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February 21, 2001 Headlines---- Preferred Capital/Advance Rentals AccessLease.com Becomes Ampent Baltimore Technologies and eOriginal Enter WWW Fray Citibank Also Picks Up Dell Computer Financing Comdisco Gets Serious Class Action Fraud Lawsuit Rents in Fog City Falling After Dot-Com Shakeout ( Is Silicon Valley Next? ) Readers Rate the Rodi-Goodman Show------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Employee Question---- After reading your story about the employee inquiring about a new position at a company she didn't know much about and giving the sound advice of ascertaining their financial condition etc. before leaving her current position. It occurred to me that us Lessor/Brokers should take the same advice relative to funding sources. Thanks for the great job you do. Jeff Rudin, Quail Leasing jrudin@quailcap.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preferred Capital---Advance Rental Fees I have only been in the leasing industry for a year and a half, and all of that time was with Preferred Capital/Lease. They taught me everything I know about it. Recently Mark Seif put out this e-mail about keeping advanced rentals from customers and I'm a bit confused and concerned about this practice. What do you think and what do your readers think about this kind of activity? I've attached the company e-mail sent to me for your review. Also- The rumor around the company is that Preferred Capital will declare BK this week. Thank you for your help and keeping my name out of this. ( Name With Held ) ( First, I don't think Preferred Capital will go BK. I think they will rise from the ashes. Mergers/Acquistions are very difficult and time consuming. Many leasing companies are having their difficulties with funding sources drying up, changing overnight, and credit is definitely tightening. I know morale is down among many leasing companies, but if you have the right attitude, as the principals appear to have, a positive attitude, you can make it in this industry. They have a strong bank behind them, and more importantly, everything in place to turn things around. Don't give up. Advance Rental Fees---wow. There are legal issues, policy issues, and many funders have rules on making payments on time, and this is not as simple an issue as it might appear.
I will ask readers for their
opinion, but to understand this
better I suggest you go to and click on the button "Advance Rental fees."
or you may take attorney Ken Greene up on his offer: " I would be happy to discuss this issue with Mark ( Seif), or anyone.
I am involved in several
cases involving the failure of brokers
to return security and inquiries. "Please feel free to call me at 415 925 0700, or to email me. " Thank you." Ken Greene KGreene100@aol.com Leasing News has verified that Mark Seif, General Counsel, and former prosecutor for the Los Angeles District Attorney's office, did write the memo. Preferred Capital, perhaps one of the first to use telemarketing and the Plastic Lease Card, will become a Capital Werks company. You will hear competition complain about this and that, but remember the funder is the one who bought the deals, set the parameters ( scores,etc), and there are always two sides to a story, perhaps many sides. ( Readers, you make up your own mind. editor ) From: Mark Seif Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2001 9:30 AM To: Whole Company Subject: What Happens to Advance Rentals When Deals Die? And Other Important Stuff. I want to take a moment to answer the above question and reiterate our policy regarding this issue because apparently there is some confusion. ***** also sent out e-mails last week and today on this topic and we both as well as Louis wish to be ultimately clear on the procedures for handling advance rentals. First though, a couple of general issues need to be addressed. Please understand we will soon be one company. As such I don't want to hear anymore about the CapitalWerks guys said this or CapitalWerks policies are different, etc. Soon (in a matter of days) Preferred Capital Corporation will cease doing business. It's sad but unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about it. The reason is, Preferred simply can't continue as a going concern with the millions of dollars of debt it has accumulated over the past several months. In fact, had our creditors pushed the issue we would have had to file for bankruptcy protection and probably close our doors weeks ago. Fortunately, Louis negotiated a deal with CapitalWerks that allows the company to survive, all of us to keep our jobs, and to rebuild the biggest and best leasing company in America. We are all very lucky to have these opportunities. Let's embrace this fact and stop the divisive, negative, and morale crushing comments that have been floating around lately. Simply put, we have collectively to resolve some of the problems that invariably come up when two companies become one. And, as you've probably heard the old adage, "if you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem." If this applies to you, do us all a favor including yourself -- please leave. The fact is, those of us that have been around through everything that has gone on for the last several months do not need nay Sayers preaching doom and gloom and bringing everyone down. The entire executive management team is committed to succeeding in this operation and will not allow a handful of negative people to prevent that success. So, please tell us about any problems, concerns, or suggestions you may have but do so in a constructive, professional way that is intended to resolve the problem and make everyone's job easier, more satisfying and more profitable. Do not whine, gripe, or complain just for the sake of it. It's not productive and will not be tolerated. Now, with respect to advance rentals, management recognizes the need to return many advance rentals to preserve relationships for current or future deals, and for fairness or ethical reasons. We are willing to do so and will do so on a case-by-case basis. Just present your reasons to Louis or myself and we will send back the money even though it's a Preferred liability that technically has nothing to do with our new company. Of course, any advance rentals received by the new company will be returned to the lessees if the deal can't be approved. What happens when the money is not returned? The advance rentals will be applied to commission after 6 months from the date the deal was declared dead (lessee notified that we are not going forward with their lease). The amount stated on the docs as doc fees will be treated as doc fees meaning will be paid at 40%, the rest will be treated as regular commission. The legal dept. will receive the requests on the same form currently being used, and will sign off that there is no threatened or pending litigation and will forward the request to accounting for payment to the reps. