Monday, December 12, 2005
SWOP homepageOne reason why even the Texans call NM Corrupt
Hey - it's all legal. What's Marty's stake in all this? His dad helped set Westland up in the first place.
For much more on this see http://nmviewpoint.typepad.com
- El que sigue bien molesto
Board Gets $26M If Westland Sells
By Rory McClannahan
Albuquerque Journal
December 9, 2005
The Westland Development Co.'s nine-member board of directors stand to gain more than $26 million if the company's shareholders agree to a proposed $166 million buyout.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission released details of the proposed sale of Westland to ANM Holdings on Wednesday. Both corporations are required to file a joint Agreement and Plan of Merger outlining details of the sale.
Calls seeking a comment from Westland board members were not returned Thursday.
The release of the agreement indicates that a proxy statement to shareholders will be sent soon, the document states, but a vote on the sale has not been scheduled. In the agreement, ANM and Westland indicate they hope to complete the transaction this month.
According to the agreement, ANM would essentially be taking over as Westland.
ANM is offering to pay $200 for each of Westland's 794,927 shares in a deal that would transfer the company's assets and holdings, which includes more than 57,000 acres on the West Side and several commercial properties, to ANM. Westland is the successor to the Atrisco Land Grant.
According to the agreement and the company's latest quarterly report, Westland's board of directors owns 97,478 of Westland's stock individually and together. Board members individually own 49,239 shares. Directors and officers of the company, own an additional 48,239 shares together.
According to the sale agreement, the company's bylaws require that the board of directors issue itself another 35,000 shares before the sale is completed. With the additional 35,000 shares, there would be a total of 829,927 shares for a $166 million buyout.
At $200 a share, ANM would be buying Westland's 57,000 acres for $2,912 per acre.
Board Chairman Sosimo Padilla stands to gain the most. According to the company's latest quarterly report, Padilla has 23,008 shares of stock, which at $200 a share is worth $4.6 million if the sale goes through. Barbara Page, Westland's chief operating officer, would gain nearly $2.5 million. Those figures don't include a $7 million payment the board can expect from the additional 35,000 shares.
For much more on this see http://nmviewpoint.typepad.com
- El que sigue bien molesto
Board Gets $26M If Westland Sells
By Rory McClannahan
Albuquerque Journal
December 9, 2005
The Westland Development Co.'s nine-member board of directors stand to gain more than $26 million if the company's shareholders agree to a proposed $166 million buyout.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission released details of the proposed sale of Westland to ANM Holdings on Wednesday. Both corporations are required to file a joint Agreement and Plan of Merger outlining details of the sale.
Calls seeking a comment from Westland board members were not returned Thursday.
The release of the agreement indicates that a proxy statement to shareholders will be sent soon, the document states, but a vote on the sale has not been scheduled. In the agreement, ANM and Westland indicate they hope to complete the transaction this month.
According to the agreement, ANM would essentially be taking over as Westland.
ANM is offering to pay $200 for each of Westland's 794,927 shares in a deal that would transfer the company's assets and holdings, which includes more than 57,000 acres on the West Side and several commercial properties, to ANM. Westland is the successor to the Atrisco Land Grant.
According to the agreement and the company's latest quarterly report, Westland's board of directors owns 97,478 of Westland's stock individually and together. Board members individually own 49,239 shares. Directors and officers of the company, own an additional 48,239 shares together.
According to the sale agreement, the company's bylaws require that the board of directors issue itself another 35,000 shares before the sale is completed. With the additional 35,000 shares, there would be a total of 829,927 shares for a $166 million buyout.
At $200 a share, ANM would be buying Westland's 57,000 acres for $2,912 per acre.
Board Chairman Sosimo Padilla stands to gain the most. According to the company's latest quarterly report, Padilla has 23,008 shares of stock, which at $200 a share is worth $4.6 million if the sale goes through. Barbara Page, Westland's chief operating officer, would gain nearly $2.5 million. Those figures don't include a $7 million payment the board can expect from the additional 35,000 shares.
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Atrisco Heirs Won't Sell Heritage
By Jerome Padilla
.
Westland Development Corp. will soon be sending notices to all shareholders requesting a vote of approval for changes in the articles of incorporation. To change the articles, a two-thirds majority vote is required.
If approved, the Westland board of directors will be authorized to sell our lands. The board, without seeking the approval of the stockholders, has been engaged in negotiations to sell Westland since July 2005.
In their enthusiasm to cash in on their golden parachutes and the thousands of Class B shares, the members of the board have entered into an agreement with buyers.
If they cannot come to terms, Westland is stuck with a $5 million penalty. It is unthinkable that board members would take such a gamble without the approval of the shareholders and heirs. They were thoroughly presumptuous in assuming that the stockholders would not question this act.
