UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
(Rule
14a-101)
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROXY STATEMENT
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of The Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant ☐
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☒
Check the appropriate box:
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☐ |
Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by
Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
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☒ |
Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material Under Rule 14a-12 |
HASBRO, INC.
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(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
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ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP
ALTA FOX SPV 3, LP
ALTA FOX SPV 3.1, LP
ALTA FOX GENPAR, LP
ALTA FOX EQUITY, LLC
ALTA FOX CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
CONNOR HALEY
MARCELO FISCHER
RANI HUBLOU
CAROLYN JOHNSON
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(Name of Persons(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the
Registrant)
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Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1)
and 0-11. |
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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.
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Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP
April 26, 2022
Dear
Fellow Shareholders:
Alta Fox Opportunities Fund, LP, a Delaware limited partnership
(“Alta Fox Opportunities”), and the other participants in this
solicitation (collectively, the “Alta Fox Group” or “we”) are
significant shareholders of Hasbro, Inc., a Rhode Island
corporation (“Hasbro” or the “Company”), who beneficially own, in
the aggregate, 3,618,060 shares of common stock, $0.50 par value
per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, constituting
approximately 2.6% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock. We
are seeking your support at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
(the “2022 Annual Meeting”) to elect Alta Fox Opportunities’ three
highly-qualified nominees to the Company’s Board of Directors (the
“Board”).
Hasbro is a storied American company that possesses exceptional
assets, loyal customers, passionate employees and truly special
brands. However, Hasbro’s shares are worth less today than they
were five years ago, were trading at a 52-week low as recently as
March 31, 2022, and have underperformed the S&P 500 by more
than 100% over the last five years. In our view, poor corporate
governance and a deeply entrenched, intransigent Board, a flawed
corporate structure, opaque disclosure practices, ineffective
capital allocation, a poorly executed “Brand Blueprint” strategy,
and weak alignment between current leadership and shareholders have
caused Hasbro to become a chronic underperformer that trades at a
significant discount to its intrinsic value. With a meaningfully
reconstituted Board and properly incentivized management team, the
Alta Fox Group believes the Company can rebuild trust with all
stakeholders.
Following the recent expansion of the size of the Board, the Alta
Fox Group believes the terms of thirteen directors currently
serving on the Board will expire at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Through the attached proxy statement, we are soliciting proxies to
elect not only our three nominees, but also the candidates who have
been nominated by the Company other than Richard S. Stoddart,
Edward M. Philip, and Lisa Gersh. Shareholders will, therefore, be
able to vote for the total number of directors up for election at
the 2022 Annual Meeting. The names, backgrounds and qualifications
of the Company’s nominees, and other information about them, can be
found in the Company’s proxy statement. Your vote to elect our
three nominees will have the legal effect of replacing three
incumbent directors with our nominees. If elected, our nominees
will constitute a minority on the Board – accordingly, there can be
no guarantee that our nominees will be able to implement the
actions that they believe are necessary to unlock shareholder
value. However, we believe the election of our nominees is an
important step in enhancing long-term value at the Company and
ensuring an appropriate valuation of the Common Stock.
We urge you to carefully consider the information contained in the
attached Proxy Statement and then support our efforts by signing,
dating and returning the enclosed GOLD proxy card today. The
attached Proxy Statement and the enclosed GOLD proxy card
are first being furnished to the shareholders on or about April 26,
2022.
If you have already voted for the incumbent management slate, you
have every right to change your vote by signing, dating and
returning a later dated GOLD proxy card or by voting at the
2022 Annual Meeting.
If you have any questions or require any assistance with your vote,
please contact Okapi Partners LLC, which is assisting us, at its
address and toll-free number listed below.
Thank you for your support,
/s/ Connor Haley
Alta Fox Opportunities Fund, LP
Connor Haley
If you have any questions, require assistance in voting your
GOLD proxy card, or need additional copies of the Alta Fox
Group’s proxy materials, please contact Okapi Partners at the phone
numbers or email address listed below.

Okapi Partners LLC
1212 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
New York, New York 10036
Shareholders may call toll-free: (877) 629-6356
Banks and brokers call: (212) 297-0720
E-mail: info@okapipartners.com
2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
OF
HASBRO,
INC.
_________________________
PROXY STATEMENT
OF
ALTA
FOX OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP
_________________________
PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND MAIL THE ENCLOSED GOLD PROXY CARD
TODAY
Alta Fox Opportunities Fund, LP, a Delaware limited partnership
(“Alta Fox Opportunities”), and the other participants in this
solicitation (collectively, the “Alta Fox Group” or “we”) are
significant shareholders of Hasbro, Inc., a Rhode Island
corporation (“HAS”, “Hasbro” or the “Company”), beneficially
owning, in the aggregate, 3,618,060 shares of common stock, par
value $0.50 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company,
constituting approximately 2.6% of the outstanding shares of Common
Stock. We believe that the Board of Directors of the Company (the
“Board”) must be refreshed to ensure that the Board takes the
necessary steps to maximize value for all of the Company’s
shareholders. We have nominated three highly-qualified directors
who have strong, relevant backgrounds and who are committed to
fully exploring all opportunities to unlock shareholder value at
the Company. Accordingly, we are furnishing this proxy statement
and accompanying GOLD proxy card to holders of Common Stock
of HAS in connection with our solicitation of proxies in connection
with the Company’s 2022 annual meeting of shareholders (including
any and all adjournments, postponements, continuations or
reschedulings thereof, or any other meeting of shareholders held in
lieu thereof) (the “2022 Annual Meeting”). We are seeking your
support at the 2022 Annual Meeting scheduled to be held virtually
on June 8, 2022 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time, at
www.cesonlineservices.com/has22_vm, for the following:
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To
elect Alta Fox Opportunities’ three director nominees, Marcelo
Fischer, Rani Hublou and Carolyn Johnson (each a “Nominee” and,
collectively, the “Nominees”) to serve until the 2023 Annual
Meeting of Shareholders (the “2023 Annual Meeting”), and until
their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their
earlier death, resignation or removal;
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To approve advisory vote on the
compensation of the Company’s named executive officers; |
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To ratify the selection of KPMG LLP
as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for
the 2022 fiscal year; and |
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To transact such other business as
may properly come before the 2022 Annual Meeting. |
This Proxy Statement and the enclosed GOLD proxy card are
first being mailed to shareholders on or about April 26, 2022.
The 2022 Annual Meeting will be held exclusively online via a live
webcast at www.cesonlineservices.com/has22_vm. According to the
Company’s proxy statement, to participate in the virtual 2022
Annual Meeting, you will need to pre-register at least 48 hours
prior to the 2022 Annual Meeting at
www.cesonlineservices.com/has22_vm. There will not be a physical
location for the 2022 Annual Meeting. Shareholders of record may
vote at the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting or vote by proxy. Please
see the “Virtual Meeting” section of this Proxy Statement for
additional information.
The Board is currently composed of thirteen directors. Through this
Proxy Statement, we are soliciting proxies to elect not only our
three Nominees, but also the candidates who have been nominated by
the Company other than Richard S. Stoddart, Edward M. Philip, and
Lisa Gersh. This gives shareholders who wish to vote for our
Nominees the ability to vote for all thirteen directorships up for
election at the 2022 Annual Meeting. The names, backgrounds and
qualifications of the Company’s nominees, and other information
about them, can be found in the Company’s proxy statement. Your
vote to elect our Nominees will have the legal effect of replacing
three incumbent directors with our Nominees. If elected, our
Nominees will constitute a minority on the Board and there can be
no guarantee that our Nominees will be able to implement the
actions that they believe are necessary to maximize shareholder
value at the Company. However, we believe the election of our
Nominees is a necessary step towards enhancing long-term value at
the Company.
The Company has set the close of business on April 12, 2022 as the
record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of and
to vote at the 2022 Annual Meeting (the “Record Date”). Each
outstanding share of Common Stock is entitled to one vote on each
matter to be voted upon at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Shareholders of
record at the close of business on the Record Date will be entitled
to vote at the 2022 Annual Meeting. According to the Company, as of
the Record Date, there were 139,442,133 shares of Common Stock
outstanding and entitled to vote at the 2022 Annual Meeting. The
mailing address of the principal executive offices of the Company
is 1027 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02861.
As of the date hereof, Alta Fox Opportunities, Alta Fox SPV 3, LP,
a Delaware limited partnership (“Alta Fox SPV 3”), Alta Fox SPV
3.1, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Alta Fox SPV 3.1”), Alta
Fox GenPar, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Alta Fox GP”),
Alta Fox Equity, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Alta
Fox Equity”), Alta Fox Capital Management, LLC, a Texas limited
liability company (“Alta Fox Capital”), and Mr. Haley
(collectively, “Alta Fox”), and each of the Nominees (each a
“Participant” and, collectively, the “Participants”), collectively
beneficially own 3,618,060 shares of Common Stock (the “Alta Fox
Group Shares”). The Participants intend to vote the Alta Fox Group
Shares FOR the election of the Nominees, AGAINST the
approval of the non-binding advisory resolution on the compensation
of the Company’s named executive officers and FOR the
ratification of the selection of KPMG LLP as the independent
registered public accounting firm of the Company for the fiscal
year ending December 25, 2022, as further described herein.
We urge you to carefully consider the information contained in this
Proxy Statement and then support our efforts by signing, dating and
returning the enclosed GOLD proxy card today.
THIS SOLICITATION IS BEING MADE BY ALTA FOX AND NOT ON BEHALF OF
THE BOARD OR MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY. WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY
OTHER MATTERS TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OTHER
THAN AS SET FORTH IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT. SHOULD OTHER MATTERS,
WHICH ALTA FOX IS NOT AWARE OF A REASONABLE TIME BEFORE THIS
SOLICITATION, BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING, THE
PERSONS NAMED AS PROXIES IN THE ENCLOSED GOLD PROXY CARD
WILL VOTE ON SUCH MATTERS IN THEIR DISCRETION.
ALTA FOX URGES YOU TO SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE GOLD PROXY
CARD IN FAVOR OF THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SENT A PROXY CARD FURNISHED BY COMPANY
MANAGEMENT OR THE BOARD, YOU MAY REVOKE THAT PROXY AND VOTE ON EACH
OF THE PROPOSALS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT BY SIGNING,
DATING, AND RETURNING THE ENCLOSED GOLD PROXY CARD. THE
LATEST DATED PROXY IS THE ONLY ONE THAT COUNTS. ANY PROXY MAY BE
REVOKED AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING BY DELIVERING
A WRITTEN NOTICE OF REVOCATION OR A LATER DATED PROXY FOR THE 2022
ANNUAL MEETING OR BY VOTING VIRTUALLY AT THE 2022 ANNUAL
MEETING.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials
for the 2022 Annual Meeting—This Proxy Statement and our GOLD proxy
card are available at
www.FreeTheWizards.com
IMPORTANT
Your vote is important, no matter the number of shares of Common
Stock you own. Alta Fox urges you to sign, date, and return the
enclosed GOLD proxy card today to vote FOR the election of the
Nominees and in accordance with Alta Fox’s recommendations on the
other proposals on the agenda for the 2022 Annual Meeting.
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If your shares of Common Stock are
registered in your own name, please sign and date the enclosed
GOLD proxy card and return it to Alta Fox, c/o Okapi
Partners LLC (“Okapi”) in the enclosed postage-paid envelope
today. |
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If your shares of Common Stock are
held in a brokerage account or bank, you are considered the
beneficial owner of the shares of Common Stock, and these proxy
materials, together with a GOLD voting form, are being
forwarded to you by your broker or bank. As a beneficial owner, you
must instruct your broker, trustee or other representative how to
vote. Your broker cannot vote your shares of Common Stock on your
behalf without your instructions. As a beneficial owner, you may
vote the shares virtually at the 2022 Annual Meeting only if you
obtain a legal proxy from the broker or bank giving you the rights
to vote the shares. |
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Depending upon your broker or
custodian, you may be able to vote either by toll-free telephone or
by the Internet. Please refer to the enclosed voting form for
instructions on how to vote electronically. You may also vote by
signing, dating and returning the enclosed voting form. |
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You may vote your shares virtually
at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Even if you plan to attend the 2022
Annual Meeting, we recommend that you submit your GOLD proxy card
by mail by the applicable deadline so that your vote will be
counted if you later decide not to attend the 2022 Annual
Meeting. |
Due to ongoing delays in the postal system, we are encouraging
stockholders to submit their proxies electronically (by Internet or
by telephone) if possible. Since only your latest dated proxy card
will count, we urge you not to return any proxy card you receive
from the Company. Even if you return the Company’s proxy card
marked “withhold” as a protest against the incumbent directors, it
will revoke any proxy card you may have previously sent to us.
