NETOPTIX CORP
8-K, 2000-02-14
OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS & LENSES
Previous: MODERN TECHNOLOGY CORP, 10-Q, 2000-02-14
Next: SCUDDER TAX FREE TRUST, NSAR-A, 2000-02-14






                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 14, 2000

                              NetOptix Corporation
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

                                    Delaware
                 (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

       000-11309                                       04-2526583
(Commission File Number)                   (IRS Employer Identification No.)


     Sturbridge Business Park, P.O. Box 550, Sturbridge, Massachusetts 01566
               (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

                                 (508) 347-9191
              (Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)


<PAGE>


Forward-Looking Statements.
- --------------------------

     In connection  with the safe harbor  provisions  of the Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform  Act of 1995 (the  "Reform  Act"),  NetOptix  Corporation,  a
Delaware   corporation  (the  "Registrant"),   is  hereby  providing  cautionary
statements  identifying  important  factors  that could  cause the  Registrant's
actual  results to differ  materially  from those  projected in  forward-looking
statements  (as such term is defined in the Reform  Act) made by or on behalf of
the  Registrant  herein or orally,  whether in  presentations,  in  response  to
questions or otherwise.  Any statements that express,  or involve discussions as
to, expectations,  beliefs, plans,  objectives,  assumptions or future events or
performance  (often,  but not  always,  identified  through  the use of words or
phrases  such  as  the   Registrant   or   management   "believes,"   "expects,"
"anticipates,"  "hopes";  words or phrases such as "will  result," "are expected
to,"  "will  continue,"  "is   anticipated,"   "estimated,"   "projection,"  and
"outlook";  and words of similar  import)  are not  historical  facts and may be
forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions,
and uncertainties and, accordingly,  actual results could differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

     Any  forward-looking  statement  speaks  only as of the date on which  such
statement is made,  and the  Registrant  undertakes  no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after
the date on  which  such  statement  is made or to  reflect  the  occurrence  of
unanticipated events.


Item 5.          Other Events.

On February 14, 2000, the  Registrant  announced that it has signed a definitive
agreement  to  merge  with  Corning  Incorporated  in a  transaction  valued  at
approximately  $2  billion.  Under the  terms of the  agreement,  each  NetOptix
shareholder will receive nine-tenths (.9) share of Corning common stock for each
NetOptix  share and NetOptix  will become a  wholly-owned  subsidiary of Corning
after the merger is completed. Certain major shareholders of NetOptix, including
affiliates of Gerhard R.  Andlinger,  Chairman and CEO, and John F. Blais,  Jr.,
director, have agreed to vote in favor of the merger.

The closing is subject to the receipt of  regulatory  approvals and the approval
of the NetOptix shareholders.  Although the closing is expected to take place in
the second  quarter  of this year,  no  assurance  can be given with  respect to
whether or when all of these conditions will be satisfied.

The press release issued by the Registrant  with respect to this  transaction is
filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current  Report on Form 8-K as indicated in Item 7
below.


Item 7.          Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and
                 Exhibits.

(a)              Not applicable
(b)              Not applicable
(c)              Exhibits:

                 Exhibit Number    Exhibit Title
                 --------------    -------------

                    3              Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the
                                   Registrant, as adopted on February 9, 2000

                   99.1            Press Release dated February 14, 2000



<PAGE>


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX



Exhibit Number                                          Exhibit Title
- --------------                                          -------------

       3         Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, as
                 adopted on February 9, 2000

     99.1        Press Release dated February 14, 2000




<PAGE>



                                   SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the  requirement  of the  Securities  Exchange Act of 1934,  as
amended,  the  Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                     NetOptix Corporation


                                     By:    /s/ Thomas J. Mathews
                                            -----------------------------------
                                            Thomas J. Mathews
                                            Vice President, Finance and Chief
Date:  February 14, 2000                      Financial Officer






                                    EXHIBIT 3

                                    RESTATED
                          CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
                                       OF
                              NETOPTIX CORPORATION


     Pursuant  to Section  245 of the  General  Corporation  Law of the State of
Delaware, as amended, the undersigned  corporation adopts the following Restated
Certificate of Incorporation:

          1. The name of the  corporation is NetOptix  Corporation.  The date of
     filing of the original  Certificate of Incorporation was September 24, 1973
     under the name Galileo Electro-Optics Corporation.

          2. This Restated Certificate of Incorporation  restates and integrates
     the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, as amended.

