S-8 1 h17710sv8.htm WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION sv8
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 2004

Registration No. 333-          


UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


Westlake Chemical Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
     
Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
  76-0346924
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
     
2801 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 600
Houston, Texas

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
   
77056

(Zip Code)

Westlake Chemical Corporation 2004 Omnibus Incentive Plan
(Full title of the plan)

Stephen Wallace, Esq.
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Westlake Chemical Corporation
2801 Post Oak Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77056

(Name and address of agent for service)
Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service:
(713) 960-9111


Copies to:
J. David Kirkland, Jr., Esq.
Timothy S. Taylor, Esq.
Baker Botts L.L.P.
One Shell Plaza
910 Louisiana Street
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 229-1234
Fax: (713) 229-1522


CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

                                         
 
              Proposed     Proposed        
              Maximum     Maximum        
              Offering     Aggregate     Amount of  
  Title of Securities     Amount to be     Price     Offering     Registration  
  to be Registered     Registered (1)     Per Share (2)     Price (2)     Fee  
 
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share
    6,327,000 shares     $ 14.825       $ 93,797,775       $ 11,885    
 


(1)   Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement also covers an indeterminate number of shares of Common Stock that may be offered or issued by reason of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions or by reason of antidilution provisions of the Westlake Chemical Corporation 2004 Omnibus Incentive Plan.
 
(2)   Estimated solely for the purposes of calculating the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act on the basis of the average of the high and low price of the Registrant’s common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on August 11, 2004.



 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
Item 4. Description of Securities.
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Item 8. Exhibits.
Item 9. Undertakings.
SIGNATURES
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
Opinion of Baker Botts L.L.P.
Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Powers of Attorney


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INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT

     Westlake Chemical Corporation (the “Registrant” or the “Company”), is filing this Registration Statement on Form S-8 relating to its Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), issuable pursuant to the terms of the Westlake Chemical Corporation 2004 Omnibus Incentive Plan.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

     Note: The document(s) containing the employee benefit plan information required by Item 1 of Form S-8 and the statement of availability of registrant information and any other information required by Item 2 of Form S-8 will be sent or given to participants as specified by Rule 428 under the Securities Act. In accordance with Rule 428 and the requirements of Part I of Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. The Registrant shall maintain a file of such documents in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428. Upon request, the Registrant shall furnish to the Commission or its staff a copy or copies of all of the documents included in such file.

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PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

     This Registration Statement incorporates herein by reference the following documents which have been filed with the Commission by the Company:

  1.   The Company’s Prospectus, dated August 10, 2004, as filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) of the Securities Act; and
 
  2.   The description of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, contained in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the Commission on July 30, 2004, pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

     All documents filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold, or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filling of such documents.

     Any statement contained in this Registration Statement, in any amendment hereto or in a document incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently-filed supplement to this Registration Statement or in any document that also is incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

     Not Applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

     Not Applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

     Delaware law permits a corporation to adopt a provision in its certificate of incorporation eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director, but not an officer in his or her capacity as such, to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director for (1) any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (2) acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (3) liability under section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for unlawful payment of dividends or stock purchases or redemptions or (4) any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

     The amended and restated certificate of incorporation of the Company provides that, to the fullest extent of Delaware law, no Company director shall be liable to the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.

     Under Delaware law, a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any type of proceeding, other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, because he or she

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is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or other entity, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such proceeding if: (1) he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and (2) with respect to any criminal proceeding, he or she had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. A corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit brought by or in the right of the corporation because he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or other entity, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such action or suit if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification will be made if the person is found liable to the corporation unless, in such a case, the court determines the person is nonetheless entitled to indemnification for such expenses. A corporation must also indemnify a present or former director or officer has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any proceeding, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred by him or her. Expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by a director or officer, or any employees or agents as deemed appropriate by the board of directors, in defending civil or criminal proceedings may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such proceedings upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director, officer, employee or agent to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation. The Delaware law regarding indemnification and the advancement of expenses is not exclusive of any other rights a person may be entitled to under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.

