November
06, 2000
to regularly receive Leasing News kitmenkin@leasingnews.org
---also
ON LINE at www.leasingnews.org---
Headlines---
B2B Enabler Will Purchase Leading Business Credit Technology
Solutions Company for $133 Million in Stock
Unicapital!!!!! No News 4:30pm,
California Time, 7:30pm Florida Time
"a" or "the" Thomas S. Depping?
Citigroup---On
Line Payments---"Quick Cash" On Line!!!!!
ABB Finance Offers Vendor Program
With Decisions In "Seconds"
Associated First Capital To Lay Off 2,100 People
Apartment Leasing---Looks Good to Me!!!
Bulletin Board Complaint Posting---Clarification
---late breaking news----
LendX & LeasingExchange Offer 30 Equipment Lessors
On Line
( get the best price for the best situation plus
TRADE "SEASONED"
LEASES AND LOANS
HORSHAM,
Pa. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000--
B2B Enabler Will Purchase
Leading Business Credit Technology Solutions Company for $133 Million in Stock
VerticalNet, Inc. (Nasdaq:VERT), the Internet's leading business-to-business e-commerce
enabler, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire SierraCities.com
Inc. (Nasdaq:BTOB), which offers one of the Internet's fastest and most comprehensive
business credit solutions, for $7.00 per SierraCities share, or an aggregate of
$133 million, payable in VerticalNet stock and subject to a collar provision described
below. The acquired business, which will operate as VerticalNet Credit, will add
the key functionality of enabling credit and financing solutions to the B2B company's
horizontal offerings across its 57 industry-specific online marketplaces and will
be leveraged throughout its three strategic business units: VerticalNet Markets,
VerticalNet Solutions, and VerticalNet Exchanges.
Since its founding in
1994, SierraCities has leveraged its proprietary technology and the Internet to
build a leading business in originating and servicing small business equipment
leases and term loans of principal amounts less than $100,000. SierraCities' solution
allows an applicant to apply online, receive final approval in less than two minutes
and receive funding in as little as 24 hours. The company has processed more than
300,000 applications and originated more than $3 billion of loans and leases.
With more than 95,000 active business customers and an excellent credit quality
track record, SierraCities has strong core competencies in small business finance.
Through its experience in originating business credit, SierraCities has developed
a core competency in automating credit risk assessment of small to medium sized
businesses. Capitalizing on that core strength, SierraCities has developed solutions
that allow it to facilitate the extension of trade credit by providing suppliers
with real time credit scoring of their buyers. This automated Web-based solution
is faster, less expensive and more accurate in terms of assessing credit risk
than traditional offline methods. SierraCities gives VerticalNet an ideal platform
for providing Web-based credit solutions to its target markets.
"Some
of the barriers to conducting business online are assessing the creditworthiness
of your trading partners, establishing credit and financing terms and providing
a mechanism for payment," said VerticalNet's President and CEO, Joe Galli. "This
is why credit assessment, payment and financing services are key elements of our
strategy of providing a broad range of business-to-business e-commerce enablement
solutions to our customers. SierraCities' product offerings will enhance the features
and functionality of VerticalNet's online marketplaces. These improved product
offerings should drive customer satisfaction and usage and result in higher and
recurring e-commerce revenue streams. VerticalNet has two types of customers -
buyers and suppliers. SierraCities' credit solutions will afford buyers the liquidity
to make online purchases and will allow suppliers to manage credit decisions more
effectively."
"This merger will benefit our customers and shareholders,"
said SierraCities' President and CEO, Thomas Depping. "We have a great deal of
respect and appreciation for VerticalNet's vision and commitment to success, all
in a corporate culture that fits well with ours. Together, we'll be able to leverage
one another's technologies and customer bases to create a business that is much
stronger than what either of us has on a stand-alone basis. With VerticalNet as
our partner, we are more confident than ever that we will capitalize on our position
as the Internet's leading provider of real time, comprehensive credit solutions
for small to medium sized businesses and will continue to grow our vendor relationships."
VerticalNet will leverage and tightly integrate SierraCities'offerings throughout
its three business units by implementing the following:
-- VerticalNet
Markets expects to market trade credit services as well as financing solutions
throughout its 57 online marketplaces. Furthermore, VerticalNet Markets will make
available the SierraCities solutions to its business partners. In addition, VerticalNet
will market its e-commerce enablement services to SierraCities' customer base
and vendor network.
