As previously disclosed, on May 17, 2023, Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger by and among Regency Centers Corporation, a Florida corporation (“Regency”), Hercules Merger Sub, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Regency (“Merger Sub”), UB Maryland I, Inc., a Maryland corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“UB Sub I”), and UB Maryland II, Inc., a Maryland corporation and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of UB Sub I (“UB Sub II”), pursuant to which, in accordance with the terms, and subject to the conditions, set forth therein, (a) UB Sub II will be merged with and into the Company (the “First Merger”), with the Company surviving the First Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of UB Sub I, and (b) following the First Merger, UB Sub I will be merged with and into Merger Sub (the “Second Merger” and together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”), with Merger Sub being the surviving entity in the Second Merger.
In connection with the Mergers, the Company filed a proxy statement/prospectus on Schedule 14A (File No. 001-12803) (as amended, the “Proxy Statement/Prospectus”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on July 12, 2023.
Since the filing of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, two purported holders of Company common stock filed complaints against the Company and the members of the Company board of directors in court. The two complaints are captioned as follows: Adam Snitkoff, Trustee for The Acer Irrevocable Trust for Future Prosperity v. Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., et al (Complaint – Bridgeport Superior Court, Connecticut, Case No. FBT-CV23-6125690) (filed July 18, 2023) (the “Snitkoff Action”); and Shoshana Minzer v. Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., et al (Complaint – U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Case No. 1:23-cv-06822) (filed August 3, 2023) (the “Minzer Action” and together with the Snitkoff Action, the “Actions”). The complaint in the Snitkoff Action, which also names Regency as a defendant, alleges that the defendants violated Maryland and Connecticut common law by omitting or misstating material information in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, rendering the Proxy Statement/Prospectus materially deficient. The plaintiff in the Snitkoff Action seeks, among other things, to enjoin the defendants from continuing to (i) allegedly breach their fiduciary duties under Maryland law and/or aid and abet the same and (ii) allegedly violate Connecticut common law. The complaint in the Minzer Action alleges that the defendants violated federal securities laws by omitting or misstating material information in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, rendering the Proxy Statement/Prospectus materially deficient. The plaintiff in the Minzer Action seeks, among other things, to enjoin the Company and the Company board of directors from proceeding with or consummating the Mergers unless and until the defendants disclose material information to address the alleged material deficiencies.
In addition to the Actions, certain purported holders of Company common stock have delivered demand letters (“Demands,” and together with the Actions, the “Matters”) alleging similar deficiencies and/or omissions regarding the disclosures made in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus.
The Company believes that the Matters are without merit. The Company denies that any further disclosure beyond that already contained in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus is required under applicable law. Nonetheless, to avoid the risk that the Matters may delay or otherwise adversely affect the consummation of the Mergers and to minimize the expense of defending such Actions, the Company is making the following supplemental disclosures to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus (the “litigation-related supplemental disclosures”). Nothing in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall be deemed an admission of the legal necessity or materiality under applicable laws of any of the supplemental disclosures set forth herein.
The litigation-related supplemental disclosures contained below should be read in conjunction with the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, which is available on the Internet site maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov, along with periodic reports and other information Company files with the SEC. To the extent that the information set forth herein differs from or updates information contained in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, the information set forth herein shall supersede or supplement the information in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus. All page references are to pages in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, and terms used below, unless otherwise defined, have the meanings set forth in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus. For clarity, new text within restated paragraphs from the Proxy Statement/Prospectus is highlighted with bold, underlined text.