Kit Menkin’s Leasing News   www.leasingnews.org  Wednesday, February 6,2002

________________________________________________________________________

 

Headlines—

 

Confirmed!---Sudhir Amembal to Pursue Lease Education and Training

  Where is Fred Van Etten?  In Houston, Texas

        Tyco Withdraws Bid/Court Approves Sale to GE Capital Lower Bid

           Tyco/GE Capital/American Express---Watch Your Back!

              Tyco Capital Moves to Enhance Liquidity                            

                    Butler Capital Consolidates to Maryland Hq.

                           IFC Credit Acquires Sprectrum Medical Leasing

                                United Association of Equipment Leasing Directory Is Out

                                     Charlesbank Cap.Invests in Computer Sales Int.

                                         Richard L. Rockhold joins  Cypress Leasing

           PACCAR Financial Reports 54% Drop in Pretax Income

             Comdisco Completes Court-supervised Sales Evaluation Process

                  Masterminds Of $16 Million “Lease Money” Scheme Sentenced

 

                    Brady Parade’s Through Town

http://www.superbowl.com/xxxvi/ce/multi/0,3892,4956214,00.html

### denotes press release

 

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Confirmed---Sudhir Amembal to Pursue Lease Education and Training

 

The story in yesterday’s Leasing News is confirmed, except it appears

while Mr. Amembal is named as Chairman and CEO and although the name of the company is Amembal Capital, Executive Vice-President Larry Grant states he is a “minority investor:”

 

 

Sudhir Amembal did not found our company as stated in your article, but

joined the company in 1996 as a minority investor and was elected Chairman.

The company was founded by Loni Lowder in 1979 as PFC Group. Sudhir's focus

in the company has been in training, education (including conducting a

series of free advanced leasing seminars for brokers across the country) and

publication of books and articles on leasing. The day-to-day operations and

running of the company have always and continue to be performed by Loni

Lowder as President/CEO, Executive Vice Presidents Larry Grant and Randy

Cameron and other senior officers.

 

Mr. Amembal is in the process of issuing a press release describing his

current activities and plans, but in the meantime please be advised that

Sudhir has elected to concentrate his time on his company Amembal &

Associates, which provides international lease training and consulting,

including an extensive involvement with the World Bank. His minority

ownership in Amembal Capital has been re-acquired by Loni Lowder.

 

ACC continues to be an active, thriving organization providing equipment

lease financing to middle market customers nationwide; as it has for the

past 23 years.

 

Best regards,

 

Larry Grant

larry@amembalcapital.com   

 

 

For readers who are not familiar with Mr. Amembal, he is world-renowned for his

scholarship, consulting and publications in the area of equipment leasing

and lease accounting.  He is a very popular lecturer.

 

Sudhir Amembal has consulted on behalf of a variety of institutions, ranging from small

businesses to Fortune 500 companies and governments, including China,

Indonesia and Russia.

 

He has also authored fourteen books, including the industry standard, The

Handbook of Equipment Leasing. 

 

Sudhir is known throughout the equipment leasing world, both as an educator

and as a master of the domestic and international tax, accounting and legal

intricacies of the equipment leasing process. He is active in four

leasing associations, appearing at conferences, often accompanied by

his wife. His reputation is impeccable, and  may be considered the "most respected" scholar in the leasing industry, world wide.

 

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 Where is Fred Van Etten? In Houston, Texas

 

Thank you and your readers for your interest in what I have been doing since

I departed First Sierra/Sierracities.com.

 

 As you and many of your readers may remember, The Redstone Group was the seed capital that helped us start First Sierra in 1994. Redstone which is a privately held conglomerate has ownership and investments in a myriad of different entities which included Northwest Bank and Redstone Bank, both here in Houston.

 

 I joined Redstone in March of 2001 and was EVP of Business Development of Northwest Bank until we sold it to The Whitney Bank in October 0f 2001.  Since then I have been working on the business development and strategic direction of Redstone

Bank. We are excited about the prospects for the Bank and the Holding

company and are considering several options to help it grow.

