Los Angeles Business Journal
5700 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
To the editor:
In your October 3, 2005 edition, an article titled “Farmers’
Bitter Dispute Grinding Toward New Chapter” misreported what
I had said in an interview. Since the views attributed to me are
inaccurate, and would also be inconsistent with your readers’
understanding of rational investing, I assume you will share my interest
in correcting the report.
I did not say that I thought “Lutin and the dissidents have no chance of
winning,” and did not say that I am currently in the process of selling
off our positions in Farmer Bros., as the article reports in last two
paragraphs. What I had told the reporter was that earlier shareholder
efforts to influence improvements at Farmer Bros. had been undermined when
the Crowe family interests abandoned the campaign by selling their 23%
stake to the company, and that my firm had subsequently sold off some of
our Farmer Bros. stock. But as your reporter should have known from the
LA Business Journal’s own extensive coverage of those events, the Crowe
family sellout took place almost two years ago, in December 2003.
Regarding my views of the current situation, it would of course be
inappropriate for me to say whether we are now in the process of buying or
selling Farmer Bros. stock for our clients. But to correct what was
reported, I can and will say that I have great confidence in the success
of the current dissident shareholder efforts to develop a strategic
alternative that will give everyone the fair value of their investments in
Farmer Bros.
Please let me know if you need any more information.
Very truly yours,
Jack Norberg
Chairman