Table of Contents
UNITED
STATES
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
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Washington, D.C. 20549
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SCHEDULE 14A
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Proxy
Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
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Filed by the Registrant
x
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Filed by a Party other than the
Registrant
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Check the appropriate box:
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x
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Preliminary Proxy Statement
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Confidential, for
Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
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Definitive Proxy Statement
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Definitive Additional Materials
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Soliciting Material Pursuant to
§240.14a-12
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CLST
HOLDINGS, INC.
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(Name
of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
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(Name
of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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Payment of Filing Fee (Check the
appropriate box):
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x
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No fee required.
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o
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Fee computed on table below per
Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
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(1)
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Title of each class of securities to
which transaction applies:
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(2)
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Aggregate number of securities to
which transaction applies:
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(3)
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Per unit price or other underlying
value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth
the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was
determined):
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(4)
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Proposed maximum aggregate value of
transaction:
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(5)
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Total fee paid:
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Fee paid previously with preliminary
materials.
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Check box if any part of the fee is
offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing
for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous
filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date
of its filing.
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(1)
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Amount Previously Paid:
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(2)
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Form, Schedule or Registration
Statement No.:
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(3)
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Filing Party:
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Date Filed:
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Table of Contents
CLST H
OLDINGS
, I
NC
.
formerly CellStar Corporation
17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420
Dallas,
Texas 75252
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF
STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held October 27, 2009
To our stockholders:
You
are cordially invited to attend our Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held
at the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, 5410 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas, on October 27,
2009 at 10:00 a.m. Dallas, Texas time, for the following purposes:
a)
To elect to the Board of Directors one Class I
director for two years (the remaining term of the Class I Directors), and
one Class II director for a term of three years, and in each case until
his successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his earlier death,
resignation or removal;
b)
To ratify the appointment of
Whitley Penn LLP as our independent registered public accountants for the year
ending November 30, 2009;
c)
To ratify our Amended and
Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan;
d)
To consider and
act upon five stockholder proposals, if properly presented at the Annual
Meeting or any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof; and
e)
To transact such other business as may
properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment(s) or postponement(s)
thereof.
The
accompanying proxy statement contains information regarding, and a more
complete description of, the items of business to be considered at the meeting.
The close of business on September 25, 2009 has been fixed as the record
date for the determination of our stockholders entitled to receive notice of,
and to vote at, the meeting or any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof.
You
are cordially invited and urged to attend the meeting. Whether or not you plan
on attending the meeting, we ask that you sign and date the accompanying
WHITE
proxy card and return it promptly in the enclosed
self-addressed envelope. If you attend the meeting, you may vote in person, if
you wish, whether or not you have returned your proxy. In any event, you may
revoke your proxy at any time before it is exercised.
Please note that David
Sandberg, Red Oak Partners, LLC (
Red Oak Partners
),
Red Oak Fund, LP (
Red Oak Fund
), Pinnacle
Partners, LLC (
Pinnacle Partners
), Pinnacle
Fund, LLLP (
Pinnacle Fund
) and Bear
Market Opportunity Fund, L.P. (
Bear Fund,
together with Mr. Sandberg, Red Oak Partners, Red Oak Fund, Pinnacle
Partners, Pinnacle Fund and Bear Fund, the
Red
Oak Group
) has given notice of its intention to nominate its
own slate of two directors for election to our Board of Directors and submit
certain stockholder proposals at the upcoming Annual Meeting and may solicit
proxies for the matters it intends to bring to the Annual Meeting. You may
receive proxy solicitation materials from the Red Oak Group including an
opposition proxy statement and proxy card. Their proposals seek to request the
Board to complete the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in
2007; advise the Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I,
LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire the outstanding equity interest in FCC Investment Trust I
and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
disapprove the 2008 long term incentive plan adopted by the Board and request
the Board not to issue any additional share grants or option grants
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under such plan and
request that the directors rescind their approval of such plan; advise the
Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction purportedly entered
into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to which CLST Asset Trust II, an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28, 2009
and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions; and
advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair Finance
Company and request the directors to take any available and appropriate
actions.
The Board of Directors is
deeply committed to the Company, its stockholders and enhancing stockholder
value. In the Board of Directors opinion, the Red Oak Groups proposals are
not in the best interests of our
stockholders. The Board of
Directors believes that its nominees are well-qualified to manage the Company
in the stockholders best interests and believes that a vote at the Annual
Meeting in favor of the election of the Boards nominees, in favor of
ratification of the appointment of the Companys independent registered public
accountants and in favor of ratification of the Companys Amended and Restated 2008
Long Term incentive Plan is in the best interests of our stockholders.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE
FOR
THE ELECTION OF THE BOARDS NOMINEES
NAMED ON THE ENCLOSED WHITE PROXY CARD,
FOR
THE RATIFICATION OF THE
APPOINTMENT OF WHITLEY PENN LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 2009,
FOR
THE RATIFICATION
OF OUR AMENDED AND RESTATED 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN, AND
AGAINST
THE RED OAK GROUPS PROPOSALS, INCLUDED AS PROPOSALS No. 4 THROUGH No. 8
IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT, AND URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY PROXY CARD
SENT TO YOU BY THE RED OAK GROUP.
If you
have previously signed a proxy card sent to you by the Red Oak Group, you can
change your vote and vote for our Board of Directors nominees by using the
enclosed
WHITE
proxy card to vote by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the postage-paid envelope
provided, or, if you hold your shares in street name (i.e., your shares are
held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee), you may vote by Internet
or by telephone. Only the latest dated proxy you submit will be counted. Please
note that the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card also includes the proposals that the Red
Oak Group has notified us it intends to bring before the Annual Meeting.
Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy card provides you with the ability to vote For
or Against
or Abstain from voting for
any proposals made by the Red Oak Group,
as well as to vote For our director nominees
and other matters
.
If you need assistance voting your shares, contact:
Morrow & Co., LLC.
470 West Avenue
Stamford, CT 06902
(800) 607-0088
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By Order of our Board
of Directors
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Timothy S. Durham,
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Secretary and Chairman
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Dallas, Texas
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,
2009
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Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be held
October 27
, 2009:
This
proxy statement and our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K are available at http://bnymellon.mobular.net/bnymellon/clhi.
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CLST HOLDINGS, INC.
17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420
Dallas, Texas 75252
PROXY STATEMENT
for
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To Be Held October 27, 2009
GENERAL INFORMATION
Our
Board of Directors (sometimes referred to herein as the
Board
)
hereby solicits your proxy for use at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be
held at Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, 5410 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas, on October 27,
2009 at 10:00 a.m. Dallas, Texas time, and any adjournment(s) thereof.
This proxy statement, along with the accompanying notice of Annual Meeting,
summarizes the purposes of the Annual Meeting and the information that you need
to know to vote at the Annual Meeting.
This solicitation may be made in person or by mail, telephone, telecopy
or otherwise on behalf of our directors, who will receive no extra compensation
for participating in this solicitation. We have hired Morrow & Co.,
LLC to distribute and solicit proxies, and we will pay the entire cost of this
solicitation. We expect to mail this proxy statement and the enclosed form of
proxy, together with our Annual Report on Form 10-K, to our stockholders
on or about
,
2009.
If you
have previously signed a proxy card sent to you by the Red Oak Group, you can
change your vote and vote for our Board of Directors nominees by using the
enclosed
WHITE
proxy card to vote by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the postage-paid envelope
provided, or, if you hold your shares in street name (i.e., your shares are
held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee), you may vote by Internet
or by telephone. Only the latest dated proxy you submit will be counted. Please
note that the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card also includes the proposals that the Red
Oak Group has notified us it intends to bring before the Annual Meeting.
Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy card provides you with the ability to vote For
or Against
or Abstain from voting for
any proposals made by the Red Oak Group,
as well as to vote For our director nominees
and other matters
.
We are
not responsible for the accuracy and completeness of any information provided
by or relating to the Red Oak Group and its nominees for director contained in
any proxy solicitation or other materials filed or disseminated by, or on
behalf of, the Red Oak Group or any other proposals or statements that the Red
Oak Group or its affiliates may otherwise make.
The Red Oak Group chooses which stockholders receive their proxy
solicitation materials. Our materials are being made available to all
stockholders.
In order to obtain
directions to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, please call Robert
Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer, at (972) 267-0500.
For information
on how to vote in person at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders, please see the
section entitled Information Regarding the Meeting and Voting
below.
Unless the context indicates otherwise, CLST, we,
us, our or the Company means CLST Holdings, Inc. and all of our
direct and indirect subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.
CERTAIN BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Introduction.
We believe our Board has
served our stockholders well over the last few years. In 2007, after the sale
of our United States and Miami-based Latin American operations (the
U.S. Sale
), one of our directors, Mr. Durham,
initiated several actions in an effort to make the Board more accountable with
respect to implementing the plan of dissolution and conducting the Companys
business generally, including filing a proxy statement and nominating
directors. Mr. Kaiser, a current director and nominee who was also a
director at that time, supported Mr. Durhams efforts and aligned himself
with Mr. Durham as a director nominee.
While continuing to wind-down the Companys historical business (the
Wind Down
), our Board distributed
cash dividends to stockholders totaling $2.10 per
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share, or a cumulative
total distribution of $43.2 million, and has acted to minimize expenses,
collect significant amounts of cash, and maximize returns on the Companys cash
assets. Also, as more fully described below, our Board discovered that the
Company has $125 million in net operating loss carryforwards (
NOLs
), which potentially have
significant value to the Company and which the Board has sought to protect and
make use of for the benefit of our stockholders. Furthermore, while conducting
the Wind Down activities with minimal staff, the Company has nevertheless
continued to maintain its efforts to comply with the Companys reporting
requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
Exchange Act
). Below is a
description of some of the Boards achievements since August 2007.
Distributed
Cash to Stockholders
.
In furtherance of the
plan of dissolution adopted by the stockholders in March 2007, on July 19,
2007 the Company paid a cash dividend of $1.50 per share to its stockholders.
This was followed on November 1, 2007 by an additional $.60 per share
dividend, declared by our Board, for a cumulative total distribution of $43.2
million. After carefully considering the Companys cash position and known and
contingent liabilities, and upon the advice of the Companys outside counsel,
the Board determined that this was the maximum amount that should be
distributed before resolving more of the Companys liabilities, in order to
avoid exposing its stockholders and the Board to potential personal liability.
The amount and timing of any additional distributions to stockholders in
connection with the liquidation and dissolution of the Company are subject to
uncertainties and depend on the resolution of certain contingencies more fully
described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the
SEC
) on March 2,
2009 and other filings with the SEC.
Collected
Cash
.
Our Board has worked
diligently to collect amounts of cash owed to the Company during the Wind
Down. On October 4, 2007, we
collected $7.6 million from an escrow account related to the U.S. Sale. This
collection was a critical factor in our Boards decision to make the $.60 per
share distribution to stockholders on November 1, 2007. Also, in January 2008,
we collected from the purchasers of those operations an additional $3.2 million
in post-closing working capital adjustments and $1.4 million upon resolution in
favor of the Company of indemnity claims made by the purchasers. The total
post-closing amount our Board collected from the purchasers of the U.S. Sale
was $12.2 million.
In addition, we have
collected more than $2.5 million in cash to date during the Wind Down from
other efforts, including approximately $694,000 from the purchasers of our
Colombia and Peru operations related to transactions in 2002 and 2004,
collected throughout 2007, 2008 and 2009; approximately $914,000 in federal
income tax refunds in 2008; approximately $712,000 in insurance refunds in
2008; and approximately $216,000 in other tax refunds in
2008
and 2009.
We have also initiated
arbitration proceedings to collect up to $1.7 million that we believe is owed
to the Company from the 2007 sale of our Mexico operations. The arbitration is
currently scheduled for October 2009.
Continued
Wind Down Activities
.
We are working steadily
to complete a long list of actions necessary to complete the Wind Down of our
historical business in an orderly fashion.
Completing the Wind Down is a cumbersome task that requires many steps
and may take a significant amount of time. These steps include dissolving
numerous subsidiaries, resolving pending litigation and completing various
regulatory filings and other requirements. We cannot predict how long, how
time-consuming or how costly resolution of the litigation matters will be. To
date, we have completed and filed final sales tax returns and franchise tax
returns for most of our entities. We have also completed the requirements to
withdraw most of our entities from doing business in multiple state
jurisdictions in the U.S. Furthermore, we are continuing to dissolve our
foreign and domestic subsidiaries pursuant to the plan of dissolution. However,
in order to protect the Companys cash and other assets from any actual or
potential liabilities of the Companys direct and indirect subsidiaries, we
will not dissolve our inactive domestic, foreign subsidiaries, domestic
subsidiaries with foreign subsidiaries and our other indirect foreign
subsidiaries until the actual and contingent liabilities of each such
subsidiary have been resolved or contingency reserves have been set aside
sufficient to pay or make reasonable provision to pay all such subsidiarys
claims and obligations in accordance with applicable law. In addition, in certain jurisdictions, the
dissolution process is an extended one.
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We completed the
dissolution of our subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Guatemala in February 2008
and March 2009, respectively, and of CLST-NAC Fulfillment, Ltd., a Texas
limited partnership and indirect subsidiary of the Company, in September 2009. Furthermore, we completed the merger of CLST
Fulfillment, Inc., a Delaware corporation, into its parent, National Auto
Center, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our wholly owned subsidiary, effective
September 10, 2009. We also made a
demand on the purchaser of our Colombian subsidiary for the documents needed to
divest our remaining minority interest in that subsidiary. Further, we have submitted documents to
several governmental authorities in El Salvador as required to dissolve our
dormant entity in El Salvador. Finally, for our Netherlands subsidiary, we have
collected VAT tax refunds and are in the process of preparing tax returns that
are required to complete the dissolution process.
There are a number of
actions required by governmental regulations in order to dissolve our
Philippines subsidiary, and we have made substantial progress toward its
dissolution. We obtained a Formal Entry of Judgment in two longstanding
lawsuits. We have also obtained a
determination from the Bureau of Internal Revenue that no taxes are owed on a
2004 transaction. We are now completing
audits that are required to be submitted for regulatory approval prior to
dissolution, and have taken various other actions required by the Bureau of
Internal Revenue and the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission.
During the Wind Down, we
have continuously worked to resolve all known and contingent liabilities. We
continue our efforts to resolve a $14.2 million historical liability recorded
on the Companys balance sheet. It is
our position that the Company may not be liable for this amount, and management
is working to resolve it. Ultimately, it
may be necessary to obtain a court order to resolve the uncertainties
surrounding this recorded liability. The Board believes that pending a
settlement with the counterparty on this liability or a court order, another
distribution to stockholders would be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties.
Discovered
NOLs and Protected Company Cash
.
In a detailed review of
the Companys financial statements and historical operations, the Board
discovered that as of the end of 2008, the Company had $125 million in NOLs,
which the Company could use to offset potential future income tax liability. We
have experienced and continue to experience operating losses, and under the
Internal Revenue Code and rules promulgated by the Internal Revenue
Service, we may carry forward these losses in certain circumstances to offset
any current and future earnings and thus reduce our federal income tax
liability, subject to certain requirements and restrictions. As more fully
described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 2,
2009
,
we adopted a stockholder rights plan
(the
Rights Plan
) and declared a
dividend of one preferred share purchase right for each outstanding share of
Common Stock of the Company to protect this asset of the Company. The dividend
was paid to our stockholders of record as of February 16, 2009. Our Board adopted the Rights Plan in an effort
to protect stockholder value by
attempting
to protect against a possible limitation on our ability to use our NOLs to
reduce potential future federal income tax obligations. To the extent that the
NOLs do not otherwise become limited, we believe that we will be able to carry
forward a significant amount of NOLs, and therefore these NOLs could be a
substantial asset to us. However, if we experience an Ownership Change, as
defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, our ability to use
the NOLs will be substantially limited, and the timing of the usage of the NOLs
could be substantially delayed, which could therefore significantly impair the
value of that asset. The Rights Plan is intended to act as a deterrent to any
person or group acquiring 4.9% or more of our outstanding Common Stock without
our approval. Stockholders who owned 4.9% or more of our outstanding Common
Stock as of the close of business on February 16, 2009 did not trigger the
Rights Plan and will not so long as they do not (i) acquire any additional
shares of Common Stock or (ii) fall under 4.9% ownership of Common Stock
and then re-acquire 4.9% or more of the Common Stock. Thus, unless the Red Oak Group acquires the
beneficial ownership of additional shares, their position as a stockholder
holding more than 4.9% will not trigger the Rights Plan. If an Ownership
Change had occurred as a result of the Red Oak Group tender offer, then our
NOLs would be impaired. For example, if the $14.2 million historical liability
mentioned above was resolved in our favor, we believe we could use the NOLs to
offset approximately $4.8 million in tax liability that would result from the
forgiveness of debt. If we had not put in place the Rights Plan, the NOLs could
have been impaired, which would have cost the Company significant tax liability
upon the resolution of this historical liability.
The Board acted
decisively to protect and grow the Companys cash assets during the U.S.
banking crisis in 2008, first by timely moving the Companys cash to fully
insured financial instruments, and second by acquiring portfolios of
receivables. The financial instruments
earned minimal interest and generated very low rates of return. In light of the
significant value of our NOLs and the extended timeframe that may be required
to complete the
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dissolution of the
Company, the Board sought out strategic alternatives for the use of the Companys
cash that could earn higher returns than demand deposits or bank instruments.
Acting on the opportunity
to offset income against the NOLs, from November 2008 through February 2009,
our Board authorized three transactions to purchase portfolios of receivables
with an aggregate outstanding principal balance as of May 31, 2009 of
$48.5 million. The income from the portfolios can be offset against our NOLs,
which results in tax-free income to the Company. In two of these transactions,
the Company was able to minimize and leverage the amount of cash needed to
acquire the portfolio assets through credit facilities that provide
non-recourse borrowings, thus protecting the Companys remaining cash and other
assets. In the third investment, the Company was able to leverage its invested
funds by negotiating seller financing equal to approximately 24% of the
purchase price of the assets acquired.
The Board believed that
each of these acquisitions would be a better investment return for the Companys
stockholders and better preserve the value of the Companys assets when
compared to the Companys cash investments as a result of recent changes to
interest rates and other investment alternatives. Given the time necessary to
complete the governmental and other requirements for dissolution, we are
engaging in the business of holding and collecting the receivables with the
intention of generating a higher rate of return on our assets than we have
received and are currently receiving on our cash and cash equivalent balances.
Complied
with SEC Reporting and Minimized Expenses
.
Our Board has continued
to maintain its efforts to comply with the Companys reporting requirements
under the Exchange Act. Compliance with the reporting requirements, which requires
substantial amounts of time and effort, was achieved with minimal staff,
comprised of only two full-time employees and one part-time employee.
Maintained
Stockholder Liquidity
.
When a company files a
certificate of dissolution, Delaware law requires that it stock transfer books
be closed, meaning that stockholders may no longer sell their shares. Filing a
certificate of dissolution early in the dissolution process may result in
stockholders having an investment that they cannot easily sell or value for a
longer time than would be the case if the certificate of dissolution is filed
later in the winding up process. Our Board has not filed a certificate of
dissolution for several reasons, including its desire to maintain our
stockholders ability to sell and value their investment for as long as
possible under the circumstances.
Limited
Expenses
.
Our Board has also acted
prudently to minimize expenses during the Wind Down. In addition to other actions, the Company
realized significant savings by the reduction of Mr. Kaisers annual
compensation, as an executive officer, to 30% of the amount of his previous
annual compensation prior to the U.S. Sale. Also, our management negotiated a
favorable lease for office space and moved the Companys offices out of an
expensive temporary suite arrangement to its current office. The Company now
conducts its operations with only two full-time employees, including Mr. Kaiser,
and one part-time employee.
Qualifications of Current Board
and Nominees.
We believe our nominees, Mr. Kaiser,
a current director, and Patrick ODonnell, are well-suited by qualification and
experience to serve on our Board for each nominees term and that their
election will assist our Board in managing the Company in the best interests of
the stockholders. Our directors,
including our nominees, have over 50 years combined experience in managing
public companies. In contrast, the Red Oak Groups nominees, David Sandberg and
Charles Bernard, have little or no experiences in managing public companies. Mr. Sandberg
has only recently joined the boards of three public companies in April, June
and August 2009. We have no
information to suggest that Mr. Bernard has experience serving as an
officer or director of a public company. As described below under Red Oak
Group Litigation, we have filed suit against the Red Oak Group, which includes
Mr. Sandberg, Pinnacle Partners, Pinnacle Fund and other entities, for
various securities
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violations. Mr. Bernard
is the Manager of White Peaks Holdings LLC, which is a manager of Pinnacle
Partners, the general partner of Pinnacle Fund. Also, White Peaks Holdings LLC
is a manager of Pinnacle Capital, LLC, the investment advisor of Pinnacle Fund.
Based on the alleged securities violations with respect to our Company and the
lack of public company experience, we do not believe the Red Oak Group nominees
are qualified to lead the Company.
Intentions of the Red Oak Group.
As further described below under Litigation with
the Red Oak Group, the Red Oak Group has stated that it intends to nominate
and seek to elect its own slate of two directors, David Sandberg and Charles
Bernard, to our Board of Directors
and submit certain stockholder proposals at the
upcoming
Annual Meeting and may solicit proxies for the matters it intends to
bring to the Annual Meeting. The Red Oak
Group beneficially owned 4,561,554 shares of our common stock as of February 13,
2009, according to the Red Oak Groups Schedule 13D filed with the SEC,
representing approximately 19.05% of our outstanding common stock as of the
record date.
At the date of this proxy
statement, the Red Oak Group has indicated that it intends to solicit proxies
from stockholders for the election of its proposed nominees. If the Red Oak
Group proceeds to solicit proxies, the Board recommends that you do
NOT
return any proxy card delivered by the Red Oak Group or
otherwise vote as recommended by the Red Oak Group.
Based on information in
the Red Oak Groups securities filings, the Board believes that the Red Oak
Groups true intention is to gain control of the Company for its own profit,
and that actions it has taken toward that objective have been in violation of
federal securities laws.
If the Red Oak Groups
true intention is in fact to gain control of the Company for its own profit,
then the Board believes that the Red Oak Group has violated federal securities
laws by failing to disclose such intention in its Schedule 13D filings. The Red
Oak Group has failed to appropriately disclose its intentions for the Company
in the event its nominees are elected to the Board or it otherwise obtains
control of the Company. The Board believes that the Red Oak Groups approach is
to obtain voting control through the acquisition of a significant amount of the
Companys shares in the secondary market and privately negotiated transactions,
without disclosing to other stockholders that they are acquiring the shares in
order to obtain voting control and without disclosing their plans for the
Company if they obtain control.
