somewhat of a legal question here, and I know you guys arent lawyers but its something that i think needs brought up. For the people still waiting to hear about the shares deal, what happens if they somehow do pull off a miracle and ship devices before the end of September, but prior to offering you shares or doing anything to move that forward?
If they ship them and you accept it prior to getting shares, is that technically the conculsion of the original contract you signed (which included nothing about share offerings)? Couldnt they then just not offer shares and claim the original contractual obligations were met? I understand that offering shares in a company is something that takes months worth of time, but their lack of transparency in this endevour makes me think they are just trying to bide their time. They could at least be releasing a road map, timeline, companies they are working with for audits, etc.
I'm not holding out for the shares, but i know there are people who are and this could be another way alpha sticks it to their customers.
You won't be getting shares. The fact they even offered them is illegal. If you offer shares to more than 100 people in the UK or 35 in the US it is considered a public offering. This a VERY highly regulated and costly undertaking and many hoops have to be jumped through, including opening up your books and disclosing proprietary information or you risk prison and a hefty fine. Yes some crowdfunded ventures get away with it but Alpha have made enough enemies to guarantee someone turns them in and they are offering to many countries each with different regulatory bodies and rules, this will take YEARS and very deep pockets, neither of which Alpha have.
My guess is you'll get a wishy washy offer of profit sharing. This will give you no control over the company, no way to audit them to see if they are being honest, no representation on the board and no way to sell or transfer your "shares" if you want to get out.
Frankly, I think whatever they offer you will be worthless. I doubt they will sell any more batch 1 miners. They are severely underpowered and overpriced compared to the competition. Batch 2 was supposed to be 650mh/s which is already outdated so good luck with that. If Alpha do manage to get gear out the door in September it will be rushed and poorly put together so expect that to tank the last dregs of their reputation.
My guess is you batch one customers are funding an ASIC farm for Alpha. Whatever they don't sell they will keep, dissolve the company and start mining. You probably won't see a penny of whatever scheme they are offering you. Once you get your rickety underpowered miner Alpha will have concluded their business with you "according to their Terms and Conditions" and they will disappear.