OUTBOARD MARINE CORP
8-A12B/A, 1997-09-10
ENGINES & TURBINES
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                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                           WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549


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


                                  FORM 8-A/A


              FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
                  PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE
                       SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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


                         OUTBOARD MARINE CORPORATION
              --------------------------------------------------
              (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)




              Delaware                                    36-1589715
- ----------------------------------------       ---------------------------------
(State of Incorporation or Organization)       (IRS Employer Identification no.)


One Hundred Sea Horse Drive, Waukegan, Illinois                          60085
- -----------------------------------------------                       ----------
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                              (Zip Code)


If this Form relates to the registration of a class of debt securities and is
effective upon filing pursuant to General Instruction A(c)(1) please check the
following box.  [ ]

If this Form relates to the registration of a class of debt securities and is
to become effective simultaneously with the effectiveness of a concurrent
registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to General
Instruction A(c)(2) please check the following box.  [ ]

Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

                                             Name of Each Exchange on Which Each
Title of Each Class to be so Registered      Class is to be Registered
- ---------------------------------------      -----------------------------------
Preferred Stock Purchase Rights              New York Stock Exchange
                                             Chicago Stock Exchange



      Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
                                     None
                               ----------------
                               (Title of class)


    

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ITEM 1.  DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT'S SECURITIES TO BE REGISTERED

         On September 9, 1997, the Board of Directors of Outboard Marine
Corporation (the "Company") approved Amendment No. 2 (the "Amendment") to the
Rights Agreement, dated as of April 24, 1996 (the "Rights Agreement"), between
the Company and First Chicago Trust Company of New York, as Rights Agent (the
"Rights Agent").  In connection with the tender offer initiated by Greenmarine
Acquisition Corp. (the "Purchaser"), a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned
subsidiary of Greenmarine Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
(the "Parent") for all outstanding shares of the Company's common stock $0.15
per value per share (the "Shares") at a price of $18.00 per share, net to the
seller in cash, filed on August 8, 1997 on Schedule 14D-1, as amended, the
Company has amended the terms of the Rights Agreement so that the execution,
delivery and performance of the Merger Agreement will not (1) cause any
"Rights" (as defined in the Rights Agreement) to become exercisable, (2) cause
Purchaser or any of its affiliates or associates to become an "Acquiring
Person" (as defined in the Rights Agreement) or (3) give rise to a
"Distribution Date" or "Triggering Event" (as each such term is defined in the
Rights Agreement) if (i) such tender offer is consummated on or before 9:00
a.m., New York City time, on September 12, 1997 at a price of $18.00 per share
of Common Stock net to the seller in cash, and (ii) the number of shares of
Common Stock purchased pursuant to such tender offer, together with any other
shares of Common Stock then owned by Greenmarine Acquisition Corp., represents
not less than 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock on the
date such tender offer is consummated.  A summary of the Rights as amended
follows:

                              Summary of Rights

         On April 24, 1996, the Board of Directors of Outboard Marine 
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), declared a dividend of one 
right (a "Right") for each outstanding share of Common Stock, $0.15 par value,
of the Company (the "Common Stock").  The dividend was payable on June 23, 1996
(the "Record Date") to stockholders of record at the close of business on the
Record Date.  The Board of Directors of the Company also authorized the
issuance of one Right for each share of Common Stock issued after the Record
Date and prior to the earliest of the Distribution Date (as defined below), the
redemption of the Rights and the expiration of the Rights.  Except as set forth
below and subject to adjustment as provided in the Rights Agreement (as defined
below), each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company
one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
(the "Preferred Stock") of the Company, at an exercise price of $115.00 per
Right (the "Purchase Price").  The description and terms of the Rights are set
forth in the Rights Agreement, dated April 24, 1996, as amended (the "Rights
Agreement") between the Company and First Chicago Trust Company of New York, as
Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").