The Board believes that
the Red Oak Group nominees for director, David Sandberg and Charles Bernard,
have no significant experience with publicly held companies and no knowledge or
expertise that would qualify them to manage the affairs of the Company. For the past several years, David Sandberg
has managed and owned interests in portfolio management and hedge fund
companies. According to public filings, Mr. Sandberg
has served as a director of one public company since April 2009, as
director of another public company since June 1, 2009, and was recently
elected to serve as a director of Forgent Networks, Inc. d/b/a Asure
Software on August 28, 2009. We have not received from the Red Oak Group
any information to suggest that Charles Bernard has experience serving as an
officer or director of a public company.
If any or all of the Red
Oak Groups nominees are elected to our Board at the Annual Meeting, there can
be no guaranty that our professional advisors, such as our outside counsel or
our independent registered public accountants, nor our CEO, Mr. Kaiser,
would remain with the Company to continue to lead the dissolution process and
the management of the portfolios. These persons have at least two years of
experience (and in Mr. Kaisers case, over seven years of experience) in
working with the Company, and thus have a valuable knowledge of the Company and
its history. Our current Board knows and understands first-hand how challenging
it can be to manage a company after a change in board members and the loss of
outside counsel, independent registered public accountants and executive
officers. However, our current Board had the benefit of Mr. Kaisers
knowledge and years of experience with the Company following the 2007 proxy
contest. If the Red Oak Groups nominees win the upcoming election, they may
seek to have the Company hire other professionals and executive officers and
thus not have the benefit of working with professionals who have a history with
and in-depth understanding of the Company.
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Litigation with the Red Oak
Group.
The following is a discussion of certain events
relating to the Red Oak Group that have occurred through the date of this proxy
statement.
In December 2008,
the Red Oak Group approached our Board of Directors about its interest in
making a minority investment in the Company and obtaining control of the
Company. Our Board responded by suggesting that the Red Oak Group and the
Company discuss the Red Oak Groups desire to make a minority investment and
obtain control until after the Company had filed its annual report with the SEC
and made its results of operations available to its stockholders. On January 15, 2009, the Red Oak Group
acquired 5,000 shares of our common stock in secondary market and privately
negotiated transactions. On or about January 30,
2009, the Red Oak Group requested that the Company provide a stockholder list
and security position listings which it said it would use to make a tender
offer. On February 3, 2009, the Red
Oak Group announced its plan to commence a tender offer to acquire up to 70% of
our outstanding shares of our common stock at $0.25 per share. On February 5, 2009, we adopted a
stockholder rights plan which became effective on February 16, 2009. Stating as its reason the Companys Rights
Plan, the Red Oak Group announced on February 9, 2009 that it had
abandoned its intention to make a tender offer.
Nevertheless, the Red Oak Group continued to acquire shares of our
common stock in the secondary market and privately negotiated transactions
resulting in its beneficial ownership of 4,561,554 shares of our common stock
as of February 13, 2009, according to the Red Oak Groups Schedule 13D
filed with the SEC, representing approximately
19.05%
of our outstanding common stock as of
the record date. The Red Oak Group made its purchases of our Common Stock in
open market and privately negotiated transactions, and not by means of tender
offer materials filed with the SEC. The Board believes that by doing so, the
Red Oak Group unlawfully deprived our stockholders of the benefits of federal
law regulating tender offers. Among the consequences of this course of action
is that the Company and third parties were unable to make competing, superior
proposals to stockholders, and stockholders were deprived of the information
that complying with federal tender offer rules requires they receive.
On February 13,
2009, we filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas against Red Oak Fund, L.P., Red Oak Partners, LLC, and David
Sandberg (the
Federal Court Action
). Our Original Complaint and Application for
Injunctive Relief alleges that Red Oak Fund, L.P., Red Oak Partners, LLC, and
David Sandberg have engaged in numerous violations of federal securities laws
in making purchases of our common stock and sought to enjoin any future
unlawful purchases of our stock by them, their agents, and persons or entities
acting in concert with them. We believe the Red Oak Group violated federal
securities laws as follows:
(i)
violating Rule 14(e)-5 of the Exchange Act by not
truly abandoning its tender offer and instead directly or indirectly purchasing
or arranging to purchase shares not in connection with its tender offer and
without complying with the procedural, disclosure and anti-fraud requirements
applicable to tender offers regulated under Section 14 of the Exchange
Act;
(ii)
violating Exchange Act Rule 14d-5(f) by
failing to return the Companys stockholder list, which we provided to Red Oak
upon its request, and by using such list for a purpose other than in connection
with the dissemination of tender offer materials in connection with its tender
offer;
(iii)
violating Exchange Act Rule 14(d)-10 by
purchasing shares pursuant to its tender offer at varying prices rather than
paying consideration for securities tendered in the tender offer at the highest
consideration paid to any stockholder for securities tendered; and
(iv)
violating Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act
by not timely filing a Schedule 13D and disclosing the information required
therein.
On March 2, 2009,
certain members of the Red Oak Group and Jeffrey S. Jones (
Jones
) filed a derivative lawsuit
against Robert A. Kaiser, Timothy S. Durham and David Tornek in the 134th
District Court of Dallas County, Texas (the
State
Court Action
). The petition alleges that Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham, and Tornek entered into self-dealing transactions at the expense of the
Company and its stockholders and violated their fiduciary duties of loyalty,
independence, due care, good faith, and fair dealing. The petition asks
the Court to order, among other things, a rescission of the alleged
self-interested transactions by Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek; an
award of compensatory and punitive damages; the removal of Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham and Tornek from the Board; and that
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the Company hold an
Annual Meeting of stockholders, or that the Company appoint a conservator to
oversee and implement the dissolution plan approved by stockholders in 2007.
On March 13, 2009,
we announced that we would hold our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 22,
2009 in Dallas, Texas and that the close of business on April 2, 2009
would be the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to
receive notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournments or
postponements thereof.
On March 18, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us demanding to inspect and copy certain of
our books and records. We have taken the
position that the Red Oak Group has not complied with state law requirements
applicable to stockholders seeking such information.
On March 19, 2009,
the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to put forth
several precatory proposals including stockholder votes for: approval to
proceed with the 2007 shareholder-approved plan of dissolution; approval of the
November 10, 2008 transaction whereby CLST Asset I, LLC, a wholly owned
subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc., which is one of CLSTs direct, wholly
owned subsidiaries, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the
outstanding equity interests of FCC Investment Trust 1 from a third party for
approximately $41.0 million; approval of the 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan
pursuant to which Directors approved the new issuance to themselves of up to 20
million shares of common stock, or just over 97% of the common stock
outstanding at the time this plan was approved; approval of the December 12,
2008 transaction whereby CLST Asset Trust II, a newly formed trust wholly owned
by CLST Asset II, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc.
entered into a purchase agreement, effective as of December 10, 20008, to
acquire (i) on or before February 28, 2009 receivables of at least $2
million, subject to certain limitations and (ii) from time to time certain
other receivables, installment sales contracts and related assets; and approval
of the February 13, 2009 transaction whereby CLST Asset III, LLC, a newly
formed, wholly owned subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc., which is one of
CLSTs direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain receivables,
installment sales contracts and related assets owned by Fair Finance Company,
which is partly owned by Timothy S. Durham, an officer and director of CLST. On
the same day, the Red Oak Group sent a letter to us stating its intention to
nominate a slate of directors to our Board of Directors.
On April 6, 2009, we
notified the Red Oak Group that our Board rejected the Red Oak Groups
nominations for Class I and Class II seats, as the nominations were
not in accordance with our certificate of incorporation. In addition, we also rejected the Red Oak
Groups proposals because they were not proper in form or substance under
Federal and state law to come before an Annual Meeting. We offered to discuss the Red Oak Groups
concerns, director nominations and stockholder approvals provided that the Red
Oak Group and the Company come to certain agreements, the Red Oak Group provide
certain disclosures about its acquisition of the Company shares, and the Red
Oak Group not vote certain shares at the Annual Meeting.
On April 6, 2009, we
filed our First Amended Complaint and Application for Injunctive Relief in the
Federal Court Action against defendants Red Oak Fund, L.P., Red Oak Partners,
LLC, David Sandberg, Pinnacle Partners, LLC, Pinnacle Fund LLLP, and Bear
Market Opportunity Fund, L.P. alleging the same and other violations of federal
securities laws, including:
(i)
filing a materially false and misleading Schedule 13D
and failing to amend the same after delivering to the Company a Notice of
Director Nominations and proposal for business at the Annual Meeting;
(ii)
violating Section 14(d) of the Exchange Act
by engaging in fraudulent, deceptive and manipulative acts in connection with
its tender offer by failing to abide by Section 14(d)s timing
requirements and by failing to make required filings with the SEC; and
(iii)
that any attempt to solicit proxies from our
stockholders with respect to director nominations or notice of business would
be misleading in light of the defendants illegal activities in accumulating
Company stock.
Through this lawsuit, we
seek to obtain various declaratory judgments that the defendants have failed to
comply with federal securities laws and to enjoin the defendants from, among
other things, further violating federal
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securities laws and from
voting any and all shares or proxies acquired in violation of such laws. Also on April 6, 2009, because, among
other reasons, we do not expect the litigation, which bears directly upon our
Annual Meeting of stockholders, to be resolved for some months, our Board
postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders previously scheduled for May 22,
2009 until September 25, 2009. On August 14, 2009, our Board again
postponed the Annual Meeting of stockholders from September 25, 2009 to October
27, 2009.
On April 15, 2009,
the Red Oak Group submitted another letter to the Company, providing additional
information regarding the stockholder proposals it intends to bring before the Annual
Meeting and revising those proposals to: request the Board to complete the
dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007; advise the Board
that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction purportedly entered
into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I, LLC, a wholly owned
indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement to
acquire the outstanding equity interest in FCC Investment Trust I and request
the directors to take any available and appropriate actions; disapprove the
2008 long term incentive plan adopted by the Board and request the Board not to
issue any additional share grants or option grants under such plan and request
that the directors rescind their approval of such plan; advise the Board that
the stockholders disapprove of the transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12,
2008 pursuant to which CLST Asset Trust II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary
of the corporation, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain
receivables on or before February 28, 2009 and request the directors to
take any available and appropriate actions; and advise the Board that the
stockholders disapprove of the transaction purportedly entered into as of February 13,
2009 whereby CLST Asset III, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the
Company purchased certain receivables, installment contracts and related assets
owned by Fair Finance Company and request the directors to take any available
and appropriate actions.
On April 30, 2009,
the Red Oak Group and Jones amended their petition in the State Court
Action. In addition to the relief
already requested, the petition seeks to compel the Company to hold its 2008
and 2009 annual stockholders meetings within sixty days; to enjoin Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham, and Tornek from any interference or hindrance of such meetings or the
election of directors; to enjoin Messrs. Kaiser, Durham, and Tornek from
voting any shares of stock acquired in the alleged self-interested
transactions; and to appoint a special master.
On June 3, 2009 and again on June 12, 2009, pursuant to court
order, Red Oak Partners, LLC, Pinnacle Fund, LLLP, Red Oak Fund, LP, and
Jeffrey S. Jones amended their petition in the State Court Action to, among
other things, remove Bear Market Opportunity Fund, L.P. as a plaintiff and add
Red Oak Fund, L.P. as a plaintiff.
Discovery is ongoing in both the Federal Court Action and State Court
Action. A hearing is set for October 7 8, 2009 on the Red Oak Groups
request for injunctive relief concerning Messrs. Kaiser, Durham and Tornek
voting any shares of stock acquired in the alleged self-interested
transactions.
On May 5, 2009, the
Red Oak Group and Jones filed a motion in the State Court Action seeking to
compel the Company to hold its 2008 and 2009 stockholders meetings on June 30,
2009 and to appoint a special master and requested an expedited hearing on
both. Hearings were held on May 8,
2009 and May 29, 2009, but no ruling was reached.
On July 24, 2009, we filed our Brief in Support of
Application for Preliminary Injunction in the Federal Court Action. The Red Oak Group filed its Opposition on August 7,
2009, and we filed our Reply Brief in Support on August 14, 2009. Our Application for Preliminary Injunction
remains pending before the Court.
On August 24, 2009,
the Red Oak Group resubmitted its director nomination letter and its letter
stating its intention to put forth the stockholder proposals, as mentioned in
the March 19, 2009 and April 15, 2009 letters.
On August 28, 2009,
the parties to the State Court Action executed a Stipulation Regarding the
Companys Annual Meeting of Stockholders (
Stipulation
). The Court approved the Stipulation the same
day and entered an Order identical to the Stipulations terms. Pursuant to the Stipulation, absent a
determination by the Court of good cause shown, the Company must hold its
annual stockholders meeting for the election of one Class I director and
one Class II director and consideration of any properly submitted
proposals that are proper subjects for consideration at an annual meeting of a
Delaware corporation on October 27, 2009, with a record date for that
meeting of September 25, 2009. Good
cause for delaying the Annual Meeting beyond October 27, 2009 and
correspondingly amending the September 25, 2009 record date, includes
among other things, situations where reasonable delay is necessary: (1) for
the Board to avoid breaching any of their fiduciary duties to the Company or
the Companys stockholders; (2) to assure compliance with the Companys
certificate of incorporation and bylaws; (3) for the
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Company or the Board to
comply with state or federal law; or (4) to assure compliance with any
order of any court or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company
or members of its Board.
The Company has expended
a significant amount of management time and resources in connection with
Federal Court Action and the State Court Action. The Company has had settlement
discussions with certain of the plaintiffs regarding the Federal Court Action
and the State Court Action. The Company may have further settlement
discussions in the future. No assurance can be given that any settlement
agreement could be reached if the Company undertakes further discussions or if
a settlement agreement is entered into that the terms of any such settlement
would not have a material adverse effect on the Company, its financial position
or its results of operations.
THE
COMPANY ENCOURAGES YOU TO VOTE FOR ITS NOMINEES,
FOR RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTS AND FOR RATIFICATION OF THE COMPANYS AMENDED AND RESTATED 2008 LONG
TERM INCENTIVE PLAN.
If you
sign and return a proxy card sent by the Red Oak Group, you will not be
supporting our nominees. The only way to support the qualified individuals
nominated by our Board is to vote FOR our nominees using the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card. If you have previously signed a proxy card
sent to you by the Red Oak Group, you can change your vote and vote for our
nominees by using the enclosed
WHITE
proxy
card to vote by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided, or, if you hold your shares
in street name (i.e., your shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or
other nominee), you may vote by Internet or by telephone. Only the latest dated
proxy card you submit will be counted.
Please note that the enclosed
WHITE
proxy
card also includes the proposals that the Red Oak Group has notified us it
intends to bring before the Annual Meeting. Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy card provides you with the ability to vote For
or Against
or Abstain from
voting for
any proposals made by the Red Oak Group, as well as to
vote For our director nominees and other matters.
INFORMATION
REGARDING
THE MEETING AND VOTING
Annual Report.
Enclosed
is our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30,
2008, including our audited financial statements. Such Annual Report on Form 10-K
does not form any part of the material for the solicitation of proxies.
Shares
Outstanding and Voting Rights.
Our
voting securities are shares of our common stock, each share of which entitles
the holder thereof to one vote on each matter properly brought before the
meeting. Only stockholders of record at the close of business on September 25,
2009 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting and any adjournment(s) thereof.
As of the record date, there were outstanding and entitled to vote 23,949,282
shares of our common stock. We will have a list of stockholders available for
inspection for at least ten days prior to the Annual Meeting at our principal
executive offices and at the Annual Meeting.
Quorum
and Required Vote.
Quorum
.
The presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders
of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote is
necessary to constitute a quorum at the meeting. Votes marked For the
nominees for director or votes that are withheld for such nominees will be
counted as shares present and entitled to vote in connection with the
determination of whether a quorum exists. Votes marked For or Against the
ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public
accountants will also be counted as shares present and entitled to vote in
connection with the determination of whether a quorum exists. If a quorum is
not present or represented at the meeting, no action may be taken at the
meeting, and the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in person or
represented by proxy, have the power to adjourn the meeting from time to time,
by majority vote of those present,
without notice other
than an announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present or represented.
At any such
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adjourned
meeting at which a quorum is present or represented, any business may be
transacted that might have been transacted at the meeting as originally
notified. The independent inspector of election appointed for the Annual
Meeting will determine the number of shares of our common stock present at the
meeting, determine the validity of proxies and ballots, determine whether a
quorum is present and count all votes and ballots.
If the
Red Oak Group solicits proxies for use at the annual meeting, then all of the
proposals on the meeting agenda will be non-routine matters and brokerage
firms cannot vote on such matters absent voting instructions from their
clients. Thus, all shares as to which brokers do not receive any instructions
to vote will not be represented at the meeting for quorum purposes or voted.
See Broker Non-Votes below for more information.
Required
Vote
.
Cumulative voting is not
permitted in the election of our directors. On all matters (including election
of directors) submitted to a vote of the stockholders at the meeting or any
adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof, each holder of our common
stock will be entitled to one vote for each share of our common stock owned of
record by such stockholder at the close of business on September 25, 2009.
Proxies
in the accompanying form that are properly executed and returned and that are
not revoked will be voted at the meeting and any adjournment(s) or
postponement(s) thereof and will be voted in accordance with the
instructions thereon. Any proxy upon which no instructions have been indicated
with respect to a specified matter will be voted according to the
recommendations of our Board of Directors, which are contained in this proxy
statement. Our Board of Directors knows of no matters to be presented for
consideration at the meeting, other than the election of directors, the
ratification of the appointment of Whitley Penn LLP as our independent
registered public
accountants
for the year ending November 30, 2009,
the
ratification of the Companys Amended and
Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan, and the
matters that the Red Oak Group has notified us that it intends to propose at
the Annual Meeting, which are also included herein. If other matters properly
come before the meeting or any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof,
the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote such proxy in accordance
with their judgment on any such matters. The persons named in the accompanying
proxy may also, if they believe it advisable, vote such proxy to adjourn the
meeting from time to time.
If a
quorum is present, directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, in
person or by proxy. This means that for Proposal No. 1 the nominees will
be elected if they receive more affirmative votes than any other nominee for
the same position. If more than two nominees are properly presented to the
stockholders at the Annual Meeting, the two nominees receiving the highest
number of affirmative votes of the shares which are present or represented by
proxy at the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote for the election of directors
will be elected to our Board. Votes marked For a nominee will be counted in
favor of that nominee. Votes Withheld from a nominee have no effect on the
vote since a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting is required for
the election, or reelection, of each nominee. An abstention may not be
specified with respect to the election of nominees.
The affirmative vote of the
holders of a majority of the shares of our common stock present or represented
by proxy and voting at the
Annual Meeting
is required to
approve
Proposals No. 2
and No. 3, the ratification of the selection of our independent registered
public accountants and ratification of the Companys Amended and
Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan,
and to
disapprove
Proposals No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7
and No. 8, proposals that have been submitted by the Red Oak Group
. An abstention
specified for Proposals No. 2 through 8 will be counted as present for
purposes of determining whether a quorum is present but
will not be voted on that item.
Accordingly, an Abstention will have the effect of a vote Against
Proposals No. 2
through 8
.
Broker Non-Votes
.
Under the rules that govern brokers who have
record ownership of shares that they hold in street name for their clients
who are the beneficial owners of the shares, brokers have the discretion to
vote such shares on discretionary, or routine, matters, such as uncontested
director elections and the ratification of independent registered public
accounting firms, but not on non-discretionary, or non-routine, matters, such
as contested director elections or stockholder proposals. Broker non-votes
generally occur when shares held by a broker nominee for a beneficial owner are
not voted with respect to a proposal because the broker nominee has not
received voting instructions from the beneficial owner and lacks discretionary
authority to vote the shares.
For brokerage
accounts that are sent proxy materials by the Red Oak Group, all items on the
proxy card will be considered non-routine matters. Therefore, if the Red Oak
Group pursues its contested solicitation and you
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hold your shares in street
name but you do not provide voting instructions to your broker, your broker
may not be able to vote on your behalf without your specific instructions. Due
to this possibility, we strongly encourage you to provide your broker, bank or
nominee with specific voting instructions to ensure that your shares are
properly voted on your behalf. You should vote your shares by following the
instructions provided on the
WHITE
voting instruction form and returning your
WHITE
voting instruction form to your broker
to ensure that your shares are voted on your behalf. If there is no contested election, and you do
not provide voting instructions to your broker, your broker may vote your shares
in its discretion as to routine matters, which would include the uncontested
election of directors and the ratification of the appointment of Whitley Penn
LLP as our independent registered public accountants for the year ending November 30,
2009.
Questions and Answers About the Meeting and Voting.
1.
What is the purpose of holding
this meeting?
We are holding the Annual
Meeting to elect directors, to ratify the appointment of Whitley Penn LLP as
our independent registered public accountants for the year ending November 30,
2009, to ratify the Companys Amended and Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive
Plan, and to provide our stockholders a chance to vote against the Red Oak
Groups proposals, which are included in this Proxy Statement as Proposals No. 4
through No. 8. Our Board of Directors nominated and unanimously approved
our director nominees. If any other matters requiring a stockholder vote
properly come before the meeting, those stockholders present at the meeting and
the proxies who have been appointed by our stockholders will vote as they think
appropriate.
Please note that the Red
Oak Group has given notice of its intention to nominate its own slate of two
directors for election to our Board of Directors and submit certain precatory
stockholder proposals at the upcoming Annual Meeting and may solicit proxies
for the matters it intends to bring to the Annual Meeting. You may receive
proxy solicitation materials from the Red Oak Group including an opposition
proxy statement and proxy card. Their proposals seek to: request the Board to
complete the dissolution approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007;
advise the Board that the stockholders do not approve of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby CLST Asset I,
LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire the outstanding equity interest in FCC Investment Trust I
and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions;
disapprove the 2008 long term incentive plan adopted by the Board and request
the Board not to issue any additional share grants or option grants under such
plan and request that the directors rescind their approval of such plan; advise
the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction purportedly entered
into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to which CLST Asset Trust II, an
indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the corporation, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire certain receivables on or before February 28, 2009
and request the directors to take any available and appropriate actions; and
advise the Board that the stockholders disapprove of the transaction
purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST Asset III,
LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased certain
receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair Finance
Company and request the directors to take any available and appropriate
actions.
The Board of Directors is
deeply committed to the Company, its stockholders and enhancing stockholder
value. In the Board of Directors opinion, the Red Oak Groups proposals are
not in the best interests of our
stockholders. The Board of
Directors believes that its nominees are well-qualified to manage the Company
in the stockholders best interests and believes that a vote at the Annual
Meeting in favor of the election of these nominees, in favor of ratification of
the appointment of the Companys independent registered public accountants and
in favor of ratification of the Companys 2008 Long Term incentive Plan is in
the best interests of our stockholders.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE
FOR
THE ELECTION OF THE BOARDS NOMINEES
NAMED ON THE ENCLOSED WHITE PROXY CARD,
FOR
THE RATIFICATION OF THE
APPOINTMENT OF WHITLEY PENN LLP AS OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING NOVEMBER 30, 2009,
FOR
THE RATIFICATION
OF OUR AMENDED AND RESTATED 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN, AND
AGAINST
THE RED OAK GROUPS PROPOSALS, INCLUDED AS PROPOSALS No. 4 THROUGH No. 8 IN
THIS PROXY STATEMENT, AND URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY PROXY CARD SENT
TO YOU BY THE RED OAK GROUP.
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2.
What is a proxy and how does the
proxy process operate?
The proxy process is the
means by which corporate stockholders can exercise their rights to vote for the
election of directors and other corporate proposals. A proxy is your legal
designation of another person to vote the stock you own. The people that you
designate to vote your shares are called proxies. Beverly Scherffius and
Juliana Cordero have been designated as proxies for the Annual Meeting. The
term proxy also refers to the written document or proxy card that you sign
to authorize those persons to vote your shares.
Stockholders may vote by
returning a proxy card, or, if a stockholder holds its shares in street name,
by Internet or telephone, without having to attend the stockholder meeting in
person. By executing the proxy card, you authorize the above-named individual
to act as your proxy to vote your shares in the manner that you specify. The
proxy voting mechanism is vitally important to us. In order for us to obtain
the necessary stockholder approval of proposals, a quorum of stockholders
must be represented at the meeting. The presence, in person or by proxy, of
holders of a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of common
stock entitled to vote at our Annual Meeting are necessary to constitute a
quorum at the Annual Meeting. Since few stockholders can spend the time or
money to attend stockholder meetings in person, voting by proxy is necessary to
obtain a quorum and complete the stockholder vote.
3.
How can I access the proxy materials
over the Internet?
Pursuant to new rules promulgated
by the
SEC
we have
elected to provide access to these proxy statement materials (which includes
this proxy statement, a proxy card and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended November 30, 2008) both by sending you this full set of
proxy statement materials, including a proxy card, and by notifying you of the
availability of such materials on the Internet. Your proxy card will contain
instructions on how to view our proxy materials for the Annual Meeting on the
Internet. Our proxy materials are also available at http://bnymellon.mobular.net/bnymellon/clhi.
4.
How can I obtain copies of CLST
Holdings Annual Report on Form 10-K and other available information about
CLST Holdings?
We are furnishing with
this proxy statement a copy of our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which
includes our financial statements. Stockholders may request a copy of our 2008
Annual Report on Form 10-K at no charge by sending a written request to
Robert A. Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer, CLST Holdings, Inc., at 17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420
Dallas, Texas
75252
.
We are required to file annual,
quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. You may read any materials we
file with the SEC free of charge at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100
F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of all or any part of these
documents may be obtained from such office upon the payment of the fees
prescribed by the SEC. The public may obtain information on the operation of
the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC
maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information
statements and other information regarding registrants that file electronically
with the SEC. The address of the site is
www.sec.gov
.
This proxy statement and our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, including
all exhibits thereto, have been filed electronically with the SEC. Our web site
is
www.clstholdings.com
. No information
from this web site is incorporated by reference herein. You may also obtain
copies of our annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and
certain other information filed with the SEC, as well as amendments thereto,
free of charge from our web site. We also post our Charters of the Audit
Committee, the Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee as well as
our Business Ethics Policy on our web site. These documents are available free
of charge to any stockholder upon request.
5.
What is a proxy statement?
The proxy statement is a
disclosure document in which we furnish you with important information to
assist you in deciding whether to authorize the proxy to vote on your behalf.
12
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6.
What is the difference between a
stockholder of record and a stockholder who holds stock in street name?
If your shares are
registered in your name with our transfer agent, BNY Mellon Shareowner
Services, you are a stockholder of record with respect to those shares. As a
stockholder of record, you have the right to grant your voting proxy directly
to us or to a third party, or to vote in person at the meeting.
If you are the beneficial
owner of shares and they are held in the name of your broker, bank or other
nominee, then your shares are held in street name. Your broker, bank or other
nominee, as the record holder of your shares, is required to vote those shares
in accordance with your instructions. If you beneficially own shares in street
name, these proxy materials are being forwarded to you together with a voting
instruction card on behalf of your broker, bank or other nominee. As the
beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your broker, bank or nominee how
to vote and you are also invited to attend the Annual Meeting. Your broker,
bank or nominee has enclosed or provided voting instructions for you to use in
directing the broker, bank or other nominee how to vote your shares. Since a
beneficial owner in street name is not the stockholder of record, you may not
vote these shares in person at the meeting unless you obtain a legal proxy
from the broker, bank or other nominee that holds your shares, giving you the
right to vote the shares at the meeting.
7.
What is the record date and what
does it mean?
The record date for the
Annual Meeting is September 25, 2009. The record date is established by
our Board of Directors as required by Delaware law. Owners of record of our
common stock at the close of business on the record date are entitled to
receive notice of the meeting and vote at the meeting and any adjournments or
postponements of the meeting.
8.
What different methods can I use
to vote?
Whether you plan to
attend the Annual Meeting or not, we urge you to vote by proxy. Voting by proxy
will not affect your right to attend the Annual Meeting. If you are a
registered stockholder, that is your shares are registered directly in your
name through our stock transfer agent, or you have stock certificates, you may
vote:
·
|
|
By
mail.
Please
sign, date and mail the enclosed
WHITE
proxy
card in the enclosed postage prepaid envelope. Your proxy will be voted in
accordance with your instructions. If you sign the proxy card but do not
specify how you want your shares voted, they will be voted as recommended by
our Board of Directors.
|
|
|
|
·
|
|
In
person at the meeting.
If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may deliver your completed
WHITE
proxy card in person or you may vote by completing a
ballot, which will be available at the Annual Meeting.
|
If your shares are held
in street name (held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee), you
must provide the bank, broker or other nominee with instructions on how to vote
your shares. You may vote as follows:
·
|
|
By
Internet or telephone.
Follow the instructions you receive from your broker to vote by
Internet or telephone.
|
|
|
|
·
|
|
By
mail.
You will
receive instructions from your broker or other nominee explaining how to vote
your shares.
|
|
|
|
·
|
|
In
person at the meeting.
Contact the broker or other nominee who holds your shares to obtain
a legal proxy from the broker or other nominee and bring it with you to the
meeting. You will not be able to vote at the meeting unless you have a legal
proxy. You will also need to sign and submit a ballot in order to have your
vote counted.
|
13
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9.
What is the effect of not voting?
The effect of not voting
depends on how you own your shares. If you own shares as a registered holder,
rather than through a broker or nominee, your unvoted shares will not be
represented at the meeting and will not count toward the quorum requirement.
Assuming a quorum is obtained, your unvoted shares will not affect whether the
proposal is approved or rejected. If the Red Oak Group solicits proxies for use
at the annual meeting, then all of the proposals on the meeting agenda will be non-routine
matters and brokerage firms cannot vote on such matters absent voting
instructions from their clients. Thus, all shares as to which brokers do not
receive any instructions to vote will not be represented at the meeting for
quorum purposes or voted. See Broker Non-Votes above for more information.
10.
If I do not vote, will my broker vote for me and
how will broker non-votes and abstentions be counted?
Under the rules that
govern brokers who have record ownership of shares that they hold in street
name for their clients who are the beneficial owners of the shares, brokers
have the discretion to vote such shares on discretionary, or routine, matters
but not on non-discretionary, or non-routine, matters. Broker non-votes
generally occur when shares held by a broker nominee for a beneficial owner are
not voted with respect to a proposal because the broker nominee has not
received voting instructions from the beneficial owner and lacks discretionary
authority to vote the shares. Brokers normally have discretion to vote on
routine matters, such as uncontested director elections and the ratification of
independent registered public accounting firms, but not on non-routine matters,
such as contested director elections or stockholder proposals.
For brokerage accounts
that are sent proxy materials by the Red Oak Group, all items on the proxy card
will be considered non-routine matters. Therefore, if the Red Oak Group pursues
its contested solicitation and you hold your shares in street name but you do
not provide voting instructions to your broker, your broker may not be able to
vote on your behalf without your specific instructions. Due to this
possibility, we strongly encourage you to provide your broker, bank or nominee
with specific voting instructions to ensure that your shares are properly voted
on your behalf. You should vote your shares by following the instructions
provided on the
WHITE
voting instruction form and
returning your
WHITE
voting instruction form to
your broker to ensure that your shares are voted on your behalf. If there is no contested election, and you do
not provide voting instructions to your broker, your broker may vote your
shares in its discretion as to routine matters, which would include the
uncontested election of directors and the ratification of the appointment of
Whitley Penn LLP as our independent registered public accountants for the year
ending November 30, 2009.
We urge you to provide
instructions to your broker so that your votes may be counted on these
important matters. You should vote your shares by following the instructions
provided on the
WHITE
voting instruction form and
returning your
WHITE
voting instruction form to
your broker to ensure that your shares are voted on your behalf.
11.
What do I do if I receive more than one proxy
statement?
If you received more than
one proxy statement from the Company, your shares are probably registered in
names that are not identical or are held in more than one account. Please vote
each
WHITE
proxy card you received.
As previously noted, the
Red Oak Group provided notice that it intends to nominate its own slate of two
nominees for election as directors at the Annual Meeting and submit certain
other business to the Annual Meeting and may solicit proxies for use at the
Annual Meeting. As a result, you may receive proxy cards from the Red Oak Group
in addition to the
WHITE
proxy
cards from us. To ensure stockholders have our latest proxy information and
materials to vote, our Board of Directors expects to conduct multiple mailings
prior to the date of the Annual Meeting, each of which will include a
WHITE
proxy card regardless of whether or not you have
previously voted. Only the latest dated proxy card you vote will be counted.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS STRONGLY URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY
PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY THE RED OAK GROUP
. Even if you have
previously signed a proxy card sent by the Red Oak Group, you have the right to
change your vote by re-voting by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided, or,
if you hold your shares in street name (i.e., your shares are held in the
name of a bank,
14
Table
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broker or other nominee),
you may vote by Internet or by telephone. A later dated proxy submitted to the
Red Oak Group would also revoke a prior proxy granted to us. Only the latest dated proxy card you vote
will be counted. Please note that the
enclosed
WHITE
proxy card also includes the
proposals that the Red Oak Group has notified us it intends to bring before the
Annual Meeting. Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy
card provides you with the ability to vote For or Against
or
Abstain
from
voting for
any proposals made by the Red Oak Group, as well as to
vote For our director nominees and other matters.
We are not responsible
for the accuracy and completeness of any information provided by or relating to
the Red Oak Group and its nominees for director contained in any proxy
solicitation or other materials filed or disseminated by, or on behalf of, the
Red Oak Group or any other proposals or statements that the Red Oak Group or
its affiliates may otherwise make. The
Red Oak Group chooses which stockholders receive their proxy solicitation
materials.
12.
How can I revoke or change my proxy?
You may revoke your proxy
and change your vote at any time before the proxy has been exercised at the
Annual Meeting. If you are a registered holder, your proxy can be revoked in
several ways: (a) by timely delivery of a written revocation delivered to
the corporate secretary; (b) by submitting another valid proxy as
instructed above bearing a later date; or (c) by attending the meeting in
person and voting by ballot. If your shares are held in street name by a broker
or nominee, you must contact your broker or nominee in order to revoke your
proxy, but generally, you may change your vote by submitting new voting
instructions to your broker or nominee, or, if you have obtained a legal proxy
from your broker or nominee giving you the right to vote your shares, by
attending the meeting and voting in person.
If you
have previously signed a proxy card sent to you by the Red Oak Group, you can
change your vote and vote for our nominees by using the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card to vote by signing, dating and returning
the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the
postage-paid envelope provided, or, if you hold your shares in street name
(i.e., your shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee),
you may vote by Internet or by telephone.
Only the latest dated proxy you submit, in whatever form, will be
counted. Please note that the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card also includes the proposals that the Red
Oak Group has notified us it intends to bring before the Annual Meeting.
Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy
card provides you with the ability to vote For or Against
or Abstain from voting for
any
proposals made by the Red Oak Group, as well as to vote For our director
nominees and other matters.
13.
Who counts the votes?
We have retained a representative of
to serve as an independent inspector of election to receive
and tabulate the proxies and to certify the results.
14.
Will you use a soliciting firm to receive votes?
We have hired Morrow &
Co., LLC (
Morrow
), 470 West Ave.,
Stamford, CT 06902 to assist us in the solicitation of proxies for a fee of up
to $67,500 plus out-of-pocket expenses. Morrow expects that approximately 25 of
its employees will assist in the solicitation.
15.
What are my voting choices when
voting for Proposals No. 1 through No. 8, and what votes are needed
for these proposals?
With regard to the
election of directors, Proposal No. 1, you may cast your vote in favor of
or withhold your vote for each nominee. In accordance with our bylaws and
Delaware law, the nominees who receive a plurality of the votes cast by
stockholders present, in person or by proxy, at the Annual Meeting and entitled
to vote, up to the number of directors to be elected, will be elected as
directors. If more than two nominees are properly presented to the stockholders
at the Annual Meeting, the two nominees receiving the highest number of
affirmative votes of the shares which are present or represented by proxy at
the Annual Meeting and entitled to vote for the election of directors will be
elected to our Board. Stockholders may not cumulate votes in the election of
directors. Votes marked FOR all nominees will be counted in favor of all
nominees, except to the extent the proxy withholds authority to vote for a specified
nominee. Votes that are withheld will be excluded entirely from the vote and
will have no effect. An abstention may not be specified with respect to the
election of the nominees.
As
previously noted, the Red Oak Group has given notice of its intention to
nominate its own slate of two directors for election to our Board of Directors
and submit certain other stockholder proposals at the upcoming
Annual Meeting
and may solicit proxies for the matters it intends to bring to the Annual
Meeting
. You may
receive proxy solicitation materials from the Red Oak Group.
15
Table
of Contents
A
broker is entitled to vote shares held for a beneficial owner on routine
matters, such as the ratification of the appointment of
a companys
independent registered public accounting firm, without instructions from the
beneficial owner of those shares. On the other hand, a broker may not be
entitled to vote shares held for a beneficial owner on certain non-routine
items, such as contested director elections, absent instructions from the
beneficial owners of such shares. For brokerage accounts that are sent proxy
materials by the Red Oak Group, all items on the proxy card will be considered
non-routine matters. Thus, if you do not give your broker specific
instructions, your shares will not be voted on Proposals No. 1 through No. 8.
We urge you to provide instructions to your broker so that your votes may be
counted on these matters. You should vote your shares by following the
instructions provided on the
WHITE
voting
instruction card and returning your
WHITE
voting
instruction card to your broker to ensure that your shares are voted on your
behalf.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A
VOTE FOR
THE ELECTION OF THE BOARDS NOMINEES NAMED ON THE ENCLOSED WHITE PROXY CARD AND
URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY
THE RED OAK GROUP.
With regard to Proposals No. 2
through No. 8, you may cast your vote in favor of, against or abstain from
voting for these proposals. Ratification requires the affirmative vote of the
majority of the shares of our common stock present or represented and entitled
to vote on the matter at the Annual Meeting. Votes marked For will be counted
in favor of the proposal. Votes marked Against will be counted against the
proposal. An abstention specified for Proposals No. 2 through No. 8
will be counted as present for purposes of determining whether a quorum is
present but will not be voted on that item. Accordingly, an Abstention will
have the effect of a vote Against Proposals No. 2 through No. 8.
Unless otherwise instructed, the enclosed proxy will be voted For
ratification
of the appointment of Whitley Penn LLP, For ratification of the Companys
Amended and Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan, and Against Proposals No. 4
through No. 8, which were submitted by the Red Oak Group.
OUR BOARD
RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE RATIFICATION OF WHITLEY PENN LLP, FOR RATIFICATION OF
THE COMPANYS AMENDED AND RESTATED 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN, AND AGAINST
THE RED OAK GROUPS PROPOSALS, INCLUDED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT AS PROPOSALS
NO. 2 THROUGH NO. 8.
16.
What is the deadline to propose
actions for inclusion in our proxy statement for our 2010 Annual Meeting?
Any
stockholder of ours meeting certain minimum stock ownership and holding period
requirements may present a proposal to be included in our proxy statement for
action at the Annual Meeting of stockholders to be held in 2010 pursuant to Rule 14a-8
of the Exchange Act. Such stockholder must deliver such proposal to our
corporate
secretary at CLST Holdings, Inc., at 17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420 Dallas, Texas 75252,
no later than June 29, 2010.
Stockholder proposals to
be presented at our 2010 Annual Meeting of stockholders that are not to be
included in our proxy statement, including nominees for our Board of Directors,
must be received by us no later than 60 days prior to such Annual Meeting, in
accordance with the procedures set forth in our Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, as amended; except that, should less than 70 days
notice or public disclosure of the date such meeting be given or made to
stockholders, such proposal, in order to be timely, must be received no later
than close of business on the tenth day following the date on which such notice
is mailed or such public disclosure is made. See Corporate Governance
Nominating Committee below for more information on nominees proposed by
stockholders.
16
Table
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CERTAIN STOCKHOLDERS
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding beneficial ownership
of our common stock as of the record date or such other date indicated in the
footnotes below by (a) each person who is known by us to be the beneficial
owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, (b) each
of our directors and nominees for director, (c) each of our executive
officers named in the Summary Compensation Table below under Executive
Compensation, and (d) all of our executive officers and directors as a
group. Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that each person or entity named
below has sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares shown as
beneficially owned by such person or entity, subject to community property laws
where applicable and the information set forth in the footnotes to the table
below.
Name and Address of Beneficial
Owner
|
|
Amount and Nature
of Beneficial Ownership
|
|
Percent
of Class(1)
|
|
Michael
A. Roth and Brian J. Stark
c/o Stark Investments
3600 South Lake Drive
St. Francis, Wisconsin 53235
|
|
3,267,254
|
(2)
|
13.6
|
%
|
David
Sandberg
c/o Red Oak Partners, LLC
145 Fourth Avenue, Suite 15A
New York, NY 10003
|
|
4,561,554
|
(3)
|
19.0
|
%
|
Timothy
S. Durham
|
|
3,474,471
|
(4)
|
14.5
|
%
|
Robert
A. Kaiser
|
|
627,423
|
(5)
|
2.6
|
%
|
David
Tornek
|
|
484,320
|
(6)
|
2.0
|
%
|
Patrick
ODonnell
|
|
400,000
|
(7)
|
1.7
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directors
and executive officers as a group
|
|
4,586,214
|
|
19.1
|
%
|
(1)
Based on 23,949,282 shares of our common stock
outstanding as of the record date.
(2)
Based on an amended Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on
February 14, 2007 by Michael A. Roth and Brian J. Stark, filing as joint
filers pursuant to Rule 13d-1(k) under the Exchange Act. Mr. Roth
and Mr. Stark reported shared voting and dispositive power with respect to
all shares shown as beneficially owned in such filing. The 3,267,254 shares of
common stock and percentage ownership represent the combined indirect holdings
of Michael A. Roth and Brian J. Stark. All of the foregoing represents an
aggregate of 3,267,254 shares of common stock held directly by Stark Master
Fund Ltd. (
Stark
). The Reporting
Persons are the Managing Members of Stark Offshore Management LLC (
Stark Offshore
), which serves as
the investment manager of Stark. Through Stark Offshore, Michael A. Roth and
Brian J. Stark share voting and dispositive power over all of the foregoing
shares.
(3)
Based on a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 18,
2009, as amended by Amendment #1 to the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on March 4,
2009 and Amendment #2 to the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on April 28,
2009, by David Sandberg, David Sandberg, Red Oak Partners, Red Oak Fund,
Pinnacle Partners, Pinnacle Fund and Bear Fund. Each of the filers reported
shared voting and dispositive power with respect to all shares shown as
beneficially owned in such filing. Red Oak Partners, and therefore Mr. Sandberg,
managing member of Red Oak Partners, beneficially owns 4,561,554 shares of
common stock. Red Oak Fund is controlled by Red Oak Partners. Red Oak Partners
manages Bear Fund and makes its investment decisions. Pinnacle Fund is
controlled by Pinnacle Partners, which is controlled by Red Oak Partners.
Therefore, Red Oak Partners may be deemed to beneficially own (i) the
3,341,106 shares of common stock held by Red Oak Fund, (ii) the 960,448
shares of common stock beneficially owned by Pinnacle Partners through Pinnacle
Fund, and (iii) the 260,000 shares of common stock held by Bear Fund.
Please refer to Legal Proceedings below for more information regarding a
lawsuit we filed against Red Oak Partners on
17
Table
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February 13, 2009 and a derivative lawsuit filed
by Red Oak Partners against
Messrs. Kaiser, Durham and Tornek
on
March 2, 2009.
(4)
Includes a restricted stock grant, 100,000 shares of
which vested on December 1, 2008, and the remaining 200,000 of which vest
in two equal annual installments on December 1, 2009 and December 1,
2010. Also, this amount includes 1,969,077 shares of common stock based upon
the Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 27, 2009, by Mr. Durham,
DC Investments, LLC, an Indiana limited liability company (
DC Investments
), Fair Holdings, Inc.,
an Ohio corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of DC Investments (
Fair Holdings
) and Fair Finance
Company, an Ohio corporation (
Fair
). Mr. Durham
is the managing member of DC Investments, the Chairman of the Board of
Directors of Fair Holdings and the Chief Executive Office and a member of the
Board of Directors of Fair, and therefore, Durham may be deemed to beneficially
own the 1,969,077 shares of common stock held by Fair. Mr. Durham reported
shared voting and dispositive power with respect to such 1,969,077 shares.
(5)
Includes 36,901 shares held in a partnership
controlled by Mr. Kaiser and his wife, as well as a restricted stock
grant, 100,000 shares of which vested on December 1, 2008, and the
remaining 200,000 of which vest in two equal annual installments on December 1,
2009 and December 1, 2010. Also includes options to purchase 130,000
shares of common stock, 80,000 of which expire on December 12, 2011 and
50,000 of which expire on January 22, 2013.
