[Yaesu] Yaesu update (from Dennis M. via Garland, K5VY)

[Philip, KO6BB]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NLT6565" <nlt6565 at yahoo.com>
To: "FTdx-9000 Yahoo Group" <FTdx-9000 at yahoogroups.com>; "FT-2000 Yahoo 
Group"

  From Dennis, K7BV:

     Friends,

  By now, many of you may have heard that Vertex Standard Co., Ltd, (Vertex 
Standard USAâ?Ts 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 â?ocollaborative joint ventureâ? 
â?" 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 â?odoomsdayâ? 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 founderâ?Ts 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 Motorolaâ?Ts 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 Motorolaâ?Ts buying 
power to reduce the joint ventureâ?Ts costs for raw materials. Hams are 
known to enjoy seeking out the best buy for their hard earned money â?" 
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