[Vincent2]

I'm in.

 

[bruce g]

Ive had a look in my crystal ball and that is not fortuitous.
CPI would fund that GM battery job out of petty cash.

 

[jscott1000]

It sure would be nice to get in on that IPO, but like most IPOs only the insiders get to buy at the IPO price while the rest of us are left out in the cold.

But for them I hope they get the Volt contract and make lots and lots of money. That will spur others to make the Li-Ion batteries and drive down the price faster than anything else.

 

[Vincent2]

Funding and being the talent behind it are two very different things.

 

[Noel Park]

Well I sure hope that your guess is better than mine! It wouldn't be hard.

I'm in for 100 shares, just to be in the game.

Can we start a waiting list for the IPO?

 

[DDB]

Interesting opportunity for GM to buy-in to A123 and simply own the technology to license to other manufacturers. THink about that one... It would be interesting to know what the contractual arrangements are for the packs in the Volts also.

Doesn't GM have some excess cash sitting around (although I do understand they're losing a few million every quarter)--and why the hell the stocked popped today I have no clue.

 

[Vincent2]

I did. Thats why I'm in

 

[SilverBlade]

I'm worried about Exxon mobile, or one of the other oil giants to buy it all just to bury the company.

 

[bruce g]

Just as an analogy, condider the personal computer.
In the begining was IBM.
But new entrants arrived rapidly and feasted until competition forced amalagamations, eg Digital/Compaq/HP. The winner was the company that was making a fortune out of printers and had more cash.
lol.
A123 has great chemistry now but there will be new chemistries
The market will segment and prices fall.
Would GM want to buy into that scenario?

Dont know.

 

[Grizzly2]

GM should buy all of it. That would end GM's battery technology problem and A123's production problem. They're already working together on cell technology.

 

[Dan_D.]

The stock popped today because the loss was much less than expected. The $3.3 billion includes one-time charges. After those the loss is only $500 million which is not half bad considering the US auto market is as bad as it's been since the early 90's, American Axle is striking, Delphi is in bankruptcy and GMAC is losing loads of money.

Ford is currently worth about 45% more than GM. That will not last.

 

[Ash]

I think I am buying. Even if not as an investment, to own a piece of history. Imagine buying Microsoft at its IPO!!

 

[butters1]

I don't think that A123 is the Google of energy storage. I think they're the Netscape. It seemed like the web was all about the browser until it turned out to be all about search. It seems like EVs are about the battery today, but the solution that brings electric vehicles to the mass market may not be a battery at all.

Even if it turns out that LiFePO4 is the ultimate answer, then I doubt very highly that the supreme overlords of global capitalism will allow an upstart to protect a patent monopoly on the basis of the new energy economy, Energy is the most politicized sector of the economy, and the shadow government will distort the market to serve its interests.

 

[kent_beuchert]

If EEStor's device works, it's curtains for much, perhaps all, of A123 System's business. This I would classify as an extremely risky IPO
to invest in.

 

[omegaman66]

The demand for this type of product will be so great over the next decade that even if EEStores or MIT's ultracap turn out to be superior in every way it still doesn't mean doom for A123. There will be a ton of smaller applications that will still need a supplier of Li-ion batteries and such do to limited supply of ultracaps.

You can see the same thing in the solar panel market with thin film vs old conventional panels as well as the battery market with Ni metal hydrid battery companies still have plenty of business (and a growing business I think) even tho li-ion is now on the market.

Sure it will eventually take a down turn probably but it takes many years.

 

[Grizzly2]

#14

From everything we've seen so far, I'd be inclined to call it Ether-stor

 

[Statik]

#11 Dan wrote:

"The stock popped today because the loss was much less than expected. The $3.3 billion includes one-time charges. After those the loss is only $500 million which is not half bad considering the US auto market is as bad as it’s been since the early 90’s, American Axle is striking, Delphi is in bankruptcy and GMAC is losing loads of money."

Does this even remotely make sense...the stock popped? Sometimes, investors are just...well, idiots. We all want the Volt, we are hoping for the best...but who amongst us would willingly buy these shares? (or at least to admitting to it on the record, lol)

/dead cat bounce

I dare anyone to suggest profitability at any time in the future that you also couldn't go thru college, take a year off and tour Europe, then go through medical school before.

 

[Statik]

For the record, I would consider investing a little in a A123 IPO offering.

Unlike...well everyone else, they actually make and sell stuff! You want to run your car on a lith battery...A123 is your huckleberry, good enough for me.

They have the background, the workforce, the capacity to produce and they are, if anything...overfunded. Quite a rarity..