Remember, you can vote for our three Nominees only on our
GOLD proxy card. So please make certain that the latest
dated proxy card you return is the GOLD proxy card.
If you have any questions, require assistance in voting your
GOLD proxy card, or need additional copies of Alta Fox’s
proxy materials, please contact Okapi at the phone numbers or email
address listed below.

Okapi Partners LLC
1212 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
New York, New York 10036
Shareholders may call toll-free: (877) 629-6356
Banks and brokers call: (212) 297-0720
E-mail: info@okapipartners.com
BACKGROUND OF THE SOLICITATION
The
following is a chronology of material events leading up to this
proxy solicitation:
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On October 27, 2021,
representatives of Alta Fox reached out to Hasbro’s investor
relations team, requesting a call to discuss the business. |
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On November 1, 2021,
representatives of Alta Fox had a call with Debbie Hancock, the
Company’s Head of Investor Relations, and Kristen Levy, a member of
the investor relations team to discuss various aspects of the
Company’s business. Specifically, Alta Fox inquired as to the
Board’s views regarding a potential spin-off of WOTC as a way to
unlock shareholder value. Mses. Hancock and Levy responded that the
Company had no interest in spinning off WOTC given purported
synergies with the Company’s other business units. The potential
for scheduling a follow-up call was discussed. |
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On November 2, 2021,
representatives from Hasbro’s investor relations team emailed Alta
Fox representatives, providing availability for a follow-up
call. |
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On November 3, 2021,
representatives of Alta Fox had a call with Mses. Hancock and Levy.
Prior to the call, Hasbro’s investor relations team had emailed
Alta Fox the link to a Yahoo Finance interview with Chris Cocks
that aired the same day. On the call, Alta Fox inquired as to
whether there was a scenario where the Company’s strategy might be
revisited by the new permanent CEO when found and re-emphasized the
strategic merits for spinning off WOTC. Hasbro’s investor relations
team responded that the Company’s strategy is under constant
review. |
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On November 3, 2021,
representatives from Hasbro’s investor relations team emailed Alta
Fox representatives with follow-up answers to questions asked on
the call. |
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On November 11, 2021,
representatives from Alta Fox participated in a group call with
Hasbro’s investor relations team and Mr. Cocks that was sponsored
by Jefferies. On the call, Alta Fox (through Jefferies) asked Mr.
Cocks about potential monetization of the secondary market in
Magic: The Gathering. Mr. Cocks responded that WOTC does not
participate in the secondary market. |
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On November 12, 2021,
representatives from Hasbro’s investor relations team emailed Alta
Fox representatives offering availability for an additional
call. |
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On November 17, 2021,
representatives of Alta Fox had a call with Mmes. Hancock and Levy.
On the call, Alta Fox re-emphasized its belief regarding the
strategic merits for spinning off WOTC. |
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On November 22, 2021,
representatives from Hasbro’s investor relations team emailed Alta
Fox representatives with follow-up answers to questions discussed
on the November 17th call. |
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On December 3, 2021,
representatives from Alta Fox emailed Hasbro’s interim Chief
Executive Officer, Richard S. Stoddart, Chief Legal Officer,
Tarrant Sibley, and Head of Investor Relations, Debbie Hancock,
requesting a Zoom meeting with Hasbro’s Board to discuss Alta Fox’s
concerns surrounding, what it believed to be, the Company’s (i)
poor historical capital allocation decisions, (ii) lack of
transparency with investors, (iii) mediocre valuation despite a
variety of high-quality assets, and (iv) poor shareholder
returns. |
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On December 8, 2021, Ms. Hancock
responded to schedule a call the same day between Alta Fox and
Hasbro’s investor relations team only. Representatives of Alta Fox
responded by again requesting a call with the Board, but offering
to explain the concerns to Ms. Hancock during a meeting as well. A
call took place later that day. After the call, Alta Fox again
formally requested a meeting with the Board. |
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On December 9, 2021, Ms. Hancock
provided availability for a meeting only with Hasbro’s CFO during
the first week of January. Alta Fox responded, explaining that a
call with the CFO was insufficient and requesting again to speak
with the Board the following week. |
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On December 13, 2021, Ms. Hancock
provided availability for a meeting with Hasbro’s CFO only, with
availabilities starting December 17, 2021. |
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On December 17, 2021,
representatives from Alta Fox spoke with Hasbro’s CFO, Deb Thomas.
On the call the parties discussed, what Alta Fox believes to be,
Hasbro’s poor historical capital allocation decisions and that such
decisions were holding back Hasbro from achieving its full
potential. Hasbro’s current capital allocation decisions were also
discussed in detail, and Alta Fox took issue with Hasbro’s
sprawling video game investments and what it saw as the Company’s
lack of focus. Ms. Thomas insisted that the Company’s strategy was
appropriate. Alta Fox also elaborated on its valuation case for a
WOTC spin-off. Ms. Thomas would not engage in any discussion about
WOTC’s potential value as a standalone entity. Alta Fox also
detailed Hasbro’s significant share price underperformance in
recent years. Ms. Thomas requested that Alta Fox share its
supporting data. Following the conversation, Alta Fox shared
shareholder return data and again requested a call with Hasbro’s
Board. |
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On December 21, 2021, Ms. Thomas
sent an email to Alta Fox, requesting that Alta Fox (i) share its
valuation analysis previously discussed on December 17, 2021, and
(ii) that it disclose the size of its ownership. Alta Fox responded
by offering to give a 60-minute presentation to the Board on
potential value creation opportunities for Hasbro. |
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On December 24, 2021, Ms. Thomas
sent an email to Alta Fox offering a call with Mr. Stoddart on
January 7, 2022. Alta Fox accepted the call, but, for the fifth
time, requested a meeting with the Board to discuss its concerns
regarding the Company. |
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On January 6, 2022, Alta Fox
requested that Chris Cocks, Hasbro’s newly appointed CEO (to assume
the role on February 25, 2022), join the call with Mr. Stoddart
scheduled for January 7, 2022. |
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On January 7, 2022, Ms. Thomas
responded that Mr. Cocks would be unable to join the call. Later
that day, representatives from Alta Fox presented their concerns
regarding the Company on the call with Mr. Stoddart and Mmes.
Hancock and Thomas. Following the conversation, Alta Fox emailed
Mr. Stoddart and Ms. Thomas asking, for a sixth time, to speak with
the Board. Alta Fox also requested an indication from Hasbro as to
whether the Company was prepared to work with Alta Fox to refresh
the Board and explore a spin-off of WOTC. Alta Fox suggested that
its legal counsel, Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP (“Olshan”) would engage
with counsel for Hasbro regarding a cooperative framework that
would include Board refreshment. |
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On January 12, 2022, Ms. Thomas
emailed Alta Fox offering a call with two members of the Board,
Hope Cochran and Michael Burns, on either January 19th
or 20th. |
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On January 20, 2022, Alta Fox
presented its concerns regarding the Company on a call with Ms.
Cochran and Messrs. Burns and Stoddart. |
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On January 21, 2022, Ms. Thomas
sent an email to Alta Fox requesting that it disclose potential
director candidates that it believed could add value to the
Board. |
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On January 24, 2022, Alta Fox
responded to Ms. Thomas’ request offering to disclose the
identities of its potential director candidates in connection with
discussions regarding a cooperative framework for Board
refreshment. |
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On January 27, 2022, Ms. Thomas
sent an email to Alta Fox claiming that Alta Fox had declined to
share the presentation slides used during the calls with management
and the Board, had not disclosed the size of its stake in the
Company, and had declined to provide the names of its potential
director candidates. |
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On January 30, 2022, Alta Fox
responded to Ms. Thomas’ email by sending key presentation slides,
and pointed out that it had previously shared the approximate size
of its stake in the Company, including through HSR filings, and
that the Board should be aware that Alta Fox was a significant
shareholder of the Company. Alta Fox also repeated its preference
to work collaboratively with the Company to refresh the Board
rather than engage in a public proxy fight. |
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On February 2, 2022, Ms. Thomas sent an
email to Alta Fox expressing that the Company disagreed with Alta
Fox’s concerns, specifically claiming that there are significant
strategic and financial benefits from the “Brand Blueprint”
strategy. However no specifics were provided as to how these
alleged benefits would drive per share value creation beyond what a
spin-off would offer. Alta Fox suggested both sides find a
framework for compromise. Hasbro suggested they would not consider
proceeding unless Alta Fox revealed its potential Board nominees.
Without an indication that Hasbro was genuine in trying to find a
constructive solution, Alta Fox declined at this time to reveal its
nominees. |
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On February 16, 2022, Alta Fox
delivered a letter to the Company, in accordance with the
requirements of the Company’s organizational documents, nominating
Matthew Calkins, Jon Finkel, Mr. Fischer, Ms. Hublou, and Ms.
Johnson for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting (the
“Nomination Notice”). |
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On February 16, 2022, Alta Fox
issued a press release and open letter to shareholders announcing
the delivery of the Nomination Notice, as well as a 100-page
shareholder presentation outlining a number of value-enhancing
recommendations. In the letter, Alta Fox expressed its concerns
with what it saw as Hasbro’s chronic underperformance, poor capital
allocation, failed strategy, corporate governance shortcomings, and
flawed corporate structure. Alta Fox also reiterated its
willingness to resume a productive dialogue with the Company to
find a mutually agreeable framework for refreshing a meaningful
portion of the Board with new directors, including the
Nominees. |
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Also on February 16, 2022, the
Company issued a press release in response to Alta Fox’s Nomination
Notice. |
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On February 25, 2022, Connor Haley,
managing partner of Alta Fox Capital, sent a congratulatory email
to Mr. Cocks regarding his appointment as CEO of the Company and
expressed interest in speaking with him in an attempt find common
ground regarding the future strategic direction of Hasbro. |
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On February 28, 2022, Mr. Cocks
responded that Hasbro’s investor relations team would reach out
shortly to Alta Fox. No such outreach occurred. |
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On March 1, 2022, Alta Fox sent a
shareholder list demand letter (the “Shareholder List Demand”) to
the Company. |
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On March 7, 2022, Alta Fox issued a
press release detailing a Q&A with its highly-qualified
Nominees. |
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On March 10, 2022, Olshan reached
out to Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (“Cravath”) to suggest that
Alta Fox and the Company explore a negotiated settlement in lieu of
a proxy fight. |
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On March 14, 2022 the Company’s
financial advisors, Centerview Partners (“Centerview”) and J.P.
Morgan (“J.P. Morgan”), reached out to Alta Fox requesting to
discuss Olshan’s outreach. |
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Also on March 14, 2022, a call was
held between Centerview, J.P. Morgan, Cravath, Olshan and
representatives from Alta Fox. During the call, the Company’s
advisors offered to appoint a new director identified by the
Company to the Board and give Alta Fox public credit for the
appointment. Alta Fox rejected the offer as insufficient. |
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On March 15, Centerview, J.P.
Morgan, Cravath, Olshan and representatives from Alta Fox further
discussed a potential settlement framework. Alta Fox suggested that
the Company appoint two of the Nominees and form a capital
allocation committee. For this purpose, Alta Fox offered to make a
subset of Nominees available for interviews by the Board. The
Company’s advisors accepted the offer to conduct interviews, which
were scheduled for March 18, 2022, March 21, 2022 and March 22,
2022. |
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On March 18, 2022, Centerview, J.P.
Morgan, Cravath and Olshan discussed the progress of discussions
between Alta Fox and the Company. |
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On March 22, 2022, upon completion
of the Company’s interviews with a subset of Nominees, following an
advisors’ call, Olshan shared a draft term sheet for a potential
cooperation agreement to Centerview, J.P. Morgan, and Cravath. The
suggested terms included the appointment of two Nominees and one
new director identified by the Company to the Board, the formation
of a capital allocation and strategy committee, and the undertaking
of a study of the Company’s executive compensation policies. |
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On March 22, 2022, Mr. Haley
emailed Mr. Cocks providing his perspective on the
March 22 Alta Fox proposal and suggested a one-on-one
conversation between principles to avoid a distracting proxy fight
and find common ground. There was no immediate response. |
|
· |
On March 23, 2022, Centerview, J.P.
