As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2017
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Washington | 91-1223280 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, Washington 98027
(425) 313-8100
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
2002 INCENTIVE PLAN OF COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION
(Full title of the plan)
John Sullivan
Costco Wholesale Corporation
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, Washington 98027
(425) 313-8100
(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
J. Sue Morgan
Andrew B. Moore
Perkins Coie LLP
1201 Third Avenue, Suite 4900
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 359-8000
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ☐ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||
Emerging growth company |
☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
| ||||||||
Title of securities to be registered |
Amount to be registered(1) |
Proposed maximum offering price per share(2) |
Proposed maximum aggregate offering price(2) |
Amount of registration fee(2) | ||||
Common Stock, $0.005 par value per share |
610,620 | $172.47 | $105,313,631.40 | $12,205.85 | ||||
| ||||||||
|
(1) | Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), this registration statement also covers any additional shares of the registrants common stock that may become issuable under the employee benefit plan described herein as a result of any future stock splits, stock dividends or similar adjustments of the registrants outstanding common stock. |
(2) | Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457 under the Securities Act. The proposed maximum offering price per share is estimated to be $172.47, based on the average of the high sales price ($173.13) and the low sales price ($171.80) for the registrants common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market on May 24, 2017. |
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This registration statement on Form S-8 is filed by Costco Wholesale Corporation (the Registrant) relating to 610,620 additional shares of the Registrants common stock, par value $0.005 per share, authorized to be issued pursuant to the Registrants 2002 Incentive Plan, formerly named the 2002 Stock Incentive Plan.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference. |
The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) are hereby incorporated by reference in this registration statement:
(a) the Registrants annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 28, 2016, filed on October 12, 2016, which contains the Registrants audited financial statements for the latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed and Form 10-K/A filed on October 21, 2016;
(b) the Registrants quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended November 20, 2016, filed on December 16, 2016, February 12, 2017, filed on March 9, 2017 and May 7, 2017, filed on May 31, 2017 which contain unaudited interim financial statements;
(c) the Registrants current reports on Form 8-K filed on October 26, 2016, November 3, 2016, December 8, 2016, January 30, 2017, January 31, 2017, February 1, 2017, March 21, 2017, April 26, 2017, and May 16, 2017 (excluding any reports or portions thereof that are furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 and any exhibits included with such Items); and
(d) the description of the Registrants common stock contained in the Registrants registration statement on Form 8-A filed on December 30, 1985, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.
All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, after the date hereof (excluding any documents or portions of such documents that are furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of a current report on Form 8-K and any exhibits included with such Items), and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all the securities offered hereby have been sold or that deregisters the securities offered hereby then remaining unsold, shall also be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this registration statement and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents.
Any statement contained in this registration statement or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement modifies or supersedes that statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will 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. |
None.
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Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
Washington law provides that directors of a corporation shall not be personally liable for reasonable expenses incurred in the wholly successful defense of a proceeding to which the director was a party because of being a director. Washington law provides further that directors may be indemnified against liability incurred in a proceeding to which they are a party because of being a director so long as:
| the director acted in good faith; |
| the director reasonably believed, in the case of conduct in the directors official capacity, that his or her conduct was in the corporations best interests or, in all other cases, that his or her conduct was not opposed to the best interests of the corporation; and |
| in the case of a criminal proceeding, the director had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. |
Directors generally may not, however, be indemnified:
| in connection with a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation in which the director was adjudged liable to the corporation; |
| in connection with any other proceeding in which the director was adjudged liable for receiving improper personal benefit; |
| for acts or omissions of the director that involve intentional misconduct or knowing violation of law; or |
| for unlawful distributions to shareholders. |
The Registrants amended and restated articles of incorporation and the Registrants bylaws provide that the Registrant will indemnify its directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Registrants bylaws also permit it to secure insurance, at the Registrants expense, on behalf of any officer or director for any expense, liability or loss arising out of his or her actions in connection with their services to the Registrant, regardless of whether the Washington Business Corporation Act would permit indemnification of such expense, liability or loss.
The Registrant has entered into agreements to indemnify its directors and certain of its officers to the fullest extent allowed under Washington law. These agreements provide, among other things, that the Registrant will indemnify its directors and certain of its officers for losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses (including attorneys fees, judgments, fines, penalties, settlements, and other expenses incurred in connection with an indemnifiable proceeding) that the individual party became legally obligated to pay in connection with any claim made by reason of his or her conduct as director, officer, employee or agent of the Registrant, including any action taken while serving in such a capacity for another enterprise at the Registrants request. The Registrant has also obtained directors and officers liability insurance.