 

I miss all my friends and colleagues in the Leasing business and in light of

"The Perfect Storm" hitting the industry I sincerely hope that prospects are

better for you all in 2002.

 

Best regards,

 

 

Fred Van Etten

Executive Vice President

Redstone Bank N.A.

713-316-3675

www.Redstonebank.com

Fvanetten@redstonebank.com

 

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Tyco Withdrew Bid/Court Now Approves Sale to GE Capital Lower Bid

 

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ROSEMONT, Ill

Company Targets March 15 for Filing Plan of Organization

 

Comdisco, Inc. (NYSE: CDO) announced Tuesday that it has completed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court-supervised sales evaluation process for its remaining leasing businesses - North American Information Technology (IT) Leasing, Telecommunications and Healthcare--without completing a transaction and intends to retain those businesses. The company said it now will focus on filing its plan of reorganization by March 15, 2002.

 

During the Court-supervised bidding process that concluded in early January 2002, the company received bids for all of its leasing business units. On January 24, 2002, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of Comdisco's Electronics and Laboratory & Scientific equipment leasing businesses to GE Capital's Commercial Equipment Financing unit. That sale is expected to close no later than March 31, 2002. Although Comdisco's board of directors had determined that an offer from Tyco Capital, a unit of Tyco International (NYSE:TYC), was the highest or otherwise best bid for its North American IT Leasing business, Tyco terminated discussions with Comdisco during the course of documentation on the evening of January 31, 2002. The board determined that no other bids for its North American IT Leasing, Telecommunications and Healthcare businesses were acceptable. According to the Court-approved bidding process, all bids expired at midnight on January 31, 2002.

 

"Over the past several months, Comdisco's board explored a wide range of alternatives with the objective of determining which would provide greater value for our stakeholders," said Norm Blake, Comdisco chairman and chief executive officer. "The company has now completed that process and intends to proceed with its reorganization plan towards emergence from Chapter 11." As previously announced, the company's reorganization plan also includes European IT Leasing and Comdisco Ventures.

 

The company currently has the exclusive right to develop a plan of reorganization through March 15, 2002, and until May 15, 2002 to solicit acceptances of the plan. While it is still targeting completion of the plan by March 15, 2002, as a precaution, Comdisco is filing a motion for a 30-day extension of those dates to be heard at its next scheduled Bankruptcy Court hearing on February 14, 2002.

 

Comdisco also announced that is has executed an agreement for the sale of substantially all of its North American IT CAP Services contracts to T-Systems Inc. for approximately $6.8 million, plus consideration for future business with those accounts. The sale is subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court at the February 14, 2002 hearing, and, if approved, is expected to close no later than February 28, 2002.

 

Comdisco, Inc. and 50 domestic U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 16, 2001. The filing allows the company to provide for an orderly sale of some of its businesses, while resolving short-term liquidity issues and enabling the company to reorganize on a sound financial basis to support its continuing businesses.

 

Comdisco's operations located outside of the United States were not included in the Chapter 11 reorganization cases. All of Comdisco's businesses, including those that filed for Chapter 11, are conducting normal operations. The company has targeted emergence from Chapter 11 during the first half of 2002.

 

About Comdisco

 

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides technology services worldwide to help its customers maximize technology functionality and predictability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. The Rosemont (IL) company offers leasing to key vertical industries, including semiconductor manufacturing and electronic assembly, healthcare, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology. Through its Ventures division, Comdisco provides equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital backed companies.