Morgan, Cravath, Olshan and representatives from Alta Fox discussed
the Company’s initial response to the draft term sheet. |
|
· |
On March 24, 2022, Centerview, J.P.
Morgan, Cravath and Olshan discussed Alta Fox’s settlement
proposal. During these discussions, the Company’s advisors again
suggested the addition of just one new director identified by the
Company to the Board, but publicly credited to its engagement with
Alta Fox, in addition to certain other commitments, including
improved disclosure practices and availability for Alta Fox to
speak with Mr. Cocks on a quarterly basis. Olshan communicated to
the Company’s advisors that Alta Fox would not agree to a
settlement that did not include the appointment of any Nominees to
the Board, but that it would consider a framework adding just one
Nominee and one new director identified by the Company, but only if
the Board would also agree to the formation of a capital allocation
committee of the Board. |
|
· |
On March 25, 2022, Centerview, J.P.
Morgan, Cravath and Olshan discussed Alta Fox’s latest settlement
proposal. The Company’s advisors suggested the addition of two new
directors to the Board, both identified by the Company, but
publicly credited to its engagement with Alta Fox, in addition to
improved disclosure practices and availability for Alta Fox to
speak with Mr. Cocks on a quarterly basis. Olshan reiterated that
Alta Fox would not agree to a settlement that did not include (i)
at least one of the Nominees being appointed to the Board, and (ii)
the formation of a capital allocation committee of the Board. |
|
· |
On March 27, 2022, Mr. Cocks
reached out directly to Mr. Haley to schedule a call. Messrs. Cocks
and Haley had a brief conversation, during which Mr. Cocks
reiterated that the Board would not consider appointing any Nominee
to the Board nor forming a capital allocation committee of the
Board. |
|
· |
On April 4, 2022, the Company filed
its preliminary proxy statement in
connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting. |
|
· |
Also on April 4, 2022, the Company
delivered two letters to shareholders and issued two press releases
in connection with the filing of its preliminary proxy statement
and the announcement that, effective April 1, 2022, the size of the
Board would be increased from eleven (11) to thirteen (13) members
and two new directors Elizabeth Hamren and Blake Jorgensen, joined
the Board. |
|
· |
On April 5, 2022, the Alta Fox
Group filed a preliminary proxy statement. |
|
· |
On April 13, 2022, the Alta Fox
Group filed a revised preliminary proxy statement. |
|
· |
On April 25, 2022, the Company
filed its definitive proxy
statement in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting. |
|
· |
On April 26, 2022, the Alta Fox
Group notified the Company of its withdrawal of the nomination of
Matthew Calkins and Jon Finkel for election to the Board at the
Annual Meeting. |
|
· |
On April 26, 2022, the Alta Fox
Group filed this definitive proxy statement. |
REASONS FOR THE SOLICITATION
Alta Fox is collectively a top 10 shareholder of Hasbro, with
beneficial ownership of approximately 2.6% of the Company's
outstanding shares and an unwavering commitment to creating
long-term value for all fellow stakeholders. We have spent
considerable time analyzing Hasbro's business segments, strategy,
capital allocation decisions, executive compensation, corporate
governance and historical performance. Our extensive research has
led us to conclude that the Company is a chronic underperformer
that trades at a significant discount to its intrinsic value due to
poor corporate governance and an entrenched Board, flawed corporate
structure, opaque disclosure practices, ineffective capital
allocation, a poorly executed “Brand Blueprint” strategy and weak
alignment between current leadership and shareholders. We believe
the common thread through Hasbro's many years of stagnation has
been its arrogant, insular and ineffective Board.
Alta Fox has spent the last several months trying to compromise
with the Board and collaborate on a viable director refresh. We
have initiated numerous interactions with the Company and its
advisors and even made a subset of our Nominees available for
interviews with the Board. We have put forth constructive ideas and
pushed the Board to recognize its long-term failure to deliver
satisfactory returns for shareholders, and to be open-minded about
ways to generate shareholder value. We have insisted that any
refresh of the Board must reflect shareholder perspectives and
include shareholder nominees. Unfortunately, we have found the
Board to be deeply entrenched, insular and in denial about the
Company’s underperformance.
Hasbro’s shares are worth less today than they were five years ago,
were trading at a 52-week low as recently as March 31, 2022 and
have underperformed the S&P 500 by more than 100% over the last
five years. In our view, the Company is run like a private family
enterprise: nearly all the Company’s non-executive directors were
chosen while Alan Hassenfeld remained Chairman of the Executive
Committee, and the Board has failed to hold key, long-tenured
executives accountable for poor performance, disclosure and
investor communication. We believe this group of leaders has not
just failed Hasbro’s shareholders for many years, as evidenced by
the Company’s long-term share price underperformance, but also
acted irrationally when recently rejecting an opportunity to
surround first-time Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocks with a
credibly refreshed, truly independent Board at the outset of his
tenure. In our view, given the Company’s spectacular
underperformance, the incumbent directors have not earned the right
to disregard shareholder input on Board composition, and we believe
shareholders will see through the recently announced defensive and
reactionary Board refresh and what appears to be the Company’s
empty commitment to “decrease the size of the Board within the next
12 to 24 months” following the 2022 Annual Meeting. We believe
shareholders deserve better.
Due to what we view as the current Board’s intransigence, we are
proceeding with our campaign to elect three highly-qualified and
independent director candidates at the Company’s upcoming 2022
Annual Meeting. We believe we have a well-rounded slate of value
creators with corporate governance acumen, capital allocation
expertise, strategic planning knowhow and transformation experience
– all skills that can help address what appear to be the glaring
deficiencies of the current Board. It is important to stress that
our slate is collaborative, open-minded and focused on creating
lasting value. We view this as the right time to meaningfully
refresh the Board, especially given the recent Board expansion,
with innovative, shareholder-nominated directors whose fresh
perspectives can help reverse Hasbro’s chronic
underperformance.
THE BOARD HAS PRESIDED OVER LONG-TERM FINANCIAL
UNDERPERFORMANCE
Under the current Board, Hasbro's shares have underperformed the
broader market and relevant indices (including the Company’s own
benchmark) over nearly every relevant time period. This is the case
despite operating in a strong bull market fueled by unprecedented
stimulus and historically low interest rates.

Source: Bloomberg. HAS, S&P 500, and Russell 1000 Consumer
Discretionary returns assume dividends are reinvested. Data through
3/31/22.
We believe the Company also trades at a punishing discount to its
intrinsic value due to a structural misperception in the market. We
attribute this underperformance to the Board’s exceptionally poor
capital allocation, lack of focus on value creation and deficient
investor disclosure and communication – all of which have allowed
Hasbro’s peers to outperform the Company while it has lost
important market share.
WE ARE CONCERNED THE BOARD REMAINS WED TO AN INEFFECTIVE, POORLY
EXECUTED STRATEGY
Based on our evaluation of the Company's shareholder returns, the
"Brand Blueprint" strategy has failed to deliver acceptable
results. The strategy’s failure is punctuated by what appear to be
ill-advised acquisitions, haphazard execution and poor disclosure
practices that have hindered the market from properly valuing the
Company. Hasbro has indicated that it continues to see strategic
and financial benefits from the “Brand Blueprint” strategy, despite
underperforming the S&P 500 by more than 170% since its
inception in 2010 and by approximately 100% over the last five
years.
In our view, Hasbro’s most recent earnings conference call and 2022
outlook serve as further validation that the “Brand Blueprint”
strategy is failing shareholders and eroding Hasbro’s market
position. Management recently told investors it expects revenue to
grow at a low-single-digit rate with no EBITDA growth in 2022. This
disappointing outlook that failed to meet investors’ expectations
came in stark contrast to Mattel’s 2022 guidance, which included
high-single-digit revenue growth and double-digit EBITDA growth,
significantly above investors’ expectations. We believe speculative
and ultimately wasteful spending on non-core initiatives linked to
the “Brand Blueprint” strategy continues to fail to drive
meaningful profitable growth, while resulting in a concerning loss
of market share for Hasbro’s brands.
It seems the Board has attempted to use COVID-19 as a cover for
recent shortcomings and long-term lapses. However, the ability of
direct competitors to post better results in an equally challenging
climate suggests the Board’s excuse is insufficient. Moreover, many
of our core governance concerns – particularly regarding excessive
executive compensation, lack of proper alignment and the need for
truly independent voices with fresh perspectives in the boardroom –
have nothing to do with the pandemic.
WE BELIEVE THE BOARD HAS OVERSEEN POOR CAPITAL ALLOCATION
AND M&A DECISIONS
We believe the Company has suffered due to the Board's lack of
financial discipline on major capital allocation decisions,
including acquisitions. In our view, the defining moment of the
“Brand Blueprint” era occurred in 2019, when Hasbro announced the
acquisition of Entertainment One (“eOne”) for $4.6 billion, a 30%
premium to eOne’s all-time-high share price and approximately 18x
its trailing twelve months EBITDA. This deal diluted Hasbro’s
shareholders, added a substantial amount of debt to the balance
sheet, complicated the investor narrative and destroyed significant
value. Hasbro’s shares declined 9% the day of the deal announcement
and remain dramatically lower than pre-acquisition levels today. In
our view, paying such a premium for a non-core transformative
acquisition with a highly uncertain outcome that further
complicates the investor narrative was an unforgivable misstep
regardless of economic climate.
We believe Hasbro has also wasted significant shareholder capital
in its core Consumer toys and boardgame business. Despite pouring
more than $5 billion of shareholder capital into Hasbro’s Consumer
business, the segment has significantly underperformed Mattel over
the last four years. We estimate that Hasbro’s Consumer revenue has
declined at an annualized rate of low-single-digits since 2017,
while Mattel’s has increased by an annualized rate of 3% since
2017. More recently, in January 2022, Mattel announced that it had
won the Disney Princess/Frozen license from Hasbro, which likely
represents hundreds of millions in lost revenues for Hasbro when
the contract shifts hands in 2023.
Our research further indicates that Hasbro’s Consumer segment has
failed to show sustained revenue & profitability growth for
more than a decade. This is in stark contrast to the Company’s
self-affirmation regarding the success of its “Brand Blueprint”
strategy.
Hasbro has, in our view, similarly wasted capital with poor
investments in its Wizards of the Coast business by pursuing
non-core initiatives. In 2017, Hasbro had Wizards of the Coast
develop a Transformers card game. The game failed to meet
expectations and was shut down in 2020. In 2021, Wizards of the
Coast released a video game, D&D Dark Alliance. This game
similarly failed to meet expectations and based on management’s Q2
2021 commentary on its earnings call, was not anticipated to have
any material effect on Wizards of the Coast's results. Finally,
despite the latest test of the G.I. Joe Intellectual Property
(“IP”) failing at the box office in 2021, Hasbro is utilizing
significant Wizards of the Coast resources to double down on the
tired franchise in building an AAA G.I. Joe video game. We find it
alarming that Hasbro’s Board is “allowing” Wizards of the Coast to
invest such a meaningful portion of its R&D budget into an IP
that we believe consumers have little appetite for, particularly
given what appear to be very attractive reinvestment opportunities
within Wizards of the Coast's core franchises.
