WESTON, Fla., Feb. 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wall Street News Alert's "stocks to watch" this morning are: Senticore Inc. (OTCBB:SNIO), Wind River Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND), Optical Communication Products (Nasdaq:OCPI) and Novell Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVL).
Aggressive investors will want to keep their eyes on Senticore, Inc. (OTCBB:SNIO) this morning! Yesterday, the company issued a press release announcing that management has executed a Plan of Merger Agreement and finalized the terms of its acquisition of Westar South America S.A. of Venezuela. Senticore is acquiring all of the issued and outstanding shares of Westar in a transaction intended to qualify as a tax free exchange pursuant to Section 368(a)(1)(B) of the internal revenue code. Westar South America SA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Senticore, Inc.
This could be good news! According to the company's press release, The acquisition is valued at approximately $22 million, representing all the assets of Westar. "Audits have already been completed for Westar, therefore, we do not foresee any delays in concluding this transaction," stated Senticore President Carl Gessner. "We are extremely pleased to add Westar to our core holdings, as the company complements the operations of our other merger partner, Smith Forestal. Upon SEC approval of the pending merger transactions between Senticore and Westar and Smith Forestal, Senticore's net assets will increase to over $40 million."
"The acquisitions Senticore has made in the timber industry are strategic as the governments of both Venezuela and Costa Rica, unlike many other countries, permit the exporting of wood products from unprocessed round logs to finished goods. Moreover, the merger with Westar broadens our market acceptance in the industry as Pino Caribe, a soft wood, is more industrially versatile and is considered a multi-purpose wood. Melina, known also as white teak, produced by Senticore's other merger partner Smith Forestal is a semi-hardwood," added Gessner.
The stock closed yesterday at just over Thirteen cents a share.
In case you are unfamiliar with the companies: Senticore, Inc. was restructured as a holding company in 2003 to effect the acquisition of businesses and their underlying real estate properties. Today, the company's specific concentration is in the following industries: timber plantations, land development, gas stations/convenient stores, and hotel/motels. In 2003, Senticore entered into a merger agreement with Smith Forestal, a Costa Rican timber company which controls 60,000 acres of Melina hardwood plantations near Golfito.
Westar South America S.A., established in 1994, is a prominent name in the timber industry. The company's assets include 23,200 acres of Pino Caribe (otherwise known as Caribbean Pine) timber plantations, two large sawmills, equipment and inventory. Westar was recently awarded the right to harvest timber on an additional 10,000 acres of land from a government plantation in Venezuela. Historically, Westar revenues have been derived by exporting products globally. Westar products include furniture, doors, moldings, metric sawn export timber, export logs, decking and industrial materials.
Stocks showing interesting activity yesterday were: Wind River Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:WIND) up 10.3% on 4.4 million shares traded, Optical Communication Products (Nasdaq:OCPI) up 10.2% on 882,000 shares traded and Novell Inc. (Nasdaq:NOVL) up 5% on 9.6 million shares traded.
Commentary: Four Economic Indicators
"Consumer Confidence: Since 1946, the University of Michigan has tried to gauge the economic condition and direction by asking consumers how they feel. The consumer confidence survey is pegged to a 1966 benchmark equal to 100 points. It hit a low of 51.7 points in 1980, a high of 112 points in January 2000, and currently is reading 93.1 points. Unlike other indicators, consumer confidence is based on perceived and not exact numbers," stated Sonja Rudd in Wall Street News Alert's daily commentary continued at: http://www.WallStreetNewsAlert.com.
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