UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
|
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14D-9
SOLICITATION/ RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT UNDER SECTION 14(d)(4) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(Amendment No. 16)
iBasis, Inc.
(Name of Subject Company)
iBasis, Inc.
(Name of Person Filing Statement)
Common Stock, par value $0.001
per share
(Title of Class of Securities)
450732201
(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)
Ofer Gneezy
President & Chief Executive Officer
20 Second Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803
(781) 505-7500
(Name, Address and Telephone Number of
Persons Authorized to Receive
Notices and Communications on Behalf of Filing Persons)
Copies to:
Michael
L. Fantozzi, Esq.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris,
Glovsky and Popeo P.C.
One Financial Center
Boston, MA 02111
617-348-1640
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|
Mark S.
Flynn
Chief Legal Officer and
Corporate Secretary
iBasis, Inc.
20 Second Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803
781-505-7955
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|
Dennis J.
Friedman, Esq.
Eduardo Gallardo, Esq.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
200 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10166
212-351-4000
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o
Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary
communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.
This
Amendment No. 16 to the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on
Schedule 14D-9 (as amended and supplemented from time to time, the Schedule 14D-9)
amends and supplements the Schedule 14D-9, originally filed by iBasis, Inc.,
a Delaware corporation (the Company), with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the SEC) on July 30, 2009, relating to the tender offer by
KPN B.V., a private limited liability company organized under the laws of
The Netherlands (Purchaser), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Koninklijke KPN N.V., a public company incorporated under the laws of The
Netherlands (KPN), pursuant to which Purchaser has offered to buy all
outstanding Shares that it does not already own, upon the terms and subject to
the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase dated July 28, 2009 (the
Offer to Purchase) and the related letter of transmittal (which, together
with any amendments or supplements thereto, collectively constitute the Offer).
The Offer is described in a Tender Offer Statement and Rule 13e-3
Transaction Statement filed by KPN and Purchaser under cover of
Schedule TO with the SEC on July 28, 2009, as amended. Capitalized
terms used but not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the
Schedule 14D-9.
Item 1.
Subject Company Information.
The
second sentence of
Item 1(b) of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and restated as
follows:
As of November 20,
2009, there were 71,229,890 Shares outstanding, an additional 5,347,603 Shares
issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options granted pursuant to the
Companys equity compensation plans and an additional 432,498 Shares issuable
upon exercise of outstanding warrants.
Item 1(b) of
the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following after
the last paragraph thereof:
Stock Repurchases since November 20, 2007
On April 28, 2008, the Company announced that its
Board of Directors had approved a stock repurchase program, which authorized
the Company to purchase up to $15.0 million of the Companys Shares during
the following six months. Between May and
August 2008, the Company completed this repurchase program by purchasing
3.9 million Shares for a total cost of $15.0 million, as set forth in
the table below. The repurchases were
made in the open market and in privately negotiated purchases. The timing and
amount of the Shares the Company purchased were determined by its management
based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. No Shares were purchased from the Purchaser
as part of this repurchase program. The Company has not repurchased any Shares
since the completion of the repurchase program.
Period
|
|
Number of Shares
Repurchased
|
|
Average Purchase
Price Per Share
|
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Minimum
Purchase Price Per
Share
|
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Maximum Purchase
Price Per Share
|
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Second Quarter 2008
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1,422,400
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$
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3.42
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$
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3.12
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$
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3.72
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Third Quarter 2008
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2,484,540
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$
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4.08
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$
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3.32
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$
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4.35
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Total
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3,906,940
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$
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3.84
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$
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3.12
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$
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4.35
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|
Item 2.
Identity and Background of Filing
Person.
Item 2(b) of
the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following
after the last paragraph thereof:
On November 23,
2009, KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub and the Company entered into a Settlement
Agreement (the Settlement Agreement), which provided for, among other things,
Purchaser to amend the Revised Offer by increasing the price to be paid per
Share to $3.00 and extending the expiration date of the Offer to 12:00
midnight, New York City time, on December 8, 2009 (the Amended Offer) in
exchange for, among other things, the Special Committees recommendation that
the Public Stockholders accept the Amended Offer and tender their shares
pursuant to the Amended Offer and the resignation of each of the current
directors on the Companys Board (other than Purchasers designees) upon the
consummation of the Amended Offer. See Item 8(g)
Additional InformationSettlement Agreement
below for a description of the Settlement Agreement.
2
On November 23,
2009, Purchaser, KPN, Merger Sub and the Company also filed Amendment No. 8
to the Schedule TO, which amended and supplemented the Schedule TO in order to
reflect the Amended Offer, among other things.
Please
see Schedule A to this Statement for details regarding the business, background
and other information for each of the Companys executive officers and
directors.
Item 3.
Past Contacts, Transactions,
Negotiations and Agreements.
Item 3(b) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
(b)
Cash Consideration Payable Pursuant to the Amended
Offer
If the Companys
directors and executive officers were to tender any Shares they own for
purchase pursuant to the Amended Offer, they would receive the same cash
consideration on the same terms and conditions as other stockholders of the
Company. As of November 20, 2009, the Companys directors and executive
officers owned in the aggregate 2,466,410 Shares (excluding options to purchase
Shares, which are discussed below in Item 3(c)). If the directors and
executive officers were to tender all Shares owned by them for purchase
pursuant to the Amended Offer and those Shares were accepted for purchase and
purchased by Purchaser at the Amended Offer price of $3.00 per Share (the Amended
Offer Price), the directors and executive officers would receive an aggregate
of approximately $7,399,230 in cash.
As discussed in Item
4(b), to the Companys knowledge after making reasonable inquiry, the directors
and executive officers of the Company that currently own Shares intend to
tender or sell Shares held of record or beneficially owned by them to Purchaser
in the Amended Offer.
The
first two paragraphs under the heading Equity Incentive Awards Options of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule
14D-9 are hereby amended and restated as follows:
As of
November 20, 2009, the Companys directors and executive officers held
vested and exercisable options to purchase 1,333,704 Shares, 602,465 of which
had an exercise price equal to or below the Amended Offer Price and 731,239 of
which had an exercise price above the Amended Offer Price. The vested options
with an exercise price below the Amended Offer Price had exercise prices
ranging from $0.92 to $2.58.
In
addition, as of November 20, 2009, the Companys directors and executive
officers held unvested options to purchase 852,236 Shares, 495,625 of which had
an exercise price equal to or below the Amended Offer Price and 356,611 of
which had an exercise price above the Amended Offer Price. The unvested options
with an exercise price below the Amended Offer Price had exercise prices of
$0.92.
The
fifth paragraph under the heading Equity Incentive Awards Options of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated as follows:
The following chart
summarizes the outstanding options for each of the Companys executive officers
and directors and the value of each option, as of November 20, 2009, based
on a per share Amended Offer Price of $3.00. The value of outstanding options,
whether vested or unvested, is the number of such vested or unvested options,
as applicable, multiplied by the amount by which the Amended Offer Price
exceeds the exercise price of such options. For purposes of computing value,
options with an exercise price exceeding the Amended Offer Price are deemed not
to have value and are not reflected in the chart, but those options are
included in the footnotes following the chart.
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Value of
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Value of
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Total
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Outstanding
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Total
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Outstanding
|
|
|
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Unvested
|
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Unvested
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Vested
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Vested
|
|
|
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Options
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Options
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Options
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Options
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Ofer Gneezy (1)
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113,750
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$
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236,600
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107,797
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$
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141,869
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Gordon J. VanderBrug, Ph.D. (2)
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81,250
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$
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169,000
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100,297
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$
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127,196
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Eelko Blok
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|
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|
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Charles N. Corfield (3)
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24,375
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$
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50,700
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5,625
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$
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11,700
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Robert H. Brumley (4)
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24,375
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$
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50,700
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5,625
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$
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11,700
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Joost Farwerck
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W. Frank King, Ph.D (5)
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24,375
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$
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50,700
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67,986
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$
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81,584
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Paul H. Floyd (6)
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56,875
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$
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118,300
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173,824
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$
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148,828
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Mark S. Flynn (7)
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56,875
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$
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118,300
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13,125
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$
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27,300
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Richard G. Tennant (8)
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56,875
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$
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118,300
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115,061
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$
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151,735
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Edwin van Ierland (9)
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56,875
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$
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118,300
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13,125
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$
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27,300
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3
(1)
In addition, Mr. Gneezy holds
196,752 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $4.42 to $30.96, of which 121,752 are vested and 75,000 are
unvested.
(2)
In addition, Dr. VanderBrug holds
171,954 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $4.42 to $28.14, of which 109,454 are vested and 62,500 are
unvested.
(3)
In addition, Mr. Corfield holds
80,368 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $4.51 to $10.42, of which 61,618 are vested and 18,750 are unvested.
(4)
In addition, Mr. Brumley holds
118,744 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $4.51 to $6.88, of which 99,994 are vested and 18,750 are unvested.
(5)
In addition, Dr. King holds 118,744
options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and range from
$4.51 to $6.88, of which 99,994 are vested and 18,750 are unvested.
(6)
In addition, Mr. Floyd holds 113,173
options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and range from
$4.42 to $4.90, of which 66,423 are vested and 46,750 are unvested.
(7)
In addition, Mr. Flynn holds 96,954
options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and range from
$4.51 to $6.78, of which 58,843 are vested and 38,111 are unvested.
(8)
In addition, Mr. Tennant holds
131,161 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $3.54 to $4.90, of which 84,411 are vested and 46,750 are unvested.
(9)
In addition, Mr. van Ierland holds
60,000 options where the exercise prices exceed the Amended Offer Price and
range from $4.51 to $6.47, of which 28,750 are vested and 31,250 are unvested.
In addition to the
information set forth in the chart above, pursuant to the Settlement Agreement,
the Company agreed that any stock options owned by the members of the Companys
Board of Directors, which otherwise would have remained unvested, will vest
fully as of the consummation of the Amended Offer.
