-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, HH3teWNDZWA5P+2LUEwb+Vdw8fxKe8BAqL/dTFyE7tg1UZHuIx6OEolnlbkNCQRs q5EYzTh3yGHW64Rr7Gezqg== 0000005907-96-000029.txt : 19961011 0000005907-96-000029.hdr.sgml : 19961011 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000005907-96-000029 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 19960924 ITEM INFORMATION: Acquisition or disposition of assets ITEM INFORMATION: Other events ITEM INFORMATION: Financial statements and exhibits FILED AS OF DATE: 19961010 SROS: BSE SROS: CSX SROS: NYSE SROS: PHLX SROS: PSE FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: AT&T CORP CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000005907 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS (NO RADIO TELEPHONE) [4813] IRS NUMBER: 134924710 STATE OF INCORPORATION: NY FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-01105 FILM NUMBER: 96641644 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 32 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10013 BUSINESS PHONE: 2123875400 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: AMERICAN TELEPHONE & TELEGRAPH CO DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19920703 8-K 1 1 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, DC 20549 Form 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report: September 24, 1996 AT&T CORP. A New York Commission File I.R.S.Employer Corporation No. 1-1105 No. 13-4924710 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10013-2412 Telephone Number (212) 387-5400 2 Form 8-K September 24, 1996 Item 2. Acquisition or Disposition of Assets. As previously reported, on September 20, 1995, AT&T Corp. ("AT&T") announced its intention, subject to certain conditions, to separate into three independent, publicly held companies: the continuing AT&T, engaged in communications services and the credit card business; Lucent Technologies Inc. ("Lucent"), engaged in communications systems and technologies; and NCR Corporation ("NCR"), engaged in information technology products and systems. In addition, AT&T announced its intention to seek the sale of its approximately 86% interest in AT&T Capital Corp. ("AT&T Capital") through a public or private sale. On September 30, 1996, AT&T distributed to its shareowners 524,624,894 shares of Lucent, representing approximately 82.4% of the shares of Lucent and all of the shares of Lucent owned by AT&T. In April 1996, Lucent had previously conducted an initial public offering and sold shares representing approximately 17.6% of its outstanding shares. As a result of the distribution, AT&T and Lucent are no longer affiliated entities. Furthermore, on October 1, 1996, AT&T sold its entire interest in AT&T Capital as part of the acquisition of AT&T Capital by a leasing consortium comprised of certain members of AT&T Capital's senior management and companies controlled by Nomura International plc. AT&T received approximately $1.8 billion for its interest in AT&T Capital. As a result of the sale, AT&T and AT&T Capital are no longer affiliated entities. Finally, on September 26, 1996, NCR, a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T, filed a registration statement on Form 10 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with respect to the planned distribution of all of the NCR common stock to AT&T shareowners. The distribution, which remains subject to a number of conditions, is expected to occur on December 31, 1996. 3 Form 8-K September 24, 1996 As a result of the restructuring, the operating and financial characteristics of AT&T post-restructuring will be those of AT&T's continuing operations: communications services and the credit card business. The market trading characteristics of AT&T common stock are likely to be affected by the restructuring due to a variety of factors, including, among other things, the increased focus on one aspect of the communications industry (communications services); the separation of the value of Lucent and, to a lesser extent, NCR, from the historical value of the combined AT&T common stock; and the share ownership decisions of former employees of AT&T now employed by Lucent or NCR as those companies encourage their employees to acquire Lucent or NCR common stock, respectively, and a public trading market is established for such stock. Item 5. Other Events. See Exhibit 99 to this Form 8-K. Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (C) Exhibits. Exhibit 99 AT&T Corp. Press Release issued September 24, 1996. 4 Form 8-K AT&T Corp. September 24, 1996 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. AT&T CORP. By: S. L. Prendergast Vice President and Treasurer October 9, 1996 5 EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number ------- 99 AT&T Corp. Press Release issued September 24,1996. EX-99 2 1 Exhibit 99 AT&T CHAIRMAN ALLEN REPORTS ON RESTRUCTURING, INVESTMENT COMMITMENTS AND EARNINGS IMPACT FOR RELEASE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1996 NEW YORK - In a letter to shareowners, AT&T Chairman Robert E. Allen today reported on the status of the company's strategic restructuring and on AT&T's achievements in the year since the breakup of the company was announced. Allen also described a program of decisive marketing initiatives -- including AT&T One Rate(sm), introduced today -- that are intended to profitably accelerate volume and revenue growth in the company's core long-distance business. In addition, to complement long distance and capture opportunities in the fast-changing telecommunications industry, Allen reiterated AT&T's commitment to invest in local, on-line and wireless capabilities as well as the infrastructure necessary to enable the company to offer customers comprehensive bundles of communications and information services. Allen said that those investments, coupled with continuing competitive pressures on AT&T's long-distance business and its efforts to address them in the near term, will affect the company's third-quarter financial results. "Specifically, although we do not yet know September results," he said, "it appears that third-quarter earnings will be as much as 10 percent below the mean estimate (92 cents per share for continuing operations) of key analysts who follow the company.* "Further, we currently believe that competitive pressures will continue for the remainder of the year, and we are intensifying our marketing efforts. Thus, fourth-quarter earnings will also likely fall short of key analysts' mean estimate (of 89 cents per share for continuing operations) by roughly comparable amounts," Allen said.