ARVINMERITOR INC
S-8, 2001-01-10
MOTOR VEHICLE PARTS & ACCESSORIES
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<PAGE>   1
                                                      Registration No. 333-_____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      Under
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                              --------------------

                               ARVINMERITOR, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

           INDIANA                                         33-3354643
(State or other jurisdiction of             (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
 incorporation or organization)

                              --------------------

     2135 West Maple Road                                        48084-7186
         Troy, Michigan                                          (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices)

                              ---------------------

                ARVINMERITOR, INC. HOURLY EMPLOYEES SAVINGS PLAN
                            (Full title of the plan)

                              ---------------------

                            Vernon G. Baker, II, Esq.
                             Senior Vice President,
                          General Counsel and Secretary
                               ArvinMeritor, Inc.
                              2135 West Maple Road
                            Troy, Michigan 48084-7186
                                 (248) 435-1000
(Name, address, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TITLE OF SECURITIES             AMOUNT           PROPOSED  MAXIMUM     PROPOSED MAXIMUM
TO BE REGISTERED                TO BE            OFFERING PRICE        AGGREGATE              AMOUNT OF
                                REGISTERED       PER SHARE (1)         OFFERING PRICE (1)     REGISTRATION FEE (1)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                             <C>              <C>                   <C>                     <C>
Common Stock, par value         250,000          $ 12.0625              $ 3,015,626             $ 754
$1 per share, and
associated preferred
share purchase rights(2)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>

(1)  Based on the average of the high and low prices reported on the
     consolidated reporting system of the New York Stock Exchange on January 3,
     2001, pursuant to Rule 457(c) and 457(h)(1) under the Securities Act of
     1933.

(2)  In addition, pursuant to Rule 416(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, this
     registration statement also covers an indeterminate amount of interests to
     be offered or sold pursuant to the ArvinMeritor, Inc. Hourly Employees
     Savings Plan.


<PAGE>   2

                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

         The following documents or portions thereof, which have been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), are incorporated by
reference and made a part hereof:

         Annual Report on Form 10-K of ArvinMeritor, Inc. ("ArvinMeritor" or the
         "Company") for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2000 (including
         portions of the Company's 2000 Annual Report to Shareowners and proxy
         statement for the Company's 2001 annual meeting of shareowners
         incorporated therein by reference) (File No. 1-15983).

         The information under the heading "Description of Combined Company
         Capital Stock" in ArvinMeritor's Registration Statement on Form S-4, as
         amended (Registration No. 333-36448)("Form S-4").

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company and by the
ArvinMeritor, Inc. Hourly Employees Savings Plan (the "Plan") pursuant to
Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
"Exchange Act") prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which
indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters
all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated herein
by reference and be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any
statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated
herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this
Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any
other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated
by reference herein modifies or supersedes that statement. Any such statement so
modified or superseded shall not constitute a part of this Registration
Statement, except as so modified or superseded.

Item 4.  DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

         Not applicable.

Item 5.  INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL

         Vernon G. Baker, II, Esq., who has passed upon the legality of any
newly issued Common Stock of the Company covered by this Registration Statement,
is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Company.

                                      II-1
<PAGE>   3


Item 6.  INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

         The Indiana Business Corporation Law permits indemnification of
officers, directors, employees and agents against liabilities and expenses
incurred in proceedings if the person acted in good faith and reasonably
believed that (1) in the case of conduct in the person's official capacity with
the corporation, that the person's conduct was in the corporation's best
interests, and (2) in all other cases, that the person's conduct was at least
not opposed to the corporation's best interests. In criminal proceedings, the
person must either have reasonable cause to believe the conduct was lawful or
must have had no reasonable cause to believe that the conduct was unlawful.
Unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise, indemnification is
mandatory in two instances: (1) a director successfully defends himself in a
proceeding to which he or she was a party because he or she is or was a director
of the corporation, or (2) it is ordered by a court.

         Section 8.06 of ArvinMeritor's Restated Articles of Incorporation
contains provisions authorizing, to the extent permitted under the Indiana
Business Corporation Law and the ArvinMeritor By-Laws, indemnification of
directors and officers, including payment in advance of expenses in defending an
action and maintaining liability insurance on such directors and officers.
Specifically, ArvinMeritor's By-Laws provide that the Company will indemnify any
person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any
threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil or
criminal, administrative or investigative, formal or informal, by reason of the
fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of
ArvinMeritor, or is or was serving at the request of ArvinMeritor as a director,
officer, employee, agent, partner, trustee or member or in another authorized
capacity of or for another corporation, unincorporated association, business
trust, estate, partnership, trust, joint venture, individual or other legal
entity, whether or not organized or formed for profit, against expenses
(including attorney's fees) and judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in
settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with
such action. ArvinMeritor will pay, in advance of the final disposition of an
action, the expenses reasonably incurred in defending such action by a person
who may be entitled to indemnification. The Company's By-Laws also set forth
particular procedures for submission and determination of claims for
indemnification.

