a
wholly-owned subsidiary
of
BLOOMBERG INC.
THE OFFER
AND WITHDRAWAL RIGHTS EXPIRE AT 12:00 MIDNIGHT, NEW YORK CITY
TIME,
ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011, UNLESS THE OFFER IS
EXTENDED.
This Offer is being made pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of
Merger, dated as of August 24, 2011 (as it may be amended
from time to time, the “
Merger Agreement”),
among Bloomberg Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“
Parent”),
Brass Acquisition Corp., a Delaware
corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent
(“
Purchaser”), and The Bureau of National
Affairs, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
“
Company”). Purchaser is offering to purchase
all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock, par
value $1.00 per share, of the Company (the
‘‘
Company Common Stock”), including all of
the issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock,
par value $1.00 per share, of the Company (the
“
Class A Shares”), all of the issued and
outstanding shares of Class B common stock, par value $1.00
per share, of the Company (the “
Class B
Shares”), and all of the issued and outstanding shares
of Class C common stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the
Company (the “
Class C Shares” and,
together with the Class A Shares and the Class B
Shares, the “
Shares” and, each a
“
Share”), for $39.50 per Share, net to the
sellers in cash, without interest (the “
Offer
Price”), subject to any required withholding of taxes
and upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in
this
Offer to Purchase and in the related letter of transmittal
(the “
Letter of Transmittal” and together with
the
Offer to Purchase, the “
Offer”). All
references to this
Offer to Purchase, the Letter of Transmittal
and the Offer include any amendments or supplements to the
Offer
to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal, respectively. Under
no circumstances will interest be paid on the Offer Price,
regardless of any extension of the Offer or any delay in making
payment for the Shares. After the completion of the Offer and
the satisfaction or the waiver of the conditions to the Merger
(as defined below), Purchaser will merge with and into the
Company (the “
Merger”), with the Company
becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent.
The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Company
Board of Directors”) has unanimously
(i) determined that the Merger Agreement is advisable,
(ii) determined that the Merger Agreement and the
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the
Offer and the Merger, taken together, are at a price and on
terms that are fair to and in the best interests of the Company
and its stockholders, and (iii) approved the Merger
Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, including the Offer and the Merger. THE COMPANY BOARD
OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMPANY’S
STOCKHOLDERS ACCEPT THE OFFER AND TENDER THEIR
SHARES PURSUANT TO THE OFFER AND, IF REQUIRED BY DELAWARE
LAW, THAT THE COMPANY’S CLASS A STOCKHOLDERS ADOPT THE
MERGER AGREEMENT.
There is no financing condition to the Offer. The Offer is
subject to various conditions. See
Section 15 — “Conditions of the
Offer.” A summary of the principal terms of the Offer
appears on pages 1 through 4. You should read this entire
document carefully before deciding whether to tender your Shares.
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The Information Agent for the Offer is:
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The Depositary for the Offer is:
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Mackenzie Partners, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
(000) 000-0000 (Call Collect)
or
Call Toll-Free:
(000) 000-0000
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
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BNY Mellon Shareowner Services
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
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The
Dealer Manager for the Offer is:
Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
00 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000-3643
000-000-0000
(000) 000-0000
(toll free)
August 31, 2011
IMPORTANT
If you desire to tender all or any portion of your Shares in the
Offer prior to the expiration of the Offer, this is what you
must do:
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The Letter of Transmittal sent to you by the Depositary will
display the number of Shares held in your name (as “record
holder”). You must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of
Transmittal and send it and any other documents to BNY Mellon
Shareowner Services, the depositary for the Offer (the
“Depositary”), as set forth in Section 3
of this Offer to Purchase. These materials must reach the
Depositary before the Offer expires. Detailed instructions are
contained in the Letter of Transmittal and in
Section 3 — “Procedure for Accepting the
Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer to Purchase.
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If you beneficially hold your Shares under The BNA 401(k) Plan,
you must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of Instruction.
The Letter of Instruction instructs the trustees of the
Stock Fund Trust under The BNA 401(k) Plan (the
“401(k) Plan Trustees”) to tender your Shares
in the Offer. The Letter of Instruction must be delivered to the
Depositary sufficiently in advance of the expiration of the
Offer (and in any event not later than one business day prior to
the expiration of the Offer) to enable the 401(k) Plan Trustees
to comply with the instructions contained therein. Detailed
instructions are contained in the Letter of Instruction and in
Section 3 — “Procedure for Accepting the
Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer to Purchase.
Purchaser assumes no responsibility for the actions of the
401(k) Plan Trustees.
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* * *
Questions and requests for assistance may be directed to
XxxXxxxxx Partners, Inc., our information agent (the
“
Information Agent”), or Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC, the dealer manager for the Offer (the
“
Dealer Manager”) at their respective addresses
and telephone numbers, set forth below and on the back cover of
this
Offer to Purchase. Additional copies of this
Offer to
Purchase, the Letter of Transmittal, the Letter of Instruction
and other related materials may be obtained from the Information
Agent.
THIS OFFER TO PURCHASE, THE RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND
LETTER OF INSTRUCTION CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND YOU
SHOULD READ THEM CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BEFORE MAKING A
DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFER.
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The Information Agent for the Offer is:
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The Depositary for the Offer is:
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Mackenzie Partners, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
(000) 000-0000 (Call Collect)
or
Call Toll-Free:
(000) 000-0000
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
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BNY Mellon Shareowner Services
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
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The
Dealer Manager for the Offer is:
Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
00 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000-3643
000-000-0000
(000) 000-0000
(toll free)
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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53
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SUMMARY
TERM SHEET
This summary term sheet highlights material provisions of this
Offer to Purchase and may not contain all of the information
that is important to you. This summary term sheet is not
meant to be a substitute for the information contained in the
remainder of this Offer to Purchase, and you should carefully
read the complete terms, descriptions and explanations contained
in this Offer to Purchase, the documents incorporated by
reference or otherwise referred to herein, and in the related
Letter of Transmittal provided with this Offer to Purchase.
Questions or requests for assistance may be directed to
MacKenzie Partners, Inc., our information agent (the
“Information Agent”), or Credit Suisse
Securities (USA) LLC, the dealer manager for the Offer (the
“Dealer Manager”) at their respective addresses
and telephone numbers as set forth on the back cover of this
Offer to Purchase.
All references in this Offer to Purchase to
“Purchaser,” “we,” “our,” or
“us” mean
Brass Acquisition Corp. All references in
this Offer to Purchase to the “Company” refer to The
Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
Section references are included to direct you to a more complete
description of the topics discussed in this Offer to Purchase.
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Securities Sought: |
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All outstanding shares of the Company common stock, par value
$1.00 per share (the “Company Common Stock”),
including all of the issued and outstanding shares of
Class A common stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the
Company (the “Class A Shares”), all of the
issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock, par
value $1.00 per share, of the Company (the “Class B
Shares”), and all of the issued and outstanding shares
of Class C common stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the
Company (the “Class C Shares” and,
together with the Class A Shares and the Class B
Shares, the “Shares” and, each a
“Share”). |
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Consideration Offered Per Share: |
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$39.50 per Share, net to the sellers in cash, without interest
(the “Offer Price”). Any payments made as
consideration for Shares tendered into and accepted in the Offer
will be subject to any required withholding of taxes, and no
interest will be paid thereon. |
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Scheduled Expiration Time: |
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12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of Wednesday,
September 28, 2011, unless the Offer is extended. |
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Purchaser: |
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Brass Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation and a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Bloomberg Inc., a Delaware
corporation (“Parent”). |
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Minimum Condition: |
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On or prior to the expiration of the Offer, the number of Shares
validly tendered and not properly withdrawn represents a
majority of the Class A Shares outstanding on a
fully-diluted basis as of the expiration of the Offer. We refer
to this condition as the “minimum condition.” |
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Company’s Board of Directors Recommendation: |
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The board of directors of the Company (the “Company
Board of Directors”) unanimously recommends that the
holders of Shares (“Company Stockholders”)
accept the Offer and tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer,
and, if required by Delaware law, that the holders of
Class A Shares (the “Class A
Stockholders”) adopt the Merger Agreement. |
1
Other
Information
The Offer is the first step in Parent’s plan to acquire all
outstanding Shares, as provided in the Agreement and Plan of
Merger, dated as of August 24, 2011 (as it may be amended
from time to time, the “Merger Agreement”), by
and among Parent, Purchaser and the Company. If the Offer is
successful, Parent, through Purchaser, its wholly-owned
subsidiary, will acquire any remaining Shares through the merger
of Purchaser with and into the Company (the
“Merger”), pursuant to which each remaining
outstanding Share (other than (1) Shares held by holders
who comply with the relevant provisions of the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the
“DGCL”) regarding the right of stockholders to
require appraisal of their Shares and (2) any Shares held
in the treasury of the Company or owned by Purchaser, Parent or
any wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent) will be automatically
canceled and converted into the right to receive cash in an
amount equal to the Offer Price. The Company stockholders will
have appraisal rights with respect to the Merger, but not the
Offer.
The Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at
the end of Wednesday, September 28, 2011 (such time and
date, or the latest time and date to which the Offer may be
extended, the “Expiration Date”), unless we
extend the Offer. We may extend the Offer for one or more
periods of time of up to ten business days (1) if, on the
initial scheduled expiration date of the Offer, all conditions
of the Offer (see Section 15 — “Conditions
of the Offer”) have not been satisfied or waived,
(2) in connection with an increase in the Offer Price, and
(3) in accordance with applicable law (including for any
period required by any rule, regulation, interpretation or
position of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “SEC”) or its staff. If, on the Expiration
Date, the applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof)
under the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the
regulations promulgated thereunder (the “HSR
Act”) or any other antitrust law has not expired or has
not been terminated, we are obligated to extend the Offer for
one or more periods of time of up to ten business days each
until such condition has been satisfied. We will not, without
the prior written consent of the Company, extend the Offer,
except as set forth above. In no event will we extend the Offer
beyond February 29, 2012, unless the applicable waiting
period (and any extension thereof) under the HSR Act has not
expired or been terminated or there is a pending action by any
governmental entity seeking to prohibit or restrict
Parent’s ownership of the Shares or Parent’s operation
of the Company’s business (unless such failure to expire or
terminate or such action relates to a divestiture action of
Parent for assets or businesses other than legal publishing
assets or businesses) then either Parent or the Company may
extend such date to a date no later than June 30, 2012.
Following our acceptance of all of the Shares validly tendered
in the Offer and not properly withdrawn, we may provide a
subsequent offering period for the Offer for three to 20
business days to acquire outstanding untendered Shares in
accordance with
Rule 14d-11
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”). See Section 1 —
“Terms of the Offer” and Section 13 —
“The Transaction Documents — The Merger
Agreement.”
If we decide to or are required to extend the Offer, we will
issue a press release setting forth the new Expiration Date no
later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the next
business day after the previously scheduled Expiration Date of
the Offer.
Company
Board of Directors’ Recommendation
The Company Board of Directors has represented to us, among
other things, that at a meeting duly called and held, it has
unanimously (i) determined that the Merger Agreement is
advisable, (ii) determined that the Merger Agreement and
the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including
the Offer and the Merger, taken together, are at a price and on
terms that are fair to and in the best interests of the Company
and its stockholders, (iii) approved the Merger Agreement
and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement,
including the Offer and the Merger, and (iv) resolved to
recommend that the Company Stockholders accept the Offer and
tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer and, if required by
Delaware law, that the Class A Stockholders adopt the
Merger Agreement. See Section 13 — “The
Transaction Documents — The Merger Agreement.”
2
Conditions
and Termination
The Offer is subject to customary conditions and, among other
things, we are not required to complete the Offer unless the
Minimum Condition (as hereinafter defined) has been satisfied.
As of August 24, 2011, the minimum number of Class A
Shares required to satisfy the Minimum Condition would have been
approximately 4,798,509 Class A Shares. The Offer is also
conditioned on the expiration or termination of any applicable
waiting period under applicable antitrust laws. The Offer is not
conditioned on Purchaser obtaining financing. See
Section 12 — “Purpose of the Offer; Plans
for the Company; Stockholder Approval; Appraisal Rights,”
Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement —
Termination” and Section 15 —
“Conditions of the Offer” in this Offer to Purchase
for a description of other conditions to the Offer and
Purchaser’s, Parent’s and the Company’s
respective rights to terminate the Merger Agreement.
Procedures
for Tendering
If you wish to accept the Offer, please do the following:
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The Letter of Transmittal sent to you by the Depositary will
display the number of Shares held in your name (as “record
holder”). You must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of
Transmittal and send it and any other documents to BNY Mellon
Shareowner Services, the depositary for the Offer (the
“Depositary”), as set forth in Section 3
of this Offer to Purchase. These materials must reach the
Depositary before the Offer expires. Detailed instructions are
contained in the Letter of Transmittal and in
Section 3 — “Procedure for Accepting the
Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer to Purchase.
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If you beneficially hold your Shares under The BNA 401(k) Plan,
you must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of Instruction.
The Letter of Instruction instructs the trustees of the Stock
Trust Fund under The BNA 401(k) Plan (the “401(k)
Plan Trustees”) to tender your Shares in the Offer. The
Letter of Instruction must be delivered to the Depositary
sufficiently in advance of the expiration of the Offer (and in
any event not later than one business day prior to the
expiration of the Offer) to enable the 401(k) Plan Trustees to
comply with the instructions contained therein. Detailed
instructions are contained in the Letter of Instruction and in
Section 3 — “Procedure for Accepting the
Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer to Purchase.
Purchaser assumes no responsibility for the actions of the
401(k) Plan Trustees.
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Withdrawal
Rights
If, after tendering your Shares in the Offer, you decide that
you do not want to accept the Offer, you can withdraw your
Shares by so instructing the Depositary in writing on or prior
to the Expiration Date. Further, if we have not accepted your
Shares for payment by October 29, 2011, you may withdraw
them at any time after such date, until we accept Shares for
payment. If you tendered Shares by giving instructions to the
401(k) Plan Trustees, you must instruct them by notifying the
Depositary in order to arrange for withdrawal of the Shares;
such instructions should be delivered sufficiently in advance of
the expiration of the Offer (and in any event not later than one
business day prior to the expiration of the Offer) to enable the
401(k) Plan Trustees to comply with the instructions contained
therein. You will not be able to withdraw Shares tendered in the
Offer during any subsequent offering period. See
Section 4 — “Withdrawal Rights” for
further details.
Recent
Share Price of Company Shares
There is no established trading market for the Shares. The
Company reported in
Form 10-Q,
filed July 29, 2011, that the Company re-purchased Shares
for an average purchase price of $17.50 per Share during the
twelve weeks ended June 18, 2011. See
Section 6 — “Recent Share Price;
Dividends” for further details. Before deciding whether
to tender your Shares into and accept the Offer, you should make
your own assessment of the value of the Shares.
3
Certain
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
The exchange of Shares for cash pursuant to the Offer or the
Merger will be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal
income tax purposes and may also be a taxable transaction under
applicable state, local or
non-U.S. tax
laws. In general, a U.S. Holder will recognize gain or loss
equal to the difference between (i) the amount of cash
received and (ii) such U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax
basis in its Shares. See Section 5 —
“Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax
Considerations” for further details. You should consult
your tax advisor about the particular tax consequences of
tendering your Shares.
Further
Information
You may contact MacKenzie Partners, Inc., the Information Agent
for the Offer, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, the Dealer
Manager for the Offer, or BNY Mellon Shareowner Services LLC,
the Depositary for the Offer, at their respective addresses and
telephone numbers listed below if you have any questions about
the Offer.
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The Information Agent for the Offer is:
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The Depositary for the Offer is:
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Mackenzie Partners, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
(000) 000-0000 (Call Collect)
or
Call Toll-Free:
(000) 000-0000
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
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BNY Mellon Shareowner Services
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
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The
Dealer Manager for the Offer is:
Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
00 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000-3643
000-000-0000
(000) 000-0000
(toll free)
4
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
We are offering to purchase all of the issued and outstanding
shares of common stock, par value $1.00 per share of The Bureau
of National Affairs, Inc. (the “
Company”), for
$39.50 per share, net to the sellers in cash, without interest
(the “
Offer Price”). The following are answers
to some of the questions you, as a Company stockholder, may have
about the Offer.
We urge you to carefully read this Offer to
Purchase in its entirety and the Letters of Transmittal and the
other documents to which we have referred you because the
information in the Summary Term Sheet and this section is not
complete. Additional important information is contained in
the other sections of this Offer to Purchase, the Letter of
Transmittal and the Letter of Instruction. In this Offer to
Purchase, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms
“Purchaser,” “we,” “our” and
“us” refer to
Brass Acquisition Corp.
Who is
offering to buy my securities?
Our name is
Brass Acquisition Corp. and we are offering to
purchase your shares. We are a Delaware corporation formed for
the purpose of making this Offer and consummating the Merger (as
defined below) with the Company. We are a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Bloomberg Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“
Parent”). We were formed solely for the
purpose of acquiring the Company and have conducted no
activities to date other than activities incidental to our
formation and in connection with acquiring the Company. See the
“Introduction” to this Offer to Purchase and
Section 9 — “Certain Information Concerning
Purchaser and the Company.”
What
securities are you offering to purchase?
We are offering to purchase all of the issued and outstanding
shares of common stock, par value $1.00 per share, of the
Company (the “Company Common Stock”), including
all of the issued and outstanding shares of Class A common
stock, par value $1.00 per share (the “Class A
Shares”), all of the issued and outstanding shares of
Class B common stock, par value $1.00 per share (the
“Class B Shares”), and all of the issued
and outstanding shares of Class C common stock, par value
$1.00 per share (the “Class C Shares”, and
together with the Class A Shares and the Class B
Shares, the “Shares” and each, a
“Share”). See the “Introduction” to
this Offer to Purchase and Section 1 —
“Terms of the Offer.”
How much
are you offering to pay for my securities, what is the form of
payment and will I have to pay any fees or
commissions?
We are offering to pay you $39.50 per Share in cash, without
interest, subject to any withholding of taxes but without
brokerage fees or commissions or, except in certain
circumstances, transfer taxes. If you are the record holder of
your Shares (i.e., you hold Shares directly in your name in
book-entry form) and you directly tender your Shares to us in
the Offer, you will not have to pay brokerage fees or similar
expenses. See the “Introduction” to this Offer to
Purchase.
Do you
have the financial resources to make payment?
Yes. We estimate that we will need approximately
$992 million to purchase all Shares validly tendered in the
Offer and to pay the merger consideration in connection with the
merger of us into the Company, which is expected to follow the
successful completion of the Offer. Pursuant to the merger
agreement, Parent is obligated to provide us with funds
sufficient to pay the aggregate Offer Price and to pay the
merger consideration. Parent intends to use cash on hand at
Parent and its subsidiaries as the source of such funds.
Consummation of the Offer is not subject to any financing
condition. See Section 10 — “Source and
Amount of Funds.”
5
Is your
financial condition relevant to my decision to tender in the
Offer?
No. We do not believe that our financial condition is relevant
to your decision whether to tender Shares and accept the Offer
because:
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the Offer is being made for all outstanding Shares solely for
cash, and if you tender your Shares following the closing of the
Offer, or if you don’t tender your Shares, following the
Merger, you will not have any continuing interest in the Company
or Parent;
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consummation of the Offer is not subject to any financing
condition;
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if we consummate the Offer, we expect to acquire all remaining
Shares in the Merger, in cash, for the same price per share paid
in the Offer; and
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we, through our parent company, Parent, will have sufficient
funds to purchase all Shares validly tendered, and not properly
withdrawn, in the Offer and to provide funding for the Merger,
which is expected to follow the successful completion of the
Offer.
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See Section 10 — “Source and Amount of
Funds.”
What are
the most significant conditions to the Offer?
The Offer is conditioned upon, among other things:
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satisfaction of the minimum condition pursuant to which at least
a majority of the outstanding Class A Shares, on a fully
diluted basis, must have been validly tendered and not properly
withdrawn immediately prior to the expiration of the Offer (as
extended); and
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our receiving U.S. antitrust clearance required for the
Offer.
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Other conditions of the Offer are described in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer.”
See also Section 16 — “Certain Legal
Matters; Regulatory Approvals.” Consummation of the Offer
is not conditioned on Purchaser obtaining financing.
Is there
an agreement governing the Offer?
Yes. Parent, Purchaser and the Company have entered into an
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of August 24, 2011
(as may be amended from time to time, the “Merger
Agreement”). The Merger Agreement provides, among other
things, for the terms and conditions of the Offer and, following
consummation of the Offer, the merger of Purchaser with and into
the Company, with the Company becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary
of Parent. See the “Introduction” to this Offer to
Purchase and Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement.”
What does
the Company’s board of directors think about the
Offer?
The Company Board unanimously:
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determined that the Merger Agreement is advisable;
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determined that the Merger Agreement and the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Offer and
the Merger, taken together, are at a price and on terms that are
fair to and in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders;
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approved the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated
by the Merger Agreement, including the Offer and the Merger;
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recommends that the Company’s stockholders accept the Offer
and tender their Shares to Purchaser pursuant to the Offer and,
if required by Delaware law, that the Class A stockholders
adopt the Merger Agreement; and
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pursuant to Article IV Sections 1A.6, 1A.8 and 1A.15
of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, consented to
the transfer of Shares pursuant to the Offer.
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See Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement —
Stockholders Meeting; Board Recommendation.”
How long
do I have to decide whether to tender my Shares in the
Offer?
You have until 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of
Wednesday, September 28, 2011, to decide whether to tender
your Shares in the Offer, unless the Offer is extended as
described below. See Section 1— “Terms of
the Offer.” If you own your Shares through The BNA 401(k)
Plan, you will have to complete the Letter of Instruction to
instruct the 401(k) Plan Trustees to tender your Shares, which
may take additional time; therefore you should instruct the
401(k) Plan Trustees at least one business day prior to the
Expiration Time. In addition, if we decide to provide a
subsequent offering period for the Offer, as described below
under “Introduction” to this Offer to Purchase, you
will have an additional opportunity to tender your Shares.
When and
how will I be paid for my tendered Shares?
We will pay for any Shares validly tendered and not properly
withdrawn pursuant to the Offer promptly after the expiration of
the Offer subject only to (i) there being validly tendered
and not properly withdrawn prior to the expiration of the Offer
that number of Class A Shares which represents a majority
of the Class A Shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis
as of the expiration of the Offer (the “Minimum
Condition”) and (ii) the prior satisfaction or
waiver of the other conditions to the Offer set forth in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer.”
We may delay the payment for any validly tendered Shares if by
the expiration of the Offer (as it may be extended in accordance
with the Merger Agreement), (i) the Minimum Condition has
not been satisfied or (ii) at any time on or after the date
of the Merger Agreement and prior to the acceptance of Shares,
any of the other conditions to the Offer set forth in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer”
occur and are continuing.