* The full text of Allen's letter to shareowners follows: 2 A Letter to AT&T Shareowners It was just about a year ago that we announced a strategy for unlocking the value of your investment in AT&T by restructuring the company into three highly focused businesses: AT&T, Lucent, and NCR. I'm pleased to report that our restructuring is on schedule. The market reacted very favorably to the initial public offering of Lucent Technologies in April, its stock has received strong support ever since, and we will be distributing the remaining shares to AT&T's owners on September 30. The turnaround at NCR is well under way, and it recently reported its first quarterly operating profit since 1994. By the end of the month, we will file registration documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission preliminary to distributing NCR stock to AT&T shareowners by the end of the year. Finally, we expect to complete the sale of Capital Corporation to a group of its managers and outside investors in October, possibly as early as next week. The New AT&T For its part, the new AT&T is positioning itself to seize opportunities in an industry that is being fundamentally transformed by changes in technology and regulation. Capitalizing on those opportunities will require a period of investment, as I'll describe later in this letter, but I believe the steps we've already taken this year are impressive. Less than 30 days after Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, we filed to provide local service in all 50 states. We're now negotiating with the local exchange carriers in most of those states on the terms for interconnecting with their networks, and we plan to begin offering local service in targeted states before the end of the year. 3 Our wireless services business -- already the country's largest -- has a third more subscribers than last year. And when the FCC auctioned wireless spectrum, we acquired new licenses that will more than double our national coverage, reaching over 80 percent of the U.S. population. We went from virtually nowhere in on-line services to one of the largest providers of Internet access in just six months. We're already hosting electronic storefronts on the Internet for nearly 500 businesses. And earlier this year, we took a minority equity position in the leading provider of Direct Broadcast Satellite service, DirecTV. Within nine weeks, we were offering AT&T customers the best in access to home entertainment and information. Growing Our Core Business In our core long distance services, business volumes have been growing at double digit rates. We have signed a number of large multi-year contracts, including some that were particularly satisfying because they were win-backs of major corporate accounts. And just last week, we announced a new offer that will give business customers one-stop customer care and consolidated billing for all their AT&T services. On the consumer side of long distance, we continue to see the same challenging conditions I discussed last quarter. While we have succeeded in stabilizing volumes and revenues at last quarter's levels, the number of customers moving between carriers is still disturbing. Our research indicates that this customer volatility is due largely to price misperceptions that are frequently promoted by some competitors. To address this, we have developed a strategy intended to profitably accelerate volume and revenue growth in our consumer business. The AT&T One Rate We launched a major element of that strategy just today - -- "AT&T One Rate" responds to consumers' desire for simplicity. It is the first step in a marketing program to 4 correct confusion about competitive claims and price misperception. Customers who subscribe to AT&T One Rate will be able to make direct-dialed, long distance calls anywhere in the United States for just 15 cents a minute 24 hours a day, seven days a week with no restrictions and no enrollment fee. Now, instead of wasting time comparing competing price claims, our customers can concentrate on how to make communications work best for them. We believe that lays the foundation for the integrated "bundles" of services that we will be offering in the weeks and months ahead. That's why we are determined to continue investing in the local, on-line and wireless services that, along with long distance, will make up the major elements of AT&T's bundled offers -- even in the face of intense competition that continues to pressure our revenue and earnings. Indeed, we are also investing heavily in the systems and software necessary to integrate those services in a way that makes them most useful to customers. We believe that the net effect of these moves will be to clearly differentiate AT&T from its competitors, fully capitalizing on the strength of the AT&T brand. The Yankee Group, for example, recently reported that AT&T was by far the preferred provider of combined local and long distance service. Building Long-term Shareowner Value We are confident these actions, and the continuing strength of our business long distance and wireless services, will build long-term shareowner value. In the near term, however, competitive pressures and our efforts to address them while continuing to invest in your business, will be reflected in our financial results. Specifically, although we do not yet know September results, it appears that third quarter earnings will be as much as 10 percent below the mean estimate (92 cents per share for continuing operations) of the key analysts who follow the company. 5 Further, we currently believe that competitive pressures will continue for the remainder of the year, and we are intensifying our marketing efforts. Thus, fourth quarter earnings will also likely fall short of key analysts' mean estimates (89 cents per share for continuing operations) by roughly comparable amounts. I have taken the somewhat unusual step of previewing our performance prior to the close of the quarter because it has become clear that our financial results, in this critical period of industry transition, will be less than some in the investment community expect. I wanted you to understand why. At the same time, let me underscore that I have never seen a time of greater opportunity for AT&T. The communications services industry is undergoing fundamental change, much of which we helped shape. We intend to make the investments necessary to continue leading that change to the ultimate benefit of our customers, our employees and our owners. Robert E. Allen Chairman and CEO *Please Note: This outlook on the balance of 1996 is based on our best current information. There can be no assurance, however, that actual results will not differ from this outlook. Variance could result from even further intensification of competition in our consumer business or from any of the numerous other factors that affect AT&T and the industry, as described in our SEC reporting. # # # -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----