-- VerticalNet Solutions plans to integrate SierraCities'
business credit offering into its solutions stack, increasing the division's e-commerce
enablement capabilities.
-- VerticalNet Exchange intends to use SierraCities'
credit decisioning tools to qualify the market participants of NECX and future
exchanges.
"We expect that the SierraCities acquisition will be accretive
to VerticalNet's 2001 cash earnings and 2001 revenues on a per share basis," said
VerticalNet's Executive Vice President and CFO, Gene S. Godick. "In addition,
we believe that we can realize synergies from this acquisition and expect that
it will strengthen our cash position."
Godick continued, "We are confident
that we will be able to integrate SierraCities effectively. As a condition to
closing, SierraCities will move substantially all of its loan and lease portfolio
off balance sheet. We also plan to rearrange SierraCities' funding strategy so
as to minimize the size of the balance sheet associated with the SierraCities
business and to significantly reduce our exposure to credit risk. Currently, SierraCities
funds loans and leases with equity, then moves them into a warehouse facility
provided by one of its credit sources and from time to time effects a securitization
of these assets. Going forward, VerticalNet intends to establish flow arrangements
with selected financial institution partners pursuant to which loans and leases
will be originated by SierraCities and immediately sold for a fee to flow partners.
Given SierraCities' excellent credit history, we are confident that we will be
able to arrange flow agreements with financial institution partners on a timely
basis."
The transaction will take the form of an exchange offer in which
VerticalNet will offer to exchange VerticalNet shares with a value of $7.00 for
each SierraCities share, subject to a collar. The number of VerticalNet shares
to be delivered will be based on the average closing price of VerticalNet's stock
over the ten trading days ending two days before the closing of the offer. The
collar functions as follows: if the average price is (1) less than $21, the SierraCities
shareholders shall receive 0.3333 shares for each SierraCities share, (2) between
$21 and $35, SierraCities shareholders shall receive a number of VerticalNet shares
equal to $7.00 divided by the average price, (3) between $35 and $51, the SierraCities
shareholders shall receive 0.2 VerticalNet shares for each SierraCities share,
and (4) greater than $51, the exchange ratio shall be $10.20 divided by the average
price. SierraCities will have the right to terminate the merger agreement if the
average price is less than $15. The exchange offer will be followed by a merger
in which VerticalNet stock will be issued at the same exchange ratio paid in the
exchange offer. The offer is subject to the tender of two-thirds of the outstanding
SierraCities shares and other customary conditions. Holders of approximately 20%
of the outstanding SierraCities shares have agreed to tender their shares into
the exchange offer.
The parties have agreed to commence the offer no later
than November 17. The parties hope to close the transaction by the end of the
year. The transaction will be accounted for using the purchase method and is expected
to be tax-free to SierraCities stockholders.
About VerticalNet, Inc.
VerticalNet, Inc. (www.verticalnet.com)
provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions targeted at distinct business segments
through three strategic business units: VerticalNet Markets includes 57 industry-specific
web sites designed as online vertical trading communities and provides hosted
e-commerce and community capabilities for corporate divisions and mid-size businesses;
VerticalNet Exchanges focuses on direct material open and spot markets; VerticalNet
Solutions builds digital marketplaces for global 2000 customers, consortia and
neutral Net market makers. VerticalNet International leverages the Company's three
strategic business units to create global Internet B2B marketplaces, offering
products and services internationally and partnering with companies that have
strong local presence and domain expertise.
About SierraCities.com Inc.
SierraCities is an innovator of technology solutions for online business-to-business
financing. The Company's technology platform supports real time funding of e-commerce
transactions through one of the most comprehensive online business financing fulfillment
solutions available. SierraCities' credit technologies enable B2B e-commerce by
empowering businesses to complete transactions more quickly, thereby gaining time
and cost efficiencies. SierraCities' infrastructure solution automates much of
the process involved in customer acquisition, application, data retrireview, data
warehousing, underwriting, documentation, servicing, collections, funding, auditing,
and data mining. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.SierraCities.com.
