[Boatanchors] [illinoisdigitalham] Letter from Dennis M. @ Yaesu

[telegrapher at att.net]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[illinoisdigitalham] Letter from Dennis M. @ Yaesu
Date: 	Wed, 7 Nov 2007 13:29:06 -0500
From: 	Dave Foran <dave at hamnet.org>
Reply-To: 	illinoisdigitalham at yahoogroups.com
To: 	<illinoisdigitalham at yahoogroups.com>

----------------------------------------------------
  >From Dennis, K7BV:

Friends,

By now, many of you may have heard that Vertex Standard Co., Ltd, 
(Vertex Standard USA's parent company) announced that they have agreed 
to form a collaborative joint venture with Motorola, Inc. I personally 
believe the most important words in this sentence are "collaborative 
joint venture a business relationship that indicates a far different 
outcome intent than the demise of one of the venture partners.

Since Yaesu is the Amateur Radio Division of Vertex Standard, I am sure
you are just as curious as me, a Yaesu employee with a job at stake, to 
know what this business transaction will mean to all of us in the hobby. 
Predictably, I see that the news about the pending new Motorola 
relationship with Vertex Standard, hence Yaesu, is giving life to all 
sorts of misinformation and "doomsday". Internet postings by the usual 
cast of characters who always seem to know so much more about things 
than the rest of us mere mortals. After studying public announcements 
and considering the internal information that is made available to
me in my role as the leadership individual for North American sales at
Yaesu, I would like to offer the following FACTS about this exciting 
development. Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) will launch a tender offer to 
acquire a controlling interest in Vertex Standard Co., Ltd. (JASDAQ: 
6821). Upon successful completion of the tender offer and subsequent 
restructuring process, Motorola will own 80% of Vertex Standard and Toko 
Giken, a privately held Japanese company, controlled by Jun Hasegawa, 
current president and CEO of Vertex Standard, will retain 20%, forming a 
joint venture. On 5 November 2007, the Board of Directors of Vertex
Standard expressed their support of the tender offer. Yaesu, of course,
as one of the Vertex Standard operations, will be included in this 
exciting development.

I want our Yaesu customers and concerned others to know the following
about the proposed merger:

Vertex Standard (meaning Yaesu to us in the Amateur Radio hobby) will
remain a separate, global organization with distinct resources governed 
by the Board of Directors comprised of four Motorola representatives and 
one Toko Giken representative. Toko Giken is a privately held Japanese 
company, controlled by the founders family. It currently holds 29.2% 
shares of Vertex Standard.

Mr. Jun Hasegawa (my boss), son of Sato Hasegawa JA1MP, the founder of
Yaesu will continue to take part in the management of Vertex Standard in 
his capacity as the Representative Director, President and CEO of Vertex 
Standard after the Tender Offer. The day-to-day management of the joint 
venture will be the responsibility of Mr. Hasegawa and his senior 
leadership team, who are also expected to continue. Count me as one of 
those who will continue with Yaesu.  Our business will continue to be 
operated as is, and we will continue to actively develop new products 
and operate the business as a leading manufacturer of amateur radio, 
marine, land mobile, and airband radios.

The Vertex Standard brand of equipment (Standard brand in Japan) will
continue to exist. The current Vertex Standard brand strategies are 
highly respected by Motorola and will be continued. Since Motorola 
appreciates our Yaesu brand strategy, there will be no change to it.
There will NOT be a Motorola brand of Amateur Radio equipment replacing 
or competing with Yaesu.

Yaesu customers can expect to see positive benefit from the fact that:
Vertex Standard has an experienced engineering team that, combined with
Motorola's extensive engineering talent, will develop new innovative
products.  Personally, I cannot wait to see what this joint engineering 
effort will bring to Amateur Radio!

Cost synergies will be realized through the use of Motorola's buying
power to reduce the joint venture's costs for raw materials. Hams are 
known to enjoy seeking out the best buy for their hard earned money - 
expect to see Yaesu products remain highly competitive and providing 
excellent value for your investment.

Because Mr. Hasegawa will continue to manage the day-to-day operations
of Vertex Standard, we do not expect to see changes in the existing 
Yaesu dealership, pricing and rebate philosophies as a result of the 
joint venture.

These are historic exciting times for Yaesu, our customers, and Amateur
Radio. The future is bright and the potential for incredible 
technological advancements for Amateur Radio are immense. We are glad 
you will be there with us as the positive affects of the Vertex Standard 
/ Motorola joint venture unfolds.

73,
Dennis Motschenbacher K7BV
k7bv at vxstdusa. com