-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, Ky+b4+wVAQYclbfm9ugor+edced9pXp0oNiE7JUfgbsJsfNHgBStoBbowyX4TI8j Smmb4IA5BpafJvE8qriohQ== 0000950124-99-005065.txt : 19990906 0000950124-99-005065.hdr.sgml : 19990906 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000950124-99-005065 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 3 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 19990817 ITEM INFORMATION: ITEM INFORMATION: FILED AS OF DATE: 19990903 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: BADGER METER INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000009092 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: TOTALIZING FLUID METERS & COUNTING DEVICES [3824] IRS NUMBER: 390143280 STATE OF INCORPORATION: WI FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-06706 FILM NUMBER: 99706452 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 4545 WEST BROWN DEER ROAD STREET 2: C/O CORPORATE SECRETARY CITY: MILWAUKEE STATE: WI ZIP: 53223-0099 BUSINESS PHONE: 4143715887 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: BADGER METER MANUFACTURING CO DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19710729 8-K 1 FORM 8-K 1 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 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): August 17, 1999 Badger Meter, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------ (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Wisconsin 1-6706 39-0143280 - --------------- ---------------- ------------------- (State or other (Commission File (IRS Employer jurisdiction of Number) Identification No.) incorporation) 4545 West Brown Deer Road, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53223 ------------------------------------------------------------ (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) (414) 355-0400 ------------------------------- (Registrant's telephone number) 2 Item 1. Changes in Control of Registrant. Prior to August 17, 1999, Badger Meter, Inc. (the "Company") had two classes of common stock: Common Stock, which was entitled to one vote per share, and Class B Common Stock, which was entitled to ten votes per share. As trustees of the Badger Meter Voting Trust, Messrs. James O. Wright, James L. Forbes and James O. Wright, Jr. beneficially owned 590,814 shares of Class B Common Stock, which represented approximately 44% of the combined voting power of the outstanding shares of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. Mr. Forbes beneficially owned another 354,880 shares of Class B Common Stock and 38,902 shares of Common Stock, along with Messrs. Ronald H. Dix and Richard A. Meeusen as trustees of the Badger Meter Officers' Voting Trust, for a total of approximately 71% of the combined voting power of the outstanding shares of Common Stock and Class B Common Stock. On August 13, 1999, the Company announced that the Badger Meter Voting Trust, the Badger Meter Officers' Voting Trust and certain other trusts agreed to convert all of their Class B Common Stock to Common Stock effective August 17, 1999. As a result of such conversion and pursuant to the Company's Restated Articles of Incorporation, all outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock were converted to shares of Common Stock effective August 17, 1999, leaving the Company with a single class of stock, Common Stock, with one vote per share. The Company also amended its Restated Articles of Incorporation to reflect the elimination of the two-class capital structure. Effective August 17, 1999, the Badger Meter Voting Trust, for which Messrs. Wright, Forbes and Wright Jr. had been trustees, was terminated. In a separate transaction, the Company repurchased 303,914 shares of Common Stock from several trusts for Wright family members that had been held in the Badger Meter Voting Trust and one senior and one retired officer of the Company for $36.8875 per share on August 13, 1999. As a result of such transactions, to the knowledge of the management of the Company, no person or group of persons holds a majority or controlling interest in the voting securities of the Company, or, except for the Badger Meter Officers' Voting Trust, has entered into any agreement or understanding respecting the voting of such securities. As of August 17, 1999, Messrs. Forbes, Dix and Meeusen beneficially owned 349,602 shares of Common Stock, as trustees of the Badger Meter Officers' Voting Trust, which represented approximately 10.5% of the outstanding Common Stock. Messrs. Forbes, Dix and Meeusen disclaim beneficial ownership of such shares of Common Stock other than those shares that have been deposited by them individually. -2- 3 Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (a) Financial Statements of Business Acquired. Not applicable. (b) Pro Forma Financial Information. Not applicable. (c) Exhibits. The exhibits listed in the accompanying Exhibit Index are filed as part of this Current Report on Form 8-K. -3- 4 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. BADGER METER, INC. Date: August 31, 1999 By: /s/ Richard A. Meeusen -------------------------------------- Richard A. Meeusen Vice President - Finance and Treasurer Chief Financial Officer -4- 5 BADGER METER, INC. Exhibit Index to Current Report on Form 8-K Dated August 17, 1999 Exhibit Number Description (3.0) Restated Articles of Incorporation effective August 17, 1999. (99.0) Badger Meter, Inc. Press Release, dated August 13, 1999. EX-3 2 RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION 1 EXHIBIT 3 RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF BADGER METER, INC. ------------------------------- The