Wexford Capital LLC Sends Letter to The Houston Exploration Company's Board of Directors Calling for a Sale of the Company Via
05 Julio 2006 - 9:19PM
PR Newswire (US)
GREENWICH, Conn., July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Wexford Capital LLC today
announced that it has sent a letter to The Houston Exploration
Company (NYSE:THX) urging the Board of Directors to undertake a
fair, open and thorough auction process to sell the Company and
maximize shareholder value. Following is a letter sent today from
Robert Holtz, a Principal of Wexford Capital LLC, to the Board of
Directors of The Houston Exploration Company: July 5, 2006 William
G. Hargett, Chairman, CEO & President Robert B. Catell,
Director John U. Clarke, Director David G. Elkins, Director Harold
R. Logan, Jr., Director Thomas A. McKeever, Director Stephen W.
McKessy, Director Donald C. Vaughn, Director Houston Exploration
Co. 1100 Louisiana Street Suite 2000 Houston, TX 77002-5215
Gentlemen: We are writing regarding the recently announced bid by
Jana Partners LLC to acquire the shares of Houston Exploration Co.
(the "Company"), and the Company's announcement that it is
exploring strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. By
way of background, Wexford Capital LLC is an SEC registered
investment advisor that manages a series of affiliated investment
funds (collectively, "Wexford"). At present Wexford has over $5
billion in assets under management and holds over 400,000 shares of
the Company's stock representing over a 1.5% interest in the
Company. As a substantial institutional shareholder of the Company,
we urge the Board of Directors to undertake a fair, open and
thorough auction process to sell the Company and maximize
shareholder value. In our view the Company is a highly attractive
acquisition target, which can provide substantial synergies and
other benefits to a wide range of potential acquirers. Moreover,
recent M&A activity suggests that now is a particularly
opportune time to pursue such an auction, and that a sale of the
Company will provide the greatest value to its shareholders. We are
encouraged by the Company's retention of Lehman Brothers as its
financial advisor, since we believe that firm is well suited to
conduct an auction of the Company. We encourage the Board to
announce that the Company will pursue a sale and to direct Lehman
Brothers to promptly commence the auction process. Sincerely, /s/
Robert Holtz Robert Holtz Principal About Wexford Capital LLC
Wexford Capital LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor with
over $5 billion of assets under management. The firm, which was
formed in 1994, manages a series of hedge funds and private equity
funds from its Greenwich, CT headquarters. For more information,
visit the Company's web site at http://www.wexford.com/ .
DATASOURCE: Wexford Capital LLC CONTACT: Marc Leferman of Wexford
Capital LLC, +1-203-862-7000 Web site: http://www.wexford.com/
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