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments regarding the above or any other matter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- United Capital Clearing Up There appears to be some confusion with the reports on United Capital. Yesterday's information appears to be about the United Capital that is a division of Hudson United Bank out of Atlanta. United Capital, Austin, Texas, has no connections to this company, Unicapital, or United Financial. United Capital of Austin was started by Steve Dallas in 1997 in Fresno, California and it was moved to Austin in the summer of 1999. United Capital of Austin has never been associated with anyone else. The only owner is and has been Steve Dallas. Apparently, the news of their operations caught them off guard last week and they haven't been able to respond. It's hard to deny the truth. Two more employees have supposedly left since then. Name withheld -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More JDR I'm sure you'll hear from JDR on this but their relationship with Copelco was terminated last year when Citigroup took over. I'm not sure who they are currently using. Our experiences with them indicate that they functioned more as a super broker than a direct funder. It appeared that they didn't have internal authority to approve or fund. This, combined with Copelco's "slower than industry standard" turnaround lead to frustrating service delays. We haven't had much opportunity to work with them recently since their credit window tightened but they certainly were a key component of our service offerings for our first 2 years. Hopefully they can find their way. We have lost too many funders already.(You may quote me, there's nothing here that they don't already know.) On another issue, I think that if you're going to print comments like those below you should absolutely demand that the author's name be used. It's one thing to protect "insiders" from retribution. It's entirely something different to allow unmitigated and unsubstantiated funder bashing. I'm sure you receive plenty of relevant comments with attributions attached. To do less undermines the credibility of your publication and pushes it into the realm of "chat room". It's far too easy to throw stones from behind a tree. ******************************************* John Craine, VP Sales PowerNet Financial Group Inc. Your Professional Equipment Leasing Network http://www.thePowerNet.com (800)348-2288 Fax (781) 461-9449 JohnC@thePowerNet.com ( We do not allow anything to be said or posted without either knowing the sender, personally, or verifying the information from a minimum of three sources, and/ or speaking directly with the company or people involved. There are many companies we have not mentioned who state United Capital owes them money from deals not funded or commission to their brokers, and super brokers who are complaining they can't pay the commission because their source, such as United Capital or U.S. Capital, have not funded the deal or paid them for the specific deal or other deals. We screen all "name with held" to the best of our ability. editor.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Rodi-Goodman Show I would rather Leasing News not print personal attacks. Though they are quite entertaining, I think it is counter productive to supporting the industry. I know Bob can take care of himself. He does so very well. I know Ken Goodman thinks as highly of himself as he states that Bob does. Maybe this is a little bit like Andy Kaufman and the wrestler. Can't we all just get along? Andrew Thorn <athorn@nowlease.com> ( Wow. A great idea. I bet it would be a big draw at the Scottsdale Conference to see Ken Goodman take on Bob Rodi in the wrestling arena. Youth and courage versus old age and cunning ( at least, that is the way Rodi would see it...who by the way, is an ex-cop, Baltimore, Maryland, I believe...but maybe Ken could make it a tag team event!!! ) + + + Good grief....do we have to see this gladiator match between Goodman and Rodi every day? These guys are supposedly grown men, business professionals and, more than that, representatives of our "profession" as commercial finance and lease specialists dealing in a very sophisticated marketplace. They are both acting like petulant children with "my Dad can whip your Dad"...grow up!! I am used to having our industry associated with classy people like yourself, Armon Kamesar, Fred Shieman, Ron Wagner, Bob Skinner, Bob Putnam, Steve Head, etc. They projected dignity, integrity, vision and a sense of civility that is sorely missing through this recent scenario. Where is there any value to revealing this kind of inane slander in your publication each day? Who is it serving? Are any of us learning even a single lesson from it? Is our industry gaining prestige with our investors, funders and clients? This has been a very sad display and I don't believe there is any redeeming value for any of us in it. Why don't you just help them find a dark alley and let them prove forever who is the best man (read "child") by beating on each other until one doesn't get up.....won't that prove more than the verbal shots hiding behind email volleys?? Enough!!! Other than this crap, I really enjoy the terrific service and presentation you give us each day...keep up the good work and, Keep the faith!