We will pay for your validly tendered and not properly withdrawn
Shares by depositing the purchase price with the BNY Mellon
Shareowner Services (the “Depositary”), which
will act as your agent for the purpose of receiving payments
from us and transmitting such payments to you. In all cases,
payment for tendered Shares will be made only after timely
receipt by the Depositary of a properly completed and duly
executed Letter of Transmittal (or manually signed facsimile
thereof) and any other required documents for such shares.
Payment of the Offer Price with respect to Shares which are
reflected on the Company’s books and records as being
pledged to the Company’s credit union (or other secured
party) will be made directly to the credit union (or other
secured party). Such payment may result in a payment to the
credit union (or other secured party) greater than the amount of
the underlying obligation that is secured by the pledge. A
holder of Shares will have to look to the credit union (or other
secured party) for the repayment of any amounts in excess of the
underlying obligation. Purchaser will not be responsible for any
such overpayment. Payment to the Company’s credit union (or
other secured party) will discharge the obligation of
Brass
Acquisition Corp. to pay for such Shares.
Can the
Offer be extended and under what circumstances?
Yes. If on the scheduled expiration date of the Offer, including
following a prior extension, any condition to the Offer has not
been satisfied or waived, we may (subject to our rights to
terminate the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms)
extend the Offer for one or more periods of time of up to ten
business days. In addition, we must extend the Offer for any
period required by any rule, regulation, interpretation or
position of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or
its staff that is applicable to the Offer. If, on the Expiration
Date, the applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof)
under the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the
regulations promulgated thereunder (“HSR Act”)
or any other applicable antitrust law has not expired or been
terminated, we are obligated to extend the Offer for one or more
periods of time of up to ten business days each until such
condition has been satisfied. In no event will we extend the
Offer beyond February 29, 2012, unless the applicable
waiting period (and any extension thereof) under the HSR Act has
not expired or been terminated or there is a pending action by
any
7
governmental entity seeking to prohibit or restrict
Parent’s ownership of the Shares or operation of the
Company’s business (unless such failure to expire or
terminate or such action relates to a divestiture action of
Parent for assets or businesses other than legal publishing
assets or businesses) then either Parent or the Company may
extend such date to a date no later than June 30, 2012. See
Section 1 — “Terms of the Offer.”
How will
I be notified if the Offer is extended?
If we decide to extend the Offer, we will inform the Depositary
of that fact and will make a public announcement of the
extension no later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on
the next business day after the day on which the Offer was
scheduled to expire.
Will
there be a subsequent offering period?
Following the satisfaction of all the conditions to the Offer
and the acceptance for payment of all the Shares tendered during
the initial offering period (including extensions), we may elect
to provide for a subsequent offering period of three to 20
business days, during which time stockholders whose Shares have
not been accepted for payment may tender, but not withdraw,
their Shares and receive the offer consideration. We may extend
the subsequent offering period but we are not permitted under
U.S. federal securities laws to provide a subsequent
offering period of more than 20 business days in the aggregate.
We have not at this time made a decision to provide or not to
provide a subsequent offering period. See
Section 1 — “Terms of the Offer” and
Section 4 — “Withdrawal Rights” of this
document for more information concerning any subsequent offering
period.
If we elect or are required to provide or extend any subsequent
offering period, a public announcement of such election or
extension will be made no later than 9:00 a.m., New York
City time, on the next business day following the day on which
the Offer was scheduled to expire or the date of termination of
any prior subsequent offering period. See
Section 1 — “Terms of the Offer.”
What is
the difference between an extension of the Offer and a
subsequent offering period?
If the Offer is extended, no Shares will be accepted or paid for
until the extension expires, and you will be able to withdraw
your Shares until then. A subsequent offering period, if there
is one, would occur after we have accepted, and become obligated
to pay for, all the Shares that were validly tendered and not
properly withdrawn by the time the initial offering period
(including any extensions) expires. Shares that are validly
tendered during a subsequent offering period will be accepted
and paid for as they are received, and therefore cannot be
withdrawn. See Section 1 — “Terms of the
Offer” and Section 4 — “Withdrawal
Rights.”
How do I
tender my Shares?
If you wish to accept the Offer, this is what you must do:
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The Letter of Transmittal sent to you by the Depositary will
display the number of Shares held in your name (as “record
holder”). You must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of
Transmittal and send it and any other documents to the
Depositary, as set forth in Section 3 of this Offer to
Purchase. These materials must reach the Depositary before the
Offer expires. Detailed instructions are contained in the Letter
of Transmittal and in Section 3 — “Procedure
for Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer
to Purchase.
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If you beneficially hold your Shares under The BNA 401(k) Plan,
you must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of Instruction.
The Letter of Instruction instructs the 401(k) Plan Trustees to
tender your Shares in the Offer. The Letter of Instruction must
be delivered to the Depositary sufficiently in advance of the
expiration of the Offer (and in any event not later than one
business day prior to the expiration of the Offer) to enable the
401(k) Plan Trustees to comply with the instructions contained
therein. Detailed instructions are contained in the Letter of
Instruction and in Section 3 — “Procedure
for Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares” of this Offer
to Purchase. Purchaser assumes no responsibility for the actions
of the 401(k) Plan Trustees.
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8
Until
what time can I withdraw tendered Shares?
You can withdraw some or all of the Shares that you previously
tendered in the Offer at any time prior to the expiration date
of the Offer as it may be extended. Further, if we have not
accepted your Shares for payment by October 29, 2011, you
may withdraw them at any time after such date. Once we accept
your tendered Shares for payment upon expiration of the Offer,
however, you will no longer be able to withdraw them. In
addition, you may not withdraw Shares tendered during a
subsequent offering period, if there is one. See
Section 4 — “Withdrawal Rights.”
How do I
withdraw tendered Shares?
To withdraw tendered Shares, you must deliver a written notice
of withdrawal, or a facsimile of one, with the required
information to the Depositary while you have the right to
withdraw the Shares tendered in the Offer. To withdraw tendered
Shares that are owned through The BNA 401(k) Plan, you must
instruct the 401(k) Plan Trustees by notifying the Depositary in
order to arrange for withdrawal of the Shares; such instructions
should be delivered sufficiently in advance of the expiration of
the Offer (and in any event not later than one business day
prior to the expiration of the Offer) to enable the 401(k) Plan
Trustees to comply with the instructions contained therein. See
Section 4 — “Withdrawal Rights.”
Will the
Offer be followed by a merger if all Shares are not tendered in
the Offer?
Yes. If we purchase Shares in the Offer and the other conditions
to the Merger are satisfied or waived (where permissible), we
will merge with and into the Company. Assuming that the Minimum
Condition and the other conditions to the Offer are satisfied or
waived, upon consummation of the Offer, we would own sufficient
Class A Shares to enable us to approve the Merger without the
affirmative vote of any other stockholder of the Company.
Furthermore, if, pursuant to the Offer, Purchaser owns in the
aggregate in excess of 90% of the outstanding Class A
Shares, we may effect the Merger without any further action by
the stockholders of the Company. If the Merger takes place, the
Company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent, and all
remaining stockholders (other than Parent, Purchaser or the
Company, or any wholly-owned subsidiaries of Parent, and any
Company stockholders who properly exercise their appraisal
rights under Delaware law) will receive $39.50 net per
Share in cash (or any higher price per Share which is paid in
the Offer), without interest, subject to any required
withholding of taxes. See the “Introduction” to this
Offer to Purchase and Section 12 — “Purpose
of the Offer; Plans for the Company; Stockholder Approval;
Appraisal Rights” and Section 13 — “The
Transaction Documents — The Merger Agreement.”
If I
decide not to tender, how will the Offer affect my
Shares?
If the Merger takes place between the Company and us, the
Company stockholders not tendering their Shares in the Offer
(other than those properly exercising their appraisal rights
under Delaware law) will receive cash in an amount equal to the
price per Share paid in the Offer for each of their Shares.
Therefore, if the Merger takes place (and you do not exercise
your appraisal rights under Delaware law), the only difference
between tendering and not tendering your Shares in the Offer is
that tendering stockholders will be paid earlier. If you decide
not to tender your Shares in the Offer and we purchase the
Shares which are tendered in the Offer, but the Merger does not
occur or is delayed, there may be so few remaining stockholders
that the Company may no longer be required to make filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission or otherwise may no
longer be required to comply with the Securities and Exchange
Commission rules relating to publicly held companies. See
Section 7 — “Registration under the Exchange
Act” and Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement.”
Are
appraisal rights available in either the Offer or the
Merger?
Appraisal rights are not available as a result of the Offer.
However, if the Merger is consummated, appraisal rights will be
available to holders of Shares that are not tendered and who
follow the procedure for perfecting their appraisal rights as
set forth under Delaware law. A holder of Shares must properly
perfect such holder’s right to seek appraisal under
Delaware law in connection with the Merger in order to exercise
9
appraisal rights under Delaware law. See
Section 12 — “Purpose of the Offer; Plans
for the Company; Stockholder Approval; Appraisal
Rights — Appraisal Rights.”
If you
successfully complete the Offer, what will happen to the
Company’s board of directors?
If we accept Shares for payment pursuant to the Offer, under the
Merger Agreement, the Company is required to reduce the total
number of directors on the Company Board of Directors to five
and Purchaser will be entitled to designate three directors on
the Company Board of Directors. The Company is also required,
upon the request of Parent, to cause such designees to
constitute a majority of each committee of the Company Board of
Directors (other than the committee comprised solely of
Continuing Directors (as defined below) established solely to
take action under the Merger Agreement, which shall be permitted
to meet without the presence of other directors solely for
purposes of considering and, if necessary, taking certain
actions as described in the Merger Agreement). Except with
respect to the Continuing Directors, upon the occurrence of the
Acceptance Time, the Company will accept the resignations of
each director on the Company Board of Directors (and each
committee thereof) as is necessary to enable Purchaser’s
designees to serve as directors on the Company Board of
Directors.
Prior to the Effective Time, the Company will retain two
directors who were members of the Company Board of Directors
immediately prior to such Xxxxxx’s designees being
appointed as directors (the “Continuing
Directors”), and such Continuing Directors will be
deemed to be a committee of the Company Board of Directors
established to take certain actions under the Merger Agreement.
See Section 12 — “Purpose of the Offer;
Plans for the Company, Stockholder Approval; Appraisal
Rights.”
What is
the value of my Shares as of a recent date?
There is no established trading market for the Shares. The
Company reported in
Form 10-Q,
filed July 29, 2011, that the Company re-purchased Shares
for an average purchase price of $17.50 per Share during the
twelve weeks ended June 18, 2011. See
Section 6 — “Recent Price of Shares;
Dividends” for further details. Before deciding whether
to tender your Shares into and accept the Offer, you should make
your own assessment of the value of the Shares.
What are
the U.S. federal income tax consequences of exchanging my Shares
pursuant to the Offer or the Merger?
Your exchange of Shares for cash pursuant to the Offer or the
Merger will be a taxable transaction for U.S. federal
income tax purposes and may also be a taxable transaction under
applicable state, local or
non-U.S. income
or other tax laws. In general, a U.S. Holder that exchanges
Shares for cash pursuant to the Offer or the Merger will
recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between
(i) the amount of cash received and (ii) such
U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Shares. In
general, payments made to a
Non-U.S. Holder
with respect to Shares exchanged for cash pursuant to the Offer
or the Merger generally will not be subject to U.S. federal
income tax, unless such
Non-U.S. Holder
has certain connections to the United States or the Company is a
U.S. real property holding corporation. You are urged to consult
your own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences to you of
exchanging your Shares for cash pursuant to the Offer or the
Merger in light of your own particular circumstances. See
Section 5 — “Certain Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
Whom can
I talk to if I have questions about the Offer?
You can call MacKenzie Partners, Inc., the Information Agent for
the Offer, at
(000) 000-0000
(toll-free), and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, the Dealer
Manager for the Offer, at
(000) 000-0000
with any questions you may have. See the back cover of this
Offer to Purchase.
10
To the Stockholders of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.:
INTRODUCTION
Brass Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation
(“
Purchaser”) and a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Bloomberg Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“
Parent”), is offering to purchase all of the
issued and outstanding shares of common stock, par value $1.00
per share (the “
Company Common Stock”),
including all of the issued and outstanding shares of
Class A common stock, par value $1.00 per share (the
“
Class A Shares”), all of the issued and
outstanding shares of Class B common stock, par value $1.00
per share (the “
Class B Shares”), and all
of the issued and outstanding shares of Class C common
stock, par value $1.00 per share (the “
Class C
Shares” and, together with the Class A Shares and
the Class B Shares, the “
Shares” and, each
a “
Share”) of The Bureau of National Affairs,
Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “
Company”),
for $39.50 per Share, net to the sellers in cash, without
interest (the “
Offer Price”), subject to any
required withholding of taxes and upon the terms and subject to
the conditions set forth in this Offer to Purchase and the
related Letter of Transmittal (which, as amended or supplemented
from time to time, together constitute the
“
Offer”).
Tendering stockholders who are record owners of their Shares,
will not be required to pay brokerage fees or commissions.
Except as set forth in Instruction 6 of the Letter of
Transmittal, you will not be required to pay stock transfer
taxes on the sale of Shares pursuant to the Offer. However, if
you do not complete and sign
the Form W-9
that is included in the Letter of Transmittal (or other
applicable form), you may be subject to backup withholding at a
rate of 28% on the gross proceeds payable to you. In addition,
you may be subject to withholding at rate of 10% of the gross
proceeds if the Company does not provide a certificate to
Purchaser certifying that it is not a U.S. real property holding
corporation. See Section 3 — “Procedure for
Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares — Backup
Withholding.” We will pay all charges and expenses that BNY
Mellon Shareowner Services (the “Depositary”),
MacKenzie Partners, Inc. (the “Information
Agent”) and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (the
“Dealer Manager” and together with its
affiliates, “Credit Suisse”) incur in
connection with the Offer. See Section 17 —
“Fees and Expenses.”
We are making the Offer pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of
Merger, dated as of August 24, 2011 (the “Merger
Agreement”) by and among Parent, Purchaser and the
Company. The Merger Agreement provides that, following the
consummation of the Offer, Purchaser will merge with and into
the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company
continuing as the surviving corporation and becoming a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the “Surviving
Corporation”). At the effective time of the Merger (the
“Effective Time”), each issued and outstanding
Share (other than any Shares in respect of which appraisal
rights are validly exercised under the Delaware General
Corporation Law (as amended, the “DGCL”), any
Shares owned by the Company as treasury stock, and any Shares
held by Parent, Purchaser or the Company or any other
wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent) will be converted into the
right to receive cash in an amount equal to the per Share price
paid in the Offer, without interest and subject to any required
withholding of taxes. The Merger is subject to the satisfaction
or waiver of certain conditions described in
Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement”, which contains
a detailed description of the Merger Agreement.
Section 5 — “Certain Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” describes
certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations
relating to the sale of Shares in the Offer and the Merger.
The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Company
Board of Directors”) (i) determined that the
Merger Agreement is advisable, (ii) determined that the
Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, including the Offer and the Merger, taken together,
are at a price and on terms that are fair to and in the best
interests of the Company and its stockholders, and
(iii) approved the Merger Agreement and the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Offer and
the Merger. THE COMPANY BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY
RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMPANY’S STOCKHOLDERS ACCEPT THE OFFER
AND TENDER THEIR SHARES PURSUANT TO THE OFFER AND IF
REQUIRED BY DELAWARE LAW, THAT THE COMPANY’S CLASS A
STOCKHOLDER ADOPT THE MERGER AGREEMENT. The Company has
advised us that, to the knowledge of the Company, and to the
extent permitted by applicable securities laws, rules or
regulations, including Section 16(b) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
11
“Exchange Act”), each executive officer and
director of the Company currently intends to tender all Shares
over which he or she has sole dispositive power.
A description of the reasons for the Company Board of
Directors’ approval of the Offer and the Merger is set
forth in the Company’s Solicitation/Recommendation
Statement under Section 14(d)(4) of the Exchange Act on
Schedule 14D-9
(the
“Schedule 14d-9”).
The Offer is conditioned upon, among other things,
(i) there being validly tendered and not properly
withdrawn, prior to the expiration of the Offer, a number of
Class A Shares that represents a majority of the total
number of Class A Shares then outstanding on a fully
diluted basis (the “Minimum Condition”) and
(ii) expiration or termination of any applicable waiting
period under the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the
regulations promulgated thereunder (the “HSR
Act”) and any other applicable antitrust law. See
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer”
and Section 16 — “Certain Legal Matters;
Regulatory Approvals.”
According to the Company, as of August 24, 2011, there were
9,597,017 Class A Shares issued and outstanding, 15,513,363
Class B Shares issued and outstanding, and 6,450
Class C Shares issued and outstanding. Accordingly, as of
August 24, 2011, the Minimum Condition would have been
satisfied if approximately 4,798,509 Class A Shares were
validly tendered pursuant to the Offer and not properly
withdrawn.
Upon the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer, the Merger
Agreement provides that the Company is required to reduce the
total number of directors on the Company Board of Directors to
five and Purchaser is entitled to designate three directors on
the Company Board of Directors. Purchaser currently intends,
promptly after consummation of the Offer, to exercise this right
and to designate the following designees as directors of the
Company Board of Directors: Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx Xxxxxx and
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx. Each designee is a director, officer or
employee of Parent or Bloomberg L.P. We expect that such
representation on the Company Board of Directors would permit us
to exert substantial influence over the Company’s conduct
of its business and operations. We currently intend, as soon as
practicable after consummation of the Offer, to consummate the
Merger pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Following the Merger,
our directors will be the directors of the Company.
Under the DGCL, if we acquire, pursuant to the Offer, at least
90% of the outstanding Class A Shares, we will be able to
effect the Merger under the short-form Merger provisions of
the DGCL without a vote of the Company stockholders. If we do
not acquire at least 90% of the outstanding Class A Shares,
through the purchase of Shares in the Offer, we will have to
seek approval of the Merger Agreement and the Merger by the
Company’s holders of Class A Shares (the
“Class A Stockholders”). Such approval of
the Merger Agreement and the Merger would require the
affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding
Class A Shares. Assuming that the Minimum Condition and the
other conditions to the Offer are satisfied or waived, upon
consummation of the Offer, we would own, as of the date of
consummation of the Offer, sufficient Class A Shares to
enable us, without the vote of any other Class A
Stockholders, to satisfy the stockholder approval requirement to
approve the Merger Agreement and the Merger. See
Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement.”
The Offer is conditioned upon the fulfillment of the conditions
described in Section 15 — “Conditions of the
Offer.” The Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York
City time, at the end of the day on Wednesday September 28,
2011, unless we extend the Offer.
THIS OFFER TO PURCHASE, THE RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND
THE LETTER OF INSTRUCTION CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION, AND YOU
SHOULD CAREFULLY READ BOTH IN THEIR ENTIRETY BEFORE YOU MAKE A
DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE OFFER.
12
THE
OFFER
Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the
Offer, we will accept for payment and pay for all Shares that
are validly tendered and not properly withdrawn in accordance
with the procedures set forth in Section 3 —
“Procedure for Accepting the Offer and Tendering
Shares” on or prior to the Expiration Date.
“Expiration Date” means 12:00 Midnight, New
York City time, at the end of the day on Wednesday,
September 28, 2011, unless extended, in which event
“Expiration Date” means the latest time and
date at which the Offer, as so extended, shall expire.
The Offer is subject to the conditions set forth in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer,”
which include, among other things, satisfaction of the Minimum
Condition and expiration or termination of any applicable
waiting period relating to the Offer under the HSR Act (as
defined below) or other applicable antitrust law. See Section
16 — “Certain Legal Matters; Regulatory
Approvals.” Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of
the Offer (including, if the Offer is extended or amended, the
terms and conditions of any extension or amendment), we will
purchase, as soon as permitted under the terms of the Offer, all
Shares validly tendered and not properly withdrawn prior to the
Expiration Date. If on the scheduled expiration date of the
Offer, including following a prior extension, any condition to
the Offer has not been satisfied or waived (other than any
conditions to the Offer that by its nature cannot be satisfied
until the closing of the Offer), we may (subject to our rights
to terminate the Offer in accordance with the terms of the
Merger Agreement) extend the Offer for one or more periods of
time of up to ten business days. In addition, we must extend the
Offer for any period required by any rule, regulation,
interpretation or position of the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or its staff that is
applicable. In no event will we extend the Offer beyond
February 29, 2012, unless the applicable waiting period
(and any extension thereof) under the HSR Act has not expired or
been terminated or there is a pending action by any governmental
entity seeking to prohibit or restrict Parent’s ownership
of the Shares or Parent’s operation of the Company’s
business (unless such failure to expire or terminate or such
action relates to a divestiture action of Parent for assets or
businesses other than legal publishing assets or businesses)
then either Parent or the Company may extend such date to a date
no later than June 30, 2012. See Section 1 —
“Terms of the Offer.” During any extension of the
Offer, all Shares previously tendered and not properly withdrawn
will remain subject to the Offer and subject to your right to
withdraw such Shares. See Section 4 —
“Withdrawal Rights.” The parties’ ability or
obligation to extend the offering period of the Offer is subject
to their respective rights to terminate the Merger Agreement in
accordance with its terms.
Following the acceptance for payment (the “Acceptance
Time”) of all the Shares validly tendered and not
properly withdrawn during the initial offering period (including
extensions), we may elect to provide a subsequent offering
period, in accordance with
Rule 14d-11
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”) (each, a “Subsequent
Offering Period”), for a period of three to 20 business
days during which time stockholders whose Shares have not been
accepted for payment may tender, but not withdraw, their Shares
and receive the offer consideration. We may extend the
Subsequent Offering Period, but we are not permitted under
U.S. federal securities laws to provide a Subsequent
Offering Period of more than 20 business days in the aggregate.
The same offer price will be paid to stockholders tendering
Shares in the Offer during the initial offering period or during
any Subsequent Offering Period, if there is any.
Pursuant to
Rule 14d-7(a)(2)
under the Exchange Act, withdrawal rights do not apply to Shares
tendered during a Subsequent Offering Period. A
Subsequent Offering Period, if one is provided, is not an
extension of the Offer, which already would have been completed.
For purposes of the Offer, a “business day”
means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a
U.S. federal holiday and consists of the time period from
12:01 a.m. through 12:00 Midnight, New York City time.
We have not at this time made a decision to provide or not to
provide a Subsequent Offering Period. If we elect to provide or
extend a Subsequent Offering Period, we will make a public
announcement of such
13
Subsequent Offering Period or extension no later than
9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the next business day
after the Expiration Date or the date of termination of the
prior Subsequent Offering Period.
