Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 3, 2012

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   7389   20-0484934

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Blair W. White, Esq.   Joshua N. Korff, Esq.
David E. Lillevand, Esq.   Michael Kim, Esq.
Matthew Hallinan, Esq.   Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP   601 Lexington Avenue
50 Fremont Street   New York, New York 10022
San Francisco, California 94105   (212) 446-4800
(415) 983-1000  

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨   Accelerated filer   ¨      Non-accelerated filer   x   Smaller reporting company   ¨
       (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of

securities to be registered

 

Proposed maximum

aggregate offering
price (1)

  Amount of
registration fee

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

  $150,000,000   $17,190

 

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and includes shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments, if any.

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We and the selling stockholders may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we and the selling stockholders are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)

Issued July 3, 2012

             Shares

 

LOGO

COMMON STOCK

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is offering              shares of its common stock and the selling stockholders are offering              shares of common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our shares. We anticipate that the initial public offering price of our common stock will be between $         and $         per share.

 

 

We expect to apply to list our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PFMT .”

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements in future reports after the completion of this offering.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 9.

 

 

PRICE $         A SHARE

 

 

 

     Price to Public      Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions
     Proceeds to
Performant
     Proceeds to Selling
Stockholders
 

Per Share

     $                             $                             $                             $                       

Total

   $                $                $                $            

             have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock to purchasers on                     , 2012.

 

 

 

MORGAN STANLEY    GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
CREDIT SUISSE    WELLS FARGO SECURITIES

 

 

 

WILLIAM BLAIR

  

SUNTRUST ROBINSON HUMPHREY

                    , 2012


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

    Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1   

Risk Factors

    9   

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    23   

Use of Proceeds

    24   

Dividend Policy

    24   

Capitalization

    25   

Dilution

    27   

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

    29   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

    31   

Business

    47   
    Page  

Management

    64   

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

    75   

Principal and Selling Stockholders

    78   

Description of Capital Stock

    80   

Certain Material U.S. Federal Income and Estate Tax Considerations to Non-U.S. Holders

    84   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

    87   

Underwriting

    89   

Legal Matters

    95   

Experts

    95   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

    95   

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

    F-1   
 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any free writing prospectus we may specifically authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We have not, and the selling stockholders and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. The information contained in this prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate only as of its date, regardless of its time of delivery or of any sale of shares of our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.

Until                     , 2012 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in our common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.


Table of Contents

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and the information set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in each case included elsewhere in this prospectus. Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, in this prospectus, “Performant,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Performant Financial Corporation and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the U.S. Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. We believe our technology platform allows us to achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models, as we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. In addition, we believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business. For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income, and our total debt was $141.0 million at March 31, 2012. See “Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income” below for a definition of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

 

 

1


Table of Contents

Industry Overview

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Healthcare

According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. CMS indicates that government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion of payments under Medicare, of which $48 billion, or 9%, was estimated to be improper according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues.

Other Markets

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, a significant portion of which were made by private firms on behalf of the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. We believe our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes.

 

 

2


Table of Contents
   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities.

 

   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team.   Our management team has significant industry experience and has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   We have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, and we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   As healthcare spending grows, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. We intend to expand our recovery services for existing clients, such as CMS, and offer analytics services to potential clients in the private healthcare market.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business.

Risks Associated With Our Business

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following the prospectus summary. Some of these risks include, among others, that:

 

   

Revenues generated from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would result in a decline in our revenues;

 

   

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our revenues and operating results;

 

 

3


Table of Contents
   

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, which would impact our ability to maintain our revenues and operating results;

 

   

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the U.S. federal government would result in a significant decrease in our revenues and operating results;

 

   

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business and operations;

 

   

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance as a result of Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2010, or SAFRA. Our failure to maintain this relationship would significantly decrease our revenues;

 

   

We could lose clients as a result of consolidation among the Guaranty Agencies, or GAs, which would decrease our revenues;

 

   

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS, and our results of operations may be harmed if CMS limits the scope of claims we are allowed to pursue;

 

   

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt the operation of our business;

 

   

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities;

 

   

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding our recovery practices and the use and disclosure of confidential personal and healthcare information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses; and

 

   

Our recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws and our failure to comply with those regulations and laws may subject us to liability and result in significant costs.

Corporate Information

We commenced our operations in 1976 under the corporate name Diversified Collection Services, Inc., or DCS. We were incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2003 under the name DCS Holdings, Inc. and subsequently changed our name to Performant Financial Corporation in 2005. Our principal executive offices are located at 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551 and our telephone number is (925) 960-4800. Our website address is www.performantcorp.com . The information on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus.

Our Principal Stockholder

Our principal stockholder, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, acquired its interest in us in 2004 and currently owns approximately 82% of our outstanding common stock. Parthenon Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm with approximately $2 billion of capital under management. Parthenon Capital Partners was founded in March of 1998 and focuses on investing in select middle-market companies. The firm invests in a variety of industry sectors with particular expertise in business and financial services, healthcare, distribution/logistics, and technology-enabled services.

 

 

4


Table of Contents

THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us

             shares

 

Common stock offered by the selling stockholders

             shares

 

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

             shares

 

Option to purchase additional shares offered by

             shares

 

Use of proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us to pay fees under an agreement with an affiliate of our majority stockholder, with the remainder of our net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other potential investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Proposed NASDAQ Global Market symbol

“PFMT”

The number of shares of common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012, and excludes:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans;

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners; and

 

   

the repurchase of 49,010 shares of common stock by us from certain members of management on July 3, 2012.

Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus assumes:

 

   

no exercise by the underwriters of their right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock from                      to cover over-allotments; and

 

   

the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the effectiveness of our amended and restated bylaws in connection with this offering.

 

 

5


Table of Contents

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following summary consolidated financial data should be read together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011            2011                   2012         
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
    (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:      

Revenues

       $   109,832           $   123,519           $   162,974           $   35,080           $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

    53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

    32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                  13,400                 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                (3,679

Interest expense

    (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

    104        118        125        32        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Income before provision for income taxes     8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

    5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

    (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders (3)

         

Basic

       $ (0.01        $ 0.20           $ 0.27           $ 0.06           $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       $ (0.01        $ 0.19           $ 0.26           $ 0.06           $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

         

Basic

    21,481        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,493   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

    21,481        22,510        22,871        22,535        23,113   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share (unaudited) (4)

         

Basic

           $               $     
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

           $               $     
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheets and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)  

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(3)

Please see Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

(4)  

See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of our presentation of pro forma net income per share.

 

 

6


Table of Contents
       As of March 31, 2012  
       Actual       Pro
   Forma (2)   
    Pro
Forma As
Adjusted (3)
     (Restated) (1)            
    

(in thousands)

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

      

Cash and cash equivalents

    $ 12,312      $ 14,677     

Total assets

     183,023        186,209     

Total debt

     141,000        160,500     

Total liabilities

     180,676        200,176     

Redeemable preferred stock

     15,846            

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (13,499     (13,967  

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheets and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)  

On a pro forma basis, giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock and the redemption of 699,555 shares of our series B preferred stock, both of which occurred on June 28, 2012, as if such conversion had occurred on March 31, 2012, as well as the increase in the amount of borrowings under our term B loan of $19.5 million, used primarily to refund the redemption, and the $0.8 million in transaction fees related to this increase.

(3)  

On a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income

To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have disclosed in the table below and within this prospectus adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, both of which are non-GAAP financial measures. We have provided a reconciliation below of adjusted EBITDA to net income and adjusted net income to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to these non-GAAP financial measures.

We have included adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income in this prospectus because they are key measures used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends and to prepare and approve our annual budget. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income provide useful information to investors and analysts in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors.

Our use of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

 

   

although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest expense on our indebtedness;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the impact of certain non-operating expenses resulting from matters we do not consider to be indicative of our core operating performance; and

   

other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income differently than we do, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income alongside other financial performance measures, including net income and our other GAAP results.

 

 

7


Table of Contents

The following tables present a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for each of the periods indicated:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
    2009     2010             2011                 2011             2012      
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   

Interest expense

    16,017        15,230        13,530        3,443        3,190   

Interest income

    (104     (118     (125     (32     (31

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

    —          —          —          —          3,679   

Depreciation and amortization

    9,624        7,213        7,766        1,881        2,214   

Impairment of trade name (2)

    —          —          13,400        —          —     

Non-core operating expenses (3)

    —          1,108        2,548        226        29   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

       $     34,882           $     41,460           $     57,761           $     10,522           $     13,700   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

                                3,679   

Impairment of trade name (2)

                  13,400                 

Non–core operating expenses (3)

           1,108        2,548        225        29   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   

Amortization of intangibles (5)

    5,795        3,043        3,043        761        875   

Deferred financing amortization costs (6)

    3,027        1,997        1,254        335        282   

Tax adjustments (7)

    (4,034     (3,014     (8,400     (583     (2,090
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net income

       $       11,062           $     14,497           $     24,971           $       3,793           $       5,652   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(2)

Represents impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the plan to retire the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name.

(3)

Represents professional fees and settlement costs related to strategic corporate development activities and a $1.2 million legal settlement in 2011.

(4)

Represents expenses incurred under an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, which was terminated in April 2012. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Arrangements with Our Investors—Advisory Services Agreement.”

(5)

Represents amortization of capitalized expenses related to the acquisition of Performant by an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners in 2004, the impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to our decision to terminate a client contract in 2009 and an acquisition in the first quarter of 2012 to enhance our analytics capabilities.

(6)

Represents amortization of capitalized financing costs related to debt offerings conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

(7)

Represents tax adjustments assuming a marginal tax rate of 40%.

 

 

8


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves substantial risks. In addition to the other information in this prospectus, you should carefully consider the following factors before investing in our common stock. Any of the risk factors we describe below could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The market price of our common stock could decline if one or more of these risks and uncertainties actually occurs, causing you to lose all or part of your investment in our shares. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Risks Related to Our Business

Revenues generated from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would result in a decline in our revenues.

We derive a substantial majority of our revenues from a limited number of clients, including the Department of Education, CMS and three GAs. Revenues from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. We expect that our revenues will become increasingly concentrated with our major clients as a result of rising business volumes under our RAC contract, which accounted for approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to approximately 10% of our revenues in 2011. If we lose one of these clients or if the terms of our relationships with any of these clients becomes less favorable to us, our revenues would decline, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our revenues and operating results.

Substantially all of our existing contracts for the recovery of student loan and other receivables, which represented approximately 70% of our revenues in 2011, enable our clients to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty, potentially leading to loss of business or renegotiation of terms. Our contracts generally are subject to a periodic rebidding process at the end of the contract term. Further, most of our contracts in this market allow our clients to unilaterally change the volume of loans and other receivables that are placed with us at any given time. In addition, most of our contracts are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers with whom we must compete for placements of loans or other obligations. Therefore, despite our contractual relationships with our clients, our contracts do not provide assurance that we will generate a minimum amount of revenues or that we will receive a specific volume of placements.

Our revenues and operating results would be negatively affected if our student loans and receivables clients, which include four of our five largest clients in 2011, do not renew their agreements with us upon contract expiration, reduce the volume of student loan placements provided to us, modify the terms of service, including the success fees we are able to earn upon recovery of defaulted student loans, or any of these clients establish more favorable relationships with our competitors.

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, which would impact our ability to maintain our revenues and operating results.

We operate in very competitive markets. In providing our services to the student loan and other receivables markets, we face competition from many other companies. Initially, we compete with these companies to be one of typically several firms engaged to provide recovery services to a particular client and, if

 

9


Table of Contents

we are successful in being engaged, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery rates of its several vendors. Those recovery vendors who produce the highest recovery rates from a client often will be allocated additional placements and in some cases additional success fees. Accordingly, maintaining high levels of recovery performance, and doing so in a cost-effective manner, are important factors in our ability to maintain and grow our revenues and net income and the failure to achieve these objectives could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Similarly, we faced a highly competitive bidding process to become one of the four prime RAC contractors that provide recovery services for improper Medicare payments. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect again to face a very competitive process to retain or increase our position in this market. The failure to retain this contract or a significant adverse change in the terms of this contract, which generated approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, would seriously harm our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and operating results.

Some of our current and potential competitors in the markets in which we operate may have greater financial, marketing, technological or other resources than we do. The ability of any of our competitors and potential competitors to adopt new and effective technology to better serve our markets may allow them to gain market strength. Increasing levels of competition in the future may result in lower recovery fees, lower volumes of contracted recovery services or higher costs for resources. Any inability to compete effectively in the markets that we serve could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the U.S. federal government would result in a significant decrease in our revenues and operating results.

We have historically derived and are likely to continue to derive a significant portion of our revenues from the U.S. federal government. For the year ended December 31, 2011, revenues under contracts with the U.S. federal government accounted for approximately 27% of our total revenues. Furthermore, federal government revenues increased to approximately 33% in the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily as a result of increasing revenues from our RAC contract with CMS. In addition, fees payable by the U.S. federal government are expected to become a larger percentage of our total revenues in the near term as a result of the recent legislation that has transferred responsibility for all new student loan origination to the Department of Education. The continuation and exercise of renewal options on existing government contracts and any new government contracts are, among other things, contingent upon the availability of adequate funding for the applicable federal government agency. Changes in federal government spending could directly affect our financial performance. For example, the Obama Administration’s proposed budget for the year ending September 30, 2013, included a proposal designed to redirect federal government spending to an alternative federal program by decreasing the amount that GAs are compensated when they rehabilitate defaulted loans. While the Obama Administration’s budget proposal was not approved by Congress, in June 2012, a bill containing similar provisions reducing the compensation of GAs for rehabilitation of defaulted student loans was introduced in the U.S. Senate. If enacted, this bill could harm the financial condition of the GAs and, in turn, their ability to pay for our services. The loss of business from the U.S. federal government, or significant policy changes or financial pressures within the agencies of the U.S. federal government that we serve would result in a significant decrease in our revenues, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business and operations.

The two principal markets in which we provide our recovery services, government-supported student loans and the Medicare program, are a subject of significant legislative and regulatory focus and we cannot anticipate how future changes in government policy may affect our business and operations. For example,

 

10


Table of Contents

SAFRA significantly changed the structure of the government-supported student loan market by assigning responsibility for all new government-supported student loan originations to the Department of Education, rather than originations by private institutions and backed by one of 32 government-supported GAs. This legislation, and any future changes in the legislation and regulations that govern these markets, may require us to adapt our business to the new circumstances and we may be unable to do so in a manner that does not adversely affect our business and operations.

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance to our business as a result of SAFRA. Our failure to maintain this relationship would significantly decrease our revenues.

The majority of our historical revenues from the student loan market have come from our relationships with the GAs. As a result of SAFRA, the Department of Education will ultimately become the sole source of revenues in this market, although the GAs will continue to service their existing student loan portfolios for many years to come. As a result, over time, defaults on student loans originated by the Department of Education will predominate and our ability to maintain the revenues we had previously received from a number of GA clients will depend on our relationship with a single client, the Department of Education. While we have 22 years of experience in performing student loan recovery services for the Department of Education, we are one of 17 unrestricted recovery service providers on the current Department of Education contract. In 2011, student loan recovery work for the Department of Education generated revenues of $17.9 million, or approximately 11% of our total revenues. If our relationship with the Department of Education terminates or deteriorates or if the Department of Education, ultimately as the sole holder of defaulted student loans, requires its contractors to agree to less favorable terms, our revenues would significantly decrease, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.

We could lose clients as a result of consolidation among the GAs, which would decrease our revenues.

As a result of SAFRA, which terminated the ability of the GAs to originate government-supported student loans, some have speculated that there may be consolidation among the 32 GAs. If GAs that are our clients are combined with GAs with whom we do not have a relationship, we could suffer a loss of business. We currently have relationships with 12 of the 32 GAs and three of our GA clients were each responsible for more than 10% of our total revenues in 2011. The consolidation of our GA clients with others and the failure to provide recovery services to the consolidated entity could decrease our revenues, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS, and our results of operations may be harmed if CMS limits the scope of claims that we are allowed to pursue.

While we are the prime contractor responsible for review of Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region pursuant to the terms of our RAC contract with CMS, we are not permitted to seek the recovery of an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies, as well as national and local coverage determinations. While the revenues we earn under our contract with CMS are determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to successfully identify improper payments within these claims, the long-term growth of the revenues we derive under our RAC contract will also depend in part on CMS expanding the scope of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue under our RAC contract. If we are unable to continue to identify improper claims within the types of claims that we are permitted to pursue from time to time or if CMS does not expand the scope of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

11


Table of Contents

Our results of operations may fluctuate on a quarterly or annual basis and cause volatility in the price of our stock.

Our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from period-to-period and may fail to match our past performance because of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Any of these factors could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate. Factors that could contribute to the variability of our operating results include:

 

   

the amount of defaulted student loans and other receivables that our clients place with us for recovery;

 

   

the timing of placements of student loans and other receivables which are entirely in the discretion of our clients;

 

   

our ability to successfully identify improper Medicare claims and the number and type of potentially improper claims that CMS authorizes us to pursue under our RAC contract;

 

   

the loss or gain of significant clients or changes in the contingency fee rates or other significant terms of our business arrangements with our significant clients;

 

   

technological and operational issues that may affect our clients and regulatory changes in the markets we service; and

 

   

general industry and macroeconomic conditions.

For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all of its recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the first quarter of 2012 was 58% lower than in the first quarter of 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans since September 2011 and accordingly, we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. We expect to recognize revenues on these rehabilitated loans in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Because our revenues are dependent on many factors, some of which are outside of our control, we may experience significant fluctuations in our results of operations and as a result volatility in our stock price.

Downturns in domestic or global economic conditions and other macroeconomic factors could harm our business and results of operations.

Various macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the volume of student loan originations in the United States, together with tuition costs and student enrollment rates, the default rate of student loan borrowers, which is impacted by domestic and global economic conditions, rates of unemployment and similar factors, and the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from changes in healthcare costs. Changes in these factors could lead to a reduction in overall recovery rates by our clients, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, during the global financial crisis beginning in 2008, the market for securitized student loan portfolios was disrupted, resulting in delays in the ability of some GA clients to resell rehabilitated student loans and as a result delaying our ability to recognize revenues from these rehabilitated loans.

 

12


Table of Contents

We may not be able to maintain or increase our profitability, and our recent financial results may not be indicative of our future financial results.

We may not succeed in maintaining our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis and could incur quarterly or annual losses in future periods. We expect to incur additional operating expenses associated with being a public company and we intend to continue to increase our operating expenses as we grow our business. We also expect to continue to make investments in our proprietary technology platform and hire additional employees and subcontractors as we expand our healthcare recovery and other operations, thus incurring additional expenses. If our revenues do not increase to offset these increases in expenses, our operating results could be adversely affected. Our historical revenues and net income growth rates are not indicative of future growth rates.

We may not be able to manage our growth effectively and our results of operations could be negatively affected.

Our business has expanded significantly, especially in recent years with the expansion of our services in the healthcare market, and we intend to maintain our focus on growth. However, our continued focus on growth and the expansion of our business may place additional demands on our management, operations and financial resources and will require us to incur additional expenses. We cannot be sure that we will be able to manage our growth effectively. In order to successfully manage our growth, our expenses will increase to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees and subcontractors and to expand and enhance our administrative infrastructure and continue to improve our management, financial and information systems and controls. If we cannot manage our growth effectively, our expenses may increase and our results of operations could be negatively affected.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt the operation of our business.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt our operations. Our operating systems and technology infrastructure are susceptible to damage or interruption from various causes, including acts of God and other natural disasters, power losses, computer systems failures, Internet and telecommunications or data network failures, operator error, computer viruses, losses of and corruption of data and similar events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in interruptions, delays or cessations in service to our clients, reduce the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. While we have backup systems in many of our operating facilities, an extended outage of utility or network services may harm our ability to operate our business. Further, the situations we plan for and the amount of insurance coverage we maintain for losses as result of failures of our operating systems and infrastructure may not be adequate in any particular case.

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities.

Our recovery services involve the storage and transmission of confidential information relating to our clients and their customers, including health, financial, credit, payment and other personal or confidential information. Although our data security procedures are designed to protect against unauthorized access to confidential information, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to unauthorized access and disclosure of our clients’ confidential information. Further, we may not effectively adapt our security measures to evolving security risks, address the security and privacy concerns of existing or potential clients as they change over time, or be compliant with federal, state, and local laws and regulations with respect to securing confidential information. Unauthorized access to confidential information relating to our clients and their customers could lead to reputational damage which could deter our clients and potential clients from selecting our recovery services, termination of contracts with those clients affected by any such breach, regulatory action, and claims against us.

 

 

13


Table of Contents

In the event of any unauthorized access to personal or other confidential information, we may be required to expend significant resources to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities in our security procedures, and we may be subject to fines, penalties, litigation costs, and financial losses that are either not insured against or not fully covered through any insurance maintained by us. If one or more of such failures in our security and privacy measures were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

Our business may be harmed if we lose members of our management team or other key employees.

We are highly dependent on members of management team and other key employees and our future success depends in part on our ability to retain these people. Our inability to continue to attract and retain members of our management team and other key employees could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The growth of our healthcare business will require us to hire and retain employees with specialized skills and failure to do so could harm our ability to grow our business.

The growth of our healthcare business will depend in part on our ability to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees. Our healthcare-related operations require us to hire registered nurses and experts in Medicare coding. Finding, attracting and retaining employees with these skills is a critical component of providing our healthcare-related recovery and audit services, and our inability to staff these operations appropriately represents a risk to our healthcare service offering and associated revenues. An inability to hire qualified personnel, particularly to serve our healthcare clients, may restrain the growth of our business.

We rely on subcontractors to provide services to our clients and the failure of subcontractors to perform as expected could harm our business operations and our relationships with our clients.

We engage subcontractors to provide certain services to our clients. These subcontractors participate to varying degrees in our recovery activities with regards to all of the services we provide. While most of our subcontractors provide specific services to us, we engage one subcontractor to provide all of the audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor accounted for approximately 17% of total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. While we believe that we perform appropriate due diligence before we hire subcontractors, our subcontractors may not provide adequate service or otherwise comply with the terms set forth in their agreements. In the event a subcontractor provides deficient performance to one or more of our clients, any such client may reduce the volume of services we are providing under an existing contract or may terminate the relevant contract entirely and we may face claims for breach of contract. Any such disruption in our relations with our clients as a result of services provided by any of our subcontractors could adversely affect our revenues and operating results.

If our software vendors or utility and network providers fail to deliver or perform as expected our business operations could be adversely affected.

Our recovery services depend in part on third-party providers, including software vendors and utility and network providers. Our ability to service our clients depends on these third-party providers meeting our expectations and contractual obligations in a timely and effective manner. Our business could be materially and adversely affected, and we might incur significant additional liabilities, if the services provided by these third-party providers do not meet our expectations or if they terminate or refuse to renew their relationships with us on similar contractual terms.

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses.

We are subject to a wide array of federal and state laws and regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and security. For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and

 

14


Table of Contents

Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, or HIPAA, and related state laws subject us to substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of the personal health information that we obtain in connection with our audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS and we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of this information. Similar protections extend to the type of personal financial and other information we acquire from our student loan, state tax and federal receivables clients. We are required to notify affected individuals and government agencies of data security breaches involving protected health and certain personally identifiable information. These laws and regulations also require that we develop, implement and maintain written, comprehensive information security programs containing safeguards that are appropriate to protect personally identifiable information or health information against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction or modification. Federal law generally does not preempt state law in the area of protection of personal information, and as a result we must also comply with state laws and regulations. Regulation of privacy, data use and security requires that we incur significant expenses, which could increase in the future as a result of additional regulations, all of which adversely affects our results of operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can result in penalties and in some cases expose us to civil lawsuits.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws and our failure to comply with these regulations and laws may subject us to liability and result in significant costs.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to regulation and oversight by various state and federal agencies, particularly in the area of consumer protection. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and related state laws provide specific guidelines that we must follow in communicating with holders of student loans and regulates the manner in which we can recover defaulted student loans. Some state attorney generals have been active in this area of consumer protection regulation. We are subject, and may be subject in the future, to inquiries and audits from state and federal regulators, as well as frequent litigation from private plaintiffs regarding compliance under the FDCPA and related state regulations. We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and may impose liability on us to the extent adverse credit information reported to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. Our compliance with the FDCPA, FCRA and other federal and state regulations that affect our student loan recovery business may result in significant costs, including litigation costs. In addition, changes to these regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations if we are not able to adapt our services and client relationships to meet the new regulatory structure.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and qualified board members.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight will be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Although we have already hired additional employees to comply with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our costs and expenses.

We also expect that being a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs

 

15


Table of Contents

to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.

However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

We are unable to fully estimate the extra costs associated with becoming a public company; however, we anticipate that we will incur additional legal, accounting, investor relations and insurance costs in excess of $1.0 million annually.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we are choosing to “opt out” of such extended transition period, and as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, although if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any July 31 before that time, we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” as of the following January 31.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley would impair our ability to produce accurate and reliable financial statements, which would harm our stock price.

When we become a public company, we will be subject to reporting obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that will require us to include a management report on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. These requirements will first apply to our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2013 and complying with these requirements can be difficult. For example, in June 2012, our independent registered accountants determined that we had incorrectly accounted for our mandatorily

 

16


Table of Contents

redeemable preferred stock, which required audit adjusting entries for the three-year period ended December 31, 2011. Our failure to detect this error was deemed to be a deficiency in internal control and this deficiency was considered to be a material weakness. To address this situation, our independent public accounting firm recommended that the Company emphasize the importance of thoroughly researching all new accounting policies and revisiting accounting policies set for existing transactions when changes in the business or reporting requirements occur or are expected to occur. To prevent issues like these in the future, we intend to bolster our technical accounting expertise and, where appropriate, engage outside consultants with specialized knowledge.

Our management may conclude that our internal control over our financial reporting is not effective. Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports or help prevent fraud. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from filing our periodic reports on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, harm our business and negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.

We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis. However, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC, or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, if we take advantage of the exemptions contained in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. Our remediation efforts may not enable us to avoid a material weakness in the future.

Litigation may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement, any of which could subject us to significant costs and expenses.

We are party to lawsuits in the normal course of business, particularly in connection with our student loan recovery services. For example, we are regularly subject to claims that we have violated the guidelines and procedures that must be followed under federal and state laws in communicating with consumer debtors. We may not ultimately prevail or otherwise be able to satisfactorily resolve any pending or future litigation, which may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement. In the future, we may be required to alter our business practices or pay substantial damages or settlement costs as a result of litigation proceedings, which could adversely affect our business operations and results of operations.

We typically face a long period to implement a new contract which may cause us to incur expenses before we receive revenues from new client relationships.

If we are successful in obtaining an engagement with a new client or a new contract with an existing client, we typically have a subsequent long implementation period in which the services are planned in detail and we integrate our technology, processes and resources with the client’s operations. If we enter into a contract with a new client, we typically will not receive revenues until implementation is completed and work under the contract actually begins. Our clients may also experience delays in obtaining approvals or delays associated with technology or system implementations, such as the delays experienced with the implementation of our RAC contract with CMS due to an appeal by competitors who were unsuccessful in bidding on the contract. Because we generally begin to hire new employees to provide services to a new client once a contract is signed, we may incur significant expenses associated with these additional hires before we receive corresponding revenues under any such new contract. If we are not successful in maintaining contractual commitments after the expenses we incur during our typically long implementation cycle, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

17


Table of Contents

If we are unable to adequately protect our proprietary technology, our competitive position could be harmed or we could be required to incur significant costs to enforce our rights.

The success of our business depends in part upon our proprietary technology platform. We rely on a combination of copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as on confidentiality procedures and non-compete agreements, to establish and protect our proprietary technology rights. The steps we have taken to deter misappropriation of our proprietary technology may be insufficient to protect our proprietary information. Any infringement or misappropriation of our patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights could adversely affect any competitive advantage we currently derive or may derive from our proprietary technology platform and we may incur significant costs associated with litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights.

Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property could force us to incur significant costs or revise the way we conduct our business.

Our competitors protect their proprietary rights by means of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property. Any party asserting that we infringe, misappropriate or violate their intellectual property rights may force us to defend ourselves, and potentially our clients, against the alleged claim. These claims and any resulting lawsuit, if successful, could be time-consuming and expensive to defend, subject us to significant liability for damages or invalidation of our proprietary rights, prevent us from operating all or a portion of our business or force us to redesign our services or technology platform or cause an interruption or cessation of our business operations, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, any litigation relating to the infringement of intellectual property rights could harm our relationships with current and prospective clients. The risk of such claims and lawsuits could increase if we increase the size and scope of our services in our existing markets or expand into new markets.

We may make acquisitions that prove unsuccessful, strain or divert our resources and harm our results of operations and stock price.

We may consider acquisitions of other companies in our industry or in new markets. We may not be able to successfully complete any such acquisition and, if completed, any such acquisition may fail to achieve the intended financial results. We may not be able to successfully integrate any acquired businesses with our own and we may be unable to maintain our standards, controls and policies. Further, acquisitions may place additional constraints on our resources by diverting the attention of our management from other business concerns. Moreover, any acquisition may result in a potentially dilutive issuance of equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt and amortization of expenses related to intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our results of operations and stock price.

Our current or future indebtedness could adversely affect our business and financial condition and reduce the funds available to us for other purposes, and our failure to comply with the covenants contained in our credit agreement could result in an event of default that could adversely affect our results of operations.

As of March 31, 2012, our total debt was $141.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011, our consolidated interest expense was approximately $13.5 million. Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our debt obligations and to fund our other liquidity needs depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot make assurances that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness and to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and allow us to maintain compliance with the covenants under our credit agreement or to fund our other liquidity needs, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot ensure that we would be able to take

 

18


Table of Contents

any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including our credit agreement. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result, our debt holders could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, the lenders under our credit agreement could terminate their commitments to lend us money and foreclose against the assets securing our borrowings and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Our debt agreements contain, and any agreements to refinance our debt likely will contain, financial and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to incur additional debt, including to finance future operations or other capital needs, and to engage in other activities that we may believe are in our long-term best interests, including to dispose of or acquire assets. Our failure to comply with these covenants may result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness or result in modifications to our credit terms. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations and we may not be able to continue our operations as planned.

Risks Related to This Offering and Our Common Stock

Following the offering, we will be classified as a “controlled company” and, as a result, will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

Upon the closing of this offering, an entity affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners (such entity and its affiliates individually and collectively referred to as “Parthenon Capital Partners”) will continue to control a majority of our common stock. As a result, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the applicable stock exchange corporate governance standards. Under the rules of the NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, a company of which more than 50% of the outstanding voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain stock exchange corporate governance requirements, including:

 

   

the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consists of independent directors;

 

   

the requirement that nominating and corporate governance matters be decided solely by independent directors; and

 

   

the requirement that employee and officer compensation matters be decided solely by independent directors.

Following this offering, we intend to utilize these exemptions. As a result, we will not have a majority of independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation functions will not be decided solely by independent directors. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the stock exchange corporate governance requirements.

The price of our common stock could be volatile, and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the public offering price.

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for our common stock, and an active public market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained after this offering. In particular, you may not be able to resell your shares of our common stock at or above the initial public offering price. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between the representatives of the underwriters and us. The overall market and the price of our common stock may fluctuate greatly. The trading price of our common stock may be significantly affected by various factors, including: quarterly fluctuations in our operating results; the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in those projections or our failure to meet those

 

19


Table of Contents

projections; changes in investors’ and analysts’ perception of the business risks and conditions of our business; our ability to meet the earnings estimates and other performance expectations of financial analysts or investors; unfavorable commentary or downgrades of our stock by equity research analysts; termination of lock-up agreements or other restrictions on the ability of our existing stockholders to sell their shares after this offering; changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of debt or equity securities; lawsuits threatened or filed against us; strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings; new legislation or regulatory actions; changes in our relationship with any of our significant clients; fluctuations in the stock prices of our peer companies or in stock markets in general; and general economic conditions.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of our common stock may lower our stock price.

If our existing stockholders sell a large number of shares of our common stock following this offering, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly. In addition, the perception in the public market that our existing stockholders might sell shares of common stock could depress the market price of our common stock, regardless of the actual plans of our existing stockholders. Immediately after this offering, approximately              shares of our common stock will be outstanding, or              shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares,              shares will be available for immediate resale in the public market, including all of the shares in this offering, and              shares will be available for resale 90 days following completion of this offering. Of the remaining shares outstanding,              shares are subject to lock-up agreements restricting the sale of those shares for 180 days from the date of this prospectus. However, the underwriters may waive this restriction and allow the stockholders to sell their shares at any time. In addition, following this offering and the sale by the selling stockholders of the shares offered by them, assuming an initial public offering price of $             per share, which is the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the holders of shares of common stock will have the right, subject to certain exceptions and conditions, to require us to register their shares of common stock under the Securities Act, and they will have the right to participate in future registrations of securities by us. Registration of any of these outstanding shares of common stock would result in such shares becoming freely tradable without compliance with Rule 144 upon effectiveness of the registration statement. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” After this offering, we intend to register approximately              shares of common stock that are reserved for issuance upon exercise of options granted under our stock option plans. Once we register these shares, they can be sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to restrictions under the securities laws applicable to resale by affiliates.

Investors in this offering will suffer immediate and substantial dilution.

The initial public offering price per share of common stock will be substantially higher than our pro forma net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering. As a result, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the book value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities. At an offering price of $         per share, the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in an amount of $         per share of common stock.

Our majority stockholder will have the ability to control significant corporate activities after the completion of this offering and our majority stockholder’s interests may not coincide with yours.

After the consummation of this offering, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional shares. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock. As a result of its ownership, Parthenon Capital Partners, so long as it holds a majority of our outstanding shares, will have the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and, through our board of directors, the ability to control decision-making with respect to our business direction and policies. Matters over which Parthenon Capital Partners will, directly or indirectly, exercise control following this offering include:

 

   

the election of our board of directors and the appointment and removal of our officers;

 

20


Table of Contents
   

mergers and other business combination transactions, including proposed transactions that would result in our stockholders receiving a premium price for their shares;

 

   

other acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets;

 

   

incurrence of indebtedness and the issuance of equity securities;

 

   

repurchase of stock and payment of dividends; and

 

   

the issuance of shares to management under our equity incentive plans.

Even if Parthenon Capital Partners’ ownership of our shares falls below a majority, it may continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions. In addition, Parthenon Capital Partners will have a contractual right to designate a number of directors proportionate to their stock ownership. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Nomination of our Directors.” Further, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not have any obligation to present to us, and Parthenon Capital Partners may separately pursue, corporate opportunities of which they became aware, even if those opportunities are ones that we would have pursued if granted the opportunity. See “Description of Capital Stock—Corporate Opportunities.”

If securities analysts do not publish research or if securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, the price of our common stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that securities analysts and other third parties choose to publish about us. We do not control these analysts or other third parties. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our common stock or if one or more securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us or cease publishing reports about us.

We will have broad discretion in how we use the proceeds of this offering and we may not use these proceeds effectively. This could affect our results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Our management team will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether we are using the proceeds appropriately. We currently intend to use the net proceeds of this offering to redeem all of our shares of series B preferred stock and to pay a fee in connection with the termination of our advisory agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and the remainder of the net proceeds are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes and possibly to fund acquisitions We may use the net proceeds for corporate purposes that do not improve our results of operations or which cause our stock price to decline.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could impair a takeover attempt that our stockholders may find beneficial.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult or discouraging an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Our corporate governance documents include the following provisions: establishing a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board are elected at one time; providing that directors may be removed by stockholders only for cause; authorizing blank check preferred stock, which could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings and to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners no longer beneficially owns a majority of our outstanding shares; limiting our ability to engage in certain business combinations with any “interested

 

21


Table of Contents

stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder; requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; requiring a super-majority vote for certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws after the time when Parthenon Capital Partners ceases to beneficially own a majority of our outstanding shares; and limiting the determination of the number of directors on our board of directors and the filling of vacancies or newly created seats on the board to our board of directors then in office. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also imposes some restrictions on mergers and other business combinations between us and any holder of 15% or more of our common stock, other than Parthenon Capital Partners. These provisions, alone or together, could have the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Because we do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you are able to sell your common stock for a price greater than your purchase price.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our credit agreement. As a result, you may not receive any return on investment unless you are able to sell your common stock for a price greater than your purchase price.

 

22


Table of Contents

INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors.” In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our opportunities and expectations for growth in the student lending, healthcare and other markets;

 

   

anticipated trends and challenges in our business and competition in the markets in which we operate;

 

   

our client relationships and future growth opportunities;

 

   

the adaptability of our technology platform to new markets and processes;

 

   

our ability to invest in and utilize our data and analytics capabilities to expand our capabilities;

 

   

our belief that we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility;

 

   

our growth strategy of expanding in our existing markets and considering strategic alliances or acquisitions;

 

   

our ability to meet our liquidity and working capital needs;

 

   

maintaining, protecting and enhancing our intellectual property;

 

   

our expectations regarding future expenses;

 

   

expected future financial performance;

 

   

our expectations regarding the use of proceeds from this offering; and

 

   

our ability to comply with and adapt to industry regulations and compliance demands.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

You may rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. Neither we nor any of the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide information different from that contained in this prospectus. Neither the delivery of this prospectus, nor sale of common stock, means that information contained in this prospectus is correct after the date of this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy shares of common stock in any circumstances under which the offer or solicitation is unlawful.

This prospectus also contains statistical data and estimates, including those relating to market size and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that we obtained from government and industry publications. These publications typically indicate that they have obtained their information from sources they believe to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of their information. Although we have assessed the information in the publications and found it to be reasonable and believe the publications are reliable, we have not independently verified their data.

 

23


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock that we are selling in this offering will be $         million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $         million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholders, although we will bear the costs, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions, associated with the sale of these shares. The selling stockholders include entities affiliated with or controlled by certain of our directors.

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us from this offering as follows:

 

   

to pay a $         million fee with respect to the termination of our Advisory Agreement with an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners and a transaction fee equal to 1% of the gross proceeds of this offering; and

 

   

the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions that may be complementary to our business. We have no agreement with respect to any material investments at this time.

Accordingly, our management team will have broad discretion in using the net proceeds to be received by us from this offering.

Pending such uses, we plan to invest the net proceeds in short- and intermediate-term, interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the U.S.  government.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our board of directors does not currently intend to pay regular dividends on our common stock. However, we expect to reevaluate our dividend policy on a regular basis following this offering and may, subject to compliance with the covenants in our credit agreement and other considerations, determine to pay dividends in the future. Our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our credit agreement.

 

24


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of March 31, 2012:

 

   

on an actual basis;

 

   

on a pro forma basis, giving effect to (i) the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock and the redemption of 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock for an aggregate amount of approximately $16.3 million, both of which occurred on June 28, 2012, (ii) the increase in the amount of borrowings under our term B loan by $19.5 million, used primarily to fund the redemption and (iii) the payment of approximately $0.8 million in transaction fees related to the increase in our term B loan.

 

   

on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

You should read the information in this table together with the sections titled “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     As of March 31, 2012  
           Actual               Pro Forma         Pro Forma As
Adjusted (2)(3)
 
     (Restated) (1)              
     (in thousands, except share data)  

Cash and cash equivalents

        $ 12,312           $ 14,677           $                
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Debt:

      

Revolving credit facility

        $ 4,500           $ 4,500           $     

Term A loan

     57,000        57,000     

Term B loan

     79,500        99,000     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total debt

     141,000        160,500     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Redeemable preferred stock:

      

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. 18,000,000 shares authorized, 699,555 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

     15,846            

Stockholders’ deficit:

      

Due from stockholders

     (2,294     (2,294  

Common stock, $0.01 par value. 25,000,000 shares authorized, 20,909,288 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 25,000,000 shares authorized, 21,608,843 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma;              shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

     209        216     

Additional paid-in capital

     20,454        20,447     

Accumulated deficit

     (31,868     (32,336  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (13,499     (13,967  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

        $ 143,347           $ 146,533           $     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheets and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

25


Table of Contents
(2)  

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity deficit and total capitalization by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares were exercised in full, pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total debt, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity deficit and total capitalization as of March 31, 2012 would be $         million, $         million, $         million, $         million and $         million, respectively.

 

(3)  

The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of our initial public offering determined at pricing.

The number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding actual, pro forma, and pro forma as adjusted in the table above excludes:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,625 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans;

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners; and

 

   

the repurchase of 49,010 shares of common stock by us from certain members of management on July 3, 2012.

 

26


Table of Contents

DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock immediately after completion of this offering.

Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of shares of common stock outstanding. Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) as of March 31, 2012, was $         million, or $         per share. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2012 was $         million, or $         per share, based on the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock converting into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock and the redemption of 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock for an aggregate redemption payment of $16.3 million, both of which occurred on June 28, 2012.

After giving effect to (i) the items described in the preceding paragraph and (ii) our sale of shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $         per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $         per share to investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering, as illustrated in the following table:

 

Initial public offering price per share

      $               

Historical net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

   $                   

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

     

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to investors         purchasing shares of in the offering

     
  

 

 

    

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

     
     

 

 

 

Dilution in pro forma per share to investors in this offering

       $     
     

 

 

 

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by approximately $         million, or approximately $         per share, and the pro forma dilution per share to investors in this offering by approximately $         per share, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

If the underwriters’ over-allotment option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering would be approximately $         per share, the increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be approximately $         per share, and the dilution to investors purchasing shares in this offering would be approximately $         per share.

 

27


Table of Contents

The following table presents on a pro forma as adjusted basis as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into common stock, which occurred on June 28, 2012, the differences between the existing stockholders and the investors purchasing shares in this offering with respect to the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid, which includes net proceeds received from the issuance of common and series A preferred stock, cash received from the exercise of stock options and the value of any stock issued for services and the average price paid per share (in thousands, except per share amounts and percentages):

 

     Shares Purchased      Total Consideration (1)      Average Price
per Share
 
     Number    Percent        Amount            Percent       

Existing stockholders

        %           $           %           $            

New investors

              
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

Totals

        100.0%           $                  100.0%           $     
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid to us by new investors and total consideration paid to us by all stockholder by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, our existing stockholders would own     % and our new investors would own     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

The foregoing calculations are based on 21,608,843 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012 assuming our outstanding convertible preferred stock converts into 699,555 shares of common stock, which occurred on June 28, 2012, and excludes:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans;

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners; and

 

   

the repurchase of 49,010 shares of common stock by us from certain members of management on July 3, 2012.

 

28


Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We derived the selected consolidated financial data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2007 and 2008 from our audited consolidated financial statements not included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and as of March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited consolidated financial statements include, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist only of normal recurring adjustments, that management considers necessary for the fair statement of the financial information set forth in those statements. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. You should read the following selected consolidated historical financial data below in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements, related notes, and other financial information included in this prospectus. The selected consolidated financial data in this section is not intended to replace the consolidated financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial statements and related notes and schedule included in this prospectus.

 

29


Table of Contents
    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months
Ended March 31,
 
    2007     2008     2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
   

(in thousands)

 

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

             

Revenues

  $ 88,514      $ 98,967      $ 109,832      $ 123,519      $ 162,974      $ 35,080      $ 45,878   

Operating expenses:

             

Salaries and benefits

    51,805        49,109        53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

    23,778        26,730        32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                                13,400                 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    75,583        75,839        85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    12,931        23,128        23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                    (3,679

Interest expense

    (17,966     (16,361     (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

    488        217        104        118        125        32        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    (4,547     6,984        8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    (1,445     3,113        3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

  $ (3,102   $ 3,871      $ 5,010      $ 9,975      $ 12,372      $ 2,918      $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

    4,047        4,556        5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

    (7,149     (685     (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders (3)

             

Basic

  $ (0.34   $ (0.03   $ (0.01   $ 0.20      $ 0.27      $ 0.06      $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

  $ (0.34   $ (0.03   $ (0.01   $ 0.19      $ 0.26      $ 0.06      $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

             

Basic

    21,255        21,327        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,493   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

    21,255        21,327        21,481        22,510        22,871        22,535        23,113   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share (4)

             

Basic

          $          $     

Diluted

          $          $     
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share

             

Basic

             

Diluted

             
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheets and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(3)

Please see Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

(4)  

See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of our presentation of pro forma net income per share.

 

    As of December 31,     As of
March 31,
 
    2007     2008     2009     2010     2011     2012  
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
    (in thousands)  
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:                                    

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 11,869      $ 9,108      $ 8,924      $ 11,078      $ 20,004      $ 12,312   

Total assets

  $ 183,939      $ 183,783      $ 180,735      $ 181,390      $ 181,849      $ 183,023   

Total debt

  $ 142,180      $ 134,215      $ 127,298      $ 117,331      $ 103,383      $ 141,000   

Total liabilities

    174,410        167,617        161,077        151,231        139,306        180,676   

Redeemable preferred stock

    36,298        40,854        45,982        51,753        58,248        15,846   

Total stockholders’ deficit

    (26,769     (26,688     (26,324     (21,594     (15,705     (13,499

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheets and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

30


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees on the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

Sources of Revenues

We derive our revenues from services for clients in a variety of different markets. These markets include our two largest markets, student lending and healthcare, as well as our other markets which include but are not limited to delinquent state taxes and federal Treasury and other receivables.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
     Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009      2010      2011      2011      2012  
     (in thousands)  

Student Lending

    $ 84,056        $ 103,672        $ 122,253        $ 26,404        $ 29,168   

Healthcare

             1,821         21,549         3,648         12,069   

Other

     25,776         18,026         19,172         5,028         4,641   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenues

    $ 109,832        $ 123,519        $ 162,974        $ 35,080        $ 45,878   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Student Lending

We derive the majority of our revenues from the recovery of student loans. These revenues are contract-based and consist primarily of contingency fees based on a specified percentage of the amount we enable our clients to recover. Our contingency fee percentage for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees.

 

31


Table of Contents

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with a significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. Based on data compiled from over two decades of experience with the recovery of defaulted student loans, at the time we receive a placement of student loans, we are able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from such placement and the revenues we are likely able to generate based on the anticipated recovery outcomes.

There are five potential outcomes to the student loan recovery process from which we generate revenue. These outcomes include: full repayment, recurring payments, rehabilitation, loan restructuring and wage garnishment. Of these five potential outcomes, our ability to rehabilitate defaulted student loans is the most significant component of our revenues in this market. Generally, a loan is considered successfully rehabilitated after the student loan borrower has made nine consecutive monthly payments and our client has notified us that it is recalling the loan. Once we have structured and implemented a repayment program for a defaulted borrower, we (i) earn a percentage of each periodic payment collected up to and including the final periodic payment prior to the loan being considered “rehabilitated” by our clients, and (ii) if the loan is “rehabilitated,” then we are paid a one-time percentage of the total amount of the remaining unpaid balance. The fees we are paid vary by recovery outcome as well as by contract. For non-government-supported student loans we are generally only paid contingency fees on two outcomes: full repayment or recurring repayments. The table below describes our typical fee structure for each of these five outcomes.

 

 

Student Loan Recovery Outcomes

    Full Repayment   Recurring Payments         Rehabilitation   Loan Restructuring   Wage Garnishment
 

•Repayment in full of the loan

 

•Regular structured payments, typically according to a renegotiated payment plan

     

•After a defaulted borrower has made nine consecutive recurring payments, the loan is eligible for rehabilitation

 

•Restructure and consolidate a number of outstanding loans into a single loan, typically with one monthly payment and an extended maturity

 

•If we are unable to obtain voluntary repayment, payments may be obtained through wage garnishment after certain administrative requirements are met

 

•We are paid a percentage of the full payment that is made

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

   

•We are paid based on a percentage of the overall value of the rehabilitated loan

 

•We are paid based on a percentage of overall value of the restructured loan

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

                                     

For certain GA clients, we have entered into Master Service Agreements, or MSAs. Under these agreements, clients provide their entire inventory of outsourced loans or receivables to us for recovery on an exclusive basis, rather than just a portion, as with traditional contracts that are split among various service providers. In certain circumstances, we engage subcontractors to assist in the recovery of a portion of the client’s portfolio. We also receive success fees for the recovery of loans under MSAs and our revenues under MSA arrangements include fees earned by the activities of our subcontractors. As of March 31, 2012, we had four MSA clients in the student loan market.

 

32


Table of Contents

Healthcare

We derive revenue from the healthcare market primarily from our RAC contract, under which we are the prime contractor responsible for detecting improperly paid Part A and Part B Medicare claims in 12 states in the Northeastern United States. Revenues earned under the RAC contract are driven by the identification of improperly paid Medicare claims through both automated and manual review of such claims. We are paid contingency fees by CMS based on a percentage of the dollar amount of claims recovered by CMS as a result of our efforts. We recognize revenue when the provider pays CMS or incurs an offset against future Medicare claims. The revenue we recognize is net of our estimate of claims that will be overturned by appeal following payment by the provider.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsourced certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. We recognize all of the revenues generated by the claims recovered through these subcontractor relationships, and we recognize the fees that we pay to these subcontractors in our expenses.

Other

We also derive revenue from the recovery of delinquent state taxes, and federal Treasury and other receivables, default aversion services for certain clients including financial institutions and the licensing of hosted technology solutions to certain clients. For our hosted technology services, we license our system and integrate our technology into our clients’ operations, for which we are paid a licensing fee. Our revenues for these services include contingency fees, fees based on dedicated headcount to our clients and hosted technology licensing fees.

Operating Metrics

We monitor a number of operating metrics in order to evaluate our business and make decisions regarding our corporate strategy. These key metrics include Placement Volume, Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume, Net Claim Recovery Volume and Claim Recovery Fee Rate.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
     (dollars in thousands)  

Student Lending:

          

Placement Volume

   $ 4,920,506      $ 5,294,971      $ 6,241,483      $ 1,679,002      $ 1,001,808   

Placement Revenue as a percentage of Placement Volume

     1.71     1.96     1.96     1.53     2.91

Healthcare:

          

Net Claim Recovery Volume

   $      $ 15,494      $ 188,573      $ 31,599      $ 106,100   

Claim Recovery Fee Rate

            11.76     11.43     11.54     11.38

Placement Volume.   Our Placement Volume represents the dollar volume of defaulted student loans first placed with us during the specified period by public and private clients for recovery. Placement Volume allows us to measure and track trends in the amount of inventory our clients in the student lending market are placing with us during any period. The revenue associated with the recovery of a portion of these loans may be recognized in subsequent accounting periods, which assists management in estimating future revenues and in allocating resources necessary to address current Placement Volumes.

 

33


Table of Contents

Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume.   Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume is calculated by dividing revenue recognized during the specified period by Placement Volume first placed with us during that same period. This metric is subject to some level of variation from period to period based upon certain timing differences including, but not limited to, the timing of placements received by us within a period and the fact that a significant portion of revenue recognized in a current period is often generated from the Placement Volume received in prior periods. However, we believe that this metric provides a useful indication of the revenues we are generating from Placement Volumes on an ongoing basis and provides management with an indication of the relative efficiency of our recovery operations from period to period.

Net Claim Recovery Volume.   Our Net Claim Recovery Volume measures the dollar volume of improper Medicare claims that we have recovered for CMS during the applicable period net of any amount that we have reserved to cover appeals by healthcare providers. We are paid recovery fees as a percentage of this recovered claim volume. We calculate this metric by dividing our claim recovery revenue by our Claim Recovery Fee Rate. This metric shows trends in the volume of improper payments within our region and allows management to measure our success in finding these improper payments, over time.

Claim Recovery Fee Rate.   Our Claim Recovery Fee Rate represents the weighted-average percentage of our fees compared to amounts recovered by CMS. This percentage primarily depends on the method of recovery and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify. This metric helps management measure how much revenue we generate from Net Claim Recovery Volume.

Costs and Expenses

We generally report two categories of operating expenses: salaries and benefits and other operating expense. Salaries and benefits expenses consist primarily of salaries and performance incentives paid and benefits provided to our employees. Other operating expense includes expenses related to our use of subcontractors, other production related expenses, including costs associated with data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services, amortization and other outside services, as well as general corporate and administrative expenses. In addition to our main components of operating expenses, we incurred a $13.4 million impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to our plan to retire our Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name in 2011, which we report as Impairment of trade name. We expect a significant portion of our expenses to increase as we grow our business. However, we expect certain expenses, including our corporate and general administrative expenses, to grow at a slower rate than our revenues. As a result, and over the long term, we expect our overall expenses to modestly decline as a percentage of revenues.

We also expect to incur additional professional fees and other expenses resulting from future expansion and the compliance requirements of operating as a public company, including increased audit and legal expenses, investor relations expenses, increased insurance expenses, particularly for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and the costs of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While these costs may initially increase as a percentage of our revenues, we expect that in the future these expenses will increase at a slower rate than our overall business volume, and that they will eventually represent a smaller percentage of our revenues.

Factors Affecting Our Operating Results

Our results of operations are primarily influenced by allocation of placement volume, claim recovery volume, contingency fees, regulatory matters, effects of client concentration and macroeconomic factors.

Allocation of Placement Volume

Our clients have the right to unilaterally set and increase or reduce the volume of defaulted student loans or other receivables that we service at any given time. In addition, many of our recovery contracts for student loans and other receivables are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers to service portions of their portfolios. Accordingly, the number of delinquent student loans or other receivables that are

 

34


Table of Contents

placed with us may vary from time to time, which may have a significant affect on the amount and timing of our revenues. We believe the major factors that influence the number of placements we receive from our clients in the student loan market include our performance under our existing contracts and our ability to perform well against competitors for a particular client. To the extent that we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of placements under these existing contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

Typically we are able to anticipate with reasonable accuracy the timing and volume of placements of defaulted student loans and other receivables based on historical patterns and regular communication with our clients. Occasionally, however, placements are delayed due to factors outside of our control. For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the three months ended March 31, 2012 was 58% lower than in the comparable three months ended March 31, 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, since September 2011, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans and accordingly we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. When these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education, we expect to recognize the revenues in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Delays in placement volume, as well as acceleration of placement volume, from any of our large clients may cause our revenue and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter.

Claim Recovery Volume

While we are entitled to review Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region, we are not permitted to identify an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies as well as national and local coverage determinations. The growth of our revenues is determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to identify improper payments within these claims. However, the long-term growth of these revenues will also be affected by the scope of the issues pre-approved by CMS.

Contingency Fees

Our revenues consist primarily of contract-based contingency fees. The contingency fee percentages that we earn are set by our clients, and may change from time to time either under the terms of existing contracts or pursuant to the terms of contract renewals. Any changes in the contingency fee percentages that we are paid under existing and future contracts could have a significant impact on our revenues.

Regulatory Matters

Each of the markets which we serve is highly regulated. Accordingly, changes in regulations that affect the types of loans, receivables and claims that we are able to service or the manner in which any such delinquent loans, receivables and claims can be recovered will affect our revenues and results of operations. For example, the passage of SAFRA in 2010 had the effect of transferring the origination of all government-supported student loans to the Department of Education, thereby ending all student loan originations guaranteed by the GAs. Loans guaranteed by the GAs represented approximately 70% of government-supported student loans originated in

 

35


Table of Contents

2009. While the GAs will continue to service existing outstanding student loans for years to come, this legislation will over time shift the portfolio of student loans that we manage toward the Department of Education, and further concentrate our sources of revenues and increase our reliance on our relationship with the Department of Education. In addition, our entry into the healthcare market was facilitated by passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which mandated CMS to contract with private firms to audit Medicare claims in an effort to increase the recovery of improper Medicare payments. Any changes to the regulations that affect the student loan industry or the recovery of defaulted student loans or the Medicare program generally or the audit and recovery of Medicare claims could have a significant impact on our revenues and results of operations.

Client Concentration

Our revenues from the student loan market depend on our ability to maintain our contracts with some of the largest providers of student loans. In 2011, four providers of student loans each accounted for more than 10% of our revenues during such period and they collectively accounted for 61% of our total revenues during this period. Our contracts with these clients entitle them to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty. If we lose one of our significant clients, including if one of our significant clients is consolidated by an entity that does not use our services, if the terms of compensation for our services change or if there is a reduction in the level of placements provided by any of these clients, our revenues could decline.

Our contract with CMS for the recovery of improper Medicare payments began generating significant revenues during 2011 and represented 26% of our total revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect that renewal of the contract will be a competitive process. While we believe our performance under the existing agreement and the experience we have gained in performing this contract position us well to renew the agreement, failure to renew the agreement or renewal on substantially less favorable terms could significantly harm our revenues and results of operations.

Macroeconomic Factors

Certain macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the increasing volume of student loan originations in the U.S. as a result of increased tuition costs and student enrollment, the default rate of student loan borrowers, the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from increasing healthcare costs, as well as the fiscal budget tightening of federal, state and local governments as a result of general economic weakness and lower tax revenues.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.

Revenue Recognition

The majority of our contracts are contingency fee based. We recognize revenue on these contingency fee based contracts when third-party payors remit payment to our clients or remit payment to us on behalf of our clients, and, consequently, the contingency is deemed to have been satisfied. Under our RAC contract with CMS,

 

36


Table of Contents

we recognize revenue when the healthcare provider has paid CMS for a given claim. Providers have the right to appeal a claim, and may pursue additional appeals if the initial appeal is found in favor of CMS. We accrue a reserve for appeals based on the amount that we estimate will be overturned in the provider’s favor. Our levels of reserves for appeals are based on assumptions derived from our limited experience under our contract with CMS, and our inability to correctly estimate these reserves could adversely affect our revenues.

Goodwill

We periodically review the carrying value of intangible assets not subject to amortization, including goodwill, to determine whether an impairment may exist. GAAP requires that goodwill and certain intangible assets not subject to amortization be assessed annually for impairment using fair value measurement techniques.

Specifically, goodwill impairment is determined using a two-step test. The first step of the goodwill impairment test is used to identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its book value, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its book value, goodwill is considered not impaired and the second step of the impairment test is unnecessary. If the book value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the goodwill impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the book value of that goodwill. If the book value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination. That is, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the reporting unit was the purchase price paid to acquire the reporting unit. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment . This ASU permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity concludes it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, it need not perform the two-step impairment test. The ASU permits early adoption, and based on our qualitative assessment we concluded that we are not required to perform the two-step impairment test at December 31, 2011.

Impairments of Depreciable Intangible Assets

We evaluate depreciable intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Depreciable intangible assets consist of client contracts and related relationships, and are being amortized over their estimated useful life, which is generally 20 years. We evaluate the client contracts intangible at the individual contract level. The recoverability of such assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If the assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. There was no impairment expense for depreciable intangible assets in 2010 and 2011. In 2009, an impairment charge of $2.6 million was recognized to account for our decision to discontinue a relationship with a client.

 

37


Table of Contents

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012

The following table represents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Three Months Ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  
     (in thousands)  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:             

Revenues

        $ 35,080           $ 45,878   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

     10,073        16,141   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     26,802        34,782   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs

            (3,679

Interest expense

     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

     32        31   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

     1,949        1,742   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $         2,918           $         2,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $45.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $10.8 million, or 30.8%, compared to total revenue of $35.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase in revenues is primarily due to an increase of $8.4 million in revenues received from CMS under our RAC contract as a result of higher claim recovery volumes and an increase of $2.8 million in student loan recovery revenues. This increase was partially offset by a reduction of $2.4 million of student loan rehabilitation revenues from the Department of Education for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, as a result of the inability of the Department of Education to process rehabilitated loans due to the delays created by their technology system upgrade.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $18.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $1.9 million, or 11.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to hiring of new employees to provide services under our RAC contract with CMS, an increase in administrative employees and an increase in expenses associated with the engagement of additional software engineers to assist in the integration of a newly acquired software license.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $16.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $6.1 million, or 60.2%, compared to other operating expense of $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to an additional $3.5 million of subcontractor expenses incurred in connection with increased services provided under the RAC contract and MSA contracts in our student lending market. In addition, in the three months ended March 31, 2012, we incurred an additional $0.9 million of data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services expenses as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, due to increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records in connection with the RAC contract.

 

38


Table of Contents

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $11.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $8.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, representing an increase of $2.8 million, or 34.0%.

Debt Extinguishment Costs

As a result of the entry into our new credit facility and the repayment of all amounts owed under our then existing credit facility in March 2012, we incurred debt extinguishment costs of $3.7 million, comprised of approximately $3.3 million in fees paid to the lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with our old credit facility.

Interest Expense

Interest expense of $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 representing a decrease of 7.3%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which represented a decrease of $0.4 million compared to net income of $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Excluding the debt extinguishment costs incurred in March 2012, net income would have been $4.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Year Ended December 31, 2010 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2011

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2011  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         123,519           $         162,974   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     58,113        67,082   

Other operating expense

     33,655        49,199   

Impairment of trade name

            13,400   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     91,768        129,681   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     31,751        33,293   

Interest expense

     (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

     118        125   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     16,639        19,888   

Provision for income taxes

     6,664        7,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 9,975           $ 12,372   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $163.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $39.5 million, or 31.9%, compared to total revenues of $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Of this increase, $19.7 million is attributable to increased recovery activity on our RAC contract with CMS and reflects the first full-year of our recovery activity related to this contract. The remaining increase was primarily a result

 

39


Table of Contents

of an increase in revenues from our student lending markets, due largely to an approximately 17.9% increase in placement volume from 2010 to 2011.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits was $67.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $9.0 million, or 15.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to an increase in employee headcount associated with hiring to staff our operations under the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,280 as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 160, or 14.3%, over the employee headcount of 1,120 as of December 31, 2010.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $49.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $15.5 million, or 46.2%, compared to other operating expense of $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to the use of subcontractors as we expand our operations in our healthcare market to help address the new and significant claims activity, along with increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records as required under the RAC contract. In addition, we recorded a $1.2 million expense in 2011 related to a legal settlement that was paid out in the first quarter of 2012.

Income From Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $33.3 million, for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared to $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This reflects an expense of $13.4 million related to impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible assets due to the retirement of a former trade name. Income from operations excluding this expense totaled $46.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represents an increase of $14.9 million, or 47.1%, as compared to income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, a decrease of $1.7 million from $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The reduction in interest expense is due primarily to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense of $7.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, represented an effective tax rate of 37.8% of income before provision for income tax.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $12.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represented an increase of $2.4 million over net income of $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Excluding the impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name, net income would have been $20.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 

40


Table of Contents

Year Ended December 31, 2009 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2010

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2010  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         109,832           $         123,519   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     53,728        58,113   

Other operating expense

     32,110        33,655   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     85,838        91,768   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     23,994        31,751   

Interest expense

     (16,017     (15,230

Interest income

     104        118   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     8,081        16,639   

Provision for income taxes

     3,071        6,664   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 5,010           $ 9,975   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $13.7 million, or 12.5%, compared to total revenues of $109.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. Total revenues increased as a result of greater student loan revenue of $19.6 million driven by increased placement volume and $1.8 million of revenue associated with the commencement of operations under our RAC contract. This increase was partially offset by decrease in other revenue primarily attributable to a revenue benefit we experienced in 2009 related to tax amnesty programs in two states, which is estimated to be $7.3 million.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $4.4 million, or 8.2%, compared to salaries and related expense of $53.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due primarily to an increase in employee headcount required for the implementation of the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,120 as of December 31, 2010, an increase of 61, or 5.8%, over the employee headcount of 1,059 as of December 31, 2009.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $1.5 million, or 4.8%, compared to other operating expense of $32.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due mainly to increased use of subcontractors to help meet increased recovery activity, along with an increase in legal fees associated with a lawsuit.

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to $24.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in income from operations was primarily due to revenues growing at a higher rate than operating expenses as a result of operating efficiencies.

 

41


Table of Contents

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, a decrease of $0.8 million from $16.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The reduction in interest expense is primarily due to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes of $6.7 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $3.6 million compared to provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2009. Our effective tax rate increased to 40.0% from 38.0%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, which represents an increase of $5.0 million as compared to net income of $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Selected Quarterly Financial Data

The following table sets forth selected unaudited consolidated quarterly operating data for each of the nine quarters during the period from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012. In our management’s opinion, the data has been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus and reflect all necessary adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of these data. You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Operating results for any fiscal quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in future periods.

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar 31,
2010
    Jun 30,
2010
    Sept 30,
2010
    Dec 31,
2010
    Mar 31,
2011
    Jun 30,
2011
    Sep 30,
2011
    Dec 31,
2011
    Mar 31,
2012
 
    (in thousands)  

Revenues

   $   29,135       $   31,319       $   29,362       $   33,703       $   35,080       $   43,244       $   42,009       $   42,641       $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

                 

Salaries and benefits

    14,715        14,232        14,185        14,981        16,729        17,252        16,456        16,645        18,641   

Other operating expense

    7,231        8,330        8,414        9,680        10,073        11,507        13,613        14,006        16,141   

Impairment of trade name (1)

                                                     13,400          
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    21,946        22,562        22,599        24,661        26,802        28,759        30,069        44,051        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    7,189        8,757        6,763        9,042        8,278        14,485        11,940        (1,410     11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                                            (3,679

Interest expense

    (3,991     (3,971     (3,667     (3,601     (3,443     (3,404     (3,366     (3,317     (3,190

Interest income

    25        28        34        31        32        31        31        31        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    3,223        4,814        3,130        5,472        4,867        11,112        8,605        (4,696     4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    1,291        1,928        1,254        2,191        1,949        4,451        3,439        (2,323     1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   $ 1,932       $ 2,886       $ 1,876       $ 3,281       $ 2,918       $ 6,661       $ 5,166       $ (2,373    $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Represents impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the plan to retire the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name.

(2)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary source of liquidity is cash flows from operations. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents combined with the amounts available under our credit agreement and the proceeds to us from sales of

 

42


Table of Contents

our common stock in this offering, will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, among other things, including our future profitability, cash flows from operations, and the availability under our credit agreement.

Our cash and cash equivalents was $12.3 million as of March 31, 2012.

Cash Flows

The following table presents information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2009     2010     2011         2011             2012      
     (in thousands)  

Net cash flows provided by operating activities

   $ 15,633      $ 18,214      $ 28,985      $ 9,188      $ 2,842   

Net cash flows used in investing activities

     (4,877     (4,921     (6,111     (1,046     (1,963

Net cash flows used in financing activities

     (10,940     (11,139     (13,948     (3,500     (8,571

Cash flows from operating activities

We generated $2.8 million of cash from operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from our net income of $2.5 million and non-cash depreciation and amortization of $2.2 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $2.5 million. A change in our operating assets and liabilities resulted from a $3.9 million increase in deferred revenues as a result of cash receipts from the Department of Education with respect to rehabilitation of student loans that the Department of Education has not been able to process due to its technology upgrade project. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, cash flows from operating activities were $9.2 million, reflecting net income of $2.9 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.9 million and net changes in operating assets and liabilities of $4.0 million.

We generated $29.0 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2011, primarily resulting from our net income of $12.4 million, non-cash depreciation and amortization of $7.8 million, an impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name of $13.4 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $3.8 million, offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $9.6 million. We generated $18.2 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily reflecting from our net income of $10.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $7.2 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $2.0 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $1.5 million. We generated $15.6 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily resulting from our net income of $5.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $9.6 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $3.0 million, partially offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $2.9 million.

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash flows for investing activities were used primarily for the acquisition and maintenance of computer equipment and software, to enhance our technology platform and to improve our telecommunications systems. We used $2.0 million of cash in investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, resulting from $1.2 million related to purchases of property, equipment and leasehold improvements and $0.8 million related to the initial payment for the purchase of a perpetual software license and computer equipment. We used $4.9 million, $4.9 million and $6.1 million of cash in investing activities for the purchase of property, equipment and leasehold improvements during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, primarily returning investments in information technology systems and infrastructure to support increased business volumes.

 

43


Table of Contents

Cash flows from financing activities

Our financing activities have consisted primarily of the entry into our new credit agreement, the repayment of our old credit agreement, the redemption of shares of preferred stock and the payment of deferred financing fees. We used $8.6 million of cash in financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from $136.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new notes payable and $4.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new line of credit, which were partially offset by $44.0 million used for the redemption of preferred stock, $95.2 million used for the repayment of our old notes payable, $8.2 million used for the repayment of our old line of credit and $2.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $13.9 million of cash in financing activities for the repayment of notes payable during the year ended December 31, 2011. We used $11.1 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, comprised of $10.0 million used for the repayment of notes payable and $1.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $10.9 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily due to $10.9 million used for the repayment of notes payable, $1.0 million for debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our old line of credit.

Long-term Debt

On March 19, 2012, we, through our wholly owned subsidiary, entered into a $147.5 million credit agreement with Madison Capital Funding LLC as administrative agent, ING Capital LLC as syndication agent, and other lenders party thereto. The senior credit facility consists of (i) a $57.0 million term A loan, (ii) a $79.5 million term B loan, and (iii) a $11.0 million revolving credit facility, which had a borrowing capacity of $5.1 million as of March 31, 2012. On June 28, 2012, we increased the amount of our borrowings under our term B loan by $19.5 million. We may also request the lenders to increase the size of the term B loan or other term loans by up to an additional $10.5 million at any time prior to March 19, 2014.

All borrowings under the credit agreement bear interest at a rate per annum equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (i) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal or another national publication, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, and (c) 2.5% or (ii) a London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) a Libor rate published in Reuters or another national publication and (b) 1.5%. The term A loan and the revolving credit facility have an applicable margin of 4.25% for base rate loans and 5.25% for Libor rate loans. The term B loan has an applicable margin of 4.75% for base rate loans and 5.75% for Libor rate loans. The minimum per annum interest rate that we are required to pay is 6.75% for the term A loan and revolving credit facility and 7.25% for the term B loan. Interest is due at the end of each month for base rate loans and at the end of each Libor period for Libor rate loans unless the Libor period is greater than 3 months, in which case interest is due at the last day of each 3-month interval of such Libor period.

The credit agreement requires us to prepay the two term loans on a prorated basis and then to prepay the revolving credit facility under certain circumstances: (i) with 100% of the net cash proceeds of any asset sale or other disposition of assets by us or our subsidiaries where the net cash proceeds exceed $1 million, (ii) with a percentage of our annual excess cash flow each year where such percentage ranges from 25%-75% depending on our total debt to EBITDA ratio reduced by any voluntary prepayments that are made on our term loans during the same period and (iii) with any net cash proceeds from a qualified initial public offering by us, less net proceeds applied to redeem any outstanding preferred equity or convertible debt, to pay a common shareholder dividend not to exceed $20 million or, if we comply with an adjusted EBITDA ratio set forth in the agreement, to our cash balances in an amount not to exceed $75 million. We intend to apply the net proceeds of this offering, other than as described under “Use of Proceeds,” to our cash balances.

We have to abide by certain negative covenants for our credit agreement, which limit the ability for our subsidiaries and us to:

 

   

incur additional indebtedness;

 

44


Table of Contents
   

create or permit liens;

 

   

pay dividends or other distributions to our equity holders;

 

   

purchase or redeem certain equity interests of our equity holders, including any warrants, options and other security rights;

 

   

pay management fees or similar fees to any of our equity holders;

 

   

make any redemption, prepayment, defeasance, repurchase or any other payment with respect to any subordinated debt;

 

   

consolidate or merge;

 

   

sell assets, including the capital stock of our subsidiaries;

 

   

enter into transactions with our affiliates;

 

   

enter into different business lines; and

 

   

make investments.

The credit agreement also requires us to meet certain financial covenants, including maintaining a fixed charge coverage ratio and a total debt to EBITDA ratio as such terms are defined in the agreement for our credit agreement. These financial covenants are tested at the end of each quarter beginning on June 30, 2012. The table below further describes these financial covenants, as well as our current status under these covenants as of March 31, 2012.

 

Financial Covenant

   Covenant
Requirement
     Actual Ratio at
March  31, 2012
 

Fixed charge coverage ratio (minimum)

     1.20 to 1.0         1.79 to 1.0   

Total debt to EBITDA ratio (maximum)

     3.25 to 1.0         2.13 to 1.0   

Contractual Obligations

The following summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2011, except for long-term debt obligations, which reflect the terms of the new credit agreement dated March 19, 2012:

 

    Payments Due by Period  
    Less Than
1 Year
    1 – 3
Years
    3 – 5
Years
    More Than
5 Years
    Total  
    (in thousands)  

Long-Term Debt Obligations (1)

      $         8,134          $         21,690          $         21,690          $         89,486          $         141,000   

Interest Payments (1)

    11,137        19,483        16,214        7,869        54,703   

Operating Lease Obligations

    1,402        1,386        135               2,923   

Purchase Obligation

    732                             732   

Deferred Compensation

           1,761                      1,761   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ 21,405          $ 44,320          $ 38,039          $ 97,355          $ 201,119   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

(1) We entered into our new credit agreement on March 19, 2012, with all outstanding indebtedness under our prior loan facility paid in full. Long-term debt obligations and interest payments presented in this table relate solely to our new credit agreement.

 

45


Table of Contents

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. We conduct all of our business in U.S. currency and therefore do not have any direct foreign currency risk. All borrowings under our senior secured credit facility bear interest at a variable rate based on the prime rate or Libor. While we currently hold our excess cash in an operating account, in the future we may invest all or a portion of our excess cash in short-term investments, including money market accounts, where returns may reflect current interest rates. As a result, market interest rate changes impact our interest expense and interest income. This impact will depend on variables such as the magnitude of interest rate changes and the level of our borrowings under our credit facility or excess cash balances.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we do not intend to elect to take advantage of this extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 as allowed by Section 107(b)(1) of the JOBS Act.

In December 2011, FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. We will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU eliminates the option in GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of income by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update 2011-05 . We plan to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of income in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or GAAP. For GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We expect that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

 

46


Table of Contents

BUSINESS

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and, at the end of 2011, approximately $60 billion of government-supported student loans were in default. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. According to the Government Accountability Office, Medicare paid $525 billion of claims in 2010, of which approximately $48 billion were estimated to be improper payments.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. Our technology platform allows us to disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent component steps, which we refer to as workflows, for our recovery and healthcare claims review specialists. This approach enables us to continuously refine our recovery processes to achieve higher rates of recovery with greater efficiency. By optimizing what traditionally have been manually-intensive processes, we believe we achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models. For example, we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year.

We believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. Over the past several years, we have successfully extended our platform into additional markets with significant recovery opportunities. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market. Recently, we have enhanced our platform through investment in new data and analytics capabilities, which we believe will enable us to provide additional services such as services relating to the detection of fraud, waste and abuse.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable for our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Further, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net

 

47


Table of Contents

income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income. For a discussion on limitations associated with using adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income rather than GAAP measures and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income see the section titled “Summary Consolidated Financial Data—non-GAAP financial measures.”

Our Markets

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

Student lending is a large and critically-important market in the United States. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. This growth has been supported by general demographic trends, increased enrollment, and rising costs of tuition and other expenses that increase the need for borrowed funds among students. In addition to strong underlying origination growth, the default rates among student loan borrowers have increased in recent years. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Government-supported student loans are authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Historically, there have been two distribution channels for student loans: (i) the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, or FDSLP, which represents loans made and managed directly by the Department of Education; and (ii) the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP, which represents loans made by private institutions and currently backed by any of the 32 GAs.

In July 2010, the government-supported student loan sector underwent a structural change with the passage of SAFRA. This legislation transitioned all new government-supported student loan originations to the FDSLP, and away from originations made by private institutions within the FFELP that had previously utilized the GAs to guarantee, manage and service loans. The GAs are non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporations operating under contract with the U.S. Secretary of Education, pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, solely for the purpose of guaranteeing and managing student loans originated by lenders participating in the FFELP. Consequently, while the original distribution channels for student loans have been consolidated into one channel, the Department of Education, this does not impact the volume of government-supported student loan origination, which is a key driver of the volume of defaulted student loan inventory. In addition, despite this transition of all new loan originations to the FDSLP, GAs will continue to manage a significant amount of defaulted student loans for some period of time, due to their large outstanding portfolios of loans originated prior to July 2010. The outstanding portfolios of defaulted FFELP loans will, therefore, require recovery for the foreseeable future.

The Department of Education estimates that the balance of defaulted loans was approximately $29.6 billion in the FDSLP as of September 30, 2011 and approximately $30.4 billion in the FFELP as of December 31, 2011. These programs collectively guaranteed approximately $706 billion of federal government-supported student loans according to the Congressional Budget Office as of September 30, 2011. Given the operational and logistical complexity involved in managing the recovery of defaulted student loans, the Department of Education and the GAs generally choose to outsource these services to third parties.

 

48


Table of Contents

The tables below show government-supported student loan originations and government-supported default inventory for the years ended 2007 through 2011 as reported by the Department of Education.

 

Government-Supported Student Loan Originations   Government-Supported Default Inventory
($ in billions)   ($ in billions)

LOGO

 

(1)

Represents inventory as of September 30, 2011.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry represents a significant portion of the U.S. GDP. According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. In particular, CMS indicates that federal government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion for Medicare, which provides a range of healthcare coverage primarily to elderly and disabled Americans, and $401 billion for Medicaid, which provides federal matching funds for states to finance healthcare for individuals at or below the public assistance level.

The tables below show total U.S. healthcare expenditures from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by CMS and total Medicare spending from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.

 

Total U.S. Healthcare Expenditures   Medicare Spending
($ in trillions)   ($ in billions)
LOGO   LOGO

Medicare was initially established as part of the Social Security Act of 1965 and consists of four parts: Part A covers hospital and other inpatient stays; Part B covers hospital outpatient, physician and other services; Part C is known as Medicare Advantage, under which beneficiaries receive benefits through private health plans; and Part D is the Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit.

Of the $525 billion of 2010 Medicare spending, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that approximately $48 billion, or 9%, was improper, and is the federal public assistance program

 

49


Table of Contents

with the largest amount of improper payments. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues. Likewise, Medicaid improper payments were estimated to be $23 billion, or 6%, of total Medicaid payments for 2010. The following table illustrates the proportion of improper payments among federal public assistance programs in the year ended September 30, 2010, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Top Federal Programs with Improper Payments in the Year Ended
September 30, 2010

 

LOGO

Total = $125 billion

 

(1)

Other includes National School Lunch, Pell Grant, and 60 additional programs.

In accordance with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, a demonstration program was conducted from March 2005 to March 2008 in six states to determine if the RAC program could be effectively used to identify improper payments for claims paid under Medicare Part A and Part B. Due to the success of this demonstration, under The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the U.S. Congress authorized the expansion of the RAC program nationwide. CMS relies on third-party contractors to execute the RAC program to analyze millions of Medicare claims annually for improper payments that have been paid to healthcare providers. The program was implemented by designating one prime contractor in each of the four major regions in the United States: West, Midwest, South, and Northeast.

In addition to government-related healthcare spending, significant growth is expected in the private healthcare market. According to the CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey, the private healthcare market accounted for approximately $1.4 trillion in spending in 2010 and private expenditures are projected to grow more than 5% annually through 2020.

Other Markets

State Tax Market

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The recent economic recession has led to lower income and sales taxes from both individuals and corporations, reducing overall tax revenues and leading to large budget deficits at the state government level. While many states have received federal aid, most have cut services and increased taxes to help close the budget shortfall and have evaluated outsourcing at least some aspect of delinquent tax recovery.

 

50


Table of Contents

Federal Agency Market

The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury by numerous different federal agencies, comprising a mix of commercial and individual obligations and a diverse range of receivables. These debts are managed by the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, or FMS. Since 1996, the FMS has recovered more than $54 billion in delinquent federal debt. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, an increase of more than $700 million over 2010. A significant portion of these collections are processed by private collection firms on behalf of the FMS.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes. For example, we have successfully extended our platform from the student loan market to the state tax, federal treasury receivables and the healthcare recovery markets, each having its own industry complexities and specific regulations.

 

   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. We believe our workflow software is highly intuitive and helps our recovery and claims specialists manage each step of the recovery process, while automating a series of otherwise manually-intensive and document-intensive steps in the recovery process. We believe our streamlined workflow technology drives higher efficiencies in our operations, as illustrated by our ability to generate in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. We believe our streamlined workflow technology also improves recovery results relative to more labor-intensive outsourcing models.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients. In addition, we utilize analytics tools to continuously measure and test our recovery workflow processes to drive refinements and further enhance the quality and effectiveness of our capabilities. Finally, through a recent strategic investment, we have acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. We believe this investment will allow us to expand our capabilities into several new areas including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in various markets.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities. We have business relationships with 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan market and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including an approximate 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we have a seven-year relationship with CMS and are currently one of only four prime Medicare RAC contractors.

 

51


Table of Contents
   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables. We believe we have the necessary organizational experience to understand and adapt to evolving public policy and how it shapes the regulatory environment and objectives of our clients. We believe this helps us identify and anticipate growth opportunities. For example, we successfully identified government healthcare as a potential growth opportunity that has thus far led to the award of three contracts to us by CMS. Together with our flexible technology platform, we have the ability to adapt our business strategy, to allocate resources and to respond to changes in our regulatory environment to capitalize on new growth opportunities.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team .   Our management team has significant industry experience and has demonstrated strong execution capabilities. Our senior management team, led by Lisa Im, has been with us for an average of approximately 12 years. This team has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables. Our management team’s industry experience, combined with deep and specialized understanding of complex and highly regulated industries, has enabled us to maintain long-standing client relationships and strong financial results.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and have grown at a 12% compound annual growth rate from 2002 through 2011. The balance of defaulted government-supported student loans was estimated to be approximately $60 billion as of December 31, 2011. While we have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients. For example, under our contract with the Department of Education, we believe there is an opportunity to grow our placement volume through strong performance. Further, as a result of our relationships with five of the seven largest GAs, we believe we are well-positioned to benefit as a result of any consolidation of smaller GAs over the coming years.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   According to CMS’ National Health Expenditures Survey, Medicare spending totaled approximately $525 billion in 2010 and is expected to increase to $922 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6%. In the private healthcare market, spending totaled $1.4 trillion in 2010 and is expected to grow more than 6% annually through 2020, according to CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey. As these large markets continue to grow, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. In the public healthcare space, we intend to utilize the experience gained through our contracts with CMS to pursue additional recovery opportunities in areas such as Medicare Secondary Payor Recovery and state Medicaid recovery. In addition, through our recently enhanced analytics capabilities, we intend to pursue opportunities to find and eliminate losses prior to payment for healthcare services including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in the public and private healthcare markets.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business. These opportunities may enhance our existing capability or enable us to enter new markets or provide new products or services, such as our licensing of new applied data modeling analytics capabilities that can be used to identify fraudulent or erroneous healthcare claims prior to payment.

 

52


Table of Contents

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. Our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

The components of our platform include the following:

Data Management Expertise

Our platform manages and stores large amounts of data throughout the workflow process. This includes both proprietary data we have compiled over two decades as well as third-party data which we can integrate efficiently and in real-time to reduce errors, reduce cycle time processing and, ultimately, improve recovery rates. The strength of our data management expertise augments our analytics capabilities and provides our recovery and claims specialists with powerful workflow processes.

Data Analytics Capabilities

Our data analytics capabilities efficiently screen and allocate massive volumes of recovery inventory. For example, upon receipt of each placement of student loans, we utilize our proprietary algorithms to assist us in determining the most efficient recovery process and the optimal allocation of recovery specialist resources for each loan. In the healthcare market, we analyze millions of Medicare claims to find potential correlations between claims data and improper payments, which enhance our future recovery rates. Across all of our current markets, we utilize our proprietary analytics tools to continuously and rigorously test our workflow processes in real-time to drive greater process efficiency and improvement in recovery rates.

Furthermore, we believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

Workflow Processes

Over many years, we have developed and refined our recovery workflow processes, which we believe drive higher efficiency and productivity and reduce our reliance on labor-intensive methods relative to more traditional recovery outsourcing models. We refer to the patented technology that supports our proprietary workflows as “Smart Bins.” Smart Bins disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. Our workflow processes integrate a broad range of functions that encompass each stage of a recovery process.

Smart Bins have been designed to be highly intuitive and help our recovery and claims specialists manage each step in the recovery process and enhance their productivity to high levels, regardless of skill differences among specialists. Smart Bins direct specialists toward the most efficient and effective action, or step with respect to the management and recovery of a defaulted student loan, with some input by specialists. Our technology places expert system rules into the workflow engine, allowing employees at different skill levels to manage the more complex work steps that highly experienced workers would perform, while automating document management and compliance functionality as industry regulations and compliance demands change.

 

53


Table of Contents

The following recovery diagram illustrates how the various components of our platform work together to solve a typical client workflow:

 

LOGO

 

54


Table of Contents

Our Services

We use our technology-enabled services platform to provide recovery and analytics services in a broad range of markets for the identification and recovery of student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. The table below summarizes our recovery services and related analytics capabilities and the markets we serve.

 

Recovery Services

 

 

Analytics
Capabilities

 

Student Loans   Healthcare   Other Markets    

 

 

• Provide recovery services to the Department of Education, GAs and private institutions

 

• Identify and track defaulted borrowers across our clients’ portfolios of student loans

 

• Utilize our proprietary technology, our history of borrower data and our analytics capabilities to rehabilitate and recover past due student loans

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of funds that we enable our clients to recover

 

• Provide recovery services to identify improper healthcare payments

 

• Analyze millions of Medicare Parts A and B claims as the prime contractor for recovery services for improper payments in the Northeast region of the United States

 

• Identify improper payments typically resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees based on a percentage of claim amounts recovered

 

• Provide tax recovery services to state and municipal agencies

 

• Recover government debt for numerous different federal agencies under a contract with the Treasury

 

• Enable financial institutions to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of the amounts recovered, fees based on dedicated headcount and hosted technology licensing fees

 

• Provide claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits functions for one of the nation’s largest health care organizations

 

• We intend to accelerate the use of our recently acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight, to offer a variety of services from post- and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection

Recovery Services

Student Loans

We provide recovery services primarily to the government-supported student loan industry, and our clients include the Department of Education and several of the largest GAs, as well as private financial institutions. We use our proprietary technology to identify, track and communicate with defaulted borrowers on behalf of our clients to implement suitable recovery programs for the repayment of outstanding student loan balances.

Our clients contract with us to provide recovery services for large pools of student loans generally representing a portion of the total outstanding defaulted balances they manage, which they provide to us as “placements” on a periodic basis. Generally, the volume of placements that we receive from our clients is influenced by our performance under our contracts and our ability to recover funds from defaulted student loans,

 

55


Table of Contents

as measured against the performance of competitors who may service a similar pool of defaulted loans for the same client. To the extent we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of student loan placements under these contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. We use algorithms derived from over two decades of experience with defaulted student loans to make reasonably accurate estimates of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from a placement of defaulted student loans.

We also restructure and recover student loans issued directly by banks to students outside of federal lending programs. These types of loans typically supplement government-supported student loans to meet any shortfall in supply of student loan needs that cannot be met by grants or federal loans. Unlike government-supported student loans, private student loans do not have capped interest rates and, accordingly, involve higher instances of default relative to federally-backed student loans.

Healthcare

We provide recovery services related to improper payments in the healthcare market. In 2009 we were awarded the role as one of four prime RAC contractors in the United States, with exclusive responsibility for the Northeast region. Under our RAC contract, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments. Our geographical region accounted for approximately 23% of all Medicare spending in 2009 according to CMS. Our relationship with CMS began in 2005 with an initial demonstration contract to recover improper payments for Medicare Secondary Payor claims.

We utilize our technology-enabled services platform to screen Medicare claims against several criteria, including coding procedures and medical necessity standards, to determine whether a claim should be further investigated for recoupment or adjustment by CMS. We conduct automated and, where appropriate, detailed medical necessity reviews. If we determine that the likelihood of finding potential improper payment warrants further investigation, we request and review healthcare provider medical records related to the claim, utilizing experts in Medicare coding and registered nurses. We interact and communicate with healthcare providers and other administrative entities, and ultimately submit the claim to CMS for correction.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsource certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009.

Other Markets

We also provide recovery services to several state and municipal tax authorities, the Department of the Treasury and a number of financial institutions.

For state and municipal tax authorities, we analyze a portfolio of delinquent tax and other receivables placed with us, develop a recovery plan and execute a recovery process designed to maximize the recovery of funds. In some instances, we have also run state tax amnesty programs, which provide one-time relief for delinquent tax obligations, and other debtor management services for our clients. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments. Delinquent obligations are placed with us by our clients and we utilize a process that is similar to the student loan recovery process for recovering these obligations.

For the Department of the Treasury, we recover government debt subrogated to it by numerous different federal agencies. The placements we are provided represent a mix of commercial and individual obligations. We are one of four contractors for the most recent Treasury contract.

 

56


Table of Contents

We also provide risk management advisory services that enable these clients to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets over time. Our experience suggests that proactive default prevention practices produce significant net yield and earnings gains for our clients. We deliver these services in two forms. First, we contact and consult with borrowers to implement a repayment program, including payment through automatic debit arrangements, prior to the beginning of the repayment period in order to increase the likelihood that payments begin on time. Second, we offer a service that involves contacting delinquent borrowers in an effort to cure the delinquency prior to the loan entering default.

Analytics Capabilities

For several years, we have leveraged our data analytics tools to help filter, identify and recover delinquent and defaulted assets and improper payments as part of our core recovery services platform. Recently, through a strategic investment, we acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. Performant Insight adds new capabilities in data warehousing and data processing tools that accelerate our ability to review, aggregate, and synthesize very large volumes of structured and unstructured data, at high speeds, from the initial intake of disparate data sources, to the warehousing of the data, to the analysis and reporting of the data. We believe we have built a differentiated, next-generation “end-to-end” data processing solution that will maximize value for current and future customers.

Performant Insight provides numerous benefits for our recovery services platform. Performant Insight has not only enhanced our existing recovery services under our RAC contract by analyzing significantly higher volumes of healthcare claims at faster rates and reducing our cycle time to review and assess healthcare claims, but has also enabled us to develop improved and more sophisticated business intelligence rules that can be applied to our audit processes. We believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

While our revenues from analytics services are limited to date, we believe these services represent a meaningful future opportunity. We currently offer analytics services to one of the largest national healthcare organizations where our analytics services provide real-time financial and operational cost analyses to help support a broad range of compliance and fiscal management functions across the organization, including claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits. In addition, we are developing strategies to deploy these services in markets other than healthcare.

Our Clients

We provide our services across a broad range of government and private clients in several markets.

Department of Education

We have provided student loan recovery services to the Department of Education for approximately 22 years. We restructure and recover defaulted student loans distributed directly by the Department of Education as part of the FDSLP. Due to its limited resources and recovery capabilities, the Department of Education outsources much of its defaulted student loan portfolio to third-party vendors for recovery. Recovery fees are entirely contingency-based, and our fee for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees. To participate in the Department of Education contracts, firms must follow a highly competitive selection process. For the latest Department of Education contract, the fourth major contract the Department of Education has outsourced to selected vendors, we were selected as one of 17 unrestricted vendors and initiated work on this contract in the fourth quarter of 2009. Because all federally-supported student loans are being originated by the Department of Education as a result of SAFRA, our relationship with the Department of Education will become

 

57


Table of Contents

increasingly more important over time. The Department of Education was responsible for approximately 11% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Guaranty Agencies

We restructure and recover defaulted student loans issued by private lenders and backed by GAs under the FFELP. Despite the transition from FFELP to FDSLP, we believe GA default volumes will continue to rise for several years as there is a lag between originations and defaults of at least three to four years. When a borrower stops making regular payments on a FFELP loan, the GA is obligated to reimburse the lender approximately 97% of the loan’s principle and accrued interest. GAs then seek to recover and restructure these obligations. The GAs with which we contract generally structure one to three-year initial term contracts with multiple renewal periods, and the fees that we receive are generally similar to the fees we receive from the Department of Education contract. For some GA clients, we provide services through MSAs, under which we manage a GA’s entire portfolio of defaulted student loans and, for certain clients, engage subcontractors to provide a portion of the recovery services associated with a GA’s student loan portfolio.

We have a relationship with 12 of the 32 active GAs in the U.S., including American Student Assistance Corporation, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and American Education Services, each of which was responsible for 19%, 18% and 13%, respectively, of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our relationships with each of our five largest GA clients, two of which are MSA clients, average 16 years.

CMS

We have a seven-year relationship with CMS. Under our RAC contract with CMS awarded in 2009, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments in the Northeast region of the United States and which accounted for approximately 13% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 and increased to approximately 26% of our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The fees that we receive for identifying these improper payments from CMS are entirely contingency-based, and the contingency-fee percentage depends on the methods of recovery, and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

We have assisted the Department of the Treasury for 15 years in the recovery of delinquent receivables owed to a number of different federal agencies. The debt obligations we help to recover on behalf of the Department of the Treasury include commercial and individual debt obligations. We are one of the four firms servicing the current Department of the Treasury contract. Similar to our other recovery contracts, our fees under this contract are contingency-based. We view this as an important strategic relationship, as it provides us valuable insight into other business opportunities within the federal government.

State Tax and Municipal Agencies

We provide outsourced recovery services for individuals’ delinquent state tax and other municipal obligations on a hosted model and under MSAs. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments.

Private Lenders

We provide recovery services for private student loans, that supplement federally guaranteed loans, and home mortgages to private lenders.

Sales and Marketing

Our new business opportunities have historically been driven largely by referrals and natural extensions of our existing client relationships, as well as a targeted outreach by senior management. Our sales cycles are often lengthy, and demand high levels of attention from our senior management. At any point in time, we are

 

58


Table of Contents

typically focused on a limited number of potentially significant new business opportunities. As a result, to date, we have operated with a small staff of experienced individuals with responsibility for developing new sales, relying heavily upon our executive staff, including a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a sales team covering various markets. We expect to increase the size of our sales and marketing staff as we continue to grow our business.

Technology Operations

Our technology center is based in Livermore, California, with a redundant capacity in our Grants Pass, Oregon office. Additionally, Performant Insight, our new data analytics business, is supported by staff in Miami Lakes, Florida. We have designed our infrastructure for scalability and redundancy, which allows us to continue to operate in the event of an outage at either datacenter. We maintain an information systems environment with advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. We also maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third-party data.

Competition

We face significant competition in all aspects of our business.

In recovery services for delinquent and defaulted assets, we face competition from a number of companies. Holders of these delinquent and defaulted assets typically engage several firms simultaneously to provide recovery services on different portions of their portfolios. The number of recovery firms engaged varies by client. For example, we are one of 17 unrestricted providers of recovery services on the current Department of Education contract, while some of the GAs may only engage a few recovery vendors at any time. Initially, we compete to be one of the retained firms in a competitive bidding process and, if we are successful, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery performance of its several vendors. Clients such as the Department of Education typically will allocate additional placements to those recovery vendors producing the highest recovery rates. We believe that we primarily compete on the basis of recovery rate performance, as well as maintenance of high standards of recovery practices and data security capabilities. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to most of these factors as evidenced by our long-standing relationships with our clients in these markets. Pricing is not usually a major competitive factor as all recovery services vendors in these markets typically receive the same contingency-based fee rate.

In the recovery of improper healthcare payments, we faced a highly competitive process, involving a large number of bidders, to become one of the four prime RAC contractors in the United States. In connection with the renewal of this contract, which expires in 2014, we expect that our competition will include the other three RAC service providers: Health Management Systems, Inc., Connolly Consulting, Inc. and CGI Group. We also may face competition from the subcontractors of the current prime RAC contractors, who may seek to use their experience as subcontractors to become prime contractors, and a variety of healthcare consulting and healthcare information services companies are potential competitors. Some of these potential competitors for the second RAC contract may have greater financial and other resources than we do. We believe that the competitive factors in this market are demonstrated experience in effective recovery services, sufficient capacity to address claims volumes, maintenance of high standards of recovery practices, and recovery fee rates. We believe that our seven year relationship with CMS and our related experience in providing recovery services to identify improper payments allows us to compete favorably with respect to many of these factors. We expect that our performance in identifying claims, managing the claims processes under the current RAC contract, and established systems integration with CMS and related Medicare administrative contractors will also be key factors in determining our continued service to CMS.

 

59


Table of Contents

Government Regulation

The nature of our business requires that we adhere to a complex array of federal and state laws and regulations. These include HIPAA, the FDCPA, the FCRA, and related state laws. We are also governed by a variety of state laws that regulate the collection, use, disclosure and protection of personal information. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and we have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data. Our compliance efforts include training of personnel and monitoring our systems and personnel.

HIPAA and Related State Laws

Our Medicare recovery business subjects us to compliance with HIPAA and various related state laws that contain substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of an individual’s protected health information. HIPAA prohibits us from using or disclosing an individual’s protected health information unless the use or disclosure is authorized by the individual or is specifically required or permitted under HIPAA. Under HIPAA, we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information maintained or transmitted by us or by others on our behalf. We are required to notify affected individuals and government authorities of data security breaches involving unsecured protected health information. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights enforces HIPAA privacy violations; CMS enforces HIPAA security violations and the Department of Justice enforces criminal violations of HIPAA. We are subject to statutory penalties for violations of HIPAA.

Most states have enacted patient confidentiality laws that protect against the unauthorized disclosure of confidential medical information, and many states have adopted or are considering further legislation in this area, including privacy safeguards, security standards and data security breach notification requirements. These state laws, if more stringent than HIPAA requirements, are not preempted by the federal requirements, and we must comply with them even though they may be subject to different interpretations by various courts and other governmental authorities. In addition, numerous other state laws govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to and confidentiality of individually identifiable health and healthcare provider information.

Our compliance efforts include the encryption of protected health information that we hold and the development of procedures to detect, investigate and provide appropriate notification if protected health information is compromised. Our employees and contractors receive initial and periodic supplemental training and are tested to ensure compliance. As part of our certification and accreditation process, we must undergo audits by federal agencies as noted below. CMS regularly audits us for, among other items, compliance with their security standards.

Privacy Act of 1974

The Privacy Act of 1974 governs the collection, use, storage, destruction and disclosure of personal information about individuals by a government agency and extends to government contractors who have access to agency records performing services for government agencies. The Act requires maintenance of a code of conduct for employees with access to the agency records addressing the obligations under the Privacy Act, training of employees and discipline procedures for noncompliance. The Act also requires adopting and maintaining appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity.

As a contractor to federal government agencies we are required to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974. Our compliance effort includes initial and ongoing training of employees and contractors in their obligations under the Act. In addition we have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards and processes intended to protect all personal data consistent with or exceeding our obligations under the Privacy Act.

 

60


Table of Contents

Certification, Accreditation and Security

Business services that collect, store, transmit or process information for United States government agencies and organizations are required to undergo a rigorous certification and accreditation process to ensure that they operate at an acceptable level of security risk. As a government contractor, we currently have Authority to Operate, or ATO, licenses from both the Department of Education and CMS.

We maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third party data. We undergo an independent audit by our government agency clients on the award of the contract and periodically thereafter. We also conduct periodic self-assessments.

Our regulatory compliance group is charged with the responsibility of ensuring our regulatory compliance and security. All our facilities have security perimeter controls with segregated access by security clearance level. The information systems environment maintains advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. Employees undergo background and security checks appropriate to their position. This can include security clearances by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also maintain compliant disaster recovery and business continuity plans, conduct an annually two table top disaster exercises, conduct routine security risk assessments and maintain a continuous improvement process as part of our security risk mitigation and management activity.

FDCPA and Related State Laws

The FDCPA regulates persons who regularly collect or attempt to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts owed or asserted to be owed to another person. Certain of our debt recovery and loan restructuring activities may be subject to the FDCPA. The FDCPA establishes specific guidelines and procedures that debt recovery firms must follow in communicating with consumer debtors, including the time, place and manner of such communications. Further, it prohibits harassment or abuse by debt recovery firms, including the threat of violence or criminal prosecution, obscene language or repeated telephone calls made with the intent to abuse or harass. The FDCPA also places restrictions on communications with individuals other than consumer debtors in connection with the collection of any consumer debt and sets forth specific procedures to be followed when communicating with such third parties for purposes of obtaining location information about the consumer. In addition, the FDCPA contains various notice and disclosure requirements and prohibits unfair or misleading representations by debt recovery firms. Finally, the FDCPA imposes certain limitations on lawsuits to collect debts against consumers.

Debt recovery activities are also regulated at state level. Most states have laws regulating debt recovery activities in ways that are similar to, and in some cases more stringent than, the FDCPA. In addition, some states require debt recovery firms to be licensed.

Our compliance efforts include written procedures for compliance with the FDCPA and related state laws, employee training and monitoring, auditing client calls, periodic review, testing and retraining of employees, and procedures for responding to client complaints. In all states where we operate, we believe that we currently hold all required state licenses or are exempt from licensing. Violations of the FDCPA may be enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, or by a private action by an individual or class. Violations of the FDCPA are deemed to be an unfair or deceptive act under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which can be punished by fines for each violation. Class action damages can total up to one percent of the net worth of the entity violating the statute. Attorney fees and costs are also recoverable. In the ordinary course of business we are sued for alleged violations of the FDCPA and comparable state laws, although the amounts involved in the disposition of settlement of any such claims have not been significant.