Larry B. Turner, President Vision Capital Corporation lbt@visioncapitalcorp.com ( Just a moment, I never said I was a classy guy. and I have known Steve Head a long time. He is much a classy guy as Ron Wagner, who I also know. I also knew Fred Sheiman when he was alive ( he was a great guy, but he was a "street fighter," too.) Bob Skinner, Bob Putnam!!! Next you'll tell me what a classy guy Herb Saltzman was? He did run for five miles each morning through the mountains in Mill Valley, California.... ) + + + I have been enjoying Leasing News and having a few chuckles over the Testosterone Boys. Thanks for the laughs we all need then right about now. "R. Runyon" <capitallease@adelphia.net> + + + Mr. Goodman sounds like an interesting person-I hope you can point him out in New Orleans. ( name with held ) ( He is definitely "interesting." I will introduce you to him. editor ) = = = Perhaps I do not represent a majority of Leasing News readers, but I would like to suggest that Mr. Rodi and Mr. Goodman take their "discussion" offline. In my opinion, disagreement and discussion
are inevitable and often healthy. However, name-calling and insults serve no
purpose Thank you, Haley Carter Cobalt Leasing Program Manager Sun Microsystems, Inc. mailto:haley.carter@sfbay.sun.com ( Not worthy? I mean we are not talking about M&M singing with Elton John? editor ) + + + + + + As I have enjoyed the Bevis & Butthead (Bob Rodi & Ken Goodman) show, I have to agree with Ginny Young. For many years we have all tried very hard to project an image of professionalism in the leasing industry. Both Bob and Ken have initials after their names (CLP) which is supposed to indicate the most professional individuals in the leasing industry. The tarnish which is the end product of this kind of behavior is very hard to get rid of, even using Brasso, and both Rodi & Goodman are well aware of that. If Bob and Ken want to continue to "duke it out", a more appropriate forum would be a convenient alley, or a pool full of Jello. I want the ticket concession. Mark Speros, GM, Broker Division Landmark Financial Corporation Mark@LFCINC.com ( Mark, How about a wrestling match at the next leasing conference? editor ) I think Steve Geller had the right idea yesterday about this, "Those of who know the "Testosterone Boys" find this amusing and thought-provoking. For those who don't maybe it looks in bad taste. This is not the New York Times..." I have known Ken Goodman for many years, and the same with Bob Rodi. They both have dynamic personalities. They both have their own strong opinions, and God love them for it. Ken is quite active and helped form the National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers. Bob is very active and contributed enormously to the United Association of Equipment Leasing. Many see the two associations having different "attitudes", and perhaps this can be underscored in both their opposing views. It is like having the Gore Vidal and William Buckley on the leasing industry or maybe not. Inside their humor, are some thought provoking ideas and opinions. Almost like one is a Democrat and the other is a Republican. Why can't they have opposing views. In revolutionary times, Congress literally had fist fights. The first censure was against one congressman spitting in the face of another. Of course we have changed since then. Alexander Hamilton would not call Aaron Burr a gonif.editor Did you know we also have cartoons. http://www.leasingnews.org/cartoons.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- for free, and we are looking for new subscribers...it is free. Our Leasing News is for the entire industry, not just presidents or CFO or brokers but all employees involved in the leasing process, service providers, even attornies. We like attornies. AccessLease.com Becomes Ampent (tm); Releases Capital Acceleration Platform(tm) Company Accelerates the Current of Capital SAN FRANCISCO, CA. - February 21, 2001 - AccessLease.com today changed its corporate identity to Ampent (www.ampent.com <http://www.ampent.com>) and completed its transition from a traditional lease intermediary to a principal provider of private-label, automated financing solutions with the release of their Capital Acceleration Platform(tm) (CAP). "Ampent's new identity delivers upon our mission to offer the best-in-class business platform for the automation of ng the financing supply chain," said Troy Klith, Ampent CEO/Founder. "We've evolved from a traditional leasing intermediary to develop technologies and services that focus on solving our partner's core needs: the rapid fulfillment of their customers' financing with the widest selection of equipment-lease products the industry has to offer," Klith said. "Ampent's new identity reinforces our direction and provides a corporate umbrella for all our leading-edge products and services." Along with its new identity, Ampent unveiled its Capital Acceleration Platform(tm), the first complete point-of-sale leasing solution, providing vendors, manufacturers, banks and B2B Exchanges with an instant, automated lease-financing