Altera Comments on Relationship with Wells Fargo Securities.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) today released the following statement from Nathan Sarkisian, the company's chief financial officer: "In March, I informed Mr. A.A. (Tad) LaFountain, III, semiconductor securities analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, that I, our CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , and our investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. staff would no longer continue dialogue with him. I took this action because, in my view, we were having unproductive conversations on a topic for which we had irreconcilable differences The existence of significant differences between a married couple that are so great and beyond resolution as to make the marriage unworkable, and for which the law permits a Divorce. . Consequently, on July 26, Mr. LaFountain chose to drop Altera coverage. Regrettably, as a result of our action and the ensuing press coverage, some have concluded that our intention was to manipulate opinion. In retrospect, our decision to disengage dis·en·gage v. dis·en·gaged, dis·en·gag·ing, dis·en·gag·es v.tr. 1. To release from something that holds fast, connects, or entangles. See Synonyms at extricate. 2. was in error, and I apologize to Mr. LaFountain, our investors, and the investment community. "We have never discontinued relations or challenged an analyst because of a rating. The core of our differences with Mr. LaFountain is our share repurchase Share Repurchase A program by which a company buys back its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares. This is usually an indication that the company's management thinks the shares are undervalued. program which he asserts has destroyed shareholder value. We implemented our share repurchase program in 1996, and at that time our market capitalization Market Capitalization A measure of a public company's size. Market capitalization is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares. It's calculated by multiplying the number of shares times the current market price. This term is often referred to as market cap. was $1.2 billion. The program has since returned $1.5 billion in cash to shareholders -- more than their starting investment, and today the company is valued at $8.1 billion. We remain firmly committed to our share repurchase program. "Simply stated, our commitments going forward are: --Wall Street analysts who cover Altera will have access to management. --We will continue to strive to operate our business and investor relations program on a best-practice basis." About Altera Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR) is the world's pioneer of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC SOPC System on a Programmable Chip SOPC Special Operations Preparation Course SOPC Second-Order Power Control SOPC Shuttle Operations and Planning Center SOPC 1-Stearoyl-2-Oleoyl-Sn-Glycero-3-Phosphatidylcholine SOPC Shaastra Online Programming Contest ) solutions. Combining programmable logic technology with software tools, intellectual property, and technical services, Altera provides high-value programmable solutions to approximately 14,000 customers worldwide. More information is available at http://www.altera.com. Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized styl·ize tr.v. styl·ized, styl·iz·ing, styl·iz·es 1. To restrict or make conform to a particular style. 2. To represent conventionally; conventionalize. Altera logo, specific device designations and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holder. |
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