DEF 14A 1 a06-10164_1def14a.htm DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No.              )

Filed by the Registrant  x

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  o

Check the appropriate box:

o

Preliminary Proxy Statement

o

Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))

x

Definitive Proxy Statement

o

Definitive Additional Materials

o

Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

 

FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

x

No fee required.

o

Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.

 

(1)

Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

 

 

(2)

Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

 

 

(3)

Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

 

 

 

 

(4)

Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

 

 

 

(5)

Total fee paid:

 

 

 

o

Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.

o

Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.

 

(1)

Amount Previously Paid:

 

 

 

 

(2)

Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

 

 

 

 

(3)

Filing Party:

 

 

 

 

(4)

Date Filed:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




GRAPHIC

1410 SW Jefferson Street
Portland, OR 97201-2548

April 28, 2006

Dear Stockholder:

You are cordially invited to the 2006 annual meeting of stockholders of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., to be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time at 1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California.

At the annual meeting, you will be asked to elect five directors to our board of directors and ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006.

Our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 is enclosed. I hope you will read it carefully. Also enclosed with this letter is a proxy authorizing our officers to vote your shares for you if you do not attend the annual meeting. Whether or not you are able to attend the annual meeting, I urge you to complete, date and sign your proxy and return it in the enclosed addressed, postage-paid envelope, as a quorum of the stockholders must be present at the annual meeting, either in person or by proxy.

Your immediate attention to the mailing of this proxy statement is requested.

 

Yours truly,

 

GRAPHIC

 

Andrew A. Wiederhorn

 

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

 




GRAPHIC

1410 SW Jefferson Street
Portland, OR 97201-2548

April 28, 2006

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

The 2006 annual meeting of stockholders of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., a Maryland corporation, will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time at 1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California, for the following purposes:

1.     to elect five directors to our board of directors to serve until the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders or until their successors are elected and qualified;

2.     to ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006; and

3.     to transact such other business as may properly come before the annual meeting and any adjournment or postponements.

The board of directors has fixed the close of business on April 20, 2006 as the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual meeting and any adjournment or postponements.

It is important that your shares be represented at the annual meeting regardless of the size of your holdings. Whether or not you expect to attend the annual meeting, please complete, date and sign the enclosed proxy and return it in the envelope provided for that purpose, which does not require postage if mailed in the United States. The proxy is revocable at any time prior to its use.

 

By order of the board of directors,

 

GRAPHIC

 

R. Scott Stevenson

 

Chief Financial Officer

 




FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC.
1410 SW JEFFERSON STREET
PORTLAND, OR 97201-2548

ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
MAY 16, 2006


PROXY STATEMENT


ANNUAL MEETING AND PROXY SOLICITATION INFORMATION

The accompanying proxy is solicited by the board of directors of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., a Maryland corporation, for use at our 2006 annual meeting of stockholders to be held at 1901 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California, on May 16, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, and at any adjournment or postponements thereof. If no contrary instruction is received, signed proxies returned by stockholders will be voted in accordance with the board of directors’ recommendations. We are not aware, as of the date of this proxy statement, of any matters to be voted on at the annual meeting other than as stated in this proxy statement and the accompanying notice of annual meeting of stockholders. If any other matters are properly brought before the annual meeting, the enclosed proxy gives discretionary authority to the persons named in it to vote the shares in their best judgment.

This proxy statement and accompanying proxy were first sent to our stockholders on or about April 28, 2006.

Any proxy given pursuant to this solicitation may be revoked by the person giving it at any time before its use by delivering to us (Attention: Secretary) a written notice of revocation of a duly executed proxy bearing a later date, or by attending the annual meeting and voting in person.

Only stockholders of record at the close of business on April 20, 2006 are entitled to vote at the annual meeting. Each outstanding share of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, is entitled to one vote. On the record date, there were 7,957,428 shares of common stock outstanding.

We will pay the cost of soliciting proxies for the annual meeting. Proxies may be solicited by our regular employees in person, or by mail, courier, telephone or facsimile. Arrangements also may be made with brokerage houses and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for the forwarding of solicitation material to the beneficial owners of stock held of record by such persons. We may reimburse such brokerage houses, custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection therewith. Expenses for the solicitation are estimated to be approximately $5,000, plus other reasonable expenses.

At the annual meeting, stockholders will vote on the election of five directors (Proposal 1) and the ratification of the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2).

Stockholders representing a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote must be present or represented by proxy in order to constitute a quorum to conduct business at the annual meeting. The affirmative vote of the holders of shares of common stock representing a majority of the votes cast at the annual meeting, present in person or by proxy, is required to ratify the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm. With regard to the election of directors, if a quorum is present, then the five nominees receiving the greatest number of the votes cast at the annual meeting will be elected directors. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulate votes in electing directors.

An abstention occurs when a stockholder affirmatively instructs the vote to be withheld (by checking the “abstain,” “withhold for all,” or “exceptions” box on the proxy card) or when a stockholder who has not




given a proxy is present at a meeting and does not cast a ballot. Shares subject to abstentions and broker nonvotes are considered to be present at the annual meeting, and are therefore counted toward establishing the presence of a quorum. Abstentions are not treated as votes cast, however, so abstentions will have no effect on the election of directors, which outcome is determined by a plurality of the votes cast, or on the proposal to ratify the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm, which outcome is determined by a majority of the votes cast.

Any bank, broker or other fiduciary which holds shares of common stock for the account of a customer who is the beneficial owner of those shares, and which does not receive specific instructions from the customer on how to vote, has the power to vote those shares at its discretion in the election of directors, for the ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm and for other routine matters for which it has not received voting instructions. Fiduciaries do not have discretionary voting authority, however, with respect to nonroutine matters. A “broker nonvote” occurs when a fiduciary may not vote, or give a proxy to vote, a customer’s shares because the customer did not provide voting instructions with respect to a nonroutine matter. Because fiduciaries will have discretionary voting authority with respect to the election of directors and the ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public accounting firm, there will be no broker nonvotes with respect to those matters.

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VOTING SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS

As of April 1, 2006, we had outstanding 7,957,428 shares of common stock, which are our only outstanding voting securities.

The following table sets forth, as of April 1, 2006, the beneficial ownership of the common stock with respect to (i) each person who is known by us to own beneficially more than 5% of the outstanding shares of common stock, (ii) each director and nominee for director, (iii) each of our executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table of this proxy statement, and (iv) all directors and executive officers as a group.

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)

 

 

 

Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership(2)

 

Percent
of Class

 

Andrew A. Wiederhorn, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Treasurer, Secretary(3)

 

 

2,670,567

(4)

 

 

31.10

%

 

Tiffany A. Wiederhorn

 

 

1,617,378

(5)

 

 

20.33

 

 

TTMM, L.P.

 

 

964,592

(6)

 

 

12.12

 

 

Donald J. Berchtold, Senior Vice President, Director(7)

 

 

684,445

(8)

 

 

8.55

 

 

Richard Terrell

 

 

562,100

(9)

 

 

7.06

 

 

Patrick Terrell

 

 

470,000

(10)

 

 

5.91

 

 

Don H. Coleman, Director

 

 

78,167

(11)

 

 

*

 

 

R. Scott Stevenson, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

 

 

96,058

(12)

 

 

1.19

 

 

Matthew Green, Vice President

 

 

26,667

(13)

 

 

*

 

 

David Dale-Johnson, Chief Investment Officer, Director

 

 

52,842

(14)

 

 

*

 

 

K. Kenneth Kotler, Director

 

 

38,667

(15)

 

 

*

 

 

M. Ray Mathis, Director

 

 

27,167

(16)

 

 

*

 

 

All directors and executive officers as a group (8 persons)

 

 

3,674,580

(17)

 

 

46.18

%

 


*                    Less than one percent.

(1)          The address for each stockholder is c/o Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., 1410 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon 97201-2548.

(2)          Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Shares of common stock subject to options or warrants exercisable within 60 days of April 1, 2006 are deemed outstanding for computing the amount and percentage beneficially owned by the person or group holding such options or warrants, but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage of any other person or group. Except as noted, each stockholder has sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares beneficially owned by such stockholder.

(3)          Mr. Wiederhorn resumed his role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in November 2005, after returning to active service with us from a leave of absence in October 2005 during which he served as Chief Strategic Officer. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer from our formation to June 2004, and served as Co-Chief Executive Officer from June 2004 to August 2004.