alternative. The CAP brings the lease transaction closer to the point-of-sale and, through Ampent's diverse Wholesale Funding Network, increases equipment vendors' and manufacturers' lease approvals, while providing competitive, risk-adjusted pricing. "Ampent's Capital Acceleration Platform is a winning solution for vendors and manufacturers who will increase their sales as their customers enjoy instant approvals, affordable financing, and quicker access to their leased equipment," said Todd Lowdon, Vice President, Business Development. About Ampent's Capital Acceleration Platform(tm) Ampent's Capital Acceleration Platform(tm) (CAP) is an automated platform solution that accelerates the distribution of capital through the financing supply chain while funding the entire spectrum of credit risk. The first complete point-of-sale leasing solution includes real-time credit scoring and decision-making, sophisticated lease analysis tools, risk-adjusted pricing, automated documentation generation and tax calculation, workflow management and online status reporting. About Ampent Established in 1997, Ampent(tm), formerly AccessLease.com, provides for the frictionless distribution of capital through the financing supply chain, accelerating commercial lease transactions for small-ticket equipment vendors, funding sources and lessees. With their patent pending Capital Acceleration Platform(tm) (CAP), Ampent significantly increases the speed, efficiency and quality of finance transactions while the reducing the cost and effort associated with traditional lease processes. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Ampent is a member of the Equipment Leasing Association of America and the United Association of Equipment Leasing and is backed by Athena Technology Ventures, Artemis Ventures, Sterling Payot Capital, and other investors. For more information visit Ampent online at www.ampent.com <http://www.ampent.com>. --30-- Contact: Ampent Parker H. Trewin Senior Marketing Manager 415-946-6300 ptrewin@ampent.com <mailto:ptrewin@ampent.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baltimore Technologies and eOriginal Provide Secure Infrastructure for Electronic Original Documents
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001--Baltimore Technologies (NASDAQ:BALT; London:BLM), a global leader in e-security, today announced that it has been chosen by eOriginal, the leading provider of Electronic Negotiable Instrument Software Solutions, to be included in the development of a trusted security infrastructure for the real estate financing, equipment and vehicle leasing, and the trade and transportation industries. Baltimore's award winning technology will enable eOriginal to deliver a secure and trusted environment for eOriginal's business partners to execute critical transactions, and trade or transfer legally enforceable electronic negotiable instruments and securities such as electronic mortgages, leases , bills of lading, letters of credit, regulatory filings and stock certificates. eOriginal chose Baltimore Keytools(TM) Java e-security suite to offer a digital certificate-based system providing authentication, data-integrity and non-repudiation capabilities to its customers in a wide range of industries. Baltimore KeyTools provides all of the functionality to enable applicat ions to operate within a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), implement digital certificate systems with strong cryptography, and make use of a broad scope of security services. "Baltimore's e-security products provide key components that enable eOriginal to create and facilitate the use of digitally signed Electronic Original(TM) documents. Within this model, eOriginal's products meet the applicable legal requirements of electronic transaction legislation in the United S tates for documenting and controlling electronic negotiable instruments, securities and source records," said Stephen F. Bisbee, president of eOriginal. "We are able to provide our customers with a secure and trusted environment in which to completely execute critical business transactions, and tr ade or transfer negotiable instruments securely over the Internet." eOriginal also plans to use Baltimore's UniCERT(TM) PKI system to issue, maintain and validate certificates to document and control original negotiable documents. Baltimore UniCERT is a highly scalable, flexible, standards-based PKI solution with an intuitive user interface allowing rapid deployment of security infrastructures. It is one of the world's leading solutions for conducting secure e-business transactions over the Internet, Extranet, and Intranet, and is used in the most demanding industry environments, including banking, government, and e-commerce. "As B2B e-commerce continues its explosive growth, Baltimore and eOriginal will ensure that end-to-end transactions will be conducted legally, safely, easily and efficiently over the Internet," said Andrew Morbitzer, VP of marketing for Baltimore Technologies. "Our leadership in providing a truste d e-business infrastructure, coupled with the breadth