We also reserve the right to waive any of the conditions to the
Offer and to make any change in the terms of or conditions to
the Offer, provided that the Company’s prior written
consent is required for us to (i) amend or waive the
Minimum Condition , (ii) decrease the Offer Price,
(iii) change the form of consideration payable in the
Offer, (iv) decrease the number of Shares sought pursuant
to the Offer, (v) add to the conditions of the Offer set
forth in Section 15 — “Conditions of the
Offer” or modify such conditions in a manner adverse to the
holders of Shares (vi) extend the Offer (except to the
extent required by or permitted under the Merger Agreement) or
(vii) make any other change to the terms and conditions of
the Offer that is materially adverse to the holders of Shares.
If we make a material change to the terms of the Offer or waive
a material condition to the Offer, we will extend the Offer and
disseminate additional tender offer materials to the extent
required by applicable law, including
Rules 14-4(d),
14d-6(c) and
14e-1 under
the Exchange Act. The minimum period during which a tender offer
must remain open following material changes in the terms of the
Offer, other than a change in price, a change in percentage of
securities sought, or inclusion of or changes to a dealer’s
soliciting fee, depends upon the facts and circumstances,
including the materiality of the changes. With respect to a
change in price, a change in percentage of securities sought, or
inclusion of or changes to a dealer’s soliciting fee, the
Offer generally must remain open for a minimum of ten business
days following the dissemination of such information to
stockholders. Accordingly, if, prior to the Expiration Date, we
increase the consideration to be paid for Shares in the Offer,
and if the Offer is scheduled to expire at any time before the
expiration of a period of ten business days from, and including,
the date that notice of such increase is first published, sent
or given in the manner specified below, we will extend the Offer
at least until the expiration of that period of ten business
days. If, prior to the Expiration Date, Purchaser increases
the consideration being paid for Shares accepted for payment
pursuant to the Offer, such increased consideration will be paid
to all stockholders whose Shares are purchased pursuant to the
Offer, whether or not such Shares were tendered prior to the
announcement of the increase in consideration.
Any extension, termination or amendment of the Offer will be
followed as promptly as practicable by a public announcement
thereof. Without limiting the manner in which we may choose to
make any public announcement, we will have no obligation (except
as otherwise required by applicable law) to publish, advertise
or otherwise communicate any such public announcement other than
by publishing the release on BusinessWire. In the case of an
extension of the Offer, we will make a public announcement of
such extension no later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time,
on the next business day after the previously scheduled
Expiration Date.
The Company has provided us with its stockholder list and
security position listings for the purpose of disseminating the
Offer to holders of Shares. We will send this Offer to Purchase,
the related Letters of Transmittal and other related documents
to record holders of Shares.
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2.
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Acceptance
for Payment and Payment for Shares.
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Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Offer
(including, if the Offer is extended or amended, the terms and
conditions of any extension or amendment), we will accept for
payment and pay for all Shares validly tendered and not properly
withdrawn prior to the Expiration Date promptly after the
Expiration Date. If we decide to provide a Subsequent Offering
Period, we will immediately accept and promptly pay for Shares
as they are tendered during the Subsequent Offering Period.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the terms and
conditions of the Merger Agreement and any applicable rules and
regulations of the SEC, including
Rule 14e-1(c)
under the Exchange Act, we reserve the right, in our sole
discretion and subject to applicable law, to delay the
acceptance for payment or payment for Shares until satisfaction
of all conditions to the Offer relating to governmental or
regulatory approvals specified in Section 16 —
“Certain Legal Matters; Regulatory Approvals.” For
information with respect to approvals that we are or may be
required to obtain prior to the completion of the Offer,
including under the HSR Act (as defined below), see
Section 16 — “Certain Legal Matters;
Regulatory Approvals.”
14
We will pay for Shares accepted for payment pursuant to the
Offer by depositing the purchase price with the Depositary,
which will act as your agent for the purpose of receiving
payments from us and transmitting such payments to you. Upon the
deposit of such funds with the Depositary, Purchaser’s
obligation to make such payment shall be satisfied, and
tendering stockholders must thereafter look solely to the
Depositary for payment of amounts owed to them by reason of the
acceptance for payment of Shares pursuant to the Offer.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, from and after the Effective
Time, holders of Shares who did not tender in the Offer will
have the right to receive the Merger Consideration pursuant to
the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement.
In all cases (including during any Subsequent Offering Period),
payment for Shares accepted for payment will be made only after
timely receipt by the Depositary of a properly completed and
duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or a manually signed
facsimile thereof), with any required signature guarantees in
connection with a book-entry transfer and any other documents
required by the Letter of Transmittal. For a description of the
procedure for tendering Shares pursuant to the Offer, see
Section 3 — “Procedure for Accepting the
Offer and Tendering Shares.” Accordingly, payment may be
made to tendering stockholders at different times if delivery of
the Shares and other required documents occurs at different
times.
For purposes of the Offer, we will be deemed to have accepted
for payment Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn when, as
and if we give oral or written notice of our acceptance to the
Depositary.
Under no circumstances will we pay interest on the
consideration paid for Shares pursuant to the Offer, regardless
of any extension of the Offer or any delay in making such
payment.
Payment of the Offer Price with respect to Shares which are
reflected on the Company’s books and records as being
pledged to the Company’s credit union (or other secured
party) will be made directly to the credit union (or other
secured party). Such payment may result in a payment to the
credit union (or other secured party) greater than the amount of
the underlying obligation that is secured by the pledge. A
holder of Shares will have to look to the credit union (or other
secured party) for the repayment of any amounts in excess of the
underlying obligation. Purchaser will not be responsible for any
such overpayment. Payment to the Company’s credit union (or
other secured party) will discharge the obligation of Purchaser
to pay for such Shares.
If we do not accept for payment any tendered Shares pursuant to
the Offer for any reason, without expense to you, we will
transfer such Shares into the Depositary’s account at the
Book-Entry Transfer Facility pursuant to the procedures set
forth in Section 3 — “Procedure for
Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares,” and the Shares
will be credited to an account maintained at the Book-Entry
Transfer Facility, promptly following the expiration,
termination or withdrawal of the Offer.
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3.
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Procedure
for Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares.
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Valid Tender of Shares. Except as set forth
below, in order for you to tender Shares in the Offer, the
Depositary must receive a Letter of Transmittal (or a manually
signed facsimile thereof), properly completed and signed,
together with any required signature guarantees in connection
with a book-entry delivery of Shares, and any other documents
that the Letter of Transmittal requires, at one of its addresses
set forth on the back cover of this Offer to Purchase on or
prior to the Expiration Date and you must cause your Shares to
be tendered pursuant to the procedure for book-entry transfer
set forth below. You need not tender paper certificates formerly
representing Shares of the Company to the Depositary. Shares
represented by such paper certificates have been converted to
book entry form and are held in an account in your name.
The method of delivery of Shares and all other required
documents is at your election and sole risk, and delivery will
be deemed made only when actually received by the Depositary.
You should allow sufficient time to ensure timely delivery.
The tender of Shares pursuant to the procedure described
above will constitute your acceptance of the Offer, as well as
your representation and warranty that (i) you own the
Shares being tendered within the meaning of
Rule 14e-4
under the Exchange Act, (ii) the tender of such Shares
complies with
Rule 14e-4
under the Exchange Act and (iii) you have the full power
and authority to tender, sell, assign
15
and transfer the Shares tendered, as specified in the Letter
of Transmittal. Our acceptance for payment of Shares
tendered by you pursuant to the Offer will constitute a binding
agreement between us with respect to such Shares, upon the terms
and subject to the conditions of the Offer.
Book-Entry Delivery. The Letter of Transmittal
(or a manually signed facsimile thereof) properly completed and
duly executed together with any required signature guarantees
and any other required documents must be received by the
Depositary at one of its addresses set forth on the back cover
of this Offer to Purchase by the Expiration Date (except with
respect to any subsequent offering period, if one is provided)
must be complied with.
Required documents must be transmitted to and received by the
Depositary at one of its addresses set forth on the back cover
page of this Offer to Purchase. Delivery of the Letter of
Transmittal and any other required documents to any other
location or address does not constitute delivery to the
Depositary.
Signature Guarantees. All signatures on a
Letter of Transmittal must be guaranteed by a financial
institution (including most banks, savings and loan associations
and brokerage houses) that is a member of a recognized Medallion
Program approved by The Securities Transfer Association Inc.,
including the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program
(STAMP), the Stock Exchange Medallion Program (SEMP) and the
New York Stock Exchange, Inc. Medallion Signature Program
(MSP) or any other “eligible guarantor institution”
(as such term is defined in
Rule 17Ad-15
under the Exchange Act) (each, an “Eligible
Institution”), unless the Shares tendered are tendered
(a) by a registered holder of Shares who has not completed
either the box labeled “Special Payment Instructions”
or the box labeled “Special Delivery Instructions” on
the Letter of Transmittal or (b) for the account of an
Eligible Institution. See Instructions 1 and 5 of the
Letter of Transmittal.
Backup Withholding and FIRPTA Withholding. A
noncorporate Holder (as defined in Section 5 —
“Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax
Considerations”) may be subject to backup withholding tax
at the applicable rate (currently 28%) with respect to cash
payments received upon the exchange of Shares pursuant to the
Offer or the Merger unless an exemption applies. For an
exemption to apply to a U.S. Holder, such U.S. Holder
must (i) timely provide the Depositary with a correct
taxpayer identification number and otherwise comply with certain
certification procedures (generally, by providing a properly
completed
Form W-9
included with the Letter of Transmittal) or (ii) otherwise
establish to the satisfaction of the Depositary that such
U.S. Holder is exempt from backup withholding tax. For an
exemption to apply to a
Non-U.S. Holder,
such
Non-U.S. Holder
must (i) certify under penalties of perjury on an
appropriate and properly completed IRS
Form W-8
that such
Non-U.S. Holder
is not a U.S. person (provided that the Depositary does not
have actual knowledge or reason to know that the Holder is a
U.S. person), or (ii) otherwise establish to the
satisfaction of the Depositary that such
Non-U.S. Holder
is exempt from backup withholding tax. A Holder (as defined in
“Section 5 — Certain Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations”) may be
subject to withholding equal to 10% of the amount paid in
exchange for its Shares pursuant to the Offer or the Merger if
the Company does not deliver a certificate to Purchaser
certifying that it is not a U.S. real property holding
corporation. The Company does not expect to be a U.S. real
property holding corporation, and expects to deliver a
certificate to the Purchaser certifying that it is not a
U.S. real property holding corporation. In the event that
the Company does not deliver such a certificate, the Depositary
will be entitled to withhold 10% of the amount paid in exchange
for the Shares. For a more detailed discussion of backup
withholding and FIRPTA withholding, see
Section 5 — “Certain Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
Appointment of Proxy. By executing a Letter of
Transmittal, you irrevocably appoint our designees as your
attorneys-in-fact and proxies, with full power of substitution,
in the manner set forth in the Letter of Transmittal to the full
extent of your rights with respect to the Shares tendered and
accepted for payment by us (and any and all other Shares or
other securities issued or issuable in respect of such Shares on
or after the date of this Offer to Purchase). All such powers of
attorney and proxies are irrevocable and coupled with an
interest in the tendered Shares. Such appointment is
effective only upon our acceptance for payment of such Shares in
accordance with the terms of the Offer. Upon such acceptance
for payment, all prior powers of attorney and proxies and
consents granted by you with respect to such Shares and other
securities will, without further action, be revoked, and no
subsequent powers of attorney or proxies may be given nor
16
subsequent written consents executed (and, if previously given
or executed, will cease to be effective). Upon such acceptance
for payment, our designees will be empowered to exercise all
your voting and other rights as they, in their sole discretion,
may deem proper at any annual, special or adjourned meeting of
the Company’s stockholders, by written consent or
otherwise. We reserve the right to require that, in order for
Shares to be validly tendered, immediately upon our acceptance
for payment of such Shares, we are able to exercise full voting
rights with respect to such Shares and other securities
(including voting at any meeting of stockholders then scheduled
or acting by written consent without a meeting).
Determination of Validity. We will determine,
in our sole discretion, all questions as to the form of
documents and the validity, eligibility (including time of
receipt) and acceptance for payment of any tender of Shares, and
our determination shall be final and binding. We reserve the
absolute right to reject any or all tenders of Shares that we
determine not to be in proper form or the acceptance for payment
of or payment for which may, in the opinion of our counsel, be
unlawful. We also reserve the absolute right to waive any defect
or irregularity in any tender of Shares. No tender of Shares
will be deemed to have been validly made until all defects and
irregularities with respect to such tender have been cured or
waived. None of Purchaser, the Depositary, the Information
Agent, the Dealer Manager or any other person will be under any
duty to give notification of any defect or irregularity in
tenders or waiver of any such defect or irregularity or incur
any liability for failure to give any such notification.
Purchaser’s interpretation of the terms and conditions of
the Offer (including the Letter of Transmittal and the
instructions thereto) will be final and binding.
Shares held through The BNA 401(k) Plan. If
you beneficially hold your Shares under The BNA 401(k) Plan, you
must complete and sign the enclosed Letter of Instruction. The
Letter of Instruction instructs the 401(k) Plan Trustees to
tender your Shares in the Offer. The Letter of Instruction must
be delivered to the Depositary sufficiently in advance of the
expiration of the Offer (and in any event not later than one
business day prior to the expiration of the Offer) to enable the
401(k) Plan Trustees to comply with the instructions contained
therein and to tender the Shares as described above. Detailed
instructions are contained in the Letter of Instruction.
Purchaser assumes no responsibility for the actions of the
401(k) Plan Trustees.
Except as described in this Section 4, tenders of Shares
made in the Offer are irrevocable. You may withdraw tenders of
Shares made pursuant to the Offer at any time before the
Expiration Date and, unless theretofore accepted for payment as
provided herein, tenders of Shares may also be withdrawn at any
time after October 29, 2011. If we extend the period of
time during which the Offer is open, are delayed in accepting
for payment or paying for Shares or are unable to accept for
payment or pay for Shares pursuant to the Offer for any reason,
then, without prejudice to our rights under the Offer, the
Depositary may, on our behalf and subject to the terms and
conditions of the Merger Agreement and any applicable rules and
regulations of the SEC, retain all Shares tendered, and such
Shares may not be withdrawn, except to the extent that you duly
exercise withdrawal rights as described in this Section 4
before the Expiration Date or at any time after October 29,
2011, unless theretofore accepted for payment as provided herein.
For your withdrawal to be effective, a written, telegraphic or
facsimile transmission notice of withdrawal with respect to the
Shares must be timely received by the Depositary at one of its
addresses set forth on the back cover of this Offer to Purchase,
and the notice of withdrawal must specify the name of the person
who tendered the Shares to be withdrawn, the number of Shares to
be withdrawn and the name of the registered holder of Shares, if
different from that of the person who tendered such Shares. If
the Shares to be withdrawn have been delivered to the
Depositary, a signed notice of withdrawal with (except in the
case of Shares tendered by an Eligible Institution) signatures
guaranteed by an Eligible Institution must be submitted before
the release of such Shares. Withdrawals may not be rescinded,
and Shares withdrawn will thereafter be deemed not validly
tendered. However, withdrawn Shares may be re-tendered at any
time before the Expiration Date by again following the
procedures described in Section 3 —
“Procedure for Accepting the Offer and Tendering
Shares.”
If you tendered Shares by giving instructions to the 401(k) Plan
Trustees, you must instruct them by notifying the Depositary in
order to arrange for withdrawal of the Shares; such instructions
should be delivered
17
sufficiently in advance of the expiration of the Offer (and in
any event not later than one business day prior to the
expiration of the Offer) to enable the 401(K) Plan Trustees to
comply with the instructions contained therein.
If we provide a Subsequent Offering Period (as described in more
detail in Section 1 — “Terms of the
Offer”) following the Offer, no withdrawal rights will
apply to Shares tendered in such Subsequent Offering Period or
to Shares previously tendered in the Offer and accepted for
payment.
We will determine, in our sole discretion, all questions as to
the form and validity (including time of receipt) of any notice
of withdrawal, and our determination shall be final and binding.
None of Purchaser, the Depositary, the Information Agent, the
Dealer Manager or any other person will be under any duty to
give notification of any defect or irregularity in any notice of
withdrawal or waiver of any such defect or irregularity or incur
any liability for failure to give any such notification.
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5.
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Certain
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.
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The following is a general summary of certain material
U.S. federal income tax considerations to a beneficial
owner of Shares (a “Holder”) who exchanges
Shares for cash pursuant to the Offer (including during a
Subsequent Offering Period) or the Merger. This discussion is
based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended
(the “Code”), final and temporary Treasury
Regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative
pronouncements or practices and judicial decisions, all as in
effect as of the date hereof. Future legislative, judicial or
administrative modifications, revocations or interpretations,
which may or may not be retroactive, may result in
U.S. federal income tax considerations significantly
different from those summarized herein. We have not sought, and
do not intend to seek, any ruling from the Internal Revenue
Service (the “IRS”) or any other taxing
authority with respect to any of the U.S. federal income
tax considerations summarized herein, and there can be no
assurance that the IRS will not challenge any of the
considerations summarized herein, or that a court will not
sustain any such challenge by the IRS.
For purposes of this discussion, the term
“U.S. Holder” means a Holder that is, for
U.S. federal income tax purposes:
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•
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a citizen or an individual resident of the United States;
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•
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a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation) created
or organized under the laws of the United States, any state
thereof or the District of Columbia;
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•
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an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal
income taxation regardless of its source; or
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•
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a trust which (i) is subject to the primary jurisdiction of
a court within the United States and for which one or more
U.S. persons have authority to control all substantial
decisions, or (ii) has a valid election in effect under
applicable Treasury Regulations to be treated as a
U.S. person.
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A
“Non-U.S. Holder”
is a Holder (other than a partnership or any entity or
arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal
income tax purposes) that is not a U.S. Holder. If a
partnership (including any entity or arrangement treated as a
partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds
Shares, the tax treatment of a partner in such partnership
generally will depend on the status of the partner and the
activities of the partnership. If you are a partner in a
partnership that holds Shares, you should consult your tax
advisor regarding the tax consequences of the exchange of Shares
for cash pursuant to the Offer or the Merger.
This summary is for general information only and does not
constitute tax advice. This summary does not address all aspects
of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to
Holders in light of their particular circumstances. In addition,
this discussion does not apply to certain categories of Holders
that are subject to special treatment under the
U.S. federal income tax laws, such as (i) banks,
financial institutions or insurance companies,
(ii) regulated investment companies or real estate
investment trusts, (iii) brokers or dealers in securities
or currencies or traders in securities that elect
mark-to-market
treatment, (iv) tax-exempt organizations, qualified
retirement plans, individual retirement accounts or other
tax-deferred accounts, (v) controlled foreign corporations
or passive foreign investment companies, (vi) Holders that
exercise appraisal rights in connection with the Merger,
(vii) Holders that acquired Shares in connection with the
exercise of employee
18
stock options or otherwise as compensation for services,
(viii) Holders that own Shares as part of a straddle,
hedge, constructive sale, conversion transaction or other
integrated investment, (ix) Holders that are liable for the
“alternative minimum tax” under the Code,
(x) U.S. Holders whose functional currency is not the
United States dollar, or (xi) U.S. expatriates.
This discussion does not address any tax consequences arising
under any state, local or
non-U.S. tax
laws or U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws. In addition,
this discussion applies only to Holders that hold their Shares
as capital assets within the meaning of Section 1221 of the
Code (generally, property held for investment).
HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING
THE APPLICATION OF U.S. FEDERAL TAX LAWS TO THEM IN LIGHT
OF THEIR OWN PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES AND ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES
ARISING UNDER THE LAWS OF ANY STATE, LOCAL,
NON-U.S. OR
OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION.
U.S. Holders. The exchange of Shares for
cash pursuant to the Offer or the Merger will be a taxable
transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In
general, a U.S. Holder will recognize gain or loss equal to
the difference between (i) the amount of cash received and
(ii) such U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its
Shares. Generally, such gain or loss will be capital gain or
loss and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the Shares
exchanged were held for more than one year as of the date of
exchange. Long-term capital gains of noncorporate
U.S. Holders generally are subject to U.S. federal
income tax at preferential rates. The deduction of capital
losses is subject to limitations. Gain or loss must be
calculated separately for each block of Shares (i.e., Shares
acquired for the same cost in the same transaction) exchanged
for cash pursuant to the Offer or the Merger.
Non-U.S. Holders. Payments
made to a
Non-U.S. Holder
with respect to Shares exchanged for cash pursuant to the Offer
or the Merger generally will not be subject to U.S. federal
income tax, unless: (a) the gain, if any, is effectively
connected with the conduct by the
Non-U.S. Holder
of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by
an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a United
States permanent establishment maintained by the
Non-U.S. Holder),
in which event (i) the
Non-U.S. Holder
will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis
under regular graduated income tax rates in the same manner as
if such
Non-U.S. Holder
were a U.S. Holder and (ii) if the
Non-U.S. Holder
is a corporation, it may also be subject to a branch profits tax
at a flat rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified
under an applicable income tax treaty); or (b) the
Non-U.S. Holder
is an individual who was present in the United States for
183 days or more in the taxable year in which the Shares
are exchanged and certain other conditions are met, in which
event gain recognized by the
Non-U.S. Holder
will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a flat rate
of 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified under an
applicable income tax treaty), but generally may be offset by
U.S. source capital losses.
Information Reporting and Backup
Withholding. Payments made to a Holder with
respect to Shares exchanged for cash pursuant to the Offer or
the Merger will be reported to the Holder and the IRS to the
extent required by the Code and applicable Treasury Regulations.
In addition, a noncorporate Holder may be subject to backup
withholding tax at the applicable rate (currently 28%) with
respect to cash payments received upon the exchange of Shares
pursuant to the Offer or the Merger unless an exemption applies.
For an exemption to apply to a U.S. Holder, such
U.S. Holder must (i) timely provide the Depositary
with a correct taxpayer identification number and otherwise
comply with certain certification procedures (generally, by
providing a properly completed
Form W-9
included with the Letter of Transmittal) or (ii) otherwise
establish to the satisfaction of the Depositary that such
U.S. Holder is exempt from backup withholding tax. For an
exemption to apply to a
Non-U.S. Holder,
such
Non-U.S. Holder
must (i) certify under penalties of perjury on an
appropriate and properly completed IRS
Form W-8
that such
Non-U.S. Holder
is not a U.S. person (provided that the Depositary does not
have actual knowledge or reason to know that the Holder is a
U.S. person), or (ii) otherwise establish to the
satisfaction of the Depositary that such
Non-U.S. Holder
is exempt from backup withholding tax. Each
Non-U.S. Holder
is urged to consult its own tax advisor to determine which IRS
Form W-8
is appropriate in such
Non-U.S. Holder’s
case. If Shares are held through a
non-U.S. partnership
or other flow-through entity, certain documentation requirements
also may apply to the partnership or other flow-through entity.
19
Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amounts
withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a
Holder generally will be allowed as a refund or credit against
such Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability,
provided that such Holder timely furnishes the required
information to the IRS.