(4)          Represents (a) 630,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006, (b) 356,654 shares of common stock held directly by Mr. Wiederhorn’s spouse, Tiffany Wiederhorn, (c) 991,709 shares of common stock owned by TTMM, L.P., a partnership controlled by Ms. Wiederhorn, (d) 12,882 shares of common stock held by the Tiffany A. Wiederhorn Grantor Retained Annuity Trust I, with respect to which Ms. Wiederhorn exercises voting and investment power, (e) 250,000 shares of common stock held by the Tiffany A. Wiederhorn Grantor Retained Annuity Trust II, with respect to which Ms. Wiederhorn exercises

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voting and investment power, (f) 13,826 shares of common stock owned by W.M. Starlight Investments, LLC, a limited liability company of which Ms. Wiederhorn is the manager and majority owner, (g) an aggregate of 164,778 shares of common stock owned by Mr. and Ms. Wiederhorn’s minor children, which are held in custody for the benefit of such minor children pursuant to arrangements that do not give Mr. Wiederhorn voting or investment power over such shares, (h) 100,000 shares of common stock subject to a put option written to Clarence B. Coleman, as Trustee of the C.B. Coleman and Joan F. Coleman Revocable Trust (the “Coleman Trust”), currently exercisable by the Coleman Trust and (i) 323,189 shares of common stock subject to a put option written to Clarence & Joan Coleman Charitable Foundation (the “Coleman Foundation”), currently exercisable by the Coleman Foundation. Mr. Wiederhorn may be deemed to share voting power and investment power with respect to all such shares of common stock with the other beneficial owners thereof and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of all such shares of common stock. Mr. Wiederhorn disclaims beneficial ownership of all shares of common stock not held directly by him. Excludes 112,500 shares of common stock that were allocated to Mr. Wiederhorn by a Long-Term Vesting Trust established for the benefit of certain of our employees and directors, or the Trust, but that will not have vested or be deliverable to Mr. Wiederhorn within 60 days of April 1, 2006. Excludes the remaining 582,000 shares of common stock held in the Trust, which have been allocated to other of our employees or Directors, or have not been allocated. Although Mr. Wiederhorn acts as a Trustee for the Trust, he does not have any beneficial ownership, voting power or investment power over the shares of common stock remaining in the Trust or allocated to other employees or Directors.

(5)          Represents (a) 356,654 shares of common stock held directly by Ms. Wiederhorn, (b) 991,709 shares of common stock owned by TTMM, L.P., a partnership controlled by Ms. Wiederhorn, (c) 12,882 shares of common stock held by the Tiffany A. Wiederhorn Grantor Retained Annuity Trust I, with respect to which Ms. Wiederhorn exercises voting and investment power, (d) 250,000 shares of common stock held by the Tiffany A. Wiederhorn Grantor Retained Annuity Trust II, with respect to which Ms. Wiederhorn exercises voting and investment power, (e) 13,826 shares of common stock owned by W.M. Starlight Investments, LLC, a limited liability company of which Ms. Wiederhorn is the manager and majority owner, and (f) an aggregate of 164,778 shares of common stock owned by Mr. and Ms. Wiederhorn’s minor children, which are held in custody for the benefit of such minor children pursuant to arrangements that do not give Ms. Wiederhorn voting or investment power over such shares. Ms. Wiederhorn may be deemed to share voting and investment power with respect to all such shares of common stock with the other beneficial owners thereof and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of all such shares of common stock. Ms. Wiederhorn disclaims beneficial ownership of all shares of common stock not held directly by her.

(6)          TTMM, L.P. shares voting power and investment power with Andrew Wiederhorn and Tiffany Wiederhorn over such shares.

(7)          Mr. Berchtold served as our Chief Executive Officer from August 2004 to November 2005 and as Co-Chief Executive Officer from June 2004 to August 2004. Upon Mr. Wiederhorn’s resuming his role as Chief Executive Officer in November 2005, Mr. Berchtold resumed his role as Senior Vice President, which position he previously held from October 1999 to June 2004.

(8)          Includes 61,040 shares of common stock held by Mr. Berchtold and 43,333 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006. Also includes 164,778 shares of common stock held by Mr. Berchtold as trustee of trusts for certain minor children, 396,170 shares of common stock owned by an entity which is managed by Mr. Berchtold, 2,462 shares of common stock held by Mr. Berchtold’s spouse, 1,984 shares of common stock held by Mr. Berchtold’s spouse as trustee of trusts for certain minor children and 4,678 shares of common stock owned by Mr. Berchtold’s dependent son. Mr. Berchtold may be deemed to share voting and investment power over such shares. Mr. Berchtold disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares.

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Excludes 5,000 shares of common stock that were allocated to Mr. Berchtold by the Trust but that will not have vested or be deliverable to Mr. Berchtold within 60 days of September 30, 2005.

(9)          Based on information obtained from a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC. Consists of (i) 537,600 shares of common stock held directly by Mr. Richard Terrell, and (ii) an aggregate of 24,500 shares of common stock held by trusts for minor children, of which Mr. Terrell is trustee and of which shares Mr. Terrell disclaims beneficial ownership.

(10)   Based on information obtained from a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC, as amended.

(11)   Includes 28,167 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(12)   Includes 93,333 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(13)   Represents 26,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(14)   Includes 51,833 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(15)   Includes 28,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(16)   Includes 22,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

(17)   Includes 924,667 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options exercisable currently or within 60 days of April 1, 2006.

Arrangements That Could Result in a Change in Control

Wiederhorn Assignment and Voting Agreement.   Pursuant to an Amended and Restated Assignment and Voting Agreement, entered into as of May 13, 2004, or the Wiederhorn Assignment and Voting Agreement, by and among Tiffany Wiederhorn, TTMM, L.P. and WM Starlight Investments, LLC, collectively, the Tiffany Wiederhorn Entities, and Mr. Wiederhorn, the Tiffany Wiederhorn Entities agreed to vote their common stock in the manner specified by Mr. Wiederhorn during the term of the Wiederhorn Assignment and Voting Agreement, which will terminate upon the earlier to occur of the fifth anniversary of the Wiederhorn Assignment and Voting Agreement and any date on which Mr. Wiederhorn is no longer the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Wiederhorn’s employment agreement has been terminated by us.

Coleman/Wiederhorn Letter Agreement.   On February 27, 2006, Mr. Wiederhorn entered into a letter agreement with Clarence B. Coleman, as Trustee of the C.B. Coleman and Joan F. Coleman Revocable Trust, or the Coleman Trust, pursuant to which Mr. Wiederhorn granted the Coleman Trust a put option to require Mr. Wiederhorn to purchase 100,000 shares of common stock held by the Coleman Trust at a price of $5.90 per share. This put option is exercisable by the Coleman Trust during the period from April 1, 2006 through November 30, 2006. Upon exercise of the put and within 30 days of notice of exercise, Mr. Wiederhorn must specify the closing date of the purchase which shall be no later than March 31, 2007. Unless exercised, the put option will expire on December 1, 2006. The Coleman Trust agreed to retain beneficial ownership of  the shares subject to the put option until the expiration of the put option. As additional consideration, Mr. Wiederhorn agreed to make payments to the Coleman Trust of $39,375.00 on June 1, 2006 and $2,812.50 each month thereafter until the termination of the agreement or purchase of the shares by Mr. Wiederhorn.

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Coleman Foundation/Wiederhorn Letter Agreement.   On February 27, 2006, Mr. Wiederhorn entered into a letter agreement with Clarence & Joan Coleman Charitable Foundation, or the Coleman Foundation, pursuant to which Mr. Wiederhorn granted the Coleman Foundation a put option to require Mr. Wiederhorn to purchase 323,189 shares of common stock held by the Coleman Foundation at a price of $5.40 per share. This put option is exercisable by the Coleman Foundation during the period from April 1, 2006 through November 30, 2006. Upon  exercise of the put and within 30 days of notice of exercise, Mr. Wiederhorn must specify the closing date of the purchase which shall be no later than March 31, 2007. Unless exercised, the put option will expire on December 1, 2006. The Coleman Foundation agreed to retain beneficial ownership of the shares subject to the put option until the expiration of the put option. As additional consideration, Mr. Wiederhorn agreed to make payments to the Coleman Foundation of $54,538.08 on June 1, 2006 and $9,089.68 each month thereafter until the termination of the agreement or purchase of the shares by Mr. Wiederhorn.

