<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
---------------
FORM 8-A
FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
-----------------------------
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 13-2740599
------------ ----------
(State of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
World Financial Center
North Tower
250 Vesey Street
New York, New York 10281
- ------------------------------------------- --------
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
If this form relates to the registration If this form relates to the registration
of a class of securities pursuant to of a class of securities pursuant to
Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and
is effective pursuant to General is effective pursuant to General
Instruction A.(c), please check the Instruction A.(d), please check the
following box. [X] following box. [_]
</TABLE>
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
Securities Act registration statement file number to which this form relates: 333-68747
---------
</TABLE>
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class Name of each exchange on which
to be so registered each class is to be registered
------------------- ------------------------------
Nikkei 225 Market Index Target-Term
Securities(R) due March , 2007 American Stock Exchange
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Title of class)
"Market Index Target-Term Securities" and "MITTS" are registered service marks
owned by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
<PAGE>
Item 1. Description of Registrant's Notes to be Registered.
--------------------------------------------------
The description of the general terms and provisions of the Nikkei 225
Market Index Target-Term Securities ("MITTS(R)") due March , 2007 to be issued
by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (the "Notes") set forth in the Preliminary
Prospectus Supplement dated March 2, 2000, and the Prospectus dated May 6, 1999,
attached hereto as Exhibit 99(A) are hereby incorporated by reference and
contain certain proposed terms and provisions. The description of the Notes
contained in the Prospectus Supplement to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, under Registration Statement Number 333-
68747 which will contain the final terms and provisions of the Notes, including
the maturity date of the Notes, is hereby deemed to be incorporated by reference
into this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof.
Item 2. Exhibits.
--------
99(A) Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated March 2, 2000, and
Prospectus dated May 6, 1999, (incorporated by reference to
registrant's filing pursuant to Rule 424 (b)).
99(B) Form of Note.
99(C) Copy of Indenture between Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and The Chase
Manhattan Bank, formerly Chemical Bank (successor by merger to
Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company), dated as of April 1, 1983,
as amended and restated.*
Other securities issued by Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. are listed on the
American Stock Exchange.
* Exhibit 99 (C) is incorporated by reference from Exhibit (3) to
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated July 20, 1992.
2
<PAGE>
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the registrant has caused this registration statement to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.
By: /s/ Andrea L. Dulberg
---------------------
Andrea L. Dulberg
Secretary
Date: March 28, 2000
3
<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.
EXHIBITS
TO
FORM 8-A DATED MARCH 28, 2000
<PAGE>
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
-----------------
Exhibit No.
- ----------
99 (A) Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated
March 2, 2000, and Prospectus dated
May 6, 1999 (incorporated by reference to
registrant's filing pursuant to Rule 424 (b)).
99 (B) Form of Note.
99 (C) Copy of Indenture between Merrill Lynch & Co.,
Inc. and The Chase Manhattan Bank, formerly
Chemical Bank (successor by merger to
Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company),
dated as of April 1, 1983, as amended and restated.*
* Exhibit 99 (C) is incorporated by reference from Exhibit (3) to
Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated July 20, 1992.
<PAGE>
Exhibit 99(B)
THIS MITTS SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE
HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A DEPOSITORY OR A
NOMINEE THEREOF. UNLESS AND UNTIL IT IS EXCHANGED IN WHOLE OR IN PART FOR MITTS
SECURITIES IN CERTIFICATED FORM, THIS MITTS SECURITY MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED
EXCEPT AS A WHOLE BY THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION
("DTC"), TO A NOMINEE OF DTC OR BY DTC OR ANY SUCH NOMINEE TO A SUCCESSOR
DEPOSITORY OR A NOMINEE OF SUCH SUCCESSOR DEPOSITORY. UNLESS THIS MITTS SECURITY
IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC TO MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.
OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY MITTS
SECURITY ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS
REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO
CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED
REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR
OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER
HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.
No. R- ,00,000 Units
CUSIP 590188 (Each Unit representing $10 principal
amount of MITTS Securities)
MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.