The
first paragraph under the heading Director Fees of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated as follows:
The Companys Board of Directors is
comprised of seven individuals. Of them, Ofer Gneezy and Gordon J. VanderBrug
are executive officers of the Company. Eelco Blok and Joost Farwerck were
appointed by Purchaser. W. Frank King, Robert H. Brumley and Charles Corfield
are not employees of the Company, not affiliated with KPN and were appointed to
the Special Committee. The following table sets forth the schedule of annual
retainer and meeting fees currently in effect for each of the Companys
independent non-employee directors:
Type of Fee
|
|
Dollar
Amount
|
|
Annual Board
Retainer
|
|
$
|
30,000
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|
Annual Retainer
for Service as the Chair of Audit Committee
|
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$
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15,000
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|
Annual Retainer
for Service as a non-Chair Member of Audit Committee
|
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$
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10,000
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|
Annual Retainer
for Service as the Chair of Compensation Committee
|
|
$
|
10,000
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|
Annual Retainer
for Service as a non-Chair of Compensation Committee
|
|
$
|
5,000
|
|
4
The
paragraph under the heading Base Salary of Executive Officers of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated as follows:
The current base
salaries of our executive officers are: Ofer Gneezy, President & Chief
Executive Officer, $588,000; Gordon J. VanderBrug, Executive Vice President,
$396,000; Richard G. Tennant, Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice
President, Finance, $332,000; Paul H. Floyd, Senior Vice President of Global
Products, Networks and Systems, $297,000; Mark S. Flynn, Chief Legal Officer &
Corporate Secretary, $305,000; and Edwin van Ierland, Senior Vice President,
Global Sales & Purchase, $274,000.
The
second paragraph under the heading Severance Compensation and
Change-in-Control Arrangements of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby
amended and restated as follows:
The severance and
change-in-control agreements with each of Mr. Gneezy and Dr. VanderBrug
provide that, in the event of a termination of employment by the Company
without cause or by the executive for good reason, as such terms are
defined in the agreements, the executive will be entitled to payment of a
pro-rata annual bonus up to the date of termination, the continuation of base
salary for a period of 24 months following the termination date, payment of an
amount equal to two times the executives full target annual bonus for the year
in which the termination occurs, the right to exercise any stock options
granted under the applicable stock plan for the shorter of the period provided
under the applicable stock plan or 90 days following the termination date
to the extent that such stock options are
vested and exercisable during such period, payment of restricted stock that
would have vested within 90 days following termination and the continued
payment of the employer-paid premiums for medical, dental and other health
benefits for the 24 month severance period. In addition, in the event of a
termination by the Company without cause or by the executive for good reason
within one year following a change of control, as defined in the agreements
(which, as noted below, the consummation of the Amended Offer and the Merger
will not constitute), the executive would be entitled to payment of a pro-rata
annual bonus up to the date of termination, a lump sum cash payment equal to
two times the executives base salary and two times the executives full target
annual bonus for the year in which the termination occurs, immediate vesting of
all outstanding stock options and restricted stock and the right to exercise
such stock options during the 24-month severance period, and the continued
payment of the employer-paid premiums for medical, dental and other health
benefits for the 24-month severance period.
In exchange for the severance and change in control benefits, the
agreements also contain non-competition and non-solicitation provisions by
which the executives have agreed to be bound during their respective severance
periods and require the executives to enter into general releases of all claims
against the Company, its affiliates, agents and employees in order to receive
the termination benefits. On November 23,
2009, at the request of Purchaser and concurrently with the execution of the
Settlement Agreement, Ofer Gneezy, the Companys President and Chief Executive
Officer, and Gordon J. VanderBrug, the Companys Executive Vice President,
executed letters of resignation for good reason with the Company, copies of
which are attached hereto as Exhibits (a)(53) and (a)(54) respectively, (the Resignation
Letters). The Resignation Letters are
subject to, and effective only upon, the consummation of the Amended
Offer. In addition, the Resignation
Letters amend the agreements to provide (i) the payment of the pro rata
annual bonus for 2009, which may be the full amount of such bonus if the
termination occurs in 2010, and (ii) that any stock options owned by Mr. Gneezy
and Dr. VanderBrug, which otherwise would have remained unvested, will
vest fully as of the consummation of the Amended Offer. The consummation of the Amended Offer and the
Merger will not constitute a change in control for purposes of the agreements.
The
sixth paragraph under the heading Severance Compensation and Change-in-Control
Arrangements of
Item 3(c) of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and restated as
follows:
The following chart
presents the Companys estimate of the amount of benefits to which Messrs. Gneezy,
VanderBrug, Tennant, Flynn, Floyd and van Ierland would be entitled if each of
them were terminated by the Company without cause or they terminated their
employment for good reason, as such terms are defined in their respective
severance and change-control agreements, occurring on November 20, 2009.
5
|
|
Severance
Payments(1)
|
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Health
Benefits(2)
|
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Bonus(3)
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Total
|
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Mr. Gneezy
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$
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2,352,000
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$
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38,230
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$
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1,043,901
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$
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3,434,131
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Dr. VanderBrug
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$
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1,584,000
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|
$
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38,230
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$
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703,036
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$
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2,325,266
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Mr. Tennant
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$
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574,000
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$
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19,115
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$
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429,633
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$
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1,022,748
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|
Mr. Flynn
|
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$
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478,000
|
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$
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19,115
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$
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307,134
|
|
$
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804,249
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Mr. Floyd
|
|
$
|
523,000
|
|
$
|
12,205
|
|
$
|
401,227
|
|
$
|
936,432
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|
Mr. van
Ierland
|
|
$
|
454,000
|
|
$
|
6,101
|
|
$
|
319,562
|
|
$
|
779,663
|
|
(1)
Severance Payments includes (i) the
continuation of base salary for a period of 12 or 24 months, as applicable,
following the termination date and (ii) the payment of an amount equal to
one or two times, as applicable, the executives full target annual bonus for
the year in which the termination occurs.
(2)
Health Benefits includes the continued
payment of the employer-paid premiums for medical, dental and other health
benefits of the executive for the 12 or 24 month severance period, as
applicable
.
(3)
Bonus consists of the payment of the
executives pro-rata annual bonus up to the date of termination, which is the
pro-rata portion of the annual bonus that would have been payable if the
executive had been employed at year end and achieved the performance goals to
the same extent such performance goals were achieved as of November 20,
2009, the assumed termination date.
Item 4. The
Solicitation or Recommendation
Item 4(a) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
(a)
Recommendation of the Special Committee
As described in more
detail below, upon careful consideration of the terms and conditions of the
Amended Offer and after consultation with the Special Committees outside legal
counsel and financial advisor, the Special Committee unanimously determined at
a meeting duly held on November 22, 2009 that the Amended Offer is fair,
from a financial point of view, to the Public Stockholders.
ACCORDINGLY, AND FOR THE OTHER
REASONS DESCRIBED IN MORE DETAIL BELOW, THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY
RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMPANYS PUBLIC STOCKHOLDERS ACCEPT THE AMENDED OFFER AND
TENDER THEIR SHARES TO PURCHASER PURSUANT TO THE AMENDED OFFER
.
Item 4(b) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
(b)
Intent to Tender
In light of (i) Purchasers
cash offer of $3.00 per Share and (ii) the Special Committees
recommendation, to the Companys knowledge after making reasonable inquiry, the
directors and executive officers of the Company that currently own Shares
intend to tender or sell Shares held of record or beneficially owned by them to
Purchaser in the Amended Offer.
Item 4(c) of the
Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following at
the end thereof:
On November 17,
2009, Rene van Rooij, KPNs Chief Legal Officer, received a call from Mark
Flynn, the Companys Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. On the call, Mr. van
Rooij and Mr. Flynn discussed, among
other things, the possibility of engaging in
discussions regarding a possible settlement of the iBasis Delaware Action.
6
On November 17, 2009, Mr. Blok received a
call from Mr. Gneezy, and Mr. Blok and Mr. Gneezy also discussed
the possibility of engaging in discussions.
On November 20,
2009, Mr. Gneezy, Mr. VanderBrug, Mr. Flynn and Mr. King
(who participated in the meeting telephonically) met with Mr. Blok and KPN
representatives Daniel Braat and Michel Hoekstra in the Netherlands. At the
meeting, the participants agreed to pursue negotiations of a possible
settlement agreement based on an increased offer price of $3.00 per Share in
cash (subject to agreement on the terms of the settlement). On the afternoon of November 20, 2009,
the Special Committee met telephonically with members of senior management and
its independent legal counsel to discuss the terms of a possible settlement
agreement. Following that telephonic
meeting, representatives of Cravath and Gibson Dunn exchanged calls regarding
the possible terms of such settlement agreement.
On November 21,
2009, Cravath provided a draft settlement agreement to Gibson Dunn. Later in the day Gibson Dunn informed Cravath
that the Special Committees proposal would be forthcoming.
On the morning of November 22,
2009, Gibson Dunn provided Cravath with a revised draft of the settlement agreement.
During the course of November 22, 2009, Mr. van Rooij, Mr. Hoekstra,
Mr. Flynn and representatives from Gibson Dunn and Cravath participated in
conference calls to negotiate the terms of the proposed settlement agreement
providing for, among other things, an increase in the Offer Price to $3.00 per
Share in cash, the dismissal with prejudice of the Delaware litigation (the Delaware
Litigation) described in Item 8(g) Additional InformationLitigation
Filed by the Company Against KPN below and the New York federal litigation
(the New York Federal Litigation) described in Item 8(h) Additional
InformationFederal Litigation Filed by the Company Against KPN below, and the
termination of the Rights Agreement. Representatives of KPN indicated that $3.00
per Share was the best and final offer KPN would make to complete the Offer,
and that execution of any settlement agreement would have to be conditioned on
the Company agreeing to deliver the resignations of all members of the Board of
Directors of the Company, other than KPNs representatives, effective upon
consummation of the Offer.
On the evening of November 22,
2009, after negotiations of the settlement agreement were substantially
concluded, the Special Committee met with its independent legal and financial
advisors and members of the Companys senior management to discuss the terms of
the settlement agreement and KPNs proposed revised offer. The members of the Special Committee
discussed in detail with their advisors and Company management the terms of the
settlement agreement and the Amended Offer. Jefferies also presented its
financial analyses of the Amended Offer and delivered its written opinion,
dated November 22, 2009, to the Special Committee, to the effect that, as
of that date and based upon and subject to the factors and assumptions set
forth therein, the consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares
(other than KPN and any of its affiliates) pursuant to the Amended Offer and
the Merger was fair from a financial point of view to such holders. The full
text of the written opinion of Jefferies, dated November 22, 2009, which
sets forth assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and
limitations on the review undertaken in connection with the opinion, is
attached to this Statement as
Annex C
. Jefferies provided its
opinion for the information and assistance of the Special Committee in
connection with its consideration of the Amended Offer.