     Under the DGCL, the termination of any proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that a person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful.

     Delaware law also provides that a corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or other entity, against any liability asserted against and incurred by such person, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability.

     The Company’s restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws authorize indemnification of any person entitled to indemnity under law to the full extent permitted by law.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

     Not Applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

     The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement or incorporated by reference:

     
Exhibit    
Number
  Description
4.1*
  Specimen Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed on August 9, 2004 under Registration No. 333-115790).

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4.2*
  Westlake Chemical Corporation 2004 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed on August 9, 2004 under Registration No. 333-115790).
 
   
4.3*
  Indenture dated as of July 31, 2003 by and among the Company, the guarantors named therein and JPMorgan Chase Bank, as trustee, relating to 8 3/4% Senior Notes due 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on September 22, 2003 under Registration No. 333-108982).
 
   
4.4*
  Form of 8 3/4% Senior Notes due 2011 (included in Exhibit 4.3).
 
   
  The Company is a party to other long-term debt instruments not filed herewith under which the total amount of securities authorized does not exceed 10% of the total assets of the Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Pursuant to paragraph 4 (iii) (A) of Item 601(b) of Regulation S-K, the Company agrees to furnish a copy of such instruments to the Commission upon request.
 
   
5.1
  Opinion of Baker Botts L.L.P.
 
   
23.1
  Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
 
   
23.2
  Consent of Baker Botts L.L.P. (included in Exhibit 5.1).
 
   
24.1
  Powers of Attorney.


*   Incorporated herein by reference as indicated.

Item 9. Undertakings.

  (a)   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
 
  (1)   To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

  (i)   to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
 
  (ii)   to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in this Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
 
  (iii)   to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement.

Provided, however, that the undertakings set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic

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reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

  (2)   That, for the purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
  (3)   To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
 
  (b)   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filling of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filling of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
 
  (c)   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Houston, Texas, on the 13th day of August, 2004.
         
  WESTLAKE CHEMICAL CORPORATION
 
 
  /s/ Albert Chao    
  Albert Chao   
  President and Chief Executive Officer   
 

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on August 13, 2004.

     
Signature
  Title
/s/ Albert Chao

Albert Chao
  President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)
     
/s/ Ruth I. Dreessen

Ruth I. Dreessen
  Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)
     
/s/ George J. Mangieri

George J. Mangieri
  Vice President and Controller
(Principal Accounting Officer)
     
*

James Chao
  Chairman of the Board
     
*

Dorothy C. Jenkins
  Director
     
*By:
  /s/ Albert Chao
 
 
  Albert Chao
Attorney-in-Fact

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

     
Exhibit    
Number
  Description
4.1*
  Specimen Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed on August 9, 2004 under Registration No. 333-115790).
 
   
4.2*
  Westlake Chemical Corporation 2004 Omnibus Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1/A filed on August 9, 2004 under Registration No. 333-115790).
 
   
4.3*
  Indenture dated as of July 31, 2003 by and among the Company, the guarantors named therein and JPMorgan Chase Bank, as trustee, relating to 8 3/4% Senior Notes due 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on September 22, 2003 under Registration No. 333-108982).
 
   
4.4*
  Form of 8 3/4% Senior Notes due 2011 (included in Exhibit 4.3).
 
   
  The Company is a party to other long-term debt instruments not filed herewith under which the total amount of securities authorized does not exceed 10% of the total assets of the Company and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. Pursuant to paragraph 4 (iii) (A) of Item 601(b) of Regulation S-K, the Company agrees to furnish a copy of such instruments to the Commission upon request.
 
   
5.1
  Opinion of Baker Botts L.L.P.
 
   
23.1
  Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
 
   
23.2
  Consent of Baker Botts L.L.P. (included in Exhibit 5.1).
 
   
24.1
  Powers of Attorney.


*   Incorporated herein by reference as indicated.

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