UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14D-9
(Rule 14d-101)
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement
Under Section 14(d)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. 3)
AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc.
(Name of Subject Company)
AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc.
(Name of Persons Filing Statement)
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share
(Title of Class of Securities)
00782L107
(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)
Michael B. Sims
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
9987 Carver Road
Blue Ash, Ohio 45242
(800) 969-2747
(Name, address, and telephone numbers of person authorized to receive notices and communications
on behalf of the persons filing statement)
With a Copy to
Jeffrey H. Cohen
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3400
Los Angeles, California 90071
(213) 687-5000
☐ | Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer. |
This Amendment No. 3 (the Amendment) amends and supplements the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 of AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the Company), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on May 9, 2017 (as amended, the Schedule 14D-9). The Schedule 14D-9 relates to the cash tender offer by DVB Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc., a Delaware corporation, to purchase all of the shares of Company Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, issued and outstanding (the Shares) at a purchase price per Share of $40.25, net to the holder thereof in cash, without interest and subject to any withholding of taxes required by applicable law, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2017 (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the Offer to Purchase), and the related Letter of Transmittal (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the Letter of Transmittal) (which offer, upon such terms and subject to such conditions, as it and they may be amended or supplemented from time to time, constitutes the Offer). The Offer to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal are incorporated by reference and filed as Exhibits (a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B), respectively, to the Schedule 14D-9. The Offer is described in a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2017.
All information regarding the Offer as set forth in the Schedule 14D-9, including all exhibits and annexes that were previously filed with the Schedule 14D-9, is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into this Amendment, except that such information is hereby amended and supplemented to the extent specifically provided for herein. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Amendment have the meanings ascribed to them in the Schedule 14D-9.
ITEM 4. | THE SOLICITATION OR RECOMMENDATION |
Background and Reasons for the Company Boards Recommendation
Item 4 of the Schedule 14D-9 (Item 4) under the heading Background and Reasons for the Company Boards Recommendation Background of the Offer and the Merger is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
The sixth sentence of the second paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 18 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
At such time, the Company also entered into discussions
with an additional potential counterparty (Party A) regarding a potential minority investment in the Company that would have provided some liquidity to the Companys stockholders, but the Company Board determined that
the Party As proposal was not attractive from a strategic or a financial point of view at such time and the Company Board determined not to pursue further discussions with Party A.
The second paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 18 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by inserting the following sentence after the sixth sentence thereof:
The nondisclosure agreement with Party A did not preclude Party A from making a proposal with respect to the Company at a subsequent time.
The fourth paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 19 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by inserting the following sentence after the second sentence thereof:
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Since the 2015 sale process, prior to this conversation, neither Mr. Wilson nor Oaktree had initiated any discussions with Parent or any of its advisors regarding a potential transaction with respect to the Company.
The eighth sentence of the seventh paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 19 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
In addition, the Company Board determined to communicate to Parent that any proposal should not refer to any particular payment to be made with respect to termination of the income tax receivable agreement and rather that Parent should assume that the contractually required TRA Settlement Amount would be assumed by Parent and, to the extent required, would be paid at the closing of the potential transaction.
The eleventh paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 20 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
On April 10, 2017, the
Company Board held a telephonic meeting, attended by members of the Companys management and representatives of Skadden, Credit Suisse and Firm A. The Company Board determined that, given the discussions with Parent, it would form a
transactions committee (the Transactions Committee), a committee of convenience, comprised entirely of independent directorswithout a formal charter, that had the authority to work with the Companys
legal and financial advisors to engage in discussions with Parent about a potential transaction. The Board engaged in a discussion regarding the composition of the Transactions Committee, and determined that the Transactions Committee should be
comprised entirely of independent directors. Following such discussion, Gary Perlin, Celeste Clark and Mr. Hollis were chosen to comprise the Transactions Committee, and Mr. Perlin was appointed as Chair. The Company Board also was
updated as to discussions with Parent regarding the non-disclosure and standstill agreement.
The twentieth paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 21 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
On April 14, 2017, members of the Companys management presented to the Transactions Committee its long-term financial projections and forecasts for the Company (the Management Plan), which included a base case and an acquisition case that set forth certain assumptions concerning the Companys liquidity, leverage and, in the case of the acquisition case, potential for consummating acquisitions. After comments from the Transactions Committee regarding which assumptions to use in the acquisition case were incorporated into the final Management Plan, the Transactions Committee approved the Management Plan and directed Company management to provide the Management Plan to Credit Suisse and Moelis to facilitate their respective financial review of Parents proposal, which Company management subsequently provided to Credit Suisse and Moelis as directed.
The third sentence of the twenty-second paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 22 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
The Company Board engaged in a discussion regarding financial aspects of Parents proposal, as well as the Companys future prospects as a standalone entity based on the base case and acquisition case forecasts presented in the Management Plan.
The second bullet point of the twenty-seventh paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 23 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
The view of the Company Board, after considering input from the Companys management and financial advisors, that other third parties that were believed to have both the strategic and financial capacity to explore an acquisition of the Company (Potential Acquirors) might not pursue a transaction with the Company at that time, based on, among other things, certain publicly available information about such Potential Acquirors regarding strategic transactions and other matters that had been recently announced. In addition, the Company Board noted that a number of the Potential Acquirors had engaged in discussions with the Company in the past, including in the 2015 sale process, and ultimately had declined to pursue a transaction with the Company or were interested at a significantly lower valuation. Finally, the Company Board discussed that, with appropriate contractual provisions the Company Board had instructed Skadden to seek, none of the Potential Acquirors would be precluded from making a proposal after the Companys execution of a merger agreement with Parent.
