RUBBERMAID INC
8-A12B/A, 1998-10-22
PLASTICS PRODUCTS, NEC
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<PAGE>   1



                       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



                             Rubbermaid Incorporated
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


                  Ohio                                 34-0628700
- ----------------------------------------    ------------------------------------
(State of incorporation or organization)    (I.R.S. employer identification no.)

                      1147 Akron Road, Wooster, Ohio 44691
                    ----------------------------------------
                    (Address of principal executive offices)


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

     Rights to Purchase
     Preferred Shares                                New York Stock Exchange
     -------------------                         ------------------------------


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

                                 Not Applicable
                    ----------------------------------------
                                (Title of class)







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

         On October 19, 1998, the Directors of Rubbermaid Incorporated (the
"Company") approved Amendment No. 1 (the "Amendment"), dated as of October 20,
1998, to the Rights Agreement, dated as of June 25, 1996 (the "Rights
Agreement"), between the Company and The First National Bank of Boston (the
"Rights Agent"). The Amendment made the provisions of the Rights Agreement
inapplicable to the transactions contemplated by the Agreement and Plan of
Merger, dated as of October 20, 1998, among the Company, Newell Co., a Delaware
corporation ("Newell"), and Rooster Company, an Ohio corporation and a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Newell.

         The foregoing description of the Amendment is qualified in its
entirety by reference to the full text of the Amendment, which is attached as an
exhibit hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Copies of the Rights
Agreement, and the related Summary of Rights, which is attached as Exhibit C to
the Rights Agreement, are available free of charge from the Company.



ITEM 2.  EXHIBITS.


Number        Description
- ------        -----------


  4.1         Amendment No. 1, dated as of October 20, 1998, to the Rights
              Agreement, dated as of June 25, 1996, between the Company and
              The First National Bank of Boston.










<PAGE>   3



                                    SIGNATURE
                                    ---------


                  Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement
to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.


                                        RUBBERMAID INCORPORATED



                                        By:    /s/ James A. Morgan
                                               --------------------------------
                                               Name:   James A. Morgan
                                               Title:  Senior Vice President,
                                                       General Counsel and 
                                                       Secretary




Date:  October 22, 1998





<PAGE>   4


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX
                                  -------------



   Exhibit Number       Description
   --------------       -----------



        4.1             Amendment No. 1, dated as of October 20, 1998, to the
                        Rights Agreement, dated as of June 25, 1996, between
                        the Company and The First National Bank of Boston.







<PAGE>   1


                                                                     Exhibit 4.1



                             RUBBERMAID INCORPORATED
                                 1147 Akron Road
                               Wooster, Ohio 44691


                                October 20, 1998




The First National Bank of Boston
P.O. Box 1865, M/S 45-02-16
Boston, Massachusetts  02105
Attention:  Shareholder Services

                    Re:  Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement
                         ---------------------------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         Pursuant to Section 26 of the Rights Agreement (the "Rights
Agreement"), dated June 25, 1996, between Rubbermaid Incorporated (the
"Company") and The First National Bank of Boston, as rights agent, the Company,
by resolution adopted by its Board of Directors, hereby amends the Rights
Agreement as follows:


      1.    Section 1(h) of the Rights Agreement is hereby amended by adding the
following new Section 1(hh) immediately thereafter:

      (hh) "MERGER AGREEMENT" means the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as
      of October 20, 1998, among the Company, Newell Co., a Delaware corporation
      ("Parent") and Rooster Company, an Ohio corporation and a wholly-owned
      subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub").

      2.    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
      Parent, Merger Sub, any of their Affiliates or Associates or any of their
      permitted assignees or transferees shall be deemed an Acquiring Person and
      none of a Distribution Date, a Share Acquisition Date, or a Triggering
      Event shall be deemed to occur or to have occurred, in each such case, by
      reason of the approval, execution or delivery of the Merger Agreement, the
      consummation of the Merger (as defined in the Merger Agreement) or the
      consummation of


<PAGE>   2


The First National Bank of Boston
October 20, 1998
Page 2


      the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement.

      3. Section 7(a) of the Rights Agreement is hereby amended to read in its
entirety as follows:

      (a) The registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise the
      Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein) in whole or
      in part at any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the
      Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse
      side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office of
      the Rights Agent in Boston, Massachusetts, and at such other offices as
      may be required to comply with any applicable law or with any rule or
      regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any
      stock exchange, or relating to any transaction reporting system, on which
      the Common Shares or the Rights may from time to time be listed or quoted,
      together with an amount in cash, in lawful money of the United States of
      America by certified check or bank draft payable to the order of the
      Company, equal to the Purchase Price for each Common Share as to which the
      Rights are exercised, or, if applicable, the exercise price per Right
      specified in Section 11(a)(ii) or 11(d) hereof, as the case may be, at or
      prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on June 24, 2006 (the
      "Final Expiration Date"), (ii) the Close of Business on the date on which
      the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof, (iii) the time
      at which all exercisable Rights are exchanged as provided in Section 11(p)
      hereof or (iv) immediately prior to the Effective Time (as defined in the
      Merger Agreement) (the earliest of such dates being referred to as the
      "Expiration Date").

      4. The Rights Agreement shall not otherwise be supplemented or amended by
virtue of this Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement, but shall remain in full
force and effect.

      5. Capitalized terms used without other definition in this Amendment No. 1
to the Rights Agreement shall be used as defined in the Rights Agreement.

      6. This Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement shall be deemed to be a
contract made under the laws of the State of Ohio and for all purposes will be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable
to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such State.



<PAGE>   3


The First National Bank of Boston
October 20, 1998
Page 3

      7. This Amendment No. 1 to the 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.

      8. This Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement shall be effective as of,
and immediately prior to, the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement,
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.

      9. Exhibits B and C to the Rights Agreement shall be deemed amended in a
manner consistent with this Amendment No. 1 to the Rights Agreement.


                                        Very truly yours,

                                        RUBBERMAID INCORPORATED


                                        By: /s/ James A. Morgan
                                           ------------------------------------
                                           Name: James A. Morgan
                                           Title: Senior Vice President,
                                                  General Counsel and Secretary



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

THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON


By: /s/ Ken Theva
    ------------------------------
    Name:  Ken Theva
    Title: Authorized Signatory





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