          3. This  Restated  Certificate  of  Incorporation  was duly adopted in
     accordance  with the  provisions of Section 245 of the General  Corporation
     Law of the State of Delaware, as amended.

          4. The text of the Certificate of Incorporation is hereby restated and
     integrated to read as follows:


     FIRST: The name of the Corporation is NetOptix Corporation.

     SECOND:  The registered  office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware
is  located  at 1209  Orange  Street  in the City of  Wilmington,  County of New
Castle.  The name and address of its registered  agent is The Corporation  Trust
Company, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware.

     THIRD:  The  purpose of the  Corporation  is to engage in any lawful act or
activity for which  corporations may be organized under the General  Corporation
Law of the State of Delaware.

     FOURTH:

          (a) The total  number of shares of stock which the  Corporation  shall
have authority to issue is one hundred  million  (100,000,000)  shares of common
stock,  one cent  ($.01)  par  value,  and two  million  (2,000,000)  shares  of
preferred  stock,  one cent ($.01) par value.  Any and all shares issued and for
which full  consideration  has been paid or delivered shall be deemed fully paid
stock  and the  holder  thereof  shall  not be liable  for any  further  payment
thereon.

          (b) Shares of  preferred  stock may be issued from time to time in one
or  more  series  as  may  be  determined  by  the  Board  of  Directors  of the
Corporation.   Subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Restated  Certificate  of
Incorporation and this Article FOURTH, the Board of Directors of the Corporation
is  authorized  to determine or alter the rights,  preferences,  privileges  and
restrictions  granted to or imposed upon any wholly  unissued class or series of
preferred stock and, within the limits and restrictions stated in any resolution
or resolutions of the Board of Directors of the  Corporation  originally  fixing
the number of shares  constituting  any such additional  series,  to increase or
decrease  (but not below the number of shares of such series  then  outstanding)
the number of shares of any such  additional  series  subsequent to the issue of
shares of that series.

          (c)  Authorized and unissued  shares of preferred  stock may be issued
with such designations,  voting powers,  preferences and relative  participating
optional  or  other  special  rights,   and   qualifications,   limitations  and
restrictions  on such rights,  as the Board of Directors of the  Corporation may
authorize by resolutions duly adopted prior to the issuance of any shares of any
class or series of  preferred  stock,  including,  but not  limited  to: (i) the
distinctive  designation  of each  series  and the  number of  shares  that will
constitute such series; (ii) the voting rights, if any, of shares of such series
and  whether  the shares of any such  series  having  voting  rights  shall have
multiple votes per share;  (iii) the dividend rate on the shares of such series,
any  restriction,  limitation or condition  upon the payment of such  dividends,
whether  dividends  shall be  cumulative  and the dates on which  dividends  are
payable;  (iv) the prices at which,  and the terms and conditions on which,  the
shares of such series may be redeemed,  if such shares are  redeemable;  (v) the
purchase or sinking fund  provisions,  if any, for the purchase or redemption of
shares of such series;  (vi) any preferential amount payable upon shares of such
series in the event of the liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company
or the  distribution of its assets;  and (vii) the prices or rates of conversion
at which, and the terms and conditions on which, the shares are convertible.

     FIFTH:  The name and place of residence of the  Incorporator is as follows:

         Name                                        Place of Residence

         Richard M. C. Glenn, III                    29 Rumstick Road
                                                     Barrington, RI 02806

     SIXTH: The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.

     SEVENTH:  In furtherance  and not in limitation of the powers  conferred by
the laws of the State of Delaware,  the Board of Directors of the Corporation is
authorized  and  empowered  to make,  alter,  amend and repeal the Bylaws of the
Corporation  in any  manner  not  inconsistent  with  the  laws of the  State of
Delaware.  The  election of directors  may but need not be by ballot  unless the
Bylaws so require.

     EIGHTH: The Corporation shall indemnify its officers, directors,  employees
and agents to the extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of Delaware.

     IN  WITNESS  WHEREOF,   NetOptix   Corporation  has  caused  this  Restated
Certificate of Incorporation to be signed by Gerhard R. Andlinger, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, as of the 9th day of February, 2000.


                                       NETOPTIX CORPORATION


                                       By:  /s/ Gerhard R. Andlinger
                                            -----------------------------------
                                            President





                                  EXHIBIT 99.1

Contact: Thomas J. Mathews
         Vice President, Finance & CFO
         (561) 994-0202 ext. 227


                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                          NETOPTIX ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT
                         TO BE ACQUIRED BY CORNING, INC.


