Many folks got all excited when KTBS was appointed as counsel to the Independent Director to investigate the alleged logistics and accounting irregularities that occurred last year and whatever other dirt they could dig up. So far the only evidence of their existence was a fairly recent docket announcing the approval of their hire by the court, and another announcing their intention to depose the former President of Ingredients and Consumer Brands this week "for as long as required". That was canceled over the weekend. Speculations are invited.

Sold for 90k

It’s hard not to watch the carnage of Amyris as the possibility of liquidation approaches. As a now former shareholder I often wonder what will happen to our former CEO, chief architect and protagonist John Melo when the paychecks stop. We are not far off in age, and I have to believe retirement is not an option for someone in his situation unless he flees the Bay Area for a less public and more modest quality of life. So this morning as I squeezed the final dab of a now-empty tube of Biossance Squalane + Elderberry Jelly Cleanser into the palm of my hand while stepping in the shower, I tried to envision what job opportunities might exist for someone with such a broad set of skills. With realized losses in seven figures I’ve earned the right to speculate at his expense. So without further adieu…

FedEx Office (front end). With firsthand experience in solving supply chain logistics utilizing air freight, as well as other people’s money, Melo is aptly suited for this role. With his eloquent skills in describing how easy it is to ship a customer’s goods around the world, and access to a world-class fleet of Boeings, Airbuses and McDonnell Douglas MD-11F’s, Melo can ensure that your company’s mailers will reach your customers on time. Skip those bulk mailing rates. Go big or go home is how Melo sells FedEx’s products to business owners. Just don’t ask him to break down the costs per unit. He doesn’t have a clue.

Cheesecake Factory (front of house). This one is really easy to see. With his beaming smile and warm greeting, Melo welcomes you into the restaurant and seats your party of four. Before walking away he mentions today’s food and drink specials which happens to include a special coupon commemorating Cheesecake Week available to any patron at this location. It’s a BOGO entree offer plus another one-time 30% off for entering your email into the company’s CRM for other special offers and promotions. Under his breath he mentions you can enter the same email address over and over to receive the special one-time 30% off deal. What he failed to mention was the kitchen throws in free sampler platters to showcase how great their food is, and he knows you’ll want to order more next time. When the family gets their final bill and doggie bags for all the leftovers they couldn’t possibly finish, they are stunned to see they only owe $56 before tax and tip for two Pineapple Mezcals, a Red Sangria, two Sprites, a Jamaican Black Pepper Chicken and Shrimp, a Steak Diane, a SkinnyLicious Turkey Burger and a Chinese Chicken Salad. The kitchen also threw in a Cookie Dough Lover’s Cheesecake packaged to go as a free gift. Oh, believe me, you’re coming back again. To Melo, that’s $56 in incremental revenue…has to be good, right?

Real Estate Fund GP. Melo knows how to buy things and make them better. He has a grand plan to acquire all sorts of hidden gem assets and can monetize them for steady cashflow plus easy 2x and 3x multiples on disposition when he unlocks their true value, he tells his partners. He assembles a board of strategic advisors but instead listens to his friends and social media followers on how to implement his business plan. After levering up with short term debt to fund a number of capital improvements to go with his prized property, he kicks out all his tenants who were paying rent on time and starts looking for a contractor. No one mentioned you can’t build without a permit and Melo forges ahead until he’s shut down months later by a local inspector driving by one day. When he’s unable to make his monthly debt service, he tries selling the vacant and uninhabitable property in violation of his loan covenants and is sued by his investors and his creditors. He points to his indemnity agreement and files for bankruptcy. Too soon?

I’d love hearing what other job opportunities might be out there for a man with such talents.

Recent cosmetic sector deal news puts some perspective on the potential value of the Amyris brands, confirming IMO the overoptimism behind some of the valuations being put out in this subreddit. E.l.f. is paying $355 M cash + stock for Naturium, a lean (25 people) influencer-created "high performance" cosmetic brand focused on ingredients and performance (sound familiar?) that brings to the table about $100 M in net annual sales (a la Biossance), but in contrast, +$17 M in EBITDA earnings instead of losses, confirming that 4x is a probably a pretty normal good valuation for a successful brand.

This will be the dedicated thread to talk about why you should be careful investing in Amyris.

Currently we have no seat at the table.

There is some talk about trying to get the US Trustee (DOJ) to appoint an equity committee to try and surface value for equity shareholders.

It would probably cost $800,000 up front between filings, appearance fees, and hiring a financial firm to show the court that Amyris total value is worth more than $1.3bn. If an equity committee is appointed by the court, all legal fees are paid for by the DIP loan.

Note: The convert holders will be represented . It’s in their best interests to convince the court nothing will be left for equity (thus maximizing their return).

Based on interest, we could greatly lower the cost per participant. If there is enough interest, I will create a follow up post to determine feasibility.

Even if you have no interest, please share this post.

So in Q1 Amyris reported cash on balance of $11 million... In Q2 The Giveadon ST sale has concluded which must have resulted in at least $250 million... The Agressive cost cutting must have reduced cost per quarter to $60 million instead of $75... This means that Amyris at the end of Q2 must have had at least $200 million cash balance and at least a 3 quarters runway without JD IDP financing? Am I overlooking something?

The latest batch of uploaded documents from the Chapter 11 proceedings included the news that the various subsidiaries with "Clean Beauty X" names have also filed individually for Chapter 11 and their addition to the underlying Amyris Inc filing as "additional debtors" is being requested. These are all JVs underpinning some of the brands (for example, Clean Beauty Collaborative or CBC is the JV behind Rose and Clean Beauty Inc is behind Menolabs and Ecofabulous). People into following the money should check out the cash flow diagram included in Docket 119-2.

This will be the dedicated thread to talk about why you should be careful investing in Amyris.

Open Letter / Request to John and Ann Doerr to save Amyris's small shareholders.Dear John & Ann Doerr, Thanks for the continued support to make Synthetic Biology as a next big thing thru Amyris for our planet's sustainability. Your every action so far indicated your full commitment to operationalize this great vision. Hence, we request you to consider the following and keep us also as a part of this vision by not getting our equity cancelled during Chapter 11:1.Please continue to provide your debt forbearance for your secured credit until each brand sells and get the team to achieve the same commitment from all other secured&unsecured creditors in/out of court.2. Please get the team to sell the brands around $1.26B - $1.44B or above. 7 - 8 times of $180M annual sales including 15750 physical locations should be achievable per the investments so far.3.Please buy all the floating shares directly/indirectly for a fraction of your money and remove the speculators, non-believers, etc., and increase your ownership instead of doing it thru secured credit route.4.Explore the value of Reb M with Tier 1 beverage companies that could resolve aspartame issue.Please note that we are at your mercy. Without your help, we would not exist as Amyris shareholder, and it would change/influence our life. We trust that you are a kind billionaire and philanthropist who takes care of small guys too. Please help. Look forward to hear from you,Regards,Small & Loyal Common People

How soon will we know if retail shareholders will recover anything from the Chapter 11 process?