following Restated Articles of Incorporation duly adopted pursuant to the authority and provisions of Chapter 180 of the Wisconsin Statutes supersede and take the place of the existing articles of incorporation and amendments thereto: ARTICLE FIRST The name of this Corporation is "BADGER METER, INC." ARTICLE SECOND The Corporation may engage in any lawful activity within the purposes for which corporations may be organized under the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law. ARTICLE THIRD (1) Stock. (a) The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock which the Corporation shall have authority to issue is forty (40) million shares, consisting of a single class designated "Common Stock" having a par value of one dollar ($1.00) per share. (b) Any and all such shares of Common Stock may be issued for such consideration, not less than the par value thereof, as shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors. Any and all such shares so issued, the full consideration for which has been paid or delivered, shall be deemed fully paid stock and shall not be liable to any further call or assessment thereon, and the holders of such shares shall not be liable for any further payments except as otherwise provided by applicable Wisconsin law. (2) Voting Rights and Powers. With respect to all matters upon which shareholders are entitled to vote or to which shareholders are entitled to give consent, every holder of any outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to cast thereon one (1) vote in person or by proxy for each share of Common Stock standing in his name on the stock transfer records of the Corporation. (3) Dividends and Distributions. The holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by the Board of Directors out of any funds legally available for the payment of such dividends. 2 (4) No Preemptive Rights. No holder of shares of stock or other securities of the Corporation shall be entitled as a matter of right to subscribe for, purchase or receive any part of any issue of stock of the Corporation of any class either at present authorized or of any future increase or creation, including without limitation, any securities convertible into stock of any class, except as the Corporation in the discretion of the Board of Directors may elect or contract to extend such right. ARTICLE FOURTH (1) Number, Classification and Tenure of Directors. There shall be a Board of Directors which shall consist of such number of Directors as shall from time to time be specified in the Bylaws but which shall not be less than three (3). The Directors shall be divided into three classes, designated Class I, Class II, and Class III, and all classes shall be as nearly equal in number as possible. The terms of office of the Directors initially classified shall be as follows: at the 1998 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Class I Directors shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Class II Directors shall be elected for a two-year term expiring at the second succeeding Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and Class III Directors shall be elected for a three-year term expiring at the third succeeding Annual Meeting of Shareholders. At each Annual Meeting of Shareholders after such initial classification, Directors to replace those whose terms expire at such Annual Meeting shall be elected to hold office until the third succeeding Annual Meeting. Each Director shall hold office until the expiration of his term and until his successor is elected and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation or removal. If the number of Directors is changed, (a) any newly created directorships or any decrease in directorship shall be so portioned among the classes as to make all classes as nearly as equal as possible, and (b) when the number of Directors is increased by the Board of Directors and any newly created directorships are filled by the Board of Directors, there shall be no classification of the additional Directors until, and the terms of the additional Directors shall expire at, the next Annual Meeting of Shareholders. (2) Removal of Directors. A Director may be removed only for cause and only by the shareholders by the affirmative votes of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast upon removing him at a meeting called for the purpose of removing him, and the meeting notice must state that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting is removal of the Director and must state the reason or reasons why the Director is subject to removal. (3) Amendments. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Restated Articles of Incorporation, the provisions of this Article Fourth shall be amended, altered, changed or repealed only by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding at least seventy percent (70%) of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of all classes of capital stock of the Company, considered for this purpose as a single class. -2- 3 ARTICLE FIFTH The majority affirmative voting requirements of Section 180.25(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes are hereby expressly elected and deemed applicable to this Corporation as if this Corporation had been organized after January 1, 1973. These Restated Articles of Incorporation may be amended by resolution setting forth such amendment or amendments adopted at any meeting of the shareholders of the Corporation by a vote of at least a majority of the votes represented by shares of all of the Common Stock of the Corporation then outstanding, except