UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant [X] | ||||
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant [ ] | ||||
[ ] | Preliminary Proxy Statement | |||
[ ] | Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) | |||
[X] | Definitive Proxy Statement | |||
[ ] | Definitive Additional Materials | |||
[ ] | Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 | |||
Axiall Corporation | ||||
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter) | ||||
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant) | ||||
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Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders |
June 17, 2016
Jones Day,
250 Vesey Street
New York, New York 10281
To the Stockholders:
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Axiall Corporation (the Company) will be held at the offices of Jones Day, 250 Vesey Street, New York, New York 10281, on June 17, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. local time for the following purposes:
(1) | To elect nine directors to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified; |
(2) | To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of certain of the Companys executive officers; |
(3) | To approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the 2011 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan, as amended (the 2011 Plan); |
(4) | To approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the Companys Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (the Incentive Plan); |
(5) | To ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP (EY) to serve as the Companys independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016; and |
(6) | To transact any other business as may properly come before the annual meeting. |
The Board of Directors (the Board) has fixed the close of business on May 4, 2016 as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting.
Please vote before the annual meeting in one of the following ways:
(1) | Use the toll-free number shown on your WHITE proxy card (or WHITE voting instruction card if you received the proxy materials by mail from a broker or bank); |
(2) | Visit the website shown on your WHITE proxy card or WHITE voting instruction card to vote via the Internet; or |
(3) | Complete, sign, date and return the enclosed WHITE proxy card or WHITE voting instruction card in the postage-paid envelope provided. |
You are cordially invited to attend the annual meeting. To attend the annual meeting, you will need to be a stockholder and present valid picture identification. If you hold shares through an account with a bank or broker, you will need to provide proof of ownership, such as a legal proxy, voting instruction form or a statement from your broker.
You should know that Westlake Chemical Corporation (Westlake) has stated that it intends to nominate a full slate of nominees for election as directors at the annual meeting in connection with Westlakes proposal to acquire the Company and filed proxy soliciting materials with respect to its nominations.
As of the date of this proxy statement, the Board has rejected Westlakes acquisition proposal and determined that the proposal does not fairly reflect the high quality of the Companys assets, the significant growth potential of the Companys business and the powerful synergies that the Company believes would be available in a combination of the Company and Westlake. Under the standstill provisions of a confidentiality agreement between Westlake and the Company, Westlake may make acquisition proposals to the Company and solicit proxies to vote for the election of nominees to the Board, but may not make a tender or exchange offer for or acquire additional Company shares before September 15, 2016 (or earlier in certain events).
The Board does not endorse the election of any of Westlakes nominees and instead strongly urges you to vote for the Boards nominees. You may receive solicitation materials from Westlake, or individuals affiliated with Westlake, including a proxy statement and a proxy card. We are not responsible for the accuracy of any information provided by Westlake or its nominees.
Regardless of the number of shares you own, your vote is important. The Board unanimously recommends that you vote FOR the election of each of the Boards director nominees on the WHITE proxy card. We urge you to vote as soon as possible by telephone, the Internet or by signing, dating and returning the enclosed WHITE proxy card by mail, even if you plan to attend the meeting.
The Board strongly urges you not to sign or return any gold proxy card sent to you by or on behalf of Westlake. If you have previously submitted a gold proxy card sent to you by Westlake, you can revoke that proxy by using the enclosed WHITE proxy card to vote your shares today by telephone, by Internet or signing, dating and returning the enclosed WHITE proxy card by mail. Only your latest-dated proxy card will count.
This proxy statement and the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 are available on the Internet at www.exproxyaccess.com/axll2016.
If you have questions about how to vote your shares or need additional assistance, please contact our proxy solicitor, Innisfree M&A Incorporated (Innisfree), toll-free at (877) 456-3427.
May 4, 2016
By Order of the Board of Directors
Daniel S. Fishbein
Vice President and
General Counsel
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PROPOSAL V RATIFICATION AND APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM |
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APPENDIX C: INFORMATION REGARDING PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMPANYS SOLICITATION OF PROXIES |
C-1 |
To assist you in reviewing the Companys 2015 performance and executive compensation program, the following summary calls to your attention certain key elements of our 2015 business and financial performance and our proxy statement. The following information is only a summary. For more complete information about these topics, please review the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on February 29, 2016 (our 10-K Filing), and the complete proxy statement.
We are a leading North American manufacturer and international marketer of chemicals and building products, with net sales of $3.36 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, and operations in Canada, Taiwan and the United States. We manufacture and sell a wide array of chemicals products, including: chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, chlorinated solvents, calcium hypochlorite, ethylene dichloride, muriatic acid, polyvinyl chloride and vinyl compounds. We also manufacture and sell vinyl-based building and home improvement products.
Significant Accomplishments in 2015
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 4
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Financial Performance in 2015
The cost-reduction, asset-redeployment and strategic actions initiated by our Board and management team last year are designed to enable us to better perform against our peers in what we believe to be an industry trough and position us to outperform our peers as industry conditions improve.
Executive Compensation Highlights for 2015
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 5
SUMMARY INFORMATION
(1) | Reported Adjusted EBITDA is not a financial measure reported under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Reported Adjusted EBITDA is defined in our 10-K Filing as earnings (loss) before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, restructuring and certain other charges, if any, related to discontinued operations, financial restructuring and business improvement initiatives, gains or losses on sales of certain assets, debt refinancing costs, certain acquisition accounting and non-income tax reserve adjustments, certain professional fees associated with various potential and completed mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and other transactions, costs to attain synergies related to the integration of the chemicals business of PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) acquired in January 2013 (the Merged Business), impairment charges for goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets, certain pension and other post-retirement plan curtailment gains and settlement losses and interest expense related to the lease-financing transaction discussed in Note 10 of the Notes to the Companys Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing. See our 10-K Filing for a reconciliation of Reported Adjusted EBITDA to the nearest financial measure reported under GAAP. |
(2) | Excludes results of our Aromatics business, which was sold in September 2015, and is reported as discontinued operations. Net sales and Reported Adjusted EBITDA for 2013 includes only 11 months of results for the Merged Business as compared to 12 months of results from the Merged Business in 2014 and 2015. |
(3) | For purposes of our 2015 executive compensation program, Adjusted EBITDA is different from Reported Adjusted EBITDA. In the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, Adjusted EBITDA means earnings or losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, cash and non-cash restructuring charges and certain other charges, if any, related to financial restructuring and business improvement initiatives, gains or losses on redemption and other debt costs, sales of certain assets, certain purchase accounting and certain non-income tax reserve adjustments, professional fees related to various potential and completed mergers and acquisitions, including our merger with the Merged Business (the Merger), costs to attain Merger-related synergies, certain pension plan amendment curtailment gains and settlement losses, goodwill, intangibles, and other long-lived asset impairments. |
(4) | We define target direct compensation to be the aggregate of each executives annual: (1) base salary; (2) cash incentive compensation opportunity, at the target level established by the Committee; and (3) long-term equity incentive awards, at the target level established by the Committee. Other components of the total compensation of our executive officers not included in target direct compensation are set forth on the Summary Compensation Table on page 59 of this proxy statement. |
CURRENT CEO 2015 TARGET
DIRECT COMPENSATION(1)
(1) | CEO 2015 target direct compensation reflects the annualized target compensation for Mr. Mann following his promotion to CEO. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 6
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Westlake Proposal
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 7
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Our Board Is Committed to Corporate Governance Practices that Are Favorable Toward, and Promote Accountability to, Our Stockholders
Proposals to be Voted on by Stockholders
Board Vote Recommendation | Page Reference (for more detail) | |||||
Proposal I | Election of Directors | FOR each Director Nominee | 14 | |||
Proposal II | Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | FOR | 75 | |||
Proposal III | Approval of the Material Terms for Qualified Performance-Based Compensation under the 2011 Plan | FOR | 77 | |||
Proposal IV | Approval of the Material Terms for Qualified Performance-Based Compensation under the Incentive Plan | FOR | 90 | |||
Proposal V | Ratification and Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | FOR | 94 |
Proposal I Election of Directors
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 8
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Proposal II Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
Proposal III Approval of the Material Terms for Qualified Performance-Based Compensation under the 2011 Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 9
SUMMARY INFORMATION
Proposal IV Approval of the Material Terms for Qualified Performance-Based Compensation under the Incentive Plan
Proposal V Ratification of the Companys Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Year Ending December 31, 2016
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 10
Revoking Your Proxy Before it is Voted
You may revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted at the annual meeting by:
(1) | voting over the telephone or Internet if eligible to do so; |
(2) | delivering to our Corporate Secretary a signed notice of revocation or a new proxy card with a later datein either such case, your latest dated vote before the annual meeting will be the vote counted; or |
(3) | voting in person at the annual meeting. |
Voting Instructions; Ways to Vote
Voting of Shares Represented by Proxies
Unless otherwise specified, if you return a validly executed WHITE proxy card, all shares represented by effective proxies will be voted:
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 11
PROXY STATEMENT
Cost of Soliciting Proxies
Stockholders Who Are Entitled to Vote at the Meeting
Quorum
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 12
PROXY STATEMENT
Votes Required for Approval of Matters to be Considered
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 13
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 14
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Nominees for Election and Qualifications to Serve as Director
Listed below is a description of certain specific experiences, qualifications, attributes or skills possessed by each director that in the opinion of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Board qualify that individual to serve as a director of the Company.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 15
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 16
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 17
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 18
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Vote Required
Each of the nine nominees receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes cast (even if less than a majority) will be elected as a director.
Recommendation of the Board
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EACH OF THE NOMINEES FOR ELECTION.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 19
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Independence of Directors; Corporate Governance Guidelines; Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
Our Board Is Committed to Corporate Governance Practices that Are Favorable Toward, and Promote Accountability to, Our Stockholders
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 20
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Executive Sessions
Compensation of Directors
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 21
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Director Compensation for the Year Ended December 31, 2015
Name | Fees Earned or Paid in Cash ($) |
Stock Awards ($)(1) |
Total ($) |
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Mark L. Noetzel(2) |
167,917 | 106,341 | 274,258 | |||||||||
T. Kevin DeNicola(3) |
112,500 | 106,341 | 218,841 | |||||||||
William L. Mansfield(4) |
105,000 | 106,341 | 211,341 | |||||||||
David N. Weinstein(5) |
97,500 | 106,341 | 203,841 | |||||||||
Patrick J. Fleming(6) |
95,000 | 106,341 | 201,341 | |||||||||
Robert M. Gervis(7) |
95,000 | 106,341 | 201,341 | |||||||||
Dr. Victoria Haynes(8) |
87,917 | 106,341 | 193,008 | |||||||||
Michael H. McGarry(9) |
85,000 | 106,341 | 191,341 | |||||||||
Robert Ripp(10) |
85,000 | 106,341 | 191,341 |
(1) | Reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of RSU grants made to directors in 2015 calculated in accordance with the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) ASC Topic 718. See Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing. Mr. Fleming was the only non-management director with outstanding stock options at December 31, 2015, with 642 outstanding stock option awards on that date. The following directors held the number of unvested RSUs set forth opposite their names at December 31, 2015: Mr. Noetzel (2,896); Mr. DeNicola (2,896); Mr. Fleming (2,896); Mr. Gervis (2,896); Dr. Haynes (2,896); Mr. Mansfield; (2,896); Mr. McGarry (2,896); Mr. Ripp (2,896); and Mr. Weinstein (2,896). |
(2) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Noetzel is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $80,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Noetzel in his role as chairman of the Board; (c) the $2,083 fee earned through May 2015 by Mr. Noetzel in his role as a member of the Finance Committee; and (d) the $5,834 fee earned from June 2015 to December 2015 by Mr. Noetzel in his role as a member of the Audit Committee. |
(3) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. DeNicola is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $25,000 annual fee earned by Mr. DeNicola in his role as chairman of the Audit Committee; and (c) the $7,500 annual fee earned by Mr. DeNicola in his role as a member of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee. |
(4) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Mansfield is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $10,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Mansfield in his role as a member of the Audit Committee; and (c) the $15,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Mansfield in his role as chairman of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee. |
(5) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Weinstein is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $10,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Weinstein in his role as chairman of the Finance Committee; and (c) the $7,500 annual fee earned by Mr. Weinstein in his role as a member of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee. |
(6) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Fleming is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $10,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Fleming in his role as a member of the Audit Committee; and (c) the $5,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Fleming in his role as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. |
(7) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Gervis is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b), the $10,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Gervis in his role as chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; and (c) the $5,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Gervis in his role as a member of the Finance Committee. |
(8) | The amount of earned fees reported for Dr. Haynes is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; (b) the $5,000 annual fee earned by Dr. Haynes in her role as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; and (c) the $2,917 fee earned from June 2015 to December 2015 by Dr. Haynes in her role as a member of the Finance Committee. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 22
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
(9) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. McGarry is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; and (b) the $5,000 annual fee earned by Mr. McGarry in his role as a member of the Finance Committee. |
(10) | The amount of earned fees reported for Mr. Ripp is the sum of: (a) the $80,000 annual fee paid to all non-employee directors; and (b) the $5,000 annual fee earned by Mr. Ripp in his role as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Ripp will not be standing for re-election at the annual meeting. |
The Audit Committee
The Finance Committee
The Leadership Development and Compensation Committee
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 23
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 24
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 25
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Committee Charters
Board Leadership Structure
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 26
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Risk Oversight
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 27
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 28
PROPOSAL I ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
Communications with Directors
Board Meetings, Attendance and Relationships
Review of Related-Party Transactions
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 29
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS AND MANAGEMENT
For additional information on the equity ownership of our directors and executive officers, see Executive Compensation Outstanding Equity Awards at 2015 Fiscal Year-End.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Amount of Common Beneficial Ownership(2) |
% of Class(3) |
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Timothy Mann, Jr. |
49,283 (4) | * | ||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
189,804 (5) | * | ||||||
William H. Doherty |
10,159 (6) | * | ||||||
Simon Bates |
28,449 (7) | * | ||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
23,073 (8) | * | ||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
334,728 (9) | * | ||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
56,743 (10) | * | ||||||
Mark J. Orcutt |
109,525 (11) | * | ||||||
Patrick J. Fleming |
20,871 (12) | * | ||||||
T. Kevin DeNicola |
19,965 (13) | * | ||||||
Robert M. Gervis |
19,965 (13) | * | ||||||
Mark L. Noetzel |
19,965 (13) | * | ||||||
David N. Weinstein |
19,965 (13) | * | ||||||
William L. Mansfield |
15,685 (13) | * | ||||||
Michael H. McGarry |
10,433 (13) | * | ||||||
Robert Ripp |
8,212 (13) | * | ||||||
Victoria F. Haynes |
8,153 (13) | * | ||||||
All directors and executive officers as group (15 persons) |
439,364 (14) | * | ||||||
Shapiro Capital Management LLC 3060 Peachtree Road, Suite 1555 N.W. Atlanta, GA 30305 |
7,041,149 (15) | 9.98% | ||||||
BlackRock Inc. 40 East 52nd Street New York, NY 10022 |
5,173,567 (16) | 7.33% | ||||||
The Vanguard Group 100 Vanguard Boulevard Malvern, PA 19355 |
4,728,347 (17) | 6.70% | ||||||
TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC / Teachers Advisors, Inc. 730 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017-3206 |
4,691,840 (18) | 6.65% | ||||||
JP Morgan Chase & Co. 270 Park Avenue New York, NY 10017 |
4,224,320 (19) | 5.98% | ||||||
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC One Franklin Parkway San Mateo, CA 94403-1906 |
3,687,800 (20) | 5.22% |
* | Represents less than 1 percent. |
(1) | The address of each of our directors and executive officers is c/o Corporate Secretary, Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 30
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS AND MANAGEMENT
(2) | Beneficial ownership as reported in the table has been determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. Under those rules, a person is deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if that person has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or investment power, which includes the power to dispose of, or to direct the disposition of, such security. The person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any security of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership (such as by exercise of options) within 60 days. Under such rules, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities, and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which he or she may disclaim any beneficial interest. Except as indicated in other notes to this table, directors and executive officers possessed sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock referred to in the table. |
(3) | Based on 70,587,260 shares of our common stock outstanding as of April 29, 2016. |
(4) | Includes: (i) 8,688 shares of our common stock, representing 200 percent of the target number of shares that may be issued to Mr. Mann in May 2016, when all of the remaining synergies performance-based RSUs granted in May 2013 vest, (ii) 1,448 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2013, (iii) 2,406 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2014, and (iv) 3,028 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2015. The actual number of shares of common stock that may be issued to Mr. Mann upon vesting of performance-based RSUs is discussed under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program Long-Term Equity-Based Awards. |
(5) | Includes 9,125 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Thompson and 870 shares in his 401(k) account. Also includes: (i) 12,452 shares of our common stock, representing 200 percent of the target number of shares that may be issued to Mr. Thompson in May 2016, when all of the remaining synergies performance-based RSUs granted in May 2013 vest, (ii) 2,075 shares expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2013, (iii) 3,448 shares expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2014, and (iv) 3,993 shares expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2015. The actual number of shares of common stock that may be issued to Mr. Thompson upon vesting of performance-based RSUs is discussed under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program Long-Term Equity-Based Awards. |
(6) | Includes 2,423 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Doherty. Also includes (i) 1,075 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2013, (ii) 1,213 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2014, (iii) 1,434 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2015, and (iv) 2,194 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in July 2015. |
(7) | Includes 1,400 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Bates. Also includes (i) 1,075 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2013, (ii) 1,011 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2014, and (iii) 1,195 shares of our common stock expected to vest in May 2016 from time-based RSUs granted in May 2015. |
(8) | Includes 18,161 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Ms. Piciacchio. Ms. Piciacchio retired from the Company on December 31, 2015. |
(9) | Includes 23,338 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Carrico. Mr. Carrico retired from his employment with the Company on July 5, 2015. |
(10) | Mr. Breunig resigned his employment from the Company effective September 1, 2015. |
(11) | Includes 8,554 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Orcutt. Mr. Orcutt resigned his employment from the Company on September 25, 2015. |
(12) | Includes 522 shares that may be acquired upon exercise of vested options by Mr. Fleming, as well as 2,896 shares with respect to RSUs that are expected to vest in May 2016. |
(13) | Includes 2,896 shares with respect to time-based RSUs that are expected to vest in May 2016. Mr. Ripp will not be standing for re-election at the annual meeting. |
(14) | See notes (4) through (13). |
(15) | As reported on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on April 8, 2016, Shapiro Capital Management LLC has sole voting power with respect to 6,433,379 shares, shared voting power with respect to 607,770 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 7,041,149 shares pursuant to investment advisory agreements with its advisory clients. Mr. Samuel R. Shapiro is the chairman, a director and majority shareholder of Shapiro Capital Management LLC, in which capacity he exercises dispositive power over these shares. Mr. Shapiro has no interest in dividends or proceeds from the sale of such securities owns no such securities for his own account and disclaims beneficial ownership for all shares reported herein. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 31
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS AND MANAGEMENT
(16) | As reported on Amendment No. 2 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 25, 2016, BlackRock, Inc. and certain of its affiliates has sole voting power with respect to 5,008,307 shares, shared voting power with respect to nil shares and sole dispositive power with respect to nil shares. |
(17) | As reported on Amendment No. 4 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2016, The Vanguard Group and certain of its affiliates has sole voting power with respect to 88,887 shares, shared voting power with respect to 4,100 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 4,639,560 shares. |
(18) | As reported on Amendment No. 2 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 10, 2016, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC (Investment Management) is the investment adviser to the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), a registered investment company, and may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of 2,869,980 shares of the Companys common stock owned by CREF. Teachers Advisors, Inc. (Advisors) is the investment adviser to three registered investment companies, TIAA-CREF Funds (Funds), TIAA-CREF Life Funds (Life Funds), and TIAA Separate Account VA-1 (VA-1), as well as one or more separately managed accounts of Advisors (collectively, the Separate Accounts), and may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of 1,821,860 shares of the Companys common stock owned separately by Funds, Life Funds, VA-1 and the Separate Accounts. Each of Investment Management and Advisors has expressly disclaimed beneficial ownership of the others securities holdings and that it is a member of a group with the other. |
(19) | As reported on Amendment No. 9 to Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on January 11, 2016, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and certain of its affiliates has sole voting power with respect to 3,478,457 shares, shared voting power with respect to 4,222,299 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 120 shares. |
(20) | As reported on Amendment No. 2 to joint Schedule 13D of Franklin Resources, Inc., Charles B. Johnson, Rupert H. Johnson, Jr. and Franklin Advisory Services, LLC, filed with the SEC on February 5, 2016, Franklin Advisory Services, LLC has sole voting power with respect to 3,283,100 shares, shared voting power with respect to nil shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 3,687,800. Franklin Advisory Services, LLC, Franklin Advisers, Inc. and Fiduciary Trust Company International are investment companies or other managed accounts that are investment management clients of investment managers that are direct and indirect of Franklin Resources, Inc. Charles B. Johnson and Rupert H. Johnson, Jr. each own in excess of 10 percent of the outstanding common stock of Franklin Resources, Inc. and are the principal stockholders of Franklin Resources, Inc. Under such Schedule 13D, each of Franklin Resources, Inc., Charles B. Johnson and Rupert H. Johnson, Jr. expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the others securities holdings and each disclaims that it is a member of a group with the other. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 32
SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers and persons who own more than 10 percent of our common stock to file reports regarding their beneficial ownership of our common stock. Based solely upon a review of those filings furnished to us and written representations, in the case of our directors and executive officers, we believe all reports required to be filed by Section 16(a) with the SEC were timely filed in 2015.