WE ARE CONCERNED THAT THE CURRENT BOARD LACKS RELEVANT
EXPERIENCE, SHAREHOLDER PERSPECTIVES, AND SKILLSETS TO SUPPORT ITS
NEW CEO
Based on our evaluation of the current Board’s experience and track
record, we see significant issues today:
|
· |
Insufficient capital allocation
expertise. |
|
· |
Significant complacency and lack of alignment with
shareholders. We note that none of the current Board members
have ever purchased shares of Hasbro's common stock. Moreover,
Board compensation is well in excess of both peers and even other
companies that are many multiples of Hasbro’s size. We believe this
complacency has led to some Board members staying on the Board for
decades with little connection to shareholders and a failure to
align executive interests and compensation with the success of
shareholders. In our view, there is no impetus to change – in fact,
there is strong resistance to change.
|
|
· |
Concerning history of
underperformance, value destruction and governance failures at
other companies. Several directors’ histories of
underperformance and value destruction at other companies, which we
have discovered during our diligence, provide us with concerns
regarding their ability to create value at Hasbro. |
|
· |
Lack of objectivity. Until the Company’s recent
defensive Board refresh, all of the independent directors were
nominated when Mr. Hassenfeld was Chairman of the Company’s
Executive Committee, leading us to conclude that they lack the
objectivity necessary to properly evaluate the Company's historical
performance and strategy. We believe the Company has a history of
making decisions that prioritized the Hassenfeld family’s desire to
maintain its influence at Hasbro over the interests of
shareholders, including its rejection of Mattel’s unsolicited offer
to acquire the Company at a 73% premium.
|
In our view, having the same private family company culture behind
a new CEO will not allow the necessary improvements to be made at
Hasbro. In stark contrast, we believe our Nominees have the
requisite independence and experience to help ensure Mr. Cocks
succeeds in his new role.
WE BELIEVE QUALIFIED, SHAREHOLDER-DESIGNATED DIRECTORS
CAN HELP REPAIR HASBRO
In our view, shareholder-driven change is urgently needed in the
boardroom to turn around Hasbro's long-term underperformance and
private family company culture. We believe our three highly
qualified, independent Nominees collectively possess the right
corporate governance expertise, retail and consumer experience,
strategic planning and transformation backgrounds and transaction
skills to help drive improvements at Hasbro at this critical
juncture. Our Nominees are:
Marcelo Fischer
Marcelo Fischer possesses strong experience in the areas of
capital allocation, corporate finance, strategic transactions and
the consumer and technology sectors. He is currently the Chief
Financial Officer of IDT Corporation (“IDT”) (NYSE: IDT), a
multinational provider of cloud communications and financial
services, and has also served as the Chief Financial Officer of IDT
Telecom since June 2007. At IDT, Mr. Fischer continues to play a
key role in unlocking shareholder value through several successful
spinoffs. Mr. Fischer also held a number of other roles during his
tenure at IDT, including Senior Vice President–Finance (IDT’s
principal financial officer position) from October 2011 to June
2019, as well as Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial
Officer and Treasurer, Controller and as Chief Accounting Officer.
Prior to IDT, Mr. Fischer was the Corporate Controller of Viatel,
Inc. (formerly NASDAQ: VYTL), a telecommunications company. Earlier
in his career, Mr. Fischer served as Controller of the Consumer
International Division of Revlon, Inc (NYSE: REV), a cosmetics
company, held various finance and accounting positions at
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL), a consumer products company,
and served as an Auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a
professional services firm. Mr. Fischer is a Certified Public
Accountant (inactive). Mr. Fischer received a B.A. in Economics
from the University of Maryland and an M.B.A. in Finance from the
New York University Stern School of Business.
Rani Hublou
Rani Hublou is a proven corporate leader with a strong
background in strategic planning, product innovation and
marketing. She is currently a Principal at Incline Strategies,
LLC. Her prior leadership roles include serving as Chief Marketing
Officer of 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), Chief Product Officer at
Comprehend Systems, Inc., Chief Marketing Officer and Sales
Executive at PSS Systems, Inc. (acquired by International Business
Machines (NASDAQ: IBM)), and Senior Vice President of Product and
Solution Marketing at BEA Systems, Inc. (formerly, NASDAQ: BEAS,
acquired by Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL)). She was previously an
Associate at McKinsey & Company, Inc., a leading management
consulting firm. Ms. Hublou has been a member of the board of
directors of Tecsys Inc. (TSX: TCS), a software company, since
2020. She received an M.S. and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering
from Stanford University.
Carolyn Johnson
Carolyn Johnson has a valuable background in corporate
governance, consumer engagement, organizational transformations and
strategic planning. Most recently, Ms. Johnson was the Chief
Transformation Officer of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE:
AIG), an international insurance organization. Previously, she held
the position of Chief Executive Officer of Annuities and Individual
Life at Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), an insurance company.
She previously served on the boards of directors of Majesco, LLC
(formerly NASDAQ: MJCO) and the Secure Retirement Institute and
Insured Retirement Institute. She received a B.S. in Business
Administration with a focus in Finance from California State
University, Los Angeles and completed the Finance for Senior
Executives course at Harvard Business School.
Conclusion:
With a reconstituted Board and properly incentivized management
team, we see a clear path for significantly increasing the value of
Hasbro and enabling the Company to rebuild trust with all its
stakeholders. We believe that an adequately refreshed Board can
unlock superior value for all stakeholders by:
|
· |
Restructuring executive
compensation to be more aligned with financial performance and
shareholder value creation. |
|
· |
Implementing a disciplined capital
allocation policy with a focus on clear and transparent financial
hurdles in order to ensure accountability. |
|
· |
Prioritizing reinvestment in core
franchises such as Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons,
while reducing speculative bets on non-core video game franchises
in hyper-competitive categories. |
|
· |
Improving disclosure practices and
investor communication to regain institutional trust and justify a
fair valuation for all of Hasbro. |
|
· |
Simplifying and improving the
corporate structure, including a potential financial or operational
spinoff of the Wizards of the Coast segment – which has a
completely different growth, margin and valuation profile than the
Consumer Products and Entertainment segments – to allow the Wizards
of the Coast, Consumer Products and Entertainment segments to
thrive with the right capital allocation plan and operating. |
PROPOSAL NO. 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
The Board is currently composed of thirteen directors, each with a
term expiring at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Alta Fox Opportunities
has nominated three independent, highly-qualified Nominees for
election to the Board to replace three incumbent directors. If all
three Nominees are elected, they will still represent a minority of
the members of the Board and there can be no guarantee that the
Nominees will be able to implement the actions that they believe
are necessary to unlock shareholder value. However, we believe the
election of our Nominees is an important step in the right
direction for igniting the Company’s otherwise stagnant
performance. There is no assurance that any incumbent director will
serve as a director if our Nominees are elected to the Board.
This Proxy Statement is soliciting proxies to elect not only our
three Nominees, but also the candidates who have been nominated by
the Company other than Richard S. Stoddart, Edward M. Philip, and
Lisa Gersh. This gives shareholders who wish to vote for our
Nominees the ability to vote for a full slate of thirteen nominees
in total. The names, backgrounds and qualifications of the
Company’s nominees, and other information about them, can be found
in the Company’s proxy statement.
THE NOMINEES
The following information sets forth the name, age, business
address, present principal occupation, and employment and material
occupations, positions, offices, or employments for the past five
years of each of the Nominees. The nominations were made in a
timely manner and in compliance with the applicable provisions of
the Company’s governing instruments. The specific experience,
qualifications, attributes and skills that led us to conclude that
the Nominees should serve as directors of the Company are set forth
above in the section entitled “Reasons for the Solicitation” and
below. This information has been furnished to us by the Nominees.
All of the Nominees are citizens of the United States. Marcelo
Fischer is also a citizen of Brazil.
Marcelo Fischer, age 54, is the Chief Financial Officer of
IDT Corporation (“IDT”) (NYSE: IDT), a multinational provider of
cloud communications and financial services, since June 2019, and
has also served as the Chief Financial Officer of IDT Telecom,
since June 2007. At IDT, Mr. Fischer continues to play a key role
in unlocking shareholder value through several successful spinoffs.
Mr. Fischer also held a number of other roles during his tenure at
IDT, including Senior Vice President–Finance (IDT’s principal
financial officer position) from October 2011 to June 2019, as well
as Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer, Controller and as Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to
IDT, Mr. Fischer was the Corporate Controller of Viatel, Inc.
(formerly NASDAQ: VYTL), a telecommunications company. Earlier in
his career, Mr. Fischer served as Controller of the Consumer
International Division of Revlon, Inc (NYSE: REV), a cosmetics
company, held various finance and accounting positions at
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL), a consumer products company,
and served as an Auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a
professional services firm. Mr. Fischer is a Certified Public
Accountant (inactive). Mr. Fischer received a B.A. in Economics
from the University of Maryland and an M.B.A. in Finance from the
New York University Stern School of Business.
We believe that Mr. Fischer’s service in executive leadership
positions, deep accounting and financial expertise and unique
spin-off execution experience, would make him a valuable addition
to the Board.
Rani Hublou, age 57, is a Principal at Incline Strategies,
LLC, a management consulting firm, since 2004. Ms. Hublou served as
Chief Marketing Officer of 8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ: EGHT), a software
service provider, from May 2017 to February 2019, Chief Product
Officer at Comprehend Systems, Inc., a software service provider,
from 2014 to May 2017, Chief Marketing Officer and Sales Executive
at PSS Systems, Inc. (acquired by International Business Machines
(NASDAQ: IBM)), a software company, from 2008 to 2014, and also
previously served as Senior Vice President of Product and Solution
Marketing at BEA Systems, Inc. (formerly, NASDAQ: BEAS, acquired by
Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL)), a software company, Chief Product
and Marketing Officer at BroadVision Inc. (formerly, NASDAQ: BVSN),
a software company, Co-Founder and Chief Product and Chief
Marketing Officer at Icarian Inc. (acquired by Workstream Inc.), a
software service provider, and as an Associate at McKinsey &
Company, Inc., a management consulting firm. Ms. Hublou is a member
of the board of directors of Tecsys Inc. (OTCMKTS: TCYSF), a
software company, since September 2020. Ms. Hublou previously
served as a member of the board of directors of PIVOTAL, a
nonprofit dedicated to improving educational and life outcomes for
foster youth. Ms. Hublou received an M.S. and a B.S. in Industrial
Engineering from Stanford University.
We believe that Ms. Hublou’s extensive experience serving in
executive leadership positions, coupled with her management
consulting, product and marketing expertise, makes her well
qualified to serve on the Board.
Carolyn Johnson, age 61, has been performing consulting and
advisory work since January 2020. From May 2019 to January 2020,
Ms. Johnson was the Chief Transformation Officer of American
International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG), an international insurance
organization. Previously, Ms. Johnson held the position of Chief
Executive Officer of Annuities and Individual Life at Voya
Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), an insurance company, from September
2016 to April 2019 and President of Annuities and Tax Exempt
Retirement Businesses, from 2014 to 2016. Prior to that, Ms.
Johnson served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer of Protective Life Corporation (“Protective”), a company
specializing in life and specialty insurance and investment
products. Earlier in her career, Ms. Johnson held leadership roles
in business, operations and marketing with Bankers Life &
Casualty Co. and several Transamerica/AEGON subsidiaries, including
Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio, Transamerica Occidental
Life, Idex Investor Services, Inc., and Aegon Alliances, Inc. Ms.
Johnson has been a member of the board of directors of Kuvare
Insurance Services LLC, an insurance and reinsurance platform,
since June 2021. Ms. Johnson previously served on the board of
directors of Majesco, LLC (formerly NASDAQ: MJCO), an insurance
software company, from September 2019 to September 2020, as well as
the Secure Retirement Institute and Insured Retirement Institute.
Ms. Johnson was the Vice Chair of the Secure Retirement Institute
and the Vice Chair of the Financial Literacy Committee. She also
served on the American Council of Life Insurers CEO Steering
Committee on Consumer Issues. Ms. Johnson was previously also a
member of the boards of directors of The Mark Twain House &
Museum, a literary museum, Secure Retirement Institute, a
retirement education organization, Insured Retirement Institute,
the leading association for the supply chain of insured retirement
strategies, the Alabama Chapter of the American Red Cross, a
non-profit humanitarian organization, Leadership Alabama, a
networking organization, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, a
cultural and educational research center, and LL Global, a
nonprofit civic organization. Ms. Johnson received a B.S. in
Business Administration with a focus in Finance from California
State University, Los Angeles and completed the Finance for Senior
Executives course at Harvard Business School.
We believe that Ms. Johnson’s extensive experience serving in
various executive positions and on public and private boards of
directors, coupled with her insurance expertise, makes her well
qualified to serve on the Board.
The principal business address of Mr. Fischer is 520 Broad Street,
Newark, NJ 07102. The principal business address of Ms. Hublou is
107 Kennedy Ct., Los Gatos, CA 95032. The principal business
address of Ms. Johnson is 3857 Tayside Ct., Timnath, CO 80547.
