Shareholders Urged to Replace Incumbent Directors of Insured Municipal Income Fund
05 Agosto 2009 - 1:43PM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Bulldog Investors General
Partnership ("BIGP") today issued a response to the current board's
announcement that it intends to submit a proposal to liquidate
Insured Municipal Income Fund Inc. (the "Fund") (NYSE:PIF). On July
31, 2009, the Fund's incumbent directors announced their intention
to propose the liquidation of the Fund if they are re-elected on
August 12, 2009. In response to shareholders' criticism of the
incumbents' motives, on August 4, 2009, the incumbents stated that
they would seek to hold a shareholder meeting before the end of
October 2009 to vote on the Fund's liquidation. BIGP continues to
urge shareholders to replace the incumbent directors and vote to
elect the BIGP nominees on the GREEN proxy form. Phillip Goldstein,
a principal of BIGP commented: "After the incumbents have spent
more than $1 million of the Fund's assets opposing any exit at NAV,
shareholders should view their so-called plan for what it is -- a
desperate and cynical last minute ploy to retain control of the
Fund. Notably, they still have not said when any liquidation
proceeds would be paid or what they will do to deliver NAV if the
requisite shareholder vote is not obtained." In considering how to
vote, shareholders should keep in mind the following points: -- The
incumbents state that "payment of the liquidation proceeds will
commence as soon as practicable." That could mean anything. In
contrast, BIGP's nominees are committed to conduct a significant
tender offer at or near NAV by the end of 2009. -- BIGP represents
the largest shareholder of the Fund. Consequently, it is
incentivized to promptly implement its plan to conduct a tender
offer for the Fund's shares at or near NAV. By contrast, the
incumbent directors own no shares of the Fund. The longer they can
delay making a liquidation payment, the more board fees they will
collect. -- The incumbents have no alternative plan to deliver NAV
if the vote necessary to approve liquidation of the Fund is not
obtained. Earlier this year the boards of directors of two
closed-end funds managed by Deutsche Bank proposed that they
liquidate. Both liquidation proposals failed to receive a
sufficient number of votes. Each of these funds is currently
trading at a discount in excess of 25%. If the incumbents' plan to
liquidate fails, the Fund's discount is also likely to widen. --
BIGP's plan to implement a tender offer does not require a
shareholder vote. In sum, if the incumbents are re-elected, there
is a very real possibility that shareholders will not be able to
realize NAV in a timely fashion -- if ever! Consequently, BIGP
continues to urge shareholders to reject the incumbents'
"Johnny-come-lately" liquidation plan and to vote for the BIGP
slate of nominees on the GREEN proxy form. Shareholders who have
questions about voting their shares may call BIGP's proxy
solicitation firm, INVESTORCOM, INC. at (877) 972-0090. DATASOURCE:
Bulldog Investors General Partnership CONTACT: Bulldog Investors
General Partnership, +1-201-556-0092
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