Nikkei 225 Market Index Target-Term Securities(R)
due March , 2007
("MITTS Securities")
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., a Delaware corporation (hereinafter
referred to as the "Company", which term includes any successor corporation
under the Indenture herein referred to), for value received, hereby promises to
pay to CEDE & CO., or its registered assigns, the principal sum of
MILLION DOLLARS ($ ,000,000) (the "Principal Amount") plus the Supplemental
Redemption Amount, as defined below, if any, on March , 2007 (the "Stated
Maturity").
Payment or delivery of the Principal Amount and the Supplemental
Redemption Amount, if any, and any interest on any overdue amount thereof with
respect to this Security shall be made at the office or agency of the Company
maintained for that purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York,
in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of
payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts.
This MITTS Security is one of the series of Nikkei 225 Market Index
Target-Term Securities due March , 2007.
1
<PAGE>
Supplemental Redemption Amount
The "Supplemental Redemption Amount" with respect to this MITTS
Security equals:
(Ending Value-Starting Value)
Principal Amount x (---------------------------) x Participation Rate
( Starting Value )
provided, however, that in no event will the Supplemental Redemption Amount be
less than zero. The Starting Value equals . The Ending Value will be
determined by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (the
"Calculation Agent") and will equal the average or arithmetic mean of the
closing values of the Nikkei Stock Average (the "Index") determined on each of
the first five Calculation Days (as defined below) during the Calculation Period
(as defined below). If there are fewer than five Calculation Days in the
Calculation Period, the Ending Value will equal the average or arithmetic mean
of the closing values of the Index on those Calculation Days. If there is only
one Calculation Day, then the Ending Value will equal the closing value of the
Index on that Calculation Day. If no Calculation Days occur during the
Calculation Period, then the Ending Value shall equal the closing value of the
Index determined on the last scheduled Index Business Day (as defined below) in
the Calculation Period, regardless of the occurrence of a Market Disruption
Event (as defined below) on that day.
The "Participation Rate" equals %.
The "Calculation Period" means the period from and including the
seventh scheduled Index Business Day prior to the Stated Maturity to and
including the second scheduled Index Business Day prior to the Stated Maturity.
"Calculation Day" means any Index Business Day during the Calculation
Period on which a Market Disruption Event has not occurred.
An "Index Business Day" is any day on which The New York Stock
Exchange (the "NYSE") and the American Stock Exchange (the "AMEX") are open for
trading and the Index or any Successor Index (as defined below) is calculated
and published.
All determinations made by the Calculation Agent shall be at the sole
discretion of the Calculation Agent and, absent a determination by the
Calculation Agent of a manifest error, shall be conclusive for all purposes and
binding on the Company and Holders and beneficial owners of the MITTS
Securities.
Adjustments to the Index; Market Disruption Events
If at any time Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc. ("NKS") changes its method
of calculating the Index, or the value of the Index changes, in any material
respect, or if the Index is in any other way modified so that the Index does
not, in the opinion of the Calculation Agent, fairly represent the value of the
Index had those changes or modifications not been made, then, from and after
that time, the Calculation Agent shall, at the close of business in New York,
New
2
<PAGE>
York, on each date that the closing value of the Index is to be calculated,
make any adjustments as, in the good faith judgment of the Calculation Agent,
may be necessary in order to arrive at a calculation of a value of a stock index
comparable to the Index as if those changes or modifications had not been made,
and calculate the closing value with reference to the Index, as so adjusted.
Accordingly, if the method of calculating the Index is modified so that the
value of the Index is a fraction or a multiple of what it would have been if it
had not been modified, e.g., due to a split, then the Calculation Agent shall
adjust the Index in order to arrive at a value of the Index as if it had not
been modified, e.g., as if the split had not occurred.