 

61


Table of Contents

FCRA

We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and which may impose liability on us to the extent that the adverse credit information reported on a consumer to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. State law, to the extent it is not preempted by the FCRA, may also impose restrictions or liability on us with respect to reporting adverse credit information. Our compliance efforts include initial and ongoing training of employees working with consumer credit reports, monitoring of performance, and periodic review and risk assessments. Violations of FCRA, which are deemed to be unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act, are enforced by the FTC or by a private action by an individual or class. Civil actions by consumers may seek damages per violation, with punitive damages, attorneys fees and costs also recoverable. Under the Federal Trade Commissions Act, penalties for engaging in unfair or deceptive acts can be punished by fines for each violation.

State Law Compliance and Security Breach Response

Many states impose an obligation on any entity that holds personally identifiable information or health information to adopt appropriate security to protect such data against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction, or modification. Many states have enacted laws requiring holders of personal information to take certain actions in response to data breach incidents, such as providing prompt notification of the breach to affected individuals and government authorities. In many cases, these laws are limited to electronic data, but states are increasingly enacting or considering stricter and broader requirements. Massachusetts has enacted a regulation that requires any entity that holds, transmits or collects certain personal information about its residents to adopt a written data security plan meeting the requirements set forth in the statute. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data and properly responding to any security incidents. We have adopted a system security plan and security breach incident response plans to address our compliance with these laws.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property is a significant component of our business, most notably the intellectual property underlying our proprietary technology-enabled services platform through which we provide our defaulted asset recovery and other services. To protect our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights. We also utilize customary confidentiality and other contractual protections, including employee and third-party confidentiality and invention assignment agreements.

As of March 31, 2012, we have two U.S. patents, both covering aspects of the workflow management systems and methods incorporated into our technology-enabled services platform. These patents will expire in December 2019. We routinely assess appropriate occasions for seeking additional patent protection for those aspects of our platform and other technologies that we believe may provide competitive advantages to our business. We also rely on certain unpatented proprietary expertise and other know-how, licensed and acquired third-party technologies, and continuous improvements and other developments of our various technologies, all intended to maintain our leadership position in the industry.

As of March 31, 2012, we own four trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office: Performant, DCS, Looking Out For Your Future, and VFI. We are in the process of registering additional trademarks supporting our business, and we claim common law trademark rights in numerous additional trademarks.

We have registered copyrights covering various copyrighted material relevant to our business. We also have unregistered copyrights in many components of our software systems. We may not be able to use these unregistered copyrights to prevent misappropriation of such content by unauthorized parties in the future; however, we rely on our extensive information technology security measures and contractual arrangements with employees and third-party contractors to minimize the opportunities for any such misuse of this content.

 

62


Table of Contents

We are not subject to any material intellectual property claims alleging that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of any third party, nor have we asserted any material intellectual property infringement claim against any third party.

Employees

As of March 31, 2012 we had approximately 1,300 full-time employees. None of our employees are members of a labor union and we consider our employee relations to be good.

Facilities

As of March 31, 2012, we operate five separate office locations throughout the United States. The largest of these facilities is in Livermore, California and serves as our corporate headquarters, as well as a data center and production location. Our Livermore facility represents approximately 50,291 square feet and has a lease expiration of September, 2017. We also lease production centers in California, Oregon and Texas and own a production/data center in Oregon. In addition, we intend to enter into a lease for an additional facility in Miami Lakes, Florida.

We believe that our facilities are adequate for current operations and that additional space will be available as required. See note (5) to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for information regarding our lease obligations.

Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various legal proceedings that arise from our normal business operations. These actions generally derive from our student loan recovery services, and generally assert claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or similar federal and state consumer credit laws. While litigation is inherently unpredictable, we believe that none of these legal proceedings, individually or collectively, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or our results of operations.

 

63


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

Our executive officers and directors, and their ages and positions as of March 31, 2012 are as set forth below:

 

Name

   Age     

Position

Lisa C. Im

     47       Chief Executive Officer and Director

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     61       Chairman of the Board of Directors

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     54       Chief Operating Officer

Hakan L. Orvell

     54       Chief Financial Officer

John Y. Paik

     43       Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Bruce L. Calvin

     62       Senior Vice President of Corporate Services

Todd R. Ford (1)

     45       Director

Brian P. Golson

     41       Director

William D. Hansen (1)

     53       Director

William C. Kessinger

     45       Director

Jeffrey S. Stein (1)

     47       Director

 

(1) Member of the Audit Committee.

Executive Officers

Lisa C. Im has served as our Chief Executive Officer since April 2004 and as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. From 2002 to 2004, she was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. Prior to that, Ms. Im was at Bestfoods Corporation, a food products manufacturer, from 1996 to 2002 with a body of experience including general management as well as executive financial positions for various regions of Bestfoods Corporation. Ms. Im received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Loma Linda University, and a Masters in Business Administration, Finance from California State University, East Bay. Ms. Im’s experiences and perspectives as our Chief Executive Officer led to the conclusion that she should serve as a member of our board of directors.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver has been Chairman of our board of directors and a director since June 2007. Since 2004, he has served in various board and executive roles in Performant and its subsidiaries. From 2000 to 2004, he was chief operating officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. He was senior executive vice president of Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation from 1999 to 2000, was chief executive officer of EdFund from 1997 to 1999 while also serving as executive director of the California Student Aid Commission from 1995 through 1998. Dr. Shaver received and Associate’s degree from Monroe Community College, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Brockport, a Doctor of Education degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Dr. Shaver’s role as our Chairman benefits from his extensive expertise in educational finance, public policy development in education finance, tax policy, healthcare payment integrity, and federal and state government relations, and led to the conclusion the he should serve as a member of our board of directors. He is a board leadership fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Harold T. Leach, Jr. has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company and our predecessor since May 1982. In this role, Mr. Leach was a key participant in the development of our recovery processes. He also serves as a director of each of our subsidiary corporations. Mr. Leach is responsible for operational strategy, production, and technology across all of our businesses. During his tenure, Mr. Leach led the development of our proprietary technology platform and has served as subject matter expert on key Congressional initiatives related

 

64


Table of Contents

to improving the efficacy of government debt management. Mr. Leach also led the development and implementation of our audit and recovery technology operations.

Hakan L. Orvell has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2006. He is responsible for the company’s corporate finance, accounting, financial planning and analysis. Mr. Orvell has over 20 years of experience from various industries and previous experience includes service as chief financial officer of Neopost, Inc., a manufacturer of office equipment. He has also held various financial leadership positions with Corporate Express (currently known as Staples), a large business-to-business distributor of office and computer products, including vice president and controller in both a division and regional capacity. He received his Certified Public Accountant accreditation in Illinois and received an MBA from the University of Stockholm.

John Y. Paik has been our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing since November 2011. From November 2007 to November 2011, Mr. Paik held various leadership positions at Pfizer Inc., including Vice President, Customer Marketing and Innovation across all global business units for account management and sales. Prior to that, Mr. Paik served in various capacities at Aetna, Inc. including vice president, head of strategic marketing and planning for national businesses and vice president, head of strategic marketing, national accounts from April 2004 to October 2007. Mr. Paik received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bruce L. Calvin has served as our Senior Vice President of Corporate Services since August 2007 and also serves as our Compliance Officer. From April 2007 to August 2007, Mr. Calvin served as our Vice President of Human Resources. Mr. Calvin has over 30 years of administration and global business management experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Troy University and a J.D. from John F. Kennedy University School of Law.

Board of Directors

Todd R. Ford has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2011. Mr. Ford has served as the managing director of Broken Arrow Capital, a venture capital firm, since he founded the firm in July 2007. From December 2002 to May 2007, Mr. Ford held various leadership positions at Rackable Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of server and storage products for large-scale data center deployments that subsequently changed its name to Silicon Graphics International Corp., including president and chief financial officer. Mr. Ford received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University. Mr. Ford’s executive experience with public companies, as well as his expertise in growing technology companies, provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Brian P. Golson has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2008. Since February 2002, Mr. Golson has served as the managing partner of Parthenon Capital Partners. Mr. Golson received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Mr. Golson’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

William D. Hansen has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2011. Since July 2011, Mr. Hansen has served as the chief executive officer of Madison Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm. From July 2009 to December 2010, he served as the president of Scantron Corporation, a provider of assessment and survey solutions. Mr. Hansen also served as the chairman of Scantron Corporation from September 2010 to July 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Hansen held various leadership positions at Chartwell Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm, from July 2005 to July 2009, including chief executive officer and senior managing director. Mr. Hansen served as the Deputy Secretary at the United States Department of Education from May 2001 to July 2003. Mr. Hansen also serves on the board of directors of First Marblehead Corporation, a student loan company. Mr. Hansen received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from George Mason University. Mr. Hansen’s extensive experience in the education market provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

 

65


Table of Contents

William C. Kessinger has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2003. Since October 2001, Mr. Kessigner has served as the managing partner, chief investment officer, of Parthenon Capital Partners. He has concurrently served as the managing partner of Vformation LLC, a venture capital fund, since June 2009. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University. Mr. Kessinger’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Jeffrey S. Stein has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. Since September 2002, Mr. Stein has served as the Executive in Residence at Parthenon Capital Partners. Mr. Stein received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Boston College Carroll School of Management. Mr. Stein’s financial and accounting expertise provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Board Composition

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board shall consist of not fewer than five and not more than fifteen directors as the board of directors may from time to time determine. Our board of directors will initially consist of seven directors. The authorized number of directors may be changed by resolution of our board of directors. Vacancies on our board of directors can be filled by resolution of our board of directors. Upon the completion of this offering, our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each serving staggered, three-year terms:

 

   

Our Class I directors will be and their terms will expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus;

 

   

Our Class II directors will be and their terms will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus; and

 

   

Our Class III directors will be and their terms will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus.

As a result, only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective terms.

We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exception under the applicable stock exchange rules which exempts us from certain requirements, including the requirements that we have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors and that we have compensation and nominating and governance committees composed entirely of independent directors. We will, however, remain subject to the requirement that we have an audit committee of at least three members composed entirely of independent directors by the first anniversary of this offering.

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford and Mr. Hansen are “independent directors” as defined under the rules of NASDAQ. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our board of directors will meet to assess the independence of our other non-management directors.

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

 

66


Table of Contents

Lead Director

Our board of directors has established certain corporate governance principles in connection with this offering. Our board of directors determined as part of our corporate governance principles that one of our independent directors should serve as a lead independent director, under the title of vice chairman, at any time when the title of chairman is held by an employee director. Our current chairman, Mr. Shaver, is not an independent director, and accordingly, our board of directors will appoint one of our independent directors as vice chairman. The person appointed vice chairman will, among other responsibilities, preside over periodic meetings of our independent directors and serve as a liaison between senior management and the independent directors.

Board Committees

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of Messrs. Hansen, Ford and Stein. Mr. Ford serves as the chairperson of this committee. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford is an audit committee financial expert, as defined by the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Pursuant to the phase-in provisions of NASDAQ and Rule 10A-3 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act, our audit committee will be composed of three directors, of which two will be independent. Within one year following the effectiveness of the registration statement, our audit committee will have at least three members, all of whom will be independent.

After the completion of this offering, the audit committee will provide assistance to the board of directors in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations in matters involving our accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions by approving the services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing their reports regarding our accounting practices and systems of internal accounting controls. The audit committee will also oversee the audit efforts of our independent registered public accounting firm and will take those actions as it deems necessary to satisfy itself that the independent registered public accounting firm is independent of management.

Compensation Committee

After completion of this offering, the compensation committee will determine our general compensation policies and the compensation provided to our directors and officers. The compensation committee will also review and determine bonuses for our officers and other employees. In addition, the compensation committee will review and determine equity-based compensation for our directors, officers, employees and consultants and will administer our stock option plans and employee stock purchase plan. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NASDAQ rules, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

After completion of this offering, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for making recommendations to the board of directors regarding candidates for directorships and the size and composition of the board. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for overseeing our corporate governance guidelines and reporting and making recommendations to the board of directors concerning corporate governance matters. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NASDAQ rules, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors.

 

67


Table of Contents

Role of Our Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

One of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. Our board of directors administers this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of our board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure, and our audit committee will have the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures. The audit committee will also have the responsibility to review with management the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken, monitor compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and review with our independent auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for periodically evaluating the Company’s risk management policies and system in light of the material risks that the Company faces and the adequacy of the Company’s policies and procedures designed to address risk. Our compensation committee will assess and monitor whether any of our compensation policies and programs are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No interlocking relationship exists between our board of directors or compensation committee and the board of directors or compensation committee of any other entity, nor has any interlocking relationship existed in the past.

Director Compensation

The table below summarizes the compensation paid by the Company to our non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. Messrs. Golson, Kessinger and Stein did not receive compensation paid by the Company for service as a director in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

 

Name    Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
     Option
Awards
(1)
    

Total

 

William D. Hansen

   $ 1,500       $ 113,546       $ 115,046   

Todd R. Ford

   $ 1,500       $ 106,889       $ 108,389   

 

 

(1)

Represents the grant date fair value of stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in October and December of 2011, as computed in accordance with the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

Executive Compensation

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our compensation philosophy is to align executive compensation with the interests of our stockholders and therefore to financial objectives that our board of directors believes are primary determinants of long-term stockholder value. The primary goal of our executive compensation program is to ensure that we hire and retain talented and experienced executives who are motivated to achieve or exceed our short-term and long-term corporate goals. Our executive compensation programs are designed to reinforce a strong pay-for-performance orientation and to serve the following purposes:

 

   

to reward our named executive officers for sustained financial and operating performance and leadership excellence;

 

   

to align their interests with those of our stockholders; and

 

   

to encourage our named executive officer to remain with us for the long-term.

 

68


Table of Contents

Elements of Compensation

Base Salary

We pay our named executive officers a base salary based on the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of each officer. We believe base salaries are an important element in our overall compensation program because base salaries provide a fixed element of compensation that reflects job responsibilities and value to us.

Annual Incentive Plan

To date, our board of directors has not adopted a formal plan or set of formal guidelines with respect to annual incentive or bonus payments, and has rather relied on an annual assessment of the performance of our executives during the preceding year to make annual incentive and bonus determinations. In connection with our efforts to formalize our compensation practices, our board of directors intends to adopt an annual incentive plan to which our named executive officers will be eligible to participate. Our board of directors may retain the discretion to pay any amounts due under such incentive plan in cash or equity or a combination of both.

Long-Term Equity Compensation

To date, we have provided our named executive officers with long-term equity compensation through our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan. Prior to the completion of the offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan under which all future equity compensation to our named executive officers will be awarded. We believe that providing our named executive officers with an equity interest brings their interests in line with those of our stockholders and that including a vesting component to those equity interests encourages named executive officers to remain with us for the long-term.

Other Supplemental Benefits

Our named executive officers are eligible for the following benefits on a similar basis as other eligible employees:

 

   

health, dental and vision insurance;

 

   

vacation, personal holidays and sick days;

 

   

life insurance and supplemental life insurance;

 

   

short-term and long-term disability; and

 

   

401(k) plan.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table presents information concerning the total compensation of our named executive officers, or Named Executive Officers, for services rendered to us in all capacities for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011:

 

Name and Principal Position

  Salary     Bonus     Option
Awards
    All Other
Compensation
    Total  

Lisa C. Im

    $400,005        $128,000               $21,807 (1)        $549,812   

Chief Executive Officer and Director

         

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

    $325,014        $119,000               $27,758 (2)        $471,772   

Chairman of the board of

directors and Director

         

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

    $350,002        $120,000               $23,811 (3)        $493,813   

Chief Operating Officer

         

 

(1)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($3,807) and a vehicle allowance ($18,000).

(2)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($7,358) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).

(3)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($3,411) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).

 

69


Table of Contents

Grants of plan-based awards

Our Named Executive Officers did not receive plan-based awards during the year ended December 31, 2011.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end

The following table presents certain plan information of equity awards held by our Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2011:

 

Name

   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options –
Exercisable
   

Number of

Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options –

  Unexercisable  

    

Exercise Price of

Options ($/share)  

     Expiration Date of
            Options             

Lisa C. Im

     178,125                1.00       01/08/2014
     65,625                1.00       01/25/2018
     27,808 (1)       7,692         1.00       01/25/2018
     55,000 ( 2 )       45,000         2.35       09/15/2019

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     187,500                1.00       01/08/2014
     291,667 ( 2 )       58,333         1.00       10/17/2017

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     116,667 ( 2 )       23,333         1.00       10/17/2017
     45,000 ( 2 )       55,000         2.35       09/15/2019

 

  (1)

The option award vests as to 1/24 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month after the vesting commencement date.

  (2)

The option award vests as to 1/5 th of the total number of shares subject to the option 12 months after the vesting commencement date, and the remaining shares vest at a rate of 1/60 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month thereafter.

Employment Agreements

The section below describes the employment agreements that we have entered into with our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors, as well as the form of employment agreement that each of our other executive officers entered into.

Lisa C. Im

We entered into an employment agreement with Lisa C. Im, our Chief Executive Officer, on April 2, 2002, and this agreement has been subsequently amended. As amended, the agreement grants Ms. Im a salary of $33,333 per month, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions.

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Ms. Im entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Ms. Im receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreemen, and Ms. Im received a payment of $1,174,241 upon the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

We entered into employment agreements with Dr. Jon D. Shaver, our Chairman of our board of directors on March 31, 2003 and this agreement has subsequently been amended. As amended, this agreement grants Dr. Shaver a salary of $18,750 per month and additional salary payments of $25,000 per quarter, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions and also provides Mr. Shaver a severance payment of $100,000 if he is terminated without cause.

 

70


Table of Contents

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Dr. Shaver entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Dr. Shaver receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreement, and Dr. Shaver received a payment of $587,121 upon the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Employment Agreements

Each of our named executive officers, other than our Chief Executive Officer and our Chairman of the board of directors, has entered into our standard employment agreement. Our standard employment agreement provides for the named executive officer’s initial salary at the time of the agreement and grants the named executive officer the right to participate in our standard benefit plans. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions and does not provide for severance.

Potential Payments Upon Change of Control

We have also entered into change of control agreements with Ms. Im and Mr. Shaver. These agreements, as amended, provide that upon a triggering termination which follows a change of control by no more than two years, each executive is entitled to receive payment equal to his or her highest annual salary in effect during any period of 12 consecutive months within the 60 months immediately preceding the date of the triggering termination. As of March 31, 2012, this amount would be equal to $400,005 and $325,014 for Ms. Im and Mr. Shaver, respectively.

For purposes of these agreements:

 

   

A Change of control occurs (i) if any person or group becomes the beneficial owner of 50% of the voting securities, (ii) if certain changes of the individuals who constitute the board of directors occur during any period of two consecutive years, or (iii) upon consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation unless certain conditions are met.

 

   

Triggering termination is defined as the executive’s termination for any reason other than (i) the executive’s death, (ii) the executive’s disability that entitles the executive to receive long-term disability benefits from the Company, (iii) the retirement of the executive after the age of 65, (iv) the executive’s termination for cause, or (v) the executive terminates his or her employment for good reason.

 

   

Cause is defined as (i) the criminal conviction of an embezzlement from the Company, (ii) the violation of a felony committed in connection with employment, (iii) the willful refusal to perform the reasonable duties of his or her position with the Company, (iv) the willful violation of the policies of the Company which is determined in good faith by the board of directors to be materially injurious to the employees, directors, property, or financial condition of the Company, or (v) the willful violation of the provisions of a confidentiality or non-competition agreement with the Company.

 

   

Good reason is defined as (i) a reduction in the executive’s salary that was in effect immediately prior to a change of control, (ii) the relocation of the Company’s office that would add 15 miles or more to the executive’s commute, or (iii) if the Company reduces certain benefits or vacation days that the executive received prior to the change of control.

Retirement Plans

Except as described below, we currently have no plans that provide for the payment of retirement benefits, or benefits that will be paid primarily following retirement, including but not limited to tax-qualified

 

71


Table of Contents

defined benefit plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, tax-qualified defined contribution plans and nonqualified defined contribution plans.

We do maintain a 401(k) plan that is tax-qualified for our employees, including its executive officers. We do not offer employer matching or other employer contribution to 401(k) plan.

Employee Benefit Plans

2004 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

1,800,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 534,250 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2004 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

2,000,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Stock Option Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 365,625 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Stock Option Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Stock Option Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2007 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2007 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

The persons eligible to participate in the plan are employees and other service provider who have been selected to participate in the plan by our board of directors.

Share reserve

As of March 31, 2012, we had reserved a total of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance pursuant to our 2007 Stock Option Plan. As of March 31, 2012, options to purchase 1,962,500 shares of common stock were outstanding, and 17,141 shares were available for future grant under our 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan. As such, no additional awards will be granted and no shares of our common stock will remain available for future issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Administration

Our board of directors currently administers our 2007 Stock Option Plan. Under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the plan administrator has the power to determine the terms of the awards, including the employees or other service providers who will receive awards, the exercise price or purchase price of awards, the number of shares subject to each award, the vesting schedule and exercisability of awards and the form of consideration payable for shares issued under the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Stock options

With respect to all incentive stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of common stock on the date of grant. Incentive stock

 

72


Table of Contents

options granted to any holder of more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of our outstanding stock as of the grant date must have an exercise price equal to 125% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. With respect to all non-statutory options granted under the 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall be determined by the plan administrator. The term of an option may not exceed 10 years.

After the separation of an employee or other service provider for cause, he or she may exercise his or her option, to the extent vested, for a period of fourteen (14) days following such termination. If termination is due to disability, the option will remain exercisable, to the extent vested, for a period of six months following such termination. If termination is due to death, the option will remain exercisable to the extent vested, for a period of six months following the date of death or such longer period of time as specified in the stock options agreement. However, an option may not be exercised later than the expiration of its term.

Transferability

Our 2007 Stock Option Plan does not allow for the transfer of stock options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution. Only the recipient of a stock option may exercise such award during his or her lifetime.

Adjustments

Subject to any required action by the stockholders of the company, in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of common stock of the Company or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, our board of directors may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under any outstanding options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable by our board of directors.

Corporate transaction

Our board of directors has certain discretion regarding outstanding options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in the event of a sale of equity securities possessing the voting power under normal circumstances to elect a majority of our board of directors or all or substantially all of our assets determined on a consolidated basis, in either case, whether by merger, consolidation, sale or transfer of our equity securities, sale or transfer of our consolidated assets or otherwise. Under these circumstances, our board of directors may provide that all options become immediately exercisable at the time of the transaction, that all of the options terminate if not exercised as of the date of the transaction or other prescribed period of time, or that the acquiring company assume the options with the understanding that different determinations may be made with respect to different participations in the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Plan amendments and termination

According to its terms, the 2007 Stock Option Plan shall have a term of 10 years. Our board of directors may amend or terminate the 2007 Stock Option Plan at any time with the consent of the stockholders of the Company as required by law, but no amendment or termination shall be made that would materially or adversely affect the rights of any participant, without the consent of the participant affected.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:

 

   

any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

 

73


Table of Contents
   

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

   

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

   

any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we are required to indemnify our directors and our bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our bylaws also provide that we shall advance expenses incurred by a director in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors. We expect to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers. With certain exceptions, these agreements will provide for indemnification for related expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of our directors in any action or proceeding. We believe that these bylaw provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers. We also maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty of care. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers. At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

 

74


Table of Contents

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In addition to the cash and equity compensation arrangements of our directors and executive officers discussed above under “Management—Director Compensation” and “—Executive Compensation,” the following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2009, to which we have been a party in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000 and in which any of our directors, executive officers, beneficial holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or entities affiliated with them, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Related Party Transaction Policy

In December 2011, we adopted a formal policy that our executive officers, directors, holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, and any member of the immediate family of and any entity affiliated with any of the foregoing persons, are not permitted to enter into a related party transaction with us without the prior consent of our audit committee, or other independent members of our board of directors in the event it is inappropriate for our audit committee to review such transaction due to a conflict of interest effective upon the closing of the offering. Any request for us to enter into a transaction with an executive officer, director, principal stockholder, or any of their immediate family members or affiliates, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 must first be presented to our audit committee for review, consideration and approval. In approving or rejecting any such proposal, our audit committee is required to consider the relevant facts and circumstances available and deemed relevant to the audit committee, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third-party under the same or similar circumstances and the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction. All of the transactions described below were entered into prior to the adoption of such policy.

Arrangements With Our Investors

On January 8, 2004, in connection with the consummation of our acquisition by investment funds controlled by Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other stockholders, or the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement, stockholders agreement and a registration agreement. These agreements contain agreements among the parties with respect to election of directors, preemptive rights, restrictions on transfer of shares, “drag along” obligations, registration rights and covenants regarding the conduct and operation of our business. In addition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners for the provision of certain advisory services to us.

Stockholders Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a stockholders agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock under which Parthenon Capital Partners was granted certain rights with respect to elect members of our board of directors, the stockholders were granted preemptive rights over future issuances of securities by us and became subject to certain transfer restrictions and drag along obligations. All provisions of the stockholders agreement will terminate upon consummation of this offering.

Registration Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a registration agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock. In connection with the consummation of this offering, the registration rights will be amended, effective upon the closing of this offering. The registration agreement, as amended, provides the stockholders party thereto with certain demand registration rights in respect of the shares of our common stock held by them. In addition, in the event that we register additional shares of common stock for sale to the public following the consummation of this offering, we will be required to give notice of such registration to the stockholders who are party to the registration agreement of our intention to effect such a registration, and, subject to certain limitations, such holders will have piggyback registration rights providing them with the right to require us to include shares of common stock held by them in such registration.

 

75


Table of Contents

We will be required to bear the registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes, associated with any registration of shares by the stockholders described above. The registration rights agreement includes lock up obligations that restrict the sale of securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. We are also restricted from issuing any public sale of equity securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. The registration agreement includes customary indemnification provisions in favor of any person who is or might be deemed a controlling person within the meaning of the Securities Act and related parties against liabilities under the Securities Act incurred in connection with the registration of any of our securities. These provisions provide indemnification against certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act and certain liabilities resulting from violations of other applicable laws in connection with any filing or other disclosure made by us under the securities laws relating to any such registrations. We have agreed to reimburse such persons for any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such liability, action or proceeding, except that we will not be required to indemnify any such person or reimburse related legal or other expenses if such loss or expense arises out of or is based on any untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information provided by such person.

Investment Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement with certain of our stockholders who purchased shares of our series A preferred stock. The investment agreement contains certain covenants regarding the delivery of financial statements and other information, inspection rights and restrictions on the conduct and operation of our business. We intend to enter into a termination agreement with certain holders of our series A preferred stock under which all of the provisions of the investment agreement will terminate upon consummation of the this offering.

Advisory Services Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, pursuant to which Parthenon Capital Partners has provided us with certain advisory services. In exchange for these services, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital Partners (i) a quarterly amount equal to the product of 0.25 multiplied by the cumulative amount of funds invested in us by Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates as of start of each quarter, (ii) a one-time closing fee payable upon closing of the Acquisition equal to approximately $1.8 million and (iii) a placement fee in connection with any equity or debt financing by us following the Acquisition equal to 1% of the gross amount of any such financing. We also agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them, their members, or their respective affiliates in connection with the provision of services pursuant to the advisory services agreement. In connection with a separate compensation arrangement with Parthenon Capital Partners, Jeffrey Stein, one of our directors, received a portion of certain of the fees received by Parthenon Capital Partners from us. In each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $684,489, $759,489 and $634,489, respectively. In the first quarter of 2012, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $1,783,622.

Pursuant to a letter agreement dated April 13, 2012, between us and PCP Managers, LLC, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, under which the advisory services agreement was terminated, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital (i) an aggregate amount of $1,300,000, payable in equal quarterly installments of $108,622.22 with the first quarter paid in April 2012; provided that the remaining balance will become due and payable immediately upon the closing of this offering or the sale of our company and (ii) upon the closing of this offering or a sale of our company, an amount equal to 1% of the aggregate gross proceeds of this offering or 1% of the aggregate consideration paid in connection with the sale of our company, as applicable.

 

76


Table of Contents

Expense Reimbursement and Indemnification Agreement

In connection with the termination of the advisory services agreement entered into on April 13, 2012, we also entered into an expense reimbursement and indemnification letter agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners under which we agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for (i) reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the provision of any services Parthenon Capital Partners provides to us, notwithstanding the termination of the advisory services agreement, (ii) any legal, accounting or consulting fees incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in the continuing provision of any services to us and (iii) any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in connection with any acquisitions or financings completed by us or our affiliates. Further, we agreed to indemnify Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates against liabilities and expenses arising out of, or in connection with, Parthenon Capital Partners’ former engagement under the advisory services agreement and the termination thereof or any continuing services provided by Parthenon Capital Partners to us.

Nomination of our Directors

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

Arrangements with our Directors and Officers

Indemnification Agreements

We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and our officers in connection with the consummation of this offering. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. See “Management—Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters.”

Promissory notes

On January 8, 2004 in connection with the Acquisition, we loaned $1 million and $500,000 to each of Lisa Im and Jon Shaver, respectively, the proceeds of which were used for the purchase of shares of our series A preferred stock. The principal amount under these notes accrues interest at the rate of 5% per annum. The outstanding principal and accrued interest under these two promissory notes was originally due and payable on January 15, 2013. The outstanding principal and accrued interest under these two promissory notes as of July 3, 2012 was approximately $1.5 million and $0.8 million for Lisa Im and Jon Shaver, respectively. The promissory notes were repaid by Lisa Im and Jon Shaver on July 3, 2012 with after tax proceeds received under their respective deferred compensation agreements and with proceeds from the Company’s repurchase of 33,675 shares of common stock from Lisa Im and 15,335 shares of common stock from Jon Shaver.

 

77


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL AND SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned on March 31, 2012, immediately following consummation of this offering, by:

 

   

Each person who is known by us to beneficially own 5% or more of our common stock;

 

   

Each of our directors and named executive officers;

 

   

All of our directors and executive officers as a group; and

 

   

Each selling stockholder.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with SEC rules. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws.

Applicable percentage ownership is based on 21,608,843 shares of common stock outstanding at March 31, 2012, assuming the conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock, which occurred on June 28, 2012, but does not reflect the exercise of any options to purchase common stock or convertible preferred stock. For purposes of the table below, we have assumed that              shares of common stock will be outstanding upon completion of this offering. In computing the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we deemed to be outstanding all shares of common stock subject to options or other convertible securities held by that person or entity that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Beneficial ownership representing less than one percent is denoted with an “*.”

Except as otherwise set forth below, the address of each of the persons listed below is 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551.

 

     Shares Beneficially Owned
Prior to this Offering
    Shares
Sold in the
Offering
   Beneficial Ownership of
Shares after the Offering

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner

   Number (1)      Percentage        Number(1)    Percentage

Executive Officers and Directors:

             

Lisa C. Im (2)

     1,367,733         6.2        

Dr. Jon D. Shaver (3)

     889,074         4.0        

Harold T. Leach, Jr. (4)

     271,666         1.2        

Hakan L. Orvell (5)

     161,000         *           

John Y. Paik

             *           

Bruce L. Calvin (6)

     68,750         *           

Todd R. Ford

     3,646         *           

Brian P. Golson (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

William D. Hansen

     2,604         *           

William C. Kessinger (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

Jeffrey S. Stein (8)

     45,000         *           

All Executive Officers and Directors as a group (9)  (11 persons)

     20,482,319         89.6        

5% Stockholders:

             

Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

 

 

    *

Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.

 

78


Table of Contents
  (1)

Unless otherwise indicated, includes shares owned by a spouse, minor children and relatives sharing the same home, as well as entities owned or controlled by the named person. Also includes options to purchase shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days. Unless otherwise noted, shares are owned of record and beneficially by the named person.

(2)

Includes 327,850 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. Also includes 33,675 shares repurchased by the Company on July 3, 2012.

(3)

Includes 508,333 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. Also includes 15,335 shares repurchased by the Company on July 3, 2012.

(4)

Includes 181,666 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(5)

Includes 161,000 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(6)

Includes 68,750 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(7)

The reported shares are owned of record by DCS Holdings, LLC (“DCS Holdings”). Parthenon Investors II, L.P., as the manager of DCS Holdings; PCAP Partners II, LLC, as the general partner of Parthenon Investors II, L.P.; PCAP II, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP Partners II, LLC; PCP Managers, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP II, LLC; and each of Messrs. Kessinger and Golson and David Ament, as managing members of PCP Managers, LLC, may be deemed to beneficially own the securities owned of record by DCS Holdings. Messrs. Kessinger and Golson are Managing Directors of Parthenon Capital Partners, an affiliate of PCAP Partners II, LLC. Each of the foregoing persons disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported securities except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The address for the foregoing persons is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.

(8)

The address for Mr. Stein is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.

(9)

Includes 1,247,599 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. Also includes 17,672,846 shares held by DCS Holdings.

 

79


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

The following is a summary of the rights of our common stock and preferred stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as they will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering. The description is intended as a summary, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the form of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the form of our amended and restated bylaws to be adopted in connection with this offering that have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Immediately following the completion of this offering, our authorized capital stock will consist of              shares, with a par value of $0.01 per share, of which:

 

   

shares will be designated as common stock; and

 

   

shares will be designated as preferred stock.

As of March 31, 2012, there were 21,608,843 shares of common stock outstanding, assuming conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 series B preferred stock and the redemption of 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock for an aggregate redemption payment of approximately $16.3 million, both of which occurred on June 28, 2012. Our outstanding capital stock was held by              stockholders of record as of March 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2012, we also had outstanding options to acquire              shares of common stock held by employees and directors.

Common Stock

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering, the holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share for the election of directors and on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting of stockholders and entitled to vote shall decide any question submitted to a vote, except as otherwise required law or provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws. Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting and entitled to vote. The amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds, payable either in cash, property or shares of capital stock.

Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the company, subject to the rights, if any of the holders of our preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive all of the remaining assets of the company of whatever kind available for distribution ratable in proportion to the number of shares held.

The holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock, which may be designated solely by action of the board of directors and issued in the future.

Preferred Stock

The board of directors is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by law, without further vote or action by the stockholders, to issue from time to time shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Each such series of preferred stock shall have such number of shares, voting powers,

 

80


Table of Contents

designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions, as shall be determined by the board of directors, which may include, among others, dividend rights, voting rights, liquidation preferences, conversion rights and preemptive rights.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws

Certain provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws to become effective immediately following the completion of this offering contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging such proposals, including proposals that are priced above the then-current market value of our common stock, because, among other reasons, the negotiation of such proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

These provisions include:

Classified Board

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. We believe that the classification of our board of directors will facilitate the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies. However, our classified board could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of stockholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our board of directors.

Number of Directors; Removal of Directors and Filling of Vacancies

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors has the authority to determine the number of directors within a range of between five and 15 directors. It also provides that vacancies in our board of directors, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall be filled solely by a majority vote of the directors then in office. Directors or the entire board may be removed only for cause.

Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws also provides that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders can only be pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the board of directors or, until the date that investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares, at the request of holders of 50% or more of our outstanding shares. Except as described above, stockholders will not be permitted to call a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special meeting.

Advance Notice Procedures

Our amended and restated bylaws will establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or

 

81


Table of Contents

nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although our amended and restated bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.

Super Majority Approval Requirements

The DGCL generally provides that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless either a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws require a greater percentage. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66  2 / 3 % of the total votes eligible to be cast in the election of directors will be required to amend, alter, change or repeal our amended and restated bylaws or specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. This requirement of a supermajority vote to approve amendments to our amended and restated bylaws and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation could enable a minority of our stockholders to exercise veto power over any such amendments.

Authorized but Unissued Shares

Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of a majority of our common stock by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders

We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an antitakeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, we are not subject to any anti-takeover effects of Section 203. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that they provide that Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.

Corporate Opportunities

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy of the Company in the business opportunities that are from time to time presented to Parthenon Capital Partners and its officers, directors, agents, shareholders, members, partners, affiliates and subsidiaries, even if the opportunities are ones that the Company might have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity, and each such person shall not have any obligation to offer to us those opportunities and shall not be liable for breach of any fiduciary or other duty, as a director or otherwise, if any such person pursues or acquires such opportunity, directs the opportunity to another person or fails to present the opportunity to us.

 

82


Table of Contents

Choice of Forum

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will limit the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL and will provide that we will indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by such law. We expect to enter into indemnification agreements with our current directors and executive officers prior to the completion of this offering and expect to enter into a similar agreement with any new directors or executive officers. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will also permit us to purchase insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions as our officer, director, employee or agent, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit indemnification. We believe that the limitation of liability provision, indemnification agreements and provision of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance will facilitate our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and officers of the Company.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. The transfer agent’s address is 6201 15 th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219.

Listing

We intend to apply to list our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “PFMT.”

 

83


Table of Contents

CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX CONSIDERATIONS TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS

The following discussion summarizes certain material United States federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our Common stock by certain non-United States holders (as defined below). This discussion only applies to non-United States holders who purchase and hold our Common stock as a capital asset for United States federal income tax purposes (generally property held for investment). This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a non-United States holder in light of such holder’s particular circumstances.

For purposes of this discussion, a “non-United States holder” means a person that for United States federal income tax purposes is not a partnership and is not any of the following:

 

   

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate, the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust (1) whose administration is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and that has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (2) that has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.

This discussion is based on provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, and Treasury regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof. These authorities may change, perhaps retroactively, which could result in United States federal income and estate tax consequences different from those summarized below. This discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income and estate taxes and does not describe any non-United States, state, local or other tax considerations that may be relevant to non-United States holders in light of their particular circumstances. In addition, this discussion does not describe the United States federal income and estate tax consequences applicable to a non-United States holder who is subject to special treatment under United States federal income tax laws (including, without limitation, certain former citizens and former long-term residents, a “controlled foreign corporation,” a “passive foreign investment company,” a corporation that accumulates earnings to avoid United States federal income tax, a partnership or other “pass through” entity or an investor in any such entity, a tax-exempt organization, a bank or other financial institution, a broker, dealer or trader in securities, commodities or currencies, a person holding our Common stock as part of a hedging, conversion, straddle, constructive sale or other risk reduction transaction or an insurance company). We cannot assure you that a change in law will not significantly alter the tax considerations that we describe in this discussion.

If a partnership (or any other entity treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holds our Common stock, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner of that partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our Common stock, you should consult your tax advisors.

YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK.

Distributions on Common Stock

In general, if distributions are made with respect to our Common stock, such distributions will be treated as dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits as determined for United States

 

84


Table of Contents

federal income tax purposes and will be subject to withholding as discussed below. Any portion of a distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits will first be applied to reduce the non-United States holder’s basis in the Common stock, but not below zero, and, to the extent such portion exceeds the non-United States holder’s basis, the excess will be treated as gain from the disposition of the Common stock, the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “Dispositions of Common Stock.”

Dividends paid to a non-United States holder of our Common stock generally will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-United States holder within the United States (and, where an income tax treaty applies, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States) are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such dividends are subject to United States federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-United States holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock who wishes to claim the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty for dividends will be required to provide us with a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN (or other applicable form) and certify under penalties of perjury that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits. If our Common stock is held through a foreign partnership or foreign intermediary, the foreign partnership or foreign intermediary will also be required to comply with additional certification requirements under applicable Treasury regulations.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock eligible for a reduced rate of United States withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service.

Dispositions of Common Stock

Any gain realized by a non-United States holder on the disposition of our Common stock generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax unless:

 

   

the gain is effectively connected with the non-United States holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if an income tax treaty applies, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States);

 

   

the non-United States holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the calendar year of that disposition, and certain other conditions are met; or

 

   

we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation, as such term is defined in section 897(c) of the Code, during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or your holding period of our Common stock.

Gain described in the first bullet point immediately above will be subject to tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates. A non-United States holder that is a corporation may also be subject to a branch profits tax equal to 30%, or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty, of its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, as adjusted for certain items. An individual non-United States holder described in the second bullet point immediately above will be required to pay (subject to applicable income tax treaties) a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which may be offset by United States source capital losses, even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States. As long as our Common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, within the meaning of section 897(c)(3) of the Code, the rules described in the third bullet point above

 

85


Table of Contents

will apply to you only if you actually or constructively hold more than five percent of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the applicable period that is specified in the Code (the “regularly traded stock exception”). We believe we are not and do not expect to become a United States real property holding corporation. If, however, it turns out that we are or become a United States Real Property holding corporation, a non-United States holder for whom the regularly traded stock exception is not applicable or who is not otherwise exempt will be required to pay United States federal income tax under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates with respect to the gain recognized.

United States Federal Estate Tax

Our Common stock beneficially owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as defined for United States federal estate tax purposes) at the time of death will generally be includable in the decedent’s gross estate for United States federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

We must report annually to the Internal Revenue Service and to each non-United States holder the amount of dividends paid to such non-United States holder and the tax withheld with respect to such dividends, regardless of whether withholding was required. Copies of the information returns reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the non-United States holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty or tax information exchange agreement.

Payments of dividends in respect of, or proceeds on the disposition within the United States (or conducted through certain U.S. related intermediaries) of, our Common stock made to a non-United States holder will be subject to additional information reporting and backup withholding unless such non-United States holder establishes an exemption, for example by properly certifying that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or another appropriate version of Form W-8 (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such non-United States holder is a United States person as defined under the Code).

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will reduce the non-United States holder’s United States federal income tax liability. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service provided the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

Recent Legislative Developments

Legislation enacted in 2010 will generally impose a 30% withholding tax on dividends on our Common stock and the gross proceeds of a disposition of our Common stock paid after December 31, 2012 to (i) a foreign financial institution unless such institution enters into an agreement with the United States Treasury requiring, among other things, that such institution undertake to identify accounts held by certain United States persons or certain foreign entities wholly or partially owned by United States persons, annually report certain information about such accounts and withhold at a rate of 30% on payments to account holders whose actions prevent it from complying with these reporting and other requirements, and (ii) a non-financial foreign entity unless such entity provides the payor with a certification identifying the direct and indirect United States owners of the entity. Accordingly, the entity through which our Common stock is held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Under proposed regulations that are not yet effective, this new withholding tax will not apply (i) to dividend income on Common stock that is paid on or before December 31, 2013 or (ii) to gross proceeds from the disposition of Common stock paid on or before December 31, 2014. Under certain circumstances, a non-United States holder of our Common stock may be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. Investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our Common stock.

 

86


Table of Contents

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for shares of our common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market after this offering, or the possibility of these sales occurring, could cause the prevailing market price for our common stock to fall or impair our ability to raise equity capital in the future.

Upon the completion of this offering, a total of              shares of common stock will be outstanding, assuming that there are no exercises of options after March 31, 2012. Of these shares,              shares of common stock sold in this offering by us, plus any shares sold upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, will be freely tradable in the public market without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, unless these shares are held by “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

The remaining              shares of common stock will be upon issuance, “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. These restricted securities are eligible for public sale only if they are registered under the Securities Act or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rules 144 or 701 under the Securities Act, which are summarized below.

Subject to the lock-up agreements described below and the provisions of Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act, these restricted securities will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

Date

   Number of Shares

On the date of this prospectus

  

Between 90 and 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

At various times beginning more than 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

In addition, of the              shares of our common stock that were subject to stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, options to purchase              shares of common stock were vested as of March 31, 2012 and will be eligible for sale at various times beginning more than 180 days following the effective date of this offering.

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, a person who is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months will be entitled to sell any shares of our common stock that such person has beneficially owned for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, without regard to volume limitations. Sales of our common stock by any such person would be subject to the availability of current public information about us if the shares to be sold were beneficially owned by such person for less than one year.

In addition, under Rule 144, a person may sell shares of our common stock acquired from us immediately upon the closing of this offering, without regard to volume limitations or the availability of public information about us, if:

 

   

the person is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months; and

 

   

the person has beneficially owned the shares to be sold for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates.

Beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, our affiliates who have beneficially owned shares of our common stock for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of

 

87


Table of Contents

our affiliates, would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the number of shares of our common stock then-outstanding, which will equal approximately              shares immediately after this offering; and

 

   

the average weekly trading volume in our common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the date of filing of a Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities Pursuant to Rule 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates or persons selling shares on behalf of our affiliates are also subject to manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

In general, under Rule 701 as currently in effect, any of our employees, consultants or advisors who purchase shares from us in connection with a compensatory stock or option plan or other written agreement in a transaction before the effective date of this offering that was completed in reliance on Rule 701 and complied with the requirements of Rule 701 will, subject to the lock-up restrictions described below, be eligible to resell such shares 90 days after the effective date of this offering in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with certain restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144.

Lock-Up Agreements

In connection with this offering, we and our officers, directors, and holders of substantially all of our common stock have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock, file or cause to be filed a registration statement covering shares of common stock or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for, or represent the right to receive, common stock or any substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing restrictions, during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date 180 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. This agreement does not apply to the issuance by us of shares under any existing employee benefit plans. This agreement is subject to certain exception in certain circumstances. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of the lock-up agreements.

Registration Statements

We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act covering all of the shares of common stock subject to options outstanding or reserved for issuance under our stock plans. We expect to file this registration statement as soon as practicable after this offering. However, none of the shares registered on Form S-8 will be eligible for resale until the expiration of the lock-up agreements to which they are subject.

 

88


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we and the selling stockholders have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of shares indicated below:

 

Name

   Number of
Shares

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

  

William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

  

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

  
  

 

Total

  
  

 

The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased, or, in the case of a default with respect to the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below, the underwriting agreement may be terminated. Affiliates of certain of the underwriters, including Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are among several lenders under our credit agreement.

The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $         per share under the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

             have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to              additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter’s name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.

 

89


Table of Contents

The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds before expenses to us and the selling stockholders. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock.

 

     Total  
     Per Share        No Exercise          Full Exercise    

Public offering price

       $                                $                                $                        

Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by:

        

Us

       $             $             $     

The selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $             million. The underwriters have agreed to reimburse us for a portion of our out-of-pocket expenses in connection with this offering.

The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of shares of common stock offered by them.

Upon the completion of this offering and based on an assumed initial public offering price of $             per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range shown on the cover of this prospectus, we will pay FT Partners a fee of $             for financial advisory services in respect of this offering. This fee will be paid     % in cash and     % through the issuance of shares of our common stock valued at the initial public offering price per share. We have also agreed to indemnify FT Partners against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities in connection with FT Partners’ financial advisory services. FT Partners has entered into a lock-up agreement with the underwriters with respect to these shares and these shares will also be subject to limitations on resale imposed by Rule 144, each as described under the heading “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” elsewhere in this prospectus. FT Partners’ financial advisory services included assistance in financial and valuation modeling and advice with respect to the initial public offering process and equity capital market alternatives. None of Financial Technology Partners LP, FTP Securities LLC, or any of their affiliates is acting as an underwriter of this offering.

We expect to list our common stock on NASDAQ Global Market under the trading symbol “PFMT.”

We and all directors and officers and the holders of substantially all of our outstanding stock and stock options, including holders of all of our unregistered securities acquired within the past 180 days, have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, and subject to certain exceptions, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus (or such earlier date or dates as agreed between us and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co.):

 

   

offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of directly or indirectly, any shares of common stock beneficially owned or any other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock;

 

   

file any registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the offering of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock; or

 

   

enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock;

 

90


Table of Contents

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person agrees that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph do not apply to:

 

   

the sale of shares to the underwriters; or

 

   

the issuance by the Company of shares of common stock upon the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date of this prospectus of which the underwriters have been advised in writing; or

 

   

the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for the transfer of shares of common stock, provided that such plan does not provide for the transfer of common stock during the restricted period and no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, as amended, regarding the establishment of such plan shall be required or shall be voluntarily made.

The restricted period described in the preceding paragraph will be extended if:

 

   

during the last 17 days of the restricted period we issue an earnings release or material news event relating to us occurs, or

 

   

prior to the expiration of the restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the restricted period,

in which case the restrictions described in the preceding paragraph will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

In order to facilitate the offering of the common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the option to purchase additional shares, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of the common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of the common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time. The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

 

91


Table of Contents

We, the selling stockholders and the several underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representative may agree to allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representative to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

Pricing of the Offering

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, and the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of securities, and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise). The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Selling Restrictions

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any shares of our common stock may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any shares of our common stock may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of shares of our common stock shall result in a requirement for the publication by us or any underwriter of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

92


Table of Contents

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any shares of our common stock in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any shares of our common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any shares of our common stock, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State, and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.

United Kingdom

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

 

  (a)

it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the shares of our common stock in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to us; and

 

  (b)

it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the shares of our common stock in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong

The shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that

 

93


Table of Contents

trust has acquired the shares under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

 

94


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares of common stock offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, San Francisco, California. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, New York, is representing the underwriters in this offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule of Performant Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, have been included herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, appearing elsewhere herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock offered hereby. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules filed therewith. For further information about us and the common stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed thereto. Statements contained in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or any other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement are not necessarily complete, and each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the full text of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. Upon completion of this offering, we will be required to file periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You may read and copy this information at the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference rooms by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov .

 

95


Table of Contents

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Consolidated Financial Statements of Performant Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries For the Years Ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-3   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-4   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

     F-5   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-6   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-7   

Consolidated Financial Statements For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 (Unaudited)

  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-23   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-24   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

     F-25   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-26   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-27   

 

F-1


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Performant Financial Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in redeemable preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011. In connection with our audits of the consolidated financial statements, we also have audited financial statement schedule II. These consolidated financial statements and the financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

As discussed in Note 1(b) to the consolidated financial statements, the consolidated financial statements for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011 have been restated to correct for errors in accounting for preferred stock.

/s/ KPMG LLP

San Francisco, California

March 22, 2012, except for Note 1(l) and schedule II,

as to which the date is May 21, 2012 and Note 1(b) and

Note 1(s), as to which the date is June 25, 2012.

 

F-2


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per-share amounts)

 

Assets    2010     2011  
     (Restated)     (Restated)  

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 11,078       20,004  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $45 and $77, respectively

     14,006       18,948  

Deferred income taxes

     2,170       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,198       3,292  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     1,254       595  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     31,706       48,187  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     13,525       14,915  

Identifiable intangible assets

     52,959       36,516  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

     595         

Other assets

     1,033       659  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,390       181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities, Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 12,500       8,134  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     4,596       7,138  

Accounts payable

     63       60  

Other current liabilities

     3,761       8,945  

Deferred revenue

            2,214  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     20,920       26,491  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     96,633       87,051  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       8,198  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     21,109       14,647  

Other liabilities

     2,610       1,158  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     151,231       139,306  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Redeemable preferred stock (see Note 1)

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 2,648 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     51,753       58,248  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit (see Note 1)

    

Due from stockholders

     (2,158     (2,266

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 18,833 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     188       188  

Additional paid-in capital

     19,067       19,187  

Accumulated deficit

     (38,691     (32,814
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (21,594     (15,705
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable preferred stock, and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 181,390       181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-3


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

       2009      2010     2011  
       (Restated)      (Restated)     (Restated)  

Revenues

     $     109,832            123,519           162,974  

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

       53,728        58,113       67,082  

Other operating expenses

       32,110        33,655       49,199  

Impairment of trade name

       —           —          13,400  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       85,838        91,768       129,681  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       23,994        31,751       33,293  

Interest expense

       (16,017      (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

       104        118       125  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       8,081        16,639       19,888  

Provision for income taxes

       3,071        6,664       7,516  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       5,128         5,771        6,495   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income available to common shareholders

       (118      4,204        5,877   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders

(see Note 1)

         

Basic

     $ (0.01      0.20        0.27   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     $ (0.01      0.19        0.26   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares (see Note 1)

         

Basic

       21,481        21,481       21,481  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       21,481        22,510       22,871  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

          $     
         

 

 

 

Diluted

          $     
         

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

          $     
         

 

 

 

Diluted

          $     
         

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

    Redeemable Preferred Stock                                              
      Series A
Convertible preferred stock
            Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Due from
stockholders
    Common stock     Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
deficit
       
      Shares     Amount             Shares     Amount       Shares     Amount         Total  

Balance, December 31, 2008 (as Reported)

         $              2,648      $ 40,854        (2,169     18,833      $ 188        18,070        (42,777     14,166   
 

 

 

   

 

 

                       

Adjustment

    2,648        40,854              (2,648     (40,854                                        (40,854
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2008 (as Restated)

    2,648        40,854                            (2,169     18,833        188        18,070        (42,777     (26,688

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           5,128                                                        (5,128     (5,128

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (98                                 (98

Stock-based compensation expense

                                      106                      474               580   

Net income

                                                                  5,010        5,010   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2009 (as Restated)

    2,648        45,982                            (2,161     18,833        188        18,544        (42,895     (26,324

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           5,771                                                        (5,771     (5,771

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (103                                 (103

Stock-based compensation expense

                                      106                      523               629   

Net income

                                                                  9,975        9,975   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2010 (as Restated)

    2,648        51,753                            (2,158     18,833        188        19,067        (38,691     (21,594

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           6,495                                                        (6,495     (6,495

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (108                                 (108

Stock-based compensation expense

                                                           120               120   

Net income

                                                                  12,372        12,372   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Restated)

    2,648      $ 58,248                   $        (2,266     18,833      $     188        19,187        (32,814     (15,705
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 

F-5


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

       2009      2010     2011  

Cash flows from operating activities:

         

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

         

Loss on disposal of assets

       52               

Depreciation, amortization, and impairment of intangible assets

       9,624        7,213       21,166  

Deferred income taxes

       (2,924      32       (9,640

Stock option compensation

       580        629       120  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       3,027        1,997       1,254  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (98      (103     (108

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

         

Trade accounts receivable

       (1,431      1,610       (4,942

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       (1,392      (664     (94

Other assets

       (116      (394     372  

Accrued salaries and benefits

       1,349        (69     2,542  

Accounts payable

       (91      (255     (3

Other current liabilities

       1,015        (1,882     5,184  

Deferred revenue

                    2,214  

Other liabilities

       1,028        125       (1,452
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       15,633        18,214       28,985  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

         

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

         

Borrowings under line of credit

       948               

Debt issuance costs paid

       (1,023      (1,172      

Repayment of notes payable

         (10,865      (9,967       (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (10,940        (11,139     (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

       (184      2,154       8,926  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       9,108        8,924       11,078  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 8,924        11,078       20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Noncash financing activities:

         

Note payable payment-in-kind

     $ 3,000               

Supplemental disclosures information:

         

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 9,397        6,209       15,830  

Cash paid for interest

       14,095        13,048       12,246  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

 

(1) Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

  (a) Organization

These consolidated financial statements of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) include the operations of Performant Financial Corporation (PFC), its wholly owned subsidiary DCS Business Services, Inc. (DCSBS), and DCSBS’ wholly owned subsidiaries Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS), and Vista Financial, Inc. (VFI). PFC is a Delaware corporation headquartered in California and was formed in 2003. DCSBS is a Nevada corporation founded in 1997. DCS is a California corporation founded in 1976. VFI is a California corporation that was formed in 2004.

The Company is a leading provider of collections and default management services for various forms of delinquent debt for the U.S. Department of Education, state and national guarantors of student loans, and defaulted debts owed to the federal and state governments. The Company contracts with its clients to provide collection services on a contingency-fee basis. The Company has collection offices in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Company also provides services to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where the Company audits and recovers improper payments made by Medicare for medical claims submitted by healthcare providers. VFI offers risk management services that enable financial institutions to proactively manage private student loan portfolios to mitigate the incidence of nonperforming loan assets.

 

  (b) Restatement

These financial statements have been restated to correct an error in the balance sheet presentation of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred shares (the Shares). The purpose of the restatement is to classify the balances outside of permanent equity, as they are redeemable at the option of the holders via conversion units, as more fully described in Note 6. The following financial statement line items were affected (in thousands):

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted     Effect of the change  

2011

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $ -             58,248        58,248   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

                         42,543         (15,705     (58,248

2010

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $ -             51,753        51,753   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     30,159         (21,594     (51,753

 

F-7


Table of Contents

As the conversion of the Shares discussed above results in the issuance of common shares, we have corrected the weighted average shares outstanding and earnings per share disclosures. The per share impact of these changes is shown below.

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted      Effect of the change  

2011

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $                         0.31       $             0.27       $             (0.04)   

Diluted

   $ 0.29       $ 0.26       $ (0.03)   

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     20,223         22,871         2,648   

2010

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.22       $ 0.20       $ (0.02)   

Diluted

   $ 0.21       $ 0.19       $ (0.02)   

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,862         22,510         2,648   

2009

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ (0.01)       $ (0.01)       $ -       

Diluted

   $ (0.01)       $ (0.01)       $ -       

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,493         21,481         1,988   

The restatement had no effect on the cash flows from operating, investing, or financing activities. The restatement also impacted Note 1(s).

 

  (c) Principles of Consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PFC, DCSBS, VFI, and DCS. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

  (d) Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements

The preparation of consolidated financial statements, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the carrying value of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements; the allowance for doubtful accounts; and the carrying value of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

  (e) Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include demand deposits and highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. These investments can include money market funds that invest in highly liquid U.S. government and agency obligations, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, and commercial paper.

 

F-8


Table of Contents

The Company collects monies on behalf of its clients. Cash is often held on behalf of the clients in various trust accounts and is subsequently remitted to the clients based on contractual agreements. Cash held in these trust accounts for contracting agencies is not included in the Company’s assets (Note 11(a)).

 

  (f) Hosted Service Installation and Implementation Deliverables

In 2008, the Company entered into a long-term contract to provide hosted services to a client beginning in March 2009. The Company determined that certain installation and implementation deliverables were not separate units of accounting within the contract, and should be combined for revenue recognition purposes with the hosted service deliverable. Accordingly, revenue for these contract elements is being taken ratably from the commencement of hosted services in March 2009 through the contract period of March 2018. Additionally, the Company deferred the direct incremental costs associated with the installation and implementation deliverables, with the costs being expensed ratably from the March 2009 commencement of services through March 2018.

 

  (g) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Furniture and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 7 years. Buildings are depreciated using the straight-line method over 31.5 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated life of the asset or the remaining term of the lease. Computer software and computer hardware are depreciated using the straight-line method over 3 years and 5 years, respectively.

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Improvements that extend the useful lives of assets are capitalized.

When property is sold or retired, the cost and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and any gain or loss from the transaction is included in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

  (h) Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price and related costs over the fair value assigned to the net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is reviewed for impairment at least annually. Impairment is the condition that exists when the carrying amount of goodwill is not recoverable and its carrying amount exceeds its fair value. In accordance with Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment , the Company performed a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that goodwill fair value is less than its carrying amount for 2011, and concluded that there was no need to perform an impairment test. The Company applied impairment tests to its goodwill and determined that no impairment loss had occurred during 2010 and 2009.

Identifiable intangible assets consist of customer contracts and related relationships, trademarks and trade names, and covenants not to compete. Customer contracts and related relationships are amortized over their estimated useful life of 20 years. Covenants not to compete are amortized over their contractual terms of 2 to 5 years. Trademarks and trade names have been determined to have an indefinite life, and are not amortized.

 

  (i) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets or intangibles may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. In 2011, the Company recorded $13,400,000 of impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the

 

F-9


Table of Contents

Company’s contemplation of the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS) trade name. The Company considers it unlikely that the DCS name will be used in the future. There was no impairment expense for intangible assets in 2010. The Company recorded $2,568,000 of impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to the loss of a customer during 2009.

 

  (j) System Developments

The Company follows the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASC) Subtopic 350-40, Internal-Use Software , which specifies that costs incurred during the application stage of development should be capitalized. All other costs are expensed as incurred. During 2009, 2010 and 2011, costs of $2,484,000, 2,112,000 and $2,532,000 respectively, were capitalized for projects in the application stage of development, with depreciation expense of $1,126,000, $1,469,000 and $2,080,000 respectively, for completed projects.

 

  (k) Debt Issuance Costs

Debt issuance costs represent loan, legal, and accounting fees paid in connection with the issuance of long-term debt. Debt issuance cost is amortized to interest expense in accordance with key terms of the notes as amended.

 

  (l) Revenues and Accounts Receivable

Collection revenue is recognized upon the collection of defaulted loan and debt payments. Bonus revenue is recognized upon receipt of official notification of bonus award from customers. Loan rehabilitation revenue is recognized when the rehabilitated loans are sold (funded) by clients.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company had 3 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 3 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2009 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         25,915         23.6

2

     19,670         17.9

3

     12,496         11.4

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company had 4 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 4 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2010 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         27,881         22.6

2

     20,776         16.8

3

     17,287         14.0

4

     15,445         12.5

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had 5 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 5 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2011 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         30,732         18.9

2

     28,504         17.5

3

     21,812         13.4

4

     21,549         13.2

5

     17,934         11.0

The Company derived approximately 24%, 23% and 19% of revenues in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, from a contract with one customer. Revenue from the largest three customers was 53%,

 

F-10


Table of Contents

53% and 50% of total revenue in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Accounts receivable due from these three customers were 41%, 41% and 25% of total trade receivables at December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. Amounts collected on trade accounts receivable are included in net cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company determines the allowance for doubtful accounts by specific identification. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.

 

  (m) Legal Expenses

The Company recognizes legal fees related to litigation as they are incurred.

 

  (n) Comprehensive Income

The Company has no components of comprehensive income other than its net income. Accordingly, comprehensive income is equivalent to net income.

 

  (o) Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, short-term debt and long-term debt. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values based on quoted market values or due to their short-term maturities. The carrying values of short-term debt, and long-term debt approximate fair value due to their variable interest rates, which approximate market rates.

 

  (p) Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset-and-liability method. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the carrying value of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and for taxation purposes. Deferred incomle tax assets and liabilities are measured using the rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred income tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

Beginning with the adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes , included in FASB ASC Subtopic 740-10, Income Taxes – Overall , as of January 1, 2009, the Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. Prior to the adoption of Interpretation No. 48, the Company recognized the effect of income tax positions only if such positions were probable of being sustained.

The Company believes its tax positions to be highly certain and thus has recorded no tax reserves during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The Company records interest expense and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in selling, general, and administrative expenses. There were no interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions incurred during the year ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

  (q) Preferred Stock

The carrying amounts of preferred stock are periodically increased by amounts representing dividends not currently declared or paid, but which would be payable under certain redemption features. Such increases in carrying amounts are recorded against retained earnings.

 

F-11


Table of Contents
  (r) Stock Options

The Company accounts for its employee stock-based compensation awards in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation . FASB ASC Topic 718 requires that all employee stock-based compensation is recognized as a cost in the financial statements and that for equity-classified awards, such cost is measured at the grant date fair value of the award. The Company estimates grant date fair value using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model.

FASB ASC Topic 718 also requires that excess tax benefits recognized in equity related to stock option exercises are reflected as financing cash inflows. While the Company did not have such tax benefits of deductions resulting from the exercise of stock options in 2009, 2010 and 2011, to the extent they occur, future benefits will be so presented.

 

  (s) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus the weighted average number of Series A preferred shares outstanding during the period. The Series A shares are included in the basic denominator because they can be converted into common shares for no cash consideration (via conversion units as further described in Note 6), and are thus considered outstanding common shares in computing basic earnings per share. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

       Year Ended December 31,  
     2009      2010      2011  

Weighted average shares outstanding – basic

     21,481         21,481         21,481   

Dilutive effect of stock options

     0         1,029         1,390   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted

     21,481         22,510         22,871   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (t) Pro Forma Net Income Per Share (unaudited)

Pro forma net income per share has been calculated to give effect to the following:

In addition to historical basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, the number of offering shares whose proceeds would be necessary to pay Parthenon Capital Partners for the termination of the Advisory Agreement of $         million and the 1% transaction fee of $             million has been added to the denominator for purposes of the pro forma disclosure.

 

  (u) Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. The Company will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU

 

F-12


Table of Contents

eliminates the option in U.S. GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of operations by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 . The Company plans to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of operations in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or U.S. GAAP. For U.S. GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company expects that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

 

  (v) Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2009 and 2010 balances to conform to the 2011 presentation. Such reclassifications have no effect on net income or retained earnings as previously reported.

 

(2) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010      2011  

Land

     $   1,767             1,767    

Building and leasehold improvements

     4,672          4,797    

Furniture, equipment, and automobile

     3,310          3,612    

Computer hardware and software

     25,630          31,197    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     35,379          41,373    

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

       (21,854)         (26,458)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     $ 13,525           14,915    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements amounted to $3,828,000, $4,168,000 and $4,721,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2010

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (22,487)               39,559     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600           (3,600)           —     

Trademarks and trade names

     13,400           —           13,400     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 79,046           (26,087)           52,959     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-13


Table of Contents

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (25,530)               36,516     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600               (3,600)           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 65,646           (29,130)           36,516     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Amortization of intangible assets amounted to $3,227,000, $3,043,000 and $3,043,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five following fiscal years is as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 3,043   

2013

     3,043   

2014

     3,043   

2015

     3,043   

2016

     3,043   

After 2016

     21,301   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 36,516   
  

 

 

 

 

(4) Notes Payable

Notes payable consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010     2011  

Term A-1 Loan, interest at Prime +3.00% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 4.00%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2010

   $ 3,000          

Term A-2 Loan, interest at Prime +4.50% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 5.50%, which was 7.50% at December 31, 2010 and LIBOR +5.50%, which was 7.75% at December 31, 2011

     44,133        33,185   

Term B Loan, interest at Prime + 10.75% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor effective June 25, 2010) + 11.75%, which was 13.75% at December 31, 2010, and LIBOR + 11.75%, which was 14.00% at December 31, 2011

     62,000        62,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Term A-1 Loan, Term A-2 Loan, and the Term B Loan are subject to Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2010, Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 9, 2009, Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 10, 2008, Waiver and Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2007, Consent, Waiver, and Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated April 28, 2006, and to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2005, secured by all assets and liabilities

     109,133        95,185   

Less current portion

     (12,500     (8,134
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 96,633        87,051   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The maturities of the notes outstanding as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

See revised maturities table at Note 12 for debt recapitalization that occurred subsequent to year end.

Principal and interest payments are due and paid periodically in accordance with the note terms. The Term A-2 Note and the Term B Note are held by a number of lenders, some of whom are also minority shareholders of the Company and therefore are related parties.

On June 25, 2010, the Company entered into Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fifth Amendment). As part of the Fifth Amendment, the existing Term A Loan was replaced by

 

F-14


Table of Contents

new Term A-1 and Term A-2 loans in the amount of $10.5 million and $44.1 million, respectively. The final maturity of Term A-1 is February 2011, and the final maturity of Term A-2 is March 2012. In addition, the Term-B loan amount was reset to $62.0 million, with a final maturity of September 2012. Fees associated with the Fifth Amendment of $1,172,000 were capitalized, and are being amortized to interest expense over the lives of the respective loans along with existing fees at June 25, 2010 of $1,501,000.

On June 9, 2009, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fourth Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived through February 4, 2011.

Fees associated with the Fourth Amendment totaling $1,023,000 were capitalized and were expensed over the amendment period up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which they have been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment. These fees were paid in cash.

On June 10, 2008, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Third Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived. The Third Amendment called for the Company to refinance its debt by June 15, 2009 in which case it would not be required to pay-in-kind (by addition to the principal of the outstanding term loans) to the lenders an additional amendment fee of $3,000,000. The Company did not refinance its debt by the June 15, 2009 date, and as a consequence, $1,100,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term A loan, and $1,900,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term B loan. The $3,000,000 fee was being expensed over the period June 15, 2009 – February 4, 2011 up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which it has been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment.

The February 4, 2005, Amended and Restated Credit Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, minimum interest coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit. The Fifth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 25, 2010 through September 30, 2012, while the Fourth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 9, 2009 through February 4, 2011.

The Company has a line of credit subject to the terms of the Fifth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Third Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the February 4, 2005 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. Under the terms of the agreements, borrowings may not exceed $10 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor equal to the greatest of the Prime Rate per The Wall Street Journal , the Federal Funds Rate +0.50%, or 3.00%) + 2.75% or LIBOR (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor of 2.00%) + 3.75%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2011, and at Prime + 2.75% or LIBOR + 3.75%, which was 5.75% at December 31, 2010. The line expires March 30, 2012. Borrowings under this line of credit at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were $8,198,000. In addition, the Company has letters of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000 and $1,410,000 that are secured by the line of credit, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $402,000 and $392,000 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2012

   $ 1,402   

2013

     699   

2014

     687   

2015

     128   

2016

     7   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 2,923   
  

 

 

 

 

F-15


Table of Contents

Lease expense was $1,835,000, $1,949,000 and $1,950,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(6) Capital Stock

The total number of shares of capital stock that the Company has authority to issue is 61,000,000, consisting of 18,000,000 shares of Series A Participating Senior Preferred Stock (Series A Preferred Stock), $0.01 par value per share (Series A Preferred Stock); 18,000,000 shares of Series B Redeemable Senior Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share (Series B Preferred Stock); and 25,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share.

 

  (a) Series A Preferred Stock

Issuanc e – On May 23, 2006, the Company sold 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock to shareholders at a price of $11.33 per share, receiving gross proceeds of $30,000,000, and net proceeds of $29,925,000 after issuance costs of $75,000.

Dividends – The holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends as declared by the board of directors. The dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value plus accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from the date of issuance of the Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has accrued dividends payable of $28,248,000 recorded as an increase to the Series A Preferred Stock.

Voting – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock entitles the holder to cast a number of votes per share equal to the number of votes that the holder would be entitled to cast assuming that such shares of Series A Preferred Stock have been converted into shares of Common Stock.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series B Preferred Stock, holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value of $11.33 per share plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon. In addition to the payments set forth above, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to participate, on a parity and ratably on a per-share basis with the holders of Common Stock, with respect to all such distributions or payments that the holders of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive with respect to the number of shares of Common Stock into which such holders’ shares of Series A Preferred Stock were convertible immediately prior to any relevant record date or payment date in connection with liquidation, dissolution, or winding up, but only to the extent that shares of Common Stock would participate in such distributions or payments (and such payment shall be junior to all equity securities of the Company that rank senior to the Common Stock, including without limitation the Series B Preferred Stock).

Conversion – The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into Conversion Units (as defined below), at a rate of one Conversion Unit for one share of Series A Preferred Stock. A Conversion Unit consists of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing the Liquidation Value of the Series A Preferred Stock by the Conversion Price then in effect (the Common Portion) and (ii) one share of Series B Preferred Stock (the Series B Portion) subject to adjustments. If upon conversion there are any unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends due on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, such dividends continue to be deferred, but are considered unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends (as the case may be) due on the Series B Preferred Stock.

 

   

Optional conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, into a Conversion Unit at any time after the date of issuance of such share.

 

   

Automatic conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock automatically can be converted into Conversion Units on the date specified by written consent or agreement of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock.

 

   

Conversion price – The initial Conversion Price of the shares issued in May 2006 is $11.33 per share. In order to prevent dilution of the conversion rights granted to the holders of the Series A Preferred

 

F-16


Table of Contents
 

Stock, the Conversion Price is subject to adjustment from time to time under certain circumstances. If the Company (i) declares a dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of its capital stock (including Common Stock), (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock, (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Stock, then, in each such case, the Conversion Price is to be proportionately adjusted so that, in connection with a conversion of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock after such date, the holder of shares of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock, which, if the conversion had occurred immediately prior to such date, the holder would have owned upon such conversion and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination, or reclassification.

 

  (b) Series B Preferred Stock

Issuances – There are no outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock.

Dividends – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends, as declared by the Board of Directors. Dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value thereof plus all accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from and including the date of issuance of such Preferred Stock. Such dividends accrue whether or not they are declared.

Voting – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock do not have any right to vote.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value ($11.33 per share) plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon.

Redemption – The Company, at its option, has the ability to redeem all or any portion of the shares of Series B Preferred Stock then outstanding. The total sum payable by the Corporation per share of Series B Preferred Stock so redeemed equals the Liquidation Value thereof plus an amount equal to all accumulated or accrued and unpaid dividends thereon (the Series B Redemption Price).

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to mandatory redemption in the event of an initial public offering at a price per share equal to the Series B Redemption Price.

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to redemption on or after January 7, 2011 at the request of the holders of a majority of the Series A and Series B Preferred Stock (together as a single class).

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

 

  (a) Stock Options

The Company has established the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (Performant Financial Corporation is the new name of DCS Holdings, Inc.), and the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan (the Plans). Under the terms of the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. “Tranche I” options granted under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period. “Tranche II” options granted under the plan allow for accelerated vesting in as few as five years if certain performance criteria are met, with full vesting occurring in no later than the end of seven years.

Under the terms of the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options, stock bonuses, and rights to acquire restricted stock may be granted for up to 1,800,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan generally vest over a four-year period.

 

F-17


Table of Contents

Under the terms of the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period.

The exercise price of incentive stock options shall generally not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. The exercise price of nonqualified stock options shall generally not be less than 85% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. Options issued under the Plans have a maximum term of 10 years and vest over schedules determined by the board of directors. Options issued under the Plans generally provide for immediate vesting of unvested shares in the event of a sale of the Company.

In 2005, in accordance with the guidance contained in FASB Topic ASC 718, the payment of $35.6 million in dividends to Common Stockholders at the February 4, 2005 recapitalization date was determined to be a deemed modification to the terms of the Company’s outstanding stock option agreements. The value of the Company’s outstanding stock options was therefore remeasured, resulting in a total of $11.5 million of noncash compensation costs as of the recapitalization date. Of this amount, $521,000, $415,000 and $0 have been amortized to compensation expense in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, based on the vesting status of the underlying option shares.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table:

 

     2009     2010     2011  

Valuation assumptions:

      

Expected volatility

     37.5     40.6     39.8

Expected term (years)

     6.3        6.3        6.3   

Risk-free interest rate

     3.1     2.8     1.2

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2008

     2,349,875      $ 1.00         7.4   

Granted

     435,000        2.35      

Forfeited

     (63,125     1.00      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2009

     2,721,750      $ 1.22         6.9   

Granted

     101,000        3.00      

Forfeited

     (67,375     1.12      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2010

     2,755,375        1.28         6.0   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Forfeited

     (12,641     1.47      

Exercised

     (359     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,220,275        1.16         4.6   

 

F-18


Table of Contents

Options available for issuance as of December 31, 2011 are 939,628.

Nonvested options outstanding as of December 31, 2011 and changes during 2011 were as follows:

 

     Nonvested
options
outstanding
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Nonvested at December 31, 2010

     1,127,100      $ 1.56         6.8   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Vested

     (602,401     1.33      

Forfeited

     (2,599     2.54      
  

 

 

      

Nonvested at December 31, 2011

     612,100        3.17         7.4   
  

 

 

      

At December 31, 2010 and 2011, there was $367,000 and $568,000, respectively, of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to nonvested stock awards included as a component of additional paid-in capital.

At December 31, 2010, options with a weighted average exercise price of $1.09 were exercisable on 1,628,275 shares. Cash received from option exercises was $0 during 2010 and $359 during 2011. The intrinsic value associated with the exercise of options was $0 in 2009 and 2010, and $3,400 in 2011.

 

  (b) Restricted Stock

Option Agreements issued under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan allow for the participants to exercise options whether or not vesting has occurred, provided that the participants enter into a restricted stock agreement. The restricted stock agreement is to specify that the stock issued for unvested options will continue vesting, with the unvested shares subject to repurchase at the lower of original cost and fair market value.

In January 2005, two executives exercised a portion of their options, including unvested options, by entering into restricted stock agreements with the Company. The restricted stock agreements allow for the executives to receive dividend payments, subject to forfeiture if the executives leave the Company prior to the vesting of the restricted shares. On February 4, 2005, forfeitable dividends of $972,000 were paid on the executives’ unvested restricted shares. This amount has been recorded as “due from stockholders” in the equity caption of the consolidated balance sheet, and is being amortized into compensation expense as the underlying unvested restricted shares vest. Compensation expense associated with the forfeitable dividends received on unvested restricted shares was $106,000, $106,000 and $0 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(8) Employee Benefit Plans

 

  (a) 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan

The Company has a 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan (the Plan) covering all full-time employees who have met certain service requirements. Employees may contribute a portion of their salary up to the maximum limit established by the Internal Revenue Code for such plans. Employer contributions are discretionary. No matching contributions were made during 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

F-19


Table of Contents
(9) Income Taxes

The Company’s income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following (in thousands):

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Current:

        

Federal

   $ 4,697          5,500             14,053    

State

     1,298          1,132          3,103    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     5,995          6,632          17,156    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Deferred:

        

Federal

   $  (2,260)         (172)         (7,350)   

State

     (664)         204          (2,290)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (2,924)         32          (9,640)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 3,071              6,664           7,516    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The reconciliation between the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory rate of 35% to income before taxes and the Company’s tax provision for 2009, 2010 and 2011 is as follows:

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Expected federal income tax provision (benefit)

          35%              35%              35%   

State tax, net of federal benefit

     5             5             3       

Permanent differences

     2             2             1       

Other

     (4)           (2)           (1)     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     38%         40%         38%   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

     2010      2011  

Deferred tax assets:

     

Bad debt reserve

   $       18          30    

Vacation accrual

     341          315    

Remeasurement expense nonqualified stock options

     1,156          1,137    

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     1,806          1,822    

Acquisition costs

     266          229    

Bonus accrual

     —          483    

State tax deferral

     433          1,041    

Stock option compensation

     702          690    

Legal settlement

     —          516    

Deferred revenue

     —          1,284    

State tax credits

     —          386    

Other

     —          409    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,342    

Valuation allowance

     —          (148)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,194    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-20


Table of Contents
     2010      2011  

Deferred tax liabilities:

     

Identifiable intangible assets

     (21,095)         (14,307)   

Book versus tax depreciation

     (2,104)         (3,029)   

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     (428)         (135)   

State net operating loss carryforward

     (34)         (22)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (23,661)             (17,493)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net deferred tax liabilities

   $   (18,939)         (9,299)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Company believes that it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the deferred tax assets, except for certain state tax credits. Income tax expense is allocated to the subsidiaries included in the consolidated tax return on the basis of the subsidiaries’ stand-alone tax provision.

The Company files federal and state income tax returns. For years before 2007, the Company is no longer subject to federal or state tax examinations.

The Company has state tax credits of $593,228 which can be carried forward indefinitely.

 

(10) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock or option shares of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense under these arrangements totaled $12,989,000, $13,233,000 and $12,276,000 for 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. During 2010 and 2011, the debt agreements were amended. See further discussion at Note 4.

The Company is a party to an advisory services agreement with an entity associated with its majority stockholder. Expenses incurred under this agreement totaled $684,000, $759,000 and $634,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In 2010, the Company entered into a year-to-year lease for condominium owned by a Company executive commencing March 2010. Payments for the unit totaled $22,500 and $27,000 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(11) Other Commitments and Contingencies

 

  (a) Trust Funds

The Company collects principal and interest payments and collection costs on defaulted loans for various contracting agencies. Cash collections for some of the Company’s customers are held in trust in bank accounts controlled by the Company. The Company remits trust funds to the contracting agencies on a regular basis. The amount of cash held in trust and the related liability are separated from and not included in the Company’s assets and liabilities. Cash held in trust for customers totaled $2,101,000 and $1,797,000 at December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

  (b) Litigation

The Company, during the ordinary course of its operations, has been named in various legal suits and claims, several of which are still pending. In the opinion of management and the Company’s legal counsel, such legal actions will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations or cash flows.

 

(12) Subsequent Events

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility

 

F-21


Table of Contents

was paid in full. Accordingly, the line of credit drawn and the notes payable presented on the December 31, 2011 balance sheet have been reclassified to long-term liabilities to the extent that payments under the new credit agreement extend beyond 2012. Payments under the credit agreement are as follows:

 

2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in Note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through March 22, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, 2011

Allowance for doubtful accounts (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions                   Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Recoveries      Charge-offs     End of Period  

2009

   $ 290                         (69     221   

2010

     221         37            (213     45   

2011

     45         28         14         (10     77   

Reserve for Appeals – RAC Contract (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions      Appeals found in     Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Providers favor     End of Period  

2009

   $                          

2010

             101                101   

2011

     101         1,743         (910     934   

 

F-22


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

Assets    December 31,
2011
    March 31,
2012
 
     (Restated)     (Restated)  

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 20,004       12,312  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $63 and $77, respectively

     18,948       23,082  

Deferred income taxes

     5,348       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,292       2,486  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     595       1,245  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     48,187       44,473  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     14,915       15,059  

Identifiable intangible assets

     36,516       39,042  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

            2,183  

Other assets

     659       694  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,849       183,023  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 8,134       10,845  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     7,138       5,065  

Accounts payable

     60       709  

Other current liabilities

     8,945       8,435  

Deferred revenue

     2,214       6,108  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     26,491       31,162  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     87,051       125,655  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       4,500  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     14,647       14,647  

Other liabilities

     1,158       2,951  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     139,306       180,676  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Redeemable preferred stock (see Note 1)

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 2,648 and 700 shares at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively

     58,248        15,846   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit (see Note 1)

    

Due from stockholders

     (2,266     (2,294

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 18,833 and 20,909 shares at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively

     188        209   

Additional paid-in capital

     19,187        20,454   

Accumulated deficit

     (32,814     (31,868
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (15,705     (13,499
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable preferred stock, and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 181,849        183,023   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-23


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

For the Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011     2012  
       (Restated)     (Restated)  

Revenues

     $     35,080           45,878  

Operating expenses:

      

Salaries and benefits

       16,729       18,641  

Other operating expenses

       10,073       16,141  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       26,802       34,782  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       8,278       11,096  

Debt extinguishment costs

              (3,679

Interest expense

       (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

       32       31  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       4,867       4,258  

Provision for income taxes

       1,949       1,742  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 2,918       2,516  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       1,531       1,571  

Net income available to common shareholders

     $ 1,387       945  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income per share attributable to common shareholders (see Note 1)

      

Basic

     $ 0.06        0.04   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     $ 0.06        0.04   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares (see Note 1)

      

Basic

       21,481       21,493  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       22,535       23,113  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share

      

Basic

       $     
      

 

 

 

Diluted

       $     
      

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share

      

Basic

      
      

 

 

 

Diluted

      
      

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-24


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

For the Three months ended March 31, 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

    Redeemable Preferred Stock                                                  
    Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Due from
stockholders
    Common stock     Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
deficit
    Total  
        Shares             Amount             Shares             Amount           Shares     Amount        

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Reported)

         $        2,648      $ 58,248        (2,266     18,833      $ 188        19,187        (32,814     42,543   
 

 

 

   

 

 

                 

Adjustment

    2,648        58,248        (2,648     (58,248                                        (58,248
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Restated)

    2,648       58,248                     (2,266     18,833       188       19,187       (32,814     (15,705
 

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           1,570                                                 (1,570     (1,570

Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to Series B Preferred Stock which was immediately redeemed for cash

           (43,972                                                        

Conversion of Series B Preferred Stock to common stock

    (1,948                                 1,948       20       (20              

Exercise of stock options

                                       20             20              20  

Issuance of stock

                                       108       1       1,215               1,216   

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                (28                                 (28

Stock-based compensation expense

                                                     52              52  

Net income

                                                            2,516       2,516  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2012 (as Restated)

      700     $   15,846                       (2,294       20,909     $   209         20,454         (31,868)          (13,499
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-25


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011      2012  

Cash flows from operating activities:

       

Net income

     $     2,917        2,516  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:

       

Depreciation and amortization

       1,881        2,214  

Write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs

               335  

Deferred income taxes

       39          

Stock option compensation

       28        52  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       336        282  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (26      (29

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

       

Trade accounts receivable

       (3,631      (4,134

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       1,586        806  

Other assets

       (25      (35

Accrued salaries and benefits

       694        (2,073

Accounts payable

       381        649  

Other current liabilities

       4,948        (1,583

Deferred revenue

               3,894  

Other liabilities

       60        (52
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       9,188        2,842  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

       

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (1,046      (1,203

Purchase of HOPS perpetual software license and computer equipment

               (760
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (1,046      (1,963
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

       

Borrowing under notes payable

               136,500  

Borrowing under line of credit

               4,500  

Redemption of preferred stock

               (43,973

Repayment of notes payable

       (3,500      (95,185

Repayment of line of credit

               (8,198

Debt issuance costs paid

               (2,235

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

               20  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (3,500      (8,571
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

       4,642        (7,692

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       11,078        20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 15,720        12,312  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosures information:

       

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 143        1,740  

Cash paid for interest

       41        2,912  

Cash paid as debt extinguishment

               3,344  

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:

       

Note payable to sellers of perpetual license

               3,250  

Issuance of common stock as part of debt issuance costs

               1,216  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-26


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

December 31, 2011, and March 31, 2012

(Unaudited)

 

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S. GAAP, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim financial statements furnished herein include all adjustments necessary (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) for a fair presentation of our and our subsidiaries’ financial position at March 31, 2012, the results of our operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012. Interim financial statements are prepared on a basis consistent with our annual financial statements. The financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form S-1 for the year ended December 31, 2011, which we refer to as our Annual Report.

As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements included in our Annual Report, the accompanying financial statements have been restated to correct an error in the balance sheet presentation of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred shares. The purpose of the restatement is to classify the balances outside of permanent equity, as they are redeemable at the option of the holders. The following financial statement line items were affected (in thousands):

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted     Effect of the change  

March 31, 2012

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $         15,846        15,846   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     2,347         (13,499     (15,846

December 31, 2011

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $         58,248        58,248   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     42,543         (15,705     (58,248

As the conversion of the Shares discussed above results in the issuance of common shares, we have corrected the weighted average shares outstanding and earnings per share disclosures. The per share impact of these changes is shown below.

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted      Effect of the change  

Three months ended March 31, 2012

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.05       $ 0.04       $ (0.01

Diluted

   $ 0.05       $ 0.04       $ (0.01

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

        

Basic

     19,105         21,493         2,388   

Diluted

     20,725         23,113         2,388   

Three months ended March 31, 2011

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.07       $ 0.06       $ (0.01

Diluted

   $ 0.07       $ 0.06       $ (0.01

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

        

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,887         22,535         2,648   

 

F-27


Table of Contents

The restatement had no effect on the cash flows from operating, investing, or financing activities. The restatement also impacted Note 9.

We are a leading provider of technology-enabled recovery and analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify, restructure and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of the clients’ recovery processes.

These consolidated financial statements include our accounts and transactions and those of our wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

We are managed and operated as one business, with a single management team that reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, primarily accounts receivable, intangible assets and accrued expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Our actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

(2) Acquisitions

HOPS, Inc.

In February 2012, we purchased a perpetual software license and computer equipment from HOPS, a non-public Florida company, in a transaction valued at $3.7 million. The purchase agreement calls for a total of $4,000,000 in cash payments to be made over an approximate 3 year period, beginning with an initial payment of $750,000 which was made in February, 2012, followed by quarterly payments of $250,000. As part of the transaction valuation, these payments were discounted to a present value using an estimate of the Company’s weighted average cost of capital. The purchase is being treated as a business combination for accounting purposes; the following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired at the acquisition date (in thousands)

 

     February 1, 2012  

Computer equipment

   $ 280   

Identifiable intangible assets

     3,400   
  

 

 

 

Total identifiable assets acquired

   $ 3,680   
  

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the preliminary fair values of the intangible assets acquired from HOPS (in thousands):

 

     February 1, 2012  

Perpetual license

   $ 3,250   

Customer relationships

     150   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 3,400   
  

 

 

 

 

F-28


Table of Contents

The following represents our pro forma Consolidated Statements of Income as if HOPS had been included in our consolidated results for the three months ending March 31, 2011 (in thousands, except per share data):

 

(unaudited)

   For the three months
ending March 31,
2011
 

Total revenue

   $ 36,127   
  

 

 

 

Net income

   $ 1,632   
  

 

 

 

Earnings per share

  

Basic

   $ 0.00   

Diluted

   $ 0.00   

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,046         (25,530     36,516   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 65,646         (29,130     36,516   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,196         (26,296     35,900   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       

Perpetual license

     3,250         (108     3,142   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 69,046         (30,004     39,042   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, amortization expense related to intangible assets amounted to $761,000 and $875,000, respectively.

The estimated aggregate amortization expense is expected to be (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 2,798   

2013

     3,731   

2014

     3,731   

2015

     3,731   

2016

     3,696   

After 2016

     21,355   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 39,042   
  

 

 

 

 

(4) Credit Agreement

On March 19, 2012 the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement (the Agreement) consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility was paid in full. Payments under the Agreement are as follows:

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

 

F-29


Table of Contents

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in Note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Term A Loan is charged interest either at Prime (subject to a 2.50% floor) +4.25% or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. The Term A loan requires quarterly payments of $2.5 million beginning in June, 2012, with the remaining outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2017.

The Term B loan is charged interest at Prime +4.75% (subject to a 2.50% floor) or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.75% which was 8.00% at March 31, 2012. The Term B loan requires quarterly payments of $0.2 million beginning in June, 2012, with the outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2018.

The Company has a line of credit under the Agreement which allows for borrowings of up to $11 million. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime + 4.25% or LIBOR + 5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. Both the Prime and the LIBOR alternatives are subject to minimum rate floors. Borrowings under this line of credit at March 31, 2012 were $4,500,000, and the Company has a letter of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $5,100,000 at March 31, 2012. The line of credit expires in March 19, 2017.

The Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit.

Debt issuance costs of $3,450,000 were capitalized, including $1,475,000 of agent fees paid to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and $760,000 paid to third parties for legal and other services and a grant of 107,500 shares of common stock issued as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor valued at approximately $1,215,000. These costs are being amortized to expense over the life of the new loans. Accumulated amortization of debt issuance costs amounted to $22,000 at March 31, 2012.

Debt extinguishment costs of $3,679,000 were expensed, including $3,344,000 of fees paid to lenders, and $335,000 of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the old credit facility.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. In January 2012, the Company renewed two of its facilities leases and entered into a new lease agreement for approximately 6,000 square feet in Livermore, California.

Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of March 31, 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $  1,086   

2013

     1,219   

2014

     1,230   

2015

     694   

2016

     595   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 4,824   
  

 

 

 

Lease expense was $485,000 and $600,000, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

F-30


Table of Contents
(6) Capital Stock

 

  (a) Redemption of Series A Preferred Stock

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized. As part of the recapitalization, 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock were converted into conversion units, which consisted of one share of Series B Preferred Stock and one share of Common stock. The Series B Preferred shares plus accrued dividends were redeemed for cash of $44,000,000, and 1,948,000 shares of Common Stock were issued to the holders of the redeemed Preferred Series A shares.

 

  (b) Issuance of Common Shares as Compensation

As part of the March 19th recapitalization, the Company granted 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1,216,000 as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor.

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

Total stock-based compensation expense charged as salaries and benefits expense in the consolidated statements of operations was $52,000 and $28,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table (no options were granted in the three months ended March 31, 2011):

 

     Three months ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  

Valuation assumptions:

    

Expected volatility

         39.8

Expected term (years)

            6.5   

Risk-free interest rate

         1.6

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury Notes.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   

Granted

     50,000        11.30      

Forfeited

     0             

Exercised

     (20,000     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at March 31, 2012

     2,862,375        1.77         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,294,525        1.15         4.7   

 

(8) Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate increased from 40.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 40.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

We file income tax returns with the U.S. federal government and various state jurisdictions. We are no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for years before 2008. We operate in a number of state and local jurisdictions, most of which have never audited our records. Accordingly, we are subject to state and local income tax examinations based upon the various statutes of limitations in each jurisdiction. We are currently being examined by the IRS and the States of New York and California.

 

F-31


Table of Contents
(9) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus the weighted average number of series A preferred shares outstanding during the period. The series A shares are included in the basic denominator because they can be converted to common shares for no cash consideration and are thus considered outstanding common shares in computing basic earnings per share. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

     Quarter Ended March 31,  
         2011              2012      

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     

basic

     21,481         21,493   

Dilutive effect of stock options

     1,054         1,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     

diluted

     22,535         23,113   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

(10) Pro Forma Net Income Per Share

Pro forma net income per share has been calculated to give effect to the following:

In addition to historical basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, the number of offering shares whose proceeds would be necessary to pay an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners for the termination of the Advisory Agreement of $         million and the 1% transaction fee of $         million have been added to the denominator for purposes of the pro forma disclosure.

 

(11) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable, both before and after the recapitalization of March 19, 2012, are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense under these arrangements totaled $3,443,000 and $3,190,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively. Debt extinguishment expense associated with the recapitalization totaled $0 and $3,679,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

(12) Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through May 21, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

 

F-32


Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

Part II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13.

Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth the various expenses expected to be incurred by the Registrant in connection with the sale and distribution of the securities being registered hereby, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. All amounts are estimated except the SEC registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 17,190   

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee

     22,500   

Blue Sky fees and expenses

     *   

Accounting fees and expenses

     *   

Legal fees and expenses

     *   

Printing and engraving expenses

     *   

Registrar and Transfer Agent’s fees

     *   

Miscellaneous fees and expenses

     *   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *   
  

 

 

 

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

Item 14.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 102 of the DGCL allows a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of the DGCL or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that we may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding—other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant—by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, agent or employee of the Registrant, or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, agent or employee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding. The power to indemnify applies (a) if such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding, or (b) if such person acting in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in the best interest, or not opposed to the best interest, of the Registrant, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the Registrant as well but only to the extent of defense expenses, including attorneys’ fees but excluding amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred and not to any satisfaction of judgment or settlement of the claim itself, and with the further limitation that in such actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of liability to the Registrant, unless the court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the

 

II-1


Table of Contents

time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

The Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws, attached as Exhibit 3.2(b) hereto, provide that the Registrant shall indemnify its directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL or any other applicable law. In addition, the Registrant has entered into separate indemnification agreements, attached as Exhibit 10.1 hereto, with its directors and officers which would require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities which may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by law. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant’s officers and directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the Securities Act. The Registrant also intends to maintain director and officer liability insurance, if available on reasonable terms.

The form of Underwriting Agreement, to be attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto, provides for indemnification by the Underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act, and affords certain rights of contribution with respect thereto.

 

Item 15.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Since May 1, 2009, the Registrant has sold the following unregistered securities:

(1) In August 2009, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 400,000 common shares to officers and employees at a price of $2.35 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $940,000.

(2) In February 2010, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 5,000 common shares to employees at a price of $3.00 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000.

(3) In October 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 25,000 common shares to directors at a price of $10.50 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $262,500.

(4) In November and December 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 65,000 common shares to employees and directors at a price of $11.20 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $728,000.

(5) In February 2012, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 50,000 common shares to employees at a price of $11.30 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $565,000.

(6) In March 2012, the Registrant issued an aggregate of 107,522 shares of common stock with a deemed value of $1,215,000 to Financial Technology Partners, LP and FTP Partners LLC as consideration for financial services rendered.

No underwriters were involved in the foregoing sales of securities. The issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act or on Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. The recipients of securities in each such transaction represented their intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the stock certificates and option agreements issued in such transactions.

 

II-2


Table of Contents
Item 16.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

(a) Exhibits

The following exhibits are included herein or incorporated herein by reference:

 

Exhibit
Number

  

Description

  1.1*   

Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  3.1(a)*   

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

  3.1(b)*   

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.2(a)   

Bylaws of Registrant, as amended.

  3.2(b)*   

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1*   

Form of Common Stock Certificate.

  5.1*   

Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

10.1*   

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors.

10.2   

2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.3   

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.4   

2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.5*†   

Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.

10.6*   

Credit Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2012, by and among DCS Business Services, Inc., the Lenders Party Hereto, Madison Capital Funding LLC, and ING Capital.

10.7*   

Form of Change of Control Agreement.

10.8*   

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa Im, dated as of April 15, 2002, as amended.

10.9*   

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Jon D. Shaver, dated as of March 31, 2003, as amended.

10.10   

Repurchase Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa C. Im, dated as of July 3, 2012.

10.11   

Repurchase Agreement between the Registrant and Dr. Jon D. Shaver, dated as of July 3, 2012.

21.1*   

List of Subsidiaries.

23.1   

Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*   

Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1*   

Power of Attorney (see page II - to this Registration Statement on Form S-1).

99.1   

Confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form S-1.

99.2   

Amendment No. 1 to Confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form S-1.

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

 

Confidential treatment requested.

 

(b) Financial Statement Schedules.

Financial statement schedule II is included on page F-21. All other schedules are omitted because they are not required, or not applicable or the information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

 

II-3


Table of Contents
Item 17.

Undertakings

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

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 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.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1)

For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2)

For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

 

II-4


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Livermore, State of California, on the 3 rd day of July, 2012.

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

By

 

/s/    Lisa C. Im        

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Lisa Im and Hakan Orvell and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys in fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this Registration Statement, and any registration statement relating to the offering covered by this Registration Statement and filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, 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, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys in fact and agents or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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.

 

Name

  

Title

 

Date

/s/    Lisa C. Im        

Lisa C. Im

   Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)   July 3, 2012

/s/    Hakan L. Orvell        

Hakan L. Orvell

  

Chief Financial Officer 

  July 3, 2012

/s/    Dr. Jon D. Shaver        

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

   Chairman of the Board and Directors   July 3, 2012

/s/    Todd R. Ford        

Todd R. Ford

   Director   July 3, 2012

/s/    Brian P. Golson        

Brian P. Golson

   Director   July 3, 2012

/s/    William D. Hansen        

William D. Hansen

   Director   July 3, 2012

/s/    William C. Kessinger        

William C. Kessinger

   Director   July 3, 2012

/s/    Jeffrey S. Stein        

Jeffrey S. Stein

   Director   July 3, 2012

 

II-5


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

  1.1*  

Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  3.1(a)*
 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

  3.1(b)*  

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.2(a)  

Bylaws of Registrant, as amended.

  3.2(b)*  

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1*  

Form of Common Stock Certificate.

  5.1*  

Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

10.1*  

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors.

10.2  

2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.3  

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.4  

2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.5*†  

Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.

10.6*  

Credit Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2012, by and among DCS Business Services, Inc., the Lenders Party Hereto, Madison Capital Funding LLC, and ING Capital.

10.7*  

Form of Change of Control Agreement.

10.8*  

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa Im, dated as of April 15, 2002, as amended.

10.9*  

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Jon D. Shaver, dated as of March 31, 2003, as amended.

10.10  

Repurchase Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa C. Im, dated as of July 3, 2012.

10.11  

Repurchase Agreement between the Registrant and Dr. Jon D. Shaver, dated as of July 3, 2012.

21.1*  

List of Subsidiaries.

23.1  

Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*  

Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1*  

Power of Attorney (see page II - 5 to this Registration Statement on Form S-1).

99.1  

Confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form S-1.

99.2  

Amendment No. 1 to Confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form S-1.

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

 

Confidential treatment requested.

Exhibit 3.2(a)

BY-LAWS

OF

DCS Holdings, Inc.

A Delaware Corporation

ARTICLE I

OFFICES

Section 1. Registered Office . The registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware shall be located at 2711 Centerville Rd., Wilmington, Delaware, County of New Castle, 19808. The registered agent of the Corporation for service of process at such address is Corporation Service Company. The registered office and/or registered agent of the Corporation may be changed from time to time by action of the board of directors.

Section 2. Other Offices . The Corporation may also have offices at such other places, both within and without the State of Delaware, as the board of directors may from time to time determine or the business of the Corporation may require.

ARTICLE II

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

Section 1. Place and Time of Meetings . An annual meeting of the stockholders shall be held each year within one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of the immediately preceding fiscal year of the Corporation for the purpose of electing directors and conducting such other proper business as may come before the meeting. The date, time and place of the annual meeting shall be determined by the board of directors.

Section 2. Special Meetings . Special meetings of stockholders may be called for any purpose and may be held at such time and place, within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be stated in a notice of meeting or in a duly executed waiver of notice thereof. Except as otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, such meetings may be called at any time by the board of directors and shall be called by the highest ranking officer then in office (the “ Ranking Officer ”) upon the written request of holders of shares entitled to cast not less than a majority of the votes at the meeting. Such written request shall’ state the purpose or purposes of the meeting and shall be delivered to the Ranking Officer. On such written request, the Ranking Officer shall fix a date and time for such meeting within two days of the date requested for such meeting in such written request.

Section 3. Place of Meetings . The board of directors may designate any place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting called by the board of directors. If no designation is made, or if a special meeting be otherwise called, the place of meeting shall be the principal executive office of the Corporation.


Section 4. Notice . Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take action at a meeting, written or printed notice stating the place, date, time, and, in the case of special meetings, the purpose or purposes, of such meeting, shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting. All such notices shall be delivered, either personally, by mail, by facsimile, or electronic mail, by or at the direction of the board of directors, the president or the secretary, and if mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered (i) upon confirmation of receipt if sent by facsimile, electronic mail or personal delivery or (ii) three (3) days after being deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at his, her or its address as the same appears on the records of the Corporation. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

Section 5. Stockholders List . The officer having charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation shall make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of the stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting arranged in alphabetical order, showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting, either a place within the city where the meeting is to be held, which place shall be specified in the notice of the meeting or, if not specified, at the place where the meeting is to be held. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and maybe inspected by any stockholder who is present.

