UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 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): February 25, 2016
MFRI, INC.
(exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
 
0-18370
(Commission File Number)
 
36-3922969
(IRS Employer Identification No.)

7720 North Lehigh Avenue, Niles, Illinois 60714
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (847) 966-1000

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 ( see General Instruction A.2. below):
 
o
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
 
o
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
 
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
 
o
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))






Item 1.01.      Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
On February 29, 2016, MFRI, Inc. ("Company") executed the Fourth Amendment ("Amendment") to Credit and Security Agreement by and among BMO Harris Bank, N.A. and the Company and its subsidiaries Midwesco Filter Resources, Inc., Perma-Pipe, Inc., TC Niles Corporation, TDC Filter Manufacturing, Inc., MM Niles Corporation, Perma-Pipe International Company, LLC, and Perma-Pipe Canada, Inc. Among other things, the Amendment reduces the maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility to $15,000,000 from $25,000,000. The text of the Amendment is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this report and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On February 25, 2016, MFRI, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Perma-Pipe, Inc. ("Perma-Pipe"), entered into a Second Amendment to Employment Agreement ("Employment Amendment") with Mr. Fati Elgendy that amended Mr. Elgendy’s existing Employment Agreement with Perma-Pipe, dated as of November 12, 2007 and amended as of March 19, 2014. Among other things, the Employment Amendment provides for (i) a set term of employment, the last day of which shall be January 31, 2017, (ii) an increase in Mr. Elgendy’s annual base compensation rate to $300,000 per fiscal year from $250,000 per fiscal year, (iii) the grant of a restricted stock unit award pursuant to the Company’s 2013 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan which could result in the issuance of Company common stock (“Common Stock”) to Mr. Elgendy, vesting on January 31, 2017 or an earlier change in control of the Company, based on the trading price of the Common Stock and subject to other terms and conditions set forth in the Employment Amendment, and (iv) the modification and potential extension of restrictive covenants.  The text of the Employment Amendment is attached to this Report as Exhibit 10.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01      Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits. The following Exhibits are included with this Current Report on Form 8-K.

Exhibit Number
Description
10.1

Fourth Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement between the Company and BMO Harris Bank, N.A. dated February 29, 2016
10.2

Second Amendment to Employment Agreement dated as of February 25, 2016 by and among MFRI, Inc., Perma-Pipe, Inc. and Fati Elgendy.

******
The statements and certain other information contained in this report, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "continue," "remains," "intend," "aim," "towards," "should," "prospects," "could," "future," "potential," "believes," "plans," "likely," "anticipate," "position," and "probable," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These statements should be considered as subject to the many risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company’s operations and business environment. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions, market demand and pricing, competitive and cost factors, and other risk factors.





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, hereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 2, 2016
 
MFRI, INC.
(Registrant)

By: /s/ Karl J. Schmidt
 
 
Karl J. Schmidt
 
 
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 
 
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)






EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.
Description
10.1

Fourth Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement between the Company and BMO Harris Bank, N.A. dated February 29, 2016
10.2

Second Amendment to Employment Agreement dated as of February 25, 2016 by and among MFRI, Inc., Perma-Pipe, Inc. and Fati Elgendy.