of capabilities of eOriginal, will give customers the peace of mind that their transactions are secure." About eOriginal eOriginal, Inc. is the leading provider of electronic negotiable instrument software solutions that enable enterprises to execute secure, online business transactions in which legally enforceable electronic documents completely replace paper as the essential high value assets or source records. eOriginal is unique. It is the only company that offers a complete, comprehensive and integrated solution capable of creating Electronic Originals(TM) that are legally accepted as negotiable instruments and insured by a respected global insurance provider, and the only e-commerce solution that fully complies with all six transferable record criteria of E-Sign and Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) legislation. The company's patented business process provides the ability to create Electronic Original(TM) documents that are unique, identifiable, authentic and unalterable, survive the execution of the transaction and serve as permanent, original source records in electronic form. Electronic Original(TM) documents are as authentic and trustworthy as signed, legally enforceable paper documents. eOriginal's technology integrates best-of-breed public cryptography systems, electronic signatures, smart card and portable token security devices, imaging and document management, and secure electronic storage. The result is a secure and trusted environment in which to completely execute critical business transactions, and trade or transfer legally enforceable electronic negotiable instruments such as electronic mortgages, leases, bills of lading, letters of credit, regulatory filings and stock certificates. The company ensures the authenticity of Electronic Original(TM documents, the identity of the signatories and the integrity of the content. eOriginal, Inc. is headquartered in The Warehouse at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD. For more information, please visit http://www.eoriginal.com. About Baltimore Technologies Baltimore Technologies develops and markets security products and services to enable companies to develop trusted, secure systems for e-business, the Internet and mobile commerce. Its products include a wide range of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) products and services, access control and authorization products, wireless e-security solutions, cryptographic toolkits, content security products (MIMEsweeper) security applications and hardware cryptographic devices. Baltimore's global professional services organization offers a wide variety of consulting, training and deployment support to its customers worldwide. Baltimore markets and sells its solutions worldwide directly and through the TrustedWorld(TM) partner program. TrustedWorld brings together the world's top global integrators, service providers, technology vendors and channel partners in the industry's leading alliance of e-security specialists. Baltimore Technologies employs over 1200 people worldwide and operates from 38 cities, with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland; London, UK; Boston, USA and Sydney, Australia. Baltimore Technologies plc is a public company with dual listings on NASDAQ (BALT) and the London Stock Exchange (BLM). For further information and press releases on Baltimore Technologies, please visit http://www.baltimore.com. Baltimore Technologies, UniCERT, and KeyTools are trademarks of Baltimore Technologies plc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Certain statements that are not historical facts including certain statements made over the course of this document may be forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance and achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements implied by such forward-looking statements. CONTACT: Baltimore Technologies Tracy Ross, 650/372-5288 tross@baltimore.com or eOriginal Susan Penn, 410/625-5151 slpenn@eoriginal.com or Schwartz Communications Tara Dugan, 415/512-0770 tdugan@schwartz-pr.com or Brodeur Worldwide Erica Steinig, 617/587-2091 esteinig@brodeur. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Citibank Unit Launches Financing Program for Dell Small Business Customers
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001--Citibank today announced the official launch of a new program that provides Dell's small business customers with the option to finance their purchases through a newly created Dell Account. The program is managed and administered by Associates Commerce Solutions (ACS), which was acquired by Citigroup on November 30, 2000. A Dell Account customer has the option of paying for purchases in 25 days with no finance charge or can revolve payment periods at competitive interest rates and with no annual fee. Previously, payment options for Dell's small business customers had been limited to full payment within 30 days; leasing; or using a general-purpose credit card. Through a direct link between ACS and Dell's order entry system, the private label Dell Account program