Contrary to some of the sentiments and worries
expressed on this message board, Value Line (report dated:
12/18/98) was quite upbeat on the prospects for CCA and its
upcoming merger with PZN: "The financial prowess resulting
from the merger, due to enhanced access to capital,
should provide further opportunities to the company,
particularly for owning and managing facilities�..the entity
will now have the opportunity to own a facility
without taking on the management responsibilities. This
would give the company access to states, such as
California and New York, with many potential inmates, but
where strong unions would not allow prison-management
functions to be outsourced�..the company�s current share of
the private-prison sector exceeds 50%, and it is
winning at least half of the new contracts being awarded
to the industry�..the resulting company may be
appealing to those investors with a long-term horizon, due
to the industry�s favorable outlook�.we expect this
industry to continue to garner contracts from the public
sector at a increasing pace, fueling exceptional
top-line growth for the primary players�.moreover, this
industry has little exposure to an economic slowdown since
crime, though statistics show it is declining, will
always exist in society� Value Line�s 3 to 5 year stock
price estimate for CCA ranged from a low of $45 to a
high of $70 per share - I imagine this estimate
applies to the merged entity as well since Value Line
didn�t make a statement to the contrary. Value Line is
available at most local libraries for those interested in
reading the full text of their report.