As you know,
dissident stockholder BlueLine Partners L.L.C., a hedge fund, together
with its affiliates, is carrying out a consent solicitation aimed at
removing your duly-elected Board of Directors and replace it
with a slate of nominees handpicked by BlueLine, including one of its
principals. If elected, BlueLine's nominees would constitute at
least a majority of Criticare's directors, thus allowing BlueLine
to gain control of your Company.
For the reasons we
describe in detail in the enclosed Consent Revocation Statement, we
believe that BlueLine's sole purpose in seeking control of the
Board and your Company is to extract a profit on its Criticare
investment by attempting to either sell the Company at a time when
the value of our current initiatives cannot be properly realized, or
artificially increase the Company's profits (and possibly stock
price) in the short term by indiscriminately cutting expenses,
including research and development costs. In opposing BlueLine's
actions, your Board firmly believes that if we continue to execute our
business strategy and implement our current initiatives, the value of
your Company will be substantially increased, beyond what could
reasonably be expected to be obtained in a sale of the Company today or
from an indiscriminate reduction of our expenses.
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6. |
BlueLine's
track record, although limited, reveals as one of its main investment
tactics pressuring companies in which it invests into a sale as a way
to accelerate returns on its own investment. We believe that if the
Company is put up for sale (or managed only to cut costs and improve
margins and profitability), the stockholders will forever surrender the
opportunity to realize the long-term value that we believe, due to our
current initiatives, underlies, but is not yet reflected in, our
current stock price. We could not disagree more with
BlueLine's view, expressed as early as this past April, that
stockholders would ‘‘receive greater value by finding a
buyer for the Company.’’ On the contrary, we believe
that a sale of the Company now, even at a premium to its current market
price, would likely result in a ‘‘fire sale’’
rather than an opportunity to maximize shareholder
value. |
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7. |
As documented on pages 10-12
of the enclosed Consent Revocation Statement, BlueLine continually
flip flops on issues relating to the direction of the
Company. |
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8. |
Last but not least,
in connection with its attempt to gain control of your Company,
BlueLine is not giving you anything in return—it is not
offering to purchase any shares from you, and it is not offering to pay
any control premium to you or any other Criticare stockholders
(although BlueLine is not legally obligated to do so). |
* * * * *
We urge you to reject
BlueLine's solicitation and not to sign any consent you
may receive from BlueLine. If you have previously signed a BlueLine
consent card, you may revoke that consent by signing, dating and
mailing the enclosed Consent Revocation Card. Regardless of the number
of shares you own, your revocation of consent is important.
If
you have any questions about revoking any consent you may have
previously granted or require any other assistance, please call The
Altman Group, Inc. toll free at: 1-(800) 283-3192.
Thank you for your continued
support,
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Higgins
D. Bailey Ed.D. |
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Jeffrey T. Barnes |
/s/ Higgins D. Bailey |
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/s/
Jeffrey T. Barnes |
Chairman of the Board |
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Director |
Sam B.
Humphries |
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N.C. Joseph Lai,
Ph.D. |
/s/ Sam B.
Humphries |
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/s/ N.C. Joseph Lai,
Ph.D. |
Director |
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Director |
Emil
H. Soika |
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Stephen K.
Tannenbaum |
/s/ Emil H.
Soika |
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/s/ Stephen K.
Tannenbaum |
Director |
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Director |
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Certain
statements made in this letter are forward-looking statements. These
statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual
future events or results. Such forward-looking statements are subject
to a number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause
the Criticare Systems, Inc.'s actual results to differ materially
from those projected in such forward-looking statements. These risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic
conditions, demand for Criticare's products, costs of operations,
the development of new products, the reliance on single sources of
supply for certain components in Criticare's products, government
regulation, health care cost containment programs, the effectiveness of
Criticare's programs to manage working capital and reduce costs,
competition in Criticare's markets, compliance with product
safety regulations and product liability and product recall risks,
risks relating to international sales and compliance with U.S. export
regulations, unanticipated difficulties in outsourcing the
manufacturing of the majority of its products to foreign manufacturers
and risks related to foreign manufacturing, including economic and
political instability, trade and foreign tax laws, production delays
and cost overruns and quality control. Other risks are set forth in
Criticare's reports and documents filed from time to time with
the SEC. Criticare operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing
environment. New risk factors can arise, and it is
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not possible for management to predict all
such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk
factors on Criticare's business or the extent to which any
factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements
are qualified by these cautionary statements and are made only as of
the date they are made. Criticare is under no obligation to update or
alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, and expressly disclaims any
such obligation.
Criticare filed a definitive consent
revocation statement with the SEC on October 11, 2006, in connection
with the consent solicitation begun by BlueLine Partners L.L.C. and its
affiliates. Criticare will be mailing to stockholders its definitive
consent revocation statement and other relevant documents. INVESTORS
ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE CONSENT REVOCATION STATEMENT AND ANY
OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT CRITICARE WILL FILE WITH THE SEC BECAUSE
THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Security holders will be able
to obtain a free copy of the definitive consent revocation statement
and other related documents filed by Criticare at the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov. Criticare's definitive consent revocation
statement and other related documents may also be obtained from
Criticare free of charge by contacting Joel Knudson, Criticare Systems,
Inc., 20925 Crossroads Circle, Suite 100, Waukesha, WI 53186, Tel.
(262) 798-5335.
Information regarding the identity of the
persons who under SEC rules may be deemed to be participants in the
solicitation by Criticare of its stockholders in connection with this
consent solicitation, and the participants' interests in the
solicitation, are set forth in Criticare's definitive consent
revocation statement.
If you have any questions or need
any information concerning this solicitation and our consent
revocation, please contact: The Altman Group, toll free at (800)
283-3192.
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