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The thirty-sixth paragraph under the heading entitled Background of the Offer and the Merger on page 25 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following sentence after the first sentence thereof:
The parties also engaged in discussions regarding Parents contractual obligation to assume the TRA Settlement Amount and agreed, based on due diligence information provided to Parent, that the Merger Agreement would provide that the TRA Settlement Amount paid to the pre-IPO stockholders, including Oaktree, pursuant to the terms of the income tax receivable agreement would not exceed $224.00 million.
Item 4 of the Schedule 14D-9 under the heading Background and Reasons for the Company Boards Recommendation Reasons for the Recommendation is hereby amended and restated as follows:
The eighth bullet point entitled Negotiation of Merger Agreement under the heading entitled Reasons for the Recommendation on page 27 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following sentence after the last sentence thereof:
The Board also considered that the Companys directors and members of management involved in such negotiations did not engage in any communications with Parent or its advisors regarding the future directorship and/or employment of such persons.
Certain Financial Projections
Item 4 of the Schedule 14D-9 under the heading Certain Financial Projections is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
The fifth paragraph under the heading entitled Certain Financial Projections on page 32 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following sentence after the fourth sentence thereof:
In addition to the Company Forecasts, the Companys management provided to Credit Suisse and Moelis, for fiscal years 2022 through 2055, the estimated future values of the Companys net tax attributes as well as the corresponding payments to pre-IPO stockholders of the Company pursuant to the income tax receivable agreement, the net amount of which was not significant.
The following tables and related footnotes following the eighth paragraph under the heading entitled Certain Financial Projections on pages 33 through 34 of the Schedule 14D-9 are hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
Management ProjectionsBase Case
($MM, except per share amounts)
Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016A | 2017E | 2018E | 2019E | 2020E | 2021E | |||||||||||||||||||
Net Sales |
$ | 1,568 | $ | 1,660 | $ | 1,708 | $ | 1,708 | $ | 1,791 | $ | 1,810 | ||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA(1) |
300 | 321 | 336 | 338 | 368 | 377 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating Income |
183 | 234 | 250 | 260 | 292 | 301 | ||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Net Income(2) |
124 | 108 | 115 | 120 | 139 | 145 | ||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Diluted Net Income Per Share(3) |
1.75 | 1.37 | 1.46 | 1.50 | 1.73 | 1.80 | ||||||||||||||||||
Unlevered, After-Tax Free Cash Flow(4) |
195 | 171 | 117 | 177 | 195 | 197 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Net Debt |
991 | 891 | 846 | 754 | 652 | 554 |
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(1) | Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, as well as certain non-cash and other adjustment items. |
(2) | Adjusted Net Income represents net income before, as applicable, the release of deferred tax asset valuation allowances, debt refinancing charges, impairment charges, restructuring expenses, sponsor fees and expenses, merger and acquisition expenses, public filing expenses and other adjustment items. |
(3) | Adjusted Diluted Net Income Per Share represents the diluted per share value of Adjusted Net Income. |
(4) | Unlevered, After-Tax Free Cash Flow represents Adjusted EBITDA less stock-based compensation expense, cash taxes (after taking into account tax attributes of the Company, including use of net operating loss carryovers), capital expenditures, historical acquisitions, increases (or plus decreases) in net working capital and payments to pre-IPO stockholders of the Company pursuant to the income tax receivable agreement. |
Management ProjectionsAcquisition Case
($MM, except per share amounts)
Fiscal Year | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016A | 2017E | 2018E | 2019E | 2020E | 2021E | |||||||||||||||||||
Net Sales |
$ | 1,568 | $ | 1,796 | $ | 2,006 | $ | 2,090 | $ | 2,256 | $ | 2,358 | ||||||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA(1) |
300 | 357 | 402 | 418 | 461 | 483 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating Income |
183 | 265 | 312 | 334 | 381 | 403 | ||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Net Income(2) |
124 | 126 | 150 | 162 | 191 | 204 | ||||||||||||||||||
Adjusted Diluted Net Income Per Share(3) |
1.75 | 1.60 | 1.90 | 2.03 | 2.36 | 2.54 | ||||||||||||||||||
Unlevered, After-Tax Free Cash Flow(4) |
195 | (132 | ) | 69 | 135 | 159 | 166 | |||||||||||||||||
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Net Debt |
991 | 1,201 | 1,219 | 1,185 | 1,136 | 1,089 |
(1) | Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, as well as certain non-cash and other adjustment items. (2) Adjusted Net Income represents net income before, as applicable, the release of deferred tax asset valuation allowances, debt refinancing charges, impairment charges, restructuring expenses, sponsor fees and expenses, merger and acquisition expenses, public filing expenses and other adjustment items. |
(2) | Adjusted Net Income represents net income before, as applicable, the release of deferred tax asset valuation allowances, debt refinancing charges, impairment charges, restructuring expenses, sponsor fees and expenses, merger and acquisition expenses, public filing expenses and other adjustment items. |
(3) | Adjusted Diluted Net Income Per Share represents the diluted per share value of Adjusted Net Income. |
(4) | Unlevered, After-Tax Free Cash Flow represents Adjusted EBITDA less stock-based compensation expense, cash taxes (after taking into account tax attributes of the Company, including use of net operating loss carryovers), capital expenditures, acquisitions, increases (or plus decreases) in net working capital and payments to pre-IPO stockholders of the Company pursuant to the income tax receivable agreement. |
The final paragraph under the heading entitled Certain Financial Projections on page 34 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by replacing such paragraph with the following:
The Company Forecasts also included stock-based compensation expense of $31 million, $19 million, $20 million, $15 million, $15 million and $15 million for the fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
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Opinions of the Companys Financial Advisors
Item 4 of the Schedule 14D-9 under the heading Opinions of the Companys Financial Advisors is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
The third sentence of the fifth paragraph under the heading entitled Opinion of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on page 35 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
In addition, Credit Suisse was not
requested to make, and Credit Suisse did not make, an independent evaluation or appraisal of the assets or liabilities (contingent, derivative, off-balance sheet or otherwise) of the Company or any other entity and, other than certain information
prepared by a third party consultant as provided to Credit Suisse by the Company, after consultation with an international accounting firm, with respect to obligations under a tax receivable agreement to which the Company is
a party, Credit Suisse was not furnished with any such evaluations or appraisals.
