UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

SCHEDULE 14A

PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(a) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

Filed by the Registrant   x                              Filed by a Party other than the Registrant   ¨

Check the appropriate box:

 

¨   Preliminary Proxy Statement
¨   Confidential, for Use of the Commission (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
¨   Definitive Proxy Statement
¨   Definitive Additional Materials
x   Soliciting Material Under § 240.14a-12

The Valspar Corporation

(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than Registrant)

Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):

x   No fee required.
¨   Fee computed below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
  (1)  

Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

     

  (2)  

Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

     

  (3)  

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):

 

     

  (4)  

Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

     

  (5)  

Total fee paid:

 

     

¨   Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
¨   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.
  (1)  

Amount Previously Paid:

 

     

  (2)  

Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:

 

     

  (3)  

Filing Party:

 

     

  (4)  

Date Filed:

 

     

 

 

 

CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT    03.25.16
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Valspar Week One Employee Update Letter

 

Fellow Valspar employee,

It has been a busy week since we announced our combination with Sherwin-Williams. I recognize that you have had a lot to absorb these past few days. Now that you’ve had some time to learn about this exciting transaction, I wanted to connect with you to address some important topics.

I’m pleased to report that customer reaction to the transaction has been overwhelmingly positive so far, and we are extremely encouraged by their feedback. By combining with Sherwin-Williams, we will be able to offer our customers a broader assortment of products, improved technology capabilities, and additional scope and scale. Following the close of the transaction, we expect that very little will change for the majority of our customers, except they will have access to enhanced products and services. For now, it is business as usual and customers should continue to interact with the Valspar contacts with whom they have built relationships. I want to reiterate that this combination will not result in any changes to our objectives in the near-term and we will continue to operate as separate companies.

Please remember that there are still many details to work through to complete the transaction. Over the coming months, we expect to build an integration planning team comprised of members from each company that will work to address how we can best utilize each other’s capabilities and bring our companies together. The results of the integration planning process will not be implemented until after the transaction is completed, and the contributions of Valspar employees will be very important to the success of the integration of our two companies. As for immediate next steps, we will be filing our preliminary proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by mid-April. This filing is necessary before we can hold our shareholder meeting to vote on the transaction.

Some of you have already reached out with questions. We want to address as many of these as we can and we are committed to openness. Subject to regulatory restrictions, we will continue to communicate new information to you throughout the process leading up to close. In addition, going forward, you may submit your questions to communications@valspar.com. Based on your submissions, we will periodically update the employee FAQs that were first provided when the transaction was announced.

Please continue to focus on our projects and priorities and provide our customers with the high level of support that they have come to expect from Valspar. In short, let’s keep doing all the things that make Valspar the successful company it is today.

On behalf of the entire senior management team, I want to thank you for your continued professionalism and dedication to Valspar.

Sincerely,

Gary E. Hendrickson

Chairman and CEO

Additional Information and Where to Find it

Valspar intends to file with the SEC a proxy statement in connection with the contemplated transactions. The definitive proxy statement will be sent or given to Valspar stockholders and will contain important information about the contemplated transactions. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. Investors and security holders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement (when it is available) and other documents filed with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

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Certain Information Concerning Participants

Valspar and Sherwin-Williams and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Valspar investors and security holders in connection with the contemplated transactions. Information about Valspar’s directors and executive officers is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K. Information about Sherwin-Williams’ directors and executive officers is set forth in its proxy statement for its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and its most recent annual report on Form 10-K. These documents may be obtained for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information regarding the interests of participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the contemplated transactions will be included in the proxy statement that Valspar intends to file with the SEC.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This communication contains forward-looking information about Valspar, Sherwin-Williams and the proposed transaction. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “project,” “could,” “plan,” “goal,” “potential,” “pro forma,” “seek,” “intend” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or comparable terminology, and include discussions of strategy, financial projections, guidance and estimates (including their underlying assumptions), statements regarding plans, objectives, expectations or consequences of announced transactions, and statements about the future performance, operations, products and services of Valspar and its subsidiaries. Valspar and Sherwin-Williams caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, actual results and experience may materially differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the following: the failure to obtain Valspar stockholder approval of the proposed transaction; the possibility that the closing conditions to the contemplated transactions may not be satisfied or waived, including that a governmental entity may prohibit, delay or refuse to grant a necessary regulatory approval; delay in closing the transaction or the possibility of non-consummation of the transaction; the potential for regulatory authorities to require divestitures in connection with the proposed transaction and the possibility that Valspar stockholders consequently receive $105 per share instead of $113 per share; the occurrence of any event that could give rise to termination of the merger agreement; the risk that stockholder litigation in connection with the contemplated transactions may affect the timing or occurrence of the contemplated transactions or result in significant costs of defense, indemnification and liability; risks inherent in the achievement of cost synergies and the timing thereof; risks related to the disruption of the transaction to Valspar and its management; the effect of announcement of the transaction on Valspar’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties; fluctuations in the availability and prices of raw materials; difficult global economic and capital markets conditions; risks associated with revenues from foreign markets; interruption, failure or compromise of Valspar’s information systems; and changes in the legal and regulatory environment. These risks and others are described in greater detail in Valspar’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 30, 2015, as well as in Valspar’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed by Valspar with the SEC after the date thereof. Valspar and Sherwin-Williams make no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances occurring or existing after the date any forward-looking statement is made.

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