 

Safe Harbor

 

The foregoing contains forward-looking statements regarding Comdisco. They reflect the company's current views with respect to current events and financial performance, are subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the company's operations and business environment which may cause the actual results of the company to be materially different from any future results, express or implied by such forward-looking statements. The company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the Safe Harbor created by Section 27(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The words and phrases "expect," "estimate," and "anticipate" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: Adjustments arising in the course of completing the analysis of information with respect to the review of the company's businesses and evaluation of impairment charges; continuing volatility in the equity markets, which can affect the availability of credit and other funding sources to the high technology sector companies in the Ventures portfolio, resulting in the inability of those companies to satisfy their obligations in a timely manner and an increase in bad debt experience beyond current reserves; continued consolidation in the telecommunications industry and curtailment of the growth plans of the remaining companies in that sector, which could result in fewer buyers and reduced prices for available Prism assets, and a further reduction in the proceeds actually received from the sale of those assets compared to prior estimates and an increase in the losses associated with the discontinued operation. Other risk factors are listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including, but not limited to, the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2001. Comdisco disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

CONTACT: 

 

Comdisco, Inc.

 

Mary Moster, 847/518-5147

 

mcmoster@comdisco.com

 

or

 

Kekst and Company

 

Fred Spar or Jeremy Fielding, 212/521-4800

 

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Tyco/GE Capital/American Express---Watch Your Back!

 

 In view of the withdrawal from the Comdisco purchase,  and recent action regarding accounting and other issues, including falling stock, perhaps the rumor sent last week---that we could not confirm or publically get a denial---is true. 

 

It came from a high ranking individual in a very large leasing company, competitor

of Tyco, who should know:  Originally we did not give it much credence, but

perhaps it is true:

 

“A good friend of mine who works for Tyco Capital told me that they already

looking to sell off the CIT unit that they just bought   last year. Possible

buyers are GE Capital, Citigroup and Alliance Capital. Tyco wants to

"return" to doing business in only their core industry's.”

 

  ( name with held )

 

Tyco stock has lost 60 percent of its value since December.

The Bermuda-based holding company's shares hit a new 52-week low Tuesday, sliding $6.80, or 23 percent, to close at $23.10 on the New York Stock Exchange. That added to a 19 percent drop Monday. The shares closed at $58.90 on Dec. 31.

 

In total, the Bermuda-based company Tyco has lost about $70 billion, or more than half of its market value since the beginning of the year, and is trading at its lowest level since October 1998.

 

Tyco's 6.75 percent notes maturing in 2011 on Tuesday fell more than four cents on the dollar to 74.75 cents as of the afternoon, and have now fallen at least 16 cents in the past week, traders said.

 

Though Tyco's bonds remain investment-grade, bond investors are treating them like junk, quoting the bonds by price rather than by their yield margin over U.S. Treasuries.

 

Tyco has really put the screws on employees not to talk to anyone, especially the press,

and especially Leasing News, we are told.  They were told if the door knocks and its

Kit Menkin or Mike Wallace, don’t let them in.  Wow, never knew I was considered

to be in such good company.

 

I hope my friends who moved to Tempe, Arizona, are not abandoned.

 

Is American Express Business Finance next. American Express Company  next.

The semi-annual Financial Community  Meeting is today at  2:30pm, EDT.

Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer, and Edward P.

Gilligan, group president of Global Corporate Services, will update the

financial community on the company's performance and senior management will

be available to answer questions.

 

In view of the problems at Tyco, and perhaps GE Capital, will American Leasing Express

talk about its reportedly several lawsuits with ex First Sierra officers and

directors.  They were scheduled to be completed by the end of last year. Eventually

they will show up in Security Exchange Commission filings.

 

 If anyone is going to attend the conference, whatever happened to the alleged

lawsuits with Thomas Depping, Mark McQuitty, and Fred Van Etten?   Was there

any resolution to the Mid Am portfolio, Republic Group of Anaheim or RW

Professional portfolio's, mentioned by an American Express spokesman last

October to Leasing News?

 

Kit Menkin, editor

 

 

4:33pm, EDT, Tuesday Press Release from Tyco

 

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Tyco Capital Moves to Enhance Liquidity

 Tyco Capital, the financial services subsidiary of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC, LSE: TYI, BSX: TYC), today announced that it opted to draw down on its $8.5 billion

unsecured bank credit facilities and is using the proceeds to repurchase the
company's outstanding commercial paper at its scheduled maturities. This
action is consistent with the initiatives discussed during the company's
investor conference call held on February 4, 2002.
 