FIRPTA Withholding. A Holder may be subject to
withholding equal to 10% of the amount paid in exchange for its
Shares pursuant to the Offer or the Merger if the Company does
not deliver a certificate to Purchaser certifying that it is not
a U.S. real property holding corporation. The Company does not
expect to be a U.S. real property holding corporation, and
has informed Purchaser that it expects to deliver a certificate
to the Purchaser certifying that it is not a U.S. real
property holding corporation. In the event that the Company does
not deliver such a certificate, the Depositary will be entitled
to withhold 10% of the amount paid in exchange for the Shares.
Amounts withheld would be creditable against a Holder’s
federal income tax liability and, if the amount withheld exceeds
the Holder’s tax liability, such Holder could be entitled
to a refund by filing a U.S. income tax return with the IRS.
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6.
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Recent
Share Price; Dividends.
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There is no established trading market for the Shares. The
Company reported in
Form 10-Q,
filed July 29, 2011, that the Company re-purchased Shares
for an average purchase price of $17.50 per Share during the
twelve weeks ended June 18, 2011. Before deciding whether
to tender your Shares into and accept the Offer, you should make
your own assessment of the value of the Shares.
The Company has not, between January 1, 2011 and the date
of the Merger Agreement, declared or paid any dividend other
than the March 2011 dividend of $0.23 per share. Under the terms
of the Merger Agreement and during the period from the date of
the Merger Agreement to the Effective Time, the Company and the
Company’s subsidiaries will not, without the prior written
consent of Parent, split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any
Shares or declare or pay any dividend, or make any other actual,
constructive or deemed distribution in respect of any Shares,
other than (x) in the event that the Offer has not expired
on or prior to midnight, September 30, 2011, a cash
dividend of $0.23 per share payable to stockholders of record as
of the close of business on September 30, 2011, and
(y) dividends by a Company Subsidiary to the Company or
another Company Subsidiary.
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7.
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Registration
under the Exchange Act.
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Registration under the Exchange Act. The
Class A Shares are currently registered under the Exchange
Act. The purchase of the Shares pursuant to the Offer may result
in the Class A Shares becoming eligible for deregistration
under the Exchange Act. Registration may be terminated upon
application of the Company to the SEC if the number of holders
of record of the Shares is fewer than 300 and the outstanding
Shares are not listed on a “national securities
exchange.” Termination of the registration of the
Class A Shares under the Exchange Act would substantially
reduce the information required to be furnished by the Company
to holders of Shares and to the SEC and would make certain of
the provisions of the Exchange Act, such as the short-swing
profit recovery provisions of Section 16(b), the
requirement to furnish a proxy statement pursuant to
Section 14(a) in connection with a stockholder’s
meeting and the related requirement to furnish an annual report
to stockholders and the requirements of
Rule 13e-3
under the Exchange Act with respect to “going private”
transactions, no longer applicable to the Company. Furthermore,
“affiliates” of the Company and persons holding
“restricted securities” of the Company may be deprived
of the ability to dispose of such securities pursuant to
Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended. If at any time following the Acceptance Time, the
number of holders of record of the Shares is fewer than 300, the
Company has agreed under the Merger Agreement to take all steps
necessary or appropriate to terminate registration of the Shares
under the Exchange Act including the filing of Exchange Act
Form 15 with the SEC.
If registration of the Class A Shares under the Exchange
Act is not terminated prior to the Merger, then the registration
of the Class A Shares under the Exchange Act will be
terminated following the completion of the Merger.
20
|
|
8.
|
Certain
Information Concerning the Company.
|
The Company is a Delaware corporation with principal executive
offices at 0000 Xxxxx Xxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000.
The telephone number of the Company’s principal executive
offices is
(000) 000-0000.
The following description of the Company and its business has
been taken from the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2010, and is qualified in
its entirety by reference to such Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
The Company is a leading publisher of legal and regulatory
information. The Company was founded in 1929, and was
incorporated in its present form as an employee-owned company in
1946. The Company is independent, for profit, and is the oldest
fully employee-owned company in the United States.
The Company operates in the publishing, printing, and software
industries. Publishing is composed of two segments: Legal, Tax,
& Regulatory (“LTR”) and Specialized
Business (“SB”). Both the LTR and SB publishing
operations consist of the production and marketing of
information products in print and electronic form. Printing
operations consist of printing services to internal and
commercial customers. Software operations consist of the
production and marketing of software programs and interactive
electronic forms.
The Company and its LTR publishing subsidiary company, Tax
Management Inc., provide legal, tax, and regulatory information
in labor, economic, tax, health care, environment and safety,
and other markets to business, professional, and academic users.
They prepare, publish, and market subscription information
products in print, compact disc, and online formats, books,
conferences, and professional training.
Sales are made principally in the United States through field
sales representatives who are supported by direct mail, space
advertising, and telemarketing. Customers include lawyers,
accountants, business executives, human resource professionals,
health care administrative professionals, labor unions, trade
associations, educational institutions, government agencies, and
libraries.
As of December 31, 2010, the Company and its subsidiary
companies employed 1,506 full-time and part-time employees.
Approximately 864 of the Company’s employees are subject to
collective bargaining agreements. The Company has told us that
they believe their relations with their employees are good.
For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company’s
total revenues and net income were $331.0 million and
$27.6 million, respectively.
Company Projections. In connection with
Parent’s due diligence review, the Company provided to
Parent certain projected financial information concerning the
Company, including certain non-risk adjusted unaudited financial
forecasts prepared by the Company’s management (the
“Projections”).
Set forth below are summaries of the Projections provided to us.
The inclusion of the Projections in this Offer should not be
regarded as an indication that any of Parent, Purchaser, the
Company or their respective affiliates or representatives
considered, or now consider, the Projections to be a reliable
prediction of actual future events or results, and the
Projections should not be relied upon as such. The Projections
are being provided in this document only because the Company
made them available to Parent in connection with Parent’s
due diligence review of the Company. None of Parent, Purchaser,
the Company or any of their respective affiliates or
representatives assumes any responsibility for the accuracy of
the Projections or makes any representation to any stockholder
regarding the Projections, and none of them intends to update or
otherwise revise the Projections to reflect circumstances
existing after the date when made or to reflect the occurrence
of future events, even in the event that any or all of the
assumptions underlying the Projections are shown to be in error.
The Company’s financial reporting is based on 13 four-week
periods. There are three periods (twelve weeks) in each of the
first three fiscal quarters and four periods in the fourth
fiscal quarter. Below is certain summary historical and
projected financial information of the Company.
21
Summary
Historical and Projected Financials
2008 —
2012E Summary Income Statement
|
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|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2011E
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|
|
2012E
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|
|
|
($ in millions)
|
|
|
Total Revenue
|
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$
|
352.2
|
|
|
$
|
331.3
|
|
|
$
|
331.0
|
|
|
$
|
336.3
|
|
|
$
|
346.4
|
|
Operating
Income(A)
|
|
$
|
48.9
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|
|
$
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41.4
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|
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$
|
53.7
|
|
|
$
|
61.2
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|
|
$
|
64.2
|
|
Reported Operating Income
|
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$
|
48.9
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|
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$
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23.8
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|
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$
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46.6
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|
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$
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61.2
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|
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$
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64.2
|
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Adjusted
EBITDA(B)
|
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$
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86.4
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|
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$
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90.2
|
|
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$
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84.7
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|
|
$
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85.4
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|
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$
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90.1
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|
|
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(A) |
|
Excludes goodwill impairment and gain/(loss) on sale of assets |
|
(B) |
|
Refer to EBITDA Reconciliation for detail of adjustments |
EBITDA
Reconciliation
2008 —
2012 EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA
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2008
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2009
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|
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2010
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|
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2011E
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2012E
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($ in millions)
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Reported Operating Income
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$
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48.9
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|
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$
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23.8
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|
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$
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46.6
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|
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$
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61.2
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|
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$
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64.2
|
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Depreciation & amortization
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|
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9.9
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|
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10.0
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10.0
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10.4
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10.4
|
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Goodwill impairment charge
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0.0
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|
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17.8
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|
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6.6
|
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|
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0.0
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|
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0.0
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(Gain) Loss on sale of assets
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0.0
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(0.1
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)
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0.4
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0.0
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|
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0.0
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|
|
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|
|
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EBITDA
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$
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58.8
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$
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51.4
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$
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63.7
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|
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$
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71.6
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$
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74.6
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Relocation expense to Arlington VA
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(0.4
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)
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0.0
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0.0
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—
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|
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Municipal relocation incentives
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(0.2
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)
|
|
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(0.2
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)
|
|
|
(0.0
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)
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|
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—
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|
|
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Management incentive pay
|
|
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0.2
|
|
|
|
(0.1
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)
|
|
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0.0
|
|
|
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0.1
|
|
|
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1.0
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Severance expense
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2.8
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1.6
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|
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2.1
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|
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—
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SB restructuring expenses
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|
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0.0
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|
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0.0
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2.1
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|
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Pension expense
(non-cash)
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4.5
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12.9
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9.2
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9.6
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9.9
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FAS 106 expense
(non-cash)
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15.7
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20.1
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1.1
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(2.5
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)
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(2.4
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)
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Profit sharing expense
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5.0
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4.4
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6.5
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6.7
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7.0
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Adjusted EBITDA
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$
|
86.4
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$
|
90.2
|
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$
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84.7
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$
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85.4
|
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$
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90.1
|
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Note: Pension and FAS 106 cash expenditures
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$
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18.6
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|
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$
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19.5
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$
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8.9
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$
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5.7
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$
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6.2
|
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The Projections were prepared by and are the responsibility of
the Company’s management. It is Parent’s understanding
that the Projections were not prepared with a view to public
disclosure or complying with U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles, the published guidelines of the SEC
regarding projections or the guidelines established by the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants for
preparation and presentation of prospective financial
information. It is also Xxxxxx’s understanding that the
Company’s independent auditors have not examined, compiled
or performed any procedures with respect to the Projections
presented in this Offer, nor have they expressed any opinion or
any other form of assurance of such information or the
likelihood that the Company may achieve the results contained in
the Projections, and accordingly assume no responsibility for
them and disclaim any association with them.
The Projections do not take into account any circumstances or
events occurring after the date they were prepared, including
the announcement of the Offer and the Merger. There can be no
assurance that the announcement of the Offer and the Merger will
not cause customers of the Company to delay or cancel purchases
of the Company’s products, services or programs pending the
consummation of the Offer and the Merger or the clarification of
Parent’s intentions with respect to the conduct of the
Company’s business thereafter. Any such delay or
cancellation of business could adversely affect the ability of
the Company to
22
achieve the results reflected in such financial projections.
Further, the Projections do not take into account the effect of
any failure to occur of the Offer or the Merger and should not
be viewed as accurate or continuing in that context.
The Company’s shareholders are cautioned not to rely on
the Projections presented in this Offer.
Additional Information. The Company is subject
to the informational and reporting requirements of the Exchange
Act and in accordance therewith files and furnishes periodic
reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC
relating to its business, financial condition and other matters.
You may read and copy any such reports, statements or other
information at the SEC’s Public Reference Room located at
000 X Xxxxxx, X.X., Xxxx 0000,
Xxxxxxxxxx, X.X. 00000. Please call
0-000-XXX-0000
for further information on the operation of the Public Reference
Room. The Company’s filings are also available to the
public from commercial document retrieval services and at the
SEC’s Web site at
xxxx://xxx.xxx.xxx.
Except as otherwise set forth herein, the information concerning
the Company contained in this Offer to Purchase has been
furnished by the Company or taken from or based upon publicly
available documents and records on file with the SEC and other
public sources. Although we have no knowledge that any such
information contains any misstatements or omissions, none of
Parent, Purchaser, and any of their respective affiliates or
assigns, the Dealer Manager, the Information Agent or the
Depositary assumes responsibility for the accuracy or
completeness of the information concerning the Company contained
in such documents and records or for any failure by the Company
to disclose events which may have occurred or may affect the
significance or accuracy of any such information.
|
|
9.
|
Certain
Information Concerning Purchaser and Parent.
|
Purchaser is a Delaware corporation incorporated on
August 15, 2011, with principal executive offices at 000
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000. The telephone number of
our principal executive offices is
(000) 000-0000.
To date, we have engaged in no activities other than those
incidental to our formation, entry into the Merger Agreement and
commencement of the Offer. Purchaser is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Parent.
Parent is a Delaware corporation with principal executive
offices at 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000. The
telephone number of our principal executive offices is
(000) 000-0000.
Parent, through it subsidiaries, is a source of information for
financial professionals and businesses, combining technology
with analytics, data, news, and display and distribution
capabilities, to deliver information via the BLOOMBERG
PROFESSIONAL service, data products and certain internet-based
products. Parent is also the owner of Bloomberg News, which
conducts newsgathering operations out of 146 bureaus in 72
countries around the world, providing breaking news and analysis
to professionals and consumers on a daily basis.
Parent and its subsidiaries also own and operate media
properties spanning television, radio, digital properties and
print publications. These media properties include Bloomberg
Markets, a financial magazine with a circulation of more than
355,000, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, a weekly magazine with more
than 4.6 million readers in 140 countries, Bloomberg
Television, which is available in more than 250 million
homes worldwide, and Bloomberg Radio, which is syndicated to
more than 200 affiliates. Furthermore, Parent’s digital
media properties, Xxxxxxxxx.xxx and XxxxxxxxXxxx.xxx reach more
than 20 million individuals each month and its Mobile
application has been downloaded more than six million times.
Together, Parent’s news and multimedia businesses employ
more than 2,300 professionals around the world. In total, Parent
(either directly or through its subsidiaries) employs more than
13,000 people in 185 locations around the world.
The name, business address, current principal occupation or
employment, five-year employment history and citizenship of each
director and executive officer of Parent and Xxxxxxxxx and
certain other information are set forth on Schedule I and
Schedule II hereto, respectively.
23
Except as set forth below: (a) none of Parent, Purchaser
and, to Parent’s and Purchaser’s knowledge, the
persons listed in Schedule I and Schedule II hereto or
any associate or majority owned subsidiary of Parent, Purchaser
or of any of the persons so listed, beneficially owns or has a
right to acquire any Shares or any other equity securities of
the Company; (b) none of Parent, Purchaser and, to
Parent’s and Purchaser’s knowledge, the persons or
entities referred to in clause (a) above has effected any
transaction in the Shares or any other equity securities of the
Company during the past 60 days; (c) none of Parent,
Purchaser and, to Parent’s and Purchaser’s knowledge,
the persons listed in Schedule I and Schedule II to
this Offer to Purchase, respectively, has any contract,
arrangement, understanding or relationship with any other person
with respect to any securities of the Company (including, but
not limited to, any contract, arrangement, understanding or
relationship concerning the transfer or the voting of any such
securities, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or
calls, guaranties of loans, guaranties against loss or the
giving or withholding of proxies, consents or authorizations);
(d) during the two years before the date of this Offer to
Purchase or otherwise in connection with this Offer to Purchase,
there have been no transactions between Parent, Purchaser, their
subsidiaries or, to Parent’s and Purchaser’s
knowledge, any of the persons listed in Schedule I and
Schedule II to this Offer to Purchase, respectively, on the
one hand, and the Company or any of its executive officers,
directors or affiliates, on the other hand, that would require
reporting under SEC rules and regulations; (e) during the
two years before the date of this Offer to Purchase or otherwise
in connection with this Offer to Purchase, there have been no
contacts, negotiations or transactions between Parent,
Purchaser, their subsidiaries or, to Parent’s and
Purchaser’s knowledge, any of the persons listed in
Schedule I and Schedule II to this Offer to Purchase,
respectively, on the one hand, and the Company or any of its
subsidiaries or affiliates, on the other hand, concerning a
merger, consolidation or acquisition, a tender offer or other
acquisition of securities, an election of directors or a sale or
other transfer of a material amount of assets; (f) none of
Parent, Purchaser and, to Parent’s and Purchaser’s
knowledge, the persons listed in Schedule I and
Schedule II to this Offer to Purchase, respectively, has
been convicted in a criminal proceeding during the past five
years (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors);
and (g) none of Parent, Purchaser and, to Parent’s and
Purchaser’s knowledge, the persons listed in
Schedule I and Schedule II to this Offer to Purchase,
respectively, has been a party to any judicial or administrative
proceeding during the past five years that resulted in a
judgment, decree or final order enjoining that person from
future violations of, or prohibiting activities subject to,
federal or state securities laws or a finding of any violation
of federal or state securities laws.
Past
Contacts, Transactions, Negotiations and Agreements.
In April 2011, BFLP began negotiating a Data Acquisition
Agreement with Xxxxxxx Information, LLC, a business of the
Company (“Xxxxxxx”), whereby Xxxxxxx would provide
certain data and information, including Xxxxxxx’x
“Green Market” product to Parent’s subsidiary
Bloomberg Finance L.P. (“BFLP”) and users of
the electronic products and services provided by BFLP, including
the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service, Bloomberg Data License,
Bloomberg B-pipe and Bloomberg Server API service, and to
Bloomberg websites, which are offered by Parent’s
subsidiary Bloomberg L.P. (“BLP”). Discussions
and negotiations are on-going but the parties have not yet
reached an agreement.
On January 1, 2007, BLP entered into a Third Party Data
License and Distribution Agreement with the Company whereby
Bloomberg Law (“BLAW”) agreed to carry the
following Company newsletters: Broker/Dealer Compliance Report,
Bankruptcy Law Reporter, Bankruptcy Law Daily,
Mergers & Acquisitions Law Report, Banking Report and
Banking Daily on the BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service. On
July 11, 2007, BLP entered into a First Amendment to Third
Party Data License and Distribution Agreement whereby the
Company’s Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges and
Clerks was added to the Company materials distributed on
BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL service. On September 30, 2008, BLP
gave notice to the Company to terminate the agreement.
Termination became effective December 31, 2008.
In early 2009, representatives of BLAW and representatives of
the Company held a meeting to discuss the possibility of BLAW
carrying the Company’s content on the BLAW platform. On
July 8, 2009, a representative of BLAW had a discussion
with a representative of the Company to further discuss
opportunities for BLAW to carry the Company’s content,
specifically the Company’s Judicial profiles. In October
and November
24
of 2009, the parties held further preliminary discussions
regarding a potential content sharing agreement. No agreement
was reached.
|
|
10.
|
Source
and Amount of Funds.
|
We will need approximately $992 million to purchase all
Shares pursuant to the Offer and to complete the Merger and to
pay the consideration in respect of Shares converted in the
Merger into the right to receive the same per Share amount paid
in the Offer. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Parent is
obligated to provide us with funds sufficient to pay the
aggregate Offer Price and to pay the Merger Consideration.
Parent intends to use cash on hand at Parent and its
subsidiaries as the source of such funds.
We do not believe that our financial condition is relevant to a
decision by the holders of the Shares whether to tender Shares
and accept the Offer because:
|
|
|
|
•
|
the Offer is being made for all outstanding Shares solely for
cash and if the holders of Shares tender their Shares following
the closing of the Offer, or if the holders of Shares don’t
tender their Shares, following the Merger, they will not have
any continuing interest in the Company or Parent;
|
|
|
•
|
consummation of the Offer is not subject to any financing
condition;
|
|
|
•
|
if we consummate the Offer, we expect to acquire all remaining
Shares in the Merger, in cash, for the same price per share paid
in the Offer; and
|
|
|
•
|
we, through our Parent, will have sufficient funds to purchase
all Shares validly tendered, and not properly withdrawn, in the
Offer and to provide funding for the Merger, which is expected
to follow the successful completion of the Offer.
|
|
|
11.
|
Background
of the Offer.
|
Information in this section regarding telephone conversations,
meetings and other contacts or activities that did not involve
Parent, Purchaser or representatives of Parent or Purchaser has
been furnished by the Company.
BFLP, an indirect subsidiary of Parent, owns and offers BLAW, a
real-time legal research solution that integrates search
technology, comprehensive legal content, company and client
information, and proprietary news-in one interface. BLAW is
BFLP’s entry into the multi-billion-dollar legal
information industry. BFLP from time to time evaluates the
possibility of acquisitions that would complement or provide
content to the BLAW product.
In September 2010, members of BLP management met with Company
executives at their offices. BLP and the Company each shared
background information about the respective companies and
products and the parties briefly discussed whether a licensing
or strategic partnership arrangement might be possible.
In December 2010, BLAW executives met with Company executives at
their offices. The Company presented an overview of their
products and the parties discussed how a licensing arrangement
for BLAW might work; no agreement was reached.
On May 7, 2011, Evercore Partners, the financial advisor to
the Company (“Evercore”) contacted senior
management of BLP regarding BLP’s interest in participating
in an auction for the Company. On May 11, 2011, BLP and the
Company signed a Confidentiality Agreement, and Evercore
provided BLP with a Confidential Information Memorandum, dated
May 2011.
By letter, dated May 17, 2011, Evercore requested that
participants in the process for the sale of the Company submit
preliminary, non-binding proposals to acquire the Company in
writing to Evercore by June 7, 2011.
On June 3, 2011, BLP management held a preliminary due
diligence call with the Company’s management and asked
questions about information in the Company’s Confidential
Information Memorandum, dated May 2011.
25
On June 7, 2011, BLP submitted a preliminary indication of
interest for an acquisition of the Company at an aggregate price
of $750 million to $850 million, or $30 to $33 per
Share based on 25.4 million Shares outstanding as of
April 24, 2011. The indication of interest provided that it
was based on certain assumptions and was subject to BLP’s
further due diligence, the negotiation and execution of mutually
acceptable definitive agreements and the approval of
Parent’s board of directors. The indication of interest
provided that the acquisition would be funded with cash on hand.
On June 16, 2011, BLP was granted access to a virtual data
room to conduct due diligence on the Company. On June 30,
2011, members of BLP’s management attended meetings with
the Company’s management in Arlington, VA. During these
meetings, the Company provided BLP with due diligence
information, including a review of the Company’s strategy,
operations and financial performance.
By letter, dated July 13, 2011, Evercore requested that
participants in the process for the sale of the Company submit
firm offers for the acquisition of the Company by
August 12, 2011, which date was extended to August 16,
2011 by letter dated August 5, 2011.
During the period between June 7, 2011 and August 23,
2011, Parent and its advisors continued their due diligence
investigation of the Company, including by holding conference
calls and in person meetings with the Company and its
representatives, and senior management of BLP and senior members
of BNA continued to discuss aspects of a potential transaction.
On August 16, 2011, Xxxxxx submitted a written proposal for
the acquisition of all of the equity of the Company, including a
markup of the proposed form of the Merger Agreement and the
related schedules. The proposal indicated that an all-cash price
for 100% of the issued and outstanding Shares would be submitted
on Friday, August 19, 2011, and that Parent anticipated
that all required approvals, other than regulatory approvals,
would be obtained by such date. The written proposal indicated
that it was not subject to a financing contingency and that
Parent planned to fund the transaction through existing cash and
credit facilities. On August 17, 2011, counsel to the
Company discussed the Company’s material issues with the
markup of the Merger Agreement submitted by Parent. On August 15
and 16, 2011, senior management of BLP met with senior
management of the Company.
