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Technology Stocks : Comdisco, Inc. (NYSE: CDO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bosco who wrote (571)	8/22/2000 9:10:48 PM
From: KevRupert	Respond to of 689

To CEO Mr. Nick Pontikes: Disclosure: A) I am long Comdisco Stock. B) I respect Mr. Pontikes greatly! Dear Mr. Pontikes: I am writing this letter because I have a few issues to address for the benefit of the individual stockholder. (I do know that Nick reads SiliconInvestor!) First Theme of This Letter: I would like to indicate my appreciation for the following acts: Comdisco has been aggressive in attempting to maximize shareholder value via: a) The issuance of the looming Venture tracking stock (CDOV). b) The approval of the direct advertising via mediums such as CNBC that illustrate Comdisco’s presence in the hi-tech community. c) The aggressive attempt to create value by the Prism acquisition (albeit it did not go as planned, the attempt is quite noble in my opinion). d) The continuing stock-repurchase plan to boost the CDO stock price. e) The transformation of the company by eliminating the slow moving business segments (i.e., mainframe operations), and moving into high-growth markets should improve the internal growth rate (i.e., web-hosting services). A careful analysis of Comdisco indicates that the management team is working diligently on establishing relationships with only the finest Venture Capital firms in the world. This is extraordinary, especially when looking at the quality of companies that CDOV has stakes in at the present time. The true value of the total of the parts is by no means evident in the present value of Comdisco stock. Second Theme of This Letter: The negatives, in my opinion, include the following: A) Management Communication: Nick (no offense intended) does not effectively communicate issues on the conference calls. I have listened to the last conference call six times. Nick clearly shows his exuberance for the company. Nick has shown his intelligence via his education, work experience, and his goal of transforming the company. But Nick does not effectively communicate the issues on the conference call. I noticed three times on the call when Nick would address an issue by stating “There are 3 issues…”, and then fail to communicate those issues. He would go off another tangent, and fail to clearly identify the “3 issues” that he was about to discuss for the pertaining question. I have attempted to take notes on the conference call, and have difficulty identifying the structure and content of his responses. B) What I would like to see is the following: 1) Management clearly answer responses to conference call questions. 2) Management clearly identify the business segments (since the changes have occurred with the business model), and the anticipated growth rates for these business segments. What percentage of the business is going to encompass future operations? What degree of capital expenditures is going into these business segments? What is the vision for the company? Where is the company headed? 3) I recognize that the CDOV quiet period prevents discussion of the CDOV operations. But what is going to happen with the proceeds from public stock sales? Will the proceeds be used to purchase CDO/CDOV stock, pay down debt, and reinvest into CDOV/CDO operations? I believe that a common investor has the right to know what is going to happen with these sales. I have calculated a rudimentary calculation of CDO’s public stock portfolio, and it is substantial. The intent of the proceeds, when public equity is sold has not been communicated to the investment community. 4) In summary management needs to communicate with investors to identify what the vision of the company is, and how the stockholders will benefit by the private/public equity holdings. 5) I have tried to contact Investor Relations at Comdisco, and my emails come back “undeliverable”. I have called Investor Relations at Comdisco and put on hold, transferred to someone who can help me with requesting Investor documents. Her message indicates that she is on vacation and will be next week. This is unacceptable for a shareholder. There has to be an effective means of communicating with someone at Comdisco. 6) If the Comdisco stock is so undervalued (this is how I perceive the situation: wrongly or rightly!), why not increase the CDO stock buyback by a substantial amount? The management team recognizes, as no one else can, the true value of the sum of the parts. Why not use the public stock equity sale proceeds to buy back CDO stock? This is an obvious issue that needs to be addressed. Increasing shareholder value can be done via an increased stock repurchase plan. I buyout of CDO is not feasible due to the 31% equity holding by management. 7) Nick – the purpose of this letter is not to be critical, but only to express my thoughts (and thoughts of people I associate with on a daily basis). Many people simply feel that CDO is growing at 15% (with feelings that the growth is generated by gains from the public stock portfolio), and a tracking stock will be issued (not another “AWE” please), and that Prism has doomed the company (I recognize that this issue can not be discussed at the present time either). Third Theme of This Letter: I believe the stock should do well in the near term (assuming my readings and analysis are correct) by the following pending events: 1) The whirlwind tour discussing the CDOV tracking will be given to the investment community. 2) I believe earnings for the upcoming quarter should be better than expected due to fewer expenses and higher revenues (I believe Nick expressed on the conference call that the infrastructure was being built out -- high current expenses, with looming higher revenues --, and that customers/revenues could not be initiated until this build out was complete. 3) The Prism issue should be resolved in the near term. If anyone has any thoughts or comments, I can be reached at advalorem@bungo.com. Have a great day. Advalorem@waitingforaclearbusinessplantobecommunicated.com

To: Bosco who wrote (571)	8/23/2000 7:22:04 AM
From: KevRupert	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 689

Bosco, Always great to hear from you! I firmly believe in the value of CDO. The assets are worth so much more than the current value. My concern is how the company will monetize its assets to increase shareholder value. The company has stated that it will, in time, not hold any CDOV. What I want to identify (or understand!) is a clear business strategy. What is the anticipated internal growth going to be in the future -- for CDO? Maybe a lot of this info will be clearer after CDOV is issued... Have a great day! ad