Sturbridge,   Massachusetts,   February   14,   2000  -   NetOptix   Corporation
(NASDAQ:OPTX) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge
with Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) in a transaction that NetOptix expects will
enhance  its  capabilities  as a  leader  in the  development,  manufacture  and
marketing of optical filters for use in Dense Wave Division  Multiplexing (DWDM)
components of fiberoptic networks serving the telecommunications industry.

Under the terms of the agreement,  which have been  unanimously  approved by the
Boards of Directors of both companies,  NetOptix will exchange each share of its
common stock for  nine-tenths  (.9) share of Corning common stock,  and NetOptix
will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corning after the merger is completed.

Based on the closing price for Corning on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday,
February  11,  2000,  which was $165.75 per share,  each  NetOptix  share has an
indicated  value of $149.175 and the transaction is valued at  approximately  $2
billion.

Certain  major  shareholders  of NetOptix,  including  affiliates  of Gerhard R.
Andlinger,  Chairman and CEO, and John F. Blais, Jr.,  director,  have agreed to
vote in favor of the merger.

The  transaction  is expected to close in the second quarter of this year and is
subject  to  receipt  of  regulatory  approvals  and  approval  of the  NetOptix
stockholders.

Gerhard  R.  Andlinger  commented:  "We  are  pleased  with  the  prospect  of a
combination with Corning, a leader in the fiberoptics  network field. We believe
that the addition of the NetOptix DWDM filter  technology will add a significant
element to the Corning  position in the  industry on a basis which  provides our
shareholders with attractive returns."

NetOptix  Corporation  is  headquartered  in  Sturbridge,   Massachusetts.   Its
subsidiaries,  Optical Filter Corporation and OFC GmbH, design,  manufacture and
market optical filters for DWDM applications in fiberoptic networks.  OFC has an
optical filter  manufacturing  location in Natick,  Massachusetts  and a diamond
turning facility in Keene,  New Hampshire.  OFC GmbH is completing a facility in
Hanau, Germany for optical filter technology research and development as well as
commercial   production   of  DWDM   filters.   The   NetOptix  web  address  is
www.netoptix.com.

The addition of DWDM  optical  filter  production  and  research  facilities  of
NetOptix  will   strengthen   Corning's   opto-electronic   product   portfolio.
Established in 1851, Corning (www.corning.com) manufactures optical fiber, cable
and photonic products for the telecommunications  industry, and high-performance
displays  and  components   for  television  and  other   communications-related
industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for
scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's revenues for 1999
were $4.3 billion.  More  information  on Corning  optical fiber is available at
www.corningfiber.com.

Statements  in  this  press  release  that  are  not  strictly   historical  are
"forward-looking"  statements  as defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.  The actual  results may differ from those  projected in the
forward-looking  statements as a result of risks and uncertainties that exist in
the operations and business environments of NetOptix and Corning, described more
fully in the companies'  periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission,  including  NetOptix'  Form  10-K  filed on  December  27,  1999 and
Corning's Form 10-K filed on February 24, 1999.

Corning  and  NetOptix  will file a proxy  statement/prospectus  describing  the
merger with the United  States  Securities  and Exchange  Commission  (SEC).  In
addition,  Corning and NetOptix will file other  information  and documents with
the SEC  concerning  the merger and their  business.  WE URGE  INVESTORS  IN THE
COMMON  STOCK OF NETOPTIX  AND CORNING TO REVIEW THE PROXY  STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
AND  OTHER  INFORMATION  TO BE FILED  WITH THE SEC  BECAUSE  THEY  WILL  CONTAIN
IMPORTANT  INFORMATION.  These documents will be available without charge on the
SEC's web site at www.sec.gov  and may be obtained  without charge from Investor
Relations,  Corning  Incorporated,  One River  Front  Plaza,  Corning,  NY 14831
(telephone  number  607.974.8217)  or  the  Chief  Financial  Officer,  NetOptix
Corporation,  .c/o Leisegang Medical,  Inc., 6401 Congress Ave., Suite 160, Boca
Raton, FL 33487 (telephone number 561-994-0202, ext. 227). INVESTORS SHOULD READ
THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS  CAREFULLY BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT
DECISIONS.


                                       ###




© 2022 IncJournal is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission