DEFA14A
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
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Footstar, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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FOOTSTAR, INC.
933 MacArthur Blvd.
Mahwah, NJ 07430
VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY
May 21, 2008
Dear Fellow Stockholder:
I am writing to you about a proposal recently put forward by a hedge fund called Outpoint
which seeks to replace two outstanding Footstar directors with its own hand-picked and, in our
view, less qualified candidates.
Your Board of Directors and I believe Outpoints proposal to replace our current directors is
ill-advised and contrary to the interests of you and other Footstar stockholders. Heres why:
The current Footstar Board of Directors has a consistent history of acting
to maximize shareholder value and return cash to stockholders
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$6.00 of distributions per share declared since 2007. |
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120% increase in stock price (including distributions paid) since Footstar emerged from
bankruptcy in 2006. |
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Adoption of a plan of liquidation. |
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Sale of intellectual property for $13 million. |
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Negotiated amendments to Kmart agreement to facilitate the final accounting with Kmart
upon termination of the Kmart agreement at the end of 2008. |
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Consistent cost cutting and careful business management. |
$6.00 of distributions per share declared since 2007. Your Board of Directors has
declared $6.00 per share in distributions since the beginning of 2007, returning substantial cash
to stockholders. The Company paid a $5.00 per share cash distribution in April 2007. On May 9,
2008, the Board declared another cash distribution to stockholders in the amount of $1.00 per
share. This distribution will be paid on June 3, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of
business on May 28, 2008.
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120% increase in stock price (including distributions paid) since Footstar emerged from
bankruptcy in 2006. Taking into account the distribution of $5.00 per share paid in April,
2007, Footstars stock value has increased 120% since Footstar emerged from bankruptcy in February,
2006. The Companys stock price closed at $4.55 per share on February 7, 2006, the day it emerged
from bankruptcy, and closed at $5.00 per share on May 19, 2008. When including the $5.00 per share
distribution paid in 2007, this represents a 120% increase in stock price including distributions
paid. The $1.00 per share distribution to be paid to record holders as of the close of business on
May 28, 2008 is not included in this calculation.
Adoption of a plan of liquidation. As previously publicly reported, the Board
explored strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. These alternatives included, among
other things, a sale of the Company, acquisitions, an extension of the Kmart relationship and the
termination of our agreement with Kmart. After exploring these alternatives, the Board determined
the best course of action for the Company is to wind down its business after the expiration of the
Kmart agreement at the end of 2008. To that end, the Board recently adopted a plan of liquidation
which contemplates the orderly wind down of the Companys business and the submission of a plan of
dissolution to the stockholders for a vote in 2009 after the expiration of the Kmart agreement.
The plan of liquidation, which was announced on May 9, 2008, after the Company engaged in
discussions with Outpoint, provides for the complete liquidation of the Company by providing for a
series of distributions of cash to the stockholders of the Company generated from cash on hand, the
sale of assets and the wind down of the Companys business. The Board intends to complete the wind
up and dissolution of the Company as promptly as practicable after the expiration of the Kmart
agreement at the end of 2008 (and indeed is already facilitating that process through the sale of
assets and settlement of claims at the present time as described below) and the final timing of a
wind up will depend on the pace at which outstanding liabilities are resolved and remaining assets
are sold.
$13 million sale of intellectual property to Kmart affiliate. On April 3, 2008, the
Company sold to an affiliate of Kmart substantially all of the Companys intellectual property,
including the intellectual property related to the Companys Kmart business, for a purchase price
of $13,006,250. Under the sale agreement, the Company was granted a royalty-free, exclusive
license to use the intellectual property to operate and wind up the Companys Kmart business.
In selling the intellectual property assets in advance of the expiration of the Kmart
agreement, the Board seized an opportunity to realize significant value for these assets. The
proceeds of the sale allowed the Board to conclude it had sufficient cash on hand to fund
operations for the remainder of 2008 and to return $1.00 per share to stockholders in our recently
announced special distribution.
Negotiated amendments to Kmart agreement to facilitate the final accounting with Kmart
upon termination of the Kmart agreement at the end of 2008. The Company also negotiated clear
and specific provisions for the sale of
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inventory to Kmart at the end of 2008 to facilitate the final accounting of amounts due from Kmart.
