My mother, who turned 80 this year, inherited Bixby Land Company stock from her mother, who inherited the stock from her father, Norment Windes, who served for many years as an accountant, company officer, and trusted advisor to the Bixby family until his death in 1955. Family lore has it that the fortunes of the Bixby family were disipating until Norment came on board and helped set a course that has led to the Bixby Land Company that exists today, a billion dollar REIT that remains closely held by the Bixby family.
As my mother is aging and her need for care has increased, the Bixby Land stock has become a major asset upon which she has to rely for her financial well being. As her representive in these matters, it has fallen upon me to manage her assets for her benefit, which brings me to the reason that I have created this web site.
Because Bixby Land is a privately held company, the stock is not traded in a public market. Stock trades are arranged privately between a buyer and a seller. Someone in my position, as a potential seller, has to find a buyer and negotiate a price. There is a bulletin board website where buyers and sellers can post their contact information, but there is no guidance or data upon which to base the negotiation of price. It's also impossible to know how much collusion may be taking place on either the buyer or seller side.
There is, however, a price that is available that can serve as a starting point for any negotiation. That is the price per share that is determined by a third party report that gives the company a valuation every year. Arguably, what is being negotiated between a buyer and a seller is not the price, but the liquidity discount applied to the per share valuation.
Which raises the question, "What is a fair and reasonable liquidity discount for Bixby Land Company stock, independent of a buyer or seller's liquidity preference?" 5%? 50%? The answer to this question gives buyers and sellers a much better starting point from which to negotiate a price that works for both parties.
If you too are interested in getting the answer to this question, please contact me. I'm not sure how we can get an answer, but gathering data and transparency can certainly help.
Jim Bursch
contact@bixby.jimbursch.com
310-869-5340
This video does a pretty good job of explaining the liquidity discount:
This video is interesting because it features Jean Bixby Smith talking about Windes: