NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Escala Group today corrects inaccuracies and misleading statements appearing in an article written by Neil Martin in the Saturday, May 13th edition of Barron's. In this article, Mr. Martin stated:
"In addition, despite what it has reported in SEC filings, the company
still hasn't moved its headquarters from West Caldwell, N.J., to midtown
Manhattan. It operates from a 'virtual office' -- consisting basically
of an answering service -- a few blocks away from the reported address."
As the Company told Mr. Martin on Friday, that statement is untrue.
As disclosed in its Report on Form 8K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 3rd, 2005, Escala Group and Fifth Avenue Building Company LLC, on September 28, 2005, entered into a 10-year lease for office space located at 623 Fifth Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, New York, 10022.
In a written response to an inquiry from Mr. Martin last Friday, Escala explained that, while the Fifth Avenue premises are being constructed, the Company conducts its corporate operations from temporary office space located in Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10020. All corporate-level employees in the U.S. are physically located on these premises during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Since the completion of its architectural plans, Escala has been in the process of obtaining the required work permits for construction to begin at the Fifth Avenue location.
In response to the Barron's article's insinuations regarding a Nasdaq delisting, Escala can state that it has received no indication from Nasdaq that the Company's shares are being considered for such action. The Company believes that it continues to meet all requirements for its listing.
Given Mr. Martin's disregard for the Company's written response to him and for the Company's publicly filed documents with the SEC, along with his carelessness in confirming pertinent facts, the Company believes that the baseless insinuations in this and past articles clearly fall outside the guidelines of responsible reporting. Management questions the integrity of Mr. Martin's ongoing coverage of Escala.
The Company is exploring its options for possible legal action against Barron's and Mr. Martin.
About Escala Group, Inc.
Escala Group is a global network of leading companies in the collectibles market with operations in North America, Europe and Asia as well as on the Internet. The company operates through a number of subsidiaries that specialize in various sectors of the collectibles markets, and is comprised of three business areas: auctions, merchant/dealer operations and trading.
Escala Group's North American auction and retail operations include Greg Manning Auctions division, Ivy & Manning Philatelic Auctions, Greg Manning Galleries, Greg Martin Auctions, Teletrade, Nutmeg Stamp Sales, Superior Sports, Bowers and Merena Auctions, North American Certified Trading, and H.R. Harmer. In Europe, the leading auction houses affiliated with the network are Auctentia Subastas (Afinsa Auctions) of Madrid, Spain; Corinphila Auktionen of Zurich, Switzerland; and the Koehler group of auction companies of Berlin and Wiesbaden, Germany. In Asia, Escala Group's auction operations are conducted through John Bull Stamp Auctions, Ltd, the oldest philatelic auction house in Hong Kong.
Merchant/dealer activities are conducted through Greg Manning Auctions and Central de Compras Coleccionables, S.L. of Madrid, and through Spectrum Numismatics International, one of the largest wholesalers of rare coins in the U.S.
The trading activities of Escala Group are conducted through A-Mark Precious Metals, one of the largest private sellers of bullion coins and bullion gold, silver and platinum to the wholesale marketplace.
SAFE HARBOR
Statements contained in this presentation that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that may cause such differences include changes in market conditions, changes in economic environment, competitive factors and the other factors discussed in the "forward-looking information" or "risk factors" sections included in ESCL's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including ESCL's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, prospectuses and other documents that ESCL has filed with the Commission. In particular, any statement related to ESCL's expected revenues or earnings or ESCL's being well positioned for future profitability and growth are forward-looking statements.
The words "should," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "foresee," "plan" and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Additionally, any statements related to future improved performance and estimates of revenues and earnings per share are forward-looking statements. ESCL undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
(ESCL)
