Stewart W P & CO Ltd - Amended Statement of Ownership: Solicitation (SC 14D9/A)
July 07 2008 - 10:20AM
Edgar (US Regulatory)
SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14D-9
SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT
UNDER
SECTION 14(d)(4) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(Amendment No. 2)
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd.
(Name of Subject Company)
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd.
(Name of Persons Filing Statement)
Common Shares, $0.001 par value
(Title of Class of Securities)
G84922106
(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)
Seth Pearlstein
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd.
c/o W.P. Stewart & Co., Inc.
527
Madison Ave., 20
th
Floor
New
York, NY 10022
(212)
750-8585
(Name, address and
telephone numbers of person authorized to receive notices
and communications on behalf of the
persons filing statement)
Copies
to:
Barry
Wade
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
250 Park Avenue
New York, NY
10177-1500
(212) 415-9311
o
Check
the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before
the commencement of a tender offer.
This Amendment No. 2 amends and supplements the
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 (as amended, the Statement)
initially filed by W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd., a Bermuda exempted
company (the Company) with the Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC) on May 29,
2008, relating to the cash tender offer by Arrow Masters LP, a Delaware
limited partnership, Arrow Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership,
and Arrow Offshore, Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (together the Purchasers),
for up to 19,902,000 Shares, at a cash price of $1.60 per Share (the Offer
Price), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to
Purchase, dated May 28, 2008 (as it may be amended from time to time, the Offer
to Purchase) and the related Letter of Transmittal contained in the Schedule
TO filed by Purchasers with the SEC on May 28, 2008 (the Schedule TO). The Offer to Purchase and the Letter of
Transmittal together constitute the Offer.
Copies of the Offer to Purchase and the Letter of Transmittal were filed
as Exhibits (a)(1) and (a)(2), respectively, to the Schedule TO.
Item 2.
Identity and Background of Filing Person.
Item 2(b) is hereby amended and restated as
follows:
(b)
Tender
Offer
. This Statement relates to the tender offer by
Arrow Masters LP, a Delaware limited partnership, Arrow Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership, Arrow
Offshore, Ltd. a Cayman Islands exempted company, Arrow Opportunities I, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Arrow
Opportunities I, Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (together the Purchasers),
for up to 19,902,000 Shares, at a cash price of $1.60 per Share (the Offer
Price), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to
Purchase, dated May 28, 2008 (as it may be amended from time to time, the Offer
to Purchase) and the related Letter of Transmittal (which, as amended from
time to time, constitute the Offer), as set forth in the Purchasers Tender
Offer Statement on Schedule TO, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) on May 28, 2008 (the Schedule TO).
The Offer is being made pursuant to an Investment
Agreement, dated as of May 20, 2008, by and among the Company and Arrow
Masters LP, a Delaware limited partnership, Arrow Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership, and Arrow
Offshore, Ltd. a Cayman Islands exempted company (the Investment
Agreement), as amended by the Joinder and Amendment No. 1 to Investment
Agreement, dated July 7, 2008, by and among the Company and the Purchasers
(Amendment No. 1). The Investment
Agreement is filed as Exhibit (e)(1) to this Statement and is
incorporated herein by reference, and Amendment No. 1 is filed as Exhibit (e)(8) to
this statement and is incorporated herein by reference. The Investment
Agreement and Amendment No. 1 provide, among other things, for the
purchase of up to a total aggregate of approximately 45% of the outstanding
Shares of the Company, calculated at the time of completion of the full
investment under the terms of the Investment Agreement. The Investment
Agreement provides for the making of the Offer by the Purchasers and further
provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the
Investment Agreement, immediately following the closing of the Offer, the
Company will issue and sell to the Purchasers and the Purchasers will purchase
from the Company 5,010,000 newly issued Shares at a price per Share equal to
the Offer Price. The Investment Agreement also provides that if fewer than
8,830,000 Shares are tendered and not withdrawn in the Offer, the Purchasers
will have the benefit of a top-up option (the Top Up Option) to purchase from
the Company, at their option, at a price per share equal to the Offer Price, up
to an additional 2,430,000 Shares.
The forgoing description of the Investment Agreement
is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Investment Agreement, which is
filed as Exhibit (e)(1) to this Statement, and is incorporated herein
by reference. The forgoing description
of Amendment No. 1 is qualified in its entirety by reference to Amendment No. 1,
which is filed as Exhibit (e)(8) to this Statement, and is
incorporated herein by reference.
According
to the Offer to Purchase, the address of the principal executive offices of the
Purchasers is 499 Park Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
2
Item 3.
Past Contacts, Transactions, Negotiations and Agreements.
Item 3(b)
Investment Agreement
is hereby amended
and supplemented by adding the following text to the end thereof:
Amendment No. 1 amends and supplements the Investment Agreement by providing, among other things, that (a) Arrow Opportunities I, LLC and Arrow Opportunities I, Ltd. are added as Purchasers under the Investment Agreement; (b) the Purchasers are prohibited from extending the Offer beyond July 28, 2008 except to provide for subsequent offering periods, as such term is defined in, and in accordance with, Rule 14d-11 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and (c) the closing of the primary share purchase and Top Up Option, as described in Item 8 herein shall occur on the third business day following the later of (i) the expiration date of the Offer or (ii) if Purchasers provide for subsequent offering periods, the expiration date of the final subsequent offering period.