The third sentence of the thirteenth paragraph under the heading entitled Opinion of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on page 37 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
Financial data of the Company was based on the Base Case, which Credit Suisse, based on its professional judgment, considered an appropriate basis on which to perform its selected public companies analysis, publicly available research analysts consensus estimates and public filings.
The eighteenth paragraph under the heading entitled Opinion of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on pages 38 through 39 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
Credit Suisse performed discounted cash flow analyses of the
Company by calculating the estimated present value of the unlevered, after-tax free cash flows that the Company was forecasted to generate during the last three quarters of the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 through the full fiscal year
ending December 31, 2021 based both on the Base Case and the Acquisition Case. For purposes of this analysis, stock-based compensation was treated as a cash expense. Credit Suisses discounted cash flow analyses took into account the
net present value of the Companys net tax attributes for the fiscal years 2017 through 2021 reflected in the unlevered, after-tax free cash flows based on the Base Case and the Acquisition Case and the net present value of the
Companys net tax attributes as reflected in information prepared by a third party consultant provided by the Companyfor the fiscal years 2022 through 2055 were taken into account based on information provided to
Credit Suisse by the Company, after consultation with an independent accounting firm. Credit Suisse calculated terminal values for the Company by applying to the Companys fiscal year 2021 estimated Adjusted EBITDA less stock-based
compensation expense a selected range of latest 12 months Adjusted EBITDA multiples of 10.5x to 12.5x based on Credit Suisses professional judgment and after taking into account, among other things, observed latest 12 months Adjusted EBITDA
multiples of the selected companies. The present values (as of March 31, 2017) of the cash flows and terminal values were then calculated using a selected range of discount rates of 6.0% to 7.0% derived from a weighted average cost of capital
calculation. This analysis indicated the following approximate implied per Share equity value reference ranges for the Company based on the Base Case and the Acquisition Case, respectively, as compared to the per Share cash consideration:
Implied Per Share Equity Value Reference Ranges Based On: |
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Base Case |
Acquisition Case |
Per Share Cash Consideration | ||
$31.17 $39.79 |
$35.93 $46.97 | $40.25 |
The twenty-first paragraph under the heading entitled Opinion of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC on pages 39 through 40 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented as follows:
As the Company Board was aware, Credit Suisse and its affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing and in the future may provide investment banking and other financial services to the Company and certain of its affiliates unrelated to the Offer and the Merger, for which services Credit Suisse and its affiliates have received and would expect to receive compensation, including, during the two-year period prior to the date of Credit Suisses opinion, acting or having acted as (i) joint bookrunning manager and an underwriter for initial
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and follow-on public offerings of equity securities, and initial purchaser, joint bookrunning
manager and an underwriter for high-yield notes offerings, of the Company and (ii) joint lead arranger and joint bookrunning manager for, and as a lender under, a credit facility of the Company and related entities, for which services described
in clauses (i) and (ii) above Credit Suisse and its affiliates received during such two-year period aggregate fees of approximately $12 million from the Company. As the Company Board also was aware, Credit Suisse and its affiliates in the
past have provided, currently are providing and in the future may provide investment banking and other financial services to Oaktree, a major stockholder of the Company through funds managed by Oaktree, and certain affiliates and/or portfolio
companies of Oaktree, for which services Credit Suisse and its affiliates have received and would expect to receive compensation, including, during the two-year period prior to the date of Credit Suisses opinion, acting or having acted as
(i) financial advisor to Oaktree and certain of its portfolio companies in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, (ii) joint bookrunning manager, sole debt advisor, sole placement agent and/or an underwriter for offerings of
equity and debt securities of portfolio companies of Oaktree and (iii) a lender under certain credit facilities of Oaktree and related entities, including portfolio companies, for which services described in clauses
(i) andthrough (iiiii) above Credit Suisse and its affiliates received during such two-year period aggregate fees of approximately $52 million from Oaktree. Although no fees were paid by
Parent to Credit Suisse during the two-year period prior to the date of its opinion in respect of services provided by the investment banking and capital markets divisions of Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse and its affiliates may provide such services
to Parent and its affiliates in the future for which Credit Suisse and its affiliates would expect to receive compensation. Credit Suisse is a full service securities firm engaged in securities trading and brokerage activities as well as providing
investment banking and other financial services. In the ordinary course of business, Credit Suisse and its affiliates may acquire, hold or sell, for Credit Suisses and its affiliates own accounts and the accounts of customers, equity,
debt and other securities and financial instruments (including bank loans and other obligations) of the Company, Parent, Oaktree and their respective affiliates, as well as provide investment banking and other financial services to such companies.
Although Credit Suisses and its affiliates security holdings in Parent may change from time to time, as of April 13, 2017, Credit Suisse and its affiliates held less than 1% of the then-outstanding common stock of Parent.
The twenty-fifth paragraph under the heading entitled Opinion of Moelis & Company LLC on page 46 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following sentence after the last sentence thereof:
For two years prior to April 19, 2017, Moelis had not held securities of Parent nor been engaged by the Company.