Section 6. Quorum . The holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided by statute or by the certificate of incorporation. If a quorum is not present, the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting, and entitled to vote at the meeting, may adjourn the meeting to another time and/or place. When a quorum is once present to commence a meeting of stockholders, it is not ‘broken by the subsequent withdrawal of any stockholders or their proxies.

Section 7. Adjourned Meetings . When a meeting is adjourned to another time and place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

Section 8. Vote Required . When a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, unless the question is one upon which by express provisions of an applicable law or of the certificate of incorporation a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question.

 

2


Section 9. Voting Rights . Except as otherwise provided by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or by the certificate of incorporation of the Corporation or . any amendments thereto and subject to Section 3 of Article VI hereof, every stockholder shall at every meeting of the stockholders be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for each share of common stock held (or deemed held) by such stockholder (it being understood that certain other classes or series of capital stock may, pursuant to the certificate of incorporation, be entitled to vote on an as-if converted to common stock basis).

Section 10. Proxies . Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for him or her by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period.

Section 11. Action by Written Consent . Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken and bearing the dates of signature of the stockholders who signed the consent or consents, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the state of Delaware, or the Corporation’s principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book or books in which proceedings of meetings of the stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, or by facsimile or electronic mail, with confirmation of receipt. All consents properly delivered in accordance with this Section shall be deemed to be recorded when so delivered. No written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated consent delivered to the Corporation as required by this Section, written consents signed by the holders of a sufficient number of shares to take such corporate action are so recorded. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing and who, if the action had’ been taken at a meeting, would have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the record date for such meeting had been the date that written consents signed by a sufficient number of holders to take the action were delivered to the Corporation. Any action taken pursuant to such written consent or consents of the stockholders shall have the same force and effect as if taken by the stockholders at a meeting thereof.

ARTICLE III

DIRECTORS

Section 1. General Powers . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the board of directors.

Section 2. Number, Election and Term of Office . The number of directors shall be established from time to time in accordance with that .certain Stockholders Agreement, dated as

 

3


of                     , 2004, by and among the Corporation and certain of its stockholders (the “ Stockholders Agreement ”); provided that at such time . as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, such number shall be subject to change by the vote of holders of a majority of the shares then entitled ‘to vote at an election of directors. The directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of :directors. The directors shall be elected in this manner at the annual meeting of the stockholders, except as provided in Section 4 of this Article III . Each director elected shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. Removal and Resignation . The directors shall only be removed, with or without cause, as set forth in the Stockholders Agreement; provided that at such time as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors. Whenever the holders of any class or series are entitled to elect one or more directors by the provisions of the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation or the Stockholders Agreement, the provisions of this Section shall apply, in respect to the removal without cause of a director or directors so elected, to the vote of the holders of the outstanding shares of that class or series and not to the vote of the outstanding shares as a whole. Any director may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation.

Section 4. Vacancies . Subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation, vacancies and newly created directorships shall only be filled as set forth in the Stockholders Agreement; provided that at such time as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, such vacancies and newly created directorships . shall be filled in the same manner in which directors are elected pursuant to Section 2 of this Article III . Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such vacancy shall automatically reduce the number of directors pro tanto, until such time as the holders of the class of common stock which was entitled to elect the director whose office is vacant shall have exercised their right to elect a director to fill such vacancy, whereupon the number of directors shall be automatically increased pro tanto. Each director so chosen shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as herein provided.

Section 5. Annual Meetings . The annual meeting of each newly elected board of directors shall be held without other notice than this by-law immediately after, and at the same place as, the annual meeting of stockholders.

Section 6. Other Meetings and Notice . Regular meetings, other than the annual meeting, of the board of directors may be held without notice at such time and at such place as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the board. Special meetings of the board of directors may be called by or at the request of any two directors or the Ranking Officer on at least 24 hours notice to each director, either personally, by telephone, by mail, or by facsimile or electronic mail.

Section 7. Quorum, Required Vote and Adjournment . Each director shall be entitled to one vote except as otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation. Directors then in office (and specifically excluding any vacancies) and holding a majority of the votes of all

 

4


directors (or such greater number required by applicable law) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of directors holding a majority of votes present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the board of directors, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.

Section 8. Committees . The board of directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the whole board, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation, which to the extent provided in such resolution or these by-laws shall have and may exercise the powers of the board of directors in the management and affairs of the Corporation except as otherwise limited by law. The board of directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Such committee or committees shall have such name or names as may be determined from time to time by resolution adopted by the board of directors. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the board of directors when required.

Section 9. Committee Rules . Each committee of the board of directors may fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the board of directors designating such committee.

Section 10. Communications Equipment . Members of the board of directors or any committee thereof may participate in and act at any meeting of such board or committee through the use of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in the meeting pursuant to this Section shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

Section 11. Waiver of Notice and Presumption of Consent . Any member of the board of directors or any committee thereof who is present at a meeting shall be conclusively presumed to have waived notice of such meeting except when such member attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Such member shall be conclusively presumed to have consented to any action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless his or her written dissent to such action shall be filed with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall be forwarded by registered mail to the secretary of the Corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to any member who voted in favor of such action.

Section 12. Action by Written Consent . Unless otherwise restricted by the certificate of incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at ‘any meeting of the board of directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, and the writing or writings are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the board or committee.

 

5


ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1. Number . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the board of directors. Unless otherwise determined by the board of directors, the officers shall consist of at least a chief executive officer and secretary and may consist of a president, any number of vice presidents, a chief financial officer, any number of assistant secretaries and such other officers and assistant officers as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the board of directors. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. In its discretion, the board of directors may choose not to fill any office for any period as it may deem advisable except the offices of president and secretary.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected annually by the board of directors at its first meeting held after each annual meeting of stockholders or as soon thereafter as conveniently may be. Vacancies may be filled or new offices created and filled at any meeting of the board of directors. Each officer shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. Removal . Any officer or agent elected by the board of directors may be removed by the board of directors whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Corporation would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.

Section 4. Vacancies . Any vacancy occurring in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filled by the board of directors for the unexpired portion of the term by the board of directors then in office.

Section 5. Compensation . Compensation of all officers shall be fixed by the board of directors, and no officer shall be prevented from receiving such compensation by virtue of his or her also being a director of the Corporation.

Section 6. Chief Executive Officer . The chief executive officer shall, subject to the powers of the board of directors, be in the general and active charge of the entire business and affairs of the Corporation, and shall be its chief policy making officer. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the board of directors and stockholders and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the board of directors or provided in these by-laws. Whenever the president is unable to serve, by reason of sickness, absence or otherwise, the chief executive officer shall perform all the duties and responsibilities and exercise all the powers of the president.

Section 7. President . The president of the Corporation, subject to the powers of the board of directors and the chief executive officer, shall have general charge of the business affairs and property of the Corporation, and control over its officers, agents and employees, and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the board of directors are carried into effect. The president shall execute bonds, mortgages and other contracts which the board of directors have authorized to be executed,. except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and

 

6


executed or except where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the board of directors to some other officer or agent of the Corporation. The president shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the chief executive officer, the board of directors or as may be provided in these by-laws.

Section 8. Chief Financial Officer . The chief financial officer of the Corporation shall, under the direction of the chief executive officer, be responsible for all financial and accounting matters of the Corporation. The chief financial officer shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the chief executive officer, the president or the board of directors or as may be provided in these by-laws.

Section 9. Vice-Presidents . The vice-president, or if there shall be more than one, the vice-presidents in the order determined by the board of directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the president, act with all of the powers and be subject to all the restrictions of the president. The vice-presidents shall also perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 10. The Secretary and Assistant Secretaries . The secretary shall attend all meetings of the board of directors, all meetings of the committees thereof and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings of the meetings in a book or books to be kept for that purpose. Under the chief executive officer’s supervision, the secretary shall give, or cause to be given, all notices required to be given by these by-laws or by law; shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe; and shall have custody of the corporate seal of the Corporation. The secretary, or an assistant secretary, shall have authority to affix any corporate seal to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of such assistant secretary. The board of directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature. The assistant secretary, or if there be more than one, the assistant secretaries in the order determined by the board of directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or the secretary may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 11. The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer . The treasurer shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities; shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation; shall deposit all monies and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation as may be ordered by the board of directors; shall cause the funds of the Corporation to be disbursed when such disbursements have been duly authorized, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements; shall render to the chief executive officer, the president and the board of directors, at its regular meeting or when the board of directors so requires, an account of the Corporation; and shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe. If required by the board of directors, the treasurer shall give the Corporation a bond (which shall be rendered every six years) in such sums and with such surety . or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the board of directors for the faithful

 

7


performance of the duties of the office of treasurer and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of death, resignation, retirement, or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money, and other property of whatever kind in the possession or under the control of’ the Treasurer belonging to the Corporation. The assistant treasurer, or if there shall be more than one, the assistant treasurers in the order determined by the board of directors, shall in the absence or disability of the Treasurer,. perform the duties and exercise the powers of the treasurer. The assistant treasurers shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or treasurer may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 12. Other Officers, Assistant Officers and Agents . Officers, assistant officers and agents, if any, other than those whose duties are provided for in these By-laws, shall have such authority and perform such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the board of directors.

Section 13. Absence or Disability of Officers . In the case of the absence or disability of any officer of the Corporation and of any person hereby authorized to act in such officer’s place during such officer’s absence or disability, the board of directors may by resolution delegate the powers and duties of such officer to any other officer or to any director, or to any other person whom it may select.

ARTICLE V

INDEMNIFICATION

Section 1. Indemnity for Third Party Actions . The Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer or director of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another Corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement (collectively, “ Losses ”) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding to the maximum extent authorized by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), or by other applicable law as then in effect, except that a person shall be liable for any such Losses incurred by reason of a breach of an agreement by such person with the Corporation. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful.

Section 2. Indemnity for Action by or in right of Corporation . The Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made ‘a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a

 

8


judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer or director of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer or member of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against Losses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be within the scope of the authority conferred on such person by the Corporation or such other entity, except that a person shall be liable for any such Losses incurred by reason of such person’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or breach of an agreement by such person with the Corporation, and except that no such indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of Delaware or the court in which such suit or action was brought shall be determined upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in consideration of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.

Section 3. Employees . The Corporation may, to the extent deemed advisable by the Board of Directors, indemnify any person who is or was an officer, employee, stockholder (so long as approved by disinterested directors, if any) or agent (other than an officer or director) of the Corporation if such person would be entitled to such indemnity under the provisions of Section 1 or 2 of this Article V if such person had been an officer or director of the Corporation.

Section 4. Procedure for Indemnity . Airy indemnification to be provided under Section 1 , 2 or 3 of this Article V (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article V . Such determination shall be made (1) by a majority vote of disinterested directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (3) by the stockholders.

Section 5. Expenses . Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit. or proceeding unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors in the specific case, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such officer or director to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this Article V . Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the Board of Directors deems appropriate.

Section 6. Article Not Exclusive . The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article V shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any statute, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding

 

9


such office, and shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, member, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such person.

Section 7. Insurance . The Corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on its own behalf and on behalf of any person who was or is a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another Corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of this Article V or of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Section 8. Contract Rights . The provisions of this Article V shall be deemed to be a contract right between the Corporation and each officer or director who serves in any such capacity at any time while this Article V , and the relevant provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or other applicable law are in effect, and any repeal or modification of this Article V , or any such law shall not affect any rights or obligations then existing with respect to any state of facts or proceedings then existing.

Section 9. References to “the Corporation” . For the purposes of this Article V , references to “the Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent). absorbed in a consolidation or merger and the corporation which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to (or in fact did) indemnify its directors, officers, employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article V with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as. such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

ARTICLE VI

CERTIFICATES OF STOCK; RECORD DATE

Section 1. Form . Every holder of stock in the Corporation shall be entitled to have a certificate, signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by the chief executive officer, the president, the chief financial officer or a vice-president and the secretary or an assistant secretary of the Corporation, certifying the number of shares owned by such holder in the Corporation. If such a certificate is countersigned. (1) by a transfer agent or an assistant transfer agent other than the Corporation or its employee or (2) by a registrar, other than the Corporation or its employee, the signature of any such chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice-president, secretary, or assistant secretary may be facsimiles. In case any officer or officers who have signed, or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used on, any such certificate or certificates shall cease to be such officer or officers of the Corporation whether because of death, resignation or otherwise before such certificate or certificates have been

 

10


delivered by the Corporation, such certificate or certificates may nevertheless be issued and delivered as though the person or persons who signed such certificate or certificates or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used thereon had not ceased to be such officer or officers of the Corporation. All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified. The name of the person to whom the shares represented thereby are issued, with the number of shares and date of issue, shall be entered on the books of the Corporation. Shares of stock of the Corporation shall only be transferred on the books of the Corporation by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, upon surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates for such shares endorsed by the appropriate person or persons, with such evidence of the authenticity of such endorsement, transfer, authorization, and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps. In that event, it shall be the duty of the Corporation to issue a new certificate to the person entitled thereto, cancel the old certificate or certificates, and record the transaction on its books. The board of directors may appoint a bank or trust company organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof to act as its transfer agent or registrar, or both in connection with the transfer of any class or series of securities of the Corporation.

Section 2. Lost Certificates . The board of directors may direct a new certificate or certificates to be issued in place of any certificate or certificates previously issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen, or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen, or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate or certificates, the board of directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen, or destroyed certificate or certificates, or his or her legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate.

Section 3. Fixing a Record Date for Stockholder Meetings . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, . the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date’ shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted’ by the board of directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If no record date is fixed by the board of directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next day preceding the day on which notice is given, or if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A . determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the board of directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

Section 4. Fixing a Record Date for Action by Written Consent . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of

 

11


directors, and which date shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of directors. If no record date has been fixed by the board of’ directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested or by facsimile or electronic mail, with confirmation of receipt. If no record date has been fixed by the board of directors and prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

Section 5. Fixing a Record Date for Other Purposes . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

Section 6. Registered Stockholders . Prior to the surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates for a share or shares of stock with a request to record the transfer of such share or shares, the Corporation may treat the registered owner as the person entitled to receive dividends, to vote, to receive notifications, and otherwise to exercise all the rights and powers of an owner. The Corporation shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof.

Section 7. Subscriptions for Stock . Unless otherwise provided for in a subscription agreement, subscriptions for shares shall be paid in full at such time, or in such installments and at such times, as shall be determined by the board of directors. In case of default in the payment of any installment or call when such payment is due, the Corporation may proceed to collect the amount due in the same manner as any debt due the Corporation.

ARTICLE VII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Dividends . Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation, if any, may be declared by the board of directors at any regular or special meeting, pursuant to law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the capital stock, subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the

 

12


Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the directors from time to time, in their absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or any other purpose and the directors may modify or abolish any such reserve in the manner in which it was created.

Section 2. Checks, Drafts or Orders . All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money by or to the Corporation and all notes and other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents of the Corporation, and in such manner, as shall be determined by resolution of the board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof.

Section 3. Contracts . The board of directors may authorize any officer or officers, or any agent or agents, of the Corporation to enter into any contract or to execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

Section 4. Loans . The Corporation may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise assist any officer or other employee of the Corporation or of its subsidiary, including any officer or employee who is a director of the Corporation or its subsidiary, whenever, in the judgment of the directors, such loan, guaranty or assistance may reasonably be expected to directly or indirectly benefit the Corporation. The loan, guaranty or other assistance may be with or without interest, and may be unsecured, or secured in such manner as the board of directors shall approve, including, without limitation, a pledge of shares of stock of the Corporation. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the Corporation at common law or under any statute.

Section 5. Fiscal Year . The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the board of directors.

Section 6. Corporate Seal . The board of directors may provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware”. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.

Section 7. Voting Securities Owned By Corporation . Voting securities in any other corporation held by the Corporation shall be voted by the Ranking Officer, unless the board of directors specifically confers authority to vote with respect thereto, which authority may be general or confined to specific instances, upon some other person or officer. Any person authorized to vote securities shall have the power to appoint proxies, with general power of substitution.

Section 8. Inspection of Books and Records . Any stockholder of record, in person or by attorney or other agent, shall, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof and upon not less than five business days prior notice, have the right during the usual hours for business to inspect for any proper purpose the Corporation’s stock ledger, a list of its stockholders, and its other books and records, and to make copies or extracts therefrom. A proper purpose shall mean any purpose reasonably related to such person’s interest as a

 

13


stockholder. In every instance where an attorney or other agent shall be the person who seeks the right to inspection, the demand under oath shall be accompanied by a power of attorney or such other writing which authorizes the attorney or other agent to so act on behalf of the stockholder. The demand under oath shall be directed to the Corporation at its registered office in the State of Delaware or at its principal place of business.

Section 9. Section Headings . Section headings in these by-laws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

Section 10. Inconsistent Provisions . In the event that any provision of these by-laws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the certificate of incorporation, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the Stockholders Agreement or any other applicable law, the provision of these by-laws shall not be given any effect to the extent of such inconsistency but shall otherwise be given full force and effect. Each reference to the Stockholders Agreement shall be given effect only at such times as the Stockholders Agreement is in effect.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

These by-laws may be amended, altered, or repealed and new by-laws adopted at any meeting of the board of directors by a majority vote. The fact that the power to adopt, amend, alter, or repeal the by-laws has been conferred upon the board of directors shall not divest the stockholders of the same power.

 

14

Exhibit 10.2

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

Adopted January 8, 2004

Approved By Stockholders January 8, 2004

Termination Date: January          2014

 

1.

PURPOSES.

(a)      Eligible Stock Award Recipients.   The persons eligible to receive Stock Awards are the Employees, Directors and Consultants of the Company and its Affiliates.

(b)      Available Stock Awards.   The purpose of the Plan is to provide a means by which eligible recipients of Stock Awards may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock through the granting of the following Stock Awards: (i) Incentive Stock Options, (ii) Nonstatutory Stock Options, (iii) stock bonuses and (iv) rights to acquire restricted stock.

(c)      General Purpose.   The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to retain the services of the group of persons eligible to receive Stock Awards, to secure and retain the services of new members of this group and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and its Affiliates.

 

2.

DEFINITIONS.

(a)      “Affiliate” means any parent corporation or subsidiary corporation of the Company, whether now or hereafter existing, as those terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Code.

(b)      “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(c)      “Cause” means any one of the following as determined by the Board in good faith: (i) the intentional misconduct of an Employee of the Company which results or may result in material harm to the Company or its employees, Directors, Consultants, property or business; or (ii) the failure or refusal of an Employee to perform the duties of the Employee reasonably assigned to such Employee by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company after the Employee has been provided thirty (30) days written notice by the Board of such failure or refusal and the intention of the Board to terminate the employment of the Employee as a result thereof.

(d)      “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

(e)      “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

(f)      “Company” means DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

(g)      “Consultant” means any person, including an advisor, (i) engaged by the Company or an Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services and who is compensated for


such services or (ii) who is a member of the Board of Directors of an Affiliate. However, the term “Consultant” shall not include either Directors who are not compensated by the Company for their services as Directors or Directors who are merely paid a director’s fee by the Company for their services as Directors.

(h)      “Continuous Service” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. The Participant’s Continuous Service shall not be deemed to have terminated merely because of a change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Consultant or Director or a- change in the entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service. For example, a change in status from an Employee of the Company to a Consultant of an Affiliate or a Director will not constitute an interruption of Continuous Service. The Board or the chief executive officer of the Company, in that party’s sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service shall be considered interrupted in the case of any leave of absence approved by that party, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal leave.

(i)      “Covered Employee” means the chief executive officer and the four (4) other highest compensated officers of the Company for whom total compensation is required to be reported to Stockholders under the Exchange Act, as determined for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(j)      “Director” means a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

(k)      “Disability” means (i) before the Listing Date, the inability of a person, in the opinion of a qualified physician acceptable to the Company, to perform the major duties of that person’s position with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company because of the sickness or injury of the person and (ii) after the Listing Date, the permanent and total disability of a person within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code.

(l)      “Employee” means any person employed by the Company or an Affiliate. Mere service as a Director or payment of a director’s fee by the Company or an Affiliate shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company or an Affiliate.

(m)      “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(n)      “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:

(i)     In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value shall be determined in good faith by the Board.

(ii)     Prior to the Listing Date, the value of the Common Stock shall be determined in a manner consistent with Section 260.140.50 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations.

 

2


(o)      “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option intended to qualify as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

(p)      “Listing Date” means the first date upon which any security of the Company is listed (or approved for listing) upon notice of issuance on any securities exchange or designated (or approved for designation) upon notice of issuance as a national market security on an interdealer quotation system if such securities exchange or interdealer quotation system has been certified in accordance with the provisions of Section 25100(o) of the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968.

(q)      “Non-Employee Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current Employee or Officer of the Company or its parent or a subsidiary, does not receive compensation (directly or indirectly) from the Company or its parent or a subsidiary for services rendered as a consultant or in any capacity other than as a Director (except for an amount as to which disclosure would not be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act (“Regulation S-K”), does not possess an interest in any other transaction as to which disclosure would be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K and is not engaged in a business relationship as to which disclosure would be required under Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K; or (ii) is otherwise considered a “non-employee director” for purposes of Rule 16b-3.

(r)      “Nonstatutory Stock Option” means an Option not intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.

(s)     “Officer” means (i) before the Listing Date, any person designated by the Company as an officer and (ii) on and after the Listing Date, a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(t)      “Option” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option granted pursuant to the Plan.

(u)      “Option Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and an Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Option grant. Each Option Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(v)      “Optionholder” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.

(w)      “Outside Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code), is not a former employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” receiving compensation for prior services (other than benefits under a tax qualified pension plan), was not an officer of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” at any time and is not currently receiving direct or indirect remuneration from the Company or an “affiliated corporation” for services in any capacity other than as a Director or (ii) is otherwise considered an “outside director” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

3


(x)      “Participant” means a person to whom a Stock Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Stock Award.

(y)      “Plan” means this DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan.

(z)      “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.

(aa)      “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(bb)      “Stock Award” means any right granted under the Plan, including an Option, a stock bonus and a right to acquire restricted stock.

(cc)      “Stock Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Stock Award grant. Each Stock Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(dd)      “Stockholders Agreement” means the stockholders agreement dated January       , 2004, by and among the Company, Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and other persons and entities that may enter into such agreement.

(ee)      “Ten Percent Shareholder” means a person who owns (or is deemed to own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of any of its Affiliates.

 

3.

ADMINISTRATION.

(a)      Administration by Board.   The Board shall administer the Plan.

(b)      Powers of Board.   The Board shall have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:

(i)     To determine from time to time which of the persons eligible under the Plan shall be granted Stock Awards; when and how each Stock Award shall be granted; what type or combination of types of Stock Award shall be granted; the provisions of each Stock Award granted (which need not be identical), including the time or times when a person shall be permitted to receive Common Stock pursuant to a Stock Award; and the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which a Stock Award shall be granted to each such person.

(ii)     To construe and interpret the Plan and Stock Awards granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for its administration. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Stock Award Agreement, in a manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan fully effective.

(iii)     To amend the Plan or a Stock Award as provided in Section 12.

 

4


(iv)     Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company which are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan.

(c)      Effect of Board’s Decision.   All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board in good faith shall not be subject to review by any person and shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.

 

4.

SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

(a)      Share Reserve.   Subject to the provisions of Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in Common Stock, the Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Stock Awards shall not exceed in the aggregate one million eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) shares of Common Stock.

(b)      Reversion of Shares to the Share Reserve.   If any Stock Award shall for any reason expire or otherwise terminate, in whole or in part, without having been exercised in full, or if any shares of Common Stock issued to a Participant pursuant to a Stock Award are forfeited back to the Company because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares in the Participant, the shares of Common Stock not acquired or forfeited under such Stock Award shall revert to and again become available for issuance under the Plan; provided, however, that subject to the provisions of Section ll(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options shall be one million eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) shares of Common Stock.

(c)      Source of Shares.   The shares of Common Stock subject to the Plan may be unissued shares or reacquired shares, bought on the market or otherwise.

(d)      Share Reserve Limitation.   Prior to the Listing Date and to the extent then required by Section 260.140.45 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, the total number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of all outstanding Options and the total number of shares of Common Stock provided for under any stock bonus or similar plan of the Company shall not exceed the applicable percentage as calculated in accordance with the conditions and exclusions of Section 260.140.45 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, based on the shares of Common Stock of the Company that are outstanding at the time the calculation is made.

 

5.

ELIGIBILITY.

(a)      Eligibility for Specific Stock Awards.   Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees. Stock Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants.

(b)    Ten Percent Stockholders.

(i)     A Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair

 

5


Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date of grant.

(ii)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted a Nonstatutory Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least (i) one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant or (ii) such lower percentage of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant as is permitted by Section 260.140.41 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option.

(iii)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted a restricted stock award unless the purchase price of the restricted stock is at least (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant or (ii) such lower percentage of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant as is permitted by Section 260.140.41 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option.

(c)      Section 162(m) Limitation.   Subject to the provisions of Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in the shares of Common Stock, no Employee shall be eligible to be granted Options covering more than one million (1,000,000) shares of Common Stock during any calendar year. This subsection 5(c) shall not apply prior to the Listing Date and, following the Listing Date, this subsection 5(c) shall not apply until (i) the earliest of: (1) the first material modification of the Plan (including any increase in the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan in accordance with Section 4); (2) the issuance of all of the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan; (3) the expiration of the Plan; or (4) the first meeting of Stockholders at which Directors are to be elected that occurs after the close of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which occurred the first registration of an equity security under Section 12 of the Exchange Act; or (ii) such other date required by Section 162(m) of the Code and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(d)    Consultants.

(i)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Consultant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award if, at the time of grant, either the offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such Consultant is not exempt under Rule 701 of the Securities Act (“Rule 701”) because of the nature of the services that the Consultant is providing to the Company, or because the Consultant is not a natural person, or as otherwise provided by Rule 701, unless the Company determines that such grant need not comply with the requirements of Rule 701 and will satisfy another exemption under the Securities Act as well as comply with the securities laws of all other relevant jurisdictions.

(ii)     From and after the Listing Date, a Consultant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award if, at the time of grant, a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act (“Form S-8”) is not available to register either the ·offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such Consultant because of the nature of the services that the Consultant is providing to the Company, or because the Consultant is not a natural person, or as otherwise provided by the rules governing the use of Form S-8, unless the Company determines both

 

6


(i) that such grant (A) shall be registered in another manner under the Securities Act ( e.g. , on a Form S-3 Registration Statement) or (B) does not require registration under the Securities Act in order to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act, if applicable, and (ii) that such grant complies with the securities laws of all other relevant jurisdictions.

(iii)     Rule 701 and Form S-8 generally are available to consultants and advisors only if (i) they are natural persons; (ii) they provide bona fide services to the issuer, its parents, its majority-owned subsidiaries or majority-owned subsidiaries of the issuer’s parent; and (iii) the services are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction, and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the issuer’s securities.

 

6.

OPTION PROVISIONS.

Each Option shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. All Options shall be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Nonstatutory Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates will be issued for shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. The provisions of separate Options need not be identical, but each Option shall include {through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the Option or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(a)      Term.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date it was granted, and no Incentive Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date it was granted, or earlier if not exercised at or prior to an event described upon an event described in Section 11(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Plan.

(b)      Exercise Price of an Incentive Stock Option.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise price of each Incentive Stock Option shall be not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the date the Option is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Incentive Stock Option may be granted with an exercise price lower than that set forth in the preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) of the Code.

(c)      Exercise Price of a Nonstatutory Stock Option.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise price of each Nonstatutory Stock Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the date the Option is granted. The exercise price of each Nonstatutory Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to. the Option on the date the Option is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Nonstatutory Stock Option may be granted with an exercise price lower than that set forth in the

 

7


preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) of the Code.

(d)      Consideration.   The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to an Option shall be paid, to the extent permitted by applicable statutes and regulations, either (i) in cash at the time the Option is exercised or (ii) at the discretion of the Board at the time of the grant of the Option (or subsequently in the case of a Nonstatutory Stock Option) (1) by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock, (2) according to a deferred payment or other similar arrangement with the Optionholder or (3) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board. Unless otherwise specifically provided in the Option, the purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to an Option that is paid by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock acquired, directly or indirectly from the Company, shall be paid only by shares of the Common Stock of the Company that have been held for more than six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes). At any time that the Company is incorporated in Delaware, payment of the Common Stock’s “par value,” as defined in the Delaware General Corporation Law, shall not be made by deferred payment.

In the case of any deferred payment arrangement, interest shall be compounded at least annually and shall be charged at the minimum rate of interest necessary to avoid the treatment as interest, under any applicable provisions of the Code, of any amounts other than amounts stated to be interest under the deferred payment arrangement.

(e)      Transferability of an Incentive Stock Option.   An Incentive Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing; the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.

(f)      Transferability of a Nonstatutory Stock Option.   A Nonstatutory Stock Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and, to the extent provided in the Option Agreement, to such further extent as permitted by Section 260.140.41(d) of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option, and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. A Nonstatutory Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be transferable to the extent provided in the Option Agreement. If the Nonstatutory Stock Option does not provide for transferability, then the Nonstatutory Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.

(g)      Vesting Generally.   The total number of shares of Common Stock subject to an Option may, but need not, vest and therefore become exercisable in periodic installments that may, but need not, be equal. The Option may be subject to such other terms and conditions on

 

8


the time or times when it may be exercised (which may be based on performance or other criteria) as the Board may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions of individual Options may vary. The provisions of this subsection 6(g) are subject to any Option provisions governing the minimum number of shares of Common Stock as to which an Option may be exercised.

(h)      Minimum Vesting Prior to the Listing Date.   Notwithstanding the foregoing subsection 6(g), to the extent that the following restrictions on vesting are required by Section 260.140.4l(f) of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option, then:

(i)     Options granted prior to the Listing Date to an Employee who is not an Officer, Director or Consultant shall provide for vesting of the total number of shares of Common Stock at a rate of at least twenty percent (20%) per year over five (5) years from the date the Option was granted, subject to reasonable conditions such as continued employment; and

(ii)     Options granted prior to the Listing Date to Officers, Directors or Consultants may be made fully exercisable, subject to reasonable conditions such as continued employment, at any time or during any period established by the Company.

(i)      Termination of Continuous Service.   In the event an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Optionholder’s death or Disability), the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination) but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date three (3) months following the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than thirty (30) days for Options granted prior to the Listing Date unless such termination is for cause), or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Option Agreement If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified in the Option Agreement, the Option shall terminate.

(j)      Extension of Termination Date.   An Optionholder’s Option Agreement may also provide that if the exercise of the Option following the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service (other than upon the Optionholder’s death or Disability) would be prohibited at any time solely because the issuance of shares of Common Stock would violate the registration requirements under the Securities Act, then the Option shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the term of the Option set forth in subsection 6(a) or (ii) the expiration of a period of three (3) months after the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service during which the exercise of the Option would not be in violation of such registration requirements.

(k)      Disability of Optionholder.   In the event that an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s Disability, the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination), but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date twelve (12) months following such termination (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than six (6) months for Options granted prior

 

9


to the Listing Date) or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Option Agreement. If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified herein, the Option shall terminate.

(l)     Death of Optionholder.   In the event (i) an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s death or (ii) the Optionholder dies within the period (if any) specified in the Option Agreement after the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service for a reason other than death, then the Option may be exercised (to the extent the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of death) by the Optionholder’s estate, by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option by bequest or inheritance or by a person designated to exercise the option upon the Optionholder’s death pursuant to subsection 6(e) or 6(f), but only within the period ending on the earlier of (1) the date eighteen (18) months following the date of death (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than six (6) months for Options granted prior to the Listing Date) or (2) the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Option Agreement. If, after death, the Option is not exercised within the time specified herein, the Option shall terminate.

(m)     Early Exercise.   The Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Optionholder may elect at any time before the Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates to exercise the Option as to any part or all of the shares of Common Stock subject to the Option prior to the full vesting of the Option. Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), any unvested shares of Common Stock so purchased may be subject to a repurchase option in favor of the Company or to any other restriction the Board determines to be appropriate. Provided that the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h) is not violated, the Company will not exercise its repurchase option until at least six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes) have elapsed following exercise of the Option unless the Board otherwise specifically provides in the Option.

(n)     Right of Repurchase.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), the Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Company may elect, prior to the Listing Date, to repurchase all or any part of the vested shares of Common Stock acquired by the Optionholder pursuant to the exercise of the Option. Provided that the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h) is not violated, the Company will not exercise its repurchase option until at least six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes) have elapsed following exercise of the Option unless the Board otherwise specifically provides in the Option.

(o)     Right of First Refusal.   The Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Company may elect, prior to the Listing Date, to exercise a right of first refusal following receipt of notice from the Optionholder of the intent to transfer all or any part of the shares of Common Stock received upon the exercise of the Option. Except as expressly provided in this subsection 6(o), such right of first refusal shall otherwise comply with any applicable provisions of the Bylaws of the Company.

 

10


7.

PROVISIONS OF STOCK AWARDS OTHER THAN OPTIONS.

(a)     Stock Bonus Awards.   Each stock bonus agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of stock bonus agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate stock bonus agreements need not be identical, but each stock bonus agreement shall include {through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i)      Consideration.   A stock bonus may be awarded in consideration for past services actually rendered to the Company or an Affiliate for its benefit.

(ii)      Vesting.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), shares of Common Stock awarded under the stock bonus agreement may, but need not, be subject to a share repurchase option in favor of the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.

(iii)      Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), in the event a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may reacquire any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant which have not vested as of the date of termination under the terms of the stock bonus agreement.

(iv)     Transferability.   For a stock bonus award made before the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the stock bonus agreement shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant. For a stock bonus award made on or after the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the stock bonus agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the ,stock bonus agreement, as the Board shall determine in its discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the stock bonus agreement remains subject to the terms of the stock bonus agreement.

(b)      Restricted Stock Awards.   Each restricted stock purchase agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of the restricted stock purchase agreements may change from time to. time, and the terms and conditions of separate restricted stock purchase agreements need not be identical, but each restricted stock purchase agreement shall include (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i)     Purchase Price.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the purchase price under each restricted stock purchase agreement shall be such amount as the Board shall determine and designate in such restricted stock purchase agreement. For restricted stock awards made prior to the Listing Date, the purchase price shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Common Stock’s Fair Market Value on the date such award is made or at the time the purchase is consummated. For restricted stock

 

11


awards made on or after the Listing Date, the purchase price shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Common Stock’s Fair Market Value on the date such award is made or at the time the purchase is consummated.

(ii)      Consideration.   The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the restricted stock purchase agreement shall be paid either: (i) in cash at the time of purchase; (ii) at the discretion of the Board, according to a deferred payment or other similar arrangement with the Participant; or (iii) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board in its discretion; provided, however, that at any time that the Company is incorporated in Delaware, then payment of the Common Stock’s “par value,” as defined in the Delaware General Corporation Law, shall not be made by deferred payment.

(iii)      Vesting.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), shares of Common Stock acquired under the restricted stock purchase agreement may, but need not, be subject to a share repurchase option in favor of the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.

(iv)     Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), in the event a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may repurchase or otherwise reacquire any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant which have not vested as of the date of termination under the terms of the restricted stock purchase agreement.

(v)     Transferability.   For a restricted stock award made before the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the restricted stock purchase agreement shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant. For a restricted stock award made on or after the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the restricted stock purchase agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the restricted stock purchase agreement, as the Board shall determine in its discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the restricted stock purchase agreement remains subject to the terms of the restricted stock purchase agreement.

 

8.

COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY.

(a)      Availability of Shares.   During the terms of the Stock Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock required to satisfy such Stock Awards.

(b)      Securities Law Compliance.   The Company shall seek to obtain from each regulatory commission or agency having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be required to grant Stock Awards and to issue and sell shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Stock Awards; provided, however, that this undertaking shall not require the Company to register under the Securities Act the Plan, any Stock Award or any Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such Stock Award. If, after reasonable efforts, the Company is unable to obtain from any such regulatory commission or agency the authority which counsel for the Company deems necessary for the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, the

 

12


Company shall be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise of such Stock Awards unless and until such authority is obtained.

 

9.

USE OF PROCEEDS FROM STOCK.

Proceeds from the sale of Common Stock pursuant to Stock Awards shall constitute general funds of the Company.

 

10.

MISCELLANEOUS.

(a)     Acceleration of Exercisability and Vesting.   The Board shall have the power to accelerate the time at which a Stock Award may first be exercised or the time during which a Stock Award or any part thereof will vest in accordance with the Plan, notwithstanding the provisions in the Stock Award stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the employment of an Employee holding an outstanding Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the exercise of a Stock Award) is involuntarily terminated without “Cause” by the Company prior to such Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock) becoming fully vested, then the vesting of such Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock) shall become accelerated in full immediately prior to the involuntary termination of employment of such Employee.

(b)     Shareholder Rights.   No Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to such Stock Award unless and until such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of the Stock Award pursuant to its terms.

(c)      No Employment or other Service Rights.   Nothing in the Plan or any instrument executed or Stock Award granted pursuant thereto shall confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Stock Award was granted or shall affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate (i) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without cause, (ii) the service of a Consultant pursuant to the terms of such Consultant’s agreement with the Company or an Affiliate or (iii) the service of a Director pursuant to the Bylaws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state in which the Company or the Affiliate is incorporated, as the case may be.

(d)      Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation.   To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the Options or portions thereof which exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options.

(e)      Investment Assurances.   The Company may require a Participant, as a condition of exercising or acquiring Common Stock under any Stock Award, (i) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company as to the Participant’s knowledge and experience in financial and

 

13


business matters and/or to employ a purchaser representative reasonably satisfactory to the Company who is knowledgeable and experienced in financial and business matters and that he or she is capable of evaluating, alone or together with the purchaser representative, the merits and risks of exercising the Stock Award; and (ii) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company stating that the Participant is acquiring Common Stock subject to the Stock Award for the Participant’s own account and not with any present intention of selling or otherwise distributing the Common Stock. The foregoing requirements, and any assurances given pursuant to such requirements, shall be inoperative if (1) the issuance of the shares of Common Stock upon the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award has been registered under a then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act or (2) as to any particular requirement, a determination is made by counsel for the Company that such requirement need not be met in the circumstances under the then applicable securities laws. The Company may, upon advice of counsel to the Company, place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan as such counsel deems necessary or appropriate in order to comply with applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, legends restricting the transfer of the Common Stock.

(f)      Withholding Obligations.   To the extent provided by the terms of a Stock Award Agreement, the Participant may satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under a Stock Award by any of the following means (in addition to the Company’s right to withhold from any compensation paid to the Participant by the Company) or by a combination of such means: (i) tendering a cash payment; (ii) authorizing the Company to withhold shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to the Participant as a result of the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award, provided, however; that no shares of Common Stock are withheld with a value exceeding the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law; or (iii) delivering to the Company owned and unencumbered shares of Common Stock.

(g)      Information Obligation.   Prior to the Listing Date, to the extent required by Section 260.f40.46 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, the Company shall deliver financial statements to Participants at least annually. This subsection 10(g) shall not apply to key Employees whose duties in connection with the Company assure them access to equivalent information.

(h)      Repurchase Limitation.   The terms of any repurchase option shall be specified in the Stock Award and may be either at Fair Market Value at the time of repurchase or at not less than the original purchase price. To the extent required by Section 260.140.41 and Section 260.140.42 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time a Stock Award is made, any repurchase option contained in a Stock Award granted prior to the Listing Date to a person who is not an Officer, Director or Consultant shall be upon the terms described below:

(i)      Fair Market Value.   If the repurchase option gives the Company the right to repurchase the shares of Common Stock upon termination of employment at not less than the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock to be purchased on the date of termination of Continuous Service, then (i) the right to repurchase shall be exercised for cash or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness for the shares of Common Stock within ninety (90) days of termination of Continuous Service (or in the case of shares of Common Stock issued upon

 

14


exercise of Stock Awards after such date of termination, within ninety (90) days after the date of the exercise) or such longer period as may be agreed to by the Company and the Participant (for example, for purposes of satisfying the requirements of Section 1202(c)(3) of the Code regarding “qualified small business stock”) and (ii) the right terminates when the shares of Common Stock become publicly traded.

(ii)      Original Purchase Price.   If the repurchase option gives the Company the right to repurchase the shares of Common Stock upon termination of Continuous Service at the original purchase price, then (i) the right to repurchase at the original purchase price shall lapse at the rate of at least twenty percent (20%) of the shares of Common Stock per year over five (5) years from the date the Stock Award is granted (without respect to the date the Stock Award was exercised or became exercisable) and (ii) the right to repurchase shall be exercised for cash or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness for the shares of Common Stock within ninety (90)days of termination of Continuous Service (or in the case of shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of Options after such date of termination, within ninety (90) days after the date of the exercise) or such longer period as may be agreed to by the Company and the Participant (for example, for purposes of satisfying the requirements of Section 1202(c)(3) of the Code regarding “qualified small business stock”).

(i)      Registration Rights.   The Company shall use its best efforts to register the shares of Common Stock issued or to be issued to Participants pursuant to the exercise of Stock Awards with an SEC Form S-8 registration statement or comparable registration statement in the event that the Company registers its securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

11.

ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN STOCK AND CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS.

(a)      Capitalization Adjustments.   If any change is made in the Common Stock subject to the Plan, or subject to any Stock Award, without the receipt of consideration by the Company (through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, stock split; liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or other transaction not involving the receipt of consideration by the Company), the Plan will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to subsections 4(a) and 4(b) and the maximum number of securities subject to award to any person pursuant to subsection 5(c), and the outstanding Stock Awards will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and number of securities and price per share of Common Stock subject to such outstanding Stock Awards. The Board shall make such adjustments, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. (The conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be treated as a transaction “without receipt of consideration” by the Company.)

(b)    Change in Control–Dissolution or Liquidation.   In the event of a dissolution or liquidation of the Company, then all outstanding Stock Awards shall terminate immediately prior to such event.

(c)      Change in Control-Asset Sale, Merger, Consolidation or Reverse Merger.   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in the event of (i) a sale, lease or other disposition of

 

15


all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, (ii) a consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person, or any other corporate reorganization, in which the Stockholders of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, merger or reorganization, own less than 50% of the Company’s outstanding voting power of the surviving entity (or its parent) following the consolidation, merger or reorganization or (iii) any transaction (or series of related transactions involving a person or entity, or a group of affiliated persons or entities) in which in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the Company’s outstanding voting power is transferred, then with respect to Stock Awards held by Participants whose Continuous Service has not terminated, the vesting of such Stock Awards (and, if applicable, the time during which such Stock Awards may be exercised) as well as the lapse of the Company’s right to repurchase outstanding restricted shares of Common Stock issued under Stock Awards, shall be accelerated in full, and the Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to such event unless they are assumed or substituted for by the acquiring or surviving entity (in their sole discretion). With respect to any other Stock Awards outstanding under the Plan, such Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to such event unless they are assumed or substituted for by the acquiring or surviving entity (in their sole discretion).

(d)      Other Corporate Transactions.   In the event that, following the initial grant of Stock Awards under the Plan:

(i)     the Company authorizes the issuance or sale of any securities to Parthenon Investors, II, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, or any of its affiliates (collectively referred to for purposes of this Section ll(d) as “Parthenon”), which issuance and sale the Company agrees shall be solely for cash consideration as described in Section 3(a) of the Stockholders Agreement;

(ii)     there is a “Transfer,” within the meaning of such term in Section 4(c) of the Stockholders Agreement (other than a “Permitted Parthenon Transfer” (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement) not including the making of one or more Transfers to one or more “Permitted Parthenon Transferees” (as such term is defined in the Stockholder Agreement) resulting in the disposition of any or all of its interest in such Permitted Parthenon Transferee) by Parthenon of any “Stockholder Shares” (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement)); or

(iii)     Parthenon sells its securities of the Company;

then, with respect to Stock Awards held by each Participant whose Continuous Service has not terminated, the vesting of all outstanding Stock Awards (and, if applicable, the time during which such Stock Awards may be exercised) of such Participant as well as the lapse of the Company’s right to repurchase restricted shares of Common Stock, if any, of such Participant issued under Stock Awards, shall be accelerated in full immediately prior to such event.

 

12.

AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN AND STOCK AWARDS.

(a)      Amendment of Plan.   The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the Plan. However, except as provided in Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in

 

16


Common Stock; no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the Stockholders of the Company to the extent shareholder approval is necessary to satisfy the requirements of Section 422 of the Code, Rule 16b-3 or any Nasdaq or securities exchange listing requirements.

(b)      Shareholder Approval.   The Board may, in its sole discretion, submit any other amendment to the Plan for shareholder approval, including, but not limited to, amendments to the Plan intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and the regulations thereunder regarding the exclusion of performance-based compensation from the limit on corporate deductibility of compensation paid to certain executive officers.

(c)      Contemplated Amendments.   It is expressly contemplated that the Board may amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable to provide eligible Employees with the maximum benefits provided or to be provided under the provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder relating to Incentive Stock Options and/or to bring the Plan and/or Incentive Stock Options granted under it into compliance therewith.

(d)      No Impairment of Rights.   Rights under any Stock Award granted before amendment of the Plan shall not be impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless (i) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (ii) the Participant consents in writing.

(e)      Amendment of Stock Awards.   The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the terms of any one or more Stock Awards; provided, however, that the rights under any Stock Award shall not be impaired by any such amendment unless ( ) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (ii) the Participant consents in writing.

 

13.

TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE PLAN.

(a)      Plan Term.   The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Unless sooner terminated, the Plan shall terminate on the day before the tenth (10th) anniversary of the date the Plan is adopted by the Board or approved by the Stockholders of the Company, whichever is earlier. No Stock Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.

(b)      No Impairment of Rights.   Suspension or termination of the Plan shall not impair rights and obligations under any Stock Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the Participant.

 

14.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN.

The Plan shall become effective as determined by the Board, but no Stock Award shall be exercised (or, in the case of a stock bonus, shall be granted) unless and until the Plan has been approved by the Stockholders of the Company, which approval shall be within twelve (12) months before or. after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board.

 

15.

CHOICE OF LAW.

The law of the State of Delaware shall govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to such state’s conflict of laws rules.

 

17


DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT

(INCENTIVE AND NONSTATUTORY STOCK OPTIONS)

Pursuant to your Stock Option Grant Notice (“Grant Notice”) and this Stock Option Agreement, DCS Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) has granted you an option under its 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) to purchase the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock indicated in your Grant Notice at the exercise price indicated in your Grant Notice. Defined terms not explicitly defined in this Stock Option Agreement but defined in the Plan shall have the same definitions as in the Plan.

The details of your option are as follows:

1.     VESTING.   Subject to the limitations contained herein, your option will vest as provided .in your Grant Notice, provided that vesting will cease upon the termination of your Continuous Service.

2.     NUMBER OF SHARES AND EXERCISE PRICE.   The number of shares of Common Stock subject to your option and your exercise price per share referenced in your Grant Notice may be adjusted from time to time for Capitalization Adjustments, as provided in the Plan.

3.     EXERCISE PRIOR TO VESTING (“EARLY EXERCISE”).   If permitted in your Grant Notice (i.e; the “Exercise Schedule” indicates that “Early Exercise” of your option is permitted) and subject to the provisions of your option, you may elect at any time that is both (i) during the period of your” Continuous Service and (ii) during the term of your option, to exercise all or part of your option, including the nonvested portion of your option; provided, however, that:

(a)    a partial exercise of your option shall be deemed to cover first vested shares of Common Stock and then the earliest vesting installment of unvested shares of Common Stock;

(b)    any shares of Common Stock so purchased from installments that have not vested as of the date of exercise shall be subject to the purchase option in favor of the Company as described in the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement;

(c)    you shall enter into the Company’s form of Early Exercise Stock Purchase Agreement in form and substance satisfactory to the Company (with unvested repurchaseable by the Company at cost) with a vesting schedule that will result in the same vesting as if no early exercise had occurred; and

(d)    if your option is an incentive stock option, then, as provided in the Plan, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of the

 


shares of Common Stock with respect to which your option plus all other incentive stock options you hold are exercisable for the first time by you during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), your option(s) or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as nonstatutory stock options.

4.     METHOD OF PAYMENT .  Payment of the exercise price is due in full upon exercise of all or any part of your option. You may elect to make payment of the exercise price in cash or by check or in any other manner permitted by your Grant Notice , which may include one or more of the following:

(a)    In the Company’s sole discretion at the time your option is exercised and provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in The Wall Street Journal; pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of Common Stock, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds.

(b)    Provided that at the time of exercise the Common Stock is publicly traded and quoted regularly in The Wall Street Journal, by delivery of already-owned shares of Common Stock either that you have held for the period required to avoid a charge to the Company’s reported earnings (generally six months) or that you did not acquire, directly or indirectly from the Company, that are owned free and clear of any liens, claims, encumbrances or security interests, and that are valued at Fair Market Value on the date of exercise. “Delivery” for these purposes, in the sole discretion of the Company at the time you exercise your option, shall include delivery to the Company of your attestation of ownership of such shares of Common Stock in a form approved by the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may not exercise your option by tender to the Company of Common Stock to the extent such tender would violate the provisions of any law, regulation or agreement restricting the redemption of the Company’s stock.

(c)    Pursuant to the following deferred payment alternative:

(i)    Not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the aggregate exercise price, plus accrued interest, shall be due four (4) years from date of exercise or, at the Company’s election, upon termination of your Continuous Service or an event described in Section 11(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the plan, if your option is not exercised on or prior to such event.

(ii)    Interest shall be compounded at least annually and shall be charged at the minimum rate of interest necessary to avoid the treatment as interest, under any applicable provisions of the Code, of any portion of any amounts other than amounts stated to be interest under the deferred payment arrangement.

(iii)    At any time that the Company is incorporated in Delaware, payment of the Common Stock’s “par value,” as defined in the Delaware General Corporation Law, shall be made in cash and not by deferred payment.

 

2


(iv)    In order to elect the deferred payment alternative, you must, as a part of your written notice of exercise, give notice of the election of this payment alternative and, in order to secure the payment of the deferred exercise price to the Company hereunder, if the Company so requests, you must tender to the Company a recourse promissory note and a security agreement covering the purchased shares of Common Stock, both in form and substance satisfactory to the Company, or such other or additional documentation as the Company may request.

5.     WHOLE SHARES.   You may exercise your option only for whole shares of Common Stock.

6.     SECURITIES LAW COMPLIANCE.   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, you may not exercise your option unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such exercise are then registered under the Securities Act or, if such shares of Common Stock are not then so registered, the Company has determined that such exercise and issuance would be exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The exercise of your option must also comply with other applicable laws and regulations governing your option, and you may not exercise your option if the Company determines that such exercise would not be in material compliance with such laws and regulations.

7.     TERM.   You may not exercise your option before the commencement of its term or after its term expires. The term of your option commences on the Date of Grant and expires upon the earliest of the following:

(a)    three (3) months after the termination of your Continuous Service for any reason other than your Disability or death, provided that if during any part of such three- (3-) month period your option is not exercisable solely because of the condition set forth in the preceding paragraph relating to “Securities Law Compliance,” your option shall not expire until the earlier of the Expiration Date or until it shall have been exercisable for an aggregate period of three (3) months after the termination of your Continuous Service;

(b)    twelve (12) months after the termination of your Continuous Service due to your Disability;

(c)    eighteen (18) months after your death if you die either during your Continuous Service or within three (3) months after your Continuous Service terminates;

(d)    the Expiration Date indicated in your Grant Notice

(e)    an event described in Section 11(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the plan, if your option is not exercised on or prior to such event;

(f)    the day before the tenth (10th) anniversary of the Date of Grant.

If your option is an incentive stock option, note that, to obtain the federal income tax advantages associated with an “incentive stock option,” the Code requires that at all times beginning on the date of grant of your option and ending on the day three (3) months before the date of your option’s exercise, you must be an employee of the Company or an Affiliate,

 

3


except in the event of your death or Disability. The Company has provided for extended exercisability of your option under certain circumstances for your benefit but cannot guarantee that your option will necessarily be treated as an “incentive stock option” if you continue to provide services to the Company or an Affiliate as a Consultant or Director after your employment terminates or if you otherwise exercise your option more than three (3) months after the date your employment terminates.

8.     EXERCISE.

(a)    You may exercise the vested portion of your option (and the unvested portion of your option if your Grant Notice so permits) during its term by delivering a Notice of Exercise (in a form designated by the Company) together with the exercise price to the Secretary of the Company, or to such other person as the Company may designate, during regular business hours, together with such additional documents as the Company may then require.

(b)    By exercising your option you agree that, as a condition to any exercise of your option, the Company may require you to enter into an arrangement providing for the payment by you to the Company of any tax withholding obligation of the Company arising by reason of (1) the exercise of your option, (2) the lapse of any substantial risk of forfeiture to which the shares of Common Stock are subject at the time of exercise, or (3) the disposition of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise.

(c)    If your option is an incentive stock option, by exercising your option you agree that you will notify the Company in writing within fifteen (15) days after the date of any disposition of any of the shares of the Common Stock issued upon exercise of your option that occurs within two (2) years after the date of your option grant or within one (1) year after such shares of Common Stock are transferred upon exercise of your option.

(d)    By exercising your option you agree that the Company (or a representative of the underwriter(s)) may, in connection with the first underwritten registration of the offering of any securities of the Company under the Securities Act, require that you not sell, dispose of, transfer, make any short sale of, grant any option for the purchase of, or enter into any hedging or similar transaction with the same economic effect as a sale, any shares of Common Stock or other securities of the Company held by you, for a period of time specified by the underwriter(s) (not to exceed one hundred eighty (180) days) following the effective date of the registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act. You further agree to execute and deliver such other agreements as may be reasonably requested by the Company and/or the underwriter(s) that are consistent with the foregoing or that are necessary to give further effect thereto. In order to enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to your shares of Common Stock until the end of such period.

9.     TRANSFERABILITY.

(a)    If your option is an incentive stock option, your option is not transferable, except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and is exercisable during

 

4


your life only by you. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may designate a third party who, in the event of your death, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise your option.

(b)    If your option is a nonstatutory stock option, your option is not transferable, except (i) by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, (ii) with the prior written approval of the Company, by instrument to an inter vivos or testamentary trust, in a form accepted by the Company, in which the option is to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) and (iii) with the prior written approval of the Company, by gift, in a form accepted by the Company, to your “immediate family” as that term is defined in 17 C.P.R. 240.16a-l(e). The term “immediate family” is defined in 17 C.P.R. 240.16a-l(e) to mean any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, and includes adoptive relationships. Your option is exercisable during your life only by you or a transferee satisfying the above-stated conditions. The right of a transferee to exercise the transferred portion of your option after termination: of your Continuous Service shall terminate in accordance with your right to exercise your option as specified in your option. In the event that your Continuous Service terminates due to your death, your transferee will be treated as a person who acquired the right to exercise your option by bequest or inheritance. In addition to the foregoing, the Company may require, as a condition of the transfer of your option to a trust or by gift, that your transferee enter into an option transfer agreement provided by, or acceptable to, the Company. The terms of your option shall be binding upon your transferees, executors, administrators, heirs, successors, and assigns. Notwithstanding the foregoing, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, you may designate a third party who, in the event of your death, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise your option.

10.     STOCKHOLDERS AGREEMENT.     Your option is conditioned upon your entering into the Stockholders Agreement, among you and the Company and certain other Shareholders of the Company.

11.     REGISTRATION AGREEMENT.     You option is conditioned upon your entering into the Registration Agreement, among you, the Company and other shareholders of the Company.

12.     OPTION NOT A SERVICE CONTRACT.     Your option is not an employment or service contract, and nothing in your option shall be deemed to create in any way whatsoever any obligation on your part to continue in the employ of the Company or an Affiliate, or of the Company or an Affiliate to continue your employment. In addition, nothing in your option shall obligate the Company or an Affiliate, their respective shareholders, Boards of Directors, Officers or Employees to continue any relationship that you might have as a Director or Consultant for the Company or an Affiliate.

13.     WITHHOLDING OBLIGATIONS.

(a)    At the time you exercise your option, in. whole or in part, or at any time thereafter as requested by the Company, you hereby authorize withholding from payroll and any other amounts payable to you, and otherwise agree to make adequate provision for

 

5


(including by means of a “cashless exercise” pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board to the extent permitted by the Company), any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or an Affiliate, if any, which arise in connection with your option.

(b)    Upon your request and subject to approval by the Company, in its sole discretion, and compliance with any applicable conditions or restrictions of law, the Company may withhold from fully vested shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to you upon the exercise of your option a number of whole shares of Common Stock having a Fair Market Value, determined by the Company as of the date of exercise, not in excess of the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law. If the date of determination of any tax withholding obligation is deferred to a date later than the date of exercise of your option, share withholding pursuant to the preceding sentence shall not be permitted unless you make a proper and timely election under Section 83(b) of the Code, covering the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock acquired upon such exercise with respect to which such determination is otherwise deferred, to accelerate the determination of such tax withholding obligation to the date of exercise of your option. Notwithstanding the filing of such election, shares of Common Stock shall be withheld solely from fully vested shares of Common Stock determined as of the date of exercise of your option that are otherwise issuable to you upon such exercise. Any adverse consequences to you arising in connection with such share withholding procedure shall be your sole responsibility.

(c)    You may not exercise your option unless the tax withholding obligations of the Company and/or any Affiliate are satisfied. Accordingly, you may not be able to exercise ·your option when desired even though your option is vested, and the Company shall have no obligation to issue a certificate for such shares of Common Stock or release such shares of Common Stock from any escrow provided for herein.

14.     NOTICES.   Any notices provided for in your option or the Plan shall be given in writing and shall be deemed effectively given upon receipt or, in the case of notices delivered by mail by the Company to you, five (5) days after deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to you at the last address you provided to the Company.

15.     GOVERNING PLAN DOCUMENT.   Your option is subject to all the provisions of the Plan, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of your option, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Plan. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of your option and those of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan shall control.

16.     REPRESENTATIONS.   In accepting your option, you represent and acknowledge that (i) you have a preexisting personal or business relationship with the Company or any of its partners, officers, directors or controlling persons, or by reason of your business or financial experience could be reasonably assumed to have the capacity to protect your own interests in connection with the grant of the option or an exercise of the option, and (ii) you are accepting the option and, if you exercise the option, you shall do so solely for your

 

6


own account and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution of the option or the shares of Common Stock purchased with the option.

 

7


DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

STOCK OPTION GRANT NOTICE

DCS HOLDINGS, INC. (the “Company”), pursuant to its 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), hereby grants to Optionholder an option to purchase the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock set forth below. This option is subject to all of the terms and conditions as set forth herein and in the Stock Option Agreement, the Plan and the Notice of Exercise, all of which are attached hereto and incorporated herein in their entirety. Capitalized terms herein shall have the meanings given them by the Stock Option Agreement or the Plan unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

 

Optionholder:  
 

 

Date of Grant I Vesting Commencement Date:  
 

 

Number of Shares Subject to Option:  
 

 

Exercise Price (Per Share):  

$1.00

 

 

Total Exercise Price:  
 

 

Expiration Date:   Ten years from date of grant or upon an event described in Section 11(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Plan, if your option is not exercised on or prior to such event
 

 

 

Type of Grant:

  

x Incentive Stock Option 1

  

¨ Nonstatutory Stock Option

Exercise Schedule:

  

x Same as Vesting Schedule

  

¨ Early Exercise Permitted

Vesting Schedule:

  

1/48 th of the Shares of Common Stock shall vest after each month of Continuous Service after the Vesting Commencement Date except as otherwise provided in the Stock Option Agreement or the Plan.

Payment:

  

By one or a combination of the following items (described in the Stock Option Agreement):

               By cash or check   
               By delivery of already-owned shares if the Shares are publicly traded

Additional Terms/Acknowledgements:   The undersigned Optionholder acknowledges receipt of, and understands and agrees to, this Grant Notice, the Stock Option Agreement and the Plan including but not limited to the representations made in the Stock Option Agreement by the undersigned Optionholder. Optionholder further acknowledges that as of the Date of Grant,

 

 

1  

If this is an incentive stock option, it (plus. your other outstanding incentive stock options) cannot be first exercisable for more than $100,000 in any calendar year. Any excess over $100,000 is a nonstatutory stock option.


this Grant Notice, the Stock Option Agreement and the Plan set forth the entire understanding between Optionholder and the Company regarding the acquisition of stock in the Company and supersede all prior otal and written agreements on that subject with the exception of (i) options previously granted and delivered to Optionholder under the Plan (ii) the Stockholders Agreement dated the date hereof among you and the Company, (iii) the Registration Agreement dated the date hereof among you and the Company, and (iv) the following agreements only:

 

OTHER AGREEMENTS:

    
    

 

9


DCS HOLDINGS, INC.     OPTIONHOLDER:
By:      
 

 

     

 

Name:         Signature
Title:       Date:  
       

 

Date:        
 

 

     

ATTACHMENTS:   Stock Option Agreement, 2004 Equity Incentive Plan and Notice of Exercise

[Signature Page to Stock Option Grant Notice Under DCS Holdings, Inc.

2004 Equity Incentive Plan


ATTACHMENT I

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT


ATTACHMENT II

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

PLAN DOCUMENT


ATTACHMENT III

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

NOTICE OF EXERCISE

Exhibit 10.3

EXECUTION

2004 DCS HOLDINGS

STOCK OPTION PLAN

ARTICLE I

PURPOSE OF PLAN

The 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan (the “ 2004 Plan” ) of DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, adopted by the Board of Directors and shareholders of the Company on January 8, 2004, for executive and other key employees of the Company, is intended to advance the best interests of the Company by providing those persons who have a substantial responsibility for its management and growth with additional incentives by allowing them to acquire an ownership interest in the Company and thereby encouraging them to contribute to the success of the Company and to remain in its employ. The availability and offering of stock options under the 2004 Plan also increases the Company’s ability to attract and retain individuals of exceptional managerial talent upon whom, in large measure, the sustained progress, growth and profitability of the Company depends.

All Options granted under the 2004 Plan are intended to qualify for an exemption (the “ Exemptions ”) from the registration requirements (i) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”), pursuant to Rule 701 of the Act and (ii) under applicable state securities laws. In the event that any provision of the 2004 Plan would cause any options granted under the 2004 Plan to not qualify for any Exemptions, the 2004 Plan shall be deemed automatically amended to the extent necessary to cause all options granted under the 2004 Plan to qualify for such Exemptions.

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

For purposes of the 2004 Plan, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

Board ” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Cause ” shall mean (i) the commission of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude, (ii) the commission of any other act or omission involving fraud with respect to the Company or any of its affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iii)· any act or omission involving dishonesty having a material adverse effect on the Company or any of its affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (v) purposeful failure to perform the Participant’s responsibilities and duties to the Company or any of its affiliates, (vi) non-satisfactory performance of the Participant’s duties and obligations to the Company in the good faith determination of the Board (provided that it shall only be deemed “Cause” pursuant to this clause (vi) if the Participant is given notice of such non-satisfactory performance and fails to cure within 30 days) or (vii) any other breach of this


Agreement or any other agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its affiliates.

Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute.

Committee ” shall mean the committee of the Board which may be designated by the Board to administer the 2004 Plan. The Committee shall be composed of two or more directors as appointed from time to time to serve by the Board.

Common Stock ” shall mean the Company’s Common Stock $0.01 par value or if the outstanding Common Stock is hereafter changed into or exchanged for different stock or securities of the Company, such other stock or securities.

Company ” shall mean DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and (except to the extent the context requires otherwise) any subsidiary corporation of DCS Holdings, Inc. as such term is defined in Section 425(f) of the Code.

Disability ” shall mean the incapacity of any Participant due to injury, illness, disease or bodily or mental infirmity, to perform substantially all of Participant’s usual duties of employment with the Company, such disability to be determined by the Company in good faith.

Fair Market Value ” of the Common Stock shall be determined by the Committee or, in the absence of the Committee, by the Board.

Options ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article IV.

Parthenon ” shall mean Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and/or any of its Subsidiaries, affiliates, or successors and assigns.

Participant ” shall mean any executive or other key employee of the Company who has been selected to participate in the 2004 Plan by the Committee or the Board.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association; a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization and a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Sale of the Company ” shall mean (i) a sale of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company to any Person or (ii) the transfer or other disposition to any Person (other than Parthenon or any affiliate thereof) of outstanding equity securities (whether by sale, issuance, merger, consolidation, reorganization, combination or otherwise) of the Company such that after giving effect to such transfer, such Person would own or control the right to elect at least a majority of the members of the Board.

 

2


ARTICLE III

ADMINISTRATION

The 2004 Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided that if for any reason the Committee shall not have been appointed by the Board, all authority and duties of the Committee under the 2004 Plan shall be vested in and exercised by the Board. Subject to the limitations of the 2004 Plan, the Committee shall have the sole and complete authority to: (i) select Participants, (ii) grant Options (as defined in Article IV below) to Participants in such forms and amounts as it shall determine (including, without limitation, with respect to designating Options as Incentive Stock Options (as defined in Article V below) or non-qualified stock options), (iii) impose such limitations, restrictions and conditions upon such Options as it shall deem appropriate, (iv) interpret the 2004 Plan and adopt, amend and rescind administrative guidelines and other rules and regulations relating to the 2004 Plan, (v) correct any defect or omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the 2004 Plan or in any Option granted hereunder, and (vi) make all other determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the implementation and administration of the 2004 Plan, subject to such limitations as may be imposed by the Code on the grant of Incentive Stock Options or other applicable law. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in any Option Agreement (as defined below), all actions, decisions and determinations under the 2004 Plan and any of the Option Agreements shall be made by the Committee in its sole and absolute discretion and shall be conclusive and binding upon the Participants, the Company and all other Persons. All expenses associated with the administration of the 2004 Plan shall be borne by the Company. The Committee may, as approved by the Board and to the extent permissible by law, delegate any of its authority hereunder to such persons as it deems appropriate.

ARTICLE IV

LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE SHARES

The number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options may be granted under the 2004 Plan (the “ Options” ) and which may be issued upon the exercise thereof shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 2,000,000 shares; provided that the type and the aggregate number of shares which may be subject to Options shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.8 below, and provided further that to the extent any Options expire unexercised or are canceled, terminated or forfeited in any manner without the issuance of Common Stock thereunder, or if any Options are exercised and the shares of Common Stock issued thereunder are repurchased by the Company, such shares shall again be available under the 2004 Plan. The 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock available under the 2004 Plan may be either authorized and unissued shares, treasury shares or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine.

 

3


ARTICLE V

AWARDS

5.1     Options .

The Committee may grant Options to Participants in accordance with this Article V . In no event shall the aggregate Fair Market Value of all Common Stock {determined at the time the Option is awarded) with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by an individual during any calendar year (under all 2004 Plans of the Company and its subsidiaries) exceed $100,000.

5.2     Form of Option .

Options granted under this 2004 Plan may be nonqualified stock options or “ Incentive Stock Options ” within the meaning of Section 422A of the Code or any successor provision. Unless otherwise indicated, references herein to “Options” shall include Incentive Stock Options and non-qualified stock options;

5.3     Exercise Price .

The option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Committee from time to time. If the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option, the option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Board at not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant of such Option (or 110% of such Fair Market Value if the holder of such Incentive Stock Option owns Common Stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any subsidiary determined with regard to the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code).

5.4     Exercisability .

Options shall be exercisable at such time or times as the Committee shall determine at or subsequent to grant.

5.5     Payment of Exercise Price .

Options shall be exercised in whole or in part by written notice to the Company (to the attention of the Company’s Secretary) accompanied by payment in full of the option exercise price. Payment of the option exercise price shall be made in cash (including check, bank draft or money order) or, in the discretion of the Committee, by delivery of a promissory note (if in accordance with policies approved by the Board).

5.6     Terms of Options .

The Committee shall determine the term of each Option, which term shall in no event exceed ten (10) years from the date of grant. If a holder of an Incentive Stock Option owns Common Stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any subsidiary, determined with regard to the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code, the term of such Incentive Stock Option shall not exceed five (5) years from the date of grant.

ARTICLE VI

GENERAL PROVISIONS

6.1     Conditions and Limitations on Exercise .

Options may be made exercisable in one or more installments, upon the happening of certain events, upon the passage of a specified period of time, . upon the fulfillment of certain conditions or upon the achievement by the Company of certain performance goals, as the Committee shall decide in each case when the

 

4


Options are granted. Options may also be terminated, accelerated or extended to the extent set forth in any Option Agreement.

6.2     Sale of the Company .

In the event of a Sale of the Company, the Committee may provide, in its sole discretion, that all or any portion of the Options (including, all or any portion of any group or type of Option) shall become immediately exercisable by any Participants who are employed by the Company at the time of the Sale of the Company.

6.3     Written Agreement .

Each Option granted hereunder to a Participant shall be embodied in a written agreement (an “Option Agreement”) which shall be signed by the Participant and by the President of the Company or any other officer authorized by the Board for and in the name and on behalf of the Company, and not individually, and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the 2004 Plan.

6.4     Listing, Registration and Compliance with Laws and Regulations .

Options shall be subject to the requirement that if at any time the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration or qualification of the shares subject to the Options upon any securities exchange or under any state or federal securities or other law or regulation, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body, is necessary or desirable as a condition to or in connection ‘with the granting of the Options or the issuance or purchase of shares thereunder, no Options may be granted or exercised, in whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval shall have been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Committee. The holders of such Options shall supply the Company with such certificates, representations and information as the Company shall request and shall otherwise cooperate with the Company in obtaining such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval. In the case of officers and other Persons subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Committee may, at any time, impose any limitations upon the exercise of an Option that, in the Committee’s discretion, are necessary or desirable in order to comply with such Section 16(b) and the rules and regulations thereunder. If the Company, as part of an offering of securities or otherwise, finds it desirable because of federal or state regulatory requirements to reduce the period during which any Options may be exercised, the Committee, may, in its discretion and without the Participant’s consent, so reduce such period on not less than fifteen (15) days written notice to the holders thereof.

6.5     Nontransferability .

Options may not be transferred other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and, during the lifetime of the Participant, may be exercised only by such Participant (or his legal guardian or legal representative). In the event of the death of a Participant, exercise of Options granted hereunder shall be made only:

(i)    by the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Participant or the Person or Persons to whom the deceased Participant’s rights under the Option shall pass by will or the laws of descent and distribution; and

(ii)    to the extent that the deceased Participant was entitled thereto at the date of his death, unless otherwise provided by the Committee in such Participant’s Option Agreement.

 

5


6.6     Expiration of Options .

(a)     Normal Expiration .  In no event shall any part of any Option be exercisable after the date of expiration thereof (the “ Expiration Date ”), as determined by the Committee pursuant to Section 5.6 above.

(b)     Early Expiration Upon Termination of Employment.   Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the Option Agreement, any portion of a Participant’s Option that was not vested and exercisable on the date of the termination of such Participant’s employment shall expire and be forfeited as of such date, and any portion of a Participant’s Option that was vested and exercisable on the date of the termination of such Participant’s employment shall expire and be forfeited as of such date, except that: (i) if Employee’s employment is terminated, with or without Cause or employment with the Company is terminated by Employee, such Employee’s Option shall expire 30 days after the date of his discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date, and (ii) if Employee dies, such Employee’s Option shall expire 180 days after the date of his death but in no event after the Expiration Date.

(c)     Sale of the Company .  Upon a Sale of the Company, all or any portion of the Options which have not been exercised prior to or in connection with the Sale of the Company shall be forfeited, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

6.7     Withholding of Taxes .

The Company shall be entitled, if necessary or desirable, to withhold from any Participant from any amounts due and payable by the Company to such Participant (or secure payment from such Participant in lieu of withholding) the amount of any withholding or other tax due from the Company with respect to any shares issuable under the Options, and the Company may defer such issuance unless indemnified to its satisfaction. Upon the disposition (within the meaning of . Section 424(c) of the Code) of shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option prior to the expiration of the holding period requirements of Section 422(a)(1) of the Code, the Participant shall be required to give notice to the Company of such disposition and the Company shall have the right to require the payment of the amount of any taxes that are required by law to be withheld with respect to such disposition.

6.8     Adjustments .

Without in any way limiting Section 6.6(c) hereof, in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of Common Stock or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, the Board or the Committee may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under outstanding Options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by the 2004 Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding Options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable. No adjustments to any Incentive Stock Option shall be made pursuant to this Section 6.8 which consist of a modification of such Incentive Stock Option under Section 422(h)(3)(C) of the Code.

6.9     Rights of Participants .

Nothing in this 2004 Plan or in any Option Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company to terminate any Participant’s employment at any time (with or without Cause), nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employ of the Company for any period of time or to continue his present (or any

 

6


other) rate of compensation, and except as otherwise provided under this 2004 Plan or by the Committee in the Option Agreement, in the event of any Participant’s termination of employment (including, but not limited to, the termination by the Company without Cause) any portion of such Participant’s Option that was not previously vested and exercisable shall expire and be forfeited as of the date of such termination. No employee shall have a right to be selected as a Participant or, having been so selected, to be selected again as a Participant.

6.10     Amendment, Suspension and Termination of 2004 Plan .

The Board or the Committee may suspend or terminate the 2004 Plan or any portion thereof at any time and may amend it from time to time in such respects as the Board or the Committee may deem advisable; provided that no such amendment shall be made without stockholder approval to the extent such approval is required by law, agreement or the rules of any exchange upon which the Common Stock is listed, and no such amendment, suspension or termination shall impair the rights of Participants under outstanding Options without the consent of the Participants affected thereby. No Options shall be granted hereunder after the tenth (10th) anniversary of the adoption of the 2004 Plan.

6.11     Amendment, Modification and Cancellation of Outstanding Options .

The Committee may amend or modify any Option in any manner to the extent that the Committee would have had the authority under the 2004 Plan initially to grant such Option; provided that no such amendment or modification shall impair the rights of any Participant under any Option without the consent of such Participant. With the Participant’s consent, the Committee may cancel any Option and issue a new Option to such Participant.

6.12     Indemnification .

In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or the Committee, the members of the Committee shall be indemnified by the Company against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which they or any of them may be party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the 2004 Plan or any Option granted thereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by independent legal counsel selected by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding; provided that any such Committee member shall be entitled to the indemnification rights set forth in this Section 6.12 only if such member has acted in good faith and in a manner that such member reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that such conduct was unlawful, and further provided that upon the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding a Committee member shall give the Company written notice thereof and an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before such Committee member undertakes to handle and defend it on his own behalf.

*        *        *         *

 

7


EXECUTION

OPTION AGREEMENT

THIS OPTION AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of January     , 2004, by and between DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”) and             (“ Executive ”). Any capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings assigned to them in Section 2 hereof.

The Company and Executive desire to enter into an agreement pursuant to which the Company will grant Executive a stock option (“ Option ”) as provided herein under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan (the “ 2004 Plan ”), a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A . Upon exercise of the Option pursuant to the terms set forth herein, Executive will receive 625,000 shares (subject to adjustment as set forth herein) of the Company’s Common Stock $0.01 par value per share (the “ Common Stock ”).

In consideration for the promises contained herein and the mutual obligations of the parties hereto, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Company and Executive, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

1.     Terms .  Subject to the terms, conditions and restrictions contained herein, upon execution of this Agreement, the Company shall grant Executive the Option to purchase 625,000 shares of Common Stock (the “ Option Shares ”) at an exercise price of$1.00 per share (the “ Exercise Price ”). Of the total 625,000 Option Shares granted hereunder 156,250 will be classified as “ Tranche I Shares ” and 468,750 will be classified as “ Tranche II Shares .” The Exercise Price is payable upon exercise of the Option in accordance with the terms and conditions herein, including in Sections 2 , 6 and 15 below. The Option shall expire at the close of business on January     , 2014 (the “ Expiration Date ”), subject to the terms and conditions herein (including earlier termination provisions as provided in Section 5 below).

2.     Exercise of Option .  Subject to Sections 1 , 6 .and 15 , upon the exercise of the Option granted pursuant to Section 1 above, Executive will receive 625,000 shares of Common Stock upon payment of an amount (the “ Option Price ”) equal to the product of (i) the Exercise Price multiplied by (ii) the number of Option Shares to be acquired. The Company will deliver to Executive copies of the certificates representing such Option Shares, and Executive will deliver to the Company the Exercise Agreement and the Option Price by cashier’s or certified check or wire transfer of immediately available funds, cash in an amount equal to such Option Price.

3.     Definitions .  For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the indicated meanings:

Advisory Agreement ”  means that certain Advisory Services Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2004, by and between the Company and Parthenon Capital, LLC; a Delaware limited liability company.

Affiliate ”  means any person or entity that directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by or is under common control with the Company.


Affiliate ”  means any Person or

Board ”  means the Company’s Board of Directors.

Cause ”  shall mean (i) the commission of a felony or other crime, in each case, involving moral turpitude, (ii) the commission of any other act or omission involving fraud or intentional deceit with respect to the Company or any of its Affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iii) any act or omission involving dishonesty having a material adverse effect on the Company or any of its Affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (v) purposeful failure to perform his responsibilities and duties to the Company or any of its Affiliates, (vi) non-satisfactory performance of Executive’s duties and obligations to the Company in the good faith determination of the Board (provided that it shall only be deemed “Cause” pursuant to this clause (vi) if Executive is given notice of such non-satisfactory performance and fails to cure within thirty (30) days) or (vii) any other breach of this Agreement or any other agreement between the Executive and the Company or any of its Affiliates.

Certificate of Incorporation ”  means the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, as filed with the Secretary of State of Delaware, and as amended from time to time in accordance with its terms.

Code ”  means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute.

Committee ”  means the Stock Option Committee, or such other committee of the Board which may be designated by the Board to administer the 2004 Plan. The Committee shall be composed of two or more directors as appointed from time to time to serve by the Board; provided that if for any reason the Committee shall not have been appointed by the Board, all authority and duties of the Committee under the 2004 Plan shall be vested in and exercised by the Board.

Common Stock ”  shall mean the Company’s Common Stock $0.01 par value per share, or, in the event that the outstanding Common Stock is hereafter changed into or exchanged for different stock or securities of the Company, such other stock or securities.

Disability ”  means the incapacity of Executive, due to injury, illness, disease, or bodily or mental infirmity, to perform substantially all of Executive’s usual duties of employment with the Company, such disability to be determined by the Company in good faith.

Fair Market Value ”  means the fair value of such Option Shares determined in good faith by the Board based on such factors as the members thereof, in the exercise of their business judgment, consider relevant.

Option Shares ”  shall mean (i) all shares of Common Stock issued or issuable upon the exercise of the Option and (ii) all shares of Common Stock issued with respect to the Common Stock referred to in clause (i) above by way of stock dividend or stock split or in connection with any conversion, merger, consolidation or recapitalization or other reorganization affecting the Common Stock. Option Shares shall continue to be Option Shares in the hands of holder other

 

2


than Executive (except for the Company or Parthenon and, to the extent that Executive is permitted to transfer Option Shares pursuant to Section 8 or 10 hereof, purchasers pursuant to a public offering under the Securities Act), and each such transferee thereof shall succeed to the rights and obligations of a holder of Option Shares hereunder.

Original Cost ”  means the Exercise Price, as proportionately adjusted for all subsequent stock splits, dividends and other recapitalizations.

Parthenon ”  means Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and/or any of its Subsidiaries, affiliates, designees or successors and assigns.

Person ”  means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization, a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof or any other entity or organization.

Public Offering ”  means a public offering and sale of common equity securities of the Company pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act; provided that a Public Offering shall not include an offering made in connection with a business acquisition or combination or an Executive benefit plan.

Public Sale ”  means, at any time after the Company has filed an effective registration statement under the Securities Act filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form S-1 or SB-1 (or a successor form adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission), any sale of securities to the public pursuant to an offering registered under the Securities Act or to the public through a broker, dealer or market maker pursuant to the provisions of Rule 144 or Rule 701 adopted under the Securities Act (or any similar provision then in force).

Sale of the Company ”  means (i) a sale of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company to any Person or (ii) the transfer or other disposition to any Person or group of Persons (as the term “group” is defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) (other than Parthenon or any affiliate thereof) of outstanding equity securities (whether by sale, issuance, merger, consolidation, reorganization, combination or otherwise) of the Company such that after giving effect to such transfer, such Person or group of Persons would own or control the right to elect at least a majority of the members of the Board.

Securities Act ”  means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Stockholders Agreement ”  means that certain Stockholders Agreement, dated as of January 8, 2004, by and among the Company, Parthenon and each of the other entities and individuals set forth from time to time on the signature pages attached thereto, as amended from time to time.

Stockholder Shares ”  means (i) any capital stock of the Company purchased or otherwise acquired by any Stockholder (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement)or any holder of Options Shares, (ii) any warrants, options, or other rights to subscribe for or to acquire, directly or indirectly, capital stock of the Company, whether or not then exercisable or convertible, including, without limitation, the Option Shares, (iii) any stock, notes,. or other

 

3


securities which are convertible into or exchangeable for, directly or indirectly, capital stock of the Company, whether or not then convertible or exchangeable, and (iv) any capital stock of the Company issued or issuable upon the exercise, conversion, or exchange of any of the securities referred to in clauses (i) through (iv)  above, and (v) any securities issued or issuable directly or indirectly with respect to the securities referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) above by way of stock dividend or stock split or in connection with a combination of shares; recapitalization, reclassification, merger, consolidation, or other reorganization. As to any particular securities constituting Stockholder Shares, such securities will cease to be Stockholder Shares when they have been (a) effectively registered under the Securities Act and disposed of in accordance with the registration statement covering them, (b) distributed to the public through a broker, dealer or market maker pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act (or any similar provision then in force), or (c) been repurchased or otherwise acquired by the Company. Any reference herein to a “majority of the Stockholder Shares” or the “number of Stockholder Shares” for purposes of comparison or calculation will refer, with respect to any particular Stockholder Shares, to the number of shares of Common Stock (or equivalent common equity securities of the Company) then represented by such Stockholder Shares (on a fully diluted, as-if­converted basis).

Subsidiary ”  means with respect to any Person, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association or other business entity of which (i) if a corporation, a majority of the total voting power of shares of stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that Person. or a combination thereof, or (ii) if a partnership, limited liability company, association or other business entity, a majority of the partnership or other similar ownership interest thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by that Person or one or more Subsidiaries of that Person or a combination thereof. For purposes hereof, a Person or Persons shall be deemed to have a majority ownership interest in a partnership, limited liability company, association or other business entity if such Person or Persons shall be allocated a majority of partnership, limited liability company, association or other business entity gains or losses or shall be or control the managing director, managing member, manager or a general partner of such partnership, limited liability company, association or other business entity.

Tag-Along Participants ”  means, collectively, the Participating Holders and all other Persons granted participation and/or tag-along rights by the Company (including, pursuant to Section 4(c) of the Stockholders Agreement) entitling such Persons to participate in a Transfer by the Transferring Stockholder in a manner similar to the Participating Holder’s participation rights under Section 11.

4.     Vesting .

(a)    The Tranche I Shares shall vest with respect to the Applicable Percentage (as defined herein) of Tranche I Shares if and only so long as Executive is and has continued to be employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries through such vesting date and provided that, as of such vesting date. The Applicable Percentage shall mean that the Option shall vest over five (5) years with 30% vesting on the eighteen-month anniversary of the date hereof and 1.6666% vesting on a monthly basis (i.e., on the last day of each month) thereafter over the remaining three and a half years until the Tranche I Shares are 100% vested. Notwithstanding

 

4


anything to the contrary herein, the Applicable Percentage shall not increase once the Executive ceases to be employed by the Company or its Subsidiaries. Notwithstanding the foregoing, based on Executive’s position and responsibility, the Board, in its sole discretion and on a case-by-case basis, may accelerate the vesting schedule set forth in this Section 4(a). Upon a Sale of the Company, all or any portion of Executive’s Tranche I Shares which have not yet have vested shall vest at the time of such event, if as of the date of such event Executive is still employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

(b)    The Tranche II Shares shall vest in accordance with the terms set forth on Exhibit B attached hereto (including, without limitation, with respect to vesting upon a Sale of the Company). All determinations with respect to the achievement· of vesting targets pursuant to this Section 4(b) shall be determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if on the seventh (7th) anniversary of the date hereof Executive has been continuously employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries from the date hereof through and including such date, all Tranche II Shares shall vest.

(c)    Notwithstanding the foregoing, until such time as the Option has expired pursuant to this Agreement, Executive may exercise the Option pursuant to Section 2 above whether or not such Option has vested pursuant to subsection (a) and (b)  above; provided that Executive shall enter into a restricted stock agreement with respect to such Option Shares in form and substance satisfactory to the Board in its sole discretion (it being understood that such restricted stock agreement will provide; among other things, that the Option Shares issued in respect of the unvested portion of the Option will continue to be subject to vesting (pursuant to the same vesting schedule as provided in subsection (a) or (b)  above, as applicable), the unvested Option Shares shall be subject to repurchase at the lower of Original Cost and Fair Market Value and such unvested Option Shares will be subject to voting restrictions (including, without limitation, Executive shall Executive shall grant a proxy to give to Parthenon the vote for all of the unvested Option Shares in Parthenon’s sole discretion).

5.     Expiration of Option .

(a)    Normal Expiration. In no event shall any part of the Option be exercisable after the Expiration Date set forth in Section 1 above.

(b)     Early Expiration Upon Termination of Employment .  Any portion of the Option that was not vested and exercisable on the date Executive’s employment with the Company terminated shall expire and be forfeited on such date, and any portion of the Option that was vested and exercisable on the date Executive’s employment with the Company terminated shall also expire and be forfeited; provided that: (i) if Executive’s employment is terminated with or without Cause or employment with the Company is terminated by Executive, such Executive’s Option shall expire 30 days after the date of his discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date, and (ii) if Executive dies, such Executive’s Option shall expire 180 days after the date of his death but in no event after the Expiration Date.

(c)     Early Expiration and Forfeiture In Other Circumstances.   The Committee may, in cases involving a serious breach of conduct by Executive, or actions by Executive or its affiliates to compete with the business of the Company, its Subsidiaries or any of its affiliates, expire and

 

5


forfeit any Option held by Executive, in whole or in part. Such expiration and forfeiture will be effective as of the date specified by the Committee and determined by the Committee in its sole discretion. Activities which shall constitute a “serious breach of conduct” include (i) the disclosure or misuse of confidential information or trade secrets, (ii) the violation or breach of any material provision in any agreement between Executive or any of its affiliates and the Company or any of its affiliates, (iii) the engaging in conduct relating to employment or services with the Company or any of its affiliates for which either criminal or civil penalties may be sought or (iv) the engaging in activities which materially and adversely affect or which are inimical, contrary or harmful to the material interests of the Company or any of its affiliates or their respective business operations.

(d)     Sale of the Company .  Upon a Sale of the Company, all or any portion of Executive’s Option] which has not been exercised prior to or in connection with the Sale of the Company shall be forfeited, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

6.     Procedure for Exercise .  Executive may exercise all or any portion of the Option, to the extent it has vested and is outstanding, at any time and from time to time prior to its expiration, by delivering written notice to the Company (to the attention of the Company’s Secretary) and his written acknowledgement that such Executive has read and has been afforded an opportunity to ask questions of management of the Company regarding all financial and other information provided to Executive regarding the Company, together with payment of the Option Price in full in accordance with the provisions of Section 2 above, plus any withholding required in connection with such exercise. In addition to satisfying all other conditions to exercise set forth in the 2004 Plan and this Agreement, (i) Executive shall permit the Company to deliver to such Executive all financial and other information regarding the Company it believes necessary to enable such Executive to make an informed investment decision; (ii) Executive shall make all customary investment representations which the Company requires; and (iii) if Executive is a resident of a community property jurisdiction, Executive shall deliver an executed spousal consent in the form of Exhibit C hereto.

7.     Right to Purchase Option Shares Upon Termination of Employment .

(a)     Repurchase Right .  In the event that Executive is no longer employed by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for any reason (the date of such termination being referred to herein as the “ Termination Date ”), all or any portion of the Option Shares (whether held by Executive or one or more transferees, other than the Company and Parthenon) will be subject to repurchase by the Company and/or Parthenon pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 7 (the “ Repurchase Option ”).

(b)     Termination Other than for Cause .  Except as otherwise set forth in subsections (c) and (d)  below, if the Company or any of its Subsidiaries terminates Executive for any reason other than for Cause, (including, without limitation, death or Disability), the Company may elect to purchase all or any portion of the Option Shares at a price per share equal to the Fair Market Value thereof as of the scheduled date of the repurchase.

(c)     Termination for Cause or Breach.   If the Company or any of its Subsidiaries terminates Executive for Cause, then the Company may elect to purchase all or any portion of

 

6


the Option Shares (whether vested or unvested) at a price equal to the lower of the Fair Market Value on the Termination Date and the Original Cost thereof.

(d)     Termination by Executive .  If Executive terminates his employment with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the Company may elect to purchase the Option Shares at a price per share equal to the Fair Market Value thereof.

(e)     Repurchase Procedures.   The Company may elect or. decline to exercise the Repurchase Option by delivering written notice (the “ Repurchase Notice ”) to the holder or holders of the applicable Option Shares within 181 days after the date on which all Options can no longer be exercised. The Company may elect to purchase all or any portion of the Option Shares. The Repurchase Notice will set forth the number of Option Shares to be acquired from such holder(s), an estimate of the aggregate consideration to be paid for such holder’s Option Shares and the time and place for the closing of the transaction. If any Option Shares are held by any transferees of Executive, the Company will purchase such Option Shares elected to be purchased from such holder(s), pro rata according to the number of Option Shares held by such holder(s) at the time of delivery of the Repurchase Notice (determined as nearly as practicable to the nearest share of Option Shares). If the Option Shares are held by permitted transferees of Executive, the number of Option Shares to be purchased will be allocated among such holders as determined by the Company.

(f)     Parthenon Repurchase .  If for any reason the Company does not elect to purchase all of the Option Shares pursuant to the Repurchase Option, Parthenon shall be entitled to exercise the Repurchase Option for all or any portion of the Option Shares that the Company has not elected to purchase (the “ Available Shares ”). As soon as practicable after the Company has determined that there will be Available Shares, the Company shall give written notice (the “ Option Notice ”) to Parthenon setting forth the number of Available Shares and the purchase price for the Available Shares. Parthenon may elect to purchase any or all of the Available Shares by giving written notice to the Company within one month after the Option Notice has been given by the Company. As soon as practicable thereafter, the Company shall notify each holder of Option Shares as to the number of shares being purchased from such holder by Parthenon (the “ Supplemental Repurchase Notice ”). At the time the Company delivers the Supplemental Repurchase Notice to the holder(s) of Option Shares, the Company shall also deliver written notice to Parthenon setting forth the number of shares Parthenon is entitled to purchase, the aggregate purchase price and the time and place of the closing of the transaction. The number of Option Shares to be repurchased hereunder shall be allocated among the Company and Parthenon pro rata according to the number of Option Shares to be purchased by each of them.

(g)     Closing of Repurchase .  The closing of a repurchase transaction will take place on the date(s) designated by the Company in the Repurchase Notice and Supplemental Repurchase Notice, as the case may be. The Company will pay for any Option Shares to be purchased pursuant to a Repurchase Option by first offsetting any amounts outstanding under any bona fide debts owed by Executive (or one or more of Executive’s transferees, other than the Company or Parthenon) to the Company or any of its affiliates and will pay the remainder of the purchase price by, at its option, (A) a certified or cashier’s check or wire transfer of funds, (B) a subordinate note or notes bearing interest (payable on the maturity date) at a rate per annum

 

7


equal to the prime rate as published in The Wall Street Journal from time to time, in the aggregate amount of the remaining purchase price for such Option Shares or (C) both (A) and (B), in the aggregate amount of the purchase price for such Option Shares. Parthenon will pay for Option Shares to be purchased by it pursuant to the Repurchase Option by first offsetting amounts outstanding under any bona fide debts owed by Executive (or one or more of Executive’s transferees, other than the Company or Parthenon) to Parthenon or any of its affiliates and will pay the remainder of the purchase price by, at its option, (A) a certified or cashier’s check or wire transfer of funds, (B) a subordinate note or notes bearing interest (payable on the maturity date) at a rate per annum equal to the prime rate as published in The Wall Street Journal from time to time, in the aggregate amount of the remaining purchase price for such Option Shares or (C) both (A) and (B), in the aggregate amount of the purchase price for such Option Shares. The Company and Parthenon will be entitled to receive customary representations and warranties from the sellers regarding such sale and to require that all sellers’ signatures be guaranteed. Executive acknowledges that all repurchases of Option Shares will be subject to applicable restrictions and covenants contained in applicable law and in the Company’s and its affiliates financing agreements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, if (A) any such restrictions or covenants contained in such financing agreements or applicable law prohibit the repurchase by cash of Option Shares hereunder which the Company is otherwise entitled to make, or such repurchase for cash would result in a default or acceleration under such financing agreements, or (B) the Company does not have adequate cash availability (as determined in its sole discretion) (collectively, the “ Repurchasing Circumstances ”), then the Company will not be required to make such repurchase (and may defer making such repurchase even though it has exercised the Repurchase Option) until the Repurchasing Circumstances cease to exist. The Company will receive customary representations and warranties from each seller solely with respect to such seller’s ownership and title to the Option Shares and capacity to transfer the Option Shares.

8.     Restrictions on Transfer of Option Shares .

(a)     Non-Transferability of Option .  The Option is personal to Executive and is not transferable by Executive other than (i) by will or the laws of descent and distribution. or (ii) pursuant to Section 7 or Section 10 hereof, and with respect to vested Options only (i) in accordance with Section 11 hereof or (ii) pursuant to a Public Sale. During such Executive’s lifetime only Executive (or his guardian or legal representative) may exercise the Option. In the event of such Executive’s death, the Option may be exercised only (i) by the executor or administrator of Executive’s estate or the person or persons to whom Executive’s rights under the Option shall pass by will or the laws of descent and distribution and (ii) to the extent that Executive was entitled hereunder at the date of such Executive’s death.

(b)     Transfer of Option Shares .  Subject to subsection (a)  above, Executive shall not sell, pledge, transfer or otherwise dispose (a “ Transfer ”) any interest in any Option Shares unless Executive obtains the prior written consent of the Board, other than (i) by will or the laws of descent and distribution or (ii) pursuant to Section 7 or Section 10 hereof, and with respect to vested Option Shares only (i) in accordance with Section 11 hereof or (ii) pursuant to a Public Sale.

 

8


9.     Additional Restrictions on Transfer .

(a)     Legend .    The certificates, if any, representing the Option Shares will bear the following

“THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE “ ACT ”), AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE ACT OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION THEREUNDER. THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER, CERTAIN REPURCHASE OPTIONS AND CERTAIN OTHER AGREEMENTS SET FORTH IN AN OPTION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND                     DATED JANUARY     , 2004 PURSUANT TO WHICH THEY WERE ORIGINALLY ISSUED, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED BY THE HOLDER HEREOF AT THE ISSUER’S PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS WITHOUT CHARGE.”

The legend set forth above shall be removed from the certificates evidencing any securities which cease to be Option Shares.

(b)     Transfer Requirement .  No holder of Option Shares may Transfer any Option Shares (except pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act) without first delivering to the Company an opinion of counsel reasonably acceptable in form and substance to the Company (which counsel will be reasonably acceptable to the Company) that registration under the Securities Act is not required in connection With such Transfer and that such Transfer is· in compliance with the provisions herein. If such opinion of counsel reasonably acceptable in form and substance to the Company further states that no subsequent Transfer of such Option Shares will require registration under the Securities Act, the Company will promptly upon such Transfer deliver new certificates (in the event such Option Shares are certificated) for such securities which do not bear the Securities Act legend set forth in Section 9(a) .

(c)     Securities Laws Restrictions and Other Restrictions on Transfer of Option Shares .  Executive hereby represents that when such Executive exercises his Option Executive shall be purchasing Option Shares for his own account and not on behalf of others. Executive understands and acknowledges that federal and state securities laws govern and restrict such Executive’s right to Transfer any Option Shares unless such Transfer thereof is registered under the Securities Act and state securities laws, or in the opinion of the Company’s counsel, such offer, sale or other disposition is exempt from registration or qualification thereunder. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, Executive hereby agrees that he shall not Transfer any Option Shares in any manner which would: (i) require· the Company to file any registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (or any similar filing under state law) or to amend or supplement any such filing or (ii) violate or cause the Company to violate the Securities Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or any other state or federal law.

 

9


10.     Approved Sale .

(a)    In the event of an Approved Sale (as defined below), each holder of Options and/or Option Shares will vote for, consent to and raise no objections against such Approved Sale. Each holder of Options and/or Option Shares will waive any dissenters’ rights, appraisal rights or similar rights in connection with such Approved Sale, and in the event that the Approved Sale is structured as a sale of stock, reverse merger or any other transaction having the effect of a stock sale, each holder of Options and/or Option Shares will agree to sell up to all of his or her Options and/or Option Shares, respectively on the terms and conditions approved by Parthenon. Each holder of Options and/or Option Shares will take all necessary or desirable actions in connection with the consummation of the Approved Sale as requested by Parthenon (including, without limitation, by executing and delivering definitive agreements with respect thereto, which may contain provisions regarding purchase price adjustments, indemnification, representations and warranties or other obligations of each seller of Options and/or Option Shares). An “ Approved Sale ” means any transaction approved by Parthenon involving a Sale of the Company or any direct Subsidiary thereof to a Person that is not an Affiliate of Parthenon.

(b)    If the Company or the holders of the Company’s securities enter into any negotiation or transaction for which Rule 506 (or any similar rule then in effect) promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission may be available with respect to such negotiation or transaction (including a merger, consolidation or other reorganization), the holders of Option Shares will, at the request of the Company, appoint a purchaser representative (as such term is defined in Rule 501) reasonably acceptable to the manager of Parthenon. If any holder of Option Shares appoints a purchaser representative designated by the Board, the Company will pay the fees of such purchaser representative, but if any holder of Option Shares declines to appoint the purchaser representative designated by the Company, such holder will appoint another purchaser representative, and such holder will be responsible for the fees of the purchaser representative so appointed.

(c)    If any holder of issued Option Shares fails to deliver any certificates representing its issued Option Shares as required by this Section 10 below, or in lieu thereof, a customary affidavit attesting to the loss or destruction of such certificate(s), such holder (i) will not be entitled to the consideration that such holder would otherwise receive in the Approved Sale until such holder cures such failure (provided that, after curing such failure, such holder will be so entitled to such consideration without interest), (ii) will be deemed, for all purposes, no longer to be a stockholder of the Company and will have no voting rights, (iii) will not be entitled to any dividends or other distributions· declared after the Approved Sale with respect to the issued Option Shares held by such holder, (iv) will have no other rights or privileges granted to holders of issued Option Shares under this or any future agreement, and (v) in the event of liquidation of the Company, such holder’s rights with respect to any consideration that such holder would have received if such holder had complied with this Section 10 , if any, will be subordinate to the rights of any equity holder.

11.     Participation Rights .

(a)    At least thirty (30) days before a Transfer (including, without limitation, a Transfer upon the Sale of the Company in which Section 10 is not applicable) (other than a

 

10


Permitted Parthenon Transfer (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement) by Parthenon (the “ Transferring Stockholder ”) of any Stockholder Shares, the Transferring Stockholder will deliver a written notice (the “ Sale Notice ”) to any holder of the vested Option Shares (the “ Non-Transferring Holders ”), specifying in reasonable detail the identity, number and classes of Stockholder Shares to be transferred by the Transferring Stockholder{and the number of shares of Common Stock such Stockholder -Shares represent on an as-if converted basis), and the price (including the price (or implied price) per share of Common Stock) of the proposed Transfer. The Transferring Stockholder will not consummate such proposed Transfer until at least fifteen (15) days after the delivery of a Sale Notice, unless the parties to the Transfer have been finally determined pursuant to Section 11 prior to the expiration of the 30-day period (it being understood that no Transfer may be consummated by the Transferring Stockholder unless it complies with its obligations in this Section 11 ). If any such Non-Transferring Holder has elected to participate in such Transfer (each a “ Participating Holder ”) and has agreed to execute the documents set forth in subsection (b) below, then the Participating Holder will be entitled to transfer (and each Participating Holder shall be committed to transfer so long as the Transferring Stockholder remains committed to Transfer) in the contemplated Transfer, such number of Stockholder Shares at the same price and on the same terms specified in the Sale Notice as follows; provided, however, that the price at which holders of vested Option Shares which have not yet been exercised in accordance with this Agreement may Transfer his or her Option Shares hereunder shall be deemed to be reduced (for purposes of such Participating Holder’s Transfer only) by such Option Shares’ Exercise Price and all references to the “implied price” stated in the Sale Notice shall be deemed to refer to such price as so reduced. In the event that such Participating Holder holds any class of Stockholder Shares which are to be transferred by the Transferring Stockholder, or securities exercisable, convertible or exchangeable for the class of Stockholder Shares which are to be transferred (in each case, which are not or would not be subject to vesting or repurchase rights in favor of the Company as of or prior to the consummation of the proposed Transfer), the Participating Holder will be entitled to transfer (and each Participating Holder shall be committed to transfer so long as the Transferring Stockholder remains committed to Transfer) in the contemplated Transfer, at the same price and on the same terms specified in the Sale Notice, a number of Stockholder Shares of such class, equal to the number of Stockholder Shares of such class to be transferred in the contemplated Transfer multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is (A) the number of Stockholder Shares of such class and securities convertible or exchangeable for Stockholder Shares of such class held by such Person (which are not or would not be subject to vesting or repurchase in favor of the Company as of or prior to the consummation of the proposed Transfer) on an as-if converted or exchanged and fully diluted basis, and the denominator of which is (B) the aggregate number of Stockholder Shares of such class and securities convertible or exchangeable for Stockholder Shares of such class held by the Transferring Stockholder and all Tag-Along Participants (which are not or would not be subject to vesting or repurchase in favor of the Company as of or prior to the consummation of the proposed Transfer) on an as-if converted or exchanged and fully diluted basis.