         Upon payment of the dividend on June 23, 1996, the Rights attached to 
all Common Stock certificates representing shares outstanding, and no separate
Rights Certificates (as defined below) were distributed.  The Rights will
separate from the Common Stock upon the earlier of (i) the close of business on
the tenth day after the date of public disclosure that a person or group (an
"Acquiring Person"), together with persons affiliated or associated with it,
has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, beneficial ownership of 15% or
more of the outstanding Common Stock (the "Stock Acquisition Date") and (ii)
the close of business on the tenth business day (as such date may be extended
by the Board of Directors of the Company) after the first date of the
commencement or disclosure of an intention to commence a tender offer or
exchange offer by a person and certain related entities if, upon consummation
of the offer, such person or group, together with persons affiliated or
associated with it, could acquire beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the
outstanding Common Stock (the earlier of such dates being called the
"Distribution Date"). Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or
expiration of the Rights), the Rights will be transferable with and only with
the Common Stock (except in connection with redemption of the Rights).  Until
the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), new
Common Stock certificates issued after the Record Date upon transfer,
replacement or new issuance of Common Stock will contain a notation
incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference.  Until the Distribution Date
(or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the surrender for transfer
of any certificates for Common Stock will also constitute the transfer of the
Rights associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificate.



                                      2
    

<PAGE>   3
   


     As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate
certificates evidencing the Rights ("Rights Certificates") will be mailed to
holders of record of the Common Stock as of the close of business on the
Distribution Date.  From and after the Distribution Date, such separate Rights
Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.

     The Rights will first become exercisable on the Distribution Date at or
prior to the earliest of (i) the close of business on June 23, 2006 (the "Final
Expiration Date"), (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed by the
Company as described below, (iii) the time at which the Rights are exchanged,
(iv) immediately prior to the Effective Time of the Merger or (v) immediately
prior to the consummation of a tender offer complying with the last paragraph
of Section 1 of the Rights Agreement (the earliest of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
and (v) being referred to as the "Expiration Date").

     The Purchase Price is subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent
dilution upon the (i) declaration of a dividend on the Preferred Stock payable
in shares of Preferred Stock, (ii) subdivision of the outstanding Preferred
Stock, (iii) combination of the outstanding Preferred Stock into a smaller
number of shares, (iv) issuance of any shares of the Company's capital stock in
a reclassification of the Preferred Stock (including any such reclassification
in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the
continuing or surviving corporation), (v) grant to holders of the Preferred
Stock of certain rights, options or warrants to subscribe for Preferred Stock
or securities convertible into Preferred Stock at less than the current market
price of the Preferred Stock or (vi) distribution to holders of the Preferred
Stock of other evidences of indebtedness, cash (other than a regular quarterly
cash dividend payable out of the earnings or retained earnings of the Company),
subscription rights, warrants or assets (other than a dividend payable in
Preferred Stock, but including any dividend payable in stock other than
Preferred Stock).

     If any person shall become an Acquiring Person (except (i) pursuant to an
offer for all outstanding shares of Common Stock which the independent
directors determine to be fair to and otherwise in the best interest of the
Company and its shareholders and (ii) for certain persons who report their
ownership on Schedule 13G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the "Exchange Act") or on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act, provided that
they do not state any intention to, or reserve the right to, control or
influence the Company and such persons certify that they became an Acquiring
person inadvertently and they agree that they will not acquire any additional
shares of the Company's common stock) (such event is referred to herein as a
"Section 11(a)(ii) Event"), then the Rights will "flip-in" and entitle each
holder of a Right, except as provided below, to purchase, upon exercise at the
then-current Purchase Price, that number of shares of Common Stock having a
market value of two times such Purchase Price.

     Any Rights beneficially owned at any time on or after the earlier of the
Distribution Date and the Stock Acquisition Date by an Acquiring Person or an
affiliate or associate of an Acquiring Person (whether or not such ownership is
subsequently transferred) will become null and void upon the occurrence of a
Section 11(a)(ii) Event, and any holder of such Rights will have no right to
exercise such Rights.

     In the event that, following the Stock Acquisition Event, the Company is
acquired in a merger or other business combination in which the Common Stock
does not remain outstanding or is changed (other than a merger which follows an
offer described in the second preceding paragraph) or 50% of the assets or
earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (as defined in the Rights
Agreement) (taken as a whole) is sold or otherwise transferred to any person
(other than the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company) in one transaction or
a series of related transactions, the Rights will "flip-over" (such event is
referred to herein as a Section 13 Event) and entitle each holder of a Right to
purchase, upon the exercise of the Right at the then-current Purchase Price,
that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company (or, in certain
circumstances, one of its affiliates) which at the time of such transaction
would have a market value of two times such Purchase Price.

