ATS Sets Final Date For Expiration of EPL Offer
ATS reports that it has fixed the tender offer at $23.00 per share after electing to discontinue legal action against EPL which, if successful, would have increased the offer to up to $24.00 per share.
ATS ceased its legal action challenging the termination-related fees paid by EPL in relation to its failed merger with Stone Energy because it became clear that its claims would not be resolved on a timely basis. EPL argued against the expedition of this litigation and the Delaware Court of Chancery determined not to set an expedited trial date. ATS believes that EPL's actions resisting expedition demonstrate that it clearly had no interest in recapturing for its stockholders the excessive termination fees paid by EPL in connection with its terminated merger agreement with Stone Energy Corporation.
ATS still intends to commence its consent solicitation to remove the current members of the EPL board and replace them with persons nominated by ATS. The consent solicitation is intended to facilitate the success of the ATS offer by putting into place a board of directors that ATS believes will be more receptive to the offer, and who will remove the poison pill adopted by the current EPL board in response to the ATS offer.
ATS President Mark Chatterji said: "The current board elected to take the company into a merger with Stone Energy Company which it later said was not in the best interests of stockholders, and in the process handed over more than $50 million - around $1.34 per share - in termination fees it should never have had to pay. This is just one of the recent decisions by the company's board which appears to have reduced EPL's financial resources without any discernible return to its stockholders.
"EPL stockholders have just three more weeks to make a decision. They have a choice between accepting the ATS offer of $23.00 per share in cash for their securities, or accepting the risk of sticking with a company run by a board whose recent actions have not been in the best interests of the EPL stockholders.
"EPL stockholders must remember that their shares were trading at $18.40 on the last trading day before ATS announced this tender, significantly less than the $23.00 per share ATS is offering.
"ATS has chosen to maintain its $23.00 per share offer despite the fact that the average monthly futures price for WTI oil for 2007 has fallen by 16% and the average monthly futures price for Henry Hub natural gas for 2007 has fallen by 17% since our offer was announced on 28 August. Moreover, despite the fact that more than eight weeks have passed since we first announced our offer, there have been no other publicly announced offers to purchase EPL. Stockholders will have to decide whether they want to accept the ATS all cash offer, or allow the market to value EPL in the absence of the ATS offer. EPL shareholders should understand, however, that we have no intention of continuing our offer past November 17, 2006," Mr. Chatterji said.
At the close of business on October 25, 2006, there had been 68,987 shares tendered.
The complete terms and conditions of the offer are set forth in the Offer to Purchase and related Letter of Transmittal, copies of which are available by contacting the Information Agent for the offer, Innisfree M&A Incorporated. Stockholders may call toll-free: 877-456-3427; banks and brokers may call collect: 212-750-5833.
ATS intends to distribute a supplement to its Offer to Purchase to the EPL stockholders which will describe more fully the modified terms of the offer. Copies, when available, also may be obtained by contacting the Information Agent for the offer, Innisfree M&A Incorporated, as set forth above.
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