Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
(b) and (d). On December 4, 2008, the Board of Directors, referred to as the
Board, of Reynolds American Inc., referred to as RAI, accepted the resignation
of Antonio Monteiro de Castro, who has served as a Class II Director on RAI's
Board since July 2004, as a designee of Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc.,
referred to as B&W, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p.l.c., referred to
as BAT. In addition, on December 4, 2008, RAI's Board elected Nicandro Durante
to serve on RAI's Board as a Class II Director. A copy of the press release
announcing the foregoing Board resignation and election is attached to this
Report as Exhibit 99.1.
Under the terms of a July 30, 2004 governance agreement, as amended, among
RAI, B&W and BAT, B&W has the right, based on its current ownership of
approximately 42% of RAI common stock, to designate five people for nomination
to RAI's Board; after the December 4, 2008 election of Mr. Durante as a
Director, RAI's Board is comprised of 13 Directors. In addition to Mr. Durante,
the other current RAI Directors who have been designated by B&W as such pursuant
to the foregoing governance agreement are: Betsy S. Atkins (a Class I Director),
H.G.L. (Hugo) Powell (a Class II Director), and Martin D. Feinstein and Neil R.
Withington (each a Class III Director). Each class of RAI Directors serves a
staggered three-year term, with the term of the Class I, Class II and Class III
Directors ending generally on the date of the RAI annual shareholders' meeting
held in 2011, 2009 and 2010, respectively.
In consideration for the RAI Board service of Mr. Durante, who is a full-time
employee of BAT, RAI will pay BAT the amount of $237,500 per year; that amount
is in lieu of any other compensation (other than the reimbursement of certain
expenses) to which Mr. Durante otherwise would be entitled in his capacity as a
member of RAI's Board. Mr. Durante has entered into an indemnification agreement
with RAI, the same indemnification agreement which RAI offers to all of its
executive officers and directors. Such indemnification agreement was filed as
Exhibit 10.1 to RAI's Form 8-K dated February 1, 2005, and is incorporated by
reference herein.
(e). On December 4, 2008, RAI's Board, based upon a recommendation from its
Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, approved certain amendments
to RAI's Executive Severance Plan, referred to as the ESP. Such amendments
consist of (1) modifications to benefits for notifications of termination after
December 31, 2009, including the form of payouts, elimination of service
accruals during the severance period, elimination of 401(k) make-whole payments,
reduction of the medical coverage make-whole period and cessation of all other
benefits at termination, (2) addition of a claw-back provision for breaches of
non-competition, non-disclosure or similar obligations, (3) clarification of the
change of control definition, (4) addition of an employer right to cure in the
event of an alleged "good reason" termination and (5) certain other non-material
changes. A copy of the amended and restated ESP is attached to this Report as
Exhibit 10.1.
Item 5.03. Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal
Year.
On December 4, 2008, RAI's Board approved certain amendments to the Bylaws of
RAI. Such amendments consist of (1) clarification of the advance notice
provisions for shareholder proposals and nominations for persons for election to
the Board, (2) additions to the disclosure required in a shareholder's notice to
submit business to an annual meeting, including the disclosure of: any
shareholder related person, as such term is defined in RAI's Bylaws; shares
beneficially owned by any such shareholder related person; any derivative
securities, hedging or swap arrangements, proxy rights to vote, short interests,
dividend rights, performance-related fees or arrangements giving notice to the
shareholder related person relating to RAI; whether the shareholder or
shareholder related person intends to deliver a proxy statement to the
percentage of shareholders required to approve the proposal; and any other
material interest of the shareholder related person and (3) certain other
non-material changes. A copy of RAI's amended and restated Bylaws is attached to
this Report as Exhibit 3.1.
ITEM 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
The following are filed as Exhibits to this Report.
Number Exhibit
3.1 Amended and Restated Bylaws of Reynolds American Inc., dated December 4,
2008.
10.1 Reynolds American Inc. Executive Severance Plan, as amended and restated
effective January 1, 2009.
99.1 Press Release of Reynolds American Inc., dated December 4, 2008.
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