In August 2011, members of the board of directors of Parent were
informally provided with background on the transaction being
contemplated. On August 17, 2011 a memorandum summarizing
the Company and the transaction was provided to Parent’s
board of directors. At a meeting of Parent’s board of
directors on August 19, 2001, Xxxxxx’s board of
directors authorized Parent management to proceed with an offer
for the Company at a price to be determined by a committee of
the board of directors. That afternoon, Xxxxxx informed the
Company that while Xxxxxx was willing to proceed with a
transaction at a value of at least $35.00 per Share that Parent
was not prepared to submit a price at such time and that the
Company should indicate the price at which the Company was
willing to enter into a transaction. Although the Company did
not indicate a price at which it was willing to enter into a
transaction, the Company and Parent agreed to continue
negotiating the terms of a transaction.
Over the weekend of August 20 and 21, 2011 representatives of
Parent and the Company negotiated the terms of a potential
transaction and the Merger Agreement.
On August 22, 2011, following further discussions between
representatives of the Company and Parent, a committee of the
board of directors of Parent approved an offer price of $39.50
per Share subject to certain conditions. During the evening of
August 22, 2011, Parent communicated to the Company that it
would be willing to proceed with a price of $39.50 per Share,
subject to (i) the Company not paying any additional
dividends prior to the closing of the Merger, (ii) the
Company accepting Parent’s requests for a
“break-up
fee” in an amount equal to four percent of the aggregate
Offer Price and “fiduciary out” provisions proposed by
Parent on Sunday, August 21, 2011, (iii) a period of
exclusive negotiation, and (iv) prompt execution of the
Merger Agreement. Representatives of Parent and the Company
negotiated the terms of the proposal through the morning of
August 23, 2011.
On August 23, 2011, Xxxxxx submitted a written proposal for
the acquisition of all of the equity of the Company, at a best
and final price of $39.50 per Share, subject to an agreement
that if the conditions to the
26
tender offer were not satisfied by September 30, 2011,
Xxxxxx would consent to the payment of a dividend to the
Company’s shareholders prior to closing. The proposal
indicated that the Offer Price was fully financed and not
subject to a financing condition, and that all required
approvals, other than regulatory approvals, had been obtained.
That evening, the parties entered into an agreement pursuant to
which the Company agreed to negotiate exclusively with Parent,
until it provided Parent with notice to the contrary, which
notice would not be effective on or prior to August 24,
2011.
On August 23 and 24, 2011 the parties completed their
negotiation of the Merger Agreement and schedules thereto. Late
in the evening on August 24, 2011, following the approval
by the Company Board of Directors of the Merger Agreement and
the transactions contemplated thereby, Parent, Purchaser and the
Company executed and delivered the Merger Agreement. A joint
press release announcing the transaction was issued on the
morning of August 25, 2011.
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12.
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Purpose
of the Offer; Plans for the Company; Stockholder Approval;
Appraisal Rights.
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Purpose of the Offer. The purpose of the Offer
and the Merger is to acquire control of, and the entire equity
interest in, the Company. The Offer, as the first step in the
acquisition of the Company, is intended to facilitate the
acquisition of all of the Shares. The purpose of the Merger is
to acquire all capital stock of the Company not purchased
pursuant to the Offer or otherwise.
Plans for the Company. Except as disclosed in
this Offer to Purchase, we do not have any present plan or
proposal that would result in the acquisition by any person of
additional securities of the Company, the disposition of
securities of the Company, an extraordinary corporate
transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation,
involving the Company, the sale or transfer of a material amount
of assets of the Company, any material changes in the
Company’s present dividend policy, indebtedness,
capitalization, corporate structure, business or any material
change to the composition of the Company’s management or
board of directors.
After completion of the Offer and the Merger, the Company will
remain a separate stand-alone subsidiary of the Parent that over
time sells its content either directly to end-users or licenses
its Content to Parent subject to the terms of existing
distribution agreements with third parties.
After the purchase of the Shares in the Offer, we will be
entitled to have three of our designees serve on the Company
Board of Directors which will be reduced to five directors, as
described below under the caption “Directors” in
Section 13 “The Transaction Documents — The
Merger Agreement.” After completion of the Offer and the
Merger, the Company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent.
Stockholder Approval. Under the DGCL, if we
acquire, pursuant to the Offer or otherwise, at least 90% of the
outstanding Class A Shares, we believe we could, and we
intend to, effect a merger under the short-form merger
provisions of the DGCL without prior notice to, or any action
by, any other Company stockholder. If we do not acquire at least
90% of the outstanding Class A Shares, we will have to seek
approval of the Merger Agreement and the Merger by the
Company’s stockholders. Approval of the Merger Agreement
and the Merger requires the approval of holders of not less than
a majority of the outstanding Class A Shares, including the
Class A Shares owned and purchased by us pursuant to the
Offer. Thus, assuming that the Minimum Condition is satisfied,
upon consummation of the Offer, we would own sufficient Shares
to enable us, without the vote of any other Company stockholder,
to satisfy the stockholder approval requirement to approve the
Merger.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, if required by law, the
Company has agreed (i) to call, give notice of, convene and
hold a special meeting of the Company’s Class A
Stockholders as soon as reasonably practicable following the
Acceptance Time for the purpose of considering and taking action
upon the Merger Agreement; and (ii) to prepare and file
with the SEC a preliminary proxy or information statement
relating to the Merger and the Merger Agreement and use its
reasonable best efforts (A) to obtain and furnish the
information required to be included by the SEC in the Proxy
Statement (as defined below) and, after consultation with
Parent, respond promptly to any comments made by the SEC with
respect to the preliminary proxy or information statement and
cause a definitive proxy or information statement (together with
any amendments
27
and supplements thereto, the “Proxy Statement”)
to be mailed to the Class A Stockholders as soon as
reasonably practicable, and (B) to obtain the necessary
approvals of Merger and the Merger Agreement by the Class A
Stockholders.
Rule 13e-3. The
SEC has adopted
Rule 13e-3
under the Exchange Act, which is applicable to certain
“going private” transactions and which may under
certain circumstances be applicable to the Merger or another
business combination following the purchase of Shares pursuant
to the Offer or otherwise in which Purchaser seeks to acquire
the remaining Shares not held by it. If applicable,
Rule 13e-3
requires, among other things, that certain financial information
concerning the Company and certain information relating to the
fairness of the proposed transaction and the consideration
offered to minority stockholders in such transaction be filed
with the SEC and disclosed to stockholders prior to the
consummation of the transaction. Purchaser and Parent believe,
however, that
Rule 13e-3
will not be applicable to the Merger if the Merger is
consummated within one year after the Acceptance Time at the
same per share price as paid in the Offer.
Appraisal Rights. No appraisal rights are
available to holders of Shares in connection with the Offer.
However, if the Merger is consummated, appraisal rights will be
available to holders of Shares who have neither voted in favor
of the Merger nor consented thereto in writing, and who
otherwise comply with the applicable statutory procedures under
the DGCL. Each such holder will be entitled to receive a
judicial determination of the fair value of such holder’s
Shares (exclusive of any element of value arising from the
effectuation of the Merger) and to receive payment of such
judicially determined amount in cash, together with a fair rate
of interest, if any, determined by a Delaware court for Shares
held by such holder. Any such judicial determination of the fair
value of such Shares could be based upon considerations other
than or in addition to the price paid in the Offer and the
market value of the Shares. Stockholders should recognize that
the value so determined could be higher or lower than the price
paid per Share pursuant to the Offer or the price per Share to
be paid in the Merger. Holders of Shares should note that
investment banking opinions as to the fairness, from a financial
point of view, of the consideration payable in a sale
transaction, such as the Offer or the Merger, are not opinions
as to fair value under Section 262 of the DGCL. Moreover,
the Surviving Corporation may argue in an appraisal proceeding
that, for purposes of such a proceeding, the fair value of the
Shares is less than the price paid in the Offer and the Merger.
If any holder of Xxxxxx who demands appraisal under
Section 262 of the DGCL fails to perfect, or effectively
withdraws or loses her, his or its rights to appraisal as
provided in the DGCL, the Shares of such stockholder will be
converted into the right to receive the price per Share paid in
the Merger in accordance with the Merger Agreement. A
stockholder may withdraw a demand for appraisal by delivering to
the Company a written withdrawal of the demand for appraisal by
the date set forth in the appraisal notice to be delivered to
the holders of the Shares as provided in the DGCL. Failure to
comply with the requirements of Section 262 of the DGCL for
perfecting appraisal rights may result in the loss of such
rights.
The foregoing summary of the rights of dissenting stockholders
under the DGCL does not purport to be a statement of the
procedures to be followed by stockholders desiring to exercise
any appraisal rights under the DGCL. The preservation
and exercise of appraisal rights require strict and timely
adherence to the applicable provisions of the DGCL which will be
set forth in their entirety in the proxy statement or
information statement for the Merger, unless the Merger is
effected as a short-form Merger, in which case they will be
set forth in the notice of Merger. The foregoing discussion is
not a complete statement of law pertaining to appraisal rights
under the DGCL and is qualified in its entirety by reference to
the DGCL.
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13.
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The
Transaction Documents.
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The
Merger Agreement.
For the purposes of this Section 13, capitalized terms used
but not defined herein will have the respective meanings set
forth in the Merger Agreement. The following is a summary of the
material provisions of the Merger Agreement. The following
description of the Merger Agreement does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the
Merger Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit (d)(1) to
the Schedule TO and is incorporated herein by reference.
For a complete understanding of the Merger Agreement, you are
encouraged to read the full text of the Merger Agreement. The
Merger Agreement is not
28
intended to provide you with any other factual information about
Parent, Purchaser or the Company. Such information can be found
elsewhere in this Offer to Purchase.
The Offer. The Merger Agreement provides for
the commencement of the Offer as promptly as reasonably
practicable, but in no event later than September 8, 2011
or ten business days after the date of the Merger Agreement,
which was August 24, 2011. The obligations of Purchaser to
purchase, accept for payment, and pay for, Shares tendered
pursuant to the Offer are subject only to the satisfaction or
waiver of certain conditions (the “Offer
Conditions”) that are described in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer.”
Purchaser expressly reserves the right to increase the Offer
Price and to waive any of the Offer Conditions
and/or
modify the terms of the Offer, except that, without the consent
of the Company, Purchaser will not: (i) amend or waive the
Minimum Condition , (ii) decrease the Offer Price,
(iii) change the form of consideration payable in the
Offer, (iv) decrease the number of Shares sought pursuant
to the Offer, (v) add to the Offer Conditions or modify
such conditions in a manner adverse to the holders of Shares
(vi) extend the Offer (except to the extent required by or
permitted under the Merger Agreement or law) or (vii) make
any other change to the terms and conditions of the Offer that
is adverse to the holders of Shares.
The Merger Agreement provides that if on the initial scheduled
expiration date of the Offer or on any subsequent scheduled
expiration date of the Offer (as extended in accordance with the
Merger Agreement) all conditions to the Offer shall not have
been satisfied or waived, Purchaser may, from time to time, in
its sole discretion, extend the Offer for one or more periods of
time of up to ten Business Days each as Purchaser may determine.
If on the initial scheduled expiration date of the Offer or on
any subsequent scheduled expiration date of the Offer (as
extended in accordance with the Merger Agreement), the
applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof) under the
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the
regulations promulgated thereunder (the “HSR
Act”) or any other antitrust law has not expired or has
not been terminated, Purchaser is obligated to extend the Offer
for one or more periods of time of up to ten (10) Business
Days each until such condition has been satisfied. In no event
will we extend the Offer beyond February 29, 2012, unless
the applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof) under
the HSR Act has not expired or been terminated or there is a
pending action by any governmental entity seeking to prohibit or
restrict Parent’s ownership of the Shares or operation of
the Company’s business (unless such failure to expire or
terminate or such action relates to a divestiture action of
Parent for assets or businesses other than legal publishing
assets or businesses) then either Parent or the Company may
extend such date to a date no later than June 30, 2012.
Purchaser may increase the Offer Price and extend the Offer to
the extent required by Law in connection with such increase, in
each case in its sole discretion and without the Company’s
consent.
Subsequent Offering Period. The Merger
Agreement provides that following the expiration of the Offer,
Purchaser may, in its sole discretion, provide a
“subsequent offering period” for three to 20 business
days to acquire outstanding untendered Shares in accordance with
Rule 14d-11
under the Exchange Act. If Purchaser commences a subsequent
offering period in connection with the Offer, Purchaser will
accept for payment and pay for all Shares validly tendered and
not properly withdrawn during such subsequent offering period.
If Shares are accepted pursuant to the Offer, the Merger
Agreement obligates Parent and Purchaser for two (2) years
after the Acceptance Time to take such actions as are necessary
to offer to purchase, for cash, any Shares not tendered, at the
Offer Price, it being understood and agreed that upon
consummation of the Merger any such Shares not tendered will no
longer remain outstanding and Parent and Purchaser will be
deemed to have satisfied their obligations under this sentence.
Directors. The Merger Agreement provides that
promptly following the Acceptance Time, for so long as Parent
directly or indirectly beneficially owns not less than a
majority of the then issued and outstanding Class A Shares,
the Company will reduce the total number of directors on the
Company Board of Directors to five and Purchaser will be
entitled to designate three directors on the Company Board of
Directors. Purchaser will be entitled to designate a majority of
each committee of the Company Board of Directors (other than the
committee comprised solely of Continuing Directors established
solely to take action under the Merger Agreement which shall be
permitted to meet without the presence of other directors solely
for purposes of considering and, if necessary, taking certain
actions described in the succeeding paragraph). The Company
agrees to amend the By-laws of the Company and take such other
action as is necessary to permit representatives of Parent and
Purchaser to serve as directors on the Company Board of
Directors and each
29
committee thereof from and after the Acceptance Time and for no
other Person to be required to be elected or designated to the
Company Board of Directors or any committee thereof other than
the Continuing Directors.
Except with respect to the Continuing Directors, upon the
occurrence of the Acceptance Time, the Company will accept the
resignations of each director on the Company Board of Directors
(and each committee thereof) as is necessary to enable
Purchaser’s designees to serve as directors on the Company
Board of Directors. From the Acceptance Time and prior to the
Effective Time, the Company will retain two directors who were
members of the Company Board of Directors immediately prior to
such Parent’s designees being appointed as directors (the
“Continuing Directors”), which Continuing
Directors shall be deemed to be a committee of the Company Board
of Directors established to take certain actions under the
Merger Agreement.
The Merger Agreement provides that following the appointment of
Purchaser’s designees and prior to the Effective Time, the
approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors will be
required to authorize:
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•
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any amendment, modification or termination of the Merger
Agreement, or consent to any amendment, modification or
termination of the Merger Agreement, by the Company;
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•
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any extension of time for performance or waiver of any
obligation or action by Parent or Purchaser under the Merger
Agreement;
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•
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any waiver or exercise of any of the Company’s rights under
the Merger Agreement if such action would adversely affect the
interests of the stockholders of the Company (other than Parent
or any of its affiliates);
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•
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any waiver of any condition to the Company’s obligations
under the Merger Agreement
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•
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any material amendment or other modification to the
Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws in a
manner that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the
interests of the Company Stockholders (other than Parent or any
of its affiliates);
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•
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the taking of any other action by the Company in connection with
the Merger Agreement, the Offer, the Merger or the other
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, other than
the Company’s performance of its obligations under the
Merger Agreement (including the consummation of the Merger),
that would reasonably be expected to adversely affect the
interests of the stockholders of the Company (other than Parent
or any of its affiliates).
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The Merger Agreement provides that the Continuing Directors will
have the authority to retain counsel (which may include current
counsel to the Company) and other advisors at the expense of the
Company as determined by the Continuing Directors and will have
the authority to institute any action on behalf of the Company
to enforce performance of the Merger Agreement or any of the
Company’s rights under the Merger Agreement, in each case
to the extent reasonably appropriate to the exercise and
discharge of their fiduciary and other duties.
The Merger. The Merger Agreement provides
that, at the Effective Time, Purchaser will be merged with and
into the Company, the separate corporate existence of Purchaser
will cease, and the Company will continue as the Surviving
Corporation, becoming wholly-owned by Parent. The directors of
Purchaser immediately prior to the Effective Time will be the
directors of the Surviving Corporation. The officers of the
Company immediately prior to the Effective Time will be the
officers of the Surviving Corporation.
As of the Effective Time, each issued and outstanding share of
common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of Purchaser will be
converted into and become one share of common stock of the
Surviving Corporation, and all Shares that are owned by the
Company as treasury stock and any Shares owned by Parent,
Purchaser or any other wholly-owned Subsidiary of Parent shall
be cancelled, and no consideration shall be delivered in
exchange therefor.
Each outstanding Share (other than Shares held in the treasury
of the Company or Shares owned by Parent, Purchaser or any
wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent, which will be canceled
without the payment of any consideration therefor as described
in the immediately preceding paragraph, and other than
Dissenting Shares) will be converted into the right to receive
the Offer Price, payable to the holder thereof in cash, without
interest (the “Merger Consideration”), and
subject to any required withholding of Taxes. From and
30
after the Effective Time, all such Shares will no longer be
outstanding and will automatically be cancelled, and each holder
of a certificate representing any such Shares immediately prior
to the Effective Time (the “Certificates”) and
to each holder of record that immediately prior to the Effective
Time held any Shares in book-entry form (“Book-Entry
Shares”) will cease to have any rights with respect
thereto, except the right to receive the Merger Consideration
therefor upon the surrender of such Certificate or Book-Entry
Share in accordance with the Merger Agreement, without interest
thereon.
Appraisal Rights. Shares outstanding
immediately prior to the Effective Time and held by a holder who
has not voted in favor of the adoption of the Merger Agreement
or consented thereto in writing and who has complied with
Section 262 of the DGCL (“Dissenting
Shares”) will not be converted into the right to
receive the Merger Consideration, unless such holder fails to
perfect or such holder waives, withdraws or otherwise loses his
or her right to appraisal. A holder of Dissenting Shares shall
be entitled to receive payment of the appraised value of such
Shares held by such holder in accordance with Section 262
of the DGCL, unless, after the Effective Time, such holder fails
to perfect or such holder waives, withdraws or otherwise loses
such holder’s right to appraisal, in which case such Shares
will be converted into and represent only the right to receive
the Merger Consideration, without interest thereon, upon
surrender of the Certificate or Certificates or Book-Entry
Shares representing such Shares and such Shares shall not be
deemed Dissenting Shares.
Representations and Warranties. In the Merger
Agreement, the Company has made representations and warranties
to Parent and Purchaser, including representations relating to:
corporate organization and power; the Company’s
subsidiaries and the Company’s equity interests; the
Company’s capitalization; authority of the Company to
consummate the transactions under the Merger Agreement, to
execute and deliver the Merger Agreement and enforceability of
the Merger Agreement; absence of conflicts with or consents
required in connection with the Merger Agreement; the
Company’s SEC documents and financial statements; absence
of undisclosed liabilities; information supplied; absence of
certain changes or events; taxes; employee benefit plans;
litigation; compliance with applicable laws; labor matters; real
property; insurance; material contracts; environmental matters;
intellectual property; affiliate transactions; brokers; and the
opinion of financial advisor.
In the Merger Agreement, Parent and Purchaser have made
representations and warranties to the Company, including
representations relating to: corporate organization and power;
Purchaser’s business and operations and equity interests of
Parent and Purchaser; authority of the Parent and Purchaser to
consummate the transactions under the Merger Agreement, to
execute and deliver the Merger Agreement and enforceability of
the Merger Agreement; absence of conflicts with or consents
required in connection with the Merger Agreement; information
supplied; brokers; sufficient funds; and acknowledgment that the
Company makes no other representations or warranties except for
those described in the Merger Agreement and Parent and Purchaser
have had an opportunity to discuss the business of the Company
with the Company and ask questions of and receive answers from
the Company.
The representations and warranties contained in the Merger
Agreement were made only for the purposes of the Merger
Agreement and as of specified dates, were solely for the benefit
of the parties to the Merger Agreement, and may be subject to
limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties. The
representations and warranties may have been made for the
purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to
the agreement instead of establishing these matters as facts and
may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the
contracting parties that differ from those applicable to
investors. Stockholders are not third-party beneficiaries under
the Merger Agreement for purposes of the representations and
warranties and should not rely on the representations,
warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as
characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of
the Company, Parent or Purchaser or any of their respective
subsidiaries or affiliates. In addition, the assertions embodied
in the representations and warranties contained in the Merger
Agreement are qualified by information in a confidential
disclosure schedule that the parties have exchanged. Moreover,
information concerning the subject matter of the representations
and warranties may change after the date of the Merger
Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully
reflected in the Company’s public disclosures.
31
Operating Covenants. The Merger Agreement
provides that, subject to applicable Law and except as set forth
in the Company Disclosure Schedule, during the period from the
date of the Merger Agreement to the Effective Time, (unless
Parent shall otherwise agree in writing and except as otherwise
contemplated by the Merger Agreement), the Company is required
to conduct the business of the Company and the Company
Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business consistent with
past practice and applicable Law and the Company and the Company
Subsidiaries shall use their reasonable best efforts to preserve
intact their current business organizations, keep available the
service of its current officers and employees and preserve their
relationships with customers, suppliers and others having
business dealings with them.
Between the date of the Merger Agreement and the Effective Time,
except as otherwise contemplated by the Merger Agreement or as
set forth in the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company and
the Company Subsidiaries are subject to specified operating
covenants and restrictions, including restrictions relating to:
issuance of additional Shares or other securities; redemption or
purchase of outstanding Shares; a split, combination,
subdivision or reclassification of Shares, dividend,
distribution or other payment to stockholders (other than
(x) in the event that the Offer has not expired on or prior
to midnight, September 30, 2011, a cash dividend of $0.23
per share payable to stockholders of record as of the close of
business on September 30, 2011, and (y) dividends by a
Company Subsidiary to the Company or another Company
Subsidiary); adoption of a plan for liquidation, dissolution,
merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other
reorganization (other than the Merger); adoption of amendments
to organizational documents or alteration to corporate
structure; acquisition or material disposition of assets or
securities (other than the Merger) or investment of cash and
marketable securities; indebtedness; new or material amendments
or cancellation or termination of any Material Contract;
transfer, sale, lease or granting of any right in Company Real
Property, or acquisition, lease or sublease of any real
property, or amendment in any material respect, termination,
extension or renewal of any Real Property Lease; capital
expenditures; Taxes; compensation, bonus and benefits for the
Company’s or a Company Subsidiary’s current or former
directors, officers, employees or consultants; new or amendments
to existing employment, consulting, severance or termination
agreements with any of the Company’s or a Company
Subsidiary’s current or former directors, officers,
employees, or consultants; new employee benefit plans or similar
plans or arrangements or amendments to existing plans or
arrangements; action that would cause any employment
compensation or other employee benefit arrangement to fail to
satisfy the requirements of the non-exclusive safe harbor in
Rule 14d-10(d)(2)
under the Exchange Act; financial accounting policies and
procedures; the payment, discharge, settlement or satisfaction
of any claims, liabilities, obligations or material legal
proceedings; new agreements or commitments limiting the Company
or the Company Subsidiaries from engaging or competing in any
line of business or that grant any person “most favored
nations” provisions; transfer, abandonment or failure to
maintain certain intellectual property; and actions that would
result in any of the conditions to the Merger or the Offer not
being satisfied.
