TMCnet News
Legg Mason Capital Management CEO Bill Miller's Letter to MCI CEO Michael CapellasBALTIMORE, April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The following was a letter sent today by Bill Miller to Michael Capellas: Dear Mr. Capellas, I trust that pursuant to the announcement by Verizon that it has agreed to purchase the shares of MCI held by Carlos Slim, the Board of MCI will insist that all shareholders of MCI be treated equally, and that, at a minimum, any agreement for MCI to be purchased by Verizon have the same present value as that received by Mr. Slim. Shareholders would be outraged if the Board did less than insist that the identical terms be made available to all other owners. That, of course, implies a higher value than the $25.72 cash price Mr. Slim will receive, since he will have the use of that cash shortly, while other MCI owners would have to wait until closing if Verizon offered the same price, including the same effective call option on Verizon's stock. Our rough calculation of the present value of what Verizon agreed to pay Mr. Slim, including the call, is in excess of $27.00. For the Board to continue to insist that the prior offer of $23.50 is sufficient and fair would be unconscionable. If presented with any offer from Verizon that is less than the present value of what they are paying Mr. Slim, we will vote against it. I expect the Board will do its duty on behalf of all owners of MCI. Sincerely, Bill Miller Chief Executive Officer Legg Mason Capital Management Legg Mason Capital Management CONTACT: Alison Mackley, +1-410-454-4209, Jeffrey Bukowski,+1-410-454-4211, both of Legg Mason Web site: http://www.leggmason.com/ |