SAFE HARBOR
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to (i) the completion
of the exchange offer and merger; (ii) the benefits expected from the transaction,
including the expectation that the transaction will be accretive to VerticalNet's
cash earnings and revenues; (iii) the integration of SierraCities' operations
into VerticalNet's operations, including VerticalNet's ability to arrange flow
relationships with financial institutions; and (iv) statements that are preceded
by, followed by or include the words "will," "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects,"
"anticipates," "hope," "potential," or similar statements. For such statements,
VerticalNet and SierraCities claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
There can be no assurances that future results will be achieved, and actual results
could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially include: the emergence of new competitive
initiatives resulting from rapid technological advances or changes in pricing
in the market; the risks associated with new product introductions, as well as
the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new or enhanced products from either
VerticalNet, SierraCities or their competition; risks associated with the entry
into new internet markets; the risks associated with integrating newly acquired
businesses and technologies; delays in product delivery; business conditions in
the business-to-business industry e-commerce industry; uncertainty and volatility
associated with Internet and eBusiness related activities; and other risks described
in their respective filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neither
VerticalNet nor SierraCities assumes any obligation to publicly update or revise
any of the forward-looking statements that may be in this announcement.
VerticalNet
and NECX.com are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Vert Tech LLC in the
United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and tradenames appearing
in this announcement are the property of their respective owners.
We urge
investors and security holders to read the following documents, when they become
available, regarding the exchange offer and the merger (described above), because
they will contain important information:
- VerticalNet's preliminary prospectus,
prospectus supplements, final prospectus, and tender offer materials.
- VerticalNet's Registration Statement on Form S-4 and Schedule TO containing
or incorporating by reference such documents and other information.
-
SierraCities' Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9. These documents
and amendments to these documents will be filed with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission.
When these and other documents are filed with
the SEC, they may be obtained free at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov. You may
also obtain for free each of these documents (when available) from VerticalNet
by directing your request to Investor Relations at mlange@verticalnet.com / www.verticalnet.com
or by fax at 215-784-1960, or from SierraCities by directing your request to Investor
& Media Relations at thomasdepping@sierracities.com/
www.sierracities.com/ or by fax at 713-221-1818.
--30--DD/ph*
CONTACT: VerticalNet, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact:
Muriel Lange, 215/315-3367
mlange@verticalnet.com
or
Media Relations Contact:
Jessica Cassady, 215/315-3712
jcassady@verticalnet.com
or
Investor & Media Relations Contact:
Thomas J. Depping, 713/229-6800
thomasdepping@sierracities.com
Unicapital dismissed their previous public relations firm, and Jody Campbell is
back. At six pm, Florida time, she reported, " They are still negotiating. This
could go on for hours, and has before." 6:30pm, she stopped answering the telephone,
and tried again at 7:00pm and then 7:30pm, Florida Time. Nothing on "Business
Wire".
· 1/16 Change
-1/64 (-20.00%) Prev Cls Stock at All Time Low
Yahoo
United Capital Stock Message Center
Kit, I feel real certain that the
"cheap shot" was not really Tom Depping and I am real surprised you would think
it was. I am an X FSF Acquiree and communicate with Tom at a totally different
email address. I am not a TD fan but I think your shot is the real cheap one...
I do enjoy your Leasingnews but hope it stays above board as I know you take pride
in your communications.
jimborland@mindspring.com
http://messages.yahoo.com/bbs?.mm=FN&action=m&board=9133423&tid=ucp&sid=9133423&mid=3124
( If you note, I said "a" Thomas S. Depping, Houston, Texas.
I did not
say Thomas S. Depping or the Thomas S. Depping...the fact is "a" Thomas S. Depping
did put the message in the chat box, and I will stick to that...I did try to contact
Sierra Cities, but they would not return telephone calls or e-mails, and have
not done so for me for six months or longer, no surprise.
If it is not
"the" Thomas S. Depping, let us here him say it...I gave him the opportunity in
advance...he also has the opportunity now to deny it. Maybe he did say it.
Several readers told me it was in his character to send such a message ( is that
a cheap shot to report what some ex-employees think? And all employers, remember
how you operate because when a salesman or person in operations leaves you and
interviews for a job elsewhere, all your practices and foibles will be revealed---editor
)
Bulletin
Board Postings---- Two Commission Complaints
Still sitting on them. One party had promised to wire the commission owed, and
as of this morning, has broken this promise. The other is ignoring everyone so
far.
Leasing News gets two to three of these complaints a week. You only
see a few of them as I try to resolve them without hurting anyone. Most of them
are between brokers and super brokers. Both of these are very well documented.