EXHIBIT 10.1

FOURTH AMENDMENT TO
CREDIT AND SECURITY AGREEMENT

This FOURTH AMENDMENT TO CREDIT AND SECURITY AGREEMENT (this " Fourth Amendment" ) is entered into as of February 29, 2016, among MFRI, INC. , a Delaware corporation (the " Company" ), MIDWESCO FILTER RESOURCES, INC. , a Delaware corporation (" Midwesco" ), PERMA-PIPE, INC. , a Delaware corporation (" Perma-Pipe" ), TC NILES CORPORATION , a Delaware corporation (" TC Niles" ), TDC FILTER MANUFACTURING, INC. , a Delaware corporation (" TDC" ), MM NILES CORPORATION , a Delaware corporation (" MM Niles" ), and PERMA-PIPE CANADA, INC. , a Delaware corporation (" Perma-Pipe Canada" ) (each of the Company, Midwesco, Perma-Pipe, TC Niles, TDC, MM Niles, and Perma-Pipe Canada may be referred to herein individually, as a " Borrower" and collectively, as " Borrowers" ), and BMO HARRIS BANK N.A. , as lender (" Lender" ).
WHEREAS, Lender and Borrowers entered into a certain Credit and Security Agreement dated September 24, 2014 (as amended by that certain Consent and First Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of February 5, 2015 and that certain Limited Waiver and Second Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement dated as of April 30, 2015 and that certain Consent and Third Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement dated as of January 29, 2016, and as hereby and further amended, restated, supplemented, and/or modified from time to time, the " Credit Agreement" ); and
WHEREAS, Lender and Borrowers desire to amend certain provisions of the Credit Agreement pursuant to the terms hereof.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, the mutual covenants and agreements herein contained, and any extension of credit heretofore, now or hereafter made Lender to Borrower, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Definitions . All capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings contained in the Credit Agreement.
2. Amendments to Credit Agreement.
(A)      Amended Definitions . Clause (c) of the definition of "Borrowing Base", clause (c) of the definition of "Eligible Accounts" and the definitions of "Fixed Charge Trigger Period", "Reporting Trigger Period" and "Revolving Credit Facility" set forth in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement are hereby amended in their entirety and restated as follows:
" Borrowing Base" means, at any time of calculation, an amount equal to:
*      *      *

(c)      the lesser of (i) the Cost of Eligible Inventory other than work in progress multiplied by sixty percent (60%) and (ii) $9,600,000; plus
*      *      *
" " Eligible Account" means Accounts due to a Borrower that are determined by the Lender, in its reasonable credit judgment, to be Eligible Accounts. Except as otherwise agreed by the Lender, none of the following shall be deemed to be Eligible Accounts:





*      *      *
(c)      Accounts due from any Account Debtor, twenty-five percent (25%) or more of whose Accounts are otherwise ineligible under the terms of clause (b) above;
*      *      *
" Fixed Charge Trigger Period" means the period (a) commencing on the day that Availability is less than (i) $3,000,000 for a period of five (5) consecutive Business Days, or (ii) $2,000,000 as of the end of any Business Day and (b) continuing until the date that during the previous forty-five (45) consecutive days, Availability has been greater than $3,000,000 at all times during such period.
*      *      *
" Reporting Trigger Period" means the period (a) commencing on the date that (i) an Event of Default occurs and is continuing, (ii) Availability is less than (x) $3,000,000, in each case, for a period of three (3) consecutive Business Days, or (y) $2,000,000 at the end of any Business Day and (b) continuing until the date that during the previous forty-five (45) consecutive days, (i) no Event of Default has existed and (ii) Availability has been greater than $3,000,000 at all times during such period."
*      *      *
" Revolving Credit Facility" means the facility described in Section 2.01(a) or 2.03 providing for Revolving Loans and Letter of Credit Extensions to or for the benefit of the Borrowers by the Lender, in the maximum aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding of $15,000,000, as adjusted from time to time pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.
(B)      New Definitions . The definitions of "Fourth Amendment" and "TDC Accounts" are hereby inserted in Section 1.01 of the Credit Agreement in appropriate alphabetical order as follows:
"Fourth Amendment" means that Fourth Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement dated as of February 29, 2016 by and among Borrowers and Lender.
"TDC Accounts" means Accounts owed to TDC. For purposes of clarity, TDC Accounts may be Eligible Accounts so long as such Accounts meet all of the criteria of the definition of Eligible Accounts.
(C)      7.02 Borrowing Base Certificate; Other Information . Section 7.02(b) of the Credit Agreement is hereby deleted and the following is inserted in its stead:
"7.02      Borrowing Base Certificate; Other Information . Cause the Borrower Agent to deliver to the Lender, in form and detail satisfactory to the Lender:
*      *      *
(b)      on or before the 20th day of each calendar month from and after the date hereof, Borrower Agent shall deliver to the Lender, in the form reasonably acceptable to the Lender, (i) reconciliations of all Borrowers’ Accounts as shown on the month end Borrowing Base Certificate for the immediately preceding month to Borrowers’ accounts receivable agings, to Borrowers’ general ledger and to Borrowers’ most recent financial statements, (ii) accounts payable agings, (iii) accounts





