FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC. IMPLEMENTS MANAGEMENT TRANSITION
July 1, 2004
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FOR:
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FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC.
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CONTACT:
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Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc.
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(503) 721-6500 Andrew A. Wiederhorn, Chairman and CEO
(503) 721-6500 R. Scott Stevenson, Chief Financial Officer
(503) 721-6500 David Dale-Johnson, Chief Investment Officer
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For Immediate Release
FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC. IMPLEMENTS MANAGEMENT TRANSITION
PORTLAND, Ore.— July 1, 2004 – Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. (Nasdaq: FCCG) has implemented several key management changes in order to provide for a smooth transition prior to the previously announced leave of absence of CEO Andrew Wiederhorn.
In order to assist in the transition, David Dale-Johnson will serve as co-Chairman of the Board and as the Company’s Chief Investment Officer, a new full-time executive position. Mr. Dale-Johnson has been a director of the Company since October 2001. He was formerly the Director of the Real Estate Program at USC's Marshall School of Business and has significant expertise in real estate, economics and finance. Mr. Dale-Johnson is also a director of LECG, Inc., a litigation-consulting firm for which he has served as an expert in real estate economics and finance since August 2001. He is also Chairman of CCEO, Inc., a charitable organization involved in housing, rehabilitation and training of at-risk youth.
Don Coleman has also been appointed as co-Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Coleman has served as a director of the Company since October 2001 and has held prominent executive operating positions in several major companies. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Eagle Telephonic Inc. He currently sits on the board of Fatburger, a Fog Cutter subsidiary.
The Company has also appointed Donald Berchtold as co-Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Berchtold has been Senior Vice President of Administration at Fog Cutter since October 1999 and became a director in March 2004. He currently sits on the board of directors of Fatburger, a Fog Cutter subsidiary, and has more than 25 years experience in the restaurant business, including serving a term as President of the Restaurants of Oregon Association.
Additionally, the Company announced the formation of an Executive Committee of the Board of Directors to address daily operating issues. The committee will be filled by board members Messrs. Dale-Johnson, Coleman and K. Kenneth Kotler. Mr. Kotler is an attorney in Los Angeles, CA, a director of the Company and also a director of the Company’s Fatburger subsidiary.
The business strategy of Fog Cutter Capital Group consists of developing, strengthening and expanding its restaurant and commercial real estate mortgage brokerage operations and continuing to identify and acquire real estate investments with favorable risk-adjusted returns. The Company also seeks to identify and acquire controlling interests in other operating businesses in which it can add value. The Company’s operating segments consist of (i) restaurant operations conducted through Fatburger Holdings, Inc., (ii) commercial real estate mortgage brokerage activities conducted through George Elkins Mortgage Banking Company and (iii) real estate, merchant banking and financing activities.
Forward Looking Statements
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements so long as those statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. All of the statements contained in this release, which are not identified as historical, should be considered forward-looking. In connection with certain forward-looking statements contained in this release and those that may be made in the future by or on behalf of the company which are identified as forward-looking, the company notes that there are various factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to, the real estate market, the availability of real estate assets at acceptable prices, the availability of financing, interest rates, and European markets. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements contained in this release will be realized or that actual results will not be significantly higher or lower. The forward-looking statements have not been audited by, examined by, or subjected to agreed-upon procedures by independent accountants, and no third party has independently verified or reviewed such statements. Readers of this release should consider these facts in evaluating the information contained herein. The inclusion of the forward-looking statements contained in this release should not be regarded as a representation by the company or any other person that the forward-looking statements contained in this release will be achieved. In light of the foregoing, readers of this release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained herein.
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