One with six months of e-mail form this super broker, who you may know, making
promises, and he was supposed to wire the money he owed to this broker on Thursday,
and has not.
There is a lot of problems going on in the leasing industry.
And please trust me, that I am not trying to hurt anyone and bend over to turning
matters over to attorneys...which I do.
However, when I get three and
four complaints about a source not paying a broker his commission, or worse yet,
from a lessee saying they will not return a first and last after not funding a
deal and the lessor or broker acknowledges this in ed-mail and promises for months
not to return. Almost all of the brokers do not belong to any of the professional
organizations. While most are relatively new in the business, several have been
around for a long time. Why they do not support the professional organizations
just for their own protection, is certainly amazing to me.
If we don't
start policing these things, you are going to find government regulations and
the internet on line brokers are really taking advantage of the poor business
practices of several leasing companies. They have some legitimate claims against
prior sales practices. The follow-up story we are holding documents one practice,
and we did not want to publish it before any announcement, because it will be
the first time what the industry knows in private, but has not been said publically,
to the best of my knowledge.
We investigate all postings to the bulletin
board, and only put on about 10% of what we receive, as we do not want to "hurt"
the industry, but help it.
editor
Associated
First Capital To Lay Off 2,100 People
DALLAS (AP) - Consumer-finance company
Associates First Capital Corp. is planning to lay off about 2,100 employees after
its acquisition by Citigroup Inc. is complete next year.
All but about
100 of the layoffs will occur in the company's headquarters in the Dallas suburb
of Irving. The company has about 32,500 employees worldwide.
The company
notified about 500 employees Friday at its Irving headquarters, its Roanoke data
center and a systems area in South Bend, Ind., that they will lose their jobs
Jan. 5. An additional 1,600 employees were told that their jobs also will be eliminated
next year.
Citigroup, the largest U.S. banking firm in assets, announced
in September it would pay $30 billion in stock to acquire Associates, which is
a market leader in issuing credit cards, providing home equity and mortgage loans,
and leasing trucks and heavy equipment. The deal is expected to close by year
end.
Citigroup officials in September said that acquiring Associates could
save the two companies $600 million a year in costs.
Associates recently
reported record third-quarter earnings of $442 million and has earned profits
of $1.22 billion in the first nine months of 2000, 13 percent higher than a year
ago.
On the Net:
Associates: http://www.theassociates.com
Citigroup: http://www.citigroup.com/
BB Financial Services Launches Vendor Finance Group
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000--ABB Financial Services, a leading
global financial services company, today announced the commencement of ABB Business
Finance, a full-service vendor finance company. ABB Business Finance has begun
offering a broad array of leasing products and services to the U.S. market.
ABB Business Finance's web offering enables vendors to complete and submit secured
credit applications online and receive credit decisions within minutes. The information
captured in the credit application is automatically transferred to the lease documentation
increasing turnaround time and eliminating administrative costs. Lease documents
are then electronically sent to customers further expediting the lease process.
ABB Business Finance plans to build alliances with manufacturers, dealers, and
resellers to offer customized financing solutions for their customers. The company,
with headquarters in Westborough, Massachusetts, specializes in leasing transactions
ranging from $5,000 to $250,000. ABB Business Finance will focus on small and
medium-sized businesses through vendor relationships in several vertical industries.
"The formation of the Business Finance group is an important step in support of
ABB Financial Services' strategy to broaden our product offering and presence
in the U.S. market," said Arun Nayar, President, ABB Financial Services (Americas)
Inc. "ABB Financial Services has achieved great success with our leasing business
in Europe. Our goal is to replicate this achievement in the United States."
The management team at ABB Business Finance includes industry veterans with extensive
leasing and financial services background. Thomas Herlihy, executive vice president,
will manage strategic growth as well as oversee day-to-day operations. "The new
company is built around a vision of creating a superior experience for our customers,"
Herlihy said.
ABB Business Finance, a unit of ABB Financial Services,
provides a comprehensive array of leasing products and financial services for
business customers interested in acquiring new equipment throughout the United
States. Markets served include technology, telecommunications, office equipment,
healthcare, graphic arts and industrial. ABB Financial Services has more than
$20 billion in managed assets and over 900 employees operating in 20 countries.
Operations include treasury and insurance services, leasing and financing, structured
finance, infrastructure project development, and financial consulting.
