|
Quotes & Info
|
| MPET > SEC Filings for MPET > Form 8-K on 2-Jun-2009 | All Recent SEC Filings |
2-Jun-2009
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Amendments to Articles o
Expansion of Our Board of Directors
As previously disclosed in a current report filed on February 10, 2009, the
Purchase Agreement (as defined below in Item 8.01 under the heading "Update on
Strategic Investment") between Magellan Petroleum Corporation (the "Company")
and its strategic investor, Young Energy Prize S.A. ("YEP"), requires the
Company to take action to expand the size of its Board of Directors (the
"Board") to consist of seven (7) members, including two directors designated by
YEP, effective upon the closing (the "Closing") of the YEP equity investment
transaction (the "Election Effective Date").
At a Board meeting held on May 27, 2009, the Company's Board adopted
resolutions: (a) conditionally amending the Company's Bylaws to expand the size
of the Board, as more fully described below under Item 5.03 hereof; and
(b) conditionally electing Messrs. Nikolay Bogachev and J. Thomas Wilson to the
Board as Class II directors, each to serve a term of office expiring at the
Company's 2011 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. If the Closing of the YEP equity
investment transaction does not take place, the conditional expansion of the
Board and the elections of Messrs. Bogachev and Wilson to the Board shall both
be null and void and of no legal force or effect.
Upon the Election Effective Date, each of Messrs. Bogachev and Wilson will
be entitled to receive the compensation payable by the Company to each of its
non-employee directors (see Item 8.01 below under the heading "Adoption of the
Directors Compensation Policy and Share Ownership Guidelines"). In addition,
each of Messrs. Bogachev and Wilson will enter into an indemnification agreement
with the Company in the same form as Exhibit 10.1 attached hereto, as required
by the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
As previously disclosed, under the Purchase Agreement with YEP, the Company
intends at the Closing to enter into a three-year consulting agreement with
Mr. Wilson on the following terms:
• Mr. Wilson will provide management and geologic expertise and experience in support of the principal activities of the Company's senior management, on an "as needed" non-substantial periodic basis;
• Mr. Wilson will also be available to support special projects of the Company and to devote substantial amounts of time to such special projects;
• other than reimbursement of his reasonable out of pocket expenses in rendering such services, Mr. Wilson shall not receive cash compensation for his non-substantial periodic services. In the event that the Company requests Mr. Wilson to perform substantial services devoted to special projects, he shall receive cash compensation of $1,000 per day for such services; and
• Mr. Wilson has been granted, as of February 2, 2009, non-qualified stock options to purchase 387,500 shares of the Company's Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.20 per share (with a corresponding reduction in the options granted to Mr. Hastings on December 11, 2008); of which options to acquire 262,500 shares will vest ratably based on the continued consulting services of Mr. Wilson over a three-year period and 125,000 shares will vest based on the same performance criteria as apply to the options granted by the Company to Mr. Hastings on December 11, 2008.
Mr. Wilson's option awards were expressly conditioned upon the Company's
shareholders approval of the amendment and restatement of the Company's 1998
Stock Option Plan, which was approved by shareholders on May 27, 2009 (see the
Company's press release filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1). These option awards
remain subject to the condition that the YEP equity investment transaction is
completed at the Closing.
As of the date hereof, neither of Messrs. Bogachev or Wilson have been
named to any committees of the Board. However, on April 3, 2009, the Purchase
Agreement was amended to provide that, following the Closing of the YEP equity
financing transaction, for so long as Mr. Bogachev and Mr. Wilson are serving on
the Board as designees of YEP, (a) Mr. Bogachev may elect to be designated as a
member of the Board's Audit Committee, provided that he meets the established
requirements for members of such Committee and (b) Mr. Wilson may elect to be
designated as a member of the Board's Compensation Committee, provided that he
meets the established requirements for members of such Committee.
The Company confirms, as required by regulations under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, that (1) there is no family relationship between either
Mr. Bogachev or Mr. Wilson and any director or executive officer of the Company,
(2) other than the requirements of the Purchase Agreement with YEP described in
the first paragraph of this Item, there is no arrangement or understanding
between Messrs. Bogachev and Wilson and any other person pursuant to which
Messrs. Bogachev and Wilson were elected as directors of the Company, and
(3) other than the Company's planned consulting agreement with Mr. Wilson, there
is no transaction between either Messrs. Bogachev or Mr. Wilson and the Company
that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
directors shall consist of fiveseven (57) members, but such number may be
altered from time to time by an amendment of these By-Laws. At the 1985 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders, the directors shall be divided into three classes, as
nearly equal in number as possible, with the term of office of the first class
to expire at the 1986 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the term of office of the
second class to expire at the 1987 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the term
of office of the third class to expire at the 1988 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders, or in each case thereafter when their respective successors are
elected and have qualified or upon their earlier death, resignation or removal.