receivable agings, (iv) reconciliations of Borrowers’ Inventory as shown on Borrowers’ perpetual inventory, to Borrowers’ general ledger and to Borrowers’ financial statements and (v) Inventory status reports, all with supporting materials as the Lender shall reasonably request; and with respect to TDC Accounts, within three (3) days of the prior week end, Borrower Agent shall deliver to Lender (x) reconciliations of TDC Accounts evidencing the balance of TDC Accounts as of the beginning of the prior week, minus collections received within such week, minus credits issued within such week and tying out such collections to the bank statement(s) for such week; and (y) a separate aging for TDC Accounts; on or prior to March 2, 2016, Borrowers shall provide Lender with a schedule in reasonable detail of all outstanding TDC Accounts.
3. TDC Accounts Reserve . Borrowers acknowledge and consent to Lender establishing a Reserve in an amount determined by Lender in its reasonable credit judgment to account for weekly collections of TDC Accounts.
4. Condition Precedent . This Fourth Amendment shall become effective upon Lender (or its counsel) receiving from the Borrowers an executed counterpart of this Fourth Amendment on behalf of such party in form and substance acceptable to it.
5. Confirmation of Obligations; Release .
(A) The Borrowers hereby confirm that the Borrowers are indebted to Lender for the Loan Obligations, Letter of Credit Obligations and other Obligations as set forth in the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents. Each Borrower further acknowledges and agrees that as of the date hereof, it has no claim, defense or set-off right against Lender of a
(B) ny nature whatsoever, whether sounding in tort, contract or otherwise, and has no claim, defense or set-off of any nature whatsoever to the enforcement by Lender of the full amount of the Loans and other Obligations of the Loan Parties under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents.
(C) Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that any claim, cause of action, defense or set-off against Lender or its enforcement of the Credit Agreement, the Revolving Loan Note, or any other Loan Document, of any nature whatsoever, known or unknown, fixed or contingent, does nonetheless exist or may exist on the date hereof, in consideration of Lender’s entering into this Fourth Amendment, each Borrower irrevocably and unconditionally waives and releases fully each and every such claim, cause of action, defense and set-off which exists or may exist on the date hereof.
6. Governing Law . This Fourth Amendment shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to the principles thereof relating to conflict of laws.
7. Execution in Counterparts . This Fourth Amendment may be executed in any number of separate counterparts, each of which shall, collectively and separately, constitute one agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Fourth Amendment by telecopy or electronically (such as PDF) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Fourth Amendment.
8. Continuing Effect . Except as otherwise specifically set out herein, the provisions of the Credit Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.


(Signature Pages Follow)





(Signature Page to Fourth Amendment to Credit and Security Agreement)

 
 
BORROWERS:
MFRI, INC., MIDWESCO FILTER RESOURCES, INC., PERMA-PIPE, INC., TC NILES CORPORATION , TDC FILTER MANUFACTURING, INC., MM NILES CORPORATION and  PERMA-PIPE CANADA, INC.

By: /s/ Karl J. Schmidt
 
 
Karl J. Schmidt
 
 
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 
 
 
 
 
LENDER:
BMO HARRIS BANK, N.A.
By: /s/Terrence McKenna, Jr.
 
 
Terrence McKenna, Jr.
 
 
Vice President
 
 
 






