FORM 8-K
UNITED STATES 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): March 24,
2005
Sears Holdings Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware |
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000-51217 |
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20-1920798 |
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation) |
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(Commission
File Number) |
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(IRS Employer
Identification No.) |
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3333 Beverly Road, Hoffman Estates, Illinois |
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60179 |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
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(Zip Code) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code:
(847) 286-2500
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last
report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is
intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the
registrant under any of the following provisions (see General
Instruction A.2. below):
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Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the
Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
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Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the
Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
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Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c)
under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13.e-4(c)) |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Item 1.01 |
Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement |
On March 24, 2005, Sears Holdings Corporation
(Holdings) entered into a five-year Amended and
Restated Employment Agreement with Aylwin Lewis (the Lewis
Agreement) pursuant to which Mr. Lewis will serve as
President of Holdings, Chief Executive Officer and President of
Kmart Holding Corporation (Kmart) and Chief
Executive Officer of Sears Retail. Mr. Lewis was also
appointed to the Board of Directors of Holdings. The Lewis
Agreement supersedes and replaces Mr. Lewis prior
employment agreement with Kmart Management Corporation.
Under the Lewis Agreement, Mr. Lewis will receive an annual
salary of not less than $1,000,000, an annual bonus opportunity
with a target amount equal to his annual salary, relocation
benefits (including but not limited to guaranteed purchase of
Mr. Lewis residence in Michigan at fair market value,
and during the two-year period following consummation of the
Mergers (as defined below) use of a company plane or other
private aircraft for travel between Michigan and Chicago and
costs associated with temporary housing) and other employee
benefits and perquisites made available generally to
Kmarts other senior executives or, in Holdings
discretion, Holdings senior executives or its employees
generally. The Lewis Agreement also provides that Mr. Lewis
will be deemed to be constructively terminated if neither Edward
Lampert (the Chairman of Holdings) or Mr. Lewis becomes the
Chief Executive Officer of Holdings if Alan Lacy is no longer
Chief Executive Officer of Holdings. In such event,
Mr. Lewis will receive his salary and continued welfare
benefits for the lesser of three years or the remaining term of
the Lewis Agreement, but not less than 12 months, and a
pro-rata portion of the annual bonus for the year of termination.
The foregoing description of the Lewis Agreement is qualified in
its entirety by reference to the terms of such agreement which
is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1.
Pursuant to Mr. Lewis Nonqualified Stock Option
Agreement and Restricted Shares Agreement with Kmart, dated as
of October 18, 2004 (collectively, the October Equity
Agreements), Mr. Lewis was granted options to acquire
150,000 shares of Kmart common stock with an exercise price
equal to $88.6150 (the fair market value of Kmart common stock
on October 18, 2004), and 50,781 restricted shares of Kmart
common stock (equal to $4,500,000 on October 18, 2004).
These options and restricted shares vest in four installments on
the last day of fiscal years 2005 through 2008, subject to his
continued employment and, in the case of the restricted stock,
to a performance condition. If Mr. Lewis employment
is terminated without cause or as a result of constructive
termination, these restricted shares will vest in full and
options that would have vested within 12 months of the date
of termination (but not less than one additional installment)
will vest, and all vested options will remain exercisable for
two years. These restricted shares also vest in full upon his
death or disability. These grants of options and restricted
shares were subject to receiving the approval of the Kmart
stockholders on March 24, 2005, which was obtained.
Pursuant to Mr. Lewis Restricted Share Agreement (the
March Equity Agreement and, together with the
October Equity Agreements, the Lewis Equity
Agreements), that he executed with Kmart on March 24,
2005 immediately following the close of the Kmart stockholder
meeting held on that date, Mr. Lewis was also granted an
additional 8,011 restricted shares of Kmart common stock (equal
to $1,000,000 on March 23, 2005, the trading day
immediately prior to the closing date of the Mergers (as defined
below)). These additional restricted shares vest in three
installments on the last day of fiscal years 2005 through 2007,
subject to his continued employment and to a performance
condition. These restricted shares vest in full upon his death
or disability. This grant of additional restricted shares was
subject to receiving the approval of the Kmart stockholders on
March 24, 2005, which was obtained.
As a result of the consummation of the Mergers, these options
and restricted shares were exchanged for restricted shares and
options of Holdings on a one-for-one basis and are subject to
the same vesting and restrictions. The foregoing description of
the Lewis Equity Agreements is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the terms of such agreements incorporated by
reference hereto as Exhibits 10.2 through 10.4.
