dfan14a
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
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o Preliminary Proxy Statement
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o Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12
Equus Total Return, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
J. Philip Ferguson
Lance T. Funston
John D. White
Charles R. Ofner
Dr. Francis D. Tuggle
John P. Wade
Dr. Charles M. Boyd
Jonathan H. Godshall
Paula T. Douglass
Sam P. Douglass
Douglass Trust IV - FBO S. Preston Douglass, Jr.
Douglass Trust IV - FBO Brooke Douglass
Tiel Trust FBO Sam P. Douglass
Tiel Trust FBO Paula T. Douglass
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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THE COMMITTEE TO ENHANCE EQUUS
THE CURRENT MAJORITY OF THE BOARD MUST THINK
STOCKHOLDERS HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT A 65% DECLINE IN
STOCKHOLDER VALUEPROVE THEM WRONG BY
REMEMBERING TO
VOTE THE GOLD CARD TODAY
April 23, 2010
Dear Fellow Equus Stockholder,
The current five-member majority of the Board, which we refer to as the Holdover 5, must
have little regard for stockholders recollection of the value destruction Equus Total Return, Inc.
has suffered over the past 5 years. During the time that Moore, Clayton Capital Advisors, Inc.
(MCCA) was Equuss investment adviser, beginning in June 2005, until Equus internalized its
management, in June 2009, the stock price declined 61%. From June 30, 2005 to March 26, 2010 (the
last trading day before members of our Committee announced their intention to launch a proxy
contest), Equuss stock price declined 65%. The chart below serves as a sad reminder that
stockholders have suffered greatly in terms of lost share value. You do not deserve more of the
same.
65% DECLINE IN STOCKHOLDER VALUE
Now Kenneth Denos, the CEO of MCC Global N.V., MCCAs parent company, together with other
directors who were nominated by MCCA, are attempting to entrench themselves and also pack the Board
with four new nominees, who were introduced to Equus by MCC Global and nominated by Kenneth Denos.
These four new nominees represent a single stockholder and were not properly vetted. The
Committee to Enhance Equuss goal of electing our nine, highly qualified nominees to the Board and
our sole reason for running this campaign is to restore the successful past 25-year investment
philosophy and creation of value that stockholders deserve. The Committee has put personal funds
of its members at risk in conducting this proxy contest.
VOTE THE GOLD CARD TODAY
There are just a few short weeks until the 2010 annual meeting of Equus Total Return, Inc. At
the meeting, stockholders will have the opportunity to decide Equuss course and the future of
their investment by electing the nine, experienced and knowledgeable Board nominees proposed by The
Committee to Enhance Equus. These nominees are J. Philip Ferguson, Lance T. Funston, John D.
White, Charles R. Ofner, John P. Wade, Jonathan H. Godshall, Paula T. Douglass, Dr. Francis D.
Tuggle and Dr. Charles M. Boyd.
The Committee recently mailed, to all stockholders, our proxy statement detailing the
backgrounds of our nine, highly-qualified nominees. The information in our proxy statement speaks
for itself, and all stockholders are urged to read it thoroughly to be fully informed. The
Committees nominees bring a wealth of experience and will provide ALL Equus stockholders the best
opportunity to recoup the value destroyed during MCCAs tenure as Equuss investment adviser. The
status quo is not sustainable, and your investment deserves better. We urge all stockholders to
return their GOLD proxy cards today to bring stability and place Equus on a real, new
course.
WE ARE STOCKHOLDERS OF EQUUS OWNING 11.4%
Even as the Holdover 5 were mailing their proxy materialsdoing so at great expense by
delivering numerous packages via overnight courierone of the five, Gregory Flanagan, liquidated
over ONE-THIRD of his Equus holdings in the first two weeks of April. The Committee to Enhance
Equus currently OWNS approximately 11.4% of Equus, and we are not selling our shares.
In another letter to stockholders, the Holdover 5 places a great deal of importance on the
fact that their four new nominees represent the single largest stockholder of Equus. However,
none of these four individuals own a single share of Equus personally. Moreover, the Committee
believes that it would be imprudent and unfair to all other stockholders to have the interests of
one stockholder, who owns less than 10% of the outstanding shares, to be grossly overrepresented on
the Board, with its representatives seeking to occupy more than 40% of the seats on your Board.
