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assets, or take the Company's stock public. Only the holders of
the voting stock would make these decisions.
We agree with respondent's experts that through ownership of
decedent's voting shares, a hypothetical buyer would gain access to
the "inner circle" of J.R. Simplot Co., and by having a seat at the
class A shareholder's table, over time, the hypothetical buyer
potentially could position itself to play a role in the Company.
In this regard, we are mindful that "a journey of a 1,000 miles
begins with a single step."
At this point, we consider the characteristics of the
hypothetical buyer of decedent's class A voting shares. The
hypothetical buyer might well be one or a group of investors or
even one of the Simplots. The investor(s) might be a competitor,
supplier, or major customer of J.R. Simplot Co. The hypothetical
buyer would probably be well financed, with a long-term investment
horizon and no expectations of near-term benefits.29 The
hypothetical buyer might be primarily interested in only one of
J.R. Simplot Co.'s two distinct business activities--its food and
chemicals divisions--and be a part of a joint venture (that is, one
29 Petitioner claims that because J.R. Simplot was 90
years old and living at the time of trial, the Simplot family has
unusually good genes. Thus, the argument was made that a good
possibility existed for Don, Gay, and Scott to live until a ripe
old age, and the class A voting shares would wind up in J.R.
Simplot's grandchildren's hands later rather than sooner.
Decedent died at the age of 59. Apparently, J.R. Simplot's
"good genes" were of limited assistance to him. The length of
one's lifetime is unpredictable; no assurances exist that Scott,
Don, and Gay will live until the age of 90.
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