The forgoing description of Amendment No. 1 is qualified in its entirety by reference to Amendment No. 1, which is filed as Exhibit (e)(8) to this Statement, and is incorporated herein by reference
The
third paragraph of
Item 3(b) is
hereby amended and restated as follows:
Registration
Rights Agreement
The Company entered into a Registration Rights
Agreement, dated May 20, 2008 by and among the Company and the Arrow
Masters LP, a Delaware limited partnership, Arrow Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership, and Arrow
Offshore, Ltd. a Cayman Islands exempted company (as amended or
supplemented, the Registration Rights Agreement), which was joined by Arrow Opportunities I, LLC, and Arrow Opportunities I,
Ltd. by way of a Joinder Agreement, dated July 7, 2008, by and
among the Company and the Purchasers (the Joinder
Agreement). The summary of the material terms of the Registration
Rights Agreement set forth in Section 11 of the Offer to Purchase is
incorporated herein by reference to Section 11 in Exhibit (a)(1) to
the Schedule TO, filed by the Purchasers on May 28, 2008. The summary
of the Registration Rights Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference
to the Registration Rights Agreement filed as Exhibit (e)(2) to this
Statement and incorporated herein by reference.
The summary of the Joinder Agreement is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the Joinder Agreement filed as Exhibit (e)(9) to this
Statement and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation.
Item 4(b)
Background
of the Offer and Retention of Merrill Lynch
is hereby amended and supplemented by adding
the following text to the end thereof:
On June 30, 2008, Mal Serure and Alexandre von
Furstenberg, representatives of
Purchasers, approached William P. Stewart and proposed that the agreements
between the Purchasers and the Company be amended to add one or more newly
formed Arrow funds as Purchasers in order to facilitate the investment in the
Company by the Purchasers investors. Messrs. Serure
and von Furstenberg indicated that the formation of the funds would require an
extension of the Offer to allow time to form and organize the new entity or
entities. On July 2, draft
documents to effectuate these changes and various other technical amendments,
including an amendment limiting the Purchasers right to make later extensions
of the Offer, were circulated to the Special Committee and a meeting of the
Special Committee (a portion of which was also attended by Messrs. Serure
and von Furstenberg) was held to consider these amendments. At that meeting, the Special Committee
approved a recommendation to the Board to approve the proposed amendments. On July 6, the Board approved the
amendments and on July 7, 2008, the Company and Arrow issued a press
release announcing these changes and an extension of the tender offer to 5:00 p.m.
on July 28, 2008. The press release
has been filed as Exhibit (a)(4)(a) to this Statement.
Item 8. Additional Information
The second and third paragraphs of Item 8 are hereby amended
and restated as follows:
3
Primary
Share Purchase
The Investment Agreement, as amended, provides that on
the third business day immediately following the later of (i) the
expiration date of the Offer, or (ii) if the Purchasers provide for
subsequent offering periods, the expiration date of the final subsequent
offering period, the Purchasers are required to purchase and the Company is
required to issue and sell to the Purchasers 5,010,000 newly issued Shares at
the Offer Price in addition to, and whether or not, any Shares are purchased in
the Top Up Option.
Top
Up Option
The Investment Agreement, as amended, provides that on
the third business day following the later of (i) the expiration date of
the Offer, or (ii) if the Purchasers provide for subsequent offering
periods, the expiration date of the final subsequent offering period, if the
Purchasers have purchased fewer than 13,840,000 Shares in the Offer and the
primary Share purchase, then the Purchasers will have the option, but not the
obligation, to require the Company to issue and sell to the Purchasers up to
2,430,000 additional newly issued Shares at the Offer Price.
Item 9. Exhibits.
Item 9 is hereby amended and supplemented to include
the following exhibits:
The Company and the Purchasers issued a joint press
release on July 7, 2008, regarding Purchasers extension of the
Offer. A copy of the press release has
been filed herewith as Exhibit (a)(4)(a).
Exhibit
|
|
Description
|
(e)(8)
|
|
Joinder and Amendment
No. 1 to Investment Agreement, dated July 7, 2008, by and among
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. and Arrow Masters LP, Arrow Partners LP, Arrow
Offshore, Ltd., Arrow Opportunities I,
LLC, and Arrow Opportunities I, Ltd. (filed herewith)
|
|
|
|
(e)(9)
|
|
Joinder Agreement,
dated July 7, 2008, by and among W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. and
Arrow Masters LP, Arrow Partners LP, Arrow Offshore, Ltd., Arrow Opportunities I, LLC, and Arrow Opportunities
I, Ltd. (filed herewith)
|
|
|
|
(a)(4)(a)
|
|
Joint press release of
the Company and Purchasers, dated July 7, 2008 (filed herewith)
|
4
SIGNATURES
After due inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and
belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true,
complete and correct.
Date: July 7, 2008
|
W.P.
STEWART & CO., LTD.
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Susan G.
Leber
|
|
Name:
|
Susan G. Leber
|
|
Title:
|
Managing
DirectorChief Financial Officer
|
5
WP Stuart (NYSE:WPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Nov 2024 to Dec 2024
WP Stuart (NYSE:WPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Dec 2023 to Dec 2024