Under the Companys agreement with Kmart, Kmart is obligated to purchase inventory from the
Company at the expiration of the Kmart agreement, but that agreement lacked precision in a number
of areas relating to the final accounting. On April 3, 2008, Kmart and the Company agreed on
detailed procedures to value the Kmart inventory and detailed provisions to clarify the payments
due from Kmart under the agreement, substantially reducing the potential for uncertainty at the
expiration of the Kmart agreement. The sooner the Company receives all payments due to it, the
sooner that cash is available to the Company, including for stockholder distributions.
Your Board is systematically
reducing outstanding cost and expense items
Potential severance reductions. As part of the recent amendment to the Kmart
agreement, your Company got Kmart to agree to offer employment (effective at December 31, 2008 in
most cases) to substantially all of the Companys store managers and district manager level
employees, providing continued employment opportunities and potentially reducing Footstars
severance payment obligations.
Settlement of outstanding litigation and claims. The Company is diligently working on
actively settling all outstanding disputes. On or about March 3, 2005, an action was filed against
us in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, captioned Adidas America, Inc. and Adidas
Salomon AG v. Kmart Corporation and Footstar, Inc. seeking injunctive relief and unspecified
monetary damages for alleged trademark infringement, trademark dilution, unfair competition,
deceptive trade practices and breach of contract arising out of our use of four stripes as a design
element on footwear which Adidas claimed infringed on its registered three stripe trademark. The
Company successfully negotiated an amicable settlement of this matter effective May 2, 2008 and the
action was dismissed with prejudice. In addition, the Company was successful in transferring its
liability as a potentially responsible party in connection with an environmental site in Dover New
Hampshire and no longer needs to provide for such contingent liability.
Workforce reductions and reductions in retiree health care costs. The Company has
implemented significant reductions in force to reduce payroll costs while still seeking to maintain
appropriate employee levels for the operation of the business through 2008. In connection with the
anticipated wind down of the Companys business, on April 24, 2008, the Board approved a plan to
reduce operating expenses and align its workforce with its anticipated staffing needs by reducing
the Companys workforce as the business winds down. The Board also terminated the Companys
retiree health plan, eliminating its accumulated post retirement benefit obligation of
approximately $14.7 million and its unamortized net gain and prior service costs included in
accumulated other comprehensive income of $7.8 million, and resulting in a gain of approximately
$22.5 million.
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Your Board is committed to maximizing shareholder
value and returning cash to stockholders
Your Board has carefully managed the business of our Company to maximize value at the
expiration of the Kmart agreement at the end of 2008. Your Board expects that reducing cost and
expense items, including contingent liabilities, will mean a smaller reserve following the wind
down of the Companys business, which will facilitate cash distributions to stockholders under the
Companys plan of liquidation.
Your Boards nominees are the right directors
for Footstar and its stockholders
The Boards nominees, Adam Finerman and Gerald Kelly, are part of an effective and productive
Board that has maximized shareholder value and shareholder distributions, which, including the
$1.00 per share to be paid on June 3, 2008, have totaled $6.00 per share in the last 15 months.
Each of the Boards nominees has made, and will continue to make, important contributions to
our business and brings specific skills and experience that benefit the Board.
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Adam Finerman. Mr. Finerman is a partner with the law firm of Olshan Grundman
Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky LLP, based in New York City. Mr. Finerman practices in the
areas of corporate law and corporate finance. He also counsels corporate clients on
corporate governance practices and related matters, SEC reporting requirements and other
public company obligations. Mr. Finerman provides valuable guidance on the legal
implications of the Boards actions and will be of particular assistance as the Company
embarks upon its wind down and dissolution process. |
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Gerald Kelly. Mr. Kelly has 20 years of experience as an officer or director
of retail companies. From November 2005 until his retirement in 2007, Mr. Kelly was
Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing and Continuous Improvement and Chief Information
Officer of UAL Corporation, the parent of United Airlines. From 2002 to 2005 he was the
Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President for Procurement and Continuous
Improvement at Sears, Roebuck & Company, and was a member of the Operating, Capital and
Contracts, and Political Action Committees. From 2001 to 2002 he was a business advisor.
From 1986 to 2001, Mr. Kelly served as an executive officer of Payless Shoesource, Inc. of
Topeka, Kansas, a specialty retailer. Mr. Kellys last title at Payless was Senior
Vice-President Logistics, Information Systems and Technology and he served as a member
of Payless Senior Management, Operating, Capital Expenditure, and Political Action
Committees. Mr. Kelly has extensive experience with retail companies and his judgment and
experience continues to be of high value to the Company and the other Board members. |
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Outpoints nominees are not the right answer for Footstar
Outpoint has endorsed the Companys announced strategy of liquidation and dissolution.
