AGCO Corrects Reports Regarding Letter Received from SEC
DULUTH, Ga., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AG) corrected reports in the media concerning the termination of the previously announced SEC inquiry.
On March 10, 2004, AGCO received a letter from the SEC stating, in total: "This [the previously announced] inquiry has been terminated, and no enforcement action has been recommended to the Commission. We are providing this information under the guidelines in the final paragraph of Securities Act Release No. 5310 (copy attached)."
Robert J. Ratliff, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "The termination of the SEC inquiry does not indicate that our accounting procedures or disclosures are correct or that we have been vindicated. That is not what the SEC letter said, and I want to correct what was reported in the media. All the letter said was that the inquiry was terminated. Neither that letter nor anything else said by the SEC staff in any way suggested that AGCO's accounting or related disclosures are correct."
Securities Act Release No. 5310 states that when the staff of the SEC issues a letter such as the one received by AGCO, "it must in no way be construed as indicating that the party has been exonerated or that no action may ultimately result from the staff's investigation of that particular matter. All that such a communication means is that the staff completed its investigation and that at that time no enforcement action has been recommended to the Commission." The release goes on to state that the letter may not be used as a defense in a civil or criminal action and that the issuance of the letter may have been based on factors irrelevant to the merit of the subject of the inquiry, for instance due to workload considerations.
AGCO Corporation, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, is a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO products are distributed in over 140 countries. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements through more than 8,600 independent dealers and distributors around the world. AGCO products are distributed under the brand names AGCO(R), Agco Allis(R), AgcoStar(R), Challenger(R), Farmhand(R), Fendt(R), Fieldstar(R), Gleaner(R), Glencoe(R), Hesston(R), LOR*AL(R), Massey Ferguson(R), New Idea(R), RoGator(R), SisuDiesel(TM), Soilteq(TM), Spra- Coupe(R), Sunflower(R), TerraGator(R), Tye(R), Valtra(R), White(TM), and Willmar(R). AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance in North America and through Agricredit in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, and Brazil. In 2003, AGCO had net sales of $3.5 billion.
Please visit our website at www.agcocorp.com .
SOURCE AGCO Corporation
