As previously disclosed, on September 15, 2022, STORE Capital Corporation, a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), Ivory Parent, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Parent”), and Ivory REIT, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Merger Sub”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “merger agreement”). Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the merger agreement, at the closing of the merger (as defined below) (the “Closing”), the Company will merge with and into Merger Sub (the “merger”). Upon completion of the merger, Merger Sub will survive and the separate existence of the Company will cease. On November 4, 2022, the Company filed a definitive proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the merger (the “proxy statement”).
Litigation Related to the Merger
As previously disclosed in the proxy statement, between October 28, 2022 and November 3, 2022, three complaints were filed against the Company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the captions O’Dell v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 1:22-cv-09273 (filed October 28, 2022), Klein v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 1:22-cv-09310 (filed October 31, 2022) and Grossman v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 1:22-cv-09357 (filed November 1, 2022). The complaints generally allege, among other things, that the preliminary proxy statement filed by the Company on October 24, 2022 in connection with the merger fails to disclose allegedly material information in violation of Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 14a-9 promulgated thereunder. The plaintiffs in each such pending lawsuit seek, among other things, an injunction barring the merger or, in the alternative, rescission of the merger to the extent it is already implemented, and an award of damages.
Following the filing of the proxy statement, between November 4, 2022 and November 28, 2022, three additional complaints were filed against the Company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under the captions Smith v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 22-cv-9451 (filed November 4, 2022), Bushansky v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 22-cv-09533 (filed November 8, 2022), and Scott v. STORE Capital Corp. et al., No. 22-cv-9612 (filed November 10, 2022), which are substantially similar to the other three complaints. It is possible additional lawsuits may be filed between the date of this report and consummation of the merger. In addition, between November 1, 2022 and November 28, 2022, eight separate demand letters and one draft complaint were also sent to the Company by purported stockholders of the Company, each alleging similar deficiencies in the proxy statement as those noted in the above-referenced complaints.
The Company believes that the allegations in the complaints and letters described above are without merit. The Company also believes that the disclosures set forth in the proxy statement comply fully with all applicable law, and do not need to be supplemented. Nevertheless, solely to avoid the nuisance, risks, costs, and uncertainties inherent in disputes concerning these types of allegations, including the possibility that any such claim could delay or adversely affect the merger, and allow the Company’s stockholders to vote on the merger at the meeting of stockholders to be held on December 9, 2022, the Company has determined voluntarily to supplement certain disclosures in the proxy statement with the supplemental disclosures set forth below (the “Supplemental Disclosures”). Nothing in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall be deemed an admission of the legal merit of the various litigation matters described above or the allegations made therein, or of the necessity, or materiality under applicable laws of, any of the disclosures set forth herein.
Supplemental Disclosures
The following Supplemental Disclosures should be read in conjunction with the proxy statement, which should be read in its entirety. The inclusion in the Supplemental Disclosures of certain information should not be regarded as an indication that any of the Company or its affiliates, officers, directors or other representatives, or any other recipient of this information, considered, or now considers, it to be material, and such information should not be relied upon as such. Defined terms used but not defined herein have the meanings set forth in the proxy statement. For clarity, new text within restated paragraphs from the proxy statement is highlighted with bold, underlined text, and deleted text within restated paragraphs from the proxy statement is highlighted with strikethrough text.
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