(6)
Includes a restricted stock grant, 100,000 shares of
which vested on March 5, 2009, and the remaining 200,000 of which vest in
two equal annual installments on March 5, 2010 and March 5, 2011.
(7)
Consists solely of shares of common stock.
18
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PRO
POSAL
NO. 1
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Our
Board of Directors is divided into three classes, being divided as equally as
possible with each class having a term of three years. Each year the term of
office of one class expires. The term of Class I directors, which
currently consists of one director, expired last year, and the term of Class II
directors, which currently consists of one vacancy, expires this year. Our Board
of Directors has nominated Robert A. Kaiser for reelection as a Class I
director at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Kaiser, if reelected, will continue to
hold office for the remaining term of the Class I directors until the
Annual Meeting of stockholders in 2011, and until his successor is duly elected
and qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal. Our Board of
Directors has also nominated Patrick ODonnell for election as a Class II
director at the Annual Meeting. Mr. ODonnell,
if elected, will hold office as a Class II director until the Annual
Meeting of stockholders in 2012, and until his successor is duly elected and
qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal. Each nominee has consented to being named in
this proxy statement and to serving as a director if elected. The seat for Class II
directors was made vacant when our Class II director, Manoj Rajegowda,
tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors on February 24, 2009.
Mr. Rajegowdas letter of resignation is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to
our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended November 30, 2008,
filed with the SEC on March 2, 2009. See Resignation of Director below
for more information.
Should
any nominee for director become unwilling or unable to accept nomination or
election, the proxies will be voted for the election, in his stead, of such
other persons as our Board of Directors may recommend or our Board of Directors
may reduce the number of directors to be elected. We have no reason to believe
that any nominee named above will be unwilling or unable to serve. If a quorum
is present, directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast, in person
or by proxy. This means that the nominees will be re-elected if they receive
more affirmative votes than any other nominee for the same position. If more
than two nominees are properly presented to the stockholders at the Annual
Meeting, the two nominees receiving the highest number of affirmative votes of
the shares which are present or represented by proxy at the Annual Meeting and
entitled to vote for the election of directors will be elected to our
Board. Votes marked For a nominee will
be counted in favor of that nominee. Votes Withheld from a nominee have no
effect on the vote since a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting is
required for the re-election of each nominee. Stockholders may not abstain from
voting with respect to the election of directors. Stockholders may not cumulate
their votes with respect to the election of directors.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote FOR each nominee for director.
Please
note that the Red Oak Group has given notice of its intention to nominate its
own slate of two directors, David Sandberg and Charles Bernard, for election to
our Board of Directors at the upcoming
Annual Meeting
. You may receive proxy solicitation
materials from the Red Oak Group including an opposition proxy statement and
proxy card. Our Board of Directors reviewed the Red Oak Groups notice of its
intention to nominate two directors, reviewed available information concerning
the Red Oak Groups nominees, prior public pronouncements of the individuals
and their communications with us and examined their qualifications based upon
the needs of the Company at this time. The full Board of Directors determined
not to nominate the Red Oak Groups nominees because it does not believe that
election of the Red Oak Groups nominees is in the best interests of the
Company or its stockholders. The Board of Directors believes that its nominees
are well-qualified to manage the Company in the stockholders best interests,
believes that a vote in favor of the election of its nominees at the
Annual Meeting
is in the best interests of the
stockholders and recommends a vote FOR the election of such nominees. As described in detail below, our nominees
have considerable professional and business expertise. The recommendation of
our Board of Directors is based on its carefully considered judgment that the
experience, record and qualifications of our nominees make them the best
candidates to serve on our Board of Directors.
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A
VOTE FOR THE ELECTION OF THE BOARDS NOMINEES AND URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR
RETURN ANY PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY THE RED OAK GROUP.
If you
have previously signed a proxy card sent to you by the Red Oak Group, you can
change your vote and vote for our Board of Directors nominees by using the
enclosed
WHITE
proxy card to vote by signing, dating and returning the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card in the postage-paid envelope
provided, or, if you hold your shares in street name (i.e., your shares are
held in the name of a bank, broker or other nominee), you may vote by Internet
19
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or by telephone. Only the
latest dated proxy you submit will be counted. Please note that the enclosed
WHITE
proxy card also includes the proposals
that the Red Oak Group has notified us it intends to bring before the Annual
Meeting. Therefore, our enclosed
WHITE
proxy card provides you with the ability
to vote For or Against or Abstain from voting for any proposals made by
the Red Oak Group, as well as to vote For our director nominees.
The
following sets forth information regarding the nominees, and the remaining
directors who will continue in office after the Annual Meeting, including
proposed committee memberships.
Name
|
|
Age
|
|
Director
Since
|
|
Class
|
|
Position(s) Held
|
Robert A. Kaiser
|
|
55
|
|
May 2, 2005
|
|
Class I
Director
|
|
Director, Chief
Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
|
Timothy S. Durham
|
|
46
|
|
August 7,
2007
|
|
Class III
Director
|
|
Director, Chairman and
Secretary
|
David Tornek
|
|
48
|
|
January 16,
2009
|
|
Class III
Director
|
|
Director, Chairman of
Nominating Committee, Chairman of Compensation Committee and Chairman of
Audit Committee
|
Patrick ODonnell
|
|
48
|
|
n/a
|
|
Class II
Director
|
|
n/a
|
Robert A. Kaiser, 55, currently serves as a Class I
director and as Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer, which positions he was elected to on September 25, 2007. Mr. Kaiser
has served as a director of the Company since May 2, 2005 and also
previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company from May 2,
2005 until his resignation on April 17, 2007 and again from August 7,
2007 until September 11, 2009. Mr. Kaiser was subsequently elected to
the Board of Directors on August 7, 2007, and was to have served a
one-year term; however, because the Company did not have an Annual Meeting of
stockholders in 2008, he has continued to serve as director. Mr. Kaiser
also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company
from December 21, 2001 until October 2, 2003, when the Board of
Directors named him President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, which
he served as until March 30, 2007, when he resigned in connection with the
completion of the sale of substantially all of the Companys assets. Mr. Kaiser
was also promoted to Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2004, with which he
served consecutively as President and Chief Operating Officer until March 30,
2007. Mr. Kaiser also serves as a member of the board of directors and audit
committee chairman for RBC Life Sciences and has served in such capacities
since September 2008.
Timothy S. Durham, 46, is currently serving a
three-year term as a Class III director and was elected as Secretary of
the Company on August 7, 2007 and as Chairman of the Board on September 11,
2009. Mr. Durham is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Obsidian
Enterprises, Inc. (
Obsidian
),
a private holding company that invests in small and mid cap companies in basic
industries such as manufacturing and transportation. As Chief Executive Officer
of Obsidian, Mr. Durham is responsible for strategic direction and
financial issues. Mr. Durham also serves as Chairman of Fair Holdings, Inc.
(
Fair Holdings
), a financial
services company, where his responsibilities include strategic direction and
financial issues. He has held such positions with Obsidian and Fair Holdings
for more than five years. Mr. Durham also serves as a director of National
Lampoon, Inc. and has done so since 2002.
David Tornek, 48
,
is currently
serving as a Class III director of the Company and was elected as Chairman
of the Companys Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Compensation
Committee on September 11, 2009. Mr. Tornek is currently
Owner/Operator of Touch Catering, Kosher Touch Catering, and Meat Market Miami
Steakhouse, all Miami area restaurants and catering companies. Prior to his
work in the food services industry, Mr. Tornek worked as Chief Financial
Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Century Management Group from 1995 to
2004. Mr. Tornek received a B.S. in accounting from Metropolitan State
College in 1983. Mr. Tornek also serves as a director of National Lampoon, Inc.
and has done so since December 22, 2008.
Patrick ODonnell, 48, is a nominee for Class II Director.
Mr. ODonnell spends the majority of his time as Managing Member for a private
family partnership, Ripples LLC, which invests in small and mid cap companies
predominantly in the technology, finance and energy sectors. He is also
currently Managing Member of three companies: P.A.T Enterprises LLC, a
technology and management consulting firm; Fair Deal Credit LLC, a consumer
credit and investment firm (and which is not related to Fair Finance Company);
and Pharos LLC, an iphone applications development company. In 2004 Mr.
ODonnell spent the majority of the year providing pro bono work that involved
advising the Mayor of the City of Chicago on various technology management
issues. Prior to the fall of 2003, Mr. O'Donnell was at UBS Investment Bank, where
he served as the Chief Information Officer and a member of its Management
Board. He was at UBS Investment Bank,
and its predecessors, from 1989 through 2003, where he served on numerous
senior management and corporate governance bodies, helping to drive the
operational and strategic direction of the firm. UBS Investment Bank is a wholly owned
subsidiary of UBS, a large, globally diversified financial services company,
headquartered in Switzerland.
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We do
not maintain key man insurance on the life of any of our officers. The loss or
interruption of the continued full-time service of our executive officers and
key employees could have a material adverse impact on our business. Our inability to retain such necessary
personnel could also have a material adverse effect on us.
No
family relationships exist among our officers or directors. Except as indicated
above, no director of ours is a director of any company with a class of
securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, or
subject to the requirements of Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act or
any company registered as an investment company under the Investment Company
Act of 1940.
Resignation
of Director.
On February 24,
2009, our director and member of our Audit Committee, Manoj Rajegowda, tendered
his resignation as a member of our Board of Directors, effective immediately,
and, as a result, effectively resigned from our Audit Committee. Mr. Rajegowda
notified us of his resignation through a letter from his counsel, Richards,
Layton, & Finger P.A. A copy of Mr. Rajegowdas letter is
attached as Exhibit 99.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended November 30, 2008.
In his resignation
letter, Mr. Rajegowdas counsel gives, as the reason for his clients
resignation:
. . . the fact that [Mr. Rajegowda has] been
isolated from any meaningful decision making role as a director, and in light
of the fact that the Company has determined to proceed in a manner which he
considers to be antithetical to the expressed wishes of the majority of
stockholders . . .
We discuss and respond to
Mr. Rajegowdas reasons for his resignation below.
In addition to
providing reasons for his resignation, Mr. Rajegowda made a variety of
allegations about our corporate governance and the conduct of our management.
Among other things, in his letter, Mr. Rajegowda:
·
Alleges that he was not properly notified
of a transaction effective February 13, 2009 between us and Fair, James
Cochran and Timothy Durham;
·
Alleges that the transaction with Fair, Mr. Cochran
and Mr. Durham was not properly approved;
·
States that we have failed to provide him
with minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors and that we have not
submitted draft minutes to the Board of Directors for comments and a vote;
·
Alleges that the Board of Directors has
determined to abandon our plan of dissolution; and
·
Alleges that the Boards attempts to
continue the business of the Company in the face of a shareholders vote in
favor of a prompt liquidation puts the interest of the Board ahead of the
interests of the shareholders.
On February 3,
2009, the Board of Directors, by a vote of 3 to 1, with Mr. Rajegowda
voting against, created an Executive Committee of the Board of Directors,
having all of the authority of the Board of Directors,
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including all of the
authority that the Board of Directors had as a committee of the whole when
serving as a committee of the Board of Directors (such as the Audit Committee).
Our Board of Directors took this action because members of the Board of
Directors, other than Mr. Rajegowda, had become concerned that Mr. Rajegowda
was unable, because of conflicts of interest between the interests of his
employer, MC Investments, and his duties as a member of our Board of Directors,
to perform his duties to our stockholders, or to maintain the confidentiality
of our confidential information. Members of our Board of Directors were
specifically concerned that Mr. Rajegowda was sharing our confidential
information with his employer. In addition, Mr. Rajegowda indicated to the
Board of Directors that he was unwilling, under any circumstances, to consider
certain classes of transactions that might be presented to us. In order to
maintain our ability to conduct our business in the best interests of our
stockholders, without the concern that Mr. Rajegowdas conflicts of
interest would adversely affect our decision making, and to assure the
confidentiality of our confidential information, the Board of Directors, with Mr. Rajegowda
voting against, decided to create an Executive Committee of the Board of
Directors, exercising all of the authority and power of the Board of Directors,
including all of the authority of the Board of Directors when it is sitting as
a committee of the whole.
As stated in our
2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, we disagree with Mr. Rajegowdas
allegations, and do not believe that they are supported by the facts. Mr. Rajegowda
is correct when he says that he has not been provided with copies of minutes of
meetings. However, we do not believe that Mr. Rajegowda has requested
copies of those minutes, or requested that minutes of meetings be reviewed and
voted upon. Our normal process does not include the vote that Mr. Rajegowda
refers to. We do not believe that Mr. Rajegowda objected to our normal
process while he was a member of the Board of Directors.
We are not sure
what Mr. Rajegowda is referring to when he says that the Board of
Directors has determined to proceed in a manner which he considers to be
antithetical to the expressed wishes of the majority of stockholders.
Although, from the remainder of the letter, it would appear that he believes
that the Board of Directors has decided to abandon our plan of dissolution, our
Board of Directors has not made that decision, nor has the Executive Committee
of our Board of Directors. We have continued to wind up aspects of our
businesses, including dissolving of some of our subsidiaries and continuing to
try to collect our remaining non cash assets. In addition, we have continued to
review our liabilities and seek to satisfy or resolve those that we can in a
favorable manner. See Item 1, Business 2008 Business of our 2008 Annual
Report on Form 10-K for further discussion with respect to our activities
in this regard. We are doing this so that we can satisfy or provide for our
liabilities as required by our plan of dissolution and applicable law. We do
not now have, and do not believe that we will have in the immediate future,
sufficient information regarding all of our liabilities to pay or appropriately
provide for them as required by our plan of dissolution and applicable law. We
expect that fully implementing our plan of dissolution may require several
years. Our Board of Directors may in the future elect to abandon the plan of
dissolution. The plan of dissolution reserves that right to the Board of
Directors. If the Board of Directors abandons the plan of dissolution, it will
do so only after determining that doing so would be in the best interest of our
stockholders. The Board of Directors expects to review the plan of dissolution
in the near future, and to consider whether it is in the best interest of the
stockholders to abandon the plan. See Item 1, Business Plan of Dissolution
of our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding
our plan of dissolution.
Finally, we note
that, consistent with the concerns of members of our Board of Directors, Mr. Rajegowda
was subject to conflicts of interest as a result of his employment by MC
Investments, the letter from Mr. Rajegowdas counsel submitting his
resignation concluded by reserving Mr. Rajegowdas and MC Investments
rights against the Company and members of the Board of Directors relating to a
transaction approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors
between us and Fair, James Cochran and Timothy Durham. Mr. Durham is a
member of our Board of Directors and serves as Chairman, and Fair is a company
controlled by Mr. Durham.
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Director Independence.
Our Board of
Directors has adopted the independence standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.,
or NASDAQ, as its independence standards (the NASDAQ Stadards). Our Board of
Directors has determined that our current nominees, Mr. Tornek and Mr. ODonnell,
qualify as independent directors and that Messrs. Durham and Kaiser are
not independent directors.
In determining the
independence of Mr. Tornek, our Board of Directors considered the fact
that both Messrs. Durham and Tornek serve on the Board of Directors of
National Lampoon, Inc.
and concluded that this relationship would not impair Mr. Torneks
ability to remain independent as a director on our Board of Directors. In determining the independence of Mr. ODonnell,
our Board of Directors considered the fact that Messrs. ODonnell and
Durham once entered into a joint filing agreement, subsequently filed a
Schedule 13D with respect to securities of the Company with the SEC on February 23,
2006, and thereafter terminated the joint filing agreement on August 15,
2007, and our Board concluded that this relationship would not impair Mr. ODonnells
ability to remain independent as a director on our Board of Directors, should
he be elected.
Mr. Durham
serves on the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating Committee
of our Board of Directors, but does not qualify as independent under the NASDAQ
independence standards for such committees. Mr. Kaiser serves on the Audit
Committee and Nominating Committee of our Board of Directors but does not
qualify as independent under the NASDAQ independence standards for such
committees.
Board
Meetings and Attendance.
We are managed
under the direction of our Board of Directors. As of November 30, 2008, we
had three directors, including two non-employee directors Robert A. Kaiser,
Timothy S. Durham and Manoj Rajegowda. During the year ended November 30,
2008, there were no changes to our Board of Directors. Subsequently, on January 16,
2009, the Board of Directors increased the size of the Board of Directors from
three members to four members and appointed Mr. David Tornek to fill the
vacancy as a Class III director to hold office for the remaining term of
the Class III directors until the Annual Meeting of stockholders in 2010
and until his successor is duly elected and qualified. Mr. Tornek was
appointed by the Board to serve as Chairman of the Audit Committee, the
Nominating Committee and the Compensation Committee on
September 11,
2009
. On February 24,
2009, Mr. Rajegowda tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors. Mr. Rajegowdas
letter of resignation is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended November 30, 2008, filed with the SEC on March 2,
2009. We strongly encourage all members of the Board of Directors to attend
Annual Meetings each year. For the most recent Annual Meeting held on July 31,
2007, four directors were in attendance; the only director not to attend was Da
Hsuan Feng.
Our Board of
Directors is divided into three classes of directors and each class serves a
three year term. Our Board of Directors had only two regular committees, the
Audit Committee and the Executive Committee, until
September 11, 2009
, when it formed an Audit Committee, a
Compensation Committee, and a Nominating Committee, none of which have met as
of the date of this proxy statement. During the 2008 Fiscal Year, the Board of
Directors met 15 times and the Audit Committee met two times. The Executive
Committee was formed in February 2009 and has met three time(s) as of
the date of this proxy statement. No director attended (whether in person,
telephonically, or by written consent) less than 75% of all meetings held
during the period of time he or she served as director during the 2008 Fiscal
Year.
Nominating
Committee.
Since August of
2007, the Board has not had a separately functioning Nominating Committee, and,
during this period, our entire Board
of Directors performed the functions of
a Nominating Committee. In this
capacity, the Board of Directors
did not develop specific, minimum qualifications to be met by a
committee-recommended director, nor did it specify a particular set of
qualities or skills that one or more directors needed to possess, other than
the need for an audit committee financial expert. However, as of September 11,
2009, our Board of Directors
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has formed a Nominating
Committee consisting of Messrs. Durham, Kaiser, and Tornek, with Mr. Tornek
serving as chair. The Nominating Committees charter can be accessed at
http://www.clstholdings.com/corpdocs.asp.
Previously
the Board considered, and now as of
September 11, 2009 the Nominating Committee
considers, nominees proposed by stockholders in accordance with guidelines for
such consideration set forth in our Amended and Restated Certificate of
Incorporation dated as of April 27, 1995, our Bylaws and any applicable rules and
regulations of the SEC. A copy of our charter and Bylaws is available from our
Chief Executive Officer upon written request. Requests or proposals should be
directed to Robert Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer, CLST Holdings, Inc.,
17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420 Dallas, Texas 75252. Article II, Section 7 of our Bylaws provides
that persons nominated by stockholders are eligible for election as directors
only if nominated in accordance with the following procedures. Such nominations
shall be made pursuant to timely notice in writing to our Corporate Secretary.
To be timely, a stockholders notice must be delivered to or mailed and
received at our principal executive offices at CLST Holdings, Inc.,
17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420 Dallas, Texas 75252 not less than 60 days prior to the
meeting of the stockholders called for the election of directors; provided,
however, in the event that less than 70 days notice or prior public disclosure
of the date the meeting is given or made to stockholders, such written notice
must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth day
following the day on which such notice of the date of the meeting was mailed or
such public disclosure of the date of the meeting was made, whichever occurs
first. Such stockholders notice to the
Corporate Secretary must set forth (a) as to the stockholder proposing to
nominate a person for election or re-election as director, (i) the name,
business address and residence address of the stockholder who intends to make
the nomination and (ii) a representation that the stockholder is a holder
of record of shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting and intends to appear in person or by
proxy at the meeting to nominate the person or persons specified in the notice,
and (b) as to the nominee, (i) the name, age, business and resident
addresses, and principal occupation or employment of each nominee; (ii) a
description of all arrangements or understandings between the stockholder and
each nominee and any other person or persons (naming such person or persons)
pursuant to which the nomination or nominations are to be made by the
stockholder; (iii) any other information relating to the nominee that is
required to be disclosed in solicitations for proxies for election of directors
pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act; (iv) any other information that is or would be required to be
disclosed in a Schedule 13D promulgated under the Exchange Act, regardless of whether such person would
otherwise be required to file a Schedule 13D and (v) the consent of each
nominee to serve as a director of the Company if so elected.
The Nominating Committee considers, at a minimum, the following factors
in recommending to the Board potential new Board members, or the continued
service of existing members:
1. the members/potential members demonstrated character, judgment,
relevant business, functional and industry experience, and degree of acumen;
2. whether the member/potential member assists in achieving a Board that
represents an appropriate mix of background and specialized experience;
3. the members/potential members independence, as defined in the Nasdaq
Standards;
4. whether the member/potential member would be considered a financial
expert or financially literate as described in Nasdaq Standards, legislation
or NASDAQ Audit Committee guidelines;
5. the extent of the members/potential members business experience,
technical expertise, or specialized skills or experience;
6. whether the member/potential member, by virtue of particular
experience relevant to the Companys current or future business, will add
specific value as a Board member; and
7. any factors related to the ability and willingness of a new member to
serve, or an existing member to continue his/her service.
Previously the Board did not use, and as of
September 11, 2009 the Nominating Committee
does not use, the services of any third-party search firm to assist in the
identification or evaluation of candidates. The Nominating
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Committee may engage a third party to provide such
services in the future, as it deems necessary or appropriate at the time in
question. Previously the Board determined the required selection criteria and
qualifications of director nominees based upon the Companys needs at the time
nominees are considered; going forward, the Nominating Committee will serve
this role. A candidate must possess the ability to apply good business judgment
and must be in a position to properly exercise his or her duties of loyalty and
care. Candidates should also exhibit proven leadership capabilities, high
integrity and experience with a high level of responsibility within their
chosen fields, and have the ability to quickly understand complex principles
of, but not limited to, business and finance. Just as the Board has done in the
past, the Nominating Committee
will consider these criteria for nominees identified by its committee members,
by stockholders, or through some other source. When current Nominating
Committee members are considered for
nomination for reelection, the Nominating Committee also takes into consideration their prior
contributions, performance and meeting attendance records.