    "We are drawing down all our unsecured bank facilities at this time to
maximize the company's flexibility and liquidity." said Albert R. Gamper, Jr.,
President and CEO of Tyco Capital.  " For over 55 years, the company has been
an active issuer in the commercial paper market. It is our intent, as an
independent finance company, to return to the commercial paper market with a
dealer based program, committed to maintaining ratings of the highest level
for our commercial paper."

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 ( Hate to say it, but when they start saying that, they mean the opposite.

 It’s like when they say it isn’t personal, it’s business.  They mean it’s  personal and applies to you.

 When they say we aren’t going to fire anyone, we are going to keep the present management, and we are committed to the highest level of commercial paper---start looking for a job immediately---you are next!!! 

Ask the guys and gals  who were at Advanta, CIT, Heller, Colonial Pacific...to just name a few. Watch  your back!!!. editor ).

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Butler Capital Consolidates to Maryland Hq.

 

Effective Monday, March 4, 2002, we will be relocating our New York Office to Maryland, the location of Butler Capital Corporations Main Office. I will be relocating my personal residence as well and will continue to manage the Broker Division.  The new contact information will be as follows: 

  

Mitch Larkin 

Butler Capital Corporation 

410-771-9600  (Phone) 

410-771-0898  (Fax) 

410-771-9614  (Fax) 

  

Mailing Address 

Hunt Valley Business Center 

P.O. Box 677 

Cockeysville, Maryland 21030 

  

Overnight Mail Address 

10944 Beaver Dam Road 

Cockeysville, Maryland 21030 

  

E-Mail Address 

Larkin101@msn.com   (or) 

mlarkin@butlercapital.com 

  

Thanks and hope to see you in Atlanta! 

  

Atlanta Gathering V
Joint Meeting with EAEL
February 11, 2002
Atlanta Airport Marriott
4711 Best Road, College Park, GA

 

Registration form:

http://64.82.65.38/atlantareg.shtml

 

Fee includes Hospitality Suite on Sunday 
  evening, food & beverage functions, workshops
  and entrance to exhibit hall on Monday.

 

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IFC CREDIT ACQUIRES SPECTRUM MEDICAL LEASING, INC.

 

 

MORTON GROVE, Il., - IFC Credit Corporation announced today

that it has completed the acquisition and purchased substantially all of the

assets and business of Spectrum Medical Leasing, Inc., based in Downers

Grove, Illinois.

 

In business since 1988, Spectrum Medical Leasing Inc. is a lessor

specializing in the leasing of medical equipment to hospitals and other

healthcare providers throughout the United States.

 

"The acquisition of Spectrum Medical Leasing will increase our customer

base, further diversify our lease portfolio and accelerate our long-term

growth", said Rudy Trebels, President and CEO of IFC Credit Corporation.

Trebels added, "We look forward to building on Spectrum's experience in the

healthcare marketplace, and with our combined resources, expand the medical

division and increase shareholder value".

 

Gus Nicolopoulos, President of Spectrum Medical Leasing, Inc. commented, "We

are pleased to become a part of the IFC Credit family.  IFC Credit is a

growing, full-service lessor who possesses strong origination and backroom

capabilities, and has competitive funding and capital needed to grow."

 

The transaction increases IFC's investment in both direct financing and

operating type leases, and adds hundreds of new clients to its customer

base.

 

In his new role, Mr. Nicolopoulos will head up the medical group, which will

operate as a separate division of IFC Credit Corporation.

 

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

 

About IFC Credit Corporation

IFC Credit Corporation is a growing, independent company that provides

innovative equipment leasing services to businesses nationally.

Headquartered in Morton Grove, Illinois, the company was founded in 1988 and

serves a broad market from small businesses to Fortune 1000 companies,

offering services to manufacturers, dealers and their end-user customers.