After a lengthy
discussion and careful consideration, including taking into account the factors
set forth below under Reasons for the Special Committees Recommendation, the
Special Committee unanimously approved the proposed settlement agreement, in
substantially the form discussed at the meeting, and determined that the Amended
Offer was fair to the Public Stockholders. Accordingly, the Special Committee
unanimously determined to recommend that the Companys Public Stockholders
accept the Amended Offer and tender their Shares in the Amended Offer.
On November 23,
2009, KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub and the Company entered into the Settlement
Agreement. In connection with entering into the Settlement Agreement,
substantially concurrently with the execution and delivery of the Settlement
Agreement, counsel to KPN, the Company and the special committee, on behalf of
their respective clients, entered into, and on November 23, 2009 filed
with the Delaware Court of Chancery and the United States District Court for
the Southern District of New York, stipulations in the Delaware Litigation and
the New York Federal Litigation dismissing with prejudice the respective claims
of each of the parties in those proceedings.
In addition, the Company will terminate the Rights Agreement within four
business days of the date of the Settlement Agreement pursuant to the terms of
the Settlement Agreement.
Item 4(d) of the Schedule
14D-9 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
7
(d)
Reasons for the Special
Committees Recommendation
The Special Committee has
conducted a thorough review and consideration of the Amended Offer, and, after
consultation with members of senior management and the Special Committees
independent legal and financial advisors, has unanimously determined that the
Amended Offer is fair, from a financial point of view, to the stockholders of
the Company, other than KPN and its affiliates.
Accordingly, and for the reasons
described in more detail below, the Special Committee unanimously recommends
that the Public Stockholders accept the Amended Offer and tender their Shares
to Purchaser pursuant to the Amended Offer.
Supportive Factors
The Special Committee
considered each of the following factors as being generally supportive of its
recommendation that the Companys Public Stockholders accept the Amended Offer
and tender their Shares to Purchaser in the Amended Offer:
Opinion of Jefferies.
·
The Special Committee considered the financial
analyses presented to the Special Committee at its meeting on November 22, 2009
and Jefferies written opinion, dated November 22, 2009, to the
effect that, as of that date, and based upon and subject to the factors
and assumptions set forth therein, the $3.00 per Share in cash proposed to be
paid to the holders of Shares (other than KPN and any of its affiliates)
pursuant to the Amended Offer and the Merger was fair from a financial point of
view to such holders. The full text of
the written opinion of Jefferies, dated November 22, 2009, which sets
forth assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations
on the scope of review undertaken in connection with the opinion, is attached
to this Statement as
Annex C
. Further discussion of the opinion of and
the presentation by Jefferies to the Special Committee is set forth below under
Opinion of the Special Committees Financial Advisor. Jefferies provided its
opinion for the information and assistance of the Special Committee in
connection with its consideration of the Amended Offer. After considering the
factors set forth herein, including the opinion of Jefferies, the Special
Committee has unanimously concluded that the Amended Offer is fair from a
financial point of view to the Companys Public Stockholders.
Certain Rights
Associated With Purchasers 56% Percent Ownership.
·
Purchaser
currently has sufficient power, through
its holdings of Shares and its ability to obtain majority representation on the
Companys Board at the Companys next annual stockholders meeting, to approve
a merger of the Company, involving a different price or form of consideration
and other terms and conditions than those governing the Amended Offer, without
the affirmative vote of any other stockholder of the Company or the approval of
the independent directors of the Company, subject to compliance with the
fiduciary duties of KPN and its representatives on the Companys Board.
Availability of
Appraisal Rights.
·
The Special Committee considered that under Delaware
law, assuming completion of the Merger, Company stockholders who believe that
the consideration proposed to be paid does not reflect the fair value of their
Shares may elect to have the fair value of their Shares judicially determined
if such holders comply with the provisions of the Delaware General Corporation
Law. See Item 8(d) Additional Information Appraisal Rights below.
Amended Offer Price and
the Course of Negotiations
.
·
The Special Committee and its independent financial
and legal advisors and KPN and its advisors have had extensive discussions
regarding the Offer. KPN has increased
its price twice, first to $2.25 per Share and then to $3.00 per Share, for a
total increase of 93.5% above its initial Offer Price of $1.55 per Share. Based
on the course of negotiations between KPN and the Special Committee, the
Special Committee believes that, at this time, it is highly unlikely that KPN
would be willing to pay a higher price for the Company than $3.00 per Share.
8
Approval by a Majority
of the Minority
.
·
The Special Committee believes that the
Majority-of-the-Minority Condition, which cannot be waived by Purchaser, would
permit the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares (excluding Shares
held by KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub or any of their respective affiliates or any
director or officer of KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub or the Company) to decide
whether the Amended Offer should be completed by choosing whether or not to
tender their respective Shares in the Amended Offer.
Possible Decline in the
Company Market Price If KPN Withdraws.
·
The Special Committee noted the possibility that, if a
transaction with KPN or its affiliates is not completed and KPN and its
affiliates were to withdraw any and all proposals or offers to acquire Shares,
the Company would remain a public company with a controlling stockholder and
the market price of the Shares could decline significantly.
Potentially Negative Factors
The Special Committee
considered the following factors to potentially be generally negative or not
supportive in making its determination and recommendation:
Loss of Ability to Participate in the Future Growth
of the Company
.
·
Any stockholder who tenders all its Shares in the
Amended Offer or has its Shares converted into cash in a subsequent merger
would cease to participate in the future earnings or growth, if any, of the
Company or benefit from increases, if any, in the value of the Company,
including any increases due to the Companys substantial growth opportunities
from organic growth of its traditional business, outsourcing and via
acquisitions.
Form of
Consideration; Taxable Transaction
.
·
The cash consideration to be received by the Public
Stockholders in the Amended Offer would be taxable to the Public Stockholders
for federal income tax purposes as discussed in the Offer to Purchase in the
section entitled The Tender OfferSection 5. Certain United States
Federal Income Tax Consequences.
The
Amended Offer is at a Discount to the Companys 2008 Share Repurchase Program.
·
Between May 1, 2008 and August 31, 2008, the
Board of Directors approved a $15,000,000 Share repurchase program as a result
of the view that the Companys Shares were trading at a substantial discount to
their intrinsic value. Through this repurchase program, the Company repurchased
3,906,940 Shares at an average price of $3.84 per Share, including 2,153,140
Shares at an average price of $4.14 per Share in August 2008.
Process
and Procedural Fairness
The Special Committee believes that sufficient procedural
safeguards were and are present to ensure the fairness of the Amended Offer and
to permit the Special Committee to represent effectively the interests of the
Companys stockholders other than KPN and its affiliates, each of which the
Special Committee believes supports its decision and provides assurance of the
fairness of the Amended Offer to the Companys stockholders other than KPN and
its affiliates. The Special Committee believes that the process it followed in
making its determination and recommendation with respect to the Amended Offer
was fair because:
·
The Amended Offer is conditioned upon there being
validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the Amended Offer
such number of Shares representing at least a majority of the outstanding
Shares excluding Shares held by KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub or any of their
respective affiliates or any director or officer of KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub
or the Company.
·
The Special Committee consists solely of directors who
are not affiliates of KPN or its affiliates, and who do not otherwise have a conflict
of interest or lack independence with respect to the Offer.
9
·
The Special Committee retained and was advised by
independent financial and legal advisors. The Special Committee, with the
assistance of its financial and legal advisors, extensively negotiated with KPN
and its representatives.
·
The Special Committee acted diligently in discharging
its responsibilities, and met over twenty times in the last four months.
Factors Not
Considered
The Special Committee did
not consider liquidation value in determining the fairness of the Amended Offer
to the Companys stockholders, other than KPN and its affiliates, because of
its belief that liquidation value does not present a meaningful valuation for the
Company and its business as it believes the Company is a viable going concern
and its value is derived from the cash flows generated from its continuing
operations rather than from the value of assets that might be realized in a
liquidation.
The Special Committee did
not consider net book value in determining the fairness of the Amended Offer to
the Companys stockholders, other than KPN and its affiliates, because of its
belief that net book value does not present a meaningful valuation for the
Company and its business as the Companys value is derived from the cash flows
generated from its continuing operations.
According to the
Schedule TO, in June 2009 KPN received a non-binding, indicative
proposal from a leading private investment firm focused on technology
industries (Party A) to acquire the outstanding Shares, including some or all
of the Shares held by KPN and its affiliates, in which Party A valued the
Company at $1.75 per Share. Except with
respect to KPN and the non-binding, indicative proposal from Party A received
by KPN in June 2009, the Special Committee is not aware of any firm offers
that have been made for the Company during the past two years for (a) the
merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another company, or vice
versa; (b) the sale or other transfer of all or any substantial part of
the assets of the Company; or (c) a purchase of the Companys securities
that would enable the holder to exercise control of the Company. The Special
Committee did not consider Party As indicative proposal in reaching its
conclusion as to fairness.
A majority of the
directors of the Company who are not employees of the Company have not retained
an unaffiliated representative to act solely on behalf of unaffiliated
stockholders for purposes of preparing a report concerning the fairness of the
Amended Offer. Because the Special Committee has retained Jefferies and Gibson
Dunn as its financial and legal advisors, respectively, to assist it in
considering the Amended Offer and in light of the procedural safeguards
discussed above, however, the Special Committee does not believe that the
failure to retain such a representative is material.
The foregoing discussion
of the information and factors considered by the Special Committee is not meant
to be exhaustive, but includes the material information and factors considered
by the Special Committee in reaching its conclusions and recommendations. The
members of the Special Committee evaluated the various factors listed above in
light of their knowledge of the business, financial condition and prospects of
the Company. In light of the number and variety of factors that the Special
Committee considered, the members of the Special Committee did not find it
practicable to assign relative weights to the foregoing factors. However, the
recommendation of the Special Committee was made after considering the totality
of the information and factors involved. In addition, individual members of the
Special Committee may have given different weight to different factors.