The Holdover 5 and these four new nominees personally own only one-half of one percent of
Equus, yet they attempt to claim that their interests are aligned with yours. Our nominees
personally own more than 10 times the number of shares that the Holdover 5 and their additional
nominees own. Our nominees face the same risks to their investment that you do. Please vote the
GOLD proxy card today.
EQUUSS STOCK PRICE DECLINED 61% DURING MR. DENOS TENURE AS
EQUUSS CEO
Mr. Denos, a member of the Holdover 5, was Equuss CEO from August 2007 until MCCAs agreement
was not renewed in June 2009, during which time Equuss stock price declined approximately 61%.
Mr. Denos also held the positions of CEO and President of MCCA from May 2008 until June 2009, a
time period which saw Equuss stock price decline 53%. Yet, despite these poor results, MCCA was
nevertheless paid normal investment, administrative and incentive fees totaling approximately $12
million pursuant to its administrative and investment adviser agreements. Mr. Denos has been since
2006 and still continues to be the CEO of
MCCAs parent company, MCC Globala company which has traded in a 52-week price range of 0.001 -
0.003 (German stock exchanges symbol: IFQ2). Further, Mr. Denos, MCC Global and certain of its
affiliates have disclosed that secured creditors foreclosed on 531,680 of the shares of Equus stock
owned by MCC Global affiliates.
Since June 2005, Equus has had six chairmen of the Board and three CEOs. None of these CEOs
has had prior executive fund management experience. Stockholders deserve someone who is not
getting on-the-job training at their company. The Board internalized the management of Equus in
June 2009, replacing MCCA. After replacing MCCA, and despite persistent efforts by Sam Douglass, a
Committee member, no formal search process was conducted to identify a suitable, experienced
outside candidate to act as CEO. Instead, the Holdover 5 appointed one of their own to act as CEO,
and the poor results of this choice are reflected in further deep declines in stock price and net
asset value. Since February 2010, Equus has not had a CEO or President. The decline in
stockholder value is a symptom of the instability that has plagued Equus under MCCA and the
Holdover 5. It is time to cut ties with MCC Global, MCCA, Mr. Denos and his bloc of directors.
HOLDOVER 5 REVIEW PROCESS FAILS TO UNCOVER PUBLIC LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING ONE OF THEIR NOMINEES
We describe in our April 15 proxy statement the hasty and substandard manner in which the
Holdover 5 nominated the additional four candidates on their slate. That process appears to have
been so lacking that it failed to discover legal proceedings involving Alessandro Benedetti, one of
their nominees, that can be located using rudimentary internet searches. Had this basic form of
due diligence been conducted prior to Mr. Benedettis nomination, it would have revealed that on
June 15, 2009, Mr. Justice Patten of the High Court of Justice Chancery Division of the United
Kingdom, stated the following regarding Mr. Benedetti in the official transcript of his judgment:
Mr Benedetti was himself the subject of a criminal investigation in connection
with [Magnetofoni Castelli, a company] which led to his arrest on charges which
included false accounting. He entered into a plea bargain with the prosecuting
authorities under which he entered a guilty plea and accepted a sentence of
imprisonment. Although when asked about this in cross-examination he suggested
that this did not amount to and should not be treated as a criminal conviction, it
seems obvious to me that the opposite is the case. (emphasis added)
We believe that you are entitled to a thorough and proper vetting of the directors to whom you
entrust your company. Do not leave your investment in the hands of the Holdover 5 and their four
new nominees. Vote the GOLD proxy card today.
HOLDOVER 5 ALLEGATIONS REGARDING PORTFOLIO COMPANY
CONTRADICT THEIR OWN DISCLOSURE
In the Holdover 5s most recent letter to stockholders, they make claims regarding a default
on a $2.2 million loan extended to Trulite, Inc., an Equus portfolio company, and claim that two
Committee members are not pressing for collection and recovery of such amounts from Trulite. But
the Holdover 5, as the majority of the current board, have already decided to allow Trulite to
remain in default on this loan for the time being. Equuss recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December
31, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2010, states clearly, with
respect to the outstanding $2.2 million loan to Trulite, that a default exists to allow Trulite to
complete ongoing negotiations related to current financing activities. Each and every member of
the Holdover 5 signed this Form 10-K acknowledging this ongoing default and the purpose for it.
