AMCON Announces Letter of Intent for Sale of Non-Distribution Businesses and Interim Funding for Trinity Springs.OMAHA Omaha, city, United States Omaha (ō`məhä, –hô), city (1990 pop. 335,795), seat of Douglas co., E Nebr., on the west bank of the Missouri River; inc. 1857. , Neb. -- AMCON Distributing Company (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :DIT), an Omaha, NE based consumer products company, announced today that it has entered into a letter of intent ("LOI LOI Letter of Indemnity (international trade and carriage business) LOI Letter Of Intent LOI Loss On Ignition LOI Letter of Inquiry LOI Lack Of Information LOI Lack of Interest LOI Letter of Invitation LOI List Of Items ") with William F. Wright, its Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and largest stockholder, for the proposed acquisition of 80% of the outstanding common stock of The Healthy Edge, Inc. ("THE") which is currently a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of AMCON. The LOI contemplates that THE would own, at the time of closing of the proposed acquisition, 100% of the equity of Health Food Associates, Inc. (dba Akin's Natural Food Market), Chamberlin's Natural Foods, Inc. (dba Chamberlin's Market and Cafe), and Hawaiian Natural Water Company, Inc., as well as 85% of the equity of Trinity Springs, Inc., each of which are currently direct or indirect subsidiaries of AMCON. The LOI was negotiated on behalf of AMCON by a Special Committee composed of independent, disinterested Free from bias, prejudice, or partiality. A disinterested witness is one who has no interest in the case at bar, or matter in issue, and is legally competent to give testimony. members of AMCON's Board of Directors with assistance from its financial advisers, The Christman Group and Stern Brothers Valuation Advisers, Inc., and outside legal counsel to AMCON. The Christman Group LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control commenced solicitation of third party acquisition proposals for the acquisition of THE or one or more of the aforementioned subsidiaries on September 27, 2005. The LOI contemplates that this solicitation process will continue through November 29, 2005 and after that date AMCON would be required to deal exclusively with Mr. Wright or any entity he may form for the purpose of effecting the proposed acquisition of THE. If AMCON breaches the exclusive dealing obligation during the period from November 30, 2005 through February 27, 2006, or signs a letter of intent or an agreement relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc the acquisition of, or a business combination with or an investment in THE during that period, then AMCON would be required to pay a breakup fee breakup fee A provision in a takeover agreement that requires a firm to pay the investment banker a large sum of money if another firm takes over the target company. A breakup fee tends to discourage other firms from making bids for the target. of $550,000 at the closing of any such third-party acquisition. In addition, any third party acquisition of THE would require the pay off by AMCON of $2,750,000 of loans to Trinity Springs, Inc. from certain affiliates of AMCON, including entities affiliated with Mr. Wright. The Christman Group LLC has advised the Special Committee that it is advisable not to disclose the terms of the LOI with Mr. Wright while the solicitation of third party acquisition proposals is ongoing. Any third parties interested in submitting an acquisition proposal for THE or one or more of the aforementioned subsidiaries should contact Richard Jackim or Anneke Chamy at The Christman Group LLC (847-303-6554). Mr. Wright has agreed that either he or an entity he may form will loan Trinity Springs, Inc. an additional $750,000 for operating capital Noun 1. operating capital - capital available for the operations of a firm (e.g. manufacturing or transportation) as distinct from financial transactions and long-term improvements capital, working capital - assets available for use in the production of further assets prior to any definitive agreement for its proposed acquisition of THE. This loan will be subordinated to indebtedness to AMCON's bank lenders, will bear interest at 300 basis points above the yield on 10-year treasury notes and will have a maturity no earlier than December 13, 2005. The LOI is not contractually binding on either AMCON or Mr. Wright, with the exception of the exclusive dealing obligations, loan repayment and related break-up fee, and the new $750,000 loan to Trinity Springs, Inc., which are described above. The LOI may be terminated at any time by either AMCON or Mr. Wright, with the exception of the aforementioned binding provisions. If a definitive agreement is reached with Mr. Wright or an entity he may form for the purpose of acquiring THE, the LOI contemplates that the closing would occur no later than December 12, 2005. Approval of AMCON's stockholders would not be required for the sale of THE or the aforementioned subsidiaries because they do not represent the sale of substantially all of AMCON's assets. The sale of THE or any of the aforementioned subsidiaries would, however, require the consent of AMCON's bank lenders which has not yet been obtained and is expected to require, among other things, the payoff of advances made to such subsidiaries. AMCON is a leading wholesale distributor of consumer products including beverages, candy, tobacco, groceries, food service, frozen and chilled foods, and health and beauty care products with distribution centers in Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota North Dakota, state in the N central United States. It is bordered by Minnesota, across the Red River of the North (E), South Dakota (S), Montana (W), and the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (N). , South Dakota South Dakota (dəkō`tə), state in the N central United States. It is bordered by North Dakota (N), Minnesota and Iowa (E), Nebraska (S), and Wyoming and Montana (W). and Wyoming. Chamberlin's Natural Foods, Inc. and Health Food Associates, Inc., both wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Healthy Edge, Inc., operate health and natural product retail stores in central Florida
Central Florida is the central region of the United States state of Florida, on the East Coast. (6), Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma (4). The retail stores operate under the names Chamberlin's Market & Cafe and Akin's Natural Foods Market. Hawaiian Natural Water Company, Inc. produces and sells natural spring water under the Hawaiian Springs label in Hawaii and other foreign markets and purified bottled water on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The natural spring water is bottled at the source on the Big Island of Hawaii. Trinity Springs, Inc., which was acquired in June 2004, produces and sells geothermal bottled water and a natural mineral supplement under the Trinity label and recently introduced a vitamin enhanced beverage product under the Trinity Enhanced label. The water and mineral supplement are both bottled at the base of the Trinity Mountains The Trinity Mountains are found in northern California, USA, between Trinity Lake and Lake Shasta. The range lies in a southwest-northeasterly direction about 17 miles northwest of Redding, and stretches over a distance of 30-35 miles. in Paradise, Idaho, one of the world's deepest known sources. Trinity Springs also distributes Hawaiian Springs on the U.S. mainland. This news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties and which reflect management's current beliefs and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, Company performance and financial results. A number of factors could affect the future results of the Company and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the Company's forward looking statements including, without limitation, availability of sufficient cash resources to conduct its business and meet its capital expenditure needs. Moreover, past financial performance should not be considered a reliable indicator of future performance. Accordingly, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. for forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995 with respect to all such forward-looking statements. Visit AMCON Distributing Company's web site at: www.amcon.com |
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