The Shareholder Forum

Special Program

 

Independent Analysis of Shareholder Interests

in a merger transaction proposed by

Providian Financial Corporation

Forum Home Page

  

Providian Program Home Page

Program Summary

(August 10, 2005)

     In response to publicly expressed investor concerns about the pricing of a merger transaction proposed by the management of Providian Financial Corporation (“PVN”), a special “Forum” program has been initiated for the limited purpose of arranging an independent analysis of shareholder interests.

     The program is intended to develop a broadly applicable process for providing public shareholders with objective, professional analyses of transaction proposals, as an alternative to the current practice of relying on “fairness opinions” presented by a transaction’s proponents.

     Anyone with an interest in Providian or in the general objective of assuring informed investment decisions  is encouraged to participate in the program, which will be managed by Gary Lutin according to the usual Forum policies.

August 10, 2005

 
 

 

Forms of Letters for Demanding Appraisal Rights

Goodkind Labaton Rudoff & Sucharow LLP, a law recognized for representation of shareheolder interests, has contributed two sets of form letters for either record or beneficial shareholders demanding appraisal rights pursuant to Section 262 of Deleware's General Corporation Law Section 262.  They can be downloaded in "Word" files from the following links:

The procedures for submitting the letter(s) are described in the relevant sections of the Prospectus, and preserving appraisal rights requires careful adherence to these instructions for submitting a demand prior to the August 31, 2005 vote.

 

 

 

Inquiries, requests to be included in email distribution lists, and suggestions of new Forum subjects may be addressed to inquiry@shareholderforum.com.

This public program addressing shareholder interests in Providian Financial Corporation (PVN) was initiated with the leadership support of Putnam Investment Management, and according to the Forum’s stated "Conditions of Participation" is open to all shareholders of the subject company and to any fiduciaries or professionals concerned with their decisions. In all cases, each participant is expected to make independent use of information obtained through the Forum, and participation is considered private unless the party specifically authorizes identification.

The information provided to Forum participants is intended for their private reference, and permission has not been granted for the republishing of any copyrighted material. The material presented on this web site is the responsibility of Gary Lutin, as chairman of the Shareholder Forum.