Outpoint and its advisor, Mr. Jordan Grayson, have launched a proxy fight to replace these two
distinguished directors. Outpoint has not provided any strategic plans, nor has it said
specifically what it would do differently from our current strategy. Indeed, Outpoint has
endorsed the Companys announced strategy in calling for the Companys liquidation and
dissolution.
Outpoint can not guarantee the timing of the final wind up and liquidation of the
Company. The Board is committed to the liquidation and wind up of the Company. The sale of
assets and resolution of liabilities is already underway as described above. The final timing of a
wind up will depend on the sale of remaining assets and resolution of remaining liabilities (as
well as approval of a plan of dissolution by the stockholders), determined by the Board in
compliance with its fiduciary duties.
Their platform, according to statements in their proxy statement, is that the Company has
failed to formulate a clear plan for distributing proceeds to stockholders following dissolution
and are concerned that it may not happen at all. In their proxy statement, Outpoint also expresses
concern that your Board may not act in the best interests of shareholders. We believe they are
just plain wrong.
Just look at your Boards strong track record (discussed above):
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Declared distributions of $6.00 per share in the last 15 months. |
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Adopted a plan of liquidation for the Company. |
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Reduced cost and expense items in anticipation of winding down and liquidating. |
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Settled or eliminated contingent liabilities with a view to facilitating
liquidation distributions to stockholders. |
Grayson and Prensky have limited economic interests in the Company. In the Outpoint
proxy statement, Mr. Grayson claims his fund owns 2.8% of the Companys common stock and the Board
needs additional stockholder representation to avoid a divergence of interests between the Board
and stockholders. In your Boards view, there is no divergence of interests. The Companys
Chairman, Jon Couchman, beneficially owns shares representing 4.4% of the Companys stock
substantially more than Mr. Grayson. Mr. Couchman owns his entire stake personally or through
100% owned entities. It is not clear what percentage of Mr. Graysons 2.8% is owned by him as
compared to entities for which he is merely an investment advisor.
Moreover, all but one of the Board members, including the two members Outpoint seeks to
replace, are independent under Nasdaq listing standards.
In the Boards view, the Outpoint nominees do not measure up to your Boards nominees.
Consider the following:
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Jordan Grayson
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31 years old with no apparent consumer retail operating experience. |
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No apparent experience as a director of a public company. |
Zachary Prensky
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35 years old with no apparent consumer retail operating experience. |
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Prensky is a short-term owner of the Companys shares. He acquired his 6,000
shares on February 29, 2008, 12 days before Outpoint sent its letter nominating
candidates to run for the Board. (According to Outpoints proxy statement, he
(through his wife) also bought and sold 19,500 shares in the period of March 16 to
April 11, 2007, but ended up owning NO stock after that three week flurry of
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Why would stockholders want to support Outpoints proposal to replace two highly experienced
and valuable members of the Board with nominees of little relevant experience and, in the
case of Mr. Prensky, an individual who is merely a short-term stockholder where their
platform is to implement precisely the course of action your Board has already announced?
The present Board has managed the Company well. They have delivered $6.00 in distributions to
shareholders, are judiciously managing the wind down of the Company and positioning the Company for
a smooth wind up and dissolution in 2009. There is no benefit or reason to replace two key members
of the Board who have delivered such value to shareholders with inexperienced, unproven nominees.
Your Board is unanimously opposed to Outpoints nominees. We strongly urge you to sign, date
and return the Boards WHITE proxy card today.
Every stockholders vote is important, so please be sure to review our Proxy Statement and
complete, sign, date and return your WHITE proxy card today.
On behalf of the entire Board and management team, thank you for your continuing interest and
support.
Sincerely,
JONATHAN M. COUCHMAN
Chairman of the Board
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VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY
Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, please complete, sign, date and promptly
mail your enclosed WHITE proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided. Should you prefer, you
may vote in person or may deliver your proxy by telephone or by the internet by following the
instructions on your WHITE proxy card.
Footstars Board of Directors strongly urges you not to sign any proxy cards sent to you by
Outpoint. If you have previously signed an Outpoint proxy card, you can revoke it by signing,
dating and mailing the enclosed WHITE proxy card in the envelope provided.
If you have any questions or need assistance in voting your shares, please call or contact our
proxy solicitor, MacKenzie Partners, Inc., which is assisting Footstar, toll-free at (800) 322-2885
or by email at proxy@mackenziepartners.com.