EXHIBIT (A)(1) - ADVERTISEMENT
Published on July 14, 1999
July 1, 1999
VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS
Ms. Susan Egli
Director of Investments
American Bankers Insurance Group
11222 Quail Roost Drive
Miami, FL 33157-6596
Dear Susan:
As we just agreed in our telephone conversation, we will move ahead to
put together and file a tender offer for approximately 1,075,269 shares of
Harris & Harris Group, Inc. common shares, at a price equal to 92.5 percent
of the average closing bid price for the sixty trading days preceding the
filing of the tender offer. Our intent is to try to accommodate your
desire to sell American Bankers' position in Harris & Harris Group, Inc.
common stock without disrupting the market for the stock. Harris & Harris
Group will bear all of the expense of the tender.
According to our counsel, Skadden, Arps, we should receive a draft of
the documents by the middle of next week, and we intend to move ahead as
quickly as possible to finalize the documents and file and commence the
actual tender.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if what I have set
forth above is not in accordance with your understanding of our verbal
agreement.
Thank you very much. American Bankers has been a wonderful, extremely
professional shareholder, and we truly will miss having you as our largest
outside shareholder.
Yours Sincerely,
/s/ Charles E. Harris
Charles E. Harris