SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): 4/26/01
EQUIVEST FINANCE, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 333-29015 59-2346270
(State or other (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction File Number) Identification No.)
of incorporation)
100 NORTHFIELD STREET
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT 06830
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (203) 618-0065
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN REPORT
Item 1. Changes in Control of Registrant
Not Applicable.
Item 2. Acquisition or Disposition of Assets
Not Applicable.
Item 3. Bankruptcy or Receivership
Not Applicable.
Item 4. Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
Not Applicable.
Item 5. Other Events
PRESS RELEASE
Equivest Finance Announces
Three New Directors
Greenwich, Connecticut (Business Wire), April 26, 2001. Equivest Finance,
Inc. (NASDAQSC:EQUI) announced today three new members who are joining its
board of directors.
Jeff Cunningham is Senior Managing Director of Schroder Partners, a venture
capital arm of Schroders plc, investing in early stage technology and
services. He chairs the firm's Investment Committee and has made
investments in a wide range of eBusiness and infrastructure technologies
focused on process automation, intelligent infrastructure, market data and
distribution platforms. Prior to joining Schroder Partners, during the
period 1998 - 2000 Mr. Cunningham was President of Internet Media for CMGI,
an Internet operating company; he also held positions as President and CEO
of two CMGI portfolio companies, MyWay and Zip2. During his tenure at CMGI
he brought the media group's valuation to $750 million from $25 million and
was responsible for the merger of MyWay with BellSouth's consumer and small
business portal and for the acquisition of Zip2 from Compaq Computer.
Prior to CMGI, Mr. Cunningham was Publisher of Forbes, Inc. from 1980 -
1998. In this role he managed the business units of the privately held
media conglomerate including its flagship magazine, Forbes. He also managed
other units such as ASAP, FYI, Forbes Global, Forbes Conference and joint
ventures such as the Gilder/Forbes Technology conference. During his tenure
as Publisher, Forbes Magazine's sales volume led the US magazine industry.
Mr. Cunningham serves on the public boards of Genuity, Countrywide Mortgage
and PTEK Holdings. Mr. Cunningham was elected to the board on April 24,
2001 and has invested in newly issued restricted common shares of the
Company.
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Steve J. Quamme is the founding Managing Director of Milestone Capital
Partners LP ("Milestone"), a private equity firm, and is also Managing
Director of Milestone Merchant Partners, LLC, a Washington, D.C. - based
merchant bank. Mr. Quamme has led private equity investments in numerous
sectors including specialty retail, oil and gas, restaurants, e-commerce
and manufacturing, including investments in Blockbuster Entertainment,
among others. He has also served since 1993 as a partner in International
Equity Partners, LP, a private equity and project development firm focused
on emerging markets. Mr. Quamme was also elected to the board on April 24,
2001, and has agreed to invest in newly issued restricted common shares of
the Company.
The Honorable J. Carter Beese, Jr. is President of Riggs Capital Partners,
a venture capital fund affiliated with Riggs National Corporation, which
owns Riggs National Bank of Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming President of
Riggs Capital Partners, Mr. Beese was Vice Chairman of the Global Banking
Group at Bankers Trust. Prior to the merger between Bankers Trust and Alex.
Brown, Mr. Beese served as Chairman of Alex. Brown International. Mr. Beese
originally joined Alex. Brown & Co., Inc. in 1978, and became a partner of
that firm in 1987. President George Bush appointed Mr. Beese as a director
of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in 1990, and as a
Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in
1992. Mr. Beese currently serves as a director of Riggs National
Corporation, Aether Systems, Inc., Sila Communications Limited and
chinadotcom. Mr. Beese formerly served on the board of Renaissance Hotels
of Hong Kong. Mr. Beese will join the board on June 4, 2001 upon election
at the Company's Annual Meeting.
Following the Company's annual meeting all members of the Company's audit
and compensation committees will be independent, outside directors, and
Messrs. Cunningham, Quamme and Beese will join incumbent directors Olof
Nelson, President of Bankers Trust Company Connecticut Ltd., R. Perry
Harris, Executive Vice President of the Company and Richard C. Breeden,
Chairman, President and CEO of the Company.
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Richard C. Breeden, Chairman, President and CEO of the Company, commented:
"We are delighted to have Jeff, Steve and Carter agree to join our board of
directors. All three bring many years of venture capital investing
experience to our company, along with expertise in marketing,
communications and technology. As our business continues to expand, their
market relationships and expertise will be an enormously valuable resource
for our management group."
Equivest is an integrated developer and operator of vacation ownership
resort properties headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It owns or
operates 29 resorts with more than 2,200 condominium - style units located
principally on the east and gulf coasts of the United States, as well as
the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Company also operates a specialty finance
company providing financing for consumer purchases of vacation intervals in
its own resorts and those of independent developers. Equivest has more than
80,000 owners of vacation intervals in its resorts.
The Company believes that it is among the ten largest vacation ownership
companies in the United States with annual revenues in 2000 of more than
$158 million.
For Information Contact:
Gerald L. Klaben, Jr. or Linda S. Hudson (203) 618-0065
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. They may be
identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as
"believe," "expect", "anticipate," "should," "planned," "estimated," and
"potential." These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's
current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to
comply with the terms of the safe harbor, the Company notes that a variety
of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially
from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such
forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect the
operations, performance, development, and results of the Company's
businesses include a downturn in the real estate cycle, lack of available
qualified prospects to tour the Company's resorts, competition from other
developers, lack of appropriate sites for future developments, failure to
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complete construction in a timely and cost-efficient manner, or other
factors which result in lower sales of vacation ownership interests,
possible financial difficulties of one or more of the developers with whom
the Company does business, including the risk of carrying non-performing
assets or losses if defaulted loans prove to have insufficient collateral
backing, fluctuations in interest rates, prepayments by consumers or
indebtedness, inability of developers to honor replacement obligations for
defaulted consumer notes, and competition from organizations with greater
financial resources.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
EQUIVEST FINANCE, INC.
Date: April 30, 2001 By: /s/ Gerald L. Klaben, Jr.
-------------------------------
Name:Gerald L. Klaben, Jr.
Title: CFO & Senior Vice President
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