Effective March 28, 2005, pursuant to the Employment
Agreement with Alan Lacy dated as of November 16, 2004 (the
Lacy Agreement), Holdings entered into a Restricted
Share Agreement and a
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Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement with Mr. Lacy
(together, the Lacy Equity Agreements). Pursuant to
the Lacy Equity Agreements, Mr. Lacy was granted 75,000
restricted shares of Holdings common stock and options to
acquire 200,000 shares of Holdings common stock with an
exercise price per share of $131.11 (the closing price of
Holdings common stock on the Nasdaq National Market on
March 28, 2005 (the Grant Date)). The options
vest in four installments on each of the first four
anniversaries of the Grant Date, and the restricted stock will
vest in full on June 30, 2006, subject, in each case, to
the continued employment of Mr. Lacy through the applicable
vesting date. If Mr. Lacys employment is terminated
by Holdings without cause or as a result of constructive
termination, the restricted shares and options will vest in full
and all vested options will remain exercisable for three years.
The restricted shares and options also vest in full upon
Mr. Lacys death or disability.
A description of the Lacy Agreement is contained in the joint
proxy statement-prospectus of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co.
(Sears) dated February 18, 2005 that forms a
part of Holdings registration statement on Form S-4
(File No. 333-120954) (the Joint Proxy
Statement-Prospectus) under the caption The
Mergers Interests of Directors and Executive
Officers in the Mergers Lacy Employment
Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The foregoing description of the Lacy Agreement and the Lacy
Equity Agreements is qualified in its entirety by reference to
the terms of such agreements which are attached hereto or
incorporated herein by reference as Exhibits 10.5 through
10.7.
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Item 1.02 |
Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement |
On March 24, 2005, in connection with the consummation of
the mergers (the Mergers) contemplated by the
Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of November 16,
2004, by and among Holdings, Kmart, Sears, Roebuck and Co.
(Sears), Kmart Acquisition Corp. and Sears
Acquisition Corp. (the Merger Agreement), Sears
Roebuck Acceptance Corp. (SRAC), a subsidiary of
Holdings as a result of the Mergers, terminated the Three-Year
Credit Agreement (the Old Credit Agreement) dated as
of May 17, 2004, among SRAC, the banks, financial
institutions and other institutional lenders parties thereto,
Barclays Bank PLC, as syndication agent, Bank of America, N.A.,
Bank One, NA and Wachovia Bank National Association, as
documentation agents, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Barclays
Capital, the Investment Banking Division of Barclays Bank PLC,
as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and Citibank,
N.A., as administrative agent. The Old Credit Agreement was
terminated in connection with the effectiveness of the New
Credit Agreement as described under Item 8.01 below.
Prior to its termination, the Old Credit Agreement provided for
a $2,000,000,000 revolving credit facility. No material early
termination penalties were incurred in connection with the
termination of the Old Credit Agreement, and except as described
below in this Item 1.02 and under Item 8.01, neither
Holdings nor any of its affiliates has any material relationship
with any of the other parties to the Old Credit Agreement other
than in respect of the Old Credit Agreement.
Sears and Citibank (USA) N.A. (an affiliate of Citigroup
Global Markets Inc. and Citibank, N.A.) are parties to a
long-term marketing and servicing alliance under which Citibank
(USA) N.A. provides credit and customer service benefits to
Sears proprietary and Gold MasterCard holders. In
addition, Citibank (USA) N.A. supports Sears current
zero-percent financing program.
Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch, Morgan Stanley Bank, Lehman
Brothers Bank, FSB and State Street Bank and Trust Company were
Initial Lenders under the Old Credit Agreement. According to a
statement on Schedule 13D filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the SEC) on March 10,
2005, Deutsche Bank AG was the beneficial owner of approximately
5.4% of Sears outstanding common stock.
Morgan Stanley, an affiliate of Morgan Stanley Bank, was
retained by Sears to act as its financial advisor and to provide
a fairness opinion to Sears Board of Directors in
connection with the Mergers. Sears paid Morgan Stanley a
transaction fee of $25 million and reimbursement of
expenses incurred in performing its services and agreed to
indemnify Morgan Stanley, its affiliates, and their respective
directors, officers, agents,
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employees and controlling persons against certain liabilities
and expenses, including those arising under the federal
securities laws, related to or arising out of Morgan
Stanleys engagement and any related transactions. In the
past, Morgan Stanley and its affiliates have provided financial
advisory and financing services for both Sears and Kmart and
have received fees for rendering those services. Specifically,
during the past three years, Morgan Stanley received from Sears
approximately $13.9 million in connection with its
investment banking activities (exclusive of fees related to the
Mergers).
Lehman Brothers was engaged by Kmart to act as its financial
advisor and to provide a fairness opinion to Kmarts Board
of Directors with respect to the Mergers. As compensation for
its services, Kmart paid Lehman Brothers a fee of $3,000,000 and
reimbursement of expenses incurred in performing its services.