At each Annual Meeting of Stockholders following such initial classification and
election, directors elected to succeed those directors whose terms expire shall
be elected for a term of office to expire at the third succeeding Annual Meeting
of Stockholders after their election, or in each case thereafter when their
respective successors are elected and have qualified or upon their earlier
death, resignation or removal. Directors need not be stockholders.
Should the YEP equity investment transaction not be completed, then the
above amendment to Article III, Section 1 of the Bylaws and the increase in size
of the Board from five (5) to seven (7) persons shall both be null and void and
of no legal force or effect.
Amendment of the Bylaws to Repeal the Per Capita Voting Provisions Thereof
In addition to the changes to the Restated Certificate to repeal the per
capita voting provisions thereof, which were approved by the Company's
shareholders at the Annual Meeting, there are several per capita voting
provisions in the Company's Bylaws that implement the per capita voting
requirements of Article 12th and Article 14th of the Restated Certificate. These
provisions relate to shareholder voting at shareholder meetings, removal of
directors and amendments to the Bylaws, and were described under the heading
"Proposal 2" of the Company's definitive proxy statement dated April 20, 2009
for the Annual Meeting. In conjunction with the Closing of the YEP equity
investment transaction, the Bylaws will be further amended to repeal these per
capita voting provisions from the Company's Bylaws, effective as of December 31,
2009.
Item 8.01 Other Events
Update on Strategic Investment
As previously disclosed in a current report filed on February 10, 2009, the
Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Agreement"),
dated February 9, 2009, with YEP under which the Company agreed to sell, and YEP
agreed to purchase, 8,695,652 shares (the "Shares") of the Company's common
stock, par value $0.01 per share (the "Common Stock") at a purchase price of
$1.15 per share, or an aggregate of $10,000,000. In addition, the Company agreed
at the Closing of the purchase of the Shares to issue to YEP a stock purchase
warrant (the "Warrant") entitling YEP to purchase 4,347,826 additional shares
(the "Warrant Shares") of the Company's Common Stock through warrant exercise at
a per share price of $1.20.
On April 3, 2009, the Company and YEP amended the Purchase Agreement to,
among
other things, extend the outside termination date for the Closing of YEP's
equity investment from April 30, 2009 to June 30, 2009, in order to complete the
YEP equity investment transaction. The amendment also provides that, if YEP
completes the purchase of certain shares of the Company's Common Stock held by
two Company shareholders, then the exercise price payable by YEP for the Warrant
Shares shall be reduced from $1.20 to $1.15 per share.
At the Annual Meeting, the Company's shareholders voted to approve the
issuance of Common Stock to YEP pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. The Company
now expects, subject to the satisfaction of the other conditions to Closing
contained in the Purchase Agreement, to complete the YEP equity investment on or
before June 30, 2009.
Company Press Release
On May 28, 2009, the Company issued a press release announcing the voting
results of shareholders at the Annual Meeting. A copy of the Company's press
release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is hereby incorporated by
reference.
Annual Meeting Presentations to Shareholders
At the Annual Meeting, Robert Mollah, a director of the Company and
Chairman of the Board of Magellan Petroleum Australia Limited, the Company's
wholly-owned subsidiary ("MPAL"), made a powerpoint slide presentation about
MPAL's operations and results during the year ended June 30, 2008. In addition,
Mr. Hastings, the Company's President and CEO, made a slide presentation to
shareholders about his background, the Company's planned operations and
strategic objectives and plans.
Copies of these two Annual Meeting slide presentations are attached hereto
as Exhibit 99.2 and Exhibit 99.3 and are hereby incorporated by reference. The
Company has posted copies of these slide presentations on its corporate website,
www.magpet.com.
Adoption of the Directors Compensation Policy and Share Ownership
Guidelines
At a meeting of the Board held on May 27, 2009, the Board adopted a revised
compensation policy for the non-employee directors of the Board. The changes
reflect the results of the Committee's compensation study undertaken in 2008.
The new compensation amounts for the Company's non-employee directors are set
forth in the table below, and will become effective as of July 1, 2009.
