COST PLUS INC/CA/
S-8, 1998-06-16
VARIETY STORES
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<PAGE>
 
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 16, 1998.
                                                 Registration No. 333-__________
================================================================================
                                                                                
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                ________________

                                    FORM S-8

                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                ________________

                                COST PLUS, INC.
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

         CALIFORNIA                                     94-1067973
 --------------------------               ------------------------------------
  (State of Incorporation)                 (I.R.S.Employer Identification No.)

                                201 Clay Street
                           Oakland, California 94607
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                ________________

                             1995 STOCK OPTION PLAN
                           1996 DIRECTOR OPTION PLAN
                            (Full title of the Plan)

                               _________________

                                  John Hoffner
               Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President,
                          Administration and Secretary
                                COST PLUS, INC.
                                201 Clay Street
                           Oakland, California 94607
                                 (510) 893-7300
           (Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)
                               _________________

                                   Copies to:

                           HENRY P. MASSEY, JR., ESQ.
                             STEVEN L. BERSON, ESQ.
                              GREGORY T. COX, ESQ.
                        Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
                            Professional Corporation
                               650 Page Mill Road
                        Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
                                 (650) 493-9300

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
 
                             CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
==========================================================================================
                                                     Proposed     Proposed                  
 Title of                            Maximum         Maximum       Maximum                  
Securities                            Amount         Offering     Aggregate     Amount of    
  to be                               to be          Price Per     Offering    Registration 
Registered                         Registered         Share         Price         Fee       
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                            <C>                 <C>           <C>          <C>
Common Stock,                  
$0.01 par value, to be
issued under 1995
Stock Option Plan............  400,000 shares (1)   $31.8438(2)  $12,737,520     $3,757.57
==========================================================================================
Common Stock,                  
$0.01 par value, to be
issued under 1996 Director
Option Plan.................   40,000 shares (1)    $31.8438(2)  $ 1,273,752     $  375.76
==========================================================================================
TOTAL                         440,000                     --     $14,011,272     $4,133.33
==========================================================================================
</TABLE>

(1)  For the sole purpose of calculating the registration fee, the number of
shares to be registered under this Registration Statement is the number of
additional shares authorized to be issued under the 1995 Stock Option Plan and
1996 Director Option Plan. Including this amendment, a total of 1,424,669 shares
have been reserved for issuance under the 1995 Stock Option Plan and a total of
68,300 shares have been reserved for issuance under the 1996 Director Option
Plan.

(2)  Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "Act") solely for the purpose of calculating the total
registration fee. Computation based upon the average of the high and low prices
of the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq National Market on June 12, 1998
because the price at which the options to be granted in the future may be
exercised is not currently determinable.

<PAGE>
 
PART II:  INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3    INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
          -------------------------------------

     The following documents and information heretofore filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission are hereby incorporated by reference:

     ITEM 3(a)

          The Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K file no. 000-14970 filed
     on April 29, 1998, which contain audited financial statements for the
     Registrant's fiscal year ended January 31, 1998,  the latest fiscal year
     for which such statements have been filed.

     ITEM 3(b)

          The Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, file no. 000-14970
     filed June 15, 1998, which contains unaudited financial statements for the
     Registrant's quarter ended May 2, 1998, the latest quarter for which such
     statements have been filed.

     ITEM 3(c)

          Items 1 and 2 of the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A
     filed on February 23, 1996, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Form 8-A filed
     on March 15, 1996, pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of
     1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act").

     All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-
effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold
or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof
from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 4    DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
          -------------------------

          Not Applicable.

ITEM 5    INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL
          --------------------------------------

          Not Applicable.

ITEM 6    INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
          -----------------------------------------

     Section 317 of the California General Corporation law makes provisions for
the indemnification of officers, directors, and other corporate agents in terms
sufficiently broad to indemnify such persons, under certain circumstances, for
liabilities (including reimbursement of expenses incurred) arising under the
Securities Act.  The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements to
such effect with its officers and directors.

     Article FIFTH of Registrant's Restated Articles of Incorporation and
Article XIII, Section 14.9 of the By-laws of Registrant provide that the
Registrant shall indemnify certain agents of the Registrant to the maximum
extent permitted by the California Corporations Code.  Persons covered by this
indemnification provision include current and former directors, officers,
employees and other agents of the Registrant as well as persons who serve at the
request of the Registrant as directors, officers, employees or agents of another
enterprise.


                                     II-1
<PAGE>
 
     The Registrant shall have the power, to the extent and in the manner
permitted by Section 317 of the California Corporations Code, to indemnify each
of its employees and agents (other than directors and officers) against
expenses, judgments, fines, settlements, and other amounts actually and
reasonably incurred in connection with any proceeding arising by reason of the
fact that such person is or was an agent of the Company.  For this purpose, an
"employee" or "agent" of the Registrant includes any person (i) who is or was an
employee or agent of Registrant, (ii) who is or was serving at the request of
Registrant as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint
venture, trust or other enterprise, or (iii) who was an employee or agent of a
corporation which was a predecessor corporation of Registrant or of another
enterprise at the request of such predecessor corporation.

