UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 2, 2020
E*TRADE FINANCIAL CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Delaware | 001-11921 | 94-2844166 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
671 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, Virginia 22203
(Address of principal executive offices and Zip Code)
(646)521-4340
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ☒ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
| Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | ETFC | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC | ||
| NASDAQ Global Select Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.12b-2).
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
E*TRADE Financial Corporation (the “Company”) has established a record date of June 10, 2020, and a meeting date of July 17, 2020, for a special meeting of its stockholders to, among other things, consider and vote on a proposal to (i) adopt the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Morgan Stanley and Moon-Eagle Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley and (ii) approve, on an advisory(non-binding) basis, certain compensation that may be paid or become payable to each Company named executive officer in connection with the Merger. Under the terms of Merger Agreement, Morgan Stanley will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of the Company for consideration of 1.0432 shares of Morgan Stanley common stock for each share of the Company common stock. The Merger is subject to customary closing conditions, required regulatory approvals and approval by the Company’s stockholders. Stockholders of record as of June 10, 2020, are entitled to receive the proxy statement regarding the transaction, and to vote at the special meeting.
The Company’s Board of Directors unanimously recommends that the Company’s stockholders vote “FOR” the adoption of the Merger Agreement and approval of the other voting matters included in the proxy statement. If approved by the Company’s stockholders, the transaction will become effective upon the satisfaction of all other closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, which the Company expects to occur in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Important Additional Information
In connection with the proposed transaction between Morgan Stanley (“Morgan Stanley”) and E*TRADE Financial Corporation (the “Company”), Morgan Stanley and the Company will file relevant materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including a Morgan Stanley registration statement on FormS-4 that will include a proxy statement of the Company that also constitutes a prospectus of Morgan Stanley, and a definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to stockholders of the Company. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF MORGAN STANLEY AND THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN OR WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS. Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus (when they become available), as well as other filings containing information about Morgan Stanley or the Company, without charge at the SEC’s Internet website (http://www.sec.gov) or by contacting the investor relations department of Morgan Stanley or the Company at the following:
Morgan Stanley | E*TRADE | |||||
| 1585 Broadway | 671 North Glebe Road, Ballston Tower | |||||
| New York, NY 10036 | Arlington, VA 22203 | |||||
| Attention: Investor Relations | Attention: Investor Relations | |||||
| 1-212-762-8131 | 1-646-521-4340 | |||||
| investorrelations@MorganStanley.com | IR@etrade.com |
Participants in the Solicitation
Morgan Stanley, the Company, their respective directors and certain of their respective executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Morgan Stanley and the Company, their direct or indirect interests in the transaction, by security holdings or otherwise will be set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant matters when they are filed with the SEC.
Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Morgan Stanley is contained in Morgan Stanley’s Form10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 3, 2020. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of the Company is contained in the Company’s Form10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its proxy statement filed with the SEC on March 24, 2020.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is for informational purposes and is not intended to, and shall not, constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “target,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the consummation of the proposed transaction and the anticipated benefits thereof. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, (i) the completion of the proposed transaction on anticipated terms and timing, including obtaining required stockholder and regulatory approvals, anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined company’s operations and other conditions to the completion of the acquisition, including the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period, (ii) the ability of Morgan Stanley and the Company to integrate the business successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies, risks and costs, (iii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction that could be instituted against Morgan Stanley, the Company or their respective directors, (iv) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Morgan Stanley’s and the Company’s business, including current plans and operations, (v) the ability of Morgan Stanley or the Company to retain and hire key personnel, (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the acquisition, (vii) continued availability of capital and financing and rating agency actions, (viii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments, (ix) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the acquisition that could affect Morgan Stanley’s and/or the Company’s financial performance, (x) certain restrictions during the pendency of the acquisition that may impact Morgan Stanley’s or the Company’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions, (xi) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors, (xii) dilution caused by Morgan Stanley’s issuance of additional shares of its common stock in connection with the proposed transaction, (xiii) the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (xiv) those risks described in Item 1A of Morgan Stanley’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form10-K and subsequent reports on Forms10-Q and8-K, (xv) those risks described in Item 1A of the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form10-K and subsequent reports on Forms10-Q and8-K and (xvi) those risks that will be described in the proxy statement/prospectus on FormS-4 available from the sources indicated above. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed acquisition, will be more fully discussed in the proxy statement/prospectus that will be included in the registration statement on FormS-4 that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed acquisition. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors to be presented in the registration statement on FormS-4 will be, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Morgan Stanley’s or the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. Neither Morgan Stanley nor the Company assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
E*TRADE FINANCIAL CORPORATION (Registrant) | ||||||
| Date: June 2, 2020 | By: | /s/ Lori S. Sher | ||||
| Lori S. Sher | ||||||
| Corporate Secretary | ||||||