(b)    Subject to the foregoing provisions of Section 11(a) above, the Transferring Stockholder shall use its reasonable efforts to obtain the agreement of the prospective transferee(s) to the participation of the Participating Holders in any contemplated Transfer, and the Transferring Stockholder shall not Transfer any Stockholder Shares to the prospective transferee(s) unless (A) the prospective transferee(s) agrees to allow the participation of the

 

11


Participating Holders at the same price (or implied price after giving effect, if applicable, to the exercise price of the securities being transferred by the Participating Holder as provided above) and on the same economic terms specified in the Sale Notice and on the same terms otherwise contemplated hereby, or (B) the Transferring Stockholder agrees to purchase the number of Stockholder Shares that any Participating Holder would have been entitled to transfer pursuant to this Section 11 at the same price (or implied price) and on the same economic terms specified in the Sale Notice. In furtherance of the foregoing, each Participating Holder will take all necessary or desirable actions requested by the Transferring Stockholder in connection with the consummation of such Transfer, including executing all agreements, documents, and instruments in connection therewith in the form presented by such Transferring Stockholder, which. may contain provisions regarding purchase price adjustments, indemnification, representations and warranties or other obligations of each Participating Holder. If, in response to the Sale Notice, there are no Participating Holders, then the Transferring Stockholder will be entitled to Transfer the number of Stockholder Shares specified in the Sale Notice at the same price (or implied price) and on the same economic terms specified in the Sale Notice for a period of 180 days following delivery of the Sale Notice.

(c)    Each holder of Option Shares transferring securities pursuant to this Section 11 pay its pro rata share (based on the number of shares of Common Stock (on a fully diluted and as-if converted or exchanged basis, if shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock are being sold and, if not, based on the number of Stockholder Shares) to be transferred by such holder of Option Shares) of the expenses incurred by the Tag-Along Participants in connection with such Transfer and will be obligated to participate severally on a pro rata basis (based on the number of shares of Common Stock (on a fully diluted and as-if converted or exchanged basis, if shares of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock are being sold and, if not, based on the number of Stockholder Shares to be transferred by such holder of Option Shares) in any indemnification or other obligations that the Transferring Stockholder agrees to provide in connection with such Transfer (other than any such obligations that relate solely to a particular holder of Option Shares, such as indemnification with respect to representations and warranties given by a Stockholder regarding such holder of Option Shares’ title to and ownership of the Stockholder Shares, in respect of which only the applicable holder of Option Shares will be liable).

12.     Holdback Agreement .  Before and after the effective date of any underwritten Public Offering, no holder of Option Shares will effect any sale or distribution of Option Shares during the period designated by the underwriters managing such underwritten Public Offering.

13.     Conformity with 2004 Plan .  The Option granted hereunder is intended to conform in all respects with, and is subject to all applicable provisions of, the 2004 Plan (which is incorporated herein by reference). Inconsistencies between this Agreement and the 2004 Plan shall be resolved in accordance with the terms of the 2004 Plan. By executing and returning the enclosed copy of this Agreement, Executive acknowledges his receipt of this Agreement and the 2004 Plan and agree to be bound by all of the terms of this Agreement and the 2004 Plan.

14.     Rights of Participants .  Nothing in this Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company to terminate Executive’s employment at any time (with or without Cause), nor confer upon Executive any right to continue in the employ of the Company

 

12


for any period of time or to continue Executive’s present (or any other) rate of compensation, and in the event of Executive’s termination of employment (including, but not limited to, termination by the Company without Cause) any portion of the Option that was not previously vested and exercisable shall be forfeited. Nothing in this Agreement shall confer upon Executive any right to be selected again as a 2004 Plan participant, and nothing in the 2004 Plan or this Agreement shall provide for any adjustment to the number of Option Shares subject to the Option upon the occurrence of subsequent events except as provided in Section 16 below.

15.     Indemnification and Reimbursement of Payments on Behalf of Executive .  It shall be a condition of the exercise of any Option that Executive shall make appropriate payment of, and the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be entitled to deduct or withhold from any amounts owing from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to Executive, any federal, state, local or foreign withholding taxes, excise taxes, or employment taxes (“ Taxes ”) imposed with respect to Executive’s compensation or other payments from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Executive’s ownership interest in the Company, including, without limitation, wages, bonuses, dividends, the receipt or exercise of stock options and/or the receipt or vesting of restricted stock (including the Option and any Option Shares). In the event the Company or its Subsidiaries does not make such deductions or withholdings, Executive shall indemnify the Company and its Subsidiaries for any amounts paid by the Company and its Subsidiaries for any such Taxes, together with any interest, penalties and related expenses thereto.

16.     Adjustments .  In the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of Common Stock, the Board or the Committee may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under the Option, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by the 2004 Plan, the number and type of shares covered by the Option and the Exercise Price specified herein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable.

17.     Power of Attorney .  Executive constitutes, appoints and grants the Company with full power to act as its true and lawful representative and attorney-in-fact, in its name place and stead to assign and transfer the Option Shares to the appropriate acquirer thereof pursuant to Sections 8 and 10 above and under no other circumstances and to take all related actions and execute all related documents and instruments on behalf of Executive in furtherance of the foregoing. The powers of attorney granted herein shall be deemed to be coupled with an interest and irrevocable.

18.     Notices .  Any notice hereunder to the Company shall be addressed to the Company’s principal executive office, Attention: President with a copy to Parthenon, 200 State Street, 8th Floor, Boston Massachusetts 02109, Attention: Will Kessinger, Managing Director and Brian Golson, Principal, telephone Number: (617) 478-7000, telecopier Number: (617) 478-7010 and any notice hereunder to Executive shall be addressed to Executive at Executive’s last address on the records of the Company, subject to the right of either party to designate at any time hereafter in writing some other address. Any notice shall be deemed to have been duly given when delivered personally, one day following dispatch if sent by reputable overnight courier, fees prepaid, or. three days following mailing if sent by registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid and addressed as set forth above.

 

13


19.     Binding Effect .  This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of any successors and assigns to the Company and all Persons lawfully claiming under Executive.

20.     Governing Law .  The validity, construction, interpretation, administration and effect of this Agreement shall be governed by the substantive laws, but not the choice of law rules, of the State of Delaware.

21.     Company References .  All rights of the Company and its affiliates hereunder, may at the request of the Company or such affiliates, be exercised in whole or in part by one or more of affiliates or designees of the Company or its affiliates.

22.     Construction .  References herein to this Agreement and any other agreement shall be references to such agreement, as amended, modified, supplemented or waived from time to time.

*            *             *            *            *

 

14


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company and Executive have executed this Option Agreement as of the date first above written.

 

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

By:    

EXECUTIVE:

By:    

Name:

 

Signature Page to Option Agreement


Exhibit A

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan

See attached


Exhibit B

DCS Senior Management Performance Vesting Terms

Vesting will be determined by the following:

 

  1.

In order to achieve performance vesting for a particular year, a manager must remain employed at end of that fiscal year.

 

  2.

Subject to the catch-up provisions below (see # 6 & 7), the maximum potential vesting will be 20% per year.

 

  3.

Performance vesting targets will be derived from Revenue and EBITDA targets in the management plan (see Appendix to Shareholder Note) for 2004 through 2008, as adjusted for acquisitions and dispositions based on board-approved projections. For the purpose of vesting calculations, 2003 EBITDA (both the target amount and the actual amount) will be adjusted EBITDA after add-backs as agreed upon by the company’s senior lenders. Performance will be measured as actual vs. targeted performance for the average of the two trailing years, except as noted below in this paragraph. For example, in 2005, vesting will be determined by measuring the average of actual Revenue and EBITDA for 2005 and 2004 against the average of the management plan for Revenue and EBITDA for 2005 and 2004. However, if the current year’s actual Revenue or EBITDA is lower than the prior year’s corresponding actual Revenue or EBITDA, the current year figure will be used instead of the average (for Revenue or EBITDA or both, whichever of Revenue or EBITDA is lower in the current year).

 

  4.

Performance will be measured as a percentage of target average Revenue and EBITDA. Whichever of Revenue and EBITDA is lower relative to target will be used for the vesting calculation. For example, if average Revenue is 97% of target and EBITDA is 95% of target, management will be deemed to have achieved 95% of plan (the “Percent Achieved”).

 

  5.

In order to achieve any vesting, the company must achieve more than 90% of its plan. To achieve full vesting, the company must achieve 100% of its plan. Assuming that the Percent Achieved exceeds 90%, vesting will be calculated by calculating the product of i) the quotient of a) the Percent Achieved less 90% and b) 10% and ii) 20%. For example, if the Percent Achieved is 96%, the vesting amount will be the product of a) 96%-90% divided by 10% and b) 20%, which calculates to be 12% vesting for that year.


  6.

Catch-up Provision A: If the Percent Achieved exceeds 100% for a particular year, vesting may be greater than 20% that year only to the extent that cumulative vesting in prior years was less than full vesting. For example, if the company’s performance provided for only 30% cumulative vesting in the first two years (not the potential40%) and the Percent Achieved in the third year is 110%, vesting in year three will be 30% (not 40% per the calculation in #5 because vesting cannot exceed 60% at the end of three years). Obviously, even if the vesting program does not “fully” recognize performance ahead of plan in the current year, because performance is measured on the basis of a 2-year average (other than the exception noted in #3 above), the benefit may still be recognized in the following year.

 

  7.

Catch-up Provision B: Upon a Sale of the Company for managers who are still employees at that time, notwithstanding the Revenue and EBITDA performance of the company, there will be additional vesting of any unvested amounts (for all performance vesting employees eligible for this provision) that can be vested (if any) while still providing to Parthenon Capital an annualized return of 40% and gross proceeds in excess of three times Parthenon Capital’s investment. For example, if the company’s performance would have provided for only 60% vesting but after giving effect to 80% vesting but no more than 80% vesting, a sale would still produce for Parthenon Capital a 40% return and three times its investment; the amount performance vested shall be 80%.

 

  8.

Upon a Sale of the Company, the percentage of shares attributable to future years that will accelerate will be determined by applying the percentage of performance vesting that occurred prior to the sale. For example, if the Sale of the Company occurs after two vesting anniversaries but before the third and 80% of the performance vesting has been achieved in the first two years (i.e. 32% out of 40%), then 80% of the remaining performance shares will vest (i.e. 48% out of 60%). The combination of time vesting and performance vesting this example would be 85% (100% of 25% time vesting plus 80% of 75% performance vesting). Notwithstanding this formula for acceleration of performance vesting, Catch-Up Provision B in Exhibit A will still apply and offer the opportunity for full vesting.

 

18


Exhibit C

CONSENT

The undersigned spouse hereby acknowledges that I have read the following agreements to which my spouse is a party:

 

  ¨

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan

 

  ¨

DCS Holdings, Inc. Option Agreement

and that I understand their contents. I am aware that the such agreements provide for the repurchase of my spouse’s Option Shares of DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”) under certain circumstances and imposes other restrictions on such Option Shares. I agree that my spouse’s interest in the Option Shares is subject to the agreement referred to above and the other agreements referred to therein and any interest I may have in such Option Shares shall be irrevocably bound by such agreement and the other agreements referred to therein and further that my community property interest (if any) shall be similarly bound by such agreement.

The undersigned spouse irrevocably constitutes and appoints Lisa Im, who is the spouse of the undersigned spouse (the “ Securityholder ”) as the undersigned’s true and lawful attorney and proxy in the undersigned’s name, place and stead to sign, make, execute, acknowledge; deliver, file and record all documents which may be required, and to manage, vote, act and make all decisions with respect to (whether necessary, incidental, convenient or otherwise), any and all Option Shares of the Company in which the undersigned now has or hereafter acquires any interest in (including but not limited to the right, without further signature, consent or knowledge of the undersigned spouse, to exercise amendments and modifications of and to terminate the aforementioned agreement and to dispose of any and all such shares of Option Shares), with all powers the undersigned spouse would possess if personally present, it being expressly understood and intended by the undersigned that the foregoing power of attorney and proxy is coupled with an interest; and this power of attorney is a durable power of attorney and will not be affected by disability, incapacity or death of the Securityholder, or dissolution of marriage and this proxy will not terminate without consent of the Securityholder and the Company:

 

Securityholder:

     

Spouse of Securityholder:

         

Signature

     

Signature

         

Printed Name

     

Printed Name

Exhibit 10.4

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

2007 STOCK OPTION PLAN

ARTICLE I

Purpose of Plan

The 2007 Stock Option Plan (the “ Plan ”) of Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), adopted by the Board of Directors and the shareholders of the Company on May 25, 2007, for certain employees and service providers of the Company, is intended to advance the best interests of the Company by providing those persons who have a substantial responsibility for its management and growth with additional incentives by allowing them to acquire an ownership interest in the Company and thereby encouraging them to contribute to the success of the Company and to remain in its employ. The availability and offering of stock options under the Plan also increases the Company’s ability to attract and retain individuals of exceptional managerial talent upon whom, in large measure, the sustained progress, growth and profitability of the Company depends.

This Plan is intended to be a “compensatory benefit plan” within the meaning of such term under Rule 701 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all Options granted under the Plan are intended to qualify for an exemption (the “ Exemptions ”) from the registration requirements (i) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”), pursuant to Rule 701 of the Securities Act and (ii) under applicable state or other securities laws, including, without limitation, Section 25102(o) of the California Securities Act. In the event that any provision of the Plan would cause any Option granted under the Plan to not qualify for any Exemptions, the Plan shall be deemed automatically amended to the extent necessary to cause all Options granted under the Plan to qualify for such Exemptions.

ARTICLE II

Definitions

For purposes of the Plan, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

Affiliate ” of any particular Person means any other Person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such particular Person, where “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct the management and policies of a Person whether through the ownership of voting securities, contract or otherwise.

Board ” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Cause ” shall mean (i) a Participant’s theft or embezzlement, or attempted theft or embezzlement, of money or property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, a Participant’s perpetration or attempted perpetration of fraud, or a Participant’s participation in a fraud or


attempted fraud, on the Company or any of its subsidiaries or a Participant’s unauthorized appropriation of, or a Participant’s attempt to misappropriate, any tangible or intangible assets or property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) any act or acts of disloyalty, misconduct or moral turpitude by a Participant injurious to the interest, property, operations, business or reputation of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or a Participant’s conviction of a crime the commission of which results in injury to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) a Participant’s failure or inability (other than by reason of Disability) to carry out effectively his duties and obligations to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or to participate effectively and actively in the management of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, as determined in the good faith judgment of the Board.

Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute.

Committee ” shall mean the committee of the Board which may be designated by the Board to administer the Plan.

Common Stock ” shall mean the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, or if the outstanding Common Stock is hereafter changed into or exchanged for different stock or securities of the Company, such other stock or securities.

Company ” shall mean Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and any successor corporation.

Disability ” shall mean the inability, due to documented illness, accident, injury, physical or mental incapacity or other disability, of any Participant to carry out effectively his duties and obligations to the Company or to participate effectively and actively in the management of the Company for a period of at least 90 consecutive days or for shorter periods aggregating at least 120 days (whether or not consecutive) during any twelve-month period, as determined in the reasonable judgment of the Board.

Fair Market Value ” of the Common Stock shall be determined by the Committee or, in the absence of the Committee, by the Board.

Issued Shares ” shall mean (i) all Common Stock issued upon the proper exercise of an Option and (ii) all securities issued with respect to the Common Stock referred to in clause (i) above and the securities referred to in this clause (ii) by way of dividend or split or in connection with any conversion, merger, consolidation or recapitalization or other reorganization affecting the Common Stock or other securities described in this clause (ii). Unless provided otherwise herein or in a Participant’s Option Agreement (as defined below), Issued Shares will continue to be Issued Shares in the hands of any holder other than the Participant (except for the Company), and each such transferee thereof will succeed to the rights and obligations of a holder of Issued Shares hereunder.

Options ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article IV .

Parthenon ” means Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and its Affiliates.

 

2


Participant ” shall mean any employee or other service provider of the Company who has been selected to participate in the Plan by the Committee or the Board.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization and a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Public Offering ” means a public offering and sale of common equity securities of the Company pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act; provided that a Public Offering shall not include an offering made in connection with a business acquisition or combination or an employee benefit plan.

Sale of the Company ” means any transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which any Person or group of related Persons (other than Parthenon) acquires, directly or indirectly, (i) equity securities of the Company possessing the voting power under normal circumstances to elect a majority of the Board, or (ii) all or substantially all of the Company’s assets determined on a consolidated basis (in either case, whether by merger, consolidation, sale or transfer of the Company’s equity securities, sale or transfer of the Company’s consolidated assets or otherwise), provided that a Sale of the Company shall not include a Public Offering or a simple reincorporation of the Company in another jurisdiction.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any similar federal law then in force.

ARTICLE III

Administration

The Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided that if for any reason the Committee shall not have been appointed by the Board, all authority and duties of the Committee under the Plan shall be vested in and exercised by the Board. Subject to the limitations of the Plan, the Committee shall have the sole and complete authority to: (i) select Participants, (ii) grant Options (as defined in Article IV below) to Participants in such forms and amounts as it shall determine, (iii) impose such limitations, restrictions and conditions upon such Options as it shall deem appropriate, (iv) interpret the Plan and adopt, amend and rescind administrative guidelines and other rules and regulations relating to the Plan, (v) correct any defect or omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or in any Option granted hereunder, (vi) determine whether the Options comply with requirements of Section 409A of the Code and (vii) make all other determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the implementation and administration of the Plan. The Committee’s determinations on matters within its authority shall be conclusive and binding upon the Participants, the Company and all other Persons. All expenses associated with the administration of the Plan shall be borne by the Company. The Committee may, as approved by the Board and to the extent permissible by law, delegate any of its authority hereunder to such persons as it deems appropriate.

The Company may establish a committee of outside directors meeting the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code to (i) approve the grant of Options that might reasonably be

 

3


anticipated to result in the payment of employee remuneration that would otherwise exceed the limit on employee remuneration deductible for income tax purposes by the Company pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code and (ii) administer the Plan. In such event, the powers reserved to the Committee in the Plan shall be exercised by such compensation committee. In addition, Options under the Plan shall be granted upon satisfaction of the conditions to such grants provided pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code and any Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

It is the Company’s intent that the options not be treated as a nonqualified deferred compensation plan that fails to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and that any ambiguities in construction be interpreted in order to effectuate such intent. Options under the Plan shall contain such terms as the Committee determines are appropriate to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. In the event that, after the issuance of an option under the Plan, Section 409A of the Code or regulations thereunder are issued or amended, or the Internal Revenue Service or Treasury Department issues additional guidance interpreting Section 409A of the Code, the Committee may (but shall have no obligation to do so) amend or modify the terms of any such previously issued option to the extent the Committee determines that such amendment or modification is necessary to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

ARTICLE IV

Limitation on Aggregate Shares

The number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options may be granted under the Plan (the “ Options ”) and which may be issued upon the exercise thereof shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 1,500,000 shares (all of which shares may be, but are not required to be, issued pursuant to incentive stock options); provided that the type and the aggregate number of shares which may be subject to Options shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.8 below, and further provided that to the extent any Options expire unexercised or are canceled, terminated or forfeited in any manner without the issuance of Common Stock thereunder, such shares shall again be available under the Plan. The 1,500,000 shares of Common Stock available under the Plan may be either authorized and unissued shares, treasury shares or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine.

ARTICLE V

Awards

5.1 Options . The Committee may grant Options to Participants in accordance with this Article V .

5.2 Form of Option . It is within the Company’s discretion whether to grant nonqualified stock options or “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422A of the Code or any successor provision, be granted under the Plan. The Committee, in its sole discretion, may from time to time grant to eligible participants nonqualified Stock Options or incentive stock options. The options granted shall take such form as the Committee shall determine, subject to the terms and conditions herein.

 

4


5.3 Exercise Price . The option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Committee at, at least, 100% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant, or such other price as may be determined by the Committee, unless the holder of such Option, in the case of incentive stock options, owns more than 10% of the Company’s or any of the Company’s Affiliates’ voting stock, in which case the exercise price will equal 125% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant.

5.4 Exercisability . Options shall be exercisable at such time or times as the Committee shall determine, but in no event more than ten years from the date of grant.

5.5 Payment of Exercise Price . Options, to the extent exercisable, shall be exercised in whole or in part by written notice to the Company (to the attention of the Company’s Secretary) accompanied by payment in full of the option exercise price.

5.6 Terms of Options . The Committee shall determine the term of each Option, which term shall in no event exceed ten years from the date of grant.

ARTICLE VI

General Provisions

6.1 Conditions and Limitations on Exercise . Options may be made exercisable only upon the earlier of one or more of the events described in Section 5.4 , and to the extent not exercised in accordance with Section 5.4 , the Options shall not be exercisable and shall immediately terminate, except that: (i) if the separation from service of a Participant arises other than in connection with Participant’s discharge for Cause, such Participant’s Option shall expire 30 days after the date of such discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date or a Sale of the Company and (ii) if the separation from service of a Participant is due to Participant being discharged for Cause, such Participant’s Option shall expire 14 days after the date of such discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date or a Sale of the Company.

6.2 Sale of the Company . In the event of a Sale of the Company, the Committee or the Board may provide, in its discretion, without further notice to holders of the Options, (i) that the Options shall become immediately exercisable by any Participants who are employed by the Company at the time of the Sale of the Company, (ii) that all Options shall automatically terminate if not exercised as of the date of the Sale of the Company or other prescribed period of time and/or (iii) for the assumption of the Options pursuant to Section 6.8 , it being understood that different determinations may be made with respect to different Participants.

6.3 Written Agreement . Each Option granted hereunder to a Participant shall be embodied in a written agreement (an “ Option Agreement ”) which shall be signed by the Participant and by the Chief Executive Officer or another senior executive officer of the Company for and in the name and on behalf of the Company and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan prescribed in the Agreement (including, but not limited to, (i) the right

 

5


of the Company and such other Persons as the Committee shall designate (“ Designees ”) to repurchase from each Participant, and such Participant’s transferees, all shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to such Participant upon the exercise of an Option in the event of such Participant’s termination of employment, (ii) rights of first refusal granted to the Company and Designees, (iii) holdback and other registration right restrictions in the event of a public registration of any equity securities of the Company and (iv) any other terms and conditions which the Committee shall deem necessary and desirable).

6.4 Listing, Registration and Compliance with Laws and Regulations . Options shall be subject to the requirement that if at any time the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration or qualification of the shares subject to the Options upon any securities exchange or under any state or federal securities or other law or regulation, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body, is necessary or desirable as a condition to or in connection with the granting of the Options or the issuance or purchase of shares thereunder, no Options may be granted or exercised, in whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval shall have been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Committee. The holders of such Options shall supply the Company with such certificates, representations and information as the Company shall request and shall otherwise cooperate with the Company in obtaining such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval. In the case of officers and other Persons subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Committee may at any time impose any limitations upon the exercise of an Option that, in the Committee’s discretion, are necessary or desirable in order to comply with such Section 16(b) and the rules and regulations thereunder. If the Company, as part of an offering of securities or otherwise, finds it desirable because of federal or state regulatory requirements to reduce the period during which any Options may be exercised, the Committee, may, in its discretion and without the Participant’s consent, so reduce such period on not less than 15 days written notice to the holders thereof.

6.5 Nontransferability . Options may not be transferred other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and, during the lifetime of the Participant, may be exercised only by such Participant (or his legal guardian or legal representative). In the event of the death of a Participant, exercise of Options granted hereunder shall be made only:

(i) by the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Participant or the Person or Persons to whom the deceased Participant’s rights under the Option shall pass by will or the laws of descent and distribution; and

(ii) to the extent that the deceased Participant was entitled thereto at the date of his death, unless otherwise provided by the Committee in such Participant’s Option Agreement.

6.6 Normal Expiration of Options . In no event shall any part of any Option be exercisable after the date of expiration thereof (the “ Expiration Date ”), as determined by the Committee pursuant to Section 5.6 above.

6.7 Withholding of Taxes . The Company shall be entitled, if necessary or desirable, to withhold from any Participant from any amounts due and payable by the Company to such

 

6


Participant (or secure payment from such Participant in lieu of withholding) the amount of any withholding or other tax due from the Company with respect to any shares issuable under the Options, and the Company may defer such issuance unless indemnified to its satisfaction. In the event that the Company or its Affiliates does not make such deductions or withholdings, Participant shall indemnify the Company and its Affiliates for any amounts paid or payable by the Company or any of its Affiliates with respect to any such taxes, together with any interest, penalties and additions to tax and any related expenses thereto.

6.8 Organic Change . Unless the Options held by a Participant are terminated in accordance with Section 6.2 above or pursuant to the terms of any Option Agreement, after the consummation of any “ Corporate Transaction ” (as defined in Treasury Regulation §1.424-1(a)(3) and including any merger to effect the reincorporation of the Company in another jurisdiction), if the requirements of Treasury Regulation §1.424-1 would be met with respect to the substitution or assumption of such Option assuming the Option were or is an incentive stock option as described in Code §422, the corporation that is the employer of the Participant after such Corporate Transaction or a related corporation (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.421-1(i)(2)) shall, by reason of the Corporate Transaction, (i) substitute a new option for such Options or (ii) assume such Options. If the requirements of Treasury Regulation §1.424-1 cannot be satisfied even assuming the Option were an incentive stock option as described in Code §422, then such Options shall automatically be terminated and the Company, in the Board’s sole discretion, shall take such actions as are reasonably necessary to issue substantially similar options to Participants of the Plan.

6.9 Adjustments . Subject to Section 6.2 , in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of Common Stock or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, the Board or the Committee may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under outstanding Options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by the Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding Options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable.

6.10 Rights of Participants . Nothing in this Plan or in any Option Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company to terminate any Participant’s employment at any time (with or without Cause), nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employ of the Company for any period of time or to continue his present (or any other) rate of compensation, and except as otherwise provided under this Plan or by the Committee in the Option Agreement, in the event of any Participant’s termination of employment (including, but not limited to, the termination by the Company without Cause) any portion of such Participant’s Option that was not previously vested and exercisable shall expire and be forfeited as of the date of such termination. No employee shall have a right to be selected as a Participant or, having been so selected, to be selected again as a Participant.

6.11 Amendment, Suspension and Termination of Plan . The Board or the Committee may suspend or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time and may amend it from time to time in such respects as the Board or the Committee may deem advisable; provided that no such amendment shall be made without stockholder approval to the extent such approval is required by law, agreement or the rules of any exchange upon which the Common Stock is listed,

 

7


and no such amendment, suspension or termination shall impair the rights of Participants under outstanding Options without the consent of the Participants affected thereby. No Options shall be granted hereunder after the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan.

6.12 Amendment, Modification and Cancellation of Outstanding Options . The Committee may amend or modify any Option in any manner to the extent that the Committee would have had the authority under the Plan initially to grant such Option; provided that no such amendment or modification shall impair the rights of any Participant under any Option without the consent of such Participant. With the Participant’s consent, the Committee may cancel any Option and issue a new Option to such Participant.

6.13 Indemnification . In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or the Committee, the members of the Committee shall be indemnified by the Company against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which they or any of them may be party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the Plan or any Option granted thereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by independent legal counsel selected by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding; provided that any such Committee member shall be entitled to the indemnification rights set forth in this Section 6.12 only if such member has acted in good faith and in a manner that such member reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that such conduct was unlawful, and further provided that upon the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding a Committee member shall give the Company written notice thereof and an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before such Committee member undertakes to handle and defend it on his own behalf.

* * * *

 

8

Exhibit 10.10

EXECUTION VERSION

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT

This REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of July 3, 2012, by and among (i) Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and (ii) Lisa Im (the “ Investor ”).

WHEREAS, the Company is the holder of that certain Promissory Note, dated January 8, 2004 issued by the Investor to the Company in original principal amount of $1,000,000 (the “ Note ”), a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A , and as of the date hereof, the aggregate amount of outstanding principal and interest on the Note was $1,512,978.96;

WHEREAS, the Investor owns 1,039,883 shares of Common Stock of the Company (“ Common Stock ”), par value $0.01 per share (as defined in the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation); and

WHEREAS, the Company desires to repurchase from the Investor, and the Investor desires to sell to the Company, 33,675 shares of the Common Stock held by the Investor (the “ Repurchased Shares ”) for an aggregate agreed upon purchase price of $841,875.00 (the “ Repurchase Price ”) and, in exchange (and as payment) therefore, the Company has agreed to cancel a portion of the Note equal to the Repurchase Price.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:

1. Repurchase of the Common Stock . The Company hereby repurchases from the Investor, and the Investor hereby sells, transfers and assigns to the Company, free and clear of any and all Encumbrances (as defined below), the Repurchased Shares at a price per share equal to $25.00, and for an aggregate purchase price equal to the Repurchase Price. In exchange (and as payment) therefore, the Company hereby agrees to cancel a portion of the Note equal to the Repurchase Price. In addition, the Company and the Investor hereby acknowledge that, on the date hereof, the Investor has repaid the remaining portion of the Note using cash (in the aggregate amount of $671,113.38), such that following such repayment and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby all debts, liabilities and obligations under the Note shall be satisfied and the Note shall be repaid in full, terminated and marked as cancelled by the Company. Investor hereby agrees to deliver to the Company:

(a) the certificate(s), if any, representing all of the Repurchased Shares (and, if less than all of the shares of Common Stock owned by the Investor, the Company will, as soon as practicable following the date hereof, reissue stock certificates to Investor representing the remainder); and

(b) a duly executed stock assignment in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B .

2. Representations and Warranties of Investor . Investor hereby represents and warrants to the Company as follows:

(a) Ownership . All of the shares of Repurchased Shares are owned of record and beneficially by Investor, and Investor has good and marketable title to the Repurchased Shares, free and clear of any security interest, claims, liens, pledges, options, encumbrances, charges, agreements, voting trusts, proxies or other arrangements or restrictions whatsoever (collectively, “ Encumbrances ”), except for such legend and related transfer restrictions as are required under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the restrictions set forth in the Stockholders Agreement. As of the date hereof, Investor will deliver to the Company good and marketable title to the Repurchased Shares, free and clear of any Encumbrances.


(b) Legal Capacity . Investor has full legal capacity to enter into and perform his or her obligations set forth in this Agreement. This Agreement, when executed and delivered by Investor, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of Investor, enforceable in accordance with its terms (except as enforceability may be limited by principles of public policy, applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights and remedies generally or general principles of equity (regardless of whether considered and applied in a proceeding at law or in equity)).

(c) Conflicts . The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Investor does not, and will not, conflict with or result in a breach of any agreement, instrument, order, judgment, decree, law or governmental regulation to which Investor or the Repurchased Shares are subject.

(d) No Inducement . Investor has not been induced to agree to and execute this Agreement by any statement, act or representation of any kind or character by anyone, except as contained herein. Investor further represents that such Investor has fully reviewed this Agreement and has full knowledge of its terms, and executes this Agreement of his or her own choice and free will, after having received (or been given the opportunity to receive) the advice of his or her attorney(s).

3. Buyback Option . At the written election of the Investor, on one or more occasions at any time prior to March 15, 2013, the Company will issue a number of shares up to the number of Repurchased Shares upon payment to the Company of an amount equal to the Repurchase Price (the “Buy-back Transaction”). In such event, the Company and the Investor will work in good faith to complete the Buy-back Transaction as soon as practicable following the delivery of the election (subject to the Investor executing such documents as are reasonably requested by the Company).

4. Miscellaneous .

(a) All representations and warranties contained herein or made in writing by any party in connection herewith will survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the closing of the transactions contemplated hereby, regardless of any investigation made by the Company or on its behalf.

(b) From and after the date hereof, and when requested by the Company, Investor will, without further consideration, execute and deliver all such instruments of conveyance and transfer and will take such further actions as the Company may reasonably deem necessary or desirable in order to transfer the Repurchased Shares to the Company and to carry out fully the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

(c) This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware, without giving any effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware.

(d) This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts (including signature pages by means of facsimile, emailed .pdf file or other similar form of electronic transmission), all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

(e) This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supercedes all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, relating to such subject matter in any way.

*    *    *    *    *


Signature Page to Repurchase Agreement

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Repurchase Agreement on the date first written above.

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION
By:   /s/ Hakan Orvell
Name:   Hakan Orvell
Title:     Chief Financial Officer


By:   /s/ Lisa Im
Name:   Lisa Im


Exhibit A

See attached.


Exhibit B

ASSIGNMENT SEPARATE FROM CERTIFICATE

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, Lisa Im (“ Investor ”) does hereby sell, assign and transfer unto Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”),                     shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, of the Company, standing in the undersigned’s name on the books of the Company represented by Stock Certificate No(s).                     provided herewith and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint each officer of the Company (acting along or with one or more other such officers) as attorney-in-fact to transfer the said securities on the books of the Company with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Dated: July 3, 2012

      /s/ Lisa Im
   

 

 

 

      Name: Lisa Im

Exhibit 10.11

EXECUTION VERSION

REPURCHASE AGREEMENT

This REPURCHASE AGREEMENT (this “ Agreement ”) is made as of July 3, 2012, by and among (i) Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), and (ii) Jon D. Shaver (the “ Investor ”).

WHEREAS, the Company is the holder of that certain Promissory Note, dated January 8, 2004 issued by the Investor to the Company in original principal amount of $500,000 (the “ Note ”), a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A , and as of the date hereof, the aggregate amount of outstanding principal and interest on the Note was $756,489.48;

WHEREAS, the Investor owns 380,741 shares of Common Stock of the Company (“ Common Stock ”), par value $0.01 per share (as defined in the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation); and

WHEREAS, the Company desires to repurchase from the Investor, and the Investor desires to sell to the Company, 15,335 shares of the Common Stock held by the Investor (the “ Repurchased Shares ”) for an aggregate agreed upon purchase price of $383,375.00 (the “ Repurchase Price ”) and, in exchange (and as payment) therefore, the Company has agreed to cancel a portion of the Note equal to the Repurchase Price.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereby agree as follows:

1. Repurchase of the Common Stock . The Company hereby repurchases from the Investor, and the Investor hereby sells, transfers and assigns to the Company, free and clear of any and all Encumbrances (as defined below), the Repurchased Shares at a price per share equal to $25.00, and for an aggregate purchase price equal to the Repurchase Price. In exchange (and as payment) therefore, the Company hereby agrees to cancel a portion of the Note equal to the Repurchase Price. In addition, the Company and the Investor hereby acknowledge that, on the date hereof, the Investor has repaid the remaining portion of the Note using cash (in the aggregate amount of $373,115.69), such that following such repayment and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby all debts, liabilities and obligations under the Note shall be satisfied and the Note shall be repaid in full, terminated and marked as cancelled by the Company. Investor hereby agrees to deliver to the Company:

(a) the certificate(s), if any, representing all of the Repurchased Shares (and, if less than all of the shares of Common Stock owned by the Investor, the Company will, as soon as practicable following the date hereof, reissue stock certificates to Investor representing the remainder); and

(b) a duly executed stock assignment in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B .

2. Representations and Warranties of Investor . Investor hereby represents and warrants to the Company as follows:

(a) Ownership . All of the shares of Repurchased Shares are owned of record and beneficially by Investor, and Investor has good and marketable title to the Repurchased Shares, free and clear of any security interest, claims, liens, pledges, options, encumbrances, charges, agreements, voting trusts, proxies or other arrangements or restrictions whatsoever (collectively, “ Encumbrances ”), except for such legend and related transfer restrictions as are required under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the restrictions set forth in the Stockholders Agreement. As of the date hereof, Investor will deliver to the Company good and marketable title to the Repurchased Shares, free and clear of any Encumbrances.


(b) Legal Capacity . Investor has full legal capacity to enter into and perform his or her obligations set forth in this Agreement. This Agreement, when executed and delivered by Investor, will constitute the valid and legally binding obligation of Investor, enforceable in accordance with its terms (except as enforceability may be limited by principles of public policy, applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent conveyance or other similar laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights and remedies generally or general principles of equity (regardless of whether considered and applied in a proceeding at law or in equity)).

(c) Conflicts . The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Investor does not, and will not, conflict with or result in a breach of any agreement, instrument, order, judgment, decree, law or governmental regulation to which Investor or the Repurchased Shares are subject.

(d) No Inducement . Investor has not been induced to agree to and execute this Agreement by any statement, act or representation of any kind or character by anyone, except as contained herein. Investor further represents that such Investor has fully reviewed this Agreement and has full knowledge of its terms, and executes this Agreement of his or her own choice and free will, after having received (or been given the opportunity to receive) the advice of his or her attorney(s).

3. Buyback Option . At the written election of the Investor, on one or more occasions at any time prior to March 15, 2013, the Company will issue a number of shares up to the number of Repurchased Shares upon payment to the Company of an amount equal to the Repurchase Price (the “Buy-back Transaction”). In such event, the Company and the Investor will work in good faith to complete the Buy-back Transaction as soon as practicable following the delivery of the election (subject to the Investor executing such documents as are reasonably requested by the Company).

4. Miscellaneous .

(a) All representations and warranties contained herein or made in writing by any party in connection herewith will survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the closing of the transactions contemplated hereby, regardless of any investigation made by the Company or on its behalf.

(b) From and after the date hereof, and when requested by the Company, Investor will, without further consideration, execute and deliver all such instruments of conveyance and transfer and will take such further actions as the Company may reasonably deem necessary or desirable in order to transfer the Repurchased Shares to the Company and to carry out fully the provisions and purposes of this Agreement.

(c) This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Delaware, without giving any effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Delaware or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Delaware.

(d) This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts (including signature pages by means of facsimile, emailed .pdf file or other similar form of electronic transmission), all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

(e) This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supercedes all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, relating to such subject matter in any way.

*     *     *     *     *


Signature Page to Repurchase Agreement

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Repurchase Agreement on the date first written above.

 

    PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION
    By:   /s/ Hakan Orvell
    Name:   Hakan Orvell
    Title:   Chief Financial Officer

 


    By:   /s/ Jon D. Shaver
    Name:   Jon D. Shaver

 


Exhibit A

See attached.


Exhibit B

ASSIGNMENT SEPARATE FROM CERTIFICATE

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, Jon Shaver (“ Investor ”) does hereby sell, assign and transfer unto Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”),             shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, of the Company, standing in the undersigned’s name on the books of the Company represented by Stock Certificate No(s).             provided herewith and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint each officer of the Company (acting along or with one or more other such officers) as attorney-in-fact to transfer the said securities on the books of the Company with full power of substitution in the premises.

 

Dated:

   July 3, 2012   

/s/ Jon D. Shaver

      Name: Jon D. Shaver

Exhibit 23.1

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Performant Financial Corporation:

We consent to the use of our report included herein dated March 22, 2012, except for Note 1(l) and schedule II as to which the date is May 21, 2012, and Note 1(b) and Note 1(s) as to which the date is June 25, 2012, and to the reference to our firm under the heading “Experts” in the prospectus.

/s/ KPMG LLP

San Francisco, California

July 3, 2012

Table of Contents

Exhibit 99.1

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on                     , 2012

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   7389   20-0484934

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Blair W. White, Esq.   Joshua N. Korff, Esq.
David E. Lillevand, Esq.   Michael Kim, Esq.
Matthew Hallinan, Esq.   Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP   601 Lexington Avenue
50 Fremont Street   New York, New York 10022
San Francisco, California 94105   (212) 446-4800
(415) 983-1000  

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨   Accelerated filer   ¨      Non-accelerated filer   x   Smaller reporting company   ¨
       (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of

securities to be registered

 

Proposed maximum

aggregate offering
price (1)

  Amount of
registration fee

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

  $                              $                          

 

 

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and includes shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments, if any.

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We and the selling stockholders may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we and the selling stockholders are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)

Issued                     , 2012

             Shares

 

LOGO

COMMON STOCK

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is offering              shares of its common stock and the selling stockholders are offering              shares of common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our shares. We anticipate that the initial public offering price of our common stock will be between $         and $         per share.

 

 

We expect to apply to list our common stock on the              under the symbol “     .”

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements in future reports after the completion of this offering.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 9.

 

 

PRICE $         A SHARE

 

 

 

     Price to Public      Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions
     Proceeds to
Performant
     Proceeds to Selling
Stockholders
 

Per Share

     $                             $                             $                             $                       

Total

   $                $                $                $            

             have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock to purchasers on                     , 2012.

 

 

 

MORGAN STANLEY    GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
CREDIT SUISSE    WELLS FARGO SECURITIES

WILLIAM BLAIR

  

SUNTRUST ROBINSON HUMPHREY

                    , 2012


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

    Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1   

Risk Factors

    9   

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    22   

Use of Proceeds

    23   

Dividend Policy

    23   

Capitalization

    24   

Dilution

    26   

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

    28   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

    30   

Business

    46   
    Page  

Management

    63   

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

    73   

Principal and Selling Stockholders

    76   

Description of Capital Stock

    78   

Certain Material U.S. Federal Income and Estate Tax Considerations to Non-U.S. Holders

    82   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

    85   

Underwriting

    87   

Legal Matters

    93   

Experts

    93   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

    93   

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

    F-1   
 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any free writing prospectus we may specifically authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We have not, and the selling stockholders and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. The information contained in this prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate only as of its date, regardless of its time of delivery or of any sale of shares of our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.

Until                     , 2012 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in our common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.


Table of Contents

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and the information set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in each case included elsewhere in this prospectus. Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, in this prospectus, “Performant,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Performant Financial Corporation and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the U.S. Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. We believe our technology platform allows us to achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models, as we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. In addition, we believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business. For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income. See “Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income” below for a definition of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

 

 

1


Table of Contents

Industry Overview

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Healthcare

According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. CMS indicates that government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion of payments under Medicare, of which $48 billion, or 9%, was estimated to be improper according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues.

Other Markets

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, a significant portion of which were made by private firms on behalf of the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. We believe our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes.

 

 

2


Table of Contents
   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities.

 

   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team.   Our management team has significant industry experience and has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   We have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, and we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   As healthcare spending grows, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. We intend to expand our recovery services for existing clients, such as CMS, and offer analytics services to potential clients in the private healthcare market.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business.

Risks Associated With Our Business

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following the prospectus summary. Some of these risks include, among others, that:

 

   

A large portion of our revenues are generated from a limited number of clients, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

 

3


Table of Contents
   

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our historical revenues;

 

   

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

   

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the United States federal government could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

   

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

   

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance as a result of Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2010, or SAFRA, and we may not be able to maintain this relationship;

 

   

Consolidation among the Guaranty Agencies, or GAs, could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

   

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS;

 

   

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt our business;

 

   

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities;

 

   

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding our recovery practices and the use and disclosure of confidential personal and healthcare information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses; and

 

   

Our recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws.

Corporate Information

We commenced our operations in 1976 under the corporate name Diversified Collection Services, Inc., or DCS. We were incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2003 under the name DCS Holdings, Inc. and subsequently changed our name to Performant Financial Corporation in 2005. Our principal executive offices are located at 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551 and our telephone number is (925) 960-4800. Our website address is www.performantcorp.com . The information on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus.

Our Principal Stockholder

Our principal stockholder, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, acquired its interest in us in 2004 and currently owns approximately 82% of our outstanding common stock assuming the conversion of our outstanding preferred stock. Parthenon Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm with approximately $2 billion of capital under management. Parthenon Capital Partners was founded in March of 1998 and focuses on investing in select middle-market companies. The firm invests in a variety of industry sectors with particular expertise in business and financial services, healthcare, distribution/logistics, and technology-enabled services.

 

 

4


Table of Contents

THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us

             shares

 

Common stock offered by the selling stockholders

             shares

 

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

             shares

 

Option to purchase additional shares offered by

             shares

 

Use of proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us to redeem our outstanding preferred stock and to pay fees under an agreement with an affiliate of our majority stockholder. We intend to use the remainder of our net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other potential investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Proposed                 symbol

“        ”

The number of shares of common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012, and excludes:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus assumes:

 

   

the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock as of March 31, 2012 into an aggregate of 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering;

 

   

the redemption of all shares of series B preferred stock to be issued upon conversion of the series A preferred stock effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering;

 

   

no exercise by the underwriters of their right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock from                      to cover over-allotments; and

 

   

the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the effectiveness of our amended and restated bylaws in connection with this offering.

 

 

5


Table of Contents

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following summary consolidated financial data should be read together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2009     2010     2011         2011             2012      
     (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:       

Revenues

        $   109,832           $   123,519           $   162,974           $   35,080           $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

          

Salaries and benefits

     53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

     32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                   13,400                 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

                                 (3,679

Interest expense

     (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

     104        118        125        32        31   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Income before provision for income taxes      8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

     3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

     5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

     (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Weighted-average shares:           

Basic

     18,833        18,833        18,833        18,833        19,105   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     19,493        19,862        20,223        19,887        20,725   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share of common stock (2)

          

Basic

        $ (0.01        $ 0.22           $ 0.31           $ 0.07           $ 0.05   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

        $ (0.01        $ 0.21           $ 0.29           $ 0.07           $ 0.05   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Pro forma net income per share of common stock (unaudited):           

Basic

            $               $     

Diluted

          
      

 

 

     

 

 

 
Pro forma weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding used in calculating net income per share (unaudited):           

Basic

          

Diluted

          
      

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)  

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(2)

Please see note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

 

 

6


Table of Contents
       As of March 31, 2012  
       Actual        Pro
  Forma (1)   
   Pro
Forma As
Adjusted (2)
    

(in thousands)

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

        

Cash and cash equivalents

    $ 12,312         

Total assets

     183,023         

Total debt

     141,000         

Total liabilities

     180,676         

Total stockholders’ equity

     2,347         

 

(1)  

On a pro forma basis, giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock prior to completion of this offering as if such conversion had occurred on March 31, 2012.

 

(2)  

On a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income

To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have disclosed in the table below and within this prospectus adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, both of which are non-GAAP financial measures. We have provided a reconciliation below of adjusted EBITDA to net income and adjusted net income to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to these non-GAAP financial measures.

We have included adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income in this prospectus because they are key measures used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends and to prepare and approve our annual budget. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income provide useful information to investors and analysts in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors.

Our use of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

 

   

although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest expense on our indebtedness;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the impact of certain non-operating expenses resulting from matters we do not consider to be indicative of our core operating performance; and

   

other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income differently than we do, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income alongside other financial performance measures, including net income and our other GAAP results.

 

 

7


Table of Contents

The following tables present a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for each of the periods indicated:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
    2009     2010             2011                 2011             2012      
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   

Interest expense

    16,017        15,230        13,530        3,443        3,190   

Interest income

    (104     (118     (125     (32     (31

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

    —          —          —          —          3,679   

Depreciation and amortization

    9,624        7,213        7,766        1,881        2,214   

Impairment of trade name (2)

    —          —          13,400        —          —     

Non-core operating expenses (3)

    —          1,108        2,548        226        8   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

       $     34,882           $     41,460           $     57,761           $     10,522           $     13,679   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

                                3,679   

Impairment of trade name (2)

                  13,400                 

Non–core operating expenses (3)

           1,108        2,548        225        8   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   

Amortization of intangibles (5)

    5,795        3,043        3,043        761        875   

Deferred financing amortization costs (6)

    3,027        1,997        1,254        335        617   

Tax adjustments (7)

    (4,034     (3,014     (8,400     (583     (2,216
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net income

       $       11,062           $     14,497           $     24,971           $       3,793           $       5,840   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.
(2) Represents impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the plan to retire the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name.
(3) Represents professional fees and settlement costs related to strategic corporate development activities and a $1.2 million legal settlement in 2011.
(4) Represents expenses incurred under an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, which was terminated in April 2012. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Arrangements with Our Investors—Advisory Services Agreement.”
(5) Represents amortization of capitalized expenses related to the acquisition of Performant by an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners in 2004, the impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to our decision to terminate a client contract in 2009 and an acquisition in the first quarter of 2012 to enhance our analytics capabilities.
(6) Represents amortization of capitalized financing costs related to debt offerings conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2012.
(7) Represents tax adjustments assuming a marginal tax rate of 40%.

 

 

8


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves substantial risks. In addition to the other information in this prospectus, you should carefully consider the following factors before investing in our common stock. Any of the risk factors we describe below could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The market price of our common stock could decline if one or more of these risks and uncertainties actually occurs, causing you to lose all or part of your investment in our shares. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Risks Related to Our Business

A large portion of our revenues are generated from a limited number of clients, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We derive a substantial majority of our revenues from a limited number of clients, including the Department of Education, CMS and three GAs. Revenues from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. We expect that our revenues will become increasingly concentrated with our major clients as a result of rising business volumes under our RAC contract, which accounted for approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to approximately 10% of our revenues in 2011. If we lose one of these clients or if the terms of our relationships with any of these clients becomes less favorable to us, our revenues would decline and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our historical revenues.

Substantially all of our existing contracts for the recovery of student loan and other receivables, which represented approximately 70% of our revenues in 2011, enable our clients to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty, potentially leading to loss of business or renegotiation of terms. Our contracts generally are subject to a periodic rebidding process at the end of the contract term. Further, most of our contracts in this market allow our clients to unilaterally change the volume of loans and other receivables that are placed with us at any given time. In addition, most of our contracts are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers with whom we must compete for placements of loans or other obligations. Therefore, despite our contractual relationships with our clients, our contracts do not provide assurance that we will generate a minimum amount of revenues or that we will receive a specific volume of placements.

Our revenues, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected if our student loans and receivables clients, which include four of our five largest clients in 2011, do not renew their agreements with us upon contract expiration, reduce the volume of student loan placements provided to us, modify the terms of service, including the success fees we are able to earn upon recovery of defaulted student loans, or any of these clients establish more favorable relationships with our competitors.

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We operate in very competitive markets. In providing our services to the student loan and other receivables markets, we face competition from many other companies. Initially, we compete with these

 

9


Table of Contents

companies to be one of typically several firms engaged to provide recovery services to a particular client and, if we are successful in being engaged, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery rates of its several vendors. Those recovery vendors who produce the highest recovery rates from a client often will be allocated additional placements and in some cases additional success fees. Accordingly, maintaining high levels of recovery performance, and doing so in a cost-effective manner, are important factors in our ability to maintain and grow our revenues and net income and the failure to achieve these objectives could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Similarly, we faced a highly competitive bidding process to become one of the four prime RAC contractors that provide recovery services for improper Medicare payments. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect again to face a very competitive process to retain or increase our position in this market. The failure to retain this contract or a significant adverse change in the terms of this contract, which generated approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, would seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Some of our current and potential competitors in the markets in which we operate may have greater financial, marketing, technological or other resources than we do. The ability of any of our competitors and potential competitors to adopt new and effective technology to better serve our markets may allow them to gain market strength. Increasing levels of competition in the future may result in lower recovery fees, lower volumes of contracted recovery services or higher costs for resources. Any inability to compete effectively in the markets that we serve could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the United States federal government would have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have historically derived and are likely to continue to derive a significant portion of our revenues from the U.S. federal government. For the year ended December 31, 2011, revenues under contracts with the U.S. federal government accounted for approximately 27% of our total revenues. Furthermore, federal government revenues increased to approximately 33% in the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily as a result of increasing revenues from our RAC contract with CMS. In addition, fees payable by the U.S. federal government are expected to become a larger percentage of our total revenues in the near term as a result of the recent legislation that has transferred responsibility for all new student loan origination to the Department of Education. The continuation and exercise of renewal options on existing government contracts and any new government contracts are, among other things, contingent upon the availability of adequate funding for the applicable federal government agency. Changes in federal government spending could directly affect our financial performance. For example, the Obama Administration’s proposed budget for the year ending September 30, 2013 includes a proposal designed to reduce federal government spending by decreasing the amount that GAs are compensated when they rehabilitate defaulted loans. If enacted, this could harm the financial condition of the GAs and, in turn, their ability to pay for our services. The loss of business from the U.S. federal government, or significant policy changes or financial pressures within the agencies of the U.S. federal government that we serve, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The two principal markets in which we provide our recovery services, government-supported student loans and the Medicare program, are a subject of significant legislative and regulatory focus and we cannot anticipate how future changes in government policy may affect our operations. For example, SAFRA significantly changed the structure of the government-supported student loan market by assigning responsibility for all new government-supported student loan originations to the Department of Education, rather than

 

10


Table of Contents

originations by private institutions and backed by one of 32 government-supported GAs. This legislation, and any future changes in the legislation and regulations that govern these markets, may require us to adapt our business to the new circumstances and we may be unable to do so in a manner that does not adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance to our business as a result of SAFRA and we may not be able to maintain this relationship.

The majority of our historical revenues from the student loan market have come from our relationships with the GAs. As a result of SAFRA, the Department of Education will ultimately become the sole source of revenues in this market, although the GAs will continue to service their existing student loan portfolios for many years to come. As a result, over time, defaults on student loans originated by the Department of Education will predominate and our ability to maintain the revenues we had previously received from a number of GA clients will depend on our relationship with a single client, the Department of Education. While we have 22 years of experience in performing student loan recovery services for the Department of Education, we are one of 17 unrestricted recovery service providers on the current Department of Education contract. In 2011, student loan recovery work for the Department of Education generated revenues of $17.9 million, or approximately 11% of our total revenues. If our relationship with the Department of Education terminates or deteriorates or if the Department of Education, ultimately as the sole holder of defaulted student loans, requires its contractors to agree to less favorable terms, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.

Consolidation among the GAs could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As a result of SAFRA, which terminated the ability of the GAs to originate government-supported student loans, some have speculated that there may be consolidation among the 32 GAs. If GAs that are our clients are combined with GAs with whom we do not have a relationship, we could suffer a loss of business. We currently have relationships with 12 of the 32 GAs and three of our GA clients were each responsible for more than 10% of our total revenues in 2011. The consolidation of our GA clients with others could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS.

While we are the prime contractor responsible for review of Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region pursuant to the terms of our RAC contract with CMS, we are not permitted to seek the recovery of an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies, as well as national and local coverage determinations. While the revenues we earn under our contract with CMS is determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to successfully identify improper payments within these claims, the long-term growth of the revenues we derive under our RAC contract will also depend in part on CMS expanding the scope of potentially improper claims that CMS allows us to pursue under our RAC contract. If we are unable to continue to identify improper claims within the types of claims that we are permitted to pursue from time to time or if CMS does not expand the scope of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

11


Table of Contents

Our results of operations may fluctuate on a quarterly or annual basis.

Our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from period-to-period and may fail to match our past performance because of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Any of these factors could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate. Factors that could contribute to the variability of our operating results include:

 

   

the amount of defaulted student loans and other receivables that our clients place with us for recovery;

 

   

the timing of placements of student loans and other receivables which are entirely in the discretion of our clients;

 

   

our ability to successfully identify improper Medicare claims and the number and type of potentially improper claims that CMS authorizes us to pursue under our RAC contract;

 

   

the loss or gain of significant clients or changes in the contingency fee rates or other significant terms of our business arrangements with our significant clients;

 

   

technological and operational issues that may affect our clients and regulatory changes in the markets we service; and

 

   

general industry and macroeconomic conditions.

For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all of its recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the first quarter of 2012 was 58% lower than in the first quarter of 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans since September 2011 and accordingly, we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. We expect to recognize revenues on these rehabilitated loans in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Because our revenues are dependent on many factors, some of which are outside of our control, we may experience significant fluctuations in our results of operations.

Downturns in domestic or global economic conditions and other macroeconomic factors could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Various macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the volume of student loan originations in the United States, together with tuition costs and student enrollment rates, the default rate of student loan borrowers, which is impacted by domestic and global economic conditions, rates of unemployment and similar factors, and the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from changes in healthcare costs. Changes in these factors could lead to a reduction in overall recovery rates by our clients, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, during the global financial crisis beginning in 2008, the market for securitized student loan portfolios was disrupted, resulting in delays in the ability of some GA clients to resell rehabilitated student loans and as a result delaying our ability to recognize revenues from these rehabilitated loans.

 

12


Table of Contents

We may not be able to maintain or increase our profitability, and our recent financial results may not be indicative of our future financial results.

We may not succeed in maintaining our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis and could incur quarterly or annual losses in future periods. We expect to incur additional operating expenses associated with being a public company and we intend to continue to increase our operating expenses as we grow our business. We also expect to continue to make investments in our proprietary technology platform and hire additional employees and subcontractors as we expand our healthcare recovery and other operations, thus incurring additional expenses. If our revenues do not increase to offset these increases in expenses, our operating results could be adversely affected. Our historical revenues and net income growth rates are not indicative of future growth rates.

We may not be able to manage our growth effectively, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business has expanded significantly, especially in recent years with the expansion of our services in the healthcare market, and we intend to maintain our focus on growth. However, our continued focus on growth and the expansion of our business may place additional demands on our management, operations and financial resources and will require us to incur additional expenses. We cannot be sure that we will be able to manage our growth effectively. In order to successfully manage our growth, we will need to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees and subcontractors and may need to expand and enhance our administrative infrastructure and continue to improve our management, financial and information systems and controls. If we cannot manage our growth effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt our business.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt our operations. Our operating systems and technology infrastructure are susceptible to damage or interruption from various causes, including acts of God and other natural disasters, power losses, computer systems failures, Internet and telecommunications or data network failures, operator error, computer viruses, losses of and corruption of data and similar events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in interruptions, delays or cessations in service to our clients, reduce the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. While we have backup systems in many of our operating facilities, an extended outage of utility or network services may harm our business. Further, the situations we plan for and the amount of insurance coverage we maintain for losses as result of failures of our operating systems and infrastructure may not be adequate in any particular case.

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities.

Our recovery services involve the storage and transmission of confidential information relating to our clients and their customers, including health, financial, credit, payment and other personal or confidential information. Although our data security procedures are designed to protect against unauthorized access to confidential information, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to unauthorized access and disclosure of our clients’ confidential information. Further, we may not effectively adapt our security measures to evolving security risks, address the security and privacy concerns of existing or potential clients as they change over time, or be compliant with federal, state, and local laws and regulations with respect to securing confidential information. Unauthorized access to confidential information relating to our clients and their customers could lead to reputational damage which could deter our clients and potential clients from selecting our recovery services, termination of contracts with those clients affected by any such breach, regulatory action, and claims against us.

 

 

13


Table of Contents

In the event of any unauthorized access to personal or other confidential information, we may be required to expend significant resources to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities in our security procedures, and we may be subject to fines, penalties, litigation costs, and financial losses that are either not insured against or not fully covered through any insurance maintained by us. If one or more of such failures in our security and privacy measures were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

Our business may be harmed if we lose members of our management team or other key employees.

We are highly dependent on members of management team and other key employees and our future success depends in part on our ability to retain these people. Our inability to continue to attract and retain members of our management team and other key employees could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The growth of our healthcare business will require us to hire and retain employees with specialized skills and failure to do so could harm our ability to grow our business.

The growth of our healthcare business will depend in part on our ability to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees. Our healthcare-related operations require us to hire registered nurses and experts in Medicare coding. Finding, attracting and retaining employees with these skills is a critical component of providing our healthcare-related recovery and audit services, and our inability to staff these operations appropriately represents a risk to our healthcare service offering and associated revenues. An inability to hire qualified personnel, particularly to serve our healthcare clients, may restrain the growth of our business.

We rely on subcontractors to provide services to our clients and the failure of subcontractors to perform as expected could harm our business.

We engage subcontractors to provide certain services to our clients. These subcontractors participate to varying degrees in our recovery activities with regards to all of the services we provide. While most of our subcontractors provide specific services to us, we engage one subcontractor to provide all of the audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor accounted for approximately 17% of total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. While we believe that we perform appropriate due diligence before we hire subcontractors, our subcontractors may not provide adequate service or otherwise comply with the terms set forth in their agreements. In the event a subcontractor provides deficient performance to one or more of our clients, any such client may reduce the volume of services we are providing under an existing contract or may terminate the relevant contract entirely and we may face claims for breach of contract. Any such disruption in our relations with our clients as a result of services provided by any of our subcontractors could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If our software vendors or utility and network providers fail to deliver or perform as expected our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our recovery services depend in part on third-party providers, including software vendors and utility and network providers. Our ability to service our clients depends on these third-party providers meeting our expectations and contractual obligations in a timely and effective manner. Our business could be materially and adversely affected, and we might incur significant additional liabilities, if the services provided by these third-party providers do not meet our expectations or if they terminate or refuse to renew their relationships with us on similar contractual terms.

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses.

We are subject to a wide array of federal and state laws and regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and security. For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and

 

14


Table of Contents

Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, or HIPAA, and related state laws subject us to substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of the personal health information that we obtain in connection with our audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS and we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of this information. Similar protections extend to the type of personal financial and other information we acquire from our student loan, state tax and federal receivables clients. We are required to notify affected individuals and government agencies of data security breaches involving protected health and certain personally identifiable information. These laws and regulations also require that we develop, implement and maintain written, comprehensive information security programs containing safeguards that are appropriate to protect personally identifiable information or health information against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction or modification. Federal law generally does not preempt state law in the area of protection of personal information, and as a result we must also comply with state laws and regulations. Regulation of privacy, data use and security requires that we incur significant expenses, which could increase in the future as a result of additional regulations, all of which adversely affects our results of operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can result in penalties and in some cases expose us to civil lawsuits.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to regulation and oversight by various state and federal agencies, particularly in the area of consumer protection. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and related state laws provide specific guidelines that we must follow in communicating with holders of student loans and regulates the manner in which we can recover defaulted student loans. Some state attorney generals have been active in this area of consumer protection regulation. We are subject, and may be subject in the future, to inquiries and audits from state and federal regulators, as well as frequent litigation from private plaintiffs regarding compliance under the FDCPA and related state regulations. We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and may impose liability on us to the extent adverse credit information reported to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. Our compliance with the FDCPA, FCRA and other federal and state regulations that affect our student loan recovery business may result in significant costs, including litigation costs. In addition, changes to these regulations could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations if we are not able to adapt our services and client relationships to meet the new regulatory structure.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and qualified board members.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Although we have already hired additional employees to comply with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our costs and expenses.

We also expect that being a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs

 

15


Table of Contents

to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.

However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we are choosing to “opt out” of such extended transition period, and as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, although if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any July 31 before that time, we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” as of the following January 31.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley could adversely affect our business and common stock price.

When we become a public company, we will be subject to reporting obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that will require us to include a management report on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. These requirements will first apply to our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2013.

Our management may conclude that our internal control over our financial reporting is not effective. Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports or help prevent

 

16


Table of Contents

fraud. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from filing our periodic reports on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, harm our business and negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.

We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis. However, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC, or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, if we take advantage of the exemptions contained in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. Our remediation efforts may not enable us to avoid a material weakness in the future.

Litigation may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are party to lawsuits in the normal course of business, particularly in connection with our student loan recovery services. For example, we are regularly subject to claims that we have violated the guidelines and procedures that must be followed under federal and state laws in communicating with consumer debtors. We may not ultimately prevail or otherwise be able to satisfactorily resolve any pending or future litigation, which may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement. In the future, we may be required to alter our business practices or pay substantial damages or settlement costs as a result of litigation proceedings, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We typically face a long period to implement a new contract which results in a long lead time before we receive revenues from new client relationships.

If we are successful in obtaining an engagement with a new client or a new contract with an existing client, we typically have a subsequent long implementation period in which the services are planned in detail and we integrate our technology, processes and resources with the client’s operations. If we enter into a contract with a new client, we typically will not receive revenues until implementation is completed and work under the contract actually begins. Our clients may also experience delays in obtaining approvals or delays associated with technology or system implementations, such as the delays experienced with the implementation of our RAC contract with CMS due to an appeal by competitors who were unsuccessful in bidding on the contract. Because we generally begin to hire new employees to provide services to a new client once a contract is signed, we may incur significant costs associated with these additional hires before we receive corresponding revenues under any such new contract. If we are not successful in maintaining contractual commitments after the expenses we incur during our typically long implementation cycle, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may not be able to adequately protect our proprietary technology.

The success of our business depends in part upon our proprietary technology platform. We rely on a combination of copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as on confidentiality procedures and non-compete agreements, to establish and protect our proprietary technology rights. The steps we have taken to deter misappropriation of our proprietary technology may be insufficient to protect our proprietary information. Any infringement or misappropriation of our patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, and costs associated with litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights. Any infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary technology could impair any competitive advantage we currently derive or may derive from our proprietary technology platform.

 

17


Table of Contents

Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property could force us to incur significant costs or revise the way we conduct our business.

Our competitors protect their proprietary rights by means of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property. Any party asserting that we infringe, misappropriate or violate their intellectual property rights may force us to defend ourselves, and potentially our clients, against the alleged claim. These claims and any resulting lawsuit, if successful, could be time-consuming and expensive to defend, subject us to significant liability for damages or invalidation of our proprietary rights, prevent us from operating all or a portion of our business or force us to redesign our services or technology platform or cause an interruption or cessation of our business operations, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In addition, any litigation relating to the infringement of intellectual property rights could harm our relationships with current and prospective clients. The risk of such claims and lawsuits could increase if we increase the size and scope of our services in our existing markets or expand into new markets.

We may make acquisitions that prove unsuccessful or strain or divert our resources.

We may consider acquisitions of other companies in our industry or in new markets. We may not be able to successfully complete any such acquisition and any such acquisition may fail to achieve the intended financial results. If we do acquire other businesses, we may not be able to successfully integrate those businesses with our own and we may be unable to maintain our standards, controls and policies. Further, acquisitions may place additional constraints on our resources by diverting the attention of our management from other business concerns. Moreover, any acquisition may result in a potentially dilutive issuance of equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt and amortization of expenses related to intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our current or future indebtedness could adversely affect our business and financial condition and reduce the funds available to us for other purposes, and our failure to comply with the covenants contained in our senior secured credit facility could result in an event of default that could adversely affect our results of operations.

As of March 31, 2012, our total debt was $141.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011, our consolidated interest expense was approximately $13.5 million. Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our debt obligations and to fund our other liquidity needs depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot make assurances that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness and to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and keep us in compliance with the covenants under our senior secured credit facility or to fund our other liquidity needs, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot ensure that we would be able to take any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including our senior secured credit facility. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result our debt holders could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable; the lenders under our senior secured credit facility could terminate their commitments to lend us money and foreclose against the assets securing our borrowings; and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Our debt agreements contain, and any agreements to refinance our debt likely will contain, financial and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to incur additional debt, including to finance future operations or other capital needs, and to engage in other activities that we may believe are in our long-term best interests, including to dispose of or acquire assets. Our failure to comply with these covenants may result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness or result in modifications to our credit terms. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations and we may not be able to continue our operations as planned.

 

18


Table of Contents

Risks Related to This Offering and Our Common Stock

Following the offering, we will be classified as a “controlled company” and, as a result, will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

Upon the closing of this offering, an entity affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners (such entity and its affiliates individually and collectively referred to as “Parthenon Capital Partners”) will continue to control a majority of our common stock. As a result, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the applicable stock exchange corporate governance standards. Under the rules of the NASDAQ Global Market or the New York Stock Exchange as applicable, a company of which more than 50% of the outstanding voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain stock exchange corporate governance requirements, including:

 

   

the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consists of independent directors;

 

   

the requirement that nominating and corporate governance matters be decided solely by independent directors; and

 

   

the requirement that employee and officer compensation matters be decided solely by independent directors.

Following this offering, we intend to utilize these exemptions. As a result, we will not have a majority of independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation functions will not be decided solely by independent directors. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the stock exchange corporate governance requirements.

The price of our common stock could be volatile, and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the public offering price.

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for our common stock, and an active public market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained after this offering. In particular, you may not be able to resell your shares of our common stock at or above the initial public offering price. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between the representatives of the underwriters and us. The overall market and the price of our common stock may fluctuate greatly. The trading price of our common stock may be significantly affected by various factors, including: quarterly fluctuations in our operating results; the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections; changes in investors’ and analysts’ perception of the business risks and conditions of our business; our ability to meet the earnings estimates and other performance expectations of financial analysts or investors; unfavorable commentary or downgrades of our stock by equity research analysts; termination of lock-up agreements or other restrictions on the ability of our existing stockholders to sell their shares after this offering; changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of debt or equity securities; lawsuits threatened or filed against us; strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings; new legislation or regulatory actions; fluctuations in the stock prices of our peer companies or in stock markets in general; and general economic conditions.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of our common stock may lower our stock price.

If our existing stockholders sell a large number of shares of our common stock following this offering, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly. In addition, the perception in the public market that our existing stockholders might sell shares of common stock could depress the market price of our common stock, regardless of the actual plans of our existing stockholders. Immediately after this offering, approximately              shares of our common stock will be outstanding, or              shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment

 

19


Table of Contents

option is exercised in full. Of these shares,              shares will be available for immediate resale in the public market, including all of the shares in this offering, and shares will be available for resale 90 days following completion of this offering. Of the remaining shares outstanding,              shares are subject to lock-up agreements restricting the sale of those shares for 180 days from the date of this prospectus. However, the underwriters may waive this restriction and allow the stockholders to sell their shares at any time. In addition, following this offering and the sale by the selling stockholders of the shares offered by them, assuming an initial public offering price of $             per share, which is the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the holders of shares of common stock will have the right, subject to certain exceptions and conditions, to require us to register their shares of common stock under the Securities Act, and they will have the right to participate in future registrations of securities by us. Registration of any of these outstanding shares of common stock would result in such shares becoming freely tradable without compliance with Rule 144 upon effectiveness of the registration statement. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” After this offering, we intend to register approximately              shares of common stock that are reserved for issuance upon exercise of options granted under our stock option plans. Once we register these shares, they can be sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to restrictions under the securities laws applicable to resale by affiliates.

Investors in this offering will suffer immediate and substantial dilution.

The initial public offering price per share of common stock will be substantially higher than our pro forma net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering. As a result, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the book value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities. At an offering price of $         per share, the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in an amount of $         per share of common stock.

Our majority stockholder will have the ability to control significant corporate activities after the completion of this offering and our majority stockholder’s interests may not coincide with yours.

After the consummation of this offering, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional shares. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock. As a result of its ownership, Parthenon Capital Partners, so long as it holds a majority of our outstanding shares, will have the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and, through our board of directors, the ability to control decision-making with respect to our business direction and policies. Matters over which Parthenon Capital Partners will, directly or indirectly, exercise control following this offering include:

 

   

the election of our board of directors and the appointment and removal of our officers;

 

   

mergers and other business combination transactions, including proposed transactions that would result in our stockholders receiving a premium price for their shares;

 

   

other acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets;

 

   

incurrence of indebtedness and the issuance of equity securities;

 

   

repurchase of stock and payment of dividends; and

 

   

the issuance of shares to management under our equity incentive plans.

Even if Parthenon Capital Partners’ ownership of our shares falls below a majority, it may continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions. In addition, Parthenon Capital Partners will

 

20


Table of Contents

have a contractual right to designate a number of directors proportionate to their stock ownership. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Nomination of our Directors.” Further, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not have any obligation to present to us, and Parthenon Capital Partners may separately pursue, corporate opportunities of which they became aware, even if those opportunities are ones that we would have pursued if granted the opportunity. See “Description of Capital Stock—Corporate Opportunities.”

If securities analysts do not publish research or if securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, the price of our common stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that securities analysts and other third parties choose to publish about us. We do not control these analysts or other third parties. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our common stock or if one or more securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us or cease publishing reports about us.

We will have broad discretion in how we use the proceeds of this offering and we may not use these proceeds effectively. This could affect our profitability and cause our share price to decline.

Our management team will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether we are using the proceeds appropriately. We currently intend to use the net proceeds of this offering to redeem all of our shares of series B preferred stock, to pay a fee in connection with the termination of our advisory agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and the remainder of the net proceeds are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes and possibly to fund acquisitions We may use the net proceeds for corporate purposes that do not improve our profitability or increase our market value, which could cause our share price to decline.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt that our stockholders may find beneficial.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult or discouraging an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Our corporate governance documents include the following provisions: establishing a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board are elected at one time; providing that directors may be removed by stockholders only for cause; authorizing blank check preferred stock, which could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings and to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting at such time as Parthenon no longer beneficially owns a majority of our outstanding shares; limiting our ability to engage in certain business combinations with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder; requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; requiring a super-majority vote for certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws after the time when Parthenon Capital Partners ceases to beneficially own a majority of our outstanding shares; and limiting the determination of the number of directors on our board of directors and the filling of vacancies or newly created seats on the board to our board of directors then in office. These provisions, alone or together, could have the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

We do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stocks. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our senior secured credit facility.

 

21


Table of Contents

INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors.” In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our market opportunity and data regarding expected growth in the markets in which we operate;

 

   

anticipated trends and challenges in our business and the markets in which we operate;

 

   

our ability to retain and attract clients;

 

   

our ability to extend our technology platform to new markets;

 

   

our recent investment in new data analytics capabilities;

 

   

our belief that we have a significant degree of revenue visibility;

 

   

our anticipated growth strategies;

 

   

our liquidity and working capital requirements;

 

   

our intellectual property;

 

   

our expectations regarding our expenses and revenues and the uses of the proceeds of this offering; and

 

   

the regulatory environment in which we and our clients do business.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

You may rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. Neither we nor any of the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide information different from that contained in this prospectus. Neither the delivery of this prospectus, nor sale of common stock, means that information contained in this prospectus is correct after the date of this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy shares of common stock in any circumstances under which the offer or solicitation is unlawful.

This prospectus also contains statistical data and estimates, including those relating to market size and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that we obtained from government and industry publications. These publications typically indicate that they have obtained their information from sources they believe to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of their information. Although we have assessed the information in the publications and found it to be reasonable and believe the publications are reliable, we have not independently verified their data.

 

22


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock that we are selling in this offering will be $         million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $         million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholders, although we will bear the costs, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions, associated with the sale of these shares. The selling stockholders include entities affiliated with or controlled by certain of our directors.

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us from this offering as follows:

 

   

to pay approximately $         million to redeem all of our shares of series B preferred stock that are outstanding at the time of this offering;

 

   

to pay a $         million fee with respect to the termination of our Advisory Agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and a transaction fee equal to 1% of the gross proceeds of this offering; and

 

   

the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions that may be complementary to our business. We have no agreement with respect to any material investments at this time.

Accordingly, our management team will have broad discretion in using the net proceeds to be received by us from this offering.

Pending such uses, we plan to invest the net proceeds in short- and intermediate-term, interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our board of directors does not currently intend to pay regular dividends on our common stock. However, we expect to reevaluate our dividend policy on a regular basis following this offering and may, subject to compliance with the covenants in our senior secured credit facility and other considerations, determine to pay dividends in the future. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our senior secured credit facility.

 

23


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of March 31, 2012:

 

   

on an actual basis;

 

   

on a pro forma basis, giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock prior to completion of this offering as if such conversion had occurred on March 31, 2012; and

 

   

on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

You should read the information in this table together with the sections titled “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     As of March 31, 2012  
           Actual               Pro Forma          Pro Forma As
Adjusted(1)(2)
 
     (in thousands, except share data)  

Cash and cash equivalents

        $ 12,312           $                         $                
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Debt:

       

Revolving credit facility

        $ 4,500           $              $     

Term A loan

     57,000        

Term B loan

     79,500        
  

 

 

      

Total debt

     141,000        
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Stockholders equity:

       

Preferred stock:

       

Series A preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 18,000,000 shares authorized, 699,555 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

     15,846        

Series B preferred stock, $0.01 par value, 18,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding, actual; 18,000,000 shares authorized pro forma,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

            

Due from Stockholders

     (2,294     

Common stock, $0.01 par value, 25,000,000 shares authorized, 20,909,288 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 25,000,000 shares authorized, 21,608,843 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma;              shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro form as adjusted

     209        

Additional paid-in capital

     20,454        

Accumulated deficit

     (31,868     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     2,347        
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total capitalization

        $ 143,347           $              $     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

24


Table of Contents

 

(1) A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity (deficit) and total capitalization by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares were exercised in full, pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total debt, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity (deficit) and total capitalization as of March 31, 2012 would be $         million, $         million, $         million, $         million and $         million, respectively.

 

(2) The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of our initial public offering determined at pricing.

The number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding actual, pro forma, and pro forma as adjusted in the table above excludes the following shares:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,625 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

 

25


Table of Contents

DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock immediately after completion of this offering.

Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of shares of common stock outstanding. Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) as of March 31, 2012, was $         million, or $         per share. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2012 was $         million, or $         per share, based on the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock converting into          shares of common stock and          shares of series B preferred stock immediately prior to this offering and the redemption of the series B preferred stock immediately following the completion of this offering for an aggregate redemption payment of $         million.

After giving effect to (i) the items described in the preceding paragraph and (ii) our sale of shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $         per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $         per share to investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering, as illustrated in the following table:

 

Initial public offering price per share

      $               

Historical net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

   $                   

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

     

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to investors         purchasing shares of in the offering

     
  

 

 

    

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

     
     

 

 

 

Dilution in pro forma per share to investors in this offering

       $     
     

 

 

 

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by approximately $         million, or approximately $         per share, and the pro forma dilution per share to investors in this offering by approximately $         per share, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

If the underwriters’ over-allotment option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering would be approximately $         per share, the increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be approximately $         per share, and the dilution to investors purchasing shares in this offering would be approximately $         per share.

 

26


Table of Contents

The following table presents on a pro forma as adjusted basis as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering, the differences between the existing stockholders and the investors purchasing shares in this offering with respect to the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid, which includes net proceeds received from the issuance of common and series A preferred stock, cash received from the exercise of stock options and the value of any stock issued for services and the average price paid per share (in thousands, except per share amounts and percentages):

 

     Shares Purchased      Total Consideration (1)      Average Price
per Share
 
     Number    Percent        Amount            Percent       

Existing stockholders

        %           $           %           $            

New investors

              
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

Totals

        100.0%           $                  100.0%           $     
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid to us by new investors and total consideration paid to us by all stockholder by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, our existing stockholders would own     % and our new investors would own     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

The foregoing calculations are based on         shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012 assuming our outstanding convertible preferred stock converts into         shares of common stock and excludes the following shares:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

 

27


Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We derived the selected consolidated financial data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 and as of December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and as of March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited consolidated financial statements include, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist only of normal recurring adjustments, that management considers necessary for the fair statement of the financial information set forth in those statements. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. You should read the following selected consolidated historical financial data below in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements, related notes, and other financial information included in this prospectus. The selected consolidated financial data in this section is not intended to replace the consolidated financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial statements and related notes and schedule included in this prospectus.

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months
    Ended March 31,    
 
    2009     2010     2011         2011             2012      
    (in thousands)              

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

 

Revenues

       $   109,832           $   123,519           $   162,974           $   35,080           $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

    53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

    32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                  13,400                 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

                                (3,679

Interest expense

    (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

    104        118        125        32        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

    5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

    (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Weighted-average shares:          

Basic

    18,833        18,833        18,833        18,833        19,105   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

    19,493        19,862        20,223        19,887        20,725   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share of common stock (2)

         

Basic

       $ (0.01        $ 0.22           $ 0.31           $ 0.07           $ 0.05   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       $ (0.01        $ 0.21           $ 0.29           $ 0.07           $ 0.05   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Pro forma net income per share of common stock (unaudited):          

Basic

           $                 $       

Diluted

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 
Pro forma weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding used in calculating net income per share (unaudited):          

Basic

         

Diluted

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(2)

Please see note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

 

28


Table of Contents
    As of December 31,     As of
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011     2012  
    (in thousands)  
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:                        

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 8,924      $ 11,078      $ 20,004      $ 12,312   

Total assets

  $ 180,735      $ 181,390      $ 181,849      $ 183,023   

Total debt

  $ 127,298      $ 117,331      $ 103,383      $ 141,000   

Total liabilities

    161,077        151,231        139,306        180,676   

Preferred stock

    45,982        51,753        58,248        15,846   

Total stockholders’ equity

    19,658        30,159        42,543        2,347   

 

29


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees on the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

Sources of Revenues

We derive our revenues from services for clients in a variety of different markets. These markets include our two largest markets, student lending and healthcare, as well as our other markets which include but are not limited to delinquent state taxes and federal Treasury and other receivables.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
     Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009      2010      2011      2011      2012  
     (in thousands)  

Student Lending

    $ 84,056        $ 103,672        $ 122,253        $ 26,404        $ 29,168   

Healthcare

             1,821         21,549         3,648         12,069   

Other

     25,776         18,026         19,172         5,028         4,641   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenues

    $ 109,832        $ 123,519        $ 162,974        $ 35,080        $ 45,878   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Student Lending

We derive the majority of our revenues from the recovery of student loans. These revenues are contract-based and consist primarily of contingency fees based on a specified percentage of the amount we enable our clients to recover. Our contingency fee percentage for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees.

 

30


Table of Contents

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with a significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. Based on data compiled from over two decades of experience with the recovery of defaulted student loans, at the time we receive a placement of student loans, we are able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from such placement and the revenues we are likely able to generate based on the anticipated recovery outcomes.

There are five potential outcomes to the student loan recovery process from which we generate revenue. These outcomes include: full repayment, recurring payments, rehabilitation, loan restructuring and wage garnishment. Of these five potential outcomes, our ability to rehabilitate defaulted student loans is the most significant component of our revenues in this market. Generally, a loan is considered successfully rehabilitated after the student loan borrower has made nine consecutive monthly payments and our client has notified us that it is recalling the loan. Once we have structured and implemented a repayment program for a defaulted borrower, we (i) earn a percentage of each periodic payment collected up to and including the final periodic payment prior to the loan being considered “rehabilitated” by our clients, and (ii) if the loan is “rehabilitated,” then we are paid a one-time percentage of the total amount of the remaining unpaid balance. The fees we are paid vary by recovery outcome as well as by contract. For non-government-supported student loans we are generally only paid contingency fees on two outcomes: full repayment or recurring repayments. The table below describes our typical fee structure for each of these five outcomes.

 

 

Student Loan Recovery Outcomes

    Full Repayment   Recurring Payments         Rehabilitation   Loan Restructuring   Wage Garnishment
 

•Repayment in full of the loan

 

•Regular structured payments, typically according to a renegotiated payment plan

     

•After a defaulted borrower has made nine consecutive recurring payments, the loan is eligible for rehabilitation

 

•Restructure and consolidate a number of outstanding loans into a single loan, typically with one monthly payment and an extended maturity

 

•If we are unable to obtain voluntary repayment, payments may be obtained through wage garnishment after certain administrative requirements are met

 

•We are paid a percentage of the full payment that is made

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

   

•We are paid based on a percentage of the overall value of the rehabilitated loan

 

•We are paid based on a percentage of overall value of the restructured loan

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

                                     

For certain GA clients, we have entered into Master Service Agreements, or MSAs. Under these agreements, clients provide their entire inventory of outsourced loans or receivables to us for recovery on an exclusive basis, rather than just a portion, as with traditional contracts that are split among various service providers. In certain circumstances, we engage subcontractors to assist in the recovery of a portion of the client’s portfolio. We also receive success fees for the recovery of loans under MSAs and our revenues under MSA arrangements include fees earned by the activities of our subcontractors. As of March 31, 2012, we had four MSA clients in the student loan market.

 

31


Table of Contents

Healthcare

We derive revenue from the healthcare market primarily from our RAC contract, under which we are the prime contractor responsible for detecting improperly paid Part A and Part B Medicare claims in 12 states in the Northeastern United States. Revenues earned under the RAC contract are driven by the identification of improperly paid Medicare claims through both automated and manual review of such claims. We are paid contingency fees by CMS based on a percentage of the dollar amount of claims recovered by CMS as a result of our efforts. We recognize revenue when the provider pays CMS or incurs an offset against future Medicare claims. The revenue we recognize is net of our estimate of claims that will be overturned by appeal following payment by the provider.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsourced certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. We recognize all of the revenues generated by the claims recovered through these subcontractor relationships, and we recognize the fees that we pay to these subcontractors in our expenses.

Other

We also derive revenue from the recovery of delinquent state taxes, and federal Treasury and other receivables, default aversion services for certain clients including financial institutions and the licensing of hosted technology solutions to certain clients. For our hosted technology services, we license our system and integrate our technology into our clients’ operations, for which we are paid a licensing fee. Our revenues for these services include contingency fees, fees based on dedicated headcount to our clients and hosted technology licensing fees.

Operating Metrics

We monitor a number of operating metrics in order to evaluate our business and make decisions regarding our corporate strategy. These key metrics include Placement Volume, Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume, Net Claim Recovery Volume and Claim Recovery Fee Rate.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
     (dollars in thousands)  

Student Lending:

          

Placement Volume

   $ 4,920,506      $ 5,294,971      $ 6,241,483      $ 1,679,002      $ 1,001,808   

Placement Revenue as a percentage of Placement Volume

     1.71     1.96     1.96     1.53     2.91

Healthcare:

          

Net Claim Recovery Volume

   $      $ 15,494      $ 188,573      $ 31,599      $ 106,100   

Claim Recovery Fee Rate

            11.76     11.43     11.54     11.38

Placement Volume.   Our Placement Volume represents the dollar volume of defaulted student loans first placed with us during the specified period by public and private clients for recovery. Placement Volume allows us to measure and track trends in how much inventory our clients in the student lending market are placing with us during any period. The revenue associated with the recovery of a portion of these loans may be recognized in subsequent accounting periods.

 

32


Table of Contents

Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume.   Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume is calculated by dividing revenue recognized during the specified period by Placement Volume first placed with us during that same period. This metric is subject to some level of variation from period to period based upon certain timing differences including, but not limited to, the timing of placements received by us within a period and the fact that a significant portion of revenue recognized in a current period is often generated from the Placement Volume received in prior periods. However, we believe that this metric provides a useful indication of the revenues we are generating from Placement Volumes on an ongoing basis.

Net Claim Recovery Volume.   Our Net Claim Recovery Volume measures the dollar volume of improper Medicare claims that we have recovered for CMS during the applicable period net of any amount that we have reserved to cover appeals by healthcare providers. We are paid recovery fees as a percentage of this recovered claim volume. We calculate this metric by dividing our claim recovery revenue by our Claim Recovery Fee Rate. This metric allows us to measure trends in the volume of improper payments within our region and our success in finding these improper payments, over time.

Claim Recovery Fee Rate.   Our Claim Recovery Fee Rate represents the weighted-average percentage of our fees compared to amounts recovered by CMS. This percentage primarily depends on the method of recovery and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify. This metric helps us measure how much revenue we generate from Net Claim Recovery Volume.

Costs and Expenses

We generally report two categories of operating expenses: salaries and benefits and other operating expense. Salaries and benefits expenses consist primarily of salaries and performance incentives paid and benefits provided to our employees. Other operating expense includes expenses related to our use of subcontractors, other production related expenses, including costs associated with data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services, amortization and other outside services, as well as general corporate and administrative expenses. In addition to our main components of operating expenses, we incurred a $13.4 million impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to our plan to retire our Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name in 2011, which we report as Impairment of trade name. We expect a significant portion of our expenses to increase as we grow our business. However, we expect certain expenses, including our corporate and general administrative expenses, to grow at a slower rate than our revenues. As a result, and over the long term, we expect our overall expenses to modestly decline as a percentage of revenues.

We also expect to incur additional professional fees and other expenses resulting from future expansion and the compliance requirements of operating as a public company, including increased audit and legal expenses, investor relations expenses, increased insurance expenses, particularly for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and the costs of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While these costs may initially increase as a percentage of our revenues, we expect that in the future these expenses will increase at a slower rate than our overall business volume, and that they will eventually represent a smaller percentage of our revenues.

Factors Affecting Our Operating Results

Our results of operations are primarily influenced by allocation of placement volume, claim recovery volume, contingency fees, regulatory matters, effects of client concentration and macroeconomic factors.

Allocation of Placement Volume

Our clients have the right to unilaterally set and increase or reduce the volume of defaulted student loans or other receivables that we service at any given time. In addition, many of our recovery contracts for student loans and other receivables are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers to service portions of their portfolios. Accordingly, the number of delinquent student loans or other receivables that are

 

33


Table of Contents

placed with us may vary from time to time, which may have a significant affect on the amount and timing of our revenues. We believe the major factors that influence the number of placements we receive from our clients in the student loan market include our performance under our existing contracts and our ability to perform well against competitors for a particular client. To the extent that we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of placements under these existing contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

Typically we are able to anticipate with reasonable accuracy the timing and volume of placements of defaulted student loans and other receivables based on historical patterns and regular communication with our clients. Occasionally, however, placements are delayed due to factors outside of our control. For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the three months ended March 31, 2012 was 58% lower than in the comparable three months ended March 31, 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, since September 2011, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans and accordingly we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. When these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education, we expect to recognize the revenues in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Delays in placement volume, as well as acceleration of placement volume, from any of our large clients may cause our revenue and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter.

Claim Recovery Volume

While we are entitled to review Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region, we are not permitted to identify an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies as well as national and local coverage determinations. The growth of our revenues is determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to identify improper payments within these claims. However, the long-term growth of these revenues will also be affected by the scope of the issues pre-approved by CMS.

Contingency Fees

Our revenues consist primarily of contract-based contingency fees. The contingency fee percentages that we earn are set by our clients, and may change from time to time either under the terms of existing contracts or pursuant to the terms of contract renewals. Any changes in the contingency fee percentages that we are paid under existing and future contracts could have a significant impact on our revenues.

Regulatory Matters

Each of the markets which we serve is highly regulated. Accordingly, changes in regulations that affect the types of loans, receivables and claims that we are able to service or the manner in which any such delinquent loans, receivables and claims can be recovered will affect our revenues and results of operations. For example, the passage of SAFRA in 2010 had the effect of transferring the origination of all government-supported student loans to the Department of Education, thereby ending all student loan originations guaranteed by the GAs. Loans guaranteed by the GAs represented approximately 70% of government-supported student loans originated in

 

34


Table of Contents

2009. While the GAs will continue to service existing outstanding student loans for years to come, this legislation will over time shift the portfolio of student loans that we manage toward the Department of Education, and further concentrate our sources of revenues and increase our reliance on our relationship with the Department of Education. In addition, our entry into the healthcare market was facilitated by passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which mandated CMS to contract with private firms to audit Medicare claims in an effort to increase the recovery of improper Medicare payments. Any changes to the regulations that affect the student loan industry or the recovery of defaulted student loans or the Medicare program generally or the audit and recovery of Medicare claims could have a significant impact on our revenues and results of operations.

Client Concentration

Our revenues from the student loan market depend on our ability to maintain our contracts with some of the largest providers of student loans. In 2011, four providers of student loans each accounted for more than 10% of our revenues during such period and they collectively accounted for 61% of our total revenues during this period. Our contracts with these clients entitle them to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty. If we lose one of our significant clients, including if one of our significant clients is consolidated by an entity that does not use our services, if the terms of compensation for our services change or if there is a reduction in the level of placements provided by any of these clients, our revenues could decline.

Our contract with CMS for the recovery of improper Medicare payments began generating significant revenues during 2011 and represented 26% of our total revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect that renewal of the contract will be a competitive process. While we believe our performance under the existing agreement and the experience we have gained in performing this contract position us well to renew the agreement, failure to renew the agreement or renewal on substantially less favorable terms could significantly harm our revenues and results of operations.

Macroeconomic Factors

Certain macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the increasing volume of student loan originations in the U.S. as a result of increased tuition costs and student enrollment, the default rate of student loan borrowers, the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from increasing healthcare costs, as well as the fiscal budget tightening of federal, state and local governments as a result of general economic weakness and lower tax revenues.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.

Revenue Recognition

The majority of our contracts are contingency fee based. We recognize revenue on these contingency fee based contracts when third-party payors remit payment to our clients or remit payment to us on behalf of our clients, and, consequently, the contingency is deemed to have been satisfied. Under our RAC contract with CMS,

 

35


Table of Contents

we recognize revenue when the healthcare provider has paid CMS for a given claim. Providers have the right to appeal a claim, and may pursue additional appeals if the initial appeal is found in favor of CMS. We accrue a reserve for appeals based on the amount that we estimate will be overturned in the provider’s favor. Our levels of reserves for appeals are based on assumptions derived from our limited experience under our contract with CMS, and our inability to correctly estimate these reserves could adversely affect our revenues.

Goodwill

We periodically review the carrying value of intangible assets not subject to amortization, including goodwill, to determine whether an impairment may exist. GAAP requires that goodwill and certain intangible assets not subject to amortization be assessed annually for impairment using fair value measurement techniques.

Specifically, goodwill impairment is determined using a two-step test. The first step of the goodwill impairment test is used to identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its book value, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its book value, goodwill is considered not impaired and the second step of the impairment test is unnecessary. If the book value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the goodwill impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the book value of that goodwill. If the book value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination. That is, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the reporting unit was the purchase price paid to acquire the reporting unit. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment . This ASU permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity concludes it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, it need not perform the two-step impairment test. The ASU permits early adoption, and based on our qualitative assessment we concluded that we are not required to perform the two-step impairment test at December 31, 2011.

Impairments of Depreciable Intangible Assets

We evaluate depreciable intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Depreciable intangible assets consist of client contracts and related relationships, and are being amortized over their estimated useful life, which is generally 20 years. We evaluate the client contracts intangible at the individual contract level. The recoverability of such assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If the assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. There was no impairment expense for depreciable intangible assets in 2010 and 2011. In 2009, an impairment charge of $2.6 million was recognized to account for our decision to discontinue a relationship with a client.

 

36


Table of Contents

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012

The following table represents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Three Months Ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:    (in thousands)  

Revenues

        $ 35,080           $ 45,878   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

     10,073        16,141   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     26,802        34,782   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs

            (3,679

Interest expense

     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

     32        31   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

     1,949        1,742   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $         2,918           $         2,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $45.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $10.8 million, or 30.8%, compared to total revenue of $35.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase in revenues is primarily due to an increase of $8.4 million in revenues received from CMS under our RAC contract as a result of higher claim recovery volumes and an increase of $2.8 million in student loan recovery revenues. This increase was partially offset by a reduction of $2.4 million of student loan rehabilitation revenues from the Department of Education for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, as a result of the inability of the Department of Education to process rehabilitated loans due to the delays created by their technology system upgrade.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $18.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $1.9 million, or 11.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to hiring of new employees to provide services under our RAC contract with CMS, an increase in administrative employees and an increase in expenses associated with the engagement of additional software engineers to assist in the integration of a newly acquired software license.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $16.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $6.1 million, or 60.2%, compared to other operating expense of $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to an additional $3.5 million of subcontractor expenses incurred in connection with increased services provided under the RAC contract and MSA contracts in our student lending market. In addition, in the three months ended March 31, 2012, we incurred an additional $0.9 million of data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services expenses as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, due to increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records in connection with the RAC contract.

 

37


Table of Contents

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $11.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $8.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, representing an increase of $2.8 million, or 34.0%.

Debt Extinguishment Costs

As a result of the entry into our new credit facility and the repayment of all amounts owed under our then existing credit facility in March 2012, we incurred debt extinguishment costs of $3.7 million, comprised of approximately $3.3 million in fees paid to the lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with our old credit facility.

Interest Expense

Interest expense of $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 representing a decrease of 7.3%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which represented a decrease of $0.4 million compared to net income of $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Excluding the debt extinguishment costs incurred in March 2012, net income would have been $4.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Year Ended December 31, 2010 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2011

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2011  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         123,519           $         162,974   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     58,113        67,082   

Other operating expense

     33,655        49,199   

Impairment of trade name

            13,400   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     91,768        129,681   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     31,751        33,293   

Interest expense

     (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

     118        125   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     16,639        19,888   

Provision for income taxes

     6,664        7,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 9,975           $ 12,372   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $163.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $39.5 million, or 31.9%, compared to total revenues of $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Of this increase, $19.7 million is attributable to increased recovery activity on our RAC contract with CMS and reflects the first full-year of our recovery activity related to this contract. The remaining increase was primarily a result

 

38


Table of Contents

of an increase in revenues from our student lending markets, due largely to an approximately 17.9% increase in placement volume from 2010 to 2011.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits was $67.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $9.0 million, or 15.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to an increase in employee headcount associated with hiring to staff our operations under the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,280 as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 160, or 14.3%, over the employee headcount of 1,120 as of December 31, 2010.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $49.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $15.5 million, or 46.2%, compared to other operating expense of $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to the use of subcontractors as we expand our operations in our healthcare market to help address the new and significant claims activity, along with increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records as required under the RAC contract. In addition, we recorded a $1.2 million expense in 2011 related to a legal settlement that was paid out in the first quarter of 2012.

Income From Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $33.3 million, for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared to $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This reflects an expense of $13.4 million related to impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible assets due to the retirement of a former trade name. Income from operations excluding this expense totaled $46.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represents an increase of $14.9 million, or 47.1%, as compared to income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, a decrease of $1.7 million from $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The reduction in interest expense is due primarily to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense of $7.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, represented an effective tax rate of 37.8% of income before provision for income tax.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $12.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represented an increase of $2.4 million over net income of $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Excluding the impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name, net income would have been $20.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 

39


Table of Contents

Year Ended December 31, 2009 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2010

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2010  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         109,832           $         123,519   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     53,728        58,113   

Other operating expense

     32,110        33,655   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     85,838        91,768   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     23,994        31,751   

Interest expense

     (16,017     (15,230

Interest income

     104        118   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     8,081        16,639   

Provision for income taxes

     3,071        6,664   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 5,010           $ 9,975   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $13.7 million, or 12.5%, compared to total revenues of $109.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. Total revenues increased as a result of greater student loan revenue of $19.6 million driven by increased placement volume and $1.8 million of revenue associated with the commencement of operations under our RAC contract. This increase was partially offset by decrease in other revenue primarily attributable to a revenue benefit we experienced in 2009 related to tax amnesty programs in two states, which is estimated to be $7.3 million.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $4.4 million, or 8.2%, compared to salaries and related expense of $53.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due primarily to an increase in employee headcount required for the implementation of the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,120 as of December 31, 2010, an increase of 61, or 5.8%, over the employee headcount of 1,059 as of December 31, 2009.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $1.5 million, or 4.8%, compared to other operating expense of $32.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due mainly to increased use of subcontractors to help meet increased recovery activity, along with an increase in legal fees associated with a lawsuit.

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to $24.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in income from operations was primarily due to revenues growing at a higher rate than operating expenses as a result of operating efficiencies.

 

40


Table of Contents

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, a decrease of $0.8 million from $16.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The reduction in interest expense is primarily due to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes of $6.7 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $3.6 million compared to provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2009. Our effective tax rate increased to 40.0% from 38.0%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, which represents an increase of $5.0 million as compared to net income of $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Selected Quarterly Financial Data

The following table sets forth selected unaudited consolidated quarterly operating data for each of the nine quarters during the period from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012. In our management’s opinion, the data has been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus and reflect all necessary adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of these data. You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Operating results for any fiscal quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in future periods.

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar 31,
2010
    Jun 30,
2010
    Sept 30,
2010
    Dec 31,
2010
    Mar 31,
2011
    Jun 30,
2011
    Sep 30,
2011
    Dec 31,
2011
    Mar 31,
2012
 
    (in thousands)  

Revenues

   $   29,135       $   31,319       $   29,362       $   33,703       $   35,080       $   43,244       $   42,009       $   42,641       $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

                 

Salaries and benefits

    14,715        14,232        14,185        14,981        16,729        17,252        16,456        16,645        18,641   

Other operating expense

    7,231        8,330        8,414        9,680        10,073        11,507        13,613        14,006        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                                                     13,400          
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    21,946        22,562        22,599        24,661        26,802        28,759        30,069        44,051        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    7,189        8,757        6,763        9,042        8,278        14,485        11,940        (1,410     11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs

                                                            (3,679

Interest expense

    (3,991     (3,971     (3,667     (3,601     (3,443     (3,404     (3,366     (3,317     (3,190

Interest income

    25        28        34        31        32        31        31        31        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    3,223        4,814        3,130        5,472        4,867        11,112        8,605        (4,696     4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    1,291        1,928        1,254        2,191        1,949        4,451        3,439        (2,323     1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   $ 1,932       $ 2,886       $ 1,876       $ 3,281       $ 2,918       $ 6,661       $ 5,166       $ (2,373    $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary source of liquidity is cash flows from operations. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents combined with the amounts available under our senior secured credit facility and the proceeds to us from sales of our common stock in this offering, will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, among other things, including our future profitability, cash flows from operations, and the availability under our senior secured credit facility.