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 33
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
2015 Leadership Transition
Our Business
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 34
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Executive Compensation Highlights
(1) | For purposes of our 2015 executive compensation program, Adjusted EBITDA is different from Reported Adjusted EBITDA. In the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, Adjusted EBITDA means earnings or losses before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, cash and non-cash restructuring charges and certain other charges, if any, related to financial restructuring and business improvement initiatives, gains or losses on redemption and other debt costs, and sales of certain assets, certain purchase accounting and certain non-income tax reserve adjustments, professional fees related to various potential and completed mergers and acquisitions, including the Merger with the Merged Business, costs to attain Merger-related synergies, certain pension plan amendment curtailment gains and settlement losses, goodwill, intangibles, and other long-lived asset impairments. |
(2) | We define target direct compensation to be the aggregate of each executive officers annual: (1) base salary; (2) non-equity incentive compensation opportunity, at the target level established by the Committee; and (3) long-term equity incentive awards, at the target level established by the Committee. Other components of the total compensation of our executive officers not included in target direct compensation are set forth on the Summary Compensation Table on page 59 of this proxy statement. |
Compensation-Related Corporate Governance Standards
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 35
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 36
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Our Executive Compensation Philosophy and Objectives
Policies and Procedures Designed to Limit Compensation-Related Risk
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 37
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Stock Ownership Guidelines
Clawback Policy
Risk Mitigating Performance Metric and Vesting for Equity Awards
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 38
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Stockholder Say-on-Pay Votes
How Executive Compensation Decisions Are Made
This section of our Compensation Discussion and Analysis describes who makes various executive compensation decisions and how those decisions are made.
The Role of the Compensation Committee
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 39
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Named Executive Officer | 2015 Base Salary as % of Total Nonpension Compensation(1) |
2015 Non-Equity Incentive Award as % of Total Nonpension Compensation(1) |
2015 Long-Term Equity Incentive Award as % of Total Nonpension Compensation(1) |
|||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
16% | 17% | 67% | |||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
29% | 22% | 49% | |||||||||
William H. Doherty |
30% | 23% | 47% | |||||||||
Simon Bates |
35% | 23% | 42% | |||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
38% | 24% | 38% |
(1) | Total Nonpension Compensation includes total compensation as of December 31, 2015, including 2015 base salary, 2015 target cash incentive award and target long-term equity incentive awards, but excludes other compensation, changes in pension value, non-qualified deferred compensation earnings and severance payments. |
The Role of Our Chief Executive Officer
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 40
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Role of the Board
The Role of the Compensation Consultant
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 41
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Use of Data About Other Companies Compensation Programs
In conducting the evaluations made by the Committee in its executive compensation decision making, the compensation consultant uses market references, which consist of a peer group of Chemicals and Building Products businesses with characteristics similar to the Company (based on revenue, market capitalization, assets and/or number of employees) and survey data as discussed below. The market reference peer group for 2015 consisted of the following 17 companies:
Armstrong World Industries, Inc. |
Olin Corporation | |
Ashland, Inc. |
Owens Corning | |
Celanese Corporation |
Polyone Corporation | |
CF Industries Holdings, Inc. |
RPM International Incorporated | |
Chemtura Corporation |
USG Corporation | |
Eastman Chemical Company |
Valspar Corporation | |
FMC Corporation |
Westlake Chemical Corporation | |
Huntsman Corporation |
W.R. Grace & Co. | |
Masco Corporation |
* | Rockwood Holdings, Inc. was removed from the list due to its acquisition by Albemarle Corporation in January 2015. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 42
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Elements of Our Executive Compensation Program
The principal elements of our executive compensation program are: (1) base salary; (2) annual cash (non-equity) incentive awards; (3) long-term equity-based awards; and (4) benefits.
The purpose and nature of each element is provided in the table below:
Element | Purpose | Nature of Element |
Fixed/ Variable | |||
Base salary | Provide a market-based level of compensation that is consistent with each executive officers role, responsibilities, experience, tenure, prior performance, actual and expected contributions and internal pay-equity considerations | Short-term | Fixed | |||
Annual cash (non-equity) incentive awards | Align each executive officers financial interests with the achievement of the Companys annual business objectives as well as the individual officers contribution to those objectives | Short-term | Variable | |||
Long-term equity-based awards | Align executive officers long-term interests with those of other stockholders and encourage them to have an ownership mentality | Long-term | Variable | |||
Benefits | Provide benefits equivalent to those generally available to employees or to similarly situated executives at market reference companies | Short and Long-term |
Fixed |
Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program
Base Salary
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 43
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Name of NEO | 2015 Base Salary Following Promotions |
2015 Base Salary Prior to Promotions |
2014 Base Salary |
Year over Year Percentage (Excluding Promotions) |
Year over Year Percentage (Including Promotions) | |||||
Timothy Mann, Jr.(1) |
$885,000 | $462,000 | $449,000 | 2.9% | 97% | |||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
N/A | $535,000 | $519,000 | 3.1% | N/A | |||||
William H. Doherty |
$475,000 | $396,000 | $396,000 | 0.0% | 20% | |||||
Simon Bates |
$425,000 | $328,000 | $318,000 | 3.1% | 30% | |||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
N/A | $361,000 | $350,000 | 3.1% | N/A | |||||
Paul D. Carrico(2) |
N/A | $975,000 | $945,000 | 3.2% | N/A | |||||
Joseph C. Breunig(2) |
N/A | $532,000 | $532,000 | 0.0% | N/A | |||||
Mark J. Orcutt (2)(3) |
N/A | $587,000 | $570,000 | 3.0% | N/A |
(1) | Mr. Manns base salary was increased to $750,000 following his appointment as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer on July 6, 2015, and increased to $885,000 upon his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer on November 17, 2015. |
(2) | 2015 base salary amount for Messrs. Carrico, Breunig, and Orcutt are as of the last day of employment. |
(3) | Amounts are paid and reported here in Canadian dollars. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 44
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Annual Cash Incentive Opportunity
Adjusted EBITDA Annual Cash Incentive
For each of the NEOs, the target opportunity amounts were as set forth in the table below:
NEO | Target Opportunity (as a % of base salary) | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. (1) |
110% | |
Gregory C. Thompson |
75% | |
William H. Doherty (2) |
75% | |
Simon Bates |
65% | |
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
60% | |
Paul D. Carrico (3) |
N/A | |
Joseph C. Breunig (3) |
N/A | |
Mark J. Orcutt (3) |
N/A |
(1) | Mr. Manns target percentage was increased from 65 percent to 110 percent of his base salary following his appointment as interim President and Chief Executive Officer and to 125 percent of his base salary effective 2016 after his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer. |
(2) | Mr. Dohertys target percentage was increased from 30 percent to 75 percent upon his promotion to Senior Vice President, Chemicals. |
(3) | Paul D. Carrico, Joseph C. Breunig and Mark J. Orcutt departed the Company effective as of July 5, 2015, September 1, 2015 and September 25, 2015, respectively, and forfeited any annual cash incentive opportunity under the terms of their separation agreements. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 45
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 46
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Midyear 2015 Cash Incentive Award
Name of NEO | Target Amount |
% of Target |
Total 2015 Payout | |||
Timothy Mann, Jr. (1) |
$1,000,000 | 100 | $1,000,000 | |||
Gregory C. Thompson |
$200,000 | 75 | $150,000 | |||
William H. Doherty |
$250,000 | 100 | $250,000 | |||
Simon Bates(2) |
n/a | n/a | n/a | |||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
$87,500 | 100 | $87,500 |
(1) | Mr. Manns target opportunity for the midyear 2015 cash incentive award was established in connection with his appointment as Interim Chief Executive Officer on July 6, 2015. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 47
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
(2) | Mr. Bates was not eligible for the midyear 2015 cash incentive award. |
Recent Management Promotions
Long-Term Equity-Based Awards
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 48
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Time-Based RSUs Granted in 2015
In May 2015, the Committee granted to Mr. Mann, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Thompson, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Piciacchio, our former Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, Mr. Bates, our Senior Vice President, Building Products and Mr. Orcutt, our former Executive Vice President, Building Products, the following time-based RSUs that vest in equal installments on each of the first three anniversaries of the grant date:
Name of NEO | Time- Based RSUs | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
9,083 | |
Gregory C. Thompson |
11,979 | |
William H. Doherty(1) |
10,882 | |
Simon Bates(2) |
19,255 | |
Sharon G. Piciacchio(3) |
4,745 | |
Mark J. Orcutt(3) |
9,268 |
(1) | Mr. Doherty received 6,582 time-based RSUs as part of his promotion on July 23, 2015, which are included. |
(2) | Mr. Bates received 15,672 time-based RSUs as part of his promotion on September 25, 2015, which are included. |
(3) | Mr. Orcutt and Ms. Piciacchio forfeited these awards in connection with their resignation or retirement, respectively, from the Company. |
Adjusted EBITDA Performance-Based RSUs Granted in 2015
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 49
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Total Shareholder Return Performance-Based RSUs Granted in 2015
In May 2015, the Committee granted to the NEOs the following performance-based RSUs (at target performance levels), for which the performance criteria is the relative total shareholder return (TSR) of the Companys common stock:
Name of NEO | TSR Performance- Based RSUs | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
8,930 | |
Gregory C. Thompson |
11,778 | |
William H. Doherty(1) |
6,471 | |
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
4,666 | |
Paul D. Carrico (2) |
47,890 | |
Joseph C. Breunig (3) |
13,098 | |
Mark J. Orcutt (4) |
9,112 |
(1) | Mr. Dohertys TSR performance-based RSU grant was made on July 23, 2015 as a part of his promotion. |
(2) | Mr. Carrico entered into a separation and release agreement upon his retirement on July 5, 2015, which allowed for pro-rata vesting of the TSR performance-based RSUs granted to him in May 2014 and May 2015. The pro-rata amount, 15,304 and 1,842, respectively, of TSR performance-based RSUs, is (a) based on the number of full weeks from the date of grant until July 5, 2015 relative to the total number of full weeks in the performance period, and (b) determined and contingent upon actual achievement of the TSR objective. |
(3) | Mr. Breunig entered into a separation and release agreement on July 28, 2015, resigning effective September 1, 2015, which allowed for pro-rata vesting of the TSR performance-based RSUs granted to him in May 2014 and May 2015. The pro-rata amount, 4,753 and 1,259, respectively, of TSR performance-based RSUs is (a) based on the number of full weeks from the date of grant until September 1, 2015 relative to the total number of full weeks in the performance period, and (b) determined and contingent upon actual achievement of the TSR objective. |
(4) | Mr. Orcutt entered into a separation and release agreement upon his retirement on September 25, 2015, which allowed for pro-rata vesting of the TSR performance-based RSUs granted to him in May 2014 and May 2015. The pro-rata amount, 3,454 and 1,051, respectively, of TSR performance-based RSUs, is (a) based on the number of full weeks from the date of grant until September 25, 2015 relative to the total number of full weeks in the performance period, and (b) determined and contingent upon actual achievement of the TSR objective. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 50
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Companys TSR Performance Relative to the Peer Group TSR | % of Target Paid* | |
+ 1000 bps |
200% | |
+ 450 bps |
150% | |
+/(-) 50 bps |
100% | |
(-) 450 bps |
50% | |
More than (-) 600 bps |
0% |
* | The payout for levels of achievement between the percentages set forth on the table above will be determined by straight line interpolation. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 51
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Performance-Based RSUs Granted in 2013
In May 2013, the Committee granted to the NEOs the following performance-based RSUs (at target performance levels):
Name of NEO | Performance-Based RSUs | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
8,689 | |
Gregory C. Thompson |
12,452 | |
Paul D. Carrico (1) |
69,786 | |
Joseph C. Breunig |
13,848 | |
Mark J. Orcutt (2) |
9,633 |
(1) | Mr. Carrico received 23,262 performance-based units that would vest at 100 percent of target in equal amounts over three years upon the Company achieving positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ending December 31, 2013; and 46,524 performance-based units that achieved 200 percent of shares based on achievement of synergies. |
(2) | Mr. Orcutt received 9,633 units that would vest on May 20, 2016 between a minimum of zero and a maximum of 200 percent of target based on the performance of our Building Products business from the period January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2015. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 52
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Performance-Based RSUs Granted in 2012
Severance Agreements
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 53
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 54
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Benefits
Potential Payments on Termination or Change of Control
Change of Control Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 55
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Severance Plan
Equity Award Agreements
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 56
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 57
COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Summary of Compensation and Benefit Plan Risk
Leadership Development and Compensation Committee Report
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 58
Name and Principal Position |
Year | Salary ($) |
Bonus ($)(1) |
Stock Awards ($)(2) |
Non-Equity ($)(3) |
Change in Value and ($)(4) |
All Other ($)(5)(6) |
Total Compensation ($) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
2015 | 637,843 | - | 667,064 | 1,000,000 | - | 47,821 | 2,352,728 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President and Chief |
2014 | 445,757 | - | 639,559 | - | - | 23,686 | 1,109,002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive Officer |
2013 | 434,327 | - | 773,755 | 245,751 | - | 35,098 | 1,488,931 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
2015 | 551,101 | - | 879,777 | 150,000 | 66 | 366,242 | 1,947,186 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Executive Vice President |
2014 | 514,969 | - | 916,598 | - | 142 | 345,251 | 1,776,960 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
and Chief Financial Officer | 2013 | 501,764 | - | 1,046,303 | 327,587 | 56 | 308,156 | 2,183,866 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
2015 | 461,751 | - | 597,377 | 250,000 | - | 48,365 | 1,357,493 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior Vice President, |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chemicals |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
2015 | 382,912 | 250,000 | 430,746 | - | - | 22,239 | 1,085,897 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior Vice President, |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Building Products |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
2015 | 370,152 | - | 348,511 | 87,500 | 141,503 | 650,194 | 1,597,860 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Executive Vice |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President, Supply Chain |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
2015 | 519,602 | - | 3,577,286 | - | - | 3,224,416 | 7,321,304 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former President and |
2014 | 932,885 | - | 3,715,371 | - | 120,551 | 627,204 | 5,396,011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Executive Officer |
2013 | 881,154 | - | 3,385,319 | 855,032 | - | 526,256 | 5,647,761 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
2015 | 372,469 | - | 978,394 | - | 1,429 | 999,005 | 2,351,297 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Executive Vice |
2014 | 528,604 | - | 1,016,169 | - | - | 186,421 | 1,731,194 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President, Chemicals |
2013 | 515,049 | - | 1,147,423 | 321,570 | - | 171,642 | 2,155,684 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt(7) |
2015 | 452,824 | - | 680,654 | - | 67 | 1,296,511 | 2,430,056 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former Executive Vice |
2014 | 513,859 | - | 709,101 | - | 139 | 282,218 | 1,505,317 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
President, Building Products | 2013 | 535,354 | - | 697,791 | 277,496 | 57 | 285,887 | 1,796,585 |
(1) | Reflects an additional discretionary cash bonus in the amount of $250,000 for Mr. Bates 2015 performance since his promotion in respect of financial and cost reduction objectives for our Building Products business. |
(2) | The amounts in this column represent the aggregate grant date fair value computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 based on the closing price of our common stock on the grant date for awards of time-based RSUs for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013; a Monte Carlo simulation model was used to determine the fair value for performance-based RSUs granted for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014; and the closing price of our common stock on the grant date was used for awards of performance-based RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2013 as described under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program Long-Term Equity-Based Awards and in footnote 2 of the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table below. For a more detailed discussion of the assumptions used to determine the valuation of the stock awards set forth in this column, see Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing, incorporated herein by reference. |
Messrs. Carrico and Breunig were granted 48,709 and 13,322 performance-based RSUs, respectively, in May 2015, that were contingent on the Company achieving positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2015. The amount presented in the Summary |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 59
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Compensation Table reflects a grant date fair value of $1,788,594 and $489,184, respectively for Messrs. Carrico and Breunig computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. These performance-based RSUs, as well as the time-based RSUs granted to Mr. Orcutt and Ms. Piciacchio, were forfeited in 2015 in connection with their resignations or retirements, as applicable. |
The following table reflects the grant date fair values, as well as the maximum grant date fair values of performance-based RSU awards granted in 2015, 2014 and 2013 if, due to the Companys performance during the applicable performance cycle, the performance-based RSUs vested at their maximum levels. |
Grant Date Fair Value(a) | Maximum Value | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | 2015 ($) |
2014 ($) |
2013 ($) |
2015(b) ($) |
2014(c) ($) |
2013(d) ($) |
||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
333,536 | 320,118 | 419,592 | 667,072 | 640,236 | 824,412 | ||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