The indemnification provisions in the Registrants amended and restated articles of incorporation, bylaws and any indemnity agreements the Registrant may enter into with its directors and officers may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrants directors and officers for liabilities arising under the Securities Act.
Item 7. | Exemption from Registration Claimed. |
Not applicable.
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Item 8. | Exhibits. |
Exhibit |
Description of Document | |
5.1 | Opinion of Perkins Coie LLP. | |
23.1 | Consent of Perkins Coie LLP (included in its opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1). | |
23.2 | Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. | |
24 | Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this registration statement). | |
99.1* | Seventh Restated 2002 Incentive Plan of Costco Wholesale Corporation (incorporated by reference to the Appendix to the Registrants Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2014). |
* | Incorporated by reference. |
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:
(a) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(b) 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; and
(c) 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 paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in 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 purpose 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 filing of the Registrants annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plans 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.
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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 of the 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 the City of Issaquah, State of Washington, on May 31, 2017.
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION | ||
By: | /s/ W. Craig Jelinek | |
Name: | W. Craig Jelinek | |
Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
Each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Richard A. Galanti and John Sullivan, and each of them severally, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with the power of substitution, for him or her in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact, or their substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated below on May 31, 2017.
Signature |
Title | |
/s/ W. Craig Jelinek |
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |
W. Craig Jelinek |
||
/s/ Jeffrey H. Brotman |
Chairman of the Board of Directors | |
Jeffrey H. Brotman |
||
/s/ Richard A. Galanti |
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director (Principal Financial Officer) | |
Richard A. Galanti |
||
/s/ Daniel Hines |
Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) | |
Daniel Hines |
||
/s/ Susan L. Decker |
Director | |
Susan L. Decker |
||
/s/ Kenneth D. Denman |
Director | |
Kenneth D. Denman |
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/s/ Daniel J. Evans |
Director | |
Daniel J. Evans |
||
/s/ Hamilton E. James |
Director | |
Hamilton E. James |
||
/s/ John W. Meisenbach |
Director | |
John W. Meisenbach |
||
/s/ Charles T. Munger |
Director | |
Charles T. Munger |
||
/s/ Jeffrey S. Raikes |
Director | |
Jeffrey S. Raikes |
||
/s/ James D. Sinegal |
Director | |
James D. Sinegal |
||
/s/ John W. Stanton |
Director | |
John W. Stanton |
||
/s/ Maggie Wilderotter |
Director | |
Maggie Wilderotter |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit |
Description of Document | |
5.1 | Opinion of Perkins Coie LLP. | |
23.1 | Consent of Perkins Coie LLP (included in its opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1). | |
23.2 | Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm. | |
24 | Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this registration statement). | |
99.1* | Seventh Restated 2002 Incentive Plan of Costco Wholesale Corporation (incorporated by reference to the Appendix to the Registrants Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2014). |
* | Incorporated by reference. |
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Exhibit 5.1
May 31, 2017
Costco Wholesale Corporation
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, Washington 98027
Re: | Registration Statement on Form S-8 of Shares of Common Stock, par value $0.005 per share, of Costco Wholesale Corporation |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as counsel to you in connection with the preparation of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the Registration Statement) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Act), which you are filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) with respect to up to 610,620 shares of common stock of Costco Wholesale Corporation, par value $0.005 per share (the Shares), authorized for issuance under the Costco Wholesale Corporation Seventh Restated 2002 Incentive Plan (the 2002 Plan).
We have examined the Registration Statement and such documents and records of Costco Wholesale Corporation as we have deemed necessary for the purposes of this opinion. In giving this opinion, we are assuming the authenticity of all instruments presented to us as originals, the conformity with originals of all instruments presented to us as copies and the genuineness of all signatures.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that any original issuance Shares that may be issued pursuant to the 2002 Plan have been duly authorized and that, upon the due execution by Costco Wholesale Corporation of any certificates representing the Shares, the registration by its registrar of such Shares and the sale thereof by Costco Wholesale Corporation in accordance with the terms of the 2002 Plan, and the receipt of consideration therefor in accordance with the terms of the 2002 Plan, such Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Perkins Coie LLP
Exhibit 23.2
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors
Costco Wholesale Corporation:
We consent to the use of our reports dated October 11, 2016, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of Costco Wholesale Corporation as of August 28, 2016 and August 30, 2015, and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, equity, and cash flows for each of the 52-week periods ended August 28, 2016, August 30, 2015, and August 31, 2014, and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of August 28, 2016, which reports appear in the August 28, 2016 annual report on Form 10-K of Costco Wholesale Corporation.
/s/ KPMG LLP |
Seattle, Washington |
May 31, 2017 |
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