GAMCO Investors, Inc. (GAMCO) (NYSE: GBL) announced today it has adopted
a Shareholder Designated Charitable Contribution program for all
registered Class A and Class B shareholders. Each such shareholder will
be eligible to designate charities to which the company will make a
donation of $0.25 per share on behalf of the shareholder.
Warren Buffett had a similar program at Berkshire Hathaway from 1981 to
2003. At GAMCO, we believe charitable giving is a cornerstone of society
and an obligation for those with the means to make a difference in the
world. As an organization, GAMCO will have no control over these
donations, but we are happy to make them on behalf of our shareholders.
Shareholders will have until July 31, 2013 to register shares in their
own names to participate in the program. Our current plan is to
distribute, in early August, a charitable contribution form that must be
returned to GAMCO no later than August 31, 2013 for the charitable
contribution to be made. Only charities that are recognized 501(c)(3)
organizations will be qualified to receive the donation from GAMCO on
the shareholder’s behalf. A list of eligible charities is available at: http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check.
Based on the approximately 20 million shares currently registered in
shareholders’ names, the total contribution GAMCO is expected to make
will be $5.0 million. If all shares outstanding are registered in their
shareholders’ names at the record date, the total contribution would
increase to $6.4 million.
GAMCO Investors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages private
advisory accounts (GAMCO Asset Management Inc.), mutual funds and
closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC), and partnerships and offshore
funds (Gabelli Securities, Inc.). As of December 31, 2012, GAMCO had
$36.4 billion in assets under management.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Our disclosure and analysis in this press release may contain some
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current
expectations or forecasts of future events. In particular, these include
statements relating to future actions, future performance and financial
results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and
beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently
know about our business and operations, there can be no assurance that
our actual results will not differ materially from what we expect or
believe.