439,908 | 458,787 | 601,307 | 879,816 | 917,574 | 1,181,446 | ||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
241,692 | - | - | 483,384 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
174,275 | - | - | 348,550 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
3,577,286 | 3,715,371 | 2,256,879 | 5,365,978 | 5,580,761 | 4,414,197 | ||||||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
978,394 | 1,016,169 | 668,720 | 1,467,604 | 1,526,358 | 1,313,898 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt |
340,333 | 354,924 | 465,178 | 680,666 | 709,848 | 913,979 |
(a) | Calculated based on the probable outcome of each performance-based RSU. |
(b) | Calculated based on the grant date fair value of the maximum number of shares issuable on the May 2018 vesting date at the highest level of achievement related to the Relative Total Stockholder Return performance-based RSUs. |
(c) | Calculated based on the grant date fair value of the maximum number of shares issuable on the May 2017 vesting date at the highest level of synergy achievement related to the Relative Total Stockholder Return performance-based RSUs. |
(d) | Calculated based on the grant date fair value of the maximum number of shares issuable on the May 2015 and May 2016 vesting dates at the maximum level of synergy achievement in connection with the Merged Business. |
(3) | Reflects payments made under the Companys bonus paid for the midyear 2015 cash incentive award and 2013 annual non-equity/cash incentive compensation program and payments made to Mr. Mann for successful transition in assuming the role of interim CEO from July 6, 2015 to November 17, 2015 when he was appointed President and CEO. There were no cash incentive compensation payments made to NEOs in 2014. The midyear 2015 cash incentive award is described on page 47. |
(4) | Amounts reported reflect the change in the actuarial present value of the accumulated pension benefit of each NEO under the Retirement Plan and the deferred compensation earnings. For 2013, the change in the actual present value of Mr. Carricos accumulated pension benefit under the Retirement Plan was negative. Accordingly, pursuant to SEC guidance, the $61,092 reduction in Mr. Carricos accumulated pension benefit under the Retirement Plan is reflected as zero or , in the Summary Compensation Table. In 2015, the change in actual present value of accumulated pension benefit under the retirement plan for Mr. Carrico, Mr. Doherty, and Ms. Piciacchio was negative. The reductions in benefit $77,590, $40,492, and $44,017, respectively, were negative due to an increase in interest rates from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2015. For information on the pension plan and the assumptions used in calculating the change in pension value see pages 57 and 65. For 2015, Mr. Mann, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Doherty, and Mr. Carrico had negative earnings in the Deferred Compensation Plan. For more information on the Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan, see page 66 under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 60
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
(5) | The items contained in the All Other Compensation column for 2015 are identified and quantified as required below: |
Allowances and Other Benefits |
Additional Other Compensation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | Car Allowance ($) |
Other ($) |
Company ($) |
Executive ($) |
Severance ($) |
Total ($) |
||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
10,575 | 1,646 | 23,850 | 11,750 | - | 47,821 | ||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
10,276 | 3,701 | 26,500 | 325,765 | - | 366,242 | ||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
8,326 | 3,110 | 29,150 | 7,779 | - | 48,365 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
11,028 | 611 | 10,600 | - | - | 22,239 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
10,864 | 1,813 | 29,150 | - | 608,367 | 650,194 | ||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico(6) |
2,828 | 3,712 | 29,150 | 573,388 | 2,615,338 | 3,224,416 | ||||||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig(6) |
6,103 | 860 | 10,600 | - | 981,442 | 999,005 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt(6)(7) |
9,455 | 478 | 14,010 | 266,371 | 1,006,197 | 1,296,511 |
(6) | Messrs. Carrico, Breunig and Orcutt departed the Company effective July 5, 2015, September 1, 2015 and September 25, 2015, respectively. As such, all amounts received pursuant to their respective separation agreements are listed below. |
Name | Salary ($) |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)(a) |
Medical Program Benefits ($) |
Other Outplacement, ($) |
Total ($) |
|||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
975,000 | 1,572,500 | 17,838 | 50,000 | 2,615,338 | |||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
532,098 | 399,074 | 25,270 | 25,000 | 981,442 | |||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt (7) |
515,090 | 455,386 | 6,159 | 29,562 | 1,006,197 |
(a) | Includes the addition of a special bonus of $500,000 in recognition of his efforts in support of the Companys transformation plan for Mr. Carrico. |
(7) | Amounts are paid in Canadian dollars, but reported in the table in U.S. dollars. Such amounts were converted at an exchange rate of 0.7831 Canadian dollars to each U.S. dollar, which was the average exchange rate for 2015. Amounts paid in prior years were converted at the average exchange rate for the corresponding year. Company matching contributions are made to the Canadian Registered Retirement Savings Plan, the Canadian equivalent to the U.S. 401(k) Savings Plan. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 61
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
2015 Grants of Plan-Based Awards
The following table reflects the following plan-based awards granted in 2015: annual cash incentive awards, 2015 annual incentive compensation program and time-based and performance-based RSUs under the 2011 Plan. These awards are described in more detail in the Summary Compensation Table and in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis above.
Grant Date for Equity- Based |
Estimated Future Payouts under Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards(1) |
Estimated Future Payouts under Equity Incentive Plan Awards |
All Other Stock |
Grant Date Fair Value of Awards ($)(4) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | Threshold ($) |
Target ($) |
Maximum ($) |
Threshold (#) |
Target (#) |
Maximum (#) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 973,500 | 1,947,000 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 8,930 | 17,860 | - | 333,536 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9,083 | 333,528 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 401,250 | 802,500 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 11,778 | 23,556 | - | 439,908 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11,979 | 439,869 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 356,250 | 712,500 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
7/23/2015 | - | - | - | - | 6,471 | 12,942 | - | 241,692 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4,300 | 157,896 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7/23/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6,582 | 197,789 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 276,250 | 552,500 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3,583 | 131,568 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
9/25/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15,672 | 299,178 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 216,300 | 432,600 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 4,666 | 9,332 | - | 174,275 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4,745 | (7) | 174,236 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 1,072,500 | 2,145,00 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 47,890 | 95,780 | - | 1,788,692 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(5) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | 48,709 | 48,709 | 48,709 | - | 1,788,594 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 62
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Joseph C. Breunig |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program |
- | - | 399,100 | 798,100 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 13,098 | 26,196 | - | 489,210 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(5) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | 13,322 | 13,322 | 13,322 | - | 489,184 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 Annual Incentive Compensation Program(6) |
- | - | 298,600 | 597,200 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Performance-Based RSUs(2) |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | 9,112 | 18,224 | - | 340,333 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Time-Based RSUs |
5/19/2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9,268 | (7) | 340,321 |
(1) | Amounts represent the potential Threshold, Target and Maximum payment levels under our 2015 annual incentive compensation program. Performance targets and target award multiples, and strategic and operational goals and objectives, as well as other adjustments to actual awards are described under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program Annual Cash Incentive Opportunity above. Amounts for terminated employees are indicated as of last day worked. |
(2) | Represents the number of TSR performance-based RSUs granted to Messrs. Mann, Thompson, Bates, Carrico, Breunig and Orcutt and Ms. Piciacchio in May 2015 and Mr. Doherty in July 2015 in connection with his promotion, Annual Incentive Compensation Program performance-based RSUs are scheduled to vest 100 percent on May 19, 2018. The actual number of shares of common stock that may be issued to the NEO upon vesting of performance-based RSUs is discussed under Compensation Discussion and Analysis Summary of Our 2015 Executive Compensation Program Long-Term Equity-Based Awards. |
(3) | Represents the number of time-based RSUs granted in May 2015 to Messrs. Mann, Thompson, Doherty, Bates and Orcutt and Ms. Piciacchio and in July 2015 to Mr. Doherty in connection with his promotion. Time-based RSUs vest ratably over three years from the grant date. The value reported in this column with respect to the equity incentive awards reported in column (2) is based upon the aggregate grant date fair value computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. These values are recorded over the requisite service period as required by FASB ASC Topic 718. For a more detailed discussion of the assumptions used to determine the valuation of the stock awards set forth in this column, please see a discussion of such valuation in Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing, incorporated herein by reference. |
(4) | Reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the applicable award computed in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718. For a more detailed discussion of the assumptions used to determine the valuation of the equity awards set forth in this column, please see a discussion of such valuation in Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing, incorporated herein by reference. |
(5) | Messrs. Carrico and Breunig were granted 48,709 and 13,322 performance-based RSUs, respectively, in May 2015 that were contingent on the Company achieving positive Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2015. These grants were forfeited as of their retirement and termination dates. |
(6) | Amounts are to be paid in Canadian dollars, but reported in the table in U.S. dollars. Such amounts were converted at an exchange rate of 0.7831 Canadian dollars to each U.S. dollar, which was the average exchange rate for 2015. |
(7) | These grants were forfeited by Mr. Orcutt and Ms. Piciacchio as of their resignation or retirement date. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 63
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Outstanding Equity Awards at 2015 Fiscal Year-End
The following table provides information on the holdings of stock options and other stock awards by the NEOs at December 31, 2015. This table includes unexercised and unvested stock option awards and unvested time-based and performance-based RSUs. Unless noted below, all grants vest ratably in three equal installments beginning one year after the grant date. For additional information about equity awards granted in 2015, see Long-Term Equity-Based Awards in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis above.
Option Awards | RSU Stock Awards |
Performance-Based RSU Stock Awards |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name | Option Grant Date |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable(1) |
Option Exercise Price ($)(2) |
Option Expiration Date |
Number Shares (#) |
Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested ($)(3) |
Equity Incentive That Have Not (#) |
Equity Incentive Plan Awards: Market or Payout Value of Unearned Shares, Units or Other Rights That Have Not Vested ($)(3) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
24,885 | 383,229 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15,874 | 244,460 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
2/8/2008 | 4,065 | - | 181.75 | 02/08/2018 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/24/2009 | 5,060 | - | 21.25 | 02/24/2019 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
34,255 | 527,527 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
21,730 | 334,642 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
2/28/2006 | 800 | - | 722.75 | 2/28/2016 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/27/2007 | 1,423 | - | 510.75 | 2/27/2017 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/26/2008 | 1,000 | - | 168.00 | 2/26/2018 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14,384 | 221,514 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6,471 | 99,653 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
5/18/2009 | 1,400 | - | 28.75 | 5/18/2019 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
24,626 | 379,240 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
1/28/2013 | 8,351 | - | 33.46 | 2/16/2021 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1/28/2013 | 9,810 | - | 33.93 | 2/15/2022 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12,047 | (5) | 185,524 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6,779 | (5) | 104,397 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico(4) |
2/28/2006 | 750 | - | 722.75 | 02/28/2016 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/27/2007 | 1,338 | - | 510.75 | 02/27/2017 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/26/2008 | 6,000 | - | 168.00 | 02/26/2018 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/24/2009 | 16,000 | - | 21.25 | 02/24/2019 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17,146 | 264,048 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig(4) |
6,012 | 92,585 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt(4) |
12/1/2008 | 4,000 | - | 41.50 | 9/25/2018 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2/24/2009 | 4,554 | - | 21.25 | 9/25/2018 | - | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- | - | - | - | - | - | 4,505 | 69,377 |
(1) | All outstanding options granted to NEOs have vested and are exercisable. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 64
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
(2) | Option exercise prices on all grant dates reflect adjustments made in connection with the Companys 1-for-25 reverse stock split that was effected on July 28, 2009. |
(3) | Calculated by multiplying the number of shares or units of stock that have not vested by the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2015, which was $15.40. |
(4) | In accordance with the terms of the separation and release agreements for Messrs. Carrico, Breunig, and Orcutt, TSR performance-based RSUs granted in 2014 and 2015 will continue to vest pro-rata based on the date of retirement or resignation, contingent upon actual achievement of the applicable objectives. Value reported represents the aggregate dollar amount of the sum of the maximum shares of the Companys common stock that may be issued pursuant to the terms of the grant of TSR performance-based RSUs in May 2014 and 2015, all of which are scheduled to vest on May 19, 2017 and 2018, respectively, multiplied by $15.40, the closing price of the Companys common stock on December 31, 2015. |
(5) | RSU and performance-based RSU equity awards not vested as of December 31, 2015 before Ms. Piciacchios retirement. After retirement, all unvested RSU equity awards were forfeited and remaining performance-based RSU stock awards were 2,097 representing a value of $32,294. |
2015 Option Exercises and Stock Vested
The following table provides information for the NEOs on the number of shares acquired upon vesting of stock awards in 2015 and the value realized. No stock options were exercised during 2015.
Stock Awards | ||||||||
Name | Number of Shares Acquired on Vesting (#) |
Value Realized on Vesting ($)(1) |
||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
24,955 | 888,551 | ||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
51,064 | 1,858,949 | ||||||
William H. Doherty |
7,068 | 255,693 | ||||||
Simon Bates |
7,196 | 260,123 | ||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
4,905 | 210,992 | ||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
176,385 | 6,392,692 | ||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
65,400 | 2,225,161 | ||||||
Mark J. Orcutt |
28,924 | 1,041,988 |
(1) | Calculated by multiplying the number of shares acquired by the market value of the shares as of the relevant vesting dates. |
The table below reflects the present value of benefits accrued for each of the currently employed NEOs that are participants in the Retirement Plan.
Name | Plan Name | Number of Years of Credited Service (#) |
Present Value of Accumulated Benefit ($)(1) |
|||||
Gregory C. Thompson | Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan | 1 | 2,366 | |||||
William H. Doherty | Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan | 26 | 1,698,240 | |||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio | Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan | 33 | 881,883 | |||||
Eagle US2 LLC Nonqualified Retirement Plan | 33 | 923,535 | ||||||
|
|
|||||||
Total | 1,805,418 | |||||||
Paul D. Carrico(2) | Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan | 9 | 1,008,271 | |||||
Mark Orcutt | Axiall Corporation Retirement Plan | 1 | 2,335 |
(1) | Amounts reported represent the actuarial present value of accumulated benefits computed using the discount rate of 4.36 percent and mortality assumption (RP-2014 Annuitant Table with no collar adjustment and with mortality improvements projected using Scale BB-2D starting at 2007) that the Company applies to amounts reported in its financial statement disclosures on its measurement date of December 31, 2015, and are assumed to be payable at the unreduced retirement age of 62. For additional information regarding the assumptions made in the calculation, see Note 14 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 10-K Filing, incorporated herein by reference. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 65
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
(2) | Mr. Carrico retired and began receiving his pension benefit on August 1, 2015. The present value of accumulated benefit reflects the value of the remaining annuity benefit. The change in present value shown in the summary compensation table has been calculated as if the distributions had not occurred. |
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation
The following table provides information on the non-qualified deferred compensation of the NEOs in 2015, including (i) each NEOs contributions through deferral of salary and/or bonus during 2015; (ii) Company contributions during 2015; (iii) investment earnings on those deferred amounts and deferred amounts from prior years; and (iv) each NEOs account balance at year-end.
Name | NEO Contributions in Last FY ($) |
Company Contributions in Last FY ($) |
Aggregate ($) |
Aggregate Balance at Last FYE ($) |
||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
12,314 | 11,750 | (279 | ) | 23,785 | |||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
27,555 | 325,765 | (1,545 | ) | 1,704,852 | |||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
8,888 | 7,779 | (173 | ) | 16,494 | |||||||||||
Simon Bates |
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico |
- | 573,388 | (18,451 | ) | 3,088,684 | |||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig |
18,419 | - | 1,429 | 609,472 | ||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt |
- | 266,371 | - | 1,375,930 |
Payments on Termination or Change of Control
Change of Control Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 66
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 67
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Elimination of Tax Gross-Up Benefits Provided By Change of Control Plan
Severance Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 68
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Equity Awards
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 69
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Other Benefits
Absent eligibility for benefits described above, the NEOs do not have any termination benefits or benefits triggered as the result of a change of control that are different than those afforded other employees of the Company, such as death benefit salary continuation (one month of salary).