EXHIBIT 10.2

SECOND AMENDMENT TO
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

THIS SECOND AMENDMENT (this " Amendment" ), dated as of February 25, 2016, 2016, to the Employment Agreement, dated as of November 12, 2007 and as amended March 19, 2014 (the " Agreement" ), by and between Perma-Pipe, Inc., a Delaware corporation (" Perma-Pipe" or the " Employer" ), MFRI, Inc., a Delaware corporation (" MFRI" or the " Parent Company" ), and Fati Elgendy (the " Employee" ) is made by and between the Employer, MFRI and the Employee.
WHEREAS , in furtherance of the strategic needs of the Company and MFRI, the Employer and the Employee desire to amend the Agreement as set forth below.
NOW THEREFORE , in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants contained in this Amendment, the Agreement is hereby amended as follows:
1. Employment Term . Section 1 is hereby amended by adding the bolded, italicized language and deleting the bolded, italicized and stricken language so that it reads as follows:
"As agreed between Employer and Employee, and at the express request of Employee, the Employer agrees to employ the Employee and the Employee agrees to serve in the employ of the Employer from the date of this Agreement through January 31, 2017 (the " Initial Term"), in the position and with the responsibilities and duties set forth in Section 2 and on the other terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. After the expiration of the Initial Term the Agreement will renew automatically for subsequent one year terms unless written notice is given by either party at least six (6) months in advance of the expiration of the Initial Term or any subsequent term. (The Initial Term as so extended is referred to herein as the "Term".)"
2. Termination of Employment . The first paragraph of Section 6 is hereby amended by adding the bolded, italicized language and deleting the bolded, italicized and stricken language so that it reads as follows:
"For purposes of this Agreement, "Termination Date" means the last day of the Employee’s employment with the Employer and "Expiration Date" means the last day of the Initial Term (i.e., January 31, 2017) or any extended term of this Agreement ."
3. Compensation . The parties hereto hereby agree that:

(a)     Base Compensation . Effective as of February 1, 2016, Employee’s Base Salary shall increase from the rate of $250,000 per fiscal year to the rate of $300,000 per fiscal year; and

(b)     RSU Award . Employee is hereby granted an award (the " Award" ) of Restricted Stock Units (" RSUs" ) of the Parent Company under the terms of the MFRI 2013 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan, an amended (" Plan" ), in order to further drive the enterprise value of the Parent Company following divestiture of its filter business. The number of RSUs shall be determined on the earlier of (i) January 31, 2017 or (ii) the date of an earlier Change in Control (as defined in the Plan) (the " Settlement Date" ), based upon the average of the closing prices for the Parent Company’s common stock (the " Common Stock" ) on each trading day in January, 2017, in the case of a January 31, 2017 Settlement Date, or, in the case of a Settlement Date occurring due to a Change in Control, the closing price of the Common Stock on the date of such Change in Control (in either case, the " Average Stock Price" ), and in either case determined in accordance with the following Table with a payout threshold





at a $10 Average Stock Price and a cap at an $18 Average Stock Price with the number of RSUs to be interpolated between Average Stock Price value:

Average Stock Price      # Shares Awarded
$10            10,000
$12            20,000
$14            25,000
$16            30,000
$18+            35,000

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that prior to the Settlement Date, the Parent Company receives a "Firm Offer" (as defined below) that is not accepted by the Board of Directors of the Parent Company (the " Board" ) and the purchase price which would have been paid under such Firm Offer equates to a price per share of Common Stock that exceeds the Average Stock Price, such per share price of the Firm Offer shall be the Average Stock Price used in determining the shares of Common Stock to be awarded pursuant to the Table above, subject to the $18 Average Stock Price cap.

For purposes of this Award, the term "Firm Offer" shall mean (i) the commencement of a tender offer for Common Stock by the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of a Schedule TO which, if consummated in accordance with its terms, would qualify as a Change in Control or (ii) a bona fide, binding offer to acquire or merge with the Parent Company in a transaction which would constitute a Change in Control; provided, however , that such offer must (A) be from a buyer reasonably believed by the Board to have the financial capability to consummate the transaction, (B) have no material contingencies other than completion of due diligence, including, without limitation, a financing contingency, and (C) contain a specific price (as opposed to a range of potential values or prices). The price, for purposes of any Firm Offer shall mean the actual value of the consideration to be received by the holders of Common Stock; provided, however , that the Board shall be entitled to discount any contingent, delayed, or non-cash consideration in the reasonable discretion of the Board using the same criteria it uses in evaluating the offer as a fiduciary matter.

