TEMECULA, Calif., July 19, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nicholas Investment Company, Inc. (Pink Sheets:NIVM) today announced that YaSheng Group (Pink Sheets:YHGG) has filed a Form 8-K12g-3 Current Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the purpose of reporting the acquisition of a majority of the total issued and outstanding common stock of Nicholas.
Pursuant to the Acquisition Agreement entered into by the two companies and announced on June 21, 2004, YaSheng agreed to purchase all issued and outstanding shares of Nicholas' common stock on a stock for stock basis determined by the relative net asset values of the two companies as of June 30, 2004. As of that date, YaSheng's net asset value was $6.32 per share, and Nicholas' net asset value was $0.075 per share. Accordingly, YaSheng agreed to issue one share of its common stock for every 84.0 shares of Nicholas common stock tendered.
Steven R. Peacock, President and Chairman of Nicholas Investment Company, commented, "We are pleased to have finalized the acquisition of Nicholas Investment Company by YaSheng Group and look forward to demonstrating the substantial upside potential of Nicholas' subsidiary companies for YaSheng and its shareholders. There has been significant progress in mapping out the future of Nicholas and its subsidiaries as subsidiaries of YaSheng, including its assistance with YaSheng's North American expansion plans and the growth of Nicholas' subsidiary SINO UJE's distribution of high tech products in China."
The tender of Nicholas shares will continue and shareholders have been instructed to send their stock certificates to Nicholas Investment Company, at its corporate headquarters in Temecula, California. Shareholders who do not hold physical stock certificates should contact a representative of the institution that holds the stock and request their shares of Nicholas be produced in certificate form and delivered to the shareholder. Nicholas will then deliver those certificates to YaSheng so that YaSheng may issue its shares to the stockholders that surrender their shares in a number corresponding to the exchange rate discussed above.
As a result of the acquisition, Nicholas has notified the NASD Nasdaq market operations that the Company has been acquired and will become a private subsidiary of YaSheng Group. NIVM stock should soon cease trading.
About Nicholas Investment Company
Nicholas Investment Company, Inc. is a closed-end fund with a 2004 first quarter net profit of $1.2 million and net assets of over $1.8 million for the same period. The company has acquired 100% of Javelin Holdings, Inc. (www.javelinholdings.com), a small business consulting and investment banking firm, and 95% of SINO UJE (www.sinouje.com), a non-stocking distributor that sells and services western-manufactured high-tech products to markets throughout China. For more information on the Company and its Fund Portfolio or to sign up for the Company's mailing list, please visit, www.nicholasinvestments.com
Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained herein that are not purely historical are forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements deal with the Company's current plans, intentions, beliefs and expectations and statements of future economic performance. Statements containing terms like "believes," "does not believe," "plans," "expects," "intends," "estimates," "anticipates" and other phrases of similar meaning are considered to imply uncertainty and are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from what is currently anticipated. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cannot guarantee its future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.