ABB is a global technology company serving customers
in automation, power transmission and distribution; oil, gas, and petrochemicals;
building technologies; and financial services. With novel IT applications, tailored
software solutions, growing eBusiness and a fast-expanding knowledge and service
base, ABB is building links to the new economy. ABB reported revenues of $25 billion
in 1999 and employs about 160,000 people in more than 100 countries.
CONTACT:
ABB Financial Services, Norwalk
William S. Kelly, 203/750-2246
william.s.kelly@us.abb.com
Maybe Apartment Leasing is A Better Industry to be in than Equipment Leasing?????
Viva Announces $17.3 Million Strategic Investment Led By Apartment REIT Consortium
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 6, 2000--
First Internet Leasing
Exchange Receives Endorsement From the Nation's Largest Aggregate Supplier of
Apartments
Viva (www.viva.com), the
rental housing industry's first Internet leasing exchange, announced today that
seven of the apartment industry's largest public companies -- Archstone Communities
(NYSE: ASN), AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB), Camden Property Trust (NYSE: CPT),
Equity Residential Properties Trust (NYSE: EQR), Gables Residential (NYSE: GBP),
Post Properties (NYSE: PPS) and United Dominion Realty (NYSE: UDR) -- have combined
resources to act as the lead investor in a $17.3 million equity investment in
Viva.
J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) acted as the consortium's advisor in the
transaction. Other investors in the round include Banc of America Mortgage Capital
Corporation, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Insignia Financial
Group (NYSE: IFS) and Viva's existing venture capital firms, Allegis Capital,
Rosewood Venture Group and Kline Hawkes & Co.
Viva employs a unique "reverse
listing" business model that enables renters to put themselves on the market and
then receive online rental offers from properties. The company facilitates a "digital
dialogue" between renters and owners, enabling both parties to interact and negotiate
lease transactions online. Viva simplifies the search process for renters and
provides owners with direct, one-to-one access to "ready" renters accurately matched
to properties based on detailed housing needs and preferences.
"We are
very pleased to receive this major vote of confidence from such a stellar group
of apartment companies, who also happen to be some of our largest customers,"
said Scott Ingraham, chairman and CEO of Viva. "This transaction represents a
major step for the apartment industry because the nation's largest aggregate supplier
of apartments has now established a formal marketing channel with the nation's
first online leasing exchange," he added.
The consortium transaction will
enable Viva to increase the number of registered rental units from approximately
800,000 to more than 1.2 million. "When major apartment companies aggressively
participate in the Viva exchange, our renter customers are the ultimate beneficiaries,"
said Ingraham.
Viva is currently serving 15 major metropolitan markets
in Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Florida and Georgia, with plans in motion to expand
nationally in 2001. "The consortium represents more than 530,000 apartment units
and in excess of 60% of the apartment REIT industry's total equity market capitalization,"
said Douglas Crocker II, Equity Residential's President and CEO. "By joining together,
we're able to make significant investments in innovative companies like Viva,
companies we believe will revolutionize the apartment industry."
R. Scot
Sellers, chairman and chief executive officer of Archstone Communities, noted
that approximately 15-20% of apartment customers currently use the Internet as
a starting point for their apartment search--a number that is expected to double
by 2003. "We see significant upside potential in investing in companies who are
ahead of the curve and defining this new electronic marketplace," he said. "Although
Viva is very much a neutral marketplace that is open to all owners and managers
of rental housing, we and the other apartment companies will make a major contribution
to the Viva business model by sharing our insight, industry acumen and data. This
will allow our companies the unprecedented opportunity to support and enhance
the development of an electronic alternative to traditional apartment locator
companies."
The 36 million U.S. renter households account for more than
$300 billion in annual rent payments with more than 15 million lease transactions
occurring each year. "Viva's management team, business plan and proven ability
to execute make the Company a clear standout among the hundreds of real estate
technology companies we have evaluated," said Katy Rice, managing director of
real estate investment banking at Banc of America Securities in San Francisco.
About Viva
Viva (www.viva.com) is an
online leader in the rental housing industry, providing a unique pay-for-performance
marketing channel that allows owners and managers to register their properties,
receive requests from matching renters and make customized offers to renters at
no cost. In addition to being used by the nation's largest apartment companies,
Viva's "open" marketplace is also utilized by smaller owners of apartments, condos
and houses. Viva offers landlords a pay-for-performance pricing model: owners
and managers pay success fees only when renters execute lease agreements. Success
fees are 50 percent to 88 percent less than traditional apartment locator fees.
