MAY Malaysia Fund (The)

The May Department Stores Company Announces Suspension of Stock Repurchase Programs and Early Redemption of $200 Million of Debentures ST. LOUIS, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The May Department Stores Company (NYSE:MAY) announced today that, in anticipation of closing the acquisition of Marshall Field's, the company has indefinitely suspended its $500 million special common stock share repurchase program, which was announced in February. Prior to the suspension, May repurchased $18 million of common stock under this program. May also has suspended its common stock repurchase program in connection with its employee benefit plans, which also was announced in February. The previously announced Marshall Field's acquisition -- expected to close by the end of the company's fiscal second quarter -- includes all assets that comprise Marshall Field's, including 62 stores, inventory, customer receivables, and distribution centers in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis. May also is acquiring the real estate associated with the nine Mervyn's store locations in the Twin Cities area. May has priced a private placement offering of $2.2 billion of securities in the long-term public debt markets to partially fund the acquisition. The offering will result in additional interest expense of $4 million, or 1 cent per share, in May's fiscal second quarter. Second quarter results will be reported August 10. The remaining portion of the purchase price will be funded with cash and short-term debt. In addition, May also has notified bondholders that it will be redeeming on August 1, 2004, $200 million of 8-3/8% debentures due in 2024. The early redemption will result in a charge of $10 million, or 2 cents per share, in the company's fiscal third quarter. The May Department Stores Company currently operates 438 department stores under the names of Lord & Taylor, Famous-Barr, Filene's, Foley's, Hecht's, Kaufmann's, L.S. Ayres, Meier & Frank, Robinsons-May, Strawbridge's, and The Jones Store, as well as 219 David's Bridal stores, 453 After Hours Formalwear stores, and 10 Priscilla of Boston stores in its Bridal Group. May operates in 46 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This announcement may contain, in addition to historical information, certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated as a result of a number of factors, including risks and uncertainties discussed in The May Department Stores Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those factors include, among other things, the competitive environment in the retailing industry in general and in the specific market areas in which May and its divisions operate, including consumer confidence, changes in discretionary consumer spending, changes in costs of goods and services and economic conditions in general, unseasonable weather and those risks generally associated with the integration of Marshall Field's with May. There can be no assurance that the acquisition will close, as to the timing of the closing, that the integration will be successful or without unanticipated costs or that anticipated synergies or other benefits will be realized. May assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments. For more information, contact Sharon Bateman at (314) 342-6494. DATASOURCE: The May Department Stores Company CONTACT: Sharon Bateman of The May Department Stores Company, +1-314-342-6494

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