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PROPOSAL NO. 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

At the annual meeting, the stockholders will elect five directors to the board of directors, each to serve until the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders or until their successors are elected and qualified. If a nominee is unable or unwilling to serve, the shares to be voted for such nominee that are represented by proxies will be voted for any substitute nominee designated by the board of directors. Our nominating committee has determined that each of Messrs. Coleman, Kotler and Mathis are independent, as independence is defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the listing standards of the National Association of Securities Dealers, or NASD.

If a quorum is present at the annual meeting, the five nominees receiving the highest number of votes cast, in person or by proxy, will be elected to serve as directors. Abstentions and broker nonvotes will have no effect on the election of directors. The board of directors recommends a vote “FOR” the nominees for director listed below. If not otherwise specified, proxies will be voted “FOR” the nominees for director listed below.

The names of the nominees, their ages as of April 20, 2006, and other information about them is set forth below:

Name of Nominee

 

 

 

Position

 

Age

Andrew A. Wiederhorn

 

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

 

40

Don H. Coleman

 

Director

 

67

K. Kenneth Kotler

 

Director

 

54

M. Ray Mathis

 

Director

 

66

Donald J. Berchtold

 

Director and Senior Vice President

 

60

 

Andrew A. Wiederhorn has been a director, the Treasurer and the Secretary of Fog Cutter since its formation, and resumed his service as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in November 2005. Mr. Wiederhorn served as our Chief Strategic Officer from August 2004 to November 2005. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from our formation until June 2004 and as Co-Chairman and the Co-Chief Executive Officer from June 2004 to August 2004. Until August 1999, Mr. Wiederhorn was also chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, secretary and treasurer of Wilshire Financial Services Group Inc., or WFSG, a public company. In 1987, Mr. Wiederhorn founded Wilshire Credit Corporation, and served as its and certain of its subsidiaries chief executive officer until August 1999. Mr. Wiederhorn holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California. Mr. Wiederhorn is the son-in-law of Mr. Berchtold. From August 2004 to October 2005, Mr. Wiederhorn took a leave of absence from Fog Cutter.

Mr. Berchtold has been a director since March 2004 and served as our Chief Executive Officer from August 2004 to November 2005. From June 2004 to August 2004, Mr. Berchtold was our Co-Chief Executive Officer. Upon Mr. Wiederhorn’s resuming his role as Chief Executive Officer in November 2005, Mr. Berchtold resumed his duties as Senior Vice President, which position he previously held from October 1999 to June 2004. From October 1991 to October 1999, Mr. Berchtold was senior vice president of WFSG, overseeing human resources and administration. From 1975 to October 1991, Mr. Berchtold was a consultant and owner/operator of several companies. Mr. Berchtold holds a B.Sc. degree in Finance and Marketing from Santa Clara University. Mr. Berchtold is Mr. Wiederhorn’s father-in-law.

Don H. Coleman has been a director of Fog Cutter since October 2001 and Co-Chairman of the Board from June 2004 to April 2005 and served as sole Chairman of the Board from April 2005 to November 2005. Mr. Coleman has been chief operating officer of Eagle Telephonic Inc., a designer and manufacturer of telephonic switches, since January 2000. From 1992 to 1998, Mr. Coleman was a Vice President of International Communication Technologies Inc., a founder of and partner in several private

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telephone service provider companies in foreign countries. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Coleman was chief executive officer of Liquid Spring Technologies, Inc., a developer of advanced suspension systems for cars and trucks. From 1983 to 1985, Mr. Coleman was chief executive officer of Clarion Corporation of America, a manufacturer and supplier of automotive sound systems and electronics to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. Mr. Coleman holds B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Stanford University.

K. Kenneth Kotler has been a director of Fog Cutter since October 2001. Mr. Kotler is an attorney whose practice primarily deals with commercial litigation matters. Mr. Kotler has been a sole practitioner since 1991.

M. Ray Mathis has been a director of Fog Cutter since January 2003. In 2004, Mr. Mathis founded The Mathis Group, LLC, which consults on business security issues, corporate due diligence, pre-employment background checks and other business-related issues. From 1994 to 2002, Mr. Mathis was executive director for the Portland Oregon Citizens Crime Commission, an advocate for business to reduce crime in the community. Mr. Mathis served for 20 years as an FBI special agent, most recently as a branch chief for NATO from 1986 to 1989. From 1989 to 1990, he was the European systems director of security for Pan American Airlines. Mr. Mathis holds a B.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

Capital Consultants, L.L.C.

On June 3, 2004, we announced that Mr. Wiederhorn, then Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, had entered into a settlement, or the Settlement, with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon regarding its investigation into the failure of Capital Consultants, L.L.C. and would take a leave of absence from his corporate positions at Fog Cutter. Under the Settlement terms, Mr. Wiederhorn pled guilty on June 3, 2004 to two federal counts, was sentenced to 18-months incarceration and fined $2.0 million. The charges to which Mr. Wiederhorn has pled guilty pursuant to the Settlement are not based upon any acts or omissions involving us or Mr. Wiederhorn in his capacity as our officer or director.

On June 2, 2004, we and Mr. Wiederhorn entered into a leave of absence agreement. In entering into the leave of absence agreement, the board of directors considered the nature of the statutes to which Mr. Wiederhorn pled and the fact that he relied on the advice of expert legal counsel and a national accounting firm. The board of directors also believed it was important to assure Mr. Wiederhorn’s return to active involvement with us because of his expertise and knowledge of our business and investments.

Mr. Wiederhorn began his leave of absence on August 2, 2004, returned to active service with us in October 2005 as Chief Strategic Officer and resumed his role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in November 2005.

Nasdaq Delisting

Effective October 14, 2004, our common stock began trading in the over-the-counter market on the OTC “pink sheets.”  Prior to October 14, 2004, our common stock was quoted on the NASDAQ National Market. On July 20, 2004, we were notified by NASDAQ of a staff determination to delist our common stock effective July 29, 2004. We challenged the staff determination and requested an oral hearing by a Listing Qualifications Panel to review the staff’s conclusions. A hearing was held on September 9, 2004, and, on October 12, 2004, we were notified by NASDAQ that the Listing Qualifications Panel upheld the staff determination. Our common stock was delisted from the NASDAQ National Market on October 14, 2004. We requested a review of the Listing Qualifications Panel’s decision by NASDAQ’s Listing and Hearing Review Council. On February 16, 2005, we received notice that the NASDAQ Listing and

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Hearing Review Council had upheld the Panel’s decision. On April 21, 2005, the Board of Governors of NASDAQ approved the decision of the NASDAQ Listing and Hearing Review Council, and the NASDAQ decision became final. We unsuccessfully appealed the decision to the SEC. On February 17, 2006, we filed a petition for review of the SEC decision with the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. There can be no assurance that our petition for review will be successful.

Derivative Action

On July 6, 2004, Jeff Allan McCoon, derivatively on behalf of us, filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for the State of Oregon (Multnomah County) which named us and all of our directors as defendants. The lawsuit, as amended, alleged that our board of directors breached their fiduciary duties to us and our stockholders in a number of ways, primarily relating to the leave of absence agreement with Mr. Wiederhorn. On January 6, 2006, the Circuit Court dismissed the entire derivative lawsuit, ruling that Mr. McCoon was unfit to represent our stockholders. Mr. McCoon has filed an appeal to this ruling. Our directors have indemnity agreements with us and have asserted the right to indemnification from us under those indemnity agreements for the expenses incurred in connection with the lawsuit. We have incurred expenses under the indemnity agreements and also may derive benefits if the plaintiff’s appeal is successful. There can be no assurance regarding the outcome of the lawsuit.

Meetings and Committees of the Board of Directors

During the year ended December 31, 2005, the board of directors met 12 times. Other than Mr. Wiederhorn, who was on a leave of absence until October 2005, no director attended fewer than 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the board of directors and meetings of the committees of the board of directors on which he serves.

Each member of the board of directors is expected to attend annual meetings of our stockholders, either in person or telephonically. At our 2005 annual meeting of stockholders, all five directors were in attendance.

