AMR Responds to Below-Market Mini-Tender Offer
AMR Corporation
announced today that it has been notified of an unsolicited “mini- tender”
offer by TRC Capital Corporation (“TRC Capital”), a private Canadian
investment company. AMR has received a copy of the Offer to Purchase and
related documents, dated Jan. 12, 2005 (collectively, the “TRC
Documents”), pursuant to which TRC Capital has offered to purchase for
cash up to 4,000,000 outstanding shares of AMR’s common stock (the “Common
Stock”). The offer price of $8.30 net per share represents a 5.03%
discount to the $8.74 per share closing price for the Common Stock on the
New York Stock Exchange on Jan. 11, 2005, the day before the date of the
TRC Documents, and a 4.38% discount to the $8.68 per-share closing price
on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005. AMR does not recommend or endorse this offer, and AMR is not affiliated in
any way with TRC Capital, the offer or the TRC Documents.
AMR urges investors to obtain current market quotations for their shares
of Common Stock, consult with their broker or financial advisor and
exercise caution with respect to TRC Capital’s offer.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has issued “Investor Tips”
regarding mini-tender offers, noting that, “Some bidders make mini-tender
offers at below-market prices, hoping that they will catch investors off
guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current
market price” and that “mini-tender offers typically do not provide the
same disclosure and procedural protections that larger, traditional tender
offers provide.” The SEC’s Investor Tips regarding mini-tender offers may
be found on the SEC’s website, at
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/minitend.htm .
AMR stockholders are advised that TRC Capital’s offer is subject to
numerous conditions. Included among those conditions are: TRC Capital’s
receipt of financing reasonably acceptable to it; and that there be no
decrease in the market price of the Common Stock by more than 10% from the
Jan. 11, 2005, closing price of the Common Stock. TRC Capital has also
reserved the right to amend or terminate the offer at any time.
AMR understands that TRC Capital has made such mini-tender offers in the
past. Mini-tender offers are third-party offers which seek to acquire less
than five percent of a company’s outstanding shares and thereby avoid many
procedural protections and disclosure and dissemination requirements of
the SEC that apply to offers for more than five percent of a company’s
outstanding shares. The TRC Capital offer for 4,000,000 shares of AMR
Common Stock represents an offer for less than 5% of the total number of
shares of Common Stock outstanding. AMR stockholders who have already
tendered shares in the offer are advised that they may withdraw their
shares as described in the TRC Documents prior to the expiration of the
offer, which is currently scheduled for 12:01 a.m., New York City time, on
Thursday, Feb. 10, 2005. However, under the terms of the offer,
shareholders who tender will not be able to withdraw their shares,
regardless of any increase in the market price of the Common Stock, from
Feb. 10, 2005, through Feb. 22, 2005.
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