 

Contact:

Mr. Brian Cascarano

Vice President, Marketing

1-847-663-6700

bcascarano@ifccredit.com

 

 

IFC Credit Corporation

8700 Waukegan Road, Suite 100

Morton Grove, IL 60053

 

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United Association of Equipment Leasing Directory Is Out

 

The 2002 Membership Director was received at American Leasing.  The principal of the

company was not listed, the street address not given,  the PO Box zip code incorrect, and the “other offices”  listed in an incorrect street address for the “only office”….but otherwise, the new directory is by company alphabet only, no categories, and the directory is by the principals name and by company name.  Neat, clean, and easy

to use.

 

This is the responsibility of the member to keep the profile up-to-date.  There were

forms mailed out, and notification to follow.  So the American Leasing member

logged onto to the Membership Directory, choose “edit” your company info,

correcting the on line information---which will be used next year for the

2002-2003 directory.

 

Extra copies are $35 for members  $500 for non-members

 

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Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC Invests in Computer Sales International, Inc.

 

 

BOSTON--Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC announced it has acquired an equity interest in Computer Sales International (CSI), one of the nation's largest leasing companies of information technology equipment. Charlesbank will become the St. Louis-based firm's first and only institutional equity investor and the largest non-management shareholder. The funding will assist CSI in continuing the aggressive expansion of its business.

 

CSI recorded $577 million of revenue in fiscal year 2001, reporting its sixth straight year of double-digit revenue and earnings growth. Founded in 1972, the firm employs more than 300 people and has over 50 sales representatives operating across the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.

 

CSI handles the full range of IT equipment but leases primarily mid-range CPUs, workstations, printers and personal computers to large and mid-sized companies throughout the US, Canada and Europe. The company offers a customized approach to fit the user's needs and budget constraints, enabling flexibility in IT planning and continual access to new technology. Because CSI is an independent lessor, its customers are able to adapt solutions incorporating multiple hardware and software vendors.

 

"Our independent status and technical expertise allow us to respond effectively to each customer's needs, working with premier vendors to attain the best pricing in new and used equipment," says the firm's Chairman and CEO, Ken Steinback. "We see a tremendous opportunity to continue to aggressively grow our business and increase market share. We take pride in cultivating strong relationships with vendors and customers and are thrilled to have raised capital that will help us expand. The experienced team at Charlesbank will be a valuable strategic resource as we move ahead."

 

"CSI's solid historical performance is a testament to the strength of its business model and management team," says Kim Davis, Managing Director, Charlesbank Capital Partners. "The current market opportunity and the company's robust balance sheet will enable CSI to grow in excess of historical rates and serve customer needs even more adeptly than in the past. We look forward to partnering with this long-tenured, talented management team as they continue to grow their business."

 

Further information about CSI can be found on the company's web site at www.csileasing.com.

 

Charlesbank Capital Partner, LLC, is a private investment firm with approximately $2.5 billion of capital committed to acquisition and expansion financing for growing companies and developing real estate assets. The private equity team focuses on middle-market management-led buyouts and growth capital financings, typically investing $20 million to $75 million per transaction. Charlesbank seeks to partner with strong management teams and other value-added investors to build companies that offer competitive advantages and excellent prospects for growth. The firm has offices in Boston and New York.

 

CONTACT: 

 

Charlesbank Capital Partners, LLC

 

Maura M. Turner, 617-619-5457                           

 

mturner@charlesbank.com                 

 

or

 

Computer Sales International

 

Kenneth B. Steinback, 314-810-8810          

 

ken.steinback@csileasing.com   

 

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Would you please correct the typos in your headline?

 

 

Richard L.Rochold joins  Cypress Leasng

 

The correct spelling of my last name is Rockhold

 

Please correct the spelling of Leasing.