Stockholders Meeting. Pursuant to the Merger
Agreement, if adoption of the Merger Agreement by Class A
Stockholders is required by law, the Company has agreed
(i) to call, give notice of, convene and hold a special
meeting of the Company’s Class A Stockholders as soon
as reasonably practicable following the Acceptance Time for the
purpose of considering and taking action upon the Merger
Agreement; and (ii) to prepare and file with the SEC a
preliminary proxy or information statement relating to the
Merger and the Merger Agreement and use its reasonable best
efforts (A) to obtain and furnish the information required
to be included by the SEC in the Proxy Statement (as defined
below) and, after consultation with Parent, respond promptly to
any comments made by the SEC with respect to the preliminary
proxy or information statement and cause a definitive proxy or
information statement (together with any amendments and
supplements thereto, the “Proxy Statement”) to
be mailed to the Class A Stockholders as soon as reasonably
practicable, and (B) to obtain the necessary approvals of
Merger and the Merger Agreement by the Class A Stockholders.
Non-Solicitation Provisions. The Merger
Agreement provides that until the earlier of the Effective Time
or the termination of the Merger Agreement, none of the Company
or the Company’s Subsidiaries will (i) initiate,
solicit, or knowingly facilitate or knowingly encourage the
submission of any inquiries, proposals or offers that constitute
or may reasonably be expected to lead to any Company Acquisition
Proposal or engage in any discussions or negotiations with
respect thereto, or (ii) approve or recommend, or publicly
propose to approve or recommend, a Company Acquisition Proposal
or enter into any agreement providing for
32
or relating to a Company Acquisition Proposal or enter into any
agreement requiring the Company to abandon, terminate or fail to
consummate the Transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement
or breach its obligations under the Merger Agreement. Subject to
the succeeding paragraph, the Company will immediately cease and
cause to be terminated any solicitation, encouragement,
discussion or negotiation with any Persons (other than Parent)
with respect to any Company Acquisition Proposal. The Company
agrees not to waive, or otherwise release any Person from, the
confidentiality and standstill provisions of any agreement to
which the Company is or may become a party.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, notwithstanding the preceding
paragraph, prior to the Acceptance Time and in the event that
the Company receives an unsolicited bona fide written Company
Acquisition Proposal that did not result from the Company’s
material breach of any provision of this paragraph and that does
not constitute a breach of any standstill agreement with the
Company, the Company and the Company Board of Directors may
participate in discussions or negotiations with, or furnish any
information with respect to the Company and the Company
Subsidiaries to, any Person making such Company Acquisition
Proposal and its Representatives or potential sources of
financing if (i) the Company Board of Directors or any
committee thereof determines in good faith, after consultation
with the Company’s outside legal counsel and independent
financial advisor, that such Company Acquisition Proposal
constitutes or could reasonably be expected to lead to a
Superior Proposal and (ii) the Company Board of Directors
determines in good faith, after consultation with its outside
legal counsel, that the failure to participate in such
discussions or negotiations or to furnish such information would
be inconsistent with the directors’ fiduciary duties to the
Company Stockholders under applicable Law; provided, that the
Company will not, and will use reasonable best efforts not to
allow the Company Representatives to, disclose any non-public
information to such Person without entering into a
confidentiality agreement on terms, with respect to the
maintenance of confidentiality of the Company’s
information, which are consistent with, and are no less
favorable to the Company in any material respect, than the
Confidentiality Agreement.
The Merger Agreement provides that the Company is obligated to
promptly (and in any event within 24 hours) notify Parent
in the event it receives (i) a Company Acquisition Proposal
or written indication by any Person that it is considering
making a Company Acquisition Proposal, (ii) any request for
non-public information relating to the Company or any Company
Subsidiaries other than requests for information in the ordinary
course of business unrelated to a Company Acquisition Proposal
or (iii) any inquiry or request for discussions or
negotiations regarding any Company Acquisition Proposal, and
will include in such notice the identity of the party making
such proposal or inquiry, and the material terms and conditions
of any such Company Acquisition Proposal, written indication,
request or inquiry. The Company agrees to keep Parent reasonably
apprised as to the status and any material developments,
discussions and negotiations concerning the same and provide to
Parent promptly (and in any event within 24 hours) after
receipt or delivery thereof copies of all correspondence sent to
or received by the Company and all information provided by the
Company to any Person pursuant to such Company Acquisition
Proposal, written indication, request or inquiry. Without
limiting the foregoing, the Company will promptly (within
24 hours) notify Parent orally and in writing if it
determines to provide non-public information or to engage in
discussions or negotiations concerning a Company Acquisition
Proposal pursuant to this paragraph. The Company agrees to
provide Parent and Purchaser with any non-public information
provided to a third party that was not previously provided to
Parent and Purchaser within 24 hours of such non-public
information being provided to a third-party. The Company will
not, and will cause the Company Subsidiaries not to, enter into
any confidentiality agreement with any Person subsequent to the
date of the Merger Agreement that prohibits the Company from
providing information to Parent that it is required to provide
pursuant to this paragraph.
Board Recommendation. Pursuant to the Merger
Agreement, except as provided below, neither the Company Board
of Directors nor any committee thereof will (i) withdraw or
modify the Company Board Recommendation in a manner adverse to
Parent or Purchaser or publicly propose to do so (ii) if a
Company Acquisition Proposal is commenced or publicly disclosed,
fail to (A) publicly recommend against such tender offer,
exchange offer or other Company Acquisition Proposal within ten
(10) Business Days of the date on which such Company
Acquisition Proposal is first commenced or publicly disclosed
and (B) reaffirm the Company Board Recommendation within
such ten (10) Business Day period, (iii) approve or
recommend, or
33
propose to approve or recommend, any Company Acquisition
Proposal, (iv) fail to include the Company Board
Recommendation in the
Schedule 14D-9
or fail to permit Parent and Purchaser to include the Company
Board Recommendation in the Offer Documents, (v) withdraw
or modify, or propose to withdraw or modify, the approval by the
compensation committee of the Company of any of the compensation
arrangements for purposes of satisfying the requirements of the
non-exclusive
safe-harbor set forth in
Rule 14d-10(d)(2)
under the Exchange Act or (vi) resolve to do any of the
foregoing (any of the actions described in clauses (i)
through (vi) of this paragraph, a “Recommendation
Withdrawal”).
At any time prior to the Acceptance Time, the Company Board of
Directors may make a Recommendation Withdrawal or terminate the
Merger Agreement in response to a Superior Proposal or an
Intervening Event only if (i) the Company has provided a
written notice (a “Notice of Recommendation
Withdrawal”) to Parent and Purchaser that
(A) states that the Company intends to take such action and
sets forth the manner and timing in which it intends to do so
and (B) either (x) in the case of a Superior Proposal,
includes the material terms of the Superior Proposal that is the
basis of such action (including the identity of the Person
making the Superior Proposal), or (y) in the case of an
Intervening Event, includes a description of the Intervening
Event in reasonable detail sufficient to enable Purchaser to
reasonably determine the effect of the Intervening Event on the
value of the Company, (ii) during the three
(3) Business Day period following Parent’s and
Purchaser’s receipt of the Notice of Recommendation
Withdrawal, the Company negotiates with Parent and Purchaser in
good faith to make such adjustments in the terms and conditions
of the Merger Agreement as would enable the Company Board of
Directors to proceed with the Company Board Recommendation, and
(iii) following the end of such three (3) Business Day
period, the Company Board of Directors determines in good faith,
after consultation with its independent financial advisors and
outside legal counsel, taking into account any changes to the
Merger Agreement proposed in writing by Parent and Purchaser
that both (A) in the case of a Superior Proposal, that the
Superior Proposal giving rise to the Notice of Recommendation
Withdrawal continues to constitute a Superior Proposal and
(b) that failure to take such action would be inconsistent
with its fiduciary duties under applicable Law. Any material
amendment to the financial terms or any other material amendment
of a Superior Proposal or material change in the Intervening
Event that is the basis of Notice of Recommendation Withdrawal
will require a new Notice of Recommendation Withdrawal and the
Company will be required to comply again with the requirements
of this paragraph.
The Merger Agreement provides that the Company may (i) take
and disclose to the Company Stockholders a position contemplated
by
Rule 14d-9
and 14e-2(a)
promulgated under the Exchange Act to the extent required by
federal securities Laws or (ii) make any disclosure to the
Company Stockholders or take any position with respect to the
Merger if, in the case of this clause (ii), in the good faith
judgment of the Company Board of Directors, after consultation
with its outside counsel, failure to so take
and/or
disclose likely would be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties
under applicable Law or required to comply with obligations
under federal securities Laws; provided, any such disclosure
made pursuant to clause (i) or (ii) (other than a
“stop, look and listen” letter or similar
communication of the type contemplated by
Rule 14d-9(f)
under the Exchange Act) will be deemed to be a Recommendation
Withdrawal unless the Company Board of Directors expressly
reaffirms in such disclosure the Company Board Recommendation;
provided however, that the provisions described in this
paragraph do not permit the Company to take any action
restricted by the non-solicitation section above or to make a
Recommendation Withdrawal except to the extent expressly
permitted by the paragraphs above. The Company is not prohibited
from responding to any unsolicited proposal or inquiry solely by
advising the Person making such proposal or inquiry of the
non-solicitation terms set forth in the Merger Agreement.
As used in the Merger Agreement, “Company Acquisition
Proposal” means any inquiry, proposal or offer from any
Person other than Parent, Purchaser or any affiliate thereof
relating to (i) any direct or indirect acquisition or
purchase (whether in a single transaction or a series of
transactions) of a business or businesses that constitutes 20%
or more of the cash flow, net revenues, net income or assets of
the Company and the Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or
20% or more of any class or series of Company securities,
(ii) any tender offer or exchange offer that if consummated
would result in any Person beneficially owning 20% or more of
any class or series of Company securities, (iii) any
merger, reorganization, consolidation, equity investment, joint
venture, share exchange, business combination, recapitalization,
liquidation, dissolution or
34
similar transaction involving the Company (or any Company
Subsidiary or Company Subsidiaries whose business or businesses
constitute(s) 20% or more of the cash flow, net revenues, net
income or assets of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries,
taken as a whole) or any other transaction similar to any of the
foregoing with respect to the Company, in each case other than
any Transaction to be effected pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
As used in the Merger Agreement, “Intervening
Event” means any event, development or circumstance
(other than any event, development or circumstance relating to a
Company Acquisition Proposal) that both (x) occurs, or
first becomes known to the Company Board of Directors,
subsequent to the date of the Merger Agreement and prior to the
Acceptance Time, and (y) that the Company Board of
Directors determines in good faith, after consultation with its
independent financial advisors and outside legal counsel, makes
it appropriate to consider a Recommendation Withdrawal.
As used in the Merger Agreement, “Superior
Proposal” means a written, bona fide unsolicited
Company Acquisition Proposal (except the references therein to
“20%” shall be replaced by “50%”), the terms
of which the Company Board of Directors determines in good
faith, after consultation with its independent financial
advisors and outside legal counsel, and considering such factors
as the Company Board of Directors considers to be appropriate
(including the conditionality, certainty of financing and the
timing and likelihood of consummation of such proposal on the
terms proposed), is more favorable to the Company Stockholders
than the Offer; provided, that no Company Acquisition Proposal
shall be deemed to be a Superior Proposal if any financing
required to consummate such Company Acquisition Proposal is not
committed.
Indemnification and Insurance. Parent and
Purchaser have agreed in the Merger Agreement that the
Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws of the Surviving
Corporation will contain provisions no less favorable with
respect to indemnification, advancement of expenses and
exculpation of present and former directors, officers, employees
and agents of the Company than are set forth in the Company
Certification of Incorporation and Company By-laws as of the
date of the Merger Agreement, which provisions will not be
amended, repealed or otherwise modified for a period of six
(6) years from the Effective Time in any manner that would
affect adversely the rights of individuals who were directors,
officers, employees or agents of the Company at or prior to the
Effective Time, unless such modification shall be required by
Law.
Parent and the Surviving Corporation have agreed in the Merger
Agreement to maintain the Company’s existing officers’
and directors’ liability insurance and fiduciary liability
insurance (collectively, “D&O Insurance”)
covering acts or omissions occurring at or prior to the
Effective Time for a period of not less than six (6) years
after the Effective Time; provided, however, that Parent may
substitute therefor policies of substantially equivalent
coverage and amounts containing terms no less favorable to such
former directors, officers or fiduciaries; provided that Parent
and the Surviving Corporation will use their respective
reasonable best efforts to ensure that any substitution or
replacement of existing policies does not result in any gaps or
lapses of coverage with respect to facts, events, acts or
omissions occurring at or prior to the Effective Time; provided,
further, that if any of the existing D&O Insurance expires
or is terminated or cancelled during such period, then Parent or
the Surviving Corporation will obtain substantially similar
D&O Insurance; and provided, further, however, that in no
event will Parent or the Surviving Corporation be required to
pay annual premiums for insurance under this paragraph in excess
of 250% of the current annual premiums paid by the Company for
such insurance.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, if any claim, action, suit,
proceeding or investigation (whether arising before, at or after
the Effective Time) is made against any individual who is now,
or who has been at any time prior to the date of the Merger
Agreement, or who becomes prior to the Effective Time, a
director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, on or prior
to the sixth anniversary of the Effective Time, the D&O
Insurance will continue in effect until the final disposition of
such claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation.
The Merger Agreement provides that the covenants described in
the preceding paragraphs are intended to be for the benefit of,
and will be enforceable by, each of the indemnified parties and
their respective heirs and legal representatives and will not be
deemed exclusive of any other rights to which an indemnified
party is entitled, whether pursuant to Law, contract or
otherwise. Parent agrees to pay all expenses, including
35
reasonable attorneys’ fees, that may be incurred by the
persons referred to herein in connection with their successful
enforcement of their rights provided in the preceding paragraphs.
Under the Merger Agreement, in the event that Parent or the
Surviving Corporation or any of their respective successors or
assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other
person and will not be the continuing or surviving corporation
or entity of such consolidation or merger, or
(ii) transfers or conveys all or substantially all of its
properties and assets to any person, then, and in each such
case, proper provision will be made so that the successors or
assigns of Parent or the Surviving Corporation, as the case may
be, will succeed to the obligations set forth in the preceding
paragraphs.
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx
(HSR) and other Antitrust Approvals. The Merger
Agreement requires that each of Parent, Purchaser and the
Company, as promptly as practicable after the date of the Merger
Agreement, to make an appropriate filing of a Notification and
Report Form pursuant to the HSR Act with respect to the
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement and to supply
as promptly as reasonably practicable any additional information
and documentary material that may be requested pursuant to the
HSR Act and to use its reasonable best efforts to take all other
actions necessary, proper or advisable to cause the expiration
or termination of the applicable waiting periods under the HSR
Act as soon as practicable, including requesting early
termination of the HSR Act waiting period. In addition, each
party hereto agrees that it will not extend any waiting period
under the HSR Act or enter into any agreement with any
Governmental Entity not to consummate the Transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement, except with the prior
written consent of the other party.
Reasonable Efforts to Cause the Merger to
Occur. Upon the terms and subject to the
conditions of the Merger Agreement, each of Parent, Purchaser
and the Company has agreed to use its respective reasonable best
efforts to (i) make promptly its respective filings, and
thereafter make any other required submissions, under the HSR
Act with respect to the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, (ii) take, or cause to be taken, all actions,
and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or
advisable under applicable Laws and regulations to consummate
and make effective the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement as promptly as practicable including, but not limited
to, using their respective reasonable best efforts to obtain any
requisite approvals, consents, authorizations, orders,
exemptions or waivers by any third Person or Governmental Entity
in connection with the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, and to fulfill the conditions to the Offer and the
Merger and (iii) not take any action that would be
reasonably likely to materially delay or prevent consummation of
the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.
As provided in the Merger Agreement, Parent, Purchaser and the
Company each agrees to cooperate and use all reasonable efforts
to vigorously contest and resist any action, including
administrative or judicial action, and to have vacated, lifted,
reversed or overturned any decree, Judgment, injunction or other
order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) that is in
effect and that restricts, prevents or prohibits consummation of
the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including
by vigorously pursuing all available avenues of administrative
and judicial appeal.
The Merger Agreement provides that if any objections are
asserted with respect to the transactions contemplated by the
Merger Agreement under any Law or if any suit is instituted (or
threatened to be instituted) by the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission (“FTC”), the U.S. Department of
Justice (“DOJ”) or any other applicable
Governmental Entity or any private party challenging any of the
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement as violative
of any Law or which would otherwise prevent, materially impede
or materially delay the consummation of the Transactions, each
of Parent and Purchaser, on the one hand, and the Company, on
the other hand, will take, or cause to be taken, all other
actions and do, or cause to be done, all other things necessary,
proper or advisable to consummate and make effective the
transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including
taking all such further action as may be necessary to resolve
such objections, if any, as the FTC, the DOJ, state antitrust
enforcement authorities or competition authorities of any other
nation or other jurisdiction may assert under any Law with
respect to the Offer or the Merger, and to avoid or eliminate
each and every impediment under any Law that may be asserted by
any Governmental
36
Entity with respect to the Offer or the Merger so as to enable
the Closing to occur as soon as reasonably practicable (and in
any event no later than the Outside Date).
Notwithstanding anything in the Merger Agreement to the
contrary, Parent agrees take any and all action necessary,
including but not limited to (w) proposing, negotiating,
committing to and effecting, by consent decree, hold separate
order or otherwise, the sale, divestiture or disposition of any
assets or businesses of Parent or its Subsidiaries or affiliates
or of the Company or the Company Subsidiaries,
(x) terminating existing relationships, contractual rights
or obligations of Parent or its Subsidiaries or affiliates or of
the Company or the Company Subsidiaries, (y) creating any
relationship, contractual rights or obligations of Parent or its
Subsidiaries or affiliates or of the Company or the Company
Subsidiaries, or (z) effectuating any other change or
restructuring of Parent or its Subsidiaries or affiliates or of
the Company or the Company Subsidiaries or otherwise taking or
committing to take any actions that after the Closing Date would
limit the freedom of Parent or its Subsidiaries’ or
affiliates’ (including the Surviving Corporation’s)
freedom of action with respect to, or its ability to retain, one
or more of its or its Subsidiaries’ or affiliates’
(including the Surviving Corporation’s) businesses, product
lines or assets (and in each case, a “Divestiture
Action”), to ensure that no Governmental Entity enters
any order, or establishes any Law, rule, regulation or other
action preliminarily or permanently restraining, enjoining or
prohibiting the consummation of the Merger or to ensure that no
Governmental Entity with the authority to clear, authorize or
otherwise approve the consummation of the Merger fails to do so
by the Outside Date; provided, however, that (i) following
the date of the Merger Agreement, Parent has the sole and
exclusive right to propose, negotiate, offer to commit and
effect, any Divestiture Action and shall provide the Company
with prompt notice of any such proposals, negotiations or offers
and the material terms thereof; (ii) to the extent
permitted by applicable Law, Parent will promptly apprise the
Company of communications regarding any Divestiture Action,
except communications solely related to scheduling or logistical
matters; (iii) Parent’s obligation to undertake a
Divestiture Action shall not apply to any asset or business of
Parent or its Subsidiaries or affiliates other than the
legal-publication assets and businesses of the foregoing; and
(iv) Parent, Purchaser, the Company, or any of their
respective Subsidiaries or affiliates shall not become subject
to, or consent or agree to or otherwise take any action with
respect to, any requirement, condition, understanding, agreement
or order of a Governmental Entity to sell, to hold separate or
otherwise dispose of, or to conduct, restrict, operate, invest
or otherwise change their respective assets or businesses,
unless such requirement, condition, understanding, agreement or
order is binding only in the event that the Closing occurs.
Rule 14d-10(d). Prior
to the expiration of the Offer (as such date may be extended in
accordance with the Merger Agreement), each of Parent and the
Company agree to take all actions necessary so that certain
benefits that have been granted or are to be granted or will be
entered into after the date of the Merger Agreement by the
Company or its Subsidiaries with certain holders of Shares
according to employment compensation, severance and other
employee benefit plans of the Company, including the Company
Plans, will be exempt under
Rule 14d-10(d)
under the Exchange Act and the instructions thereto and to
ensure that the “safe harbor” provided pursuant to
Rule 14d-10(d)
is otherwise applicable thereto.
Employment and Employee Benefits. Pursuant to
the Merger Agreement, except as otherwise provided in an
individual employment agreement or any collective bargaining
agreement, for a period of two years following the Effective
Time, the Surviving Corporation will provide compensation
(including salary, cash bonus, commissions, and other
incentives, but not including equity incentives) and benefits to
each individual who is employed by the Company or a Company
Subsidiary as of the Effective Time (each, a “Company
Employee”) that are no less favorable in the aggregate
than the levels of such compensation and benefits provided to
such Company Employees by the Company immediately before the
Effective Time, provided, however, that such compensation and
benefits provided by the Company immediately before the
Effective Time will be determined exclusive of any right to
purchase Shares or equity incentive awards or cash bonuses
awarded under the Company’s profit-sharing plan.
The Merger Agreement provides that, as of and after the
Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation will credit each
non-union Company Employee for purposes of eligibility, vesting
and benefit accrual for all of the Company Employee’s
service with the Company and the Company’s Subsidiaries and
their respective predecessor entities, if any, under any and all
employee compensation and incentive plans, and under any and
37
all benefit plans, programs, policies and arrangements
(including vacation and leave of absence policies), maintained
for the benefit of Company Employees as of and after the
Effective Time by the Surviving Corporation or its Affiliates
(each, a “Surviving Corporation Plan”) to the
extent such service was recognized for such purpose by the
Company Plan (but not for purposes of benefit accrual under a
defined benefit pension plan or long-term incentive plan or to
the extent that such credit would result in a duplication of
benefits). With respect to each Surviving Corporation Plan that
is a “welfare benefit plan” (as defined in
Section 3(1) of ERISA), the Surviving Corporation will:
(i) cause there to be waived any pre-existing condition or
eligibility limitations except to the extent such limitations as
to preexisting conditions or eligibility were applicable to a
Company Employee under a Company Plan that is a welfare benefit
plan and (ii) give effect, in determining any deductible
and maximum
out-of-pocket
limitations, to claims incurred and amounts paid by, and amounts
reimbursed or reimbursable to, Company Employees under similar
Company Plans for the calendar year in which the Effective Time
occurs. Without limiting the foregoing, the Surviving
Corporation shall permit each Company Employee who satisfied the
eligibility requirements of the Company’s 401(k) plan to
participate in the 401(k) plan of the Surviving Corporation
immediately following the Effective Time.