As of the date hereof, Mr. Fischer directly beneficially owns 5,327
shares of Common Stock, Ms. Johnson directly beneficially owns 500
shares of Common Stock and Ms. Hublou directly beneficially owns
100 shares of Common Stock. The shares of Common Stock purchased by
Mr. Fischer and Mmes. Hublou and Johnson were purchased with
personal funds. For information regarding transactions in
securities of the Company during the past two years by the
Nominees, please see Schedule I.
Alta Fox believes that each Nominee presently is, and if elected as
a director of the Company, each of the Nominees would qualify as,
an “independent director” within the meaning of (i) applicable
NASDAQ listing standards applicable to board composition, including
Rule 5605(a)(2), and (ii) Section 301 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no director of a NASDAQ-listed
company qualifies as “independent” under the NASDAQ listing
standards unless the board of directors of such company
affirmatively determines that such director is independent under
such standards. Accordingly, if the Nominees are elected, the
determination of each Nominee’s independence under the NASDAQ
listing standards ultimately rests with the judgment and discretion
of the Board. No Nominee is a member of the Company’s compensation,
nominating or audit committee that is not independent under any
such committee’s applicable independence standards.
The Participants have entered into a Group Agreement (the “Group
Agreement”) pursuant to which, among other things, the parties
agreed (a) to solicit proxies for the election of the Nominees at
the 2022 Annual Meeting, (b) to provide notice to Alta Fox
Opportunities’ counsel within 24 hours of any purchases or sales of
securities of the Company by such parties or increases or decreases
of such parties’ beneficial ownership of securities of the Company,
and (c) that Alta Fox would bear all expenses incurred in
connection with the Participants’ activities, including approved
expenses incurred by any of the parties in connection with the
Solicitation (as defined below).
Alta Fox Capital has entered into letter agreements (the
“Indemnification Agreements”) with each of the Nominees pursuant to
which it and its affiliates agreed to indemnify each of the
Nominees against claims arising from the solicitation of proxies
from the Company’s shareholders in connection with the 2022 Annual
Meeting and any related transactions (the “Solicitation”).
Each of the Nominees has granted Mr. Haley powers of attorney to
execute certain SEC filings and other documents in connection with
the Solicitation.
Other than as stated herein, there are no arrangements or
understandings between or among any members of Alta Fox or any
other person or persons pursuant to which the nomination of the
Nominees described herein is to be made, other than the consent by
each of the Nominees to be named in this Proxy Statement and to
serve as a director of the Company if elected as such at the 2022
Annual Meeting. None of the Nominees is a party adverse to the
Company or any of its subsidiaries or has a material interest
adverse to the Company or any of its subsidiaries in any material
pending legal proceedings.
We do not expect that any of Nominees will be unable to stand for
election, but, in the event that any of the Nominees is unable to
serve or for good cause will not serve, the shares of Common Stock
represented by the enclosed GOLD proxy card will be voted
for substitute nominee(s), to the extent this is not prohibited
under the Bylaws and applicable law. In addition, we reserve the
right to nominate substitute person(s) if the Company makes or
announces any changes to the Bylaws or takes or announces any other
action that has, or if consummated would have, the effect of
disqualifying any of the Nominees, to the extent this is not
prohibited under the Bylaws and applicable law. In any such case,
we would identify and properly nominate such substitute nominee(s)
in accordance with the Bylaws and shares of Common Stock
represented by the enclosed GOLD proxy card will be voted
for such substitute nominee(s). We reserve the right to nominate
additional person(s), to the extent this is not prohibited under
the Bylaws and applicable law, if the Company increases the size of
the Board above its existing size or increases the number of
directors whose terms expire at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Additional
nominations made pursuant to the preceding sentence are without
prejudice to the position of Alta Fox that any attempt to increase
the size of the current Board or to classify the Board, constitutes
an unlawful manipulation of the Company’s corporate machinery.
WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO VOTE “FOR” THE ELECTION OF THE NOMINEES
ON THE ENCLOSED GOLD PROXY CARD
PROPOSAL NO. 2
SHAREHOLDER ADVISORY VOTE ON COMPENSATION FOR NAMED EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS
As discussed in further detail in the Company’s proxy statement,
the Company is seeking shareholder approval for the compensation of
the Company’s Named Executive Officers, as such compensation is
described under the headings “Compensation Discussion and Analysis”
and “Executive Compensation” in the Company’s proxy statement.
Accordingly, the Company is asking shareholders to vote on the
following advisory resolution:
“RESOLVED, that the shareholders of Hasbro, Inc. approve, on
an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s Named
Executive Officers, as such compensation is disclosed pursuant to
the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission in the
Company’s Proxy Statement under the headings “Compensation
Discussion and Analysis” and “Executive Compensation.”
We urge shareholders to vote AGAINST the “say-on-pay” proposal due
to our concerns that the Company’s executive compensation program
is not properly structured to pay for performance. As discussed
below, we believe that the Board has shown repeatedly that it is
willing to (i) pay executives excessive compensation despite
prolonged underperformance, (ii) set inadequately low performance
targets for management bonuses and (iii) employ performance metrics
for executive bonuses that are not tied to shareholder returns.
That is why we recommend that shareholders send a message to the
Company and demand that executive performance be more closely
aligned with shareholder returns by voting AGAINST Hasbro’s
“say-on-pay” proposal.
In recent years, management and the Board have been paid handsomely
despite dismal shareholder returns. Specifically, management and
the Board have collectively received over $215,000,000 in
compensation over the last five years, while shareholders have
suffered negligible cumulative returns on their Hasbro investment
as the stock has underperformed the S&P by an astonishing 100%.
Despite the Company’s underperformance (or perhaps in tacit
recognition thereof), in 2021 the Board cut management
performance targets for every material annual and 3-year rolling
metric. In terms of annual target changes, revenue was lowered
by 5% and EBIT margin was lowered by 100 basis points, while free
cash flow was lowered by 4%. For rolling 3-year targets, revenue
was lowered by 8%, EPS was lowered by 18%, and ROIC was lowered
80bps. We believe that shareholders should be deeply concerned that
the Board has increased executive compensation and lowered
performance hurdles while the Company significantly
underperformed.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the Board has
drastically cut management compensation targets. In 2019, 2015,
2013, and 2012, the Board, whose ranks then included many of the
directors still serving today, cut annual and/or long-term
performance targets. In fact, following the cuts in 2012 and 2013
to both annual and long-term management targets,
shareholders voted down Hasbro’s say-on-pay proposal at the 2014
annual meeting of shareholders, which received only 46% of the
votes cast (after receiving the support of only 64% in 2013). Then
again in 2019, all of management’s annual targets were meaningfully
cut: revenue was lowered by 10%, EBIT margins were lowered by 190
basis points, and free cash flow was lowered by 13%.
To put in perspective how far the Board has lowered the bar for
management, when subtracting eOne’s inorganic revenue contribution
from Hasbro’s 2021 annual revenue target, the adjusted revenue
target was 11% lower than Hasbro’s 2017 revenue target. Moreover,
target EBIT margins were 220 basis points lower than the 2017 EBIT
margin target. Alarmingly, CEO compensation for Hasbro was 100%
higher in 2021 than it was in 2017, despite these material annual
performance targets being significantly below their 2017 levels. On
a related note, with regard to eOne and executive compensation at
Hasbro, we find it equally as alarming that the CEO of eOne was
awarded $12,000,000 in entirely time-based equity grants following
the completion of the acquisition.
It is not just the level of the targets that we find flawed. Apart
from EPS growth, Hasbro’s executive compensation metrics (revenue,
EBIT margin, FCF, ROIC) have little to do with creating shareholder
value and are easily manipulated in our view. Hasbro has made
numerous acquisitions and has reclassified segments on multiple
occasions over the last 10 years and the company has made it
extremely difficult, perhaps deliberately so, to assess true
performance. Accordingly, it is especially relevant that executive
compensation is tied to metrics that cannot be manipulated and
ensure that management and the Board are aligned with shareholders,
such as total shareholder return.
We are not alone in our concern regarding the Board’s ability to
set appropriate compensation targets for management. In connection
with the Company’s 2021 annual meeting of shareholders (the “2021
Annual Meeting”), Institutional Shareholder Services recommended
that shareholders vote FOR the company’s say-on-pay proposal “with
caution”, citing the award to the eOne CEO mentioned above as well
as Hasbro’s “temporary move to a primarily time-based equity award
program in 2021.” At the 2021 Annual Meeting, the say-on-pay
proposal received the support of only 81% of the votes.
Similar to 2014, we believe that Hasbro’s shareholders must send a
strong message to the Company that the apparent lack of alignment
between the Board, management and shareholders due to the Company’s
executive compensation program will no longer be tolerated.
We are also concerned by the gender disparity when it comes to
compensation and bonuses paid to male and female executives. Based
on the Company’s UK gender pay gap disclosure it appears that most
of the Company’s top earners in that region are males. Even more
troubling, it also appears that, in 2021, on average, males in the
UK received bonuses that were nearly 50% larger than their female
colleagues, while average male compensation was nearly 15% higher
than their female colleagues.1
While we cannot be certain this relationship similarly exists in
the US and elsewhere, when examining Hasbro’s top earners in 2021
as disclosed in Hasbro’s preliminary 2021 proxy statement, it
appears that six out of seven are male and that female compensation
is 31% below average male compensation. We do not endorse
compensation practices that lead to such divergent results and
question why this gap exists to begin with.
As discussed in the Company’s proxy statement, although the vote is
non-binding, the Board and the Compensation Committee of the Board
will carefully consider the results of this vote in connection with
their ongoing evaluation, and establishment, of the Company’s
compensation arrangements and programs for the Company’s Named
Executive Officers.
FOR THESE REASONS, AMONG OTHERS, WE RECOMMEND A VOTE “AGAINST”
THE SAY-ON-PAY PROPOSAL AND INTEND TO VOTE OUR SHARES “AGAINST”
THIS PROPOSAL.
1
https://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/430E4F3F6BFD10148A8EF35124427085/2D03EDCD829E4952AC9B91F90CB9B10B.pdf
PROPOSAL NO. 3
PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE SELECTION OF KPMG LLP AS THE COMPANY’S
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE 2022 FISCAL
YEAR
As discussed in further detail in the Company’s proxy statement,
the Board is submitting the selection of KPMG LLP as the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm for Fiscal 2022 to
the shareholders for their ratification. Additional information
regarding this proposal is contained in the Company’s proxy
statement.
As disclosed in the Company’s proxy statement, the failure by the
shareholders to ratify the selection of the independent registered
public accounting firm made by the Audit Committee will not require
the Audit Committee to alter its decision. Similarly, ratification
of the selection of KPMG LLP as the independent registered public
accounting firm does not limit the Audit Committee’s ability to
change this selection in the future if it deems appropriate.
WE MAKE NO RECOMMENDATION WITH RESPECT TO THIS PROPOSAL AND
INTEND TO VOTE OUR SHARES “FOR” THIS PROPOSAL.
VOTING AND PROXY PROCEDURES
Shareholders are entitled to one vote for each share of Common
Stock held of record on the Record Date with respect to each matter
to be acted on at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Only shareholders of
record on the Record Date will be entitled to notice of and to vote
at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Shareholders who sell their shares of
Common Stock before the Record Date (or acquire them without voting
rights after the Record Date) may not vote such shares of Common
Stock. Shareholders of record on the Record Date will retain their
voting rights in connection with the 2022 Annual Meeting even if
they sell such shares of Common Stock after the Record Date. Based
on publicly available information, Alta Fox believes that the only
outstanding class of securities of the Company entitled to vote at
the 2022 Annual Meeting is the Common Stock.
Shares of Common Stock represented by properly executed GOLD
proxy cards will be voted at the 2022 Annual Meeting as marked and,
in the absence of specific instructions, will be voted FOR
the election of the Nominees, AGAINST the approval of the
non-binding advisory resolution on the compensation of the
Company’s named executive officers, FOR the ratification of
KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting
firm for the fiscal year ending December 25, 2022, and in the
discretion of the persons named as proxies on all other matters as
may properly come before the 2022 Annual Meeting, as described
herein.