         ArvinMeritor's directors and officers are insured against certain
liabilities for actions taken in such capacities, including liabilities under
the Securities Act of 1933.

Item 7.  EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  EXHIBITS

         4(a)     Restated Articles of Incorporation of ArvinMeritor (filed as
                  Exhibit 4.01 to the Form S-4 and incorporated herein by
                  reference).

                                      II-2
<PAGE>   4


         4(b)     By-laws of ArvinMeritor (filed as Exhibit 4.02 to the Form S-4
                  and incorporated herein by reference).

         4(c)     Rights Agreement, dated as of July 3, 2000, between
                  ArvinMeritor and EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., as rights
                  agent (filed as Exhibit 4.03 to the Form S-4 and incorporated
                  herein by reference).

         5(a)     Opinion of Vernon G. Baker, II, Esq., Senior Vice President,
                  General Counsel and Secretary of the Company, as to the
                  legality of any newly-issued Common Stock of the Company
                  covered by the Registration Statement.

         5(b)     In lieu of an opinion concerning compliance with the
                  requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
                  1974, as amended, or a determination letter of the Internal
                  Revenue Service (the "IRS") that the Plan is qualified under
                  Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Company hereby
                  undertakes to submit the Plan and any amendment thereto to the
                  IRS in a timely manner and to make all changes required by the
                  IRS in order to qualify the Plan.

         23(a)    Consent of Vernon G. Baker, II, Esq., Senior Vice President,
                  General Counsel and Secretary of the Company, is contained in
                  his opinion filed as Exhibit 5(a) to this Registration
                  Statement.

         23(b)    Consent of M. L. Murrah, Esq.

         23(c)    Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors.

         24       Power of Attorney authorizing certain persons to sign the
                  Registration Statement.


Item 9.  UNDERTAKINGS.

         The Company and the Plan hereby undertake:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
         being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
         (i) to include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the
         Securities Act of 1933; (ii) to reflect in the prospectus any facts or
         events arising after the effective date of the registration statement
         (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which,
         individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the
         information set forth in the registration statement; notwithstanding
         the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered
         (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that
         which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the

                                      II-3
<PAGE>   5


         estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of
         prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the
         Securities Act if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price
         represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering
         price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the
         effective registration statement; (iii) to include any material
         information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
         disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
         information in the registration statement; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that (i)
         and (ii) do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-8 and
         the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment
         by those provisions is contained in periodic reports filed with or
         furnished to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or
         section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in
         the registration statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
         the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
         deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
         offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall
         be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
         amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at
         the termination of the offering.

                  (4) That, for purposes of determining any liability under the
         Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Company's annual report
         pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and
         each filing of the Plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of
         the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration
         statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating
         to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
         at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
         thereof.

                  (5) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under
         the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and
         controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the provisions described
         above, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion
         of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed
         in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event
         that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than
         the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director,
         officer or controlling person of the Company in the successful defense
         of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director,
         officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
         registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the
         matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of
         appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by
         it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will
         be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

                                      II-5

<PAGE>   6


                                   SIGNATURES

         THE REGISTRANT. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of
1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it
meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Troy, State of Michigan, on the 8th day of
January, 2001.

                                     ARVINMERITOR, INC.


                                     By: /s/ VERNON G. BAKER, II
                                         -----------------------
                                              Vernon G. Baker, II
                                              Senior Vice President,
                                              General Counsel and Secretary

         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed on the 8th day of January, 2001, by the
following persons in the capacities indicated:

<TABLE>
<S>                                                 <C>

SIGNATURE                                                       TITLE
---------                                                       -----

Larry D. Yost*                                       Chairman of the Board and
                                                     Chief Executive Officer (principal
                                                     executive officer) and Director

V. William Hunt*                                     Vice Chairman and President and
                                                     Director

Joseph B. Anderson, Jr., Steven C. Beering           Directors
Rhonda L. Brooks, John J. Creedon,
Joseph P. Flannery, Robert E. Fowler, Jr.,
William E. George, Jr., Richard W. Hanselman,
Charles H. Harff, Don J. Kacek,
Victoria B. Jackson, James E. Marley
and Harold A. Poling*

Thomas A. Madden*                                    Senior Vice President and
                                                     Chief Financial Officer
                                                     (principal financial officer)

William M. Lowe*                                     Vice President and Controller
                                                     (principal accounting officer)

*By  /S/ VERNON G. BAKER, II
     -----------------------
     (Vernon G. Baker, II, attorney-in-fact)

</TABLE>

                                      II-5

<PAGE>   7


         THE PLAN. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933,
the Plan has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Troy, State of
Michigan, on the 8th day of January, 2001.

                                         ArvinMeritor, Inc. Hourly Employees
                                         Savings Plan



                                         By: /s/ RICHARD D. GREB
                                             ---------------------
                                             Richard D. Greb, Plan Administrator





                                      II-6


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