Accordingly, the Special Committee
unanimously recommends that the Companys Public Stockholders accept the
Amended Offer and tender their Shares in the Amended Offer.
Opinion of the Special
Committees Financial Advisor
Jefferies served as the Special Committees financial
advisor in connection with its consideration of the Amended Offer. On November 22,
2009, Jefferies rendered to the Special Committee its opinion to the effect
that, as of that date and based upon and subject to the various considerations
and assumptions set forth therein, the Amended Offer Price of $3.00 per Share
in cash to be paid by KPN to the holders of Shares pursuant to the Amended
Offer and the Merger was fair, from a financial point of view, to those holders
(other than KPN and its affiliates). The Amended Offer and the Merger, taken
together, are collectively referred to as the Transaction.
10
The full text of Jefferies opinion, which sets forth
the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations
on the scope of review undertaken by Jefferies in connection with the opinion,
is attached to this Statement as
Annex C
. The Special Committee encourages stockholders
to read the Jefferies opinion carefully and in its entirety. Jefferies opinion was provided to the
Special Committee in connection with the Special Committees consideration of
the Transaction and addresses only the fairness, from a financial point of view
at and as of the date of Jefferies opinion, of the Amended Offer Price to be
paid by KPN to the holders of Shares (other than KPN and its affiliates)
pursuant to the Transaction and does not address any other aspect of the
Amended Offer. Jefferies opinion does
not constitute a recommendation as to whether any holder of Shares should
tender their Shares pursuant to the Amended Offer or as to any other matter.
In arriving at its opinion, Jefferies, among other
things:
·
reviewed the Schedule TO as amended through November 9, 2009 and a
draft of the Settlement Agreement dated November 22, 2009;
·
reviewed certain publicly available financial and other information
about the Company;
·
reviewed certain information furnished to Jefferies by the Companys
management, including financial forecasts and analyses, relating to the
business, operations and prospects of the Company;
·
held discussions with members of senior management of the Company
concerning the matters described in the prior two bullet points;
·
reviewed the share trading price history and valuation multiples for
the Shares and compared them with those of certain publicly traded companies
that Jefferies deemed relevant;
·
compared the proposed financial terms of the Transaction with the
financial terms of certain other transactions that Jefferies deemed relevant;
and
·
conducted such other financial studies, analyses and investigations as
Jefferies deemed appropriate.
In Jefferies review and analysis and in rendering its
opinion, Jefferies assumed and relied upon, and did not assume any
responsibility to independently investigate or verify, the accuracy and
completeness of all financial and other information that was supplied or
otherwise made available by the Company to it or that was publicly available
(including, without limitation, the information described above), or that was
otherwise reviewed by it. In its review,
Jefferies relied on assurances of the management of the Company that management
was not aware of any facts or circumstances that would make such information
inaccurate or misleading. In its review,
Jefferies did not obtain any independent evaluation or appraisal of any of the
assets or liabilities of, nor did Jefferies conduct a physical inspection of
any of the properties or facilities of, the Company. Jefferies was not furnished with any such
evaluations or appraisals of such physical inspections and did not assume any
responsibility to obtain any such evaluations or appraisals.
With respect to the financial forecasts provided to
and examined by Jefferies, Jefferies opinion noted that projecting future
results of any company is inherently subject to uncertainty. The Company informed Jefferies, however, and
Jefferies assumed, that such financial forecasts were reasonably prepared on
bases reflecting the best currently available estimates and good faith
judgments of the management of the Company as to the future financial
performance of the Company. Jefferies
expressed no opinion as to the Companys financial forecasts or the assumptions
on which they were made.
Jefferies opinion was based on economic, monetary,
regulatory, market and other conditions existing and which could be evaluated
as of the date of its opinion. Jefferies
expressly disclaimed any undertaking or obligation to advise any person of any
change in any fact or matter affecting Jefferies opinion of which Jefferies
became aware after the date of its opinion.
Jefferies made no independent investigation of any legal
or accounting matters affecting the Company, and Jefferies assumed the
correctness in all respects material to Jefferies analysis of all legal and
accounting advice given to the Special Committee, including, without
limitation, advice as to the legal, accounting and tax consequences of the
11
terms of the Transaction to the Company and its
stockholders. In addition, in preparing
its opinion, Jefferies did not take into account any tax consequences of the
Transaction to any holder of Shares.
Jefferies also assumed that the final form of the Settlement Agreement
was substantially similar to the last draft reviewed by Jefferies. Jefferies
also assumed that in the course of obtaining the necessary regulatory or third
party approvals, consents and releases pursuant to the terms and conditions of
the Transaction, no delay, limitation, restriction or condition would be
imposed that would have an adverse effect on the Company or the contemplated
benefits of the Transaction in any way meaningful to Jefferies analysis.
Jefferies opinion was for the use and benefit of the
Special Committee in its consideration of the Transaction, and Jefferies
opinion did not address the relative merits of the Transaction as compared to
any alternative transaction or opportunity that might be available to the
Company, nor did it address the underlying business decision by the Special
Committee to engage in the Transaction or the terms of the Settlement Agreement
or the documents referred to therein.
Jefferies opinion does not constitute a recommendation to the holders
of any Shares as to whether or not such holders should tender their Shares
pursuant to the Amended Offer or as to any other matter. In addition, Jefferies was not asked to
address, and its opinion did not address, the fairness to, or any other
consideration of, the holders of any class of securities, creditors or other
constituencies of the Company, other than the holders of Shares (other than KPN
and its affiliates). Jefferies expressed
no opinion as to the price at which Shares will trade at any time. Jefferies did not express any view or opinion
as to the fairness, financial or otherwise, of the amount or nature of any
compensation payable to or to be received by any of the Companys officers,
directors or employees, or any class of such persons, in connection with the
Transaction relative to the Amended Offer Price to be paid by KPN to the
holders of Shares. Jefferies opinion has been authorized by its Fairness
Committee.
In preparing its opinion, Jefferies performed a
variety of financial and comparative analyses.
The preparation of a fairness opinion is a complex process involving
various determinations as to the most appropriate and relevant quantitative and
qualitative methods of financial analysis and the applications of those methods
to the particular circumstances and, therefore, is not necessarily susceptible
to partial analysis or summary description.
Jefferies believes that its analyses must be considered as a whole. Considering any portion of Jefferies
analyses or the factors considered by Jefferies, without considering all
analyses and factors, could create a misleading or incomplete view of the
process underlying the conclusion expressed in Jefferies opinion. In addition, Jefferies may have given various
analyses more or less weight than other analyses, and may have deemed various
assumptions more or less probable than other assumptions, so that the range of
valuations resulting from any particular analysis described below should not be
taken to be Jefferies view of the Companys actual value. Accordingly, the conclusions reached by
Jefferies are based on all analyses and factors taken as a whole and also on
the application of Jefferies own experience and judgment.
In performing its analyses, Jefferies made numerous
assumptions with respect to industry performance, general business, economic,
monetary, regulatory, market and other conditions and other matters, many of
which are beyond the Companys and Jefferies control. The analyses performed by Jefferies are not
necessarily indicative of actual values or actual future results, which may be
significantly more or less favorable than suggested by such analyses. In addition, analyses relating to the per
share value of the Shares do not purport to be appraisals or to reflect the
prices at which Shares may actually be sold.
The analyses performed were prepared solely as part of Jefferies
analysis of the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Amended Offer
Price to be paid by KPN to the holders of Shares (other than KPN and its
affiliates) pursuant to the Amended Offer and the Merger, and were provided to
the Special Committee in connection with the delivery of Jefferies opinion.
The following is a summary of the material financial
and comparative analyses performed by Jefferies in connection with Jefferies
delivery of its opinion. The financial analyses summarized below include
information presented in tabular format.
In order to fully understand Jefferies financial analyses, the tables
must be read together with the text of each summary. The tables alone do not constitute a complete
description of the financial analyses.
Considering the data described below without considering the full
narrative description of the financial analyses, including the methodologies
and assumptions underlying the analyses, could create a misleading or
incomplete view of Jefferies financial analyses. The summary below is
qualified by reference to the complete written presentation, a copy of which
has been filed as an exhibit to this Statement. The financial and comparative
analyses summarized below are substantially similar to the financial and
comparative analyses performed by Jefferies in connection with Jefferies
delivery to the Special Committee of its opinions dated July 29, 2009 and
dated October 14, 2009, respectively, except that the analyses performed
in connection with Jefferies earlier opinions were based on market and stock
trading data available as of those dates.
The complete written presentations dated July 29, 2009 and October 13,
2009 delivered to the Special Committee in connection with Jefferies opinion
letters dated July 29, 2009 and October 14, 2009, respectively, have
also been filed as exhibits to this Statement.
A complete copy of each of Jefferies presentations will
12
also be available for inspection and copying at the
Companys principal executive offices during regular business hours by any
interested stockholder of the Company or any representative of such stockholder
who has been so designated in writing and also may be inspected and copied at
the office of, and obtained by mail from, the SEC.
Transaction
Overview
Based upon the approximately 72.5 million Shares that
were outstanding as of November 20, 2009 on a fully diluted basis
(calculated using the treasury stock method at the Amended Offer Price per
Share of $3.00), Jefferies noted that the Amended Offer Price of $3.00 per
Share implied an equity value of approximately $217.4 million. Net of approximately $19.9 million of debt
and $56.0 million of cash and cash equivalents (as of September 30, 2009),
Jefferies noted that the Amended Offer Price implied an enterprise value of
approximately $181.2 million. Jefferies
also noted that the Amended Offer Price of $3.00 represented:
·
a premium of 32.7% over the closing price per Share on November 20,
2009 of $2.26;
·
a premium of 130.8% over the closing price per Share on July 10,
2009 of $1.30, which was the last trading day prior to the date that KPN
announced its intent to commence the Offer at a price per Share of $1.55; and
·
a premium of 109.8% over the closing price per Share on June 12,
2009 of $1.43, which was the closing price per Share 20 trading days prior to July 13,
2009, which was the date that KPN announced its intent to commence the Offer at
a price per Share of $1.55.
