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): May 12, 2000
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.
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Item 4. Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
Not Applicable.
Item 5. Other Events
Press Release
Equivest Announces Retention of UBS Warburg
By Bennett Funding Estate to
Consider Strategic Alternatives
Greenwich, Connecticut (Business Wire) - May 12, 2000 - Equivest Finance,
Inc. (NASDAQ: EQUI) today announced that it has been advised that its largest
stockholder, the consolidated estate of the Bennett Funding Group, Inc. (the
"Estate"), has retained UBS Warburg LLC as financial advisor to explore
strategic alternatives with regard to its stake in Equivest. These alternatives
will include a complete sale of its position in Equivest. The Estate owns
approximately 22 million shares, common and preferred equivalent, or
approximately 79% of the outstanding voting shares, of Equivest.
Richard C. Breeden, trustee for the Estate and Chairman, President and CEO
of Equivest said, " The Bennett Estate has been very pleased with the tremendous
growth in revenues and earnings of Equivest, but as the Bennett Estate nears
completion of its wind-up, it is appropriate to make the benefit of this
investment available to the creditors of the Estate." Since 1996 when the
Bennett proceedings began, Equivest's revenues have expanded more than 6 times,
and its net income has grown more than 5 times. During this period Equivest has
had an average compound growth in fully diluted earnings per share of
approximately 60% per year.
Equivest recently reported that for the quarter ended March 31, 2000
revenues and earnings set all-time first quarter records. Revenues in the first
quarter were up 224% compared with the year earlier period, while net income
rose 68%.
Mr. Breeden noted: "For four years the Bennett creditors have maintained
their stake in the company as it continued to build the size and scale of the
business. In terms of market capitalization, Equivest is now the third largest
publicly-traded independent company in the vacation ownership business. As
Equivest continues to grow into one of the leading players in the vacation
leisure market, it will benefit the company to eliminate ties to the Bennett
proceedings. The Estate will also benefit, as realizing on its Equivest
investment will permit the final windup of the Bennett proceedings. During the
last four years the Estate has generated more than $580 million for creditors,
not counting the value of Equivest."
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Equivest operates 29 resorts located principally on the eastern and gulf
coasts of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including its newest
resorts in Williamsburg, Virginia and on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.
More than 75,000 families own vacation intervals or points in Equivest's
vacation club, and another approximately 25,000 families are customers of
Equivest's finance subsidiary, which is one of the country's leading specialty
lenders for the timeshare market. Equivest has total assets of more than $425
million, and more than 2,000 employees.
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 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.
For Information Contact:
Scott Butera at USB Warburg LLC (212) 821-3359
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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: May 15, 2000 By:_____________________________________________
Name: Richard G. Winkler
Title: Senior V.P., Secretary &
General Counsel
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