According to the Company’s proxy statement for the 2022 Annual
Meeting, the current Board intends to nominate thirteen candidates
for election at the 2022 Annual Meeting. This Proxy Statement is
soliciting proxies to elect our Nominees as directors in opposition
to three of the incumbent directors. Shareholders who vote on the
enclosed GOLD proxy card will also have the opportunity to
vote for the candidates who have been nominated by the Company
other than Richard S. Stoddart, Edward M. Philip, and Lisa Gersh.
Shareholders will therefore be able to vote for the total number of
directors up for election at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Under
applicable proxy rules we are required either to solicit proxies
only for our Nominees, which could result in limiting the ability
of shareholders to fully exercise their voting rights with respect
to the Company’s nominees, or to solicit for our Nominees while
also allowing shareholders to vote for fewer than all of the
Company’s nominees, which enables a shareholder who desires to vote
for our Nominees to also vote for certain of the Company’s
nominees. The names, backgrounds and qualifications of the
Company’s nominees, and other information about them, can be found
in the Company’s proxy statement. In the event that some of the
Nominees are elected, there can be no assurance that the Company
nominee(s) who get the most votes and are elected to the Board will
choose to serve as on the Board with the Nominees who are
elected.
VIRTUAL MEETING
The Company has disclosed that the 2022 Annual Meeting will be held
exclusively online via a live webcast at
www.cesonlineservices.com/has22_vm. You will not be able to attend
the 2022 Annual Meeting in person at a physical location. You are
entitled to participate in the 2022 Annual Meeting if you are a
shareholder of record as of the close of business on the Record
Date or hold a legal proxy for the meeting provided by your broker,
bank or other nominee.
To participate in the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting, you will need to
pre-register in advance. According to the Company’s proxy
statement, in order to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting virtually,
you must pre-register by visiting
www.cesonlineservices.com/has22_vm and following the instructions
to complete your registration. In order to virtually attend the
2022 Annual Meeting, you must pre-register by no later than 9:00
a.m. Eastern Time on June 7, 2022.
According to the Company’s proxy statement, shareholders of record
and/or their designated representatives will need their proxy card
or other communications from the Company containing their control
number and should follow the instructions thereon to complete their
registration request.
According to the Company’s proxy statement, if you are the
beneficial owner of shares (that is, your shares are held in
“street name” through a bank, broker, or other nominee) as of the
Record Date, you will need to have your voting instructions form or
other communication containing your control number available and
should follow the instructions thereon to complete your
registration request.
According to the Company’s proxy statement, after registering,
shareholders will receive a confirmation email with a link and
instructions for accessing the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting. The
Company’s proxy statement further provides that after you register,
Corporate Election Services will send you a reminder email prior to
the 2022 Annual Meeting with a link and instructions for entering
the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting. This reminder email will contain
contact information for technical support or any other questions on
how to participate in the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting
Although the 2022 Annual Meeting webcast will begin at 9:00 a.m.
Eastern Time on June 8, 2022, we encourage you to access the 2022
Annual Meeting site prior to the start time to allow ample time to
log into the 2022 Annual Meeting webcast and test your computer
system. Participants should ensure that they have a reliable
Internet connection wherever they intend to participate in the 2022
Annual Meeting. According to the Company’s proxy statement, the
2022 Annual Meeting site will first be accessible to registered
shareholders beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on the day of the
2022 Annual Meeting.
According to the Company’s proxy statement, shareholders as of the
close of business on the Record Date who register, attend and
participate in the 2022 Annual Meeting will have an opportunity to
submit questions live via the Internet during a designated portion
of the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Whether or not you plan to attend the virtual 2022 Annual Meeting,
we urge you to sign, date and return the enclosed GOLD proxy card
in the postage-paid envelope provided, or vote via the Internet or
by telephone as instructed on the GOLD proxy card. Additional
information and our proxy materials can also be found at
www.FreeTheWizards.com. If you have any difficulty following the
registration process or have any questions, please contact our
solicitor, Okapi, at (877) 629-6356 (toll-free) or via email at
info@okapipartners.com.
QUORUM; BROKER NON-VOTES; DISCRETIONARY VOTING
A quorum is the minimum number of shares of Common Stock that must
be represented at a duly called meeting in person virtually or by
proxy in order to legally conduct business at the meeting. For the
2022 Annual Meeting, the presence in person virtually or by proxy
of a majority of the outstanding shares will constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.
Abstentions and withhold votes are counted as present at the 2022
Annual Meeting for purposes of determining whether there is a
quorum at the 2022 Annual Meeting. However, if you hold your shares
in street name and do not provide voting instructions to your
broker, your shares will not be voted on any proposal on which your
broker does not have discretionary authority to vote (a “broker
non-vote”). Under applicable rules, your broker will not have
discretionary authority to vote your shares at the 2022 Annual
Meeting on any of the proposals.
If you are a shareholder of record, you must deliver your vote by
mail, the Internet, by telephone or attend the 2022 Annual Meeting
virtually in order to be counted in the determination of a
quorum.
VOTES REQUIRED FOR APPROVAL
Election of Directors ─ The Company has adopted a
plurality vote standard for contested director elections. The
thirteen directors receiving the highest number of affirmative
votes will be elected as directors of the Company. Abstentions and
broker non-votes are not considered votes cast for the foregoing
purpose, and will have no effect on the election of the nominees.
If you abstain from voting on any of the nominees, your shares will
be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum,
but will have no effect on the election of those nominees. Proxy
cards specifying that votes should be withheld with respect to one
(1) or more nominees will result in those nominees receiving fewer
votes but will not count as votes against the nominees. Neither an
abstention nor a broker non-vote will count as a vote cast for or
against a director nominee. Therefore, abstentions and broker
non-votes will have no direct effect on the outcome of the election
of directors.
Advisory Resolution to Approve Executive Compensation
─ According to the Company’s proxy statement, although the
vote is non-binding, assuming that a quorum is present, the
affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock
present (in person virtually or by proxy) and entitled to vote at
the 2022 Annual Meeting on this shareholder advisory vote is
required for approval of the resolution. According to the Company’s
proxy statement, abstentions are the equivalent of a vote against
the proposal. Broker non-votes will have no impact on the outcome
of this proposal.
Ratification of Appointment of Accountants ─
According to the Company’s proxy statement, the affirmative vote of
a majority of the shares of Common Stock present (in person
virtually or by proxy) and entitled to vote at the 2022 Annual
Meeting on the ratification of the selection of KPMG LLP is
required for approval. According to the Company’s proxy statement,
abstentions are the equivalent of a vote against the proposal.
Broker non-votes will have no impact on the outcome of this
proposal.
If you sign and submit your GOLD proxy card without
specifying how you would like your shares voted, your shares will
be voted in accordance with Alta Fox’s recommendations specified
herein and in accordance with the discretion of the persons named
on the GOLD proxy card with respect to any other matters
that may be voted upon at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
REVOCATION OF PROXIES
Shareholders of the Company may revoke their proxies at any time
prior to exercise by attending the 2022 Annual Meeting and voting
virtually (although attendance at the 2022 Annual Meeting will not
in and of itself constitute revocation of a proxy) or by delivering
a written notice of revocation to the Secretary of the Company by
executing a later-dated proxy. The delivery of a subsequently dated
proxy which is properly completed will constitute a revocation of
any earlier proxy. The revocation may be delivered either to Alta
Fox in care of Okapi at the address set forth on the back cover of
this Proxy Statement or to the Company at 1027 Newport Avenue,
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02861 or any other address provided by the
Company. Although a revocation is effective if delivered to the
Company, we request that either the original or photostatic copies
of all revocations be mailed to Alta Fox in care of Okapi at the
address set forth on the back cover of this Proxy Statement so that
we will be aware of all revocations and can more accurately
determine if and when proxies have been received from the holders
of record on the Record Date of a majority of the outstanding
shares of Common Stock. Additionally, Okapi may use this
information to contact shareholders who have revoked their proxies
in order to solicit later dated proxies for the election of the
Nominees.
SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
The solicitation of proxies pursuant to this Proxy Statement is
being made by Alta Fox. Proxies may be solicited by mail,
facsimile, telephone, electronic mail, in person and by
advertisements. Solicitations may also be made by certain of the
respective directors, officers, members and employees of Alta Fox,
none of whom will, except as described elsewhere in this Proxy
Statement, receive additional compensation for such solicitation.
The Nominees may make solicitations of proxies but, except as
described herein, will not receive compensation for acting as
director nominees.
We have retained Okapi for solicitation and advisory services in
connection with solicitations relating to the 2022 Annual Meeting.
Okapi will receive up to $250,000, applicable toward the final fee
to be mutually agreed upon by Alta Fox and Okapi and reimbursement
of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for its services to Alta Fox
in connection with the Solicitation. Arrangements will also be made
with custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for forwarding proxy
solicitation materials to beneficial owners of Common Stock held as
of the Record Date for the 2022 Annual Meeting. Alta Fox will
reimburse such custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for reasonable
expenses incurred in connection therewith. In addition, directors,
officers, members and certain other employees of Alta Fox and its
affiliates may solicit proxies as part of their duties in the
normal course of their employment without any additional
compensation. It is anticipated that Okapi will employ
approximately 30 persons to solicit shareholders for the 2022
Annual Meeting.
Alta Fox will pay all costs of the Solicitation. Alta Fox
Opportunities may seek reimbursement from the Company of all
expenses Alta Fox incurs in connection with the Solicitation but
does not intend to submit the question of such reimbursement to a
vote of shareholders of the Company. The expenses incurred by Alta
Fox to date in furtherance of, or in connection with, the
Solicitation is approximately $1,300,000. Alta Fox anticipates that
its total expenses will be approximately $1,800,000. The actual
amount could be higher or lower depending on the facts and
circumstances arising in connection with this solicitation.
ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANT INFORMATION
The Participants in this proxy solicitation are Alta Fox
Opportunities, a Delaware limited partnership, Alta Fox SPV 3, a
Delaware limited partnership, Alta Fox SPV 3.1, a Delaware limited
partnership, Alta Fox GP, a Delaware limited partnership, Alta Fox
Equity, a Delaware limited liability company, Alta Fox Capital, a
Texas limited liability company, Connor Haley, a United States
Citizen, and the Nominees.
The principal business of each of Alta Fox Opportunities, Alta Fox
SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1 is investing in securities. Alta Fox
Capital serves as the investment manager of each of Alta Fox, Alta
Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1. The principal business of Alta Fox
GP is serving as the general partner of funds managed by Alta Fox
Capital, including each of Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox
SPV 3.1. The principal business of Alta Fox Equity is serving as
the general partner of Alta Fox GP. The principal occupation of Mr.
Haley is serving as the sole owner, member and manager of Alta Fox
Capital and Alta Fox Equity.
The address of the principal office of each of the members of Alta
Fox is 640 Taylor Street, Suite 2522, Fort Worth, Texas 76102.
As of the date hereof, Alta Fox Opportunities directly beneficially
owned 612,614 shares of Common Stock. As of the date hereof, Alta
Fox SPV 3 directly beneficially owned 2,250,638 shares of Common
Stock. As of the date hereof, Alta Fox SPV 3.1 directly
beneficially owned 748,881 shares of Common Stock. Alta Fox
Capital, as the investment manager of each of Alta Fox, Alta Fox
SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1, may be deemed to beneficially own the
3,612,133 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned in the
aggregate by Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1. Alta
Fox GP, as the general partner of each of Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3
and Alta Fox SPV 3.1, may be deemed to beneficially own the
3,612,133 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned in the
aggregate by Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1. Alta
Fox Equity, as the general partner of Alta Fox GP, may be deemed to
beneficially own the 3,612,133 shares of Common Stock beneficially
owned in the aggregate by Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV
3.1. Mr. Haley, as the sole owner, member and manager of each of
Alta Fox Capital and Alta Fox Equity, may be deemed to beneficially
own the 3,612,133 shares of Common Stock beneficially owned in the
aggregate by Alta Fox, Alta Fox SPV 3 and Alta Fox SPV 3.1.
For information regarding purchases and sales of securities of the
Company during the past two (2) years by the Participants, see
Schedule I.
The shares of Common Stock owned directly by each of Alta Fox
Opportunities, Alta Fox SPV 3, and Alta Fox SPV 3.1 were purchased
with working capital (which may, at any given time, include margin
loans made by brokerage firms in the ordinary course of
business).