ITEM 8. | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
Legal Proceedings
Item 8 of the Schedule 14D-9 under the heading Legal Proceedings is hereby amended and supplemented to add the paragraph set forth below:
On May 24, 2017, a third putative class action lawsuit challenging the disclosures concerning the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, captioned Gallagher v. AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-00356-TSB, against the Company and members of the Companys Board. The Gallagher complaint generally alleges, among other things, that the defendants violated Sections 14 and 20 of the Exchange Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by failing to disclose purportedly material information in the Schedule 14D-9 filed with the SEC in connection with the Offer. The complaint seeks, among other things, to enjoin the closing of the Offer and/or consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, or in the event that an injunction is not awarded, unspecified money damages, and an award of attorneys fees and costs. Each of the defendants believes that the action is without merit. The full complaint is attached hereto as Exhibit (a)(5)(F).
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ITEM 9. | EXHIBITS |
Item 9 of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding to the list of Exhibits immediately following the Exhibit listed as (a)(5)(E) as follows:
(a)(5)(F) | Class Action Complaint filed as of May 24, 2017 (Gallagher v. AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc., et al., Case No. 17 Civ. 356). |
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SIGNATURE
After due inquiry and to the best of its knowledge and belief, the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
ADVANCEPIERRE FOODS HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||
By: |
/s/ Christopher D. Sliva | |||
Name: | Christopher D. Sliva | |||
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
Dated: May 25, 2017
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Exhibit (a)(5)(E)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION
BRIAN GALLAGHER, Individually and on | Case No. | |
Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, | ||
CLASS ACTION | ||
Plaintiff, |
||
COMPLAINT FOR VIOLATION OF THE | ||
v. |
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |
ADVANCEPIERRE FOODS HOLDINGS, | ||
INC., DEAN HOLLIS, CHRISTOPHER D. | DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL | |
SLIVA, CELESTE A. CLARK, PETER C. | ||
DILLINGHAM, STEPHEN A. KAPLAN, | ||
GARY L. PERLIN, and MATTHEW C. | ||
WILSON, | ||
Defendants. |
Brian Gallagher (Plaintiff), by his undersigned attorneys, alleges upon personal knowledge with respect to himself, and upon information and belief based upon, inter alia, the investigation of counsel as to all other allegations herein, as follows:
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. This action is brought as a class action by Plaintiff on behalf of himself and the other public holders of the common stock of AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc. (AdvancePierre or the Company) against AdvancePierre and the members of the Companys board of directors (collectively, the Board or Individual Defendants, and, together with AdvancePierre, the Defendants) for their violations of Sections 14(e), 14(d)(4), and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), 15 U.S.C. §§ 78n(a), 78t(a), SEC Rule 14d-9, 17 C.F.R. 240.14d-9, and Regulation G, 17 C.F.R. § 244.100, in connection with the tender offer (Tender Offer) by DVB Merger Sub, Inc. (Merger Sub), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson), to purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of AdvancePierre common stock for $40.25 per share (the Offer Price).
2. On May 9, 2017, in order to convince AdvancePierre shareholders to tender their shares, the Board authorized the filing of a materially incomplete and misleading Schedule 14D-9 Solicitation/Recommendation Statement (the Recommendation Statement) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in violation of Sections 14(e), 14(d)(4), and 20(a) of the Exchange Act, and Regulation G, 17 C.F.R. § 244.100. In particular, the Recommendation Statement contains materially incomplete and misleading information concerning AdvancePierres financial projections and the valuation analyses performed by the Companys financial advisors, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (Credit Suisse) and Moelis & Company LLC (Moelis).
3. The Tender Offer is scheduled to expire 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, on June 6, 2017 (the Expiration Date). It is imperative that the material information that has been omitted from the Recommendation Statement is disclosed to the Companys shareholders prior to the forthcoming Expiration Date so they can properly determine whether to tender their shares.
4. For these reasons, and as set forth in detail herein, Plaintiff seeks to enjoin Defendants from closing the Tender Offer or taking any steps to consummate the proposed merger unless and until the material information discussed below is disclosed to AdvancePierre shareholders or, in the event the proposed merger is consummated, to recover damages resulting from the Defendants violations of the Exchange Act.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Section 27 of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. § 78aa) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal question jurisdiction) as Plaintiff alleges violations of Section 14(e), 14(d)(4) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
6. Personal jurisdiction exists over each Defendant either because the Defendant conducts business in or maintains operations in this District, or is an individual who is either present in this District for jurisdictional purposes or has sufficient minimum contacts with this District as to render the exercise of jurisdiction over Defendant by this Court permissible under traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.
7. Venue is proper in this District under Section 27 of the Exchange Act, 15 U.S.C. § 78aa, as well as under 28 U.S.C. § 1391, because: (i) the conduct at issue took place and had an effect in this District; (ii) AdvancePierre maintains its primary place of business in this District; (iii) a substantial portion of the transactions and wrongs complained of herein, including Defendants primary participation in the wrongful acts detailed herein, occurred in this District; and (iv) Defendants have received substantial compensation in this District by doing business here and engaging in numerous activities that had an effect in this District.
PARTIES
8. Plaintiff is, and at all relevant times has been, a shareholder of AdvancePierre.
9. Defendant AdvancePierre is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Blue Ash, Ohio. The Company produces and distributes ready-to-eat sandwiches, sandwich components and other entrees and snacks.
10. Individual Defendant Dean Hollis is, and has been at all relevant times, AdvancePierres Chairman of the Board.
11. Individual Defendant Christopher D. Sliva is, and has been at all relevant times, AdvancePierres President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of the Company.
