CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carl E. Berg,
who is the largest shareholder (17.4%) of Stratus Properties Inc.
(Nasdaq: STRS), today announced that he has sent to the two Stratus
directors appointed earlier this month a letter detailing his
reasons for submitting the stockholder proposal that Mr. Berg
recently submitted for inclusion in the Stratus proxy statement for
its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and for submission to a
stockholder vote at that meeting. The proposal calls upon the
Stratus Board of Directors to engage a nationally recognized
investment banking firm to explore a prompt sale, merger or other
business combination of Stratus so Stratus' stockholders may
realize the true value of their Stratus shares.
Mr. Berg stated: "I wrote to the new directors, Mr.
James E. Joseph and Mr. John G. Wenker, to make certain that as they
assume their fiduciary duties as directors of Stratus they knew why
I had submitted the shareholder proposal and understood the
background for that proposal. I also wanted to make sure they
understood how, at least from the way I see things, the Stratus
Board and management have historically operated." I felt it
was also important for these new directors to understand many of
the other objections we had to the operations of the Stratus Board
and its members that we were unable to include in our previous
letter to Stratus do to limitations on the number of words that
could be included. It is our goal to make the Board aware of all of
the activites of Stratus that we do not believe are in the best
interest of the shareholders.
Mr. Berg also noted that, in his letter, he assured Messrs.
Joseph and Wenker that he does not want to either buy or run
Stratus, but wants only for all of Stratus' shareholders –
including Mr. Berg – to have a better chance to realize the fair
market value for the Stratus stock they own.
Mr. Berg has reported this action in an amendment to his
Schedule 13D regarding his ownership of Stratus shares, which
amendment he filed earlier today with the SEC. A copy of Mr.
Berg's letter to the two Stratus directors is included as an
exhibit to that amendment. That amendment is available on the
SEC's website at
[http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/885508/000119312515409355/0001193125-15-409355-index.htm]
Stratus is a real estate company engaged primarily in the
development, management, operation and sale of commercial, hotel,
entertainment, and multi- and single-family residential real estate
properties located in Texas,
primarily in the Austin, Texas
area.
Mr. Berg is a real estate investor and venture capitalist and
was the Chief Executive Officer of Mission West Properties, a real
estate investment trust, from 1997 through December 22, 2012, when that company was sold to
DivcoWest, a privately owned real estate investment company.
He believes he has been Stratus' largest shareholder for almost the
last 15 years.
We are in the process of setting up a shareholder website.
Contact me anytime ceb@bergvc.com or 408 455 0670.
CARL E. BERG
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carl-e-berg-releases-letter-to-two-new-directors-of-stratus-properties-inc-300198095.html
SOURCE Carl E. Berg