Except as set forth in this Proxy Statement (including the
Schedules hereto), (i) during the past ten (10) years, no
Participant has been convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding
traffic violations or similar misdemeanors); (ii) no Participant
directly or indirectly beneficially owns any securities of the
Company; (iii) no Participant owns any securities of the Company
which are owned of record but not beneficially; (iv) no Participant
has purchased or sold any securities of the Company during the past
two years; (v) no part of the purchase price or market value of the
securities of the Company owned by any Participant is represented
by funds borrowed or otherwise obtained for the purpose of
acquiring or holding such securities; (vi) no Participant is, or
within the past year was, a party to any contract, arrangements or
understandings with any person with respect to any securities of
the Company, including, but not limited to, joint ventures, loan or
option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees against loss or
guarantees of profit, division of losses or profits, or the giving
or withholding of proxies; (vii) no associate of any Participant
owns beneficially, directly or indirectly, any securities of the
Company; (viii) no Participant owns beneficially, directly or
indirectly, any securities of any parent or subsidiary of the
Company; (ix) no Participant or any of his, her or its associates
was a party to any transaction, or series of similar transactions,
since the beginning of the Company’s last fiscal year, or is a
party to any currently proposed transaction, or series of similar
transactions, to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries was
or is to be a party, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000;
(x) no Participant or any of his, her or its associates has any
arrangement or understanding with any person with respect to any
future employment by the Company or its affiliates, or with respect
to any future transactions to which the Company or any of its
affiliates will or may be a party; (xi) no Participant has a
substantial interest, direct or indirect, by securities holdings or
otherwise, in any matter to be acted on at the 2022 Annual Meeting;
(xii) no Participant holds any positions or offices with the
Company; (xiii) no Participant has a family relationship with any
director, executive officer, or person nominated or chosen by the
Company to become a director or executive officer; and (xiv) no
companies or organizations, with which any of the Participants has
been employed in the past five years, is a parent, subsidiary or
other affiliate of the Company. There are no material proceedings
to which any Participant or any of his, her or its associates is a
party adverse to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or has a
material interest adverse to the Company or any of its
subsidiaries. With respect to each of the Nominees, none of the
events enumerated in Item 401(f)(1)-(8) of Regulation S-K of the
Exchange Act occurred during the past ten (10) years.
OTHER MATTERS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Alta Fox is unaware of any other matters to be considered at the
2022 Annual Meeting. However, should other matters, which Alta Fox
is not aware of at a reasonable time before this solicitation, be
brought before the 2022 Annual Meeting, the persons named as
proxies on the enclosed GOLD proxy card will vote on such
matters in their discretion.
Some banks, brokers and other nominee record holders may be
participating in the practice of “householding” proxy statements
and annual reports. This means that only one copy of this Proxy
Statement may have been sent to multiple shareholders in your
household. We will promptly deliver a separate copy of the document
to you if you write to our proxy solicitor, Okapi, at the address
set forth on the back cover of this Proxy Statement, or call toll
free at (877) 629-6356. If you want to receive separate copies of
our proxy materials in the future, or if you are receiving multiple
copies and would like to receive only one copy for your household,
you should contact your bank, broker or other nominee record
holder, or you may contact our proxy solicitor at the above address
and telephone number.
The information concerning the Company and the proposals in the
Company’s proxy statement contained in this Proxy Statement has
been taken from, or is based upon, publicly available documents on
file with the SEC and other publicly available information.
Although we have no knowledge that would indicate that statements
relating to the Company contained in this Proxy Statement, in
reliance upon publicly available information, are inaccurate or
incomplete, to date we have not had access to the books and records
of the Company, were not involved in the preparation of such
information and statements and are not in a position to verify such
information and statements. All information relating to any person
other than the Participants is given only to the knowledge of Alta
Fox.
This Proxy Statement is dated April 26, 2022. You should not assume
that the information contained in this Proxy Statement is accurate
as of any date other than such date, and the mailing of this Proxy
Statement to shareholders shall not create any implication to the
contrary.
SHAREHOLDER PROPOSALS
According to the Company’s proxy statement, any stockholder who
wishes to submit a proposal for inclusion in the Company’s proxy
materials for the 2023 Annual Meeting may do so by following the
procedures set out in Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act. To be
eligible for inclusion, the proposal must be received by the
Corporate Secretary at the Company’s principal executive offices at
1011 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02861 not later than
December 26, 2022.
According to the Company’s proxy statement, under the Bylaws,
stockholders must follow certain procedures to nominate a person
for election as a director or introduce an item of business at an
annual meeting, even if that item will not be included in the
Company’s proxy statement. To be properly brought before the 2023
Annual Meeting, the Corporate Secretary must receive any such
nomination or proposal at the address provided above no earlier
than February 8, 2023 and no later than March 10, 2023. As required
by the Bylaws, a notice of a proposed nomination must include
information about the stockholder and the nominee, as well as a
written consent of the proposed nominee to serve if elected.
The information set forth above regarding the procedures for
submitting stockholder proposals for consideration at the 2023
Annual Meeting is based on information contained in the Company’s
proxy statement. The incorporation of this information in this
proxy statement should not be construed as an admission by Alta Fox
that such procedures are legal, valid or binding.
This Proxy Statement is dated April 26, 2022. You should not assume
that the information contained in this Proxy Statement is accurate
as of any date other than such date, and the mailing of this Proxy
Statement to shareholders shall not create any implication to the
contrary.
CERTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THE COMPANY
WE HAVE OMITTED FROM THIS PROXY STATEMENT CERTAIN DISCLOSURE
REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW THAT IS EXPECTED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE
COMPANY’S PROXY STATEMENT RELATING TO THE 2022 ANNUAL MEETING BASED
ON RELIANCE ON RULE 14A-5(C). THIS DISCLOSURE IS EXPECTED TO
INCLUDE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CURRENT BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON
THE COMPANY’S DIRECTORS, INFORMATION CONCERNING EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION, SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING
COMPLIANCE OF THE COMPANY’S DIRECTORS, RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS
AND GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE COMPANY’S ADMINISTRATION AND
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM. SEE SCHEDULE II FOR
INFORMATION REGARDING PERSONS WHO BENEFICIALLY OWN MORE THAN 5% OF
THE SHARES AND THE OWNERSHIP OF THE SHARES BY THE OWNERS, DIRECTORS
AND MANAGEMENT OF THE COMPANY.
The information concerning the Company contained in this Proxy
Statement and the Schedules attached hereto has been taken from, or
is based upon, publicly available information.
________________
Your vote is important. No matter how many or how few shares you
own, please vote to elect the Nominees by marking, signing, dating
and mailing the enclosed GOLD proxy card promptly.
|
Dated: April 26, 2022 |
|
|
|
|
|
ALTA FOX
OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP |
SCHEDULE I
TRANSACTIONS IN SECURITIES OF THE COMPANY
DURING THE PAST TWO YEARS
Nature of Transaction |
Amount of Securities
Purchased/(Sold) |
Date of
Transaction
|
ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES FUND, LP
Purchase of Common Stock |
100,000 |
11/05/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
56,865 |
11/08/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
17,593 |
11/09/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
14,040 |
11/10/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
25,542 |
11/10/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
11,360 |
11/11/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
54,596 |
11/12/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
20,404 |
11/15/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
111,326 |
11/17/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
38,674 |
11/18/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
30,000 |
11/30/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
32,214 |
12/03/2021 |
Short sale of
December 17, 2021 Put Option (Strike Price $97.50) |
(40,000) |
12/03/2021 |
Short Sale of
February 18, 2022 Put Option (Strike Price $105.00) |
(100,000) |
01/04/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
31,498 |
01/21/2022 |
Sale of
Common Stock |
(200,000) |
01/21/2022 |
Purchase of
April 14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500,000 |
01/21/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
129,609 |
01/24/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
38,893 |
01/25/2022 |
Acquisition
of Common Stock1 |
200 |
02/17/2022 |
Acquisition
of Common Stock1 |
99,800 |
02/18/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
02/25/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
02/25/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
02/25/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
02/28/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
03/02/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
03/02/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
03/15/2022 |
Sale of April
14, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $100.00) |
500 |
03/16/2022 |
ALTA FOX SPV 3, LP
Purchase of Common Stock |
42,500 |
12/08/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
65,773 |
12/09/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
53,227 |
12/10/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
49,942 |
12/13/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
18,258 |
12/14/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
23,800 |
12/15/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
16,500 |
12/17/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
5,172 |
12/20/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
1,715 |
12/31/2021 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
17,117 |
01/03/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
19,168 |
01/04/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
2,400 |
01/06/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
25,000 |
01/19/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
35,000 |
01/26/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
26,100 |
02/01/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
17,540 |
02/02/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
19,287 |
02/03/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
178,596 |
02/04/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
194,943 |
02/07/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
107,800 |
02/08/2022 |
Sale of
Common Stock |
(500,000) |
02/08/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
250,062 |
02/08/2022 |
Purchase of
February 18, 2022 Call Option (Strike Price $60.00) |
500,000 |
02/08/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
129,552 |
02/09/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
120,386 |
02/10/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
607,964 |
02/11/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
192,036 |
02/14/2022 |
Acquisition
of Common Stock2 |
500,000 |
02/14/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
30,000 |
02/15/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
100 |
02/22/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
200 |
02/25/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
100 |
02/28/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
200 |
03/02/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
100 |
03/15/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
100 |
03/16/2022 |
ALTA FOX SPV 3.1, LP
Purchase of Common Stock |
300,000 |
01/31/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
167,345 |
02/01/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
112,460 |
02/02/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
123,665 |
02/03/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
4,404 |
02/04/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
4,807 |
02/07/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
36,200 |
02/08/2022 |
MARCELO FISCHER
Purchase of Common Stock |
500 |
01/26/2022 |
Purchase of
Common Stock |
112 |
01/27/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
525 |
02/03/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
300 |
02/03/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
150 |
02/03/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
495 |
02/04/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
700 |
02/07/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
195 |
02/08/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
1,665 |
02/08/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
354 |
02/17/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
395 |
02/17/2022 |
Purchase of Common Stock |
397 |
02/17/2022 |
RANI HUBLOU
Purchase of Common Stock |
100 |
03/02/2022 |
CAROLYN JOHNSON
Purchase of Common Stock |
500 |
01/26/2022 |
_____________________________
1 Represents the acquisition of shares of Common Stock
upon the assignment of certain put options.
2 Represents the acquisition of shares of Common Stock
upon the exercise of certain call options.
SCHEDULE II
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL
OWNERS, DIRECTORS AND MANAGEMENT
The following table is reprinted from the Company’s proxy
statement filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 25,
2022.
Voting Securities and Principal Holders Thereof
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
The
following table sets forth information, as of April 21, 2022
(except as noted), with respect to the ownership of the Common
Stock (the only class of outstanding equity securities of the
Company) by certain persons known by the Company to be the
beneficial owners of more than 5% of such stock. There were
139,442,407 shares of Common Stock outstanding on April 21,
2022.
Name
and Address of Beneficial Owner |
Amount
and Nature
of Beneficial
Ownership |
Percent
of
Class |
The
Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”)(1)
100 Vanguard Boulevard
Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355 |
15,275,328 |
11.1% |
BlackRock,
Inc. (“BlackRock”)(2)
55 East 52nd Street
New York, New York 10055 |
12,434,068 |
9.0% |
Alan
G. Hassenfeld(3)
Hassenfeld Family Initiatives LLC
101 Dyer Street, Suite 401
Providence, Rhode Island 02903 |
7,598,726 |
5.5% |
Capital
Research Global Investors(4)
333 South Hope Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071 |
7,595,766 |
5.5% |
|
(1) |
Includes 203,158 shares over which Vanguard shares voting
power, 14,745,259 shares over which Vanguard has sole power to
dispose or direct the disposition, and 530,069 shares over which
Vanguard shares the power to dispose or direct the disposition.