Public
Company Comparables Analysis
Using publicly available information and information
provided by the Companys management, Jefferies analyzed the trading multiples
of the Shares and the corresponding trading multiples of certain selected
companies comparable with the Company, which are referred to as the Selected
Comparable Companies:
Selected
Comparable Companies
·
8x8, Inc.
·
Arbinet Corporation
·
Citic 1616 Holdings Limited
·
COLT Telecom Group S.A.
·
Global Crossing Limited
·
IDT Corporation
·
Neutral Tandem, Inc.
·
Rostelecom OAO
·
Tata Communications Limited
·
Vonage Holdings Corp.
In its analysis, Jefferies derived and compared
multiples for the Company and each of the Selected Comparable Companies,
calculated as follows:
·
the enterprise value divided by
13
·
last twelve months, or LTM, revenue, which is referred to below as Enterprise
Value/LTM Revenue;
·
estimated revenue for fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, which
is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2009E Revenue; and
·
estimated revenue for fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, which
is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2010E Revenue;
·
the enterprise value divided by
·
LTM gross profit, which is referred to below as Enterprise Value/LTM
Gross Profit;
·
estimated gross profit for fiscal year ending December 31, 2009,
which is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2009E Gross Profit; and
·
estimated gross profit for fiscal year ending December 31, 2010,
which is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2010E Gross Profit;
·
the enterprise value divided by
·
LTM earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or
EBITDA, which is referred to below as Enterprise Value/LTM EBITDA;
·
estimated EBITDA for fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, which
is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2009E EBITDA; and
·
estimated EBITDA for fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, which
is referred to below as Enterprise Value/2010E EBITDA.
This analysis indicated the following:
Comparable
Public Company Multiples
Benchmark
|
|
High
|
|
Low
|
|
Mean
|
|
Median
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM Revenue
|
|
4.2x
|
|
0.0x
|
|
1.2x
|
|
0.8x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2009E Revenue
|
|
3.9x
|
|
0.0x
|
|
1.2x
|
|
0.8x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2010E Revenue
|
|
3.3x
|
|
0.5x
|
|
1.2x
|
|
1.0x
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM Gross Profit
|
|
7.2x
|
|
0.1x
|
|
2.8x
|
|
2.0x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2009E Gross Profit
|
|
6.7x
|
|
0.1x
|
|
2.9x
|
|
2.5x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2010E Gross Profit
|
|
5.5x
|
|
1.1x
|
|
2.9x
|
|
2.7x
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM EBITDA
|
|
23.5x
|
|
0.7x
|
|
9.7x
|
|
8.1x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2009E EBITDA
|
|
39.8x
|
|
1.8x
|
|
9.6x
|
|
7.9x
|
|
Enterprise Value/2010E EBITDA
|
|
8.0x
|
|
2.5x
|
|
5.7x
|
|
6.4x
|
|
Jefferies then selected certain reference ranges for
each of these ratios and calculated the corresponding ranges of implied equity
values of the Company. This analysis
indicated the following ranges of implied equity values of the Company,
compared in each case to the Amended Offer Price per Share of $3.00.
·
based on a reference range of
·
0.2x 0.6x for the Companys LTM revenues, the
implied values per Share range from approximately $3.39 to $8.91;
·
0.2x 0.6x for the Companys estimated revenues for
fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, the implied values per Share range
from approximately $3.35 to $8.80; and
14
·
0.2x 0.6x for the Companys estimated revenues for
fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, the implied values per Share range
from approximately $3.85 to $10.24;
·
based on a reference range of
·
1.0x 4.0x for the Companys LTM gross profit, the
implied values per Share range from approximately $2.26 to $7.32;
·
1.0x 3.5x for the Companys estimated gross profit
for fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, the implied values per Share
range from approximately $2.29 to $6.60; and
·
1.0x 3.0x for the Companys estimated gross profit
for fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, the implied values per Share
range from approximately $2.60 to $6.64;
·
based on a reference range of
·
3.5x 7.5x for the Companys LTM EBITDA, the implied
values per Share range from approximately $2.49 to $4.71;
·
3.0x 7.0x for the Companys estimated EBITDA for
fiscal year ending December 31, 2009, the implied values per Share range
from approximately $2.32 to $4.69; and
·
2.5x 6.0x for the Companys estimated EBITDA for
fiscal year ending December 31, 2010, the implied values per Share range
from approximately $2.43 to $5.05.
No company utilized in the comparable company analysis
is identical to the Company. In
evaluating the selected companies, Jefferies made judgments and assumptions
with regard to industry performance, general business, economic, market and
financial conditions and other matters, many of which are beyond the Companys
and Jefferies control. Mathematical
analysis, such as determining the mean or median, is not in itself a meaningful
method of using comparable company data.
Selected
Comparable Transactions Analysis
Using publicly available information and other
information, Jefferies examined the following five transactions involving
telecommunications companies in the diversified carrier segment and announced
since January 1, 2003. The
transactions considered and the month and year each transaction was announced
were as follows:
Month and
Year Announced
|
|
Target
|
|
Acquiror
|
August 2008
|
|
China Motion
Netcom Limited
|
|
Citic 1616
Holdings Limited
|
January 2007
|
|
Telco
Group, Inc.
|
|
Leucadia
National Corporation
|
September 2006
|
|
Yak Communications
Inc.
|
|
Globalive
Communications Corp.
|
June 2005
|
|
Net2Phone, Inc.
|
|
IDT Corporation
|
June 2005
|
|
Teleglobe
International Holdings Ltd.
|
|
Videsh Sanchar
Nigam Limited
|
Using publicly available estimates and other
information for each of these transactions, Jefferies reviewed:
·
Enterprise Value/LTM Revenue;
·
Enterprise Value/LTM Gross Profit; and
·
Enterprise Value/LTM EBITDA.
This analysis indicated the following:
15
Selected
Comparable Transactions Multiples
Benchmark
|
|
High
|
|
Low
|
|
Mean
|
|
Median
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM Revenue
|
|
1.4x
|
|
0.2x
|
|
0.6x
|
|
0.5x
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM Gross Profit
|
|
3.5x
|
|
1.4x
|
|
2.5x
|
|
2.4x
|
|
Enterprise Value/LTM EBITDA
|
|
14.1x
|
|
6.1x
|
|
9.0x
|
|
6.8x
|
|
Jefferies then selected certain reference ranges for
each of these ratios and calculated the corresponding ranges of implied equity
values of the Company. This analysis
indicated the following ranges of implied equity values of the Company,
compared in each case to the Amended Offer Price per Share of $3.00.
·
based on a reference range of 0.3x 0.6x for the
Companys LTM revenues, the implied values per Share range from approximately
$4.80 to $8.91;
·
based on a reference range of 1.5x 3.0x for the
Companys LTM gross profit, the implied values per Share range from
approximately $3.12 to $5.66; and
·
based on a reference range of 6.0x 7.0x for the
Companys LTM EBITDA, the implied values per Share range from approximately
$3.89 to $4.44.
No transaction utilized as a comparison in the
comparable transaction analysis is identical to the Amended Offer. In evaluating the Amended Offer, Jefferies
made numerous judgments and assumptions with regard to industry performance,
general business, economic, market, and financial conditions and other matters,
many of which are beyond the Companys and Jefferies control. Mathematical analysis, such as determining
the average or the median, is not in itself a meaningful method of using
comparable transaction data.
Discounted
Cash Flow Analyses
Jefferies performed a discounted cash flow analysis to
estimate the present value of the free cash flows of the Company through the
fiscal year ending December 31, 2014 using the financial projections of
the Companys management, discount rates ranging from 17% to 20%, as well as
discount rates ranging from 11% to 14%, and perpetual growth rates of free cash
flow after fiscal year 2014 ranging from 2.0% to 4.0%. The discount rates ranging from 17% to 20%
were calculated based on the Companys estimated weighted average cost of capital,
or WACC, of 17.9% based on the Companys beta, and the discount rates ranging
from 11% to 14% were calculated based on the Companys estimated WACC of 12.9%
based on the median beta of the Selected Comparable Companies. Beta is a widely-used quantitative measure
of the volatility of a given stock or group of stocks relative to the overall
market or a broad market index and is used in the estimation of WACC. To determine the implied total equity value
for the Company, Jefferies added cash and cash equivalents and subtracted
indebtedness from the implied enterprise value for the Company, as well as
adjusted for the present value of the remaining net operating loss carry
forwards as provided by the Companys management. This analysis indicated a range
of implied values per Share of approximately $5.94 to $7.67 (using discount
rates ranging from 17% to 20%), and approximately $8.74 to $13.90 (using
discount rates ranging from 11% to 14%), compared in each case to the Amended
Offer Price per Share of $3.00.
Premiums
Paid Analysis
Using publicly available information, Jefferies
analyzed the premiums offered in 31 selected merger and acquisition
transactions over the past five years involving North American
telecommunications services companies having an equity value of between $25
million and $1 billion and announced since January 1, 2005.
For each of these transactions, Jefferies calculated
the premium represented by the offer price over the target companys closing
share price one trading day and twenty trading days prior to the transactions
announcement. This analysis indicated
the following median premiums for those time periods prior to announcement:
Time Period Prior to
Announcement
|
|
Median Premium
|
|
1-trading day
|
|
29.5
|
%
|
20-trading days
|
|
29.0
|
%
|
Using these median premia and the closing prices per
Share 1-trading day and 20-trading days prior to July 13, 2009, which was
the date that KPN announced its intent to commence the Offer at a price per
Share of $1.55, this
16
analysis indicated a range of implied values per Share
of approximately $1.30 to $3.05 and approximately $1.34 to $3.27, respectively,
compared in each case to the Amended Offer Price per Share of $3.00.
Minority
Squeeze-Out Premiums Paid Analysis
Using publicly available information, Jefferies
analyzed the premiums offered in 29 transactions announced since January 1,
2007 in which the acquiror owned at least of a majority of the equity of the
target company before the transaction.