12. Individual Defendant Celeste A. Clark is, and has been at all relevant times, a director of the Company.
13. Individual Defendant Peter C. Dillingham is, and has been at all relevant times, a director of the Company.
14. Individual Defendant Stephen A. Kaplan is, and has been at all relevant times, a director of the Company.
15. Individual Defendant Gary L. Perlin is, and has been at all relevant times, a director of the Company.
16. Individual Defendant Matthew C. Wilson is, and has been at all relevant times, a director of the Company.
CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS
17. Plaintiff brings this class action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23 on behalf of himself and the other public shareholders of AdvancePierre (the Class). Excluded from the Class are Defendants herein and any person, firm, trust, corporation, or other entity related to or affiliated with any Defendant.
18. This action is properly maintainable as a class action because:
a. The Class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable. As of May 5, 2017, there were 78,664,929 shares of AdvancePierre common stock outstanding, held by hundreds to thousands of individuals and entities scattered throughout the country. The actual number of public shareholders of AdvancePierre will be ascertained through discovery;
b. There are questions of law and fact that are common to the Class that predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, including the following:
i) | whether Defendants have misrepresented or omitted material information concerning the proposed merger in the Recommendation Statement, in violation of Sections 14(e) and 14(d)(4) of the Exchange Act; |
ii) | whether the Individual Defendants have violated Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act; and |
iii) | whether Plaintiff and other members of the Class will suffer irreparable harm if compelled to tender their shares based on the materially incomplete and misleading Recommendation Statement. |
c. Plaintiff is an adequate representative of the Class, has retained competent counsel experienced in litigation of this nature, and will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Class;
d. Plaintiffs claims are typical of the claims of the other members of the Class and Plaintiff does not have any interests adverse to the Class;
e. The prosecution of separate actions by individual members of the Class would create a risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the Class, which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the party opposing the Class;
f. Defendants have acted on grounds generally applicable to the Class with respect to the matters complained of herein, thereby making appropriate the relief sought herein with respect to the Class as a whole; and
g. A class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.
SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS
I. Tysons Offer Price is Inadequate
19. The Offer Price appears inadequate given AdvancePierres recent financial performance and strong growth prospects. Indeed, the Offer Price offers no premium to the trading price of the stock, as of May 24, 2017.
20. The Offer Price also appears inadequate in light of the Companys recent financial performance. Since the Companys stock went public last July, the price has increased over 67%, illustrated by the chart below:
21. In sum, the Offer Price appears to inadequately compensate AdvancePierre shareholders for their shares. Given the market reaction to the stock, it appears that $40.25 per share is not fair compensation for AdvancePierre shareholders. It is therefore imperative that AdvancePierre shareholders receive the material information that has been omitted from the Recommendation Statement, so that they can make a fully informed decision concerning whether to tender their shares.
II. The Merger Agreements Deal Protection Provisions Deter Superior Offers
22. In addition to failing to obtain fair consideration for the Companys shareholders, Defendants have agreed to certain deal protection provisions in the Merger Agreement that operate conjunctively to deter other suitors from submitting a superior offer for the Companys assets.
23. First, the Merger Agreement contains a no-solicitation provision that prohibits the Company or the Individual Defendants from taking any affirmative action to obtain a better deal for AdvancePierre shareholders. The Merger Agreement states that the Company and the Individual Defendants shall not (i) solicit, initiate or take any action to knowingly assist, facilitate or encourage the submission of any Acquisition Proposal, or (ii) enter into, engage in or participate
in any discussions or negotiations with, furnish any information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or afford access to the business, properties, assets, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, otherwise cooperate in any way with, or knowingly assist, participate in, facilitate or encourage any effort by any Third Party that is seeking to make, or has made, an Acquisition Proposal.
24. Additionally, the Merger Agreement grants Tyson recurring and unlimited matching rights, which provides it with: (i) unfettered access to confidential, non-public information about competing proposals from third parties which it can use to prepare a matching bid; and (ii) several days to negotiate with AdvancePierre, amend the terms of the Merger Agreement and make a counter-offer in the event a superior offer is received.
25. The non-solicitation and matching rights provisions essentially ensure that a superior bidder will not emerge, as any potential suitor will undoubtedly be deterred from expending the time, cost, and effort of making a superior proposal while knowing that Tyson can easily foreclose a competing bid. As a result, these provisions unreasonably favor Tyson, to the detriment of AdvancePierres public shareholders
26. Lastly, the Merger Agreement provides that AdvancePierre must pay Tyson a termination fee of $100 million in the event the Company elects to terminate the Merger Agreement to pursue a superior proposal. The termination fee provision further ensures that no competing offer will emerge, as any competing bidder would have to pay a naked premium for the right to provide AdvancePierre shareholders with a superior offer.
27. Ultimately, these preclusive deal protection provisions restrain AdvancePierres ability to solicit or engage in negotiations with any third party regarding a proposal to acquire all or a significant interest in the Company.
28. Given that the preclusive deal protection provisions in the Merger Agreement impede a superior bidder from emerging, it is imperative that AdvancePierre shareholders receive all material information necessary for them to make a fully informed decision regarding whether to tender their shares.
III. The Materially Incomplete and Misleading Recommendation Statement
29. On May 9, 2017, Defendants filed the Recommendation Statement with the SEC. The Recommendation Statement has been disseminated to the Companys shareholders, and solicits the Companys shareholders to tender their shares in the Tender Offer. The Individual Defendants were obligated to carefully review the Recommendation Statement before it was filed with the SEC and disseminated to the Companys shareholders to ensure that it did not contain any material misrepresentations or omissions. However, the Recommendation Statement misrepresents and/or omits material information that is necessary for the Companys shareholders to make an informed decision concerning whether to tender their shares, in violation of Sections 14(e), 14(d)(4), and 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
30. First, the Recommendation Statement fails to provide material information concerning the Companys financial projections. Specifically, the Recommendation Statement provides projections for non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) metrics, including, among others, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income, but fails to provide line item projections for the metrics used to calculate these non-GAAP measures or otherwise reconcile the non-GAAP projections to the most comparable GAAP measures.