This information is based solely upon a review of the Schedule 13G
reports or related amendments filed with the SEC with respect to
holdings of the Company’s Common Stock as of December 31,
2021. |
|
(2) |
BlackRock has sole power to vote or to direct the vote of
11,074,365 shares and sole power to dispose or direct the
disposition of all 12,434,068 shares. This information is based
solely upon a review of the Schedule 13G reports or related
amendments filed with the SEC with respect to holdings of the
Company’s Common Stock as of December 31, 2021. |
|
(3) |
Includes 2,157,831 shares held as one of the trustees of trusts
for the benefit of family members and/or Mr. Hassenfeld, 4,993,064
shares held as sole trustee of trusts for Mr. Hassenfeld’s benefit
and 30,521 shares the receipt of which is deferred until Mr.
Hassenfeld retires from the Board. Also includes 412,691 shares
owned by The Hassenfeld Foundation, of which Mr. Hassenfeld is an
officer and one of the directors. Mr. Hassenfeld disclaims
beneficial ownership of all shares except to the extent of his
proportionate pecuniary interest therein. This information is based
upon information furnished by the shareholder or contained in
filings made with the SEC. |
|
(4) |
This information is based solely upon a review of an amendment
to its Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on April 8, 2022. |
Security Ownership of Management
The
following table sets forth information, as of April 21, 2022, with
respect to the ownership of the Common Stock (the only class of
outstanding equity securities of the Company) by each current
director of the Company or nominee proposed by the Board for
election to the Board, each Named Executive Officer and by all
directors and executive officers as a group. Unless otherwise
indicated, each person has sole voting and dispositive power with
respect to such shares.
Name
of Director, Nominee or Executive Officer(1) |
Amount
and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership (#) |
Percent
of Class (%) |
Kenneth
A. Bronfin(2) |
37,134 |
* |
Michael
R. Burns |
13,898 |
* |
Hope
F. Cochran |
10,755 |
* |
Christian
P. Cocks(3) |
98,628 |
* |
John
A. Frascotti(4) |
330,738 |
* |
Lisa
Gersh(5) |
59,268 |
* |
Brian
D. Goldner(6) |
2,232,701 |
1.6% |
Elizabeth
Hamren |
289 |
* |
Dolph
Johnson(7) |
140,766 |
* |
Blake
Jorgensen |
289 |
* |
Tracy
A. Leinbach(8) |
35,047 |
* |
Edward
M. Philip(9) |
98,751 |
* |
Laurel
J. Richie(10) |
2,740 |
* |
Richard
S. Stoddart(11) |
52,908 |
* |
Deborah
M. Thomas(12) |
247,695 |
* |
Darren
Throop(13) |
223,060 |
* |
Mary
Beth West(14) |
10,755 |
* |
Linda
Zecher Higgins(15) |
22,334 |
* |
All
Current Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (includes 22
persons)(16) |
1,304,029 |
* |
|
(1) |
Information in this table is based upon information furnished
by each director and executive officer. There were 139,442,407
shares of Common Stock outstanding on April 21, 2022. |
|
(2) |
Comprised of 27,404 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Mr. Bronfin retires from the Board as well as 5,030 shares
deemed to be held in Mr. Bronfin’s stock unit account under the
Deferred Plan. |
|
(3) |
Includes currently exercisable options and options exercisable
within sixty days of April 21, 2022 to purchase 30,904 shares. |
|
(4) |
Includes currently exercisable options and options exercisable
within sixty days of April 21, 2022 to purchase an aggregate of
223,723 shares and 19,200 shares held jointly with his wife. |
|
(5) |
Includes 27,374 shares the receipt of which is deferred until
Ms. Gersh retires from the Board and 29,477 shares deemed to be
held in Ms. Gersh’s stock unit account under the Deferred
Plan. |
|
(6) |
Represents all shares that are held directly by an estate in
the name of Brian Goldner. Does not include 30,367 shares held by
the Barbara S. Goldner Trust (Mr. Goldner’s wife’s trust), of which
shares an estate in the name of Mr. Goldner disclaims beneficial
ownership. |
|
(7) |
Includes currently exercisable options and options exercisable
within sixty days of April 21, 2022 to purchase 88,658 shares. |
|
(8) |
Includes 10,369 shares the receipt of which is deferred until
Ms. Leinbach retires from the Board. |
|
(9) |
Comprised of 42,648 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Mr. Philip retires from the Board and 56,103 shares deemed to
be held in Mr. Philip’s stock unit account under the Deferred
Plan. |
|
(10) |
Comprised of 2,740 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Ms. Richie retires from the Board. |
|
(11) |
Comprised of 15,298 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Mr. Stoddart retires from the Board, 11,390 shares deemed to
be held in Mr. Stoddart’s stock unit account under the Deferred
Plan and 26,220 restricted stock units. |
|
(12) |
Includes currently exercisable options and options exercisable
within sixty days of April 21, 2022 to purchase 111,217
shares. |
|
(13) |
Includes currently exercisable options and options exercisable
within sixty days of April 21, 2022 to purchase 79,385 shares. |
|
(14) |
Comprised of 5,895 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Ms. West retires from the Board and 4,860 shares deemed to be
held in Ms. West’s stock unit account under the Deferred Plan. |
|
(15) |
Comprised of 12,822 shares the receipt of which is deferred
until Ms. Higgins retires from the Board and 8,694 shares deemed to
be held in Ms. Higgin’s stock unit account under the Deferred
Plan. |
|
(16) |
Of these shares, all current directors and executive officers
as a group have sole voting and dispositive power with respect to
1,304,029 shares. Includes 450,253 shares purchasable by directors
and executive officers upon exercise of currently exercisable
options or options exercisable within sixty days of April 21, 2022;
144,550 shares deemed to be held in director stock unit accounts
under the Deferred Plan; 109,694 shares the receipt of which has
been deferred by directors until they retire from the Board. Does
not include any shares held by Mr. Frascotti or the Estate of Mr.
Goldner. |
IMPORTANT
Tell the Board what you think! Your vote is important. No matter
how many shares of Common Stock you own, please give Alta Fox your
proxy “FOR” the election of the Nominees and in accordance with
Alta Fox’s recommendations on the other proposals on the agenda for
the 2022 Annual Meeting by taking these three steps:
|
· |
SIGNING the enclosed GOLD
proxy card; |
|
· |
DATING the enclosed GOLD
proxy card; and |
|
· |
MAILING the enclosed GOLD
proxy card TODAY in the envelope provided (no postage is required
if mailed in the United States). |
You may vote your shares virtually at the 2022 Annual Meeting,
however, even if you plan to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting
virtually, we recommend that you submit your GOLD proxy card
by mail by the applicable deadline so that your vote will still be
counted if you later decide not to attend the 2022 Annual Meeting.
If any of your shares of Common Stock are held in the name of a
brokerage firm, bank, bank nominee or other institution, only it
can vote such shares of Common Stock and only upon receipt of your
specific instructions. Depending upon your broker or custodian, you
may be able to vote either by toll-free telephone or by the
Internet. Please refer to the enclosed voting form for instructions
on how to vote electronically. You may also vote by signing, dating
and returning the enclosed GOLD voting form.
If you have any questions, require assistance in voting your
GOLD proxy card, or need additional copies of Alta Fox’s
proxy materials, please contact Okapi at the phone numbers or email
address listed below.

Okapi Partners LLC
1212 Avenue of the Americas, 24th Floor
New York, New York 10036
Shareholders may call toll-free: (877) 629-6356
Banks and brokers call: (212) 297-0720
E-mail: info@okapipartners.com
HASBRO, INC.
2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
THIS PROXY IS SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES FUND,
LP
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF HASBRO, INC.
IS NOT SOLICITING THIS PROXY
P R O X Y
The undersigned appoints Connor Haley and Mark Harnett, and each of
them, attorneys and agents with full power of substitution to vote
all shares of Common Stock, par value $0.50 per share (the “Common
Stock”) of Hasbro, Inc. (the “Company”) which the undersigned would
be entitled to vote if personally present at the 2022 Annual
Meeting of Shareholders of the Company scheduled to be held
virtually online via a live webcast on June 8, 2022 at 9:00 a.m.,
Eastern Standard Time (including any adjournments or postponements
thereof and any meeting called in lieu thereof, the “2022 Annual
Meeting”).
The undersigned hereby revokes any other proxy or proxies
heretofore given to vote or act with respect to the shares of
Common Stock of the Company held by the undersigned, and hereby
ratifies and confirms all action the herein named attorneys and
proxies, their substitutes, or any of them may lawfully take by
virtue hereof. If properly executed, this Proxy will be voted as
directed on the reverse and in the discretion of the herein named
attorneys and proxies or their substitutes with respect to any
other matters as may properly come before the 2022 Annual Meeting
that are unknown to Alta Fox Opportunities Fund, LP (“Alta Fox
Opportunities”), a reasonable time before this solicitation.
THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED. IF NO DIRECTION IS
INDICATED WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSALS ON THE REVERSE, THIS PROXY
WILL BE VOTED “FOR ALL NOMINEES” IN PROPOSAL 1, “AGAINST” PROPOSAL
2, AND “FOR” PROPOSAL 3.
This Proxy will be valid until the sooner of one year from the date
indicated on the reverse and the completion of the 2022 Annual
Meeting.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for
the 2022 Annual Meeting
This Proxy Statement and our GOLD proxy card are available at
www.FreeTheWizards.com
IMPORTANT: PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND MAIL THIS PROXY CARD PROMPTLY!
CONTINUED AND TO BE SIGNED ON
REVERSE SIDE
[X] Please mark vote as in this example
THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED AS DIRECTED. IF NO DIRECTION IS INDICATED
WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSALS, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED “FOR ALL
NOMINEES” IN PROPOSAL 1, “AGAINST” PROPOSAL 2, AND “FOR” PROPOSAL
3. ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES STRONGLY RECOMMENDS THAT SHAREHOLDERS
VOTE “FOR ALL NOMINEES” LISTED BELOW IN PROPOSAL 1 AND “AGAINST”
PROPOSAL 2. ALTA FOX OPPORTUNITIES MAKES NO RECOMMENDATION WITH
RESPECT TO PROPOSAL 3.
|
1. |
Alta Fox Opportunities’ proposal to
elect Marcelo Fischer, Rani Hublou and Carolyn Johnson
(collectively, the “Nominees”) to the Board to serve until the 2023
Annual Meeting of Shareholders, and until their successors are duly
elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation or
removal. |
|
|
FOR ALL
NOMINEES |
WITHHOLD
AUTHORITY TO
VOTE FOR ALL
NOMINEES |
FOR ALL NOMINEES EXCEPT
NOMINEE(S)
WRITTEN BELOW |
Nominees:
|
Marcelo Fischer
Rani
Hublou
Carolyn Johnson
|
¨ |
¨ |
¨
________________
________________
________________
|
Alta Fox Opportunities intends to use this proxy to vote (i) “FOR”
Marcelo Fischer, Rani Hublou and Carolyn Johnson and (ii) “FOR” the
candidates who have been nominated by the Company to serve as
directors, other than Richard S. Stoddart, Edward M. Philip, and
Lisa Gersh, for whom Alta Fox Opportunities is not seeking
authority to vote for and will not exercise any such authority. The
names, backgrounds and qualifications of the candidates who have
been nominated by the Company, and other information about them,
can be found in the Company’s proxy statement. There is no
assurance that any of the candidates who have been nominated by the
Company will serve as directors if our nominees are elected.
NOTE: If you do not wish for your shares to be voted “FOR” a
particular nominee, mark the “FOR ALL NOMINEES EXCEPT NOMINEE(S)
WRITTEN BELOW” box and write the name(s) of the nominee(s) you do
not support on the line(s) above. Your shares will be voted for the
remaining nominee(s).
|
2. |
The Company’s proposal to approve,
on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s Named
Executive Officers. |
|
¨ FOR |
¨ AGAINST |
¨ ABSTAIN |
|
3. |
The Company’s proposal to ratify
the selection of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered
public accounting firm for the 2022 fiscal year. |
|
¨ FOR |
¨ AGAINST |
¨ ABSTAIN |
DATED:
____________________________
____________________________________
(Signature)
____________________________________
(Signature, if held jointly)
____________________________________
(Title)
WHEN SHARES ARE HELD JOINTLY, JOINT OWNERS SHOULD EACH SIGN.
EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS, TRUSTEES, ETC., SHOULD INDICATE THE
CAPACITY IN WHICH SIGNING. PLEASE SIGN EXACTLY AS NAME APPEARS ON
THIS PROXY.
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