Compensation Type Current Amount New Amount
Annual Board Member Cash Retainer $ 40,000 $ 35,000
Annual Stock Award $ 0 $ 35,000 (1)
Chairman of the Board, cash fee $ 15,000 $ 25,000
Chairman of the Audit Committee, cash fee $ 7,500 $ 16,000
Chairman of the Compensation Committee, cash fee $ 0 $ 8,000
|
Compensation Type Current Amount New Amount
Member of the Audit Committee, cash fee $ 0 $ 10,000
Member of the Compensation Committee, cash fee $ 0 $ 8,000
|
(1) The Board
approved a
policy
whereby each
non-employee
director may
receive an
award of
shares of
Common Stock
under
Section 9 of
the Stock
Incentive
Plan
(described
below) with a
value equal
to $35,000,
with the
determination
of the exact
number of
shares to be
made on July
1steach year.
The number of
shares for
each director
award
pursuant to
Section 9,
however, will
be subject to
a maximum
annual cap of
15,000
shares. Any
difference
between the
value of the
equity award
shares and
$35,000 will
be added back
to the amount
of the Board
Member Cash
Retainer paid
each year.
Each year,
directors
will be
permitted to
sell up to
25% of the
awarded
shares to
meet tax
obligations.
Under the Company's medical reimbursement plan for all non-employee
directors, the Company reimburses certain directors the cost of their medical
premiums, up to $500 per month (or $6,000 per year). During fiscal year 2008,
the cost of this reimbursement plan was $23,964. The Board authorized the
increase of this reimbursement amount to $750 per month (or $9,000 per year),
effective as of July 1, 2009.
MPAL Board Fees
The Board is also considering reducing the current levels of cash
compensation paid by MPAL to non-employee directors of the Company who also
serve on the Board of Directors of MPAL. The Board of Directors of MPAL intends
in the near future to formally consider what changes, if any, will be made to
the compensation policy for the directors of MPAL.
Share Ownership Guidelines
In conjunction with the revised compensation policy for non-employee
directors, the Board also adopted share ownership guidelines for the
non-employee directors. Under the guidelines, each non-employee director will be
required to own a minimum of 100,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock. For
current directors and the YEP director designees, the guidelines must be
satisfied by July 1, 2013. Shares purchased in the open market and shares
received by directors as annual equity awards under Section 9 of the Stock
Incentive Plan may be credited to the satisfaction of the ownership guideline.
Amendment of Section 9 of the Stock Incentive Plan
At the Annual Meeting, the Company's shareholders approved the share
replenishment for, and the amendment and restatement of, the Company's 1998
Stock Option Plan, and renamed the Plan the "1998 Stock Incentive Plan."
On May 27, 2009, the Board adopted resolutions to amend the Company's 1998
Stock Incentive Plan to delete Section 9 of the Stock Incentive Plan in its
entirety and replace it with the following new section 9.
9. Stock Awards to Non-Employee Directors.
The Committee may, in its discretion each year, beginning on July 1, 2009 and on
each July 1st thereafter during the term of the Plan, grant to each person then
serving as a non-employee director of the Company an award of Stock. No annual
Stock Awards pursuant to this Section 9, however, will be made prior to
stockholder approval of the Plan. For purposes of this Section 9, the term
"non-employee director" shall mean any member of the Company's Board, as of the
close of business on the Grant Date of any Stock Award hereunder, who is not an
employee of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate.
This amendment to the Stock Incentive Plan relates to the adoption of the
new compensation policy for the Company's non-employee directors described above
and takes effect immediately. The Company intends to file a complete, amended
and restated version of the Stock Incentive Plan as an exhibit to its annual
report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009.
Adoption of Compensation Committee Charter
On May 27, 2009, the Compensation Committee of the Board recommended to the
Board, and the full Board approved, the adoption of a written charter for the
Compensation Committee.
A copy of the Committee's Charter is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.4 and is
hereby incorporated by reference. The Company will post a copy of the
Compensation Committee's Charter on its corporate website, www.magpet.com in the
near future.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
10.1 Form of Indemnification Agreement for Directors and Officers.
99.1 Company press release, dated May 28, 2009.
99.2 MPAL Slide Presentation to Shareholders at the Annual Meeting, May 27, 2009.
99.3 President/CEO Slide Presentation to Shareholders at the Annual Meeting, May
27, 2009.
99.4 Compensation Committee Charter, adopted on May 27, 2009.
|
|
|