The Merger Agreement further provides that, upon the termination
of employment from Parent or its Subsidiaries (or their
successors) of a Company Employee (i) who is not employed
pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and (ii) who
would have been entitled to post-retirement medical and life
insurance benefits under the programs of the Company and the
Company Subsidiaries as in effect as of the date hereof if the
employment of such individual with the Company and the Company
Subsidiaries terminated as of the date hereof (such Company
Employee, a “Currently Eligible Retiree”) or
within eighteen months of the date hereof (such Company
Employee, a “Future Eligible Retiree”), the
Surviving Corporation will provide to each Currently Eligible
Retiree and Future Eligible Retiree, upon their respective
termination of employment with Parent and its Subsidiaries (or
their successors), post-retirement medical and life insurance
benefits substantially identical to those provided from time to
time to otherwise similarly situated retirees receiving such
benefits under the programs of the Company or a Company
Subsidiary as of the date hereof (treating service after the
Closing with Parent or its Subsidiaries (or their successors) as
service with the Company); provided that the foregoing shall not
prohibit the amendment or termination of such benefits if such
benefits are similarly amended or terminated for all current or
former employees of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries or
for only current employees who are not Currently Eligible
Retirees or Future Eligible Retirees.
Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, from and after the Effective
Time, the Surviving Corporation will honor, in accordance with
its terms and conditions, (i) each collective bargaining
agreement to which the Company or any Company Subsidiary is a
party, (ii) each existing employment, change in control,
severance and termination protection plan, policy or agreement
of or between the Company or any Company Subsidiary and any
officer, director or employee of the Company that is disclosed
on the Company Disclosure Schedule, (iii) all existing
obligations
and/or
accrued benefits under any employee benefit plan, policy,
program or arrangement of the Company or any Company Subsidiary
that are disclosed on the Company Disclosure Schedule, and
(iv) except as otherwise provided in an individual
employment agreement, all obligations
and/or
accrued benefits under all plans, programs or agreements of the
Company or any Company Subsidiary that provide for bonuses that
are disclosed on the Company Disclosure Schedule.
Nothing provided in the Merger Agreement will create any
third-party beneficiary rights in any employee or former
employee of the Company in respect of continued employment (or
resumed employment) with Parent or the Surviving Corporation.
Nothing contained in the Merger Agreement will preclude Parent
or the Surviving Corporation from terminating the employment of
any Company Employee or changing the terms and conditions of
employment applicable to any Company Employee at any time and
for any reason to the extent permitted by applicable Law.
Nothing contained in the Merger Agreement will (i) amend,
or be deemed to amend, any Company Plan, (ii) provide any
Person not a party to the Merger Agreement with any right,
benefit or remedy with regard to any Company Plan or a right to
enforce any provision of the Merger Agreement, or
(iii) except as provided in the Merger Agreement, limit in
any way the Surviving Corporation’s ability to amend or
terminate any Company Plan at any time in accordance with its
terms and applicable law.
Conditions to the Merger. The Merger Agreement
provides that the respective obligations of each party to effect
the Merger are subject to the satisfaction on or prior to the
closing date of the Merger of each of the
38
following conditions, any and all of which may be waived in
whole or in part by Parent, the Purchaser and the Company, as
the case may be, to the extent permitted by applicable law:
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•
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The Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained, to
the extent required by the DGCL;
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No statute, rule, executive order, decree, ruling, injunction,
or regulation shall have been enacted or promulgated by any
Governmental Entity which prohibits the consummation of the
Merger, and there shall be no order or injunction of a court of
competent jurisdiction in effect prohibiting consummation of the
Merger; provided, however, that subject to the terms and
provisions herein provided (including but not limited to
Section 6.6 of the Merger Agreement) prior to invoking this
condition each party shall use its reasonable best efforts to
have any such decree, ruling, order or injunction
vacated; and
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Parent, Purchaser or their affiliates shall have purchased, or
caused to be purchased, the Shares validly tendered and not
properly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer.
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Termination. The Merger Agreement may be
terminated and the Offer, the Merger and the related
transactions may be abandoned:
(a) by mutual written consent of Parent, Purchaser and the
Company prior to the Acceptance Time;
(b) by either Parent or the Company if:
i. prior to the Acceptance Time, a court of competent
jurisdiction or other Governmental Entity issues an order or
takes any other action permanently restraining, enjoining or
otherwise prohibiting any of the transactions contemplated by
the Merger Agreement (including the Offer and the Merger), and
such order or action becomes final and unappealable; provided
however that the right to terminate the Merger Agreement under
this provision will not be available to a party whose failure to
fulfill any obligation under the Merger Agreement has been the
principal cause of, or resulted in, the issuance of such order
or the taking of such action; or
ii. on or after the Outside Date if the Acceptance Time has
not occurred by such date; provided, that the right to terminate
the Merger Agreement will not be available to any party whose
failure to fulfill any obligation under the Merger Agreement has
been the principal cause of, or resulted in, the failure of the
Offer to be consummated on or before the Outside Date; for
purposes of the Merger Agreement, the “Outside
Date” is February 29, 2012, provided that if, as
of such date, the waiting period, and any extensions thereof,
applicable to the transactions contemplated by the Merger
pursuant to the HSR Act have not expired or been terminated, or
there is a pending action by any Governmental Entity seeking to
prohibit or restrict Parent’s ownership of the Company or
any Company Subsidiary or the operation by Parent of any of its
or the Company’s businesses or assets, then, unless the
failure to expire or terminate or such action relates to a
Divestiture Action for assets or businesses other than the legal
publishing assets or businesses which Parent is not obligated to
take and Parent has notified the Company that it does not intend
to take such Divestiture Action, either Parent or the Company
may, in its sole discretion, extend such date to a date no later
than June 30, 2012; or
(c) By Parent if:
i. prior to the Acceptance Time, (A) a Recommendation
Withdrawal occurs, or the Company recommends, adopts or approves
any Company Acquisition Proposal or (B) the Company Board
of Directors fails to publicly confirm the Company Board
Recommendation within ten (10) Business Days of receipt of
a written request by Parent that it do so after the Company
receives or otherwise becomes aware of a Company Acquisition
Proposal; or
ii. prior to the Acceptance Time, the Company breaches or
fails to perform any representation, warranty, covenant or other
agreement contained in the Merger Agreement which (A) would
give rise to the failure of certain Offer Conditions relating to
the Company’s representations and warranties and covenants
under the Merger Agreement and (B) is not cured or is
incapable of being cured by the earlier of (x) thirty
(30) days after the giving of written notice to the Company
or
39
(y) the Outside Date; provided, that Parent or Purchaser is
not then in material breach of the Merger Agreement; or
iii. Parent or Purchaser terminates the Offer, or the Offer
expires, without Parent or Purchaser purchasing any Shares
pursuant thereto; provided, that Parent may not terminate the
Merger Agreement for this reason if it or Purchaser is in
material breach of the Merger Agreement; or
iv. prior to the Acceptance Time, if the Company materially
breaches the non-solicitation covenants of the Merger
Agreement; or
v. prior to the Acceptance Time, the trustees of the trust
holding Class A Shares under the BNA 401(k) Plan determine
not to permit participants in the BNA 401(k) Plan to elect
whether or not to tender Class A Shares pursuant to the
Offer; or
(d) By the Company if:
i. prior to the Acceptance Time, a Recommendation
Withdrawal occurs in order to approve and permit the Company to
execute a definitive agreement providing for a Superior Proposal
or as a result of an Intervening Event; provided that the
Company first comply with the non-solicitation provisions of the
Merger Agreement; and further provided that the Company pay to
Parent the Termination Fee (as defined below); or
ii. prior to the Acceptance Time, Parent or the Purchaser
breaches or fails to perform any of the representations,
warranties, covenants or agreements contained in the Merger
Agreement which (A) would reasonably be expected to have a
Parent Material Adverse Effect and (B) is not cured or is
incapable of being cured by the earlier of (x) thirty
(30) days after the giving of written notice to Parent or
(y) the Outside Date; or
iii. Parent or Purchaser terminates the Offer, or the Offer
expires, without Parent or Purchaser purchasing any Shares
pursuant thereto; provided, that the Company may not terminate
the Merger Agreement for this reason if the Company is in
material breach of the Merger Agreement.
Termination Fee. The Merger Agreement
contemplates that a termination fee of $40 million (the
“Termination Fee”) will be payable by the
Company to Parent under any of the following circumstances;
provided, however, if the Termination Fee is payable with
respect to a termination arising out of an Intervening Event,
the Termination Fee will be one and one-half times (1.5x) such
amount.
If the Merger Agreement is terminated: (i) by Parent
pursuant to paragraph (c)(i) or paragraph (c)(iv) above;
(ii) by the Company pursuant to paragraph (d)(i) above; or
(iii) (A) either (w) by Parent or the Company pursuant
to paragraph (b)(ii) above, (x) by Parent pursuant to
paragraph (c)(ii) above, (y) by Parent pursuant to
paragraph (c)(iii) above due to a failure to satisfy the Minimum
Condition or pursuant to paragraph (c)(v) above or (z) by
the Company pursuant to paragraph (d)(iii) above, (B) prior
to termination of the Merger Agreement pursuant to paragraphs
(b)(ii), (c)(ii), (c)(iii), (c)(v) and (d)(iii) above, a Person
shall have made or publicly announced a Company Acquisition
Proposal that was not bona fide and irrevocably withdrawn at the
time of termination and (C) within twelve (12) months
after any such termination either (1) the Company enters
into an agreement with respect to a Company Acquisition Proposal
or (2) a Company Acquisition Proposal is consummated;
provided, that for the purpose of this paragraph, all references
in the definition of “Company Acquisition Proposal” to
“20%” shall instead be deemed to refer to
“50%”, then the Company will pay to Parent the
Termination Fee (A) concurrently with such termination in
the case of a termination pursuant to paragraph (d)(i) above,
(B) within five (5) Business Days after such
termination in the case of a termination pursuant to paragraphs
(c)(i) or (c)(iv) above and (C) upon the earlier of the
entry into an agreement with respect to a Company Acquisition
Proposal or the consummation of a Company Acquisition Proposal
in the case of a termination pursuant to paragraphs (b)(ii),
(c)(ii), (c)(iii), (c)(v) or (d)(iii) above.
The Termination Fee shall be paid by wire transfer of
immediately available funds to such account as Parent may
designate in writing to the Company.
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In the event the Merger Agreement is terminated either
(x) pursuant to paragraphs (b)(ii), (c)(iii), (c)(v) or
(d)(iii) above at a time when all of the Offer Conditions other
than the Minimum Condition (and those conditions which by their
nature can only be satisfied at the Acceptance Time) are
satisfied, or (y) pursuant to paragraph (c)(ii) above, the
Company will pay Parent or its designees by wire transfer, as
promptly as practicable (but in any event within two
(2) Business Days) reasonable, documented
out-of-pocket
expenses and fees incurred by Parent or Purchaser in connection
with the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement up to
a maximum of $10 million (the “Expense
Reimbursement”), which will be credited against the
Termination Fee to the extent the Termination Fee is ultimately
payable by the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in the Merger Agreement (including the parties rights to compel
specific performance of the Merger Agreement and to injunctive
relief) other than the proviso to this sentence, the parties
agree that the payment of the Termination Fee and the Expense
Reimbursement shall be the sole and exclusive remedy available
to Parent and Purchaser with respect to the Merger Agreement and
the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement in the
event the Termination Fee or Expense Reimbursement becomes due
and payable under the terms of the Merger Agreement, and, upon
payment of the Termination Fee, the Company shall have no
further liability to Parent and Purchaser thereunder; provided
that the foregoing limitation will not apply in the event of any
liabilities or damages incurred or suffered by Parent or
Purchaser in the case of a breach of the Merger Agreement
involving fraud or willful or intentional misconduct.
The Merger Agreement provides that if: (A) either
(x) Parent or the Company terminates the Merger Agreement
pursuant to paragraph (b)(i) in connection with Antitrust Law or
paragraph (b)(ii) above, (y) Parent terminates the Merger
Agreement pursuant to paragraph (c)(iii) above or (z) the
Company terminates the Merger Agreement pursuant to paragraph
(d)(iii) above; (B) at the time of such termination, all of
the Offer Conditions other than the expiration or termination of
the applicable waiting period (and any extension thereof)
applicable to the transactions contemplated under the Merger
Agreement under the HSR Act or any other Antitrust Law shall
have been satisfied; and (C) the failure to obtain the
expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period (and
any extension thereof) applicable to the transactions
contemplated under the Merger Agreement under the HSR Act or any
other Antitrust Law is due to Parent’s election not to take
a Divestiture Action with respect to any asset or business other
than its legal publication assets or businesses, then Parent
will pay the Company a fee equal to the Termination Fee (the
“Reverse Termination Fee”):
(A) concurrently with such termination in the case of a
termination by Parent or (B) within five (5) Business
Days after such termination in the case of a termination by the
Company. The Reverse Termination Fee will be paid by wire
transfer of immediately available funds to such account as the
Company may designate in writing to Parent. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in the Merger Agreement (including the
parties rights to compel specific performance of the Merger
Agreement and to injunctive relief), the parties have agreed
that the payment of the Reverse Termination Fee shall be the
sole and exclusive remedy available to the Company with respect
to the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated
thereby in the event the Reverse Termination Fee becomes due and
payable under the terms of the Merger Agreement, and, upon
payment of the Reverse Termination Fee, Parent and Purchaser
shall have no further liability to the Company thereunder.
The Merger Agreement further provides: the parties agree that in
no event shall the Company be required to pay the Termination
Fee on more than one occasion. The parties acknowledge and agree
that (i) the agreements contained in the sections relating
to Termination Fee, the Expense Reimbursement and the Parent
Termination Fee are an integral part of the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (ii) the damages
resulting from termination of the Merger Agreement under
circumstances where any Expense Reimbursement or a Termination
Fee is payable by the Company or the Reverse Termination Fee is
payable by Parent, are uncertain and incapable of accurate
calculation and therefore, the amounts payable are not a
penalty, but rather are liquidated damages in a reasonable
amount that will compensate the recipient for the efforts and
resources expended and opportunities foregone while negotiating
the Merger Agreement and in reliance on the Merger Agreement and
on the expectation of the consummation of the transactions
contemplated by the Merger Agreement, which amount would
otherwise be impossible to calculate with precision, and
(iii) without these agreements, the parties would not enter
into the Merger Agreement.
41
Amendment and Modification; Waiver. The Merger
Agreement may be amended, modified and supplemented in any and
all respects, whether before or after any vote of the
Class A Stockholders, by written agreement of the parties
hereto, but, after the approval of the Merger Agreement by the
Class A Stockholders, no amendment shall be made which by
Law requires further approval by such stockholders without
obtaining such further approval.
The Merger Agreement may not be amended except by an instrument
in writing signed on behalf of each of the parties to the Merger
Agreement.
The waiver by any party to the Merger Agreement of a breach of
any provision of the Merger Agreement will not operate or be
construed as a waiver of any prior or subsequent breach of the
same or any other provision in this paragraph. Any such
extension or waiver shall be valid if set forth in an instrument
in writing signed by the party or parties to be bound thereby.
The
Confidentiality Agreement.
The Company and our subsidiary, Bloomberg L.P.
(“BLP”), entered into a confidentiality
agreement dated May 11, 2011 (the “Confidentiality
Agreement”) in connection with a potential negotiated
transaction between the parties. Pursuant to the Confidentiality
Agreement, BLP agreed to, among other things and subject to
certain exceptions, keep confidential information (including,
without limitation, oral, written or electronic information)
furnished to it and its representatives by or on behalf of the
Company or learned by BLP in connection with visits to the
facilities of BLP, and to use such information solely for the
purpose of evaluating a possible transaction with the Company.
Pursuant to the Confidentiality Agreement, BLP also agreed that,
except as required by law, for a period of two years from the
date of the Confidentiality Agreement, unless the Company gives
prior written consent, neither BLP nor any of its controlled
affiliates nor any of its respective representatives would:
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acquire, offer to acquire or agree to acquire, directly or
indirectly, by purchase or otherwise, any voting securities (or
direct or indirect rights to acquire voting securities) or
assets of the Company or any subsidiary or division thereof;
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•
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make, or in any way participate in, directly or indirectly, any
“solicitation” of “proxies” (as such terms
are used in the rules of the SEC) or vote, or seek to advise or
influence any person or entity with respect to the voting of any
voting securities of the Company or any of its subsidiaries;
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form, join or in any way participate in a “group” (as
defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) in connection
with any of the foregoing;
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make any public disclosure, or take any action which could
require the Company to make any public disclosure with respect
to any of the foregoing;
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•
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otherwise act, alone or in concert with others (including by
providing financing for another party), to seek to control,
advise, change or influence, in any manner, the management,
Board, governing instruments, policies or affairs of the Company;
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disclosure any intention, plan or arrangement inconsistent with
the foregoing; or
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advise, assist or encourage any other persons in connection with
any of the foregoing.
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In addition, subject to certain exceptions BLP agreed that
(i) for a period of 18 months from the date of the
Confidentiality Agreement, it will not directly or indirectly
solicit for employment any person now employed by the Company or
any of its subsidiaries who is identified in connection with the
evaluation of the transaction and (ii) for a period of
three years from the date of the Confidentiality Agreement, it
shall not use evaluation material to divert any business or
customer of the Company to any other person.
In addition the Company may establish procedures and guidelines
for the submission of proposals with respect to a transaction,
and may change such procedures and guidelines at any time,
without prior notice to BLP.
42
The Confidentiality Agreement will terminate and be of no force
and effect on May 11, 2014, if not terminated earlier;
provided, however, that such termination shall not relieve the
Company or BLP from liability for any breach of the
Confidentiality Agreement prior to such termination.
The foregoing summary of the Confidentiality Agreement does not
purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the Confidentiality Agreement. The Confidentiality
Agreement is filed as Exhibit (d)(2) to the Schedule TO and
is incorporated herein by reference.
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14.
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Dividends
and Distributions.
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The Company has not, between January 1, 2011 and the date
of the Merger Agreement, declared or paid any dividend other
than the March 2011 dividend of $0.23 per share. Under the terms
of the Merger Agreement and during the period from the date of
the Merger Agreement to the Effective Time, the Company and the
Company’s subsidiaries will not, without the prior written
consent of Parent, split, combine, subdivide or reclassify any
Shares or declare or pay any dividend, or make any other actual,
constructive or deemed distribution in respect of any Shares,
other than other than (x) in the event that the Offer has
not expired on or prior to midnight, September 30, 2011, a
cash dividend of $0.23 per share payable to stockholders of
record as of the close of business on September 30, 2011,
and (y) dividends by a Company Subsidiary to the Company or
another Company Subsidiary.
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15.
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Conditions
of the Offer
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The Merger Agreement provides that the Purchaser will not be
required to accept for payment or, subject to any applicable
rules and regulations of the SEC, including
Rule 14e-l(c)
under the Exchange Act (relating to Purchaser’s obligation
to pay for or return tendered Shares promptly after termination
or withdrawal of the Offer), pay for, and may delay the
acceptance for payment of or, subject to the restriction
referred to above, the payment for, any validly tendered Shares,
and may terminate the Offer as to any Shares not then paid for,
unless by the expiration of the Offer (as it may be extended in
accordance with the Merger Agreement):
(i) the Minimum Condition shall have been satisfied; or
(ii) at any time on or after the date of the Merger
Agreement and prior to the acceptance of Shares, none of the
following events shall have occurred or be continuing:
(a) there is any Law or order enacted, entered, enforced,
promulgated or deemed applicable to the Offer or the Merger that
prohibits or makes illegal consummation of the Offer or the
Merger;
(b) since the date of the Merger Agreement, there has
occurred any effect, change, development, event or circumstance
that, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would
reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse Effect;
(c) any of the representations and warranties of the
Company: (i) relating to the Company’s capitalization
shall not be true and correct in all material respects as of the
date of the Agreement and at all times prior to the consummation
of the Offer as if made at and as of such time (except that any
such representation or warranty that is made as of a specified
date shall be true and correct in all material respects as of
such specified date) (solely for purposes of clause (i),
material shall mean $1,000,000); and (ii) set forth in the
Merger Agreement (other than those representations and
warranties referred to in clause (i) above), without giving
effect to any materiality or “Company Material Adverse
Effect” qualifications therein, are not be true and correct
in each case as of the date of the Agreement and at all times
prior to the consummation of the Offer as if made at and as of
such time (except that any such representation or warranty that
is made as of a specified date must be true and correct in all
respects as of such specified date), except in the case of this
clause (ii) for such failures to be true and correct as
either individually or in the aggregate, has not had and would
not reasonably be expected to have a Company Material Adverse
Effect;
43
(d) the Company has breached or failed, in any material
respect, to perform or to comply with any agreement or covenant
to be performed or complied with by it under the Merger
Agreement at or prior to the date of determination;
(e) Parent and Purchaser have not received a certificate
executed by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer confirming on behalf of the Company that the
conditions set forth in clauses (b), (c) and (d) of
paragraph (ii) of this Section 15 —
“Conditions to the Offer” are duly satisfied
immediately prior to the Acceptance Time;
(f) (i) the applicable waiting period (and any
extension thereof) applicable to the Transactions (including the
Offer and the Merger) under the HSR Act or any other Antitrust
Law shall not have expired or has not been terminated and
(ii) all other consents, permits, notification and
approvals of Governmental Entities in connection with the
execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement and the
consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement shall not have been obtained, except in the case of
this clause (ii) where the failure to obtain such consent,
permit, notification or approval, individually or in the
aggregate, has not had and would not reasonably be expected to
have a Company Material Adverse Effect;
(g) the Company has entered into a definitive agreement or
agreement in principal with any Person with respect to a Company
Acquisition Proposal;
(h) the Company Board of Directors has made a
Recommendation Withdrawal; or
(i) the Merger Agreement has been terminated in accordance
with its terms.
These conditions are for the sole benefit of Parent and
Purchaser and may be waived by Parent or Purchaser, in whole or
in part at any time and from time to time in the sole discretion
of Parent or Purchaser, subject in each case to the terms of the
Merger Agreement (except for any condition that may only be
waived with the Company’s consent, as described in
Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement — The
Offer”). The failure by Parent or Purchaser at any time to
exercise any of the foregoing rights will not be deemed a waiver
of any such right and, each such right will be deemed an ongoing
right which may be asserted at any time and from time to time.