As the Board has done in the past, the
Nominating Committee will conduct a process of making a preliminary assessment of each
proposed nominee based upon resume and biographical information, an indication
of the individuals willingness to serve and other background information. This
information will be evaluated against the criteria set forth above as well as
the Companys specific needs at that time. Based upon a preliminary assessment
of the candidates, those who appear best suited to meet our needs may be
invited to participate in a series of interviews, which are used for further
evaluation. The Nominating Committee uses the same process for evaluating all nominees, regardless of the
original source of the recommendation.
Our current nominees,
Mr. Kaiser and Mr. ODonnell, were nominated by our Board.
Our Board determined not to nominate the Red Oak Groups nominees. As stated
above under Certain Background Information, our Board believes that its
nominees are better qualified to lead the Company than the Red Oak Group
nominees.
Audit Committee.
Until
September 11,
2009, all members of our Board
of Directors served as members of our Audit Committee, and beginning with the
formation of our Executive Committee on February 3, 2009, all members of
our Executive Committee served as members of our Audit Committee. However, as
of September 11, 2009, our Board of Directors has formed an Audit
Committee consisting of Messrs. Durham, Kaiser and Tornek, with Mr. Tornek
serving as chair. Our Audit Committee currently includes one independent member
of our Board of Directors, Mr. Tornek, as such independence is defined
under the NASDAQ Standards. Mr. Tornek also serves as the audit committee
financial expert, as such term is defined in Item 407(d)(5) of
Regulation S-K. The Audit Committees
charter can be accessed at http://www.clstholdings.com/corpdocs.asp.
The
primary purpose of the Audit Committee is to oversee the accounting and
financial reporting processes of the Company and the audits of the financial
statements of the Company. In fulfilling its oversight duties, the Audit
Committee shall have the following responsibilities:
·
Inquiring of management, the internal
auditor and the independent registered public accountants about significant
risks or exposures and assessing the steps management has taken to minimize
such risk to the Company.
·
Considering with management and the
independent registered public accountants the rationale for employing audit
firms other than the principal independent registered public accountants.
·
Considering and reviewing with
management, the independent registered public accountants and the internal
auditor: the adequacy of the Companys internal controls and disclosure
controls and procedures, including the adequacy of controls and security for
management information systems and other information technology, and any
related significant findings and recommendations of the independent registered
public accountants and internal audit together with managements responses
thereto.
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·
Reviewing filings with the SEC and
other published documents containing the Companys financial statements and
considering whether the information contained in these documents is consistent
with the information contained in the financial statements.
`
·
Reviewing the Companys policies
relating to compliance with laws and regulations; the Companys code of
conduct; ethics; officers expense accounts, perquisites, and use of corporate
assets; conflict of interest and the investigation of misconduct or fraud.
·
Determining the extent to which the
planned audit scope of the internal auditor and independent registered public
accountants can be relied on to detect fraud.
·
Reviewing legal and regulatory
matters that may have a material impact on the financial statements, the
Companys related compliance policies and programs and reports received from
regulators.
·
Reporting actions of the Audit
Committee to the Board of Directors with such recommendations as the Audit
Committee may deem appropriate.
·
Providing a report of the Audit
Committees activities to the Board at regular intervals.
·
Reviewing and approving all
related-party transactions, or designate a comparable body of the Board of
Directors to review and approve all related-party transactions.
·
Performing such other functions as
set forth in the Audit Committees charter.
Compensation Committee.
Since August of 2007, the Board has not had a separately
functioning Compensation Committee, and during this period our entire Board of
Directors performed the functions of a Compensation Committee, with
compensation payable to our executive officers being determined by our Board of
Directors as a group. Robert A. Kaiser was, and continues to be, our only
director who receives compensation as an executive officer. However, as of September 11, 2009, our
Board of Directors has formed a Compensation Committee consisting of Messrs. Durham
and Tornek, with Mr. Tornek serving as chair. The Compensation Committees
charter can be accessed at
http://www.clstholdings.com/corpdocs.asp.
The Compensation
Committee serves the Board of Directors and is subject to their control and
direction. The Board may, however, at its discretion, delegate authority to the
Chairman of the Compensation Committee to approve specific actions that fall
within established program guidelines approved by the Board or the Compensation
Committee or to other officers of the Company to approve specific actions
within such guidelines as permitted by this Charter, the Companys charter and
bylaws, and applicable law.
The Compensation
Committee has the authority, acting alone, to retain special legal, accounting,
human resources, or other consultants to advise the Committee on the
performance of its duties. The Compensation Committee may request that any
officer or employee of the Company or the Companys outside counsel or
independent
registered public accountants
attend a meeting of the Compensation Committee or meet
with any member of, or consultant to, the Compensation Committee. The
Compensation Committee shall have the authority to delegate responsibility for
the day-to-day administration of executive compensation payable to the officers
of the Company.
Stockholder Communications with the Board of
Directors.
We and our
Board of Directors welcome communications from our stockholders. Stockholders who wish to
communicate with the Board of Directors, or one or more specified directors, may send an appropriately addressed
letter to the Chairman of the Board of Directors, CLST Holdings, Inc., 17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza, Suite 420
Dallas, Texas 75252. The mailing
envelope should contain a clear notation indicating that the enclosed letter is
a Stockholder-Board Communication. All such letters should identify the author
as a security holder, and, if the author desires for the communication to be
forwarded to the entire Board of Directors or one or more specified
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directors,
the author should so request, in which case the Chairman will arrange for it to
be so forwarded unless the communication is irrelevant or improper. Concerns
relating to accounting, internal control over financial reporting or auditing
matters will be immediately brought to the attention of the Chairman of the
Audit Committee.
Code of Ethics.
We
have established a Code of Ethics for our chief executive officer, senior
finance officers and all other employees. A current copy of this code is
available on our web site at
www.clstholdings.com
. If we amend the Code of Ethics or grant
a waiver of a provision of the Code of Ethics, we will disclose such amendment
or waiver on our website within four business days following such amendment or
waiver. Such information will remain available on our website for at least
twelve months following the date of such disclosure.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND
RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Review, Approval or Ratification of Transactions with Related Persons.
Our Board of
Directors recognizes that related party transactions present a heightened risk
of conflicts of interest and/or improper valuation (or the perception thereof)
and therefore has adopted a policy within our Business Ethics Policy which
shall be followed in connection with all related party transactions involving
the Company. Our Business Ethics Policy can be found at our Internet website at
www.clstholdings.com
. Under this
policy, any Related Party Transaction shall be consummated or shall continue
only if:
1.
the Audit Committee shall approve or
ratify such transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the
policy and if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be
obtained in arms length dealings with an unrelated thirty party;
2.
the transaction is approved by the
disinterested members of the Board of Directors; or
3.
the transaction involves compensation
approved by the Companys Compensation Committee.
For these purposes, a Related Party is:
·
a senior officer (which shall include
at a minimum each vice president and Section 16 officer) or director of
the Company
·
a stockholder owning in excess of
five percent of the Company (or its controlled affiliates)
·
a person who is an immediate family
member of a senior officer or director
·
an entity which is owned or
controlled by someone listed in 1, 2 or 3 above, or an entity in which someone
listed in 1, 2 or 3 above has a substantial ownership interest or control of
such entity.
For these purposes, a Related Party Transaction is a transaction
between the Company and any Related Party (including any transactions requiring
disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act), other
than:
·
transactions available to all employees
generally
·
transactions involving less than
$5,000 when aggregated with all similar transactions.
The Board of Directors
has determined that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is best
suited to review and approve Related Party Transactions. Accordingly, at each
calendar years first regularly scheduled Audit Committee meeting, management
shall recommend Related Party Transactions to be entered into by the Company
for that calendar year, including the proposed aggregate value of such transactions
if applicable. After review, the Audit Committee shall approve or disapprove
such transactions and at each subsequently scheduled meeting, management shall
update the Audit Committee as to any material change to those proposed
transactions.
In the event management
recommends any further Related Party Transactions subsequent to the first
calendar year meeting, such transactions may be presented to the Audit
Committee for approval or preliminarily
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entered into by
management subject to ratification by the Committee; provided, that if
ratification shall not be forthcoming, management shall make all reasonable
efforts to cancel or annul such transaction.
The Board of Directors
recognizes that situations exist where a significant opportunity may be
presented to management or a member of the Board of Directors that may equally
be available to the Company, either directly or via referral. Before such
opportunity may be consummated by a Related Party (other than an otherwise
unaffiliated 5% stockholder), such opportunity shall be presented to the Board
of Directors of the Company for consideration.
All
Related Party Transactions are to be disclosed in the Companys applicable
filings as required by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
Securities Act
) and the Exchange
Act, and related rules. Furthermore, all Related Party Transactions shall be
disclosed to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and any material
Related Party Transaction shall be disclosed to the full Board of Directors.
Further, management shall assure that all Related Party Transactions are
approved in accordance with any requirements of the Companys financing
agreements.
Related Party Transactions.
CLST Asset I, LLC
On November 10,
2008, we, through CLST Asset I, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of CLST Financo, Inc.
(
Financo
),
which is one of our direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, entered into a purchase
agreement to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of FCC Investment
Trust I (the
Trust
)
from a third party for approximately $41.0 million (the
Trust
Purchase Agreement
).
Our acquisition of the Trust was financed by approximately $6.1 million of cash
on hand and by a non-recourse, term loan of approximately $34.9 million by
Fortress Credit Co LLC (
Fortress
),
an affiliate of the seller of the Trust, pursuant to the terms and conditions
set forth in the credit agreement, dated November 10, 2008, among the
Trust, Fortress, FCC Finance, LLC (
FCC
), as
the initial servicer, Lyon Financial Services, Inc. (d/b/a U.S. Bank
Portfolio Services), as the backup servicer, and U.S. Bank National
Association, as the collateral custodian (the
Trust Credit Agreement
).
Pursuant to the Trust Credit
Agreement, Fair Finance Company, an Ohio corporation (
Fair
) may become the servicer if and only if there
occurs an event of a default by the then current servicer and only if Fair is
not then in default either as a borrower or as a servicer under any credit
facility to which Fortress or any of its affiliates is a party and no change of
control of Fair has occurred.
Timothy S. Durham, an officer, director
and stockholder of the Company, is Chief Executive Officer and Director of Fair
and is also a majority stockholder of Fair.
As of the date of this
proxy statement, FCC continues to be the servicer of the CLST Asset I
portfolio, and the Company is not aware that the servicer is in default under
the Trust Credit Agreement. Because Fair
is not currently acting as the servicer of CLST Asset I and Fair could only
become a servicer upon certain defaults by the current servicer, it is not
currently anticipated that Fair will have a direct or indirect material
interest in the Trust Credit Agreement.
The servicing fee payable to the servicer in any given year under the
Trust Credit Agreement is based upon a service fee rate of 1.5% and the
aggregate outstanding receivable balance.
CLST Asset III, LLC
Effective February 13,
2009, we, through CLST Asset III, LLC (
CLST
Asset III
), a newly formed, wholly owned subsidiary of Financo,
which is one of our direct, wholly owned subsidiaries, purchased certain
receivables, installment sales contracts and related assets owned by
Fair
, James F. Cochran, Chairman and Director
of Fair, and by Timothy S. Durham, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Fair
and an officer, director and stockholder of our Company (the
Fair
Purchase Agreement
). Messrs. Durham
and Cochran own all of the outstanding equity of Fair. In return for assets
acquired under the Fair Purchase Agreement, CLST Asset III paid the sellers
total consideration of $3,594,354 as follows:
(1)
cash in the amount of $1,797,178 of which $1,417,737
was paid to Fair, $325,440 was paid to Mr. Durham and $54,000 was paid to Mr. Cochran,
28
Table
of Contents
(2)
2,496,077 newly issued shares of our
common stock at a price of $0.36 per share, of which 1,969,077 shares of Common
Stock were issued to Fair, 452,000 shares of Common Stock were issued to Mr. Durham
and 75,000 shares of Common Stock were issued to Mr. Cochran and
(3)
six promissory notes (the
Notes
) issued by CLST Asset
III in an aggregate original stated principal amount of $898,588, of which two
promissory notes in an aggregate original principal amount of $708,868 were
issued to Fair, two promissory notes in an aggregate original principal amount
of $162,720 were issued to Mr. Durham and two promissory notes in an
aggregate original principal amount of $27,000 were issued to Mr. Cochran.
We received a fairness
opinion of Business Valuation Advisors (
BVA
)
stating that BVA is of the opinion that the consideration paid by us pursuant
to the Fair Purchase Agreement is fair, from a financial point of view, to our
nonaffiliated stockholders. A copy of the fairness opinion was filed as
an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 20,
2009. The shares of Common Stock were issued by us in a transaction
exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities
Act. As additional inducement for CLST Asset III to enter into the Fair
Purchase Agreement, Fair agreed to use its best efforts to facilitate
negotiations to add CLST Asset III or one of its affiliates as a co-borrower
under one of Fairs existing lines of credit with access to at least
$15,000,000 of credit for our own purposes. To date we have not been added as a
co-borrower.
Substantially all of the
assets acquired by CLST Asset III are in one of two portfolios. Portfolio A is
a mixed pool of receivables from several asset classes, including health and
fitness club memberships, resort memberships, receivables associated with
campgrounds and timeshares, in-home food sales and services, buyers clubs,
delivered products and home improvements and tuitions. Portfolio B is
made up entirely of receivables related to the sale of tanning bed products.
At least initially, Fair will continue to act as servicer for these
receivables. Fair will receive no additional consideration for acting as
servicer.
As of February 13,
2009, the portfolios of receivables acquired pursuant to the Fair Purchase
Agreement collectively consisted of approximately 3,000 accounts with an
aggregate outstanding balance of approximately $3,709,500 and an average
outstanding balance per account of approximately $1,015 for Portfolio A and
approximately $5,740 for Portfolio B. As of February 13, 2009, the
weighted average interest rate of the portfolios exceeded 18%. The
sellers are required to repurchase any accounts, for the outstanding balance
(at the time of repurchase) of such account plus interest accrued thereon, that
do not satisfy certain specified eligibility requirements set out in the Fair
Purchase Agreement. Additionally, each of the sellers is required to
jointly and severally pay CLST Asset III, up to the aggregate stated principal
amount of the Notes issued to such seller, the outstanding balance of any
receivable that becomes a defaulted receivable within the parameters of the
Fair Purchase Agreement.
The Notes issued by CLST
Asset III in favor of the sellers are full-recourse with respect to CLST Asset
III and are unsecured. The three Notes relating to Portfolio A (the
Portfolio A Notes
) are
payable in 11 quarterly installments, each consisting of equal principal
payments, plus all interest accrued through such payment date at a rate of 4.0%
plus the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Portfolio A Notes). The three
Notes relating to Portfolio B (the
Portfolio
B Notes
) are payable in 21 quarterly installments,
each consisting of equal principal
payments, plus all interest accrued through such payment date at a rate of 4.0%
plus the LIBOR Rate (as defined in the Portfolio B Notes).
For the six months ended May 31,
2009, Fair remitted to CLST Asset III approximately $707,000.
During the second quarter of 2009 we began
implementing the servicing, collection and other procedures relating to
management of CLST Asset III contemplated by the agreements between us and the
servicer of the portfolio. The implementation of those procedures required
several meetings with the servicer and was not fully complete in the second
quarter of 2009. We expect the reporting, collection and other procedures
contemplated in our agreements with the servicer to be fully implemented during
the third quarter of 2009 and do not foresee any difficulties in doing so. As
previously mentioned, Fair is the servicer of the CLST Asset III portfolio and
is an affiliate of Mr. Durham.
29
Table
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SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL
OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE
Section 16(a) of
the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers, and persons who
own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities, to file
initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Such persons are required by
SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms
they file.
Based solely on our
review of the copies of such forms received by us with respect to 2008, or
written representations from certain reporting persons, we believe that all
filing requirements applicable to our directors, executive officers and persons
who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities have been
complied with during fiscal 2008. However, subsequent to fiscal 2008, the Red
Oak Group, which reported it was the beneficial owner of 4,561,554 shares of
our common stock in a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 18,
2009, as amended by an Amended Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on March 4,
2009, did not timely file a Form 4 with respect to acquisitions of our
stock on February 10, 2009, February 11, 2009, February 12,
2009 and February 13, 2009. Please refer to Certain Background
Information Litigation with the Red Oak Group above for more information
regarding a lawsuit we filed against the Red Oak Group on February 13,
2009 and a derivative lawsuit filed by the Red Oak Group against Messrs. Kaiser,
Durham and Tornek on March 2, 2009.
30
Table
of Contents
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary
Compensation Table.
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding compensation earned by
all individuals serving as our Chief Executive Officer during fiscal year 2008
and our two most highly compensated executive officers (other than the Chief
Executive Officer) who served as executive officers during fiscal year 2008
(the
Named Executive Officers
),
for each of the last two fiscal years.
Name and Principal
Position
|
|
Year
|
|
Salary
($)
|
|
Bonus
($)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)(4)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)(4)
|
|
Nonequity
incentive
plan
compensation
($)
|
|
Nonqualified
deferred
compensation
earnings
($)
|
|
All other
compensation
($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Kaiser,
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer (1)
|
|
2008
|
|
$
|
240,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
21,000
|
(2)
|
$
|
261,000
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
$
|
295,250
|
|
|
|
$
|
627,500
|
(1)
|
$
|
5,300
|
|
N/A
|
|
N/A
|
|
$
|
3,823,500
|
(3)
|
$
|
4,751,550
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
|
Mr. Kaiser served as President and Chief
Executive Officer until March 30, 2007, when he resigned in connection
with the completion of sale of the Companys United States and Miami-based
Latin American operations. Mr. Kaiser served as Chairman of the Board of
Directors until April 17, 2007 and again from August 7, 2007 until
September 11, 2009. Mr. Kaiser was subsequently reelected as Chief
Executive Officer and elected as Chief Financial Officer on
September 25, 2007.
|
|
|
(2)
|
Includes Board of Director Fees of $21,000.
|
|
|
(3)
|
Includes Company matching contributions to
Mr. Kaisers 401(k) plan of $11,250, Change of Control payments in
2007 of $3.6 million and Board of Director Fees of $25,792. On
August 28, 2007, the Board of Directors authorized the retention of
Mr. Kaiser as a consultant to the Company for the sum of $20,000 per month,
on a month-to-month basis, terminable at will by either party. For the year
ended November 30, 2007, Mr. Kaiser received $84,000 in consultant
payments. As of January 1, 2008, Mr. Kaiser became an employee of
the Company.
|
|
|
(4)
|
The amounts reported in the Stock Awards and Option
Awards columns reflect the dollar amount, without any reduction for risk of
forfeiture, recognized for financial reporting purposes for the fiscal year
ended November 30, 2008 and 2007 of awards of stock options and
restricted stock or restricted stock units to the Named Executive Officer,
calculated in accordance with the provisions of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment (
SFAS 123(R)
), and were
calculated using certain assumptions, as set forth in footnote 1 to our
audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2008
and 2007, included herein. These amounts include amounts from awards granted
in and prior to 2006.
|
31
Table of Contents
Outstanding
Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End November 30, 2008.
The following table
provides information concerning unexercised options, stock that has not vested
and equity incentive plan awards for each of the Named Executive Officers as of
November 30, 2008.
|
|
Option Awards
|
|
Stock Awards
|
|
Name
|
|
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options (#)
exercisable
|
|
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options (#)
unexercisable
|
|
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
unearned
options (#)
|
|
Option
exercise
price ($)
|
|
Option
expiration
date
|
|
Number
of shares
or units
of stock
that have
not vested
(#)
|
|
Market
value of
shares of
units of
stock
that have
not
vested ($)
|
|
Equity
incentive
plan
awards:
Number of
unearned
shares,
units or
other
rights that
have not
vested (#)
|
|
Equity
incentive plan
awards:
Market or
payout value
of unearned
shares, units
or other rights
that have not
vested
|
|
Robert A. Kaiser,
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
80,000
|
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
4.60
|
|
12/21/2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
50,000
|
(1)
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
5.45
|
|
1/22/2013
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1)
The Companys former 1993 Plan terminated on December 3,
2003. However, Mr. Kaiser currently has exercisable options that were
granted under the 1993 Plan Mr. Kaiser was granted options Plan to
purchase 80,000 shares of the Companys common stock on December 12, 2001,
and 50,000 shares of the Companys common stock on January 22, 2003. Each
of these options vested with respect to 25% of the shares covered thereby on
each of the first four anniversaries of the date of grant and expires ten years
following the date of grant. The exercise price of each option was equal to the
fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant.
Compensation of Executive Officers.
Employment Contracts and Termination of Employment
and Change in Control Arrangements.
The Company maintained an
employment agreement with Mr. Kaiser (the
Agreement
) prior to March 30,
2007. In connection with the sale of the Companys United States and
Miami-based Latin American operations, the related sale agreement required as a
condition of closing that the Company pay all amounts due Mr. Kaiser under
his Agreement with the Company, including payments due as a result of a change
in control of the Company resulting from the sale. To receive those payments, Mr. Kaisers
employment with the Company had to be terminated. Although Mr. Kaiser
would have preferred to remain as Chief Executive Officer and President of the
Company after the closing until he believed he had fulfilled the
responsibilities of those positions, he agreed to resign on March 30,
2007, so that the closing could be completed. Mr. Kaiser continued to
serve on the Board of Directors throughout 2007, including after his election
to the Board of Directors on August 7, 2007. On August 7, 2007, Mr. Kaiser
was appointed Chairman of the Board and served until September 11, 2009,
at which time Timothy S. Durham was appointed Chairman of the Board. On August 28,
2007, the Board of Directors authorized the retention of Mr. Kaiser as a
consultant to the Company for a sum of $20,000 a month on a month-to-month
basis, terminable at will by either party. On September 25, 2007, in
addition to his duties as Chairman, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. As of January 1, 2008, Mr. Kaiser
is now an employee of the Company and receives $20,000 per month.
Compensation
of Directors.
The following table provides information concerning
compensation of the Companys directors for the fiscal year ended November 30,
2008. All compensation received by Mr. Kaiser for fiscal 2008 that is as a
result of his membership on the Board of Directors is reflected in the Summary
Compensation Table above.