For each of these transactions, Jefferies calculated
the premium represented by the final agreed to price over the target companys
closing share price one trading day and twenty trading days prior to the
transactions announcement. This
analysis indicated the following median premiums for those time periods prior
to announcement:
Time Period Prior to
Announcement
|
|
Median Premium
|
|
1-trading day
|
|
33.3
|
%
|
20-trading days
|
|
31.5
|
%
|
Using these median premia and the closing prices per
share of iBasis 1-trading day and 20-trading days prior to July 13, 2009,
which was the date that KPN announced its intent to commence the Offer at a
price per Share of $1.55, this analysis indicated a range of implied values per
Share of approximately $1.13 to $4.55 and approximately $1.08 to $7.15,
respectively, compared in each case to the Amended Offer Price per Share of
$3.00.
Jefferies opinion was one of many factors taken into
consideration by the Special Committee in making its determination to approve
the Amended Offer and should not be considered determinative of the views of
the Special Committee or management with respect to the Transaction or the
Amended Offer Price.
Jefferies was selected by the Special Committee based
on Jefferies qualifications, expertise and reputation. Jefferies is an internationally recognized
investment banking and advisory firm.
Jefferies, as part of its investment banking business, is regularly
engaged in the valuation of businesses and securities in connection with
mergers and acquisitions, negotiated underwritings, competitive biddings,
secondary distributions of listed and unlisted securities, private placements,
financial restructurings and other financial services.
Jefferies maintains a market in the securities of the
Company and KPN, and in the ordinary course of business, Jefferies and its
affiliates may trade or hold securities of the Company or KPN and/or their
respective affiliates for its own account and for the accounts of its customers
and, accordingly, may at any time hold long or short positions in those
securities. In addition, Jefferies may seek to, in the future, provide
financial advisory and financing services to the Company, KPN, or entities that
are affiliated with the Company or KPN, for which Jefferies would expect to
receive compensation.
Pursuant to an engagement agreement between the
Company and Jefferies dated July 21, 2009, the Company has agreed to pay
Jefferies customary advisory fees that will be payable whether or not the
Amended Offer is consummated. The Company has also agreed to reimburse
Jefferies expenses, including the reasonable fees and disbursements of its
legal counsel, and to indemnify Jefferies and related persons against
liabilities arising out of or in connection with the services rendered by it
under its engagement, including certain liabilities arising under federal
securities laws.
Item
5. Persons/Assets, Retained, Employed,
Compensated or Used.
Item 5
of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following
after the last paragraph thereof:
Fees and Expenses
The following is an
estimate of the fees and expenses incurred and estimated to be incurred by the
Company in connection with the Amended Offer:
17
Financial
Advisors Fees and Expenses
|
|
$
|
2,900,000
|
|
Legal Fees and
Expenses
|
|
9,500,000
|
|
Other Advisory
Fees and Printing and Miscellaneous Fees and Expenses
|
|
1,230,000
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
13,630,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
8. Additional Information.
Item 8(a) of
the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following
after the last paragraph thereof:
In
connection with the Settlement Agreement, the Company agreed to take all action
necessary to terminate the Rights Agreement within four business days following
the execution and delivery of the Settlement Agreement, by entering into an
amendment to the Rights Agreement.
Item 8(g) of
the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following
after the last paragraph thereof:
On November 23,
2009, KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub and the Company entered into the Settlement
Agreement. In connection with entering into the Settlement Agreement,
substantially concurrently with the execution and delivery of the Settlement
Agreement, counsel to KPN, the Company and the Special Committee, on behalf of
their respective clients, entered into, and on November 23, 2009 filed
with the Delaware Court of Chancery and the United States District Court for
the Southern District of New York, stipulations in the Delaware Litigation and
the New York Federal Litigation dismissing with prejudice the respective claims
of each of the parties in those proceedings.
In addition, the Company will terminate the Rights Agreement within four
business days of the date of the Settlement Agreement pursuant to the terms of
the Settlement Agreement.
Item 8 of
the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the following
after the last paragraph of Item 8:
(i)
The Settlement Agreement.
The following is a summary
of the material provisions of the Settlement Agreement qualified in its
entirety by reference to the full text of the Settlement Agreement, a copy of
which is attached hereto as Exhibit (a)(48) and is incorporated herein by
reference. This summary of terms has
been included to provide you with information regarding the terms of the
Settlement Agreement and is not intended to modify or supplement any
factual disclosures about the Company, KPN, Purchaser or Merger Sub (or their
affiliates) in public reports filed with the SEC. In particular, the Settlement Agreement and
this summary of terms are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as,
disclosures regarding any facts and circumstances relating to the Company, KPN,
Purchaser or Merger Sub (or their affiliates).
Dismissal of Litigation and Mutual Releases.
Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement, substantially
concurrently with the execution and delivery of the Settlement Agreement,
counsel to KPN, the Company and the Special Committee, on behalf of their
respective clients, entered into, and on November 23, 2009 will file with
the Delaware Court of Chancery and the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York, stipulations in the Delaware Litigation and the
New York Federal Litigation dismissing with prejudice the respective claims of
each of the parties in those proceedings.
In addition, the Settlement
Agreement provides that KPN, Purchaser, Merger Sub and the Company, on behalf
of themselves and each of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees,
successors, agents, representatives and assigns, release each other from all
existing and future claims arising out of or that are directly related to the
allegations made in the Delaware Litigation or the New York Federal Litigation.
Termination of Rights
Agreement.
Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement
Agreement, the Company will terminate the Rights Agreement within four business
days of the date of the Settlement Agreement.
The Offer
.
The Settlement Agreement requires KPN,
Purchaser and Merger Sub to amend the Offer to increase the purchase price to
$3.00 per Share, net to the seller in cash, to provide that the conditions will
be as set forth in Conditions to the Offer below and not
others, to provide that the expiration date is December 8, 2009 and
to otherwise conform to the requirements of the Settlement Agreement. KPN, Purchaser and Merger Sub expressly
reserve the right to waive any of the conditions to the Offer and to make any
other changes in the terms of or conditions to the Offer;
18
provided
that KPN, Purchaser and Merger Sub may not (i) reduce the amount
of, or change the form of, the consideration to be paid in the Offer or reduce
the number of Shares sought in the Offer, (ii) amend or waive satisfaction
of the Majority-of-the-Minority Condition, impose additional conditions to the
Offer, amend, modify, supplement, or otherwise change any of the conditions to
the Offer set forth in Conditions to the Offer below, (iii) amend any
other term of the Offer in any manner adverse to the Public Stockholders that
would reasonably be expected to, individually or in the aggregate, prevent,
materially delay or materially impede the consummation of the Offer or (iv) extend
the expiration date of the Offer except as otherwise provided in the Settlement
Agreement. In addition, the
Majority-of-the-Majority Condition is nonwaivable.
Extensions of the Offer
.
KPN, Purchaser and Merger Sub may extend the Offer for two successive
periods not to exceed 10 business days each, until the conditions to the Offer
are satisfied or waived if any of the conditions is not satisfied or waived on
any scheduled expiration date of the Offer.
In no event will Purchaser be required or permitted to extend the Offer
beyond January 8, 2010. The
Settlement Agreement obligates Purchaser to extend the Offer (but not beyond January 8,
2010) for a period required by any rule, regulation, interpretation or position
of the SEC or the staff thereof applicable to the Offer or any period otherwise
required by applicable law.
The Settlement Agreement
obligates Purchaser, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein and
to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in Conditions to
the Offer below, to accept for payment and pay for, promptly after the
expiration of the Offer, all Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant
to the Offer and validly tendered in any subsequent offering period. The date on which Shares are first accepted
for payment pursuant to the Offer is referred to as the Acceptance Date.
Subsequent Offering Period
.
Following expiration of the Offer, Purchaser may, in its sole
discretion, provide a subsequent offering period in accordance with Rule 14d-11
of the Exchange Act.
Directors and Officers
. The
Settlement Agreement provides that at or prior to the Acceptance Date the
Company shall obtain the resignation of each of its current directors (other
than Purchasers designees), effective as of the Acceptance Date, and take all
other action necessary to cause Purchasers designees to be elected or
appointed to the Companys Board of Directors, effective as of the Acceptance
Date.
Bylaw Amendments
.
The Settlement Agreement provides that, at or prior to the Acceptance
Date, the Companys Board of Directors will amend the Companys bylaws to
remove Section 3.2 of the bylaws (which relates to certain special
director nomination provisions). In
addition, the Companys Board of Directors will amend Section 8.1 of the
Companys bylaws to provide that, during the Control Period, bylaw amendments
by the Companys Board of Directors may be effected by resolution of the board
and will not require the separate approval of a majority of the non-KPN
directors. These amendments are referred to as the Specified Bylaw Amendments.
Short-Form Merger
. The
Settlement Agreement provides that if, as a result of the consummation of the
Offer, KPN and its affiliates own at least 90% of the outstanding Shares, the
parties will take all necessary and appropriate action to affect the Merger as
soon as practicable without a meeting of stockholders of the Company by way of
a short-form merger in accordance with Section 253 of the DGCL.
Stock
Options.
The
Settlement Agreement provides that at or immediately prior to the effective
time of the Merger, each option to purchase Shares that is outstanding, whether
or not vested or exercisable, will vest and be canceled, and the Company will
pay the holder of any such option at or promptly after the effective time of
the Merger an amount in cash equal to the excess, if any, of the price of the
Offer over the applicable exercise price per Share of such option, multiplied
by the number of Shares issuable upon exercise of such option. The Settlement
Agreement also provides that, on the Acceptance Date, each unvested option to
purchase Shares that are held by a member of the Companys Board of Directors
will vest and become exercisable, and will be treated, at the effective time of
the Merger, in the manner stated above.
Rule 14d-10
Matters
. The Settlement Agreement provides for certain
covenants on the part of the Company relating to Rule 14d-10 of the
Exchange Act and approvals that are to be made by the Special Committee with
respect to employment compensation, severance and other employee benefit plans
entered into prior to the Acceptance Date.
Other Restrictions on
Company Actions.
The Settlement Agreement provides that the
Company, the Special Committee, the Companys Board of Directors and the
members of the Special Committee and the Companys Board of Directors shall not
(a) adopt or propose to adopt any stockholder rights plan prior to the
termination of the Settlement Agreement or (b) commence (or threaten to
commence) any litigation seeking to or that would reasonably be expected
19
to
impede, frustrate, prevent, enjoin, alter or materially delay the Offer or any
of the other transactions contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, but only to
the extent that any such litigation is based primarily on facts known to the
members of the Special Committee as of the date of the Settlement Agreement.