31. When a company discloses non-GAAP financial measures in a Recommendation Statement, the Company must also disclose all projections and information necessary to make the non-GAAP measures not misleading, and must provide a reconciliation (by schedule or other clearly understandable method), of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure disclosed or released with the most comparable financial measure or measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. 17 C.F.R. § 244.100.
32. Indeed, the SEC has recently increased its scrutiny of the use of non-GAAP financial measures in communications with shareholders. The former SEC Chairwoman, Mary Jo White, recently stated that the frequent use by publicly traded companies of unique company-specific non-GAAP financial measures (as AdvancePierre has included in the Recommendation Statement here), implicates the centerpiece of the SECs disclosures regime:
In too many cases, the non-GAAP information, which is meant to supplement the GAAP information, has become the key message to investors, crowding out and effectively supplanting the GAAP presentation. Jim Schnurr, our Chief Accountant, Mark Kronforst, our Chief Accountant in the Division of Corporation Finance and I, along with other members of the staff, have spoken out frequently about our concerns to raise the awareness of boards, management and investors. And last month, the staff issued guidance addressing a number of troublesome practices which can make non-GAAP disclosures misleading: the lack of equal or greater prominence for GAAP measures; exclusion of normal, recurring cash operating expenses; individually tailored non-GAAP revenues; lack of consistency; cherry-picking; and the use of cash per share data. I strongly urge companies to carefully consider this guidance and revisit their approach to non-GAAP disclosures. I also urge again, as I did last December, that appropriate controls be considered and that audit committees carefully oversee their companys use of non-GAAP measures and disclosures.1
33. In recent months, the SEC has repeatedly emphasized that disclosure of non-GAAP projections can be inherently misleading, and has therefore heightened its scrutiny of the use of such projections.2 Indeed, on May 17, 2016, the SECs Division of Corporation Finance released new and updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) on the use of non-GAAP financial measures that demonstrate the SECs tightening policy.3 One of the new C&DIs regarding forward-looking information, such as financial projections, explicitly requires companies to provide any reconciling metrics that are available without unreasonable efforts.
1 | Mary Jo White, Keynote Address, International Corporate Governance Network Annual Conference: Focusing the Lens of Disclosure to Set the Path Forward on Board Diversity, Non- GAAP, and Sustainability (June 27, 2016), https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/chair-white-icgn-speech.html. |
2 | See, e.g., Nicolas Grabar and Sandra Flow, Non-GAAP Financial Measures: The SECs Evolving Views, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation (June 24, 2016), https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2016/06/24/non-gaap-financial-measures-the-secs-evolving-views/; Gretchen Morgenson, Fantasy Math Is Helping Companies Spin Losses Into Profits, N.Y. Times, Apr. 22, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/ 2016/04/24/business/fantasy-math-is-helping-companies-spin-losses-into-profits.html?_r=0. |
3 | Non-GAAP Financial Measures, Compliance & Disclosure Interpretations, U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (May 17, 2017), https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/nongaapinterp.htm. |
34. In order to make the projections included on page 33 of the Recommendation Statement materially complete and not misleading, Defendants must provide a reconciliation table of the non-GAAP measures (EBITDA and EBIT) to the most comparable GAAP measures. Indeed, the Company routinely provides such a reconciliation table in its quarterly financial results releases, and it can therefore undoubtedly provide such a reconciliation table for the projections included in the Recommendation Statement without unreasonable efforts.
35. At the very least, the Company must disclose the line item projections for the financial metrics that were used to calculated the non-GAAP measures. Such projections are necessary to make the non-GAAP projections included in the Recommendation Statement not misleading. Indeed, the Defendants acknowledge that disclosing non-GAAP projections may mislead shareholders in the Recommendation Statement: Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information presented in compliance with GAAP, and non-GAAP financial measures as used by AdvancePierre may not be comparable to similarly titled amounts used by other companies. Recommendation Statement 33.
36. The Recommendation Statement also fails to disclose the Companys unlevered free cash flow projections.4 See Recommendation Statement 38, 49. Such unlevered cash flows were utilized by Credit Suisse and Moelis in their valuation of AdvancePierre, and are material to the Companys stockholders. Indeed, investors are concerned, perhaps above all else, with the unlevered free cash flows of the companies in which they invest. Under sound corporate finance
4 | Unlevered free cash flows are used to determine a companys enterprise value. The unlevered free cash flow allows investors to ascertain the operating value of a company independent of its capital structure. This provides a greater degree of analytical flexibility and allows for a clearer picture of the value of the company overall as compared to levered free cash flows, which account for operating expenses, interest payments, and other financial obligations. For this reason, unlevered free cash flows are routinely used to value a company as a whole. |
theory, the value of stock should be premised on the expected unlevered free cash flows of the corporation. Accordingly, the question that AdvancePierre stockholders need to assess in determining whether to tender their shares is clear is the Offer Price fair compensation given the Companys expected unlevered free cash flows? Without unlevered free cash flow projections, AdvancePierre stockholders will not be able to answer this question and assess the fairness of the Offer Price.
37. The omission of the above-referenced projections renders the financial projections included on pages 38 and 49 of the Recommendation Statement materially incomplete and misleading. If a recommendation statement discloses financial projections and valuation information, such projections must be complete and accurate. The question here is not the duty to speak, but liability for not having spoken enough. With regard to future events, uncertain figures, and other so-called soft information, a company may choose silence or speech elaborated by the factual basis as then knownbut it may not choose half-truths.