32
Table
of Contents
Name
|
|
Fees
earned or
paid in
cash ($)
|
|
Stock
awards
($)
|
|
Option
awards
($)
|
|
Non-equity
incentive plan
compensation
($)
|
|
Nonqualified
deferred
compensation
earnings
($)
|
|
All other
compensation
($)
|
|
Total ($)
|
|
Timothy S. Durham
|
|
$
|
17,750
|
|
|
|
|
|
N/A
|
|
N/A
|
|
|
|
$
|
17,750
|
|
Manoj Rajegowda (1)
|
|
$
|
17,250
|
|
|
|
|
|
N/A
|
|
N/A
|
|
|
|
$
|
17,250
|
|
(1)
On February 24, 2009, our director
and member of our Audit Committee, Manoj Rajegowda, tendered his resignation as
a member of our Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Historically, we issued
shares of restricted stock to our employees and executive officers pursuant to
our 2003 Long-Term Incentive Plan (the
2003 Plan
).
The number of shares to be granted under the 2003 Plan was determined by the
Board of Directors at the time of the grant based upon the pool of shares then
available for grant. The awarded shares vested at the rate of 33
1
/
3
% per year
on each anniversary date of grant and were subject to such other terms and
conditions as may be contained in the form of restricted stock award agreement
generally used by the Company at the time of grant. From November 30, 2006
until September 25, 2007, each non-employee director who was then serving
as such received a grant of 4,500 shares of restricted stock. At a meeting of
the Board of Directors on September 25, 2007, the Board of Directors
unanimously resolved to terminate the Companys 2003 Plan due to the reduction
in the Companys workforce. As a result of the termination of the 2003 Plan,
all outstanding options to purchase the equity securities of the Company issued
thereunder were terminated as well. Therefore, there are currently no
outstanding options to purchase the Companys securities under the 2003 Plan.
Furthermore, no options or restricted stock were granted to directors during
fiscal year 2008.
Subsequent to fiscal
2008, on December 1, 2008, our Board of Directors approved the Companys
2008 Long Term Incentive Plan (the
2008 Plan
).
Effective September 11, 2009, the Board amended and restated the 2008 plan
to decrease the number of shares of common stock of the Company that may be
issued under the 2008 Plan from 20,000,000 to 2,000,000. In Proposal No. 3
of this proxy statement, the Board seeks the ratification of our stockholders
of the 2008 Plan, and in Proposal No. 5, the Board requests stockholders
to vote against the Red Oak Groups proposal to disapprove the 2008 Plan. The
2008 Plan, which is administered by the Board of Directors, permits the grant
of restricted stock, stock options and other stock-based awards to employees,
officer, directors, consultants and advisors of the Company and its
subsidiaries. The 2008 Plan provides that the administrator of the plan may
determine the terms and conditions applicable to each award, and each award
will be evidenced by a stock option agreement or restricted stock agreement.
The 2008 Plan will terminate on December 1, 2018.
In addition, on December 1,
2008 our Board of Directors approved the grant of 300,000 shares of restricted
stock to each of Timothy S. Durham, Robert A. Kaiser and Manoj Rajegowda.
Subsequently, on February 24, 2009, Mr. Rajegowda forfeited all stock
issuances provided to him during the course of his Board of Directors
membership in connection with his resignation from the Board of Directors. Of
each restricted stock grant, 100,000 shares vested on the date of grant, and
the remaining 200,000 of the shares vest in two equal annual installments on
each anniversary of the date of grant. The restricted stock becomes 100%
vested if any of the following occurs: (i) the participants death or (ii) the
disability of the Participant while employed or engaged as a director or
consultant by the Company. On March 5, 2009, our Board of Directors
approved the grant of 300,000 shares of restricted stock to David Tornek, of
which 100,000 shares vested on the date of grant, and the remaining 200,000 of
the shares vest in two equal annual installments on each anniversary of the
date of grant.
Each of our directors
receives an annual retainer of $10,000. In addition, each director receives
$750 per Board of Directors meeting that he is present or $500 if he
participates telephonically.
All directors of the
Company are entitled to reimbursement of their reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses in connection with their travel to, and attendance at, meetings of the
Board of Directors or committees thereof. There were no other arrangements
pursuant to which any director was compensated for any service provided as a
director during fiscal 2008, other than as set forth above.
33
Table
of Contents
PRO
POSAL NO. 2
RATIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
We are asking the stockholders to ratify the Audit
Committees appointment of Whitley Penn LLP as our independent registered
public accountants for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2009. Whitley
Penn LLP is a registered public accounting firm with the Public Accounting
Oversight Board (
PCAOB
), as required by the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of the PCAOB. Although
ratification of the appointment of the independent registered public
accountants is not required by law, the Audit Committee and the Board of
Directors believe that stockholders should be given the opportunity to express
their views on the subject. In the event the stockholders fail to ratify the
appointment, the Audit Committee will reconsider this appointment. Ultimately,
the Audit Committee retains full discretion and will make all determinations with
respect to the appointment of independent registered public accountants,
whether or not the Companys stockholders ratify the appointment. Even if the
appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee, in its discretion, may direct the
appointment of different independent registered public accountants at any time
during the year if the Audit Committee determines that such a change would be
in the Companys and its stockholders best interests.
Ratification requires the affirmative vote of the
majority of the shares of the Companys common stock present or represented and
entitled to vote on the matter at the Annual Meeting. Unless otherwise
instructed, the enclosed proxy will be voted
FOR
ratification of the appointment of Whitley Penn LLP.
Representatives
of
Whitley Penn LLP will be present at the Annual
Meeting with the opportunity to make a
statement if they desire to do so and will be available to respond to
appropriate questions from stockholders.
Effective August 31, 2007, the Audit Committee
engaged Whitley Penn LLP as our
principal independent registered public accountants following the resignation
of Grant Thornton LLP, as more fully described below.
Resignation of Grant
Thornton LLP.
As disclosed in our Form 8-K filed with the SEC
on September 4, 2007, we received a letter from Grant Thornton LLP (
Grant Thornton
) on August 28,
2007 stating that Grant Thornton resigned as the independent registered public
accounting firm of CLST Holdings, Inc.
Grant Thorntons reports on our consolidated financial
statements for each of the fiscal years ended November 30, 2006 and 2005
did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, nor were they
qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.
During the fiscal years ended November 30, 2006
and 2005 and through August 28, 2007, there were no disagreements with
Grant Thornton on any matter of accounting principle or practice, financial
statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure that, if not resolved to
Grant Thorntons satisfaction, would have caused them to make references to the
subject matter in connection with their reports of our consolidated financial
statements for such periods.
During the fiscal years ended November 30, 2006
and 2005 and through August 28, 2007, there were no reportable events
within the meaning of Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulations S-K,
except for the material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting
described in the following paragraph.
In our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended November 30, 2005, we reported that we had the following material
weaknesses in our internal controls:
·
Lack of sufficient awareness
and formal communication of accounting policies and procedures, resulting in
the inconsistent application of and adherence to corporate policies; and
·
Lack of timeliness and
precision of the review of detailed account reconciliations and supporting
documentation in the North American and Corporate segments that encompass the
consolidation and financial reporting process.
34
Table
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Grant Thorntons report
on the Companys internal control over financial reporting stated that based on
the effect of these material weaknesses on the achievement of the objectives of
the control criteria, we had not maintained effective internal control over
financial reporting as of November 30, 2005.
Engagement of Whitley Penn LLP.
As further disclosed in our Form 8-K filed with
the SEC on September 4, 2007, on August 31, 2007 we engaged Whitley
Penn LLP (
Whitley Penn
) as our new
principal independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial
statements for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2007. The decision to
engage Whitley Penn was approved by our Board of Directors. On the same date,
Whitley Penn advised the Company that it was accepting the position as the
Companys new principal independent registered public accounting firm for the
year ending November 30, 2007.
During the fiscal years ended November 30, 2006
and 2005 and through August 31, 2007, we did not consult with Whitley Penn
regarding (i) the application of accounting principles to a specified
transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that
might be rendered on our financial statements; or (ii) any matter that was
either the subject of a disagreement or reportable event per
Item 304(a)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
Fees
to Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for Fiscal 2008 and 2007.
The following table
summarizes the fees billed by Whitley Penn LLP for services rendered
during the fiscal years ended November 30, 2008 and November 30, 2007
(in thousands).
|
|
2008
|
|
2007
|
|
Audit Fees(1)
|
|
$
|
115
|
|
$
|
139
|
|
Audit-Related
Fees(2)
|
|
18
|
|
26
|
|
Tax Fees(3)
|
|
9
|
|
2
|
|
All Other
Fees(4)
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
$
|
167
|
|
$
|
167
|
|
(1)
Audit Fees includes fees and expenses billed for the
audit of the Companys annual financial statements and review of financial
statements included in the Companys quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and
other regulatory filings.
(2)
Audit-Related Fees includes fees billed for services
that are related to the performance of the audit or review of the Companys
financial statements (which are not reported above under the caption Audit
Fees). For fiscal 2007 and 2008, the amount relates to an audit of the Companys
401k plan.
(3)
Tax fees relate to various tax planning
consultations.
(4)
Other fees in 2008 relate to the Companys
acquisition of FCC Investment Trust I.
The Audit Committee has considered whether the
provision of non-audit services by Whitley Penn is compatible with maintaining
the principal accountants independence, and has determined that it is. The
Audit Committee has sole authority to engage and determine the compensation of
the Companys independent registered public accountants. Pre-approval by the
Audit Committee is required for any engagement of Whitley Penn, subject to
certain de minimis exceptions. Annually, the Audit Committee pre-approves
services to be provided by Whitley Penn.
All of the
services described herein were approved by the Audit Committee pursuant to its
pre-approval policies.
None of the hours expended on the independent
registered public accounting firms engagement to audit our financial
statements for the most recent fiscal year were attributed to work performed by
persons other than the independent registered public accounting firms
full-time permanent employees.
35
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of Contents
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote FOR ratification of the appointment
of Whitley Penn LLP as the Companys independent
registered public accountants
.
REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Audit Committee does not
prepare financial statements or attest to their accuracy. The preparation,
presentation and integrity of the Companys financial reports are the
responsibility of management. Whitley Penn
LLP, the
Companys independent
registered public accountants
for 2008, are responsible for auditing
the Companys financial statements in accordance with standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and expressing an opinion on
their conformity to accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America.
In performance of its
oversight function, the Audit Committee reviewed and discussed the audited
financial statements of the Company with management and the independent
registered
public accountants
.
It also provided oversight of the independent
registered public
accountants
, the
Companys internal audit function and the Companys disclosure controls and
procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In performing these
duties, the Audit Committee met a total of two times during fiscal 2008 with
management and the independent
registered public
accountants
, and
internal audit representatives attended one of those meetings.
The Audit Committee
reviewed the written disclosures and the letter from Whitley Penn LLP required
by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Ethics and Independence Rule 3526,
Communications with Audit Committees Concerning Independence. The Audit
Committee also discussed with management, internal audit and the independent
registered
public accountants
the quality and adequacy of the Companys disclosure controls and procedures
and internal control over financial reporting and the audit scope and plans for
audits performed by internal audit and the independent
registered
public accountants
.
The Audit Committee
discussed with the independent
registered public
accountants
all
communications required by generally accepted auditing standards, including
those described in Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as adopted by
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T, as amended by
Statement 90, as well as other regulations and standards (Audit Committee
Communications) and, with and without management present, discussed and
reviewed the results of the independent
registered public accountants
examination of the financial
statements. The Audit Committee also discussed with internal audit and
management significant items that resulted from internal audit examinations.
Based on the reviews and
discussions referred to above with management and the independent
registered
public accountants
,
the Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the audited
financial statements be included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended November 30, 2008.
|
AUDIT COMMITTEE
|
|
|
|
Timothy S. Durham
|
|
Robert A. Kaiser
|
|
David Tornek
|
36
Table of Contents
PROPO
SAL
NO. 3
RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANYS
AMENDED AND
RESTATED 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
We are seeking ratification of the Companys Amended
and Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan (the 2008 Plan) by our
stockholders. The effectiveness of our 2008 Plan is not subject to stockholder
approval. Therefore, if our stockholders fail to approve Proposal No. 3,
the 2008 Plan will remain in effect. The following discussion is qualified in
its entirety by the full text of our 2008 Plan, a copy of which is attached as
Annex A to these proxy materials.
On December 1, 2008,
our Board of Directors approved the 2008 Plan. The 2008 Plan has a term of 10 years
and is administered by our Board, unless and until the Board delegates
administration to a committee of the Board. Initially, the 2008 Plan provided
that the aggregate number of shares of common stock of the Company that could
be issued under the 2008 Plan was 20,000,000 shares. However, effective September 11,
2009, our Board amended and restated the 2008 Plan to reduce the aggregate
number of shares of common stock of the Company that may be issued under the
2008 Plan from 20,000,000 shares to 2,000,000 shares. You are being asked to
ratify the 2008 Plan as amended and restated.
Awards under the 2008 Plan.
Pursuant to the 2008
Plan, the Board may grant to eligible recipients, which include all employees,
officer, directors, consultants and advisors of the Company and its
subsidiaries, awards of restricted stock, stock options and other stock-based
awards. Restricted Stock is an award of the Companys common stock that is
subject to conditions or terms such as vesting, continuous employment or service
for a period of time, or the satisfaction of designated performance goals or
criteria. Such terms and conditions will be determined by the Board. We have
two employees, two officers and currently three directors who are eligible to
receive awards under the 2008 Plan. After the Annual Meeting, we will have four
directors who are eligible to receive awards under the 2008 Plan.
Awards of options have
varying terms, as determined by the Board. The price for each share of Common
Stock purchased pursuant to the options is determined by the Board on the date
of grant. The exercise price per share is the fair market value of our Common
Stock on the date of grant (or if the grant is for incentive stock options for
an employee who is a 10% stockholder, 110% of fair market value on the date of
grant). Payment for stock options can be made by check payable to the Company,
by a promissory note, through a brokers sale, or with any combination of the
foregoing.
Termination of Relationship with
Company.
If a recipients
employment, director or consulting arrangement with the Company is terminated,
such recipient may exercise any award within such period of time ending on the
earlier of (1) the date three months following the date of termination (or
such other period as may be specified by the Board in the award agreement), but
only to the extent such award was exercisable immediately prior to such
termination or (2) the expiration of the term of the award. However, if
the recipients employment, director or consulting arrangement with the Company
is terminated voluntarily by the recipient or is terminated by the Company for cause
(as defined in the 2008 Plan or in any other written employment, director or
consulting agreement between the recipient and the Company), all awards held by
the recipient shall terminate as of the date of termination (whether or not
vested) unless otherwise determined by the Board.
Acceleration of Vesting and Other
Terms.
The Board may provide
that any options shall become immediately exercisable in full or in part, that
any restricted stock awards shall be free of some or all restrictions, or that
any other stock-based awards may become exercisable in full or in part or free
of some or all restrictions or conditions, or otherwise realizable in full or
in part. In the event of the acceleration of the one or more outstanding
options, the Board may provide, as a condition to exercising such options, that
the common stock or other substituted consideration, including cash, as to
which
37
Table of Contents
exercisability has been
accelerated shall be restricted and subject to forfeiture back to the Company
upon termination of employment or other relationship.
Amendment of the 2008 Plan.
The Board may amend the
2008 Plan but an amendment shall not be effective unless it is approved by the
Companys stockholders to the extent such approval is necessary by law or under
securities exchange listing requirements. The 2008 Plan provides that at the
time of such amendment, the Board shall determine, upon advice from counsel,
whether such amendment will be contingent on stockholder approval.
Federal Income Tax
Consequences
.
The following is a discussion of certain United States
federal income tax consequences that may arise with respect to the Plan. The discussion is not a complete analysis of
all federal income tax consequences, and does not cover all specific
transactions which may occur. The
discussion is limited to United States persons who hold their shares as capital
assets, however additional rules may apply to certain United States
persons that are not discussed herein.
Incentive Stock Options.
A recipient of an incentive stock option should not
recognize compensation income either upon the grant of the option or upon its
exercise (unless the recipient is subject to the alternative minimum tax). If
the recipient holds the stock acquired upon exercise of an incentive stock
option (the ISO Shares) for more than one year after the date the option was
exercised and for more than two years after the date the option was granted,
the recipient generally will recognize long-term capital gain or loss upon the
disposition of such ISO Shares. This gain or loss would be equal to the
difference between the amount realized upon the disposition of the ISO Shares
and the exercise price.
If the recipient disposes of ISO Shares prior to the
expiration of either required holding period described above, the gain
recognized upon such disposition should be treated as compensation to the
recipient, and would be subject to federal income taxation at ordinary rates,
up to the difference between the fair market value of the ISO Shares on the date
of exercise (or the amount realized on a sale of such shares, if less) and the
option exercise price. Any additional gain above and beyond such amount should
be treated as capital gain, and may be long-term capital gain depending upon
the length of time the ISO Shares were held by the recipient.
Non-Qualified Stock Options.
A recipient of a non-qualified stock option should not
recognize any taxable income at the time a non-qualified stock option is
granted, or upon its vesting. Upon exercise of a non-qualified stock option,
however, the gain recognized upon such disposition should be treated as
compensation to the recipient, and would be subject to federal income taxation
at ordinary rates, up to the difference between the fair market value of the shares
on the date of exercise and the option exercise price. Upon resale of the shares by the recipient,
any subsequent appreciation or depreciation in the value of the shares should
be treated as capital gain or loss.
Restricted Stock.
A recipient should generally not recognize any taxable
income at the time restricted stock is granted.
Instead, upon vesting of such restricted stock, the recipient would in
include in income as compensation the fair market value of such stock, reduced
by any amount paid for such stock. Any future appreciation with respect to such
stock would be capital in nature, with a holding period for long-term capital
gain purposes beginning on the date of vesting.
A recipient may elect under section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue
Code to have such compensation income recognized at the time he or she
initially receives the restricted stock, based on the then fair market value of
the stock. The ultimate disposition of
such stock, including a forfeiture, would result in a capital gain or loss to
the recipient, and the holding period for such stock for long-term capital gain
purposes would start as of the date the 83(b) election was made.
38
Table of Contents
Upon the recognition of compensation income by a
recipient who is an employee, as set forth above, the Company is required to
withhold FICA, Medicare, and federal income taxes. Additionally, with respect
to non-employee recipients, certain withholding obligations on the part of the
Company may apply.
Awards made to recipients under the Plan may be
subject to other federal income taxes, such as the alternative minimum tax, as
well as state and local taxes. The Company
will comply with all withholding requirements whether for federal, state or
local purposes.
The Company should be entitled to a federal income tax
deduction with respect to all amounts treated by recipients as compensation
income, as set forth above,
provided
that,
among other things, such amount is reasonable, is an ordinary and necessary
business expense, is not an excess parachute payment within the meaning of Section 280G
of the Code and is not disallowed by the $1 million limitation on certain
executive compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code. Section 162(m) denies a deduction
to any publicly-held corporation for compensation paid to a covered employee
in a taxable year to the extent that the compensation paid to such an employee
exceeds $1 million. It is possible that compensation attributable to awards
under the Plan, when combined with all other types of compensation received by
a covered employee from the Company, may cause this limitation to be exceeded
in any particular year. The deduction to
the Company, if available, would be available in the same year in which the
recipient recognizes income for federal income tax purposes.
Section 409A of the Code imposes additional tax
and interest charges on recipients who receive certain deferred compensation
that does not meet the requirements of Section 409A. It is intended that
awards under the Plan meet the requirements of Section 409A, but no
assurance can be made in this regard.
Issuances under our Plans.
Our former 1993 Long-Term
Incentive Plan (the
1993
Plan
) terminated on December 3, 2003. However, as
disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 2,
2009, Mr. Kaiser currently has exercisable options that were granted under
the 1993 Plan. At a meeting of the Board of Directors on September 25,
2007, our Board unanimously resolved to terminate our 2003 Long-Term Incentive
Plan (the
2003 Plan
)
due to the reduction in the Companys workforce. As a result of the termination
of the 2003 Plan, all outstanding options to purchase the equity securities of
the Company issued thereunder were terminated as well. Therefore, there are no
currently outstanding options to purchase the Companys securities under the
2003 Plan.
Our 2008 Plan was adopted
by the Board on December 1, 2008, and subsequently amended and restated on
September 11, 2009 to decrease the number of shares of common stock of the
Company that may be issued under the 2008 Plan from 20,000,000 to 2,000,000. On
December 1, 2008, our Board approved the grant of 300,000 shares of
restricted stock to each of Timothy S. Durham, Robert A. Kaiser and Manoj
Rajegowda. Of each restricted stock grant, 100,000 shares vested on the date of
grant and the remaining 200,000 of the shares vest in two equal annual installments
on each anniversary of the date of grant. Subsequently, on February 24,
2009, Mr. Rajegowda forfeited all stock issuances provided to him during
the course of his Board membership in connection with his resignation from the
Board. Subsequently on March 5, 2009, our Board approved the grant of
300,000 shares of restricted stock to David Tornek. Of each restricted stock
grant, 100,000 shares vested on the date of grant and the remaining 200,000 of
the shares vest in two equal annual installments on each anniversary of the
date of grant. Other than the restricted stock issued to our directors, the
Company has not granted any options or other awards under the 2008 Plan.
The following table
provides the number of securities to be issued upon the exercise of outstanding
options, warrants and rights under our 2008 Plan and as of September 11,
2009:
39
Table of
Contents
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Plan Category
|
|
Number of securities to be
issued upon exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights
|
|
Weighted-
average exercise
price of outstanding
options, warrants and
rights
|
|
Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under
equity compensation plans
(excluding securities
reflected in column (a))
|
|
|
|
(a)
|
|
(b)
|
|
(c)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity compensation plans approved by security
holders
|
|
130,000
|
|
$
|
4.93
|
|
0
|
|
Equity compensation plans not approved by security
holders
|
|
None
|
|
n/a
|
|
1,400,000
|
|
Total
|
|
130,000
|
|
$
|
4.93
|
|
0
|
|
The following table sets
forth, as of the Record Date, the number of shares of restricted stock received
or to be received by each of our named executive officers, all current
executive officers as a group, all current directors who are not executive
officers as a group, and all employees, including our current officers who are
not executive officers, as a group:
Name
|
|
Dollar Value ($) (1)
|
|
Number of Shares of Restricted Stock Received or
To Be Received
|
|
Robert
A. Kaiser, Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and
Treasurer
|
|
$
|
39,000
|
|
300,000
|
|
All
current executive officers, as a group
|
|
$
|
78,000
|
|
600,000
|
|
All
current directors who are not executive officers, as a group
|
|
$
|
39,000
|
|
300,000
|
|
All
employees, including all current officers who are not executive officers, as
a group
|
|
N/A
|
|
N/A
|
|
(1) Based on
a closing sale price of $0.13
as
reported on the OTC market on September 10, 2009.
