Jita - A week into Mens Reppola's tenure as Ishukone CEO, analysts remain apprehensive about his plans for the company, even as its stock trends upward. While the appointment appears to have calmed investors' worst fears and saved the company from a devastating crash, Reppola's plans to focus on high-end research and development rather than bread-and-butter heavy industry have caused concern that the company could end up spending billions of ISK for potential return that may never come.
_The bigger issue, however, may be the fact that Reppola seems to have placed himself squarely in opposition to State Executor Tibus Heth and the Caldari Providence Directorate. "Reppola's call for 'healthy competition' seems like a direct refutation of the Directorate's centralized economic plan," said Caldari Funds Unlimited senior business analyst Erkkonen Alieto on _This Is The State . "Whether this means they intend to withdraw from the strategic partnership they entered into with the Directorate last May isn't clear. We've seen a lot of resistance to the Directorate's initiatives in Hyasyoda, for instance, but they remain a party to the CPD nevertheless."
Meanwhile, an analysis of the Reppola buyout that preceded his ascent was released by the Caldari Business Tribunal today. In addition to his personal fortune, Reppola received financing from Modern Finances, which acted as an intermediary to solicit investment from a variety of other sources. According to documents from MF, financing for the buyout came from sources as diverse as CAESA bonds, the Federation-based Garoun Investment Bank, Khanid-based Samarkand Financial, and a number of individuals, including Hyasyoda board member Leevi Warimorri.
Perhaps most impressively, the entire buyout seems to have been organized overnight; statements from Modern Finances show that Reppola contacted them several hours after Natasha Ogemi's collapse precipitated the stock freefall.