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): June 8, 2017

 

 

Reynolds American Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

 

North Carolina   1-32258   20-0546644

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

  (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

401 North Main Street

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (ZIP Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (336) 741 2000

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):

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

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 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

 

 

 


Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On January 16, 2017, Reynolds American Inc., referred to as RAI, British American Tobacco p.l.c., referred to as BAT, BATUS Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of BAT and referred to as BATUS, and Flight Acquisition Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAT and referred to as Merger Sub, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, referred to as the Merger Agreement, pursuant to which, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions, Merger Sub will merge with and into RAI, referred to as the merger, with RAI surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of BAT.

Amendment to Merger Agreement

On June 8, 2017, RAI, BAT, BATUS and Merger Sub entered into the Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, referred to as the Amendment, which amends the previously announced Merger Agreement.

Under the terms of the Amendment, upon the completion of the merger, the Restated Articles of Incorporation of RAI will be amended to provide for a minimum of one director instead of a minimum of nine directors. In addition, the Amendment amends the Merger Agreement to provide that, as of the Effective Time (as defined in the Merger Agreement), BAT, on behalf of BATUS, will provide irrevocable written instruction to cause the American Depositary Shares of BAT, referred to as the BAT ADSs, to be issued as the stock portion of the Merger Consideration (as defined in the Merger Agreement) to be deposited with or provided to the Exchange Agent (as defined in the Merger Agreement), instead of requiring deposit of such BAT ADSs as of the Effective Time. Further, the Amendment amends the Merger Agreement to grant the Exchange Agent an additional two business days, for a total of five business days, to mail out to certain holders of shares of RAI common stock held in book-entry form: (1) a notice of the effectiveness of the merger, (2) a statement reflecting the whole number of BAT ADSs in the name of such holder that such holder has the right to receive as Merger Consideration, and (3) an amount in cash that such holder has the right to receive as Merger Consideration.

Other than as expressly modified pursuant to the Amendment, the Merger Agreement, which was filed as Exhibit 2.1 to RAI’s Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, referred to as the SEC, on January 17, 2017, remains in full force and effect as originally executed on January 16, 2017. The foregoing description of the Amendment and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Amendment, a copy of which is being filed as Exhibit 2.1 hereto and is incorporated into this Item 1.01 by reference.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Statements included in this report that are not historical in nature, including financial estimates and statements as to regulatory approvals and the expected timing, completion and effects of the proposed transaction, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this report and in documents incorporated by reference, forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the benefits of the proposed transaction, including future financial and

 

1


operating results, financial forecasts or projections, the combined company’s plans, expectations, beliefs, intentions and future strategies, and other statements that are not historical facts, and other statements that are signified by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “outlook,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “possible,” “potential,” “could,” “should” and similar expressions. These statements regarding future events or the future performance or results of RAI and its subsidiaries or the combined company inherently are subject to a variety of risks, contingencies and other uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in or implied by the forward-looking statements.

Among the risks, contingencies and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those described in the forward-looking statements or could result in the failure of the proposed transaction to be consummated, or if consummated, could have an adverse effect on the results of operations, cash flows and financial position of RAI or the combined company, respectively, are the following: the failure to obtain necessary shareholder approvals for the proposed transaction; the failure to obtain other necessary approvals for the proposed transaction, or if obtained, the possibility of being subjected to conditions that could reduce the expected synergies and other benefits of the proposed transaction, result in a material delay in, or the abandonment of, the proposed transaction or otherwise have an adverse effect on RAI or the combined company; the failure to satisfy required closing conditions or complete the proposed transaction in a timely manner or at all; the effect of restrictions placed on RAI’s and its subsidiaries’ business activities and the limitations put on RAI’s ability to pursue alternatives to the proposed transaction pursuant to the merger agreement; risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; the failure to realize projected synergies and other benefits from the proposed transaction; failure to promptly and effectively integrate RAI into BAT; the uncertainty of the value of the proposed transaction consideration that RAI shareholders will receive in the proposed transaction due to a fixed exchange ratio and a potential fluctuation in the market price of BAT common stock; the difference in rights provided to RAI shareholders under North Carolina law, the RAI articles of incorporation and the RAI bylaws, as compared to the rights RAI shareholders will obtain as BAT shareholders under the laws of England and Wales and BAT’s governing documents; the possibility of RAI’s directors and officers having interests in the proposed transaction that are different from, or in addition to, the interests of RAI shareholders generally; the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction on the ability to retain and hire key personnel, maintain business relationships, and on operating results and businesses generally; the incurrence of significant pre- and post-transaction related costs in connection with the proposed transaction; evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; and the occurrence of any event giving rise to the right of a party to terminate the merger agreement. Discussions of additional risks, contingencies and uncertainties are contained in RAI’s filings with the SEC. Due to these risks, contingencies and other uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this report. Except as provided by federal securities laws, RAI is not under any obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

2


Additional Information

This report may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed transaction involving RAI and BAT. In connection with the proposed transaction, BAT has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-4 that includes the proxy statement of RAI that also constitutes a prospectus of BAT. The registration statement has not yet become effective and the proxy statement included therein is in preliminary form. RAI plans to mail the definitive proxy statement/prospectus to its shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BAT, RAI, THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and shareholders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by RAI and BAT through the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by RAI by contacting RAI Investor Relations at raiinvestorrelations@reynoldsamerican.com or by calling (336) 741-5165 or at RAI’s website at www.reynoldsamerican.com, and may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by BAT by contacting BAT Investor Relations at batir@bat.com or by calling +44 (0) 20 7845 1000 or at BAT’S website at www.bat.com.

RAI, BAT and their respective directors and executive officers and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from RAI shareholders in respect of the proposed transaction that will be described in the proxy statement/prospectus. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies from RAI shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction, including a description of their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, are set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC. You may also obtain the documents that RAI files electronically from the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Information regarding RAI’s directors and executive officers is contained in RAI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which was filed with the SEC on February 9, 2017, and its Form 10-K/A, which was filed with the SEC on March 20, 2017. Information regarding BAT’s directors and executive officers is contained in BAT’s Annual Reports, which may be obtained free of charge from BAT’s website at www.bat.com.

This report is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction pursuant to the acquisition, the merger or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits .

 

Exhibit
No.
  

Description

2.1    Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 8, 2017, among British American Tobacco p.l.c., BATUS Holdings Inc., Flight Acquisition Corporation and Reynolds American Inc.

 

 

3


SIGNATURE

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 thereunto duly authorized.

Date: June 8, 2017

 

REYNOLDS AMERICAN INC.
By:   /s/ McDara P. Folan, III
Name:   McDara P. Folan, III
Title:   Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.
  

Description

2.1    Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 8, 2017, among British American Tobacco p.l.c., BATUS Holdings Inc., Flight Acquisition Corporation and Reynolds American Inc.

 

Reynolds (NYSE:RAI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Reynolds Charts.
Reynolds (NYSE:RAI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more Reynolds Charts.