"Market Disruption Event" means either of the following events, as
determined by the Calculation Agent:
(A) a suspension, material limitation or absence of trading on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange (the "TSE") of 20% or more of the underlying stocks
that then comprise the Index or a Successor Index during the one-half
hour period preceding the close of trading on the applicable exchange;
or
(B) the suspension or material limitation on the Singapore International
Monetary Exchange, Ltd., the Osaka Securities Exchange or any other
major futures or securities market from trading in futures or options
contracts related to the Index or a Successor Index during the one-
half hour period preceding the close of trading on the applicable
exchange.
For the purpose of determining whether a Market Disruption Event has
occurred:
(1) a limitation on the hours or number of days of trading will not
constitute a Market Disruption Event if it results from an
announced change in the regular business hours of the relevant
exchange;
(2) a decision to permanently discontinue trading in the relevant
futures or options contract will not constitute a Market
Disruption Event;
(3) a suspension in trading in a futures or options contract on the
Index by a major securities market by reason of (a) a price
change violating limits set by that securities market, (b) an
imbalance of orders relating to those contracts or (c) a
disparity in bid and ask quotes relating to those contracts will
constitute a suspension or material limitation of trading in
futures or options contracts related to the Index; and
(4) an absence of trading on the TSE will not include any time when
the TSE is closed for trading under ordinary circumstances.
Discontinuance of the Index
If NKS discontinues publication of the Index and NKS or another entity
publishes a successor or substitute index that the Calculation Agent determines,
in its sole discretion, to be
3
<PAGE>
comparable to the Index (any such index being referred herein as a "Successor
Index"), then, upon the Calculation Agent's notification of such determination
to the Trustee (as defined below) and the Company, the Calculation Agent will
substitute the Successor Index as calculated by NKS or such other entity for the
Index and calculate the closing value as described above under "--Supplemental
Redemption Amount". Upon any selection by the Calculation Agent of a Successor
Index, the Company shall promptly cause notice to be given to Holders of the
MITTS Securities.
In the event that NKS discontinues publication of the Index and the
Calculation Agent does not select a Successor Index, or the Successor Index is
no longer published on any of the Calculation Days, the Calculation Agent will
compute a substitute value for the Index in accordance with the procedures last
used to calculate the Index before any discontinuance. If a Successor Index is
selected or the Calculation Agent calculates a value as a substitute for the
Index, the Successor Index or value will be used as a substitute for the Index
for all purposes, including for purposes of determining whether a Market
Disruption Event exists.
If NKS discontinues publication of the Index before the Calculation
Period and the Calculation Agent determines that no Successor Index is available
at that time, then on each Business Day (as defined below) until the earlier to
occur of the determination of the Ending Value and a determination by the
Calculation Agent that a Successor Index is available, the Calculation Agent
will determine the value that would be used in computing the Supplemental
Redemption Amount as described in the preceding paragraph as if that day were a
Calculation Day. The Calculation Agent will cause notice of each value to be
published not less often than once each month in The Wall Street Journal or
another newspaper of general circulation, and arrange for information with
respect to these values to be made available by telephone.
A "Business Day" is any day on which the NYSE and the AMEX are open for
trading.
General
This MITTS Security is one of a duly authorized issue of securities of
the Company, issued and to be issued under an Indenture, dated as of April 1,
1983, as amended (herein referred to as the "Indenture"), between the Company
and The Chase Manhattan Bank , as Trustee (herein referred to as the "Trustee",
which term includes any successor Trustee under the Indenture), to which
Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a
statement of the respective rights thereunder of the Company, the Trustee and
the Holders of the MITTS Securities, and the terms upon which the MITTS
Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered.
The Company hereby covenants for the benefit of the Holders of the
MITTS Securities, to the extent permitted by applicable law, not to claim
voluntarily the benefits of any laws concerning usurious rates of interest
against a Holder of the MITTS Securities.
The MITTS Securities are not subject to redemption by the Company or
at the option of the Holder prior to the Stated Maturity.
4
<PAGE>
In case an Event of Default with respect to any MITTS Securities shall
have occurred and be continuing, the amount payable to a Holder of a MITTS
Security upon any acceleration permitted by the MITTS Securities, with respect
to each $10 principal amount thereof, will be equal to the $10 principal amount
and the Supplemental Redemption Amount, if any, calculated assuming the date of
early repayment is the Stated Maturity of the MITTS Securities.