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 70
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Termination and Change of Control Payments Tables
Name | Salary ($) |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($)(1) |
Medical Program Benefits ($) |
Disability Insurance Benefit ($) |
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan ($)(2) |
Restricted Stock ($)(3) |
Total ($) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
1,770,000 | 1,947,000 | 33,180 | 5,138 | 23,785 | 383,229 | 4,162,332 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
802,500 | 601,875 | 16,971 | 3,854 | 3,228,129 | 527,527 | 5,180,856 | |||||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
712,500 | 534,375 | 16,971 | 3,779 | 16,494 | 221,514 | 1,505,633 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio(4) |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - |
(1) | Calculated based on base salary and target bonus as of December 31, 2015. Additionally, termination on December 31, 2015 assumes full bonus for the fiscal year is already paid and, accordingly, no such pro-rata target bonus is included. |
(2) | With respect to the Companys benefit accounts, assumes all payments are made in a lump sum (rather than over a period of time as may be permitted under the DCP). Reflects credits held in certain Company benefit accounts based on contributions made through age 65, although any payout under the DCP would not be made until any such NEO reached age 65. Amounts shown reflect projected account balances at age 65 in the event of separation from service in connection with a change of control. Amount shown also includes the balance at December 31, 2015 of the employee deferrals and the Company restoration match. |
(3) | Value reported for each NEO represents the aggregate dollar amount of the sum of: (A) the number of unvested time-based RSUs granted to such NEO for which vesting accelerates upon termination in connection with a change of control multiplied by $15.40, the closing market price of the Companys stock on December 31, 2015; (B) the number of performance-based RSUs granted to such NEO in May 2013, for which vesting accelerates upon a change of control, but for which the actual number of shares issued to the NEOs upon such vesting depends on the price of the Companys achievement of Merger-related synergies, which for the purposes of this calculation is assumed to be at 200 percent of the target number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under such warrants multiplied by $15.40, the closing market price of the Companys stock on December 31, 2015; (C) the number of performance-based RSUs granted to such NEO in May 2014, for which vesting accelerates upon a change of control, but for which the actual number of shares issued to the NEOs upon such vesting depends on the TSR of the Company as compared to a specific peer group of chemical companies, which for purposes of this calculation is measured at December 31, 2015, and based on that measurement date, would result in no shares being issued under this award; and (D) the number of performance-based RSUs granted to the NEOs in May 2015, for which vesting accelerates upon a change of control under certain circumstances, but for which the actual number of shares issued to each NEO upon such vesting depends upon the TSR of the Company as compared to a specified peer group of chemical companies, which for purposes of this calculation is measured at December 31, 2015, and, based on that measurement date, would result in no shares being issued under this award. |
(4) | Ms. Piciacchio retired from the Company on December 31, 2015. As such, she will no longer be qualified to receive any payments upon a change of control. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 71
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Qualifying Termination under Severance Plan
Name | Salary ($) |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) |
Medical Program Benefits ($) |
Other Outplacement, ($) |
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan ($)(1) |
Restricted Stock ($)(2) |
Total ($) |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
885,000 | 973,500 | 24,885 | 25,000 | 23,785 | 171,556 | 2,103,726 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
535,000 | 401,250 | 16,971 | 25,000 | 3,228,129 | 239,439 | 4,445,789 | |||||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
475,000 | 356,250 | 16,971 | 25,000 | 16,494 | 31,170 | 920,885 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio(3) |
360,500 | 216,300 | 31,567 | - | - | 64,526 | 672,893 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Paul D. Carrico(4) |
975,000 | 1,572,500(6) | 17,838 | 50,000 | 3,088,684 | 528,097 | 6,232,119 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Joseph C. Breunig(4) |
532,098 | 399,074 | 25,270 | 25,000 | 609,472 | 185,170 | 1,776,084 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Mark J. Orcutt(4)(5) |
515,090 | 455,386 | 6,159 | 29,562 | 2,765,393 | 138,754 | 3,910,344 |
(1) | With respect to Company benefit accounts, assumes all payments made in a lump sum (rather than over a period of time as may be permitted under the DCP). Reflects credits held in certain Company benefit accounts based on contributions made through age 65, although any payout under the DCP would not be made until any such NEO reached age 65. Amounts shown reflect account balances at age 65 for separation from service. Amount shown also includes the balance at December 31, 2015 of the employee deferrals and the company restoration match. |
(2) | Value reported for each NEO represents the number of unvested performance-based RSUs granted in May 2014 and May 2015 for which vesting continues in a qualifying termination of NEO, but for which the actual number of shares issued upon such vesting depends upon the TSR of the Company as compared to the specified peer group of chemical companies, which for purposes of this calculation is assumed to be at the maximum level, which is 200 percent of the target number of shares authorized to be issued under this award, multiplied by the quotient of the fraction in which the numerator equals the number of weeks between the grant date and December 31, 2015, the assumed date of termination, and the denominator equals the number of weeks in the three-year vesting period, the product of which, in turn, is for purposes of this calculation, multiplied by $15.40, the closing market price of the Companys common stock on December 31, 2015. |
(3) | Ms. Piciacchio departed from the Company on December 31, 2015. Her severance, which is to be paid in 2016, is reflected in the table as the total actual severance to be paid in accordance with her departure. |
(4) | Messrs. Carrico, Breunig and Orcutt departed from the Company effective July 5, 2015, September 1, 2015 and September 25, 2015, respectively. Mr. Carricos departure was treated as qualifying termination entitling him to severance under the Severance Plan, but was otherwise treated as retirement for purposes of the Companys compensation arrangements and benefit plans. Messrs. Breunigs and Orcutts departures were treated as qualifying terminations. Amounts shown in the table reflect the total actual severance paid or to be paid in connection with their departures. |
(5) | Amounts are to be paid in Canadian dollars, but reported in the table in U.S. dollars. Such amounts were converted at an exchange rate of 0.7831 Canadian dollars to each U.S. dollar, which was the average exchange rate for 2015. |
(6) | Includes the addition of a special bonus of $500,000 in recognition of his efforts in support of the Companys transformation plan for Mr. Carrico. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 72
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Termination on Death, Disability or Retirement
Name | Salary ($) |
Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation ($) |
Medical Program Benefits ($) |
Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan ($)(1) |
Restricted Stock ($)(2) |
Total ($) |
||||||||||||||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
- | - | - | 23,785 | 171,556 | 195,341 | ||||||||||||||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
- | - | - | 3,388,029 | 239,439 | 3,627,468 | ||||||||||||||||||
William H. Doherty |
- | - | - | 16,494 | 31,170 | 47,664 | ||||||||||||||||||
Simon Bates |
- | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||
Sharon G. Piciacchio |
- | - | - | - | - |
(1) | With respect to the Company benefit accounts, assumes all payments made in a lump sum (rather than over a period of time as may be permitted under the DCP). Reflects credits held in certain Company benefit accounts based on contributions made through age 65, although any payout under the DCP would not be made until any such NEO reached age 65. Amounts shown reflect account balances at age 65 for separation from service due to death or disability at December 31, 2015. The account balances at age 65 for separation from service at retirement would be $3,228,129 for Mr. Thompson. Amount shown also includes the balance at December 31, 2015 of the employee deferrals and the company restoration match. |
(2) | Value reported for each NEO represents the number of unvested performance-based RSUs granted in May 2014 and May 2015 for which vesting continues upon death, disability, or retirement of NEO, but for which the actual number of shares issued upon such vesting depends upon the TSR of the Company as compared to the specified peer group of chemical companies, which for purposes of this calculation is assumed to be at the maximum level, which is 200 percent of the target number of shares authorized to be issued under this award, multiplied by the quotient of the fraction in which the numerator equals the number of weeks between the grant date and December 31, 2015, the assumed date of termination, and the denominator equals the number of weeks in the three-year vesting period, the product of which, in turn, is for purposes of this calculation, multiplied by $15.40, the closing market price of the Companys common stock on December 31, 2015. |
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Plan category | Number of (a) |
Weighted- (b) |
Number of (c) |
|||||
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders |
902,683 | 109.4 | 1,938,902 | |||||
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders |
| | | |||||
Total |
902,683 | 109.4 | 1,983,902 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 73
Four directors make up the Audit Committee of our Board: T. Kevin DeNicola (who serves as chairman), Patrick J. Fleming, William L. Mansfield and Mark L. Noetzel. During the course of performing its duties, the committee:
| reviewed and discussed with management our audited financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015; |
| discussed with EY, our independent registered public accounting firm for 2015, the items regarding accounting principles set out in Auditing Standards No. 16, Communication with Audit Committees, issued by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, as amended, from time to time, and Rule 2-02 of Regulation S-X; |
| received the written disclosures and the letter from EY required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding EYs communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with EY their independence; |
| obtained and reviewed a report by EY required by the NYSE Listing Standards describing: (1) the firms internal quality control procedures; (2) any material issues raised by: (a) the most recent internal quality-control review of the firm, or (b) peer review of the firm, or (c) any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm, and any steps taken to deal with any such issues; and (3) all relationships between EY and the Company (to assess EYs independence); and |
| reviewed the adequacy of the system of internal controls and management information systems with our internal auditor and our independent registered public accounting firm, EY. |
Based on these reviews and discussions, the committee recommended to the Board that the Companys audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 be included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
T. Kevin DeNicola, Chairman
Patrick J. Fleming
William L. Mansfield
Mark L. Noetzel
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 74
PROPOSAL II ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
(1) | We define target direct compensation to be the aggregate of each executive officers annual: (1) base salary; (2) non-equity incentive compensation opportunity, at the target level established by the Committee; and (3) long-term equity incentive awards, at the target level established by the Committee. Other components of the total compensation of our executive officers not included in target direct compensation are set forth on the Summary Compensation Table on page 59 of this proxy statement. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 75
PROPOSAL II ADVISORY VOTE ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Vote Required
The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve the advisory vote on executive compensation.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THIS PROPOSAL TO APPROVE, ON AN ADVISORY (I.E., NON-BINDING) BASIS, THE COMPENSATION OF THE COMPANYS NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 76
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
General
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 77
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
Section 162(m) Performance Measures
Summary of Material Terms of the 2011 Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 78
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
Summary of Other Material Terms of the 2011 Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 79
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 80
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 81
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 82
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 83
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 84
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 85
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
Federal Income Tax Consequences
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 86
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 87
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 88
PROPOSAL III APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN
New Plan Benefits
Individual or Group |
Number of Shares Underlying Awards | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer |
458,935 | |
Gregory C. Thompson Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
178,702 | |
William H. Doherty Senior Vice President, Chemicals |
104,390 | |
Simon Bates Senior Vice President, Building Products |
34,509 | |
Sharon G. Piciacchio Former Senior Vice President, Supply Chain |
46,324 | |
Paul D. Carrico Former President and Chief Executive Officer |
392,229 | |
Joseph C. Breunig Former Executive Vice President, Chemicals |
94,733 | |
Mark J. Orcutt Former Executive Vice President, Building Products |
66,191 | |
All current executive officers as a group |
941,060 | |
All current directors who are not executive officers as a group |
94,349 | |
Each nominee for election as a director |
545,316 | |
Each associate of any such director, executive officer or nominee |
| |
Each other person who received or is to receive 5 percent of such awards |
| |
All employees, including all current officers who are not executive officers as a group |
995,301 |
Vote Required
The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the 2011 Plan.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL III TO APPROVE THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE 2011 PLAN.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 89
PROPOSAL IV APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE INCENTIVE PLAN
General
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 90
PROPOSAL IV APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE INCENTIVE PLAN
Section 162(m) Performance Measures
Summary of Material Terms of the Incentive Plan
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 91
PROPOSAL IV APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE INCENTIVE PLAN
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 92
PROPOSAL IV APPROVAL OF THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION UNDER THE INCENTIVE PLAN
New Plan Benefits
Vote Required
The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the Incentive Plan.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
THE BOARD UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR PROPOSAL IV TO APPROVE THE MATERIAL TERMS FOR QUALIFIED PERFORMANCE-BASED COMPENSATION FOR PURPOSES OF SECTION 162(M) UNDER THE INCENTIVE PLAN.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 93
PROPOSAL V RATIFICATION AND APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms Fees
Fees Billed by EY
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 94
PROPOSAL V RATIFICATION AND APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policy for Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services
Vote Required
The affirmative vote of a majority of votes cast is required to approve the ratification of the appointment of EY as the Companys independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR THIS PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF EY AS THE COMPANYS INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2016.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 95
FOR 2017 ANNUAL MEETING
This proxy statement contains forward-looking statements as defined in the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Companys anticipated financial performance, prospects, the Companys plans and objectives for future operations and statements relating to the solicitation of proxies of the Companys stockholders in connection with the annual meeting. Forward-looking statements are based on managements assumptions regarding, among other things, general economic and industry-specific business conditions and the continued execution of the Companys long-term business strategy as a stand-alone public company, and actual results may be materially different. Risks and uncertainties inherent in these assumptions include, but are not limited to, uncertainties regarding future actions that may be taken by Westlake in furtherance of its unsolicited acquisition proposal or its nomination of director candidates for election at the annual meeting, potential operational disruption caused by Westlakes future actions that may make it more difficult to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers, the results of the Companys process to sell its Building Products business and the proceeds, if any, realized therefrom, the Companys ability to successfully implement its strategy to create sustainable, long-term stockholder value, the Companys ability to successfully implement and administer its cost-saving initiatives (including its restructuring programs) and produce the desired results (including projected savings), future prices for the Companys products, industry capacity levels for the Companys products, raw materials and energy costs and availability, feedstock availability and prices, changes in governmental and environmental regulations, the adoption of new laws or regulations that may make it more difficult or expensive to operate the Companys businesses or manufacture its products, the Companys ability to generate sufficient cash flows from its business, future economic conditions in the specific industries to which the Companys products are sold, global economic conditions, competition within the Companys industry, complications resulting from the Companys multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the implementation of its new ERP systems, the failure to adequately protect our data and technology systems, costs resulting from complications or delays relating to the Companys arrangements with Lotte Chemical USA Corporation related to the ethane cracker (ethylene manufacturing plant) being constructed in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Companys failure to realize the
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 96
benefits of, and/or disruptions resulting from, any asset dispositions, asset acquisitions, joint ventures, business combinations or other transactions, and other factors discussed in the SEC filings of the Company from time to time, including the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The risks and uncertainties above are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks and uncertainties develop into actual events, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied herein will not be realized.
Other Matters That May Come Before the Meeting
We do not know of any matters, other than those stated above, that are to be brought before the meeting. However, if any other matters should be properly presented for consideration and voting, it is the intention of the persons named in the proxy to vote on those matters in accordance with their judgment.
A copy of the 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K as required to be filed with the SEC, excluding exhibits, will be mailed to stockholders without charge upon written request to: Investor Relations, Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.
Under rules of the SEC, to minimize mailing costs we are permitted to send a single set of annual reports and proxy statements to any household at which two or more stockholders reside if they appear to be members of the same family. A number of brokerage firms have also instituted this practice with respect to the delivery of documents to stockholders residing at the same address. With this practice, however, each stockholder continues to receive a separate proxy card for voting. Any stockholder affected by this practice who desires to receive multiple copies of annual reports and proxy statements in the future may write Investor Relations, Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328 or call (770) 395-4500.
Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be Held on June 17, 2016: The proxy materials, including the 2016 proxy and 2015 annual report, are available at www.exproxyaccess.com/axll2016.
May 4, 2016
Daniel S. Fishbein
Vice President and General Counsel
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement 97
APPENDIX A: 2011 EQUITY AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PLAN
1. Purpose. The purpose of this Georgia Gulf Corporation 2011 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan is to attract and retain Directors, consultants, officers and other employees of Georgia Gulf Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and its Subsidiaries and to provide to such persons incentives and rewards for performance.
2. Definitions. As used in this Plan,
(a) Appreciation Right means a right granted pursuant to Section 5 or Section 9 of this Plan, and will include both Free-Standing Appreciation Rights and Tandem Appreciation Rights.
(b) Base Price means the price to be used as the basis for determining the Spread upon the exercise of a Free-Standing Appreciation Right or a Tandem Appreciation Right.
(c) Board means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(d) Committee means a committee of the Board designated by the Board to administer this Plan pursuant to Section 11 of this Plan consisting solely of not less than two Non-Employee Directors.
(e) Business Combination means a reorganization, merger or consolidation or sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company.
(f) Change in Control has the meaning set forth in Section 13 of this Plan.
(g) Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.
(h) Common Stock means the common stock of the Company, $0.01 par value, or any security into which such common stock may be changed by reason of any transaction or event of the type referred to in Section 12 of this Plan.
(i) Company means Georgia Gulf Corporation, a Delaware corporation.
(j) Covered Employee means a Participant who is, or is determined by the Committee to be likely to become, a covered employee within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code (or any successor provision).
(k) Date of Grant means the date specified by the Committee on which a grant of Option Rights, Appreciation Rights, Performance Shares, Performance Units or other awards contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan, or a grant or sale of Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, or other awards contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan will become effective (which date will not be earlier than the date on which the Committee takes action with respect thereto).
(l) Detrimental Activity means:
(i) Engaging in any activity as an employee, principal, agent, or consultant for another entity that competes, directly or indirectly, with the Company in any actual, researched, or
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement A-1
APPENDIX A
prospective product, service, system, or business activity for which the Participant has had any direct or indirect responsibility during the last five years of his or her employment with, or having acted as a consultant to, the Company or a Subsidiary (or such other period specified in an Evidence of Award), in any territory in which the Company or a Subsidiary manufactures, sells, markets, services, or installs such product, service, or system, or engages in such business activity (or any portion of such territory or such other territory specified in the Evidence of Award).
(ii) Soliciting any employee of the Company or a Subsidiary to terminate his or her employment with the Company or a Subsidiary.
(iii) The disclosure to anyone outside the Company or a Subsidiary, or the use in other than the Companys or a Subsidiarys business, without prior written authorization from the Company, of any confidential, proprietary or trade secret information or material relating to the business of the Company or its Subsidiaries, acquired by the Participant during his or her employment with the Company or its Subsidiaries or while acting as a consultant for the Company or its Subsidiaries.
(iv) The failure or refusal to disclose promptly and to assign to the Company upon request all right, title and interest in any invention or idea, patentable or not, made or conceived by the Participant during employment by, or while consulting with, the Company or any Subsidiary, relating in any manner to the actual or anticipated business, research or development work of the Company or any Subsidiary or the failure or refusal to do anything reasonably necessary to enable the Company or any Subsidiary to secure a patent where appropriate in the United States and in other countries.
(v) Activity that results in Termination for Cause. For the purposes of this Section, Termination for Cause will mean a termination:
(A) due to the Participants willful and continuous gross neglect of his or her duties for which he or she is employed; or
(B) due to an act of dishonesty on the part of the Participant constituting a felony resulting or intended to result, directly or indirectly, in his or her gain for personal enrichment at the expense of the Company or a Subsidiary.
(vi) Any other conduct or act determined to be injurious, detrimental or prejudicial to any significant interest of the Company or any Subsidiary unless the Participant acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company.
(m) Director means a member of the Board.
(n) Effective Date means the date this Plan is approved by the stockholders of the Company.
(o) Evidence of Award means an agreement, certificate, resolution or other type or form of writing or other evidence approved by the Committee that sets forth the terms and conditions of the awards granted under the Plan. An Evidence of Award may be in an electronic medium, may be limited to notation on the books and records of the Company and, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, need not be signed by a representative of the Company or a Participant.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement A-2
APPENDIX A
(p) Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder, as such law, rules and regulations may be amended from time to time.
(q) Existing Plan means the Georgia Gulf Corporation 2009 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan.
(r) Free-Standing Appreciation Right means an Appreciation Right granted pursuant to Section 5 or Section 9 of this Plan that is not granted in tandem with an Option Right.
(s) Incentive Stock Options means Option Rights that are intended to qualify as incentive stock options under Section 422 of the Code or any successor provision.