The following are the current members and functions of the standing committees of the board of directors.

Audit Committee.   The audit committee currently consists of Don H. Coleman, K. Kenneth Kotler, and M. Ray Mathis, three non-employee directors, and met four times during the year ended December 31, 2005. Christopher T. DeWolfe served as a member of the audit committee until his resignation from the board of directors in April 2005. The audit committee makes recommendations concerning the engagement of our independent registered public accounting firm, reviews with the independent registered public accounting firm the plans and results of the audit engagement, approves professional services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm, considers the range of audit and non-audit fees and reviews the adequacy of our internal accounting controls. The board of directors has determined that Mr. Coleman is an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of applicable SEC rules and regulations and each of the members of the audit committee are independent (as independence is defined in both Rule 4200(a)(15) of the NASD’s listing standards and Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). The board of directors adopted a revised charter for the audit committee on March 30, 2004. The audit committee engaged UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm on September 7, 2004.

Executive Committee.   In July 2004, the board of directors established an executive committee to assist with the management transition during the term of Mr. Wiederhorn’s leave of absence. The executive committee met regularly, typically weekly, with senior management to review the status of our business segments and to provide oversight. The executive committee consisted of non-employee directors

9




Don H. Coleman and K. Kenneth Kotler and employee director Donald J. Berchtold. The executive committee was dissolved in October 2005 upon the return of Mr. Wiederhorn from his leave of absence.

Compensation Committee.   The compensation committee currently consists of Don H. Coleman, M. Ray Mathis and K. Kenneth Kotler, three non-employee directors, and met three times during the year ended December 31, 2005. Christopher T. DeWolfe served as a member of the compensation committee until his resignation from the board of directors in April 2005. The compensation committee’s functions are to establish and administer our policies regarding compensation. The compensation committee also administers our Incentive Stock Option Plan. The members of the compensation committee are independent (as independence is defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the NASD’s listing standards).

Nominating Committee.   On October 18, 2004, the board of directors established a nominating committee, which is authorized to nominate new candidates to our board of directors. The nominating committee consists of Don H. Coleman, K. Kenneth Kotler and M. Ray Mathis, three non-employee directors. The nominating committee adopted a charter on November 16, 2004, which is available in the Management Team section of our website at www.fccgi.com. The nominating committee met once during the year ended December 31, 2005. The members of the nominating committee are independent (as independence is defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the NASD’s listing standards). Each member of the nominating committee recommended the current nominees for election to the board of directors.

The nominating committee receives recommendations for director nominees from a variety of sources, including from stockholders, management, board members and third-party search firms. Stockholders may recommend any person to be a director by writing to our Secretary. Each submission must include (a) a brief description of the candidate, (b) the candidate’s name, age, business address and residence address, (c) the candidate’s principal occupation and the number of shares of our capital stock beneficially owned by the candidate, and (d) any other information that would be required under the rules of the SEC in a proxy statement listing the candidate as a nominee for director. Recommended candidates may be required to provide additional information.

The nominating committee reviews all recommended candidates at the same time, and subjects all candidates to the same review criteria. Members of our board of directors should be qualified, dedicated and ethical individuals who have experience relevant to our operations and understand the complexities of our business environment. The nominating committee further develops recommendations regarding the appropriate skills and characteristics required of directors in the context of the current composition of our board of directors, and these recommendations are submitted to the board of directors for review and approval. In conducting this assessment, the nominating committee considers knowledge, skills, experience in business, finance, administration and relevant technical disciplines, social experience, gender and racial diversity and other attributes that the Committee determines will contribute to our success and achievement of its business and social goals. In addition, at least a majority of our directors must be independent, all members of the audit committee must be independent and also satisfy heightened independence and qualification criteria under the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC and NASDAQ, and all members of the compensation committee and the nominating committee must be independent.

Communications With Stockholders

Correspondence from our stockholders to the board of directors or any individual directors or officers should be sent to our Secretary. Correspondence addressed to either the board of directors as a body, or to all of the directors in their entirety, will be sent to the chairman of the nominating committee. Our Secretary will regularly provide to the board of directors a summary of all such stockholder correspondence that the Secretary receives on behalf of the board of directors. The board of directors has approved this process for stockholders to send communications to the board of directors.

10




Code of Ethics

The board of directors has adopted a code of ethics designed, in part, to deter wrongdoing and to promote honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships, full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in reports and documents that we file with or submit to the SEC and in our other public communications, compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations, the prompt internal reporting of violations of the code to an appropriate person or persons, as identified in the code, and accountability for adherence to the code. The code of ethics applies to all of our directors, executive officers and employees. We will provide a copy of the code to any person without charge, upon request to R. Scott Stevenson, our Chief Financial Officer, by calling (503) 721-6500 or writing to Mr. Stevenson’s attention at Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc., P.O. Box 2665, Portland, OR 97208-2665.

We intend to disclose any amendments to, or waivers of, our code of ethics as it applies to certain persons by filing them in a current report on Form 8-K.

Director Compensation

Before November 1, 2005, each non-employee director was paid an annual director’s fee of $24,000 and an additional annual fee of $24,000 for each committee on which they served, up to a maximum total compensation of $72,000 annually. Before its dissolution in October 2005, non-employee members of the executive committee were entitled to an additional director’s fee of $50,000 annually, up to a maximum total annual compensation of $122,000. Effective November 1, 2005, our non-employee directors are paid an annual directors fee of $24,000, an additional annual fee of $24,000 for membership on one or more committees of the board of directors and an additional annual fee of $24,000 for each subsidiary board on which they serve, up to a maximum total annual compensation of $120,000. In addition, on the last day of each calendar quarter, each non-employee director receives a non-statutory stock option to purchase 1,500 shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to 110% of the fair market value of our common stock on that day. These option grants vest one-third on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date and expire on the tenth anniversary of the grant date.

PROPOSAL NO. 2
APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

A resolution will be presented at the annual meeting to ratify the appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm, to examine our financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2006, and to perform other appropriate accounting services.

Ernst & Young LLP previously served as our independent auditors. Ernst & Young LLP advised us on July 16, 2004 that they would resign as our independent auditors upon completion of its review of our interim financial information for the second quarter of 2004 and the filing of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending June 30, 2004, which was filed with the SEC on August 16, 2004.

On July 23, 2004, we announced the resignation of Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors. Ernst & Young LLP continues to provide non-audit services for us.

During the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2003, and during the subsequent interim period ended July 23, 2004, there were no disagreements with Ernst & Young LLP on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Ernst & Young LLP, would have caused Ernst & Young LLP to make references to the subject matter of the disagreements in connection with its report. During the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 and  during the subsequent interim period ended July 23, 2004, there were no disagreements between us and Ernst & Young LLP on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedures, which

11




disagreements, if not resolved to Ernst & Young LLP’s satisfaction, would have caused Ernst & Young LLP to make reference in connection with its opinion to the subject matter of the disagreement.

The audit report of Ernst & Young LLP on our financial statements for the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2003 did not contain any adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

We appointed UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm on September 7, 2004. The decision to hire UHY LLP was approved by the audit committee of the board of directors and ratified by our stockholders at the 2004 annual meeting of stockholders. During our two fiscal years ended December 31, 2003, and during the subsequent interim period preceding the appointment of UHY LLP, we had not consulted with UHY LLP regarding the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our consolidated financial statements.

UHY LLP currently serves as our independent registered public accounting firm. Representatives of UHY LLP are expected to attend the annual meeting, or be available by telephone conference, to respond to appropriate questions and will have the opportunity to make a statement, if desired.

The aggregate fees of UHY LLP for the years ended December 31, 2005, and 2004 are as follows (dollars in thousands):

 

 

December 31,
2005

 

December 31,
2004

 

Audit fees

 

 

$

385

 

 

 

$

390

 

 

Audit related fees

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

Tax fees

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

All other fees

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures.   The audit committee reviews the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm on an annual basis and has determined that UHY LLP is independent. In addition, the audit committee pre-approves all work and fees that are performed by our independent registered public accounting firm.

The affirmative vote of the holders of common stock representing a majority of the votes cast at the annual meeting, in person or by proxy, is required to ratify the appointment of UHY LLP. The board of directors recommends a vote “FOR” the ratification of its appointment of UHY LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm. If not otherwise specified, validly executed proxies will be voted “FOR” this proposal.