As a concerned heir, I take the view that this is an inheritance from our ancestors. To sell the land is equivalent to selling our heritage, which will also deprive future generations of a symbol of their heritage. Our pride should be just as great as our Native American cousins who have also fought many similar battles to preserve their land, rights, culture and heritage. We also have a long history and we must fight to preserve it.
As Rudolfo Anaya put it, "a culture must have a center, a place to call its own or it will be lost."
This heir and shareholder pride lies within our historic lands and diverse culture, whose center is in the heart of our lands.
It is funny that when you mention the Atrisco Land Grant to any of Westland's staff, board of directors, CEO or chairman, they are quick to say that the Atrisco Land Grant is long gone. Wow, how can they try to strike the memory of those three words? Especially when it means so much to people.
(Their) plans are glaringly evident: In the 20 years that the (current administration of Westland) has been involved, it seems that in their opinion we are poor, uneducated, Spanish (only) speaking shareholders who can easily be made to forget about the history of the land grant— let's wait until the price of land goes up, let's sell to the first group that offers us money and let's get out of here with the majority of the money. They seem to say that since the shareholders have not kicked them out yet, they must approve.
What a sad and despicable plan.
Here's my notice to Westland. Here is a plan that can work. I call it the "We Will Not" Plan:
WE WILL NOT have a fire sale of the lands of the Atrisco Land Grant.
WE WILL NOT include six-year severance packages.
WE WILL NOT allow current board members to stay on, leaving others out.
WE WILL NOT tolerate (the board's) behavior of ignoring the rights of heirs.
WE WILL NOT ignore the bilingual opportunities to communicate with our shareholders and heirs.
I hope the fine heirs agree that a fire sale unfairly benefits the board of directors, CEO and officers of the company. The Atrisco Land Grant should not be sold, just as we Americans would not consider selling the Statue of Liberty. Our heritage, our culture, our Plymouth Rock, our Ellis Island and our cultural assets are not for sale at any price!
Those whose motivation is money would fare better in a liquidation than a fire sale; at least then, every 14 shares would get one acre of land plus cash.
Compare this stock cash offer of $2,800 versus one acre ($30,000); obviously this is a glaring example of how undervalued these offers are. I am not in favor of any liquidation, but this is still so insulting that it's despicable.
...This heir is willing to give up everything, even golf, to fight this battle. I hope others will join me to save our Atrisco Land Grant— our center.
Jerome A. Padilla is a member of Concerned Heirs of Atrisco. He can be reached by e-mail at jpadilla@padillas.com. For full text of this letter go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atriscoheirs.
By Jerome Padilla
.
Westland Development Corp. will soon be sending notices to all shareholders requesting a vote of approval for changes in the articles of incorporation. To change the articles, a two-thirds majority vote is required.
If approved, the Westland board of directors will be authorized to sell our lands. The board, without seeking the approval of the stockholders, has been engaged in negotiations to sell Westland since July 2005.
In their enthusiasm to cash in on their golden parachutes and the thousands of Class B shares, the members of the board have entered into an agreement with buyers.
If they cannot come to terms, Westland is stuck with a $5 million penalty. It is unthinkable that board members would take such a gamble without the approval of the shareholders and heirs. They were thoroughly presumptuous in assuming that the stockholders would not question this act.
As a concerned heir, I take the view that this is an inheritance from our ancestors. To sell the land is equivalent to selling our heritage, which will also deprive future generations of a symbol of their heritage. Our pride should be just as great as our Native American cousins who have also fought many similar battles to preserve their land, rights, culture and heritage. We also have a long history and we must fight to preserve it.
As Rudolfo Anaya put it, "a culture must have a center, a place to call its own or it will be lost."
This heir and shareholder pride lies within our historic lands and diverse culture, whose center is in the heart of our lands.
It is funny that when you mention the Atrisco Land Grant to any of Westland's staff, board of directors, CEO or chairman, they are quick to say that the Atrisco Land Grant is long gone. Wow, how can they try to strike the memory of those three words? Especially when it means so much to people.
(Their) plans are glaringly evident: In the 20 years that the (current administration of Westland) has been involved, it seems that in their opinion we are poor, uneducated, Spanish (only) speaking shareholders who can easily be made to forget about the history of the land grant— let's wait until the price of land goes up, let's sell to the first group that offers us money and let's get out of here with the majority of the money. They seem to say that since the shareholders have not kicked them out yet, they must approve.
What a sad and despicable plan.
Here's my notice to Westland. Here is a plan that can work. I call it the "We Will Not" Plan:
WE WILL NOT have a fire sale of the lands of the Atrisco Land Grant.