(t) Management Objectives means the measurable performance objective or objectives established pursuant to this Plan for Participants who have received grants of Performance Shares or Performance Units or, when so determined by the Committee, Option Rights, Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, dividend credits and other awards pursuant to this Plan. Management Objectives may be described in terms of Company-wide objectives or objectives that are related to the performance of the individual Participant or of the Subsidiary, division, department, region, function or other organizational unit within the Company or Subsidiary in which the Participant is employed. The Management Objectives may be made relative to the performance of other companies or subsidiaries, divisions, departments, regions, functions or other organizational units within such other companies, and may be made relative to an index or one or more of the performance criteria themselves. The Committee may grant awards subject to Management Objectives that are either Qualified Performance-Based Awards or are not Qualified Performance-Based Awards. The Management Objectives applicable to any Qualified Performance-Based Award to a Covered Employee will be based on one or more, or a combination, of the following metrics:
(i) price of Common Stock;
(ii) market share;
(iii) sales;
(iv) return on equity, assets, capital or sales;
(v) economic profit;
(vi) total shareholder return;
(vii) costs;
(viii) margins;
(ix) earnings or earnings per share;
(x) cash flow;
(xi) customer satisfaction;
(xii) pre-tax profit;
(xiii) earnings before interest and taxes;
(xiv) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization;
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement A-3
APPENDIX A
(xv) debt/capital ratio;
(xvi) compliance with covenants under the Companys principal debt agreements; and
(xvii) any combination of the foregoing.
If the Committee determines that a change in the business, operations, corporate structure or capital structure of the Company, or the manner in which it conducts its business, or other events or circumstances render the Management Objectives unsuitable, the Committee may in its discretion modify such Management Objectives or the related minimum acceptable level of achievement, in whole or in part, as the Committee deems appropriate and equitable, except in the case of a Qualified Performance-Based Award (other than in connection with a Change in Control) where such action would result in the loss of the otherwise available exemption of the award under Section 162(m) of the Code. In such case, the Committee will not make any modification of the Management Objectives or minimum acceptable level of achievement with respect to such Covered Employee.
(u) Market Value per Share means, as of any particular date, the closing price of a share of Common Stock as reported for that date on the New York Stock Exchange or, if the Common Stock is not then listed on the New York Stock Exchange, on any other national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed, or if there are no sales on such date, on the next preceding trading day during which a sale occurred. If there is no regular public trading market for the Common Stock, then the Market Value per Share shall be the fair market value as determined in good faith by the Committee. The Committee is authorized to adopt another fair market value pricing method provided such method is stated in the Evidence of Award and is in compliance with the fair market value pricing rules set forth in Section 409A of the Code.
(v) Non-Employee Director means a person who is a Non-Employee Director of the Company within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act and an outside director within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
(w) Optionee means the optionee named in an Evidence of Award evidencing an outstanding Option Right.
(x) Option Price means the purchase price payable on exercise of an Option Right.
(y) Option Right means the right to purchase shares of Common Stock upon exercise of an option granted pursuant to Section 4 or Section 9 of this Plan.
(z) Participant means a person who is selected by the Committee to receive benefits under this Plan and who is at the time a consultant, an officer, or other employee of the Company or any Subsidiary or who has agreed to commence serving in any of such capacities within 90 days of the Date of Grant, and will also include each non-employee Director who receives an award under this Plan. The term Participant will also include any person who provides services to the Company or a Subsidiary that are equivalent to those typically provided by an employee.
(aa) Performance Period means, in respect of a Performance Share or Performance Unit, a period of time established pursuant to Section 8 of this Plan within which the Management Objectives relating to such Performance Share or Performance Unit are to be achieved.
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APPENDIX A
(bb) Performance Share means a bookkeeping entry that records the equivalent of one share of Common Stock awarded pursuant to Section 8 of this Plan.
(cc) Performance Unit means a bookkeeping entry awarded pursuant to Section 8 of this Plan that records a unit equivalent to $1.00 or such other value as is determined by the Committee.
(dd) Person means any individual, entity or group (within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act).
(ee) Plan means the Georgia Gulf Corporation 2011 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan, as may be amended from time to time.
(ff) Qualified Performance-Based Award means any award of Performance Shares, Performance Units, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units or other awards contemplated under Section 10 of this Plan, or portion of such award, to a Covered Employee that is intended to satisfy the requirements for qualified performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code.
(gg) Restricted Stock means shares of Common Stock granted or sold pursuant to Section 6 or Section 9 of this Plan as to which neither the substantial risk of forfeiture nor the prohibition on transfers has expired.
(hh) Restriction Period means the period of time during which Restricted Stock Units are subject to restrictions, as provided in Section 7 or Section 9 of this Plan.
(ii) Restricted Stock Unit means an award made pursuant to Section 7 or Section 9 of this Plan of the right to receive shares of Common Stock or cash at the end of a specified period. Certain awards of Restricted Stock Units that may be earned based on Common Stock price appreciation may be referred to as Performance Leveraged Units.
(jj) Spread means the excess of the Market Value per Share on the date when an Appreciation Right is exercised over the Option Price or Base Price provided for in the related Option Right or Free-Standing Appreciation Right, respectively.
(kk) Subsidiary means a corporation, company or other entity (i) more than 50 percent of whose outstanding shares or securities (representing the right to vote for the election of directors or other managing authority) are, or (ii) which does not have outstanding shares or securities (as may be the case in a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, or unincorporated association), but more than 50 percent of whose ownership interest representing the right generally to make decisions for such other entity is, now or hereafter, owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Company; provided, however, that for purposes of determining whether any person may be a Participant for purposes of any grant of Incentive Stock Options, Subsidiary means any corporation in which at the time the Company owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more than 50 percent of the total combined Voting Power represented by all classes of stock issued by such corporation.
(ll) Tandem Appreciation Right means an Appreciation Right granted pursuant to Section 5 or Section 9 of this Plan that is granted in tandem with an Option Right.
(mm) Voting Power means at any time, the combined voting power of the then-outstanding securities entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors in the case of the Company, or members of the board of directors or similar body in the case of another entity.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement A-5
APPENDIX A
3. Shares Available Under the Plan.
(a) Maximum Shares Available Under Plan.
(i) Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 12 of this Plan, the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued or transferred (A) upon the exercise of Option Rights or Appreciation Rights, (B) as Restricted Stock and released from substantial risks of forfeiture thereof, (C) in payment of Restricted Stock Units, (D) in payment of Performance Shares or Performance Units that have been earned, (E) as awards to non-employee Directors, (F) as awards contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan, or (G) in payment of dividend equivalents paid with respect to awards made under the Plan will not exceed in the aggregate 1,800,000 shares of Common Stock. Such shares may be shares of original issuance or treasury shares or a combination of the foregoing.
(ii) Shares of Common Stock covered by an award granted under this Plan will not be counted as used unless and until they are actually issued and delivered to a Participant and, therefore, the total number of shares available under this Plan as of a given date will not be reduced by any shares relating to prior awards that have expired or have been forfeited or cancelled. Upon payment in cash of the benefit provided by any award granted under the Plan, any shares of Common Stock that were covered by that award will again be available for issue or transfer hereunder. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein: (A) if shares of Common Stock are tendered or otherwise used in payment of the Option Price of an Option Right, the total number of shares covered by the Option Right being exercised will reduce the aggregate plan limit described above; (B) shares of Common Stock withheld by the Company to satisfy the tax withholding obligation will reduce the aggregate plan limit described above; and (C) the number of shares of Common Stock covered by an Appreciation Right, to the extent that it is exercised and settled in shares of Common Stock, and whether or not all shares of Common Stock covered by the Appreciation Right are actually issued to the Participant upon exercise of the right, will be considered issued or transferred pursuant to this Plan. In the event that the Company repurchases shares with Option Right proceeds, those shares will not be added to the aggregate plan limit described above. If, under this Plan, a Participant has elected to give up the right to receive compensation in exchange for shares of Common Stock based on fair market value, such shares of Common Stock will not count against the aggregate plan limit described above.
(b) Limit on Incentive Stock Options. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 3, or elsewhere in this Plan, to the contrary and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 12 of this Plan; the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock actually issued or transferred by the Company upon the exercise of Incentive Stock Options will not exceed 1,800,000 shares of Common Stock.
(c) Individual Participant Limits. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 3, or elsewhere in this Plan to the contrary, and subject to adjustment as provided in Section 12 of this Plan:
(i) No Participant will be granted Option Rights or Appreciation Rights, in the aggregate, for more than 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock during any calendar year.
(ii) No Participant will be granted Qualified Performance-Based Awards of Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Shares or other awards under Section 10 of this Plan, in the aggregate, for more than 500,000 shares of Common Stock during any calendar year.
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(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan to the contrary, in no event will any Participant in any calendar year receive a Qualified Performance-Based Award of Performance Units having an aggregate maximum value as of their respective Dates of Grant in excess of $10,000,000.
(d) Notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, up to 10% of the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued or transferred under this Plan as provided for in Section 3(a) of this Plan, as may be adjusted under Section 12 of this Plan, may be used for (i) awards granted under Sections 6 through 8 and Section 10 of this Plan that do not comply with the three-year or one-year vesting requirements set forth in such Sections of this Plan plus (ii) awards granted to non-employee directors under Section 9 of this Plan.
4. Option Rights. The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting to Participants of Option Rights. Each such grant may utilize any or all of the authorizations, and will be subject to all of the requirements, contained in the following provisions:
(a) Each grant will specify the number of shares of Common Stock to which it pertains subject to the limitations set forth in Section 3 of this Plan.
(b) Each grant will specify an Option Price per share, which may not be less than the Market Value per Share on the Date of Grant.
(c) Each grant will specify whether the Option Price will be payable (i) in cash or by check acceptable to the Company or by wire transfer of immediately available funds, (ii) by the actual or constructive transfer to the Company of shares of Common Stock owned by the Optionee (or other consideration authorized pursuant to Section 4(d) of this Plan) having a value at the time of exercise equal to the total Option Price, (iii) by a combination of such methods of payment, or (iv) by such other methods as may be approved by the Committee.
(d) To the extent permitted by law, any grant may provide for deferred payment of the Option Price from the proceeds of sale through a bank or broker on a date satisfactory to the Company of some or all of the shares to which such exercise relates.
(e) Successive grants may be made to the same Participant whether or not any Option Rights previously granted to such Participant remain unexercised.
(f) Each grant will specify the period or periods of continuous service by the Optionee with the Company or any Subsidiary that is necessary before the Option Rights or installments thereof will become exercisable. A grant of Option Rights may provide for the earlier exercise of such Option Rights (i) in the event of the retirement, death or disability of a Participant, or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Option Rights are not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award.
(g) Any grant of Option Rights may specify Management Objectives that must be achieved as a condition to the exercise of such rights.
(h) Option Rights granted under this Plan may be (i) options, including, without limitation, Incentive Stock Options, that are intended to qualify under particular provisions of the Code, (ii) options
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that are not intended so to qualify, or (iii) combinations of the foregoing. Incentive Stock Options may only be granted to Participants who meet the definition of employees under Section 3401(c) of the Code.
(i) The exercise of an Option Right will result in the cancellation on a share- for-share basis of any Tandem Appreciation Right authorized under Section 5 of this Plan.
(j) No Option Right will be exercisable more than 10 years from the Date of Grant.
(k) Each grant of Option Rights will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award. Each Evidence of Award will be subject to this Plan and will contain such terms and provisions, consistent with this Plan, as the Committee may approve.
5. Appreciation Rights.
(a) The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting (i) to any Optionee, of Tandem Appreciation Rights in respect of Option Rights granted hereunder, and (ii) to any Participant, of Free-Standing Appreciation Rights. A Tandem Appreciation Right will be a right of the Optionee, exercisable by surrender of the related Option Right, to receive from the Company an amount determined by the Committee, which will be expressed as a percentage of the Spread (not exceeding 100 percent) at the time of exercise. Tandem Appreciation Rights may be granted at any time prior to the exercise or termination of the related Option Rights; provided, however, that a Tandem Appreciation Right awarded in relation to an Incentive Stock Option must be granted concurrently with such Incentive Stock Option. A Free-Standing Appreciation Right will be a right of the Participant to receive from the Company an amount determined by the Committee, which will be expressed as a percentage of the Spread (not exceeding 100 percent) at the time of exercise.
(b) Each grant of Appreciation Rights may utilize any or all of the authorizations contained in the following provisions:
(i) Each grant will specify that the amount payable on exercise of an Appreciation Right will be paid by the Company in cash, shares of Common Stock or in any combination thereof.
(ii) Any grant may specify that the amount payable on exercise of an Appreciation Right may not exceed a maximum specified by the Committee at the Date of Grant.
(iii) Any grant may specify waiting periods before exercise and permissible exercise dates or periods.
(iv) Each grant may specify the period or periods of continuous service by the Participant with the Company or any Subsidiary that is necessary before the Appreciation Rights or installments thereof will become exercisable. A grant of Appreciation Rights may provide for the earlier exercise of such Appreciation Rights in the event of the retirement, death or disability of a Participant, or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Appreciation Rights are not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award.
(v) Any grant of Appreciation Rights may specify Management Objectives that must be achieved as a condition of the exercise of such Appreciation Rights.
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(vi) Each grant of Appreciation Rights will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award, which Evidence of Award will describe such Appreciation Rights, identify the related Option Rights (if applicable), and contain such other terms and provisions, consistent with this Plan, as the Committee may approve.
(c) Any grant of Tandem Appreciation Rights will provide that such Tandem Appreciation Rights may be exercised only at a time when the related Option Right is also exercisable and at a time when the Spread is positive, and by surrender of the related Option Right for cancellation. Successive grants of Tandem Appreciation Rights may be made to the same Participant regardless of whether any Tandem Appreciation Rights previously granted to the Participant remain unexercised.
(d) Regarding Free-Standing Appreciation Rights only:
(i) Each grant will specify in respect of each Free-Standing Appreciation Right a Base Price, which may not be less than the Market Value per Share on the Date of Grant;
(ii) Successive grants may be made to the same Participant regardless of whether any Free-Standing Appreciation Rights previously granted to the Participant remain unexercised; and
(iii) No Free-Standing Appreciation Right granted under this Plan may be exercised more than 10 years from the Date of Grant.
6. Restricted Stock. The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the grant or sale of Restricted Stock to Participants. Each such grant or sale may utilize any or all of the authorizations, and will be subject to all of the requirements, contained in the following provisions:
(a) Each such grant or sale will constitute an immediate transfer of the ownership of shares of Common Stock to the Participant in consideration of the performance of services, entitling such Participant to voting, dividend and other ownership rights, but subject to the substantial risk of forfeiture and restrictions on transfer hereinafter referred to.
(b) Each such grant or sale may be made without additional consideration or in consideration of a payment by such Participant that is less than the Market Value per Share at the Date of Grant.
(c) Each such grant or sale will provide that the Restricted Stock covered by such grant or sale that vests upon the passage of time will be subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture within the meaning of Section 83 of the Code for a period to be determined by the Committee at the Date of Grant or upon achievement of Management Objectives referred to in subparagraph (e) below. If the elimination of restrictions is based only on the passage of time rather than the achievement of Management Objectives, the period of time will be no shorter than three years, except that the restrictions may be removed ratably during the three-year period, on at least an annual basis, as determined by the Committee.
(d) Each such grant or sale will provide that during or after the period for which such substantial risk of forfeiture is to continue, the transferability of the Restricted Stock will be prohibited or restricted in the manner and to the extent prescribed by the Committee at the Date of Grant (which restrictions may include, without limitation, rights of repurchase or first refusal in the Company or provisions subjecting the Restricted Stock to a continuing substantial risk of forfeiture in the hands of any transferee).
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(e) Any grant of Restricted Stock may specify Management Objectives that, if achieved, will result in termination or early termination of the restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock; provided, however, that notwithstanding subparagraph (c) above, restrictions relating to Restricted Stock that vests upon the achievement of Management Objectives may not terminate sooner than one year from the Date of Grant. Each grant may specify in respect of such Management Objectives a minimum acceptable level of achievement and may set forth a formula for determining the number of shares of Restricted Stock on which restrictions will terminate if performance is at or above the minimum or threshold level or levels, or is at or above the target level or levels, but falls short of maximum achievement of the specified Management Objectives. The grant of a Qualified Performance-Based Award of Restricted Stock will specify that, before the termination or early termination of restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock, the Committee must determine that the Management Objectives have been satisfied.
(f) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Plan, any grant or sale of Restricted Stock may provide for the earlier termination of restrictions on such Restricted Stock (i) in the event of the retirement, death or disability of a Participant or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Restricted Stock is not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award.
(g) Any such grant or sale of Restricted Stock may require that any or all dividends or other distributions paid thereon during the period of such restrictions be automatically deferred and reinvested in additional shares of Restricted Stock, which may be subject to the same restrictions as the underlying award; provided, however, that dividends or other distributions on Restricted Stock with restrictions that lapse as a result of the achievement of Management Objectives will be deferred until and paid contingent upon the achievement of the applicable Management Objectives.
(h) Each grant or sale of Restricted Stock will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award and will contain such terms and provisions, consistent with this Plan, as the Committee may approve. Unless otherwise directed by the Committee, (i) all certificates representing shares of Restricted Stock will be held in custody by the Company until all restrictions thereon will have lapsed, together with a stock power or powers executed by the Participant in whose name such certificates are registered, endorsed in blank and covering such shares or (ii) all shares of Restricted Stock will be held at the Companys transfer agent in book entry form with appropriate restrictions relating to the transfer of such shares of Restricted Stock.
7. Restricted Stock Units. The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting or sale of Restricted Stock Units (including Performance Leveraged Units) to Participants. Each such grant or sale may utilize any or all of the authorizations, and will be subject to all of the requirements, contained in the following provisions:
(a) Each such grant or sale will constitute the agreement by the Company to deliver shares of Common Stock or cash to the Participant in the future in consideration of the performance of services, but subject to the fulfillment of such conditions (which may include the achievement of Management Objectives) during the Restriction Period as the Committee may specify. If a grant of Restricted Stock Units specifies that the Restriction Period will terminate only upon the achievement of Management Objectives or that the Restricted Stock Units will be earned based on the achievement of Management Objectives, then, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in subparagraph (c) below, the applicable Restriction Period may not be a period of less than one year from the Date of Grant. Each
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grant may specify in respect of such Management Objectives a minimum acceptable level of achievement and may set forth a formula for determining the number of Restricted Stock Units on which restrictions will terminate if performance is at or above the minimum or threshold level or levels, or is at or above the target level or levels, but falls short of maximum achievement of the specified Management Objectives. The grant of Qualified Performance-Based Awards of Restricted Stock Units will specify that, before the termination or early termination of restrictions applicable to such Restricted Stock Units or the earning of such Restricted Stock Units, the Committee must determine that the Management Objectives have been satisfied.