12




ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Executive Officers

Our executive officers and their ages as of April 20, 2006 are as follows:

Name

 

 

 

Age

 

Position

Andrew A. Wiederhorn

 

40

 

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

R. Scott Stevenson

 

49

 

Chief Financial Officer

Donald J. Berchtold

 

60

 

Director and Senior Vice President

David Dale-Johnson

 

58

 

Chief Investment Officer

Matthew Green

 

39

 

Vice President

 

Biographical information with respect to our executive officers is presented below, except for the biography of Mr. Wiederhorn and Mr. Berchtold, who are also directors. See “Proposal No. 1—Election of Directors.”

David Dale-Johnson has served as Chief Investment Officer since August 2004 and previously served as a director of Fog Cutter from October 2001 to August 2004 and Co-Chairman of the Board from June 2004 to August 2004. Mr. Dale-Johnson has held various teaching and administrative positions during the last 25 years at University of Southern California, including associate professor and director of the Marshall School of Business’s Real Estate Program, associate professor at the School of Policy Planning and Development and director of Executive Education for the Lusk Center for Real Estate. Mr. Dale-Johnson resigned his position with USC in July 2004. Mr. Dale-Johnson is also a director of LECG, Inc., a litigation-consulting firm for which he has served as an expert in real estate economics and finance since August 2001. Prior to August 2001, Mr. Dale-Johnson was a senior consultant for Economic Analysis LLC, a litigation-consulting firm. Mr. Dale-Johnson is also chairman, a director and member of the executive committee of CCEO, Inc., a charitable company involved in housing rehabilitation and training at-risk youth.

R. Scott Stevenson has been our Senior Vice President since October 1999 and was appointed Chief Financial Officer in June 2001. Mr. Stevenson was senior vice president of WFSG from September 1997 to October 1999. Mr. Stevenson was a director and President of Girard Savings Bank, FSB from 1991 to September 1997. Mr. Stevenson holds B.S. and Masters degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University. He is a certified public accountant licensed in California (inactive) and Oregon.

Matthew Green has been Vice President of Fog Cutter since October 1999. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Green was a vice president of WFSG in Europe, where it had established offices in London and Paris. Since our inception, Mr. Green has focused on the acquisition and management of all of our international assets. Prior to 1996 Mr. Green was the vice president of International Sales and Leasing for Evergreen International Aviation. He holds a B.A. degree in International Business from the University of Washington.

13




EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth the total compensation paid or accrued by us for services rendered during the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003 to our Chief Executive Officer, the former Chief Executive Officer and to each of our four other most highly compensated executive officers, or the Named Executive Officers, whose total cash compensation for the year ended December 31, 2005 exceeded $100,000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Term
Compensation

 

 

 

 

 

Actual Compensation

 

Restricted

 

Securities Underlying

 

Name and Principal Position

 

 

 

Year

 

Salary($)(1)

 

Bonus($)(2)

 

Stock Awards($)(3)

 

Options/SARs (#)

 

Andrew A. Wiederhorn

 

2005

 

 

$

96,579 

 

 

$

492,909 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chief Executive Officer,

 

2004

 

 

$

827,662

 

 

$

5,500,000

 

 

$

544,025

 

 

 

 

 

Secretary and Treasurer(4)

 

2003

 

 

$

377,507

 

 

$

2,000,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donald J. Berchtold

 

2005 

 

 

$

195,249

 

 

$

250,000 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Vice President and

 

2004

 

 

$

168,246

 

 

$

50,000

 

 

$

115,750

 

 

 

100,000

 

 

Former Chief Executive

 

2003

 

 

$

159,770

 

 

$

25,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Officer(5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R. Scott Stevenson

 

2005

 

 

$

194,427

 

 

$

275,000 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Vice President and

 

2004

 

 

$

172,472

 

 

$

275,000

 

 

$

231,500

 

 

 

100,000

 

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

2003

 

 

$

165,967

 

 

$

200,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew Green

 

2005

 

 

$

259,528 

 

 

$

210,858 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vice President

 

2004

 

 

$

203,891

 

 

$

1,116,700

 

 

$

46,300

 

 

 

50,000

 

 

 

 

2003

 

 

$

174,979

 

 

$

141,525

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Dale-Johnson(6)

 

2005

 

 

$

176,803

 

 

$

150,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chief Investment Officer

 

2004

 

 

$

80,208

 

 

$

50,000

 

 

$

231,500

 

 

 

100,000

 

 


(1)          Salary amounts include payments for unused vacation time and other sundry benefits. At December 31, 2004, salary was accrued but unpaid in the amount of $0.3 million for Mr. Wiederhorn (in accordance with his leave of absence agreement).

(2)          At December 31, 2005, bonuses were accrued but unpaid in the amount of $400,000 for Mr. Green. At December 31, 2004, bonuses were accrued but unpaid in the amount of $1.0 million for Mr. Green and $1.5 million for Mr. Wiederhorn (in accordance with his leave of absence agreement). At December 31, 2003, bonuses were accrued but unpaid in the amount of $0.5 million for Mr. Wiederhorn.

(3)          Determined by multiplying the number of shares of restricted stock awarded by the closing market price of the common stock on the date of award. The shares of restricted stock shown are allocations under the Trust. The Trust allocations vest on the fifth anniversary of the date of award on the condition that the employee has been continually employed by us since the date of award, provided, however, that we and the trustees may agree in writing that the period of service need not be continuous for an officer or employee that leaves us for a period of not more than 36 months. We and the trustees agreed that Mr. Wiederhorn was not required to provide continuous service and was allowed to leave us for a period of not more than 36 months during his leave of absence without forfeiting his beneficial rights under the Trust. Trust allocations were awarded in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 in the following amounts of shares:  Mr. Wiederhorn—117,500; Mr. Stevenson—50,000; Mr. Berchtold—25,000; and Mr. Green—10,000. The value of these Trust allocations as of December 31, 2005, calculated by multiplying the number of shares allocated at December 31, 2005,

14




by the closing market price of the common stock at December 31, 2005, was as follows:  Mr. Wiederhorn—$434,750; Mr. Stevenson—$185,000; Mr. Berchtold—$92,500; and Mr. Green—$37,000. There were no allocations of Trust assets during the year ended December 31, 2005 or 2003.

(4)          Mr. Wiederhorn returned to active status as our Chief Strategic Officer in October 2005 and resumed his role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in November 2005. He was Chief Executive Officer from our formation to June 2004, and Co-Chief Executive Officer from June 2004 to August 2004. From August 2004 to October 2005, during his leave of absence, Mr. Wiederhorn served as Chief Strategic Officer.

(5)          Mr. Berchtold served as our Chief Executive Officer from August 2004 to November 2005, and Co-Chief Executive Officer from June 2004 to August 2004. Mr. Berchtold resumed his duties as Senior Vice President when Mr. Wiederhorn resumed his role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in November 2005.

(6)          Mr. Dale-Johnson began employment with us on July 1, 2004.

Options to purchase 19,500 shares were granted in the year ended December 31, 2005 to our employees and directors.

