Official Committee of Equity Security Holders of Washington Mutual, Inc. Deliver Statement Regarding Proposed Settlement
NEW YORK, March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to numerous inquiries, the Official Committee of Equity Security Holders of Washington Mutual, Inc. (the "Committee") issues this statement in connection with the proposed global settlement (the "Proposed Settlement") among Washington Mutual, Inc. and WMI Investment Corp. (jointly, the "Debtors"), JP Morgan Chase and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (together with JP Morgan Chase, the "Proposed Defendants").
The Debtors have stated their intent to seek approval of the Proposed Settlement in connection with a plan of reorganization to be filed on or about March 26, 2010. The Committee anticipates that the Debtors will seek approval of the Proposed Settlement and its plan of reorganization 60-90 days from that date.
The Committee was not involved with, and does not support, the Proposed Settlement (based on all available information). At this time, the Committee intends to object to the Proposed Settlement.
Please be apprised that the Committee is unable to discuss strategy or its intended course of action, but please be assured that the Committee takes its duty to shareholders very seriously and will take all reasonable and appropriate actions to represent the interests of shareholders.
Contact: Michael Willingham, Chairman of the Committee of Equity Security Holders for Washington Mutual, Inc, et al. mwillingham1@yahoo.com
SOURCE Official Committee of Equity Security Holders of Washington Mutual, Inc.
Updated 3/17/10: In the works is an effort by a group of shareholders to file a "joinder" to the Equity Committee's legal action in bankruptcy court to compel WMI to hold a shareholders' meeting at the earliest possible date. More information on the shareholders' joinder effort: Take Action!
WamuEquityRights.org is a grassroots effort to inform shareholders of Washington Mutual, Inc. (WMI) about their rights as the owners of WMI and the actions they can take to exercise those rights and protect their equity ownership interest in WMI. The web site was created by volunteers who are themselves WMI shareholders, with the additional support of hundreds of individuals who have been researching and sharing information about WMI's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case as it has developed in Delaware Bankruptcy Court over the past 18 months.
This web site contains information, derived mostly from public documents related to WMI's bankruptcy proceedings, intended to help educate WMI shareholders about their rights. In addition, the web site will be used to inform shareholders of actions they can take to protect their interests as shareholders, and will be updated with new information as it becomes available.
We, the shareholders and owners of WMI, are very fortunate that a similar effort which began in mid-2009 recently resulted in the appointment of an Official Equity Committee in WMI's bankruptcy proceedings. The Equity Committee's sole mission is to represent the interests of equity - we the shareholders - in WMI's bankruptcy proceedings. This representation is turning out to be of critical importance because, as you can read on this web site, WMI, under the leadership and guidance of its Board of Directors, does not appear to be truly representing the interests of its shareholders.
WMI announced in bankruptcy court on March 12, 2010, that it had reached a proposed settlement agreement with its two main adversaries, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The details of this proposed settlement agreement make it clear that WMI is not trying to maximize the value of its estate for the benefit of shareholders. Instead, the agreement appears to be an almost complete abandonment of WMI's shareholders. One group of WMI shareholders has called the proposed settlement agreement an "unprecedented surrender".
What can shareholders do about a situation where the Board of Directors has chosen a course which abandons its fiduciary duty to those shareholders? In filing a motion to compel WMI to hold a shareholders' meeting for the purposes of electing a new Board of Directors, the Equity Committee has provided an answer. If the Equity Committee is successful in forcing WMI to hold a shareholders' meeting, then we, the shareholders and owners of WMI, can vote to replace the current Board of Directors with a slate that actually understands its fiduciary duty to the shareholders.
Please note that this web site is not associated with the WMI Official Equity Committee and that information presented here is solely in the opinion of the site's creators. This web site is not intended to be construed as providing investment advice nor should it be used in that way.
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