features real-time decision-making for applications. Later this year, customers who place an order with Dell via www.dell.com also can apply for financing and, upon approval, immediately make purchases on their Dell Account. "With this new partnership, we have solidified our leadership position in financing computing hardware for both businesses and consumers," said Richard L. Robinson, president of ACS. "We will continue to use our industry experience to help Dell expand financing options for its small business customers," he added. Underwriting, marketing and customer service functions for Dell Accounts are provided by ACS through its operations center in Layton, Utah. The program began as a gradual phase-in during the third quarter of 2000. ACS provides both consumer and commercial private label credit programs for over 40 large merchants and manages receivable assets of $4.1 billion. Consumer programs include Radio Shack, Goodyear and Zale Corp. Business-to-business credit programs include Office Depot, Staples and OfficeMax. Dell Computer Corporation (Nasdaq: DELL) is the world's leading direct computer systems company, based on revenues of $32 billion for the past four quarters, and is a premier provider of products and services required for customers to build their Internet infrastructures. The company ranks No. 56 on the Fortune 500, No. 154 on the Fortune Global 500 and No. 10 on the Fortune "most admired" lists of companies. Dell designs, manufactures and customizes products and services to customer requirements, and offers an extensive selection of software and peripherals. Information on Dell and its products can be obtained on the World Wide Web at www.dell.com. Citigroup (NYSE:C), the preeminent global financial services company, provides some 120 million consumers, corporations, governments and institutions in more than 100 countries with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, insurance, securities brokerage and asset management. Major brand names under Citigroup's trademark umbrella are Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Salomon Smith Barney and Travelers. Additional information about Citigroup can be found at www.citigroup.com. Dell is a registered trademark of Dell Computer Corporation. Fortune and Fortune 500 are registered trademarks, and Fortune Global 500 is a trademark, of Time Inc. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. CONTACT: Citibank Maria Mendler, 718/248-6175 KEYWORD: NEW YORK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Law Firm Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Comdisco, Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2001--The following was released today by Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP: Comdisco, Inc. Charged With Securities Fraud, Says the Pomerantz Firm Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP (www.pomerantzlaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit against Comdisco, Inc. ("Comdisco" or the "Company") (NYSE: CDO), the Company's President/Chief Executive Officer and a Director-Nicholas K. Pontikes, and the Company's Chief Financial Officer/Execu tive Vice President and also a Director-John J. Vosicky, on behalf of all those persons or entities who purchased the common stock of Comdisco during the period between January 25, 2000 through October 3, 2000, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, located at the Everett McKinley Dirks Building, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois 60604. The Court may be reached by telephone at (312) 435-5698. The case was filed under Civi l Action No. 01C 1148, and has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul E. Plunkett and Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown. The Complaint alleges that Comdisco, a global technology services company which provides technology services through four divisions: Leasing, Services, Comdisco Ventures and Prism Communications Services ("Prism"), violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements with regard to Comdisco's prospects and operations and statements concerning its Prism Communications Services Subsidiary, which caused the Company's stock price to be artificially inflated during the Class Period. As alleged in the Complaint, Comdisco repeatedly issued positive statements with respect to Prism's ability to expand into new markets and broaden its customer base by expanding its network, statements concerning strong performance across all of Comdisco's businesses, and statements that the Company anticipated exceeding analyst earnings estimates. However, it is alleged that the Company did not disclose that Prism suffered from a multitude of negative factors, including information that Prism was experiencing significant difficulties in dealing with incumbent local exchange carries which were slow to provide Prism access to their networks, that Prism was experiencing intense competition from established telecommunications companies who were lowering prices in order to garner market share, and that Prism had not been successful in