Option Grants in the Year Ended December 31, 2005

During 2005 there were no options to purchase stock granted to any of the Named Executive Officers: 

 

 

Individual Grants

 

Potential Realizable

 

 

 

Number of

 

Percent of

 

 

 

 

 

Value at Assumed

 

 

 

Securities

 

Total 

 

 

 

 

 

Annual Rates of Stock

 

 

 

Underlying

 

Options/SARs

 

 

 

 

 

Price Appreciation for

 

 

 

Option/

 

Granted to

 

Exercise or

 

 

 

Options Term

 

 

 

SARs Granted

 

Employees in

 

Base Price

 

Expiration

 

5%

 

10%

 

Name

 

(#)

 

Fiscal Year

 

($/Sh)

 

Date

 

   ($000)   

 

   ($000)   

 

(a)

 

(b)

 

(c)

 

(d)

 

(e)

 

(f)

 

(g)

 

Donald J. Berchtold

 

 

100,000

 

 

 

25.0

%

 

 

$

4.27

 

 

 

7/22/14

 

 

 

$

206

 

 

 

$

580

 

 

R. Scott Stevenson

 

 

100,000

 

 

 

25.0

%

 

 

$

4.27

 

 

 

7/22/14

 

 

 

$

206

 

 

 

$

580

 

 

David Dale-Johnson

 

 

100,000

 

 

 

25.0

%

 

 

$

4.27

 

 

 

7/22/14

 

 

 

$

206

 

 

 

$

580

 

 

Matthew Green

 

 

50,000

 

 

 

12.5

%

 

 

$

4.27

 

 

 

7/22/14

 

 

 

$

103

 

 

 

$

290

 

 

 

Aggregated Option Exercises in the Year Ended December 31, 2005 and Fiscal Year-End Option Values

Name

 

Shares
Acquired
on Exercise

 

Value
Realized

 

Number of Securities
Underlying Unexercised
Options Held at
December 31, 2005
Exercisable/Unexercisable

 

Value of Unexercised In-
the-Money Options at
December 31, 2005
Exercisable/Unexercisable

 

Andrew A. Wiederhorn

 

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

630,000/—

 

 

 

$

— / $—

 

 

Donald J. Berchtold

 

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

43,333/66,667

 

 

 

$

— / $—

 

 

R. Scott Stevenson

 

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

93,333/66,667

 

 

 

$

— / $—

 

 

David Dale-Johnson

 

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

50,833/70,667

 

 

 

$

11,315/$—

 

 

Matthew Green

 

 

0

 

 

 

0

 

 

 

26,667/33,333

 

 

 

$

— / $—

 

 

 

Employment Agreements

We have employment agreements with Andrew A. Wiederhorn and R. Scott Stevenson, each being an Executive.

We entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Wiederhorn effective June 30, 2003. The employment agreement provides for an initial three-year term commencing July 1, 2003, which is automatically renewable for successive two-year terms unless either party gives written notice of termination to the other at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the then-current employment term. The employment agreement with Mr. Wiederhorn provides for a base salary of not less than $350,000 annually, plus an annual bonus as determined by our compensation committee.

15




Mr. Wiederhorn may terminate his employment agreement at any time for Good Reason (as defined therein) or with or without Good Reason during the Change in Control Protection Period (as defined therein) (if a Change in Control (as defined therein) occurs) (capitalized terms are defined in the employment agreement of Mr. Wiederhorn). If Mr. Wiederhorn terminates his employment agreement at any time for Good Reason or with or without Good Reason during the Change in Control Protection Period (if a Change in Control occurs), or if Mr. Wiederhorn is terminated by us without Cause or the employment agreement is not renewed in accordance with the employment agreement, Mr. Wiederhorn will be entitled to receive (i) any unreimbursed business expenses, (ii) any base salary, bonus, vacation pay, or other deferred compensation accrued or earned but not yet paid at the date of termination, (iii) three years’ base salary in effect on the date of termination and (iv) three times the amount of his annual bonus for the prior fiscal year. Mr. Wiederhorn will also be entitled to (i) accelerated full vesting under all outstanding equity-based and long-term incentive plans with options remaining outstanding as provided under the applicable stock option plan and a pro rata payment under any long-term incentive plans based on actual coverage under such plans and payment being made at the time payments would normally be made under such plans; (ii) any other amounts or benefits due Mr. Wiederhorn under our then-applicable employee benefit plans (in accordance with such plan, policy or practice); (iii) three years of additional service and compensation credit (at his then-current compensation level) for pension purposes under any of our defined benefit type qualified or nonqualified pension plans or arrangements measured from the date of termination of employment and not credited to the extent that Mr. Wiederhorn is otherwise entitled to such credit during such three-year period, which payments shall be made through and in accordance with the terms of the nonqualified defined benefit pension arrangement if any then exists, or, if not, in an actuarially equivalent lump sum (using the actuarial factors then applying in our defined benefit plan covering Mr. Wiederhorn); (iv) three years of our maximum contribution (assuming Mr. Wiederhorn deferred the maximum amount and continued to earn his then-current salary) measured from the date of termination under any type of qualified or nonqualified 401(k) plan (payable at the end of each such year); and (v) continued medical coverage for Mr. Wiederhorn, his spouse and dependents for three years.

We entered into a new employment agreement with Mr. Stevenson effective June 30, 2003. The employment agreement provides for an initial one-year term commencing July 1, 2003, which is automatically renewable for successive one-year terms unless either party gives written notice of termination to the other at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the then-current employment term. The employment agreement with Mr. Stevenson provides for a base salary of not less than $150,000 annually, plus an annual bonus as determined by the compensation committee.

The employment agreements also provide that the Executives may participate in our Stock Plan.

The employment agreements provide that during the employment term and thereafter, we will indemnify the Executives to the fullest extent permitted by law in connection with any claim against the Executive as a result of the Executive serving as our officer or director or in any capacity at our request in, or with regard to, any other entity, employee benefit plan or enterprise.

If termination is the result of an Executive’s death, we will pay to the Executive’s spouse (or his estate), an amount equal to (i) any earned but not yet paid compensation (as described in the agreements), (ii) accelerated full vesting under all outstanding equity-based and long-term incentive plans with options remaining outstanding as provided under the applicable stock option plan and a pro rata payment under any long-term incentive plans based on actual coverage under such plans at the time payments normally would be made under such plans, (iii) any other amounts or benefits due under our then-applicable employee benefit plans (in accordance with such plan, policy or practice), (iv) payment of six months of base salary to the Executive’s spouse or dependents and (vi) in the case of Mr. Wiederhorn, continued medical coverage for the Executive’s spouse and dependents for the maximum period allowed under COBRA.

16




If an Executive’s employment is terminated by reason of disability, the Executive will be entitled to receive payments and benefits to which his representatives would be entitled in the event of his termination by reason of death, provided that the payment of base salary will be reduced by any long-term disability payments under any policy maintained by us. If the Executive is terminated by us with Cause (as defined therein) or the Executive terminates his employment without Good Reason outside of the Change in Control Protection Period, the Executive will be entitled to receive only his base salary through the date of termination and any unreimbursed business expenses.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

Our compensation committee currently consists of Don H. Coleman, M. Ray Mathis and K. Kenneth Kotler, each of whom served on the compensation committee in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. Christopher T. DeWolfe also served as a member of the compensation committee until his resignation from the board of directors in April 2005. No member of the compensation committee is, or ever has been, an officer or employee of Fog Cutter. In the year ended December 31, 2005, none of our executive officers served as a member of the board of directors or the compensation committee of another entity, that has an executive officer serving as a member of our compensation committee or the board of directors.

Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust.   In the fourth quarter of 2000, we established the Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust, or the Trust, which purchased 525,000 shares of our common stock from an unrelated stockholder. Our contribution to the Trust of approximately $1.3 million was included in compensation expense for the year ended December 31, 2000. The Trust was established for the benefit of our employees and directors to raise their equity ownership in Fog Cutter, thereby strengthening the mutuality of interests between them and our stockholders. While these shares are held in trust, they will be voted ratably with ballots or proxies cast by all other stockholders. Using the retained earnings on trust assets, the Trust has subsequently purchased an additional 304,230 shares of common stock from various stockholders.

The trustees may allocate shares of the common stock owned by the Trust to our employees. An employee who has received such an allocation of stock will receive the shares after five years of service from the date of the allocation. We and the trustees agreed that Mr. Wiederhorn’s five years of service need not be continuous, and he did not forfeit his right to receive his allocated shares during his leave of absence. Further description of the Trust is set forth in the section entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” below.

Compensation Committee Report on Executive Compensation

The compensation committee administers our executive compensation programs. The compensation committee currently consists of Don H. Coleman, M. Ray Mathis and K. Kenneth Kotler, three non-employee directors. Christopher T. DeWolfe was a member of the compensation committee until his resignation from the board of directors in April 2005.

Our executive compensation program is designed to attract, retain, and motivate high-caliber executives and to focus the interests of the executives on objectives that enhance stockholder value. These goals are attained by emphasizing “pay for performance” by having a portion of the executive’s compensation dependent upon business results and by providing equity interests in us. The principal elements of our executive compensation program are base salary, bonus, and stock options. In addition, we recognize individual contributions as well as overall business results, using a discretionary bonus program.