In case of default in payment of the MITTS Securities (whether at the
Stated Maturity or upon acceleration), from and after such date the MITTS
Securities shall bear interest, payable upon demand of the Holders thereof, at
the rate of 7% per annum (to the extent that payment of such interest shall be
legally enforceable) on the unpaid amount due and payable on such date in
accordance with the terms of the MITTS Securities to the date payment of such
amount has been made or duly provided for.
The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided,
the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the
Company and the rights of the Holders of the MITTS Securities of each series to
be affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with
the consent of the Holders of not less than 66 2/3% in aggregate principal
amount of the MITTS Securities at the time Outstanding, as defined in the
Indenture, of each series affected thereby. The Indenture also contains
provisions permitting the Holders of specified percentages in aggregate
principal amount of the MITTS Securities of each series at the time Outstanding,
on behalf of the Holders of all MITTS Securities of each series, to waive
compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain
past defaults under the Indenture and their consequences. Any such consent or
waiver by the Holder of this MITTS Security shall be conclusive and binding upon
such Holder and upon all future Holders of this MITTS Security and of any MITTS
Security issued upon the registration of transfer hereof or in exchange herefor
or in lieu hereof whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon
this MITTS Security.
No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this MITTS
Security or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the
Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the Principal Amount plus
the Supplemental Redemption Amount, if any, with respect to this MITTS Security
and any interest on any overdue amount thereof at the time, place, and rate, and
in the coin or currency herein prescribed.
As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations set
forth therein and on the first page hereof, the transfer of this MITTS Security
may be registered on the Security Register of the Company, upon surrender of
this MITTS Security for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the
Company in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, duly endorsed by, or
accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the
Company duly executed by, the Holder hereof or by his attorney duly authorized
in writing, and thereupon one or more new MITTS Securities, of authorized
denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the
designated transferee or transferees.
5
<PAGE>
The MITTS Securities are issuable only in registered form without
coupons in denominations of $10 and integral multiples thereof. This MITTS
Security shall remain in the form of a global security held by a Depository.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (x) any Depository is at any time unwilling or
unable to continue as Depository and a successor depository is not appointed by
the Company within 60 days, (y) the Company executes and delivers to the Trustee
a Company Order to the effect that this MITTS Security shall be exchangeable or
(z) an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to the MITTS
Securities, this MITTS Security shall be exchangeable for MITTS Securities in
definitive form of like tenor and of an equal aggregate Principal Amount, in
denominations of $10 and integral multiples thereof. Such definitive MITTS
Securities shall be registered in such name or names as the Depository shall
instruct the Trustee. If definitive MITTS Securities are so delivered, the
Company may make such changes to the form of this MITTS Security as are
necessary or appropriate to allow for the issuance of such definitive MITTS
Securities.
No service charge shall be made for any such registration of transfer
or exchange, but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover
any tax or governmental charge payable in connection therewith.
Prior to due presentment of this MITTS Security for registration of
transfer, the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee
may treat the Person in whose name this MITTS Security is registered as the
owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not this MITTS Security be overdue,
and neither the Company, the Trustee nor any such agent shall be affected by
notice to the contrary.
All terms used in this MITTS Security which are defined in the
Indenture but not in this MITTS Security shall have the meanings assigned to
them in the Indenture.
Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by
The Chase Manhattan Bank, the Trustee under the Indenture, or its successor
thereunder, by the manual signature of one of its authorized officers, this
MITTS Security shall not be entitled to any benefits under the Indenture or be
valid or obligatory for any purpose.
6
<PAGE>
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this instrument to be duly
executed under its corporate seal.
Dated: March , 2000
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICATION Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
This is one of the Securities
of the series designated [Copy of Seal]
therein referred to in the
within-mentioned Indenture.
The Chase Manhattan Bank, as Trustee By:
Treasurer
By: Attest:
Authorized Officer Secretary
7
