UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant x Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ¨
Check the appropriate box:
¨ | Preliminary Proxy Statement |
¨ | Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
¨ | Definitive Proxy Statement |
x | Definitive Additional Materials |
¨ | Soliciting Material Pursuant to 14a-12 |
BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
x | No fee required. |
¨ | Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |
(1) | Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
(2) | Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: |
(3) | Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): |
(4) | Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: |
(5) | Total fee paid: |
¨ | Fee paid previously with preliminary materials: |
¨ | Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing. |
(1) | Amount Previously Paid: |
(2) | Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
(3) | Filing Party: |
(4) | Date Filed: |
1 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited BEAZER HOMES USA, INC. 2010 Annual Shareholders Meeting Additional Information and Recommendations Related to Shareholder Proposals March 1, 2010 |
2 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Disclaimer Important Information and Where to Find It On February 25, 2010, Beazer Homes USA, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the SEC) a definitive Proxy Statement
in connection with its 2010 Annual Meeting, and has mailed
the Proxy Statement to its shareholders. Investors and shareholders are urged to read the Proxy Statement and any other
relevant documents filed with the SEC (when available), because
they contain important information. Investors and shareholders may obtain a free copy of the Proxy Statement and other documents that Beazer files with the SEC (when
available) at the SECs website at www.sec.gov and Beazers website for the Annual Meeting at www.proxyvote.com. In addition, the Proxy Statement and other
documents filed by Beazer with the SEC (when available) may be obtained from Beazer free of charge by directing a request to Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations,
1000 Abernathy Road, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.
Certain Information Concerning Participants Beazer, and its directors and executive officers are participants in the
solicitation of Beazers shareholders in connection with
the 2010 Annual Meeting. Information regarding the
names, affiliations and interests of such individuals is included in Beazers Proxy Statement for the 2010 Annual Meeting.
|
3 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Overview The Companys 2010 Proxy Statement contains four proposals which
require shareholder approval: 1. The election of the seven nominees to our Board of Directors; 2. The ratification of the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP by the
Audit Committee of our Board of Directors as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2010; 3. The approval of an amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation (referred to as our Charter) that
would increase the total number of authorized shares of common stock from 80 million shares to 180 million shares; and 4. The approval of the Beazer Homes USA, Inc. 2010 Equity Incentive Plan The Companys Board of Directors unanimously recommends shareholders
approve all four Proposals. For additional information on how to obtain a copy of the Proxy
Statement, our Annual Report or how to vote, see page
10. |
4 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 1: Election of Directors Summary of Proposal Shareholders must annually approve nominees to the Companys Board
of Directors. Each of the nominees for the Board of
Directors is presently serving as a director and has been nominated as a director for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010 and until his or her respective successor has been qualified and elected. Nominees (detailed information regarding each nominee is available in
the Proxy Statement) Laurent Alpert Brian C. Beazer Peter G. Leemputte Ian J. McCarthy Norma A. Provencio Larry T. Solari Stephen P. Zelnak, Jr. Board of Directors Recommendation Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the election of each of the nominees. |
5 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 2: Election of Auditors Summary of Proposal The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors has selected the firm of
Deloitte & Touche LLP, to serve as our independent
registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010. Background Information Deloitte & Touche has served as our accounting firm since our fiscal
year ended September 30, 1996. Our Audit Committee annually approves each years engagement for
audit services in advance. Our Audit Committee has also established complementary procedures to require pre-approval of all permitted non-audit services provided by our
independent auditors. Board of Directors Recommendation Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche as our independent registered public accounting firm
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.