Base Salary.   Base salaries for our executives are intended to reflect the scope of each executive’s responsibilities, our success and contributions of each executive to that success. Executive salaries are adjusted gradually over time and only as necessary to meet this objective. Increases in base salary may be

17




moderated by other considerations, such as geographic or market data, industry trends or internal fairness within us.

Bonuses.   We paid annual bonuses in 2005. The compensation committee determined the amount of the annual discretionary and other bonuses paid by us. The bonus for Mr. Green was based upon a percentage of revenues generated through Mr. Green’s direct efforts. The bonuses for other executive officers were based upon their contribution and value to us.

Stock Option Plan.   At our initial public offering in April 1998, we adopted the Stock Plan. The purpose of the Stock Plan is to enable us to attract, retain and motivate key employees and directors by providing them with equity participation in us. Accordingly, the Stock Plan permits us to grant stock options, restricted stock and stock appreciation rights, collectively Awards, to our employees, directors, consultants, and vendors and our subsidiaries. The board of directors has delegated administration of the Stock Plan to the compensation committee.

Under the Stock Plan, the compensation committee may grant stock options with an exercise price not less than the fair market value of the shares covered by the option on the date the option is granted. The compensation committee may also grant Awards of restricted shares of common stock. Each restricted stock Award would specify the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the recipient, the date of issuance, any consideration for such shares and the restrictions imposed on the shares (including the conditions of release or lapse of such restrictions). The compensation committee may also grant Awards of stock appreciation rights. A stock appreciation right entitles the holder to receive from us, in cash or common stock, at the time of exercise, the excess of the fair market value at the date of exercise of a share of common stock over a specified price fixed by the compensation committee in the Award, multiplied by the number of shares as to which the right is being exercised. The specified price fixed by the compensation committee will not be less than the fair market value of shares of common stock at the date the stock appreciation right is granted. In 2005, we issued options to purchase 19,500 shares to executive officers, directors and employees.

Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust.   In the fourth quarter of 2000, we established the Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust, or the Trust, which purchased 525,000 shares of our common stock from an unrelated stockholder. Our contribution to the Trust of approximately $1.3 million was included in compensation expenses in 2000. The Trust was established for the benefit of our employees and directors to raise their equity ownership, thereby strengthening the mutuality of interests between them and our stockholders. Retained earnings from the Trust have subsequently been used to purchase an additional 304,230 shares of our common stock.

The trustees may allocate shares of the common stock owned by the Trust to our employees. An employee who has received such an allocation of stock will receive the shares after five years of service from the date of the allocation. We and the trustees agreed that Mr. Wiederhorn’s five years of service need not be continuous, and he did not forfeit his right to receive his allocated shares during his leave of absence. Further description of the Trust is set forth in the section entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” below.

In September 2002, the trustees allocated 285,500 shares to our employees or directors. During July 2004, the trustees allocated an additional 367,500 shares to our employees and directors. Of this amount, 87,000 shares previously allocated to former employees were forfeited. As a result, at April 1, 2006, a total of 566,000 shares have been allocated to employees and directors and approximately 35,000 shares remain available for allocation.

Policy of Deductibility of Compensation.   Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code limits our tax deduction to $1 million for compensation paid to the executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table of this proxy statement, unless certain requirements are met. One of these

18




requirements is that compensation over $1 million must be performance-based. The compensation committee intends to continue to use performance-based compensation in the future, which should minimize the effect of this deduction limitation. However, the compensation committee strongly believes that its primary responsibility is to provide a compensation program that will attract, retain and reward the executive talent necessary to maximize the return to stockholders, and that the loss of a tax deduction may be necessary in some circumstances. Base salary does not qualify as performance-based compensation under Internal Revenue Service regulations.

CEO Compensation.   Mr. Wiederhorn was appointed our Chief Executive Officer at our formation and served as Chief Executive Officer until August 2004 when he began his leave of absence. To address the management transition during Mr. Wiederhorn’s leave of absence, the board of directors appointed Donald J. Berchtold as Co-Chief Executive Officer in June 2004. In August 2004, the Board of Directors, with Mr. Wiederhorn’s consent, changed Mr. Wiederhorn’s position from Co-Chief Executive Officer to Chief Strategic Officer, and changed Mr. Berchtold’s position from Co-Chief Executive Officer to sole Chief Executive Officer. In October 2005, Mr. Wiederhorn returned to active service as our Chief Strategic Officer, and he resumed his role as Chief Executive Officer in November 2005. The base salaries for Mr. Wiederhorn and Mr. Berchtold for 2005 were determined by the compensation committee and the terms of Mr. Wiederhorn’s employment are set forth in his employment agreement, which is described in this proxy statement under the heading “Employment Agreements.”

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

Don H. Coleman
M. Ray Mathis
K. Kenneth Kotler

Audit Committee Report

The following is the report of the audit committee with respect to our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. The information contained in this report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference in such filing.

The audit committee currently consists of Don H. Coleman, K. Kenneth Kotler and M. Ray Mathis, each of whom are independent (as independence is defined in Rule 4200(a)(15) of the National Association of Securities Dealers’ listing standards). The audit committee makes recommendations concerning the engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews with the independent registered public accounting firm the plans and results of the audit engagement, approves professional services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm, reviews the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm, considers the range of audit and non-audit fees and reviews the adequacy of our internal accounting controls. The board of directors adopted a revised charter for the audit committee on March 30, 2004.

Management is responsible for our internal controls and the financial reporting process. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible for performing an independent audit of our financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and to issue a report thereon. The audit committee’s responsibility is to monitor and oversee these processes, including the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures and our internal controls.

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The audit committee has reviewed and discussed our audited financial statements with management. The audit committee is satisfied that the internal control system is adequate and that we employ appropriate accounting and auditing procedures.

The audit committee has also discussed with our independent registered public accounting firm, UHY LLP, matters relating to that firm’s judgments about the quality, as well as the acceptability, of our accounting principles, as applied in its financial reporting as required by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 61, Communications with Audit Committees, as amended by Statement of Auditing Standards No. 90, Audit Committee Communications, that includes, among other items, matters related to the conduct of the audit of our financial statements. In addition, the audit committee has discussed with UHY LLP their independence from management and us, as well as the matters in the written disclosures received from the independent registered public accounting firm and required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions with Audit Committees.

Based on the audit committee’s review and discussions referred to above, the audit committee recommended to our board of directors that our audited financial statements be included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 for filing with the SEC.

 

SUBMITTED BY THE AUDIT COMMITTEE:

 

Don H. Coleman

 

K. Kenneth Kotler

 

M. Ray Mathis

 

20




Performance Graph

The following performance graph covers the period beginning December 29, 2000 through December 31, 2005. The graph compares the return on our common stock to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (“S&P 500”) and a peer group of companies (“PGI”).

GRAPHIC

 

 

1999 Base Measurement Period(1)(2)

 

 

 

December 29,
2000

 

December 31,
2001

 

December 31,
2002

 

December 31,
2003

 

December 31,
2004

 

December 31,
2005

 

Company

 

 

$

100.00

 

 

 

$

146.62

 

 

 

$

251.30

 

 

 

$

398.85

 

 

 

$

272.89

 

 

 

$

374.10

 

 

PGI(3)

 

 

$

100.00

 

 

 

$

210.26

 

 

 

$

216.50

 

 

 

$

344.87

 

 

 

$

487.94

 

 

 

$

441.01

 

 

S&P 500

 

 

$

100.00

 

 

 

$

86.96

 

 

 

$

66.64

 

 

 

$

84.22

 

 

 

$

91.79

 

 

 

$

94.55

 

 


(1)          Assumes all distributions to stockholders are reinvested on the payment dates.

(2)          Assumes $100 invested on December 29, 2000 in our common stock, the S&P 500 and the PGI.

(3)          The companies included in the PGI are FirstCity Financial; Back Yard Burgers Inc.; Rubio’s Restaurants Inc.; Sonic Corp.; MCG Capital Corp.; and New Valley Corp.

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS

Stock Purchase Loans to Officer

Prior to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we had negotiated employment agreements with senior executives, which allowed these executives to borrow a specified maximum amount from us to purchase our common stock. These loans are full recourse, secured loans bearing interest at the prime rate. At December 31, 2004 we had outstanding stock purchase loans to Mr. Wiederhorn, in aggregate amount, including accrued interest, of approximately $1.0 million. We are not obligated to make additional advances on loans under the employment agreements, and all other loans to executive officers have been paid in full.

