Statement from the A Shareholders (ASD) In response to the current situation involving Demoulas Supermarkets, Inc (Market Basket), the Class A Shareholders, who have remained silent to try to resolve this dispute privately, feel compelled to correct the public record. We care deeply about Market Basket, its employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders and have been working around the clock with our advisors to find a workable solution. We are, and have been, prepared to sell our majority ownership interest in Market Basket to the Class B Shareholders led by Arthur T Demoulas for the price proposed by Arthur T Demoulas. We offered deal terms that our nationally recognized financial advisors informed us are customary for this type of deal. The Class A Shareholders, including trustees with fiduciary duties have offered to provide financing for Arthur T Demoulas purchase if he does not have enough cash to close. The terms included an interest bearing loan secured by collateral that has an acceptable payment schedule. We have been advised that it would be irresponsible to make a loan without collateral, interest or a payment schedule, similar to terms that would apply to any traditional bank loan. Our proposal would permit Arthur T Demoulas to return to work immediately to work collaboratively to stabilize the business on terms proposed by the independent directors of the Market Basket Board if the Class B Shareholders would commit to buy our interests. Our proposal made last week and reiterated throughout this week, has not ben accepted. Arthur T Demoulas conduct to date, including his most recent public statement, continues to undermine Market Basket and the Class B shareholders have not indicated a willingness to engage in good faith discussions for a sale. The Class B Shareholders have given us no choice at this time but to consider all available options to sell our equity in order to protect the interests of all Market Basket stakeholders. We have given Arthur T Demoulas and the other Class B shareholders many opportunities to end the current controversy. We continue to be prepared to sell our interest in Market Basket for the price originally proposed by Arthur T Demoulas. We are pleased that the Class A Shareholders have broken their silence to tell us a little about their side of this story. Unfortunately if you read this slowly, many times you will see that there is a lot of smoke and mirrors in what they are saying The Class A Shareholders make this sound as if they are just poor misunderstood people who really want to sell the company to ATD. We know that nothing in the world is more important to ATD than to buy the whole of Market Basket and get back to work and bring Market Basket back to its greatness. We also know that ASD would rather eat broken glass than sell the company to his cousin. They make it seem as if they have approved the sale but ATD wont accept the terms, perhaps the terms of this sale are crippling, we dont know because we are not privy to the negotiations but if the price is acceptable then the only hold up must be the terms of the loan or some other part of the contract like who is going to pay the millions in damages and charges incurred by the company since F&G took over on June 23rd. All we know is that ATD has been working feverishly to get a deal done and there is something in this deal that we are not being told that makes it impossible for ATD and the Class B Shareholders to accept it. To say these Class A Shareholders care deeply about Market Basket, its employees (we call ourselves associates), customers, suppliers (we call them partners) and all other stakeholders is laughable at best. These Class A Shareholders have not shown the stakeholders of our company a single bit of caring about us in their actions or the decision making of their Board. The interview from channel 7 of ASD should show you all you need to know. There is just no way these people care about us the way ATD and his family cares about us. In fact, they dont care about the stakeholders at all. Their deal would allow ATD to return to work immediately, this is the deal where he can come back with his management team but not as CEO and with no guarantee that he would gain controlling shares, we have already discussed this. On the bottom of the page they say they have no other option but to pursue other offers...wait, havent they been telling the media all along that there have been other offers? Once again MB faithful if their lips are moving they must be lying. We cannot waiver in our boycott and work stoppage, this is another ploy to try and make us believe that ATD is the bad guy here, we know better. If its really as simple as they make it seem then get the deal done so we can go back to working and shopping, until then, thanks but no thanks. WAMB
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 03:19:18 +0000