The Committee struggles to see how publicly complaining about an acknowledged arrangement regarding
a significant investment fosters a profitable relationship with a portfolio company or, more
importantly, how it enhances your value as an Equus stockholder. The Holdover 5s ill-considered
allegations demonstrate, we believe, their lack of business acumen and respect for Equus and its
investments.
THE COMMITTEES NOMINEES HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE AND ARE
BETTER QUALIFIED
The Holdover 5 trumpet the foreign backgrounds of their nominees, but we see no reason why
significant foreign representation on the Equus board would be of particular benefit to our
stockholders. The vast majority of our investments are domestic in nature and are best managed by
those with the experience and qualifications to do so. Having a significant number of foreign
directors is also more expensive and less efficient because of, among other things, increased costs
associated with foreign travel and communication and time changes hindering effective and efficient
decision making. Notably and memorably, when MCCA originally became Equuss investment adviser,
they touted a foreign investment strategy. Now, the Holdover 5s silver bullet also appears to
be premised on this same claim.
With only one exception, the Holdover 5 nominees do not currently hold, and have not held in
the past five years, a single directorship of a domestic public company or an investment company.
Our nominees current service on the Boards of several public companies stands in stark contrast.
Our nominees have the right blend of qualifications and experience to help reverse the course
of Equus. For example, from 2000 to 2007, J. Philip Ferguson held the positions of Chairman,
President, Chief Investment Officer and Senior Investment Officer, at various times, of AIM Capital
Management, Inc., the successor to which is part of the Invesco, Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) family of
companies. During his time with AIM Capital Management, Mr. Ferguson oversaw the growth of that
company to over $100 billion in assets under management. We urge you to read more about Mr.
Ferguson and our nominees and their qualifications in our proxy statement.
THE DECLINE IN NET ASSET VALUE AT EQUUS NEEDS TO BE REVERSED
NOW
Equuss net asset value has also deteriorated substantially, declining almost 28% while MCCA
served as investment adviser and approximately 37% in 2009 alone. (See Reasons for Solicitation
in our definitive proxy statement for comparative data.) Stockholders choice of the right
nominees at this years annual meeting is critical to reversing this downward trend. Vote the
GOLD card today to send the Holdover 5 a clear message that their mismanagement of your
Company will not be tolerated any longer. It is time for them to go.
WE URGE YOU TO VOTE THE GOLD PROXY CARD TODAY
We encourage you to read our proxy statement, which is available at no cost at
www.ourmaterials.com/enhanceequus. We look forward to continuing to speak to many of you during
the course of this campaign, and hope that we can count on your support.
If you have any questions, or need assistance voting your GOLD proxy card, please
contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc., which is assisting us in this solicitation, at (800) 322-2885
(toll-free) or (212) 929-5500 (call collect) or by email at enhanceequus@mackenziepartners.com.
You may also be able to vote by telephone or internet by following the instructions on the enclosed
vote form.
Sincerely,
THE COMMITTEE TO ENHANCE EQUUS
THE COMMITTEE TO ENHANCE EQUUS HAS FILED A DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER DOCUMENTS WITH THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY THE DEFINITIVE
PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES FOR
USE AT EQUUS TOTAL RETURN, INC.S ANNUAL MEETING, INCLUDING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE COMMITTEE,
OUR NOMINEES AND THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS SOLICITATION. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND A FORM
OF PROXY ARE AVAILABLE TO EQUUS STOCKHOLDERS FROM THE PARTICIPANTS AT NO CHARGE AT
WWW.OURMATERIALS.COM/ENHANCEEQUUS AND ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE AT THE SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSIONS WEBSITE AT WWW.SEC.GOV. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND A FORM OF PROXY
WERE DISSEMINATED TO SECURITY HOLDERS ON OR ABOUT APRIL 15, 2010.
If you have questions or need assistance voting the
GOLD proxy card please contact:
105 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10016
enhanceequus@mackenziepartners.com
(212) 929-5500 (Call Collect)
or
CALL TOLL-FREE (800) 322-2885