Dear Mr. Hoevel:
There are rumors that despite assurances that all is well with IMS, it is experiencing severe cash flow problems. The rumors suggest that the problem is so severe that drastic measures are being debated including the seeking of protection pursuant to the U.S. Bankruptcy Laws. This open letter is expressed in the framework of rumor because there have been no announcements which would enlighten anyone as to what is really occurring.
Moreover, although you were aware for some time that the proposed secondary offering was dead, you allowed everyone to believe that it was moving forward. As a result of the accompanying "Quiet Period" no information about the company was disseminated and the share price has been decimated in the absence of positive information about the company. This destruction in IMS's market capitalization took place at a time when the value of the company's technology was at its greatest level and the semiconductor community was beginning to awaken to the true worth of IMSLIB.
A number of IMS shareholders are people of means and in a position to raise further investment capital - if anyone had known it was needed. Instead, rumor has it that insiders lent money to IMS and took a security interest in its valuable technology. The cash flow crisis (if there is one) may now result in a default in these insider loans and foreclosure on the security. Or else, perhaps the threat of foreclosure is being used as a lever to strike some paltry deal where the company's technology is "purchased" for less than its fair value. If the same people who expect to benefit from the astronomical windfall of acceding to the ownership of IMSLIB, were subject to a fiduciary responsibility to the company, but were actually working for themselves, a number of serious wrongs might have been committed. Even worse, if the aforegoing took place as part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. Securities Laws, all those involved would be in terrible jeopardy.
Please consider that not everyone who might be injured, if the rumors or some permutation thereof were actually true, is powerless. Some of the shareholders are actually successful businessmen with contacts in government, law enforcement and in the legal community. Some of the shareholders would not tolerate being victimized by a sophisticated scheme to appropriate the company's valuable technology at the shareholder's expense and they would pursue their remedies vigorously.
I sincerely hope that none of the rumors are true. I wish we all knew more about the company and its affairs, but we've been intentionally kept in the dark. All we can do is rely upon you to protect our interests. We expect that you will not disappoint us and we can only hope to make you understand that we will hold every participant responsible if our trust is abused. |