38. With respect to Credit Suisses Selected Public Companies and Selected Precedent Transactions Analyses, the Recommendation Statement fails to disclose the individual multiples Credit Suisse calculated for each of the transactions used in these analyses. A fair summary of such analyses requires the disclosure of the individual multiples for each transaction utilized. Merely providing the range that a banker applied is insufficient, as shareholders are unable to assess whether the banker applied appropriate multiples, or, instead, applied unreasonably low multiples in order to drive down the implied valuation of the Company. The omission of the individual multiples and valuation ranges renders the summary of these analyses set forth on pages 37-39 of the Recommendation Statement materially incomplete and misleading.
39. With respect to Credit Suisses and Moelis Discounted Cash Flow Analysis, the Recommendation Statement fails to disclose the inputs and assumptions underlying the calculation of the discount rate ranges of 6.0% to 7.0% used by Credit Suisse and 6.5% to 8.0% used by Moelis.
40. These key inputs are material to AdvancePierre shareholders, and their omission renders the summary of Credit Suisses and Moelis Discounted Cash Flow Analysis incomplete and misleading. As a highly-respected professor explained in one of the most thorough law review articles regarding the fundamental flaws with the valuation analyses bankers perform in support of fairness opinions, in a discounted cash flow analysis a banker takes managements forecasts, and then makes several key choices each of which can significantly affect the final valuation. Steven M. Davidoff, Fairness Opinions, 55 Am. U.L. Rev. 1557, 1576 (2006). Such choices include the appropriate discount rate, and the terminal value Id. As Professor Davidoff explains:
There is substantial leeway to determine each of these, and any change can markedly affect the discounted cash flow value. For example, a change in the discount rate by one percent on a stream of cash flows in the billions of dollars can change the discounted cash flow value by tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars .This issue arises not only with a discounted cash flow analysis, but with each of the other valuation techniques. This dazzling variability makes it difficult to rely, compare, or analyze the valuations underlying a fairness opinion unless full disclosure is made of the various inputs in the valuation process, the weight assigned for each, and the rationale underlying these choices. The substantial discretion and lack of guidelines and standards also makes the process vulnerable to manipulation to arrive at the right answer for fairness. This raises a further dilemma in light of the conflicted nature of the investment banks who often provide these opinions. Id. at 1577-78.
41. In sum, the omission of the above-referenced information renders statements in the Recommendation Statement materially incomplete and misleading in contravention of the Exchange Act. Absent disclosure of the foregoing material information prior to the expiration of the Tender Offer, Plaintiff and the other members of the Class will be unable to make a fully-informed decision regarding whether to tender their shares, and they are thus threatened with irreparable harm, warranting the injunctive relief sought herein.
COUNT I
(Against All Defendants for Violation of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and 17 C.F.R. §
244.100 Promulgated Thereunder)
42. Plaintiff incorporates each and every allegation set forth above as if fully set forth herein.
43. Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act provides that it is unlawful for any person to make any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in the light of the circumstances under which they are made, not misleading 15 U.S.C. §78n(e).
44. SEC Regulation G has two requirements: (1) a general disclosure requirement; and (2) a reconciliation requirement. The general disclosure requirement prohibits mak[ing] public a non-GAAP financial measure that, taken together with the information accompanying that measure, contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the presentation of the non-GAAP financial measure not misleading. 17 C.F.R. § 244.100(b). The reconciliation requirement requires an issuer that chooses to disclose a non-GAAP measure to provide a presentation of the most directly comparable GAAP measure, and a reconciliation by schedule or other clearly understandable method of the non-GAAP measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. 17 C.F.R. § 244.100(a). As set forth above, the Recommendation Statement omits information required by SEC Regulation G, 17 C.F.R. § 244.100
45. Defendants have issued the Recommendation Statement with the intention of soliciting AdvancePierre shareholders to tender their shares. Each of the Defendants reviewed and authorized the dissemination of the Recommendation Statement, which fails to provide material information regarding AdvancePierres financial projections and the valuation analyses performed by Credit Suisse.
46. In so doing, Defendants made untrue statements of fact and/or omitted material facts necessary to make the statements made not misleading. Each of the Individual Defendants, by virtue of their roles as officers and/or directors, were aware of the omitted information but failed to disclose such information, in violation of Section 14(e). The Individual Defendants were therefore reckless, as they had reasonable grounds to believe material facts existed that were misstated or omitted from the Recommendation Statement, but nonetheless failed to obtain and disclose such information to shareholders although they could have done so without extraordinary effort.
47. The Individual Defendants were privy to and had knowledge of the projections for the Company and the details concerning Credit Suisses valuation analyses. The Individual Defendants were reckless in choosing to omit material information from the Recommendation Statement, despite the fact that such information could have been disclosed without unreasonable efforts.
48. The misrepresentations and omissions in the Recommendation Statement are material to Plaintiff and the Class, who will be deprived of their right to make an informed decision regarding whether to tender their shares if such misrepresentations and omissions are not corrected prior to the Expiration Date. Plaintiff and the Class have no adequate remedy at law. Only through the exercise of this Courts equitable powers can Plaintiff and the Class be fully protected from the immediate and irreparable injury that Defendants actions threaten to inflict.
COUNT II
(Against all Defendants for Violations of Section 14(d)(4) of the Exchange Act and
SEC Rule 14d-9,17 C.F.R. § 240.14d-9)
49. Plaintiff incorporates each and every allegation set forth above as if fully set forth herein.
50. Section 14(d)(4) of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 14d-9 promulgated thereunder require full and complete disclosure in connection with tender offers. Specifically, Section 14(d)(4) provides that:
Any solicitation or recommendation to the holders of such a security to accept or reject a tender offer or request or invitation for tenders shall be made in accordance with such rules and regulations as the Commission may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.