(b) Each such grant or sale may be made without additional consideration or in consideration of a payment by such Participant that is less than the Market Value per Share at the Date of Grant.
(c) If the Restriction Period lapses only by the passage of time rather than the achievement of Management Objectives as provided in subparagraph (a) above, each such grant or sale will be subject to a Restriction Period of not less than three years, except that a grant or sale may provide that the Restriction Period will expire ratably during the three-year period, on at least an annual basis, as determined by the Committee.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Plan, any grant or sale of Restricted Stock Units may provide for the earlier lapse or other modification of the Restriction Period (i) in the event of the retirement, death or disability of a Participant or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Restricted Stock Units are not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award. In such event, the Evidence of Award will specify the time and terms of delivery.
(e) During the Restriction Period, the Participant will have no right to transfer any rights under his or her award and will have no rights of ownership in the shares of Common Stock deliverable upon payment of the Restricted Stock Units and will have no right to vote them, but the Committee may, at the Date of Grant, authorize the payment of dividend equivalents on such Restricted Stock Units on either a current or deferred or contingent basis, either in cash or in additional shares of Common Stock; provided, however, that dividends or other distributions on shares of Common Stock underlying Restricted Stock Units with restrictions that lapse as a result of the achievement of Management Objectives will be deferred until and paid contingent upon the achievement of the applicable Management Objectives.
(f) Each grant or sale will specify the time and manner of payment of the Restricted Stock Units that have been earned. Each grant or sale will specify that the amount payable with respect thereto will be paid by the Company in shares of Common Stock or cash, or a combination thereof.
(g) Each grant or sale of Restricted Stock Units will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award and will contain such terms and provisions, consistent with this Plan, as the Committee may approve.
8. Performance Shares and Performance Units. The Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting of Performance Shares and Performance Units. Each such grant may utilize any or all of the authorizations, and will be subject to all of the requirements, contained in the following provisions:
(a) Each grant will specify the number of Performance Shares or Performance Units to which it pertains, which number or amount may be subject to adjustment to reflect changes in compensation or
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other factors; provided, however, that no such adjustment will be made in the case of a Qualified Performance-Based Award (other than in connection with the death or disability of the Participant or a Change in Control) where such action would result in the loss of the otherwise available exemption of the award under Section 162(m) of the Code.
(b) The Performance Period with respect to each Performance Share or Performance Unit will be such period of time (not less than one year) as will be determined by the Committee at the time of grant, which may be subject to earlier lapse or other modification (i) in the event of the retirement, death or disability of a Participant or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Performance Shares and Performance Units are not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award; provided, however, that no such adjustment will be made in the case of a Qualified Performance-Based Award (other than in connection with the death or disability of the Participant or a Change in Control) where such action would result in the loss of the otherwise available exemption of the award under Section 162(m) of the Code. In such event, the Evidence of Award will specify the time and terms of delivery.
(c) Any grant of Performance Shares or Performance Units will specify Management Objectives which, if achieved, will result in payment or early payment of the award, and each grant may specify in respect of such specified Management Objectives a minimum acceptable level or levels of achievement and will set forth a formula for determining the number of Performance Shares or Performance Units that will be earned if performance is at or above the minimum or threshold level or levels, or is at or above the target level or levels, but falls short of maximum achievement of the specified Management Objectives. The grant of a Qualified Performance-Based Award of Performance Shares or Performance Units will specify that, before the Performance Shares or Performance Units will be earned and paid, the Committee must determine that the Management Objectives have been satisfied.
(d) Each grant will specify the time and manner of payment of Performance Shares or Performance Units that have been earned. Any grant may specify that the amount payable with respect thereto may be paid by the Company in cash, in shares of Common Stock, in Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units or in any combination thereof.
(e) Any grant of Performance Shares or Performance Units may specify that the amount payable or the number of shares of Common Stock, shares of Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units with respect thereto may not exceed a maximum specified by the Committee at the Date of Grant.
(f) The Committee may, at the Date of Grant of Performance Shares, provide for the payment of dividend equivalents to the holder thereof either in cash or in additional shares of Common Stock, subject in all cases to deferral and payment on a contingent basis based on the Participants earning of the Performance Shares with respect to which such dividend equivalents are paid.
(g) Each grant of Performance Shares or Performance Units will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award and will contain such other terms and provisions, consistent with this Plan, as the Committee may approve.
9. Awards to Non-Employee Directors. Subject to the limit set forth in Section 3(d) of this Plan, the Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting to non-employee Directors of Option Rights, Appreciation Rights or other awards
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contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan and may also authorize the grant or sale of shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units to non-employee Directors. Each grant of an award to a non-employee Director will be upon such terms and conditions as approved by the Committee, and will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award in such form as will be approved by the Committee. Each grant will specify in the case of an Option Right an Option Price per share, and in the case of a Free-Standing Appreciation Right, a Base Price per share, which will not be less than the Market Value per Share on the Date of Grant. Each Option Right and Free-Standing Appreciation Right granted under the Plan to a non-employee Director will expire not more than 10 years from the Date of Grant and will be subject to earlier termination as hereinafter provided. If a non-employee Director subsequently becomes an employee of the Company or a Subsidiary while remaining a member of the Board, any award held under this Plan by such individual at the time of such commencement of employment will not be affected thereby. Non-employee Directors, pursuant to this Section 9, may be awarded, or may be permitted to elect to receive, pursuant to procedures established by the Board, all or any portion of their annual retainer, meeting fees or other fees in shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units or other awards under the Plan in lieu of cash.
10. Other Awards.
(a) Subject to applicable law and the limit set forth in Section 3(d) of this Plan, the Committee may grant to any Participant such other awards that may be denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, or related to, shares of Common Stock or factors that may influence the value of such shares, including, without limitation, convertible or exchangeable debt securities, other rights convertible or exchangeable into shares of Common Stock, purchase rights for shares of Common Stock, awards with value and payment contingent upon performance of the Company or specified Subsidiaries, affiliates or other business units thereof or any other factors designated by the Committee, and awards valued by reference to the book value of shares of Common Stock or the value of securities of, or the performance of specified Subsidiaries or affiliates or other business units of the Company. The Committee will determine the terms and conditions of such awards. Shares of Common Stock delivered pursuant to an award in the nature of a purchase right granted under this Section 10 will be purchased for such consideration, paid for at such time, by such methods, and in such forms, including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock, other awards, notes or other property, as the Committee determines.
(b) The Committee may grant shares of Common Stock as a bonus, or may grant other awards in lieu of obligations of the Company or a Subsidiary to pay cash or deliver other property under this Plan or under other plans or compensatory arrangements, subject to such terms as will be determined by the Committee in a manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code.
(c) If the earning or vesting of, or elimination of restrictions applicable to, an award granted under this Section 10 is based only on the passage of time rather than the achievement of Management Objectives, the period of time shall be no shorter than three years, except that the restrictions may be removed no sooner than ratably on an annual basis during the three-year period as determined by the Committee. If the earning or vesting of, or elimination of restrictions applicable to, awards granted under this Section 10 is based on the achievement of Management Objectives, the earning, vesting or restriction period may not terminate sooner than one year from the Date of Grant.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Plan, any grant of an award under this Section 10 may provide for the earning or vesting of, or earlier elimination of restrictions applicable to, such award (i) in the event of the retirement, death or disability of the Participant, or (ii) in the event of a Change in Control where either (A) within a specified period the Participant is involuntarily
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terminated for reasons other than for cause or terminates his or her employment for good reason or (B) such Other Awards are not assumed or converted into replacement awards in a manner described in the Evidence of Award. In such event, the Evidence of Award will specify the time and terms of delivery.
11. Administration of the Plan.
(a) This Plan will be administered by the Committee. The Committee may from time to time delegate all or any part of its authority under this Plan to a subcommittee thereof. To the extent of any such delegation, references in this Plan to the Committee will be deemed to be references to such subcommittee.
(b) The interpretation and construction by the Committee of any provision of this Plan or of any agreement, notification or document evidencing the grant of awards under this Plan and any determination by the Committee pursuant to any provision of this Plan or of any such agreement, notification or document will be final and conclusive. No member of the Committee shall be liable for any such action or determination made in good faith.
(c) The Committee may delegate to one or more of its members or to one or more officers of the Company, or to one or more agents or advisors, such administrative duties or powers as it may deem advisable, and the Committee, the subcommittee, or any person to whom duties or powers have been delegated as aforesaid, may employ one or more persons to render advice with respect to any responsibility the Committee, the subcommittee or such person may have under the Plan. The Committee may, by resolution, authorize one or more officers of the Company to do one or both of the following on the same basis as the Committee: (i) designate employees to be recipients of awards under this Plan; (ii) determine the size of any such awards; provided, however, that (A) the Committee will not delegate such responsibilities to any such officer for awards granted to an employee who is an officer, Director, or more than 10% beneficial owner of any class of the Companys equity securities that is registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, as determined by the Committee in accordance with Section 16 of the Exchange Act, or any Covered Employee; (B) the resolution providing for such authorization sets forth the total number of shares of Common Stock such officer(s) may grant; and (C) the officer(s) will report periodically to the Committee regarding the nature and scope of the awards granted pursuant to the authority delegated.
12. Adjustments. The Committee will make or provide for such adjustments in the numbers of shares of Common Stock covered by outstanding Option Rights, Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Shares and Performance Units granted hereunder and, if applicable, in the number of shares of Common Stock covered by other awards granted pursuant to Section 10 hereof, in the Option Price and Base Price provided in outstanding Option Rights and Appreciation Rights, and in the kind of shares covered thereby, as the Committee, in its sole discretion, may determine is equitably required to prevent dilution or enlargement of the rights of Participants or Optionees that otherwise would result from (a) any stock dividend, stock split, combination of shares, recapitalization or other change in the capital structure of the Company, (b) any merger, consolidation, spin-off, split- off, spin-out, split-up, reorganization, partial or complete liquidation or other distribution of assets, issuance of rights or warrants to purchase securities, or (c) any other corporate transaction or event having an effect similar to any of the foregoing. Moreover, in the event of any such transaction or event or in the event of a Change in Control, the Committee, in its discretion, may provide in substitution for any or all outstanding awards under this Plan such alternative consideration (including cash), if any, as it, in good faith, may determine to be equitable in the circumstances and may require in connection therewith the surrender of all awards so replaced in a manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code. In
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addition, for each Option Right or Appreciation Right with an Option Price or Base Price greater than the consideration offered in connection with any such transaction or event or Change in Control, the Committee may in its sole discretion elect to cancel such Option Right or Appreciation Right without any payment to the person holding such Option Right or Appreciation Right. The Committee will also make or provide for such adjustments in the numbers of shares specified in Section 3 of this Plan as the Committee in its sole discretion, exercised in good faith, may determine is appropriate to reflect any transaction or event described in this Section 12; provided, however, that any such adjustment to the number specified in Section 3(b) will be made only if and to the extent that such adjustment would not cause any Option Right intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option to fail to so qualify.
13. Change in Control. For purposes of this Plan, except as may be otherwise prescribed by the Committee in an Evidence of Award made under this Plan, a Change in Control will be deemed to have occurred upon the occurrence of any of the following events:
(a) The acquisition by any Person of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of 33% or more of the Voting Power of the Company; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection (a), the following acquisitions shall not constitute a Change in Control: (A) any acquisition directly from the Company, (B) any acquisition by the Company or any Subsidiary, (C) any acquisition by any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or any Subsidiary, or (D) any acquisition by any Person pursuant to a transaction which complies with clauses (i) and (ii) of subsection (c) of this Section 13.
(b) A change in a majority of the members of the Board occurs: (i) within one year following the public announcement of an actual or threatened election contest (as described in Rule 14a-12(c) promulgated under the Exchange Act) or the filing of a Schedule 13D or other public announcement indicating that a Person intends to effect a change in control of the Company, (ii) as a result of the exercise of contractual rights, or (iii) as a result of a majority of the members of the Board having been proposed, designated or nominated by a Person (other than the Company through the Board or a committee of the Board).
(c) Consummation of a Business Combination unless, following such Business Combination, (i) no Person (excluding any entity resulting from such Business Combination or any employee benefit plan (or related trust) sponsored or maintained by the Company or such entity resulting from such Business Combination or any Subsidiary of either of them) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 33% or more of the Voting Power of the entity resulting from such Business Combination, and (ii) at least half of the members of the board of directors of the new company resulting from such Business Combination were members of the Board at the time of the execution of the initial agreement, or of the action of the Board, providing for such Business Combination.
(d) Approval by the stockholders of the Company of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
14. Detrimental Activity and Recapture Provisions. Any Evidence of Award may provide for the cancellation or forfeiture of an award or the forfeiture and repayment to the Company of any gain related to an award, or other provisions intended to have a similar effect, upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Committee from time to time, if a Participant, either during employment by the Company or a Subsidiary or within a specified period after termination of such employment, shall engage in any Detrimental Activity. In addition, notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, any Evidence of Award may also provide for the cancellation or forfeiture of an award or the forfeiture and repayment to the Company of any gain related to an award, or other provisions
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intended to have a similar effect, upon such terms and conditions as may be required by the Committee or under Section 10D of the Exchange Act and any applicable rules or regulations promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any national securities exchange or national securities association on which the Common Stock may be traded.
15. Non U.S. Participants. In order to facilitate the making of any grant or combination of grants under this Plan, the Committee may provide for such special terms for awards to Participants who are foreign nationals or who are employed by the Company or any Subsidiary outside of the United States of America or who provide services to the Company under an agreement with a foreign nation or agency, as the Committee may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy or custom. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to or amendments, restatements or alternative versions of this Plan (including, without limitation, sub-plans) as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes, without thereby affecting the terms of this Plan as in effect for any other purpose, and the Secretary or other appropriate officer of the Company may certify any such document as having been approved and adopted in the same manner as this Plan. No such special terms, supplements, amendments or restatements, however, will include any provisions that are inconsistent with the terms of this Plan as then in effect unless this Plan could have been amended to eliminate such inconsistency without further approval by the stockholders of the Company.
16. Transferability.
(a) Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, no Option Right, Appreciation Right, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Unit, Performance Share, Performance Unit, award contemplated by Section 9 or 10 of this Plan or dividend equivalents paid with respect to awards made under this Plan will be transferable by the Participant except by will or the laws of descent and distribution, and in no event will any such award granted under the Plan be transferred for value. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee, Option Rights and Appreciation Rights will be exercisable during the Participants lifetime only by him or her or, in the event of the Participants legal incapacity to do so, by his or her guardian or legal representative acting on behalf of the Participant in a fiduciary capacity under state law or court supervision.
(b) The Committee may specify at the Date of Grant that part or all of the shares of Common Stock that are (i) to be issued or transferred by the Company upon the exercise of Option Rights or Appreciation Rights, upon the termination of the Restriction Period applicable to Restricted Stock Units or upon payment under any grant of Performance Shares or Performance Units or (ii) no longer subject to the substantial risk of forfeiture and restrictions on transfer referred to in Section 6 of this Plan, will be subject to further restrictions on transfer.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 16(a), but subject to the prior approval of the Committee, Option Rights (other than Incentive Stock Options) and Appreciation Rights may be transferable by a Participant, without payment of consideration therefor by the transferee, to any one or more members of the Participants Immediate Family (or to one or more trusts established solely for the benefit of one or more members of the Participants Immediate Family or to one or more partnerships in which the only partners are members of the Participants Immediate Family); provided, however, that (i) no such transfer shall be effective unless reasonable prior notice thereof is delivered to the Company and such transfer is thereafter effected in accordance with any terms and conditions that shall have been made applicable thereto by the Company or the Committee and (ii) any such transferee shall be subject to the same terms and conditions hereunder as the Participant. Immediate Family has the meaning ascribed thereto in Rule 16a-1(e) under the Exchange Act (or any successor rule to the same effect) as in effect from time to time.
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APPENDIX A
17. Withholding Taxes. To the extent that the Company is required to withhold federal, state, local or foreign taxes in connection with any payment made or benefit realized by a Participant or other person under this Plan, and the amounts available to the Company for such withholding are insufficient, it will be a condition to the receipt of such payment or the realization of such benefit that the Participant or such other person make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for payment of the balance of such taxes required to be withheld, which arrangements (in the discretion of the Committee) may include relinquishment of a portion of such benefit. If a Participants benefit is to be received in the form of shares of Common Stock, and such Participant fails to make arrangements for the payment of tax, the Company will withhold such shares of Common Stock having a value equal to the amount required to be withheld. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when a Participant is required to pay the Company an amount required to be withheld under applicable income and employment tax laws, the Participant may elect to satisfy the obligation, in whole or in part, by electing to have withheld, from the shares required to be delivered to the Participant, shares of Common Stock having a value equal to the amount required to be withheld (except in the case of Restricted Stock where an election under Section 83(b) of the Code has been made), or by delivering to the Company other shares of Common Stock held by such Participant. The shares used for tax withholding will be valued at an amount equal to the Market Value per Share of such shares of Common Stock on the date the benefit is to be included in Participants income. In no event will the Market Value per Share of the shares of Common Stock to be withheld and delivered pursuant to this Section to satisfy applicable withholding taxes in connection with the benefit exceed the minimum amount of taxes required to be withheld. Participants will also make such arrangements as the Company may require for the payment of any withholding tax obligation that may arise in connection with the disposition of shares of Common Stock acquired upon the exercise of Option Rights.
18. Compliance with Section 409A of the Code.
(a) To the extent applicable, it is intended that this Plan and any grants made hereunder comply with the provisions of Section 409A of the Code, so that the income inclusion provisions of Section 409A(a)(1) of the Code do not apply to the Participants. This Plan and any grants made hereunder will be administered in a manner consistent with this intent. Any reference in this Plan to Section 409A of the Code will also include any regulations or any other formal guidance promulgated with respect to such Section by the U.S. Department of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service.
(b) Neither a Participant nor any of a Participants creditors or beneficiaries will have the right to subject any deferred compensation (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) payable under this Plan and grants hereunder to any anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, attachment or garnishment. Except as permitted under Section 409A of the Code, any deferred compensation (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) payable to a Participant or for a Participants benefit under this Plan and grants hereunder may not be reduced by, or offset against, any amount owing by a Participant to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) If, at the time of a Participants separation from service (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code), (i) the Participant will be a specified employee (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and using the identification methodology selected by the Company from time to time) and (ii) the Company makes a good faith determination that an amount payable hereunder constitutes deferred compensation (within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code) the payment of which is required to be delayed pursuant to the six-month delay rule set forth in Section 409A of the Code in order to avoid taxes or penalties under Section 409A of the Code, then the Company will not pay such amount on the otherwise scheduled payment date but will instead pay it, without interest, on the tenth business day of the seventh month after such separation from service.