The Board of Directors recommends that you vote FOR
the ratification of our
Amended and Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan.
40
Table of Contents
THE RED OAK GROUP PROPOSALS
A letter from the Red Oak
Group dated August 24, 2009 (the
Red Oak Group Letter
),
which states that the Red Oak Fund beneficially owns 3,341,106 shares of our
Common Stock, notified us that it intends to submit certain proposals for
stockholder vote at the Annual Meeting. We have included the Red Oak Group
proposals as Proposals No. 4 through No. 8 in this proxy statement in
order to provide our stockholders with the ability to vote For or Against
or abstain from voting for any proposals made by the Red Oak Group, as well as
to vote For our director nominees and other matters.
STO
CKHOLDER PROPOSAL NO. 4
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING COMPLETION OF DISSOLUTION
In the Red Oak Group
Letter, the Red Oak Group notified us that it intends to submit the following
proposal for stockholder vote at the Annual Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the
stockholders hereby request the board of directors to complete the dissolution
approved at the stockholder meeting held in 2007.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote AGAINST this proposal.
Though not required to do
so, we are submitting this stockholder proposal from the Red Oak Group to our stockholders to
allow our stockholders the chance to vote on such proposal while still voting
for our director nominees and other matters.
Although the Company has
consistently disclosed that the plan of dissolution can be amended, modified or
abandoned by the Board, it still has no plan to do so. Further, the Company has
consistently disclosed, that in fulfilling its fiduciary duties, the Board
would give careful consideration to the strategic alternatives available to the
Company, with a view to maximizing stockholder value. Among other matters, the Company has
consistently disclosed that (1) the Board has been reviewing potential
acquisitions and the value of the Companys tax assets, (2) if the Board
determines that it is in the best interest of the Company to pursue an
acquisition, it will likely pursue a debt financing or equity issuance in order
to finance such acquisition, (3) it is unlikely the Board of Directors
will make any further distributions to the Companys stockholders under the
Plan of Dissolution while it considers the strategic alternatives available to
the Company and (4) it is possible that the Board of Directors will, in
the exercise of its fiduciary duty, elect to abandon the Plan of Dissolution
for a strategic alternative that it believes will maximize stockholder
value. The Board believes that it is in
the best interest of the Company and its stockholders for the Company to
proceed carefully in assessing contingent liabilities and dissolving its
international subsidiaries in an orderly fashion. The Board has determined that
it will continue to determine and quantify its contingent liabilities and dissolve
entities in an orderly fashion and wait to file the certificate of dissolution
as allowed under the plan of dissolution and Delaware law. The Board has determined that, for these
reasons, filing the certificate of dissolution at this time would not be in the
best interest of the Company and its stockholders.
The Company expects that
it will take several years to implement the Plan of Dissolution because the
lengthy process of obtaining sufficient information regarding all of the
Company liabilities to pay and appropriately provide for them as required under
the Plan of Dissolution
.
Given the time necessary to complete the
governmental requirements for dissolution, the Board focused on ways to
preserve the value of its cash and other assets pursuant to Section 3 of
the Plan of Dissolution. Section 3
of the Plan of Dissolution states that the Company may not engage in any
business activities except to the extent necessary to preserve the value of its
assets, wind up its affairs, and distribute its assets. The Board determined to acquire several
portfolios of receivables with the intention of generating a higher rate of
return on the Companys assets than it was receiving on its cash and cash
equivalent balances which were held in money market accounts or short term
certificates of deposit, earning approximately 1% (current interest rates are
now close to 0%). The Board believed
that each of these acquisitions would be a better investment return for the
Companys stockholders and better preserves the value of the Companys assets
when compared to the Companys cash investments as a result of recent changes
to interest rates and other investment alternatives. The Company believes that the market for its
portfolios has recently worsened. However, the Company does believe that if
needed, its portfolio assets could be sold, if properly marketed, within the
timeframe necessary to complete the winding down of the Company prior to final
dissolution of the Company but the Board believes that such action at this time
would not be in the best interest of the Company or its stockholder.
41
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Therefore,
we recommend that you vote Against this Proposal No. 4.
STOC
KHOLDER
PROPOSAL NO. 5
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
In the Red Oak Group Letter, the Red Oak Group
notified us that it intends to submit the following proposal for stockholder
vote at the Annual Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the
stockholders hereby disapprove the 2008 long term incentive plan adopted by the
board of directors and request the board of directors not to issue any
additional share grants or option grants under such plan and request that the
directors rescind their approval of such plan.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote AGAINST this proposal.
Though not required to do
so, we are submitting this stockholder proposal from the Red Oak Group to our stockholders to
allow our stockholders the chance to vote on such proposal while still voting
for our director nominees and other matters.
The description of our Plan
under Proposal No. 3 above is hereby incorporated by reference. As
described under Proposal No. 3, our Board and amended and restated the
Plan to decrease the number of shares of common stock authorized under the Plan
from 20,000,000 to 2,000,000 and is seeking stockholder approval of the Plan,
as amended and restated. Therefore, we recommend that you vote Against this
Proposal No. 5 and For Proposal No. 3.
If a negative vote results,
we will not take any action with respect to this Proposal.
STO
CKHOLDER PROPOSAL NO. 6
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING NOVEMBER 10, 2008 TRANSACTION
In the Red Oak Group Letter, the Red Oak Group
notified us that it intends to submit the following proposal for stockholder
vote at the Annual Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the
stockholders hereby advise the board of directors that they do not approve of
the transaction purportedly entered into as of November 10, 2008 whereby
CLST Asset I, LLC, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, entered
into a purchase agreement to acquire the outstanding equity interest in FCC
Investment Trust I and request the directors to take any available and
appropriate action.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote AGAINST this proposal.
Though not required to do
so, we are submitting this stockholder proposal from the Red Oak Group to our stockholders to
allow our stockholders the chance to vote on such proposal while still voting
for our director nominees and other matters.
As further described above
under Certain Background InformationIntroduction we entered into a series of
transactions whereby we acquired
various portfolios of receivables. The purpose behind these transactions was to
provide a better rate of return on the Companys cash than it was earning in deposit
accounts. We entered into this transaction with the best
interest of our stockholders and with our stockholder value in mind and do not
believe that any action should be taken with respect to this transaction.
Furthermore, it is unclear
why the Red Oak Group claims in this proposal that the transaction was purportedly
entered into, as the transaction was definitively entered into. It is also
unclear what action the Red
42
Table
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Oak Group views as available
and appropriate if our stockholders vote for this proposal. For all of these
reasons, we recommend that you vote Against this Proposal No. 6.
If a negative vote results,
we will not take any action with respect to this Proposal.
STO
CKHOLDER
PROPOSAL NO. 7
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING DECEMBER 12, 2008 TRANSACTION
In the Red Oak Group Letter, the Red Oak Group
notified us that it intends to submit the following proposal for stockholder
vote at the Annual Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the
stockholders hereby advise the board of directors that they disapprove of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of December 12, 2008 pursuant to
which CLST Asset Trust II, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the
corporation, entered into a purchase agreement to acquire certain receivables
on or before February 28, 2009 and request the directors to take any
available and appropriate actions.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote AGAINST this proposal.
Though not required to do
so, we are submitting this stockholder proposal from the Red Oak Group to our stockholders to
allow our stockholders the chance to vote on such proposal while still voting
for our director nominees and other matters.
As further described above
under Certain Background InformationIntroduction we entered into a series of
transactions whereby we acquired
various portfolios of receivables. The purpose behind these transactions was to
provide a better rate of return on the Companys cash than it was earning in deposit
accounts. We entered into this transaction with the best
interest of our stockholders and with our stockholder value in mind and do not
believe that any action should be taken with respect to this transaction.
Furthermore, it is unclear
why the Red Oak Group claims in this proposal that the transaction was purportedly
entered into, as the transaction was definitively entered into. It is also
unclear what action the Red Oak Group views as available and appropriate if
our stockholders vote for this proposal. For all of these reasons, we recommend
that you vote Against this Proposal No. 7.
If a negative vote results,
we will not take any action with respect to this Proposal.
STOC
KHOLDER PROPOSAL NO. 8
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSAL REGARDING FEBRUARY 13, 2009 TRANSACTION
In the Red Oak Group Letter, the Red Oak Group
notified us that it intends to submit the following proposal for stockholder
vote at the Annual Meeting.
RESOLVED, that the
stockholders advise the board of directors that they do not approve of the
transaction purportedly entered into as of February 13, 2009 whereby CLST
Asset III, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of the Company purchased
certain receivables, installment contracts and related assets owned by Fair
Finance Company and request the directors to take any available and appropriate
actions.
The
Board of Directors
recommends that you
vote AGAINST this proposal.
Though not required to do
so, we are submitting this stockholder proposal from the Red Oak Group to our
stockholders to allow our stockholders the chance to vote on such proposal
while still voting for our director nominees and other matters.
As further described above
under Certain Background InformationIntroduction we entered into a series of
transactions whereby we acquired
various portfolios of receivables. The purpose behind these transactions was to
provide a better rate of return on the Companys cash than it was earning in deposit
accounts. We entered into this
43
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transaction with the best
interest of our stockholders and with our stockholder value in mind and do not
believe that any action should be taken with respect to this transaction.
Furthermore, it is unclear
why the Red Oak Group claims in this proposal that the transaction was purportedly
entered into, as the transaction was definitively entered into. It is also
unclear what action the Red Oak Group views as available and appropriate if
our stockholders vote for this proposal. For all of these reasons, we recommend
that you vote Against this Proposal No. 7.
If a negative vote results,
we will not take any action with respect to this Proposal.
44
Table of Contents
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS
Any
stockholder of ours meeting certain minimum stock ownership and holding period
requirements may present a proposal to be included in our proxy statement for
action at the Annual Meeting of stockholders to be held in 2010 pursuant to Rule 14a-8
of the Exchange Act. Such stockholder must deliver such proposal to our
secretary at our executive offices no later than June 29, 2010.
Stockholder
proposals to be presented at our 2010 Annual Meeting of stockholders that are
not to be included in our proxy statement must be received by us no later than
60 days prior to such Annual Meeting, in accordance with the procedures set
forth in our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended;
except that, should less than 70 days notice or public disclosure of the date
such meeting be given or made to stockholders, such proposal, in order to be
timely, must be received no later than close of business on the tenth day
following the date on which such notice is mailed or such public disclosure is
made.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
With
respect to any future filings with the SEC into which this proxy statement is
incorporated by reference, the material under the heading Report of the Audit
Committee of the Board of Directors will not be incorporated into such future
filings.
COST OF SOLICITATION
We will bear the
cost of the solicitation of proxies. In addition to mail and e-mail, proxies
may be solicited personally, via the Internet or by telephone or facsimile, by
our employees without additional compensation. We will reimburse brokers and
other persons holding stock in their names, or in the names of nominees, for
their expenses for forwarding proxy materials to principals and beneficial
owners and obtaining their proxies. As a result of the potential proxy
solicitation by the Red Oak Group, we may incur additional costs in connection
with our solicitation of proxies. We have hired Morrow & Co., LLC
(Morrow), 470 West Ave., Stamford, CT 06902 to assist us in the
solicitation of proxies for a fee of up to $67,500 plus out-of-pocket expenses.
Morrow expects that approximately 25 of its employees will assist in the
solicitation. Our expenses related to the solicitation of proxies from
stockholder
s this year will exceed those normally
spent for an Annual Meeting of
stockholder
s. Such costs are expected to aggregate
approximately $67,500. These additional solicitation costs are expected to
include the fee payable to our proxy solicitor; fees of outside counsel to
advise the Company in connection with a contested solicitation of proxies;
increased mailing costs, such as the costs of additional mailings of
solicitation material to
stockholder
s, including printing costs, mailing costs and the
reimbursement of reasonable expenses of banks, brokerage houses and other
agents incurred in forwarding solicitation materials to beneficial owners of
our common stock, as described above; and possibly the costs of retaining an
independent inspector of election. To date, we have incurred approximately
$32,500 of these solicitation costs.
HOUSEHOLDING
As permitted by
the Exchange Act, some brokers and other nominee record holders may deliver
only one copy of this proxy statement to stockholders residing at the same
address, unless such stockholders have notified the Company or their brokers or
other nominee record holders of their desire to receive multiple copies of the
proxy statement. Upon oral or written request, we will promptly deliver a
separate copy of the proxy statement to any stockholder residing at an address
to which only one copy was mailed. Stockholders residing at the same address
and currently receiving only one copy of the proxy statement may contact their
respective brokers or other nominee record holders or the Company to request
multiple copies in the future, and stockholders residing at the same address
and currently receiving multiple copies of the proxy statement may contact
their respective brokers or other nominee record holders or the Company to
request a single copy in the future. In any event, if you did not receive an
individual copy of this proxy statement or our annual report, we will send a
copy upon written request. All such requests of the Company should be sent to:
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CLST Holdings, Inc.
17304 Preston Road, Dominion
Plaza, Suite 420
Dallas, Texas 75252
Attention: Chief Executive Officer
Phone: (972) 267-0500
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE
Accompanying
this proxy statement is a copy of our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
This Annual Report does not form any part of the materials for the solicitation
of proxies.
Upon written request of any stockholder, we
will furnish a copy of the Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC, including the
financial statements and schedules thereto.
The written request
should be sent to our Secretary at our principal executive office. The written
request must state that as of the close of business on the record date, the
person making the request was a record owner or beneficial owner of our capital
stock.
OTHER MATTERS
Our
Board of Directors does not intend to bring any other matters before the
meeting and does not know of any matters that will be brought before the
meeting by others. However, if any other matters properly come before the
meeting, the persons named in the accompanying proxy will vote the proxies in
accordance with their judgment on such matters.
|
By Order of our Board
of Directors
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert A. Kaiser,
|
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
|
|
Dallas, Texas
|
|
,
2009
|
|
46
Table
of Contents
Annex A
CLST HOLDINGS, INC.
AMENDED AND RESTATED
2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN
CLST Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, sets
forth herein the terms of its Amended and Restated 2008 Long Term Incentive
Plan (the
Plan
)
as follows:
1.
Purpose and Eligibility
The purpose of the Plan is to provide stock options
and other equity interests in the Company (each an
Award
) to
employees, officers, directors, consultants, and advisors of the Company and
its subsidiaries, all of whom are eligible to receive Awards under the
Plan. Any person to whom an Award has
been granted under the Plan is referred to herein as a
Participant
. Additional definitions are set forth in
Section 8(a)
.
2.
Administration
a.
Administration by Board of Directors
.
The Plan will be administered by the Board of Directors of the Company
(the
Board
) unless and until the Board delegates administration to a
committee of the Board, as provided in
Section 2(b)
. The Board, in its sole discretion, shall have
the authority to grant and amend Awards, to adopt, amend, and repeal rules relating
to the Plan, and to interpret and correct the provisions of the Plan and any
Award. All decisions by the Board shall
be final and binding on all interested persons. Neither the Company nor any
member of the Board shall be liable for any action or determination relating to
the Plan.
b.
Appointment of Committees
.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Board may delegate any or
all of its powers under the Plan to one or more committees or subcommittees of
the Board. All references in the Plan to
the Board shall mean such committee or the Board. The provisions of this paragraph shall not
amend or limit the applicability of any agreement to which the Company may be
subject pursuant to which it has agreed to limit the grant of Awards, or
subject the grant of Awards to the approval of persons other than the Board.
c.
Delegation to Executive Officers
.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Board may delegate to one
or more executive officers of the Company the power to grant Awards and
exercise such other powers under the Plan as the Board may determine,
provided that
the Board shall fix the
maximum number of Awards to be granted and the maximum number of shares
issuable to any one Participant pursuant to Awards granted by such executive
officers.
3.
Stock Available for Awards
a.
Number of Shares
.
Subject to adjustment under
Section 3(b)
, the aggregate
number of shares of Common Stock of the Company (the
Common Stock
)
that may be issued pursuant to the Plan is 2,000,000 shares. If any Award expires, or is terminated,
surrendered or forfeited, in whole or in part, the unissued Common Stock covered
by such Award shall again be available for the grant of Awards under the
Plan. If shares of Common Stock issued
pursuant to the Plan are repurchased by, or are surrendered to, the Company at
no more than cost, such shares of Common Stock shall again be available for the
grant of Awards under the Plan;
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provided, however,
that the cumulative number of such shares
that may be so reissued under the Plan will not exceed 20,000,000, subject to
adjustment under
Section 3(b)
. Shares issued under the Plan may
consist in whole or in part of authorized but unissued shares or treasury
shares.
b.
Adjustment to Common Stock
.
In the event of any stock split, stock dividend, extraordinary cash
dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, combination,
exchange of shares, liquidation, spin-off, split-up, or other similar change in
capitalization or event, (i) the number and class of securities available
for Awards under the Plan and any per-Participant share limit, (ii) the
number and class of securities, vesting schedule and exercise price per share
of Common Stock subject to each outstanding Award, (iii) the repurchase
price per security subject to repurchase; and (iv) the terms of each other
outstanding stock-based Award shall be adjusted by the Board (or substituted
Awards may be made) in an equitable manner; provided, however, that any
fractional shares resulting from any such adjustment shall be eliminated. If
Section 7(e)(i)
applies
for any event, this
Section 3(b)
shall not be applicable.
4.
Stock Options
a.
General
. The Board may
grant options to purchase Common Stock (each, an
Option
) and determine
the number of shares of Common Stock to be covered by each Option, the exercise
price of each Option, and the conditions and limitations applicable to the
exercise of each Option and the Common Stock issued upon the exercise of each
Option, including vesting provisions, repurchase provisions and restrictions
relating to applicable federal or state securities laws, as it considers
advisable. Without limiting the
generality of the foregoing, the Board may make the exercise of any option
subject to an agreement by the holder thereof to be a party to any other
agreement, including an agreement not to engage in competition with the Company
following the Date of Termination.
b.
Incentive Stock Options
.
An Option that the Board intends to be an incentive stock option as
defined in Section 422 of the Code (an
Incentive Stock Option
)
shall be granted only to employees of the Company and shall be subject to and
shall be construed consistently with the requirements of Section 422 of
the Code. The Board and the Company
shall have no liability if an Option or any part thereof that is intended to be
an Incentive Stock Option does not qualify as such. An Option or any part
thereof that does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option is referred to
herein as a
Nonstatutory Stock Option
. If an Option is designated as
an Incentive Stock Option, to the extent that such Option (together with all
Incentive Stock Options granted to the Option holder under the Plan and all
other stock option plans of the Company and its parent and subsidiaries)
becomes exercisable for the first time during any calendar year for shares
having a Fair Market Value greater than $100,000, the portion of each such
Incentive Stock Option that exceeds such amount will be treated as a Nonstatutory
Stock Option.
c.
Exercise Price
.
The Board shall establish the exercise price (or determine the method by
which the exercise price shall be determined) at the time each Option is
granted and specify it in the applicable option agreement;
provided
that, the per share exercise
price shall not be less than the per share Fair Market Value of the Common
Stock on the date the Option is
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granted (or 110% of Fair Market Value on the date of grant in the case
of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an employee who is a 10% stockholder).
d.
Duration of Options
.
Each Option shall be exercisable at such times and subject to such terms
and conditions as the Board may specify in the applicable option agreement,
provided
that, in the case of an Incentive
Stock Option, the Option shall not be exercisable following the tenth
anniversary of the date of grant of such Option (or the fifth anniversary of
the date of grant in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to an
employee who is a 10% stockholder).
e.
Exercise of Option
.
Options may be exercised only by delivery to the Company of a written
notice of exercise signed by the proper person together with payment in full as
specified in
Section 4(f)
for the number of shares for which
the Option is exercised.
f.
Payment Upon Exercise
.
Common Stock purchased upon the exercise of an Option shall be paid for
by one or any combination of the following forms of payment:
(i)
by check payable to the order of the
Company;
(ii)
except as otherwise explicitly provided
in the applicable option agreement, and only if the Common Stock is then
publicly traded, delivery of an irrevocable and unconditional undertaking by a
creditworthy broker to deliver promptly to the Company sufficient funds to pay
the exercise price, or delivery by the Participant to the Company of a copy of
irrevocable and unconditional instructions to a creditworthy broker to deliver
promptly to the Company cash or a check sufficient to pay the exercise price;
or
(iii)
to the extent explicitly provided in the
applicable option agreement, by (x) subject to pre-approval of the Board
for any officer, director of 10% shareholder, delivery of shares of Common
Stock owned by the Participant valued at Fair Market Value, (y) delivery
of a promissory note of the Participant to the Company (and delivery to the
Company by the Participant of a check in an amount equal to the par value of
the shares purchased),
provided
that
the foregoing is not prohibited pursuant to Section 13(k) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or (z) payment of such other
lawful consideration as the Board may determine,
provided
that such form of payment does constitute a deferral of compensation within the
meaning of Section 409A or otherwise cause the Option to be subject to the
requirements of Section 409A.
5.
Restricted Stock
a.
Grants
. The Board may
grant Awards entitling recipients to acquire shares of Common Stock, subject to
delivery to the Company by the Participant of cash or other lawful
consideration in an amount at least equal to the par value of the shares
purchased (each, a
Restricted Stock Award
).
b.
Terms and Conditions
. The Board shall determine the terms and
conditions of any such Restricted Stock Award.
Any stock certificates issued in respect of a Restricted Stock Award
shall be registered in the name of the Participant and, unless otherwise
determined by the Board, deposited by the Participant, together with a stock
power endorsed in blank, with the
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Company (or its designee). After
the expiration of the applicable restriction periods, the Company (or such
designee) shall deliver the certificates no longer subject to such restrictions
to the Participant or, if the Participant has died, to the beneficiary
designated by a Participant to receive amounts due or exercise rights of the
Participant in the event of the Participants death (the
Designated
Beneficiary
). In the absence of an
effective designation by a Participant, Designated Beneficiary shall mean the
Participants estate.
6.
Other Stock-Based Awards
The Board shall have the right to grant other Awards
based upon the Common Stock having such terms and conditions as the Board may
determine, including, without limitation, the grant of shares based upon
certain conditions, the grant of securities convertible into Common Stock and
the grant of stock appreciation rights, phantom stock awards or stock units.
7.
General Provisions Applicable to Awards
a.
Transferability of Awards
.
Except as the Board may otherwise determine or provide in an Award,
Awards shall not be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise
encumbered by the person to whom they are granted, either voluntarily or by
operation of law, except by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and,
during the life of the Participant, shall be exercisable only by the
Participant. References to a
Participant, to the extent relevant in the context, shall include references to
authorized transferees.
b.