Adverse Recommendation Change
.
The Settlement Agreement provides that the Special Committee will (i) recommend
that the Companys stockholders tender their Shares in the Offer (the, Special
Committee Recommendation) and (ii) not withhold, withdraw, qualify or
modify in a manner adverse to KPN or fail to make the Special Committee
Recommendation or publicly recommend or announce its intention to take any
action or make any statement inconsistent with the Special Committee
Recommendation. However, the Settlement
Agreement provides that if the Special Committee determines in good faith
(after considering the advice of its outside legal and financial advisors) that
continuing to make this recommendation could reasonably be determined to be
inconsistent with its fiduciary duties under Delaware Law, then the Special
Committee may make an adverse recommendation change, in which case the
obligations of the Special Committee under the immediately preceding sentence
will cease. The Settlement Agreement
further provides, however, that the Special Committee may not make an adverse
recommendation change until after at least 48 hours following KPNs receipt of
written notice from the Company advising KPN that the Special Committee intends
to make such an adverse recommendation change and the reasons therefor and the
Special Committee considers any modifications proposed by KPN during such
48-hour period in order to eliminate the need for such adverse recommendation
change.
Conditions to the Offer
.
Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Purchaser is not required to
accept for payment or pay for any Shares pursuant to the Offer if:
(a) the Settlement Agreement shall have been
terminated in accordance with its terms; or
(b) at the expiration of the Offer;
(i)
the Major
ity-of-the-Minority
Condition shall not have been satisfied;
(ii)
any of
the other conditions to the Offer set forth in the Schedule TO (as amended by
Amendment Nos. 1 through 7 thereto) s
hall not have been satisfied;
(iii)
the Special
Committee
shall have withheld, withdrawn, qualified or
modified in a manner adverse to KPN or failed to make the Special Committee
Recommendation or publicly recommended or announced its intention to take any
action or make any statement inconsistent with the Special Committee
Recommendation; and
(iv)
the Company shall not have (A) taken the
actions necessary to cause the Specified Bylaw Amendments to become effective, (B) delivered
to Purchaser the director resignations contemplated by the Settlement
Agreement, which resignations shall be valid, binding and effective or (C) otherwise
performed in all material respects the obligations, and complied in all
material
respects with the agreements and covenants, required to be performed by, or
complied with by, it as described under Directors and Officers, Bylaw
Amendments and Rule 14d-10 Matters above.
Subject to the terms and
conditions of the Settlement Agreement, the foregoing conditions to the Offer
are for the sole benefit of KPN, Purchaser and Merger Sub and, subject to the
terms and conditions of the Settlement Agreement and the applicable rules and
regulations of the SEC, may be waived by KPN, Purchaser or Merger Sub, in whole
or in part, at any time;
provided
that Majority-of-the-Minority Condition is nonwaivable.
Termination
.
The Settlement Agreement may be terminated
and the Offer may be abandoned:
·
at any time prior to the
effective time of the Merger by mutual written agreement of the
Company (provided that such termination has been approved by the Special
Committee) and KPN; or
·
by either the Company
(provided that such termination has been approved by the Special Committee) or
KPN, if prior to the Acceptance Date:
·
the Acceptance Date has not occurred on or
before January 8, 2010 (except that this right to terminate the Settlement
Agreement will not be available to any party whose breach of any
20
provision of the Settlement
Agreement results in the failure of the Offer to be consummated by such time);
or
·
there is a law or final non-appealable
judgment, injunction, order or decree of any governmental authority with
competent jurisdiction restraining, prohibiting or otherwise making illegal the
consummation of the Offer; or
·
by KPN prior to the
Acceptance Date if, prior to the Acceptance Date, the Special Committee
has made an adverse recommendation change as described under Adverse
Recommendation Change above that remains in effect; or
·
by the Company if
Purchaser shall have terminated the Offer (other than in connection with a
valid termination of the Settlement Agreement) or Purchaser shall fail to
accept for payment and pay for Shares validly tendered and not withdrawn in the
Offer at the expiration thereof.
Effect of Termination
.
If the Settlement Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms,
the Settlement Agreement will become void and of no effect with no liability on
the part of any party (or any stockholder, director, officer, employee, agent
or advisor of such party) to the other party;
provided
that if such termination results from a material breach of the Settlement
Agreement, such party will be fully liable for any and all liabilities and
damages incurred or suffered by the other party as a result of such
breach. The termination of the
Settlement Agreement will not, however, terminate the sections of the
Settlement Agreement relating to the dismissal of the Delaware Litigation and
New York Federal Litigation, the parties mutual releases, the termination of
the Rights Agreement or certain of the Companys covenants under Other
Restrictions on Company Actions above.
Expenses
.
All costs and expenses incurred in connection
with the Settlement Agreement will be paid by the party incurring such cost or
expense.
Amendments or Waivers
.
Any provision of the Settlement Agreement may be amended or waived prior
to the effective time of the Merger if, but only if, such amendment or waiver
is in writing and is signed, in the case of an amendment, by each party to the
Settlement Agreement or, in the case of a waiver, by each party against whom the
waiver is to be effective;
provided
that any such amendment or waiver by the Company will require the approval of
the Special Committee.
The
description of the Settlement Agreement is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the full text of the agreement, which is attached hereto as Exhibit (a)(48)
and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9. Exhibits.
Item 9
of the Schedule 14D-9 is hereby amended and supplemented by adding the
following exhibits thereto:
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
(a)(47)
|
|
Joint press
release issued by the Company and KPN on November 23, 2009 (incorporated
by reference from Exhibit 99.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed
November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(48)
|
|
Settlement
Agreement dated as of November 23, 2009 between the Company and KPN
(incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to the Companys
Form 8-K filed November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(49)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated November 22, 2009.
|
(a)(50)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated July 29, 2009.
|
(a)(51)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated October 13, 2009.
|
(a)(52)
|
|
Opinion of
Jefferies & Company, Inc., dated as of November 22, 2009
(attached as Annex C).
|
(a)(53)
|
|
Resignation
Letter of Ofer Gneezy, dated November 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference
from Exhibit 10.2 to the Companys Form 8-K filed November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(54)
|
|
Resignation
Letter of Gordon J. VanderBrug, Ph.D., dated November 23, 2009 (incorporated
by reference from Exhibit 10.3 to the Companys Form 8-K filed November 23,
2009).
|
21
SIGNATURES
After due inquiry
and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set
forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.
|
iBASIS,
INC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Mark S. Flynn
|
|
|
Name:
|
Mark S. Flynn
|
|
|
Title:
|
Chief Legal
Officer and Corporate Secretary
|
|
|
|
|
Dated:
November 23, 2009
|
|
22
Exhibit Index
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
(a)(47)
|
|
Joint press
release issued by the Company and KPN on November 23, 2009 (incorporated
by reference from Exhibit 99.1 to the Companys Form 8-K filed
November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(48)
|
|
Settlement
Agreement dated as of November 23, 2009 between the Company and KPN
(incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to the Companys
Form 8-K filed November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(49)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated November 22, 2009.
|
(a)(50)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated July 29, 2009.
|
(a)(51)
|
|
Presentation by
Financial Advisor to the Special Committee, dated October 13, 2009.
|
(a)(52)
|
|
Opinion of
Jefferies & Company, Inc., dated as of November 22, 2009 (attached
as Annex C).
|
(a)(53)
|
|
Resignation
Letter of Ofer Gneezy, dated November 23, 2009 (incorporated by reference
from Exhibit 10.2 to the Companys Form 8-K filed November 23, 2009).
|
(a)(54)
|
|
Resignation
Letter of Gordon J. VanderBrug, Ph.D., dated November 23, 2009 (incorporated
by reference from Exhibit 10.3 to the Companys Form 8-K filed November 23,
2009).
|
23
Schedule A
Certain Information Concerning the Directors and Executive
Officers of the Company
The
following table sets forth the name, current business address, current
principal occupation or employment and the material occupations, positions,
offices or employment for the past five years of each director and executive
officer of the Company. Each person listed below is a citizen of the United
States of America except for Messrs. Blok, Farwerck and van Ierland, who
are citizens of The Netherlands. During
the past five years, neither the Company nor any of the listed persons has been
convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar
misdemeanors) or was a party to a judicial or administrative proceeding (except
for matters that were dismissed without sanction or settlement) as a result of
which such person was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order
enjoining him from future violations of, or prohibiting activities subject to,
federal or state securities laws or finding any violations of such laws or
state securities laws. The current
business address and telephone number for each person listed below is c/o
iBasis, Inc., 20 Second Avenue, Burlington, MA 01803, (781) 505-7500,
except for Messrs. Blok and Farwerck whose current business address and
telephone number is c/o Koninklijke KPN N.V., Maanplein 55, 2516 Ck, The Hague,
The Netherlands, +31 70 446 2093.
Name
|
|
Current Principal Occupation
or Employment, Five-Year
Employment History
|
|
|
|
Eelco Blok
|
|
has served as one of the Companys directors since
October 2007. Mr. Blok is Managing Director Business Segment,
Getronics Segment and Wholesale & Operations Segment of Koninklijke
KPN N.V. (KPN) and has also been a member of the Board of Management
of KPN since June 1, 2006. Mr. Blok joined KPN in 1983 and since
then has held various management positions, including the Director of the
Carrier Services, Corporate Networks, Fixed Net Operator and Corporate
Strategy & Innovation departments. Most recently, Mr. Blok was
Chief Operating Officer for a previously existing fixed division of KPN. From
April until December 2004, Mr. Blok served as a member of the
Board of Management of KPN.
|
|
|
|
Robert H. Brumley
|
|
has served as one of the Companys directors since
September 2005. In April 2008, Mr. Brumley returned as
Managing Member of Pegasus Global, LLC, having resigned as President and
Chief Executive Officer of TerreStar Networks and President and Chief
Executive Officer of TerreStar Corporation. Prior to joining TerreStar in August 2005,
Mr. Brumley was founder and managing member of Pegasus Global LLC,
an international development and advisory services firm.
|
|
|
|
Charles N.
