DEFA14A 1 brhc20054986-defa14a.htm DEFA 14A
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549 

FORM 8-K
 
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
 
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 26, 2023 

CIRCOR INTERNATIONAL, INC.
 (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
001-14962
04-3477276
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
(Commission File No.)
(IRS Employer Identification No.)
 
30 CORPORATE DRIVE, SUITE 200
Burlington,
MA
01803-4238
(Address of principal executive offices)
  
(Zip code)
 
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (781) 270-1200

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
 
Title of each class
  
Trading Symbol
  
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value Per Share
  
CIR
  
New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the Registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
☒
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
☐
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

☐  Emerging Growth Company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
 
Item 1.01
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
 
Merger Agreement

On June 26, 2023, CIRCOR International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), entered into Amendment No. 1 (the “Amendment”) to its previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, Cube BidCo, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), and Cube Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving the Merger. Parent and Merger Sub are each affiliates of investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm.
 
As previously announced, on June 5, 2023, the Company entered into the Merger Agreement, which provides that upon consummation of the Merger, Parent will acquire all of the outstanding shares of the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (“Company Common Stock”) for $49.00 per share in cash.
 
Under the terms of the Amendment, (i) Parent has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Company Common Stock for $51.00 per share in cash; (ii) Parent has agreed to a $125 million reverse termination fee payable to CIRCOR in certain circumstances where the transaction is terminated due to failure to obtain antitrust approvals; (iii) Parent has agreed to increase the existing customary reverse termination fee tied to closing obligations payable to CIRCOR from $67 million to $100 million; and (iv) the termination fee payable by CIRCOR to Parent in certain customary circumstances has been increased from $28 million to $42.75 million.  In addition, affiliates of investment funds managed by KKR have agreed to provide a “full equity backstop” for the financing of the Merger.
 
The Amendment was executed after the Company received an unsolicited proposal from a third party to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Company Common Stock for $52.65 per share in cash.  The Company’s Board of Directors (the “Company Board”) had determined in good faith, after consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors, that the unsolicited proposal from the third party was reasonably likely to lead to or result in a Superior Proposal, as such term is defined in the Merger Agreement. The Company Board, in consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors, accordingly, authorized discussions with the third party and facilitated the third party’s due diligence of the Company, in each case, subject to the provisions of the Merger Agreement. Following discussions with the third party regarding its proposal, and after taking into consideration the terms of the Amendment, the Company Board in good faith, after consultation with its outside legal counsel and financial advisors, determined that the proposal from the third party did not constitute a Superior Proposal as compared to the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, as amended by the Amendment. Despite the difference in price, the Company Board concluded that the incremental price contemplated by the alternative proposal was more than offset by less deal certainty. Specifically, the alternative proposal did not offer a full equity backstop, and its debt financing contemplated syndication, which would introduce risk in the current financial markets.  In addition, the Company Board assessed the third party’s proposal and concluded that it entailed a higher level of antitrust risk that would likely result in a longer period of time until closing and a higher risk of not closing, and the Amendment provides meaningfully more Company favorable antitrust risk allocation provisions than the terms set forth in the alternative proposal.
 
The Company Board continues to unanimously recommend that CIRCOR stockholders vote in favor of the transaction with Parent.
 
The foregoing summary of the principal terms of the Amendment does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full copy of the Amendment filed hereto as Exhibit 2.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
 
Item 8.01
Other Events.
 
On June 27, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing entry into the Amendment. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein.
 
Additional Information and Where to Find It
 
This Current Report on Form 8-K relates to the proposed acquisition of the Company by Parent. This communication does not constitute a solicitation of any vote or approval. In connection with the proposed transaction, the Company plans to file with the SEC and mail or otherwise provide to its stockholders a proxy statement regarding the proposed transaction. the Company may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction. This document is not a substitute for the proxy statement or any other document that may be filed by the Company with the SEC.
 
BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, THE COMPANY’S STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT IN ITS ENTIRETY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE THEREIN BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND THE PARTIES TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.
 
Any vote in respect of resolutions to be proposed at a Company stockholder meeting to approve the proposed transaction or related matters, or other responses in relation to the proposed transaction, should be made only on the basis of the information contained in the Company’s proxy statement. Stockholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement and other documents the Company files with the SEC (when available) through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. The Company makes available free of charge on its investor relations website at investors.circor.com copies of materials it files with, or furnishes to, the SEC.
 
The proposed transaction will be implemented solely pursuant to the Merger Agreement, as amended by the Amendment, which contains the full terms and conditions of the proposed transaction.
 
Participants in the Solicitation
 
The Company and certain of its directors, executive officers and certain employees and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Security holders may obtain information regarding the names, affiliations and interests of the Company’s directors and executive officers in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on March 15, 2023. To the extent the holdings of the Company’s securities by the Company’s directors and executive officers have changed since the amounts set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction, which may, in some cases, be different than those of the Company’s stockholders generally, by reading the proxy statement relating to the proposed transaction when it is filed with the SEC and other materials that may be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction when they become available. These documents (when available) may be obtained free of charge from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the investor relations page of the Company’s website at investors.circor.com.
 
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
 
This Current Report on Form 8-K includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including all statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectation of the Company and members of its senior management team and can typically be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “predict,” “target,” “potential,” “likely,” “continue,” “ongoing,” “could,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “project” and similar expressions, as well as variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed transaction with KKR and the unsolicited third party proposal. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of risks and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ from expectations contemplated by forward-looking statements include: uncertainty as to the third party proposal, including whether the third party will continue to pursue a transaction with the Company, and if so, if the proposal will lead to a superior proposal; uncertainties as to the timing of the merger; uncertainties as to how many of the Company’s stockholders will vote their stock in favor of the transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the Merger Agreement, including circumstances requiring a party to pay the other party a termination fee pursuant to the Merger Agreement; the ability of the parties to consummate the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all; the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the consummation of the proposed transaction, including the ability to secure regulatory approvals and stockholder approval on the terms expected, at all or in a timely manner; the effects of the transaction (or the announcement or pendency thereof) on relationships with associates, customers, manufacturers, suppliers, employees (including the risks relating to the ability to retain or hire key personnel), other business partners or governmental entities; transaction costs; the risk that the merger will divert management’s attention from the Company’s ongoing business operations or otherwise disrupts the Company’s ongoing business operations; changes in the Company’s businesses during the period between now and the closing; certain restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact the Company’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; risks associated with litigation relating to the proposed transaction; inability to achieve expected results in pricing and cost cut actions and the related impact on margins and cash flow; the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; the remediation of the material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting or other potential weaknesses of which the Company is not currently aware or which have not been detected; the uncertainty associated with the current worldwide economic conditions and the continuing impact on economic and financial conditions in the United States and around the world, including as a result of COVID-19, rising inflation, increasing interest rates, natural disasters, military conflicts, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, terrorist attacks and other similar matters, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in documents filed with the SEC by the Company, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual reports on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof.
Item 9.01
Financial Statements and Exhibits.
 
(d)
Exhibits

Exhibit
Number
  
Description
     
 
Amendment No. 1 to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 26, 2023, by and among Cube BidCo, Inc., Cube Merger Sub, Inc. and CIRCOR International, Inc.
     
 
Press Release issued on June 27, 2023.
     
104
  
Cover Page Interactive Data File, formatted in Inline XBRL.

SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: June 27, 2023
    
     
 
CIRCOR International, Inc.
     
  By:
/s/Jessica Wenzell
  Name: Jessica Wenzell
  Title: General Counsel & Chief People Officer