its expansion into new geographic markets nor in its attempts at an increased presence within existing markets. On October 3, 2000, Comdisco shocked the market when it announced that it would cease funding Prism and write down its Prism investment, which amounted to $350 million. As a result of this announcement, the price of Comdisco's common stock dropped 23% in one day, from $17.56 per share o $13.37 per share. This constituted a 66% drop from the Class period high of $53 per share, reached on March 9, 2000. In addition, the principal debt-rating agencies for corporate debentures all lowered their ratings on Comdisco's debt securities. The Complaint further alleges that prior to the disclosure about Comdisco, Comdisco insiders sold $10 million of their personally held Company stock. Comdisco also launched an initial public offering for a tracking stock for another Comdisco business unit, and completed a $500 million 9.5% Senior Note offering on favorable terms. Thereafter, on December 21, 2000, Comdisco announced the resignation of Nicholas K. Pontikes as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. If you purchased the common stock of Comdisco during the Class Period, you have until April 9, 2001 to ask the Court to appoint you as one of the lead plaintiffs for the Class. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Andrew G. Tolan, Esq. of the Pomerantz firm at 888-476-6529 (or (888) 4-POMLAW), toll free, or at agtolan@pomlaw.com by e-mail. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number. The Pomerantz firm is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 50 years later, the Pomerantz firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. CONTACT: Andrew G. Tolan, Esq. of Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman Gross LLP, 888-476-6529 ((888) 4-POMLAW) or agtolan@pomlaw.com CONTACT: Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP Andrew G. Tolan, Esq., 888/476-6529 ((888) 4-POMLAW) agtolan@pomlaw.com TICKERS: NYSE:CDO KEYWORD: NEW YORK ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rents in S.F. Falling After Dot-Com Shakeout By DOUGLAS ROBSON, Special to The Los Angeles Times Rising vacancies and falling rents continue to pull San Francisco's dot-com driven real estate market down to earth. The return to normalcy in one of the country's most constrained office markets has contributed to another trend: a growing spread in rents between top-quality buildings and lower-tier properties that garnered artificially high rates during the Internet leasing frenzy. "Six months ago, a shed in South of Market could command the same rent as the Bank of America building," said Paul Stein, a principle with San Francisco-based developer SKS Investments, one of the more prolific builders in the old industrial area known as South of Market, or SoMa. "That's like paying the same for a used Volkswagen as for a new Ferrari." Since the end of the third quarter, rents in Class A high-rises have only dropped slightly, and in some buildings they have even increased, local brokers said. But buildings on the fringe of the Financial District and in parts of the SoMa and Mission districts have dropped 20% to 40%. "It's become a tale of two markets," said Mike McCarthy, a broker with Colliers International in San Francisco who has worked primarily with Internet firms the last few years. Two to 3 million square feet of sublease space, primarily from technology companies, has flooded San Francisco in recent months, several real estate firms said. Many companies have gone belly up and others have pulled out of real estate deals. Last month for example, MarchFirst, a once-highflying Internet consultant, pulled the plug on a 273,000-square-foot lease at the massive Mission Bay mixed-use development in SoMa--swallowing a $4.5-million deposit in the process. As a result, the overall office vacancy rate in the city's roughly 60-million-square-foot market has nearly doubled since the end of the year, jumping from 3.88% at the end of December to 6.27% at the end of January, Grubb & Ellis Inc. said. Rental rates across the board also have continued to fall. In the same one-month period, asking rents for Class A space have dipped 7.2% to $71.91 per square foot and Class B space has dropped 11.1% to $58.86, according to a Grubb & Ellis report. The reversal of fortune is especially evident in the dot-com heavy SoMa/Multimedia Gulch area, where vacancy is 14.5%. Still, San Francisco remains one of the most expensive and tight markets in the country. Asking rents in Los Angeles County, by comparison, averaged $29.72 for Class A space last quarter and overall vacancy was around 12.2%, Grubb & Ellis said. The uptick in vacancies has reestablished a stratification in the market that became skewed by the scramble for space from the horde of start-up and venture capital-backed technology companies. Prominent space in trophy properties continues to command eye-popping numbers. In January, investment banking firm Adam, Harkness & Hill of Boston inked a $110-per-square-foot lease for 33,000 square feet at Embarcadero