 

Thanks and Regards,

 

Rick

 

Richard L. Rockhold

Cypress Leasing Corporation

1137 Nirvana Road, Suite 100

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Phone: (805) 898-2747

Fax: (805) 435-3738

Email: rrockhold@cypressleasing.com

http://www.cypressleasing.com

 

 ( Not only will we make the correction to the on line version, but repeat it again in the same manner, but corrected this time. It is my typo and you were the last  story of the day.. I hate it when people mispronounce  my name or spell it incorrectly,

Congratulations on the new position, by the way. editor )

 

Cypress Leasing Corporation Announces Richard L. Rockhold has Joined the Company’s Acquisitions Team

Steve Harwood, President of Cypress Leasing Corporation, today announced that Richard L. Rockhold has joined the company. In conjunction with Jim Kaylor, Rick will be responsible for acquiring rail, marine and industrial equipment transactions on behalf of Cypress. Rick has over 10 years experience in the leasing industry, most recently as founder and principal of Momentum Leasing Advisors, an advisory firm focused on the purchase and sale of secondary market leasing transactions involving transportation and industrial assets. Prior to Momentum, Rick held various positions in leasing, finance and business development with USL Capital, ITEL, Southern Pacific Transportation and Wells Fargo Bank. Rick is a graduate of the University of Iowa, holding a Master’s Degree in Finance and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration.

Cypress Leasing http://www.cypressleasing.com was founded in 1985 and is a privately owned company, headquartered in San Francisco. Cypress specializes in purchasing secondary market equipment leasing transactions from institutional lessors. Acquisitions are made on behalf of Cypress managed investment programs and for Cypress' own account. In addition, Cypress advises lessees and lessors with respect to end-of-lease negotiations and its executives serve as expert witnesses in litigation.



Sites of Reference:
http://www.cypressleasing.com

CONTACT:
Richard L. Rockhold
Cypress Leasing Corporation
Phone Number: 805-898-2747
Fax Number: 805-435-3738
E-mail: rrockhold@cypressleasing.com

 

( courtesy of ELAonline )

 

 

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)

 

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PACCAR Financial Reports 54% Drop in Pretax Income
 

PACCAR's Financial Services represents a portfolio of over 100,000 trucks and trailers with total assets of over $4.7 billion. Included in this segment is PACCAR Leasing, one of the largest full-service truck leasing companies in North America, with a portfolio of over 14,000 vehicles.

Fourth quarter revenues of $110 million were 13 percent lower than the same quarter in 2000, while pretax income declined by 60 percent to $7.0 million due to higher credit losses in the U.S. truck market. For the year, revenues decreased 4 percent to $459 million and pretax income was 54 percent lower at $35.0 million compared to $76.4 million last year.

Mike Tembreull, vice chairman, stated, "PACCAR's Financial Services companies generated net income, while providing an attractive source of financing to its customers. The ability to serve our customers worldwide was greatly enhanced in 2001 with the successful launch of PACCAR Financial Europe. In North America, credit losses continued as a result of the record number of fleet bankruptcies and truck repossessions. PACCAR Leasing achieved its eighth consecutive year of record profits. PACCAR's financial and credit efforts were strengthened as a result of technology investments throughout the year." Tembreull added, "The use of sophisticated credit analysis, on-line used vehicle catalogs and electronic data
transfer procedures benefited customers worldwide."

 

 ( courtesy of Monitordaily.com )

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Comdisco Completes Court-supervised Sales Evaluation Process; Intends to Reorganize Around IT, Healthcare, and Telecommunications Leasing

Company Targets March 15 for Filing Plan of Organization

Comdisco, Inc. (NYSE: CDO) announced today that it has completed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court-supervised sales evaluation process for its remaining leasing businesses- North American Information Technology (IT) Leasing, Telecommunications and Healthcare--without completing a transaction and intends to retain those businesses. The company said it now will focus on filing its plan of reorganization by March 15, 2002.

