As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 10, 1997. Registration No. 033- _____________________________________________________________________________ SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 _______________ FORM S-8 Registration Statement Under The Securities Act of 1933 _______________ THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) _______________ DELAWARE 04-2209186 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification Number) 81 Wyman Street P. O. Box 9046 Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9046 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code) COLEMAN RESEARCH CORPORATION 401(K) EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLAN (Full Title of Plan) Sandra L. Lambert, Secretary Thermo Electron Corporation 81 Wyman Street P. O. Box 9046 Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9046 (Name and Address of Agent for Service) Copies to: Seth H. Hoogasian, Esq., General Counsel Thermo Electron Corporation 81 Wyman Street P. O. Box 9046 Waltham, Massachusetts 02254-9046 (617) 622-1000 (Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service) --------------- PAGE CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE Title of Proposed Proposed securities Amount Maximum Maximum Amount of to be to be Offering Aggregate Registration registered registered Price Per Offering Price Fee Share Common Stock, $1.00 par 250,000 $37 3/4 (1) $9,437,500(1) $2,860 (1) value per shares share _______________ (1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) based on the average of the high and low sales prices of the Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on January 9, 1997. PAGE PART I INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS The information required by Part I is included in documents sent or given to participants in the Coleman Research Corporation 401(k) Employee Stock Ownership Plan, as amended, pursuant to Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). PART II INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference. The Registrant is subject to the informational and reporting requirements of Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in accordance therewith files reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). The following documents, which are on file with the Commission, are incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference: (a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 30, 1995, as amended. (b) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 30, 1996, as amended. (c) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 29, 1996, as amended. (d) The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on January 9, 1996 with respect to the issuance of its 4 1/4% Convertible Subordinated Debentures due 2003. (e) The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on January 26, 1996 with respect to the adoption of a Shareholder Rights Plan on January 19, 1996. (f) The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on April 19, 1996 with respect to its guarantees of obligations under Thermo TerraTech Inc.'s 4 5/8% Convertible Subordinated Debentures due 2003. (g) The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 28, 1996. (h) The Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission on November 5, 1996 with respect to its guarantees of obligations under Thermo Instrument Systems Inc.'s 4 1/2% Senior Convertible Debentures due 2003. 1 PAGE (i) The description of the Common Stock which is contained in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed under the Exchange Act, as amended. All reports or proxy statements filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered herein have been sold, or that deregisters all such securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof from the respective dates of filing such documents. Item 4. Description of Securities. Not applicable. Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel. The validity of the Common Stock offered hereby has been passed upon by Seth H. Hoogasian, Esq., General Counsel of the Company. Mr. Hoogasian owns or has the right to acquire, pursuant to the exercise of stock options, shares of the Common Stock of the Company and of certain of the Company's subsidiaries, the fair market value of which exceeds $50,000. Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers. The Delaware General Corporation Law and the Company's Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws limit the monetary liability of directors to the Company and to its stockholders and provide for indemnification of the Company's officers and directors for liabilities and expenses that they may incur in such capacities. In general, officers and directors are indemnified with respect to actions taken in good faith in a manner reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, actions that the indemnitee had no reasonable cause to believe were unlawful. The Company also has indemnification agreements with its directors and officers that provide for the maximum indemnification allowed by law. The Registrant maintains officers' and directors' insurance covering certain liabilities that may be incurred by officers and directors in the performance of their duties. Item 7. Exemption of Registration Claimed. Not Applicable. Item 8. Exhibits. The Exhibit Index immediately preceding the exhibits is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. Item 9. Undertakings. (a) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: 2 PAGE (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: (i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high and of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration statement; (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement. Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement. (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. (b) The undersigned hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be the initial bona fide offering thereof. (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the 3 PAGE Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. 4 PAGE SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Waltham, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on this 9th day of January, 1997. THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION By: /s/ George N. Hatsopoulos George N. Hatsopoulos, Chief Executive Officer POWER OF ATTORNEY Each of the undersigned Directors and Officers of Thermo Electron Corporation hereby appoints John N. Hatsopoulos, Paul F. Kelleher, Jonathan W. Painter, Seth H. Hoogasian and Sandra L. Lambert, and each of them, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated: Signature Title Date --------- ----- ____ Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and /s/ George N. Hatsopoulos Director January 9, 1997 George N. Hatsopoulos President /s/ John N. Hatsopoulos and Chief Financial Officer January 9, 1997 John N. Hatsopoulos 5 PAGE Signature Title Date --------- ----- ____ Vice President, Finance /s/ Paul F. Kelleher (Chief Accounting Officer) January 9, 1997 Paul F. Kelleher /s/ John M. Albertine Director January 9, 1997 John M. Albertine /s/ Peter O. Crisp Director January 9, 1997 Peter O. Crisp /s/ Elias P. Gyftopoulos Director January 9, 1997 Elias P. Gyftopoulos Director January , 1997 Frank Jungers /s/ Robert A. McCabe Director January 9, 1997 Robert A. McCabe /s/ Frank E. Morris Director January 9, 1997 Frank E. Morris /s/ Donald E. Noble Director January 9, 1997 Donald E. Noble /s/ Hutham S. Olayan Director January 9, 1997 Hutham S. Olayan /s/ Roger D. Wellington Director January 9, 1997 Roger D. Wellington 6 PAGE EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number Description Page 5 Opinion of Seth H. Hoogasian, Esq. 8 23(a) Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP 10 23(b) Consent of Seth H. Hoogasian, Esq. (contained in his opinion filed as Exhibit 5). 24 Power of Attorney (see signature pages to this Registration Statement). AA963540054