     Notwithstanding anything in the Rights Agreement to the contrary, none of
Detroit Diesel Corporation ("DDC"), a Delaware corporation, OMC Acquisition
Corp. (the "DDC Merger Sub"), a Delaware corporation, any of their Affiliates
or Associates or any of their permitted assignees or transferees shall be
deemed an 


                                      3

    

<PAGE>   4
   


Acquiring Person and none of a Distribution Date, a Stock Acquisition
Date, a Section 11(a)(ii) Event, or a Section 13 Event shall be deemed to occur
or have occurred, in each such case, by reason of the approval, execution or
delivery of the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement"), dated as
of July 8, 1997, among DDC, the DDC Merger Sub and the Company, the
announcement or completion of the Offer (as defined in the Merger Agreement) or
the consummation of the other transactions contemplated by the Merger
Agreement.

     Notwithstanding anything in the Rights Agreement to the contrary, none of
Greenmarine Acquisition Corp., Greenmarine Holdings LLC, or any of their
respective Affiliates or Associates shall be deemed an Acquiring Person, and
none of a Distribution Date, a Stock Acquisition Date, a Section 11(a)(ii)
Event, or a Section 13 Event shall be deemed to occur or to have occurred, in
each such case, by reason of the commencement and consummation of a tender
offer by such Persons for shares of Common Stock of the Company if (i) such
tender offer is consummated on or before 9:00 a.m., New York City Time, on
September 12, 1997 at a price of $18.00 per share of Common Stock, net to the
seller in cash, and (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock purchased
pursuant to such tender offer, together with any other shares of Common Stock
then owned by Greenmarine Acquisition Corp., represents not less than 90% of
the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock on the date such tender offer
is consummated.

     With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be
required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in
such Purchase Price.

     At any time prior to the earlier of (i) ten days following the Stock
Acquisition Date and (ii) the Expiration Date, the Company (under certain
circumstances, only with the support of the majority of the directors not
affiliated with an Acquiring Person) may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in
part, at a price of $.01 per Right, subject to adjustment.  The Company may, at
its option, pay the redemption price in cash, shares of Common Stock (based on
the current market price of the Common Stock at the time of redemption) or any
other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors of the
Company.  Immediately upon the action of the Company's Board of Directors
electing to redeem the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate
and the only right of the holders of Rights thereafter will be to receive the
applicable redemption price.

     Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the
right to vote or to receive dividends or distributions.

     At any time prior to the Distribution Date, the Company may, without the
approval of any holder of the Rights, supplement or amend any provision of the
Rights Agreement.  Thereafter, the Rights Agreement may be amended only to cure
ambiguities, to correct inconsistent provisions, to shorten or lengthen any
time period thereunder (under certain circumstances, only with the concurrence
of the majority of the directors unaffiliated with an Acquiring Person) or in
ways that do not adversely affect the Rights holders.  From and after the
Distribution Date, the Rights Agreement may not be amended to lengthen (A) a
time period relating to when the Rights may be redeemed at such time as the
Rights are not then redeemable, or (B) any other time period unless such
lengthening is for the purpose of protecting, enhancing or clarifying the
rights of, and/or the benefits to, the holders of Rights (other than an
Acquiring Person).

     The Rights have certain anti-takeover effects.  The Rights may cause
substantial dilution to a person or group that attempts to acquire the Company
on terms not approved by the Company's Board of Directors.  The Rights should
not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the
Company's Board of Directors prior to the time a person or group has acquired
beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the Common Stock, because until such
time the Rights may be redeemed by the Company.

     The foregoing summary description of the Rights does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement,
a copy of which is incorporated by reference as Exhibit 4.1 to this
Registration Statement.  Copies of the Rights Agreement will be available free
of charge from the Company.


                                      4
    

<PAGE>   5
   


ITEM 2. EXHIBITS

     The exhibits listed in the accompanying Exhibit Index are filed as part of
this Form 8-A/A.


                                  SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

                                           OUTBOARD MARINE CORPORATION


                                           By: /s/ D. Jeffrey Baddeley
                                               -----------------------
                                           Name: D. Jeffrey Baddeley
                                           Title: Vice President, Secretary
                                                   and General Counsel



Dated:  September 10, 1997



    

<PAGE>   6
   



                                EXHIBIT INDEX

                         Outboard Marine Corporation

                                  Form 8-A/A
                           Dated September 10, 1997



<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                  Sequential
Exhibit No.                   Title                               Page No.
- -----------                   -----                               ----------
<S>          <C>                                                  <C>
  *99.1      Amendment No. 1, dated as of July 8, 1997, to the 
             Rights Agreement, dated as of April 24 1996,
             between Outboard Marine Corporation and 
             First Chicago Trust Company of New York, as 
             Rights Agent.

