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from Outstanding Investor Digest's December 31, 1999 edition



LONGLEAF PARTNERS FUNDS'
MASON HAWKINS, C.T. FITZPATRICK & STALEY CATES

(continued from preceding page)

While we wait, our values per share are building….
    Fitzpatrick: A number of the companies that we own are selling off assets and using the proceeds to buy in their own shares. For example, Host Marriott just announced that it's selling the Boston Ritz Carlton at a price well in excess of our appraisal for the asset and is using the proceeds to repurchase its own stock.

    Prime Group in Chicago, which is a company that we've highlighted in the past, is selling its largest asset at $300 per square foot. At the same time, the company sells in the stock market at less than $100 per square foot. And all of its leases are below market and have escalators.
    There could be an external event - like people just waking up and realizing the values are a joke. But you also could have internal events. And we're seeing that … in the case of the companies that I mentioned… - and there are others. I should have also mentioned Newhall Land. Newhall Land announced recently that they were accelerating their asset disposition program with the goal of buying in 20% of their stock over the next 12 months. And they have bought roughly 20% of their stock in over the last two years.
    So the companies themselves are taking steps. And ultimately, when it's realized, there'll be … a lower denominator and we'll also have a healthy numerator. So while we wait, our values per share are building.


Besides share buybacks, there's LBOs and M&A.
    Fitzpatrick: The other thing that could happen, and we're seeing some evidence of this as I mentioned, are buyout funds moving into the area - because you can pay prices well in excess of the current stock market prices for these companies and still derive very healthy returns to equity holders. The prices are just a joke. And it's only a matter of time before something happens either internally or externally to move price to value. Basically, nature abhors a vacuum. And that's what we have here - a vacuum.

    Hawkins: Just to summarize C.T.'s comments, we've never seen share repurchasing pursued as aggressively by companies in the realty world as we're seeing today. Secondly, we're seeing a number of buyout funds being put together to take these companies private because the private values are obviously so much higher than the public values that are being ascribed to these companies in the equity market.
    Thirdly, we're seeing a huge acceleration in merger and acquisition activity in the real estate world. There's great consolidation going on at very, very high prices that makes our appraisals seem conservative.





When internet hype got overdone, we trimmed our FDX.
    Shareholder: In past conference calls, you've talked about the strength of a couple of your top holdings like Federal Express and Marriott. Could you speak to why they've struggled and your thoughts [about their prospects] moving forward?


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