FAIRNESS OPINIONS: IS THE ONE YOU RECEIVE BEYOND DISPUTE?

Cain Brothers, February 14, 2005

Fairness opinions, which are used by boards of directors and boards of trustees to help support decision making about major transactions, are coming under higher scrutiny these days from many sources. Recent trends have raised questions about the standard practice of using the investment bank that assists with an organization's merger and acquisition transaction to also write the related fairness opinion. Cain Brothers' white paper, titled "Fairness Opinions - Is the one you Receive Beyond Dispute?" describes what fairness opinions are and what they are not and when boards may want to obtain an independent or second one from a qualified expert that is not otherwise involved with the transaction under consideration. BY: Cain Brothers New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Houston, San Francisco www.cainbrothers.com (PDF format - click here to download the latest version of acrobat reader)