   99.2      Amendment No. 2, dated as of September 9, 1997,
             to the Rights Agreement, dated as of April 24, 1996,
             between Outboard Marine Corporation and First Chicago
             Trust Company of New York, as Rights Agent.

</TABLE>




- ----------------------
* Previously Filed


    


<PAGE>   1



                                                                    Exhibit 99.2

                          OUTBOARD MARINE CORPORATION
                              100 Sea Horse Drive
                           Waukegan, Illinois  60085


                               September 9, 1997



First Chicago Trust Company of New York
525 Washington Boulevard, Suite 4660
Jersey City, New Jersey 07310

Attn:  President

                    Re:  Amendment No. 2 to Rights Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     Pursuant to Section 27 of the Rights Agreement, dated as of April 24,
1996, as amended (the "Rights Agreement"), by and between Outboard Marine
Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and First Chicago Trust
Company of New York, as rights agent, the Company, by resolution adopted by its
Board of Directors, hereby amends the Rights Agreement as follows:

     1. Section 1 of the Rights Agreement is hereby amended by adding the
following new paragraph at the end of that Section:

        "Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, none of
     Greenmarine Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation, Greenmarine
     Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or any of their
     respective Affiliates or Associates shall be deemed an Acquiring Person,
     and none of a Distribution Date, a Stock Acquisition Date, a Section
     11(a)(ii) Event, or a Section 13 Event shall be deemed to occur or to have
     occurred, in each such case, by reason of the commencement and
     consummation of a tender offer by such Persons for shares of Common Stock
     of the Company if (i) such tender offer is consummated on or before 9:00
     a.m., New York City Time on September 12, 1997 at a price of $18.00 per
     share of Common Stock, net to the seller in cash, and (ii) the number of
     shares of Common Stock purchased pursuant to such tender offer, together
     with any other shares of Common Stock then owned by Greenmarine
     Acquisition Corp., represents not less than 90% of the issued and
     outstanding shares of Common Stock on the date such tender offer is
     consummated."

     2. Section 7(a) of the Rights Agreement is hereby amended by substituting a
comma in place of the "or" before clause (iv), inserting the following new
clause immediately after clause (iv) and replacing the parenthetical definition
at the end of such Section 7(a):

     ", or (v) immediately prior to the consummation of a tender offer
     complying with the last paragraph of Section 1 of this Agreement (the
     earliest of (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) being herein referred to as
     the "Expiration Date")."

     3. The Rights Agreement shall not otherwise be supplemented or amended by
virtue of this Amendment No. 2 to Rights Agreement, but shall remain in full
force and effect.


<PAGE>   2


     4. Capitalized terms used without other definition in this Amendment
No. 2 to Rights Agreement shall be used as defined in the Rights Agreement.

     5. This Amendment No. 2 to Rights Agreement shall be deemed to be a
contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes
shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of
Delaware applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within the
State of Delaware.

     6. This Amendment No. 2 to Rights Agreement may be executed in any
number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be
deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute
but one and the same instrument.

     7. This Amendment No. 2 to Rights Agreement shall be effective as of 12:00
Noon on September 9, 1997, and all references to the Rights Agreement shall,
from and after such time, be deemed to be references to the Rights Agreement as
amended hereby.

<PAGE>   3


     8. Exhibit B to the Rights Agreement shall be amended in a manner
consistent with this Amendment No.2 to Rights Agreement.



                                        Very truly yours,

                                        OUTBOARD MARINE CORPORATION


                                        By:  /s/ Harry W. Bowman
                                             --------------------
                                        Name:  Harry W. Bowman
                                        Title: Chairman of the Board,
                                             President and Chief Executive
                                             Officer



Accepted and agreed to as of the
effective time specified above:

FIRST CHICAGO TRUST COMPANY OF NEW YORK


By:  /s/ Gregory R. Culp
   -------------------------
Name:  Gregory R. Culp
Title: First Vice President





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