Corfield
|
|
has served as one of the
Companys directors since September 1997. Since 2000, Mr. Corfield
has been the Chief Executive Officer of SandCherry Networks, Inc.
Mr. Corfield serves on the boards of directors of SandCherry, Pathogen
Systems and Intuicom.
|
|
|
|
Joost
Farwerck
|
|
has served as
one of the Companys directors since October 2007. Mr. Farwerck has
been the Director of KPNs Segment Wholesale Services & Operations
department since January 1, 2006. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Farwerck
was the Director of KPNs Carrier Services department. Prior to 2003,
Mr. Farwerck was Secretary to the board of directors of KPN.
|
|
|
|
Paul H. Floyd
|
|
has served as the Companys Senior Vice President
Global Products, Networks and Systems since March 2008. From
September 2001 until March 2008, Mr. Floyd was the Companys
Senior Vice President of R&D, Engineering and Operations and from
April 2001 until September 2001, he was the Vice President of
Research and Development.
|
|
|
|
Mark S. Flynn
|
|
has served as the Companys Chief Legal Officer and
Corporate Secretary since February 2007. Prior to joining the Company,
from 2001 to 2006, Mr. Flynn was Vice President, General Counsel and
Secretary of Imagistics International Inc., a NYSE traded provider of
office imaging products and services.
|
|
|
|
Ofer Gneezy
|
|
co-founder of the Company, has
served as the Companys President, Chief Executive Officer and a director
since the Companys formation in August 1996, and was appointed Chairman
of the Board
|
Name
|
|
Current Principal Occupation
or Employment, Five-Year
Employment History
|
|
|
|
|
|
in October 2007.
|
|
|
|
Edwin van Ierland
|
|
joined the Company in October 2007 as the
Senior Vice President of Carrier Operations, and was promoted to Senior Vice
President of Global Sales and Purchase in November 2007. From 1998 to
2007, Mr. van Ierland held positions of increasing responsibility within
the management team of KPN, including Senior Vice President of KPN Global
Carrier Services, Senior Vice President of KPN Carrier Services, and Vice
President of KPN Fixed.
|
|
|
|
W. Frank King, Ph.D.
|
|
has been a private investor since November 1998
and one of the Companys directors since June 2001.
|
|
|
|
Richard G. Tennant
|
|
has served as the Companys Chief Financial Officer
since October 2001 and was promoted on February 16, 2006 from Vice
President of Finance and Administration to Senior Vice President of Finance
and Administration.
|
|
|
|
Gordon J. VanderBrug, Ph.D.
|
|
co-founder of the Company, has served as the
Companys Executive Vice President, Assistant Secretary and a director since
October 1996.
|
2
Annex C
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jefferies & Company, Inc.
520 Madison Avenue,
10th Floor
New York, NY 10022
tel
212.284.2300
fax
212.284.2111
www.jefferies.com
|
November 22, 2009
Special Committee of the
Board of Directors
iBasis, Inc.
20 Second Avenue
Burlington, Massachusetts
01803
Members of the Special
Committee:
We
understand that iBasis, Inc. (the Company), Koninklijke KPN N.V. (the Parent),
and KPN B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Parent (the Offeror), propose
to enter into a Settlement Agreement (the Settlement Agreement) pursuant to
which, among other things, the Offeror would amend the terms of its tender
offer (the Tender Offer) for all of the outstanding shares of the common
stock, par value $0.001 per share (the Common Stock), of the Company that are
not already owned by the Offeror to increase the price to $3.00 per share in
cash (the Consideration). The
Settlement Agreement provides that if, following consummation of the Tender
Offer, the Offeror owns at least 90% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock,
the Offeror intends to cause the Company to enter into a merger (the Merger)
in which all remaining outstanding shares of Common Stock not owned by the
Offeror would be converted into the right to receive the Consideration. The
Tender Offer and the Merger, taken together, are collectively referred to as
the Transaction. The terms and
conditions of the Transaction are more fully set forth in (i) the
Settlement Agreement and (ii) the Tender Offer Statement and Rule 13E-3
Transaction Statement filed by the Parent and the Offeror with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on July 28, 2009 under cover of Schedule TO, as
amended through Amendment No. 7 to the Tender Offer Statement and Rule 13E-3
Transaction Statement filed by the Parent and the Offeror on November 9,
2009 (collectively, the Schedule TO). You have informed us that the Parent
and its subsidiaries currently own approximately 56.3% of the outstanding
shares of Common Stock.
You
have asked for our opinion as to whether the Consideration proposed to be paid
by the Offeror to the holders of shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Tender
Offer and the Merger is fair, from a financial point of view, to such holders
(other than the Parent and its affiliates).
In
arriving at our opinion, we have, among other things:
(i)
reviewed the Schedule TO and a draft of
the Settlement Agreement dated November 22, 2009;
(ii) reviewed certain publicly available
financial and other information about the Company;
(iii)
reviewed certain information furnished to us by the
Companys management, including financial forecasts and analyses, relating to
the business, operations and prospects of the Company;
(iv)
held discussions with members of senior
management of the Company concerning the matters described in clauses (ii) and
(iii) above;
(v)
reviewed the share trading price history
and valuation multiples for the Common Stock and compared them with those of
certain publicly traded companies that we deemed relevant;
(vi)
compared the proposed financial terms of
the Transaction with the financial terms of certain other transactions that we
deemed relevant; and
(vii)
conducted such other financial studies, analyses and
investigations as we deemed appropriate.
In our
review and analysis and in rendering this opinion, we have assumed and relied
upon, but have not assumed any responsibility to independently investigate or
verify, the accuracy and completeness of all financial and other information
that was supplied or otherwise made available by the Company to us or that was
publicly available (including, without limitation, the information described
above), or that was otherwise reviewed by us.
We have relied on assurances of the management of the Company that it is
not aware of any facts or circumstances that would make such information
inaccurate or misleading. In our review,
we did not obtain any independent evaluation or appraisal of any of the assets
or liabilities of, nor did we conduct a physical inspection of any of the
properties or facilities of, the Company, nor have we been furnished with any
such evaluations or appraisals of such physical inspections, nor do we assume
any responsibility to obtain any such evaluations or appraisals.
With
respect to the financial forecasts provided to and examined by us, we note that
projecting future results of any company is inherently subject to
uncertainty. The Company has informed
us, however, and we have assumed, that such financial forecasts were reasonably
prepared on bases reflecting the best currently available estimates and good
faith judgments of the management of the Company as to the future financial
performance of the Company. We express no opinion as to the Companys financial
forecasts or the assumptions on which they are made.
Our
opinion is based on economic, monetary, regulatory, market and other conditions
existing and which can be evaluated as of the date hereof. We expressly disclaim any undertaking or
obligation to advise any person of any change in any fact or matter affecting
our opinion of which we become aware after the date hereof.
We
have made no independent investigation of any legal or accounting matters
affecting the Company, and we have assumed the correctness in all respects
material to our analysis of all legal and accounting advice given to the
Special Committee of the Companys Board of Directors (the Special Committee),
including, without limitation, advice as to the legal, accounting and tax
consequences of the terms of the Transaction to the Company and its
stockholders. In addition, in preparing
this opinion, we have not taken into account any tax consequences of the
Transaction to any holder of Common Stock.
We have assumed that the final form of the Settlement Agreement will be
substantially similar to the last draft reviewed by us. We have assumed that in the course of
obtaining the necessary regulatory or third party approvals, consents and
releases pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Transaction, no delay,
limitation, restriction or condition will be imposed that would have an adverse
effect on the Company or the contemplated benefits of the Transaction in any
way meaningful to our analysis.
It is
understood that our opinion is for the use and benefit of the Special Committee
in its consideration of the Transaction, and our opinion does not address the
relative merits of the Transaction as compared to any alternative transaction
or opportunity that might be available to the Company, nor did it address the
underlying business decision by the Special Committee to engage in the
Transaction or the terms of the Settlement Agreement or the documents referred
to therein. Our opinion does not
constitute a recommendation to the holders of any shares of Common Stock as to
whether or not such holders should tender their shares pursuant to the Tender
Offer or as to any other matter. In
addition, you have not asked us to address, and this opinion does not address,
the fairness to, or any other consideration of, the holders of any class of
securities, creditors or other constituencies of the Company, other than the
holders of shares of Common Stock (other than the Parent and its
affiliates). We express no opinion as to
the price at which shares of Common Stock will trade at any time. Furthermore, we do not express any view or
opinion as to the fairness, financial or otherwise, of the amount or nature of
any compensation payable to or to be received by any of the Companys officers,
directors or employees, or any class of such persons, in connection with the
Transaction relative to the Consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of
shares of Common Stock. Our opinion has
been authorized by the Fairness Committee of Jefferies & Company, Inc.
We
have been engaged by the Special Committee to act as financial advisor to the
Special Committee in connection with the Tender Offer. We have received fees, and expect to receive
additional fees, for our services in connection with our engagement, including
a fee that is payable upon delivery of this opinion, fees that will be payable
whether or not the Tender Offer is completed, and a fee that would be payable
upon the consummation of
2
the Tender Offer. We also will be reimbursed for expenses
incurred. The Company has agreed to
indemnify us against liabilities arising out of or in connection with the
services rendered and to be rendered by us under such engagement. We maintain a market in the securities of the
Company and the Parent, and in the ordinary course of our business, we and our
affiliates may trade or hold securities of the Company or the Parent and/or
their respective affiliates for our own account and for the accounts of our
customers and, accordingly, may at any time hold long or short positions in
those securities. In addition, we may
seek to, in the future, provide financial advisory and financing services to
the Company, the Parent, the Offeror or entities that are affiliated with the
Company, the Parent or the Offeror, for which we would expect to receive
compensation. Except as otherwise
expressly provided in our engagement letter with the Special Committee, our
opinion may not be used or referred to by the Company, or quoted or disclosed
to any person in any matter, without our prior written consent.
Based
upon and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that, as of the date
hereof, the Consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of shares of
Common Stock pursuant to the Tender Offer and the Merger is fair, from a
financial point of view, to such holders (other than the Parent and its
affiliates).
Very truly yours,
JEFFERIES &
COMPANY, INC.
3
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