SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Chiefs on Monday announced procedures for shareholders whose shares were deemed abandoned and escheated to have them reissued.
Dictionary.com defines escheated as “the reverting of property to the state or some agency of the state” if no one else is “legally qualified to inherit or to claim.”
Escheated shareholders must contact the state comptroller’s office at 1-800-221-9311 to submit a claim as soon as possible and no later than Nov. 27. They must include the necessary documentation in order to have their claim approved by the comptroller’s office prior to Nov. 30.
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The state comptroller’s office will then ask the Chiefs to reissue those shares to the individual who submitted the claim. These shareholders can then participate in the proceeds of the $18 million sale of the Chiefs to the New York Mets organization when the transaction closes.
The Community Baseball Club of Central New York Inc. owns the rights to operate the Syracuse Chiefs Triple-A baseball franchise and is planning to sell the team to the New York Mets.
Shareholders with reissued shares will not be eligible to vote at the special shareholder meeting on Nov. 17, but will be allowed to attend the meeting if interested, the team said.
Shareholders who submit claims after Nov. 27 or whose claims are not approved by the comptroller’s office before Nov. 30 will not be entitled to have their shares reissued for the sale. The comptroller’s office has indicated that these shareholders will only be entitled to the $19 value of the shares when the shares were first turned over to the state as abandoned property. In contrast, shareholders participating in the sale of the Chiefs to the Mets are expected to receive about $1,400 per share.
“For decades, baseball fans from this area have supported our team, and many stepped up when we needed financial assistance and purchased shares,” Jason Smorol, general manager of the Syracuse Chiefs, said in the team’s news release. “It is important for us to communicate with our shareholders and correctly define the process to get these shares reissued.”
Upcoming meeting
The Chiefs are asking all shareholders to return their voting proxies before the Nov. 17 shareholder meeting and vote in support of the merger agreement. By returning the proxy, a shareholder does not have to attend the meeting. To approve the transaction, two-thirds of the shares must vote for it.
The transaction will also need approval by professional baseball and Onondaga County, which holds the lease to the stadium.
“It is an exciting time for the team and the future of baseball in our area. It is very important for all shareholders to vote to approve the merger agreement,” said Smorol. “We cannot emphasize enough how important it is for shareholders to return their signed proxies regardless of the number of shares they own.”
The sale to the Mets is anticipated to close in December.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