as set forth herein or as restricted by the statutes of the State of Wisconsin. ARTICLE SIXTH The address of the registered office of the corporation at the time of adoption of these Restated Articles of Incorporation is 4545 West Brown Deer Road, Brown Deer, Wisconsin (P.O. address: Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53223); and the name of the registered agent at such address is Deirdre C. Elliott. * * * -3- EX-99 3 BADGER METER, INC. PRESS RELEASE DATED 8-13-99 1 EXHIBIT 99 News Release [BADGER LETTERHEAD] FOR RELEASE August 13, 1999 (after market close) For Additional Information Contact: Joan C. Zimmer, (414)371-5702 BADGER METER ANNOUNCES ELIMINATION OF CLASS B STOCK --------------------------------------------------- AND STOCK BUYBACK ----------------- Milwaukee, Wis., August 13, 1999.....Badger Meter, Inc. (AMEX:BMI) today announced several steps intended to broaden investor interest in the company. The first major step was the decision by the Wright family voting trust and certain other trusts to convert all of their Class B common stock (ten votes per share) to common stock (one vote per share). Once these conversions are concluded, all of the remaining Class B stock, for a total of 1,072,086 shares, will automatically be converted on a share-for-share basis into common stock. At that time, Badger Meter will revert to a single class of common stock. This represents the dismantling of the two-class capital structure that has served the company well since 1986. In a separate transaction, the company agreed to repurchase for cash approximately 304,000 common shares from certain trusts for the benefit of the Wright family and one current and one retired officer at a purchase price reflecting the current market value of about $37 per share. The total value of the transaction is approximately $11.2 million. Badger Meter has had an open market stock repurchase program since August 16, 1996. The company's Board of Directors recently reaffirmed the benefits to the company of continuing to repurchase its stock, and authorized the repurchase of up to an additional 500,000 shares, including the 304,000 shares from certain Wright family and other trusts. Therefore, the company has continuing authority to repurchase up to 196,000 additional shares in the open market, in privately-negotiated transactions or otherwise, at a price or prices reasonably related to the then current market price. 2 "Since 1986, the Class B common stock has provided a degree of control while we took the steps to build shareholder value. Over the past 13 years, the company has made significant investments in technology, new products, sales and marketing personnel, and manufacturing equipment and systems. As a result of this long-term growth strategy, sales and earnings have improved significantly, we have generated cash and we are financially strong. With this solid foundation in place, we believe it is in the best interest of our shareholders to revert to a single class of common stock that is generally more attractive to the investing public. However, this does not change our desire to remain an independent company as we continue to pursue our strategy of focusing on growth through long-term investment in research and development," said James L. Forbes, chairman and chief executive officer of Badger Meter. Forbes said that the funding for the repurchase will come from additional long-term debt. "After the repurchase, our long-term debt-to-total capitalization ratio will be about 40 percent, which is in line with our corporate objectives," he said. "The company continues to generate substantial cash flow, sufficient to fund our ambitious growth and capital spending plans, as well as some of the funds needed for stock repurchases," Forbes added. "After a thorough evaluation, we accepted Badger Meter's offer to purchase shares from the Wright family trusts. We believe the terms and the price are fair, based on Badger Meter's past performance. We are pleased that this sale will allow us to further diversify the family's portfolio and to continue to meet their investment objectives," said Tony Leszczynski, CFA, vice president, personal trust division of the Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company, trustee for certain of the Wright family trusts. Members of the Wright family have been major shareholders of Badger Meter since 1924, and will continue to hold shares of Badger Meter stock for the foreseeable future. James O. Wright served as chairman of Badger Meter for 48 years until his designation as chairman emeritus at the company's annual 3 meeting in April. He continues to serve as a director of the company and as president of the Badger Meter Foundation. Investors in Badger Meter stock have benefitted from the company's long-term growth strategy. An investor who purchased Badger Meter stock on January 1, 1994 and reinvested the cash dividends would have earned a compounded total annual return of approximately 32.3% from January 1, 1994 to the present. Badger Meter's Class B common stock had ten votes per share and its common stock has one vote per share. After the Class B conversion and repurchase, Badger Meter will have approximately 3.4 million common shares outstanding, each with one vote per share. Badger Meter is a leading marketer and manufacturer of products using flow measurement and control technology serving industrial and utility markets worldwide. BADGER METER COMPANY NEWS IS AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, ON-LINE AT: http://www.badgermeter.com # # # -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----