In addition, Kmart agreed to indemnify Lehman Brothers for
certain liabilities that may arise out of its engagement. Lehman
Brothers in the past has rendered investment banking services to
Kmart, Sears and their affiliates and received customary fees
for those services.
According to a statement on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC
on February 17, 2005, State Street Bank and Trust Company
beneficially owned approximately 10% of Sears outstanding
common stock, including shares it held on behalf of participants
in Sears 401(k) Savings Plan. State Street Bank and Trust
Company provides investment management services to the Sears
Pension Plan and serves as trustee of the Sears 401(k) Savings
Plan and the Sears Puerto Rico Savings Plan. Through a joint
venture with Citigroup, it also provides administrative services
to the Sears 401(k) Plan and the Sears Pension Plan. In 2004,
Sears and those plans together paid State Street Bank and Trust
Company approximately $15.7 million for those and related
services.
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Item 3.02 |
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities |
On March 25, 2005, pursuant to the Investment Agreement
dated as of January 24, 2003, by and among Kmart
Corporation, ESL Investments, Inc. and Third Avenue Trust (on
behalf of certain investment series), as amended, as
supplemented by the Agreement, dated as of January 31,
2005, by and among Kmart, Holdings, ESL Partners, L.P., ESL
Investors, L.L.C., ESL Institutional Partners, L.P., and CRK
Partners II, L.P., as amended (the Investment
Agreement), ESL Institutional Partners, L.P. exercised
options to purchase 33,885 shares of Holdings common
stock, CRK Partners, LLC exercised options to
purchase 100 shares of Holdings common stock, ESL
Partners, L.P. exercised options to
purchase 4,760,100 shares of Holdings common stock and
ESL Investors, L.L.C. exercised options to
purchase 1,681,300 shares of Holdings common stock. In
accordance with the Investment Agreement, Holdings issued such
number of shares of its common stock upon receipt on
March 25, 2005 of the payment of the exercise prices for
such options in the amounts of $440,505 from ESL Institutional
Partners, L.P., $1,300 from CRK Partners, LLC, $61,881,300 from
ESL Partners, L.P., and $21,856,900 from ESL Investors, L.L.C.
As a result of these transactions, ESL Institutional Partners,
L.P., CRK Partners, LLC, ESL Partners, L.P. and ESL Investors,
L.L.C. do not own any more options to purchase shares of
Holdings pursuant to the Investment Agreement. The transactions
were exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to Section 4(2) of that
Act on the basis that such transactions did not involve a public
offering.
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Item 5.02 |
Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of
Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers |
The Holdings board of directors is currently comprised of the
following persons: Edward S. Lampert (Chairman), Alan J. Lacy,
Aylwin B. Lewis, Donald J. Carty, William C. Crowley, Julian C.
Day, Michael A. Miles, Steven T. Mnuchin, Ann N. Reese and
Thomas J. Tisch. Each of the directors will hold office until
the 2006 annual meeting of Holdings stockholders, or until
or until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified.
The following persons have been named to:
(i) Holdings Audit Committee: Ms. Reese and
Messrs. Carty and Mnuchin, (ii) Holdings
Compensation Committee: Ms. Reese and Messrs. Lampert
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Tisch, and (iii) Holdings Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee: Messrs. Miles, Mnuchin and Tisch.
The following persons have been appointed to the following
offices of Holdings: (i) Alan J. Lacy, Vice Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, (ii) Aylwin B. Lewis,
President, and (iii) William C. Crowley, Executive Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer.
The information required by Items 401(b), (d) and (e) and
404(a) of Regulation S-K that is set forth in (i) the
Joint Proxy Statement-Prospectus, (ii) Sears Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
January 1, 2005 filed with the SEC on February 24,
2005, and (iii) Kmarts Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 26, 2005
filed with the SEC on March 9, 2005, is incorporated herein
by reference.
In addition, on March 24, 2005, William K. Phelan was
appointed Vice President and Controller of Holdings.
Mr. Phelan, who is 42 years old, has been Assistant
Controller of Sears since 2000. Holdings entered into an
employment letter agreement with Mr. Phelan on
March 24, 2005, pursuant to which Mr. Phelan is
entitled to a base salary, severance of six months base
salary at the time of termination for involuntary termination of
employment, participation in an annual incentive plan and a long
term incentive plan, and participation in all employee benefit
programs on a basis no less favorable than other executives of
his level. In addition, Mr. Phelan agreed to enter into
customary severance, non-compete, confidentiality and
non-solicitation of employees agreements and also agreed not to
aid, assist or render services to any competition of Holdings
for six months following termination of employment.