 

41


Table of Contents

Our cash and cash equivalents was $12.3 million as of March 31, 2012.

Cash Flows

The following table presents information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2009     2010     2011         2011             2012      
     (in thousands)  

Net cash flows provided by operating activities

   $ 15,633      $ 18,214      $ 28,985      $ 9,188      $ 2,842   

Net cash flows used in investing activities

     (4,877     (4,921     (6,111     (1,046     (1,963

Net cash flows used in financing activities

     (10,940     (11,139     (13,948     (3,500     (8,571

Cash flows from operating activities

We generated $2.8 million of cash from operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from our net income of $2.5 million and non-cash depreciation and amortization of $2.2 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $2.5 million. A change in our operating assets and liabilities resulted from a $3.9 million increase in deferred revenues as a result of cash receipts from the Department of Education with respect to rehabilitation of student loans that the Department of Education has not been able to process due to its technology upgrade project. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, cash flows from operating activities were $9.2 million, reflecting net income of $2.9 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.9 million and net changes in operating assets and liabilities of $4.0 million.

We generated $29.0 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2011, primarily resulting from our net income of $12.4 million, non-cash depreciation and amortization of $7.8 million, an impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name of $13.4 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $3.8 million, offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $9.6 million. We generated $18.2 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily reflecting from our net income of $10.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $7.2 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $2.0 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $1.5 million. We generated $15.6 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily resulting from our net income of $5.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $9.6 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $3.0 million, partially offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $2.9 million.

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash flows for investing activities were used primarily for the acquisition and maintenance of computer equipment and software, to enhance our technology platform and to improve our telecommunications systems. We used $2.0 million of cash in investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, resulting from $1.2 million related to purchases of property, equipment and leasehold improvements and $0.8 million related to the initial payment for the purchase of a perpetual software license and computer equipment. We used $4.9 million, $4.9 million and $6.1 million of cash in investing activities for the purchase of property, equipment and leasehold improvements during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, primarily returning investments in information technology systems and infrastructure to support increased business volumes.

Cash flows from financing activities

Our financing activities have consisted primarily of the entry into our new senior secured credit facility, the repayment of our old senior secured credit facility, the redemption of shares of preferred stock and the payment

 

42


Table of Contents

of deferred financing fees. We used $8.6 million of cash in financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from $136.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new notes payable and $4.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new line of credit, which were partially offset by $44.0 million used for the redemption of preferred stock, $95.2 million used for the repayment of our old notes payable, $8.2 million used for the repayment of our old line of credit and $2.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $13.9 million of cash in financing activities for the repayment of notes payable during the year ended December 31, 2011. We used $11.1 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, comprised of $10.0 million used for the repayment of notes payable and $1.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $10.9 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily due to $10.9 million used for the repayment of notes payable, $1.0 million for debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our old line of credit.

Long-term Debt

On March 19, 2012, we, through our wholly owned subsidiary, entered into a $147.5 million senior secured credit facility with Madison Capital Funding LLC as administrative agent, ING Capital LLC as syndication agent, and other lenders party thereto. The senior credit facility consists of (i) a $57.0 million term A loan, (ii) a $79.5 million term B loan, and (iii) a $11.0 million revolving credit facility, which had a borrowing capacity of $5.1 million as of March 31, 2012. We may also request the lenders to increase the size of the term B loan or other term loans by up to $30.0 million at any time prior to March 19, 2014.

All borrowings under the senior secured credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (i) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal or another national publication, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, and (c) 2.5% or (ii) a London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) a Libor rate published in Reuters or another national publication and (b) 1.5%. The term A loan and the revolving credit facility have an applicable margin of 4.25% for base rate loans and 5.25% for Libor rate loans. The term B loan has an applicable margin of 4.75% for base rate loans and 5.75% for Libor rate loans. The minimum per annum interest rate that we are required to pay is 6.75% for the term A loan and revolving credit facility and 7.25% for the term B loan. Interest is due at the end of each month for base rate loans and at the end of each Libor period for Libor rate loans unless the Libor period is greater than 3 months, in which case interest is due at the last day of each 3-month interval of such Libor period.

The senior secured credit facility requires us to prepay the two term loans on a prorated basis and then to prepay the revolving credit facility under certain circumstances: (i) with 100% of the net cash proceeds of any asset sale or other disposition of assets by us or our subsidiaries where the net cash proceeds exceed $1 million, (ii) with a percentage of our annual excess cash flow each year where such percentage ranges from 25%-75% depending on our total debt to EBITDA ratio reduced by any voluntary prepayments that are made on our term loans during the same period and (iii) with any net cash proceeds from a qualified initial public offering by us, less net proceeds applied to redeem any outstanding preferred equity or convertible debt, to pay a common shareholder dividend not to exceed $20 million or, if we comply with an adjusted EBITDA ratio set forth in the agreement, to our cash balances in an amount not to exceed $75 million. We intend to apply the net proceeds of this offering, other than as described under “Use of Proceeds,” to our cash balances.

We have to abide by certain negative covenants for our senior secured credit facility, which limit the ability for our subsidiaries and us to:

 

   

incur additional indebtedness;

 

   

create or permit liens;

 

   

pay dividends or other distributions to our equity holders;

 

43


Table of Contents
   

purchase or redeem certain equity interests of our equity holders, including any warrants, options and other security rights;

 

   

pay management fees or similar fees to any of our equity holders;

 

   

make any redemption, prepayment, defeasance, repurchase or any other payment with respect to any subordinated debt;

 

   

consolidate or merge;

 

   

sell assets, including the capital stock of our subsidiaries;

 

   

enter into transactions with our affiliates;

 

   

enter into different business lines; and

 

   

make investments.

The senior secured credit facility also requires us to meet certain financial covenants, including maintaining a fixed charge coverage ratio and a total debt to EBITDA ratio. These financial covenants become more restrictive over time, as set forth in the agreement for our senior secured credit facility.

Contractual Obligations

The following summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2011, except for long-term debt obligations, which reflect the terms of the new credit agreement dated March 19, 2012:

 

    Payments Due by Period  
    Less Than
1 Year
    1 – 3
Years
    3 – 5
Years
    More Than
5 Years
    Total  
    (in thousands)  

Long-Term Debt Obligations (1)

      $         8,134          $         21,690          $         21,690          $         89,486          $         141,000   

Interest Payments (1)

    11,137        19,483        16,214        7,869        54,703   

Operating Lease Obligations

    1,402        1,386        135               2,923   

Purchase Obligation

    732                             732   

Deferred Compensation

           1,761                      1,761   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ 21,405          $ 44,320          $ 38,039          $ 97,355          $ 201,119   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

(1) We entered into our new credit agreement on March 19, 2012, with all outstanding indebtedness under our prior loan facility paid in full. Long-term debt obligations and interest payments presented in this table relate solely to our new credit agreement.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. We conduct all of our business in U.S. currency and therefore do not have any direct foreign currency risk. All borrowings under our senior secured credit facility bear interest at a variable rate based on the prime rate or Libor. While we currently hold our excess cash in an operating account, in the future we may invest all or a portion of our excess cash in short-term investments, including money market accounts, where returns may reflect current interest rates. As a result,

 

44


Table of Contents

market interest rate changes impact our interest expense and interest income. This impact will depend on variables such as the magnitude of interest rate changes and the level of our borrowings under our credit facility or excess cash balances.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we do not intend to elect to take advantage of this extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 as allowed by Section 107(b)(1) of the JOBS Act.

In December 2011, FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. We will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU eliminates the option in GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of income by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update 2011-05 . We plan to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of income in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or GAAP. For GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We expect that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

 

45


Table of Contents

BUSINESS

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and, at the end of 2011, approximately $67 billion of government-supported student loans were in default. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. According to the Government Accountability Office, Medicare paid $525 billion of claims in 2010, of which approximately $48 billion were estimated to be improper payments.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. Our technology platform allows us to disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent component steps, which we refer to as workflows, for our recovery and healthcare claims review specialists. This approach enables us to continuously refine our recovery processes to achieve higher rates of recovery with greater efficiency. By optimizing what traditionally have been manually-intensive processes, we believe we achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models. For example, we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year.

We believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. Over the past several years, we have successfully extended our platform into additional markets with significant recovery opportunities. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market. Recently, we have enhanced our platform through investment in new data and analytics capabilities, which we believe will enable us to provide additional services such as services relating to the detection of fraud, waste and abuse.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable for our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Further, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net

 

46


Table of Contents

income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income. For a discussion on limitations associated with using adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income rather than GAAP measures and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income see the section titled “Summary Consolidated Financial Data—non-GAAP financial measures.”

Our Markets

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

Student lending is a large and critically-important market in the United States. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. This growth has been supported by general demographic trends, increased enrollment, and rising costs of tuition and other expenses that increase the need for borrowed funds among students. In addition to strong underlying origination growth, the default rates among student loan borrowers have increased in recent years. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Government-supported student loans are authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Historically, there have been two distribution channels for student loans: (i) the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, or FDSLP, which represents loans made and managed directly by the Department of Education; and (ii) the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP, which represents loans made by private institutions and currently backed by any of the 32 GAs.

In July 2010, the government-supported student loan sector underwent a structural change with the passage of SAFRA. This legislation transitioned all new government-supported student loan originations to the FDSLP, and away from originations made by private institutions within the FFELP that had previously utilized the GAs to guarantee, manage and service loans. The GAs are non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporations operating under contract with the U.S. Secretary of Education, pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, solely for the purpose of guaranteeing and managing student loans originated by lenders participating in the FFELP. Consequently, while the original distribution channels for student loans have been consolidated into one channel, the Department of Education, this does not impact the volume of government-supported student loan origination, which is a key driver of the volume of defaulted student loan inventory. In addition, despite this transition of all new loan originations to the FDSLP, GAs will continue to manage a significant amount of defaulted student loans for some period of time, due to their large outstanding portfolios of loans originated prior to July 2010. The outstanding portfolios of defaulted FFELP loans will, therefore, require recovery for the foreseeable future.

The Department of Education estimates that the balance of defaulted loans was approximately $29.6 billion in the FDSLP as of September 30, 2011 and approximately $30.4 billion in the FFELP as of December 31, 2011. These programs collectively guaranteed approximately $706 billion of federal government-supported student loans according to the Congressional Budget Office as of September 30, 2011. Given the operational and logistical complexity involved in managing the recovery of defaulted student loans, the Department of Education and the GAs generally choose to outsource these services to third parties.

 

47


Table of Contents

The tables below show government-supported student loan originations and government-supported default inventory for the years ended 2007 through 2011 as reported by the Department of Education.

 

Government-Supported Student Loan Originations   Government-Supported Default Inventory
($ in billions)   ($ in billions)

LOGO

 

(1) Represents inventory as of September 30, 2011.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry represents a significant portion of the U.S. GDP. According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. In particular, CMS indicates that federal government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion for Medicare, which provides a range of healthcare coverage primarily to elderly and disabled Americans, and $401 billion for Medicaid, which provides federal matching funds for states to finance healthcare for individuals at or below the public assistance level.

The tables below show total U.S. healthcare expenditures from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by CMS and total Medicare spending from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.

 

Total U.S. Healthcare Expenditures   Medicare Spending
($ in trillions)   ($ in billions)
LOGO   LOGO

Medicare was initially established as part of the Social Security Act of 1965 and consists of four parts: Part A covers hospital and other inpatient stays; Part B covers hospital outpatient, physician and other services; Part C is known as Medicare Advantage, under which beneficiaries receive benefits through private health plans; and Part D is the Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit.

Of the $525 billion of 2010 Medicare spending, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that approximately $48 billion, or 9%, was improper, and is the federal public assistance program

 

48


Table of Contents

with the largest amount of improper payments. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues. Likewise, Medicaid improper payments were estimated to be $23 billion, or 6%, of total Medicaid payments for 2010. The following table illustrates the proportion of improper payments among federal public assistance programs in the year ended September 30, 2010, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Top Federal Programs with Improper Payments in the Year Ended
September 30, 2010

 

LOGO

Total = $125 billion

 

(1) Other includes National School Lunch, Pell Grant, and 60 additional programs.

In accordance with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, a demonstration program was conducted from March 2005 to March 2008 in six states to determine if the RAC program could be effectively used to identify improper payments for claims paid under Medicare Part A and Part B. Due to the success of this demonstration, under The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the U.S. Congress authorized the expansion of the RAC program nationwide. CMS relies on third-party contractors to execute the RAC program to analyze millions of Medicare claims annually for improper payments that have been paid to healthcare providers. The program was implemented by designating one prime contractor in each of the four major regions in the United States: West, Midwest, South, and Northeast.

In addition to government-related healthcare spending, significant growth is expected in the private healthcare market. According to the CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey, the private healthcare market accounted for approximately $1.4 trillion in spending in 2010 and private expenditures are projected to grow more than 5% annually through 2020.

Other Markets

State Tax Market

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The recent economic recession has led to lower income and sales taxes from both individuals and corporations, reducing overall tax revenues and leading to large budget deficits at the state government level. While many states have received

 

49


Table of Contents

federal aid, most have cut services and increased taxes to help close the budget shortfall and have evaluated outsourcing at least some aspect of delinquent tax recovery.

Federal Agency Market

The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury by numerous different federal agencies, comprising a mix of commercial and individual obligations and a diverse range of receivables. These debts are managed by the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, or FMS. Since 1996, the FMS has recovered more than $54 billion in delinquent federal debt. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, an increase of more than $700 million over 2010. A significant portion of these collections are processed by private collection firms on behalf of the FMS.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes. For example, we have successfully extended our platform from the student loan market to the state tax, federal treasury receivables and the healthcare recovery markets, each having its own industry complexities and specific regulations.

 

   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. We believe our workflow software is highly intuitive and helps our recovery and claims specialists manage each step of the recovery process, while automating a series of otherwise manually-intensive and document-intensive steps in the recovery process. We believe our streamlined workflow technology drives higher efficiencies in our operations, as illustrated by our ability to generate in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. We believe our streamlined workflow technology also improves recovery results relative to more labor-intensive outsourcing models.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients. In addition, we utilize analytics tools to continuously measure and test our recovery workflow processes to drive refinements and further enhance the quality and effectiveness of our capabilities. Finally, through a recent strategic investment, we have acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. We believe this investment will allow us to expand our capabilities into several new areas including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in various markets.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities. We have business relationships with 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan market and these relationships average more than 11 years in length,

 

50


Table of Contents
 

including an approximate 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we have a seven-year relationship with CMS and are currently one of only four prime Medicare RAC contractors.

 

   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables. We believe we have the necessary organizational experience to understand and adapt to evolving public policy and how it shapes the regulatory environment and objectives of our clients. We believe this helps us identify and anticipate growth opportunities. For example, we successfully identified government healthcare as a potential growth opportunity that has thus far led to the award of three contracts to us by CMS. Together with our flexible technology platform, we have the ability to adapt our business strategy, to allocate resources and to respond to changes in our regulatory environment to capitalize on new growth opportunities.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team .   Our management team has significant industry experience and has demonstrated strong execution capabilities. Our senior management team, led by Lisa Im, has been with us for an average of approximately 12 years. This team has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables. Our management team’s industry experience, combined with deep and specialized understanding of complex and highly regulated industries, has enabled us to maintain long-standing client relationships and strong financial results.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and have grown at a 12% compound annual growth rate from 2002 through 2011. The balance of defaulted government-supported student loans was estimated to be approximately $60 billion as of December 31, 2011. While we have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients. For example, under our contract with the Department of Education, we believe there is an opportunity to grow our placement volume through strong performance. Further, as a result of our relationships with five of the seven largest GAs, we believe we are well-positioned to benefit as a result of any consolidation of smaller GAs over the coming years.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   According to CMS’ National Health Expenditures Survey, Medicare spending totaled approximately $525 billion in 2010 and is expected to increase to $922 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6%. In the private healthcare market, spending totaled $1.4 trillion in 2010 and is expected to grow more than 6% annually through 2020, according to CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey. As these large markets continue to grow, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. In the public healthcare space, we intend to utilize the experience gained through our contracts with CMS to pursue additional recovery opportunities in areas such as Medicare Secondary Payor Recovery and state Medicaid recovery. In addition, through our recently enhanced analytics capabilities, we intend to pursue opportunities to find and eliminate losses prior to payment for healthcare services including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in the public and private healthcare markets.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business. These opportunities

 

51


Table of Contents
 

may enhance our existing capability or enable us to enter new markets or provide new products or services, such as our licensing of new applied data modeling analytics capabilities that can be used to identify fraudulent or erroneous healthcare claims prior to payment.

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. Our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

The components of our platform include the following:

Data Management Expertise

Our platform manages and stores large amounts of data throughout the workflow process. This includes both proprietary data we have compiled over two decades as well as third-party data which we can integrate efficiently and in real-time to reduce errors, reduce cycle time processing and, ultimately, improve recovery rates. The strength of our data management expertise augments our analytics capabilities and provides our recovery and claims specialists with powerful workflow processes.

Data Analytics Capabilities

Our data analytics capabilities efficiently screen and allocate massive volumes of recovery inventory. For example, upon receipt of each placement of student loans, we utilize our proprietary algorithms to assist us in determining the most efficient recovery process and the optimal allocation of recovery specialist resources for each loan. In the healthcare market, we analyze millions of Medicare claims to find potential correlations between claims data and improper payments, which enhance our future recovery rates. Across all of our current markets, we utilize our proprietary analytics tools to continuously and rigorously test our workflow processes in real-time to drive greater process efficiency and improvement in recovery rates.

Furthermore, we believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

Workflow Processes

Over many years, we have developed and refined our recovery workflow processes, which we believe drive higher efficiency and productivity and reduce our reliance on labor-intensive methods relative to more traditional recovery outsourcing models. We refer to the patented technology that supports our proprietary workflows as “Smart Bins.” Smart Bins disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. Our workflow processes integrate a broad range of functions that encompass each stage of a recovery process.

Smart Bins have been designed to be highly intuitive and help our recovery and claims specialists manage each step in the recovery process and enhance their productivity to high levels, regardless of skill differences among specialists. Smart Bins direct specialists toward the most efficient and effective action, or step with respect to the management and recovery of a defaulted student loan, with some input by specialists. Our technology places expert system rules into the workflow engine, allowing employees at different skill levels to manage the more complex work steps that highly experienced workers would perform, while automating document management and compliance functionality as industry regulations and compliance demands change.

 

52


Table of Contents

The following recovery diagram illustrates how the various components of our platform work together to solve a typical client workflow:

 

LOGO

 

53


Table of Contents

Our Services

We use our technology-enabled services platform to provide recovery and analytics services in a broad range of markets for the identification and recovery of student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. The table below summarizes our recovery services and related analytics capabilities and the markets we serve.

 

Recovery Services

 

 

Analytics
Capabilities

 

Student Loans   Healthcare   Other Markets    

 

 

• Provide recovery services to the Department of Education, GAs and private institutions

 

• Identify and track defaulted borrowers across our clients’ portfolios of student loans

 

• Utilize our proprietary technology, our history of borrower data and our analytics capabilities to rehabilitate and recover past due student loans

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of funds that we enable our clients to recover

 

• Provide recovery services to identify improper healthcare payments

 

• Analyze millions of Medicare Parts A and B claims as the prime contractor for recovery services for improper payments in the Northeast region of the United States

 

• Identify improper payments typically resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees based on a percentage of claim amounts recovered

 

• Provide tax recovery services to state and municipal agencies

 

• Recover government debt for numerous different federal agencies under a contract with the Treasury

 

• Enable financial institutions to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets

 

• Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of the amounts recovered, fees based on dedicated headcount and hosted technology licensing fees

 

• Provide claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits functions for one of the nation’s largest health care organizations

 

• We intend to accelerate the use of our recently acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight, to offer a variety of services form post- and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection

Recovery Services

Student Loans

We provide recovery services primarily to the government-supported student loan industry, and our clients include the Department of Education and several of the largest GAs, as well as private financial institutions. We use our proprietary technology to identify, track and communicate with defaulted borrowers on behalf of our clients to implement suitable recovery programs for the repayment of outstanding student loan balances.

Our clients contract with us to provide recovery services for large pools of student loans generally representing a portion of the total outstanding defaulted balances they manage, which they provide to us as “placements” on a periodic basis. Generally, the volume of placements that we receive from our clients is influenced by our performance under our contracts and our ability to recover funds from defaulted student loans,

 

54


Table of Contents

as measured against the performance of competitors who may service a similar pool of defaulted loans for the same client. To the extent we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of student loan placements under these contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. We use algorithms derived from over two decades of experience with defaulted student loans to make reasonably accurate estimates of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from a placement of defaulted student loans.

We also restructure and recover student loans issued directly by banks to students outside of federal lending programs. These types of loans typically supplement government-supported student loans to meet any shortfall in supply of student loan needs that cannot be met by grants or federal loans. Unlike government-supported student loans, private student loans do not have capped interest rates and, accordingly, involve higher instances of default relative to federally-backed student loans.

Healthcare

We provide recovery services related to improper payments in the healthcare market. In 2009 we were awarded the role as one of four prime RAC contractors in the United States, with exclusive responsibility for the Northeast region. Under our RAC contract, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments. Our geographical region accounted for approximately 23% of all Medicare spending in 2009 according to CMS. Our relationship with CMS began in 2005 with an initial demonstration contract to recover improper payments for Medicare Secondary Payor claims.

We utilize our technology-enabled services platform to screen Medicare claims against several criteria, including coding procedures and medical necessity standards, to determine whether a claim should be further investigated for recoupment or adjustment by CMS. We conduct automated and, where appropriate, detailed medical necessity reviews. If we determine that the likelihood of finding potential improper payment warrants further investigation, we request and review healthcare provider medical records related to the claim, utilizing experts in Medicare coding and registered nurses. We interact and communicate with healthcare providers and other administrative entities, and ultimately submit the claim to CMS for correction.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsource certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009.

Other Markets

We also provide recovery services to several state and municipal tax authorities, the Department of the Treasury and a number of financial institutions.

For state and municipal tax authorities, we analyze a portfolio of delinquent tax and other receivables placed with us, develop a recovery plan and execute a recovery process designed to maximize the recovery of funds. In some instances, we have also run state tax amnesty programs, which provide one-time relief for delinquent tax obligations, and other debtor management services for our clients. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments. Delinquent obligations are placed with us by our clients and we utilize a process that is similar to the student loan recovery process for recovering these obligations.

For the Department of the Treasury, we recover government debt subrogated to it by numerous different federal agencies. The placements we are provided represent a mix of commercial and individual obligations. We are one of four contractors for the most recent Treasury contract.

 

55


Table of Contents

We also provide risk management advisory services that enable these clients to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets over time. Our experience suggests that proactive default prevention practices produce significant net yield and earnings gains for our clients. We deliver these services in two forms. First, we contact and consult with borrowers to implement a repayment program, including payment through automatic debit arrangements, prior to the beginning of the repayment period in order to increase the likelihood that payments begin on time. Second, we offer a service that involves contacting delinquent borrowers in an effort to cure the delinquency prior to the loan entering default.

Analytics Capabilities

For several years, we have leveraged our data analytics tools to help filter, identify and recover delinquent and defaulted assets and improper payments as part of our core recovery services platform. Recently, through a strategic investment, we acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. Performant Insight adds new capabilities in data warehousing and data processing tools that accelerate our ability to review, aggregate, and synthesize very large volumes of structured and unstructured data, at high speeds, from the initial intake of disparate data sources, to the warehousing of the data, to the analysis and reporting of the data. We believe we have built a differentiated, next-generation “end-to-end” data processing solution that will maximize value for current and future customers.

Performant Insight provides numerous benefits for our recovery services platform. Performant Insight has not only enhanced our existing recovery services under our RAC contract by analyzing significantly higher volumes of healthcare claims at faster rates and reducing our cycle time to review and assess healthcare claims, but has also enabled us to develop improved and more sophisticated business intelligence rules that can be applied to our audit processes. We believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

While our revenues from analytics services are limited to date, we believe these services represent a meaningful future opportunity. We currently offer analytics services to one of the largest national healthcare organizations where our analytics services provide real-time financial and operational cost analyses to help support a broad range of compliance and fiscal management functions across the organization, including claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits. In addition, we are developing strategies to deploy these services in markets other than healthcare.

Our Clients

We provide our services across a broad range of government and private clients in several markets.

Department of Education

We have provided student loan recovery services to the Department of Education for approximately 22 years. We restructure and recover defaulted student loans distributed directly by the Department of Education as part of the FDSLP. Due to its limited resources and recovery capabilities, the Department of Education outsources 100% of its defaulted student loan portfolio to third-party vendors for recovery. Recovery fees are entirely contingency-based, and our fee for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees. To participate in the Department of Education contracts, firms must follow a highly competitive selection process. For the latest Department of Education contract, the fourth major contract the Department of Education has outsourced to selected vendors, we were selected as one of 17 unrestricted vendors and initiated work on this contract in the fourth quarter of 2009. Because all federally-supported student loans are being originated by the Department of Education as a result of SAFRA, our relationship with the Department of Education will become

 

56


Table of Contents

increasingly more important over time. The Department of Education was responsible for approximately 11% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Guaranty Agencies

We restructure and recover defaulted student loans issued by private lenders and backed by GAs under the FFELP. Despite the transition from FFELP to FDSLP, we believe GA default volumes will continue to rise for several years as there is a lag between originations and defaults of at least three to four years. When a borrower stops making regular payments on a FFELP loan, the GA is obligated to reimburse the lender approximately 97% of the loan’s principle and accrued interest. GAs then seek to recover and restructure these obligations. The GAs with which we contract generally structure one to three-year initial term contracts with multiple renewal periods, and the fees that we receive are generally similar to the fees we receive from the Department of Education contract. For some GA clients, we provide services through MSAs, under which we manage a GA’s entire portfolio of defaulted student loans and, for certain clients, engage subcontractors to provide a portion of the recovery services associated with a GA’s student loan portfolio.

We have a relationship with 12 of the 32 active GAs in the U.S., including American Student Assistance Corporation, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and American Education Services, each of which was responsible for 19%, 18% and 13%, respectively, of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our relationships with each of our five largest GA clients, two of which are MSA clients, average 16 years.

CMS

We have a seven-year relationship with CMS. Under our RAC contract with CMS awarded in 2009, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments in the Northeast region of the United States and which accounted for approximately 13% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 and increased to approximately 26% of our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The fees that we receive for identifying these improper payments from CMS are entirely contingency-based, and the contingency-fee percentage depends on the methods of recovery, and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

We have assisted the Department of the Treasury for 15 years in the recovery of delinquent receivables owed to a number of different federal agencies. The debt obligations we help to recover on behalf of the Department of the Treasury include commercial and individual debt obligations. We are one of the four firms servicing the current Department of the Treasury contract. Similar to our other recovery contracts, our fees under this contract are contingency-based. We view this as an important strategic relationship, as it provides us valuable insight into other business opportunities within the federal government.

State Tax and Municipal Agencies

We provide outsourced recovery services for individuals’ delinquent state tax and other municipal obligations on a hosted model and under MSAs. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments.

Private Lenders

We provide recovery services for private student loans, that supplement federally guaranteed loans, and home mortgages to private lenders.

Sales and Marketing

Our new business opportunities have historically been driven largely by referrals and natural extensions of our existing client relationships, as well as a targeted outreach by senior management. Our sales cycles are often lengthy, and demand high levels of attention from our senior management. At any point in time, we are

 

57


Table of Contents

typically focused on a limited number of potentially significant new business opportunities. As a result, to date, we have operated with a small staff of experienced individuals with responsibility for developing new sales, relying heavily upon our executive staff, including a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a sales team covering various markets. We expect to increase the size of our sales and marketing staff as we continue to grow our business.

Technology Operations

Our technology center is based in Livermore, California, with a redundant capacity in our Grants Pass, Oregon office. Additionally, Performant Insight, our new data analytics business, is supported by staff in Miami Lakes, Florida. We have designed our infrastructure for scalability and redundancy, which allows us to continue to operate in the event of an outage at either datacenter. We maintain an information systems environment with advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. We also maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third-party data.

Competition

We face significant competition in all aspects of our business.

In recovery services for delinquent and defaulted assets, we face competition from a number of companies. Holders of these delinquent and defaulted assets typically engage several firms simultaneously to provide recovery services on different portions of their portfolios. The number of recovery firms engaged varies by client. For example, we are one of 17 unrestricted providers of recovery services on the current Department of Education contract, while some of the GAs may only engage a few recovery vendors at any time. Initially, we compete to be one of the retained firms in a competitive bidding process and, if we are successful, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery performance of its several vendors. Clients such as the Department of Education typically will allocate additional placements to those recovery vendors producing the highest recovery rates. We believe that we primarily compete on the basis of recovery rate performance, as well as maintenance of high standards of recovery practices and data security capabilities. Pricing is not usually a major competitive factor as all recovery services vendors in these markets typically receive the same contingency-based fee rate.

In the recovery of improper healthcare payments, we faced a highly competitive process, involving a large number of bidders, to become one of the four prime RAC contractors in the United States. In connection with the renewal of this contract, which expires in 2014, we expect that our competition will include the other three RAC service providers: Health Management Systems, Inc., Connolly Consulting, Inc. and CGI Group. We also may face competition from the subcontractors of the current prime RAC contractors, who may seek to use their experience as subcontractors to become prime contractors, and a variety of healthcare consulting and healthcare information services companies are potential competitors. Some of these potential competitors for the second RAC contract may have greater financial and other resources than we do. We believe that the competitive factors in this market are demonstrated experience in effective recovery services, sufficient capacity to address claims volumes, maintenance of high standards of recovery practices, and recovery fee rates. We expect that our performance in identifying claims, managing the claims processes under the current RAC contract, and established systems integration with CMS and related Medicare administrative contractors will also be key factors in determining our continued service to CMS.

 

58


Table of Contents

Government Regulation

The nature of our business requires that we adhere to a complex array of federal and state laws and regulations. These include HIPAA, the FDCPA, the FCRA, and related state laws. We are also governed by a variety of state laws that regulate the collection, use, disclosure and protection of personal information. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and we have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data. Our compliance efforts include training of personnel and monitoring our systems and personnel.

HIPAA and Related State Laws

Our Medicare recovery business subjects us to compliance with HIPAA and various related state laws that contain substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of an individual’s protected health information. HIPAA prohibits us from using or disclosing an individual’s protected health information unless the use or disclosure is authorized by the individual or is specifically required or permitted under HIPAA. Under HIPAA, we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information maintained or transmitted by us or by others on our behalf. We are required to notify affected individuals and government authorities of data security breaches involving unsecured protected health information. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights enforces HIPAA privacy violations; CMS enforces HIPAA security violations and the Department of Justice enforces criminal violations of HIPAA. We are subject to statutory penalties for violations of HIPAA.

Most states have enacted patient confidentiality laws that protect against the unauthorized disclosure of confidential medical information, and many states have adopted or are considering further legislation in this area, including privacy safeguards, security standards and data security breach notification requirements. These state laws, if more stringent than HIPAA requirements, are not preempted by the federal requirements, and we must comply with them even though they may be subject to different interpretations by various courts and other governmental authorities. In addition, numerous other state laws govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to and confidentiality of individually identifiable health and healthcare provider information.

Our compliance efforts include the encryption of protected health information that we hold and the development of procedures to detect, investigate and provide appropriate notification if protected health information is compromised. Our employees and contractors receive initial and periodic supplemental training and are tested to ensure compliance. As part of our certification and accreditation process, we must undergo audits by federal agencies as noted below. CMS regularly audits us for, among other items, compliance with their security standards.

Privacy Act of 1974

The Privacy Act of 1974 governs the collection, use, storage, destruction and disclosure of personal information about individuals by a government agency and extends to government contractors who have access to agency records performing services for government agencies. The Act requires maintenance of a code of conduct for employees with access to the agency records addressing the obligations under the Privacy Act, training of employees and discipline procedures for noncompliance. The Act also requires adopting and maintaining appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity.

As a contractor to federal government agencies we are required to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974. Our compliance effort includes initial and ongoing training of employees and contractors in their obligations under the Act. In addition we have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards and processes intended to protect all personal data consistent with or exceeding our obligations under the Privacy Act.

 

59


Table of Contents

Certification, Accreditation and Security

Business services that collect, store, transmit or process information for United States government agencies and organizations are required to undergo a rigorous certification and accreditation process to ensure that they operate at an acceptable level of security risk. As a government contractor, we currently have Authority to Operate, or ATO, licenses from both the Department of Education and CMS.

We maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third party data. We undergo an independent audit by our government agency clients on the award of the contract and periodically thereafter. We also conduct periodic self-assessments.

Our regulatory compliance group is charged with the responsibility of ensuring our regulatory compliance and security. All our facilities have security perimeter controls with segregated access by security clearance level. The information systems environment maintains advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. Employees undergo background and security checks appropriate to their position. This can include security clearances by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also maintain compliant disaster recovery and business continuity plans, conduct an annually two table top disaster exercises, conduct routine security risk assessments and maintain a continuous improvement process as part of our security risk mitigation and management activity.

FDCPA and Related State Laws

The FDCPA regulates persons who regularly collect or attempt to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts owed or asserted to be owed to another person. Certain of our debt recovery and loan restructuring activities may be subject to the FDCPA. The FDCPA establishes specific guidelines and procedures that debt recovery firms must follow in communicating with consumer debtors, including the time, place and manner of such communications. Further, it prohibits harassment or abuse by debt recovery firms, including the threat of violence or criminal prosecution, obscene language or repeated telephone calls made with the intent to abuse or harass. The FDCPA also places restrictions on communications with individuals other than consumer debtors in connection with the collection of any consumer debt and sets forth specific procedures to be followed when communicating with such third parties for purposes of obtaining location information about the consumer. In addition, the FDCPA contains various notice and disclosure requirements and prohibits unfair or misleading representations by debt recovery firms. Finally, the FDCPA imposes certain limitations on lawsuits to collect debts against consumers.

Debt recovery activities are also regulated at state level. Most states have laws regulating debt recovery activities in ways that are similar to, and in some cases more stringent than, the FDCPA. In addition, some states require debt recovery firms to be licensed.

Our compliance efforts include written procedures for compliance with the FDCPA and related state laws, employee training and monitoring, auditing client calls, periodic review, testing and retraining of employees, and procedures for responding to client complaints. In all states where we operate, we believe that we currently hold all required state licenses or are exempt from licensing. Violations of the FDCPA may be enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, or by a private action by an individual or class. Violations of the FDCPA are deemed to be an unfair or deceptive act under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which can be punished by fines for each violation. Class action damages can total up to one percent of the net worth of the entity violating the statute. Attorney fees and costs are also recoverable. In the ordinary course of business we are sued for alleged violations of the FDCPA and comparable state laws, although the amounts involved in the disposition of settlement of any such claims have not been significant.

 

60


Table of Contents

FCRA

We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and which may impose liability on us to the extent that the adverse credit information reported on a consumer to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. State law, to the extent it is not preempted by the FCRA, may also impose restrictions or liability on us with respect to reporting adverse credit information. Our compliance efforts include initial and ongoing training of employees working with consumer credit reports, monitoring of performance, and periodic review and risk assessments. Violations of FCRA, which are deemed to be unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act, are enforced by the FTC or by a private action by an individual or class. Civil actions by consumers may seek damages per violation, with punitive damages, attorneys fees and costs also recoverable. Under the Federal Trade Commissions Act, penalties for engaging in unfair or deceptive acts can be punished by fines for each violation.

State Law Compliance and Security Breach Response

Many states impose an obligation on any entity that holds personally identifiable information or health information to adopt appropriate security to protect such data against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction, or modification. Many states have enacted laws requiring holders of personal information to take certain actions in response to data breach incidents, such as providing prompt notification of the breach to affected individuals and government authorities. In many cases, these laws are limited to electronic data, but states are increasingly enacting or considering stricter and broader requirements. Massachusetts has enacted a regulation that requires any entity that holds, transmits or collects certain personal information about its residents to adopt a written data security plan meeting the requirements set forth in the statute. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data and properly responding to any security incidents. We have adopted a system security plan and security breach incident response plans to address our compliance with these laws.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property is a significant component of our business, most notably the intellectual property underlying our proprietary technology-enabled services platform through which we provide our defaulted asset recovery and other services. To protect our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights. We also utilize customary confidentiality and other contractual protections, including employee and third-party confidentiality and invention assignment agreements.

As of March 31, 2012, we have two U.S. patents, both covering aspects of the workflow management systems and methods incorporated into our technology-enabled services platform. These patents will expire in December 2019. We routinely assess appropriate occasions for seeking additional patent protection for those aspects of our platform and other technologies that we believe may provide competitive advantages to our business. We also rely on certain unpatented proprietary expertise and other know-how, licensed and acquired third-party technologies, and continuous improvements and other developments of our various technologies, all intended to maintain our leadership position in the industry.

As of March 31, 2012, we own four trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office: Performant, DCS, Looking Out For Your Future, and VFI. We are in the process of registering additional trademarks supporting our business, and we claim common law trademark rights in numerous additional trademarks.

We have registered copyrights covering various copyrighted material relevant to our business. We also have unregistered copyrights in many components of our software systems. We may not be able to use these unregistered copyrights to prevent misappropriation of such content by unauthorized parties in the future; however, we rely on our extensive information technology security measures and contractual arrangements with employees and third-party contractors to minimize the opportunities for any such misuse of this content.

 

61


Table of Contents

We are not subject to any material intellectual property claims alleging that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of any third party, nor have we asserted any material intellectual property infringement claim against any third party.

Employees

As of March 31, 2012 we had approximately 1,300 full-time employees. None of our employees are members of a labor union and we consider our employee relations to be good.

Facilities

As of March 31, 2012, we operate five separate office locations throughout the United States. The largest of these facilities is in Livermore, California and serves as our corporate headquarters, as well as a data center and production location. Our Livermore facility represents approximately 50,291 square feet and has a lease expiration of September, 2017. We also lease production centers in California, Oregon and Texas and own a production/data center in Oregon. In addition, we intend to enter into a lease for an additional facility in Miami Lakes, Florida.

We believe that our facilities are adequate for current operations and that additional space will be available as required. See note (5) to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for information regarding our lease obligations.

Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various legal proceedings that arise from our normal business operations. These actions generally derive from our student loan recovery services, and generally assert claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or similar federal and state consumer credit laws. While litigation is inherently unpredictable, we believe that none of these legal proceedings, individually or collectively, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or our results of operations.

 

62


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

Our executive officers and directors, and their ages and positions as of March 31, 2012 are as set forth below:

 

Name

   Age     

Position

Lisa C. Im

     47       Chief Executive Officer and Director

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     61       Chairman of the Board of Directors

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     54       Chief Operating Officer

Hakan L. Orvell

     54       Chief Financial Officer

John Y. Paik

     43       Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Bruce L. Calvin

     62       Senior Vice President of Corporate Services

Todd R. Ford (1)

     45       Director

Brian P. Golson

     41       Director

William D. Hansen (1)

     53       Director

William C. Kessinger

     45       Director

Jeffrey S. Stein (1)

     47       Director

 

(1) Member of the Audit Committee.

Executive Officers

Lisa C. Im has served as our Chief Executive Officer since April 2004 and as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. From 2002 to 2004, she was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. Prior to that, Ms. Im was at Bestfoods Corporation, a food products manufacturer, from 1996 to 2002 with a body of experience including general management as well as executive financial positions for various regions of Bestfoods Corporation. Ms. Im received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Loma Linda University, and a Masters in Business Administration, Finance from California State University, East Bay. Ms. Im’s experiences and perspectives as our Chief Executive Officer led to the conclusion that she should serve as a member of our board of directors.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver has been Chairman of our board of directors and a director since June 2007. Since 2004, he has served in various board and executive roles in Performant and its subsidiaries. From 2000 to 2004, he was chief operating officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. He was senior executive vice president of Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation from 1999 to 2000, was chief executive officer of EdFund from 1997 to 1999 while also serving as executive director of the California Student Aid Commission from 1995 through 1998. Dr. Shaver received and Associate’s degree from Monroe Community College, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Brockport, a Doctor of Education degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Dr. Shaver’s role as our Chairman benefits from his extensive expertise in educational finance, public policy development in education finance, tax policy, healthcare payment integrity, and federal and state government relations, and led to the conclusion the he should serve as a member of our board of directors. He is a board leadership fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Harold T. Leach, Jr. has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company and our predecessor since May 1982. In this role, Mr. Leach was a key participant in the development of our recovery processes. He also serves as a director of each of our subsidiary corporations. Mr. Leach is responsible for operational strategy, production, and technology across all of our businesses. During his tenure, Mr. Leach led the development of our proprietary technology platform and has served as subject matter expert on key Congressional initiatives related

 

63


Table of Contents

to improving the efficacy of government debt management. Mr. Leach also led the development and implementation of our audit and recovery technology operations.

Hakan L. Orvell has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2006. He is responsible for the company’s corporate finance, accounting, financial planning and analysis. Mr. Orvell has over 20 years of experience from various industries and previous experience includes service as chief financial officer of Neopost, Inc., a manufacturer of office equipment. He has also held various financial leadership positions with Corporate Express (currently known as Staples), a large business-to-business distributor of office and computer products, including vice president and controller in both a division and regional capacity. He received his Certified Public Accountant accreditation in Illinois and received an MBA from the University of Stockholm.

John Y. Paik has been our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing since November 2011. From November 2007 to November 2011, Mr. Paik held various leadership positions at Pfizer Inc., including Vice President, Customer Marketing and Innovation across all global business units for account management and sales. Prior to that, Mr. Paik served in various capacities at Aetna, Inc. including vice president, head of strategic marketing and planning for national businesses and vice president, head of strategic marketing, national accounts from April 2004 to October 2007. Mr. Paik received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bruce L. Calvin has served as our Senior Vice President of Corporate Services since August 2007 and also serves as our Compliance Officer. From April 2007 to August 2007, Mr. Calvin served as our Vice President of Human Resources. Mr. Calvin has over 30 years of administration and global business management experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Troy University and a J.D. from John F. Kennedy University School of Law.

Board of Directors

Todd R. Ford has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2011. Mr. Ford has served as the managing director of Broken Arrow Capital, a venture capital firm, since he founded the firm in July 2007. From December 2002 to May 2007, Mr. Ford held various leadership positions at Rackable Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of server and storage products for large-scale data center deployments that subsequently changed its name to Silicon Graphics International Corp., including president and chief financial officer. Mr. Ford received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University. Mr. Ford’s executive experience with public companies, as well as his expertise in growing technology companies, provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Brian P. Golson has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2008. Since February 2002, Mr. Golson has served as the managing partner of Parthenon Capital Partners. Mr. Golson received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Mr. Golson’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

William D. Hansen has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2011. Since July 2011, Mr. Hansen has served as the chief executive officer of Madison Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm. From July 2009 to December 2010, he served as the president of Scantron Corporation, a provider of assessment and survey solutions. Mr. Hansen also served as the chairman of Scantron Corporation from September 2010 to July 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Hansen held various leadership positions at Chartwell Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm, from July 2005 to July 2009, including chief executive officer and senior managing director. Mr. Hansen served as the Deputy Secretary at the United States Department of Education from May 2001 to July 2003. Mr. Hansen also serves on the board of directors of First Marblehead Corporation, a student loan company. Mr. Hansen received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from George Mason University. Mr. Hansen’s extensive experience in the education market provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

 

64


Table of Contents

William C. Kessinger has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2003. Since October 2001, Mr. Kessigner has served as the managing partner, chief investment officer, of Parthenon Capital Partners, a private equity fund. He has concurrently served as the managing partner of Vformation LLC, a venture capital fund, since June 2009. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University. Mr. Kessinger’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Jeffrey S. Stein has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. Since September 2002, Mr. Stein has served as the Executive in Residence at Parthenon Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Mr. Stein received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Boston College Carroll School of Management. Mr. Stein’s financial and accounting expertise provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Board Composition

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board shall consist of not fewer than five and not more than fifteen directors as the board of directors may from time to time determine. Our board of directors will initially consist of seven directors. The authorized number of directors may be changed by resolution of our board of directors. Vacancies on our board of directors can be filled by resolution of our board of directors. Upon the completion of this offering, our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each serving staggered, three-year terms:

 

   

Our Class I directors will be and their terms will expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus;

 

   

Our Class II directors will be and their terms will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus; and

 

   

Our Class III directors will be and their terms will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus.

As a result, only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective terms.

We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exception under the applicable stock exchange rules which exempts us from certain requirements, including the requirements that we have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors and that we have compensation and nominating and governance committees composed entirely of independent directors. We will, however, remain subject to the requirement that we have an audit committee of at least three members composed entirely of independent directors by the first anniversary of this offering.

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford and Mr. Hansen are “independent directors” as defined under the rules of The NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, and the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our board of directors will meet to assess the independence of our other non-management directors.

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

 

65


Table of Contents

Lead Director

Our board of directors has established certain corporate governance principles in connection with this offering. Our board of directors determined as part of our corporate governance principles that one of our independent directors should serve as a lead independent director, under the title of vice chairman, at any time when the title of chairman is held by an employee director. Our current chairman, Mr. Shaver, is not an independent director, and accordingly, our board of directors will appoint one of our independent directors as vice chairman. The person appointed vice chairman will, among other responsibilities, preside over periodic meetings of our independent directors and serve as a liaison between senior management and the independent directors.

Board Committees

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of Messrs. Hansen, Ford and Stein. Mr. Ford serves as the chairperson of this committee. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford is an audit committee financial expert, as defined by the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Pursuant to the phase-in provisions of the NYSE and NASDAQ, as applicable, and Rule 10A-3 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act, our audit committee will be composed of three directors, of which two will be independent. Within one year following the effectiveness of the registration statement, our audit committee will have at least three members, all of whom will be independent.

After the completion of this offering, the audit committee will provide assistance to the board of directors in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations in matters involving our accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions by approving the services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing their reports regarding our accounting practices and systems of internal accounting controls. The audit committee will also oversee the audit efforts of our independent registered public accounting firm and will take those actions as it deems necessary to satisfy itself that the independent registered public accounting firm is independent of management.

Compensation Committee

After completion of this offering, the compensation committee will determine our general compensation policies and the compensation provided to our directors and officers. The compensation committee will also review and determine bonuses for our officers and other employees. In addition, the compensation committee will review and determine equity-based compensation for our directors, officers, employees and consultants and will administer our stock option plans and employee stock purchase plan. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NYSE and NASDAQ rules, as applicable, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

After completion of this offering, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for making recommendations to the board of directors regarding candidates for directorships and the size and composition of the board. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for overseeing our corporate governance guidelines and reporting and making recommendations to the board of directors concerning corporate governance matters. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NYSE and NASDAQ rules, as applicable, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors.

 

66


Table of Contents

Role of Our Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

One of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. Our board of directors administers this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of our board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure, and our audit committee will have the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures. The audit committee will also have the responsibility to review with management the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken, monitor compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and review with our independent auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for periodically evaluating the Company’s risk management policies and system in light of the material risks that the Company faces and the adequacy of the Company’s policies and procedures designed to address risk. Our compensation committee will assess and monitor whether any of our compensation policies and programs are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No interlocking relationship exists between our board of directors or compensation committee and the board of directors or compensation committee of any other entity, nor has any interlocking relationship existed in the past.

Director Compensation

The table below summarizes the compensation paid by the Company to our non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. Messrs. Golson, Kessinger and Stein did not receive compensation paid by the Company for service as a director in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

 

Name    Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
     Option
Awards
(1)
    

Total

 

William D. Hansen

   $ 1,500       $ 113,546       $ 115,046   

Todd R. Ford

   $ 1,500       $ 106,889       $ 108,389   

 

 

(1) Represents the grant date fair value of stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in October and December of 2011, as computed in accordance with the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

Executive Compensation

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our compensation philosophy is to align executive compensation with the interests of our stockholders and therefore to financial objectives that our board of directors believes are primary determinants of long-term stockholder value. The primary goal of our executive compensation program is to ensure that we hire and retain talented and experienced executives who are motivated to achieve or exceed our short-term and long-term corporate goals. Our executive compensation programs are designed to reinforce a strong pay-for-performance orientation and to serve the following purposes:

 

   

to reward our named executive officers for sustained financial and operating performance and leadership excellence;

 

   

to align their interests with those of our stockholders; and

 

   

to encourage our named executive officer to remain with us for the long-term.

 

67


Table of Contents

Elements of Compensation

Base Salary

We pay our named executive officers a base salary based on the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of each officer. We believe base salaries are an important element in our overall compensation program because base salaries provide a fixed element of compensation that reflects job responsibilities and value to us.

Annual Incentive Plan

To date, our board of directors has not adopted a formal plan or set of formal guidelines with respect to annual incentive or bonus payments, and has rather relied on an annual assessment of the performance of our executives during the preceding year to make annual incentive and bonus determinations. In connection with our efforts to formalize our compensation practices, our board of directors intends to adopt an annual incentive plan to which our named executive officers will be eligible to participate. Our board of directors may retain the discretion to pay any amounts due under such incentive plan in cash or equity or a combination of both.

Long-Term Equity Compensation

To date, we have provided our named executive officers with long-term equity compensation through our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan. Following completion of the offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan under which all future equity compensation to our named executive officers will be awarded. We believe that providing our named executive officers with an equity interest brings their interests in line with those of our stockholders and that including a vesting component to those equity interests encourages named executive officers to remain with us for the long-term.

Other Supplemental Benefits

Our named executive officers are eligible for the following benefits on a similar basis as other eligible employees:

 

   

health, dental and vision insurance;

 

   

vacation, personal holidays and sick days;

 

   

life insurance and supplemental life insurance;

 

   

short-term and long-term disability; and

 

   

401(k) plan.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table presents information concerning the total compensation of our named executive officers, or Named Executive Officers, for services rendered to us in all for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011:

 

Name and Principal Position

  Salary     Bonus     Option
Awards
    All Other
Compensation
    Total  

Lisa C. Im

    $400,005        $128,000               $21,807 (1)        $549,812   

Chief Executive Officer and Director

         

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

    $325,014        $119,000               $27,758 (2)        $471,772   

Chairman of the board of

directors and Director

         

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

    $350,002        $120,000               $23,811 (3)        $493,813   

Chief Operating Officer

         

 

(1) Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($3,807) and a vehicle allowance ($18,000).
(2) Includes payments for life insurance ($7,358) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).
(3) Includes payments for life insurance ($3,411) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).

 

68


Table of Contents

Grants of plan-based awards

Our Named Executive Officers did not receive plan-based awards during the year ended December 31, 2011.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end

The following table presents certain plan information of equity awards held by our Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2011:

 

Name

   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options –
Exercisable
   

Number of

Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options –

  Unexercisable  

    

Exercise Price of

Options ($/share)  

     Expiration Date of
            Options             

Lisa C. Im

     178,125                1.00       01/08/2014
     65,625                1.00       01/25/2018
     27,808 (1)       7,692         1.00       01/25/2018
     55,000 ( 2 )       45,000         2.35       09/15/2019

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     187,500                1.00       01/08/2014
     291,667 ( 2 )       58,333         1.00       10/17/2017

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     116,667 ( 2 )       23,333         1.00       10/17/2017
     45,000 ( 2 )       55,000         2.35       09/15/2019

 

  (1)

The option award vests as to 1/24 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month after the vesting commencement date.

  (2)

The option award vests as to 1/5 th of the total number of shares subject to the option 12 months after the vesting commencement date, and the remaining shares vest at a rate of 1/60 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month thereafter.

Employment Agreements

The section below describes the employment agreements that we have entered into with our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors, as well as the form of employment agreement that each of our other executive officers entered into.

Lisa C. Im

We entered into an employment agreement with Lisa C. Im, our Chief Executive Officer, on April 2, 2002, and this agreement has been subsequently amended. As amended, the agreement grants Ms. Im a salary of $33,333 per month, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions. We intend to enter into an amended and restated employment agreement with Ms. Im, which will provide for her to receive severance payments in connection with a termination of her service to us under specified circumstances.

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Ms. Im entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Ms. Im receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreement and, as of March 31, 2012, Ms. Im would receive a payment of $1,174,241 if the payment conditions are met.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

We entered into employment agreements with Dr. Jon D. Shaver, our Chairman of our board of directors on March 31, 2003 and this agreement has subsequently been amended. As amended, this agreement grants Dr. Shaver a salary of $18,750 per month and additional salary payments of $25,000 per quarter, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions. We intend to enter into an amended and restated employment agreement with

 

69


Table of Contents

Dr. Shaver, which will provide for him to receive severance payments in connection with a termination of his service to us under specified circumstances.

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Dr. Shaver entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Dr. Shaver receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreement and, as of March 31, 2012, Dr. Shaver would receive $587,721 if the payment conditions are met.

Employment Agreements

Each of our named executive officers, other than our Chief Executive Officer and our Chairman of the board of directors, has entered into our standard employment agreement. Our standard employment agreement provides for the named executive officer’s initial salary at the time of the agreement and grants the named executive officer the right to participate in our standard benefit plans. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions and does not provide for severance.

Retirement Plans

Except as described below, we currently have no plans that provide for the payment of retirement benefits, or benefits that will be paid primarily following retirement, including but not limited to tax-qualified defined benefit plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, tax-qualified defined contribution plans and nonqualified defined contribution plans.

We do maintain a 401(k) plan that is tax-qualified for our employees, including its executive officers. We do not offer employer matching or other employer contribution to 401(k) plan.

Employee Benefit Plans

2004 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

1,800,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 534,250 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2004 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

2,000,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Stock Option Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 365,625 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Stock Option Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Stock Option Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2007 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2007 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

 

70


Table of Contents

The persons eligible to participate in the plan are employees and other service provider who have been selected to participate in the plan by our board of directors.

Share reserve

As of March 31, 2012, we had reserved a total of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance pursuant to our 2007 Stock Option Plan. As of March 31, 2012, options to purchase 1,962,500 shares of common stock were outstanding, and 37,500 shares were available for future grant under our 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan. As such, no additional awards will be granted and no shares of our common stock will remain available for future issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Administration

Our board of directors currently administers our 2007 Stock Option Plan. Under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the plan administrator has the power to determine the terms of the awards, including the employees or other service providers who will receive awards, the exercise price or purchase price of awards, the number of shares subject to each award, the vesting schedule and exercisability of awards and the form of consideration payable for shares issued under the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Stock options

With respect to all incentive stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of common stock on the date of grant. Incentive stock options granted to any holder of more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of our outstanding stock as of the grant date must have an exercise price equal to 125% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. With respect to all non-statutory options granted under the 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall be determined by the plan administrator. The term of an option may not exceed 10 years.

After the separation of an employee or other service provider for cause, he or she may exercise his or her option, to the extent vested, for a period of fourteen (14) days following such termination. If termination is due to disability, the option will remain exercisable, to the extent vested, for a period of six months following such termination. If termination is due to death, the option will remain exercisable to the extent vested, for a period of six months following the date of death or such longer period of time as specified in the stock options agreement. However, an option may not be exercised later than the expiration of its term.

Transferability

Our 2007 Stock Option Plan does not allow for the transfer of stock options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution. Only the recipient of a stock option may exercise such award during his or her lifetime.

Adjustments

Subject to any required action by the stockholders of the company, in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of common stock of the Company or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, our board of directors may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under any outstanding options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable by our board of directors.

Corporate transaction

Our board of directors has certain discretion regarding outstanding options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in the event of a sale of equity securities possessing the voting power under normal circumstances to

 

71


Table of Contents

elect a majority of our board of directors or all or substantially all of our assets determined on a consolidated basis, in either case, whether by merger, consolidation, sale or transfer of our equity securities, sale or transfer of our consolidated assets or otherwise. Under these circumstances, our board of directors may provide that all options become immediately exercisable at the time of the transaction, that all of the options terminate if not exercised as of the date of the transaction or other prescribed period of time, or that the acquiring company assume the options with the understanding that different determinations may be made with respect to different participations in the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Plan amendments and termination

According to its terms, the 2007 Stock Option Plan shall have a term of 10 years. Our board of directors may amend or terminate the 2007 Stock Option Plan at any time with the consent of the stockholders of the Company as required by law, but no amendment or termination shall be made that would materially or adversely affect the rights of any participant, without the consent of the participant affected.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:

 

   

any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

 

   

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

   

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

   

any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we are required to indemnify our directors and our bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our bylaws also provide that we shall advance expenses incurred by a director in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors. We expect to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers. With certain exceptions, these agreements will provide for indemnification for related expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of our directors in any action or proceeding. We believe that these bylaw provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers. We also maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty of care. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers. At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

 

72


Table of Contents

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In addition to the cash and equity compensation arrangements of our directors and executive officers discussed above under “Management—Director Compensation” and “—Executive Compensation,” the following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2009, to which we have been a party in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000 and in which any of our directors, executive officers, beneficial holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or entities affiliated with them, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Related Party Transaction Policy

In December 2011, we adopted a formal policy that our executive officers, directors, holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, and any member of the immediate family of and any entity affiliated with any of the foregoing persons, are not permitted to enter into a related party transaction with us without the prior consent of our audit committee, or other independent members of our board of directors in the event it is inappropriate for our audit committee to review such transaction due to a conflict of interest effective upon the closing of the offering. Any request for us to enter into a transaction with an executive officer, director, principal stockholder, or any of their immediate family members or affiliates, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 must first be presented to our audit committee for review, consideration and approval. In approving or rejecting any such proposal, our audit committee is required to consider the relevant facts and circumstances available and deemed relevant to the audit committee, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third-party under the same or similar circumstances and the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction. All of the transactions described below were entered into prior to the adoption of such policy.

Arrangements With Our Investors

On January 8, 2004, in connection with the consummation of our acquisition by investment funds controlled by Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other stockholders, or the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement, stockholders agreement and a registration agreement. These agreements contain agreements among the parties with respect to election of directors, preemptive rights, restrictions on transfer of shares, “drag along” obligations, registration rights and covenants regarding the conduct and operation of our business. In addition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners for the provision of certain advisory services to us.

Stockholders Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a stockholders agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock under which Parthenon Capital Partners was granted certain rights with respect to elect members of our board of directors, the stockholders were granted preemptive rights over future issuances of securities by us and became subject to certain transfer restrictions and drag along obligations. All provisions of the stockholders agreement will terminate upon consummation of this offering.

Registration Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a registration agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock. In connection with the consummation of this offering, the registration rights will be amended, effective upon the closing of this offering. The registration agreement, as amended, provides the stockholders party thereto with certain demand registration rights in respect of the shares of our common stock held by them. In addition, in the event that we register additional shares of common stock for sale to the public following the consummation of this offering, we will be required to give notice of such registration to the stockholders who are party to the registration agreement of our intention to effect such a registration, and, subject to certain limitations, such holders will have piggyback registration rights providing them with the right to require us to include shares of common stock held by them in such registration.

 

73


Table of Contents

We will be required to bear the registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes, associated with any registration of shares by the stockholders described above. The registration rights agreement includes lock up obligations that restrict the sale of securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. We are also restricted from issuing any public sale of equity securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. The registration agreement includes customary indemnification provisions in favor of any person who is or might be deemed a controlling person within the meaning of the Securities Act and related parties against liabilities under the Securities Act incurred in connection with the registration of any of our securities. These provisions provide indemnification against certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act and certain liabilities resulting from violations of other applicable laws in connection with any filing or other disclosure made by us under the securities laws relating to any such registrations. We have agreed to reimburse such persons for any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such liability, action or proceeding, except that we will not be required to indemnify any such person or reimburse related legal or other expenses if such loss or expense arises out of or is based on any untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information provided by such person.

Investment Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement with certain of our stockholders who purchased shares of our series A preferred stock. The investment agreement contains certain covenants regarding the delivery of financial statements and other information, inspection rights and restrictions on the conduct and operation of our business. We intend to enter into a termination agreement with certain holders of our series A preferred stock under which all of the provisions of the investment agreement will terminate upon consummation of the this offering.

Advisory Services Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, pursuant to which Parthenon Capital Partners has provided us with certain advisory services. In exchange for these services, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital Partners (i) a quarterly amount equal to the product of 0.25 multiplied by the cumulative amount of funds invested in us by Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates as of start of each quarter, (ii) a one-time closing fee payable upon closing of the Acquisition equal to approximately $1.8 million and (iii) a placement fee in connection with any equity or debt financing by us following the Acquisition equal to 1% of the gross amount of any such financing. We also agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them, their members, or their respective affiliates in connection with the provision of services pursuant to the advisory services agreement. In connection with a separate compensation arrangement with Parthenon Capital Partners, Jeffrey Stein, one of our directors, received a portion of certain of the fees received by Parthenon Capital Partners from us. In each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $684,489, $759,489 and $634,489, respectively. In the first quarter of 2012, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $1,783,622.

Pursuant to a letter agreement dated April 13, 2012, between us and PCP Managers, LLC, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, under which the advisory services agreement was terminated, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital (i) an aggregate amount of $1,300,000, payable in equal quarterly installments of $108,622.22 with the first quarter paid in April 2012; provided that the remaining balance will become due and payable immediately upon the closing of this offering or the sale of our company and (ii) upon the closing of this offering or a sale of our company, an amount equal to 1% of the aggregate gross proceeds of this offering or 1% of the aggregate consideration paid in connection with the sale of our company, as applicable.

 

74


Table of Contents

Expense Reimbursement and Indemnification Agreement

In connection with the termination of the advisory services agreement entered into on April 13, 2012, we also entered into an expense reimbursement and indemnification letter agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners under which we agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for (i) reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the provision of any services Parthenon Capital Partners provides to us, notwithstanding the termination of the advisory services agreement, (ii) any legal, accounting or consulting fees incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in the continuing provision of any services to us and (iii) any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in connection with any acquisitions or financings completed by us or our affiliates. Further, we agreed to indemnify Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates against liabilities and expenses arising out of, or in connection with, Parthenon Capital Partners’ former engagement under the advisory services agreement and the termination thereof or any continuing services provided by Parthenon Capital Partners to us.

Nomination of our Directors

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

Arrangements with our Directors and Officers

Indemnification Agreements

We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and our officers in connection with the consummation of this offering. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. See “Management—Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters.”

Promissory notes

On January 8, 2004 in connection with the Acquisition, we loaned $1 million and $500,000 to each of Lisa Im and Jon Shaver, respectively, the proceeds of which were used for the purchase of shares of our series A preferred stock. The principal amount under these notes accrues interest at the rate of 5% per annum. The outstanding principal and accrued interest under these two promissory notes is due and payable on January 15, 2013. It is anticipated that these notes will be paid prior to the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

75


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL AND SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned on March 31, 2012, immediately following consummation of this offering, by:

 

   

Each person who is known by us to beneficially own 5% or more of our common stock;

 

   

Each of our directors and named executive officers;

 

   

All of our directors and executive officers as a group; and

 

   

Each selling stockholder.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with SEC rules. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws.

Applicable percentage ownership is based on 21,608,843 shares of common stock outstanding at March 31, 2012, assuming the conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into              shares of common stock, but does not reflect the exercise of any options to purchase common stock or convertible preferred stock. For purposes of the table below, we have assumed that              shares of common stock will be outstanding upon completion of this offering. In computing the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we deemed to be outstanding all shares of common stock subject to options or other convertible securities held by that person or entity that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Beneficial ownership representing less than one percent is denoted with an “*.”

Except as otherwise set forth below, the address of each of the persons listed below is 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551.

 

     Shares Beneficially Owned
Prior to this Offering
    Shares
Sold in the
Offering
   Beneficial Ownership of
Shares after the Offering

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner

   Number (1)      Percentage        Number(1)    Percentage

Executive Officers and Directors:

             

Lisa C. Im (2)

     1,367,733         6.2        

Dr. Jon D. Shaver (3)

     889,074         4.0        

Harold T. Leach, Jr. (4)

     271,666         1.2        

Hakan L. Orvell (5)

     161,000         *           

John Y. Paik

             *           

Bruce L. Calvin (6)

     68,750         *           

Todd R. Ford

     3,646         *           

Brian P. Golson (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

William D. Hansen

     2,604         *           

William C. Kessinger (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

Jeffrey S. Stein (8)

     45,000         *           

All Executive Officers and Directors as a group  (9) (11 persons)

     20,482,319         89.6        

5% Stockholders:

             

Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

 

 

    * Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.
  (1) Unless otherwise indicated, includes shares owned by a spouse, minor children and relatives sharing the same home, as well as entities owned or controlled by the named person. Also includes options to purchase shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days. Unless otherwise noted, shares are owned of record and beneficially by the named person.

 

76


Table of Contents
(2) Includes 327,850 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.
(3) Includes 508,333 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.
(4) Includes 181,666 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.
(5) Includes 161,000 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.
(6) Includes 68,750 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.
(7) The reported shares are owned of record by DCS Holdings, LLC (“DCS Holdings”). Parthenon Investors II, L.P., as the manager of DCS Holdings; PCAP Partners II, LLC, as the general partner of Parthenon Investors II, L.P.; PCAP II, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP Partners II, LLC; PCP Managers, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP II, LLC; and each of Messrs. Kessinger and Golson and David Ament, as managing members of PCP Managers, LLC, may be deemed to beneficially own the securities owned of record by DCS Holdings. Messrs. Kessinger and Golson are Managing Directors of Parthenon Capital Partners, an affiliate of PCAP Partners II, LLC. Each of the foregoing persons disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported securities except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The address for the foregoing persons is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.
(8) The address for Mr. Stein is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.
(9) Includes 1,247,599 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. Also includes 17,672,846 shares held by DCS Holdings.

 

77


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

The following is a summary of the rights of our common stock and preferred stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as they will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering. The description is intended as a summary, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the form of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the form of our amended and restated bylaws to be adopted in connection with this offering that have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Immediately following the completion of this offering, our authorized capital stock will consist of              shares, with a par value of $0.01 per share, of which:

 

   

shares will be designated as common stock; and

 

   

shares will be designated as preferred stock.

As of March 31, 2012, there were              shares of common stock outstanding, assuming conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into shares of common stock and series B preferred stock. Immediately prior to the closing of this offering, all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock will be converted into              shares of common stock and              shares of series B preferred stock and the series B preferred stock will immediately be redeemed by the company for an aggregate redemption payment of $            . Our outstanding capital stock was held by              stockholders of record as of March 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2012, we also had outstanding options to acquire              shares of common stock held by employees and directors.

Common Stock

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering, the holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share for the election of directors and on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting of stockholders and entitled to vote shall decide any question submitted to a vote, except as otherwise required law or provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws. Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting and entitled to vote. The amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds, payable either in cash, property or shares of capital stock.

Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the company, subject to the rights, if any of the holders of our preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive all of the remaining assets of the company of whatever kind available for distribution ratable in proportion to the number of shares held.

The holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock, which may be designated solely by action of the board of directors and issued in the future.

Preferred Stock

The board of directors is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by law, without further vote or action by the stockholders, to issue from time to time shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Each such series of preferred stock shall have such number of shares, voting powers,

 

78


Table of Contents

designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions, as shall be determined by the board of directors, which may include, among others, dividend rights, voting rights, liquidation preferences, conversion rights and preemptive rights.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws

Certain provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws to become effective immediately following the completion of this offering contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging such proposals, including proposals that are priced above the then-current market value of our common stock, because, among other reasons, the negotiation of such proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

These provisions include:

Classified Board

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. We believe that the classification of our board of directors will facilitate the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies. However, our classified board could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of stockholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our board of directors.

Number of Directors; Removal of Directors and Filling of Vacancies

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors has the authority to determine the number of directors within a range of between five and 15 directors. It also provides that vacancies in our board of directors, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall be filled solely by a majority vote of the directors then in office. Directors or the entire board may be removed only for cause.

Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws also provides that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders can only be pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the board of directors or, until the date that investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares, at the request of holders of 50% or more of our outstanding shares. Except as described above, stockholders will not be permitted to call a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special meeting.

Advance Notice Procedures

Our amended and restated bylaws will establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or

 

79


Table of Contents

nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although our amended and restated bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.

Super Majority Approval Requirements

The DGCL generally provides that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless either a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws require a greater percentage. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66  2 / 3 % of the total votes eligible to be cast in the election of directors will be required to amend, alter, change or repeal our amended and restated bylaws or specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. This requirement of a supermajority vote to approve amendments to our amended and restated bylaws and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation could enable a minority of our stockholders to exercise veto power over any such amendments.

Authorized but Unissued Shares

Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of a majority of our common stock by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders

We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an antitakeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, we are not subject to any anti-takeover effects of Section 203. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that they provide that Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.

Corporate Opportunities

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy of the Company in the business opportunities that are from time to time presented to Parthenon Capital Partners and its officers, directors, agents, shareholders, members, partners, affiliates and subsidiaries, even if the opportunities are ones that the Company might have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity, and each such person shall not have any obligation to offer to us those opportunities and shall not be liable for breach of any fiduciary or other duty, as a director or otherwise, if any such person pursues or acquires such opportunity, directs the opportunity to another person or fails to present the opportunity to us.

 

80


Table of Contents

Choice of Forum

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will limit the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL and will provide that we will indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by such law. We expect to enter into indemnification agreements with our current directors and executive officers prior to the completion of this offering and expect to enter into a similar agreement with any new directors or executive officers. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will also permit us to purchase insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions as our officer, director, employee or agent, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit indemnification. We believe that the limitation of liability provision, indemnification agreements and provision of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance will facilitate our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and officers of the Company.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is             . The transfer agent’s address is             .

Listing

We intend to apply to list our common stock on the              under the symbol “    .”

 

81


Table of Contents

CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX CONSIDERATIONS TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS

The following discussion summarizes certain material United States federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our Common stock by certain non-United States holders (as defined below). This discussion only applies to non-United States holders who purchase and hold our Common stock as a capital asset for United States federal income tax purposes (generally property held for investment). This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a non-United States holder in light of such holder’s particular circumstances.

For purposes of this discussion, a “non-United States holder” means a person that for United States federal income tax purposes is not a partnership and is not any of the following:

 

   

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate, the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust (1) whose administration is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and that has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (2) that has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.

This discussion is based on provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, and Treasury regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof. These authorities may change, perhaps retroactively, which could result in United States federal income and estate tax consequences different from those summarized below. This discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income and estate taxes and does not describe any non-United States, state, local or other tax considerations that may be relevant to non-United States holders in light of their particular circumstances. In addition, this discussion does not describe the United States federal income and estate tax consequences applicable to a non-United States holder who is subject to special treatment under United States federal income tax laws (including, without limitation, certain former citizens and former long-term residents, a “controlled foreign corporation,” a “passive foreign investment company,” a corporation that accumulates earnings to avoid United States federal income tax, a partnership or other “pass through” entity or an investor in any such entity, a tax-exempt organization, a bank or other financial institution, a broker, dealer or trader in securities, commodities or currencies, a person holding our Common stock as part of a hedging, conversion, straddle, constructive sale or other risk reduction transaction or an insurance company). We cannot assure you that a change in law will not significantly alter the tax considerations that we describe in this discussion.

If a partnership (or any other entity treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holds our Common stock, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner of that partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our Common stock, you should consult your tax advisors.

YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK.

Distributions on Common Stock

In general, if distributions are made with respect to our Common stock, such distributions will be treated as dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits as determined for United States

 

82


Table of Contents

federal income tax purposes and will be subject to withholding as discussed below. Any portion of a distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits will first be applied to reduce the non-United States holder’s basis in the Common stock, but not below zero, and, to the extent such portion exceeds the non-United States holder’s basis, the excess will be treated as gain from the disposition of the Common stock, the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “Dispositions of Common Stock.”

Dividends paid to a non-United States holder of our Common stock generally will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-United States holder within the United States (and, where an income tax treaty applies, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States) are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such dividends are subject to United States federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-United States holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock who wishes to claim the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty for dividends will be required to provide us with a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN (or other applicable form) and certify under penalties of perjury that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits. If our Common stock is held through a foreign partnership or foreign intermediary, the foreign partnership or foreign intermediary will also be required to comply with additional certification requirements under applicable Treasury regulations.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock eligible for a reduced rate of United States withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service.

Dispositions of Common Stock

Any gain realized by a non-United States holder on the disposition of our Common stock generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax unless:

 

   

the gain is effectively connected with the non-United States holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if an income tax treaty applies, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States);

 

   

the non-United States holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the calendar year of that disposition, and certain other conditions are met; or

 

   

we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation, as such term is defined in section 897(c) of the Code, during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or your holding period of our Common stock.

Gain described in the first bullet point immediately above will be subject to tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates. A non-United States holder that is a corporation may also be subject to a branch profits tax equal to 30%, or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty, of its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, as adjusted for certain items. An individual non-United States holder described in the second bullet point immediately above will be required to pay (subject to applicable income tax treaties) a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which may be offset by United States source capital losses, even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States. As long as our Common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, within the meaning of section 897(c)(3) of the Code, the rules described in the third bullet point above

 

83


Table of Contents

will apply to you only if you actually or constructively hold more than five percent of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the applicable period that is specified in the Code (the “regularly traded stock exception”). We believe we are not and do not expect to become a United States real property holding corporation. If, however, it turns out that we are or become a United States Real Property holding corporation, a non-United States holder for whom the regularly traded stock exception is not applicable or who is not otherwise exempt will be required to pay United States federal income tax under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates with respect to the gain recognized.

United States Federal Estate Tax

Our Common stock beneficially owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as defined for United States federal estate tax purposes) at the time of death will generally be includable in the decedent’s gross estate for United States federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

We must report annually to the Internal Revenue Service and to each non-United States holder the amount of dividends paid to such non-United States holder and the tax withheld with respect to such dividends, regardless of whether withholding was required. Copies of the information returns reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the non-United States holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty or tax information exchange agreement.

Payments of dividends in respect of, or proceeds on the disposition within the United States (or conducted through certain U.S. related intermediaries) of, our Common stock made to a non-United States holder will be subject to additional information reporting and backup withholding unless such non-United States holder establishes an exemption, for example by properly certifying that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or another appropriate version of Form W-8 (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such non-United States holder is a United States person as defined under the Code).

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will reduce the non-United States holder’s United States federal income tax liability. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service provided the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

Recent Legislative Developments

Legislation enacted in 2010 will generally impose a 30% withholding tax on dividends on our Common stock and the gross proceeds of a disposition of our Common stock paid after December 31, 2012 to (i) a foreign financial institution unless such institution enters into an agreement with the United States Treasury requiring, among other things, that such institution undertake to identify accounts held by certain United States persons or certain foreign entities wholly or partially owned by United States persons, annually report certain information about such accounts and withhold at a rate of 30% on payments to account holders whose actions prevent it from complying with these reporting and other requirements, and (ii) a non-financial foreign entity unless such entity provides the payor with a certification identifying the direct and indirect United States owners of the entity. Accordingly, the entity through which our Common stock is held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Under proposed regulations that are not yet effective, this new withholding tax will not apply (i) to dividend income on Common stock that is paid on or before December 31, 2013 or (ii) to gross proceeds from the disposition of Common stock paid on or before December 31, 2014. Under certain circumstances, a non-United States holder of our Common stock may be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. Investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our Common stock.

 

84


Table of Contents

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for shares of our common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market after this offering, or the possibility of these sales occurring, could cause the prevailing market price for our common stock to fall or impair our ability to raise equity capital in the future.

Upon the completion of this offering, a total of              shares of common stock will be outstanding, assuming that there are no exercises of options after March 31, 2012. Of these shares,              shares of common stock sold in this offering by us, plus any shares sold upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, will be freely tradable in the public market without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, unless these shares are held by “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

The remaining              shares of common stock will be upon issuance, “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. These restricted securities are eligible for public sale only if they are registered under the Securities Act or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rules 144 or 701 under the Securities Act, which are summarized below.

Subject to the lock-up agreements described below and the provisions of Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act, these restricted securities will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

Date

   Number of Shares

On the date of this prospectus

  

Between 90 and 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

At various times beginning more than 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

In addition, of the              shares of our common stock that were subject to stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, options to purchase              shares of common stock were vested as of March 31, 2012 and will be eligible for sale at various times beginning more than 180 days following the effective date of this offering.

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, a person who is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months will be entitled to sell any shares of our common stock that such person has beneficially owned for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, without regard to volume limitations. Sales of our common stock by any such person would be subject to the availability of current public information about us if the shares to be sold were beneficially owned by such person for less than one year.

In addition, under Rule 144, a person may sell shares of our common stock acquired from us immediately upon the closing of this offering, without regard to volume limitations or the availability of public information about us, if:

 

   

the person is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months; and

 

   

the person has beneficially owned the shares to be sold for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates.

 

85


Table of Contents

Beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, our affiliates who have beneficially owned shares of our common stock for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the number of shares of our common stock then-outstanding, which will equal approximately              shares immediately after this offering; and

 

   

the average weekly trading volume in our common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the date of filing of a Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities Pursuant to Rule 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates or persons selling shares on behalf of our affiliates are also subject to manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

In general, under Rule 701 as currently in effect, any of our employees, consultants or advisors who purchase shares from us in connection with a compensatory stock or option plan or other written agreement in a transaction before the effective date of this offering that was completed in reliance on Rule 701 and complied with the requirements of Rule 701 will, subject to the lock-up restrictions described below, be eligible to resell such shares 90 days after the effective date of this offering in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with certain restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144.

Lock-Up Agreements

In connection with this offering, we and our officers, directors, and holders of substantially all of our common stock have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock, file or cause to be filed a registration statement covering shares of common stock or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for, or represent the right to receive, common stock or any substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing restrictions, during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date 180 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. This agreement does not apply to the issuance by us of shares under any existing employee benefit plans. This agreement is subject to certain exception in certain circumstances. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of the lock-up agreements.

Registration Statements

We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act covering all of the shares of common stock subject to options outstanding or reserved for issuance under our stock plans. We expect to file this registration statement as soon as practicable after this offering. However, none of the shares registered on Form S-8 will be eligible for resale until the expiration of the lock-up agreements to which they are subject.

 

86


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we and the selling stockholders have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of shares indicated below:

 

Name

   Number of
Shares

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

  

William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

  

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

  
  

 

Total

  
  

 

The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased, or, in the case of a default with respect to the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below, the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $         per share under the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

             have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to              additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter’s name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.

 

87


Table of Contents

The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds before expenses to us and the selling stockholders. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock.

 

     Total  
     Per Share        No Exercise          Full Exercise    

Public offering price

       $                                $                                $                        

Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by:

        

Us

       $             $             $     

The selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $             million. The underwriters have agreed to reimburse us for a portion of our out-of-pocket expenses in connection with this offering.

The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of shares of common stock offered by them.

Upon the completion of this offering and based on an assumed initial public offering price of $             per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range shown on the cover of this prospectus, we will pay FT Partners a fee of $             for financial advisory services in respect of this offering. This fee will be paid     % in cash and     % through the issuance of shares of our common stock valued at the initial public offering price per share. We have also agreed to indemnify FT Partners against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities in connection with FT Partners’ financial advisory services. FT Partners has entered into a lock-up agreement with the underwriters with respect to these shares and these shares will also be subject to limitations on resale imposed by Rule 144, each as described under the heading “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” elsewhere in this prospectus. FT Partners’ financial advisory services included assistance in financial and valuation modeling and advice with respect to the initial public offering process and equity capital market alternatives. None of Financial Technology Partners LP, FTP Securities LLC, or any of their affiliates is acting as an underwriter of this offering.

We expect to list our common stock on                      under the trading symbol “    .”

We and all directors and officers and the holders of substantially all of our outstanding stock and stock options, including holders of all of our unregistered securities acquired within the past 180 days, have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, and subject to certain exceptions, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus (or such earlier date or dates as agreed between us and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co.):

 

   

offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of directly or indirectly, any shares of common stock beneficially owned or any other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock;

 

   

file any registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the offering of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock; or

 

   

enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock;

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person agrees that, without the prior written

 

88


Table of Contents

consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph do not apply to:

 

   

the sale of shares to the underwriters; or

 

   

the issuance by the Company of shares of common stock upon the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date of this prospectus of which the underwriters have been advised in writing; or

 

   

the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for the transfer of shares of common stock, provided that such plan does not provide for the transfer of common stock during the restricted period and no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, as amended, regarding the establishment of such plan shall be required or shall be voluntarily made.

The restricted period described in the preceding paragraph will be extended if:

 

   

during the last 17 days of the restricted period we issue an earnings release or material news event relating to us occurs, or

 

   

prior to the expiration of the restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the restricted period,

in which case the restrictions described in the preceding paragraph will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

In order to facilitate the offering of the common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the option to purchase additional shares, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of the common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of the common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time. The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

We, the selling stockholders and the several underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representative may agree to

 

89


Table of Contents

allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representative to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

Pricing of the Offering

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, and the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of securities, and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise). The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Selling Restrictions

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any shares of our common stock may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any shares of our common stock may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

 

  (a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

  (b) to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

  (c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of shares of our common stock shall result in a requirement for the publication by us or any underwriter of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any shares of our common stock in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any shares of our common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any shares of our common stock, as the same may be varied in that Member State

 

90


Table of Contents

by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State, and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.

United Kingdom

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

 

  (a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the shares of our common stock in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to us; and

 

  (b) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the shares of our common stock in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong

The shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

 

91


Table of Contents

Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

 

92


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares of common stock offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, San Francisco, California. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, New York, is representing the underwriters in this offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule of Performant Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, have been included herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, appearing elsewhere herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock offered hereby. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules filed therewith. For further information about us and the common stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed thereto. Statements contained in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or any other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement are not necessarily complete, and each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the full text of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. Upon completion of this offering, we will be required to file periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You may read and copy this information at the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference rooms by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov .

 

93


Table of Contents

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Consolidated Financial Statements of Performant Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries For the Years Ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-3   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-4   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

     F-5   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-6   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-7   

Consolidated Financial Statements For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 (Unaudited)

  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-22   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-23   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

     F-24   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-25   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-26   

 

F-1


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Performant Financial Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011. In connection with our audits of the consolidated financial statements, we also have audited financial statement schedule II. These consolidated financial statements and the financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

 

LOGO

San Francisco, California

March 22, 2012, except for Note 1(k), Note 1(r) and schedule II,

as to which the date is May 21, 2012

 

F-2


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per-share amounts)

 

Assets    2010     2011  

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 11,078       20,004  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $45 and $77, respectively

     14,006       18,948  

Deferred income taxes

     2,170       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,198       3,292  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     1,254       595  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     31,706       48,187  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     13,525       14,915  

Identifiable intangible assets

     52,959       36,516  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

     595         

Other assets

     1,033       659  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,390       181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 12,500       8,134  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     4,596       7,138  

Accounts payable

     63       60  

Other current liabilities

     3,761       8,945  

Deferred revenue

            2,214  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     20,920       26,491  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     96,633       87,051  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       8,198  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     21,109       14,647  

Other liabilities

     2,610       1,158  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     151,231       139,306  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock:

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 2,648 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     51,753       58,248  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total preferred stock

     51,753       58,248  

Due from stockholders

     (2,158     (2,266

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 18,833 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     188       188  

Additional paid-in capital

     19,067       19,187  

Accumulated deficit

     (38,691     (32,814
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     30,159       42,543  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $     181,390           181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-3


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

       2009      2010     2011  

Revenues

     $     109,832            123,519           162,974  

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

       53,728        58,113       67,082  

Other operating expenses

       32,110        33,655       49,199  

Impairment of trade name

       —           —          13,400  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       85,838        91,768       129,681  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       23,994        31,751       33,293  

Interest expense

       (16,017      (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

       104        118       125  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       8,081        16,639       19,888  

Provision for income taxes

       3,071        6,664       7,516  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       5,128         5,771        6,495   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income available to common shareholders

       (118      4,204        5,877   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic income (loss) per common share:

         

Net income per share-basic

     $ (0.01      0.22        0.31   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted income per share:

         

Net income per share-diluted

     $ (0.01      0.21        0.29   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

         

Basic

       18,833         18,833        18,833   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       19,493         19,862        20,223   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

     Series A
Convertible preferred stock
     Due from
stockholders
    Common stock      Additional
paid-in
capital
     Accumulated
deficit
    Total  
     Shares      Amount        Shares      Amount          

Balance, December 31, 2008

     2,648      $ 40,854        (2,169     18,833      $ 188        18,070        (42,777     14,166  

Increase in redemption value of
Series A preferred stock

             5,128                                       (5,128       

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                     (98                                    (98

Stock-based compensation expense

                     106                       474               580  

Net income

                                                    5,010       5,010  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2009

     2,648        45,982        (2,161     18,833        188        18,544        (42,895     19,658  

Increase in redemption value of
Series A preferred stock

             5,771                                       (5,771       

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                     (103                                    (103

Stock-based compensation expense

                     106                       523               629  

Net income

                                                    9,975       9,975  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2010

     2,648        51,753        (2,158     18,833        188        19,067        (38,691     30,159  

Increase in redemption value of
Series A preferred stock

             6,495                                       (6,495       

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                     (108                                    (108

Stock-based compensation expense

                                            120               120  

Net income

                                                    12,372       12,372  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011

       2,648      $   58,248          (2,266       18,833      $   188          19,187          (32,814       42,543  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-5


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

       2009      2010     2011  

Cash flows from operating activities:

         

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

         

Loss on disposal of assets

       52               

Depreciation, amortization, and impairment of intangible assets

       9,624        7,213       21,166  

Deferred income taxes

       (2,924      32       (9,640

Stock option compensation

       580        629       120  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       3,027        1,997       1,254  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (98      (103     (108

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

         

Trade accounts receivable

       (1,431      1,610       (4,942

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       (1,392      (664     (94

Other assets

       (116      (394     372  

Accrued salaries and benefits

       1,349        (69     2,542  

Accounts payable

       (91      (255     (3

Other current liabilities

       1,015        (1,882     5,184  

Deferred revenue

                    2,214  

Other liabilities

       1,028        125       (1,452
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       15,633        18,214       28,985  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

         

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

         

Borrowings under line of credit

       948               

Debt issuance costs paid

       (1,023      (1,172      

Repayment of notes payable

         (10,865      (9,967       (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (10,940        (11,139     (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

       (184      2,154       8,926  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       9,108        8,924       11,078  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 8,924        11,078       20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Noncash financing activities:

         

Note payable payment-in-kind

     $ 3,000               

Supplemental disclosures information:

         

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 9,397        6,209       15,830  

Cash paid for interest

       14,095        13,048       12,246  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

 

(1) Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

  (a) Organization

These consolidated financial statements of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) include the operations of Performant Financial Corporation (PFC), its wholly owned subsidiary DCS Business Services, Inc. (DCSBS), and DCSBS’ wholly owned subsidiaries Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS), and Vista Financial, Inc. (VFI). PFC is a Delaware corporation headquartered in California and was formed in 2003. DCSBS is a Nevada corporation founded in 1997. DCS is a California corporation founded in 1976. VFI is a California corporation that was formed in 2004.

The Company is a leading provider of collections and default management services for various forms of delinquent debt for the U.S. Department of Education, state and national guarantors of student loans, and defaulted debts owed to the federal and state governments. The Company contracts with its clients to provide collection services on a contingency-fee basis. The Company has collection offices in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Company also provides services to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where the Company audits and recovers improper payments made by Medicare for medical claims submitted by healthcare providers. VFI offers risk management services that enable financial institutions to proactively manage private student loan portfolios to mitigate the incidence of nonperforming loan assets.

 

  (b) Principles of Consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PFC, DCSBS, VFI, and DCS. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

  (c) Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements

The preparation of consolidated financial statements, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the carrying value of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements; the allowance for doubtful accounts; and the carrying value of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

  (d) Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include demand deposits and highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. These investments can include money market funds that invest in highly liquid U.S. government and agency obligations, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, and commercial paper.

The Company collects monies on behalf of its clients. Cash is often held on behalf of the clients in various trust accounts and is subsequently remitted to the clients based on contractual agreements. Cash held in these trust accounts for contracting agencies is not included in the Company’s assets (note 11(a)).

 

  (e) Hosted Service Installation and Implementation Deliverables

In 2008, the Company entered into a long-term contract to provide hosted services to a client beginning in March 2009. The Company determined that certain installation and implementation deliverables

 

F-7


Table of Contents

were not separate units of accounting within the contract, and should be combined for revenue recognition purposes with the hosted service deliverable. Accordingly, revenue for these contract elements is being taken ratably from the commencement of hosted services in March 2009 through the contract period of March 2018. Additionally, the Company deferred the direct incremental costs associated with the installation and implementation deliverables, with the costs being expensed ratably from the March 2009 commencement of services through March 2018.

 

  (f) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Furniture and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 7 years. Buildings are depreciated using the straight-line method over 31.5 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated life of the asset or the remaining term of the lease. Computer software and computer hardware are depreciated using the straight-line method over 3 years and 5 years, respectively.

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Improvements that extend the useful lives of assets are capitalized.

When property is sold or retired, the cost and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and any gain or loss from the transaction is included in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

  (g) Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price and related costs over the fair value assigned to the net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is reviewed for impairment at least annually. Impairment is the condition that exists when the carrying amount of goodwill is not recoverable and its carrying amount exceeds its fair value. In accordance with Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment , the Company performed a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that goodwill fair value is less than its carrying amount for 2011, and concluded that there was no need to perform an impairment test. The Company applied impairment tests to its goodwill and determined that no impairment loss had occurred during 2010 and 2009.

Identifiable intangible assets consist of customer contracts and related relationships, trademarks and trade names, and covenants not to compete. Customer contracts and related relationships are amortized over their estimated useful life of 20 years. Covenants not to compete are amortized over their contractual terms of 2 to 5 years. Trademarks and trade names have been determined to have an indefinite life, and are not amortized.

 

  (h) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets or intangibles may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. In 2011, the Company recorded $13,400,000 of impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the Company’s contemplation of the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS) trade name. The Company considers it unlikely that the DCS name will be used in the future. There was no impairment expense for intangible assets in 2010. The Company recorded $2,568,000 of impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to the loss of a customer during 2009.

 

  (i) System Developments

The Company follows the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASC) Subtopic 350-40, Internal-Use Software , which specifies that costs incurred

 

F-8


Table of Contents

during the application stage of development should be capitalized. All other costs are expensed as incurred. During 2009, 2010 and 2011, costs of $2,484,000, 2,112,000 and $2,532,000 respectively, were capitalized for projects in the application stage of development, with depreciation expense of $1,126,000, $1,469,000 and $2,080,000 respectively, for completed projects.

 

  (j) Debt Issuance Costs

Debt issuance costs represent loan, legal, and accounting fees paid in connection with the issuance of long-term debt. Debt issuance cost is amortized to interest expense in accordance with key terms of the notes as amended.

 

  (k) Revenues and Accounts Receivable

Collection revenue is recognized upon the collection of defaulted loan and debt payments. Bonus revenue is recognized upon receipt of official notification of bonus award from customers. Loan rehabilitation revenue is recognized when the rehabilitated loans are sold (funded) by clients.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company had 3 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 3 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2009 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         25,915         23.6

2

     19,670         17.9

3

     12,496         11.4

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company had 4 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 4 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2010 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         27,881         22.6

2

     20,776         16.8

3

     17,287         14.0

4

     15,445         12.5

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had 5 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 5 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2011 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         30,732         18.9

2

     28,504         17.5

3

     21,812         13.4

4

     21,549         13.2

5

     17,934         11.0

The Company derived approximately 24%, 23% and 19% of revenues in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, from a contract with one customer. Revenue from the largest three customers was 53%, 53% and 50% of total revenue in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Accounts receivable due from these three customers were 41%, 41% and 25% of total trade receivables at December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. Amounts collected on trade accounts receivable are included in net cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company determines the allowance for doubtful accounts by specific identification. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.

 

F-9


Table of Contents
  (l) Legal Expenses

The Company recognizes legal fees related to litigation as they are incurred.

 

  (m) Comprehensive Income

The Company has no components of comprehensive income other than its net income. Accordingly, comprehensive income is equivalent to net income.

 

  (n) Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, short-term debt and long-term debt. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values based on quoted market values or due to their short-term maturities. The carrying values of short-term debt, and long-term debt approximate fair value due to their variable interest rates, which approximate market rates.

 

  (o) Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset-and-liability method. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the carrying value of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and for taxation purposes. Deferred incomle tax assets and liabilities are measured using the rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred income tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

Beginning with the adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes , included in FASB ASC Subtopic 740-10, Income Taxes – Overall , as of January 1, 2009, the Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. Prior to the adoption of Interpretation No. 48, the Company recognized the effect of income tax positions only if such positions were probable of being sustained.

The Company believes its tax positions to be highly certain and thus has recorded no tax reserves during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The Company records interest expense and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in selling, general, and administrative expenses. There were no interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions incurred during the year ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

  (p) Preferred Stock

The carrying amounts of preferred stock are periodically increased by amounts representing dividends not currently declared or paid, but which would be payable under certain redemption features. Such increases in carrying amounts are recorded against retained earnings.

 

  (q) Stock Options

The Company accounts for its employee stock-based compensation awards in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation . FASB ASC Topic 718 requires that all employee stock-based compensation is recognized as a cost in the financial statements and that for equity-classified awards, such cost is measured at the grant date fair value of the award. The Company estimates grant date fair value using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model.

 

F-10


Table of Contents

FASB ASC Topic 718 also requires that excess tax benefits recognized in equity related to stock option exercises are reflected as financing cash inflows. While the Company did not have such tax benefits of deductions resulting from the exercise of stock options in 2009, 2010 and 2011, to the extent they occur, future benefits will be so presented.

 

  (r) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

       Year Ended December 31,  
     2009      2010      2011  

Weighted average shares outstanding – basic

     18,833         18,833         18,833   

Dilutive effect of stock options

     660         1,029         1,390   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted

     19,493         19,862         20,223   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, and 2011, 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding were not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation because the effect would have been anti-dilutive.

 

  (s) Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. The Company will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU eliminates the option in U.S. GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of operations by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 . The Company plans to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of operations in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or U.S. GAAP. For U.S. GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with

 

F-11


Table of Contents

IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company expects that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

 

  (t) Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2009 and 2010 balances to conform to the 2011 presentation. Such reclassifications have no effect on net income or retained earnings as previously reported.

 

(2) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010      2011  

Land

     $   1,767             1,767    

Building and leasehold improvements

     4,672          4,797    

Furniture, equipment, and automobile

     3,310          3,612    

Computer hardware and software

     25,630          31,197    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     35,379          41,373    

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

       (21,854)         (26,458)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     $ 13,525           14,915    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements amounted to $3,828,000, $4,168,000 and $4,721,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2010

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (22,487)               39,559     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600           (3,600)           —     

Trademarks and trade names

     13,400           —           13,400     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 79,046           (26,087)           52,959     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (25,530)               36,516     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600               (3,600)           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 65,646           (29,130)           36,516     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Amortization of intangible assets amounted to $3,227,000, $3,043,000 and $3,043,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five following fiscal years is as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 3,043   

2013

     3,043   

2014

     3,043   

2015

     3,043   

2016

     3,043   

After 2016

     21,301   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 36,516   
  

 

 

 

 

F-12


Table of Contents
(4) Notes Payable

Notes payable consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010     2011  

Term A-1 Loan, interest at Prime +3.00% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 4.00%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2010

   $ 3,000          

Term A-2 Loan, interest at Prime +4.50% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 5.50%, which was 7.50% at December 31, 2010 and LIBOR +5.50%, which was 7.75% at December 31, 2011

     44,133        33,185   

Term B Loan, interest at Prime + 10.75% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor effective June 25, 2010) + 11.75%, which was 13.75% at December 31, 2010, and LIBOR + 11.75%, which was 14.00% at December 31, 2011

     62,000        62,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Term A-1 Loan, Term A-2 Loan, and the Term B Loan are subject to Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2010, Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 9, 2009, Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 10, 2008, Waiver and Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2007, Consent, Waiver, and Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated April 28, 2006, and to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2005, secured by all assets and liabilities

     109,133        95,185   

Less current portion

     (12,500     (8,134
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 96,633        87,051   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The maturities of the notes outstanding as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

See revised maturities table at note 12 for debt recapitalization that occurred subsequent to year end.

Principal and interest payments are due and paid periodically in accordance with the note terms. The Term A-2 Note and the Term B Note are held by a number of lenders, some of whom are also minority shareholders of the Company and therefore are related parties.

On June 25, 2010, the Company entered into Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fifth Amendment). As part of the Fifth Amendment, the existing Term A Loan was replaced by new Term A-1 and Term A-2 loans in the amount of $10.5 million and $44.1 million, respectively. The final maturity of Term A-1 is February 2011, and the final maturity of Term A-2 is March 2012. In addition, the Term-B loan amount was reset to $62.0 million, with a final maturity of September 2012. Fees associated with the Fifth Amendment of $1,172,000 were capitalized, and are being amortized to interest expense over the lives of the respective loans along with existing fees at June 25, 2010 of $1,501,000.

On June 9, 2009, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fourth Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived through February 4, 2011.

Fees associated with the Fourth Amendment totaling $1,023,000 were capitalized and were expensed over the amendment period up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which they have been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment. These fees were paid in cash.

On June 10, 2008, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Third Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived. The Third Amendment called for the Company to refinance its debt by June 15, 2009 in which case it would not be required to pay-in-kind (by addition to the principal of the outstanding term loans) to the lenders an

 

F-13


Table of Contents

additional amendment fee of $3,000,000. The Company did not refinance its debt by the June 15, 2009 date, and as a consequence, $1,100,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term A loan, and $1,900,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term B loan. The $3,000,000 fee was being expensed over the period June 15, 2009 – February 4, 2011 up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which it has been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment.

The February 4, 2005, Amended and Restated Credit Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, minimum interest coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit. The Fifth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 25, 2010 through September 30, 2012, while the Fourth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 9, 2009 through February 4, 2011.

The Company has a line of credit subject to the terms of the Fifth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Third Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the February 4, 2005 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. Under the terms of the agreements, borrowings may not exceed $10 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor equal to the greatest of the Prime Rate per The Wall Street Journal , the Federal Funds Rate +0.50%, or 3.00%) + 2.75% or LIBOR (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor of 2.00%) + 3.75%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2011, and at Prime + 2.75% or LIBOR + 3.75%, which was 5.75% at December 31, 2010. The line expires March 30, 2012. Borrowings under this line of credit at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were $8,198,000. In addition, the Company has letters of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000 and $1,410,000 that are secured by the line of credit, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $402,000 and $392,000 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2012

   $ 1,402   

2013

     699   

2014

     687   

2015

     128   

2016

     7   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 2,923   
  

 

 

 

Lease expense was $1,835,000, $1,949,000 and $1,950,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(6) Capital Stock

The total number of shares of capital stock that the Company has authority to issue is 61,000,000, consisting of 18,000,000 shares of Series A Participating Senior Preferred Stock (Series A Preferred Stock), $0.01 par value per share (Series A Preferred Stock); 18,000,000 shares of Series B Redeemable Senior Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share (Series B Preferred Stock); and 25,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share.

 

  (a) Series A Preferred Stock

Issuanc e – On May 23, 2006, the Company sold 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock to shareholders at a price of $11.33 per share, receiving gross proceeds of $30,000,000, and net proceeds of $29,925,000 after issuance costs of $75,000.

 

F-14


Table of Contents

Dividends – The holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends as declared by the board of directors. The dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value plus accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from the date of issuance of the Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has accrued dividends payable of $28,248,000 recorded as an increase to the Series A Preferred Stock.

Voting – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock entitles the holder to cast a number of votes per share equal to the number of votes that the holder would be entitled to cast assuming that such shares of Series A Preferred Stock have been converted into shares of Common Stock.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series B Preferred Stock, holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value of $11.33 per share plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon. In addition to the payments set forth above, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to participate, on a parity and ratably on a per-share basis with the holders of Common Stock, with respect to all such distributions or payments that the holders of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive with respect to the number of shares of Common Stock into which such holders’ shares of Series A Preferred Stock were convertible immediately prior to any relevant record date or payment date in connection with liquidation, dissolution, or winding up, but only to the extent that shares of Common Stock would participate in such distributions or payments (and such payment shall be junior to all equity securities of the Company that rank senior to the Common Stock, including without limitation the Series B Preferred Stock).

