Under an agreement dated April 7, 1998, Able Telcom Holding Corp. (Symbol: ABTEE) (Price: $6.8125) engaged Kaufman Bros., L.P. as Able’s financial advisor. Under this agreement, Able agreed to pay Kaufman Bros. a retainer of $15,000 for the first three months and an additional $15,000 for every subsequent three month period during the term of the agreement. Under a separate agreement dated May 14, 1998, Able agreed to pay Kaufman Bros. a total of $190,000.
Vik Grover is employed as a Senior Equity Analyst at Kaufman Bros. Mr. Grover has issued research reports on Able. The reports recommend the purchase of Able’s shares. Kaufman Bros. has never disclosed the above mentioned agreements. Kaufman Bros. issued a report claiming that Able had fiber assets worth almost as much as the company’s entire market capitalization, which on the date of the report was approximately $180 million. Able’s Form 10K shows it had sold its fiber assets of $26 million, which is $154 million less than Kaufman Bros.’ published estimate. Kaufman Bros. claimed Able’s fiber assets were worth approximately 700%, or 7 times, more than their sales price.
Asensio & Company, Inc. has conducted extensive due diligence, fundamental research and technical analysis of Able Telcom Holding Corp. Asensio has issued a Strong Sell recommendation on shares of Able’s common stock. Further, due to its excessive market valuation and overwhelming evidence of fraudulent securities activities, we also recommend that Able shares be sold short. Asensio & Company’s reports on Able, are available on its internet home page at www.asensio.com.
Short selling involves a risk not associated with the purchase of stock including, but not only limited to, unlimited loss and stock borrowing risks. Additional information is available upon request.