The Fund hereby amends the offer to purchase up to 10,000,000 of its shares of common stock, par value $.10 per share (the “Shares”), for cash at a price equal to their net asset value (“NAV”), less any applicable Early Withdrawal Charge, as of the close of business of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, November 14, 2000, the Expiration Date, unless extended, upon the terms and conditions set forth in this Supplement to the Offer to Purchase (the “Offer”) and the related Letter of Transmittal. The Shares are not currently traded on an established secondary market. The NAV on October 13, 2000 was $9.81 per Share. You can obtain current NAV quotations from your Merrill Lynch Financial Consultant or the Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated Response Center (the “Merrill Lynch Response Center”). See Section 1 “Price; Number of Shares.” The Fund presently intends each quarter to consider making a tender offer for its Shares at a price equal to their then current NAV. The Offer is hereby amended to increase to up to 10,000,000 the number of Shares subject thereto. Accordingly, references in the Offer to Purchase to 6,600,000 Shares are hereby changed to 10,000,000 Shares to reflect such increase. In addition, the maximum aggregate purchase price of approximately $64.7 million referred to in Section 9 of the Offer to Purchase is increased to $98 million. The NAV on October 27, 2000 was $9.80 per share. Approximately 1,620,852 Shares had been tendered and not withdrawn at such date. |