Conversion – The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into Conversion Units (as defined below), at a rate of one Conversion Unit for one share of Series A Preferred Stock. A Conversion Unit consists of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing the Liquidation Value of the Series A Preferred Stock by the Conversion Price then in effect (the Common Portion) and (ii) one share of Series B Preferred Stock (the Series B Portion) subject to adjustments. If upon conversion there are any unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends due on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, such dividends continue to be deferred, but are considered unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends (as the case may be) due on the Series B Preferred Stock.

 

   

Optional conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, into a Conversion Unit at any time after the date of issuance of such share.

 

   

Automatic conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock automatically can be converted into Conversion Units on the date specified by written consent or agreement of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock.

 

   

Conversion price – The initial Conversion Price of the shares issued in May 2006 is $11.33 per share. In order to prevent dilution of the conversion rights granted to the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock, the Conversion Price is subject to adjustment from time to time under certain circumstances. If the Company (i) declares a dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of its capital stock (including Common Stock), (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock, (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Stock, then, in each such case, the Conversion Price is to be proportionately adjusted so that, in connection with a conversion of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock after such date, the holder of shares of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock, which, if the conversion had occurred immediately prior to such date, the holder would have owned upon such conversion and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination, or reclassification.

 

F-15


Table of Contents
  (b) Series B Preferred Stock

Issuances – There are no outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock.

Dividends – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends, as declared by the Board of Directors. Dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value thereof plus all accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from and including the date of issuance of such Preferred Stock. Such dividends accrue whether or not they are declared.

Voting – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock do not have any right to vote.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value ($11.33 per share) plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon.

Redemption – The Company, at its option, has the ability to redeem all or any portion of the shares of Series B Preferred Stock then outstanding. The total sum payable by the Corporation per share of Series B Preferred Stock so redeemed equals the Liquidation Value thereof plus an amount equal to all accumulated or accrued and unpaid dividends thereon (the Series B Redemption Price).

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to mandatory redemption in the event of an initial public offering at a price per share equal to the Series B Redemption Price.

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to redemption on or after January 7, 2011 at the request of the holders of a majority of the Series A and Series B Preferred Stock (together as a single class).

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

 

  (a) Stock Options

The Company has established the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (Performant Financial Corporation is the new name of DCS Holdings, Inc.), and the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan (the Plans). Under the terms of the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. “Tranche I” options granted under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period. “Tranche II” options granted under the plan allow for accelerated vesting in as few as five years if certain performance criteria are met, with full vesting occurring in no later than the end of seven years.

Under the terms of the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options, stock bonuses, and rights to acquire restricted stock may be granted for up to 1,800,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan generally vest over a four-year period.

Under the terms of the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period.

The exercise price of incentive stock options shall generally not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. The exercise price of nonqualified stock options shall generally not be less than 85% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. Options issued under the Plans have a maximum term of 10 years and vest over schedules determined by the board of directors. Options issued under the Plans generally provide for immediate vesting of unvested shares in the event of a sale of the Company.

 

F-16


Table of Contents

In 2005, in accordance with the guidance contained in FASB Topic ASC 718, the payment of $35.6 million in dividends to Common Stockholders at the February 4, 2005 recapitalization date was determined to be a deemed modification to the terms of the Company’s outstanding stock option agreements. The value of the Company’s outstanding stock options was therefore remeasured, resulting in a total of $11.5 million of noncash compensation costs as of the recapitalization date. Of this amount, $521,000, $415,000 and $0 have been amortized to compensation expense in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, based on the vesting status of the underlying option shares.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table:

 

     2009     2010     2011  

Valuation assumptions:

      

Expected volatility

     37.5     40.6     39.8

Expected term (years)

     6.3        6.3        6.3   

Risk-free interest rate

     3.1     2.8     1.2

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2008

     2,349,875      $ 1.00         7.4   

Granted

     435,000        2.35      

Forfeited

     (63,125     1.00      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2009

     2,721,750      $ 1.22         6.9   

Granted

     101,000        3.00      

Forfeited

     (67,375     1.12      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2010

     2,755,375        1.28         6.0   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Forfeited

     (12,641     1.47      

Exercised

     (359     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,220,275        1.16         4.6   

Options available for issuance as of December 31, 2011 are 939,628.

Nonvested options outstanding as of December 31, 2011 and changes during 2011 were as follows:

 

     Nonvested
options
outstanding
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Nonvested at December 31, 2010

     1,127,100      $ 1.56         6.8   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Vested

     (602,401     1.33      

Forfeited

     (2,599     2.54      
  

 

 

      

Nonvested at December 31, 2011

     612,100        3.17         7.4   
  

 

 

      

 

F-17


Table of Contents

At December 31, 2010 and 2011, there was $367,000 and $568,000, respectively, of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to nonvested stock awards included as a component of additional paid-in capital.

At December 31, 2010, options with a weighted average exercise price of $1.09 were exercisable on 1,628,275 shares. Cash received from option exercises was $0 during 2010 and $359 during 2011. The intrinsic value associated with the exercise of options was $0 in 2009 and 2010, and $3,400 in 2011.

 

  (b) Restricted Stock

Option Agreements issued under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan allow for the participants to exercise options whether or not vesting has occurred, provided that the participants enter into a restricted stock agreement. The restricted stock agreement is to specify that the stock issued for unvested options will continue vesting, with the unvested shares subject to repurchase at the lower of original cost and fair market value.

In January 2005, two executives exercised a portion of their options, including unvested options, by entering into restricted stock agreements with the Company. The restricted stock agreements allow for the executives to receive dividend payments, subject to forfeiture if the executives leave the Company prior to the vesting of the restricted shares. On February 4, 2005, forfeitable dividends of $972,000 were paid on the executives’ unvested restricted shares. This amount has been recorded as “due from stockholders” in the equity caption of the consolidated balance sheet, and is being amortized into compensation expense as the underlying unvested restricted shares vest. Compensation expense associated with the forfeitable dividends received on unvested restricted shares was $106,000, $106,000 and $0 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(8) Employee Benefit Plans

 

  (a) 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan

The Company has a 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan (the Plan) covering all full-time employees who have met certain service requirements. Employees may contribute a portion of their salary up to the maximum limit established by the Internal Revenue Code for such plans. Employer contributions are discretionary. No matching contributions were made during 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

(9) Income Taxes

The Company’s income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following (in thousands):

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Current:

        

Federal

   $ 4,697          5,500             14,053    

State

     1,298          1,132          3,103    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     5,995          6,632          17,156    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Deferred:

        

Federal

   $  (2,260)         (172)         (7,350)   

State

     (664)         204          (2,290)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (2,924)         32          (9,640)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 3,071              6,664           7,516    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-18


Table of Contents

The reconciliation between the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory rate of 35% to income before taxes and the Company’s tax provision for 2009, 2010 and 2011 is as follows:

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Expected federal income tax provision (benefit)

          35%              35%              35%   

State tax, net of federal benefit

     5             5             3       

Permanent differences

     2             2             1       

Other

     (4)           (2)           (1)     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     38%         40%         38%   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

     2010      2011  

Deferred tax assets:

     

Bad debt reserve

   $       18          30    

Vacation accrual

     341          315    

Remeasurement expense nonqualified stock options

     1,156          1,137    

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     1,806          1,822    

Acquisition costs

     266          229    

Bonus accrual

     —          483    

State tax deferral

     433          1,041    

Stock option compensation

     702          690    

Legal settlement

     —          516    

Deferred revenue

     —          1,284    

State tax credits

     —          386    

Other

     —          409    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,342    

Valuation allowance

     —          (148)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,194    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

     

Identifiable intangible assets

     (21,095)         (14,307)   

Book versus tax depreciation

     (2,104)         (3,029)   

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     (428)         (135)   

State net operating loss carryforward

     (34)         (22)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (23,661)             (17,493)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net deferred tax liabilities

   $   (18,939)         (9,299)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Company believes that it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the deferred tax assets, except for certain state tax credits. Income tax expense is allocated to the subsidiaries included in the consolidated tax return on the basis of the subsidiaries’ stand-alone tax provision.

The Company files federal and state income tax returns. For years before 2007, the Company is no longer subject to federal or state tax examinations.

The Company has state tax credits of $593,228 which can be carried forward indefinitely.

 

(10) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock or option shares of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense

 

F-19


Table of Contents

under these arrangements totaled $12,989,000, $13,233,000 and $12,276,000 for 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. During 2010 and 2011, the debt agreements were amended. See further discussion at note 4.

The Company is a party to an advisory services agreement with an entity associated with its majority stockholder. Expenses incurred under this agreement totaled $684,000, $759,000 and $634,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In 2010, the Company entered into a year-to-year lease for condominium owned by a Company executive commencing March 2010. Payments for the unit totaled $22,500 and $27,000 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(11) Other Commitments and Contingencies

 

  (a) Trust Funds

The Company collects principal and interest payments and collection costs on defaulted loans for various contracting agencies. Cash collections for some of the Company’s customers are held in trust in bank accounts controlled by the Company. The Company remits trust funds to the contracting agencies on a regular basis. The amount of cash held in trust and the related liability are separated from and not included in the Company’s assets and liabilities. Cash held in trust for customers totaled $2,101,000 and $1,797,000 at December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

  (b) Litigation

The Company, during the ordinary course of its operations, has been named in various legal suits and claims, several of which are still pending. In the opinion of management and the Company’s legal counsel, such legal actions will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations or cash flows.

 

(12) Subsequent Events

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility was paid in full. Accordingly, the line of credit drawn and the notes payable presented on the December 31, 2011 balance sheet have been reclassified to long-term liabilities to the extent that payments under the new credit agreement extend beyond 2012. Payments under the credit agreement are as follows:

 

2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through March 22, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

 

F-20


Table of Contents

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, 2011

Allowance for doubtful accounts (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions                   Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Recoveries      Charge-offs     End of Period  

2009

   $ 290                         (69     221   

2010

     221         37            (213     45   

2011

     45         28         14         (10     77   

Reserve for Appeals – RAC Contract (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions      Appeals found in     Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Providers favor     End of Period  

2009

   $                          

2010

             101                101   

2011

     101         1,743         (910     934   

 

F-21


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

Assets    December 31,
2011
    March 31,
2012
 

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 20,004       12,312  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $63 and $77, respectively

     18,948       23,082  

Deferred income taxes

     5,348       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,292       2,486  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     595       1,245  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     48,187       44,473  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     14,915       15,059  

Identifiable intangible assets

     36,516       39,042  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

            2,183  

Other assets

     659       694  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,849       183,023  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 8,134       10,845  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     7,138       5,065  

Accounts payable

     60       709  

Other current liabilities

     8,945       8,435  

Deferred revenue

     2,214       6,108  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     26,491       31,162  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     87,051       125,655  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       4,500  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     14,647       14,647  

Other liabilities

     1,158       2,951  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     139,306       180,676  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Preferred stock:

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 700 and 2,648 shares at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively

     58,248       15,846  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total preferred stock

     58,248       15,846  

Due from stockholders

     (2,266     (2,294

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding,

    

20,909 and 18,833 shares at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively

     188       209  

Additional paid-in capital

     19,187       20,454  

Accumulated deficit

     (32,814     (31,868
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

     42,543       2,347  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $     181,849       183,023  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-22


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

For the Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011     2012  

Revenues

     $     35,080           45,878  

Operating expenses:

      

Salaries and benefits

       16,729       18,641  

Other operating expenses

       10,073       16,141  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       26,802       34,782  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       8,278       11,096  

Debt extinguishment costs

              (3,679

Interest expense

       (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

       32       31  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       4,867       4,258  

Provision for income taxes

       1,949       1,742  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 2,918       2,516  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       1,531       1,571  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income available to common shareholders

     $ 1,387       945  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic income per common share:

      

Net income per share-basic

     $ 0.07        0.05   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted income per share:

      

Net income per share-diluted

     $ 0.07        0.05   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

      

Basic

       18,833       19,105  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       19,887       20,725  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-23


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

For the Three months ended March 31, 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

     Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Due from
stockholders
    Common stock      Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
deficit
    Total  
         Shares             Amount           Shares      Amount         

Balance, December 31, 2011

     2,648     $ 58,248       (2,266     18,833      $ 188        19,187       (32,814     42,543  

Increase in redemption value of
Series A preferred stock

            1,570                                     (1,570       

Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to Series B Preferred Stock which was immediately redeemed for cash

            (43,972                                          (43,972

Conversion of Series B Preferred Stock to common stock

     (1,948                   1,948        20        (20              

Exercise of stock options

                          20               20              20  

Issuance of stock

                          108        1        1,215              1,216  

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                   (28                                   (28

Stock-based compensation expense

                                          52              52  

Net income

                                                 2,516       2,516  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2012

       700     $   15,846         (2,294       20,909      $   209          20,454         (31,868)          2,347  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-24


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011      2012  

Cash flows from operating activities:

       

Net income

     $     2,917        2,516  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:

       

Depreciation and amortization

       1,881        2,214  

Write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs

               335  

Deferred income taxes

       39          

Stock option compensation

       28        52  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       336        282  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (26      (29

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

       

Trade accounts receivable

       (3,631      (4,134

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       1,586        806  

Other assets

       (25      (35

Accrued salaries and benefits

       694        (2,073

Accounts payable

       381        649  

Other current liabilities

       4,948        (1,583

Deferred revenue

               3,894  

Other liabilities

       60        (52
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       9,188        2,842  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

       

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (1,046      (1,203

Purchase of HOPS perpetual software license and computer equipment

               (760
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (1,046      (1,963
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

       

Borrowing under notes payable

               136,500  

Borrowing under line of credit

               4,500  

Redemption of preferred stock

               (43,973

Repayment of notes payable

       (3,500      (95,185

Repayment of line of credit

               (8,198

Debt issuance costs paid

               (2,235

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

               20  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (3,500      (8,571
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

       4,642        (7,692

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       11,078        20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 15,720        12,312  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosures information:

       

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 143        1,740  

Cash paid for interest

       41        2,912  

Cash paid as debt extinguishment

               3,344  

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:

       

Note payable to sellers of perpetual license

               3,250  

Issuance of common stock as part of debt issuance costs

               1,216  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-25


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

December 31, 2011, and March 31, 2012

(Unaudited)

 

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S. GAAP, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim financial statements furnished herein include all adjustments necessary (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) for a fair presentation of our and our subsidiaries’ financial position at March 31, 2012, the results of our operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012. Interim financial statements are prepared on a basis consistent with our annual financial statements. The financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form S-1 for the year ended December 31, 2011, which we refer to as our Annual Report.

We are a leading provider of technology-enabled recovery and analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify, restructure and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of the clients’ recovery processes.

These consolidated financial statements include our accounts and transactions and those of our wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

We are managed and operated as one business, with a single management team that reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, primarily accounts receivable, intangible assets and accrued expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Our actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

(2) Acquisitions

HOPS, Inc.

In February 2012, we purchased a perpetual software license and computer equipment from HOPS, a non-public Florida company, in a transaction valued at $3.7 million. The purchase agreement calls for a total of $4,000,000 in cash payments to be made over an approximate 3 year period, beginning with an initial payment of $750,000 which was made in February, 2012, followed by quarterly payments of $250,000. As part of the transaction valuation, these payments were discounted to a present value using an estimate of the Company’s weighted average cost of capital. The purchase is being treated as a business combination for accounting purposes; the following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired at the acquisition date (in thousands)

 

     February 1, 2012  

Computer equipment

   $ 280   

Identifiable intangible assets

     3,400   
  

 

 

 

Total identifiable assets acquired

   $ 3,680   
  

 

 

 

 

F-26


Table of Contents

The above estimated fair values of assets acquired are provisional. They are based on the information that was available as of the acquisition date and as of March 31, 2012. We believe that this information provides a reasonable basis for estimating the fair values but we are still waiting for additional information necessary to finalize these amounts; as a result, the provisional measurements of fair value reflected above are subject to change. Such changes could be significant. We expect to finalize the valuation and complete the purchase price allocation as soon as practicable, but no later than one year from the date of acquisition.

The following table summarizes the preliminary fair values of the intangible assets acquired from HOPS(in thousands):

 

     February 1, 2012  

Perpetual license

   $ 3,250   

Customer relationships

     150   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 3,400   
  

 

 

 

The following represents our pro forma Consolidated Statements of Income as if HOPS had been included in our consolidated results for the three months ending March 31, 2011 (in thousands, except per share data):

 

(unaudited)

   For the three months
ending March 31,
2011
 

Total revenue

   $ 36,127   
  

 

 

 

Net income

   $ 1,632   
  

 

 

 

Earnings per share

  

Basic

   $ 0.01   

Diluted

   $ 0.01   

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,046         (25,530     36,516   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 65,646         (29,130     36,516   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,196         (26,296     35,900   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       

Perpetual license

     3,250         (108     3,142   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 69,046         (30,004     39,042   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, amortization expense related to intangible assets amounted to $761,000 and $875,000, respectively.

 

F-27


Table of Contents

The estimated aggregate amortization expense is expected to be (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 2,798   

2013

     3,731   

2014

     3,731   

2015

     3,731   

2016

     3,696   

After 2016

     21,355   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 39,042   
  

 

 

 

 

(4) Credit Agreement

On March 19, 2012 the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement (the Agreement) consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility was paid in full. Payments under the Agreement are as follows:

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Term A Loan is charged interest either at Prime (subject to a 2.50% floor) +4.25% or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. The Term A loan requires quarterly payments of $2.5 million beginning in June, 2012, with the remaining outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2017.

The Term B loan is charged interest at Prime +4.75% (subject to a 2.50% floor) or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.75% which was 8.00% at March 31, 2012. The Term B loan requires quarterly payments of $0.2 million beginning in June, 2012, with the outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2018.

The Company has a line of credit under the Agreement which allows for borrowings of up to $11 million. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime + 4.25% or LIBOR + 5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. Both the Prime and the LIBOR alternatives are subject to minimum rate floors. Borrowings under this line of credit at March 31, 2012 were $4,500,000, and the Company has a letter of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $5,100,000 at March 31, 2012. The line of credit expires in March 19, 2017.

The Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit.

Debt issuance costs of $3,450,000 were capitalized, including $1,475,000 of agent fees paid to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and $760,000 paid to third parties for legal and other

 

F-28


Table of Contents

services and a grant of 107,500 shares of common stock issued as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor valued at approximately $1,215,000. These costs are being amortized to expense over the life of the new loans. Accumulated amortization of debt issuance costs amounted to $22,000 at March 31, 2012.

Debt extinguishment costs of $3,679,000 were expensed, including $3,344,000 of fees paid to lenders, and $335,000 of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the old credit facility.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. In January 2012, the Company renewed two of its facilities leases and entered into a new lease agreement for approximately 6,000 square feet in Livermore, California.

Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of March 31, 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $  1,086   

2013

     1,219   

2014

     1,230   

2015

     694   

2016

     595   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 4,824   
  

 

 

 

Lease expense was $485,000 and $600,000, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

(6) Capital Stock

 

  (a) Redemption of Series A Preferred Stock

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized. As part of the recapitalization, 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock were converted into conversion units, which consisted of one share of Series B Preferred Stock and one share of Common stock. The Series B Preferred shares plus accrued dividends were redeemed for cash of $44,000,000, and 1,948,000 shares of Common Stock were issued to the holders of the redeemed Preferred Series A shares.

 

  (b) Issuance of Common Shares as Compensation

As part of the March 19th recapitalization, the Company granted 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1,215,000 as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor.

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

Total stock-based compensation expense charged as salaries and benefits expense in the consolidated statements of operations was $52,000 and $28,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table (no options were granted in the three months ended March 31, 2011):

 

     Three months ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  

Valuation assumptions:

    

Expected volatility

         39.8

Expected term (years)

            6.5   

Risk-free interest rate

         1.6

 

F-29


Table of Contents

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury Notes.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   

Granted

     50,000        11.30      

Forfeited

     0             

Exercised

     (20,000     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at March 31, 2012

     2,862,375        1.77         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,294,525        1.15         4.7   

 

(8) Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate increased from 40.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 40.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

We file income tax returns with the U.S. federal government and various state jurisdictions. We are no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for years before 2008. We operate in a number of state and local jurisdictions, most of which have never audited our records. Accordingly, we are subject to state and local income tax examinations based upon the various statutes of limitations in each jurisdiction. We are currently being examined by the IRS and the States of New York and California.

 

(9) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

     Quarter Ended March 31,  
         2011              2012      

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     18,833         19,105   

basic

     

Dilutive effect of stock options

     1,054         1,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     

diluted

     19,887         20,725   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2012, the shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding were not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation because the effect would have been anti-dilutive. From January 1, 2012 to March 18, 2012, there were 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding, and from March 19, 2012 to March 31, 2012, there were 699,555 shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding were not included in the diluted earnings per share calculation because the effect would have been anti-dilutive.

 

F-30


Table of Contents
(10) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable, both before and after the recapitalization of March 19, 2012, are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense under these arrangements totaled $3,443,000 and $3,190,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively. Debt extinguishment expense associated with the recapitalization totaled $0 and $3,679,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

(11) Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through May 21, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

 

F-31


Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

Part II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth the various expenses expected to be incurred by the Registrant in connection with the sale and distribution of the securities being registered hereby, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. All amounts are estimated except the SEC registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee.

 

SEC registration fee

   $             *   

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee

     *   

Blue Sky fees and expenses

     *   

Accounting fees and expenses

     *   

Legal fees and expenses

     *   

Printing and engraving expenses

     *   

Registrar and Transfer Agent’s fees

     *   

Miscellaneous fees and expenses

     *   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *   
  

 

 

 

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 102 of the DGCL allows a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of the DGCL or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that we may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding—other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant—by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, agent or employee of the Registrant, or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, agent or employee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding. The power to indemnify applies (a) if such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding, or (b) if such person acting in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in the best interest, or not opposed to the best interest, of the Registrant, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the Registrant as well but only to the extent of defense expenses, including attorneys’ fees but excluding amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred and not to any satisfaction of judgment or settlement of the claim itself, and with the further limitation that in such actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of liability to the Registrant, unless the court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the

 

II-1


Table of Contents

time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

The Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws, attached as Exhibit 3.2(b) hereto, provide that the Registrant shall indemnify its directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL or any other applicable law. In addition, the Registrant has entered into separate indemnification agreements, attached as Exhibit 10.1 hereto, with its directors and officers which would require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities which may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by law. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant’s officers and directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the Securities Act. The Registrant also intends to maintain director and officer liability insurance, if available on reasonable terms.

The form of Underwriting Agreement, to be attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto, provides for indemnification by the Underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act, and affords certain rights of contribution with respect thereto.

 

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Since May 1, 2009, the Registrant has sold the following unregistered securities:

(1) In August 2009, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 400,000 common shares to officers and employees at a price of $2.35 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $940,000.

(2) In February 2010, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 5,000 common shares to employees at a price of $3.00 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000.

(3) In October 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 25,000 common shares to directors at a price of $10.50 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $262,500.

(4) In November and December 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 65,000 common shares to employees and directors at a price of $11.20 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $728,000.

(5) In February 2012, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 50,000 common shares to employees at a price of $11.30 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $565,000.

(6) In April 2012, the Registrant issued an aggregate of 107,522 shares of common stock with a deemed value of $1,215,000 to Financial Technology Partners, LP and FTP Partners LLC as consideration for financial services rendered.

No underwriters were involved in the foregoing sales of securities. The issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act or on Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. The recipients of securities in each such transaction represented their intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the stock certificates and option agreements issued in such transactions.

 

II-2


Table of Contents
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

(a) Exhibits

The following exhibits are included herein or incorporated herein by reference:

 

Exhibit
Number

    

Description

  1.1*       Form of Underwriting Agreement
  3.1(a)*       Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto
  3.1(b)*       Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering
  3.2(a)*       Bylaws of Registrant, as amended
  3.2(b)*       Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering
  4.1*       Form of Common Stock Certificate
  5.1*       Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
        10.1*       Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors
      10.2*       2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder
      10.3*       2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder
      10.4*       2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder
      10.5*       Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.
      21.1*       List of Subsidiaries
      23.1*       Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
      23.2*       Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
    24.1*       Power of Attorney (see page II - to this Registration Statement on Form S-1)

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

(b) Financial Statement Schedules.

Financial statement schedule II is included on page F-21. All other schedules are omitted because they are not required, or not applicable or the information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

 

Item 17. Undertakings

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

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 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

 

II-3


Table of Contents

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.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

 

II-4


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Livermore, State of California, on the      day of     , 2012.

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION
By  

 

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Lisa Im and Hakan Orvell and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys in fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this Registration Statement, and any registration statement relating to the offering covered by this Registration Statement and filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, 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, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys in fact and agents or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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.

 

Name

  

Title

 

Date

 

Lisa C. Im

   Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)                , 2012

 

Hakan L. Orvell

  

Chief Financial Officer 

               , 2012

 

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

   Chairman of the Board and Director                , 2012

 

Todd R. Ford

   Director                , 2012

 

Brian P. Golson

   Director                , 2012

 

William D. Hansen

   Director                , 2012

 

William C. Kessinger

   Director                , 2012

 

Jeffrey S. Stein

   Director                , 2012

 

II-5


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

  1.1*   Form of Underwriting Agreement
  3.1(a)*   Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto
  3.1(b)*   Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering
  3.2(a)*   Bylaws of Registrant, as amended
  3.2(b)*   Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering
  4.1*   Form of Common Stock Certificate
  5.1*   Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
10.1*   Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors
10.2*   2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder
10.3*   2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder
10.4*   2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder
10.5*  

Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.

21.1*   List of Subsidiaries
23.1*   Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
23.2*   Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1*   Power of Attorney (see page II - 5 to this Registration Statement on Form S-1)

 

  * To be filed by amendment.
Table of Contents

Exhibit 99.2

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on                     , 2012

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Amendment No. 1

to

Form S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   7389   20-0484934

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

Performant Financial Corporation

333 North Canyons Parkway

Livermore, California 94551

(925) 960-4800

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Blair W. White, Esq.   Joshua N. Korff, Esq.
David E. Lillevand, Esq.   Michael Kim, Esq.
Matthew Hallinan, Esq.   Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP   601 Lexington Avenue
50 Fremont Street   New York, New York 10022
San Francisco, California 94105   (212) 446-4800
(415) 983-1000  

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨   Accelerated filer   ¨      Non-accelerated filer   x   Smaller reporting company   ¨
       (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of each class of

securities to be registered

 

Proposed maximum

aggregate offering
price (1)

  Amount of
registration fee

Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share

  $                              $                          

 

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and includes shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments, if any.

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We and the selling stockholders may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we and the selling stockholders are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PROSPECTUS (Subject to Completion)

Issued                     , 2012

             Shares

 

LOGO

COMMON STOCK

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is offering              shares of its common stock and the selling stockholders are offering              shares of common stock. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. This is our initial public offering and no public market currently exists for our shares. We anticipate that the initial public offering price of our common stock will be between $         and $         per share.

 

 

We expect to apply to list our common stock on the              under the symbol “     .”

 

 

Performant Financial Corporation is an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements in future reports after the completion of this offering.

 

 

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 9.

 

 

PRICE $         A SHARE

 

 

 

     Price to Public      Underwriting
Discounts and
Commissions
     Proceeds to
Performant
     Proceeds to Selling
Stockholders
 

Per Share

     $                             $                             $                             $                       

Total

   $                $                $                $            

             have granted the underwriters the right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock to cover over-allotments.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and state securities regulators have not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares of common stock to purchasers on                     , 2012.

 

 

 

MORGAN STANLEY    GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.
CREDIT SUISSE    WELLS FARGO SECURITIES

 

 

 

WILLIAM BLAIR

  

SUNTRUST ROBINSON HUMPHREY

                    , 2012


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

    Page  

Prospectus Summary

    1   

Risk Factors

    9   

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    23   

Use of Proceeds

    24   

Dividend Policy

    24   

Capitalization

    25   

Dilution

    27   

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

    29   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

    31   

Business

    47   
    Page  

Management

    64   

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

    75   

Principal and Selling Stockholders

    78   

Description of Capital Stock

    80   

Certain Material U.S. Federal Income and Estate Tax Considerations to Non-U.S. Holders

    84   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

    87   

Underwriting

    89   

Legal Matters

    95   

Experts

    95   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

    95   

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

    F-1   
 

 

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any free writing prospectus we may specifically authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We have not, and the selling stockholders and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with additional or different information. The information contained in this prospectus or any free writing prospectus is accurate only as of its date, regardless of its time of delivery or of any sale of shares of our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.

Until                     , 2012 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in our common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.


Table of Contents

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and the information set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in each case included elsewhere in this prospectus. Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, in this prospectus, “Performant,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Performant Financial Corporation and, where appropriate, its subsidiaries.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the U.S. Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. We believe our technology platform allows us to achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models, as we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. In addition, we believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business. For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income, and our total debt was $141.0 million at March 31, 2012. See “Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income” below for a definition of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

 

 

1


Table of Contents

Industry Overview

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Healthcare

According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. CMS indicates that government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion of payments under Medicare, of which $48 billion, or 9%, was estimated to be improper according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues.

Other Markets

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, a significant portion of which were made by private firms on behalf of the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. We believe our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes.

 

 

2


Table of Contents
   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities.

 

   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team.   Our management team has significant industry experience and has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   We have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, and we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   As healthcare spending grows, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. We intend to expand our recovery services for existing clients, such as CMS, and offer analytics services to potential clients in the private healthcare market.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business.

Risks Associated With Our Business

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following the prospectus summary. Some of these risks include, among others, that:

 

   

Revenues generated from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would result in a decline in our revenues;

 

   

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our revenues and operating results;

 

 

3


Table of Contents
   

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, which would impact our ability to maintain our revenues and operating results;

 

   

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the U.S. federal government would result in a significant decrease in our revenues and operating results;

 

   

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business and operations;

 

   

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance as a result of Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2010, or SAFRA. Our failure to maintain this relationship would significantly decrease our revenues;

 

   

We could lose clients as a result of consolidation among the Guaranty Agencies, or GAs, which would decrease our revenues;

 

   

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS, and our results of operations may be harmed if CMS limits the scope of claims we are allowed to pursue;

 

   

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt the operation of our business;

 

   

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities;

 

   

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding our recovery practices and the use and disclosure of confidential personal and healthcare information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses; and

 

   

Our recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws and our failure to comply with those regulations and laws may subject us to liability and result in significant costs.

Corporate Information

We commenced our operations in 1976 under the corporate name Diversified Collection Services, Inc., or DCS. We were incorporated in Delaware on October 8, 2003 under the name DCS Holdings, Inc. and subsequently changed our name to Performant Financial Corporation in 2005. Our principal executive offices are located at 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551 and our telephone number is (925) 960-4800. Our website address is www.performantcorp.com . The information on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus.

Our Principal Stockholder

Our principal stockholder, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, acquired its interest in us in 2004 and currently owns approximately 82% of our outstanding common stock assuming the conversion of our outstanding preferred stock. Parthenon Capital Partners is a private equity investment firm with approximately $2 billion of capital under management. Parthenon Capital Partners was founded in March of 1998 and focuses on investing in select middle-market companies. The firm invests in a variety of industry sectors with particular expertise in business and financial services, healthcare, distribution/logistics, and technology-enabled services.

 

 

4


Table of Contents

THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us

             shares

 

Common stock offered by the selling stockholders

             shares

 

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

             shares

 

Option to purchase additional shares offered by

             shares

 

Use of proceeds

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us to redeem our outstanding preferred stock and to pay fees under an agreement with an affiliate of our majority stockholder. We intend to use the remainder of our net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other potential investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Proposed                 symbol

“        ”

The number of shares of common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on the number of shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012, and excludes:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

Unless expressly indicated or the context otherwise requires, all information in this prospectus assumes:

 

   

the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock as of March 31, 2012 into an aggregate of 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering;

 

   

the redemption of all shares of series B preferred stock to be issued upon conversion of the series A preferred stock and subject to redemption upon the closing of this offering;

 

   

no exercise by the underwriters of their right to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock from                      to cover over-allotments; and

 

   

the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the effectiveness of our amended and restated bylaws in connection with this offering.

 

 

5


Table of Contents

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following summary consolidated financial data should be read together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011            2011                   2012         
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
    (in thousands, except share and per share amounts)  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:      

Revenues

       $   109,832           $   123,519           $   162,974           $   35,080           $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

    53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

    32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                  13,400                 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                (3,679

Interest expense

    (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

    104        118        125        32        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
Income before provision for income taxes     8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

    5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

    (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders (2)

         

Basic

       $ (0.01        $ 0.20           $ 0.27           $ 0.06           $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       $ (0.01        $ 0.19           $ 0.26           $ 0.06           $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

         

Basic

    21,481        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,493   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

    21,481        22,510        22,871        22,535        23,113   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

           $               $     
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

           $               $     
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

         
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheet and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)  

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(3)

Please see note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

 

 

6


Table of Contents
       As of March 31, 2012  
       Actual       Pro
  Forma (2)   
   Pro
Forma As
Adjusted (3)
     (Restated) (1)           
    

(in thousands)

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

       

Cash and cash equivalents

    $ 12,312        

Total assets

     183,023        

Total debt

     141,000        

Total liabilities

     180,676        

Redeemable preferred stock

     15,846        

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (13,499     

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheet and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)  

On a pro forma basis, giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock prior to completion of this offering as if such conversion had occurred on March 31, 2012.

(3)  

On a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income

To provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have disclosed in the table below and within this prospectus adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, both of which are non-GAAP financial measures. We have provided a reconciliation below of adjusted EBITDA to net income and adjusted net income to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to these non-GAAP financial measures.

We have included adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income in this prospectus because they are key measures used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends and to prepare and approve our annual budget. Accordingly, we believe that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income provide useful information to investors and analysts in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors.

Our use of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

 

   

although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest expense on our indebtedness;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;

   

adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;

   

adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income do not reflect the impact of certain non-operating expenses resulting from matters we do not consider to be indicative of our core operating performance; and

   

other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income differently than we do, which reduces its usefulness as a comparative measure.

Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income alongside other financial performance measures, including net income and our other GAAP results.

 

 

7


Table of Contents

The following tables present a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for each of the periods indicated:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
    2009     2010             2011                 2011             2012      
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Provision for income taxes

    3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   

Interest expense

    16,017        15,230        13,530        3,443        3,190   

Interest income

    (104     (118     (125     (32     (31

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

    —          —          —          —          3,679   

Depreciation and amortization

    9,624        7,213        7,766        1,881        2,214   

Impairment of trade name (2)

    —          —          13,400        —          —     

Non-core operating expenses (3)

    —          1,108        2,548        226        29   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

       $     34,882           $     41,460           $     57,761           $     10,522           $     13,700   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
    2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
    (in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income:

         

Net income

       $ 5,010           $ 9,975           $ 12,372           $ 2,918           $ 2,516   

Debt extinguishment costs (1)

                                3,679   

Impairment of trade name (2)

                  13,400                 

Non–core operating expenses (3)

           1,108        2,548        225        29   

Advisory fee (4)

    684        759        634        109        309   

Stock based compensation

    580        629        120        28        52   

Amortization of intangibles (5)

    5,795        3,043        3,043        761        875   

Deferred financing amortization costs (6)

    3,027        1,997        1,254        335        282   

Tax adjustments (7)

    (4,034     (3,014     (8,400     (583     (2,090
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net income

       $       11,062           $     14,497           $     24,971           $       3,793           $       5,652   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(2)

Represents impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the plan to retire the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name.

(3)

Represents professional fees and settlement costs related to strategic corporate development activities and a $1.2 million legal settlement in 2011.

(4)

Represents expenses incurred under an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, which was terminated in April 2012. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Arrangements with Our Investors—Advisory Services Agreement.”

(5)

Represents amortization of capitalized expenses related to the acquisition of Performant by an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners in 2004, the impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to our decision to terminate a client contract in 2009 and an acquisition in the first quarter of 2012 to enhance our analytics capabilities.

(6)

Represents amortization of capitalized financing costs related to debt offerings conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

(7)

Represents tax adjustments assuming a marginal tax rate of 40%.

 

 

8


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves substantial risks. In addition to the other information in this prospectus, you should carefully consider the following factors before investing in our common stock. Any of the risk factors we describe below could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The market price of our common stock could decline if one or more of these risks and uncertainties actually occurs, causing you to lose all or part of your investment in our shares. Certain statements in “Risk Factors” are forward-looking statements. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Risks Related to Our Business

Revenues generated from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011, and any termination of or deterioration in our relationship with any of these clients would result in a decline in our revenues.

We derive a substantial majority of our revenues from a limited number of clients, including the Department of Education, CMS and three GAs. Revenues from our five largest clients represented 74% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. We expect that our revenues will become increasingly concentrated with our major clients as a result of rising business volumes under our RAC contract, which accounted for approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to approximately 10% of our revenues in 2011. If we lose one of these clients or if the terms of our relationships with any of these clients becomes less favorable to us, our revenues would decline, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Many of our contracts with our clients for the recovery of student loans and other receivables are not exclusive and do not commit our clients to provide specified volumes of business and, as a consequence, there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain our revenues and operating results.

Substantially all of our existing contracts for the recovery of student loan and other receivables, which represented approximately 70% of our revenues in 2011, enable our clients to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty, potentially leading to loss of business or renegotiation of terms. Our contracts generally are subject to a periodic rebidding process at the end of the contract term. Further, most of our contracts in this market allow our clients to unilaterally change the volume of loans and other receivables that are placed with us at any given time. In addition, most of our contracts are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers with whom we must compete for placements of loans or other obligations. Therefore, despite our contractual relationships with our clients, our contracts do not provide assurance that we will generate a minimum amount of revenues or that we will receive a specific volume of placements.

Our revenues and operating results would be negatively affected if our student loans and receivables clients, which include four of our five largest clients in 2011, do not renew their agreements with us upon contract expiration, reduce the volume of student loan placements provided to us, modify the terms of service, including the success fees we are able to earn upon recovery of defaulted student loans, or any of these clients establish more favorable relationships with our competitors.

We face significant competition in all of the markets in which we operate and an inability to compete effectively in the future could harm our relationships with our clients, which would impact our ability to maintain our revenues and operating results.

We operate in very competitive markets. In providing our services to the student loan and other receivables markets, we face competition from many other companies. Initially, we compete with these companies to be one of typically several firms engaged to provide recovery services to a particular client and, if

 

9


Table of Contents

we are successful in being engaged, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery rates of its several vendors. Those recovery vendors who produce the highest recovery rates from a client often will be allocated additional placements and in some cases additional success fees. Accordingly, maintaining high levels of recovery performance, and doing so in a cost-effective manner, are important factors in our ability to maintain and grow our revenues and net income and the failure to achieve these objectives could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Similarly, we faced a highly competitive bidding process to become one of the four prime RAC contractors that provide recovery services for improper Medicare payments. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect again to face a very competitive process to retain or increase our position in this market. The failure to retain this contract or a significant adverse change in the terms of this contract, which generated approximately 26% of our revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012, would seriously harm our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and operating results.

Some of our current and potential competitors in the markets in which we operate may have greater financial, marketing, technological or other resources than we do. The ability of any of our competitors and potential competitors to adopt new and effective technology to better serve our markets may allow them to gain market strength. Increasing levels of competition in the future may result in lower recovery fees, lower volumes of contracted recovery services or higher costs for resources. Any inability to compete effectively in the markets that we serve could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. federal government accounts for a significant portion of our revenues, and any loss of business from, or change in our relationship with, the U.S. federal government would result in a significant decrease in our revenues and operating results.

We have historically derived and are likely to continue to derive a significant portion of our revenues from the U.S. federal government. For the year ended December 31, 2011, revenues under contracts with the U.S. federal government accounted for approximately 27% of our total revenues. Furthermore, federal government revenues increased to approximately 33% in the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily as a result of increasing revenues from our RAC contract with CMS. In addition, fees payable by the U.S. federal government are expected to become a larger percentage of our total revenues in the near term as a result of the recent legislation that has transferred responsibility for all new student loan origination to the Department of Education. The continuation and exercise of renewal options on existing government contracts and any new government contracts are, among other things, contingent upon the availability of adequate funding for the applicable federal government agency. Changes in federal government spending could directly affect our financial performance. For example, the Obama Administration’s proposed budget for the year ending September 30, 2013, included a proposal designed to redirect federal government spending to an alternative federal program by decreasing the amount that GAs are compensated when they rehabilitate defaulted loans. While the Obama Administration’s budget proposal was not approved by Congress, in June 2012, a bill containing similar provisions reducing the compensation of GAs for rehabilitation of defaulted student loans was introduced in the U.S. Senate. If enacted, this bill could harm the financial condition of the GAs and, in turn, their ability to pay for our services. The loss of business from the U.S. federal government, or significant policy changes or financial pressures within the agencies of the U.S. federal government that we serve would result in a significant decrease in our revenues, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Future legislative changes affecting the markets in which we operate could impair our business and operations.

The two principal markets in which we provide our recovery services, government-supported student loans and the Medicare program, are a subject of significant legislative and regulatory focus and we cannot anticipate how future changes in government policy may affect our business and operations. For example,

 

10


Table of Contents

SAFRA significantly changed the structure of the government-supported student loan market by assigning responsibility for all new government-supported student loan originations to the Department of Education, rather than originations by private institutions and backed by one of 32 government-supported GAs. This legislation, and any future changes in the legislation and regulations that govern these markets, may require us to adapt our business to the new circumstances and we may be unable to do so in a manner that does not adversely affect our business and operations.

Our business relationship with the Department of Education has accounted for a significant portion of our revenues and will take on increasing importance to our business as a result of SAFRA. Our failure to maintain this relationship would significantly decrease our revenues.

The majority of our historical revenues from the student loan market have come from our relationships with the GAs. As a result of SAFRA, the Department of Education will ultimately become the sole source of revenues in this market, although the GAs will continue to service their existing student loan portfolios for many years to come. As a result, over time, defaults on student loans originated by the Department of Education will predominate and our ability to maintain the revenues we had previously received from a number of GA clients will depend on our relationship with a single client, the Department of Education. While we have 22 years of experience in performing student loan recovery services for the Department of Education, we are one of 17 unrestricted recovery service providers on the current Department of Education contract. In 2011, student loan recovery work for the Department of Education generated revenues of $17.9 million, or approximately 11% of our total revenues. If our relationship with the Department of Education terminates or deteriorates or if the Department of Education, ultimately as the sole holder of defaulted student loans, requires its contractors to agree to less favorable terms, our revenues would significantly decrease, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be harmed.

We could lose clients as a result of consolidation among the GAs, which would decrease our revenues.

As a result of SAFRA, which terminated the ability of the GAs to originate government-supported student loans, some have speculated that there may be consolidation among the 32 GAs. If GAs that are our clients are combined with GAs with whom we do not have a relationship, we could suffer a loss of business. We currently have relationships with 12 of the 32 GAs and three of our GA clients were each responsible for more than 10% of our total revenues in 2011. The consolidation of our GA clients with others and the failure to provide recovery services to the consolidated entity could decrease our revenues, which could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to derive revenues under our RAC contract will depend in part on the number and types of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue by CMS, and our results of operations may be harmed if CMS limits the scope of claims that we are allowed to pursue.

While we are the prime contractor responsible for review of Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region pursuant to the terms of our RAC contract with CMS, we are not permitted to seek the recovery of an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies, as well as national and local coverage determinations. While the revenues we earn under our contract with CMS are determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to successfully identify improper payments within these claims, the long-term growth of the revenues we derive under our RAC contract will also depend in part on CMS expanding the scope of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue under our RAC contract. If we are unable to continue to identify improper claims within the types of claims that we are permitted to pursue from time to time or if CMS does not expand the scope of potentially improper claims that we are allowed to pursue, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

11


Table of Contents

Our results of operations may fluctuate on a quarterly or annual basis and cause volatility in the price of our stock.

Our revenues and operating results could vary significantly from period-to-period and may fail to match our past performance because of a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Any of these factors could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate. Factors that could contribute to the variability of our operating results include:

 

   

the amount of defaulted student loans and other receivables that our clients place with us for recovery;

 

   

the timing of placements of student loans and other receivables which are entirely in the discretion of our clients;

 

   

our ability to successfully identify improper Medicare claims and the number and type of potentially improper claims that CMS authorizes us to pursue under our RAC contract;

 

   

the loss or gain of significant clients or changes in the contingency fee rates or other significant terms of our business arrangements with our significant clients;

 

   

technological and operational issues that may affect our clients and regulatory changes in the markets we service; and

 

   

general industry and macroeconomic conditions.

For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all of its recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the first quarter of 2012 was 58% lower than in the first quarter of 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans since September 2011 and accordingly, we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. We expect to recognize revenues on these rehabilitated loans in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Because our revenues are dependent on many factors, some of which are outside of our control, we may experience significant fluctuations in our results of operations and as a result volatility in our stock price.

Downturns in domestic or global economic conditions and other macroeconomic factors could harm our business and results of operations.

Various macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the volume of student loan originations in the United States, together with tuition costs and student enrollment rates, the default rate of student loan borrowers, which is impacted by domestic and global economic conditions, rates of unemployment and similar factors, and the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from changes in healthcare costs. Changes in these factors could lead to a reduction in overall recovery rates by our clients, which in turn could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, during the global financial crisis beginning in 2008, the market for securitized student loan portfolios was disrupted, resulting in delays in the ability of some GA clients to resell rehabilitated student loans and as a result delaying our ability to recognize revenues from these rehabilitated loans.

 

12


Table of Contents

We may not be able to maintain or increase our profitability, and our recent financial results may not be indicative of our future financial results.

We may not succeed in maintaining our profitability on a quarterly or annual basis and could incur quarterly or annual losses in future periods. We expect to incur additional operating expenses associated with being a public company and we intend to continue to increase our operating expenses as we grow our business. We also expect to continue to make investments in our proprietary technology platform and hire additional employees and subcontractors as we expand our healthcare recovery and other operations, thus incurring additional expenses. If our revenues do not increase to offset these increases in expenses, our operating results could be adversely affected. Our historical revenues and net income growth rates are not indicative of future growth rates.

We may not be able to manage our growth effectively and our results of operations could be negatively affected.

Our business has expanded significantly, especially in recent years with the expansion of our services in the healthcare market, and we intend to maintain our focus on growth. However, our continued focus on growth and the expansion of our business may place additional demands on our management, operations and financial resources and will require us to incur additional expenses. We cannot be sure that we will be able to manage our growth effectively. In order to successfully manage our growth, our expenses will increase to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees and subcontractors and to expand and enhance our administrative infrastructure and continue to improve our management, financial and information systems and controls. If we cannot manage our growth effectively, our expenses may increase and our results of operations could be negatively affected.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt the operation of our business.

A failure of our operating systems or technology infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors and subcontractors, could disrupt our operations. Our operating systems and technology infrastructure are susceptible to damage or interruption from various causes, including acts of God and other natural disasters, power losses, computer systems failures, Internet and telecommunications or data network failures, operator error, computer viruses, losses of and corruption of data and similar events. The occurrence of any of these events could result in interruptions, delays or cessations in service to our clients, reduce the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations. While we have backup systems in many of our operating facilities, an extended outage of utility or network services may harm our ability to operate our business. Further, the situations we plan for and the amount of insurance coverage we maintain for losses as result of failures of our operating systems and infrastructure may not be adequate in any particular case.

If our security measures are breached or fail and unauthorized access is obtained to our clients’ confidential data, our services may be perceived as insecure, the attractiveness of our recovery services to current or potential clients may be reduced, and we may incur significant liabilities.

Our recovery services involve the storage and transmission of confidential information relating to our clients and their customers, including health, financial, credit, payment and other personal or confidential information. Although our data security procedures are designed to protect against unauthorized access to confidential information, our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to unauthorized access and disclosure of our clients’ confidential information. Further, we may not effectively adapt our security measures to evolving security risks, address the security and privacy concerns of existing or potential clients as they change over time, or be compliant with federal, state, and local laws and regulations with respect to securing confidential information. Unauthorized access to confidential information relating to our clients and their customers could lead to reputational damage which could deter our clients and potential clients from selecting our recovery services, termination of contracts with those clients affected by any such breach, regulatory action, and claims against us.

 

 

13


Table of Contents

In the event of any unauthorized access to personal or other confidential information, we may be required to expend significant resources to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities in our security procedures, and we may be subject to fines, penalties, litigation costs, and financial losses that are either not insured against or not fully covered through any insurance maintained by us. If one or more of such failures in our security and privacy measures were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

Our business may be harmed if we lose members of our management team or other key employees.

We are highly dependent on members of management team and other key employees and our future success depends in part on our ability to retain these people. Our inability to continue to attract and retain members of our management team and other key employees could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The growth of our healthcare business will require us to hire and retain employees with specialized skills and failure to do so could harm our ability to grow our business.

The growth of our healthcare business will depend in part on our ability to recruit, train and manage additional qualified employees. Our healthcare-related operations require us to hire registered nurses and experts in Medicare coding. Finding, attracting and retaining employees with these skills is a critical component of providing our healthcare-related recovery and audit services, and our inability to staff these operations appropriately represents a risk to our healthcare service offering and associated revenues. An inability to hire qualified personnel, particularly to serve our healthcare clients, may restrain the growth of our business.

We rely on subcontractors to provide services to our clients and the failure of subcontractors to perform as expected could harm our business operations and our relationships with our clients.

We engage subcontractors to provide certain services to our clients. These subcontractors participate to varying degrees in our recovery activities with regards to all of the services we provide. While most of our subcontractors provide specific services to us, we engage one subcontractor to provide all of the audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor accounted for approximately 17% of total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. While we believe that we perform appropriate due diligence before we hire subcontractors, our subcontractors may not provide adequate service or otherwise comply with the terms set forth in their agreements. In the event a subcontractor provides deficient performance to one or more of our clients, any such client may reduce the volume of services we are providing under an existing contract or may terminate the relevant contract entirely and we may face claims for breach of contract. Any such disruption in our relations with our clients as a result of services provided by any of our subcontractors could adversely affect our revenues and operating results.

If our software vendors or utility and network providers fail to deliver or perform as expected our business operations could be adversely affected.

Our recovery services depend in part on third-party providers, including software vendors and utility and network providers. Our ability to service our clients depends on these third-party providers meeting our expectations and contractual obligations in a timely and effective manner. Our business could be materially and adversely affected, and we might incur significant additional liabilities, if the services provided by these third-party providers do not meet our expectations or if they terminate or refuse to renew their relationships with us on similar contractual terms.

We are subject to extensive regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and failure to comply with these regulations could cause us to incur liabilities and expenses.

We are subject to a wide array of federal and state laws and regulations regarding the use and disclosure of confidential personal information and security. For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and

 

14


Table of Contents

Accountability Act of 1996, as amended, or HIPAA, and related state laws subject us to substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of the personal health information that we obtain in connection with our audit and recovery services under our contract with CMS and we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of this information. Similar protections extend to the type of personal financial and other information we acquire from our student loan, state tax and federal receivables clients. We are required to notify affected individuals and government agencies of data security breaches involving protected health and certain personally identifiable information. These laws and regulations also require that we develop, implement and maintain written, comprehensive information security programs containing safeguards that are appropriate to protect personally identifiable information or health information against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction or modification. Federal law generally does not preempt state law in the area of protection of personal information, and as a result we must also comply with state laws and regulations. Regulation of privacy, data use and security requires that we incur significant expenses, which could increase in the future as a result of additional regulations, all of which adversely affects our results of operations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations can result in penalties and in some cases expose us to civil lawsuits.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to extensive regulation and consumer protection laws and our failure to comply with these regulations and laws may subject us to liability and result in significant costs.

Our student loan recovery business is subject to regulation and oversight by various state and federal agencies, particularly in the area of consumer protection. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, and related state laws provide specific guidelines that we must follow in communicating with holders of student loans and regulates the manner in which we can recover defaulted student loans. Some state attorney generals have been active in this area of consumer protection regulation. We are subject, and may be subject in the future, to inquiries and audits from state and federal regulators, as well as frequent litigation from private plaintiffs regarding compliance under the FDCPA and related state regulations. We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and may impose liability on us to the extent adverse credit information reported to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. Our compliance with the FDCPA, FCRA and other federal and state regulations that affect our student loan recovery business may result in significant costs, including litigation costs. In addition, changes to these regulations could adversely affect our business and results of operations if we are not able to adapt our services and client relationships to meet the new regulatory structure.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and qualified board members.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight will be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. Although we have already hired additional employees to comply with these requirements, we may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants, which will increase our costs and expenses.

We also expect that being a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs

 

15


Table of Contents

to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be adversely affected.

However, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

We are unable to fully estimate the extra costs associated with becoming a public company; however, we anticipate that we will incur additional legal, accounting, investor relations and insurance costs in excess of $1.0 million annually.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. However, we are choosing to “opt out” of such extended transition period, and as a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that our decision to opt out of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards is irrevocable.

We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years, although if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any July 31 before that time, we would cease to be an “emerging growth company” as of the following January 31.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley would impair our ability to produce accurate and reliable financial statements, which would harm our stock price.

When we become a public company, we will be subject to reporting obligations under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that will require us to include a management report on our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report, which contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. These requirements will first apply to our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2013 and complying with these requirements can be difficult. For example, in June 2012, our independent registered accountants determined that we had incorrectly accounted for our mandatorily

 

16


Table of Contents

redeemable preferred stock, which required audit adjusting entries for the three-year period ended December 31, 2011. Our failure to detect this error was deemed to be a deficiency in internal control and this deficiency was considered to be a material weakness. To address this situation, our independent public accounting firm recommended that the Company emphasize the importance of thoroughly researching all new accounting policies and revisiting accounting policies set for existing transactions when changes in the business or reporting requirements occur or are expected to occur. To prevent issues like these in the future, we intend to bolster our technical accounting expertise and, where appropriate, engage outside consultants with specialized knowledge.

Our management may conclude that our internal control over our financial reporting is not effective. Prior to this offering, we have been a private company with limited accounting personnel and other resources with which to address our internal controls and procedures. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports or help prevent fraud. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from filing our periodic reports on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, harm our business and negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.

We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis. However, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 until the later of the year following our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC, or the date we are no longer an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, if we take advantage of the exemptions contained in the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our controls are documented, designed or operating. Our remediation efforts may not enable us to avoid a material weakness in the future.

Litigation may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement, any of which could subject us to significant costs and expenses.

We are party to lawsuits in the normal course of business, particularly in connection with our student loan recovery services. For example, we are regularly subject to claims that we have violated the guidelines and procedures that must be followed under federal and state laws in communicating with consumer debtors. We may not ultimately prevail or otherwise be able to satisfactorily resolve any pending or future litigation, which may result in substantial costs of defense, damages or settlement. In the future, we may be required to alter our business practices or pay substantial damages or settlement costs as a result of litigation proceedings, which could adversely affect our business operations and results of operations.

We typically face a long period to implement a new contract which may cause us to incur expenses before we receive revenues from new client relationships.

If we are successful in obtaining an engagement with a new client or a new contract with an existing client, we typically have a subsequent long implementation period in which the services are planned in detail and we integrate our technology, processes and resources with the client’s operations. If we enter into a contract with a new client, we typically will not receive revenues until implementation is completed and work under the contract actually begins. Our clients may also experience delays in obtaining approvals or delays associated with technology or system implementations, such as the delays experienced with the implementation of our RAC contract with CMS due to an appeal by competitors who were unsuccessful in bidding on the contract. Because we generally begin to hire new employees to provide services to a new client once a contract is signed, we may incur significant expenses associated with these additional hires before we receive corresponding revenues under any such new contract. If we are not successful in maintaining contractual commitments after the expenses we incur during our typically long implementation cycle, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

17


Table of Contents

If we are unable to adequately protect our proprietary technology, our competitive position could be harmed or we could be required to incur significant costs to enforce our rights.

The success of our business depends in part upon our proprietary technology platform. We rely on a combination of copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret laws, as well as on confidentiality procedures and non-compete agreements, to establish and protect our proprietary technology rights. The steps we have taken to deter misappropriation of our proprietary technology may be insufficient to protect our proprietary information. Any infringement or misappropriation of our patents, trademarks, trade secrets, or other intellectual property rights could adversely affect any competitive advantage we currently derive or may derive from our proprietary technology platform and we may incur significant costs associated with litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights.

Claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property could force us to incur significant costs or revise the way we conduct our business.

Our competitors protect their proprietary rights by means of patents, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property. Any party asserting that we infringe, misappropriate or violate their intellectual property rights may force us to defend ourselves, and potentially our clients, against the alleged claim. These claims and any resulting lawsuit, if successful, could be time-consuming and expensive to defend, subject us to significant liability for damages or invalidation of our proprietary rights, prevent us from operating all or a portion of our business or force us to redesign our services or technology platform or cause an interruption or cessation of our business operations, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, any litigation relating to the infringement of intellectual property rights could harm our relationships with current and prospective clients. The risk of such claims and lawsuits could increase if we increase the size and scope of our services in our existing markets or expand into new markets.

We may make acquisitions that prove unsuccessful, strain or divert our resources and harm our results of operations and stock price.

We may consider acquisitions of other companies in our industry or in new markets. We may not be able to successfully complete any such acquisition and, if completed, any such acquisition may fail to achieve the intended financial results. We may not be able to successfully integrate any acquired businesses with our own and we may be unable to maintain our standards, controls and policies. Further, acquisitions may place additional constraints on our resources by diverting the attention of our management from other business concerns. Moreover, any acquisition may result in a potentially dilutive issuance of equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt and amortization of expenses related to intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our results of operations and stock price.

Our current or future indebtedness could adversely affect our business and financial condition and reduce the funds available to us for other purposes, and our failure to comply with the covenants contained in our credit agreement could result in an event of default that could adversely affect our results of operations.

As of March 31, 2012, our total debt was $141.0 million. For the year ended December 31, 2011, our consolidated interest expense was approximately $13.5 million. Our ability to make scheduled payments or to refinance our debt obligations and to fund our other liquidity needs depends on our financial and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot make assurances that we will maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness and to fund our other liquidity needs. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and allow us to maintain compliance with the covenants under our credit agreement or to fund our other liquidity needs, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets or operations, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We cannot ensure that we would be able to take

 

18


Table of Contents

any of these actions, that these actions would be successful and permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations or that these actions would be permitted under the terms of our existing or future debt agreements, including our credit agreement. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and, as a result, our debt holders could declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable, the lenders under our credit agreement could terminate their commitments to lend us money and foreclose against the assets securing our borrowings and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Our debt agreements contain, and any agreements to refinance our debt likely will contain, financial and restrictive covenants that limit our ability to incur additional debt, including to finance future operations or other capital needs, and to engage in other activities that we may believe are in our long-term best interests, including to dispose of or acquire assets. Our failure to comply with these covenants may result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness or result in modifications to our credit terms. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not have sufficient cash resources to satisfy our debt obligations and we may not be able to continue our operations as planned.

Risks Related to This Offering and Our Common Stock

Following the offering, we will be classified as a “controlled company” and, as a result, will qualify for, and intend to rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.

Upon the closing of this offering, an entity affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners (such entity and its affiliates individually and collectively referred to as “Parthenon Capital Partners”) will continue to control a majority of our common stock. As a result, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the applicable stock exchange corporate governance standards. Under the rules of the NASDAQ Global Market or the New York Stock Exchange, as applicable, a company of which more than 50% of the outstanding voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain stock exchange corporate governance requirements, including:

 

   

the requirement that a majority of the board of directors consists of independent directors;

 

   

the requirement that nominating and corporate governance matters be decided solely by independent directors; and

 

   

the requirement that employee and officer compensation matters be decided solely by independent directors.

Following this offering, we intend to utilize these exemptions. As a result, we will not have a majority of independent directors and our nominating and corporate governance and compensation functions will not be decided solely by independent directors. Accordingly, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the stock exchange corporate governance requirements.

The price of our common stock could be volatile, and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the public offering price.

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for our common stock, and an active public market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained after this offering. In particular, you may not be able to resell your shares of our common stock at or above the initial public offering price. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between the representatives of the underwriters and us. The overall market and the price of our common stock may fluctuate greatly. The trading price of our common stock may be significantly affected by various factors, including: quarterly fluctuations in our operating results; the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in those projections or our failure to meet those

 

19


Table of Contents

projections; changes in investors’ and analysts’ perception of the business risks and conditions of our business; our ability to meet the earnings estimates and other performance expectations of financial analysts or investors; unfavorable commentary or downgrades of our stock by equity research analysts; termination of lock-up agreements or other restrictions on the ability of our existing stockholders to sell their shares after this offering; changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of debt or equity securities; lawsuits threatened or filed against us; strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings; new legislation or regulatory actions; changes in our relationship with any of our significant clients; fluctuations in the stock prices of our peer companies or in stock markets in general; and general economic conditions.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, of our common stock may lower our stock price.

If our existing stockholders sell a large number of shares of our common stock following this offering, the market price of our common stock could decline significantly. In addition, the perception in the public market that our existing stockholders might sell shares of common stock could depress the market price of our common stock, regardless of the actual plans of our existing stockholders. Immediately after this offering, approximately              shares of our common stock will be outstanding, or              shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares,              shares will be available for immediate resale in the public market, including all of the shares in this offering, and              shares will be available for resale 90 days following completion of this offering. Of the remaining shares outstanding,              shares are subject to lock-up agreements restricting the sale of those shares for 180 days from the date of this prospectus. However, the underwriters may waive this restriction and allow the stockholders to sell their shares at any time. In addition, following this offering and the sale by the selling stockholders of the shares offered by them, assuming an initial public offering price of $             per share, which is the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the holders of shares of common stock will have the right, subject to certain exceptions and conditions, to require us to register their shares of common stock under the Securities Act, and they will have the right to participate in future registrations of securities by us. Registration of any of these outstanding shares of common stock would result in such shares becoming freely tradable without compliance with Rule 144 upon effectiveness of the registration statement. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” After this offering, we intend to register approximately              shares of common stock that are reserved for issuance upon exercise of options granted under our stock option plans. Once we register these shares, they can be sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to restrictions under the securities laws applicable to resale by affiliates.

Investors in this offering will suffer immediate and substantial dilution.

The initial public offering price per share of common stock will be substantially higher than our pro forma net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering. As a result, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the book value of our assets after subtracting our liabilities. At an offering price of $         per share, the mid-point of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will incur immediate and substantial dilution in an amount of $         per share of common stock.

Our majority stockholder will have the ability to control significant corporate activities after the completion of this offering and our majority stockholder’s interests may not coincide with yours.

After the consummation of this offering, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional shares. If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase additional shares, Parthenon Capital Partners will beneficially own approximately     % of our common stock. As a result of its ownership, Parthenon Capital Partners, so long as it holds a majority of our outstanding shares, will have the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and, through our board of directors, the ability to control decision-making with respect to our business direction and policies. Matters over which Parthenon Capital Partners will, directly or indirectly, exercise control following this offering include:

 

   

the election of our board of directors and the appointment and removal of our officers;

 

20


Table of Contents
   

mergers and other business combination transactions, including proposed transactions that would result in our stockholders receiving a premium price for their shares;

 

   

other acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets;

 

   

incurrence of indebtedness and the issuance of equity securities;

 

   

repurchase of stock and payment of dividends; and

 

   

the issuance of shares to management under our equity incentive plans.

Even if Parthenon Capital Partners’ ownership of our shares falls below a majority, it may continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions. In addition, Parthenon Capital Partners will have a contractual right to designate a number of directors proportionate to their stock ownership. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Nomination of our Directors.” Further, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not have any obligation to present to us, and Parthenon Capital Partners may separately pursue, corporate opportunities of which they became aware, even if those opportunities are ones that we would have pursued if granted the opportunity. See “Description of Capital Stock—Corporate Opportunities.”

If securities analysts do not publish research or if securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, the price of our common stock could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will rely in part on the research and reports that securities analysts and other third parties choose to publish about us. We do not control these analysts or other third parties. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more securities analysts downgrade our common stock or if one or more securities analysts or other third parties publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us or cease publishing reports about us.

We will have broad discretion in how we use the proceeds of this offering and we may not use these proceeds effectively. This could affect our results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Our management team will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether we are using the proceeds appropriately. We currently intend to use the net proceeds of this offering to redeem all of our shares of series B preferred stock and to pay a fee in connection with the termination of our advisory agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and the remainder of the net proceeds are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes and possibly to fund acquisitions We may use the net proceeds for corporate purposes that do not improve our results of operations or which cause our stock price to decline.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could impair a takeover attempt that our stockholders may find beneficial.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult or discouraging an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Our corporate governance documents include the following provisions: establishing a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board are elected at one time; providing that directors may be removed by stockholders only for cause; authorizing blank check preferred stock, which could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock; limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings and to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners no longer beneficially owns a majority of our outstanding shares; limiting our ability to engage in certain business combinations with any “interested

 

21


Table of Contents

stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder; requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; requiring a super-majority vote for certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws after the time when Parthenon Capital Partners ceases to beneficially own a majority of our outstanding shares; and limiting the determination of the number of directors on our board of directors and the filling of vacancies or newly created seats on the board to our board of directors then in office. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation also imposes some restrictions on mergers and other business combinations between us and any holder of 15% or more of our common stock, other than Parthenon Capital Partners. These provisions, alone or together, could have the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

Because we do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you are able to sell your common stock for a price greater than your purchase price.

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our credit agreement. As a result, you may not receive any return on investment unless you are able to sell your common stock for a price greater than your purchase price.

 

22


Table of Contents

INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors.” In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our opportunities and expectations for growth in the student lending, healthcare and other markets;

 

   

anticipated trends and challenges in our business and competition in the markets in which we operate;

 

   

our client relationships and future growth opportunities;

 

   

the adaptability of our technology platform to new markets and processes;

 

   

our ability to invest in and utilize our data and analytics capabilities to expand our capabilities;

 

   

our belief that we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility;

 

   

our growth strategy of expanding in our existing markets and considering strategic alliances or acquisitions;

 

   

our ability to meet our liquidity and working capital needs;

 

   

maintaining, protecting and enhancing our intellectual property;

 

   

our expectations regarding future expenses;

 

   

expected future financial performance;

 

   

our expectations regarding the use of proceeds from this offering; and

 

   

our ability to comply with and adapt to industry regulations and compliance demands.

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

You may rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. Neither we nor any of the underwriters have authorized anyone to provide information different from that contained in this prospectus. Neither the delivery of this prospectus, nor sale of common stock, means that information contained in this prospectus is correct after the date of this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy shares of common stock in any circumstances under which the offer or solicitation is unlawful.

This prospectus also contains statistical data and estimates, including those relating to market size and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that we obtained from government and industry publications. These publications typically indicate that they have obtained their information from sources they believe to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of their information. Although we have assessed the information in the publications and found it to be reasonable and believe the publications are reliable, we have not independently verified their data.

 

23


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock that we are selling in this offering will be $         million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share would increase (decrease) the net proceeds to us by $         million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholders, although we will bear the costs, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions, associated with the sale of these shares. The selling stockholders include entities affiliated with or controlled by certain of our directors.

We intend to use the net proceeds received by us from this offering as follows:

 

   

to pay approximately $         million to redeem all of our shares of series B preferred stock that are issued upon conversion of the series A preferred stock and subject to redemption upon the closing of this offering;

 

   

to pay a $         million fee with respect to the termination of our Advisory Agreement with an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners and a transaction fee equal to 1% of the gross proceeds of this offering; and

 

   

the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes and for other investments, including potential strategic alliances or acquisitions that may be complementary to our business. We have no agreement with respect to any material investments at this time.

Accordingly, our management team will have broad discretion in using the net proceeds to be received by us from this offering.

Pending such uses, we plan to invest the net proceeds in short- and intermediate-term, interest-bearing obligations, investment-grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the U.S.  government.

DIVIDEND POLICY

Our board of directors does not currently intend to pay regular dividends on our common stock. However, we expect to reevaluate our dividend policy on a regular basis following this offering and may, subject to compliance with the covenants in our credit agreement and other considerations, determine to pay dividends in the future. Our ability to pay dividends is subject to restrictive covenants contained in our credit agreement.

 

24


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of March 31, 2012:

 

   

on an actual basis;

 

   

on a pro forma basis, giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of our series A preferred stock into 699,555 shares of common stock and 699,555 shares of series B preferred stock prior to completion of this offering as if such conversion had occurred on March 31, 2012; and

 

   

on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from the sale of              shares of common stock offered by us in this offering, at the initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds.”

You should read the information in this table together with the sections titled “Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     As of March 31, 2012  
           Actual               Pro Forma          Pro Forma As
Adjusted (2)(3)
 
     (Restated) (1)               
     (in thousands, except share data)  

Cash and cash equivalents

        $ 12,312           $                         $                
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Debt:

       

Revolving credit facility

        $ 4,500           $              $     

Term A loan

     57,000        

Term B loan

     79,500        
  

 

 

      

Total debt

     141,000        
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Redeemable preferred stock:

       

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. 18,000,000 shares authorized, 699,555 shares issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

     15,846        

Stockholders’ deficit:

       

Due from stockholders

     (2,294     

Common stock, $0.01 par value. 25,000,000 shares authorized, 20,909,288 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 25,000,000 shares authorized, 21,608,843 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma;              shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

     209        

Additional paid-in capital

     20,454        

Accumulated deficit

     (31,868     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (13,499     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total capitalization

        $ 143,347           $              $     
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheet and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

25


Table of Contents
(2)  

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) each of additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity deficit and total capitalization by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares were exercised in full, pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, total debt, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity deficit and total capitalization as of March 31, 2012 would be $         million, $         million, $         million, $         million and $         million, respectively.

 

(3)  

The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of our initial public offering determined at pricing.

The number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding actual, pro forma, and pro forma as adjusted in the table above excludes the following shares:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,625 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

 

26


Table of Contents

DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock immediately after completion of this offering.

Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of shares of common stock outstanding. Our historical net tangible book value (deficit) as of March 31, 2012, was $         million, or $         per share. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of March 31, 2012 was $         million, or $         per share, based on the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock converting into          shares of common stock and          shares of series B preferred stock immediately prior to this offering and the redemption of the series B preferred stock immediately following the completion of this offering for an aggregate redemption payment of $         million.

After giving effect to (i) the items described in the preceding paragraph and (ii) our sale of shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $         per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $         per share to investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering, as illustrated in the following table:

 

Initial public offering price per share

      $               

Historical net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

   $                   

Pro forma net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2012

     

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value per share attributable to investors         purchasing shares of in the offering

     
  

 

 

    

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering

     
     

 

 

 

Dilution in pro forma per share to investors in this offering

       $     
     

 

 

 

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering by approximately $         million, or approximately $         per share, and the pro forma dilution per share to investors in this offering by approximately $         per share, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. The pro forma as adjusted information discussed above is illustrative only and will be adjusted based on the actual public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing.

If the underwriters’ over-allotment option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering would be approximately $         per share, the increase in pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be approximately $         per share, and the dilution to investors purchasing shares in this offering would be approximately $         per share.

 

27


Table of Contents

The following table presents on a pro forma as adjusted basis as of March 31, 2012, after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into common stock immediately prior to the closing of this offering, the differences between the existing stockholders and the investors purchasing shares in this offering with respect to the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid, which includes net proceeds received from the issuance of common and series A preferred stock, cash received from the exercise of stock options and the value of any stock issued for services and the average price paid per share (in thousands, except per share amounts and percentages):

 

     Shares Purchased      Total Consideration (1)      Average Price
per Share
 
     Number    Percent        Amount            Percent       

Existing stockholders

        %           $           %           $            

New investors

              
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

Totals

        100.0%           $                  100.0%           $     
  

 

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1)

Each $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the total consideration paid to us by new investors and total consideration paid to us by all stockholder by $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, our existing stockholders would own     % and our new investors would own     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

The foregoing calculations are based on         shares outstanding as of March 31, 2012 assuming our outstanding convertible preferred stock converts into         shares of common stock and excludes the following shares:

 

   

2,862,375 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of options outstanding, at a weighted-average exercise price of $1.77 per share;

 

   

889,628 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity incentive plans; and

 

   

additional shares of common stock that may be issued to Financial Technology Partners LP or FTP Securities LLC, whom we collectively refer to as FT Partners, contemporaneously with the closing of this offering. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of our agreement with FT Partners.

 

28


Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

We derived the selected consolidated financial data for 2009, 2010 and 2011 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2008 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2007 and 2008 from our audited consolidated financial statements not included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and as of March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited consolidated financial statements include, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, which consist only of normal recurring adjustments, that management considers necessary for the fair statement of the financial information set forth in those statements. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. You should read the following selected consolidated historical financial data below in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements, related notes, and other financial information included in this prospectus. The selected consolidated financial data in this section is not intended to replace the consolidated financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial statements and related notes and schedule included in this prospectus.

 

29


Table of Contents
    Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months
Ended March 31,
 
    2007     2008     2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
   

(in thousands)

 

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

             

Revenues

  $ 88,514      $ 98,967      $ 109,832      $ 123,519      $ 162,974      $ 35,080      $ 45,878   

Operating expenses:

             

Salaries and benefits

    51,805        49,109        53,728        58,113        67,082        16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

    23,778        26,730        32,110        33,655        49,199        10,073        16,141   

Impairment of trade name

                                13,400                 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    75,583        75,839        85,838        91,768        129,681        26,802        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    12,931        23,128        23,994        31,751        33,293        8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                    (3,679

Interest expense

    (17,966     (16,361     (16,017     (15,230     (13,530     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

    488        217        104        118        125        32        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    (4,547     6,984        8,081        16,639        19,888        4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    (1,445     3,113        3,071        6,664        7,516        1,949        1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

  $ (3,102   $ 3,871      $ 5,010      $ 9,975      $ 12,372      $ 2,918      $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

    4,047        4,556        5,128        5,771        6,495        1,531        1,571   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

    (7,149     (685     (118     4,204        5,877        1,387        945   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders (3)

             

Basic

  $ (0.34   $ (0.03   $ (0.01   $ 0.20      $ 0.27      $ 0.06      $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

  $ (0.34   $ (0.03   $ (0.01   $ 0.19      $ 0.26      $ 0.06      $ 0.04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares

             

Basic

    21,255        21,327        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,481        21,493   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

    21,255        21,327        21,481        22,510        22,871        22,535        23,113   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share

             

Basic

          $          $     

Diluted

          $          $     
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share

             

Basic

             

Diluted

             
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheet and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

(2)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

(3)

Please see note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our basic and diluted net income per share of common stock.

 

    As of December 31,     As of
March 31,
 
    2007     2008     2009     2010     2011     2012  
    (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)     (Restated) (1)  
    (in thousands)  
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:                                    

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 11,869      $ 9,108      $ 8,924      $ 11,078      $ 20,004      $ 12,312   

Total assets

  $ 183,939      $ 183,783      $ 180,735      $ 181,390      $ 181,849      $ 183,023   

Total debt

  $ 142,180      $ 134,215      $ 127,298      $ 117,331      $ 103,383      $ 141,000   

Total liabilities

    174,410        167,617        161,077        151,231        139,306        180,676   

Redeemable preferred stock

    36,298        40,854        45,982        51,753        58,248        15,846   

Total stockholders’ deficit

    (26,769     (26,688     (26,324     (21,594     (15,705     (13,499

 

(1)  

The Consolidated Financial Statements have been restated for the presentation of our Redeemable Preferred Stock, which affects our balance sheet and the calculation of net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders, which affects our statements of operations. See Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

30


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See “Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees on the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Furthermore, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

Sources of Revenues

We derive our revenues from services for clients in a variety of different markets. These markets include our two largest markets, student lending and healthcare, as well as our other markets which include but are not limited to delinquent state taxes and federal Treasury and other receivables.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
     Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009      2010      2011      2011      2012  
     (in thousands)  

Student Lending

    $ 84,056        $ 103,672        $ 122,253        $ 26,404        $ 29,168   

Healthcare

             1,821         21,549         3,648         12,069   

Other

     25,776         18,026         19,172         5,028         4,641   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenues

    $ 109,832        $ 123,519        $ 162,974        $ 35,080        $ 45,878   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Student Lending

We derive the majority of our revenues from the recovery of student loans. These revenues are contract-based and consist primarily of contingency fees based on a specified percentage of the amount we enable our clients to recover. Our contingency fee percentage for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees.

 

31


Table of Contents

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with a significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. Based on data compiled from over two decades of experience with the recovery of defaulted student loans, at the time we receive a placement of student loans, we are able to make a reasonably accurate estimate of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from such placement and the revenues we are likely able to generate based on the anticipated recovery outcomes.

There are five potential outcomes to the student loan recovery process from which we generate revenue. These outcomes include: full repayment, recurring payments, rehabilitation, loan restructuring and wage garnishment. Of these five potential outcomes, our ability to rehabilitate defaulted student loans is the most significant component of our revenues in this market. Generally, a loan is considered successfully rehabilitated after the student loan borrower has made nine consecutive monthly payments and our client has notified us that it is recalling the loan. Once we have structured and implemented a repayment program for a defaulted borrower, we (i) earn a percentage of each periodic payment collected up to and including the final periodic payment prior to the loan being considered “rehabilitated” by our clients, and (ii) if the loan is “rehabilitated,” then we are paid a one-time percentage of the total amount of the remaining unpaid balance. The fees we are paid vary by recovery outcome as well as by contract. For non-government-supported student loans we are generally only paid contingency fees on two outcomes: full repayment or recurring repayments. The table below describes our typical fee structure for each of these five outcomes.

 

 

Student Loan Recovery Outcomes

    Full Repayment   Recurring Payments         Rehabilitation   Loan Restructuring   Wage Garnishment
 

•Repayment in full of the loan

 

•Regular structured payments, typically according to a renegotiated payment plan

     

•After a defaulted borrower has made nine consecutive recurring payments, the loan is eligible for rehabilitation

 

•Restructure and consolidate a number of outstanding loans into a single loan, typically with one monthly payment and an extended maturity

 

•If we are unable to obtain voluntary repayment, payments may be obtained through wage garnishment after certain administrative requirements are met

 

•We are paid a percentage of the full payment that is made

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

   

•We are paid based on a percentage of the overall value of the rehabilitated loan

 

•We are paid based on a percentage of overall value of the restructured loan

 

•We are paid a percentage of each payment

                                     

For certain GA clients, we have entered into Master Service Agreements, or MSAs. Under these agreements, clients provide their entire inventory of outsourced loans or receivables to us for recovery on an exclusive basis, rather than just a portion, as with traditional contracts that are split among various service providers. In certain circumstances, we engage subcontractors to assist in the recovery of a portion of the client’s portfolio. We also receive success fees for the recovery of loans under MSAs and our revenues under MSA arrangements include fees earned by the activities of our subcontractors. As of March 31, 2012, we had four MSA clients in the student loan market.

 

32


Table of Contents

Healthcare

We derive revenue from the healthcare market primarily from our RAC contract, under which we are the prime contractor responsible for detecting improperly paid Part A and Part B Medicare claims in 12 states in the Northeastern United States. Revenues earned under the RAC contract are driven by the identification of improperly paid Medicare claims through both automated and manual review of such claims. We are paid contingency fees by CMS based on a percentage of the dollar amount of claims recovered by CMS as a result of our efforts. We recognize revenue when the provider pays CMS or incurs an offset against future Medicare claims. The revenue we recognize is net of our estimate of claims that will be overturned by appeal following payment by the provider.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsourced certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009. We recognize all of the revenues generated by the claims recovered through these subcontractor relationships, and we recognize the fees that we pay to these subcontractors in our expenses.

Other

We also derive revenue from the recovery of delinquent state taxes, and federal Treasury and other receivables, default aversion services for certain clients including financial institutions and the licensing of hosted technology solutions to certain clients. For our hosted technology services, we license our system and integrate our technology into our clients’ operations, for which we are paid a licensing fee. Our revenues for these services include contingency fees, fees based on dedicated headcount to our clients and hosted technology licensing fees.

Operating Metrics

We monitor a number of operating metrics in order to evaluate our business and make decisions regarding our corporate strategy. These key metrics include Placement Volume, Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume, Net Claim Recovery Volume and Claim Recovery Fee Rate.

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March  31,
 
     2009     2010     2011     2011     2012  
     (dollars in thousands)  

Student Lending:

          

Placement Volume

   $ 4,920,506      $ 5,294,971      $ 6,241,483      $ 1,679,002      $ 1,001,808   

Placement Revenue as a percentage of Placement Volume

     1.71     1.96     1.96     1.53     2.91

Healthcare:

          

Net Claim Recovery Volume

   $      $ 15,494      $ 188,573      $ 31,599      $ 106,100   

Claim Recovery Fee Rate

            11.76     11.43     11.54     11.38

Placement Volume.   Our Placement Volume represents the dollar volume of defaulted student loans first placed with us during the specified period by public and private clients for recovery. Placement Volume allows us to measure and track trends in the amount of inventory our clients in the student lending market are placing with us during any period. The revenue associated with the recovery of a portion of these loans may be recognized in subsequent accounting periods, which assists management in estimating future revenues and in allocating resources necessary to address current Placement Volumes.

 

33


Table of Contents

Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume.   Placement Revenue as a Percentage of Placement Volume is calculated by dividing revenue recognized during the specified period by Placement Volume first placed with us during that same period. This metric is subject to some level of variation from period to period based upon certain timing differences including, but not limited to, the timing of placements received by us within a period and the fact that a significant portion of revenue recognized in a current period is often generated from the Placement Volume received in prior periods. However, we believe that this metric provides a useful indication of the revenues we are generating from Placement Volumes on an ongoing basis and provides management with an indication of the relative efficiency of our recovery operations from period to period.

Net Claim Recovery Volume.   Our Net Claim Recovery Volume measures the dollar volume of improper Medicare claims that we have recovered for CMS during the applicable period net of any amount that we have reserved to cover appeals by healthcare providers. We are paid recovery fees as a percentage of this recovered claim volume. We calculate this metric by dividing our claim recovery revenue by our Claim Recovery Fee Rate. This metric shows trends in the volume of improper payments within our region and allows management to measure our success in finding these improper payments, over time.

Claim Recovery Fee Rate.   Our Claim Recovery Fee Rate represents the weighted-average percentage of our fees compared to amounts recovered by CMS. This percentage primarily depends on the method of recovery and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify. This metric helps management measure how much revenue we generate from Net Claim Recovery Volume.

Costs and Expenses

We generally report two categories of operating expenses: salaries and benefits and other operating expense. Salaries and benefits expenses consist primarily of salaries and performance incentives paid and benefits provided to our employees. Other operating expense includes expenses related to our use of subcontractors, other production related expenses, including costs associated with data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services, amortization and other outside services, as well as general corporate and administrative expenses. In addition to our main components of operating expenses, we incurred a $13.4 million impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to our plan to retire our Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name in 2011, which we report as Impairment of trade name. We expect a significant portion of our expenses to increase as we grow our business. However, we expect certain expenses, including our corporate and general administrative expenses, to grow at a slower rate than our revenues. As a result, and over the long term, we expect our overall expenses to modestly decline as a percentage of revenues.

We also expect to incur additional professional fees and other expenses resulting from future expansion and the compliance requirements of operating as a public company, including increased audit and legal expenses, investor relations expenses, increased insurance expenses, particularly for directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, and the costs of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. While these costs may initially increase as a percentage of our revenues, we expect that in the future these expenses will increase at a slower rate than our overall business volume, and that they will eventually represent a smaller percentage of our revenues.

Factors Affecting Our Operating Results

Our results of operations are primarily influenced by allocation of placement volume, claim recovery volume, contingency fees, regulatory matters, effects of client concentration and macroeconomic factors.

Allocation of Placement Volume

Our clients have the right to unilaterally set and increase or reduce the volume of defaulted student loans or other receivables that we service at any given time. In addition, many of our recovery contracts for student loans and other receivables are not exclusive, with our clients retaining multiple service providers to service portions of their portfolios. Accordingly, the number of delinquent student loans or other receivables that are

 

34


Table of Contents

placed with us may vary from time to time, which may have a significant affect on the amount and timing of our revenues. We believe the major factors that influence the number of placements we receive from our clients in the student loan market include our performance under our existing contracts and our ability to perform well against competitors for a particular client. To the extent that we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of placements under these existing contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

Typically we are able to anticipate with reasonable accuracy the timing and volume of placements of defaulted student loans and other receivables based on historical patterns and regular communication with our clients. Occasionally, however, placements are delayed due to factors outside of our control. For example, a technology system upgrade at the Department of Education, which began in September 2011 and remains ongoing through March 31, 2012, has significantly decreased the volume of student loan placements by the Department of Education to all recovery vendors, including us, during this period. As a result, the dollar amount of placements that we received from the Department of Education in the three months ended March 31, 2012 was 58% lower than in the comparable three months ended March 31, 2011. While it is expected that we and the other Department of Education recovery vendors will receive substantially larger than normal placements once this situation is resolved, the large majority of the revenues from these placements will be delayed because we do not begin to earn rehabilitation revenues from a given placement until at least nine months after receipt of the placement. In addition, since September 2011, the Department of Education has not been able to process a significant majority of rehabilitated student loans and accordingly we have not been able to recognize a significant majority of the revenues associated with rehabilitation of loans for this client. However, the Department of Education has continued to pay us based on invoices submitted and we have recorded these cash receipts as deferred revenues on our balance sheet. When these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education, we expect to recognize the revenues in the period in which these rehabilitated loans are processed by the Department of Education. This has led to deferred revenues of $6.1 million as of March 31, 2012. Delays in placement volume, as well as acceleration of placement volume, from any of our large clients may cause our revenue and operating results to vary from quarter to quarter.

Claim Recovery Volume

While we are entitled to review Medicare records for all Part A and Part B claims in our region, we are not permitted to identify an improper claim unless that particular type of claim has been pre-approved by CMS to ensure compliance with applicable Medicare payment policies as well as national and local coverage determinations. The growth of our revenues is determined primarily by the aggregate volume of Medicare claims in our region and our ability to identify improper payments within these claims. However, the long-term growth of these revenues will also be affected by the scope of the issues pre-approved by CMS.

Contingency Fees

Our revenues consist primarily of contract-based contingency fees. The contingency fee percentages that we earn are set by our clients, and may change from time to time either under the terms of existing contracts or pursuant to the terms of contract renewals. Any changes in the contingency fee percentages that we are paid under existing and future contracts could have a significant impact on our revenues.

Regulatory Matters

Each of the markets which we serve is highly regulated. Accordingly, changes in regulations that affect the types of loans, receivables and claims that we are able to service or the manner in which any such delinquent loans, receivables and claims can be recovered will affect our revenues and results of operations. For example, the passage of SAFRA in 2010 had the effect of transferring the origination of all government-supported student loans to the Department of Education, thereby ending all student loan originations guaranteed by the GAs. Loans guaranteed by the GAs represented approximately 70% of government-supported student loans originated in

 

35


Table of Contents

2009. While the GAs will continue to service existing outstanding student loans for years to come, this legislation will over time shift the portfolio of student loans that we manage toward the Department of Education, and further concentrate our sources of revenues and increase our reliance on our relationship with the Department of Education. In addition, our entry into the healthcare market was facilitated by passage of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which mandated CMS to contract with private firms to audit Medicare claims in an effort to increase the recovery of improper Medicare payments. Any changes to the regulations that affect the student loan industry or the recovery of defaulted student loans or the Medicare program generally or the audit and recovery of Medicare claims could have a significant impact on our revenues and results of operations.

Client Concentration

Our revenues from the student loan market depend on our ability to maintain our contracts with some of the largest providers of student loans. In 2011, four providers of student loans each accounted for more than 10% of our revenues during such period and they collectively accounted for 61% of our total revenues during this period. Our contracts with these clients entitle them to unilaterally terminate their contractual relationship with us at any time without penalty. If we lose one of our significant clients, including if one of our significant clients is consolidated by an entity that does not use our services, if the terms of compensation for our services change or if there is a reduction in the level of placements provided by any of these clients, our revenues could decline.

Our contract with CMS for the recovery of improper Medicare payments began generating significant revenues during 2011 and represented 26% of our total revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2012. This contract expires in 2014 and we expect that renewal of the contract will be a competitive process. While we believe our performance under the existing agreement and the experience we have gained in performing this contract position us well to renew the agreement, failure to renew the agreement or renewal on substantially less favorable terms could significantly harm our revenues and results of operations.

Macroeconomic Factors

Certain macroeconomic factors influence our business and results of operations. These include the increasing volume of student loan originations in the U.S. as a result of increased tuition costs and student enrollment, the default rate of student loan borrowers, the growth in Medicare expenditures resulting from increasing healthcare costs, as well as the fiscal budget tightening of federal, state and local governments as a result of general economic weakness and lower tax revenues.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows will be affected. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.

Revenue Recognition

The majority of our contracts are contingency fee based. We recognize revenue on these contingency fee based contracts when third-party payors remit payment to our clients or remit payment to us on behalf of our clients, and, consequently, the contingency is deemed to have been satisfied. Under our RAC contract with CMS,

 

36


Table of Contents

we recognize revenue when the healthcare provider has paid CMS for a given claim. Providers have the right to appeal a claim, and may pursue additional appeals if the initial appeal is found in favor of CMS. We accrue a reserve for appeals based on the amount that we estimate will be overturned in the provider’s favor. Our levels of reserves for appeals are based on assumptions derived from our limited experience under our contract with CMS, and our inability to correctly estimate these reserves could adversely affect our revenues.

Goodwill

We periodically review the carrying value of intangible assets not subject to amortization, including goodwill, to determine whether an impairment may exist. GAAP requires that goodwill and certain intangible assets not subject to amortization be assessed annually for impairment using fair value measurement techniques.

Specifically, goodwill impairment is determined using a two-step test. The first step of the goodwill impairment test is used to identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its book value, including goodwill. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its book value, goodwill is considered not impaired and the second step of the impairment test is unnecessary. If the book value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the goodwill impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the book value of that goodwill. If the book value of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination. That is, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the reporting unit was the purchase price paid to acquire the reporting unit. In September 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment . This ASU permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity concludes it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, it need not perform the two-step impairment test. The ASU permits early adoption, and based on our qualitative assessment we concluded that we are not required to perform the two-step impairment test at December 31, 2011.

Impairments of Depreciable Intangible Assets

We evaluate depreciable intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Depreciable intangible assets consist of client contracts and related relationships, and are being amortized over their estimated useful life, which is generally 20 years. We evaluate the client contracts intangible at the individual contract level. The recoverability of such assets is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If the assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. There was no impairment expense for depreciable intangible assets in 2010 and 2011. In 2009, an impairment charge of $2.6 million was recognized to account for our decision to discontinue a relationship with a client.

 

37


Table of Contents

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012

The following table represents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Three Months Ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  
     (in thousands)  
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:             

Revenues

        $ 35,080           $ 45,878   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     16,729        18,641   

Other operating expense

     10,073        16,141   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     26,802        34,782   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     8,278        11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs

            (3,679

Interest expense

     (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

     32        31   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     4,867        4,258   

Provision for income taxes

     1,949        1,742   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $         2,918           $         2,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $45.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $10.8 million, or 30.8%, compared to total revenue of $35.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase in revenues is primarily due to an increase of $8.4 million in revenues received from CMS under our RAC contract as a result of higher claim recovery volumes and an increase of $2.8 million in student loan recovery revenues. This increase was partially offset by a reduction of $2.4 million of student loan rehabilitation revenues from the Department of Education for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, as a result of the inability of the Department of Education to process rehabilitated loans due to the delays created by their technology system upgrade.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $18.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $1.9 million, or 11.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $16.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to hiring of new employees to provide services under our RAC contract with CMS, an increase in administrative employees and an increase in expenses associated with the engagement of additional software engineers to assist in the integration of a newly acquired software license.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $16.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of $6.1 million, or 60.2%, compared to other operating expense of $10.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily due to an additional $3.5 million of subcontractor expenses incurred in connection with increased services provided under the RAC contract and MSA contracts in our student lending market. In addition, in the three months ended March 31, 2012, we incurred an additional $0.9 million of data processing, retrieval of medical records, printing and mailing services expenses as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2011, due to increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records in connection with the RAC contract.

 

38


Table of Contents

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $11.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, compared to $8.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, representing an increase of $2.8 million, or 34.0%.

Debt Extinguishment Costs

As a result of the entry into our new credit facility and the repayment of all amounts owed under our then existing credit facility in March 2012, we incurred debt extinguishment costs of $3.7 million, comprised of approximately $3.3 million in fees paid to the lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with our old credit facility.

Interest Expense

Interest expense of $3.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $3.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011 representing a decrease of 7.3%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012, which represented a decrease of $0.4 million compared to net income of $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011. Excluding the debt extinguishment costs incurred in March 2012, net income would have been $4.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Year Ended December 31, 2010 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2011

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2011  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         123,519           $         162,974   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     58,113        67,082   

Other operating expense

     33,655        49,199   

Impairment of trade name

            13,400   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     91,768        129,681   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     31,751        33,293   

Interest expense

     (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

     118        125   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     16,639        19,888   

Provision for income taxes

     6,664        7,516   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 9,975           $ 12,372   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $163.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $39.5 million, or 31.9%, compared to total revenues of $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Of this increase, $19.7 million is attributable to increased recovery activity on our RAC contract with CMS and reflects the first full-year of our recovery activity related to this contract. The remaining increase was primarily a result

 

39


Table of Contents

of an increase in revenues from our student lending markets, due largely to an approximately 17.9% increase in placement volume from 2010 to 2011.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits was $67.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $9.0 million, or 15.4%, compared to salaries and benefits expense of $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to an increase in employee headcount associated with hiring to staff our operations under the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,280 as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 160, or 14.3%, over the employee headcount of 1,120 as of December 31, 2010.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $49.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of $15.5 million, or 46.2%, compared to other operating expense of $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This increase is primarily due to the use of subcontractors as we expand our operations in our healthcare market to help address the new and significant claims activity, along with increases in payments to healthcare providers for the transfer of medical records as required under the RAC contract. In addition, we recorded a $1.2 million expense in 2011 related to a legal settlement that was paid out in the first quarter of 2012.

Income From Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $33.3 million, for the year ended December 31, 2011, as compared to $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. This reflects an expense of $13.4 million related to impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible assets due to the retirement of a former trade name. Income from operations excluding this expense totaled $46.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represents an increase of $14.9 million, or 47.1%, as compared to income from operations for the year ended December 31, 2010.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, a decrease of $1.7 million from $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. The reduction in interest expense is due primarily to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense of $7.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, represented an effective tax rate of 37.8% of income before provision for income tax.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $12.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, which represented an increase of $2.4 million over net income of $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010. Excluding the impairment expenses to write off the carrying amount of the trade name, net income would have been $20.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 

40


Table of Contents

Year Ended December 31, 2009 compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2010

The following table presents our historical operating results for the periods presented:

 

     Years Ended December 31,  
     2009     2010  
     (in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenues

        $         109,832           $         123,519   

Operating expenses:

    

Salaries and benefits

     53,728        58,113   

Other operating expense

     32,110        33,655   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     85,838        91,768   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

     23,994        31,751   

Interest expense

     (16,017     (15,230

Interest income

     104        118   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

     8,081        16,639   

Provision for income taxes

     3,071        6,664   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

        $ 5,010           $ 9,975   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Revenues

Total revenues were $123.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $13.7 million, or 12.5%, compared to total revenues of $109.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. Total revenues increased as a result of greater student loan revenue of $19.6 million driven by increased placement volume and $1.8 million of revenue associated with the commencement of operations under our RAC contract. This increase was partially offset by decrease in other revenue primarily attributable to a revenue benefit we experienced in 2009 related to tax amnesty programs in two states, which is estimated to be $7.3 million.

Salaries and Benefits

Salaries and benefits expense was $58.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $4.4 million, or 8.2%, compared to salaries and related expense of $53.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due primarily to an increase in employee headcount required for the implementation of the RAC contract. Our employee headcount was 1,120 as of December 31, 2010, an increase of 61, or 5.8%, over the employee headcount of 1,059 as of December 31, 2009.

Other Operating Expense

Other operating expense was $33.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $1.5 million, or 4.8%, compared to other operating expense of $32.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The change is due mainly to increased use of subcontractors to help meet increased recovery activity, along with an increase in legal fees associated with a lawsuit.

Income from Operations

As a result of the factors described above, income from operations was $31.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to $24.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The increase in income from operations was primarily due to revenues growing at a higher rate than operating expenses as a result of operating efficiencies.

 

41


Table of Contents

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $15.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, a decrease of $0.8 million from $16.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The reduction in interest expense is primarily due to lower notes payable balances resulting from principal repayments.

Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes of $6.7 million was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase of $3.6 million compared to provision for income taxes for the year ended December 31, 2009. Our effective tax rate increased to 40.0% from 38.0%.

Net Income

As a result of the factors described above, net income was $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, which represents an increase of $5.0 million as compared to net income of $5.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Selected Quarterly Financial Data

The following table sets forth selected unaudited consolidated quarterly operating data for each of the nine quarters during the period from January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2012. In our management’s opinion, the data has been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus and reflect all necessary adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of these data. You should read this information together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Operating results for any fiscal quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in future periods.

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar 31,
2010
    Jun 30,
2010
    Sept 30,
2010
    Dec 31,
2010
    Mar 31,
2011
    Jun 30,
2011
    Sep 30,
2011
    Dec 31,
2011
    Mar 31,
2012
 
    (in thousands)  

Revenues

   $   29,135       $   31,319       $   29,362       $   33,703       $   35,080       $   43,244       $   42,009       $   42,641       $   45,878   

Operating expenses:

                 

Salaries and benefits

    14,715        14,232        14,185        14,981        16,729        17,252        16,456        16,645        18,641   

Other operating expense

    7,231        8,330        8,414        9,680        10,073        11,507        13,613        14,006        16,141   

Impairment of trade name (1)

                                                     13,400          
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

    21,946        22,562        22,599        24,661        26,802        28,759        30,069        44,051        34,782   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

    7,189        8,757        6,763        9,042        8,278        14,485        11,940        (1,410     11,096   

Debt extinguishment costs (2)

                                                            (3,679

Interest expense

    (3,991     (3,971     (3,667     (3,601     (3,443     (3,404     (3,366     (3,317     (3,190

Interest income

    25        28        34        31        32        31        31        31        31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

    3,223        4,814        3,130        5,472        4,867        11,112        8,605        (4,696     4,258   

Provision for income taxes

    1,291        1,928        1,254        2,191        1,949        4,451        3,439        (2,323     1,742   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   $ 1,932       $ 2,886       $ 1,876       $ 3,281       $ 2,918       $ 6,661       $ 5,166       $ (2,373    $ 2,516   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

Represents impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the plan to retire the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name.

(2)

Represents debt extinguishment costs comprised of approximately $3.3 million of fees paid to lenders in connection with our new credit facility and approximately $0.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs in connection with our old credit facility.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our primary source of liquidity is cash flows from operations. We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents combined with the amounts available under our credit agreement and the proceeds to us from sales of

 

42


Table of Contents

our common stock in this offering, will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for at least the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, among other things, including our future profitability, cash flows from operations, and the availability under our credit agreement.

Our cash and cash equivalents was $12.3 million as of March 31, 2012.

Cash Flows

The following table presents information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011 and for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Three Months Ended
March 31,
 
     2009     2010     2011         2011             2012      
     (in thousands)  

Net cash flows provided by operating activities

   $ 15,633      $ 18,214      $ 28,985      $ 9,188      $ 2,842   

Net cash flows used in investing activities

     (4,877     (4,921     (6,111     (1,046     (1,963

Net cash flows used in financing activities

     (10,940     (11,139     (13,948     (3,500     (8,571

Cash flows from operating activities

We generated $2.8 million of cash from operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from our net income of $2.5 million and non-cash depreciation and amortization of $2.2 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $2.5 million. A change in our operating assets and liabilities resulted from a $3.9 million increase in deferred revenues as a result of cash receipts from the Department of Education with respect to rehabilitation of student loans that the Department of Education has not been able to process due to its technology upgrade project. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, cash flows from operating activities were $9.2 million, reflecting net income of $2.9 million, depreciation and amortization of $1.9 million and net changes in operating assets and liabilities of $4.0 million.

We generated $29.0 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2011, primarily resulting from our net income of $12.4 million, non-cash depreciation and amortization of $7.8 million, an impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. trade name of $13.4 million and changes in operating assets and liabilities of $3.8 million, offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $9.6 million. We generated $18.2 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily reflecting from our net income of $10.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $7.2 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $2.0 million, partially offset by non-cash changes in operating assets and liabilities of $1.5 million. We generated $15.6 million of cash from operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily resulting from our net income of $5.0 million, non-cash depreciation, amortization and impairment of intangible assets of $9.6 million and interest expense from debt issuance costs of $3.0 million, partially offset by non-cash deferred income taxes of $2.9 million.

