Aquamarine Capital Management Sends a Letter to Everlast's Board of Directors, Urging It to Maximize Shareholder Value
July 13 2007 - 7:55AM
Business Wire
Today, Aquamarine Capital Management sent the following letter to
Everlast's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors Everlast
Worldwide, Inc. 1350 Broadway, Suite 2300 New York, NY 10018 By
hand and by facsimile Dear Sirs, We are writing to the Board of
Directors of Everlast Worldwide Inc. (NasdaqNM, EVST) to express
our displeasure at the handling of events which have taken place
since June 1, 2007, when the company first agreed to be acquired by
the Hidary Group for $26.50 per share. It appears the board has not
conducted an open and transparent �bid� process designed to achieve
the highest possible valuation for shareholders. Rather, management
and the board have been unusually quick to sign a series of merger
agreements with �break-up� fees (the latest of which amounts to
$5.8mm) which increasingly make it more difficult and expensive for
a higher potential bid to emerge. Ultimately, the cost of these
fees is borne by the shareholders of the company as they prevent
the highest potential bid from emerging. On Friday, June 1st,
Everlast Worldwide Inc. (NasdaqNM, EVST) announced an agreement to
be acquired by The Hidary Group for $26.50 per share. On June 4th
we issued a press release indicating we believed the offer
significantly undervalued the company. At the time we wrote: "at
the annual meeting, Everlast disclosed a 30-day "go shop" period in
which the board will evaluate competing bids for the company. We
mention this because this information was not included in this
morning's press release, which could lead current investors to
conclude that the $26.50 offer is final. Given the disparity
between the offer price and our view of fair value for this
company, we would be surprised if superior bids do not arise." As
disclosed in public 13D filings, we note that subsequent to our
June 4th press release, we entered into agreements to roll our
shares into the offer with Hidary Group at the price of $26.50 to
maintain our investment in Everlast after it was private as we
considered that far superior for our investors to selling our
investment in Everlast at $26.50 per share in the merger. On June
28, Brands Holdings Limited submitted a competing offer of $30 per
share. Hidary countered within four business days (as permitted in
their Merger Agreement) with a $30.55 per share offer. Rather than
consider the revised Hidary bid superior, the Board quickly moved
to accept the lower Brands Holdings offer, agreeing to pay Brands
Holdings a �break-up� fee of $5mm. Notwithstanding what appears to
be a lack of communication on the part of the Board with the Hidary
Group regarding Hidary Group�s superior offer of $30.55 per share,
on June 29th Hidary Group further increased its offer to $31.25 per
share in a structure enabling all of the shareholders to roll up to
50% of their investment into the private company. Rather than
negotiate directly with Hidary, Everlast in a matter of hours
accepted Brands Holdings increased bid of $33, increased the �break
up� fee it was willing to pay Brands Holdings to $5.8mm and agreed
to a �no shop� provision. You should know that we put a high value
on the option to roll our shares into the Hidary transaction. It
appears clear that for one reason or another, Everlast is
determined to get a deal done with Brands Holdings. The Hidary
Group represents a very legitimate bidder and has expressed its
willingness to raise its offer further if the break up fee is
eliminated. The company�s hasty actions and further refusal to
negotiate with Hidary Group, or we presume, with any other
potential bidder who may emerge (or has emerged), may represent a
breach of the Board�s fiduciary responsibility to entertain other
potentially superior offers and achieve the best offer possible for
its shareholders. We encourage the Board of Directors to slow down,
step back, and go back to the negotiating table with Hidary Group
to better understand the value of the roll-over structure to
shareholders. The emergence of ever higher competing bids over the
past weeks are a great indication of the value and potential of the
brand. We see no reason why the company is in such a rush to close
inferior deals (from a shareholder�s standpoint) with Brands
Holdings and we see no reason why the Board has been so quick to
agree to ever-increasing �break-up� fees which only act as a
transfer of capital out of the hands of shareholders and discourage
the company from achieving the highest bid possible. Sincerely, Guy
Spier Aquamarine Capital Management, LLC 152 West 57th Street 25th
Floor New York, NY 10019 212-716-1350 212-716-1353 (fax)
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