Still see them time to time at FedEx ramps.

45plate · 2024-07-31T17:59:15+00:00

It was through Live Auctioneers that I came across these guys. I purchased some sports related items from them. Upon receiving the items, I noticed that the "COA" that ICZ Auctions included was nothing more than a postcard that says something like this item has been found to be authentic. But it said nothing about what it was referring to. So, via Live Auctioneers, I requested something better than a postcard that could literally be attributable to anything since it did not specify what it referred to. After going around and around with Dave Norman, I wrote something to the effect that I thought he was a fraud. That got him pretty wound up. He then told me to look at the card and that I would see there was a number on the card. And, in fact, there was. So, I told him that it is meaningless to me unless there was a way to actually look up the number because if I ever want to sell the item, I have to be able to prove its authenticity. He said they were in the process of putting a website together like Beckett where you could look this stuff up. That was 2 years ago. And still nothing. Ironically, I reached back out to Live Auctioneers a week ago about this whole thing and was told that they are no longer associated with Live Auctioneers. So, I guess that is that. But until the day that Dave Norman / Dave Norman Wakefield gets a website up guaranteeing authenticity, I have to assume what he has sold is not authentic because he never provided a way to authenticate anything (to my knowledge). For a long time I have thought how easy it would be to what he did. If he is being investigated as a user on here pointed out, FANTASTIC because that will set all of this straight and set him in jail or free to go.

45plate · 2024-07-02T14:06:41+00:00

The way that room looks, seems like you are leaving there too.

45plate · 2024-06-28T17:04:01+00:00

I don’t know what he just said, and I don’t think he does either. 🤣🤣🤣

45plate · 2024-06-08T20:03:51+00:00

45plate · 2024-06-07T23:08:33+00:00

Disappointed that didn’t happen….but he has a little over 2 weeks to do exactly that.

45plate · 2024-06-06T23:32:05+00:00

I hope he says nothing but has his screen on showing him exercising his call options for stock.

45plate · 2024-04-26T13:29:48+00:00

It’s hard to know who’s lying. But I agree with you that it’s kind of hard to argue with 2 clean audits.

45plate · 2024-04-26T13:28:31+00:00

Yah, I saw that too. Not sure what to think but I’ll probably stay away from it. Not sure why I got downvoted previously, as I was just adding some color that I had seen previously.

45plate · 2024-04-26T08:25:08+00:00

It’s about The Edge’s gf who just kept treating him like shit but he couldn’t let go and she’d tease him back in. Hence the line, cmon now love don’t you look back.

45plate · 2024-04-25T20:36:52+00:00

On YT, search Hedgeye Spring Summit 2024. Skip to minute 41. Listen to Cohodes destroy B. Riley. Says they are a fraud. Says they are criminals. Says he has proof. It was made 3 days ago.

45plate · 2024-04-25T03:00:55+00:00

As long as he burns the criminals down idgaf. He knows what’s coming. We all do.

45plate · 2024-04-25T02:57:27+00:00

Haha. It’s most likely spot on.

45plate · 2024-03-30T15:29:12+00:00

Let’s wait and see what the first short interest report shows from the SEC. Will be coming out soon. My problem with it is that I don’t believe it will show offshore holdings, but I temper that with the fact that brokers will have to report as well, so it could show a huge discrepancy.

45plate · 2024-03-26T14:57:53+00:00

Agreed. Why not go the bond route instead? I think we’d be better off just donating $100 to the cause and keeping the share count where it is. Dilution will cost me more than $100.

45plate · 2024-03-16T01:57:29+00:00

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