WE WILL NOT include six-year severance packages.
WE WILL NOT allow current board members to stay on, leaving others out.
WE WILL NOT tolerate (the board's) behavior of ignoring the rights of heirs.
WE WILL NOT ignore the bilingual opportunities to communicate with our shareholders and heirs.
I hope the fine heirs agree that a fire sale unfairly benefits the board of directors, CEO and officers of the company. The Atrisco Land Grant should not be sold, just as we Americans would not consider selling the Statue of Liberty. Our heritage, our culture, our Plymouth Rock, our Ellis Island and our cultural assets are not for sale at any price!
Those whose motivation is money would fare better in a liquidation than a fire sale; at least then, every 14 shares would get one acre of land plus cash.
Compare this stock cash offer of $2,800 versus one acre ($30,000); obviously this is a glaring example of how undervalued these offers are. I am not in favor of any liquidation, but this is still so insulting that it's despicable.
...This heir is willing to give up everything, even golf, to fight this battle. I hope others will join me to save our Atrisco Land Grant— our center.
Jerome A. Padilla is a member of Concerned Heirs of Atrisco. He can be reached by e-mail at jpadilla@padillas.com. For full text of this letter go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atriscoheirs.
April 1, 2006
After 7 months Books and Records available to Shareholders
We stand here today dedicated to the preservation and protection of these ancestral lands and to their use in strengthening the vitality of our community and the preservation of our mutual heritage and culture.
Our goal is to communicate and make sure Shareholders and Heirs are informed about the current status of Westland Corporation, (“Westland”) as many shareholders are not aware of the pending sale and or merger. Since September 2005, Shareholders and Heirs have made repeated requests for information, part of which includes corporate books and records. Westland has been reluctant to provide us with valuable information about the future of our company and the potential loss of our lands. These requests have been ignored even though they are in full compliance with New Mexico State Statute 53-11-50. Concerned Heirs of Atrisco continue to pursue and find alternative ways to engage Westland management in meaningful dialogue with Heirs and Shareholders. This sustained resistance by Westland to share information with Heirs and Shareholders has resulted in us having to seek legal remedies to protect our rights. As a result we have retained the legal firm of Freedman Boyd Daniels, Hollander & Goldberg P.A.
Today, after almost 7 months of requesting corporate books and records and repeated attempts to communicate with Westland, they have finally decided to meet our demands and have agreed to allow the review of the requested corporate documents. We will work with our legal team to review the books and records and any other materials or documents necessary to satisfy our goals of full disclosure.
Although we are victorious in getting this information, it is unfortunate that we had to take legal action in order to be heard. We are confident that this information will assist us in our goal to be informed shareholders and to inform others of the current state of affairs of Westland and our assets.
We want to thank all of the heirs and shareholders who assisted us in our fundraising efforts and want to remind them that the battle has only begun. We will continue our outreach efforts and will continue raise funding to support our demands from Westland.
A slew of buyers are seeking to take control of Westland and the entire grant area in a speculative deal that lacks appropriate communication with Heirs. The question still remains why sell? The current buyer as noted in a Las Vegas newspaper recently settled with the government, Las Vegas Developer ,Jim Rhodes, has admitted to “ illegally funneled contributions to two Democratic candidates through his employees and has paid nearly $150,000 in fines” . (Ball, M. (2006, March 10) Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The current “Sedora offer works out to about $3,500 an acre for Westland's property -- a steal compared with the $600,000 to $1 million per acre many builders now pay for developable land in the Las Vegas Valley. The Westland tract is more than twice the size of the 22,500-acre Summerlin community, Southern Nevada's largest master plan; it's bisected by Interstate 40 and sits just west of Albuquerque's central business district. Mar. 21, 2006 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal”
Our outreach effort continue and a meeting for all heirs and shareholders will be hosted by the
Concerned Heirs of Atrisco on Saturday April 29, 2006, Rio Grande High School Performing Art Building
2300 Arenal Rd. SW At 130pm For more info visit our web site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atriscoheirs/ or call
Jerome Padilla 246 1800
After 7 months Books and Records available to Shareholders
We stand here today dedicated to the preservation and protection of these ancestral lands and to their use in strengthening the vitality of our community and the preservation of our mutual heritage and culture.