Center, one of the city's top financial district properties. That is among the highest rates ever recorded in the city. Meanwhile, asking rents for Class B space, which makes up 75% of the SoMa submarket, has plummeted more than 26% from the end of October to $55.64 per square foot, Grubb & Ellis said. Peter Victor, who oversees leasing for the 4-million-square-foot Embarcadero Center complex, said he is negotiating another triple-digit rent. Overall, he added, rents have tailed off very little, if at all, at the 99%-leased property. But the Boston Properties Inc. executive cautioned: "If we go through six months of weak demand, then all bets are off." A precipitous drop in the market here is unlikely, observers said. The region has a limited supply of land, major barriers to entry and an artificial growth cap. Known as Proposition M, the controversial local ordinance limits new office construction to about 1 million square feet annually. Efforts to relax the cap in November's election failed. For the first time since the measure was passed in the late 1980s, several developers are competing for building rights. City officials in March will review proposals by Tishman Speyer Properties, McCarthy Cook & Co., Pacific Resources and A.F. Evans Development Co. for about a million square feet of office space. However, only about a third of that, 336,000 square feet, will be allowed. The upshot: Though the contest will leave some developers out in the cold, it should restrict the supply of new buildings and thus bolster rents in existing buildings. But some landlords who circumvented the city's cap on new office development by gaining a so-called business-service designation for industrially zoned buildings could be particularly vulnerable to the dot-com downturn, observers said. The city has mostly stopped doling out the controversial designations, and the business-service classification travels with the tenant, not the building. In other words, once these tenants leave, the buildings revert to industrial uses unless a similar high-tech tenant that carries a business-service designation can be found. With the Planning Department taking a firmer stance against such designations, and the over-improved space not as suitable for an industrial user, "a lot of guys could lose their hides," said Charlie Beck, a broker with Grubb & Ellis in San Francisco. Beck is working with a landlord who vacated a garment-manufacturing building along 9th Street in SoMa in hopes of attracting an Internet tenant. Now, instead of nearly $50 per square foot in rent, he is marketing the 21,000-square-foot property to industrial users and nonprofits for rents of about half that. "The window of opportunity is closed for a lot of these landlords," Beck said. Several brokers described the market as a moving target. The swift rise--and now decline--is keeping many potential tenants on the sidelines in a watch-and-wait mode. "The market is adjusting so rapidly," said Peter Mavridis, an associate director with tenant-representative broker Julien J. Studley Inc. in San Francisco, "that it's bordering on schizophrenic." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ February 21, 1947 Nina Simone Birthday ------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Kit Menkin E-mail: Kit Menkin <kitmenkin@leasingnews.org> Date: 02/21/01 Time: 10:19:15 www.leasingnews.org 346 Mathew Street Santa Clara, Ca. 95050 Voice: 408-727-7477 E-Fax: (781)459-4789 -------------------------------------------------------------- In 1866, Lucy Hobbs became the first women to graduate from a dental school at Cincinnati, Ohio. The German High Command launched an offensive on the Western Front at Verdun, France in 1916 this day, which became WW I's single longest battle. An estimated one million men were killed, decimating both the German and French armies, before the battle ended on Dec 15, 1916. Malcolm X, a black leader who renounced the Black Muslim sect to form the Organization of Afro-American Unity and to practice a more orthodox form of Islam, was shot and killed as he spoke to a rally at the Audubon Ballroom at New York, NY in 1965. I interviewed him as a newsman when he was al ive, one of the most dynamic personalities I have ever met. His autobiography with the assistance of Alex Haley is outstanding. Three men were convicted of the murder in 1966 and sentenced to life in prison. Related to the current incident with the FBI informant, Aldrich Hazen Ames and his wife Maria del Rosario Casas Ames were arrested in 1994 February 21st on charges they had spied for the Soviet Union beginning in 1985 and had continued to spy for Russia after the Soviet collapse in 1991. ever uncovered in the US. On April 28 Aldrich Ames was sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors said that the pair had been paid about $2.5 million for their activities and were probably responsible for the deaths of at least 10 CIA agents whom Ames had identified for the Soviets. The government consid ered this to be one of the most serious spy cases ever uncovered here . www.leasingnews.org |