Cites Stockholders' Equity of $4.00 Per Share and Confidence in Expected
$20 million in EBITDA as Compelling Investment Thesis
NEW YORK, Oct. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Edison Schools (Nasdaq: EDSN),
the nation's largest private manager of public schools, announced today a plan
to repurchase up to 5,400,000 of its outstanding shares representing
approximately 10% of the company.
"The company recently reaffirmed its guidance that we will post
EBITDA, net of stock based compensation expense, of at least $20,000,000 in
the fiscal year ending June 2003," said Chris Whittle, the company's founder
and CEO. "In addition, as of June 30, 2002, the company's balance sheet had
stockholders' equity of $232,000,000 or approximately $4.00 share. This means
our shares are currently trading at less than 1X EBITDA (for the fiscal year
ending June 30th 2003) and at less than 10% of our book value. In addition,
present Enterprise Value divided by projected EBITDA for the fiscal year
ending June 30th 2003 is approximately 4X. We believe these measures, coupled
with our confidence in future performance, represent a compelling long-term
investment."
Purchases under Edison's share repurchase program may be made from time to
time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, consistent
with applicable regulatory and contractual requirements and, depending on
market conditions and other factors, may be commenced, suspended, or
discontinued at any time or from time to time without prior notice. Before
the commencement of the share repurchase program, the company had
approximately 54,000,000 shares outstanding. The company's cash on hand as of
June 30, 2002 was approximately $40,000,000. A substantial portion of this
cash has been expended to open new schools and to meet operating expenses.
The company had approximately $30 million of cash on its balance sheet at the
end of September 2002. Management believes that this cash together with
proceeds from planned refinancings of its charter notes and with continued
collections of receivables from its clients will be sufficient to fund this
repurchase plan while meeting all of the company's obligations.
About Edison
Edison Schools manages 150 public schools with a total enrollment of
approximately 80,000 students. Through contracts with local school districts
and public charter school boards, Edison generally assumes educational and
operational responsibility for individual schools in return for funding that
is comparable to that spent on other public schools in the area. Over the
course of three years of intensive research, Edison's team of leading
educators and scholars developed an innovative, research-based curriculum and
school design. Edison opened its first four schools in August 1995, and has
grown rapidly in every subsequent year. For more information, please visit
http://www.edisonschools.com .
Any statements in this press release and any other press release issued by
Edison on or about the date hereof about future expectations, plans and
prospects for Edison, including statements containing the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from
those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various
important factors, including the risk factors discussed in our most recent
annual report on form 10-K/A filed with the SEC. The forward-looking
statements included in this press release represent Edison's estimates as of
October 17, 2002. Edison anticipates that subsequent events and developments
will cause its estimates to change. While Edison may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Edison specifically
disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should
not be relied upon as representing Edison's estimates or views as of any date
subsequent to October 17, 2002.
SOURCE Edison Schools
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Related links:
http://www.edisonschools.com
CONTACT:
Adam Tucker, VP Communications of Edison
Schools, +1-212-419-1602
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