|
6 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 3: Increase In Authorized Shares Summary of Proposal Proposal 3 requests shareholder approval to amend the Companys
Charter to increase the number of authorized shares of common
stock from 80 million to 180 million. Background Information The Companys Charter currently restricts the number of shares
outstanding to 80 million shares. An increase in the number of authorized shares requires shareholder approval of a Charter amendment; The Company currently has approximately 79.5 million shares issued and
reserved for issuance to satisfy convertible debt and
previously issued employee equity grants; Approximately 500,000 shares remain available for issuance, severely
limiting the Companys ability to use equity or
equity-linked instruments for compensation purposes or in
connection with capital raising; Although the Company has no current plans to utilize additional shares,
other than in connection with the proposed 2010 Equity
Incentive Plan (See Proposal 4), proceeds from the sale of
additional common shares could be used to: Reduce overall corporate indebtedness; and/or Acquire assets or businesses which improve the earnings power of the Company; A comparison with other homebuilding companies (please see following page) demonstrates the requested additional authorized shares are in-line with industry
norms. Board of Directors Recommendation Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR the proposed Charter amendment. |
7 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited 3.2x 2.8x 2.3x 0.0x 0.9x 1.8x 2.7x 3.6x Peer Group Mean Peer Group Median Beazer Homes - If proposal approved 0.5 100.5 0 50 100 150 200 Beazer Homes Beazer Homes - If proposal approved Peer Group Median Peer Group Mean The proposal compares favorably to our peer group. Proposal 3: Peer Comparison of Authorized
Shares Ratio of Authorized Shares/ (Shares Outstanding + Shares Reserved) Shares Available for Issuance Company Authorized Shares (1) D.R. Horton, Inc. 1,000.0 Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. 200.0 KB Home 290.0 Lennar Corporation 300.0 M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. 250.0 NVR, Inc. 60.0 Pulte Homes, Inc. 500.0 The Ryland Group, Inc. 200.0 Toll Brothers, Inc. 200.0 Peer Group Mean 333.3 Peer Group Median 250.0 Beazer Homes USA, Inc. 80.0 Beazer Homes USA, Inc. - If proposal approved 180.0 (1) For companies with dual class structures, represents only Class A shares. |
8 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 4: 2010 Equity Incentive Plan Summary of Proposal Proposal 4 seeks shareholder approval of the Companys 2010 Equity
Incentive Plan (the 2010 Plan) for employees and
directors. Background Information The Companys 1999 Stock Incentive Plan expired in November
2009. As such, the Company does not have the ability to
grant any equity awards as a part of any compensation
program; The Company believes equity is an integral component of a competitive
compensation program; The 2010 Plan would authorize a committee of independent directors to
make a variety of common stock-based awards, including performance shares, restricted stock and stock options to plan participants, including employees, officers and
directors; The 2010 Plan would allow for grants not to exceed 6 million shares,
unless further shareholder approval is obtained, over the
ten-year life of the 2010 Plan, with a sub-limit on full value awards (e.g. restricted stock) of 3 million shares; The 2010 Plan has been carefully designed to meet widely accepted
corporate governance criteria and to incorporate shareholder friendly features (please see following page for details). Board of Directors Recommendation Our Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR approval of the 2010 Plan. |
9 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 4: 2010 Equity Incentive Plan The 2010 Plan has been structured to meet widely accepted corporate governance standards: The Companys dilution, including the new authorization of 6 million shares, would stand at only 11.5%. (1) The Companys three year average burn rate is just 1.6%. (2) The 2010 Plan also has been designed to incorporate shareholder friendly features: No cash awards available; Minimum three year vesting for time based awards; Minimum one year vesting for performance based awards; Prohibitions on re-pricing, exchanging or repurchasing awards without
shareholder approval; No dividends on unvested performance awards; and No material amendments without shareholder approval. (1) We calculate dilution as the sum of (a) shares available under
existing plans; (b) awards granted under existing plans but not yet exercised; and (c) the number of shares being added under the proposed plan divided by the
Companys fully-diluted outstanding shares. (2) We
calculate burn rate using the gross number of equity awards granted in each year divided by the weighted average common shares outstanding at fiscal year-end. |
10 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Proposal 4: 2010 Equity Incentive Plan Although the Company has been able to recruit new management team
members including a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting
Officer, Treasurer and General Counsel, its ability to provide
competitive equity compensation has been limited: Equity grants to employees were suspended from mid 2007 to August 2009
when approximately 1.1 million shares were granted under the
1999 Stock Incentive Plan. August 2009 equity grants to management were significantly below market and peer comparables. |
11 ©Beazer Homes Confidential & Proprietary Distribution Prohibited Additional Information Additional questions can be addressed to the Company here: Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations 1000 Abernathy Road, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 (770) 827-3700 Email: ProxyQuestions@beazer.com Or to the Companys Solicitation Agent here: MORROW & CO., LLC 470 West Avenue Stamford, Connecticut 06902 (800) 460-1014 (toll free) Email: bzh.info@morrowco.com An electronic version of the Proxy Statement is available here:
www.proxyvote.com The Shareholders Meeting is scheduled for April 13, 2010. The Board of Directors respectfully requests that shareholders vote.
Shareholders may vote here: www.proxyvote.com You will need the 12-digit Control Number included on your proxy card
or voting instruction form to access these materials.
|