SC 14D9/A 1 d326121dsc14d9a.htm SC 14D9/A SC 14D9/A

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

SCHEDULE 14D-9

(Rule 14d-101)

Solicitation/Recommendation Statement

Under Section 14(d)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. 1)

 

 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company

(Name of Subject Company)

 

 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company

(Name of Person Filing Statement)

 

 

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

44157R109

(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)

William F. Bayers, Esq.

Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company

125 High Street

Boston, MA 02110

(617) 351-5000

(Name, address and telephone number of person authorized to receive notices and communications

on behalf of the persons filing statement)

With copies to:

Hal J. Leibowitz, Esq.

Joseph Conahan, Esq.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

60 State Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

(617) 526-6000

 

 

 

☐

Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.

 

 

 

This Amendment No. 1 (this “Amendment”) to Schedule 14D-9 amends and supplements the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 7, 2022 (together with the Exhibits and Annexes thereto and as amended and supplemented from time to time, the “Schedule 14D-9”) by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The Schedule 14D-9 relates to the tender offer by Harbor Purchaser Inc., a Delaware corporation, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Harbor Holding Corp., a Delaware corporation, which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of The Veritas Capital Fund VII, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company at a purchase price of $21.00 per share, net of applicable withholding of taxes and without interest, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated as of March 7, 2022 and the related letter of transmittal.

Capitalized terms used in this Amendment but not defined herein shall have the respective meaning given to such terms in the Schedule 14D-9. The information set forth in the Schedule 14D-9 remains unchanged and is incorporated herein by reference, except that such information is hereby amended or supplemented to the extent specifically provided herein.

 

Item 6.

Interest in Securities of the Subject Company.

Item 6 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following to the bottom of the table set forth in Item 6 of the Schedule 14D-9 to read as follows:

 

Name

    Date of
Transaction		    Number
of
Shares		      Sale, Purchase
or Exercise
Price per Share
(If Applicable)		     

Nature of

Transaction(1)

John J. Lynch, Jr.

    3/5/2022      19,219      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

John J. Lynch, Jr.

    3/5/2022      55,364      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

Joseph P. Abbott, Jr.

    3/5/2022      10,762      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Joseph P. Abbott, Jr.

    3/5/2022      31,003      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

William F. Bayers

    3/5/2022      4,228      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

William F. Bayers

    3/5/2022      12,180      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

Michael E. Evans

    3/5/2022      6,371      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

James P. O’Neill

    3/5/2022      4,604      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

James P. O’Neill

    3/5/2022      13,264      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

Amy L. Dunkin

    3/5/2022      2,273      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Amy L. Dunkin

    3/5/2022      6,547      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

Matthew Mugo Fields

    3/5/2022      2,731      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Matthew Mugo Fields

    3/5/2022      7,867      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

Alejandro Reyes

    3/5/2022      2,306      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

 

1

Alejandro Reyes

      3/5/2022        6,638      $ 20.92      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company PRSU vesting

John J. Lynch, Jr.

      3/9/2022        85,511      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

John J. Lynch, Jr.

      3/9/2022        38,210      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Joseph P. Abbott, Jr.

      3/9/2022        44,339      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

Joseph P. Abbott, Jr.

      3/9/2022        19,812      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

William F. Bayers

      3/9/2022        17,419      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

William F. Bayers

      3/9/2022        7,783      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Michael E. Evans

      3/9/2022        31,671      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

Michael E. Evans

      3/9/2022        11,813      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

James P. O’Neill

      3/9/2022        23,753      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

James P. O’Neill

      3/9/2022        8,476      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Amy L. Dunkin

      3/9/2022        9,501      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

Amy L. Dunkin

      3/9/2022        4,185      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Matthew Mugo Fields

      3/9/2022        12,668      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

Matthew Mugo Fields

      3/9/2022        5,027      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

Alejandro Reyes

      3/9/2022        9,501      $ 0      Vesting of Company RSUs

Alejandro Reyes

      3/9/2022        4,245      $ 21.04      Shares withheld to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon Company RSU vesting

 

(1)

Each Company RSU and Company PRSU represents a contingent right to receive one share of Common Stock upon vesting.

 

Item 8.

Additional Information.

Item 8 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by restating the subsection entitled “—Legal Proceedings” in its entirety as follows:

“On March 7, 2022 a putative shareholder complaint was filed in the United States (U.S.) District Court for the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) against the Company and each member of the Company’s Board, captioned Stein v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 1:22-cv-01914. On March 8, 2022, a second putative shareholder complaint was filed against the same parties in the U.S. District Court for the S.D.N.Y., captioned O’Dell v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 1:22-cv-01932. On March 10, 2022, a third putative shareholder complaint was filed against the same parties in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (E.D.N.Y.), captioned Justice v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 1:22-cv-01320. The same day, a fourth putative shareholder complaint was filed against the same parties in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylania, captioned Whitfield v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 2:22-cv-00916. On March 12, 2022, a fifth putative shareholder complaint was filed against the same parties in the U.S. District Court for the E.D.N.Y., captioned Williams v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 1:22-cv-01374. On March 16, 2022, a sixth putative shareholder complaint was filed against the same parties in the U.S. District Court for the S.D.N.Y., captioned Frieman v. Houghton Mifflin, et al., No. 1:22-cv-02166.

These complaints allege, among other things, that the Company and each member of the Company’s Board violated federal securities laws and regulations through a Solicitation Statement intended to induce them to tender their shares in connection with the transaction that purportedly omits material facts necessary to make the statements therein not false or misleading. The complaints seek, among other things, either to enjoin the Company from proceeding with the tender offer and the closing of the transaction unless and until allegedly omitted material information is disclosed or, in the event the transaction is consummated, rescinding it and recovering rescissory damages. The complaints also seek a declaration that the defendants violated the securities laws and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. The Company believes that the plaintiffs’ allegations are without merit and intends to defend against them vigorously.”

Item 8 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by inserting the following paragraph after the last paragraph of the subsection entitled “Regulatory Approvals—U.S. Antitrust Laws”:

“At 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 15, 2022, the applicable waiting period under the HSR Act with respect to the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer expired.”

 

Item 9.

Exhibits

Item 9 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:

 

Exhibit

No.

   Description
(a)(5)(H)*   Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Fact Sheet posted to the Company’s website

 

*

Filed herewith.

 

2

After due inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Date: March 16, 2022

 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company
By:  

/s/ William F. Bayers

 

William F. Bayers

 

Executive Vice President, Secretary

and General Counsel

 

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