Cash flows from investing activities

Cash flows for investing activities were used primarily for the acquisition and maintenance of computer equipment and software, to enhance our technology platform and to improve our telecommunications systems. We used $2.0 million of cash in investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, resulting from $1.2 million related to purchases of property, equipment and leasehold improvements and $0.8 million related to the initial payment for the purchase of a perpetual software license and computer equipment. We used $4.9 million, $4.9 million and $6.1 million of cash in investing activities for the purchase of property, equipment and leasehold improvements during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, primarily returning investments in information technology systems and infrastructure to support increased business volumes.

 

43


Table of Contents

Cash flows from financing activities

Our financing activities have consisted primarily of the entry into our new credit agreement, the repayment of our old credit agreement, the redemption of shares of preferred stock and the payment of deferred financing fees. We used $8.6 million of cash in financing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2012, primarily resulting from $136.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new notes payable and $4.5 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our new line of credit, which were partially offset by $44.0 million used for the redemption of preferred stock, $95.2 million used for the repayment of our old notes payable, $8.2 million used for the repayment of our old line of credit and $2.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $13.9 million of cash in financing activities for the repayment of notes payable during the year ended December 31, 2011. We used $11.1 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2010, comprised of $10.0 million used for the repayment of notes payable and $1.2 million used for debt issuance costs. We used $10.9 million of cash in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily due to $10.9 million used for the repayment of notes payable, $1.0 million for debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of net proceeds received from borrowings under our old line of credit.

Long-term Debt

On March 19, 2012, we, through our wholly owned subsidiary, entered into a $147.5 million credit agreement with Madison Capital Funding LLC as administrative agent, ING Capital LLC as syndication agent, and other lenders party thereto. The senior credit facility consists of (i) a $57.0 million term A loan, (ii) a $79.5 million term B loan, and (iii) a $11.0 million revolving credit facility, which had a borrowing capacity of $5.1 million as of March 31, 2012. We may also request the lenders to increase the size of the term B loan or other term loans by up to $30.0 million at any time prior to March 19, 2014.

All borrowings under the credit agreement bear interest at a rate per annum equal to an applicable margin plus, at our option, either (i) a base rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) the prime rate published in the Wall Street Journal or another national publication, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.5%, and (c) 2.5% or (ii) a London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, rate determined by reference to the highest of (a) a Libor rate published in Reuters or another national publication and (b) 1.5%. The term A loan and the revolving credit facility have an applicable margin of 4.25% for base rate loans and 5.25% for Libor rate loans. The term B loan has an applicable margin of 4.75% for base rate loans and 5.75% for Libor rate loans. The minimum per annum interest rate that we are required to pay is 6.75% for the term A loan and revolving credit facility and 7.25% for the term B loan. Interest is due at the end of each month for base rate loans and at the end of each Libor period for Libor rate loans unless the Libor period is greater than 3 months, in which case interest is due at the last day of each 3-month interval of such Libor period.

The credit agreement requires us to prepay the two term loans on a prorated basis and then to prepay the revolving credit facility under certain circumstances: (i) with 100% of the net cash proceeds of any asset sale or other disposition of assets by us or our subsidiaries where the net cash proceeds exceed $1 million, (ii) with a percentage of our annual excess cash flow each year where such percentage ranges from 25%-75% depending on our total debt to EBITDA ratio reduced by any voluntary prepayments that are made on our term loans during the same period and (iii) with any net cash proceeds from a qualified initial public offering by us, less net proceeds applied to redeem any outstanding preferred equity or convertible debt, to pay a common shareholder dividend not to exceed $20 million or, if we comply with an adjusted EBITDA ratio set forth in the agreement, to our cash balances in an amount not to exceed $75 million. We intend to apply the net proceeds of this offering, other than as described under “Use of Proceeds,” to our cash balances.

We have to abide by certain negative covenants for our credit agreement, which limit the ability for our subsidiaries and us to:

 

   

incur additional indebtedness;

 

44


Table of Contents
   

create or permit liens;

 

   

pay dividends or other distributions to our equity holders;

 

   

purchase or redeem certain equity interests of our equity holders, including any warrants, options and other security rights;

 

   

pay management fees or similar fees to any of our equity holders;

 

   

make any redemption, prepayment, defeasance, repurchase or any other payment with respect to any subordinated debt;

 

   

consolidate or merge;

 

   

sell assets, including the capital stock of our subsidiaries;

 

   

enter into transactions with our affiliates;

 

   

enter into different business lines; and

 

   

make investments.

The credit agreement also requires us to meet certain financial covenants, including maintaining a fixed charge coverage ratio and a total debt to EBITDA ratio as such terms are defined in the agreement for our credit agreement. These financial covenants are tested at the end of each quarter beginning on June 30, 2012. The table below further describes these financial covenants, as well as our current status under these covenants as of March 31, 2012.

 

Financial Covenant

   Covenant
Requirement
     Actual Ratio at
March  31, 2012
 

Fixed charge coverage ratio (minimum)

     1.20 to 1.0         1.79 to 1.0   

Total debt to EBITDA ratio (maximum)

     3.25 to 1.0         2.13 to 1.0   

Contractual Obligations

The following summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2011, except for long-term debt obligations, which reflect the terms of the new credit agreement dated March 19, 2012:

 

    Payments Due by Period  
    Less Than
1 Year
    1 – 3
Years
    3 – 5
Years
    More Than
5 Years
    Total  
    (in thousands)  

Long-Term Debt Obligations (1)

      $         8,134          $         21,690          $         21,690          $         89,486          $         141,000   

Interest Payments (1)

    11,137        19,483        16,214        7,869        54,703   

Operating Lease Obligations

    1,402        1,386        135               2,923   

Purchase Obligation

    732                             732   

Deferred Compensation

           1,761                      1,761   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ 21,405          $ 44,320          $ 38,039          $ 97,355          $ 201,119   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

(1) We entered into our new credit agreement on March 19, 2012, with all outstanding indebtedness under our prior loan facility paid in full. Long-term debt obligations and interest payments presented in this table relate solely to our new credit agreement.

 

45


Table of Contents

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. We conduct all of our business in U.S. currency and therefore do not have any direct foreign currency risk. All borrowings under our senior secured credit facility bear interest at a variable rate based on the prime rate or Libor. While we currently hold our excess cash in an operating account, in the future we may invest all or a portion of our excess cash in short-term investments, including money market accounts, where returns may reflect current interest rates. As a result, market interest rate changes impact our interest expense and interest income. This impact will depend on variables such as the magnitude of interest rate changes and the level of our borrowings under our credit facility or excess cash balances.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. However, we do not intend to elect to take advantage of this extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933 as allowed by Section 107(b)(1) of the JOBS Act.

In December 2011, FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. We will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU eliminates the option in GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of income by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update 2011-05 . We plan to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of income in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRS . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or GAAP. For GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We expect that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

 

46


Table of Contents

BUSINESS

Overview

We provide technology-enabled recovery and related analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of our clients’ recovery processes.

We believe we have a leading position in our markets based on our proprietary technology-enabled services platform, long-standing client relationships and the large volume of funds we have recovered for our clients. In 2011, we provided recovery services on approximately $8.7 billion of combined student loans and other delinquent federal and state receivables and recovered approximately $189 million in improper Medicare payments. Our clients include 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan industry and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including a 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and, at the end of 2011, approximately $60 billion of government-supported student loans were in default. In the healthcare market, we are currently one of four prime Medicare Recovery Audit Contractors, or RACs, in the United States for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. According to the Government Accountability Office, Medicare paid $525 billion of claims in 2010, of which approximately $48 billion were estimated to be improper payments.

We utilize our technology platform to efficiently provide recovery and analytics services in the markets we serve. We have continuously developed and refined our technology platform for almost two decades by using our extensive domain and data processing expertise. Our technology platform allows us to disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent component steps, which we refer to as workflows, for our recovery and healthcare claims review specialists. This approach enables us to continuously refine our recovery processes to achieve higher rates of recovery with greater efficiency. By optimizing what traditionally have been manually-intensive processes, we believe we achieve higher workforce productivity versus more traditional labor-intensive outsourcing business models. For example, we generated in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year.

We believe that our platform is easily adaptable to new markets and processes. Over the past several years, we have successfully extended our platform into additional markets with significant recovery opportunities. For example, we utilized the same basic platform previously used primarily for student loan recovery activities to enter the healthcare market. Recently, we have enhanced our platform through investment in new data and analytics capabilities, which we believe will enable us to provide additional services such as services relating to the detection of fraud, waste and abuse.

Our revenue model is generally success-based as we earn fees based on a percentage of the aggregate amount of funds that we enable our clients to recover. Our services do not require any significant upfront investments by our clients and we offer our clients the opportunity to recover significant funds otherwise lost. Because our model is based upon the success of our efforts and the dollars we enable for our clients to recover, our business objectives are aligned with those of our clients and we are generally not reliant on their spending budgets. Further, our business model does not require significant capital expenditures for us and we do not purchase loans or obligations. We believe we benefit from a significant degree of revenue visibility due to reasonably predictable recovery outcomes in a substantial portion of our business.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, we generated approximately $163.0 million in revenues, $12.4 million in net income, $57.8 million in adjusted EBITDA and $25.0 million in adjusted net income. For the three-months ended March 31, 2012, we generated approximately $45.9 million in revenues, $2.5 million in net

 

47


Table of Contents

income, $13.7 million in adjusted EBITDA and $5.8 million in adjusted net income. For a discussion on limitations associated with using adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income rather than GAAP measures and reconciliations of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income to net income see the section titled “Summary Consolidated Financial Data—non-GAAP financial measures.”

Our Markets

We operate in markets characterized by strong growth, a complex regulatory environment and a significant amount of delinquent, defaulted or improperly paid assets.

Student Lending

Student lending is a large and critically-important market in the United States. According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, and the aggregate dollar amount of these loans has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12% from 2002 through 2011. This growth has been supported by general demographic trends, increased enrollment, and rising costs of tuition and other expenses that increase the need for borrowed funds among students. In addition to strong underlying origination growth, the default rates among student loan borrowers have increased in recent years. The “cohort default rate,” which is the measure utilized by the Department of Education to track the percentage of government-supported loan borrowers that enter repayment in a certain year ended September 30 and default by the end of the next year ended September 30, has risen from approximately 5% in 2006 to approximately 9% in 2009, the last year for which data is available.

Government-supported student loans are authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Historically, there have been two distribution channels for student loans: (i) the Federal Direct Student Loan Program, or FDSLP, which represents loans made and managed directly by the Department of Education; and (ii) the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP, which represents loans made by private institutions and currently backed by any of the 32 GAs.

In July 2010, the government-supported student loan sector underwent a structural change with the passage of SAFRA. This legislation transitioned all new government-supported student loan originations to the FDSLP, and away from originations made by private institutions within the FFELP that had previously utilized the GAs to guarantee, manage and service loans. The GAs are non-profit 501(c)(3) public benefit corporations operating under contract with the U.S. Secretary of Education, pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, solely for the purpose of guaranteeing and managing student loans originated by lenders participating in the FFELP. Consequently, while the original distribution channels for student loans have been consolidated into one channel, the Department of Education, this does not impact the volume of government-supported student loan origination, which is a key driver of the volume of defaulted student loan inventory. In addition, despite this transition of all new loan originations to the FDSLP, GAs will continue to manage a significant amount of defaulted student loans for some period of time, due to their large outstanding portfolios of loans originated prior to July 2010. The outstanding portfolios of defaulted FFELP loans will, therefore, require recovery for the foreseeable future.

The Department of Education estimates that the balance of defaulted loans was approximately $29.6 billion in the FDSLP as of September 30, 2011 and approximately $30.4 billion in the FFELP as of December 31, 2011. These programs collectively guaranteed approximately $706 billion of federal government-supported student loans according to the Congressional Budget Office as of September 30, 2011. Given the operational and logistical complexity involved in managing the recovery of defaulted student loans, the Department of Education and the GAs generally choose to outsource these services to third parties.

 

48


Table of Contents

The tables below show government-supported student loan originations and government-supported default inventory for the years ended 2007 through 2011 as reported by the Department of Education.

 

Government-Supported Student Loan Originations   Government-Supported Default Inventory
($ in billions)   ($ in billions)

LOGO

 

(1)

Represents inventory as of September 30, 2011.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry represents a significant portion of the U.S. GDP. According to CMS, U.S. healthcare spending exceeded $2.6 trillion in 2010 and is forecast to grow at a 6% annual rate through 2020. In particular, CMS indicates that federal government-related healthcare spending for 2010 totaled approximately $1.2 trillion. This government-related spending included approximately $525 billion for Medicare, which provides a range of healthcare coverage primarily to elderly and disabled Americans, and $401 billion for Medicaid, which provides federal matching funds for states to finance healthcare for individuals at or below the public assistance level.

The tables below show total U.S. healthcare expenditures from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by CMS and total Medicare spending from 2010 through 2020 as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.

 

Total U.S. Healthcare Expenditures   Medicare Spending
($ in trillions)   ($ in billions)
LOGO   LOGO

Medicare was initially established as part of the Social Security Act of 1965 and consists of four parts: Part A covers hospital and other inpatient stays; Part B covers hospital outpatient, physician and other services; Part C is known as Medicare Advantage, under which beneficiaries receive benefits through private health plans; and Part D is the Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit.

Of the $525 billion of 2010 Medicare spending, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated that approximately $48 billion, or 9%, was improper, and is the federal public assistance program

 

49


Table of Contents

with the largest amount of improper payments. Medicare improper payments generally involve incorrect coding, procedures performed which were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules, among other issues. Likewise, Medicaid improper payments were estimated to be $23 billion, or 6%, of total Medicaid payments for 2010. The following table illustrates the proportion of improper payments among federal public assistance programs in the year ended September 30, 2010, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Top Federal Programs with Improper Payments in the Year Ended
September 30, 2010

 

LOGO

Total = $125 billion

 

(1)

Other includes National School Lunch, Pell Grant, and 60 additional programs.

In accordance with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, a demonstration program was conducted from March 2005 to March 2008 in six states to determine if the RAC program could be effectively used to identify improper payments for claims paid under Medicare Part A and Part B. Due to the success of this demonstration, under The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the U.S. Congress authorized the expansion of the RAC program nationwide. CMS relies on third-party contractors to execute the RAC program to analyze millions of Medicare claims annually for improper payments that have been paid to healthcare providers. The program was implemented by designating one prime contractor in each of the four major regions in the United States: West, Midwest, South, and Northeast.

In addition to government-related healthcare spending, significant growth is expected in the private healthcare market. According to the CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey, the private healthcare market accounted for approximately $1.4 trillion in spending in 2010 and private expenditures are projected to grow more than 5% annually through 2020.

Other Markets

State Tax Market

We believe that the demand for recovery of delinquent state taxes will grow as state governments struggle with revenue generation and face significant budget deficits. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an independent think tank, 47 U.S. states faced budget shortfalls totaling $130 billion in the year ended September 30, 2011, with at least 43 states anticipating deficits for fiscal year 2012. The recent economic recession has led to lower income and sales taxes from both individuals and corporations, reducing overall tax revenues and leading to large budget deficits at the state government level. While many states have received federal aid, most have cut services and increased taxes to help close the budget shortfall and have evaluated outsourcing at least some aspect of delinquent tax recovery.

 

50


Table of Contents

Federal Agency Market

The federal agency market consists of government debt subrogated to the Department of the Treasury by numerous different federal agencies, comprising a mix of commercial and individual obligations and a diverse range of receivables. These debts are managed by the Department of Financial Management Service, a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, or FMS. Since 1996, the FMS has recovered more than $54 billion in delinquent federal debt. For the year ended September 30, 2011, federal agency recoveries in this market totaled more than $6.2 billion, an increase of more than $700 million over 2010. A significant portion of these collections are processed by private collection firms on behalf of the FMS.

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that our business is difficult to replicate, as it incorporates a combination of several important and differentiated elements, including:

 

   

Scalable and flexible technology-enabled services platform.   We have built a proprietary technology platform that is highly flexible, intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists. Our platform is easily configurable and deployable across multiple markets and processes. For example, we have successfully extended our platform from the student loan market to the state tax, federal treasury receivables and the healthcare recovery markets, each having its own industry complexities and specific regulations.

 

   

Advanced, technology-enabled workflow processes.   Our technology-enabled workflow processes, developed over many years of operational experience in recovery services, disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. We believe our workflow software is highly intuitive and helps our recovery and claims specialists manage each step of the recovery process, while automating a series of otherwise manually-intensive and document-intensive steps in the recovery process. We believe our streamlined workflow technology drives higher efficiencies in our operations, as illustrated by our ability to generate in excess of $130,000 of revenues per employee during 2011, based on the average number of employees during the year. We believe our streamlined workflow technology also improves recovery results relative to more labor-intensive outsourcing models.

 

   

Enhanced data and analytics capabilities.   Our data and analytics capabilities allow us to achieve strong recovery rates for our clients. We have collected recovery-related data for over two decades, which we combine with large volumes of client and third-party data to effectively analyze our clients’ delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments. We have also developed a number of analytics tools that we use to score our clients’ recovery inventory, determine the optimal recovery process and allocation of resources, and achieve higher levels of recovery results for our clients. In addition, we utilize analytics tools to continuously measure and test our recovery workflow processes to drive refinements and further enhance the quality and effectiveness of our capabilities. Finally, through a recent strategic investment, we have acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. We believe this investment will allow us to expand our capabilities into several new areas including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in various markets.

 

   

Long-standing client relationships.   We believe our long-standing focus on achieving superior recovery performance for our clients and the significant value our clients derive from this focus have helped us achieve long-tenured client relationships, strong contract retention and better access to new clients and future growth opportunities. We have business relationships with 13 of the 33 public sector participants in the student loan market and these relationships average more than 11 years in length, including an approximate 22-year relationship with the Department of Education. In the healthcare market, we have a seven-year relationship with CMS and are currently one of only four prime Medicare RAC contractors.

 

51


Table of Contents
   

Extensive domain expertise in complex and regulated markets.   We have extensive experience and domain expertise in providing recovery services for government and private institutions that generally operate in complex and regulated markets. We have demonstrated our ability to develop domain expertise in new markets such as healthcare and state tax and federal Treasury receivables. We believe we have the necessary organizational experience to understand and adapt to evolving public policy and how it shapes the regulatory environment and objectives of our clients. We believe this helps us identify and anticipate growth opportunities. For example, we successfully identified government healthcare as a potential growth opportunity that has thus far led to the award of three contracts to us by CMS. Together with our flexible technology platform, we have the ability to adapt our business strategy, to allocate resources and to respond to changes in our regulatory environment to capitalize on new growth opportunities.

 

   

Proven and experienced management team .   Our management team has significant industry experience and has demonstrated strong execution capabilities. Our senior management team, led by Lisa Im, has been with us for an average of approximately 12 years. This team has successfully grown our revenue base and service offerings beyond the original student loan market into healthcare and delinquent state tax and private financial institutions receivables. Our management team’s industry experience, combined with deep and specialized understanding of complex and highly regulated industries, has enabled us to maintain long-standing client relationships and strong financial results.

Our Growth Strategy

Key elements of our growth strategy include the following:

 

   

Expand our student loan recovery volume.   According to the Department of Education, total government-supported student loan originations were approximately $109 billion in 2011, and have grown at a 12% compound annual growth rate from 2002 through 2011. The balance of defaulted government-supported student loans was estimated to be approximately $60 billion as of December 31, 2011. While we have long-standing relationships with some of the largest participants in the government-supported student loan market, we believe there are significant opportunities within this growing market to increase the volume of student loans placed with us by existing and new clients. For example, under our contract with the Department of Education, we believe there is an opportunity to grow our placement volume through strong performance. Further, as a result of our relationships with five of the seven largest GAs, we believe we are well-positioned to benefit as a result of any consolidation of smaller GAs over the coming years.

 

   

Expand our recovery services in the healthcare market.   According to CMS’ National Health Expenditures Survey, Medicare spending totaled approximately $525 billion in 2010 and is expected to increase to $922 billion in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6%. In the private healthcare market, spending totaled $1.4 trillion in 2010 and is expected to grow more than 6% annually through 2020, according to CMS’ National Health Expenditures survey. As these large markets continue to grow, we expect the need for recovery services to increase in the public and private healthcare markets. In the public healthcare space, we intend to utilize the experience gained through our contracts with CMS to pursue additional recovery opportunities in areas such as Medicare Secondary Payor Recovery and state Medicaid recovery. In addition, through our recently enhanced analytics capabilities, we intend to pursue opportunities to find and eliminate losses prior to payment for healthcare services including the detection of fraud, waste and abuse in the public and private healthcare markets.

 

   

Pursue strategic alliances and acquisitions.   We intend to selectively consider opportunities to grow through strategic alliances or acquisitions that are complementary to our business. These opportunities may enhance our existing capability or enable us to enter new markets or provide new products or services, such as our licensing of new applied data modeling analytics capabilities that can be used to identify fraudulent or erroneous healthcare claims prior to payment.

 

52


Table of Contents

Our Platform

Our technology-enabled services platform is based on over two decades of experience in recovering large amounts of funds on behalf of our clients across several markets. The components of our platform include our data management expertise, analytics capabilities and technology-based workflow processes. Our platform integrates these components to allow us to achieve optimized outcomes for our clients in the form of increased efficiency and productivity and high recovery rates. Our platform and workflow processes are also intuitive and easy to use for our recovery and claims specialists and allow us to increase our employee retention and productivity.

The components of our platform include the following:

Data Management Expertise

Our platform manages and stores large amounts of data throughout the workflow process. This includes both proprietary data we have compiled over two decades as well as third-party data which we can integrate efficiently and in real-time to reduce errors, reduce cycle time processing and, ultimately, improve recovery rates. The strength of our data management expertise augments our analytics capabilities and provides our recovery and claims specialists with powerful workflow processes.

Data Analytics Capabilities

Our data analytics capabilities efficiently screen and allocate massive volumes of recovery inventory. For example, upon receipt of each placement of student loans, we utilize our proprietary algorithms to assist us in determining the most efficient recovery process and the optimal allocation of recovery specialist resources for each loan. In the healthcare market, we analyze millions of Medicare claims to find potential correlations between claims data and improper payments, which enhance our future recovery rates. Across all of our current markets, we utilize our proprietary analytics tools to continuously and rigorously test our workflow processes in real-time to drive greater process efficiency and improvement in recovery rates.

Furthermore, we believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

Workflow Processes

Over many years, we have developed and refined our recovery workflow processes, which we believe drive higher efficiency and productivity and reduce our reliance on labor-intensive methods relative to more traditional recovery outsourcing models. We refer to the patented technology that supports our proprietary workflows as “Smart Bins.” Smart Bins disaggregate otherwise complex recovery processes into a series of simple, efficient and consistent steps that are easily configurable and applicable to different types of recovery-related applications. Our workflow processes integrate a broad range of functions that encompass each stage of a recovery process.

Smart Bins have been designed to be highly intuitive and help our recovery and claims specialists manage each step in the recovery process and enhance their productivity to high levels, regardless of skill differences among specialists. Smart Bins direct specialists toward the most efficient and effective action, or step with respect to the management and recovery of a defaulted student loan, with some input by specialists. Our technology places expert system rules into the workflow engine, allowing employees at different skill levels to manage the more complex work steps that highly experienced workers would perform, while automating document management and compliance functionality as industry regulations and compliance demands change.

 

53


Table of Contents

The following recovery diagram illustrates how the various components of our platform work together to solve a typical client workflow:

 

LOGO

 

54


Table of Contents

Our Services

We use our technology-enabled services platform to provide recovery and analytics services in a broad range of markets for the identification and recovery of student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. The table below summarizes our recovery services and related analytics capabilities and the markets we serve.

 

Recovery Services

 

 

Analytics
Capabilities

 

Student Loans   Healthcare   Other Markets    

 

 

•Provide recovery services to the Department of Education, GAs and private institutions

 

•Identify and track defaulted borrowers across our clients’ portfolios of student loans

 

•Utilize our proprietary technology, our history of borrower data and our analytics capabilities to rehabilitate and recover past due student loans

 

•Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of funds that we enable our clients to recover

 

•Provide recovery services to identify improper healthcare payments

 

•Analyze millions of Medicare Parts A and B claims as the prime contractor for recovery services for improper payments in the Northeast region of the United States

 

•Identify improper payments typically resulting from incorrect coding, procedures that were not medically necessary, incomplete documentation or claims submitted based on outdated fee schedules

 

•Earn contingent, success-based fees based on a percentage of claim amounts recovered

 

•Provide tax recovery services to state and municipal agencies

 

•Recover government debt for numerous different federal agencies under a contract with the Treasury

 

•Enable financial institutions to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets

 

•Earn contingent, success-based fees calculated as a percentage of the amounts recovered, fees based on dedicated headcount and hosted technology licensing fees

 

•Provide claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits functions for one of the nation’s largest health care organizations

 

•We intend to accelerate the use of our recently acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight, to offer a variety of services from post- and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection

Recovery Services

Student Loans

We provide recovery services primarily to the government-supported student loan industry, and our clients include the Department of Education and several of the largest GAs, as well as private financial institutions. We use our proprietary technology to identify, track and communicate with defaulted borrowers on behalf of our clients to implement suitable recovery programs for the repayment of outstanding student loan balances.

Our clients contract with us to provide recovery services for large pools of student loans generally representing a portion of the total outstanding defaulted balances they manage, which they provide to us as “placements” on a periodic basis. Generally, the volume of placements that we receive from our clients is influenced by our performance under our contracts and our ability to recover funds from defaulted student loans,

 

55


Table of Contents

as measured against the performance of competitors who may service a similar pool of defaulted loans for the same client. To the extent we perform well under our existing contracts and differentiate our services from those of our competitors, we may receive a relatively greater number of student loan placements under these contracts and may improve our ability to obtain future contracts from these clients and other potential clients.

We believe the size and the composition of our student loan inventory at any point provides us with significant degree of revenue visibility for our student loan revenues. We use algorithms derived from over two decades of experience with defaulted student loans to make reasonably accurate estimates of the recovery outcomes likely to be derived from a placement of defaulted student loans.

We also restructure and recover student loans issued directly by banks to students outside of federal lending programs. These types of loans typically supplement government-supported student loans to meet any shortfall in supply of student loan needs that cannot be met by grants or federal loans. Unlike government-supported student loans, private student loans do not have capped interest rates and, accordingly, involve higher instances of default relative to federally-backed student loans.

Healthcare

We provide recovery services related to improper payments in the healthcare market. In 2009 we were awarded the role as one of four prime RAC contractors in the United States, with exclusive responsibility for the Northeast region. Under our RAC contract, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments. Our geographical region accounted for approximately 23% of all Medicare spending in 2009 according to CMS. Our relationship with CMS began in 2005 with an initial demonstration contract to recover improper payments for Medicare Secondary Payor claims.

We utilize our technology-enabled services platform to screen Medicare claims against several criteria, including coding procedures and medical necessity standards, to determine whether a claim should be further investigated for recoupment or adjustment by CMS. We conduct automated and, where appropriate, detailed medical necessity reviews. If we determine that the likelihood of finding potential improper payment warrants further investigation, we request and review healthcare provider medical records related to the claim, utilizing experts in Medicare coding and registered nurses. We interact and communicate with healthcare providers and other administrative entities, and ultimately submit the claim to CMS for correction.

To accelerate our ability to provide Medicare audit and recovery services across our region following our award of the RAC contract, we outsource certain aspects of our healthcare recovery process to three different subcontractors. Two of these subcontractors provide a specific service to us in connection with our claims recovery process, and one subcontractor is engaged to provide all of the audit and recovery services for claims within a portion of our region. According to CMS, the geographic area allocated to this subcontractor represented approximately 17% of the total Medicare spending in our region in 2009.

Other Markets

We also provide recovery services to several state and municipal tax authorities, the Department of the Treasury and a number of financial institutions.

For state and municipal tax authorities, we analyze a portfolio of delinquent tax and other receivables placed with us, develop a recovery plan and execute a recovery process designed to maximize the recovery of funds. In some instances, we have also run state tax amnesty programs, which provide one-time relief for delinquent tax obligations, and other debtor management services for our clients. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments. Delinquent obligations are placed with us by our clients and we utilize a process that is similar to the student loan recovery process for recovering these obligations.

For the Department of the Treasury, we recover government debt subrogated to it by numerous different federal agencies. The placements we are provided represent a mix of commercial and individual obligations. We are one of four contractors for the most recent Treasury contract.

 

56


Table of Contents

We also provide risk management advisory services that enable these clients to proactively manage loan portfolios and reduce the incidence of defaulted loan assets over time. Our experience suggests that proactive default prevention practices produce significant net yield and earnings gains for our clients. We deliver these services in two forms. First, we contact and consult with borrowers to implement a repayment program, including payment through automatic debit arrangements, prior to the beginning of the repayment period in order to increase the likelihood that payments begin on time. Second, we offer a service that involves contacting delinquent borrowers in an effort to cure the delinquency prior to the loan entering default.

Analytics Capabilities

For several years, we have leveraged our data analytics tools to help filter, identify and recover delinquent and defaulted assets and improper payments as part of our core recovery services platform. Recently, through a strategic investment, we acquired enhanced data analytics capabilities, which we refer to as Performant Insight. Performant Insight adds new capabilities in data warehousing and data processing tools that accelerate our ability to review, aggregate, and synthesize very large volumes of structured and unstructured data, at high speeds, from the initial intake of disparate data sources, to the warehousing of the data, to the analysis and reporting of the data. We believe we have built a differentiated, next-generation “end-to-end” data processing solution that will maximize value for current and future customers.

Performant Insight provides numerous benefits for our recovery services platform. Performant Insight has not only enhanced our existing recovery services under our RAC contract by analyzing significantly higher volumes of healthcare claims at faster rates and reducing our cycle time to review and assess healthcare claims, but has also enabled us to develop improved and more sophisticated business intelligence rules that can be applied to our audit processes. We believe our enhanced analytics capabilities will extend our potential markets, permitting us to pursue significant new business opportunities. We intend to accelerate the use of our data analytics capabilities in the healthcare sector to offer a variety of services from post and pre-payment audit of healthcare claims in both the public and private healthcare sector, to detection of fraud, waste and abuse of healthcare claims, to coordination of benefits and pharmacy fraud detection.

While our revenues from analytics services are limited to date, we believe these services represent a meaningful future opportunity. We currently offer analytics services to one of the largest national healthcare organizations where our analytics services provide real-time financial and operational cost analyses to help support a broad range of compliance and fiscal management functions across the organization, including claims audit, pharmacy management and coordination of benefits. In addition, we are developing strategies to deploy these services in markets other than healthcare.

Our Clients

We provide our services across a broad range of government and private clients in several markets.

Department of Education

We have provided student loan recovery services to the Department of Education for approximately 22 years. We restructure and recover defaulted student loans distributed directly by the Department of Education as part of the FDSLP. Due to its limited resources and recovery capabilities, the Department of Education outsources much of its defaulted student loan portfolio to third-party vendors for recovery. Recovery fees are entirely contingency-based, and our fee for a particular recovery depends on the type of recovery facilitated. We also receive incremental performance incentives based upon our performance as compared to other contractors with the Department of Education, which are comprised of additional inventory allocation volumes and incentive fees. To participate in the Department of Education contracts, firms must follow a highly competitive selection process. For the latest Department of Education contract, the fourth major contract the Department of Education has outsourced to selected vendors, we were selected as one of 17 unrestricted vendors and initiated work on this contract in the fourth quarter of 2009. Because all federally-supported student loans are being originated by the Department of Education as a result of SAFRA, our relationship with the Department of Education will become

 

57


Table of Contents

increasingly more important over time. The Department of Education was responsible for approximately 11% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Guaranty Agencies

We restructure and recover defaulted student loans issued by private lenders and backed by GAs under the FFELP. Despite the transition from FFELP to FDSLP, we believe GA default volumes will continue to rise for several years as there is a lag between originations and defaults of at least three to four years. When a borrower stops making regular payments on a FFELP loan, the GA is obligated to reimburse the lender approximately 97% of the loan’s principle and accrued interest. GAs then seek to recover and restructure these obligations. The GAs with which we contract generally structure one to three-year initial term contracts with multiple renewal periods, and the fees that we receive are generally similar to the fees we receive from the Department of Education contract. For some GA clients, we provide services through MSAs, under which we manage a GA’s entire portfolio of defaulted student loans and, for certain clients, engage subcontractors to provide a portion of the recovery services associated with a GA’s student loan portfolio.

We have a relationship with 12 of the 32 active GAs in the U.S., including American Student Assistance Corporation, Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation and American Education Services, each of which was responsible for 19%, 18% and 13%, respectively, of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011. Our relationships with each of our five largest GA clients, two of which are MSA clients, average 16 years.

CMS

We have a seven-year relationship with CMS. Under our RAC contract with CMS awarded in 2009, we identify and facilitate the recovery of improper Parts A and B Medicare payments in the Northeast region of the United States and which accounted for approximately 13% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2011 and increased to approximately 26% of our revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The fees that we receive for identifying these improper payments from CMS are entirely contingency-based, and the contingency-fee percentage depends on the methods of recovery, and, in some cases, the type of improper payment that we identify.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

We have assisted the Department of the Treasury for 15 years in the recovery of delinquent receivables owed to a number of different federal agencies. The debt obligations we help to recover on behalf of the Department of the Treasury include commercial and individual debt obligations. We are one of the four firms servicing the current Department of the Treasury contract. Similar to our other recovery contracts, our fees under this contract are contingency-based. We view this as an important strategic relationship, as it provides us valuable insight into other business opportunities within the federal government.

State Tax and Municipal Agencies

We provide outsourced recovery services for individuals’ delinquent state tax and other municipal obligations on a hosted model and under MSAs. We currently have relationships with ten state and municipal governments.

Private Lenders

We provide recovery services for private student loans, that supplement federally guaranteed loans, and home mortgages to private lenders.

Sales and Marketing

Our new business opportunities have historically been driven largely by referrals and natural extensions of our existing client relationships, as well as a targeted outreach by senior management. Our sales cycles are often lengthy, and demand high levels of attention from our senior management. At any point in time, we are

 

58


Table of Contents

typically focused on a limited number of potentially significant new business opportunities. As a result, to date, we have operated with a small staff of experienced individuals with responsibility for developing new sales, relying heavily upon our executive staff, including a Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing and a sales team covering various markets. We expect to increase the size of our sales and marketing staff as we continue to grow our business.

Technology Operations

Our technology center is based in Livermore, California, with a redundant capacity in our Grants Pass, Oregon office. Additionally, Performant Insight, our new data analytics business, is supported by staff in Miami Lakes, Florida. We have designed our infrastructure for scalability and redundancy, which allows us to continue to operate in the event of an outage at either datacenter. We maintain an information systems environment with advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. We also maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third-party data.

Competition

We face significant competition in all aspects of our business.

In recovery services for delinquent and defaulted assets, we face competition from a number of companies. Holders of these delinquent and defaulted assets typically engage several firms simultaneously to provide recovery services on different portions of their portfolios. The number of recovery firms engaged varies by client. For example, we are one of 17 unrestricted providers of recovery services on the current Department of Education contract, while some of the GAs may only engage a few recovery vendors at any time. Initially, we compete to be one of the retained firms in a competitive bidding process and, if we are successful, we then face continuing competition from the client’s other retained firms based on the client’s benchmarking of the recovery performance of its several vendors. Clients such as the Department of Education typically will allocate additional placements to those recovery vendors producing the highest recovery rates. We believe that we primarily compete on the basis of recovery rate performance, as well as maintenance of high standards of recovery practices and data security capabilities. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to most of these factors as evidenced by our long-standing relationships with our clients in these markets. Pricing is not usually a major competitive factor as all recovery services vendors in these markets typically receive the same contingency-based fee rate.

In the recovery of improper healthcare payments, we faced a highly competitive process, involving a large number of bidders, to become one of the four prime RAC contractors in the United States. In connection with the renewal of this contract, which expires in 2014, we expect that our competition will include the other three RAC service providers: Health Management Systems, Inc., Connolly Consulting, Inc. and CGI Group. We also may face competition from the subcontractors of the current prime RAC contractors, who may seek to use their experience as subcontractors to become prime contractors, and a variety of healthcare consulting and healthcare information services companies are potential competitors. Some of these potential competitors for the second RAC contract may have greater financial and other resources than we do. We believe that the competitive factors in this market are demonstrated experience in effective recovery services, sufficient capacity to address claims volumes, maintenance of high standards of recovery practices, and recovery fee rates. We believe that our seven year relationship with CMS and our related experience in providing recovery services to identify improper payments allows us to compete favorably with respect to many of these factors. We expect that our performance in identifying claims, managing the claims processes under the current RAC contract, and established systems integration with CMS and related Medicare administrative contractors will also be key factors in determining our continued service to CMS.

 

59


Table of Contents

Government Regulation

The nature of our business requires that we adhere to a complex array of federal and state laws and regulations. These include HIPAA, the FDCPA, the FCRA, and related state laws. We are also governed by a variety of state laws that regulate the collection, use, disclosure and protection of personal information. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and we have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data. Our compliance efforts include training of personnel and monitoring our systems and personnel.

HIPAA and Related State Laws

Our Medicare recovery business subjects us to compliance with HIPAA and various related state laws that contain substantial restrictions and requirements with respect to the use and disclosure of an individual’s protected health information. HIPAA prohibits us from using or disclosing an individual’s protected health information unless the use or disclosure is authorized by the individual or is specifically required or permitted under HIPAA. Under HIPAA, we must establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information maintained or transmitted by us or by others on our behalf. We are required to notify affected individuals and government authorities of data security breaches involving unsecured protected health information. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights enforces HIPAA privacy violations; CMS enforces HIPAA security violations and the Department of Justice enforces criminal violations of HIPAA. We are subject to statutory penalties for violations of HIPAA.

Most states have enacted patient confidentiality laws that protect against the unauthorized disclosure of confidential medical information, and many states have adopted or are considering further legislation in this area, including privacy safeguards, security standards and data security breach notification requirements. These state laws, if more stringent than HIPAA requirements, are not preempted by the federal requirements, and we must comply with them even though they may be subject to different interpretations by various courts and other governmental authorities. In addition, numerous other state laws govern the collection, dissemination, use, access to and confidentiality of individually identifiable health and healthcare provider information.

Our compliance efforts include the encryption of protected health information that we hold and the development of procedures to detect, investigate and provide appropriate notification if protected health information is compromised. Our employees and contractors receive initial and periodic supplemental training and are tested to ensure compliance. As part of our certification and accreditation process, we must undergo audits by federal agencies as noted below. CMS regularly audits us for, among other items, compliance with their security standards.

Privacy Act of 1974

The Privacy Act of 1974 governs the collection, use, storage, destruction and disclosure of personal information about individuals by a government agency and extends to government contractors who have access to agency records performing services for government agencies. The Act requires maintenance of a code of conduct for employees with access to the agency records addressing the obligations under the Privacy Act, training of employees and discipline procedures for noncompliance. The Act also requires adopting and maintaining appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to insure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity.

As a contractor to federal government agencies we are required to comply with the Privacy Act of 1974. Our compliance effort includes initial and ongoing training of employees and contractors in their obligations under the Act. In addition we have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards and processes intended to protect all personal data consistent with or exceeding our obligations under the Privacy Act.

 

60


Table of Contents

Certification, Accreditation and Security

Business services that collect, store, transmit or process information for United States government agencies and organizations are required to undergo a rigorous certification and accreditation process to ensure that they operate at an acceptable level of security risk. As a government contractor, we currently have Authority to Operate, or ATO, licenses from both the Department of Education and CMS.

We maintain a comprehensive enterprise-wide information security system based upon recognized standards, including the NIST800 53 and ISO 27002 Code of Practice for Information Security Program Management, to uphold high security standards needed for the protection of sensitive information. In addition, we hold SAEE 16 – SOC 1 Type II certification, which provides assurance to auditors of third parties that we maintain the necessary controls and procedures to effectively manage third party data. We undergo an independent audit by our government agency clients on the award of the contract and periodically thereafter. We also conduct periodic self-assessments.

Our regulatory compliance group is charged with the responsibility of ensuring our regulatory compliance and security. All our facilities have security perimeter controls with segregated access by security clearance level. The information systems environment maintains advanced network security intrusion detection and prevention with 24x7 monitoring and security incident response capabilities. We utilize encryption technologies to protect sensitive data on our systems, all data during transmission and all data on redundancy or backup media. Employees undergo background and security checks appropriate to their position. This can include security clearances by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We also maintain compliant disaster recovery and business continuity plans, conduct an annually two table top disaster exercises, conduct routine security risk assessments and maintain a continuous improvement process as part of our security risk mitigation and management activity.

FDCPA and Related State Laws

The FDCPA regulates persons who regularly collect or attempt to collect, directly or indirectly, consumer debts owed or asserted to be owed to another person. Certain of our debt recovery and loan restructuring activities may be subject to the FDCPA. The FDCPA establishes specific guidelines and procedures that debt recovery firms must follow in communicating with consumer debtors, including the time, place and manner of such communications. Further, it prohibits harassment or abuse by debt recovery firms, including the threat of violence or criminal prosecution, obscene language or repeated telephone calls made with the intent to abuse or harass. The FDCPA also places restrictions on communications with individuals other than consumer debtors in connection with the collection of any consumer debt and sets forth specific procedures to be followed when communicating with such third parties for purposes of obtaining location information about the consumer. In addition, the FDCPA contains various notice and disclosure requirements and prohibits unfair or misleading representations by debt recovery firms. Finally, the FDCPA imposes certain limitations on lawsuits to collect debts against consumers.

Debt recovery activities are also regulated at state level. Most states have laws regulating debt recovery activities in ways that are similar to, and in some cases more stringent than, the FDCPA. In addition, some states require debt recovery firms to be licensed.

Our compliance efforts include written procedures for compliance with the FDCPA and related state laws, employee training and monitoring, auditing client calls, periodic review, testing and retraining of employees, and procedures for responding to client complaints. In all states where we operate, we believe that we currently hold all required state licenses or are exempt from licensing. Violations of the FDCPA may be enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, or by a private action by an individual or class. Violations of the FDCPA are deemed to be an unfair or deceptive act under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which can be punished by fines for each violation. Class action damages can total up to one percent of the net worth of the entity violating the statute. Attorney fees and costs are also recoverable. In the ordinary course of business we are sued for alleged violations of the FDCPA and comparable state laws, although the amounts involved in the disposition of settlement of any such claims have not been significant.

 

61


Table of Contents

FCRA

We are also subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA, which regulates consumer credit reporting and which may impose liability on us to the extent that the adverse credit information reported on a consumer to a credit bureau is false or inaccurate. State law, to the extent it is not preempted by the FCRA, may also impose restrictions or liability on us with respect to reporting adverse credit information. Our compliance efforts include initial and ongoing training of employees working with consumer credit reports, monitoring of performance, and periodic review and risk assessments. Violations of FCRA, which are deemed to be unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act, are enforced by the FTC or by a private action by an individual or class. Civil actions by consumers may seek damages per violation, with punitive damages, attorneys fees and costs also recoverable. Under the Federal Trade Commissions Act, penalties for engaging in unfair or deceptive acts can be punished by fines for each violation.

State Law Compliance and Security Breach Response

Many states impose an obligation on any entity that holds personally identifiable information or health information to adopt appropriate security to protect such data against unauthorized access, misuse, destruction, or modification. Many states have enacted laws requiring holders of personal information to take certain actions in response to data breach incidents, such as providing prompt notification of the breach to affected individuals and government authorities. In many cases, these laws are limited to electronic data, but states are increasingly enacting or considering stricter and broader requirements. Massachusetts has enacted a regulation that requires any entity that holds, transmits or collects certain personal information about its residents to adopt a written data security plan meeting the requirements set forth in the statute. We have implemented and maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards intended to protect all personal data and have processes in place to assist us in complying with applicable laws and regulations regarding the protection of this data and properly responding to any security incidents. We have adopted a system security plan and security breach incident response plans to address our compliance with these laws.

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property is a significant component of our business, most notably the intellectual property underlying our proprietary technology-enabled services platform through which we provide our defaulted asset recovery and other services. To protect our intellectual property, we rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights. We also utilize customary confidentiality and other contractual protections, including employee and third-party confidentiality and invention assignment agreements.

As of March 31, 2012, we have two U.S. patents, both covering aspects of the workflow management systems and methods incorporated into our technology-enabled services platform. These patents will expire in December 2019. We routinely assess appropriate occasions for seeking additional patent protection for those aspects of our platform and other technologies that we believe may provide competitive advantages to our business. We also rely on certain unpatented proprietary expertise and other know-how, licensed and acquired third-party technologies, and continuous improvements and other developments of our various technologies, all intended to maintain our leadership position in the industry.

As of March 31, 2012, we own four trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office: Performant, DCS, Looking Out For Your Future, and VFI. We are in the process of registering additional trademarks supporting our business, and we claim common law trademark rights in numerous additional trademarks.

We have registered copyrights covering various copyrighted material relevant to our business. We also have unregistered copyrights in many components of our software systems. We may not be able to use these unregistered copyrights to prevent misappropriation of such content by unauthorized parties in the future; however, we rely on our extensive information technology security measures and contractual arrangements with employees and third-party contractors to minimize the opportunities for any such misuse of this content.

 

62


Table of Contents

We are not subject to any material intellectual property claims alleging that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of any third party, nor have we asserted any material intellectual property infringement claim against any third party.

Employees

As of March 31, 2012 we had approximately 1,300 full-time employees. None of our employees are members of a labor union and we consider our employee relations to be good.

Facilities

As of March 31, 2012, we operate five separate office locations throughout the United States. The largest of these facilities is in Livermore, California and serves as our corporate headquarters, as well as a data center and production location. Our Livermore facility represents approximately 50,291 square feet and has a lease expiration of September, 2017. We also lease production centers in California, Oregon and Texas and own a production/data center in Oregon. In addition, we intend to enter into a lease for an additional facility in Miami Lakes, Florida.

We believe that our facilities are adequate for current operations and that additional space will be available as required. See note (5) to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for information regarding our lease obligations.

Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various legal proceedings that arise from our normal business operations. These actions generally derive from our student loan recovery services, and generally assert claims for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act or similar federal and state consumer credit laws. While litigation is inherently unpredictable, we believe that none of these legal proceedings, individually or collectively, will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or our results of operations.

 

63


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

Our executive officers and directors, and their ages and positions as of March 31, 2012 are as set forth below:

 

Name

   Age     

Position

Lisa C. Im

     47       Chief Executive Officer and Director

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     61       Chairman of the Board of Directors

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     54       Chief Operating Officer

Hakan L. Orvell

     54       Chief Financial Officer

John Y. Paik

     43       Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Bruce L. Calvin

     62       Senior Vice President of Corporate Services

Todd R. Ford (1)

     45       Director

Brian P. Golson

     41       Director

William D. Hansen (1)

     53       Director

William C. Kessinger

     45       Director

Jeffrey S. Stein (1)

     47       Director

 

(1) Member of the Audit Committee.

Executive Officers

Lisa C. Im has served as our Chief Executive Officer since April 2004 and as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. From 2002 to 2004, she was Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. Prior to that, Ms. Im was at Bestfoods Corporation, a food products manufacturer, from 1996 to 2002 with a body of experience including general management as well as executive financial positions for various regions of Bestfoods Corporation. Ms. Im received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Loma Linda University, and a Masters in Business Administration, Finance from California State University, East Bay. Ms. Im’s experiences and perspectives as our Chief Executive Officer led to the conclusion that she should serve as a member of our board of directors.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver has been Chairman of our board of directors and a director since June 2007. Since 2004, he has served in various board and executive roles in Performant and its subsidiaries. From 2000 to 2004, he was chief operating officer of our predecessor before the acquisition by Parthenon Capital Partners. He was senior executive vice president of Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation from 1999 to 2000, was chief executive officer of EdFund from 1997 to 1999 while also serving as executive director of the California Student Aid Commission from 1995 through 1998. Dr. Shaver received and Associate’s degree from Monroe Community College, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the State University of New York at Brockport, a Doctor of Education degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Dr. Shaver’s role as our Chairman benefits from his extensive expertise in educational finance, public policy development in education finance, tax policy, healthcare payment integrity, and federal and state government relations, and led to the conclusion the he should serve as a member of our board of directors. He is a board leadership fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Harold T. Leach, Jr. has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company and our predecessor since May 1982. In this role, Mr. Leach was a key participant in the development of our recovery processes. He also serves as a director of each of our subsidiary corporations. Mr. Leach is responsible for operational strategy, production, and technology across all of our businesses. During his tenure, Mr. Leach led the development of our proprietary technology platform and has served as subject matter expert on key Congressional initiatives related

 

64


Table of Contents

to improving the efficacy of government debt management. Mr. Leach also led the development and implementation of our audit and recovery technology operations.

Hakan L. Orvell has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2006. He is responsible for the company’s corporate finance, accounting, financial planning and analysis. Mr. Orvell has over 20 years of experience from various industries and previous experience includes service as chief financial officer of Neopost, Inc., a manufacturer of office equipment. He has also held various financial leadership positions with Corporate Express (currently known as Staples), a large business-to-business distributor of office and computer products, including vice president and controller in both a division and regional capacity. He received his Certified Public Accountant accreditation in Illinois and received an MBA from the University of Stockholm.

John Y. Paik has been our Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing since November 2011. From November 2007 to November 2011, Mr. Paik held various leadership positions at Pfizer Inc., including Vice President, Customer Marketing and Innovation across all global business units for account management and sales. Prior to that, Mr. Paik served in various capacities at Aetna, Inc. including vice president, head of strategic marketing and planning for national businesses and vice president, head of strategic marketing, national accounts from April 2004 to October 2007. Mr. Paik received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Bruce L. Calvin has served as our Senior Vice President of Corporate Services since August 2007 and also serves as our Compliance Officer. From April 2007 to August 2007, Mr. Calvin served as our Vice President of Human Resources. Mr. Calvin has over 30 years of administration and global business management experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Troy University and a J.D. from John F. Kennedy University School of Law.

Board of Directors

Todd R. Ford has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2011. Mr. Ford has served as the managing director of Broken Arrow Capital, a venture capital firm, since he founded the firm in July 2007. From December 2002 to May 2007, Mr. Ford held various leadership positions at Rackable Systems, Inc., a manufacturer of server and storage products for large-scale data center deployments that subsequently changed its name to Silicon Graphics International Corp., including president and chief financial officer. Mr. Ford received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Santa Clara University. Mr. Ford’s executive experience with public companies, as well as his expertise in growing technology companies, provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Brian P. Golson has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2008. Since February 2002, Mr. Golson has served as the managing partner of Parthenon Capital Partners. Mr. Golson received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. Mr. Golson’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

William D. Hansen has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2011. Since July 2011, Mr. Hansen has served as the chief executive officer of Madison Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm. From July 2009 to December 2010, he served as the president of Scantron Corporation, a provider of assessment and survey solutions. Mr. Hansen also served as the chairman of Scantron Corporation from September 2010 to July 2011. Prior to that, Mr. Hansen held various leadership positions at Chartwell Education Group, LLC, an education-related consulting firm, from July 2005 to July 2009, including chief executive officer and senior managing director. Mr. Hansen served as the Deputy Secretary at the United States Department of Education from May 2001 to July 2003. Mr. Hansen also serves on the board of directors of First Marblehead Corporation, a student loan company. Mr. Hansen received a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from George Mason University. Mr. Hansen’s extensive experience in the education market provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

 

65


Table of Contents

William C. Kessinger has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2003. Since October 2001, Mr. Kessigner has served as the managing partner, chief investment officer, of Parthenon Capital Partners. He has concurrently served as the managing partner of Vformation LLC, a venture capital fund, since June 2009. He received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in industrial engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard University. Mr. Kessinger’s investment experience provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Jeffrey S. Stein has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2004. Since September 2002, Mr. Stein has served as the Executive in Residence at Parthenon Capital Partners. Mr. Stein received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Boston College Carroll School of Management. Mr. Stein’s financial and accounting expertise provides valuable insight for the members of our board of directors.

Board Composition

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board shall consist of not fewer than five and not more than fifteen directors as the board of directors may from time to time determine. Our board of directors will initially consist of seven directors. The authorized number of directors may be changed by resolution of our board of directors. Vacancies on our board of directors can be filled by resolution of our board of directors. Upon the completion of this offering, our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each serving staggered, three-year terms:

 

   

Our Class I directors will be and their terms will expire at the first annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus;

 

   

Our Class II directors will be and their terms will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus; and

 

   

Our Class III directors will be and their terms will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the date of this prospectus.

As a result, only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective terms.

We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exception under the applicable stock exchange rules which exempts us from certain requirements, including the requirements that we have a majority of independent directors on our board of directors and that we have compensation and nominating and governance committees composed entirely of independent directors. We will, however, remain subject to the requirement that we have an audit committee of at least three members composed entirely of independent directors by the first anniversary of this offering.

Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford and Mr. Hansen are “independent directors” as defined under the rules of The NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, and the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE. Prior to the consummation of this offering, our board of directors will meet to assess the independence of our other non-management directors.

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

 

66


Table of Contents

Lead Director

Our board of directors has established certain corporate governance principles in connection with this offering. Our board of directors determined as part of our corporate governance principles that one of our independent directors should serve as a lead independent director, under the title of vice chairman, at any time when the title of chairman is held by an employee director. Our current chairman, Mr. Shaver, is not an independent director, and accordingly, our board of directors will appoint one of our independent directors as vice chairman. The person appointed vice chairman will, among other responsibilities, preside over periodic meetings of our independent directors and serve as a liaison between senior management and the independent directors.

Board Committees

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of Messrs. Hansen, Ford and Stein. Mr. Ford serves as the chairperson of this committee. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Ford is an audit committee financial expert, as defined by the rules promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Pursuant to the phase-in provisions of the NYSE and NASDAQ, as applicable, and Rule 10A-3 promulgated by the SEC under the Exchange Act, our audit committee will be composed of three directors, of which two will be independent. Within one year following the effectiveness of the registration statement, our audit committee will have at least three members, all of whom will be independent.

After the completion of this offering, the audit committee will provide assistance to the board of directors in fulfilling its legal and fiduciary obligations in matters involving our accounting, auditing, financial reporting, internal control and legal compliance functions by approving the services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm and reviewing their reports regarding our accounting practices and systems of internal accounting controls. The audit committee will also oversee the audit efforts of our independent registered public accounting firm and will take those actions as it deems necessary to satisfy itself that the independent registered public accounting firm is independent of management.

Compensation Committee

After completion of this offering, the compensation committee will determine our general compensation policies and the compensation provided to our directors and officers. The compensation committee will also review and determine bonuses for our officers and other employees. In addition, the compensation committee will review and determine equity-based compensation for our directors, officers, employees and consultants and will administer our stock option plans and employee stock purchase plan. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NYSE and NASDAQ rules, as applicable, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

After completion of this offering, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for making recommendations to the board of directors regarding candidates for directorships and the size and composition of the board. In addition, the nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for overseeing our corporate governance guidelines and reporting and making recommendations to the board of directors concerning corporate governance matters. The composition of this committee has yet to be determined. We intend to avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exemptions available under the NYSE and NASDAQ rules, as applicable, which exempt us from the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee composed entirely of independent directors.

 

67


Table of Contents

Role of Our Board of Directors in Risk Oversight

One of the key functions of our board of directors is informed oversight of our risk management process. Our board of directors administers this oversight function directly through our board of directors as a whole, as well as through various standing committees of our board of directors that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our board of directors is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure, and our audit committee will have the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures. The audit committee will also have the responsibility to review with management the process by which risk assessment and management is undertaken, monitor compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and review with our independent auditors the adequacy and effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will be responsible for periodically evaluating the Company’s risk management policies and system in light of the material risks that the Company faces and the adequacy of the Company’s policies and procedures designed to address risk. Our compensation committee will assess and monitor whether any of our compensation policies and programs are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

No interlocking relationship exists between our board of directors or compensation committee and the board of directors or compensation committee of any other entity, nor has any interlocking relationship existed in the past.

Director Compensation

The table below summarizes the compensation paid by the Company to our non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011. Messrs. Golson, Kessinger and Stein did not receive compensation paid by the Company for service as a director in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

 

Name    Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
     Option
Awards
(1)
    

Total

 

William D. Hansen

   $ 1,500       $ 113,546       $ 115,046   

Todd R. Ford

   $ 1,500       $ 106,889       $ 108,389   

 

 

(1)

Represents the grant date fair value of stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in October and December of 2011, as computed in accordance with the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

Executive Compensation

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our compensation philosophy is to align executive compensation with the interests of our stockholders and therefore to financial objectives that our board of directors believes are primary determinants of long-term stockholder value. The primary goal of our executive compensation program is to ensure that we hire and retain talented and experienced executives who are motivated to achieve or exceed our short-term and long-term corporate goals. Our executive compensation programs are designed to reinforce a strong pay-for-performance orientation and to serve the following purposes:

 

   

to reward our named executive officers for sustained financial and operating performance and leadership excellence;

 

   

to align their interests with those of our stockholders; and

 

   

to encourage our named executive officer to remain with us for the long-term.

 

68


Table of Contents

Elements of Compensation

Base Salary

We pay our named executive officers a base salary based on the experience, skills, knowledge and responsibilities required of each officer. We believe base salaries are an important element in our overall compensation program because base salaries provide a fixed element of compensation that reflects job responsibilities and value to us.

Annual Incentive Plan

To date, our board of directors has not adopted a formal plan or set of formal guidelines with respect to annual incentive or bonus payments, and has rather relied on an annual assessment of the performance of our executives during the preceding year to make annual incentive and bonus determinations. In connection with our efforts to formalize our compensation practices, our board of directors intends to adopt an annual incentive plan to which our named executive officers will be eligible to participate. Our board of directors may retain the discretion to pay any amounts due under such incentive plan in cash or equity or a combination of both.

Long-Term Equity Compensation

To date, we have provided our named executive officers with long-term equity compensation through our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan. Prior to the completion of the offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan under which all future equity compensation to our named executive officers will be awarded. We believe that providing our named executive officers with an equity interest brings their interests in line with those of our stockholders and that including a vesting component to those equity interests encourages named executive officers to remain with us for the long-term.

Other Supplemental Benefits

Our named executive officers are eligible for the following benefits on a similar basis as other eligible employees:

 

   

health, dental and vision insurance;

 

   

vacation, personal holidays and sick days;

 

   

life insurance and supplemental life insurance;

 

   

short-term and long-term disability; and

 

   

401(k) plan.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table presents information concerning the total compensation of our named executive officers, or Named Executive Officers, for services rendered to us in all capacities for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011:

 

Name and Principal Position

  Salary     Bonus     Option
Awards
    All Other
Compensation
    Total  

Lisa C. Im

    $400,005        $128,000               $21,807 (1)        $549,812   

Chief Executive Officer and Director

         

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

    $325,014        $119,000               $27,758 (2)        $471,772   

Chairman of the board of

directors and Director

         

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

    $350,002        $120,000               $23,811 (3)        $493,813   

Chief Operating Officer

         

 

(1)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($3,807) and a vehicle allowance ($18,000).

(2)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($7,358) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).

(3)

Includes payments for life insurance benefits ($3,411) and a vehicle allowance ($20,400).

 

69


Table of Contents

Grants of plan-based awards

Our Named Executive Officers did not receive plan-based awards during the year ended December 31, 2011.

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end

The following table presents certain plan information of equity awards held by our Named Executive Officers as of December 31, 2011:

 

Name

   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options –
Exercisable
   

Number of

Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options –

  Unexercisable  

    

Exercise Price of

Options ($/share)  

     Expiration Date of
            Options             

Lisa C. Im

     178,125                1.00       01/08/2014
     65,625                1.00       01/25/2018
     27,808 (1)       7,692         1.00       01/25/2018
     55,000 ( 2 )       45,000         2.35       09/15/2019

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

     187,500                1.00       01/08/2014
     291,667 ( 2 )       58,333         1.00       10/17/2017

Harold T. Leach, Jr.

     116,667 ( 2 )       23,333         1.00       10/17/2017
     45,000 ( 2 )       55,000         2.35       09/15/2019

 

  (1)

The option award vests as to 1/24 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month after the vesting commencement date.

  (2)

The option award vests as to 1/5 th of the total number of shares subject to the option 12 months after the vesting commencement date, and the remaining shares vest at a rate of 1/60 th of the total number of shares subject to the option each month thereafter.

Employment Agreements

The section below describes the employment agreements that we have entered into with our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors, as well as the form of employment agreement that each of our other executive officers entered into.

Lisa C. Im

We entered into an employment agreement with Lisa C. Im, our Chief Executive Officer, on April 2, 2002, and this agreement has been subsequently amended. As amended, the agreement grants Ms. Im a salary of $33,333 per month, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions.

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Ms. Im entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Ms. Im receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreement and, as of March 31, 2012, Ms. Im would receive a payment of $1,174,241 if the payment conditions are met.

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

We entered into employment agreements with Dr. Jon D. Shaver, our Chairman of our board of directors on March 31, 2003 and this agreement has subsequently been amended. As amended, this agreement grants Dr. Shaver a salary of $18,750 per month and additional salary payments of $25,000 per quarter, as well as employee benefits including a life insurance plan. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions and also provides Mr. Shaver a severance payment of $100,000 if he is terminated without cause.

 

70


Table of Contents

In connection with the acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Parthenon Capital Partners, Dr. Shaver entered into a deferred compensation agreement pursuant to which Dr. Shaver receives a payment upon the earlier of the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, a sale of the Company or January 2013. The amount of this payment escalated for the first three years of the agreement and, as of March 31, 2012, Dr. Shaver would receive $587,721 if the payment conditions are met.

Employment Agreements

Each of our named executive officers, other than our Chief Executive Officer and our Chairman of the board of directors, has entered into our standard employment agreement. Our standard employment agreement provides for the named executive officer’s initial salary at the time of the agreement and grants the named executive officer the right to participate in our standard benefit plans. This agreement also contains confidential information and invention assignment provisions and does not provide for severance.

Potential Payments Upon Change of Control

We have also entered into change of control agreements with Ms. Im and Mr. Shaver. These agreements, as amended, provide that upon a triggering termination which follows a change of control by no more than two years, each executive is entitled to receive payment equal to his or her highest annual salary in effect during any period of 12 consecutive months within the 60 months immediately preceding the date of the triggering termination. As of March 31, 2012, this amount would be equal to $400,005 and $325,014 for Ms. Im and Mr. Shaver, respectively.

For purposes of these agreements:

 

   

A Change of control occurs (i) if any person or group becomes the beneficial owner of 50% of the voting securities, (ii) if certain changes of the individuals who constitute the board of directors occur during any period of two consecutive years, or (iii) upon consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation unless certain conditions are met.

 

   

Triggering termination is defined as the executive’s termination for any reason other than (i) the executive’s death, (ii) the executive’s disability that entitles the executive to receive long-term disability benefits from the Company, (iii) the retirement of the executive after the age of 65, (iv) the executive’s termination for cause, or (v) the executive terminates his or her employment for good reason.

 

   

Cause is defined as (i) the criminal conviction of an embezzlement from the Company, (ii) the violation of a felony committed in connection with employment, (iii) the willful refusal to perform the reasonable duties of his or her position with the Company, (iv) the willful violation of the policies of the Company which is determined in good faith by the board of directors to be materially injurious to the employees, directors, property, or financial condition of the Company, or (v) the willful violation of the provisions of a confidentiality or non-competition agreement with the Company.

 

   

Good reason is defined as (i) a reduction in the executive’s salary that was in effect immediately prior to a change of control, (ii) the relocation of the Company’s office that would add 15 miles or more to the executive’s commute, or (iii) if the Company reduces certain benefits or vacation days that the executive received prior to the change of control.

Retirement Plans

Except as described below, we currently have no plans that provide for the payment of retirement benefits, or benefits that will be paid primarily following retirement, including but not limited to tax-qualified

 

71


Table of Contents

defined benefit plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, tax-qualified defined contribution plans and nonqualified defined contribution plans.

We do maintain a 401(k) plan that is tax-qualified for our employees, including its executive officers. We do not offer employer matching or other employer contribution to 401(k) plan.

Employee Benefit Plans

2004 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

1,800,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 534,250 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2004 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2004 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

2,000,000 shares were originally reserved for issuance under our 2004 Stock Option Plan at inception and as of March 31, 2012 options to purchase a total of 365,625 shares of common stock were outstanding thereunder.

Upon the completion of this offering, our 2004 Stock Option Plan will be terminated. No shares of our common stock will remain available under our 2004 Stock Option Plan other than for satisfying exercises of stock options granted under this plan prior to termination.

2007 Stock Option Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2007 Stock Option Plan, which provides for the grant of options.

The persons eligible to participate in the plan are employees and other service provider who have been selected to participate in the plan by our board of directors.

Share reserve

As of March 31, 2012, we had reserved a total of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock for issuance pursuant to our 2007 Stock Option Plan. As of March 31, 2012, options to purchase 1,962,500 shares of common stock were outstanding, and 17,141 shares were available for future grant under our 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a new equity incentive plan. As such, no additional awards will be granted and no shares of our common stock will remain available for future issuance under our 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, 2004 Stock Option Plan and 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Administration

Our board of directors currently administers our 2007 Stock Option Plan. Under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the plan administrator has the power to determine the terms of the awards, including the employees or other service providers who will receive awards, the exercise price or purchase price of awards, the number of shares subject to each award, the vesting schedule and exercisability of awards and the form of consideration payable for shares issued under the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Stock options

With respect to all incentive stock options granted under our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall not be less than 100% of the fair market value per share of common stock on the date of grant. Incentive stock

 

72


Table of Contents

options granted to any holder of more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of our outstanding stock as of the grant date must have an exercise price equal to 125% of the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. With respect to all non-statutory options granted under the 2007 Stock Option Plan, the exercise price shall be determined by the plan administrator. The term of an option may not exceed 10 years.

After the separation of an employee or other service provider for cause, he or she may exercise his or her option, to the extent vested, for a period of fourteen (14) days following such termination. If termination is due to disability, the option will remain exercisable, to the extent vested, for a period of six months following such termination. If termination is due to death, the option will remain exercisable to the extent vested, for a period of six months following the date of death or such longer period of time as specified in the stock options agreement. However, an option may not be exercised later than the expiration of its term.

Transferability

Our 2007 Stock Option Plan does not allow for the transfer of stock options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution. Only the recipient of a stock option may exercise such award during his or her lifetime.

Adjustments

Subject to any required action by the stockholders of the company, in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of common stock of the Company or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, our board of directors may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under any outstanding options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by our 2007 Stock Option Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable by our board of directors.

Corporate transaction

Our board of directors has certain discretion regarding outstanding options under our 2007 Stock Option Plan in the event of a sale of equity securities possessing the voting power under normal circumstances to elect a majority of our board of directors or all or substantially all of our assets determined on a consolidated basis, in either case, whether by merger, consolidation, sale or transfer of our equity securities, sale or transfer of our consolidated assets or otherwise. Under these circumstances, our board of directors may provide that all options become immediately exercisable at the time of the transaction, that all of the options terminate if not exercised as of the date of the transaction or other prescribed period of time, or that the acquiring company assume the options with the understanding that different determinations may be made with respect to different participations in the 2007 Stock Option Plan.

Plan amendments and termination

According to its terms, the 2007 Stock Option Plan shall have a term of 10 years. Our board of directors may amend or terminate the 2007 Stock Option Plan at any time with the consent of the stockholders of the Company as required by law, but no amendment or termination shall be made that would materially or adversely affect the rights of any participant, without the consent of the participant affected.

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for:

 

   

any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

 

73


Table of Contents
   

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

   

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

   

any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we are required to indemnify our directors and our bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our bylaws also provide that we shall advance expenses incurred by a director in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors. We expect to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors and executive officers. With certain exceptions, these agreements will provide for indemnification for related expenses including, among other things, attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of our directors in any action or proceeding. We believe that these bylaw provisions and indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and executive officers. We also maintain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty of care. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers. At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

 

74


Table of Contents

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In addition to the cash and equity compensation arrangements of our directors and executive officers discussed above under “Management—Director Compensation” and “—Executive Compensation,” the following is a description of transactions since January 1, 2009, to which we have been a party in which the amount involved exceeded or will exceed $120,000 and in which any of our directors, executive officers, beneficial holders of more than 5% of our capital stock, or entities affiliated with them, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Related Party Transaction Policy

In December 2011, we adopted a formal policy that our executive officers, directors, holders of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, and any member of the immediate family of and any entity affiliated with any of the foregoing persons, are not permitted to enter into a related party transaction with us without the prior consent of our audit committee, or other independent members of our board of directors in the event it is inappropriate for our audit committee to review such transaction due to a conflict of interest effective upon the closing of the offering. Any request for us to enter into a transaction with an executive officer, director, principal stockholder, or any of their immediate family members or affiliates, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 must first be presented to our audit committee for review, consideration and approval. In approving or rejecting any such proposal, our audit committee is required to consider the relevant facts and circumstances available and deemed relevant to the audit committee, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third-party under the same or similar circumstances and the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction. All of the transactions described below were entered into prior to the adoption of such policy.

Arrangements With Our Investors

On January 8, 2004, in connection with the consummation of our acquisition by investment funds controlled by Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other stockholders, or the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement, stockholders agreement and a registration agreement. These agreements contain agreements among the parties with respect to election of directors, preemptive rights, restrictions on transfer of shares, “drag along” obligations, registration rights and covenants regarding the conduct and operation of our business. In addition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners for the provision of certain advisory services to us.

Stockholders Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a stockholders agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock under which Parthenon Capital Partners was granted certain rights with respect to elect members of our board of directors, the stockholders were granted preemptive rights over future issuances of securities by us and became subject to certain transfer restrictions and drag along obligations. All provisions of the stockholders agreement will terminate upon consummation of this offering.

Registration Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into a registration agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners and certain other holders of series A preferred stock. In connection with the consummation of this offering, the registration rights will be amended, effective upon the closing of this offering. The registration agreement, as amended, provides the stockholders party thereto with certain demand registration rights in respect of the shares of our common stock held by them. In addition, in the event that we register additional shares of common stock for sale to the public following the consummation of this offering, we will be required to give notice of such registration to the stockholders who are party to the registration agreement of our intention to effect such a registration, and, subject to certain limitations, such holders will have piggyback registration rights providing them with the right to require us to include shares of common stock held by them in such registration.

 

75


Table of Contents

We will be required to bear the registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions and transfer taxes, associated with any registration of shares by the stockholders described above. The registration rights agreement includes lock up obligations that restrict the sale of securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. We are also restricted from issuing any public sale of equity securities during the initial 180 day period following the effective date of any demand registration or piggyback registration effected pursuant to the terms of the registration agreement. The registration agreement includes customary indemnification provisions in favor of any person who is or might be deemed a controlling person within the meaning of the Securities Act and related parties against liabilities under the Securities Act incurred in connection with the registration of any of our securities. These provisions provide indemnification against certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act and certain liabilities resulting from violations of other applicable laws in connection with any filing or other disclosure made by us under the securities laws relating to any such registrations. We have agreed to reimburse such persons for any legal or other expenses incurred in connection with investigating or defending any such liability, action or proceeding, except that we will not be required to indemnify any such person or reimburse related legal or other expenses if such loss or expense arises out of or is based on any untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information provided by such person.

Investment Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an investment agreement with certain of our stockholders who purchased shares of our series A preferred stock. The investment agreement contains certain covenants regarding the delivery of financial statements and other information, inspection rights and restrictions on the conduct and operation of our business. We intend to enter into a termination agreement with certain holders of our series A preferred stock under which all of the provisions of the investment agreement will terminate upon consummation of the this offering.

Advisory Services Agreement

In connection with the Acquisition, we entered into an advisory services agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners, pursuant to which Parthenon Capital Partners has provided us with certain advisory services. In exchange for these services, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital Partners (i) a quarterly amount equal to the product of 0.25 multiplied by the cumulative amount of funds invested in us by Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates as of start of each quarter, (ii) a one-time closing fee payable upon closing of the Acquisition equal to approximately $1.8 million and (iii) a placement fee in connection with any equity or debt financing by us following the Acquisition equal to 1% of the gross amount of any such financing. We also agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them, their members, or their respective affiliates in connection with the provision of services pursuant to the advisory services agreement. In connection with a separate compensation arrangement with Parthenon Capital Partners, Jeffrey Stein, one of our directors, received a portion of certain of the fees received by Parthenon Capital Partners from us. In each of 2009, 2010 and 2011, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $684,489, $759,489 and $634,489, respectively. In the first quarter of 2012, we accrued fees payable to Parthenon Capital Partners of approximately $1,783,622.

Pursuant to a letter agreement dated April 13, 2012, between us and PCP Managers, LLC, an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners, under which the advisory services agreement was terminated, we agreed to pay Parthenon Capital (i) an aggregate amount of $1,300,000, payable in equal quarterly installments of $108,622.22 with the first quarter paid in April 2012; provided that the remaining balance will become due and payable immediately upon the closing of this offering or the sale of our company and (ii) upon the closing of this offering or a sale of our company, an amount equal to 1% of the aggregate gross proceeds of this offering or 1% of the aggregate consideration paid in connection with the sale of our company, as applicable.

 

76


Table of Contents

Expense Reimbursement and Indemnification Agreement

In connection with the termination of the advisory services agreement entered into on April 13, 2012, we also entered into an expense reimbursement and indemnification letter agreement with Parthenon Capital Partners under which we agreed to reimburse Parthenon Capital Partners for (i) reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the provision of any services Parthenon Capital Partners provides to us, notwithstanding the termination of the advisory services agreement, (ii) any legal, accounting or consulting fees incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in the continuing provision of any services to us and (iii) any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Parthenon Capital Partners in connection with any acquisitions or financings completed by us or our affiliates. Further, we agreed to indemnify Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates against liabilities and expenses arising out of, or in connection with, Parthenon Capital Partners’ former engagement under the advisory services agreement and the termination thereof or any continuing services provided by Parthenon Capital Partners to us.

Nomination of our Directors

In connection with the consummation of this offering, we intend to enter into an agreement that will give Parthenon Capital Partners the right to designate a majority of the nominees for election to our board of directors for so long as Parthenon Capital Partners owns 50% or more of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding or that lesser number of directors which bears the same proportion to the total number of members of our board of directors as the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by Parthenon Capital Partners bears to the total number of shares of common stock outstanding, rounded up to the nearest whole number. It is anticipated that this agreement will terminate at such time as Parthenon Capital Partners owns less than 10% of our outstanding common stock.

Arrangements with our Directors and Officers

Indemnification Agreements

We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and our officers in connection with the consummation of this offering. The indemnification agreements and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. See “Management—Limitation on Liability and Indemnification Matters.”

Promissory notes

On January 8, 2004 in connection with the Acquisition, we loaned $1 million and $500,000 to each of Lisa Im and Jon Shaver, respectively, the proceeds of which were used for the purchase of shares of our series A preferred stock. The principal amount under these notes accrues interest at the rate of 5% per annum. The outstanding principal and accrued interest under these two promissory notes is due and payable on January 15, 2013. It is anticipated that these notes will be paid prior to the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

77


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL AND SELLING STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information regarding the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned on March 31, 2012, immediately following consummation of this offering, by:

 

   

Each person who is known by us to beneficially own 5% or more of our common stock;

 

   

Each of our directors and named executive officers;

 

   

All of our directors and executive officers as a group; and

 

   

Each selling stockholder.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with SEC rules. Except as indicated by the footnotes below, we believe, based on the information furnished to us, that the persons and entities named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock that they beneficially own, subject to applicable community property laws.

Applicable percentage ownership is based on 21,608,843 shares of common stock outstanding at March 31, 2012, assuming the conversion of all outstanding shares of our convertible preferred stock into              shares of common stock, but does not reflect the exercise of any options to purchase common stock or convertible preferred stock. For purposes of the table below, we have assumed that              shares of common stock will be outstanding upon completion of this offering. In computing the number of shares of common stock beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we deemed to be outstanding all shares of common stock subject to options or other convertible securities held by that person or entity that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Beneficial ownership representing less than one percent is denoted with an “*.”

Except as otherwise set forth below, the address of each of the persons listed below is 333 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, California 94551.

 

     Shares Beneficially Owned
Prior to this Offering
    Shares
Sold in the
Offering
   Beneficial Ownership of
Shares after the Offering

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner

   Number (1)      Percentage        Number(1)    Percentage

Executive Officers and Directors:

             

Lisa C. Im (2)

     1,367,733         6.2        

Dr. Jon D. Shaver (3)

     889,074         4.0        

Harold T. Leach, Jr. (4)

     271,666         1.2        

Hakan L. Orvell (5)

     161,000         *           

John Y. Paik

             *           

Bruce L. Calvin (6)

     68,750         *           

Todd R. Ford

     3,646         *           

Brian P. Golson (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

William D. Hansen

     2,604         *           

William C. Kessinger (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

Jeffrey S. Stein (8)

     45,000         *           

All Executive Officers and Directors as a group (9)  (11 persons)

     20,482,319         89.6        

5% Stockholders:

             

Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC (7)

     17,672,846         81.8        

 

 

    *

Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%.

 

78


Table of Contents
  (1)

Unless otherwise indicated, includes shares owned by a spouse, minor children and relatives sharing the same home, as well as entities owned or controlled by the named person. Also includes options to purchase shares of common stock exercisable within 60 days. Unless otherwise noted, shares are owned of record and beneficially by the named person.

(2)

Includes 327,850 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(3)

Includes 508,333 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(4)

Includes 181,666 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(5)

Includes 161,000 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(6)

Includes 68,750 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012.

(7)

The reported shares are owned of record by DCS Holdings, LLC (“DCS Holdings”). Parthenon Investors II, L.P., as the manager of DCS Holdings; PCAP Partners II, LLC, as the general partner of Parthenon Investors II, L.P.; PCAP II, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP Partners II, LLC; PCP Managers, LLC, as the managing member of PCAP II, LLC; and each of Messrs. Kessinger and Golson and David Ament, as managing members of PCP Managers, LLC, may be deemed to beneficially own the securities owned of record by DCS Holdings. Messrs. Kessinger and Golson are Managing Directors of Parthenon Capital Partners, an affiliate of PCAP Partners II, LLC. Each of the foregoing persons disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported securities except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. The address for the foregoing persons is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.

(8)

The address for Mr. Stein is c/o Parthenon Capital Partners, Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3610, San Francisco, California 94111.

(9)

Includes 1,247,599 shares subject to options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2012. Also includes 17,672,846 shares held by DCS Holdings.

 

79


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

The following is a summary of the rights of our common stock and preferred stock and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as they will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering. The description is intended as a summary, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the form of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the form of our amended and restated bylaws to be adopted in connection with this offering that have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Immediately following the completion of this offering, our authorized capital stock will consist of              shares, with a par value of $0.01 per share, of which:

 

   

shares will be designated as common stock; and

 

   

shares will be designated as preferred stock.

As of March 31, 2012, there were              shares of common stock outstanding, assuming conversion of all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock into shares of common stock and series B preferred stock. Immediately prior to the closing of this offering, all outstanding shares of series A preferred stock will be converted into              shares of common stock and              shares of series B preferred stock and the series B preferred stock will immediately be redeemed by the company for an aggregate redemption payment of $            . Our outstanding capital stock was held by              stockholders of record as of March 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2012, we also had outstanding options to acquire              shares of common stock held by employees and directors.

Common Stock

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will be in effect immediately following the completion of this offering, the holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share for the election of directors and on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The vote of the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting of stockholders and entitled to vote shall decide any question submitted to a vote, except as otherwise required law or provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws. Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or by proxy at a meeting and entitled to vote. The amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any outstanding series of preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the board of directors out of legally available funds, payable either in cash, property or shares of capital stock.

Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the company, subject to the rights, if any of the holders of our preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive all of the remaining assets of the company of whatever kind available for distribution ratable in proportion to the number of shares held.

The holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock, which may be designated solely by action of the board of directors and issued in the future.

Preferred Stock

The board of directors is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by law, without further vote or action by the stockholders, to issue from time to time shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Each such series of preferred stock shall have such number of shares, voting powers,

 

80


Table of Contents

designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions, as shall be determined by the board of directors, which may include, among others, dividend rights, voting rights, liquidation preferences, conversion rights and preemptive rights.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws

Certain provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws to become effective immediately following the completion of this offering contain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions, which are summarized below, are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging such proposals, including proposals that are priced above the then-current market value of our common stock, because, among other reasons, the negotiation of such proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

These provisions include:

Classified Board

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible. As a result, approximately one-third of our board of directors will be elected each year. We believe that the classification of our board of directors will facilitate the continuity and stability of our business strategies and policies. However, our classified board could have the effect of making the replacement of incumbent directors more time consuming and difficult. At least two annual meetings of stockholders, instead of one, will generally be required to effect a change in a majority of our board of directors.

Number of Directors; Removal of Directors and Filling of Vacancies

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors has the authority to determine the number of directors within a range of between five and 15 directors. It also provides that vacancies in our board of directors, including vacancies created by an increase in the number of directors, shall be filled solely by a majority vote of the directors then in office. Directors or the entire board may be removed only for cause.

Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws also provides that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders can only be pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the board of directors or, until the date that investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares, at the request of holders of 50% or more of our outstanding shares. Except as described above, stockholders will not be permitted to call a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special meeting.

Advance Notice Procedures

Our amended and restated bylaws will establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or

 

81


Table of Contents

nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although our amended and restated bylaws do not give the board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.

Super Majority Approval Requirements

The DGCL generally provides that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless either a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws require a greater percentage. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66  2 / 3 % of the total votes eligible to be cast in the election of directors will be required to amend, alter, change or repeal our amended and restated bylaws or specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation once investment funds affiliated with Parthenon Capital Partners cease to beneficially own more than 50% of our outstanding shares. This requirement of a supermajority vote to approve amendments to our amended and restated bylaws and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation could enable a minority of our stockholders to exercise veto power over any such amendments.

Authorized but Unissued Shares

Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of a majority of our common stock by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders

We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an antitakeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, we are not subject to any anti-takeover effects of Section 203. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that they provide that Parthenon Capital Partners and its affiliates will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.

Corporate Opportunities

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy of the Company in the business opportunities that are from time to time presented to Parthenon Capital Partners and its officers, directors, agents, shareholders, members, partners, affiliates and subsidiaries, even if the opportunities are ones that the Company might have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity, and each such person shall not have any obligation to offer to us those opportunities and shall not be liable for breach of any fiduciary or other duty, as a director or otherwise, if any such person pursues or acquires such opportunity, directs the opportunity to another person or fails to present the opportunity to us.

 

82


Table of Contents

Choice of Forum

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification Matters

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will limit the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL and will provide that we will indemnify them to the fullest extent permitted by such law. We expect to enter into indemnification agreements with our current directors and executive officers prior to the completion of this offering and expect to enter into a similar agreement with any new directors or executive officers. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will also permit us to purchase insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions as our officer, director, employee or agent, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit indemnification. We believe that the limitation of liability provision, indemnification agreements and provision of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance will facilitate our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and officers of the Company.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is             . The transfer agent’s address is             .

Listing

We intend to apply to list our common stock on the              under the symbol “    .”

 

83


Table of Contents

CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME AND ESTATE TAX CONSIDERATIONS TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS

The following discussion summarizes certain material United States federal income and estate tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our Common stock by certain non-United States holders (as defined below). This discussion only applies to non-United States holders who purchase and hold our Common stock as a capital asset for United States federal income tax purposes (generally property held for investment). This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to a non-United States holder in light of such holder’s particular circumstances.

For purposes of this discussion, a “non-United States holder” means a person that for United States federal income tax purposes is not a partnership and is not any of the following:

 

   

an individual citizen or resident of the United States;

 

   

a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;

 

   

an estate, the income of which is subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust (1) whose administration is subject to the primary supervision of a United States court and that has one or more United States persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (2) that has a valid election in effect under applicable Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.

This discussion is based on provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, and Treasury regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions as of the date hereof. These authorities may change, perhaps retroactively, which could result in United States federal income and estate tax consequences different from those summarized below. This discussion does not address all aspects of United States federal income and estate taxes and does not describe any non-United States, state, local or other tax considerations that may be relevant to non-United States holders in light of their particular circumstances. In addition, this discussion does not describe the United States federal income and estate tax consequences applicable to a non-United States holder who is subject to special treatment under United States federal income tax laws (including, without limitation, certain former citizens and former long-term residents, a “controlled foreign corporation,” a “passive foreign investment company,” a corporation that accumulates earnings to avoid United States federal income tax, a partnership or other “pass through” entity or an investor in any such entity, a tax-exempt organization, a bank or other financial institution, a broker, dealer or trader in securities, commodities or currencies, a person holding our Common stock as part of a hedging, conversion, straddle, constructive sale or other risk reduction transaction or an insurance company). We cannot assure you that a change in law will not significantly alter the tax considerations that we describe in this discussion.

If a partnership (or any other entity treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes) holds our Common stock, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner of that partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our Common stock, you should consult your tax advisors.

YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE PARTICULAR UNITED STATES FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES TO YOU OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK.

Distributions on Common Stock

In general, if distributions are made with respect to our Common stock, such distributions will be treated as dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits as determined for United States

 

84


Table of Contents

federal income tax purposes and will be subject to withholding as discussed below. Any portion of a distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits will first be applied to reduce the non-United States holder’s basis in the Common stock, but not below zero, and, to the extent such portion exceeds the non-United States holder’s basis, the excess will be treated as gain from the disposition of the Common stock, the tax treatment of which is discussed below under “Dispositions of Common Stock.”

Dividends paid to a non-United States holder of our Common stock generally will be subject to withholding of United States federal income tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. However, dividends that are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the non-United States holder within the United States (and, where an income tax treaty applies, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States) are not subject to the withholding tax, provided certain certification and disclosure requirements are satisfied. Instead, such dividends are subject to United States federal income tax on a net income basis in the same manner as if the non-United States holder were a United States person as defined under the Code. Any such effectively connected dividends received by a foreign corporation may be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock who wishes to claim the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty for dividends will be required to provide us with a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN (or other applicable form) and certify under penalties of perjury that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code and is eligible for treaty benefits. If our Common stock is held through a foreign partnership or foreign intermediary, the foreign partnership or foreign intermediary will also be required to comply with additional certification requirements under applicable Treasury regulations.

A non-United States holder of our Common stock eligible for a reduced rate of United States withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for refund with the Internal Revenue Service.

Dispositions of Common Stock

Any gain realized by a non-United States holder on the disposition of our Common stock generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax unless:

 

   

the gain is effectively connected with the non-United States holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if an income tax treaty applies, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-United States holder in the United States);

 

   

the non-United States holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the calendar year of that disposition, and certain other conditions are met; or

 

   

we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation, as such term is defined in section 897(c) of the Code, during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or your holding period of our Common stock.

Gain described in the first bullet point immediately above will be subject to tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates. A non-United States holder that is a corporation may also be subject to a branch profits tax equal to 30%, or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty, of its effectively connected earnings and profits for the taxable year, as adjusted for certain items. An individual non-United States holder described in the second bullet point immediately above will be required to pay (subject to applicable income tax treaties) a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which may be offset by United States source capital losses, even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States. As long as our Common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, within the meaning of section 897(c)(3) of the Code, the rules described in the third bullet point above

 

85


Table of Contents

will apply to you only if you actually or constructively hold more than five percent of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the applicable period that is specified in the Code (the “regularly traded stock exception”). We believe we are not and do not expect to become a United States real property holding corporation. If, however, it turns out that we are or become a United States Real Property holding corporation, a non-United States holder for whom the regularly traded stock exception is not applicable or who is not otherwise exempt will be required to pay United States federal income tax under regular graduated United States federal income tax rates with respect to the gain recognized.

United States Federal Estate Tax

Our Common stock beneficially owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as defined for United States federal estate tax purposes) at the time of death will generally be includable in the decedent’s gross estate for United States federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

We must report annually to the Internal Revenue Service and to each non-United States holder the amount of dividends paid to such non-United States holder and the tax withheld with respect to such dividends, regardless of whether withholding was required. Copies of the information returns reporting such dividends and withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the non-United States holder resides under the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty or tax information exchange agreement.

Payments of dividends in respect of, or proceeds on the disposition within the United States (or conducted through certain U.S. related intermediaries) of, our Common stock made to a non-United States holder will be subject to additional information reporting and backup withholding unless such non-United States holder establishes an exemption, for example by properly certifying that such holder is not a United States person as defined under the Code on an Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or another appropriate version of Form W-8 (and the payor does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that such non-United States holder is a United States person as defined under the Code).

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will reduce the non-United States holder’s United States federal income tax liability. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service provided the required information is timely furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.

Recent Legislative Developments

Legislation enacted in 2010 will generally impose a 30% withholding tax on dividends on our Common stock and the gross proceeds of a disposition of our Common stock paid after December 31, 2012 to (i) a foreign financial institution unless such institution enters into an agreement with the United States Treasury requiring, among other things, that such institution undertake to identify accounts held by certain United States persons or certain foreign entities wholly or partially owned by United States persons, annually report certain information about such accounts and withhold at a rate of 30% on payments to account holders whose actions prevent it from complying with these reporting and other requirements, and (ii) a non-financial foreign entity unless such entity provides the payor with a certification identifying the direct and indirect United States owners of the entity. Accordingly, the entity through which our Common stock is held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Under proposed regulations that are not yet effective, this new withholding tax will not apply (i) to dividend income on Common stock that is paid on or before December 31, 2013 or (ii) to gross proceeds from the disposition of Common stock paid on or before December 31, 2014. Under certain circumstances, a non-United States holder of our Common stock may be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. Investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our Common stock.

 

86


Table of Contents

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Before this offering, there has not been a public market for shares of our common stock. Future sales of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market after this offering, or the possibility of these sales occurring, could cause the prevailing market price for our common stock to fall or impair our ability to raise equity capital in the future.

Upon the completion of this offering, a total of              shares of common stock will be outstanding, assuming that there are no exercises of options after March 31, 2012. Of these shares,              shares of common stock sold in this offering by us, plus any shares sold upon exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, will be freely tradable in the public market without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, unless these shares are held by “affiliates,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act.

The remaining              shares of common stock will be upon issuance, “restricted securities,” as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. These restricted securities are eligible for public sale only if they are registered under the Securities Act or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rules 144 or 701 under the Securities Act, which are summarized below.

Subject to the lock-up agreements described below and the provisions of Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act, these restricted securities will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

Date

   Number of Shares

On the date of this prospectus

  

Between 90 and 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

At various times beginning more than 180 days after the date of this prospectus

  

In addition, of the              shares of our common stock that were subject to stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2012, options to purchase              shares of common stock were vested as of March 31, 2012 and will be eligible for sale at various times beginning more than 180 days following the effective date of this offering.

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, a person who is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months will be entitled to sell any shares of our common stock that such person has beneficially owned for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, without regard to volume limitations. Sales of our common stock by any such person would be subject to the availability of current public information about us if the shares to be sold were beneficially owned by such person for less than one year.

In addition, under Rule 144, a person may sell shares of our common stock acquired from us immediately upon the closing of this offering, without regard to volume limitations or the availability of public information about us, if:

 

   

the person is not our affiliate and has not been our affiliate at any time during the preceding three months; and

 

   

the person has beneficially owned the shares to be sold for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates.

Beginning 90 days after the date of this prospectus, our affiliates who have beneficially owned shares of our common stock for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of

 

87


Table of Contents

our affiliates, would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:

 

   

1% of the number of shares of our common stock then-outstanding, which will equal approximately              shares immediately after this offering; and

 

   

the average weekly trading volume in our common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the date of filing of a Notice of Proposed Sale of Securities Pursuant to Rule 144 with respect to the sale.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates or persons selling shares on behalf of our affiliates are also subject to manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

In general, under Rule 701 as currently in effect, any of our employees, consultants or advisors who purchase shares from us in connection with a compensatory stock or option plan or other written agreement in a transaction before the effective date of this offering that was completed in reliance on Rule 701 and complied with the requirements of Rule 701 will, subject to the lock-up restrictions described below, be eligible to resell such shares 90 days after the effective date of this offering in reliance on Rule 144, but without compliance with certain restrictions, including the holding period, contained in Rule 144.

Lock-Up Agreements

In connection with this offering, we and our officers, directors, and holders of substantially all of our common stock have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock, file or cause to be filed a registration statement covering shares of common stock or any securities that are convertible into, exchangeable for, or represent the right to receive, common stock or any substantially similar securities, or publicly disclose the intention to do any of the foregoing restrictions, during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date 180 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. This agreement does not apply to the issuance by us of shares under any existing employee benefit plans. This agreement is subject to certain exception in certain circumstances. See “Underwriting” for a more complete description of the lock-up agreements.

Registration Statements

We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act covering all of the shares of common stock subject to options outstanding or reserved for issuance under our stock plans. We expect to file this registration statement as soon as practicable after this offering. However, none of the shares registered on Form S-8 will be eligible for resale until the expiration of the lock-up agreements to which they are subject.

 

88


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, for whom Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we and the selling stockholders have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of shares indicated below:

 

Name

   Number of
Shares

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  

Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC

  

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

  

William Blair & Company, L.L.C.

  

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc.

  
  

 

Total

  
  

 

The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased, or, in the case of a default with respect to the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below, the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

The underwriters initially propose to offer part of the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus and part to certain dealers at a price that represents a concession not in excess of $         per share under the public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives. The offering of the shares by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

             have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to              additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter’s name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.

 

89


Table of Contents

The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds before expenses to us and the selling stockholders. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional              shares of common stock.

 

     Total  
     Per Share        No Exercise          Full Exercise    

Public offering price

       $                                $                                $                        

Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by:

        

Us

       $             $             $     

The selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

       $             $             $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to selling stockholders

       $             $             $     

The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $             million. The underwriters have agreed to reimburse us for a portion of our out-of-pocket expenses in connection with this offering.

The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of shares of common stock offered by them.

Upon the completion of this offering and based on an assumed initial public offering price of $             per share, the midpoint of the estimated price range shown on the cover of this prospectus, we will pay FT Partners a fee of $             for financial advisory services in respect of this offering. This fee will be paid     % in cash and     % through the issuance of shares of our common stock valued at the initial public offering price per share. We have also agreed to indemnify FT Partners against certain losses, claims, damages and liabilities in connection with FT Partners’ financial advisory services. FT Partners has entered into a lock-up agreement with the underwriters with respect to these shares and these shares will also be subject to limitations on resale imposed by Rule 144, each as described under the heading “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” elsewhere in this prospectus. FT Partners’ financial advisory services included assistance in financial and valuation modeling and advice with respect to the initial public offering process and equity capital market alternatives. None of Financial Technology Partners LP, FTP Securities LLC, or any of their affiliates is acting as an underwriter of this offering.

We expect to list our common stock on                      under the trading symbol “    .”

We and all directors and officers and the holders of substantially all of our outstanding stock and stock options, including holders of all of our unregistered securities acquired within the past 180 days, have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, and subject to certain exceptions, we and they will not, during the period ending 180 days after the date of this prospectus (or such earlier date or dates as agreed between us and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co.):

 

   

offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of directly or indirectly, any shares of common stock beneficially owned or any other securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock;

 

   

file any registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the offering of any shares of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock; or

 

   

enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common stock;

 

90


Table of Contents

whether any such transaction described above is to be settled by delivery of common stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. In addition, we and each such person agrees that, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Goldman, Sachs & Co. on behalf of the underwriters, we or such other person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph do not apply to:

 

   

the sale of shares to the underwriters; or

 

   

the issuance by the Company of shares of common stock upon the exercise of an option or a warrant or the conversion of a security outstanding on the date of this prospectus of which the underwriters have been advised in writing; or

 

   

the establishment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), for the transfer of shares of common stock, provided that such plan does not provide for the transfer of common stock during the restricted period and no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act, as amended, regarding the establishment of such plan shall be required or shall be voluntarily made.

The restricted period described in the preceding paragraph will be extended if:

 

   

during the last 17 days of the restricted period we issue an earnings release or material news event relating to us occurs, or

 

   

prior to the expiration of the restricted period, we announce that we will release earnings results during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the restricted period,

in which case the restrictions described in the preceding paragraph will continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.

In order to facilitate the offering of the common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the option to purchase additional shares or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the option to purchase additional shares. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the option to purchase additional shares, creating a naked short position. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of the common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of the common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time. The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

 

91


Table of Contents

We, the selling stockholders and the several underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering. The representative may agree to allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representative to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

Pricing of the Offering

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were our future prospects and those of our industry in general, our sales, earnings and certain other financial and operating information in recent periods, and the price-earnings ratios, price-sales ratios, market prices of securities, and certain financial and operating information of companies engaged in activities similar to ours.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise). The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Selling Restrictions

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”) an offer to the public of any shares of our common stock may not be made in that Relevant Member State, except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any shares of our common stock may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:

 

  (a)

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

  (b)

to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

  (c)

in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of shares of our common stock shall result in a requirement for the publication by us or any underwriter of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

92


Table of Contents

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any shares of our common stock in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any shares of our common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any shares of our common stock, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State, and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.

United Kingdom

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

 

  (a)

it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the shares of our common stock in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to us; and

 

  (b)

it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the shares of our common stock in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong

The shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap.32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that

 

93


Table of Contents

trust has acquired the shares under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

 

94


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares of common stock offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, San Francisco, California. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, New York, New York, is representing the underwriters in this offering.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule of Performant Financial Corporation as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, have been included herein in reliance upon the report of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, appearing elsewhere herein, and upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of common stock offered hereby. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement or the exhibits and schedules filed therewith. For further information about us and the common stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed thereto. Statements contained in this prospectus regarding the contents of any contract or any other document that is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement are not necessarily complete, and each such statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the full text of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the registration statement. Upon completion of this offering, we will be required to file periodic reports, proxy statements, and other information with the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You may read and copy this information at the Public Reference Room of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference rooms by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov .

 

95


Table of Contents

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Consolidated Financial Statements of Performant Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries For the Years Ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-3   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-4   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

     F-5   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-6   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-7   

Consolidated Financial Statements For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 (Unaudited)

  

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-23   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-24   

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

     F-25   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-26   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-27   

 

F-1


Table of Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Directors

Performant Financial Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in redeemable preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011. In connection with our audits of the consolidated financial statements, we also have audited financial statement schedule II. These consolidated financial statements and the financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2010 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

As discussed in Note 1(b) to the consolidated financial statements, the consolidated financial statements for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2011 have been restated to correct for errors in accounting for preferred stock.

/s/ KPMG LLP

San Francisco, California

March 22, 2012, except for Note 1(l) and schedule II,

as to which the date is May 21, 2012 and Note 1(b) and

Note 1(s), as to which the date is June 25, 2012.