51. SEC Rule 14d-9(d), which was adopted to implement Section 14(d)(4) of the Exchange Act, provides that:
Information required in solicitation or recommendation. Any solicitation or recommendation to holders of a class of securities referred to in section 14(d)(1) of the Act with respect to a tender offer for such securities shall include the name of the person making such solicitation or recommendation and the information required by Items 1 through 8 of Schedule 14D-9 (§ 240.14d-101) or a fair and adequate summary thereof.
52. In accordance with Rule 14d-9, Item 8 of a Schedule 14D-9 requires a Companys directors to:
Furnish such additional information, if any, as may be necessary to make the required statements, in light of the circumstances under which they are made, not materially misleading.
53. The Recommendation Statement violates Section 14(d)(4) and Rule 14d-9 because it omits material facts, including those set forth above, which omissions render the Recommendation Statement false and/or misleading.
54. Defendants knowingly or with deliberate recklessness omitted the material information identified above from the Recommendation Statement, causing certain statements therein to be materially incomplete and therefore misleading. Indeed, Defendants undoubtedly reviewed the omitted material information in connection with approving the proposed merger.
55. The misrepresentations and omissions in the Recommendation Statement are material to Plaintiff and the Class, who will be deprived of their right to make an informed decision regarding whether to tender their shares if such misrepresentations and omissions are not corrected prior to the Expiration Date. Plaintiff and the Class have no adequate remedy at law. Only through the exercise of this Courts equitable powers can Plaintiff and the Class be fully protected from the immediate and irreparable injury that Defendants actions threaten to inflict.
COUNT III
(Against the Individual Defendants for Violations of Section 20(a)
of the Exchange Act)
56. Plaintiff incorporates each and every allegation set forth above as if fully set forth herein.
57. The Individual Defendants acted as controlling persons of AdvancePierre within the meaning of Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act as alleged herein. By virtue of their positions as officers and/or directors of AdvancePierre, and participation in and/or awareness of the Companys operations and/or intimate knowledge of the incomplete and misleading statements contained in the Recommendation Statement, they had the power to influence and control and did influence and control, directly or indirectly, the decision making of the Company, including the content and dissemination of the various statements that Plaintiff contends are materially incomplete and misleading.
58. Each of the Individual Defendants was provided with or had unlimited access to copies of the Recommendation Statement by Plaintiff to be misleading prior to the date the Recommendation Statement was issued, and had the ability to prevent the issuance of the false and misleading statements or cause the statements to be corrected.
59. In particular, each of the Individual Defendants had direct and supervisory involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Company, and, therefore, is presumed to have had the power to control or influence the particular transactions giving rise to the Exchange Act violations alleged herein, and exercised the same. The Recommendation Statement at issue contains the unanimous recommendation of each of the Individual Defendants that shareholders tender their shares in the Tender Offer. They were thus directly involved in preparing this document.
60. In addition, as the Recommendation Statement sets forth, and as described herein, the Individual Defendants were involved in negotiating, reviewing, and approving the merger agreement. The Recommendation Statement purports to describe the various issues and information that the Individual Defendants reviewed and considered. The Individual Defendants participated in drafting and/or gave their input on the content of those descriptions.
61. By virtue of the foregoing, the Individual Defendants have violated Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act.
62. As set forth above, the Individual Defendants had the ability to exercise control over and did control a person or persons who have each violated Section 14(e), 14(d)(4) and Rule 14d-9 by their acts and omissions as alleged herein. By virtue of their positions as controlling persons, these Defendants are liable pursuant to Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. As a direct and proximate result of Individual Defendants conduct, Plaintiff and the Class will be irreparably harmed.
63. Plaintiff and the Class have no adequate remedy at law. Only through the exercise of this Courts equitable powers can Plaintiff and the Class be fully protected from the immediate and irreparable injury that Defendants actions threaten to inflict.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment and relief as follows:
A. Declaring that this action is properly maintainable as a Class Action and certifying Plaintiff as Class Representative and his counsel as Class Counsel;
B. Enjoining Defendants and all persons acting in concert with them from closing the Tender Offer or consummating the proposed merger, unless and until the Company discloses the material information discussed above which has been omitted from the Recommendation Statement;
C. Directing the Defendants to account to Plaintiff and the Class for all damages sustained as a result of their wrongdoing;
D. Awarding Plaintiff the costs and disbursements of this action, including reasonable attorneys and expert fees and expenses;
E. Granting such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
JURY DEMAND
Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.
DATED: May 24, 2017 | Respectfully submitted, | |||
/s/ John C. Camillus | ||||
John C. Camillus | (0077435) | |||
Law Office of John C. Camillus, LLC | ||||
P.O. Box 141410 | ||||
Columbus, Ohio 43214 | ||||
(614) 558-7254 | ||||
(614) 559-6731 (Facsimile) | ||||
jcamillus@camilluslaw.com | ||||
Counsel for Plaintiff |
OF COUNSEL
MONTEVERDE & ASSOCIATES PC
Juan E. Monteverde (pro hac vice to follow)
The Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4405
New York, NY 10118
Tel: (212) 971-1341
E-mail: jmonteverde@monteverdelaw.com
FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
Nadeem Faruqi (pro hac vice to follow)
James M. Wilson, Jr. (pro hac vice to follow)
685 Third Avenue, 26th Fl.
New York, NY 10017
Telephone: (212) 983-9330
Facsimile: (212) 983-9331
Email: nfaruqi@faruqilaw.com
jwilson@faruqilaw.com
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