     The Registrant has entered into separate indemnification agreements with
its directors and officers, which may require the Registrant, among other
things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason
of their status or service as directors or officers (other than liabilities
arising from willful misconduct of a culpable nature), and to advance their
expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they
could be indemnified.

ITEM 7    EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED
          -----------------------------------
 
          Not Applicable.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION> 
ITEM 8    EXHIBITS
          --------
Exhibit                                         
 Number                 Document
- -------      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<C>         <S>
    4.1 (1)  1995 Stock Option Plan, as amended, and Form of Stock Option Agreement thereunder.
    4.2 (2)  1996 Director Option Plan, as amended, and Form of Stock Option Agreement thereunder.
    5.1      Opinion of Counsel as to Legality of Securities Being Registered.
   23.1      Independent Auditors' Consent. 
   23.2      Consent of Counsel (contained in Exhibit 5.1 hereto).
   24.1      Power of Attorney (see page II-5).
</TABLE>
   ----------------------
     (1)  Exhibit No. 4.1 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 filed
          with the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
          Securities and Exchange Commission on September 5, 1997.

     (2)  Exhibit No. 4.2 is incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 filed
          with the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the
          Securities and Exchange Commission on September 5, 1997.

ITEM 9    UNDERTAKINGS
          ------------

          A.   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement 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.


                                     II-2
<PAGE>
 
               (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Act, 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.

     B.   The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Act, each filing of the Registrant's annual
report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and,
where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit 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.

     C.   Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Act may
be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant
pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been
advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification against
such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant 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 Registrant 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.


                                     II-3
<PAGE>
 
                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant,
Cost Plus, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the
State of California, 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 Oakland, State of California, on June 16, 1998.

                                COST PLUS, INC.



                                By:   /s/ John F. Hoffner
                                      -----------------------------------------
                                      John F. Hoffner, Executive Vice President,
                                      Administration, Chief Financial Officer 
                                      and Secretary



                                     II-4
<PAGE>
 
                               POWER OF ATTORNEY

  KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears
below constitutes and appoints Murray H. Dashe and Henry P. Massey, Jr., jointly
and severally, his attorneys-in-fact, each with the power of substitution, for
him in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this Registration
Statement on Form S-8, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other
documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys-in-fact, or his
substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration
Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

<S>                         <C>                                       <C>
      Signature                        Title                               Date
- --------------------------  -----------------------------------------  -------------

/s/ Murray H. Dashe         Chairman , President, Chief Executive      June 16, 1998
- --------------------------  Officer and Director
(Murray H. Dashe)

/s/ John F. Hoffner         Executive Vice President,                  June 16, 1998
- --------------------------  Administration, Chief Financial 
(John F. Hoffner)           Officer and Secretary
 
/s/ Ralph D. Dillon         Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Ralph D. Dillon)

/s/ Joseph H. Coulombe      Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Joseph H. Coulombe)

/s/ Danny W. Gurr           Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Danny W. Gurr)

/s/ Mervin G. Morris        Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Mervin G. Morris)

/s/ Edward A. Mule          Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Edward A. Mule)

/s/ Olivier Trouveroy       Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Olivier Trouveroy)

/s/ Thomas D. Willardson    Director                                   June 16, 1998
- --------------------------
(Thomas D. Willardson)
</TABLE>

                                     II-5

<PAGE>
 
                                                                     EXHIBIT 5.1



                                 June 16, 1998

Cost Plus, Inc.
201 Clay Street
Oakland, CA 94607

  RE:  REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON FORM S-8
       ----------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

  We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 to be filed by you
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about June 16, 1998 (the
"Registration Statement") in connection with the registration under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of an additional 400,000 shares and 40,000
shares of Common Stock (the "Shares") reserved for issuance under the 1995 Stock
Option Plan, as amended and the 1996 Director Option Plan (the "Director Plan"),
respectively, collectively the "Plans".  As legal counsel for Cost Plus, Inc.,
we have examined the proceedings taken and are familiar with the proceedings
proposed to be taken by you in connection with the sale and issuance of the
Shares under the Plans.

  It is our opinion that, when issued and sold in the manner referred to in the
Plans and pursuant to the respective agreement which accompanies each grant
under the Plans, the Shares will be legally and validly issued, fully paid and
nonassessable.

  We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration
Statement and further consent to the use of our name wherever it appears in the
Registration Statement and any amendments to it.

                               Very truly yours,

                               WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI
                               Professional Corporation



                               /s/ Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

<PAGE>
 
                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1


                         INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' CONSENT


  We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of
Cost Plus, Inc. on Form S-8 pertaining to the 1995 Stock Option Plan and 1996
Director Option Plan of Cost Plus, Inc. of our report dated March 17, 1998
appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Cost Plus, Inc. for the year
ended January 31, 1998.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP


San Francisco, California
June 16, 1998


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