The Company intends to offer its service across the nation in the coming year.
Viva was co-founded in 1999 by Scott Ingraham and Allan Hunter, two former public
apartment REIT senior executives who have been business partners for 17 years.
About Archstone Communities
Archstone Communities is a leading real estate
operating company focused on the operation, development, acquisition, redevelopment
and long-term ownership of apartment communities in markets and sub-markets with
high barriers to entry throughout the United States. Archstone currently has a
total market capitalization of $5.7 billion, and a strategic national presence.
With 235 communities representing 72,318 units, including units in its development
pipeline, as of September 30, 2000, Archstone has a strategic presence in markets
that include 31 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan markets.
About
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
AvalonBay Communities, headquartered in Alexandria,
Virginia, has a total market capitalization of $5.4 billion and currently owns
or holds an ownership interest in 136 apartment communities containing 39,618
apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which ten communities
are under construction and two communities are under reconstruction. AvalonBay
is in the business of developing, redeveloping, and acquiring and managing luxury
apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets of the United States.
About Camden Property Trust
Camden Property Trust is a real estate company
engaged in the ownership, development, acquisition, management and disposition
of multifamily apartment communities. With a total market capitalization of $2.7
billion, Camden owns and manages 145 properties consisting of 51,336 apartment
homes in the Sunbelt and Midwestern markets from Florida to California.
About Equity Residential Properties Trust
Equity Residential Properties
Trust is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America with a market
capitalization of $11.5 billion. Nationwide, Equity Residential owns or has an
interest in 1,102 properties in 35 states consisting of 225,433 units.
About Gables Residential Trust
Founded in 1982, Gables Residential is
a real estate investment trust (REIT) with a market capitalization of $1.8 billion.
Gables operates a portfolio, which including fee managed properties, consists
of 123 communities with 38,600 apartment homes. The apartment communities are
located in the high-growth, economically diverse markets of Atlanta, Austin, Boca
Raton, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, and Orlando. Renowned for its development
expertise and service to residents, it is also a source for brokerage, fee management
services, and corporate apartment homes.
About Post Properties
Post Properties, Inc., the preeminent developer and operator of upscale apartment
communities in the United States, pioneered building and branding resort-style
garden apartments for almost 30 years. Post now focuses on the creation of high-quality,
high-density, live-work-walk neighborhoods in in fill locations in major urban
markets across the country. The company has been recognized locally, nationally
and internationally for building better neighborhoods and the preservation of
historic buildings. Operating as a self-administered and self-managed equity real
estate investment trust (REIT), the company's primary business consists of developing
and managing Post(R) brand-name apartment communities. Nationwide, Post Properties
owns approximately 35,649 apartment homes in 103 communities, including 5,302
units currently under development.
About United Dominion Realty Trust
United Dominion Realty Trust is one of the country's largest multi-family real
estate investment trusts, with a market capitalization of $3.6 billion. The company
owns and develops apartment communities nationwide, including apartment properties
across in 34 major markets nationwide. The Company currently owns over 78,000
apartment homes and is the developer for over 2,500 homes under construction.
About Bank of America Corp.
Bank of America Corp., with $672 billion in
assets, is the largest bank in the United States. It has full-service operations
in 21 states and the District of Columbia and provides financial products and
services to 30 million households and two million businesses, as well as international
corporate financial services for business transactions in 190 countries. The company's
stock is listed on the New York, Pacific and London stock exchanges and certain
shares are listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
About Insignia Financial
Group
Insignia Financial Group, Inc., based in New York, is a premier
real estate services company with leadership positions in both the traditional
commercial and residential sectors as well as the e-commerce arena. Its major
operating units are: Insignia/ESG, one of the largest providers of commercial
real estate services in the United States and the pre-eminent commercial real
estate service provider in the New York metropolitan area; Insignia Richard Ellis,
one of the premier real estate services firms in the United Kingdom; Realty One,
one of the largest residential real estate brokerage firms in the United States
and the largest in Ohio; Douglas Elliman, the number one provider of residential
sales and rental brokerage in New York City; and Insignia Residential Group, the
largest manager of cooperative and condominium housing in the New York metropolitan
area. In addition, Insignia has forged a series of initiatives designed to harness
the growing opportunities for the delivery of real estate services via the Internet.