Our goal is to communicate and make sure Shareholders and Heirs are informed about the current status of Westland Corporation, (“Westland”) as many shareholders are not aware of the pending sale and or merger. Since September 2005, Shareholders and Heirs have made repeated requests for information, part of which includes corporate books and records. Westland has been reluctant to provide us with valuable information about the future of our company and the potential loss of our lands. These requests have been ignored even though they are in full compliance with New Mexico State Statute 53-11-50. Concerned Heirs of Atrisco continue to pursue and find alternative ways to engage Westland management in meaningful dialogue with Heirs and Shareholders. This sustained resistance by Westland to share information with Heirs and Shareholders has resulted in us having to seek legal remedies to protect our rights. As a result we have retained the legal firm of Freedman Boyd Daniels, Hollander & Goldberg P.A.
Today, after almost 7 months of requesting corporate books and records and repeated attempts to communicate with Westland, they have finally decided to meet our demands and have agreed to allow the review of the requested corporate documents. We will work with our legal team to review the books and records and any other materials or documents necessary to satisfy our goals of full disclosure.
Although we are victorious in getting this information, it is unfortunate that we had to take legal action in order to be heard. We are confident that this information will assist us in our goal to be informed shareholders and to inform others of the current state of affairs of Westland and our assets.
We want to thank all of the heirs and shareholders who assisted us in our fundraising efforts and want to remind them that the battle has only begun. We will continue our outreach efforts and will continue raise funding to support our demands from Westland.
A slew of buyers are seeking to take control of Westland and the entire grant area in a speculative deal that lacks appropriate communication with Heirs. The question still remains why sell? The current buyer as noted in a Las Vegas newspaper recently settled with the government, Las Vegas Developer ,Jim Rhodes, has admitted to “ illegally funneled contributions to two Democratic candidates through his employees and has paid nearly $150,000 in fines” . (Ball, M. (2006, March 10) Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The current “Sedora offer works out to about $3,500 an acre for Westland's property -- a steal compared with the $600,000 to $1 million per acre many builders now pay for developable land in the Las Vegas Valley. The Westland tract is more than twice the size of the 22,500-acre Summerlin community, Southern Nevada's largest master plan; it's bisected by Interstate 40 and sits just west of Albuquerque's central business district. Mar. 21, 2006 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal”
Our outreach effort continue and a meeting for all heirs and shareholders will be hosted by the
Concerned Heirs of Atrisco on Saturday April 29, 2006, Rio Grande High School Performing Art Building
2300 Arenal Rd. SW At 130pm For more info visit our web site
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atriscoheirs/ or call
Jerome Padilla 246 1800
Sustained resistance by Westland to share information with Heirs and Shareholders has resulted in us having to seek legal remedies to protect our rights. ...A slew of buyers are seeking to take control of Westland and the entire grant area in a speculative deal that lacks appropriate communication with Heirs. The question still remains why sell?"
Viva, long live the Atrisco Land Grant Heritage, we will fight as our four fathers have done. I will continue to post messages until I can make contact w/other heirs to this establishment. I too believe as you do, we will not settle
Sincerly
Lauren
Sincerly
Lauren
# posted by 
: 1:26 PM
: 1:26 PM
Shareholders please, you don't own land. You own shares. You can't build a house on a specific piece of property nor can you identify the specific piece of property you own. The land that our heirs occupied 300+ years ago has been converted to shares. The former Atrisco Land Grant is now Westland Development. .Doing nothing and continuing as is does not preserve our heritage.
The purchaser has agreed to provide a trust ($1,000,000 for 1 hundred years) which will promote and preserve our ancestral and cultural heritage as well as the Atrisco Land Grant. What do we have in place now that preserves and promotes our ancestral and cultural heritage? Does owning shares in Westland Development preserve or promote our ancestral heritage?
Our heirs would have wanted to see the city of Albuquerque grow and prosper. I am convinced of that. I am very concerned about receiving a fair price for our shares. I'm not convinced that the current purchase price is fair. In fact, I believe it to be greatly undervalued. For these reasons, I would vote no
The purchaser has agreed to provide a trust ($1,000,000 for 1 hundred years) which will promote and preserve our ancestral and cultural heritage as well as the Atrisco Land Grant. What do we have in place now that preserves and promotes our ancestral and cultural heritage? Does owning shares in Westland Development preserve or promote our ancestral heritage?
Our heirs would have wanted to see the city of Albuquerque grow and prosper. I am convinced of that. I am very concerned about receiving a fair price for our shares. I'm not convinced that the current purchase price is fair. In fact, I believe it to be greatly undervalued. For these reasons, I would vote no
# posted by : 12:03 PM
: 12:03 PM
My father is an heir to the Atrisco Land Grant, and I am very proud of that. Can anybody please send me some information on what's going on, what can be done to stop the greed of Westland Development, and how I can find information on the original land grant?
My email is stephs@unm.edu
Thanks!
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My email is stephs@unm.edu
Thanks!
# posted by : 1:29 PM
: 1:29 PM Links to this post:
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