Loan to Executive Officer

Prior to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we loaned Mr. Wiederhorn $2.0 million. This loan is fully recourse to Mr. Wiederhorn and is secured by trust deeds on two residences located in Oregon. The loan is due on August 1, 2007 and bears interest at 8.5% per annum, payable monthly. The Board of Directors (with Mr. Wiederhorn abstaining) concluded that the terms of the loan were at least as favorable to us as would be available in an arm’s-length, third-party transaction and approved the loan on July 9, 2002. In November 2005, Mr. Wiederhorn repaid this loan in full.

Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust

In the fourth quarter of 2000, we established the Fog Cutter Long-Term Vesting Trust, or the Trust, which purchased 525,000 shares of our common stock from an unrelated stockholder. Our contribution to the Trust of approximately $1.3 million was included in compensation expense for the year ended December 31, 2000. The Trust was established for the benefit of our employees and directors to raise their equity ownership in Fog Cutter, thereby strengthening the mutuality of interests between them and our stockholders. While these shares are held in trust, they will be voted ratably with ballots or proxies cast by all other stockholders. Using the retained earnings on trust assets, the Trust has subsequently purchased an additional 304,230 shares of common stock from various stockholders.

Andrew A. Wiederhorn, K. Kenneth Kotler and Don H. Coleman are the trustees of the Trust. Pursuant to the terms of the Trust, the trustees will, from time to time, allocate the shares to our employees. An employee will not have any rights with respect to any shares allocated to him or her unless and until the employee completes five years of continuous service with us, commencing with the date the employee is first allocated such shares; provided, however, that the trustees and we may agree in writing that the period of service need not be continuous for an officer or employee who leaves us for a period of not more than 36 months. We and the trustees have agreed that Mr. Wiederhorn need not provide continuous service and may leave us for a period of not more than 36 months without forfeiting his beneficial rights under the Trust. Upon the employee’s completion of the vesting period, the trustees shall promptly distribute to such employee the shares allocated to such employee; provided, however, that the trustees may, in lieu of distributing the shares, make a cash payment to the employee equal to the fair market value of the shares allocated to such employee as of the date immediately prior to the date of distribution or distribute any combination of cash or shares, as determined by the trustees, in their sole discretion. As of April 1, 2006, the trustees had allocated 566,000 shares, net of forfeitures, to our employees and directors.  We expect that approximately 311,000 of the allocated shares will vest in September 2007 and be distributed, together with the associated retained earnings, to the vested beneficiaries. Nearly all of the remaining allocated shares will vest in late 2008.

22




Call Option

On March 14, 2005, we exercised an option, or Call Option, to acquire 423,245 shares of our common stock from Mr. Wiederhorn, for an exercise price of $3.99 per share. The Call Option had been acquired from Mr. Wiederhorn on April 27, 2004. The original purchase price for the Call Option was $750,000, resulting in an “all-in” cost to us on exercise of approximately $5.76 per share. The aggregate price to us on exercise of $5.76 per share represented a premium of $0.90 per share to our net book value and $0.50 per share to our market price at the time the Call Option was purchased. The exercise price for the shares was less than our book value per share and approximated the recent trading range of our common stock in the marketplace. At the time the Call Option was purchased, we and our directors also considered the following factors:  (1) the potentially negative impact on our share price if the shares under the Call Option were disposed of publicly; (2) our favorable liquidity position; (3) the potential reduction in the risk that shares are transferred in a transaction that would have an adverse impact on its net operating loss position; and (4) the reduction in the future expenditure of cash dividends by us once we exercise the Call Option. The board of directors reviewed the transaction to confirm that the transaction was in our best interest and the best interest of our stockholders.

SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

Based solely on a review of Forms 3, 4 and 5 and amendments thereto furnished to us for the year ended December 31, 2005, our directors, officers, or beneficial owners of more than 10% of our common stock timely furnished reports on all Forms 3, 4 and 5, except for two Forms 4 filed by Christopher T. DeWolfe and one Form 4 filed by Mr. Wiederhorn to report the exercise of the Call Option.

PROPOSALS OF STOCKHOLDERS

Stockholders wishing to present a proposal at our 2007 annual meeting of stockholders must submit the proposal in writing to the Secretary at our principal executive offices at 1410 SW Jefferson Street, Portland, OR 97201-2548, no later than the close of business on December 29, 2006, if the proposal is to be considered for inclusion in the proxy materials for that meeting. Such proposals must also meet the other requirements of Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, in order to be considered for inclusion in the proxy materials for the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders. Stockholders that intend to present a proposal that will not be included in the proxy materials must give us notice of the proposal at least 50 days but no more than 75 days before the date of the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders. If notice or public disclosure of the date of the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders is given or made to stockholders less than 65 days before the date of the meeting, we must receive notice of the proposal not later than the tenth day following the day on which such notice of the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders was mailed or such public disclosure was made. Because there are other requirements in the proxy rules, however, our timely receipt of any such proposal by a qualified stockholder will guarantee neither the proposal’s inclusion in our proxy materials for, nor presentation of the proposal at, the 2007 annual meeting of stockholders.

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OTHER BUSINESS

The board of directors is not aware of any other matters to come before the annual meeting. If any other matter should come before the annual meeting, the persons named in the enclosed proxy intend to vote the proxy according to their best judgment.

A COPY OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005, NOT INCLUDING EXHIBITS, CONTAINING INFORMATION ON OPERATIONS AND OUR AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES ACCOMPANY THIS PROXY STATEMENT. COPIES OF THE EXHIBITS TO THESE REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE UPON WRITTEN REQUEST WITHOUT CHARGE FOR REQUESTORS WHO INCLUDE IN THEIR WRITTEN REQUEST A GOOD-FAITH REPRESENTATION THAT, AS OF APRIL 20, 2006, SUCH REQUESTOR WAS A BENEFICIAL OWNER OF OUR COMMON STOCK. PLEASE WRITE TO:

FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC.
1410 SW JEFFERSON STREET
PORTLAND, OR 97201-2548
ATTENTION:  R. SCOTT STEVENSON

Copies may also be obtained without charge through the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

By order of the Board of Directors

GRAPHIC

Andrew A. Wiederhorn
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Portland, Oregon
April 28, 2006

24




Exhibits

Exhibit A—Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005




 

FOG CUTTER CAPITAL GROUP INC.

 

PROXY

 

THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

 

This proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. for the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 16, 2006. The undersigned appoints Andrew A. Wiederhorn and R. Scott Stevenson, and each of them, with full power of substitution in each, the proxies of the undersigned, to represent the undersigned and vote all shares of Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc. common stock that the undersigned may be entitled to vote at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held on May 16, 2006, and at any adjournment or postponement thereof as indicated on the reverse side.

 

This proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed herein by the undersigned stockholder. If no direction is given, this proxy will be voted “FOR” each of the nominees for director and “FOR” the ratification of UHY LLP as Fog Cutter Capital Group Inc.’s independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2006.

 



 

Mark, Sign, Date and
Return the Proxy Card
Promptly Using the
Enclosed Envelope

ý

 

Votes must be
indicated (X) in
Black or Blue ink.

 

 

 

THIS PROXY, WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED, WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREIN BY THE UNDERSIGNED STOCKHOLDER. IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR” EACH OF THE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR AND “FOR” RATIFICATION OF THE INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM.

 

1.             ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

 

FOR  o

 

WITHHOLD  o

 

EXCEPTIONS  o

ALL

 

FOR ALL

 

 

 

Nominees:  Donald J. Berchtold, Don H. Coleman, K. Kenneth Kotler, M. Ray Mathis and Andrew A. Wiederhorn.

 

(INSTRUCTION:  To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee , mark the “exceptions” box and write that nominee’s name in the space provided below.)

 

 

 

2.             PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UHY LLP AS INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2006.

 

o

FOR

 

o            AGAINST

 

o            ABSTAIN

 

3.             In their discretion upon such other matters as may properly come before the meeting.

 

 

Stockholder sign here

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Co-Owner sign here

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please sign exactly as your name appears on your stock certificate(s). When joint tenants hold shares, both should sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian, please give full title as such. If a corporation, please sign in full corporate name by president or other authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person.