0001158172false00011581722022-08-222022-08-22
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): August 22,
2022
COMSCORE, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in
charter)
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Delaware |
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001-33520 |
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54-1955550 |
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation) |
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(Commission
File Number) |
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(IRS Employer
Identification No.) |
11950 Democracy Drive
Suite 600
Reston, Virginia 20190
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip
code)
(703) 438–2000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(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:
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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 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Act:
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Title of Each Class |
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Trading Symbol |
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Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered |
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share |
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SCOR |
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NASDAQ Global Select Market |
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.
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of
Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory
Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Chief Operating Officer Appointment
On August 22, 2022, the Board of Directors (the "Board") of
comScore, Inc. (the "Company") appointed Greg Dale as Chief
Operating Officer ("COO") of the Company, effective August 23,
2022. Mr. Dale, 52, served as the Company's General Manager,
Digital from December 2021 until his appointment as COO on August
23, 2022. Mr. Dale previously served as COO of Shareablee, Inc.
("Shareablee"), a social media marketing analytics company, from
July 2018 through its acquisition by the Company in December 2021.
Prior to Shareablee, Mr. Dale served as COO of Persado, an
artificial intelligence-based marketing content platform, from
April 2016 to February 2018. Mr. Dale previously held senior roles
with the Company from 1999 to 2016. Mr. Dale holds a bachelor's
degree from Purdue University.
In connection with Mr. Dale's appointment as COO, the Company and
Mr. Dale entered into a Letter Agreement (the "Dale Letter
Agreement") dated August 22, 2022. Pursuant to the Dale Letter
Agreement, Mr. Dale will receive the following compensation as
consideration for his services as COO: (i) an annualized base
salary of $335,000; (ii) eligibility to participate in the
Company's short-term incentive program (the "STIP") with a target
annual incentive equal to 75% of his base salary, which will be
prorated for the portion of the 2022 STIP that elapses following
his appointment as COO; and (iii) beginning in 2023, eligibility to
participate in the Company's long-term incentive program (the
"LTIP") subject to the terms and conditions of the LTIP as in
effect from time to time. For 2022, 2023 and 2024, Mr. Dale will be
eligible to receive an additional performance-based incentive of up
to $120,000 per year based on achievement of operating goals
established by the Company's Compensation Committee in the relevant
year.
Additionally, the Dale Letter Agreement provides for the following
one-time equity grants to Mr. Dale as consideration for his
services as COO: (i) 110,000 performance restricted stock units
under and pursuant to the terms of the Company's 2018 Equity and
Incentive Compensation Plan (the "Equity Plan"), which will have
the opportunity to vest quarterly from the date of grant through
the 10th
anniversary of the date of grant or an earlier change of control of
the Company, subject to and in accordance with the achievement of
certain stock-price hurdles (ranging from $5.00 to $15.00 per
share) on or prior to such date, as outlined in the Dale Letter
Agreement; and (ii) options to purchase 160,000 shares of the
Company's common stock under the Equity Plan, with a per-share
exercise price equal to the greater of: (A) the closing price per
share of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, or (B)
$2.50 (the "Dale Options"), which will vest in equal annual
installments on August 23, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. If Mr. Dale's
service with the Company is terminated by the Company without cause
or by Mr. Dale for good reason (each as defined in Mr. Dale's
Severance Agreement, described below), in either case within 12
months following a change of control, then subject to Mr. Dale's
timely execution of a release of claims in favor of the Company,
any unvested portion of the Dale Options will fully vest upon such
termination and Mr. Dale will have 90 days thereafter (or until the
Dale Options' 10-year expiration date, if earlier) to exercise any
vested Dale Options.
Effective August 23, 2022, the Company and Mr. Dale also entered
into (i) a Change of Control Agreement, which generally provides
for the following severance payments and benefits following a
termination of employment without cause or for good reason on or
within 12 months after a change of control: (a) a lump sum cash
payment equal to 12 months of Mr. Dale's base salary, (b) a
prorated annual bonus under the STIP based on the greater of actual
or target performance, (c) reimbursement of COBRA premiums for up
to 12 months, and (d) subject to the terms of the applicable award
agreements, accelerated vesting of outstanding equity awards; and
(ii) a Severance Agreement, which generally provides for the
following severance payments and benefits following a termination
of employment without cause or for good reason prior to a change of
control: (a) continuing cash payments at a rate equal to Mr. Dale's
base salary for 12 months following termination, (b) a prorated
annual bonus under the STIP based on actual performance, and (c)
reimbursement of COBRA premiums for up to 12 months. Any severance
will be subject to Mr. Dale's execution of a release of claims and
compliance with certain restrictive covenants, including
non-compete and non-solicit obligations.
