$SNAP — YOU DON’T COUNT DIMWIT

Sometimes, one doesn’t need to say much —

per FT:

That makes its choice of share structure striking. Buyers of the public shares are being offered something that stands in relation to proper ownership in roughly the way that indentured servitude stands to full citizenship. The extremes to which Snap has gone to protect itself from accountability set a new standard.

If the offering is successful, the company could be valued at up to $25bn and will have three classes of shares. The C shares will be owned by the company’s two founders, and will have 10 votes apiece, giving the founders full control. The B shares, which go to early investors and employees, will have one vote each. The A shares, the ones offered in the IPO, will have no votes.

Other Silicon Valley start-ups, notably Google and Facebook, have issued shares without votes attached. But those two went public with shares classes with unequal voting rights, not voteless shares. Later on, when they did issue voteless shares — to facilitate acquisitions and let the founders liquidate without diluting control — they had high profits and clear, successful strategies.

Snap has neither of those things. And it is adding another wrinkle: the B shares, if they are sold or otherwise transferred, become A shares. No form of voting share in Snap will be held by an outside shareholder.

Additionally:

Mr Spiegel has a queasy relationship with publicity. After becoming famous at a young age, he was forced to apologise for sexist and sexually graphic emails he sent to his fraternity brothers, saying he was “mortified” when they leaked and they did not reflect his attitude to women.

Above, which I don’t really give a fuck about, but hilarious in the context of :

Evan Spiegel’s Sex Life