During the Court-supervised bidding process that concluded in early January 2002, the company received bids for all of its leasing business units. On January 24, 2002, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of Comdisco's Electronics and Laboratory & Scientific equipment leasing businesses to GE Capital's Commercial Equipment Financing unit. That sale is expected to close no later than March 31, 2002. Although Comdisco's board of directors had determined that an offer from Tyco Capital, a unit of Tyco International (NYSE:TYC), was the highest or otherwise best bid for its North American IT Leasing business, Tyco terminated discussions with Comdisco during the course of documentation on the evening of January 31, 2002. The board determined that no other bids for its North American IT Leasing, Telecommunications and Healthcare businesses were acceptable. According to the Court-approved bidding process, all bids expired at midnight on January 31, 2002. "Over the past several months, Comdisco's board explored a wide range of alternatives with the objective of determining which would provide greater value for our stakeholders," said Norm Blake, Comdisco chairman and chief executive officer. "The company has now completed that process and intends to proceed with its reorganization plan towards emergence from Chapter 11." As previously announced, the company's reorganization plan also includes European IT Leasing and Comdisco Ventures.

The company currently has the exclusive right to develop a plan of reorganization through March 15, 2002, and until May 15, 2002 to solicit acceptances of the plan. While it is still targeting completion of the plan by March 15, 2002, as a precaution, Comdisco is filing a motion for a 30-day extension of those dates to be heard at its next scheduled Bankruptcy Court hearing on February 14, 2002.

Comdisco also announced that is has executed an agreement for the sale of substantially all of its North American IT CAP Services contracts to T-Systems Inc. for approximately $6.8 million, plus consideration for future business with those accounts. The sale is subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court at the February 14, 2002 hearing, and, if approved, is expected to close no later than February 28, 2002.

Comdisco, Inc. and 50 domestic U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 16, 2001. The filing allows the company to provide for an orderly sale of some of its businesses, while resolving short-term liquidity issues and enabling the company to reorganize on a sound financial basis to support its continuing businesses.

Comdisco's operations located outside of the United States were not included in the Chapter 11 reorganization cases. All of Comdisco's businesses, including those that filed for Chapter 11, are conducting normal operations. The company has targeted emergence from Chapter 11 during the first half of 2002.

About Comdisco

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides technology services worldwide to help its customers maximize technology functionality and predictability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. The Rosemont (IL) company offers leasing to key vertical industries, including semiconductor manufacturing and electronic assembly, healthcare, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology. Through its Ventures division, Comdisco provides equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital backed companies.

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 bizreport.com
Masterminds Of $16 Million “LEASE Money” Scheme Sentenced

A federal judge in New York this week sentenced two men to lengthy prison terms for their role in an investment scheme that swindled 172 investors of more than $16 million with the inducement of “leasing” money.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin sentenced Anthony Guastella and Robert Martins to nearly 17 years and 11 years in prison, respectively, for orchestrating an Internet investment scheme that has already landed four of their co-conspirators in jail.

Guastella, 50, and Martins, 56 – both of Las Vegas – were found guilty last June of wire fraud, money laundering and interstate transportation of stolen property. Following the reading of the guilty verdict, Guastella fled the courthouse, only to be caught later by a U.S. Marshals unit.

According to court records, the two men ran a Web site that offered investors a chance to "lease" $1 million from a European bank for a fee of $35,000. Investors were told the up-front cash would be placed in a "high-yield investment program" that would generate returns of $5 million or more within 10 months.

Investigators showed that the entire scheme was a fake, and that the "Euro Banque" that supposedly held the investment never existed. They also showed that Guastella printed so-called "proof of funds" off of his home computer, which he had signed in the names of fictitious bank officials.

The two men divided the more than $16 million in "lease" fees raised in the scheme from October 1997 to July 1998, and spent most of the money to purchase luxury homes and cars.

Authorities plan to liquidate all of the assets bought with the profits from the fraud scheme and return the proceeds to investors.

 

  

Brady Parade’s Through Town

http://www.superbowl.com/xxxvi/ce/multi/0,3892,4956214,00.html

 

 

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