The foregoing description of the Dale Letter Agreement, Change of
Control Agreement and Severance Agreement is not complete and is
qualified in its entirety by reference to the full and complete
texts of such agreements, which are filed herewith as Exhibits
10.1, 10.2 and 10.3, respectively, and are incorporated herein by
reference.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Dale and
any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as the
Company's COO. There are no family relationships between Mr. Dale
and any director or executive officer of the Company, or any person
nominated or chosen by the Company to become a director or
executive officer. Except as described below, Mr. Dale has no
direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to
be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation
S-K.
In connection with the Company's December 2021 acquisition of
Shareablee (the "Shareablee Transaction"), Mr. Dale's outstanding
options to acquire Shareablee common stock were converted into
options to acquire 142,420 shares of Company common stock, based on
a conversion ratio set forth in the Agreement and Plan of Merger,
dated December 16, 2021, among the Company, Shareablee and the
other parties thereto (the "Merger Agreement"). In addition, Mr.
Dale is eligible to receive approximately $171,000 of deferred
consideration in connection with the Shareablee Transaction,
subject to the conditions and timing set forth in the Merger
Agreement. A copy of the Merger Agreement was previously filed as
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on
December 17, 2021, and the terms of the Shareablee Transaction were
further described in that Current Report.
Chief Commercial Officer Departure
On August 23, 2022, the Company announced that its Chief Commercial
Officer, Chris Wilson, would be leaving the Company. On August 25,
2022, the Company and Mr. Wilson entered into a Separation and
General Release Agreement (the "Separation Agreement"), pursuant to
which Mr. Wilson's employment with the Company will end on October
1, 2022 (the "Separation Date"). The Separation Agreement provides
that Mr. Wilson will become entitled to certain payments and
benefits that are currently provided in the Change of Control and
Severance Agreement previously entered into between the Company and
Mr. Wilson, effective as of April 17, 2019 (the "Prior Agreement"),
and based on the form agreement previously filed as Exhibit 10.3 to
the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on September 10,
2018. The payments and benefits to be provided to Mr. Wilson are
those provided for under the Prior Agreement in connection with a
termination without cause absent a change of control, with a
severance period of 12 months. In addition, Mr. Wilson will be
reimbursed for up to $20,000 of attorneys' fees incurred by him in
connection with the review and negotiation of the Separation
Agreement. The Separation Agreement also provides that the 94,394
outstanding restricted stock units subject to Mr. Wilson's
Restricted Stock Units Award Agreement dated March 10, 2021 (the
"2021 RSUs") will become fully vested as of the Separation Date,
which vesting is consistent with the terms of the Restricted Stock
Units Award Agreement, based on the form of such agreement filed as
Exhibit 10.7 to the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
period ended March 31, 2021. Shares relating to the 2021 RSUs will
be distributed as soon as administratively practicable following
the Separation Date, but in no event later than March 15,
2023.
Under the Separation Agreement, Mr. Wilson agreed to a
comprehensive release of claims in favor of the Company and its
affiliates. Mr. Wilson also reaffirmed his commitment to be bound
by restrictive covenants regarding non-disclosure of confidential
information and non-competition and non-solicitation
requirements.
The foregoing description of the Separation Agreement is not
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full
and complete text of such agreement, which is filed herewith as
Exhibit 10.4 and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On August 23, 2022, the Company issued a press release announcing
Mr. Dale's appointment and Mr. Wilson's departure from the Company.
A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and
is incorporated herein by reference.
The information in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1 attached
hereto, is being furnished and shall not be deemed "filed" for
purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
"Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that
section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any
filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act,
regardless of any general incorporation language in such
filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
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Exhibit No. |
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Description |
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10.1 |
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10.2 |
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10.3 |
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10.4 |
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99.1 |
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101.INS |
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XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in
the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within
the Inline XBRL document. |
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101.SCH |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. |
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101.CAL |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase
Document. |
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101.DEF |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase
Document. |
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101.LAB |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. |
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101.PRE |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase
Document. |
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104 |
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Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page iXBRL tags are
embedded within the Inline XBRL document |
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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comScore, Inc. |
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By: |
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/s/ Mary Margaret Curry |
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Mary Margaret Curry |
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Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer |
Date: August 26, 2022
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