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| EZPW > SEC Filings for EZPW > Form 8-K on 4-Oct-2012 | All Recent SEC Filings |
4-Oct-2012
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
• The Audit Committee sought, received and relied upon an opinion from that independent financial advisory firm to the effect that the consideration to be paid to Madison Park pursuant to the advisory services agreement is fair to EZCORP from a financial point of view.
With those measures, the Audit Committee evaluated and considered the following
information, among other things:
• The committee's financial adviser prepared, and presented to the committee, a
report that analyzed comparable public company advisory engagements. That
report described the structure of the contracted fee and compared the amount
of the fee to various financial metrics such as revenues and EBITDA.
• The committee considered whether EZCORP continues to need services provided by Madison Park and whether there were alternative sources for those services. The committee concluded that the services provided by Madison Park under previous contracts had been essential to the company's growth and diversification of its business and that these types of services would be critical to continue that successful growth and diversification. Further, the committee concluded that, given the current challenging market environment, the advice, counsel and guidance provided by Madison Park, as well as Madison Park's contacts and perspectives on strategic acquisition opportunities, would be critical to shaping and executing EZCORP's strategic plans, both short-term and long-term.
• The committee also concluded that, given EZCORP's unique business and based on the committee's prior investigations, it was unlikely that any other financial or strategic adviser would have the specific expertise to provide the services the company needs. A necessary element to this conclusion was the unique capabilities and expertise of Madison Park and its principal, Mr. Cohen, including long-term experience and high-level strategic, industry-specific expertise.
• The committee considered a multi-year, performance-based arrangement, but ultimately concluded that a single-year, fixed-fee arrangement was in the best interests of the company at this time.
• In the context of an analysis of the historical and proposed fee amounts compared with the company's historical and projected financial results, as well as the analytical data provided by the committee's financial adviser, the committee considered whether the proposed retainer fee was appropriate, given the company's need for the services and Madison Park's unique ability to provide them. The committee observed that the amount of the proposed fee generally fell within the ranges indicated by the comparable data, albeit at the upper portions of those ranges. Given the unique expertise provided by Madison Park and the company's need for that unique expertise, the committee concluded that a fee in the upper portions of the comparable ranges was justified, particularly given the strategic challenges facing the company over the next year.
• After thorough discussion and analysis, the committee concluded that, under reasonable analytical methodologies, the proposed fee appeared to be within the range indicated by the comparative data, particularly when the company's unique needs and Madison Park's unique abilities were considered.
After consideration and discussion of this information and other factors, the
information and fairness opinion provided by its independent financial advisory
firm and the relationships and the interests of Mr. Cohen, the Audit Committee
concluded that the proposed advisory services agreement for fiscal 2013 was fair
to, and in the best interests of, EZCORP and its stockholders and, on that
basis, approved the engagement of Madison Park pursuant to the advisory services
agreement.
Item 5.02 - Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
(b) Stephen A. Stamp, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(principal financial officer), will leave the company effective October 5,
2011. Mr. Stamp's departure is not the result of any issue or concern with
the company's accounting, financial reporting or internal control over
financial reporting.
(c) Mark Kuchenrither, Executive Vice President, will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) as of October 5, 2012. Mr. Kuchenrither's position from and after October 5, 2012 will be Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of EZCORP and President of Change Capital (the company's strategic acquisition and development unit).
Mr. Kuchenrither joined the company as Senior Vice President, Strategic
Development in March 2010, assumed the role of President, Change Capital in
October 2011 and was promoted to Executive Vice President in May 2012. From 2007
to March 2010, Mr. Kuchenrither served as Vice President of Operations of Sun
Capital Partners, a major private equity firm, where he was responsible for the
oversight of ten portfolio companies with emphasis on profit improvement. He was
Chief Financial Officer of Arch Aluminum & Glass from 2003 to 2007, and was
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Peavey Electronics Corporation from
2000 to 2003. He began his career in various accounting and controller
functions.
Effective October 1, 2012, Mr. Kuchenrither's annual salary is $700,000, with a
target bonus of 125% of base salary. Mr. Kuchenrither will continue to be
eligible for long-term incentive compensation awards, at the discretion of the
Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, and will also continue to be
eligible for other benefits typically provided to the company's executive
officers. Those benefits include a severance plan that provides for salary
continuation for a period one year if the company terminates Mr. Kuchenrither's
employment without cause.
Item 5.07 - Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
On September 28, 2012, the sole holder of the company's Class B Voting Common
Stock approved an amendment to the EZCORP, Inc. Incentive Compensation Plan,
pursuant to which annual incentive bonus opportunities are awarded to the
Company's executives and key employees. The amendment adds the following
provision to the plan:
The Committee may exclude the impact of any of the following events or
occurrences which the Committee determines should appropriately be excluded: (a)
asset write-downs; (b) litigation, claims, judgments or settlements; (c) the
effect of changes in tax law or other such laws or regulations affecting
reported results; (d) accruals for reorganization and restructuring programs;
(e) any extraordinary, unusual or nonrecurring items as described in the
Accounting Standards Codification Topic 225, as the same may be amended or
superseded from time to time; (f) any change in accounting principles as defined
in the Accounting Standards Codification Topic 250, as the same may be amended
or superseded from time to time; (g) any loss from a discontinued operation as
described in the Accounting Standards Codification Topic 360, as the same may be
amended or superseded from time to time; (h) goodwill impairment charges; (i)
operating results for any business acquired during the calendar year; (j) third
party expenses associated with any acquisition by EZCORP, or any subsidiary; (k)
war, acts of terrorism, political upheaval or natural disasters; or (l) provided
such items are identified with reasonable particularity at the time terms and
conditions for the determination and payment of an Incentive Bonus are
established, any other extraordinary events or occurrences identified by the
Committee. With the exception of clause (l), such adjustments may be made at any
time during the applicable fiscal year or immediately following the applicable
fiscal year (but prior to payment of an Incentive Bonus).
The amendment, which was also approved by the Company's Board of Directors, is
intended to permit the Compensation Committee, when assessing the degree to
which assigned performance goals have been attained, to take into consideration
the impact of unforeseen and unanticipated events beyond the control of
management.
A copy of the Incentive Compensation Plan, as so amended, is attached as Exhibit
10.2.
On September 28, 2012, there were 2,970,171 shares of the company's Class B
Voting Common Stock outstanding, all of which are held by MS Pawn Limited
Partnership.
Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
10.1 Advisory Services Agreement, dated as of October 1, 2012, between EZCORP,
Inc. and Madison Park, LLC
10.2 EZCORP, Inc. Incentive Compensation Plan (as amended)
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