CONTACT:
Viva Daryl Toor, 770/777-9489
(404) 483-8222 (cell)
daryl.toor@precisionpr.net
or
Archstone Communities
Jack Callison, (303) 708-6963
Jcallison@archstonemail.com
LENDX and The Leasing Exchange Launch Website For Transaction Trading
( Their press release )
LENDX, the premier online corporate equipment
finance marketplace, and The Leasing Exchange, an association of thirty of the
largest equipment finance lessors, announced the launch of their newly developed
Website to be known as the Secondary Lease Exchange. The Website enables members
of The Leasing Exchange to trade seasoned leases and loans more efficiently.
LENDX and The Leasing Exchange announced their alliance on August 14, stating
a shared vision to bring liquidity to the $20 billion secondary market. The Secondary
Lease Exchange was demonstrated at the Portfolio Management Conference in Phoenix
last month, with workshops allowing members of The Leasing Exchange to see the
new site, ask questions, and log on and register.
The Secondary Lease
Exchange allows lessors to post lease offers for sale using simple, standardized
Web forms to create an "electronic book," a summary of the lease offer complete
with electronic attachments for important documentation.
Sellers control
the process, selecting the timeline and the list of potential buyers who will
see the offer. Buyers then utilize bidding tools, filtering preferences and email
alerts to easily manage the lease offers in which they are interested.
Richard Harris, chairman of The Leasing Exchange, said that the Website has the
ability to bring significant efficiencies to the trading of leases in the secondary
market: "As we stressed when forming the Alliance, The Leasing Exchange has recognized
for years the need to create a dynamic secondary market. Today our vision has
been enhanced with the help of LENDX's excellent technology platform."
The
Secondary Lease Exchange was internally developed by LENDX's technology team,
working alongside members of The Leasing Exchange. "This is the result of tight
collaboration between technical and industry experts," explained CTO Jamie Taylor.
"LENDX brings a high-tech, high-touch approach both to internal development processes,
and to providing solutions for the companies that use our services."
LENDX
will be conducting additional demonstrations of the Secondary Lease Exchange at
locations throughout the country. To attend, or to learn more about the Secondary
Lease Exchange, please contact Lou Vigliotti, LENDX executive vice president of
Lender Services (lvigliotti@lendx.com),
or Bill Badgio, LENDX senior vice president of Lender Services (bbadgio@lendx.com).
Citigroup
gets into online payment services game
By
Erich Luening
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Targeting the growing popularity of consumer online payment services, Citigroup
on Tuesday launched its own Internet payment system. The service, called c2it,
allows customers to transfer cash online from a bank, brokerage or credit card
account to a recipient's designated account through Citibank. c2it is available
to anyone in the United States with an email address, the company said. ·Citigroup,
based in New York, is joining the growing number of companies looking to tap the
online payment services market. Companies such as eBay-affiliated Billpoint and
PayMyBills.com have become popular as they set their sights on taking a share
of the billions of dollars generated through private transactions each year. But
while companies have flooded into the industry, no clear leader has emerged, and
obstacles remain. Many consumers are reluctant to change the way they conduct
their financial affairs, while others worry about security and question whether
a site outage would prevent them from accessing their money.
But Citigroup
executives say they hope the financial institution's well-known name will increase
interest in the payment method. Citigroup will start with a potentially big customer
base, as the service will also be heavily marketed under the brand name AOL Quick
Cash to America Online's approximately 25 million subscribers, said Anthony Jenkins,
a c2it executive. "The new service will simplify the way users shop online, pay
utility bills and transfer funds to individual accounts," Jenkins said. "It occurred
to us that the Internet could continue to simplify people's lives like ATMs have
done. c2it is the next tool in this effort." c2it will be free for the first three
months, and then Citigroup said it plans to charge a fee of $2 per transaction
to the sender. But executives said the price could vary depending on the other
Citibank products a customer uses. Though the c2it service is currently being
offered only to U.S. customers, Citigroup said it expects to provide international
services sometime next year. Also in the near future, c2it users will have access
to a family of other Citigroup financial products, services and financial management
tools via links to several Citibank properties, including MyCiti.com, ClickCredit.com
and Account Online, the company said.
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