Forfeiture of Awards
. Unless otherwise determined by the
Board, upon termination of a Participants employment or director or consulting
arrangement between Participant and the Company, such Participant may exercise
any Award within such period of time ending on the earlier of (1) the date
three months following the Date of Termination (or such other period as may be
specified by the Board in an Award Agreement), but only to the extent such
Award was exercisable immediately prior to such termination or (2) the
expiration of the term of the Award. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, if the Participants employment or director or consulting
arrangement with the Company is terminated voluntarily by Participant or if
terminated by the Company for Cause, all Awards held by the Participant shall
terminate as of the Date of Termination (whether or not vested) unless
otherwise determined by the Board.
c.
Documentation
.
Each Award under the Plan shall be evidenced by a written instrument in
such form as the Board shall determine or as executed by an officer of the
Company pursuant to authority delegated by the Board. Each Award may contain terms and conditions
in addition to those set forth in the Plan
provided
that
such terms and conditions do not contravene the provisions of
the Plan.
d.
Board Discretion
.
The terms of each type of Award need not be identical, and the Board
need not treat Participants uniformly.
e.
Acquisition of the Company
.
(i)
Consequences of an Acquisition
. Upon the consummation of an
Acquisition, the Board or the board of directors of the surviving or acquiring
entity (as used in this
Section 7(e)(i)
, also the
Board
),
shall, as to outstanding Awards (on the
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same basis or on
different bases as the Board shall specify), make appropriate provision
for the continuation of such Awards by the Company or the assumption of such
Awards by the surviving or acquiring entity and by substituting on an equitable
basis for the shares then subject to such Awards either (a) the
consideration payable with respect to the outstanding shares of Common Stock in
connection with the Acquisition, (b) shares of stock of the surviving or
acquiring corporation or (c) such other securities or other consideration
as the Board deems appropriate, the Fair Market Value of which shall not
materially differ from the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock
subject to such Awards immediately preceding the Acquisition. In addition to or in lieu of the foregoing, with
respect to outstanding Options, the Board may, on the same basis or on
different bases as the Board shall specify,
upon written notice to the affected Participants, provide that one or more
Options then outstanding must be exercised, in whole or in part, within a
specified number of days of the date of such notice, at the end of which period
such Options shall terminate, or provide that one or more Options then
outstanding, in whole or in part, shall be terminated in exchange for a cash
payment equal to the excess of the Fair Market Value for the shares subject to
such Options over the exercise price thereof;
provided,
however,
that before terminating any portion of an Option that is
not vested or exercisable (other than in exchange for a cash payment), the
Board must first accelerate in full the exercisability of the portion that is
to be terminated. Unless otherwise
determined by the Board (on the same basis or on different bases as the
Board shall specify), any repurchase rights or other rights of the Company
that relate to an Option or other Award shall continue to apply to
consideration, including cash, that has been substituted, assumed or amended
for an Option or other Award pursuant to this paragraph. The Company may hold in escrow all or any portion of any such
consideration in order to effectuate any continuing restrictions.
(ii)
Assumption of Options Upon Certain Events
.
In connection with a merger or consolidation of an entity with the
Company or the acquisition by the Company of property or stock of an entity,
the Board may grant Awards under the Plan in substitution for stock and
stock-based awards issued by such entity or an affiliate thereof. The substitute Awards shall be granted on
such terms and conditions as the Board considers appropriate in the
circumstances.
f.
Amendment of Awards
.
The Board may amend, modify or terminate any outstanding Award
including, but not limited to, substituting therefor another Award of the same
or a different type, changing the date of exercise or realization, and
converting an Incentive Stock Option to a Nonstatutory Stock Option,
provided that
(1) the Participants
consent to such action shall be required unless the Board determines that the
action, taking into account any related action, would not materially and
adversely affect the Participant and (2) such action does not cause an
Award to be subject to Section 409A that was not previously subject to Section 409A
or otherwise constitute an impermissible acceleration or change in time and
form of payment under Section 409A.
g.
Section 83(b) Election
.
The Board may provide in an Award that the Award is conditioned upon the
Participant making or refraining from making an election with respect to the
Award under Section 83(b) of the Code. If a Participant makes an
election pursuant to
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Section 83(b) of the Code concerning an Award, the
Participant shall be required to file promptly a copy of such election with the
Company.
h.
Adjustment of Awards upon the Occurrence
of Certain Unusual or Non-recurring Events
. The Board may
make adjustments in the terms and conditions of, and the criteria included in,
Awards in recognition of unusual or nonrecurring events (including, without
limitation, the events described in
Section 3(b)
hereof)
affecting the Company or the financial statements of the Company or of changes
in applicable laws, regulations or accounting principles, whenever the Board
determines that such adjustments are appropriate in order to prevent unintended
dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be
made available under the Plan,
provided
that such action does not cause an Award to be subject to Section 409A
that was not previously subject to Section 409A or otherwise constitute an
impermissible acceleration or change in time and form of payment under Section 409A. The determination of the Board as to the
foregoing adjustments, if any, shall be conclusive and binding on Participants
under the Plan.
i.
Taxes
. Each
Participant shall pay to the Company, or make provisions satisfactory to the
Company for payment of, any taxes required by law to be withheld in connection
with Awards to such Participant no later than the date of the event creating
the tax liability. The Board may allow
Participants to satisfy such tax obligations in whole or in part by
transferring shares of Common Stock, including shares retained from the Award
creating the tax obligation, valued at their Fair Market Value. The Company is
authorized to withhold from any Award granted or to be settled, any delivery of
Common Stock in connection with an Award, any other payment relating to an
Award or any payroll or other payment to a Participant amounts of withholding
and other taxes due or potentially payable in connection with any transaction
involving an Award, and to take such other action as the Board may deem
advisable to enable the Company and Participants to satisfy obligations for the
payment of withholding taxes and other tax obligations relating to any
Award. This authority shall include
authority to withhold or receive Common Stock or other property and to make cash
payments in respect thereof in satisfaction of a Participants tax obligations.
j.
Conditions on Delivery of Stock
.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock
pursuant to the Plan or to remove restrictions from shares previously delivered
under the Plan until (i) all conditions of the Award have been met or
removed to the satisfaction of the Company, (ii) in the opinion of the
Companys counsel, all other legal matters in connection with the issuance and
delivery of such shares have been satisfied, including any applicable
securities laws and any applicable stock exchange or stock market rules and
regulations, (iii) the Participant has executed and delivered to the
Company such representations or agreements as the Company may consider
appropriate to satisfy the requirements of any applicable laws, rules or
regulations, and (iv) if the Company shall have more than twenty record
stockholders, until such time as the Common Stock shall be listed for trading
on the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Exchange or a successor
thereto.
k.
Restrictive Legends
.
In order to reflect the restrictions on transfer of Common Stock issued
pursuant to any Award, the stock certificates for Common Stock will be endorsed
with the following legend:
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THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE
HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED FOR INVESTMENT AND HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE
FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS OR THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY STATE. SUCH SECURITIES MAY NOT BE SOLD,
PLEDGED, HYPOTHECATED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED AT ANY TIME WHATSOEVER, EXCEPT
UPON SUCH REGISTRATION OR UPON DELIVERY TO THE COMPANY OF AN OPINION OF COUNSEL
SATISFACTORY TO THE COMPANY THAT REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED FOR SUCH TRANSFER
AND/OR SUBMISSION TO THE COMPANY OF SUCH EVIDENCE AS MAY BE SATISFACTORY
TO THE COMPANY TO THE EFFECT THAT ANY SUCH TRANSFER SHALL NOT BE IN VIOLATION
OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND
ANY RULES OR REGULATIONS PROMULGATED THEREUNDER. ADDITIONALLY, THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY
THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO, AND SUCH SECURITIES MAY BE SOLD,
TRANSFERRED, OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF ONLY IN COMPLIANCE WITH, THE TERMS AND
PROVISIONS OF THE COMPANYS 2008 LONG TERM INCENTIVE PLAN, AND IN THE
ASSOCIATED AWARD AGREEMENT. A COPY OF THE PLAN AND SUCH AWARD AGREEMENT MAY BE
OBTAINED FROM THE COMPANY.
l.
Acceleration
.
The Board may at any time provide that any Options shall become
immediately exercisable in full or in part, that any Restricted Stock Awards
shall be free of some or all restrictions, or that any other stock-based Awards
may become exercisable in full or in part or free of some or all restrictions
or conditions, or otherwise realizable in full or in part, as the case may be,
despite the fact that the foregoing actions may (i) cause the application
of Sections 280G and 4999 of the Code if a change in control of the Company
occurs, or (ii) disqualify all or part of the Option as an Incentive Stock
Option;
provided
,
however
, that no such acceleration shall
cause an Award to be subject to Section 409A that was not previously
subject to Section 409A or otherwise constitute an impermissible
acceleration or change in time and form of payment under Section 409A. In the
event of the acceleration of the exercisability of one or more outstanding
Options, including pursuant to
Section 7(e)(i)
, the Board may
provide, as a condition of full exercisability of any or all such Options, that
the Common Stock or other substituted consideration, including cash, as to
which exercisability has been accelerated shall be restricted and subject to
forfeiture back to the Company at the option of the Company at the cost thereof
upon termination of employment or other relationship, with the timing and other
terms of the vesting of such restricted stock or other consideration being
equivalent to the timing and other terms of the superseded exercise schedule of
the related Option.
8.
Miscellaneous
.
a.
Definitions
.
(i)
Acquisition
means: (x) the sale of the Company by merger in
which the stockholders of the Company in their capacity as such no longer own a
majority of the outstanding equity securities of the Company (or its
successor); (y) any sale of all or substantially all of the assets or
capital stock of the Company (other than in a spin-off or similar transaction);
or (z) any other acquisition of the business of the Company, as determined
by the Board.
(ii)
Affiliate
of any party hereto
means any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such
party.
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(iii)
Cause
means (x) as such
term is defined in any written employment, director or consulting agreement
between a Participant and the Company, and (y) if no such agreement is
effective as of the relevant time, (A) Participants repeated failure to
substantially perform the principal duties and obligations of Participants
position with the Company, as determined by a Disinterested Majority, (B) any
act of personal dishonesty by Participant in connection with his responsibilities
with respect to the Company, as determined by a Disinterested Majority, (C) conviction
of Participant of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or conviction of any
other crime that results in an adverse effect on the Companys business or
business reputation (or a plea of
nolo contendere
to any of the foregoing), or (D) a willful act by Participant, whether in
connection with his employment or otherwise, which constitutes misconduct and
that can reasonably be expected to have an adverse effect of the Company
business or its business reputation. Cause
does not include Disability or death of a Participant.
(iv)
Code
means the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended, and any regulations promulgated thereunder.
(v)
Company
, means CLST Holdings, Inc.,
a Delaware corporation, and for purposes of eligibility under the Plan, shall
include any present or future subsidiary corporations of CLST Holdings, Inc.,
as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code, and any present or future
parent corporation of CLST Holdings, Inc., as defined in Section 424(e) of
the Code. For purposes of Awards other
than Incentive Stock Options, the term
Company
shall include any other
business venture in which the Company has a direct or indirect significant
interest, as determined by the Board in its sole discretion.
(vi)
Date of Termination
means (i) as
such term is defined in any written employment or director or consulting
agreement between Participant and the Company, or (ii) if no such
agreement is effective as of the relevant time, (A) if the Participants
employment or director or consulting arrangement is terminated by his death,
the date of his death, (B) if the Participants employment or director or
consulting arrangement is terminated by a Disability the date the Disability is
determined or (C) if the Participants employment or director or
consulting arrangement is terminated for any other reason by the Participant or
the Company, the date on which a notice of termination is delivered by the
Company or the Participant to the other, or if a later effective date of
termination is set forth therein, the earlier of such stated effective date and
14 days after the date such notice of termination is delivered.
(vii)
Disability
means (i) as
such term is defined in any written employment or director or consulting
agreement between a Participant and the Company, or (ii) if no such
agreement is effective as of the relevant time, the Participants inability to
perform the duties and obligations he was employed or engaged to fulfill and
discharge, with or without reasonable accommodation, for a period of 180
consecutive days due to mental or physical incapacity as determined by a
physician selected by the Participant or its insurers and acceptable to the
Participant or the Participants legal representative (such agreement as to
acceptability not to be withheld unreasonably).
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(viii)
Disinterested Majority
means a
majority of the Board after excluding a Participant whose actions or conduct is
being reviewed by the Board if such Participant is then a member of the Board,
and any member of such Participants family then serving on the Board.
(ix)
employee
for purposes of
eligibility under the Plan (but not for purposes of
Section 4(b)
)
shall include a person to whom an offer of employment has been extended by the
Company.
(x)
Fair Market Value
of a share of
Common Stock on any day shall mean (i) if the Companys Common Stock is
traded on a national securities exchange or is quoted on a market established
by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated
Quotation (NASDAQ), then the closing price; (ii) if the Companys Common
Stock is not traded on a securities exchange or on a NASDAQ market, but is
traded in the over-the-counter market or on the pink sheets, then the average
of the closing bid and ask prices reported for such day;
provided
,
however
,
that if clauses (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph are inapplicable,
or if no trades have been made or no quotes are available for such day, the
Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock shall be determined by the Board
through the reasonable application of a reasonable valuation method that is
consistent with applicable regulations adopted by the Treasury Department
relating to stock options and Section 409A of the Code.
(xi)
Section 409A
means section
409A of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
b.
Compliance With Laws and Obligations
.
The Company shall not be obligated to issue or deliver Common Stock in
connection with any Award or take any other action under the Plan in a
transaction subject to the restriction requirements of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, or any other federal or state securities law, any requirement
under any listing agreement between the Company and any national securities
exchange or automated quotation system or any other law, regulation or
contractual obligation of the Company until the Company is satisfied that such
laws, regulations, and other obligations of the Company have been complied with
in full. Certificates representing
shares of Common Stock issued under the Plan will be subject to such
stop-transfer orders and other restrictions as may be applicable under such
laws, regulations and other obligations of the Company, including any
requirement that a legend or legends be placed thereon.
c.
Inability to Obtain Authority
. The inability of the Company to obtain
authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction, which authority is
deemed by the Companys counsel to be necessary to the lawful issuance and sale
of any shares hereunder, shall relieve the Company of any liability in respect
of the failure to issue or sell such shares as to which such requisite
authority shall not have been obtained.
d.
Investment Representations
. The Board may require any person
receiving Awards pursuant to this Plan to represent and warrant in writing that
the person is acquiring the shares for investment and without any present
intention to sell or distribute such shares.
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e.
No Right to Employment or Other Status
.
No person shall have any claim or right to be granted an Award, and the
grant of an Award shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to
continued employment, engagement or any other relationship with the
Company. The Company expressly reserves
the right at any time to dismiss or otherwise terminate its relationship with a
Participant free from any liability or claim under the Plan.
f.
No Rights as Stockholder
.
Subject to the provisions of the applicable Award, no Participant or
Designated Beneficiary shall have any rights as a stockholder with respect to
any shares of Common Stock to be distributed with respect to an Award until
becoming the record holder thereof.
g.
Ratification of Actions
. By accepting any Award or other benefit
under the Plan, each Participant and each person claiming under or through each
Participant shall be conclusively deemed to have indicated his or her
acceptance and ratification of, and consent to, any action taken under the Plan
by the Board.
h.
Effective Date and Term of Plan
.
The Plan shall become effective on the date on which it is adopted by
the Board. No Awards shall be granted
under the Plan after the completion of ten years from the date on which the
Plan was adopted by the Board, but Awards previously granted may extend beyond
that date.
i.
Amendment of Plan
.
The Board may amend, suspend, or terminate the Plan or any portion
thereof at any time
, provided
that (1) such action does not cause an Award to be subject to Section 409A
that was not previously subject to Section 409A or otherwise constitute an
impermissible acceleration or change in time and form of payment under Section 409A
and (2) no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the
stockholders of the Company to the extent stockholder approval is necessary to
satisfy any applicable law or any securities exchange listing
requirements. At the time of such
amendment, the Board shall determine, upon advice from counsel, whether such
amendment will be contingent on stockholder approval..
j.
Nonexclusivity of the Plan
.
Neither the adoption of the Plan by the Board nor its submission to the
stockholders of the Company for approval shall be construed as creating any
limitations on the power of the Board to adopt such other compensatory
arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the
granting of stock options otherwise than under the Plan, and such arrangements
may be either applicable generally or only in specific cases.
k.
No Fractional Shares
.
No fractional shares of Common Stock shall be issued or delivered
pursuant to the Plan or any Award. The
Board shall determine whether cash, other Awards, or other property shall be
issued or paid in lieu of such fractional shares or whether such fractional
shares or any rights thereto shall be forfeited or otherwise eliminated.
l.
Code Section 409A
.
The Plan is intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A,
without triggering the imposition of any tax penalty thereunder. To the extent necessary or advisable, the
Board may amend the Plan or any Award to delete any conflicting provisions and
to add such other provisions as are required to fully comply with the
applicable provisions of Section 409A and any other legislative or regulatory
requirements applicable to the Plan.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Plan or Award to the contrary, if
all or any portion
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Table of Contents
of the payments and/or benefits under this or Award are determined to
be nonqualified deferred compensation subject to Section 409A, and the
Company determines that the holder of an Award is a specified employee as
defined in Section 409A(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Code and the final
regulations promulgated thereunder (the Treasury Regulations) and other
guidance issued thereunder, then such payments and/or benefits (or portion
thereof) shall commence no earlier than the first day of the seventh month
following an Award holders termination of employment (with the first such
payment being a lump sum equal to the aggregate payments and/or benefits the
Award holder would have received during such six-month period if no such
payment delay had been imposed.) For
purposes of this Section 8(l), termination of employment shall mean
Executives separation from service, as defined in Section 1.409A-1(h) of
the Treasury Regulations, including the default presumptions thereunder. Wherever payments to which this paragraph
applies are to be made in installments, each such installment shall be deemed
to be a separate payment for purposes of Section 409A.
m.
Governing Law
. The
provisions of the Plan and all Awards made hereunder shall be governed by and
interpreted in accordance with the laws of Delaware, without regard to any
applicable conflicts of law.
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59000 FOLD AND
DETACH HERE YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE VOTE TODAY. We encourage you to
take advantage of Internet or telephone voting. Both are available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. Internet and telephone voting is available through 11:59
PM Eastern Time the day prior to the shareholder meeting date. OR If you vote
your proxy by Internet or by telephone, you do NOT need to mail back your
proxy card. To vote by mail, mark, sign and date your proxy card and return
it in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. Your Internet or telephone vote
authorizes the named proxies to vote your shares in the same manner as if you
marked, signed and returned your proxy card. INTERNET
http://www.proxyvoting.com/clhi Use the Internet to vote your proxy. Have
your proxy card in hand when you access the web site. TELEPHONE
1-866-540-5760 Use any touch-tone telephone to vote your proxy. Have your
proxy card in hand when you call. CLST HOLDINGS, INC. Signature Signature
Date NOTE: Please sign as name appears hereon. Joint owners should each sign.
When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian,
please give full title as such. Please mark your votes as indicated in this
example X The Board of Directors recommends that the stockholders vote FOR
each of the nominees listed below, FOR Proposals No. 2 and No. 3, and AGAINST
Proposals No. 4 through No. 8. Please review carefully the Proxy Statement
delivered with this Proxy. FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN FOR AGAINST ABSTAIN 1.
Election of directors: (i) Robert A. Kaiser as the Class I director for a
term of one year; and (ii) Patrick O'Donnell as the Class II director for a
term of two years; and in each case, until their successors are elected and
qualified. (INSTRUCTIONS: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee,
mark the Exceptions box above and write that nominee's name in the space
provided below.) *Exceptions 2. To ratify the appointment of Whitley Penn LLP
as our independent registered public accountants for the year ending November
30, 2009: 3. To ratify the Company's Amended and Restated 2008 Long Term
Incentive Plan: 4. Shareholder proposal regarding completion of dissolution:
5. Shareholder proposal regarding 2008 Long Term Incentive Plan: 6.
Shareholder proposal regarding November 10, 2008 transaction: 7. Shareholder
proposal regarding December 12, 2008 transaction: 8. Shareholder proposal
regarding February 13, 2008 transaction: Mark Here for Address Change or
Comments SEE REVERSE 9. In their discretion, the Proxies are authorized to
vote upon such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any
adjournments thereof. FOR all nominees listed above (except as marked to the
contrary below) *EXCEPTION WITHHOLD AUTHORITY to vote for all nominees listed
above
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59000 Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting
of Stockholders of CLST Holdings, Inc. to be held October 27, 2009: The proxy
materials are available at http://bnymellon.mobular.net/bnymellon/clhi.
Please date, sign and mail your proxy card in the envelope provided as soon
as possible. PROXY CLST HOLDINGS, INC. 17304 Preston Road, Dominion Plaza,
Suite 420 Dallas, Texas 75252 This Proxy is Solicited on Behalf of the Board
of Directors. The undersigned stockholder(s) of CLST Holdings, Inc., a
Delaware corporation (the Company), hereby revokes all prior proxies and
appoints Beverly Scherffius and Juliana Cordero attorneys-in-fact and proxies
of the undersigned, with full power of substitution, to represent and to vote
all shares of common stock of the Company that the undersigned is entitled to
vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held at the Hilton Dallas
Lincoln Centre, 5410 LBJ Freeway, Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, October 27,
2009, at 10:00 a.m., Dallas time, and at any adjournments or postponements
thereof. This Proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner
directed herein by the undersigned stockholder. If no direction is made, this
Proxy will be voted FOR each of the nominees listed below, FOR the approval of
Proposals No. 2, No. 3 and at the discretion of the Proxy with respect to any
matters referred to in No. 9, and AGAINST the approval of Proposals No. 4
through No. 8. PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE WHITE PROXY CARD
PROMPTLY USING THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. Address Change/Comments (Mark the
corresponding box on the reverse side) BNY MELLON SHAREOWNER SERVICES P.O.
BOX 3550 SOUTH HACKENSACK, NJ 07606-9250 Choose MLinkSM for fast, easy and
secure 24/7 online access to your future proxy materials, investment plan
statements, tax documents and more. Simply log on to Investor ServiceDirect®
at www.bnymellon.com/shareowner/isd where step-by-step instructions will
prompt you through enrollment. FOLD AND DETACH HERE (Continued and to be
marked, dated and signed, on the other side)
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CLST (PK) (USOTC:CLHI)
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