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APPENDIX A
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this Plan and grants hereunder to the contrary, in light of the uncertainty with respect to the proper application of Section 409A of the Code, the Company reserves the right to make amendments to this Plan and grants hereunder as the Company deems necessary or desirable to avoid the imposition of taxes or penalties under Section 409A of the Code. In any case, a Participant will be solely responsible and liable for the satisfaction of all taxes and penalties that may be imposed on a Participant or for a Participants account in connection with this Plan and grants hereunder (including any taxes and penalties under Section 409A of the Code), and neither the Company nor any of its affiliates will have any obligation to indemnify or otherwise hold a Participant harmless from any or all of such taxes or penalties.
19. Amendments.
(a) The Board may at any time and from time to time amend this Plan in whole or in part; provided, however, that if an amendment to this Plan (i) would materially increase the benefits accruing to participants under this Plan, (ii) would materially increase the number of shares of Common Stock which may be issued under this Plan, (iii) would materially modify the requirements for participation in this Plan, or (iv) must otherwise be approved by the stockholders of the Company in order to comply with applicable law or the rules of the New York Stock Exchange or, if the shares of Common Stock are not traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the principal national securities exchange upon which the shares of Common Stock are traded or quoted, then, such amendment will be subject to stockholder approval and will not be effective unless and until such approval has been obtained.
(b) Except in connection with a corporate transaction or event described in Section 12 of this Plan, the terms of outstanding awards may not be amended to reduce the Option Price of outstanding Option Rights or the Base Price of outstanding Appreciation Rights, or cancel outstanding Option Rights or Appreciation Rights in exchange for cash, other awards or Option Rights or Appreciation Rights with an Option Price or Base Price, as applicable, that is less than the Option Price of the original Option Rights or Base Price of the original Appreciation Rights, as applicable, without stockholder approval. This Section 19(b) is intended to prohibit the repricing of underwater Option Rights and Appreciation Rights and will not be construed to prohibit the adjustments provided for in Section 12 of this Plan.
(c) If permitted by Section 409A of the Code and Section 162(m) of the Code, but subject to the paragraph that follows, in the case of termination of employment by reason of death, disability or retirement, or in the event of a Change in Control, to the extent a Participant holds an Option Right or Appreciation Right not immediately exercisable in full, or any shares of Restricted Stock as to which the substantial risk of forfeiture or the prohibition or restriction on transfer has not lapsed, or any Restricted Stock Units as to which the Restriction Period has not been completed, or any Performance Shares or Performance Units which have not been fully earned, or any other awards made pursuant to Section 9 or 10 subject to any vesting schedule or transfer restriction, or who holds shares of Common Stock subject to any transfer restriction imposed pursuant to Section 16(b) of this Plan, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, accelerate the time at which such Option Right, Appreciation Right or other award may be exercised or the time at which such substantial risk of forfeiture or prohibition or restriction on transfer will lapse or the time when such Restriction Period will end or the time at which such Performance Shares or Performance Units will be deemed to have been fully earned or the time when such transfer restriction will terminate or may waive any other limitation or requirement under any such award, except in the case of a Qualified Performance-Based Award where such action would result in the loss of the otherwise available exemption of the award under Section 162(m) of the Code. Subject to Section 19(b) hereof, the Committee may amend the terms of any award theretofore
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APPENDIX A
granted under this Plan prospectively or retroactively, except in the case of a Qualified Performance-Based Award (other than in connection with the Participants death or disability, or a Change in Control) where such action would result in the loss of the otherwise available exemption of the award under Section 162(m) of the Code. In such case, the Committee will not make any modification of the Management Objectives or the level or levels of achievement with respect to such Qualified Performance-Based Award. Subject to Section 12 above, no such amendment will impair the rights of any Participant without his or her consent. The Board may, in its discretion, terminate this Plan at any time. Termination of this Plan will not affect the rights of Participants or their successors under any awards outstanding hereunder and not exercised in full on the date of termination.
20. Governing Law. This Plan and all grants and awards and actions taken hereunder will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal substantive laws of the State of Delaware.
21. Effective Date/Termination. This Plan will be effective as of the Effective Date. No grants will be made on or after the Effective Date under the Existing Plan, except that outstanding awards granted under the Existing Plan will continue unaffected following the Effective Date. No grant will be made under this Plan after May 17, 2021, but all grants made on or prior to such date will continue in effect thereafter subject to the terms thereof and of this Plan.
22. Miscellaneous Provisions.
(a) The Company will not be required to issue any fractional shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Plan. The Committee may provide for the elimination of fractions or for the settlement of fractions in cash.
(b) This Plan will not confer upon any Participant any right with respect to continuance of employment or other service with the Company or any Subsidiary, nor will it interfere in any way with any right the Company or any Subsidiary would otherwise have to terminate such Participants employment or other service at any time.
(c) To the extent that any provision of this Plan would prevent any Option Right that was intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option from qualifying as such, that provision will be null and void with respect to such Option Right. Such provision, however, will remain in effect for other Option Rights and there will be no further effect on any provision of this Plan.
(d) No award under this Plan may be exercised by the holder thereof if such exercise, and the receipt of stock thereunder, would be, in the opinion of counsel selected by the Company, contrary to law or the regulations of any duly constituted authority having jurisdiction over this Plan.
(e) Absence on leave approved by a duly constituted officer of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries will not be considered interruption or termination of service of any employee for any purposes of this Plan or awards granted hereunder.
(f) No Participant will have any rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares subject to awards granted to him or her under this Plan prior to the date as of which he or she is actually recorded as the holder of such shares upon the stock records of the Company.
(g) The Committee may condition the grant of any award or combination of awards authorized under this Plan on the surrender or deferral by the Participant of his or her right to receive a cash bonus or other compensation otherwise payable by the Company or a Subsidiary to the Participant.
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APPENDIX A
(h) Except with respect to Option Rights and Appreciation Rights, the Committee may permit Participants to elect to defer the issuance of shares of Common Stock under the Plan pursuant to such rules, procedures or programs as it may establish for purposes of this Plan and which are intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. The Committee also may provide that deferred issuances and settlements include the payment or crediting of dividend equivalents or interest on the deferral amounts.
(i) If any provision of this Plan is or becomes invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, or would disqualify this Plan or any award under any law deemed applicable by the Committee, such provision will be construed or deemed amended or limited in scope to conform to applicable laws or, in the discretion of the Committee, it will be stricken and the remainder of this Plan will remain in full force and effect.
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APPENDIX A
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE 2011 EQUITY AND PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PLAN
This First Amendment to the Georgia Gulf Corporation 2011 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan (this Plan Amendment) is made as of January 28, 2012 by the Board of Directors (the Board) of Georgia Gulf Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company). This Plan Amendment will be effective for all awards granted under the Georgia Gulf 2011 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan (the Plan) only after the effective date of this Plan Amendment as described herein.
WHEREAS, on March 25, 2011, the Board approved and adopted, subject to the approval of the Companys stockholders at the Companys 2011 annual meeting of stockholders, the Plan;
WHEREAS, on May 17, 2011, the Companys stockholders approved the Plan;
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into the Merger Agreement, dated as of July 18, 2012 (the Merger Agreement), by and among the Company, PPG Industries, Inc., Eagle Spinco Inc. and Grizzly Acquisition Sub, Inc.;
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Company to amend the Plan, subject to the approval by the Company stockholders and effective as of the date the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are consummated, to: (1) increase the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued or transferred under the Plan; (2) permit the grant of awards in substitution for or conversion of stock or stock-based awards held by awardees of an entity engaging in a corporate acquisition or merger transaction with the Company or any subsidiary, with the shares of Common Stock delivered under the substituted or converted award not counting against the share limit or other limits on the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan; and (3) limit the aggregate amount of stock or stock-based awards which a non-employee director may be granted under the Plan during any calendar year to a value as of their respective Dates of Grant of $300,000.
WHEREAS, the Board may amend the Plan, subject to the approval by the Companys stockholders and conditioned upon the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, under Section 19(a) of the Plan to make the changes described above.
NOW, THEREFORE, subject to the approval by the Company stockholders and effective as of the date the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement are consummated, the Board hereby amends the Plan as follows:
1. Amendment to Section 3(a)(i) of the Plan. Section 3(a)(i) of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
(i) Subject to adjustment as provided in Section 12 of this Plan, the number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued or transferred (A) upon the exercise of Option Rights or Appreciation Rights, (B) as Restricted Stock and released from substantial risks of forfeiture thereof, (C) in payment of Restricted Stock Units, (D) in payment of Performance Shares or Performance Units that have been earned, (E) as awards to non-employee Directors, (F) as awards contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan, or (G) in payment of dividend equivalents paid with respect to awards made under the Plan will not exceed in the aggregate 3,600,000 shares of Common Stock. Such shares may be shares of original issuance or treasury shares or a combination of the foregoing.
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APPENDIX A
2. Section 3(c)(iv) of the Plan. Section 3(c)(iv) of the Plan is hereby added as follows:
(iv) Notwithstanding anything in this Section 3(c) to the contrary, during any calendar year, no non-employee Director will be granted stock or stock-based awards under this Plan that, in the aggregate, have a value as of their respective Dates of Grant in excess of $300,000.
3. Section 9 of the Plan. Section 9 of the Plan is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
Awards to Non-Employee Directors. Subject to the limits set forth in Section 3(c) and Section 3(d) of this Plan, the Committee may, from time to time and upon such terms and conditions as it may determine, authorize the granting to non-employee Directors of Option Rights, Appreciation Rights or other awards contemplated by Section 10 of this Plan and may also authorize the grant or sale of shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock or Restricted Stock Units to non-employee Directors. Each grant of an award to a non-employee Director will be upon such terms and conditions as approved by the Committee, and will be evidenced by an Evidence of Award in such form as will be approved by the Committee. Each grant will specify in the case of an Option Right an Option Price per share, and in the case of a Free-Standing Appreciation Right, a Base Price per share, which will not be less than the Market Value per Share on the Date of Grant. Each Option Right and Free-Standing Appreciation Right granted under the Plan to a non-employee Director will expire not more than 10 years from the Date of Grant and will be subject to earlier termination as hereinafter provided. If a non-employee Director subsequently becomes an employee of the Company or a Subsidiary while remaining a member of the Board, any award held under this Plan by such individual at the time of such commencement of employment will not be affected thereby. Non-employee Directors, pursuant to this Section 9, may be awarded, or may be permitted to elect to receive, pursuant to procedures established by the Board, all or any portion of their annual retainer, meeting fees or other fees in shares of Common Stock, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units or other awards under the Plan in lieu of cash.
4. Amendment to Section 22(j) of the Plan. Section 22(j) of the Plan is hereby added as follows:
(j) Awards may be granted under this Plan in substitution for or conversion of, or in connection with an assumption of, option rights, appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other stock or stock-based awards held by awardees of an entity engaging in a corporate acquisition or merger transaction with the Company or any Subsidiary. Any conversion, substitution or assumption will be effective as of the close of the merger or acquisition. The awards so granted may reflect the original terms of the awards being assumed or substituted or converted for and need not comply with other specific terms of this Plan, and may account for Common Stock substituted for the securities covered by the original awards and the number of shares subject to the original awards, as well as any exercise or purchase prices applicable to the original awards, adjusted to account for differences in stock prices in connection with the transaction. Any shares of Common Stock that are issued or transferred, and any awards that are granted by or become obligations of the Company, under this Section 22(j) will not reduce the Common Stock available for issuance or transfer under the Plan or otherwise count against the limits contained in Section 3 of the Plan.
5. Miscellaneous.
(a) Except as amended by this Plan Amendment, the Plan shall remain in full force and effect.
(b) Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Plan Amendment have the respective meanings ascribed thereto in the Plan.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement A-22
APPENDIX B: GEORGIA GULF CORPORATION ANNUAL INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PLAN
1. Purpose of the Plan
The purpose of the Georgia Gulf Corporation Annual Incentive Compensation Plan (the Plan) is to help Georgia Gulf Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the Company), attract and retain key employees by providing certain key employees with the opportunity to receive incentive compensation as a reward for levels of performance above the ordinary performance standards compensated by base salary and for contributions to help the Company meet its financial and business objectives.
2. Definitions
(a) Award means cash paid to a Participant under the Plan for a Performance Period in an amount determined in accordance with Section 5.
(b) Committee means the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee of the Companys Board of Directors, or any other committee of the Companys Board of Directors that is appointed by the Companys Board of Directors to administer this Plan in accordance with Section 3, so long as the Committee consists of not less than two directors of the Company and each member of the Committee is (i) an outside director for purposes of Section 162(m) and (ii) is not an employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.
(c) Covered Employee means any Participant who is a covered employee for purposes of Section 162(m) or any Participant who the Committee determines in its sole discretion could become a covered employee.
(d) Guidelines means the guidelines that are approved by the Committee for the administration of the Awards granted under the Plan. To the extent that there is any inconsistency between the Guidelines and the Plan, the Guidelines will control.
(e) Participant means any person who is classified by the Company or a Subsidiary as a salaried employee and who, in the judgment of the Committee, occupies a key position in which his or her efforts may significantly contribute to the performance of the Company; provided, however, that the Committee may select any employee who is expected to contribute, or who has contributed, significantly to the Companys performance to participate in the Plan and receive an Award hereunder; provided further, that following the end of the Performance Period, the Committee may make one or more discretionary Awards to employees of the Company who were not previously designated as Participants. Directors of the Company who are also employees of the Company are eligible to participate in the Plan.
(f) Payment Period means, with respect to any Performance Period, the period from January 1 to March 15 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which such Performance Period ends.
(g) Performance Period means any period of one year (or portion thereof) on which an Award is based, as established by the Committee. Any Performance Period(s) applicable to a Qualified Performance-Based Award will be established by the Committee not later than 90 days after the commencement of the Performance Period on which such Qualified Performance-Based Award will be based and prior to completion of 25% of such Performance Period.
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APPENDIX B
(h) Performance Objectives means the measurable performance objective or objectives established pursuant to this Plan for Participants. Performance Objectives may be described in terms of Company-wide objectives or objectives that are related to the performance of the individual Participant or of the Subsidiary, division, department, region, function or other organizational unit within the Company or Subsidiary in which the Participant is employed. The Performance Objectives may be made relative to the performance of other companies or subsidiaries, divisions, departments, regions, functions or other organizational units within such other companies, and may be made relative to an index or one or more of the performance criteria themselves. The Committee may grant awards subject to Performance Objectives that are either Qualified Performance-Based Awards or are not Qualified Performance-Based Awards. The Performance Objectives applicable to any Qualified Performance-Based Award to a will be based on one or more, or a combination, of the following criteria: price of Common Stock; market share; sales; return on equity, assets, capital or sales; economic profit; total shareholder return; costs; margins; earnings or earnings per share; cash flow; customer satisfaction; pre-tax profit; earnings before interest and taxes; earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; debt/capital ratio; compliance with covenants under the Companys principal debt agreements; and any combination of the foregoing.
(i) Qualified Performance-Based Award means any Award or portion of an Award granted to a Covered Employee that is intended to satisfy the requirements for qualified performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m).
(j) Section 162(m) means Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any successor provision.
(k) Subsidiary means a corporation, company or other entity (i) more than 50 percent of whose outstanding shares or securities (representing the right to vote for the election of directors or other managing authority) are, or (ii) which does not have outstanding shares or securities (as may be the case in a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, or unincorporated association), but more than 50 percent of whose ownership interest representing the right generally to make decisions for such other entity is, now or hereafter, owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the Company.
3. Administration
This Plan will be administered by the Committee. The Committee shall have complete authority to interpret all provisions of this Plan consistent with law, to prescribe the form of any instrument evidencing any Award granted under this Plan, to adopt, amend and rescind general and special rules and regulations for its administration (including, without limitation, the Guidelines), and to make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of this Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no such action may be taken by the Committee that would cause any Qualified Performance-Based Awards to be includable as applicable employee remuneration of such Participant, as such term is defined in Section 162(m) (in other words, to no longer qualify for the exception for qualified performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m)). All acts and decisions of the Committee with respect to any questions arising in connection with the administration and interpretation of this Plan, including the severability of any or all of the provisions hereof, will be conclusive, final and binding upon the Company and all present and former Participants, all other employees of the Company, and their respective descendants, successors and assigns. No member of the Committee shall be liable for any such act or decision made in good faith.
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APPENDIX B
4. Eligibility
Each Participant shall be eligible to participate in this Plan and receive Awards in accordance with Section 5; provided, however, that, unless otherwise determined by the Committee, (a) a Participant must be employed by the Company on the last day of the Performance Period in order to be eligible to receive an Award for such Performance Period and (b) the Award of a Participant who is described in the preceding clause but is not employed during the entire Performance Period shall be paid in a pro-rated amount based on the number of days the Participant was actually employed by the Company during such Performance Period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee shall have the discretion to grant an Award to a Participant who does not meet the foregoing requirements; provided, however, that no such action may be taken by the Committee that would cause any Qualified Performance-Based Awards to be includable as applicable employee remuneration of such Participant, as such term is defined in Section 162(m) (in other words, to no longer qualify for the exception for qualified performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m)).
5. Awards
The Committee may, from time to time and upon such conditions as it may determine, authorize the payment of Awards to Participants, which will be consistent with, and will be subject to all of the requirements of, the following provisions:
(a) For each Performance Period, the Committee shall approve (i) a maximum level of Award opportunity for each Participant, stated as a percentage of the Participants base salary (Maximum Award), that will be available to the Participant upon achievement of the applicable Performance Objectives for the Performance Period and (ii) one or more formulas for determining, as described below, the final amount of each Award (which may be equal to or less than the Maximum Award), which formula(s) will be based upon the Companys achievement of one or more Performance Objectives; provided, however, that with respect to any Qualified Performance-Based Award, the Committee shall approve the foregoing not later than the 90th day of the applicable Performance Period and prior to the completion of 25% of such Performance Period.
(b) Promptly following the end of each Performance Period, the Committee will meet to certify achievement of the applicable Performance Objectives for the Performance Period. Prior to the end of the Payment Period, the Committee shall determine (i) the maximum Award amount payable to Participants in accordance with Section 5(a) and (ii) the final amount of each Award to be paid to each Participant for the applicable Performance Period; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, the Committee may, in its discretion, reduce or eliminate the Award for any Participant under the Plan based on individual performance or other factors; provided further, that no such change or adjustment may be made that would cause any Qualified Performance-Based Award to be includable as applicable employee remuneration of such Participant, as such term is defined in Section 162(m) (in other words, to no longer qualify for the exception for qualified performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m)). The Committee shall certify in writing that the Performance Objectives relating to Awards and other material terms of the Awards upon which payout was conditioned have been satisfied, and the Committees approval of final Award amounts will be certified by the Committee before any amount is paid under any Award with respect to that Performance Period. No Award, including any Award equal to the Maximum Award, will be payable under the Plan to any Participant except as determined by the Committee.