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Item 7.01 |
Regulation FD Disclosure |
On March 28, 2005 and March 30, 2005, Holdings issued
press releases announcing the preliminary and final results of
the cash and stock elections made by Sears shareholders in
connection with the Mergers. Copies of the press releases are
attached hereto as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, respectively.
As previously disclosed by Kmart in its Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on February 28, 2005, Holdings is party
to a five-year credit agreement (the New Credit
Agreement), dated as of February 22, 2005, among
Holdings, Sears Roebuck Acceptance Corp. and Kmart Corporation
as borrowers, and the banks, financial institutions and other
institutional lenders listed on the signature pages thereof,
Citicorp USA, Inc. and Bank of America, N.A. as syndication
agents, Barclays Bank PLC, Lehman Commercial Paper Inc., HSBC
Bank USA, Merrill Lynch Bank USA, Morgan Stanley Bank, The Royal
Bank of Scotland, PLC and Wachovia Bank National Association as
documentation agents, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.,
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC
as lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and JPMorgan Chase
Bank, N.A., as administrative agent. The New Credit Agreement
became effective concurrently with the consummation of the
Mergers.
Also, as previously disclosed by Kmart in its Current Report on
Form 8-K filed on March 8, 2005, on March 2,
2005, the Audit Committee of Holdings selected
Deloitte & Touche LLP to be Holdings independent
registered public accountant.
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Item 9.01 |
Financial Statement and Exhibits |
(c) Exhibits
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Exhibit No. | |
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Description |
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Exhibit 10.1 |
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Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated as of
March 24, 2005 between Sears Holdings Corporation and
Aylwin Lewis. |
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Exhibit 10.2 |
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Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement between Kmart
Holding Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit
No. 4.4 to Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8,
filed on March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and
incorporated herein by reference). |
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Exhibit No. | |
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Description |
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Exhibit 10.3 |
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Form of Restricted Share Agreement between Kmart Holding
Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit No. 4.5 to
Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8, filed on
March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and incorporated
herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.4 |
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Form of Restricted Share Agreement between Kmart Holding
Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit No. 4.6 to
Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8, filed on
March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and incorporated
herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.5 |
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Employment Agreement, dated as of November 16, 2004, among
Alan J. Lacy, Kmart Holding Corporation and Sears, Roebuck and
Co. (filed as Exhibit No. 10.1 to Sears, Roebuck and
Co.s Form 8-K, filed on November 18, 2004 (File No.
001-00416) and incorporated herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.6 |
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Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement, dated as of March 28,
2005, between Sears Holdings Corporation and Alan Lacy. |
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Exhibit 10.7 |
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Restricted Share Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2005,
between Sears Holdings Corporation and Alan Lacy. |
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Exhibit 99.1 |
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Press release issued on March 28, 2005. |
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Exhibit 99.2 |
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Press release issued on March 30, 2005. |
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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.
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SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION |
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By: /s/ William C.
Crowley
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Name: William C.
Crowley |
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Title: Executive
Vice President and |
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Chief
Financial Officer |
Date: March 30, 2005
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Exhibit No. |
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Description |
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Exhibit 10.1 |
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Amended and Restated Employment Agreement dated as of
March 24, 2005 between Sears Holdings Corporation and
Aylwin Lewis. |
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Exhibit 10.2 |
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Form of Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement between Kmart
Holding Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit
No. 4.4 to Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8,
filed on March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and
incorporated herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.3 |
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Form of Restricted Share Agreement between Kmart Holding
Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit No. 4.5 to
Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8, filed on
March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and incorporated
herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.4 |
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Form of Restricted Share Agreement between Kmart Holding
Corporation and Aylwin Lewis (filed as Exhibit No. 4.6 to
Sears Holdings Corporations Form S-8, filed on
March 24, 2005 (File No. 333-123544) and incorporated
herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.5 |
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Employment Agreement, dated as of November 16, 2004, among
Alan J. Lacy, Kmart Holding Corporation and Sears, Roebuck and
Co. (filed as Exhibit No. 10.1 to Sears, Roebuck and
Co.s Form 8-K, filed on November 18, 2004 (File No.
001-00416) and incorporated herein by reference). |
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Exhibit 10.6 |
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Nonqualified Stock Option Agreement, dated as of March 28,
2005, between Sears Holdings Corporation and Alan Lacy. |
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Exhibit 10.7 |
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Restricted Share Agreement, dated as of March 28, 2005,
between Sears Holdings Corporation and Alan Lacy. |
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Exhibit 99.1 |
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Press release issued on March 28, 2005. |
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Exhibit 99.2 |
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Press release issued on March 30, 2005. |