A “Company Material Adverse Effect” means any
effect, change, development, event or circumstance that,
considered together with all other effects, changes,
developments, events or circumstances, is or would reasonably be
expected to be or to become materially adverse to, or has or
would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect
on, (i) the business, results of operations, liabilities or
financial condition of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries
taken as a whole, or (ii) the ability of the Company to
consummate the Transactions or to perform any of its obligations
under the Merger Agreement; provided, however,
that, in the case of clause (i) only, none of the following
shall be deemed to be, and shall not be taken into account in
determining whether there has been, a Company Material Adverse
Effect: facts, circumstances, developments, events, changes,
effects or occurrences (A) generally affecting the economy
or the financial, debt, credit or securities markets in the
United States, (B) generally affecting the industry in
which the Company or any Company Subsidiary operates,
(C) resulting from (x) the taking of any action
(1) contemplated by Section 6.6 of the Merger
Agreement required to obtain any approval or authorization under
applicable Antitrust Law for the consummation of the Offer or
the Merger or (2) otherwise explicitly required under the
Merger Agreement or consented to by Parent or Purchaser, or
(y) any action taken by a customer of the Company that is a
provider of on-line legal information services as a result of
the announcement or pendency of the Merger Agreement,
(D) resulting from changes in Law, GAAP or accounting
standards or authoritative interpretations thereof, or
(E) resulting from acts of war or terrorism occurring after
the date of the Merger Agreement, except, in the case of clauses
(A), (B), (D) and (E), to the extent such change, effect,
event or occurrence has a materially disproportionate effect on
the Company and the Company Subsidiaries, taken as a whole,
compared with other companies operating in the industries in
which the Company and the Company Subsidiaries operate.
44
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16.
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Certain
Legal Matters; Regulatory Approvals.
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General. Based on our examination of publicly
available information filed by the Company with the SEC and
other publicly available information concerning the Company, we
are not aware of any governmental license or regulatory permit
that appears to be material to the Company’s business that
might be adversely affected by our acquisition of Shares
pursuant to the Offer or, except as set forth below, of any
approval or other action by any government or governmental
administrative or regulatory authority or agency, domestic or
foreign, that would be required for our acquisition or ownership
of Shares pursuant to the Offer. Should any such approval or
other action be required or desirable, we currently contemplate
that such approval or other action will be sought. Except as
described under “Antitrust,” there is no current
intent to delay the purchase of Shares tendered pursuant to the
Offer pending the outcome of any such matter. We are unable to
predict whether we will determine that we are required to delay
the acceptance for payment of or payment for Shares tendered
pursuant to the Offer pending the outcome of any such matter.
There can be no assurance that any such approval or other
action, if needed, would be obtained (with or without
substantial conditions) or that if such approvals were not
obtained or such other actions were not taken adverse
consequences might not result to the Company’s business or
certain parts of the Company’s business might not have to
be disposed of, any of which could cause us to elect to
terminate the Offer without the purchase of Shares thereunder.
Our obligation under the Offer to accept for payment and pay for
Shares is subject to the conditions set forth in
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer.”
State Takeover Statutes. A number of states
have adopted laws which purport, to varying degrees, to apply to
attempts to acquire corporations that are incorporated in, or
which have substantial assets, stockholders, principal executive
offices or principal places of business or whose business
operations otherwise have substantial economic effects in, such
states. The Company and Parent and their respective Boards of
Directors shall (a) use reasonable best efforts to ensure
that the restrictions of no state takeover Law or similar Law is
or becomes applicable to the Merger Agreement, the Offer, the
Merger or any of the other transactions contemplated by the
Merger Agreement and (b) if any state takeover Law or
similar Law becomes applicable to the Merger Agreement, the
Offer, the Merger, or any of the other Transactions, use
reasonable best efforts to ensure that the Offer, the Merger,
and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement
may be consummated as promptly as practicable on the terms
contemplated by the Merger Agreement and otherwise to minimize
the effect of such Law on the Merger Agreement, the Offer, the
Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement.
U.S. Antitrust. Under the HSR Act,
certain acquisition transactions may not be consummated unless
Pre-merger Notification and Report Forms have been filed with
the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the
“Antitrust Division”) and the Federal Trade
Commission (the “FTC”) and certain waiting
period requirements have been satisfied. The purchase of Shares
pursuant to the Offer is subject to such requirements.
Parent expects to file a Pre-merger Notification and Report Form
under the HSR Act with respect to the Offer with the Antitrust
Division and the FTC on August 31, 2011 (the “HSR
Filings”). If such filing is made on August 31,
2011, the waiting period of 15 days applicable to the
purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer will expire at
11:59 p.m., New York City time, September 15, 2011,
unless earlier terminated by the FTC or the Antitrust Division.
However, before such time, the Antitrust Division or the FTC may
extend the waiting period by requesting additional information
or documentary material relevant to the Offer from us. If such a
request is made, the waiting period will be extended until
11:59 p.m., New York City time, ten calendar days after our
substantial compliance with such request. Thereafter, such
waiting period can be extended only by court order or the
agreement of the Company, Parent, Purchaser and the Antitrust
Division or the FTC, as applicable. In connection with the HSR
Filings, Parent has made a request for early termination of the
waiting period applicable to the Offer pursuant to the HSR Act.
There can be no assurance, however, that the HSR Act waiting
period will be terminated early.
The Antitrust Division and the FTC frequently scrutinize the
legality under the antitrust laws of transactions such as our
acquisition of Shares pursuant to the Offer. At any time before
or after the consummation of any such transactions, the
Antitrust Division or the FTC could take such action under the
antitrust laws as it deems necessary or desirable in the public
interest, including seeking to enjoin the purchase
45
of Shares pursuant to the Offer or seeking divestiture of the
Shares so acquired or divestiture of Purchaser’s,
Parent’s or the Company’s substantial assets. Private
parties (including individual states) may also bring legal
actions under the antitrust laws. There can be no assurance that
a challenge to the Offer on antitrust grounds will not be made,
or if such a challenge is made, what the result will be. See
Section 15 — “Conditions of the Offer”
for certain conditions to the Offer, including conditions with
respect to certain governmental actions,
Section 13 — “Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement —
Termination” for certain termination rights pursuant to the
Merger Agreement with respect to certain governmental actions
and Section 13 — “The Transaction
Documents — The Merger Agreement —
Xxxx-Xxxxx-Xxxxxx (HSR) and other Antitrust Approvals” with
respect to certain obligations of the parties related to
obtaining regulatory, including antitrust, approvals.
Foreign Approvals. Parent and its subsidiaries
conduct business in a number of countries outside of the United
States. Based on our review of the information currently
available about the businesses in which the Company is engaged,
we are not aware of any pre-Merger notification filings that are
required to be made or pre-Merger approvals that are required to
be obtained under the antitrust and competition laws of other
foreign countries.
If our acquisition of Shares is delayed by (i) a request
for additional information or documentary material by the
Antitrust Division or the FTC pursuant to the HSR Act or
(ii) the failure to obtain an approval or exemption from
any governmental authority in any foreign country where such
approval is required under any foreign antitrust or competition
law, Purchaser is required to extend the Offer until receipt of
the applicable regulatory clearance. In addition, Purchaser may
extend the Offer if, on the Expiration Date, any condition to
the Offer has not been satisfied or waived (other than any Offer
conditions that by their nature cannot be satisfied until the
closing of the Offer, which shall be required to be satisfied or
waived at the closing of the Offer). Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in no event will the Offer be extended beyond
February 29, 2012, unless the applicable waiting period
(and any extension thereof) under the HSR Act has not expired or
been terminated or there is a pending action by any governmental
entity seeking to prohibit or restrict Parent’s ownership
of the Shares or Parent’s operation of the Company’s
business (unless such failure to expire or terminate or such
action relates to a divestiture action of Parent for assets or
businesses other than the legal publishing assets or businesses)
then either Parent or the Company may extend such date to a date
no later than June 30, 2012.
Legal Proceedings. No legal proceedings have
been filed in connection with the Offer or Merger.
Credit Suisse is acting as Dealer Manager in connection with the
Offer and has provided certain financial advisory services to
Purchaser and Parent in connection with the acquisition of the
Company. In its role as Dealer Manager, Credit Suisse may
contact brokers, dealers and similar entities and may provide
information regarding the Offer to those that it contacts or
persons that contact Credit Suisse. Credit Suisse is being paid
reasonable and customary compensation for its services as Dealer
Manager in connection with the Offer and for its services as
financial advisor. Credit Suisse is also entitled to
reimbursement for certain expenses incurred by Credit Suisse,
including the fees and expenses of legal counsel, and to
indemnification against certain liabilities and expenses in
connection with its engagements, including certain liabilities
under the federal securities laws.
Credit Suisse and its affiliates may in the future provide
various investment banking, financial advisory and other
services to Parent or its affiliates, for which they may receive
customary compensation. In the ordinary course of business,
including in their trading and brokerage operations and in a
fiduciary capacity, Credit Suisse and its affiliates may hold
positions, both long and short, for their own accounts and for
those of their customers, in the Shares.
We have retained MacKenzie Partners, Inc. to act as the
Information Agent and BNY Mellon Shareowner Services to act as
the Depositary in connection with the Offer. The Information
Agent and the Dealer Manager may contact holders of Shares by
mail, telephone, telegraph and personal interviews and may
request brokers, dealers, banks, trust companies and other
nominees to forward materials relating to the Offer to
beneficial owners. The Information Agent and the Depositary each
will receive reasonable and customary compensation
46
for their respective services, will be reimbursed for certain
reasonable
out-of-pocket
expenses and will be indemnified against certain liabilities in
connection therewith, including certain liabilities under the
U.S. federal securities laws.
We will not pay any fees or commissions to any broker or dealer
or any other person (other than the Dealer Manager, the
Information Agent and the Depositary) for soliciting tenders of
Shares pursuant to the Offer.
The Offer is not being made to, nor will tenders be accepted
from or on behalf of, holders of Shares in any jurisdiction in
which the making of the Offer or acceptance thereof would not be
in compliance with the laws of such jurisdiction. We are not
aware of any jurisdiction where the making of the Offer is
prohibited by any administrative or judicial action pursuant to
any valid state statute. If we become aware of any valid state
statute prohibiting the making of the Offer or the acceptance of
the Shares, we will make a good faith effort to comply with that
state statute. If, after a good faith effort, we cannot comply
with the state statute, we will not make the Offer to, nor will
we accept tenders from or on behalf of, the holders of Shares in
that state. In any jurisdiction where the securities, blue sky
or other laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker
or dealer, the Offer shall be deemed to be made on behalf of
Purchaser by one or more registered brokers or dealers licensed
under the laws of such jurisdiction.
No person has been authorized to give any information or make
any representation on behalf of Purchaser or Parent not
contained in this Offer to Purchase or in the Letters of
Transmittal and, if given or made, such information or
representation must not be relied upon as having been
authorized. No broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company,
fiduciary or other person shall be deemed to be the agent of
Purchaser, the Depositary, the Dealer Manager or the Information
Agent for the purpose of the Offer.
We have filed with the SEC a Schedule TO, together with
exhibits, furnishing certain additional information with respect
to the Offer, and may file amendments to our Schedule TO.
In addition, the Company has filed the
Schedule 14d-9
pursuant to
Rule 14d-9
under the Exchange Act, together with exhibits thereto, setting
forth its recommendation and furnishing certain additional
related information. Our Schedule TO and the
Schedule 14d-9
and any exhibits or amendments may be examined and copies may be
obtained from the SEC in the same manner as described in
Section 8 — “Certain Information Concerning
the Company” with respect to information concerning the
Company.
August 31, 2011
47
SCHEDULE I
DIRECTORS
AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF PARENT
The name, age, citizenship, business address, present principal
occupation or employment and material occupations, positions,
offices or employment for the past five years, of each of the
directors and executive officers of Parent are set forth below.
The business address and phone number of each such director and
executive officer is
c/o Parent,
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000, telephone number
(000) 000-0000.
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx (65); Chairman of the Board of Directors and
Treasurer/Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
February 2002-Present — Treasurer of Parent.
March 2001-Present — Chairman of the Board of Directors of Parent.
October 1996-Present — Director of Parent.
February 2002-February 2008 — President of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2008-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2007-Present — Sits on the International
Business Council of the World Economic Forum.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2007-Present — Trustee of Rockefeller University.
|
|
|
2006-Present — Chairman Emeritus of the Board of
Directors of The Big Apple Circus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2005-Present — Member of the Business Council
and as of January 2007, serves on its Executive Committee.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2003-Present — Lead Director of Davita, Inc., a
healthcare services company based in California.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003-Present — President of the Board of Trustees of
the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of the
USA Cycling Development Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997-Present — Chairman of the External Advisory Board
of the Undergraduate Honors Program and the Xxxxxxx Center for
Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Member of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill National Development Council and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill Foundation Board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002-2010 —
President of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx (53); President/ Director, Parent; U.S.
Citizen
|
|
August 2008-Present — Chief Executive Officer of BLP.
February 2008-Present — President of Parent.
February 2008-Present — Director of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2011-Present — Trustee of the University of
Chicago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2010-Present — Member of the Board of the National
Academy Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
October 2009-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Riverside Park Fund.
|
48
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
March 2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors
of World Resources Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2009-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of
Youth Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of
Human Rights First.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2002-January 2008 — Deputy
Mayor: Economic Development and Rebuilding.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. XxXxxxxxx (67); Secretary/ Director, Parent; U.S.
Citizen
|
|
February 2002-Present — Secretary of Parent.
January 1987-Present — Director of Parent.
June 1987-February 2002 — Assistant Secretary of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 1987-Present — Partner of Xxxxxxx
Xxxx & Xxxxxxxxx LLP.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2009-Present — Vice Chair of Lincoln Center for
the Performing Arts, Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007-Present — Director of the Baryshnikov Dance
Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2005-Present — Director of the United Hospital
Fund of New York.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2003-Present — Director and member of the
Executive Committee of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1986-Present — Director (and former Chairman) of the
National Dance Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1986-Present— President and a Director of the S.L.E.
(Lupus) Foundation; a Director of the Lupus Research Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990-2000 —
Emeritus Member, College Board of Trustees of Arts and Sciences
of the University of Virginia.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx (57); Vice Chairman and Global Head of
Financial Products & Services/Director, Parent; U.S.
Citizen
|
|
July 2011-Present — Vice Chairman of Parent.
July 2008-Present — Global Head of Financial Products & Services of Parent.
March 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
February 1982 — Founding partner of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2005-July 2008 — Head of Core Product and
Research and Development of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2001-March 2005 — Head of Worldwide Sales and Core
Product of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 1985-May 2001 — Head of Research and
Development of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2011-Present — Chairman of the National Parks
Conservation Association.
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 2010-Present— Member of the Board of the
Manhattan Theatre Club.
|
49
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
July 2004-Present — Member of the Board of Directors
of the Governors Island Alliance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 1999-Present — Director of the Intrepid Museum
Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 1999-Present — Director of the National Parks
Conservation Association.
|
|
|
|
|
|
September
2005-December
2010 — Director of the Westchester County Parks,
Recreation and Conservation Board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
July
2005-December
2009 — Director of the Board of the Nature Conservancy.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx (52); Director, Parent; U.K. Citizen
|
|
August 2008-Present — CEO of Bloomberg Ventures LLC.
August 2006-Present — Director of Parent.
January 2002-August 2008 — CEO of BLP.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2003-Present — Trustee of P.S. 1 Contemporary
Art Center.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1998-Present — Trustee of Streetsmart.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2007-June 2010 — Member of the Board of
Directors of The Door.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2007-February 2009 — Member of the Board of
Directors of CECP.
|
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx (59); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
December 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
1984-Present — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xxxxxx & Company.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2005-Present — Member of the New York City
Advisory Board of the National Parks Conservation Association.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2004-Present — Member of the National Executive
Committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(Member of the Northeast Regional Council since October 2003).
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 2003-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and
Childrens’ Benefit Fund, Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2003-Present — Member of the Board of Advisors of
the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 2003-September 2011 — President and Member of
the Board of Directors of the Jordan Valley Development Fund.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2009-October 2010 — Director of the Bloomberg
Inaugural Committee 2009 Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2002-October 2008 — Member of the Board of
Directors of the American Friends of Magen Xxxxx Xxxx.
|
|
|
|
Xxxx Xxxxxxxxxx (80); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
January 1999-Present — Director of Parent.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Xx. (80); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
|
50
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
2009-Present — Policy Advisor for Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Group
Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007-Present — Senior Advisor for GETCO.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006-Present — Senior Advisor for Promontory Financial
Group.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003-Present — Member of the American Academy of
Arts & Sciences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-Present — Senior Advisor for Carlyle Group.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006-2010 —
Senior Advisor for WisdomTree.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005-2009 —
Member of the Board of RiskMetrics Group Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1975-2009 —
Advisory Director for M & T Bank Corp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005-2007 —
Advisor for American International Group Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002-2007 —
Trustee for Rand Corp.
|
|
|
|
Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx (72); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
February 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
2008-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of GSE
Systems Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008-2009 —
Columnist for Bloomberg News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1979-2008 —
Contributing Editor for Newsweek Magazine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1995-2007 —
Contributing Financial Columnist for Good Housekeeping Magazine.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxx Xxxxxx (73); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
February 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
2006-Present — Trustee Emeritus of Xxxxx Xxxxxxx University.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2005-Present — Chairman Emeritus of the Board of
Trustees of Xxxxxx University.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-Present — Chairman of the Board of Directors, The
Nile Growth Company, a Luxembourg registered fund.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1995-2010 —
Member of the Board of Directors of Lockheed Xxxxxx, Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1989-2009 —
Member of the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1977-2006 —
Trustee of Xxxxx Xxxxxxx University.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx (56); Director, Parent; U.S. Citizen
|
|
August 2006-Present — Director of Parent.
February 1990-Present —
Editor-in-Chief
of Bloomberg News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008-Present — Member of the Economic Club of New York.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2007-Present — Member of the International
Advisory Board of the Tsinghua University School of Journalism
in Beijing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2007-Present — Member of the Board of Directors
of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 2006-Present — Trustee of Xxxxxx College and
The Xxxxxx Review.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of the
Council on Foreign Relations.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003-Present — Director of the International Center
for Journalists.
|
51
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
2002-Present — Trustee of the business journalism
program of the City University of New York.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1999-Present — Chairman of the Board of the
Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Program at Columbia University; a
member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia College of Columbia
University.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009-2010 —
Member of the Board of YAI, the Institute for People With
Disabilities.
|
52
SCHEDULE II
DIRECTORS
AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF PURCHASER
The name, age, citizenship, business address, present principal
occupation or employment and material occupations, positions,
offices or employment for the past five years, of each of the
directors and executive officers of Purchaser are set forth
below. The business address and phone number of each such
director and executive officer is
c/o Brass
Acquisition Corp., 000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000,
telephone number
(000) 000-0000.
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx (65); Chairman and Director, Purchaser; U.S.
Citizen
|
|
February 2002-Present — Treasurer of Parent. March 2001-Present — Chairman of the Board of Directors of Parent.
October 1996-Present — Director of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2002-February 2008 — President of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2008-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2007-Present — Sits on the International
Business Council of the World Economic Forum.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2007-Present — Trustee of Rockefeller University.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006-Present — Chairman Emeritus of the Board of
Directors of The Big Apple Circus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2005-Present — Member of the Business Council
and as of January 2007, serves on its Executive Committee.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2003-Present — Lead Director of Davita, Inc., a
healthcare services company based in California.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003-Present — President of the Board of Trustees of
the Inner City Scholarship Fund in New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of the
USA Cycling Development Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997-Present — Chairman of the External Advisory Board
of the Undergraduate Honors Program and the Xxxxxxx Center for
Undergraduate Excellence at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Member of the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill National Development Council and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill Foundation Board.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2002-2010 —
President of the Pomfret School Board of Trustees.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx (53); Chief Executive Officer and President,
Purchaser; U.S. Citizen
|
|
August 2008-Present — Chief Executive Officer of BLP.
February 2008-Present — President of Parent.
February 2008-Present — Director of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2011-Present — Trustee of the University of
Chicago.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 2010-Present — Member of the Board of the National
Academy Foundation.
|
53
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
October 2009-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Riverside Park Fund.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors
of World Resources Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 2009-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of
Youth Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009-Present — Member of the Board of Directors of
Human Rights First.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2002-January 2008 — Deputy Mayor: Economic
Development and Rebuilding.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxxx X. XxXxxxxxx (67); Secretary and Director, Purchaser;
U.S. Citizen
|
|
February 2002-Present — Secretary of Parent.
January 1987-Present — Director of Parent.
June 1987-February 2002 — Assistant Secretary of Parent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 1987-Present — Partner of Xxxxxxx
Xxxx &
Xxxxxxxxx LLP.
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 2009-Present — Vice Chair of Lincoln Center for
the Performing Arts, Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007-Present — Director of the Baryshnikov Dance
Foundation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2005-Present — Director of the United Hospital
Fund of New York.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2003-Present — Director and member of the
Executive Committee of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1986-Present — Director (and former Chairman) of the
National Dance Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1986-Present— President and a Director of the S.L.E.
(Lupus) Foundation; a Director of the Lupus Research Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990-2000 —
Emeritus Member, College Board of Trustees of Arts and Sciences
of the University of Virginia.
|
|
|
|
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx (59); Director, Purchaser; U.S. Citizen
|
|
December 2001-Present — Director of Parent.
1984-Present — Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xxxxxx & Company.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 2005-Present — Member of the New York City
Advisory Board of the National Parks Conservation Association.
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 2004-Present — Member of the National Executive
Committee of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
(Member of the Northeast Regional Council since October 2003).
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 2003-Present — Member of the Board of
Directors of the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and
Childrens’ Benefit Fund, Inc.
|
54
|
|
|
|
|
Present Principal Occupation or Employment and
|
Name (Age); Position; Citizenship
|
|
Five-Year Employment History
|
|
|
|
May 2003-Present — Member of the Board of Advisors of
the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 2003-September 2011 — President and Member of
the Board of Directors of the Jordan Valley Development Fund.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2009-October 2010 — Director of the Bloomberg
Inaugural Committee 2009 Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
November 2002-October 2008 — Member of the Board of
Directors of the American Friends of Magen Xxxxx Xxxx.
|
55
Facsimile copies of the Letter of Transmittal will be accepted.
The Letter of Transmittal and any other required documents
should be sent to the Depositary at the address set forth below:
The Depositary for the Offer is:
BNY Mellon
Shareowner Services
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
If you have questions or need additional copies of this Offer to
Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal, you can call the
Information Agent at the addresses and telephone numbers set
forth below. You may also contact your broker, dealer, bank,
trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the
Offer.
The Information Agent for the Offer is:
000 Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
(000) 000-0000 (Call Collect)
or
Call Toll-Free:
(000) 000-0000
Email: xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
The Dealer Manager for the Offer is:
Credit
Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
00 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx
00000-3643
000-000-0000
000-000-0000
(toll free)