SOX Center

Press Release

Robert E. Schmermer, Jr.

President & CEO

Dear Shareholders,

I am pleased to report that based on a majority vote of outstanding shareholders, Meritage successfully completed a “Going Private” transaction on January 23, 2007. As a result, Meritage has withdrawn its listing (MHG) on the American Stock Exchange and terminated the registration of its common shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This move allows the Company to avoid the ever-increasing SEC costs (including Sarbanes Oxley Act costs) that disproportionately affect smaller public companies like Meritage.

Marketwire: Meritage Completes “Going Private” Transaction

On July 30, 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act became law — and since then there is discussion about the heavy costs resulting of a SOX conform implementation and documentation.

Neal Wolkoff, chairman and chief executive of the American Stock Exchange, for example lately wrote in the Financial Times: “many innovative companies are turning to foreign exchanges to list. Before the implementation of Sox they would have automatically listed on a U.S. exchange.”
Here some interesting blog entries about “4 Years living with SOX”:

• SOX… 4 years on, views from congressman Tom Feeney
• Stuff a S-OX in it
• Are we better off four years later?
• 4 years of SOX
• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act 4 years later: What have we learned