Liberate Technologies Announces Board Approval of Declaration of One-Time Special Dividend and Reverse / Forward Stock Split and
17 6월 2005 - 8:42AM
PR Newswire (US)
Liberate Technologies Announces Board Approval of Declaration of
One-Time Special Dividend and Reverse / Forward Stock Split and
Going Private Transaction SAN MATEO, Calif., June 16
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Liberate Technologies (Pink Sheets: LBRT)
announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a one-time
special dividend of $0.15 per common share. The special dividend is
payable to the holders of record on June 27, 2005 upon the closing
of the sale of Liberate's non-North American business assets to
SeaChange International, Inc. which is expected to result in
proceeds to Liberate in the amount of approximately $23.5 million,
assuming a closing of the week of July 11, 2005. As required by the
NASD rules, the ex-dividend date will be set one business day after
the payment date. Liberate expects to have approximately $62
million in cash and cash equivalents on hand, including restricted
cash, after payment of the special dividend of approximately $16.6
million in the aggregate, and approximately $58 million in cash and
cash equivalents on hand, including restricted cash, after payment
of approximately $4 million in the aggregate in connection with the
reverse/forward split as part of the going private transaction.
Liberate Technologies also announced today that its Board of
Directors has approved a reverse 1-for-250,000 split of Liberate
common stock to be followed immediately by a forward 250,000-for-1
split, subject to stockholder approval at an upcoming special
meeting of stockholders, as part of a "going private" transaction,
which will occur after the one-time special dividend. If the
transaction is approved by Liberate's stockholders and implemented,
Liberate expects to have fewer than 300 stockholders of record,
which would enable Liberate to voluntarily terminate the
registration of its common stock under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, and become a non-reporting company. As a
private company, Liberate would no longer be required to file
periodic reports and other information with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Upon careful consideration of the
costs associated with being a public company and the fact that
after the completion of the sale the Non-North America business to
SeaChange International Inc. as previously announced, Liberate will
have no significant operating product or services business, the
Board believes it advisable and in the best interests of the
Liberate and its stockholders to change its status to a
non-reporting company in order to save significant costs and
expenses associated with being a public company while Liberate
continues its efforts to resolve its liabilities and maximize its
remaining assets in the best interests of shareholders. Pursuant to
the transaction, stockholders holding fewer than 250,000 shares of
Liberate common stock immediately before the transaction would
receive a cash payment from Liberate equal to $0.20 per share in
cash, without interest, for each share of common stock held
immediately before the transaction. Stockholders holding 250,000 or
more shares of Liberate common stock immediately before the
transaction would continue to hold the same number of shares after
completion of the transaction and would not receive any cash
payment. Liberate estimates that approximately $4 million will be
used for payment to stockholders holding fewer than 250,000 shares
of Liberate common stock in connection with the going private
transaction. The proposed transaction is subject to the approval of
Liberate's stockholders and certain other conditions, including
consummation of the sale of Liberate's Non-North American business
assets to SeaChange International, Inc., as previously announced.
Stockholders will be asked to approve the transaction at a special
meeting of stockholders. Liberate intends to file a proxy statement
and Schedule 13E-3 concerning the proposed transaction with the
SEC. All stockholders are urged to read the definitive proxy
statement and Schedule 13E-3 when they become available and any
other relevant documents filed with the SEC because they will
contain important information about the special meeting and the
proposed transaction. Stockholders may obtain the documents filed
with the SEC free of charge at the Web site maintained by the SEC
at http://www.sec.gov/. In addition, stockholders may obtain
documents filed with the SEC by Liberate free of charge by
requesting them in writing from Liberate, 2655 Campus Drive, Suite
250, San Mateo, CA 94403, Attention: Investor Relations, or by
telephone at 650-645-4000. Liberate will also mail a copy of the
definitive proxy statement prior to the special meeting to its
stockholders entitled to vote at the special meeting. Liberate and
its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be
participants in the solicitation of proxies from Liberate's
stockholders. A list of the names of those directors and executive
officers and descriptions of their interests in Liberate is
contained in Liberate's proxy statement dated September 13, 2004,
which is filed with the SEC. Stockholders may obtain additional
information about the interests of the directors and executive
officers in this transaction by reading the proxy statement when it
becomes available. This press release is being filed pursuant to
Rule 14a-12 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Duff &
Phelps, LLC and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
advised Liberate in connection with the declaration of the special
dividend. About Liberate Technologies Liberate Technologies is a
provider of software for digital cable systems. Based on industry
standards, Liberate's software enables cable operators to run
multiple services -- including high definition television, video on
demand, and personal video recorders -- on multiple platforms.
Liberate is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and has offices
in the United Kingdom. Forward Looking Statements Those statements
above that involve expectations or intentions (such as those
related to the proposed transaction) are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the U.S. securities laws, involving risks and
uncertainties, and are not guarantees of future performance. You
are cautioned that these statements are only predictions and that
forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks,
assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking
statements. These risks, assumptions and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to: future decisions by the SEC or other
governmental or regulatory bodies; the vote of Liberate's
stockholders to approve the proposed transaction; and other risks
outlined in our filings with the SEC, including the annual report
on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2004 and the most recent
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third fiscal quarter ended
February 28, 2005. All forward-looking statements are only as of
the date they are made and Liberate disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact: Patrick Nguyen Greg Wood EVP Corporate Development Chief
Financial Officer Liberate Technologies Liberate Technologies
650-645-4004 650-645-4003 DATASOURCE: Liberate Technologies
CONTACT: Patrick Nguyen, EVP Corporate Development,
+1-650-645-4004, or , or Greg Wood, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-650-645-4003, or , both of Liberate Technologies Web site:
http://www.liberate.com/
Copyright