Franklin Electronic Publishers Board Receives Acquisition Proposal
June 01 2009 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
BURLINGTON, N.J., June 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Franklin
Electronic Publishers, Inc. (NYSE AMEX Equities US: FEP), a
worldwide leader in providing language and related technology
solutions, today announced that it has received a copy of a
Schedule 13D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
relating to a non-binding proposal by Saunders Acquisition
Corporation for an all cash acquisition at $2.35 per share.
According to its Schedule 13D filing, Saunders is a newly formed
Delaware corporation founded by existing management of the Company
who, together with existing shareholders who are members of the
Saunders group, beneficially own shares or options to purchase
shares representing 43.7% of the voting power of the Company.
Taking into account only options expected to be exercised at the
time of any vote on their proposal, such persons will own 39.9% of
the voting power of the Company. Franklin's Board of Directors has
appointed a Special Committee comprised of independent Board
members to consider the Saunders proposal and other proposals.
About Franklin: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Incorporated (NYSE
Alternext US: FEP) is a world leader in electronic handheld
information, having sold approximately 41,000,000 electronic books.
Current titles available directly or through partners number more
than 140,000 in sixteen languages under license from world class
publishers, such as Merriam-Webster and HarperCollins, focused in
five genres: Learning, Language Learning, Travel, Spiritual, and
Leisure. The Company also licenses its underlying technology to an
array of partners including Adobe, Sun Microsystems and Ademco (a
division of Honeywell). Franklin distributes ROLODEX(R) Electronics
branded organizers worldwide and SEIKO branded reference products
in Oceania and the European Community. Franklin's products are
available at 49,000 retail outlets worldwide, through catalogs, and
online at http://www.franklin.com/. ROLODEX(R) is a registered
trademark of Berol Corporation, a subsidiary of Newell Rubbermaid
Inc. SEIKO is a registered trademark of SEIKO Corporation.
DATASOURCE: Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. CONTACT: Robert
Kohl of Franklin Electronic Publishers, +1-212-940-6557 Web Site:
http://www.franklin.com/
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