The Award shall vest, and Employee shall be entitled to the number of shares of Common Stock calculated in accordance with this Section 3(a), on the Settlement Date, and such shares shall be issued by the Company within thirty days of the Settlement Date; provided, however , that (i) this Award shall immediately expire without vesting and without issuance of any shares of Common Stock or other payment, upon any termination of the Employee’s employment prior to January 31, 2017 due to Employee voluntarily terminating employment for any reason or Employer terminating Employee’s employment for Due Cause, absent the occurrence of a Change in Control or the rejection of a Firm Offer prior to any such termination of Employee’s employment and (ii) any issuance of shares of Common Stock pursuant to this Award may, in the Parent Company’s discretion and in accordance with the terms of the Agreement and the Plan, be reduced by number of shares having a value equal to the Parent Company’s withholding tax obligations related to the Award. If, as of January 31, 2017, there has not been a Change in Control, but the Parent Company has either signed a definitive agreement relating to a Change in Control or is in active negotiations to execute a definitive agreement relating to a Change in Control, in either case at a price which would equate to a higher Average Stock Price than calculated as of the January 31, 2017 Settlement Date (calculated in the same manner as a Firm Offer price as set forth above)(in each case, a "Pending Transaction") then (i) the Award shall vest as of January 31, 2017 in accordance with terms hereof, and (ii) if such Pending Transaction is consummated by April 30, 2017, the Parent Company shall issue to Employee an additional number of shares of Common Stock such that Employee will receive in the aggregate under the Award that number of Common Shares to which Employee would have been entitled if the Pending Transaction had closed prior to January 31, 2017.





In the event the Common Stock is no longer traded on the NASDAQ stock market on a date a closing price is required under this Section 3(a), the closing price on such date shall be deemed to be the Fair Market Value (as defined in the Plan). In the event a Change in Control results in the merger of the Parent Company with and into another entity or other action with results in Common Stock no longer being outstanding prior to the issuance of Common Stock under the Award, Parent Company shall equitably adjust this award so that Employee will receive the same consideration or value Employee would have received if this award had vested and the shares of Common Stock had been issued immediately prior to such Change of Control. This Award shall otherwise remain subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of the Plan.
4. Other Termination by the Employer . The first paragraph of Section 6.4 is hereby amended by deleting the bolded, italicized and stricken language so that it reads as follows:
"The Employer may terminate the Employee’s employment at any time for whatever reason it deems appropriate. Any such termination shall constitute notice under Section 1 that the Term shall not be renewed. In the event that the Employer terminates the Employee’s employment other than pursuant to Sections 6.1, 6.2 or 6.3. The Employee shall be entitled to the following amounts:"
5. Certain Covenants . The first paragraph of Section 12 is hereby amended by adding the bolded, italicized language so that it reads as follows:
"During the period of Employee’s employment and continuing until the later of (i) one year following the Term or, in the event no Common Stock is awarded to Employee pursuant to the Award set forth in Section 3(b) because the applicable Average Stock Price is less than $10.00, the expiration of the Term, or (ii) the Salary Continuation Period (the "Restricted Period"), Employee shall not, without the written consent of the Employer, individually or as a proprietor, partner, joint venture, stockholder, director, officer, trustee, principal agent, servant, or in any capacity whatsoever for any person, firm, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, directly or indirectly:"
6. Non-Disparagement . A new Section 13A is hereby added to the Agreement as follows:
13A.     Non-Disparagement . During the period of Employee’s employment until the expiration of the Restricted Period, (i) Employee will not make, publish or communicate to any third party any defamatory or disparaging remarks, comments or statements concerning Employer or any parent or subsidiary of Employer (each an "Employer Group Company"), or any officer or director of an Employer Group Company and (ii) no Employer Group Company or any officer or director of an Employer Group Company shall make, publish or communicate to any third party any defamatory or disparaging remarks, comments or statements concerning Employee.
7. On-Going Obligations . Sections 13 and 13A shall be considered further on-going obligations for purposes of Sections 6.2, 6.3 and 6.6.
8. Confirmation of the Agreement . Except as expressly set forth herein, the Agreement, including, but not limited to, all provisions relating to term and termination, shall remain in full force and effect.
9. Counterparts . This Amendment may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[Signature page follows]





This Second Amendment to Employment Agreement has been executed by the undersigned as of the date first written above.

EMPLOYER:
PERMA-PIPE, INC., a Delaware corporation

By: /s/ Bradley Mautner
 
EMPLOYEE:
By: /s/ Fati Elgendy
Name: Bradley Mautner
 
Fati Elgendy
Its: Chairman
 
 
 
 
 
MFRI, INC., a Delaware corporation

By: /s/ Bradley Mautner
 
 
Name: Bradley Mautner
 
 
Its: CEO