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APPENDIX B
(c) Each Award will be fully paid during the Payment Period and will be paid in cash. Awards will be paid subject to all withholdings and deductions pursuant to Section 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the maximum amount paid to a Participant in a single calendar year as a result of Awards under this Plan will not exceed $2,500,000 or such lesser amount specified in the Guidelines.
(d) Multiple Awards may be granted to a Participant; provided, however, that no two Awards to a Participant may have identical Performance Periods.
(e) At such time as the Committee approves a Maximum Award and formula(s) for determining the amount of each Award, the Committee shall designate whether the Award is a Qualified Performance-Based Award.
6. Withholding Taxes
Any Award paid to a Participant under this Plan will be subject to all applicable federal, state and local income tax, social security and other standard withholdings and deductions.
7. Amendment and Termination
The Committee may alter or amend this Plan from time to time or terminate it in its entirety; provided, however, that no such action will, without the consent of a Participant, affect the rights in an outstanding Award of such Participant; provided further, that no such increase, change or adjustment may be made that would cause a Qualified Performance-Based Award to be includable as applicable employee remuneration of such Participant, as such term is defined in Section 162(m) (in other words, to no longer qualify for the exception for qualified performance-based compensation under Code Section 162(m)).
8. General Provisions
(a) No Right of Employment. Neither the adoption or operation of this Plan, nor any document describing or referring to this Plan, or any part thereof, will confer upon any employee any right to continue in the employ of the Company, or will in any way affect the right and power of the Company to terminate the employment of any employee at any time with or without assigning a reason therefor to the same extent as the Company might have done if this Plan had not been adopted.
(b) Governing Law. The provisions of this Plan will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.
(c) Miscellaneous. Headings are given to the sections of this Plan solely as a convenience to facilitate reference. Such headings, numbering and paragraphing will not in any case be deemed in any way material or relevant to the construction of this Plan or any provisions of the Plan. The use of the singular will also include within its meaning the plural, and vice versa.
(d) American Jobs Creation Act. It is intended that this Plan be exempt from the requirements of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the American Jobs Creation Act, and the Plan will be interpreted and administered in a manner to give effect to such intent.
(e) Limitation on Rights of Participants; No Trust. No trust has been created by the Company for the payment of Awards granted under this Plan, nor have the Participants been granted any lien on any
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APPENDIX B
assets of the Company to secure payment of such benefits. This Plan represents only an unfunded, unsecured promise to pay by the Company, and the Participants hereunder are unsecured creditors of the Company.
(f) Payment to Guardian. If an Award is payable to a minor, to a person declared incompetent or to a person incapable of handling the disposition of his or her property, the Committee may direct payment of such Award to the guardian, legal representative or person having the care and custody of such minor, incompetent or person. The Committee may require such proof of incompetency, minority, incapacity or guardianship as it may deem appropriate prior to the distribution of such Award. Such distribution will completely discharge the Company from all liability with respect to such Award.
9. Effective Date
This Plan will become effective on March 25, 2011, subject to being approved by the stockholders of the Company at the meeting of stockholders on May 17, 2011.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement B-5
APPENDIX C: INFORMATION REGARDING PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMPANYS SOLICITATION OF PROXIES
The following tables set forth the name and business address of our Directors and Director nominees recommended by our Board, and the name, present principal occupation and business address of our officers and employees who, under the rules of the SEC, are considered to be participants in our solicitation of proxies from the stockholders in connection with the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Directors and Director Nominees
The principal occupations of our Directors and Director Nominees recommended by our Board who are considered participants in our solicitation of proxies are set forth under the section above titled Proposal I: Election of Directors of this proxy statement on page 14. The name and business addresses of the organization of employment of our Directors and Director Nominees are as follows:
Name | Business Address | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
T. Kevin DeNicola | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
Patrick J. Fleming | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
Robert M. Gervis | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
Victoria F. Haynes | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
William L. Mansfield | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
Michael H. McGarry | PPG Industries, Inc. One PPG Place Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15272 | |
Mark L. Noetzel | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
Robert Ripp(1) | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 | |
David N. Weinstein | c/o Axiall Corporation 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 |
(1) | Mr. Ripp will not be standing for re-election at the annual meeting. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-1
APPENDIX C
Officers and Employees
The principal occupations of our officers and employees who are considered participants in our solicitation of proxies are set forth below. The principal occupation refers to such persons position with Axiall, and the business address for each person is Axiall Corporation, 1000 Abernathy Road NE, Suite 1200, Atlanta, Georgia 30328.
Name | Principal Occupation | |
Timothy Mann, Jr. | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
Gregory C. Thompson | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | |
Martin Jarosick | Executive Director of Investor Relations |
Information Regarding Ownership of Axiall Securities by Participants
The number of shares of common stock held by our directors and named executive officers as of April 29, 2016 is set forth under the Security Ownership of Principal Stockholders and Management section of this proxy statement on page 30. The following table sets forth the number of shares held as of April 29, 2016 by our other employee who is deemed a participant in our solicitation of proxies. No participant owns any securities of the Company of record that such participant does not own beneficially.
Shares of Common Stock Owned Directly or Indirectly |
Shares of Common Stock Underlying Options Exercisable Within 60 Days of Record Date |
Total Shares of Common Stock | ||||
Martin Jarosick | 17,972(1) | 1,200 | 19,172(1) |
(1) | Mr. Jarosick is expected to purchase approximately 10.9660 shares of our common stock on or about May 4, 2016 pursuant to a standing investment election for contributions to his Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account. The exact number of shares purchased by Mr. Jarosick may vary by a non-material amount from the number disclosed in the prior sentence based on the share price at which this nondiscretionary purchase is made. |
Information Regarding Transactions in Axiall Securities by Participants
The following tables set forth information regarding purchases and sales of Axiall securities by each of the participants listed above under Directors and Director Nominees and Officers and Employees during the past two years. Unless otherwise indicated, all transactions were in the public market or pursuant to our equity compensation plans and none of the purchase price or market value of those securities is represented by funds borrowed or otherwise obtained for the purpose of acquiring or holding such securities.
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-2
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
5/20/2014 | 1,449 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/20/2014 | (484 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
3/4/2015 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | (317 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,407 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | (803 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2015 | 1,448 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2015 | 8,688 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/215 | (3,381 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
7/10/2015 | 11,560 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in July 2012 | ||||||||
7/10/2015 | (3,856 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
3/4/2016 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2016 | (285 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-3
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
T. Kevin DeNicola |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
Patrick J. Fleming |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
6/17/2015 | (2,053 | ) | Transfer of shares from direct ownership to indirect ownership through a trust | |||||||
6/17/2015 | 2,053 | Transfer of shares from direct ownership to indirect ownership through a trust | ||||||||
Robert M. Gervis |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
Victoria F. Haynes |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
William L. Mansfield |
5/21/2014 | 1,642 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
6/17/2014 | (3,695 | ) | Transfer of shares from direct ownership to indirect ownership through a trust | |||||||
6/17/2014 | 3,695 | Transfer of shares from direct ownership to indirect ownership through a trust | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
Michael H. McGarry |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
Mark L. Noetzel |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-4
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
Robert Ripp |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
David N. Weinstein |
5/21/2014 | 2,053 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,274 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 |
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
Timothy Mann, Jr. |
5/20/2014 | 1,449 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | |||||||
5/20/2014 | (484 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
3/4/2015 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | (317 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 2,407 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | (803 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2015 | 1,448 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2015 | 8,688 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/215 | (3,381 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-5
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
7/10/2015 | 11,560 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in July 2012 | ||||||||
7/10/2015 | (3,856 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
3/4/2016 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2016 | (285 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
Gregory C. Thompson |
5/16/2014 | 27,776 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2011 | |||||||
5/16/2014 | (11,148 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2014 | 2,076 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2014 | (996 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
7/11/2014 | 2.5959 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
10/10/2014 | 3.4266 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/12/2015 | 2.8686 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/12/2015 | 4.0397 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-6
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
1/21/2015 | 3.9080 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/3/2015 | 3.7353 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/18/2015 | 3.6314 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/2/2015 | 3.6369 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | 27.1842 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | (300 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
3/17/2015 | 3.7508 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/30/2015 | 3.6370 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
4/10/2015 | 2.7940 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
4/13/2015 | 3.8714 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
4/27/2015 | 4.0494 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
5/11/2015 | 4.6072 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-7
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
5/19/2015 | 3,449 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | (1,151 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2015 | 2,075 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2015 | (693 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2015 | 12,452 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2015 | (4,153 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/21/2015 | 32,236 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2012 | ||||||||
5/21/2015 | (14,328 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/27/2015 | 4.6862 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/8/2015 | 4.9546 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/26/2015 | 4.6620 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
7/9/2015 | 4.7360 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-8
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
7/10/2015 | 3.8981 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
7/21/2015 | 3.2055 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
8/4/2015 | 3.3145 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
10/9/2015 | 6.9507 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/11/2016 | 11.1397 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
3/4/2016 | 852 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in March 2013 | ||||||||
3/4/2016 | (285 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
4/8/2016 | 6.2648 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
Martin Jarosick |
5/9/2014 | 5.3584 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | |||||||
5/16/2014 | 800 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2011 | ||||||||
5/16/2014 | (260 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/16/2014 | 1,062 | Acquired shares through vesting of Performance Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2011 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-9
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
5/16/2014 | (354 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2014 | 874 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 | ||||||||
5/20/2014 | (292 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/21/2014 | 1,200 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2012 | ||||||||
5/21/2014 | (401 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/23/2014 | 5.2674 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/6/2014 | 5.0013 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/20/2014 | 4.9277 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
7/7/2014 | 4.9077 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
7/11/2014 | 0.9480 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
7/18/2014 | 5.0953 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
8/4/2014 | 5.1947 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-10
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
8/19/2014 | 5.3448 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
8/29/2014 | 5.3268 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
9/8/2014 | 100 | Purchased shares held in self-directed individual retirement account (IRA) | ||||||||
9/12/2014 | 5.5225 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
9/26/2014 | 5.9710 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
10/10/2014 | 4.7220 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
10/14/2014 | 0.5104 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
1/12/2015 | 3.9219 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/12/2015 | 5.5515 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
1/21/2015 | 5.3704 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/3/2015 | 5.1332 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/18/2015 | 4.9903 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-11
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
3/2/2015 | 4.9980 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/4/2015 | 40.7764 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/10/2015 | 4.5516 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/13/2015 | 2.0785 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/17/2015 | 56.6492 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/30/2015 | 4.9980 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
4/10/2015 | 4.0872 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
4/13/2015 | 9.8996 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
4/27/2015 | 5.6077 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
5/11/2015 | 6.3801 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | 756 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2014 | ||||||||
5/19/2015 | (249 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/20/2015 | 874 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2013 |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-12
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
5/20/2015 | (292 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/21/2015 | 1,200 | Acquired shares through vesting of Restricted Stock Units issued in May 2012 | ||||||||
5/21/2015 | (401 | ) | Payment of a tax liability by delivering or withholding securities incident to the receipt, exercise or vesting of a security issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 | |||||||
5/27/2015 | 6.4896 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/8/2015 | 6.8612 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
6/26/2015 | 6.4561 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
7/9/2015 | 7.2918 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
7/10/2015 | 5.7150 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
7/21/2015 | 7.9901 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
8/4/2015 | 7.8485 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
8/18/2015 | 8.3460 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
9/2/2015 | 10.2272 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
9/4/2015 | 500 | Purchased shares held in self-directed 401(k) account | ||||||||
9/15/2015 | 1.9199 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-13
APPENDIX C
Shares of Common Stock Purchased or Sold (May 4, 2014 May 4, 2016) | ||||||||||
Name | Transaction Date |
# Shares | Transaction Description | |||||||
10/9/2015 | 10.4050 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/11/2016 | 16.6803 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
1/20/2016 | 25.3851 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/2/2016 | 13.1688 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
2/17/2016 | 12.1892 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/1/2016 | 12.0382 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/8/2016 | 74.4348 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/14/2016 | 3.2353 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/15/2016 | 151.9341 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/17/2016 | 10.9014 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
3/30/2016 | 11.1470 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
4/8/2016 | 11.5841 | Purchased shares through standing instruction to reinvest dividends on Axiall Corporation shares held in Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan | ||||||||
4/15/2016 | 11.0305 | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account | ||||||||
5/4/2016 | 10.9660 | (1) | Purchased shares through standing investment election for contributions to Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account |
(1) | Mr. Jarosick is expected to purchase approximately 10.9660 shares of our common stock on or about May 4, 2016 pursuant to a standing investment election for contributions to his Axiall Corporation 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan account. The exact date and number of shares purchased by Mr. Jarosick may vary by a non-material amount from the number disclosed in this table based on the settlement time and share price at which this nondiscretionary purchase is made. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-14
APPENDIX C
Miscellaneous Information Concerning Participants
Except as described in this Appendix C or otherwise disclosed in this proxy statement, to Axialls knowledge:
| No participant owns any securities of the Company of record that such participant does not own beneficially. |
| Other than the change in control plan with our named executive officers, which are described in this proxy statement, no participant is, or was within the past year, a party to any contract, arrangements or understandings with any person with respect to any securities of Axiall, including, but not limited to joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees against loss or guarantees of profit, division or losses or profits, or the giving or withholding of proxies. |
| No associate of any participant owns beneficially, directly or indirectly, any securities of Axiall. No participant owns beneficially, directly or indirectly, any securities of any parent or subsidiary of Axiall. |
| No participant nor any associate of any participant is a party to any transaction, since the beginning of Axialls last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, in which (i) Axiall was or is to be a participant, (ii) the amount involved exceeds $120,000, and (iii) any participant or any related person thereof had or will have a direct or indirect material interest. |
| No participant, or any associate of a participant, has any arrangement or understanding with any person (i) with respect to any future employment by Axiall or its affiliates or (ii) with respect to any future transactions to which Axiall or any of its affiliates will or may be a party. |
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement C-15
AXIALL CORPORATION - 2016 Proxy Statement
AXIALL CORPORATION
YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT
Please take a moment now to vote your shares of Axiall Corporation
common stock for the upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
PLEASE REVIEW THE PROXY STATEMENT AND VOTE TODAY IN ONE OF THREE WAYS:
1. Vote by TelephonePlease call toll-free in the U.S. or Canada at 1-866-853-9693, on a touch-tone phone. If outside the U.S. or Canada, call 1-215-521-1350. Please follow the simple instructions. You will be required to provide the unique control number printed below.
OR
2. Vote by InternetPlease access https://www.proxyvotenow.com/axll and follow the simple instructions. Please note you must type an s after http. You will be required to provide the unique control number printed below.
CONTROL NUMBER: [ ]
OR
3. Vote by MailIf you do not wish to vote by telephone or over the Internet, please complete, sign, date and return the proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided, or mail to: Axiall Corporation, c/o Innisfree M&A Incorporated, FDR Station, P.O. Box 5154, New York, NY 10150-5154.
You may vote by telephone or Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your telephone or Internet vote authorizes the named proxies to vote your shares in the same manner as if you had marked, signed and returned a proxy card.
q TO VOTE BY MAIL, PLEASE DETACH WHITE PROXY CARD HERE AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED q
X Please mark your vote as in this example
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR All Nominees in Proposal 1.
1. Election of Directors | ||
Nominees: | ||
01. Timothy Mann, Jr. | 06. William L. Mansfield | |
02. Kevin DeNicola | 07. Michael H. McGarry | |
03. Patrick J. Fleming | 08. Mark L. Noetzel | |
04. Robert M. Gervis | 09. David N. Weinstein | |
05. Victoria F. Haynes |
FOR ALL [ ] WITHHOLD ALL [ ] FOR ALL EXCEPT [ ] |
(INSTRUCTION: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark For All Except box above and write the name of nominee(s) on the line provided below). | ||||||||
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR Proposals 2-5. | ||||||||
2. To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Companys named executive officers. | FOR [ ] | AGAINST [ ] | ABSTAIN [ ] | |||||
3. To approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the 2011 Plan. | FOR [ ] | AGAINST [ ] | ABSTAIN [ ] | |||||
4. To approve the material terms for qualified performance-based compensation under the Incentive Plan. | FOR [ ] | AGAINST [ ] | ABSTAIN [ ] | |||||
5. To ratify the appointment of EY to serve as the Independent registered public accounting firm for the year ending December 31, 2016 | FOR [ ] | AGAINST [ ] | ABSTAIN [ ] |
Date: | ||||||
(Signature) | ||||||
(Signature, Joint Owner) | ||||||
Title(s) | ||||||
NOTE: Please sign exactly as your name(s) appear(s) hereon. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or other fiduciary, please give full title as such. Joint owners should each sign personally. All holders must sign. If a corporation or partnership, please sign in full corporate or partnership name by authorized officer. | ||||||
YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT!
PLEASE VOTE TODAY.
SEE REVERSE SIDE FOR THREE EASY WAYS TO VOTE.
q TO VOTE BY MAIL, PLEASE DETACH WHITE PROXY CARD HERE AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED q
WHITE PROXY
AXIALL CORPORATION
Proxy for Annual Meeting of Stockholders June 17, 2016
This Proxy is Solicited by the Board of Directors
The undersigned, revoking all previous proxies, hereby appoints William L. Mansfield, Timothy Mann, Jr. and Daniel S. Fishbein, or any of them, with full power of substitution as proxyholders to represent and to vote, as designated hereon, the common stock of the undersigned at the annual meeting of stockholders of Axiall Corporation to be held on June 17, 2016 and any adjournment or postponement thereof.
The shares represented by this proxy card will be voted as directed on the reverse side. IF NO DIRECTION IS GIVEN AND THE PROXY CARD IS VALIDLY EXECUTED, THE SHARES WILL BE VOTED FOR ALL THE NOMINEES LISTED IN PROPOSAL 1, FOR PROPOSAL 2, FOR PROPOSAL 3, FOR PROPOSAL 4 AND FOR PROPOSAL 5. IN THEIR DISCRETION, THE PROXYHOLDERS ARE AUTHORIZED TO VOTE UPON SUCH OTHER BUSINESS AS MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING AND ANY ADJOURNMENT OR POSTPONEMENT THEREOF.
(continued and to be signed and dated on the reverse side)