Eyak Technology, LLC Remains Firmly Committed to Pursuing its Proposal to Acquire GTSI Corp.
All-Cash offer of $7.00 per Share Would Be Immediate Liquidity Event at Substantial Premium to GTSI's Pre-Announcement Price.
DULLES, Va., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyak Technology, LLC (EyakTek) today announced that it has sent a letter to GTSI Corp. (Nasdaq: GTSI) reiterating EyakTek's commitment to its proposal, first communicated in a letter to GTSI on August 13, 2010, to acquire GTSI for $7.00 per share in cash. A copy of the today's letter is included at the end of this press release.
EyakTek's proposal represented a premium of over 35% to GTSI's closing price on September 10, 2010, the last day of trading before the proposal was made public, and a 34.6% premium to GTSI's 30-day average closing price prior to the public disclosure of the offer. In its discussions with GTSI subsequent to its initial offer, EyakTek had also indicated that, since its proposal was based on publicly available information about GTSI, it would be willing to consider a higher price if GTSI were able to demonstrate additional value in the course of due diligence and negotiation.
EyakTek believes that GTSI's decision was reached in haste, without due consideration of the compelling benefits of its proposal to its stockholders. The transaction, at a price that already reflects a substantial premium to GTSI's pre-announcement trading levels and which price might be enhanced with further discussion among the parties, represents an attractive liquidity event for GTSI stockholders, particularly given the illiquidity of GTSI's stock, which historically has had average trading volumes of just over 4,000 shares a day.
In response to the public disclosure of EyakTek's proposal on September 13, 2010, GTSI's implementation of a "poison pill" Rights Plan, which is customarily viewed as a management entrenchment device detrimental to the interests of stockholders, together with GTSI's meritless allegation of "issues" under EyakTek's operating agreement, raise concerns that GTSI's board members are attempting to thwart the ability of GTSI stockholders to independently evaluate and choose to receive the benefits of EyakTek's proposal.
EyakTek remains firmly committed to pursuing a transaction with GTSI and is considering all options available to it to ensure that GTSI stockholders have the opportunity to receive the maximum value for their shares.
EyakTek is an Alaska Native-owned small business that provides award-winning solutions in infrastructure and security systems, communications, information technology, and healthcare services. As a recognized leader in the industry, EyakTek has consistently been ranked as one of the Top 100 Federal Contractors.
For more information call Andrea Williams at 703-880-5308 or visit the company's website at www.eyaktek.com.
Below is the full text of the letter sent by EyakTek to GTSI today:
September 15, 2010
VIA EMAIL AND OVERNIGHT MAIL
GTSI Corp.
2553 Dulles View Drive, Suite 100
Herndon, VA 20171-5219
Attn: Board of Directors
Gentlemen:
We are disappointed that you have again not fully considered our proposal to acquire GTSI for $7.00 per share in cash, which would provide substantial value for your stockholders. Our proposal would also provide your stockholders with immediate liquidity at a significant premium to the trading price of GTSI stock prior to the public announcement of our proposal.
We note that you reached your decision less than 12 hours after its announcement and that you refused to engage in a discussion of the merits of our proposal as part of your deliberations. We had previously invited your financial advisors to share with us your valuation approach, indicating that such a meeting might result in us being able to deliver even more value to your shareholders, but you declined to even take that step. We are particularly troubled by your meritless allegation of "issues" under our operating agreement and your hasty and reactive adoption of a Rights Plan, each of which indicates that you have started down a path of erecting obstacles to the ability of your stockholders to directly evaluate and consider our proposal. As you know, there is considerable institutional investor opposition to Rights Plans because of their historical use as a device to entrench management to the detriment of stockholders.
As we indicated in our August 13 letter, we anticipate financing the transaction contemplated by our proposal with a combination of cash on hand and additional senior debt financing, with respect to which we have a commitment, subject to customary conditions, for the entirety of the additional funds we will require to consummate the transaction. We also would feel comfortable with a "go-shop" provision to assure yourselves that there is not value greater than our offer available to your stockholders elsewhere in the market.
We continue to believe that our proposal would provide GTSI's stockholders the best opportunity to realize the value of their investment in GTSI, and one that in any event removes the evident downside risk of its current, speculative business strategy. Even assuming, contrary to experience so far, that your current strategy were to prove successful, your shareholders would have little opportunity to realize that value given the extreme illiquidity of GTSI's stock. We remain committed to a transaction with GTSI and will reach out again to your financial advisor to initiate a constructive dialogue about our proposal. While our preference continues to be to work together to negotiate a mutually agreeable transaction, you have left us no choice but to consider other options that are available to us in order to provide GTSI stockholders the opportunity to realize the best value for their investment in GTSI.
Sincerely,
Keith Gordaoff
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
SOURCE Eyak Technology, LLC
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