Story Did Not Mention All Factors, Misrepresented Pinkerton’s, CEO Says

By representing our company inaccurately and with reckless disregard for the facts, The Times did a great disservice to Pinkerton’s and our 48,000 employees [“Troubled Pinkerton’s Finds Safe Haven in Swedish Firm Securitas,” Feb. 23].

The Times recklessly branded Pinkerton as “troubled” based purely on our 1998 results. In reality, Pinkerton’s has experienced profitable growth for each of the last several years until last year, when we made a strategic business decision to write off under-performing assets and made significant investments to position the company for future growth. The Times’ reporter failed to mention these essential factors and, in fact, did not ask a single question about our financial performance during our interview.

Had your reporter done even an average job of researching our company, he would have discovered that Pinkerton’s is a financially healthy and viable company. We enjoy a strong balance sheet and are continually expanding our geographic reach and service capabilities. Securitas’ offer to our stockholders of a hefty premium for their stock is another conclusive indicator of the strength of our business.

Your reporter also quoted an analyst who inaccurately characterized the pending merger as an attempt to save a struggling business, at the same time saying our stock was undervalued. Of course, this is an obvious contradiction that should have suggested to your reporter that his “expert” source was ill-informed. In fact, the analyst The Times relied upon has not followed our company for many years and was in no position to speculate. Reporters from other major newspapers properly identified the analysts who do understand our industry and our company, and quoted them as making favorable comments about our company and the proposed merger.

DENIS R. BROWN

President and CEO

Pinkerton’s Inc.

Westlake Village