 

F-2


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per-share amounts)

 

Assets    2010     2011  
     (Restated)     (Restated)  

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 11,078       20,004  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $45 and $77, respectively

     14,006       18,948  

Deferred income taxes

     2,170       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,198       3,292  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     1,254       595  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     31,706       48,187  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     13,525       14,915  

Identifiable intangible assets

     52,959       36,516  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

     595         

Other assets

     1,033       659  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,390       181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities, Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 12,500       8,134  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     4,596       7,138  

Accounts payable

     63       60  

Other current liabilities

     3,761       8,945  

Deferred revenue

            2,214  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     20,920       26,491  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     96,633       87,051  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       8,198  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     21,109       14,647  

Other liabilities

     2,610       1,158  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     151,231       139,306  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Redeemable preferred stock (see note 1)

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 2,648 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     51,753       58,248  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit (see note 1)

    

Due from stockholders

     (2,158     (2,266

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 18,833 shares at December 31, 2010 and 2011

     188       188  

Additional paid-in capital

     19,067       19,187  

Accumulated deficit

     (38,691     (32,814
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (21,594     (15,705
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable preferred stock, and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 181,390       181,849  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-3


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

 

       2009      2010     2011  
       (Restated)      (Restated)     (Restated)  

Revenues

     $     109,832            123,519           162,974  

Operating expenses:

         

Salaries and benefits

       53,728        58,113       67,082  

Other operating expenses

       32,110        33,655       49,199  

Impairment of trade name

       —           —          13,400  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       85,838        91,768       129,681  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       23,994        31,751       33,293  

Interest expense

       (16,017      (15,230     (13,530

Interest income

       104        118       125  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       8,081        16,639       19,888  

Provision for income taxes

       3,071        6,664       7,516  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       5,128         5,771        6,495   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income available to common shareholders

       (118      4,204        5,877   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders

(see Note 1)

         

Basic

     $ (0.01      0.20        0.27   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     $ (0.01      0.19        0.26   
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares (see Note 1)

         

Basic

       21,481        21,481       21,481  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       21,481        22,510       22,871  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

          $     
         

 

 

 

Diluted

          $     
         

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share (unaudited)

         

Basic

          $     
         

 

 

 

Diluted

          $     
         

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

    Redeemable Preferred Stock                                              
      Series A
Convertible preferred stock
            Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Due from
stockholders
    Common stock     Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
deficit
       
      Shares     Amount             Shares     Amount       Shares     Amount         Total  

Balance, December 31, 2008 (as Reported)

         $              2,648      $ 40,854        (2,169     18,833      $ 188        18,070        (42,777     14,166   
 

 

 

   

 

 

                       

Adjustment

    2,648        40,854              (2,648     (40,854                                        (40,854
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2008 (as Restated)

    2,648        40,854                            (2,169     18,833        188        18,070        (42,777     (26,688

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           5,128                                                        (5,128     (5,128

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (98                                 (98

Stock-based compensation expense

                                      106                      474               580   

Net income

                                                                  5,010        5,010   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2009 (as Restated)

    2,648        45,982                            (2,161     18,833        188        18,544        (42,895     (26,324

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           5,771                                                        (5,771     (5,771

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (103                                 (103

Stock-based compensation expense

                                      106                      523               629   

Net income

                                                                  9,975        9,975   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2010 (as Restated)

    2,648        51,753                            (2,158     18,833        188        19,067        (38,691     (21,594

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           6,495                                                        (6,495     (6,495

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                      (108                                 (108

Stock-based compensation expense

                                                           120               120   

Net income

                                                                  12,372        12,372   
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Restated)

    2,648      $ 58,248                   $        (2,266     18,833      $     188        19,187        (32,814     (15,705
 

 

 

   

 

 

         

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 

F-5


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

(In thousands)

 

       2009      2010     2011  

Cash flows from operating activities:

         

Net income

     $ 5,010        9,975       12,372  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

         

Loss on disposal of assets

       52               

Depreciation, amortization, and impairment of intangible assets

       9,624        7,213       21,166  

Deferred income taxes

       (2,924      32       (9,640

Stock option compensation

       580        629       120  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       3,027        1,997       1,254  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (98      (103     (108

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

         

Trade accounts receivable

       (1,431      1,610       (4,942

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       (1,392      (664     (94

Other assets

       (116      (394     372  

Accrued salaries and benefits

       1,349        (69     2,542  

Accounts payable

       (91      (255     (3

Other current liabilities

       1,015        (1,882     5,184  

Deferred revenue

                    2,214  

Other liabilities

       1,028        125       (1,452
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       15,633        18,214       28,985  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

         

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (4,877      (4,921     (6,111
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

         

Borrowings under line of credit

       948               

Debt issuance costs paid

       (1,023      (1,172      

Repayment of notes payable

         (10,865      (9,967       (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (10,940        (11,139     (13,948
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in cash and cash equivalents

       (184      2,154       8,926  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       9,108        8,924       11,078  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 8,924        11,078       20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Noncash financing activities:

         

Note payable payment-in-kind

     $ 3,000               

Supplemental disclosures information:

         

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 9,397        6,209       15,830  

Cash paid for interest

       14,095        13,048       12,246  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

Years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011

 

(1) Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

  (a) Organization

These consolidated financial statements of Performant Financial Corporation and subsidiaries (the Company) include the operations of Performant Financial Corporation (PFC), its wholly owned subsidiary DCS Business Services, Inc. (DCSBS), and DCSBS’ wholly owned subsidiaries Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS), and Vista Financial, Inc. (VFI). PFC is a Delaware corporation headquartered in California and was formed in 2003. DCSBS is a Nevada corporation founded in 1997. DCS is a California corporation founded in 1976. VFI is a California corporation that was formed in 2004.

The Company is a leading provider of collections and default management services for various forms of delinquent debt for the U.S. Department of Education, state and national guarantors of student loans, and defaulted debts owed to the federal and state governments. The Company contracts with its clients to provide collection services on a contingency-fee basis. The Company has collection offices in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Company also provides services to the Federal Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where the Company audits and recovers improper payments made by Medicare for medical claims submitted by healthcare providers. VFI offers risk management services that enable financial institutions to proactively manage private student loan portfolios to mitigate the incidence of nonperforming loan assets.

 

  (b) Restatement

These financial statements have been restated to correct an error in the balance sheet presentation of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred shares (the Shares). The purpose of the restatement is to classify the balances outside of permanent equity, as they are redeemable at the option of the holders via conversion units, as more fully described in Note 6. The following financial statement line items were affected (in thousands):

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted     Effect of the change  

2011

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $ -             58,248        58,248   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

                         42,543         (15,705     (58,248

2010

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $ -             51,753        51,753   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     30,159         (21,594     (51,753

 

F-7


Table of Contents

As the conversion of the Shares discussed above results in the issuance of common shares, we have corrected the weighted average shares outstanding and earnings per share disclosures. The per share impact of these changes is shown below.

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted      Effect of the change  

2011

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $                         0.31       $             0.27       $             (0.04)   

Diluted

   $ 0.29       $ 0.26       $ (0.03)   

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     20,223         22,871         2,648   

2010

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.22       $ 0.20       $ (0.02)   

Diluted

   $ 0.21       $ 0.19       $ (0.02)   

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,862         22,510         2,648   

2009

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ (0.01)       $ (0.01)       $ -       

Diluted

   $ (0.01)       $ (0.01)       $ -       

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

  

     

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,493         21,481         1,988   

The restatement had no effect on the cash flows from operating, investing, or financing activities. The restatement also impacted Note 1(s).

 

  (c) Principles of Consolidation

These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PFC, DCSBS, VFI, and DCS. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

  (d) Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements

The preparation of consolidated financial statements, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP), requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the carrying value of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements; the allowance for doubtful accounts; and the carrying value of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

  (e) Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include demand deposits and highly liquid debt instruments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased. These investments can include money market funds that invest in highly liquid U.S. government and agency obligations, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, and commercial paper.

 

F-8


Table of Contents

The Company collects monies on behalf of its clients. Cash is often held on behalf of the clients in various trust accounts and is subsequently remitted to the clients based on contractual agreements. Cash held in these trust accounts for contracting agencies is not included in the Company’s assets (note 11(a)).

 

  (f) Hosted Service Installation and Implementation Deliverables

In 2008, the Company entered into a long-term contract to provide hosted services to a client beginning in March 2009. The Company determined that certain installation and implementation deliverables were not separate units of accounting within the contract, and should be combined for revenue recognition purposes with the hosted service deliverable. Accordingly, revenue for these contract elements is being taken ratably from the commencement of hosted services in March 2009 through the contract period of March 2018. Additionally, the Company deferred the direct incremental costs associated with the installation and implementation deliverables, with the costs being expensed ratably from the March 2009 commencement of services through March 2018.

 

  (g) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Furniture and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method over estimated useful lives ranging from 3 to 7 years. Buildings are depreciated using the straight-line method over 31.5 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the estimated life of the asset or the remaining term of the lease. Computer software and computer hardware are depreciated using the straight-line method over 3 years and 5 years, respectively.

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Improvements that extend the useful lives of assets are capitalized.

When property is sold or retired, the cost and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheet and any gain or loss from the transaction is included in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

  (h) Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price and related costs over the fair value assigned to the net assets of businesses acquired. Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is reviewed for impairment at least annually. Impairment is the condition that exists when the carrying amount of goodwill is not recoverable and its carrying amount exceeds its fair value. In accordance with Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment , the Company performed a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that goodwill fair value is less than its carrying amount for 2011, and concluded that there was no need to perform an impairment test. The Company applied impairment tests to its goodwill and determined that no impairment loss had occurred during 2010 and 2009.

Identifiable intangible assets consist of customer contracts and related relationships, trademarks and trade names, and covenants not to compete. Customer contracts and related relationships are amortized over their estimated useful life of 20 years. Covenants not to compete are amortized over their contractual terms of 2 to 5 years. Trademarks and trade names have been determined to have an indefinite life, and are not amortized.

 

  (i) Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets or intangibles may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. In 2011, the Company recorded $13,400,000 of impairment expense to write off the carrying amount of the trade name intangible asset due to the

 

F-9


Table of Contents

Company’s contemplation of the retirement of the Diversified Collection Services, Inc. (DCS) trade name. The Company considers it unlikely that the DCS name will be used in the future. There was no impairment expense for intangible assets in 2010. The Company recorded $2,568,000 of impairment expense to reduce the carrying amount of the intangible asset due to the loss of a customer during 2009.

 

  (j) System Developments

The Company follows the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASC) Subtopic 350-40, Internal-Use Software , which specifies that costs incurred during the application stage of development should be capitalized. All other costs are expensed as incurred. During 2009, 2010 and 2011, costs of $2,484,000, 2,112,000 and $2,532,000 respectively, were capitalized for projects in the application stage of development, with depreciation expense of $1,126,000, $1,469,000 and $2,080,000 respectively, for completed projects.

 

  (k) Debt Issuance Costs

Debt issuance costs represent loan, legal, and accounting fees paid in connection with the issuance of long-term debt. Debt issuance cost is amortized to interest expense in accordance with key terms of the notes as amended.

 

  (l) Revenues and Accounts Receivable

Collection revenue is recognized upon the collection of defaulted loan and debt payments. Bonus revenue is recognized upon receipt of official notification of bonus award from customers. Loan rehabilitation revenue is recognized when the rehabilitated loans are sold (funded) by clients.

For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company had 3 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 3 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2009 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         25,915         23.6

2

     19,670         17.9

3

     12,496         11.4

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company had 4 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 4 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2010 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         27,881         22.6

2

     20,776         16.8

3

     17,287         14.0

4

     15,445         12.5

For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company had 5 clients whose individual revenues were greater than 10 percent of the Company’s total revenues. The dollar amount and percent of total revenue of each of these 5 clients is summarized in the table below (in thousands):

 

Description

   2011 Revenue      Percent of
total  revenue
 

1

   $         30,732         18.9

2

     28,504         17.5

3

     21,812         13.4

4

     21,549         13.2

5

     17,934         11.0

The Company derived approximately 24%, 23% and 19% of revenues in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, from a contract with one customer. Revenue from the largest three customers was 53%,

 

F-10


Table of Contents

53% and 50% of total revenue in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Accounts receivable due from these three customers were 41%, 41% and 25% of total trade receivables at December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. Amounts collected on trade accounts receivable are included in net cash provided by operating activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows. The Company determines the allowance for doubtful accounts by specific identification. Account balances are charged off against the allowance after all means of collection have been exhausted and the potential for recovery is considered remote.

 

  (m) Legal Expenses

The Company recognizes legal fees related to litigation as they are incurred.

 

  (n) Comprehensive Income

The Company has no components of comprehensive income other than its net income. Accordingly, comprehensive income is equivalent to net income.

 

  (o) Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, short-term debt and long-term debt. The carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values based on quoted market values or due to their short-term maturities. The carrying values of short-term debt, and long-term debt approximate fair value due to their variable interest rates, which approximate market rates.

 

  (p) Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset-and-liability method. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the carrying value of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and for taxation purposes. Deferred incomle tax assets and liabilities are measured using the rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred income tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

Beginning with the adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes , included in FASB ASC Subtopic 740-10, Income Taxes – Overall , as of January 1, 2009, the Company recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. Prior to the adoption of Interpretation No. 48, the Company recognized the effect of income tax positions only if such positions were probable of being sustained.

The Company believes its tax positions to be highly certain and thus has recorded no tax reserves during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The Company records interest expense and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in selling, general, and administrative expenses. There were no interest or penalties related to uncertain tax positions incurred during the year ended December 31, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

  (q) Preferred Stock

The carrying amounts of preferred stock are periodically increased by amounts representing dividends not currently declared or paid, but which would be payable under certain redemption features. Such increases in carrying amounts are recorded against retained earnings.

 

F-11


Table of Contents
  (r) Stock Options

The Company accounts for its employee stock-based compensation awards in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation . FASB ASC Topic 718 requires that all employee stock-based compensation is recognized as a cost in the financial statements and that for equity-classified awards, such cost is measured at the grant date fair value of the award. The Company estimates grant date fair value using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model.

FASB ASC Topic 718 also requires that excess tax benefits recognized in equity related to stock option exercises are reflected as financing cash inflows. While the Company did not have such tax benefits of deductions resulting from the exercise of stock options in 2009, 2010 and 2011, to the extent they occur, future benefits will be so presented.

 

  (s) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus the weighted average number of Series A preferred shares outstanding during the period. The Series A shares are included in the basic denominator because they can be converted into common shares for no cash consideration (via conversion units as further described in Note 6), and are thus considered outstanding common shares in computing basic earnings per share. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

       Year Ended December 31,  
     2009      2010      2011  

Weighted average shares outstanding – basic

     21,481         21,481         21,481   

Dilutive effect of stock options

     0         1,029         1,390   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted

     21,481         22,510         22,871   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

  (t) Pro Forma Net Income Per Share (unaudited)

Pro forma net income per share has been calculated to give effect to the following:

In addition to historical basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, the number of offering shares whose proceeds would be necessary to redeem all of the shares of Series B of $58.2 million, as well as the proceeds necessary to pay Parthenon Capital Partners for the termination of the Advisory Agreement of $1.3 million, and the 1% transaction fee of $             million, has been added to the denominator for purposes of the pro forma disclosure.

 

  (u) Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities . ASU 2011-11 requires an entity to disclose information about offsetting and related arrangements to enable users of financial statements to understand the effect of those arrangements on its financial position, and to allow investors to better compare financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP with financial statements prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The new standards are effective for annual periods beginning January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. Retrospective application is required. The Company will implement the provisions of ASU 2011-11 as of January 1, 2013.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income . Under this ASU, an entity will have the option to present the components of

 

F-12


Table of Contents

net income and comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. The ASU eliminates the option in U.S. GAAP to present other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity. An entity should apply the ASU retrospectively. For a nonpublic entity, the ASU is effective for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. In December 2011, the FASB decided to defer the effective date of those changes in ASU 2011-05 that relate only to the presentation of reclassification adjustments in the statement of operations by issuing ASU 2011-12, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05 . The Company plans to implement the provisions of ASU 2011-05 by presenting a separate statement of other comprehensive income following the statement of operations in 2012.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs . The new standards do not extend the use of fair value but, rather, provide guidance about how fair value should be applied where it already is required or permitted under IFRS or U.S. GAAP. For U.S. GAAP, most of the changes are clarifications of existing guidance or wording changes to align with IFRS. A nonpublic entity is required to apply the ASU prospectively for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company expects that the adoption of ASU 2011-04 in 2012 will not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

 

  (v) Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to the 2009 and 2010 balances to conform to the 2011 presentation. Such reclassifications have no effect on net income or retained earnings as previously reported.

 

(2) Property, Equipment, and Leasehold Improvements

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010      2011  

Land

     $   1,767             1,767    

Building and leasehold improvements

     4,672          4,797    

Furniture, equipment, and automobile

     3,310          3,612    

Computer hardware and software

     25,630          31,197    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     35,379          41,373    

Less accumulated depreciation and amortization

       (21,854)         (26,458)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     $ 13,525           14,915    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements amounted to $3,828,000, $4,168,000 and $4,721,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2010

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (22,487)               39,559     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600           (3,600)           —     

Trademarks and trade names

     13,400           —           13,400     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 79,046           (26,087)           52,959     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-13


Table of Contents

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
     Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

     $ 62,046               (25,530)               36,516     

Covenants not to compete

     3,600               (3,600)           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

     $ 65,646           (29,130)           36,516     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Amortization of intangible assets amounted to $3,227,000, $3,043,000 and $3,043,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five following fiscal years is as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 3,043   

2013

     3,043   

2014

     3,043   

2015

     3,043   

2016

     3,043   

After 2016

     21,301   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 36,516   
  

 

 

 

 

(4) Notes Payable

Notes payable consist of the following at December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

       2010     2011  

Term A-1 Loan, interest at Prime +3.00% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 4.00%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2010

   $ 3,000          

Term A-2 Loan, interest at Prime +4.50% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor) + 5.50%, which was 7.50% at December 31, 2010 and LIBOR +5.50%, which was 7.75% at December 31, 2011

     44,133        33,185   

Term B Loan, interest at Prime + 10.75% or LIBOR (subject to a 2.00% floor effective June 25, 2010) + 11.75%, which was 13.75% at December 31, 2010, and LIBOR + 11.75%, which was 14.00% at December 31, 2011

     62,000        62,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The Term A-1 Loan, Term A-2 Loan, and the Term B Loan are subject to Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2010, Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 9, 2009, Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 10, 2008, Waiver and Amendment No. 2 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated June 25, 2007, Consent, Waiver, and Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated April 28, 2006, and to the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated February 4, 2005, secured by all assets and liabilities

     109,133        95,185   

Less current portion

     (12,500     (8,134
  

 

 

   

 

 

 
   $ 96,633        87,051   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The maturities of the notes outstanding as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

2012

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 95,185   
  

 

 

 

See revised maturities table at note 12 for debt recapitalization that occurred subsequent to year end.

Principal and interest payments are due and paid periodically in accordance with the note terms. The Term A-2 Note and the Term B Note are held by a number of lenders, some of whom are also minority shareholders of the Company and therefore are related parties.

On June 25, 2010, the Company entered into Amendment No. 5 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fifth Amendment). As part of the Fifth Amendment, the existing Term A Loan was replaced by

 

F-14


Table of Contents

new Term A-1 and Term A-2 loans in the amount of $10.5 million and $44.1 million, respectively. The final maturity of Term A-1 is February 2011, and the final maturity of Term A-2 is March 2012. In addition, the Term-B loan amount was reset to $62.0 million, with a final maturity of September 2012. Fees associated with the Fifth Amendment of $1,172,000 were capitalized, and are being amortized to interest expense over the lives of the respective loans along with existing fees at June 25, 2010 of $1,501,000.

On June 9, 2009, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 4 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Fourth Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived through February 4, 2011.

Fees associated with the Fourth Amendment totaling $1,023,000 were capitalized and were expensed over the amendment period up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which they have been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment. These fees were paid in cash.

On June 10, 2008, the Company entered into a Waiver and Amendment No. 3 to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Third Amendment) in which certain restrictive covenants were amended or waived. The Third Amendment called for the Company to refinance its debt by June 15, 2009 in which case it would not be required to pay-in-kind (by addition to the principal of the outstanding term loans) to the lenders an additional amendment fee of $3,000,000. The Company did not refinance its debt by the June 15, 2009 date, and as a consequence, $1,100,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term A loan, and $1,900,000 was added to the principal balance of the Term B loan. The $3,000,000 fee was being expensed over the period June 15, 2009 – February 4, 2011 up to the signing of the Fifth Amendment on June 25, 2010, after which it has been expensed over the lives of the loans as laid out in the Fifth Amendment.

The February 4, 2005, Amended and Restated Credit Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, minimum interest coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit. The Fifth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 25, 2010 through September 30, 2012, while the Fourth Amendment amended certain of these financial covenants for the period June 9, 2009 through February 4, 2011.

The Company has a line of credit subject to the terms of the Fifth Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, the Third Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the February 4, 2005 Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. Under the terms of the agreements, borrowings may not exceed $10 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor equal to the greatest of the Prime Rate per The Wall Street Journal , the Federal Funds Rate +0.50%, or 3.00%) + 2.75% or LIBOR (subject, under the Fifth Amendment, to a floor of 2.00%) + 3.75%, which was 6.00% at December 31, 2011, and at Prime + 2.75% or LIBOR + 3.75%, which was 5.75% at December 31, 2010. The line expires March 30, 2012. Borrowings under this line of credit at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were $8,198,000. In addition, the Company has letters of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000 and $1,410,000 that are secured by the line of credit, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $402,000 and $392,000 at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of December 31, 2011 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Year ending December 31:

  

2012

   $ 1,402   

2013

     699   

2014

     687   

2015

     128   

2016

     7   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 2,923   
  

 

 

 

 

F-15


Table of Contents

Lease expense was $1,835,000, $1,949,000 and $1,950,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(6) Capital Stock

The total number of shares of capital stock that the Company has authority to issue is 61,000,000, consisting of 18,000,000 shares of Series A Participating Senior Preferred Stock (Series A Preferred Stock), $0.01 par value per share (Series A Preferred Stock); 18,000,000 shares of Series B Redeemable Senior Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share (Series B Preferred Stock); and 25,000,000 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share.

 

  (a) Series A Preferred Stock

Issuanc e – On May 23, 2006, the Company sold 2,647,838 shares of Series A Preferred Stock to shareholders at a price of $11.33 per share, receiving gross proceeds of $30,000,000, and net proceeds of $29,925,000 after issuance costs of $75,000.

Dividends – The holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends as declared by the board of directors. The dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value plus accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from the date of issuance of the Preferred Stock. As of December 31, 2011, the Company has accrued dividends payable of $28,248,000 recorded as an increase to the Series A Preferred Stock.

Voting – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock entitles the holder to cast a number of votes per share equal to the number of votes that the holder would be entitled to cast assuming that such shares of Series A Preferred Stock have been converted into shares of Common Stock.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series B Preferred Stock, holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value of $11.33 per share plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon. In addition to the payments set forth above, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to participate, on a parity and ratably on a per-share basis with the holders of Common Stock, with respect to all such distributions or payments that the holders of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive with respect to the number of shares of Common Stock into which such holders’ shares of Series A Preferred Stock were convertible immediately prior to any relevant record date or payment date in connection with liquidation, dissolution, or winding up, but only to the extent that shares of Common Stock would participate in such distributions or payments (and such payment shall be junior to all equity securities of the Company that rank senior to the Common Stock, including without limitation the Series B Preferred Stock).

Conversion – The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible into Conversion Units (as defined below), at a rate of one Conversion Unit for one share of Series A Preferred Stock. A Conversion Unit consists of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing the Liquidation Value of the Series A Preferred Stock by the Conversion Price then in effect (the Common Portion) and (ii) one share of Series B Preferred Stock (the Series B Portion) subject to adjustments. If upon conversion there are any unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends due on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, such dividends continue to be deferred, but are considered unpaid, accrued, or accumulated dividends (as the case may be) due on the Series B Preferred Stock.

 

   

Optional conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock is convertible, at the option of the holder thereof, into a Conversion Unit at any time after the date of issuance of such share.

 

   

Automatic conversion – Each share of Series A Preferred Stock automatically can be converted into Conversion Units on the date specified by written consent or agreement of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock.

 

   

Conversion price – The initial Conversion Price of the shares issued in May 2006 is $11.33 per share. In order to prevent dilution of the conversion rights granted to the holders of the Series A Preferred

 

F-16


Table of Contents
 

Stock, the Conversion Price is subject to adjustment from time to time under certain circumstances. If the Company (i) declares a dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of its capital stock (including Common Stock), (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock, (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (iv) issues any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Stock, then, in each such case, the Conversion Price is to be proportionately adjusted so that, in connection with a conversion of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock after such date, the holder of shares of Series A Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock, which, if the conversion had occurred immediately prior to such date, the holder would have owned upon such conversion and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination, or reclassification.

 

  (b) Series B Preferred Stock

Issuances – There are no outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock.

Dividends – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends, as declared by the Board of Directors. Dividends accrue on a daily basis at the rate of 12% per annum on the sum of the Liquidation Value thereof plus all accumulated dividends and accrued and unpaid dividends thereon from and including the date of issuance of such Preferred Stock. Such dividends accrue whether or not they are declared.

Voting – The holders of Series B Preferred Stock do not have any right to vote.

Liquidation – In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, before any distribution or payment to holders of Common Stock, but on parity with the holders of Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to be paid an amount equal to the Liquidation Value ($11.33 per share) plus any accumulated or accrued but unpaid dividends thereon.

Redemption – The Company, at its option, has the ability to redeem all or any portion of the shares of Series B Preferred Stock then outstanding. The total sum payable by the Corporation per share of Series B Preferred Stock so redeemed equals the Liquidation Value thereof plus an amount equal to all accumulated or accrued and unpaid dividends thereon (the Series B Redemption Price).

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to mandatory redemption in the event of an initial public offering at a price per share equal to the Series B Redemption Price.

The Series B Preferred Stock is subject to redemption on or after January 7, 2011 at the request of the holders of a majority of the Series A and Series B Preferred Stock (together as a single class).

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

 

  (a) Stock Options

The Company has established the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan (Performant Financial Corporation is the new name of DCS Holdings, Inc.), and the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan (the Plans). Under the terms of the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan, stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. “Tranche I” options granted under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period. “Tranche II” options granted under the plan allow for accelerated vesting in as few as five years if certain performance criteria are met, with full vesting occurring in no later than the end of seven years.

Under the terms of the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options, stock bonuses, and rights to acquire restricted stock may be granted for up to 1,800,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan generally vest over a four-year period.

 

F-17


Table of Contents

Under the terms of the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan, incentive and nonqualified stock options may be granted for up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s authorized but unissued Common Stock. Options granted under the Performant Financial Corporation 2007 Stock Option Plan generally vest over a five-year period.

The exercise price of incentive stock options shall generally not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. The exercise price of nonqualified stock options shall generally not be less than 85% of the fair market value of the Common Stock subject to the option on the date that the option is granted. Options issued under the Plans have a maximum term of 10 years and vest over schedules determined by the board of directors. Options issued under the Plans generally provide for immediate vesting of unvested shares in the event of a sale of the Company.

In 2005, in accordance with the guidance contained in FASB Topic ASC 718, the payment of $35.6 million in dividends to Common Stockholders at the February 4, 2005 recapitalization date was determined to be a deemed modification to the terms of the Company’s outstanding stock option agreements. The value of the Company’s outstanding stock options was therefore remeasured, resulting in a total of $11.5 million of noncash compensation costs as of the recapitalization date. Of this amount, $521,000, $415,000 and $0 have been amortized to compensation expense in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, based on the vesting status of the underlying option shares.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table:

 

     2009     2010     2011  

Valuation assumptions:

      

Expected volatility

     37.5     40.6     39.8

Expected term (years)

     6.3        6.3        6.3   

Risk-free interest rate

     3.1     2.8     1.2

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2008

     2,349,875      $ 1.00         7.4   

Granted

     435,000        2.35      

Forfeited

     (63,125     1.00      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2009

     2,721,750      $ 1.22         6.9   

Granted

     101,000        3.00      

Forfeited

     (67,375     1.12      

Exercised

            
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2010

     2,755,375        1.28         6.0   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Forfeited

     (12,641     1.47      

Exercised

     (359     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,220,275        1.16         4.6   

 

F-18


Table of Contents

Options available for issuance as of December 31, 2011 are 939,628.

Nonvested options outstanding as of December 31, 2011 and changes during 2011 were as follows:

 

     Nonvested
options
outstanding
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Nonvested at December 31, 2010

     1,127,100      $ 1.56         6.8   

Granted

     90,000        11.01      

Vested

     (602,401     1.33      

Forfeited

     (2,599     2.54      
  

 

 

      

Nonvested at December 31, 2011

     612,100        3.17         7.4   
  

 

 

      

At December 31, 2010 and 2011, there was $367,000 and $568,000, respectively, of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to nonvested stock awards included as a component of additional paid-in capital.

At December 31, 2010, options with a weighted average exercise price of $1.09 were exercisable on 1,628,275 shares. Cash received from option exercises was $0 during 2010 and $359 during 2011. The intrinsic value associated with the exercise of options was $0 in 2009 and 2010, and $3,400 in 2011.

 

  (b) Restricted Stock

Option Agreements issued under the 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan allow for the participants to exercise options whether or not vesting has occurred, provided that the participants enter into a restricted stock agreement. The restricted stock agreement is to specify that the stock issued for unvested options will continue vesting, with the unvested shares subject to repurchase at the lower of original cost and fair market value.

In January 2005, two executives exercised a portion of their options, including unvested options, by entering into restricted stock agreements with the Company. The restricted stock agreements allow for the executives to receive dividend payments, subject to forfeiture if the executives leave the Company prior to the vesting of the restricted shares. On February 4, 2005, forfeitable dividends of $972,000 were paid on the executives’ unvested restricted shares. This amount has been recorded as “due from stockholders” in the equity caption of the consolidated balance sheet, and is being amortized into compensation expense as the underlying unvested restricted shares vest. Compensation expense associated with the forfeitable dividends received on unvested restricted shares was $106,000, $106,000 and $0 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(8) Employee Benefit Plans

 

  (a) 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan

The Company has a 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan (the Plan) covering all full-time employees who have met certain service requirements. Employees may contribute a portion of their salary up to the maximum limit established by the Internal Revenue Code for such plans. Employer contributions are discretionary. No matching contributions were made during 2009, 2010 and 2011.

 

F-19


Table of Contents
(9) Income Taxes

The Company’s income tax expense (benefit) consists of the following (in thousands):

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Current:

        

Federal

   $ 4,697          5,500             14,053    

State

     1,298          1,132          3,103    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     5,995          6,632          17,156    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Deferred:

        

Federal

   $  (2,260)         (172)         (7,350)   

State

     (664)         204          (2,290)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (2,924)         32          (9,640)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 3,071              6,664           7,516    
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The reconciliation between the amount computed by applying the U.S. federal statutory rate of 35% to income before taxes and the Company’s tax provision for 2009, 2010 and 2011 is as follows:

 

     2009      2010      2011  

Expected federal income tax provision (benefit)

          35%              35%              35%   

State tax, net of federal benefit

     5             5             3       

Permanent differences

     2             2             1       

Other

     (4)           (2)           (1)     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     38%         40%         38%   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2010 and 2011 (in thousands):

 

     2010      2011  

Deferred tax assets:

     

Bad debt reserve

   $       18          30    

Vacation accrual

     341          315    

Remeasurement expense nonqualified stock options

     1,156          1,137    

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     1,806          1,822    

Acquisition costs

     266          229    

Bonus accrual

     —          483    

State tax deferral

     433          1,041    

Stock option compensation

     702          690    

Legal settlement

     —          516    

Deferred revenue

     —          1,284    

State tax credits

     —          386    

Other

     —          409    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,342    

Valuation allowance

     —          (148)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     4,722          8,194    
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-20


Table of Contents
     2010      2011  

Deferred tax liabilities:

     

Identifiable intangible assets

     (21,095)         (14,307)   

Book versus tax depreciation

     (2,104)         (3,029)   

Amortization of deferred finance costs

     (428)         (135)   

State net operating loss carryforward

     (34)         (22)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
     (23,661)             (17,493)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net deferred tax liabilities

   $   (18,939)         (9,299)   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

The Company believes that it is more likely than not that the results of future operations will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the deferred tax assets, except for certain state tax credits. Income tax expense is allocated to the subsidiaries included in the consolidated tax return on the basis of the subsidiaries’ stand-alone tax provision.

The Company files federal and state income tax returns. For years before 2007, the Company is no longer subject to federal or state tax examinations.

The Company has state tax credits of $593,228 which can be carried forward indefinitely.

 

(10) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock or option shares of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense under these arrangements totaled $12,989,000, $13,233,000 and $12,276,000 for 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. During 2010 and 2011, the debt agreements were amended. See further discussion at note 4.

The Company is a party to an advisory services agreement with an entity associated with its majority stockholder. Expenses incurred under this agreement totaled $684,000, $759,000 and $634,000 in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In 2010, the Company entered into a year-to-year lease for condominium owned by a Company executive commencing March 2010. Payments for the unit totaled $22,500 and $27,000 in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

(11) Other Commitments and Contingencies

 

  (a) Trust Funds

The Company collects principal and interest payments and collection costs on defaulted loans for various contracting agencies. Cash collections for some of the Company’s customers are held in trust in bank accounts controlled by the Company. The Company remits trust funds to the contracting agencies on a regular basis. The amount of cash held in trust and the related liability are separated from and not included in the Company’s assets and liabilities. Cash held in trust for customers totaled $2,101,000 and $1,797,000 at December 31, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

 

  (b) Litigation

The Company, during the ordinary course of its operations, has been named in various legal suits and claims, several of which are still pending. In the opinion of management and the Company’s legal counsel, such legal actions will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations or cash flows.

 

(12) Subsequent Events

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility

 

F-21


Table of Contents

was paid in full. Accordingly, the line of credit drawn and the notes payable presented on the December 31, 2011 balance sheet have been reclassified to long-term liabilities to the extent that payments under the new credit agreement extend beyond 2012. Payments under the credit agreement are as follows:

 

2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through March 22, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, 2011

Allowance for doubtful accounts (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions                   Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Recoveries      Charge-offs     End of Period  

2009

   $ 290                         (69     221   

2010

     221         37            (213     45   

2011

     45         28         14         (10     77   

Reserve for Appeals – RAC Contract (in thousands):

 

     Balance at      Additions      Appeals found in     Balance at  

Description

   Beginning of Period      Charged against Revenue      Providers favor     End of Period  

2009

   $                          

2010

             101                101   

2011

     101         1,743         (910     934   

 

F-22


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

Assets    December 31,
2011
    March 31,
2012
 
     (Restated)     (Restated)  

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 20,004       12,312  

Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $63 and $77, respectively

     18,948       23,082  

Deferred income taxes

     5,348       5,348  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,292       2,486  

Debt issuance costs, current portion

     595       1,245  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     48,187       44,473  

Property, equipment, and leasehold improvements, net

     14,915       15,059  

Identifiable intangible assets

     36,516       39,042  

Goodwill

     81,572       81,572  

Debt issuance costs

            2,183  

Other assets

     659       694  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

   $ 181,849       183,023  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

    

Liabilities:

    

Current liabilities:

    

Current maturities of notes payable

   $ 8,134       10,845  

Accrued salaries and benefits

     7,138       5,065  

Accounts payable

     60       709  

Other current liabilities

     8,945       8,435  

Deferred revenue

     2,214       6,108  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     26,491       31,162  

Notes payable, net of current portion

     87,051       125,655  

Line of credit, drawn

     8,198       4,500  

Deferred compensation

     1,761       1,761  

Deferred income taxes

     14,647       14,647  

Other liabilities

     1,158       2,951  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     139,306       180,676  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies

    

Redeemable preferred stock (see Note 1)

    

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 18,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 2,648 and 700 shares at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively

     58,248        15,846   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit (see Note 1)

    

Due from stockholders

     (2,266     (2,294

Common stock, $0.01 par value. Authorized, 25,000 shares; issued and outstanding, 18,833 and 20,909 shares at December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively

     188        209   

Additional paid-in capital

     19,187        20,454   

Accumulated deficit

     (32,814     (31,868
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

     (15,705     (13,499
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable preferred stock, and stockholders’ deficit

   $ 181,849        183,023   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-23


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Operations

For the Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011     2012  
       (Restated)     (Restated)  

Revenues

     $     35,080           45,878  

Operating expenses:

      

Salaries and benefits

       16,729       18,641  

Other operating expenses

       10,073       16,141  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 
       26,802       34,782  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income from operations

       8,278       11,096  

Debt extinguishment costs

              (3,679

Interest expense

       (3,443     (3,190

Interest income

       32       31  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income before provision for income taxes

       4,867       4,258  

Provision for income taxes

       1,949       1,742  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income

     $ 2,918       2,516  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accrual for preferred stock dividends

       1,531       1,571  

Net income available to common shareholders

     $ 1,387       945  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net income per share attributable to common shareholders (see Note 1)

      

Basic

     $ 0.06        0.04   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

     $ 0.06        0.04   
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares (see Note 1)

      

Basic

       21,481       21,493  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

       22,535       23,113  
    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net income per share

      

Basic

       $     
      

 

 

 

Diluted

       $     
      

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used in computing pro forma net income per share

      

Basic

      
      

 

 

 

Diluted

      
      

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-24


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

For the Three months ended March 31, 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

    Redeemable Preferred Stock                                                  
    Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Series A
Convertible preferred stock
    Due from
stockholders
    Common stock     Additional
paid-in

capital
    Accumulated
deficit
    Total  
        Shares             Amount             Shares             Amount           Shares     Amount        

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Reported)

         $        2,648      $ 58,248        (2,266     18,833      $ 188        19,187        (32,814     42,543   
 

 

 

   

 

 

                 

Adjustment

    2,648        58,248        (2,648     (58,248                                        (58,248
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, December 31, 2011 (as Restated)

    2,648       58,248                     (2,266     18,833       188       19,187       (32,814     (15,705
 

Increase in redemption value of Series A preferred stock

           1,570                                                 (1,570     (1,570

Conversion of Series A Preferred Stock to Series B Preferred Stock which was immediately redeemed for cash

           (43,972                                                        

Conversion of Series B Preferred Stock to common stock

    (1,948                                 1,948       20       (20              

Exercise of stock options

                                       20             20              20  

Issuance of stock

                                       108       1       1,215               1,216   

Interest on notes receivable from stockholders

                                (28                                 (28

Stock-based compensation expense

                                                     52              52  

Net income

                                                            2,516       2,516  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, March 31, 2012 (as Restated)

      700     $   15,846                       (2,294       20,909     $   209         20,454         (31,868)          (13,499
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-25


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

Three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

 

       2011      2012  

Cash flows from operating activities:

       

Net income

     $     2,917        2,516  

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:

       

Depreciation and amortization

       1,881        2,214  

Write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs

               335  

Deferred income taxes

       39          

Stock option compensation

       28        52  

Interest expense from debt issuance costs

       336        282  

Interest income on notes receivable from stockholders

       (26      (29

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

       

Trade accounts receivable

       (3,631      (4,134

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

       1,586        806  

Other assets

       (25      (35

Accrued salaries and benefits

       694        (2,073

Accounts payable

       381        649  

Other current liabilities

       4,948        (1,583

Deferred revenue

               3,894  

Other liabilities

       60        (52
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities

       9,188        2,842  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

       

Purchase of property, equipment, and leasehold improvements

       (1,046      (1,203

Purchase of HOPS perpetual software license and computer equipment

               (760
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

       (1,046      (1,963
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

       

Borrowing under notes payable

               136,500  

Borrowing under line of credit

               4,500  

Redemption of preferred stock

               (43,973

Repayment of notes payable

       (3,500      (95,185

Repayment of line of credit

               (8,198

Debt issuance costs paid

               (2,235

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

               20  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net cash used in financing activities

       (3,500      (8,571
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

       4,642        (7,692

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

       11,078        20,004  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

     $ 15,720        12,312  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosures information:

       

Cash paid for income taxes

     $ 143        1,740  

Cash paid for interest

       41        2,912  

Cash paid as debt extinguishment

               3,344  

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:

       

Note payable to sellers of perpetual license

               3,250  

Issuance of common stock as part of debt issuance costs

               1,216  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

F-26


Table of Contents

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

December 31, 2011, and March 31, 2012

(Unaudited)

 

(1) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S. GAAP, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim financial statements furnished herein include all adjustments necessary (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) for a fair presentation of our and our subsidiaries’ financial position at March 31, 2012, the results of our operations for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012 and cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and 2012. Interim financial statements are prepared on a basis consistent with our annual financial statements. The financial statements included herein should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form S-1 for the year ended December 31, 2011, which we refer to as our Annual Report.

As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements included in our Annual Report, the accompanying financial statements have been restated to correct an error in the balance sheet presentation of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred shares. The purpose of the restatement is to classify the balances outside of permanent equity, as they are redeemable at the option of the holders. The following financial statement line items were affected (in thousands):

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted     Effect of the change  

March 31, 2012

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $         15,846        15,846   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     2,347         (13,499     (15,846

December 31, 2011

       

Redeemable preferred stock

   $         58,248        58,248   

Total stockholders equity/deficit

     42,543         (15,705     (58,248

As the conversion of the Shares discussed above results in the issuance of common shares, we have corrected the weighted average shares outstanding and earnings per share disclosures. The per share impact of these changes is shown below.

 

     As originally reported      As adjusted      Effect of the change  

Three months ended March 31, 2012

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.05       $ 0.04       $ (0.01

Diluted

   $ 0.05       $ 0.04       $ (0.01

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

        

Basic

     19,105         21,493         2,388   

Diluted

     20,725         23,113         2,388   

Three months ended March 31, 2011

        

Net income (loss) per share attributable to common shareholders:

        

Basic

   $ 0.07       $ 0.06       $ (0.01

Diluted

   $ 0.07       $ 0.06       $ (0.01

Weighted average shares (in thousands)

        

Basic

     18,833         21,481         2,648   

Diluted

     19,887         22,535         2,648   

 

F-27


Table of Contents

The restatement had no effect on the cash flows from operating, investing, or financing activities. The restatement also impacted Note 9.

We are a leading provider of technology-enabled recovery and analytics services in the United States. Our services help identify, restructure and recover delinquent or defaulted assets and improper payments for both government and private clients in a broad range of markets. Our clients typically operate in complex and regulated environments and outsource their recovery needs in order to reduce losses on billions of dollars of defaulted student loans, improper healthcare payments and delinquent state tax and federal treasury receivables. We generally provide our services on an outsourced basis, where we handle many or all aspects of the clients’ recovery processes.

These consolidated financial statements include our accounts and transactions and those of our wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

We are managed and operated as one business, with a single management team that reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP, requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, primarily accounts receivable, intangible assets and accrued expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Our actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

(2) Acquisitions

HOPS, Inc.

In February 2012, we purchased a perpetual software license and computer equipment from HOPS, a non-public Florida company, in a transaction valued at $3.7 million. The purchase agreement calls for a total of $4,000,000 in cash payments to be made over an approximate 3 year period, beginning with an initial payment of $750,000 which was made in February, 2012, followed by quarterly payments of $250,000. As part of the transaction valuation, these payments were discounted to a present value using an estimate of the Company’s weighted average cost of capital. The purchase is being treated as a business combination for accounting purposes; the following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired at the acquisition date (in thousands)

 

     February 1, 2012  

Computer equipment

   $ 280   

Identifiable intangible assets

     3,400   
  

 

 

 

Total identifiable assets acquired

   $ 3,680   
  

 

 

 

The following table summarizes the preliminary fair values of the intangible assets acquired from HOPS (in thousands):

 

     February 1, 2012  

Perpetual license

   $ 3,250   

Customer relationships

     150   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 3,400   
  

 

 

 

 

F-28


Table of Contents

The following represents our pro forma Consolidated Statements of Income as if HOPS had been included in our consolidated results for the three months ending March 31, 2011 (in thousands, except per share data):

 

(unaudited)

   For the three months
ending March 31,
2011
 

Total revenue

   $ 36,127   
  

 

 

 

Net income

   $ 1,632   
  

 

 

 

Earnings per share

  

Basic

   $ 0.00   

Diluted

   $ 0.00   

 

(3) Identifiable Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consist of the following at March 31, 2011 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

 

December 31, 2011

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,046         (25,530     36,516   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 65,646         (29,130     36,516   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

   Gross value      Accumulated
amortization
    Net value  

Customer contracts and related relationships

   $ 62,196         (26,296     35,900   

Covenants not to compete

     3,600         (3,600       

Perpetual license

     3,250         (108     3,142   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total identifiable intangible assets

   $ 69,046         (30,004     39,042   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, amortization expense related to intangible assets amounted to $761,000 and $875,000, respectively.

The estimated aggregate amortization expense is expected to be (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 2,798   

2013

     3,731   

2014

     3,731   

2015

     3,731   

2016

     3,696   

After 2016

     21,355   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 39,042   
  

 

 

 

 

(4) Credit Agreement

On March 19, 2012 the Company recapitalized, entering into a credit agreement (the Agreement) consisting of a Term A Loan of $57.0 million, a Term B Loan of $79.5 million, and a revolving credit facility of $11.0 million, of which $4.5 million has been drawn. In connection with the recapitalization, the Company’s old credit facility, scheduled to mature in 2012, was extinguished, and the Company’s indebtedness on the old facility was paid in full. Payments under the Agreement are as follows:

 

Remainder of 2012

   $ 8,134   

2013

     10,845   

2014

     10,845   

2015

     10,845   

2016

     10,845   

Thereafter

     84,986   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 136,500   
  

 

 

 

 

F-29


Table of Contents

Proceeds from the new Term A, Term B, and revolving credit facility borrowings were used along with $14.5 million of Company cash to redeem 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock (via conversion units as described in note 6) plus accrued dividends for a total of $44.0 million. Fees paid in conjunction with the credit agreement totaled $6.5 million, including an agency fee for $1.5 million to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and an agreement to grant 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1.2 million to an investment bank acting as advisor.

The Term A Loan is charged interest either at Prime (subject to a 2.50% floor) +4.25% or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. The Term A loan requires quarterly payments of $2.5 million beginning in June, 2012, with the remaining outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2017.

The Term B loan is charged interest at Prime +4.75% (subject to a 2.50% floor) or LIBOR (subject to a 1.50% floor) +5.75% which was 8.00% at March 31, 2012. The Term B loan requires quarterly payments of $0.2 million beginning in June, 2012, with the outstanding principal balance due March 19, 2018.

The Company has a line of credit under the Agreement which allows for borrowings of up to $11 million. Borrowings accrue interest at Prime + 4.25% or LIBOR + 5.25%, which was 7.50% at March 31, 2012. Both the Prime and the LIBOR alternatives are subject to minimum rate floors. Borrowings under this line of credit at March 31, 2012 were $4,500,000, and the Company has a letter of credit outstanding in the amount of $1,400,000, leaving remaining borrowing capacity under the line of credit of $5,100,000 at March 31, 2012. The line of credit expires in March 19, 2017.

The Agreement contains certain restrictive financial covenants, which require, among other things, that the Company meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio, maximum total debt to EBITDA ratio, and maximum capital expenditures limit.

Debt issuance costs of $3,450,000 were capitalized, including $1,475,000 of agent fees paid to an entity associated with the Company’s majority stockholder, and $760,000 paid to third parties for legal and other services and a grant of 107,500 shares of common stock issued as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor valued at approximately $1,215,000. These costs are being amortized to expense over the life of the new loans. Accumulated amortization of debt issuance costs amounted to $22,000 at March 31, 2012.

Debt extinguishment costs of $3,679,000 were expensed, including $3,344,000 of fees paid to lenders, and $335,000 of unamortized debt issuance costs associated with the old credit facility.

 

(5) Commitments under Operating Leases

The Company leases office facilities and certain equipment. In January 2012, the Company renewed two of its facilities leases and entered into a new lease agreement for approximately 6,000 square feet in Livermore, California.

Future minimum rental commitments under noncancelable leases as of March 31, 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

Remainder of 2012

   $  1,086   

2013

     1,219   

2014

     1,230   

2015

     694   

2016

     595   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 4,824   
  

 

 

 

Lease expense was $485,000 and $600,000, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

F-30


Table of Contents
(6) Capital Stock

 

  (a) Redemption of Series A Preferred Stock

On March 19, 2012, the Company recapitalized. As part of the recapitalization, 1,948,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock were converted into conversion units, which consisted of one share of Series B Preferred Stock and one share of Common stock. The Series B Preferred shares plus accrued dividends were redeemed for cash of $44,000,000, and 1,948,000 shares of Common Stock were issued to the holders of the redeemed Preferred Series A shares.

 

  (b) Issuance of Common Shares as Compensation

As part of the March 19th recapitalization, the Company granted 107,500 shares of common stock valued at approximately $1,216,000 as compensation to an investment bank acting as advisor.

 

(7) Stock-Based Compensation

Total stock-based compensation expense charged as salaries and benefits expense in the consolidated statements of operations was $52,000 and $28,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

The fair value of each new option award is estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model using the assumptions in the following table (no options were granted in the three months ended March 31, 2011):

 

     Three months ended March 31,  
     2011     2012  

Valuation assumptions:

    

Expected volatility

         39.8

Expected term (years)

            6.5   

Risk-free interest rate

         1.6

The volatility rate is derived from historical volatility data of comparable peer companies over a term comparable to the expected term of the options issued. The expected term of the award is determined based on the average of the vesting term and the contractual term. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. Treasury Notes.

Options have been granted, exercised, and canceled as follows:

 

     Outstanding
options
    Weighted
average
exercise price
per share
     Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     2,832,375        1.59         5.2   

Granted

     50,000        11.30      

Forfeited

     0             

Exercised

     (20,000     1.00      
  

 

 

      

Outstanding at March 31, 2012

     2,862,375        1.77         5.2   
  

 

 

      

Exercisable at December 31, 2011

     2,294,525        1.15         4.7   

 

(8) Income Taxes

Our effective tax rate increased from 40.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 40.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

We file income tax returns with the U.S. federal government and various state jurisdictions. We are no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax examinations for years before 2008. We operate in a number of state and local jurisdictions, most of which have never audited our records. Accordingly, we are subject to state and local income tax examinations based upon the various statutes of limitations in each jurisdiction. We are currently being examined by the IRS and the States of New York and California.

 

F-31


Table of Contents
(9) Earnings per Share

Basic income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus the weighted average number of series A preferred shares outstanding during the period. The series A shares are included in the basic denominator because they can be converted to common shares for no cash consideration and are thus considered outstanding common shares in computing basic earnings per share. Diluted income per share is calculated by dividing net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares and dilutive common share equivalents outstanding during the period. Our common share equivalents consist of stock options and restricted stock awards and units.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding using the treasury stock method (shares in thousands):

 

     Quarter Ended March 31,  
         2011              2012      

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     

basic

     21,481         21,493   

Dilutive effect of stock options

     1,054         1,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding –

     

diluted

     22,535         23,113   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

(10) Pro Forma Net Income Per Share

Pro forma net income per share has been calculated to give effect to the following:

In addition to historical basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, the number of offering shares whose proceeds would be necessary to redeem all of the shares of Series B of $15.8 million, as well as the proceeds necessary to pay an affiliate of Parthenon Capital Partners for the termination of the Advisory Agreement of $1.3 million, and the 1% transaction fee of $         million, have been added to the denominator for purposes of the pro forma disclosure.

 

(11) Related-Party Transactions

The Company’s notes payable, both before and after the recapitalization of March 19, 2012, are held by a number of lenders, some of whom also invested in stock of the Company. As a result, these entities are considered related parties. Interest expense under these arrangements totaled $3,443,000 and $3,190,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively. Debt extinguishment expense associated with the recapitalization totaled $0 and $3,679,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and March 31, 2012, respectively.

 

(12) Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events from the balance sheet date through May 21, 2012, the date at which the consolidated financial statements were available to be issued.

 

F-32


Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

LOGO


Table of Contents

Part II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 13.

Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth the various expenses expected to be incurred by the Registrant in connection with the sale and distribution of the securities being registered hereby, other than underwriting discounts and commissions. All amounts are estimated except the SEC registration fee and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee.

 

SEC registration fee

   $             *   

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filing fee

     *   

Blue Sky fees and expenses

     *   

Accounting fees and expenses

     *   

Legal fees and expenses

     *   

Printing and engraving expenses

     *   

Registrar and Transfer Agent’s fees

     *   

Miscellaneous fees and expenses

     *   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *   
  

 

 

 

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

Item 14.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Section 102 of the DGCL allows a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of the DGCL or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that we may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding—other than an action by or in the right of the Registrant—by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, agent or employee of the Registrant, or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, agent or employee of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding. The power to indemnify applies (a) if such person is successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding, or (b) if such person acting in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in the best interest, or not opposed to the best interest, of the Registrant, and with respect to any criminal action or proceeding had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. The power to indemnify applies to actions brought by or in the right of the Registrant as well but only to the extent of defense expenses, including attorneys’ fees but excluding amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred and not to any satisfaction of judgment or settlement of the claim itself, and with the further limitation that in such actions no indemnification shall be made in the event of any adjudication of liability to the Registrant, unless the court believes that in light of all the circumstances indemnification should apply.

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the

 

II-1


Table of Contents

time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

The Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws, attached as Exhibit 3.2(b) hereto, provide that the Registrant shall indemnify its directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL or any other applicable law. In addition, the Registrant has entered into separate indemnification agreements, attached as Exhibit 10.1 hereto, with its directors and officers which would require the Registrant, among other things, to indemnify them against certain liabilities which may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by law. These indemnification provisions and the indemnification agreements may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the Registrant’s officers and directors for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the Securities Act. The Registrant also intends to maintain director and officer liability insurance, if available on reasonable terms.

The form of Underwriting Agreement, to be attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto, provides for indemnification by the Underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act, and affords certain rights of contribution with respect thereto.

 

Item 15.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

Since May 1, 2009, the Registrant has sold the following unregistered securities:

(1) In August 2009, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 400,000 common shares to officers and employees at a price of $2.35 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $940,000.

(2) In February 2010, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 5,000 common shares to employees at a price of $3.00 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $15,000.

(3) In October 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 25,000 common shares to directors at a price of $10.50 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $262,500.

(4) In November and December 2011, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 65,000 common shares to employees and directors at a price of $11.20 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $728,000.

(5) In February 2012, the Registrant granted options under the 2007 Stock Option Plan to purchase 50,000 common shares to employees at a price of $11.30 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $565,000.

(6) In April 2012, the Registrant issued an aggregate of 107,522 shares of common stock with a deemed value of $1,215,000 to Financial Technology Partners, LP and FTP Partners LLC as consideration for financial services rendered.

No underwriters were involved in the foregoing sales of securities. The issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act or on Section 4(2) of the Securities Act. The recipients of securities in each such transaction represented their intention to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the stock certificates and option agreements issued in such transactions.

 

II-2


Table of Contents
Item 16.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

 

(a) Exhibits

The following exhibits are included herein or incorporated herein by reference:

 

Exhibit
Number

    

Description

  1.1*      

Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  3.1(a)*      

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

  3.1(b)*      

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.2(a)      

Bylaws of Registrant, as amended.

  3.2(b)*      

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1*      

Form of Common Stock Certificate.

  5.1*      

Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

        10.1*      

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors.

      10.2      

2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

      10.3      

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

      10.4      

2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

      10.5*†      

Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.

      10.6*      

Credit Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2012, by and among DCS Business Services, Inc., the Lenders Party Hereto, Madison Capital Funding LLC, and ING Capital.

      10.7*      

Form of Change of Control Agreement.

      10.8*      

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa Im, dated as of April 15, 2002, as amended.

      10.9*      

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Jon D. Shaver, dated as of March 31, 2003, as amended.

      21.1*      

List of Subsidiaries.

      23.1*      

Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

      23.2*      

Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

    24.1*      

Power of Attorney (see page II - to this Registration Statement on Form S-1).

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

 

Confidential treatment requested.

 

(b) Financial Statement Schedules.

Financial statement schedule II is included on page F-21. All other schedules are omitted because they are not required, or not applicable or the information is included in the consolidated financial statements or notes thereto.

 

Item 17.

Undertakings

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

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 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

 

II-3


Table of Contents

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.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1)

For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2)

For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

 

II-4


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Livermore, State of California, on the      day of     , 2012.

 

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

By

 

 

 

Lisa C. Im

Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Lisa Im and Hakan Orvell and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys in fact and agents, each with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this Registration Statement, and any registration statement relating to the offering covered by this Registration Statement and filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, 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, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each of said attorneys in fact and agents or their substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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.

 

Name

  

Title

 

Date

 

Lisa C. Im

   Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)                , 2012

 

Hakan L. Orvell

  

Chief Financial Officer 

               , 2012

 

Dr. Jon D. Shaver

   Chairman of the Board and Directors                , 2012

 

Todd R. Ford

   Director                , 2012

 

Brian P. Golson

   Director                , 2012

 

William D. Hansen

   Director                , 2012

 

William C. Kessinger

   Director                , 2012

 

Jeffrey S. Stein

   Director                , 2012

 

II-5


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

 

Description

  1.1*  

Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  3.1(a)*
 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

  3.1(b)*  

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.2(a)  

Bylaws of Registrant, as amended.

  3.2(b)*  

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1*  

Form of Common Stock Certificate.

  5.1*  

Opinion of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

10.1*  

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors.

10.2  

2004 Equity Incentive Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.3  

2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.4  

2007 Stock Option Plan and form of agreements thereunder.

10.5*†  

Recovery Audit Contractor contract by and between Diversified Collection Services, Inc. and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services dated as of October 3, 2008, as amended.

10.6*  

Credit Agreement, dated as of March 19, 2012, by and among DCS Business Services, Inc., the Lenders Party Hereto, Madison Capital Funding LLC, and ING Capital.

10.7*  

Form of Change of Control Agreement.

10.8*  

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Lisa Im, dated as of April 15, 2002, as amended.

10.9*  

Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Jon D. Shaver, dated as of March 31, 2003, as amended.

21.1*  

List of Subsidiaries.

23.1*  

Consent of KPMG LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*  

Consent of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1*  

Power of Attorney (see page II - 5 to this Registration Statement on Form S-1).

 

  * To be filed by amendment.

 

 

Confidential treatment requested.


Table of Contents

Exhibit 3.2(a)

BY-LAWS

OF

DCS Holdings, Inc.

A Delaware Corporation

ARTICLE I

OFFICES

Section 1. Registered Office . The registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware shall be located at 2711 Centerville Rd., Wilmington, Delaware, County of New Castle, 19808. The registered agent of the Corporation for service of process at such address is Corporation Service Company. The registered office and/or registered agent of the Corporation may be changed from time to time by action of the board of directors.

Section 2. Other Offices . The Corporation may also have offices at such other places, both within and without the State of Delaware, as the board of directors may from time to time determine or the business of the Corporation may require.

ARTICLE II

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

Section 1. Place and Time of Meetings . An annual meeting of the stockholders shall be held each year within one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of the immediately preceding fiscal year of the Corporation for the purpose of electing directors and conducting such other proper business as may come before the meeting. The date, time and place of the annual meeting shall be determined by the board of directors.

Section 2. Special Meetings . Special meetings of stockholders may be called for any purpose and may be held at such time and place, within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be stated in a notice of meeting or in a duly executed waiver of notice thereof. Except as otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, such meetings may be called at any time by the board of directors and shall be called by the highest ranking officer then in office (the “ Ranking Officer ”) upon the written request of holders of shares entitled to cast not less than a majority of the votes at the meeting. Such written request shall’ state the purpose or purposes of the meeting and shall be delivered to the Ranking Officer. On such written request, the Ranking Officer shall fix a date and time for such meeting within two days of the date requested for such meeting in such written request.

Section 3. Place of Meetings . The board of directors may designate any place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as the place of meeting for any annual meeting or for any special meeting called by the board of directors. If no designation is made, or if a special meeting be otherwise called, the place of meeting shall be the principal executive office of the Corporation.


Table of Contents

Section 4. Notice . Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take action at a meeting, written or printed notice stating the place, date, time, and, in the case of special meetings, the purpose or purposes, of such meeting, shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting. All such notices shall be delivered, either personally, by mail, by facsimile, or electronic mail, by or at the direction of the board of directors, the president or the secretary, and if mailed, such notice shall be deemed to be delivered (i) upon confirmation of receipt if sent by facsimile, electronic mail or personal delivery or (ii) three (3) days after being deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the stockholder at his, her or its address as the same appears on the records of the Corporation. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

Section 5. Stockholders List . The officer having charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation shall make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of the stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting arranged in alphabetical order, showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the annual meeting, either a place within the city where the meeting is to be held, which place shall be specified in the notice of the meeting or, if not specified, at the place where the meeting is to be held. The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and maybe inspected by any stockholder who is present.

Section 6. Quorum . The holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, except as otherwise provided by statute or by the certificate of incorporation. If a quorum is not present, the holders of a majority of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting, and entitled to vote at the meeting, may adjourn the meeting to another time and/or place. When a quorum is once present to commence a meeting of stockholders, it is not ‘broken by the subsequent withdrawal of any stockholders or their proxies.

Section 7. Adjourned Meetings . When a meeting is adjourned to another time and place, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting.

Section 8. Vote Required . When a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of the majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, unless the question is one upon which by express provisions of an applicable law or of the certificate of incorporation a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question.

 

2


Table of Contents

Section 9. Voting Rights . Except as otherwise provided by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or by the certificate of incorporation of the Corporation or . any amendments thereto and subject to Section 3 of Article VI hereof, every stockholder shall at every meeting of the stockholders be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for each share of common stock held (or deemed held) by such stockholder (it being understood that certain other classes or series of capital stock may, pursuant to the certificate of incorporation, be entitled to vote on an as-if converted to common stock basis).

Section 10. Proxies . Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express consent or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for him or her by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period.

Section 11. Action by Written Consent . Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation, or any action which may be taken at any annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken and bearing the dates of signature of the stockholders who signed the consent or consents, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the state of Delaware, or the Corporation’s principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book or books in which proceedings of meetings of the stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, or by facsimile or electronic mail, with confirmation of receipt. All consents properly delivered in accordance with this Section shall be deemed to be recorded when so delivered. No written consent shall be effective to take the corporate action referred to therein unless, within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated consent delivered to the Corporation as required by this Section, written consents signed by the holders of a sufficient number of shares to take such corporate action are so recorded. Prompt notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less than unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have not consented in writing and who, if the action had’ been taken at a meeting, would have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the record date for such meeting had been the date that written consents signed by a sufficient number of holders to take the action were delivered to the Corporation. Any action taken pursuant to such written consent or consents of the stockholders shall have the same force and effect as if taken by the stockholders at a meeting thereof.

ARTICLE III

DIRECTORS

Section 1. General Powers . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the board of directors.

Section 2. Number, Election and Term of Office . The number of directors shall be established from time to time in accordance with that .certain Stockholders Agreement, dated as

 

3


Table of Contents

of                     , 2004, by and among the Corporation and certain of its stockholders (the “ Stockholders Agreement ”); provided that at such time . as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, such number shall be subject to change by the vote of holders of a majority of the shares then entitled ‘to vote at an election of directors. The directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote in the election of :directors. The directors shall be elected in this manner at the annual meeting of the stockholders, except as provided in Section 4 of this Article III . Each director elected shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. Removal and Resignation . The directors shall only be removed, with or without cause, as set forth in the Stockholders Agreement; provided that at such time as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors. Whenever the holders of any class or series are entitled to elect one or more directors by the provisions of the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation or the Stockholders Agreement, the provisions of this Section shall apply, in respect to the removal without cause of a director or directors so elected, to the vote of the holders of the outstanding shares of that class or series and not to the vote of the outstanding shares as a whole. Any director may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation.

Section 4. Vacancies . Subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation, vacancies and newly created directorships shall only be filled as set forth in the Stockholders Agreement; provided that at such time as the Stockholders Agreement is no longer in effect, such vacancies and newly created directorships . shall be filled in the same manner in which directors are elected pursuant to Section 2 of this Article III . Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such vacancy shall automatically reduce the number of directors pro tanto, until such time as the holders of the class of common stock which was entitled to elect the director whose office is vacant shall have exercised their right to elect a director to fill such vacancy, whereupon the number of directors shall be automatically increased pro tanto. Each director so chosen shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as herein provided.

Section 5. Annual Meetings . The annual meeting of each newly elected board of directors shall be held without other notice than this by-law immediately after, and at the same place as, the annual meeting of stockholders.

Section 6. Other Meetings and Notice . Regular meetings, other than the annual meeting, of the board of directors may be held without notice at such time and at such place as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the board. Special meetings of the board of directors may be called by or at the request of any two directors or the Ranking Officer on at least 24 hours notice to each director, either personally, by telephone, by mail, or by facsimile or electronic mail.

Section 7. Quorum, Required Vote and Adjournment . Each director shall be entitled to one vote except as otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation. Directors then in office (and specifically excluding any vacancies) and holding a majority of the votes of all

 

4


Table of Contents

directors (or such greater number required by applicable law) shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of directors holding a majority of votes present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the board of directors, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present.

Section 8. Committees . The board of directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the whole board, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation, which to the extent provided in such resolution or these by-laws shall have and may exercise the powers of the board of directors in the management and affairs of the Corporation except as otherwise limited by law. The board of directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. Such committee or committees shall have such name or names as may be determined from time to time by resolution adopted by the board of directors. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the board of directors when required.

Section 9. Committee Rules . Each committee of the board of directors may fix its own rules of procedure and shall hold its meetings as provided by such rules, except as may otherwise be provided by a resolution of the board of directors designating such committee.

Section 10. Communications Equipment . Members of the board of directors or any committee thereof may participate in and act at any meeting of such board or committee through the use of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in the meeting pursuant to this Section shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

Section 11. Waiver of Notice and Presumption of Consent . Any member of the board of directors or any committee thereof who is present at a meeting shall be conclusively presumed to have waived notice of such meeting except when such member attends for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Such member shall be conclusively presumed to have consented to any action taken unless his or her dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless his or her written dissent to such action shall be filed with the person acting as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall be forwarded by registered mail to the secretary of the Corporation immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to any member who voted in favor of such action.

Section 12. Action by Written Consent . Unless otherwise restricted by the certificate of incorporation, any action required or permitted to be taken at ‘any meeting of the board of directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the board or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, and the writing or writings are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the board or committee.

 

5


Table of Contents

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1. Number . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected by the board of directors. Unless otherwise determined by the board of directors, the officers shall consist of at least a chief executive officer and secretary and may consist of a president, any number of vice presidents, a chief financial officer, any number of assistant secretaries and such other officers and assistant officers as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the board of directors. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. In its discretion, the board of directors may choose not to fill any office for any period as it may deem advisable except the offices of president and secretary.

Section 2. Election and Term of Office . The officers of the Corporation shall be elected annually by the board of directors at its first meeting held after each annual meeting of stockholders or as soon thereafter as conveniently may be. Vacancies may be filled or new offices created and filled at any meeting of the board of directors. Each officer shall hold office until a successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal as hereinafter provided.

Section 3. Removal . Any officer or agent elected by the board of directors may be removed by the board of directors whenever in its judgment the best interests of the Corporation would be served thereby, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so removed.

Section 4. Vacancies . Any vacancy occurring in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filled by the board of directors for the unexpired portion of the term by the board of directors then in office.

Section 5. Compensation . Compensation of all officers shall be fixed by the board of directors, and no officer shall be prevented from receiving such compensation by virtue of his or her also being a director of the Corporation.

Section 6. Chief Executive Officer . The chief executive officer shall, subject to the powers of the board of directors, be in the general and active charge of the entire business and affairs of the Corporation, and shall be its chief policy making officer. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the board of directors and stockholders and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the board of directors or provided in these by-laws. Whenever the president is unable to serve, by reason of sickness, absence or otherwise, the chief executive officer shall perform all the duties and responsibilities and exercise all the powers of the president.

Section 7. President . The president of the Corporation, subject to the powers of the board of directors and the chief executive officer, shall have general charge of the business affairs and property of the Corporation, and control over its officers, agents and employees, and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the board of directors are carried into effect. The president shall execute bonds, mortgages and other contracts which the board of directors have authorized to be executed,. except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and

 

6


Table of Contents

executed or except where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated by the board of directors to some other officer or agent of the Corporation. The president shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the chief executive officer, the board of directors or as may be provided in these by-laws.

Section 8. Chief Financial Officer . The chief financial officer of the Corporation shall, under the direction of the chief executive officer, be responsible for all financial and accounting matters of the Corporation. The chief financial officer shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the chief executive officer, the president or the board of directors or as may be provided in these by-laws.

Section 9. Vice-Presidents . The vice-president, or if there shall be more than one, the vice-presidents in the order determined by the board of directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the president, act with all of the powers and be subject to all the restrictions of the president. The vice-presidents shall also perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 10. The Secretary and Assistant Secretaries . The secretary shall attend all meetings of the board of directors, all meetings of the committees thereof and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings of the meetings in a book or books to be kept for that purpose. Under the chief executive officer’s supervision, the secretary shall give, or cause to be given, all notices required to be given by these by-laws or by law; shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe; and shall have custody of the corporate seal of the Corporation. The secretary, or an assistant secretary, shall have authority to affix any corporate seal to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of such assistant secretary. The board of directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature. The assistant secretary, or if there be more than one, the assistant secretaries in the order determined by the board of directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or the secretary may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 11. The Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer . The treasurer shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities; shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation; shall deposit all monies and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation as may be ordered by the board of directors; shall cause the funds of the Corporation to be disbursed when such disbursements have been duly authorized, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements; shall render to the chief executive officer, the president and the board of directors, at its regular meeting or when the board of directors so requires, an account of the Corporation; and shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or these by-laws may, from time to time, prescribe. If required by the board of directors, the treasurer shall give the Corporation a bond (which shall be rendered every six years) in such sums and with such surety . or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the board of directors for the faithful

 

7


Table of Contents

performance of the duties of the office of treasurer and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of death, resignation, retirement, or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money, and other property of whatever kind in the possession or under the control of’ the Treasurer belonging to the Corporation. The assistant treasurer, or if there shall be more than one, the assistant treasurers in the order determined by the board of directors, shall in the absence or disability of the Treasurer,. perform the duties and exercise the powers of the treasurer. The assistant treasurers shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the president or treasurer may, from time to time, prescribe.

Section 12. Other Officers, Assistant Officers and Agents . Officers, assistant officers and agents, if any, other than those whose duties are provided for in these By-laws, shall have such authority and perform such duties as may from time to time be prescribed by resolution of the board of directors.

Section 13. Absence or Disability of Officers . In the case of the absence or disability of any officer of the Corporation and of any person hereby authorized to act in such officer’s place during such officer’s absence or disability, the board of directors may by resolution delegate the powers and duties of such officer to any other officer or to any director, or to any other person whom it may select.

ARTICLE V

INDEMNIFICATION

Section 1. Indemnity for Third Party Actions . The Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer or director of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another Corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement (collectively, “ Losses ”) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding to the maximum extent authorized by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than said law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), or by other applicable law as then in effect, except that a person shall be liable for any such Losses incurred by reason of a breach of an agreement by such person with the Corporation. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful.

Section 2. Indemnity for Action by or in right of Corporation . The Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made ‘a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a

 

8


Table of Contents

judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer or director of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer or member of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against Losses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed to be within the scope of the authority conferred on such person by the Corporation or such other entity, except that a person shall be liable for any such Losses incurred by reason of such person’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or breach of an agreement by such person with the Corporation, and except that no such indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of Delaware or the court in which such suit or action was brought shall be determined upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in consideration of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court shall deem proper.

Section 3. Employees . The Corporation may, to the extent deemed advisable by the Board of Directors, indemnify any person who is or was an officer, employee, stockholder (so long as approved by disinterested directors, if any) or agent (other than an officer or director) of the Corporation if such person would be entitled to such indemnity under the provisions of Section 1 or 2 of this Article V if such person had been an officer or director of the Corporation.

Section 4. Procedure for Indemnity . Airy indemnification to be provided under Section 1 , 2 or 3 of this Article V (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of this Article V . Such determination shall be made (1) by a majority vote of disinterested directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (3) by the stockholders.

Section 5. Expenses . Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit. or proceeding unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors in the specific case, upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such officer or director to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this Article V . Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the Board of Directors deems appropriate.

Section 6. Article Not Exclusive . The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article V shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any statute, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding

 

9


Table of Contents

such office, and shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, member, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such person.

Section 7. Insurance . The Corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on its own behalf and on behalf of any person who was or is a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another Corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of this Article V or of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

Section 8. Contract Rights . The provisions of this Article V shall be deemed to be a contract right between the Corporation and each officer or director who serves in any such capacity at any time while this Article V , and the relevant provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or other applicable law are in effect, and any repeal or modification of this Article V , or any such law shall not affect any rights or obligations then existing with respect to any state of facts or proceedings then existing.

Section 9. References to “the Corporation” . For the purposes of this Article V , references to “the Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent). absorbed in a consolidation or merger and the corporation which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to (or in fact did) indemnify its directors, officers, employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, member, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article V with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as. such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

ARTICLE VI

CERTIFICATES OF STOCK; RECORD DATE

Section 1. Form . Every holder of stock in the Corporation shall be entitled to have a certificate, signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by the chief executive officer, the president, the chief financial officer or a vice-president and the secretary or an assistant secretary of the Corporation, certifying the number of shares owned by such holder in the Corporation. If such a certificate is countersigned. (1) by a transfer agent or an assistant transfer agent other than the Corporation or its employee or (2) by a registrar, other than the Corporation or its employee, the signature of any such chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice-president, secretary, or assistant secretary may be facsimiles. In case any officer or officers who have signed, or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used on, any such certificate or certificates shall cease to be such officer or officers of the Corporation whether because of death, resignation or otherwise before such certificate or certificates have been

 

10


Table of Contents

delivered by the Corporation, such certificate or certificates may nevertheless be issued and delivered as though the person or persons who signed such certificate or certificates or whose facsimile signature or signatures have been used thereon had not ceased to be such officer or officers of the Corporation. All certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified. The name of the person to whom the shares represented thereby are issued, with the number of shares and date of issue, shall be entered on the books of the Corporation. Shares of stock of the Corporation shall only be transferred on the books of the Corporation by the holder of record thereof or by such holder’s attorney duly authorized in writing, upon surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates for such shares endorsed by the appropriate person or persons, with such evidence of the authenticity of such endorsement, transfer, authorization, and other matters as the Corporation may reasonably require, and accompanied by all necessary stock transfer stamps. In that event, it shall be the duty of the Corporation to issue a new certificate to the person entitled thereto, cancel the old certificate or certificates, and record the transaction on its books. The board of directors may appoint a bank or trust company organized under the laws of the United States or any state thereof to act as its transfer agent or registrar, or both in connection with the transfer of any class or series of securities of the Corporation.

Section 2. Lost Certificates . The board of directors may direct a new certificate or certificates to be issued in place of any certificate or certificates previously issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen, or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen, or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate or certificates, the board of directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen, or destroyed certificate or certificates, or his or her legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify the Corporation against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate.

Section 3. Fixing a Record Date for Stockholder Meetings . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, . the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date’ shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted’ by the board of directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If no record date is fixed by the board of directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be the close of business on the next day preceding the day on which notice is given, or if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A . determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the board of directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

Section 4. Fixing a Record Date for Action by Written Consent . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of

 

11


Table of Contents

directors, and which date shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the board of directors. If no record date has been fixed by the board of’ directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of stockholders are recorded. Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested or by facsimile or electronic mail, with confirmation of receipt. If no record date has been fixed by the board of directors and prior action by the board of directors is required by statute, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

Section 5. Fixing a Record Date for Other Purposes . In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment or any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purposes of any other lawful action, the board of directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

Section 6. Registered Stockholders . Prior to the surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates for a share or shares of stock with a request to record the transfer of such share or shares, the Corporation may treat the registered owner as the person entitled to receive dividends, to vote, to receive notifications, and otherwise to exercise all the rights and powers of an owner. The Corporation shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof.

Section 7. Subscriptions for Stock . Unless otherwise provided for in a subscription agreement, subscriptions for shares shall be paid in full at such time, or in such installments and at such times, as shall be determined by the board of directors. In case of default in the payment of any installment or call when such payment is due, the Corporation may proceed to collect the amount due in the same manner as any debt due the Corporation.

ARTICLE VII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Dividends . Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation, if any, may be declared by the board of directors at any regular or special meeting, pursuant to law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the capital stock, subject to the provisions of the certificate of incorporation. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the

 

12


Table of Contents

Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the directors from time to time, in their absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or any other purpose and the directors may modify or abolish any such reserve in the manner in which it was created.

Section 2. Checks, Drafts or Orders . All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money by or to the Corporation and all notes and other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers, agent or agents of the Corporation, and in such manner, as shall be determined by resolution of the board of directors or a duly authorized committee thereof.

Section 3. Contracts . The board of directors may authorize any officer or officers, or any agent or agents, of the Corporation to enter into any contract or to execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.

Section 4. Loans . The Corporation may lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise assist any officer or other employee of the Corporation or of its subsidiary, including any officer or employee who is a director of the Corporation or its subsidiary, whenever, in the judgment of the directors, such loan, guaranty or assistance may reasonably be expected to directly or indirectly benefit the Corporation. The loan, guaranty or other assistance may be with or without interest, and may be unsecured, or secured in such manner as the board of directors shall approve, including, without limitation, a pledge of shares of stock of the Corporation. Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to deny, limit or restrict the powers of guaranty or warranty of the Corporation at common law or under any statute.

Section 5. Fiscal Year . The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the board of directors.

Section 6. Corporate Seal . The board of directors may provide a corporate seal which shall be in the form of a circle and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware”. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.

Section 7. Voting Securities Owned By Corporation . Voting securities in any other corporation held by the Corporation shall be voted by the Ranking Officer, unless the board of directors specifically confers authority to vote with respect thereto, which authority may be general or confined to specific instances, upon some other person or officer. Any person authorized to vote securities shall have the power to appoint proxies, with general power of substitution.

Section 8. Inspection of Books and Records . Any stockholder of record, in person or by attorney or other agent, shall, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof and upon not less than five business days prior notice, have the right during the usual hours for business to inspect for any proper purpose the Corporation’s stock ledger, a list of its stockholders, and its other books and records, and to make copies or extracts therefrom. A proper purpose shall mean any purpose reasonably related to such person’s interest as a

 

13


Table of Contents

stockholder. In every instance where an attorney or other agent shall be the person who seeks the right to inspection, the demand under oath shall be accompanied by a power of attorney or such other writing which authorizes the attorney or other agent to so act on behalf of the stockholder. The demand under oath shall be directed to the Corporation at its registered office in the State of Delaware or at its principal place of business.

Section 9. Section Headings . Section headings in these by-laws are for convenience of reference only and shall not be given any substantive effect in limiting or otherwise construing any provision herein.

Section 10. Inconsistent Provisions . In the event that any provision of these by-laws is or becomes inconsistent with any provision of the certificate of incorporation, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, the Stockholders Agreement or any other applicable law, the provision of these by-laws shall not be given any effect to the extent of such inconsistency but shall otherwise be given full force and effect. Each reference to the Stockholders Agreement shall be given effect only at such times as the Stockholders Agreement is in effect.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

These by-laws may be amended, altered, or repealed and new by-laws adopted at any meeting of the board of directors by a majority vote. The fact that the power to adopt, amend, alter, or repeal the by-laws has been conferred upon the board of directors shall not divest the stockholders of the same power.

 

14


Table of Contents

Exhibit 10.2

DCS HOLDINGS, INC.

2004 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

Adopted January 8, 2004

Approved By Stockholders January 8, 2004

Termination Date: January          2014

 

1.

PURPOSES.

(a)      Eligible Stock Award Recipients.   The persons eligible to receive Stock Awards are the Employees, Directors and Consultants of the Company and its Affiliates.

(b)      Available Stock Awards.   The purpose of the Plan is to provide a means by which eligible recipients of Stock Awards may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock through the granting of the following Stock Awards: (i) Incentive Stock Options, (ii) Nonstatutory Stock Options, (iii) stock bonuses and (iv) rights to acquire restricted stock.

(c)      General Purpose.   The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to retain the services of the group of persons eligible to receive Stock Awards, to secure and retain the services of new members of this group and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and its Affiliates.

 

2.

DEFINITIONS.

(a)      “Affiliate” means any parent corporation or subsidiary corporation of the Company, whether now or hereafter existing, as those terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Code.

(b)      “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(c)      “Cause” means any one of the following as determined by the Board in good faith: (i) the intentional misconduct of an Employee of the Company which results or may result in material harm to the Company or its employees, Directors, Consultants, property or business; or (ii) the failure or refusal of an Employee to perform the duties of the Employee reasonably assigned to such Employee by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company after the Employee has been provided thirty (30) days written notice by the Board of such failure or refusal and the intention of the Board to terminate the employment of the Employee as a result thereof.

(d)      “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

(e)      “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

(f)      “Company” means DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

(g)      “Consultant” means any person, including an advisor, (i) engaged by the Company or an Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services and who is compensated for


Table of Contents

such services or (ii) who is a member of the Board of Directors of an Affiliate. However, the term “Consultant” shall not include either Directors who are not compensated by the Company for their services as Directors or Directors who are merely paid a director’s fee by the Company for their services as Directors.

(h)      “Continuous Service” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. The Participant’s Continuous Service shall not be deemed to have terminated merely because of a change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Consultant or Director or a- change in the entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service. For example, a change in status from an Employee of the Company to a Consultant of an Affiliate or a Director will not constitute an interruption of Continuous Service. The Board or the chief executive officer of the Company, in that party’s sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service shall be considered interrupted in the case of any leave of absence approved by that party, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal leave.

(i)      “Covered Employee” means the chief executive officer and the four (4) other highest compensated officers of the Company for whom total compensation is required to be reported to Stockholders under the Exchange Act, as determined for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(j)      “Director” means a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

(k)      “Disability” means (i) before the Listing Date, the inability of a person, in the opinion of a qualified physician acceptable to the Company, to perform the major duties of that person’s position with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company because of the sickness or injury of the person and (ii) after the Listing Date, the permanent and total disability of a person within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code.

(l)      “Employee” means any person employed by the Company or an Affiliate. Mere service as a Director or payment of a director’s fee by the Company or an Affiliate shall not be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company or an Affiliate.

(m)      “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(n)      “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:

(i)     In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value shall be determined in good faith by the Board.

(ii)     Prior to the Listing Date, the value of the Common Stock shall be determined in a manner consistent with Section 260.140.50 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations.

 

2


Table of Contents

(o)      “Incentive Stock Option” means an Option intended to qualify as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

(p)      “Listing Date” means the first date upon which any security of the Company is listed (or approved for listing) upon notice of issuance on any securities exchange or designated (or approved for designation) upon notice of issuance as a national market security on an interdealer quotation system if such securities exchange or interdealer quotation system has been certified in accordance with the provisions of Section 25100(o) of the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968.

(q)      “Non-Employee Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current Employee or Officer of the Company or its parent or a subsidiary, does not receive compensation (directly or indirectly) from the Company or its parent or a subsidiary for services rendered as a consultant or in any capacity other than as a Director (except for an amount as to which disclosure would not be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act (“Regulation S-K”), does not possess an interest in any other transaction as to which disclosure would be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K and is not engaged in a business relationship as to which disclosure would be required under Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K; or (ii) is otherwise considered a “non-employee director” for purposes of Rule 16b-3.

(r)      “Nonstatutory Stock Option” means an Option not intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.

(s)     “Officer” means (i) before the Listing Date, any person designated by the Company as an officer and (ii) on and after the Listing Date, a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(t)      “Option” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option granted pursuant to the Plan.

(u)      “Option Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and an Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Option grant. Each Option Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(v)      “Optionholder” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.

(w)      “Outside Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code), is not a former employee of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” receiving compensation for prior services (other than benefits under a tax qualified pension plan), was not an officer of the Company or an “affiliated corporation” at any time and is not currently receiving direct or indirect remuneration from the Company or an “affiliated corporation” for services in any capacity other than as a Director or (ii) is otherwise considered an “outside director” for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.

 

3


Table of Contents

(x)      “Participant” means a person to whom a Stock Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Stock Award.

(y)      “Plan” means this DCS Holdings, Inc. 2004 Equity Incentive Plan.

(z)      “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.

(aa)      “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(bb)      “Stock Award” means any right granted under the Plan, including an Option, a stock bonus and a right to acquire restricted stock.

(cc)      “Stock Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Stock Award grant. Each Stock Award Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(dd)      “Stockholders Agreement” means the stockholders agreement dated January       , 2004, by and among the Company, Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and other persons and entities that may enter into such agreement.

(ee)      “Ten Percent Shareholder” means a person who owns (or is deemed to own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or of any of its Affiliates.

 

3.

ADMINISTRATION.

(a)      Administration by Board.   The Board shall administer the Plan.

(b)      Powers of Board.   The Board shall have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:

(i)     To determine from time to time which of the persons eligible under the Plan shall be granted Stock Awards; when and how each Stock Award shall be granted; what type or combination of types of Stock Award shall be granted; the provisions of each Stock Award granted (which need not be identical), including the time or times when a person shall be permitted to receive Common Stock pursuant to a Stock Award; and the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which a Stock Award shall be granted to each such person.

(ii)     To construe and interpret the Plan and Stock Awards granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for its administration. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Stock Award Agreement, in a manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan fully effective.

(iii)     To amend the Plan or a Stock Award as provided in Section 12.

 

4


Table of Contents

(iv)     Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company which are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan.

(c)      Effect of Board’s Decision.   All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board in good faith shall not be subject to review by any person and shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.

 

4.

SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

(a)      Share Reserve.   Subject to the provisions of Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in Common Stock, the Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Stock Awards shall not exceed in the aggregate one million eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) shares of Common Stock.

(b)      Reversion of Shares to the Share Reserve.   If any Stock Award shall for any reason expire or otherwise terminate, in whole or in part, without having been exercised in full, or if any shares of Common Stock issued to a Participant pursuant to a Stock Award are forfeited back to the Company because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares in the Participant, the shares of Common Stock not acquired or forfeited under such Stock Award shall revert to and again become available for issuance under the Plan; provided, however, that subject to the provisions of Section ll(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options shall be one million eight hundred thousand (1,800,000) shares of Common Stock.

(c)      Source of Shares.   The shares of Common Stock subject to the Plan may be unissued shares or reacquired shares, bought on the market or otherwise.

(d)      Share Reserve Limitation.   Prior to the Listing Date and to the extent then required by Section 260.140.45 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, the total number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of all outstanding Options and the total number of shares of Common Stock provided for under any stock bonus or similar plan of the Company shall not exceed the applicable percentage as calculated in accordance with the conditions and exclusions of Section 260.140.45 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, based on the shares of Common Stock of the Company that are outstanding at the time the calculation is made.

 

5.

ELIGIBILITY.

(a)      Eligibility for Specific Stock Awards.   Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees. Stock Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants.

(b)    Ten Percent Stockholders.

(i)     A Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair

 

5


Table of Contents

Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date of grant.

(ii)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted a Nonstatutory Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least (i) one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant or (ii) such lower percentage of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant as is permitted by Section 260.140.41 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option.

(iii)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Ten Percent Shareholder shall not be granted a restricted stock award unless the purchase price of the restricted stock is at least (i) one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant or (ii) such lower percentage of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant as is permitted by Section 260.140.41 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option.

(c)      Section 162(m) Limitation.   Subject to the provisions of Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in the shares of Common Stock, no Employee shall be eligible to be granted Options covering more than one million (1,000,000) shares of Common Stock during any calendar year. This subsection 5(c) shall not apply prior to the Listing Date and, following the Listing Date, this subsection 5(c) shall not apply until (i) the earliest of: (1) the first material modification of the Plan (including any increase in the number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan in accordance with Section 4); (2) the issuance of all of the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan; (3) the expiration of the Plan; or (4) the first meeting of Stockholders at which Directors are to be elected that occurs after the close of the third calendar year following the calendar year in which occurred the first registration of an equity security under Section 12 of the Exchange Act; or (ii) such other date required by Section 162(m) of the Code and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(d)    Consultants.

(i)     Prior to the Listing Date, a Consultant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award if, at the time of grant, either the offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such Consultant is not exempt under Rule 701 of the Securities Act (“Rule 701”) because of the nature of the services that the Consultant is providing to the Company, or because the Consultant is not a natural person, or as otherwise provided by Rule 701, unless the Company determines that such grant need not comply with the requirements of Rule 701 and will satisfy another exemption under the Securities Act as well as comply with the securities laws of all other relevant jurisdictions.

(ii)     From and after the Listing Date, a Consultant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award if, at the time of grant, a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act (“Form S-8”) is not available to register either the ·offer or the sale of the Company’s securities to such Consultant because of the nature of the services that the Consultant is providing to the Company, or because the Consultant is not a natural person, or as otherwise provided by the rules governing the use of Form S-8, unless the Company determines both

 

6


Table of Contents

(i) that such grant (A) shall be registered in another manner under the Securities Act ( e.g. , on a Form S-3 Registration Statement) or (B) does not require registration under the Securities Act in order to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act, if applicable, and (ii) that such grant complies with the securities laws of all other relevant jurisdictions.

(iii)     Rule 701 and Form S-8 generally are available to consultants and advisors only if (i) they are natural persons; (ii) they provide bona fide services to the issuer, its parents, its majority-owned subsidiaries or majority-owned subsidiaries of the issuer’s parent; and (iii) the services are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction, and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the issuer’s securities.

 

6.

OPTION PROVISIONS.

Each Option shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. All Options shall be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Nonstatutory Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates will be issued for shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. The provisions of separate Options need not be identical, but each Option shall include {through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the Option or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(a)      Term.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date it was granted, and no Incentive Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date it was granted, or earlier if not exercised at or prior to an event described upon an event described in Section 11(c)(i), (ii) or (iii) of the Plan.

(b)      Exercise Price of an Incentive Stock Option.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise price of each Incentive Stock Option shall be not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the date the Option is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Incentive Stock Option may be granted with an exercise price lower than that set forth in the preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) of the Code.

(c)      Exercise Price of a Nonstatutory Stock Option.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise price of each Nonstatutory Stock Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the date the Option is granted. The exercise price of each Nonstatutory Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be not less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to. the Option on the date the Option is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Nonstatutory Stock Option may be granted with an exercise price lower than that set forth in the

 

7


Table of Contents

preceding sentence if such Option is granted pursuant to an assumption or substitution for another option in a manner satisfying the provisions of Section 424(a) of the Code.

(d)      Consideration.   The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to an Option shall be paid, to the extent permitted by applicable statutes and regulations, either (i) in cash at the time the Option is exercised or (ii) at the discretion of the Board at the time of the grant of the Option (or subsequently in the case of a Nonstatutory Stock Option) (1) by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock, (2) according to a deferred payment or other similar arrangement with the Optionholder or (3) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board. Unless otherwise specifically provided in the Option, the purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to an Option that is paid by delivery to the Company of other Common Stock acquired, directly or indirectly from the Company, shall be paid only by shares of the Common Stock of the Company that have been held for more than six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes). At any time that the Company is incorporated in Delaware, payment of the Common Stock’s “par value,” as defined in the Delaware General Corporation Law, shall not be made by deferred payment.

In the case of any deferred payment arrangement, interest shall be compounded at least annually and shall be charged at the minimum rate of interest necessary to avoid the treatment as interest, under any applicable provisions of the Code, of any amounts other than amounts stated to be interest under the deferred payment arrangement.

(e)      Transferability of an Incentive Stock Option.   An Incentive Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing; the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.

(f)      Transferability of a Nonstatutory Stock Option.   A Nonstatutory Stock Option granted prior to the Listing Date shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and, to the extent provided in the Option Agreement, to such further extent as permitted by Section 260.140.41(d) of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option, and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. A Nonstatutory Stock Option granted on or after the Listing Date shall be transferable to the extent provided in the Option Agreement. If the Nonstatutory Stock Option does not provide for transferability, then the Nonstatutory Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Optionholder may, by delivering written notice to the Company, in a form satisfactory to the Company, designate a third party who, in the event of the death of the Optionholder, shall thereafter be entitled to exercise the Option.

(g)      Vesting Generally.   The total number of shares of Common Stock subject to an Option may, but need not, vest and therefore become exercisable in periodic installments that may, but need not, be equal. The Option may be subject to such other terms and conditions on

 

8


Table of Contents

the time or times when it may be exercised (which may be based on performance or other criteria) as the Board may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions of individual Options may vary. The provisions of this subsection 6(g) are subject to any Option provisions governing the minimum number of shares of Common Stock as to which an Option may be exercised.

(h)      Minimum Vesting Prior to the Listing Date.   Notwithstanding the foregoing subsection 6(g), to the extent that the following restrictions on vesting are required by Section 260.140.4l(f) of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time of the grant of the Option, then:

(i)     Options granted prior to the Listing Date to an Employee who is not an Officer, Director or Consultant shall provide for vesting of the total number of shares of Common Stock at a rate of at least twenty percent (20%) per year over five (5) years from the date the Option was granted, subject to reasonable conditions such as continued employment; and

(ii)     Options granted prior to the Listing Date to Officers, Directors or Consultants may be made fully exercisable, subject to reasonable conditions such as continued employment, at any time or during any period established by the Company.

(i)      Termination of Continuous Service.   In the event an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Optionholder’s death or Disability), the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination) but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date three (3) months following the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than thirty (30) days for Options granted prior to the Listing Date unless such termination is for cause), or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Option Agreement If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified in the Option Agreement, the Option shall terminate.

(j)      Extension of Termination Date.   An Optionholder’s Option Agreement may also provide that if the exercise of the Option following the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service (other than upon the Optionholder’s death or Disability) would be prohibited at any time solely because the issuance of shares of Common Stock would violate the registration requirements under the Securities Act, then the Option shall terminate on the earlier of (i) the expiration of the term of the Option set forth in subsection 6(a) or (ii) the expiration of a period of three (3) months after the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service during which the exercise of the Option would not be in violation of such registration requirements.

(k)      Disability of Optionholder.   In the event that an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s Disability, the Optionholder may exercise his or her Option (to the extent that the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of termination), but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date twelve (12) months following such termination (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than six (6) months for Options granted prior

 

9


Table of Contents

to the Listing Date) or (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Option Agreement. If, after termination, the Optionholder does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified herein, the Option shall terminate.

(l)     Death of Optionholder.   In the event (i) an Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Optionholder’s death or (ii) the Optionholder dies within the period (if any) specified in the Option Agreement after the termination of the Optionholder’s Continuous Service for a reason other than death, then the Option may be exercised (to the extent the Optionholder was entitled to exercise such Option as of the date of death) by the Optionholder’s estate, by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option by bequest or inheritance or by a person designated to exercise the option upon the Optionholder’s death pursuant to subsection 6(e) or 6(f), but only within the period ending on the earlier of (1) the date eighteen (18) months following the date of death (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Option Agreement, which period shall not be less than six (6) months for Options granted prior to the Listing Date) or (2) the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Option Agreement. If, after death, the Option is not exercised within the time specified herein, the Option shall terminate.

(m)     Early Exercise.   The Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Optionholder may elect at any time before the Optionholder’s Continuous Service terminates to exercise the Option as to any part or all of the shares of Common Stock subject to the Option prior to the full vesting of the Option. Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), any unvested shares of Common Stock so purchased may be subject to a repurchase option in favor of the Company or to any other restriction the Board determines to be appropriate. Provided that the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h) is not violated, the Company will not exercise its repurchase option until at least six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes) have elapsed following exercise of the Option unless the Board otherwise specifically provides in the Option.

(n)     Right of Repurchase.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), the Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Company may elect, prior to the Listing Date, to repurchase all or any part of the vested shares of Common Stock acquired by the Optionholder pursuant to the exercise of the Option. Provided that the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h) is not violated, the Company will not exercise its repurchase option until at least six (6) months (or such longer or shorter period of time required to avoid a charge to earnings for financial accounting purposes) have elapsed following exercise of the Option unless the Board otherwise specifically provides in the Option.

(o)     Right of First Refusal.   The Option may, but need not, include a provision whereby the Company may elect, prior to the Listing Date, to exercise a right of first refusal following receipt of notice from the Optionholder of the intent to transfer all or any part of the shares of Common Stock received upon the exercise of the Option. Except as expressly provided in this subsection 6(o), such right of first refusal shall otherwise comply with any applicable provisions of the Bylaws of the Company.

 

10


Table of Contents
7.

PROVISIONS OF STOCK AWARDS OTHER THAN OPTIONS.

(a)     Stock Bonus Awards.   Each stock bonus agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of stock bonus agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate stock bonus agreements need not be identical, but each stock bonus agreement shall include {through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i)      Consideration.   A stock bonus may be awarded in consideration for past services actually rendered to the Company or an Affiliate for its benefit.

(ii)      Vesting.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), shares of Common Stock awarded under the stock bonus agreement may, but need not, be subject to a share repurchase option in favor of the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.

(iii)      Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), in the event a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may reacquire any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant which have not vested as of the date of termination under the terms of the stock bonus agreement.

(iv)     Transferability.   For a stock bonus award made before the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the stock bonus agreement shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant. For a stock bonus award made on or after the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the stock bonus agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the ,stock bonus agreement, as the Board shall determine in its discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the stock bonus agreement remains subject to the terms of the stock bonus agreement.

(b)      Restricted Stock Awards.   Each restricted stock purchase agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of the restricted stock purchase agreements may change from time to. time, and the terms and conditions of separate restricted stock purchase agreements need not be identical, but each restricted stock purchase agreement shall include (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:

(i)     Purchase Price.   Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the purchase price under each restricted stock purchase agreement shall be such amount as the Board shall determine and designate in such restricted stock purchase agreement. For restricted stock awards made prior to the Listing Date, the purchase price shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Common Stock’s Fair Market Value on the date such award is made or at the time the purchase is consummated. For restricted stock

 

11


Table of Contents

awards made on or after the Listing Date, the purchase price shall not be less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the Common Stock’s Fair Market Value on the date such award is made or at the time the purchase is consummated.

(ii)      Consideration.   The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the restricted stock purchase agreement shall be paid either: (i) in cash at the time of purchase; (ii) at the discretion of the Board, according to a deferred payment or other similar arrangement with the Participant; or (iii) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board in its discretion; provided, however, that at any time that the Company is incorporated in Delaware, then payment of the Common Stock’s “par value,” as defined in the Delaware General Corporation Law, shall not be made by deferred payment.

(iii)      Vesting.   Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), shares of Common Stock acquired under the restricted stock purchase agreement may, but need not, be subject to a share repurchase option in favor of the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.

(iv)     Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. Subject to the “Repurchase Limitation” in subsection 10(h), in the event a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may repurchase or otherwise reacquire any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant which have not vested as of the date of termination under the terms of the restricted stock purchase agreement.

(v)     Transferability.   For a restricted stock award made before the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the restricted stock purchase agreement shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant. For a restricted stock award made on or after the Listing Date, rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the restricted stock purchase agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the restricted stock purchase agreement, as the Board shall determine in its discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the restricted stock purchase agreement remains subject to the terms of the restricted stock purchase agreement.

 

8.

COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY.

(a)      Availability of Shares.   During the terms of the Stock Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock required to satisfy such Stock Awards.

(b)      Securities Law Compliance.   The Company shall seek to obtain from each regulatory commission or agency having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be required to grant Stock Awards and to issue and sell shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Stock Awards; provided, however, that this undertaking shall not require the Company to register under the Securities Act the Plan, any Stock Award or any Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such Stock Award. If, after reasonable efforts, the Company is unable to obtain from any such regulatory commission or agency the authority which counsel for the Company deems necessary for the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, the

 

12


Table of Contents

Company shall be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise of such Stock Awards unless and until such authority is obtained.

 

9.

USE OF PROCEEDS FROM STOCK.

Proceeds from the sale of Common Stock pursuant to Stock Awards shall constitute general funds of the Company.

 

10.

MISCELLANEOUS.

(a)     Acceleration of Exercisability and Vesting.   The Board shall have the power to accelerate the time at which a Stock Award may first be exercised or the time during which a Stock Award or any part thereof will vest in accordance with the Plan, notwithstanding the provisions in the Stock Award stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the employment of an Employee holding an outstanding Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to the exercise of a Stock Award) is involuntarily terminated without “Cause” by the Company prior to such Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock) becoming fully vested, then the vesting of such Stock Award (or shares of Common Stock) shall become accelerated in full immediately prior to the involuntary termination of employment of such Employee.

(b)     Shareholder Rights.   No Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to such Stock Award unless and until such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of the Stock Award pursuant to its terms.

(c)      No Employment or other Service Rights.   Nothing in the Plan or any instrument executed or Stock Award granted pursuant thereto shall confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Stock Award was granted or shall affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate (i) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without cause, (ii) the service of a Consultant pursuant to the terms of such Consultant’s agreement with the Company or an Affiliate or (iii) the service of a Director pursuant to the Bylaws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state in which the Company or the Affiliate is incorporated, as the case may be.

(d)      Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation.   To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and its Affiliates) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), the Options or portions thereof which exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options.

(e)      Investment Assurances.   The Company may require a Participant, as a condition of exercising or acquiring Common Stock under any Stock Award, (i) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company as to the Participant’s knowledge and experience in financial and

 

13


Table of Contents

business matters and/or to employ a purchaser representative reasonably satisfactory to the Company who is knowledgeable and experienced in financial and business matters and that he or she is capable of evaluating, alone or together with the purchaser representative, the merits and risks of exercising the Stock Award; and (ii) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company stating that the Participant is acquiring Common Stock subject to the Stock Award for the Participant’s own account and not with any present intention of selling or otherwise distributing the Common Stock. The foregoing requirements, and any assurances given pursuant to such requirements, shall be inoperative if (1) the issuance of the shares of Common Stock upon the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award has been registered under a then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act or (2) as to any particular requirement, a determination is made by counsel for the Company that such requirement need not be met in the circumstances under the then applicable securities laws. The Company may, upon advice of counsel to the Company, place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan as such counsel deems necessary or appropriate in order to comply with applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, legends restricting the transfer of the Common Stock.

(f)      Withholding Obligations.   To the extent provided by the terms of a Stock Award Agreement, the Participant may satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under a Stock Award by any of the following means (in addition to the Company’s right to withhold from any compensation paid to the Participant by the Company) or by a combination of such means: (i) tendering a cash payment; (ii) authorizing the Company to withhold shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock otherwise issuable to the Participant as a result of the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award, provided, however; that no shares of Common Stock are withheld with a value exceeding the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law; or (iii) delivering to the Company owned and unencumbered shares of Common Stock.

(g)      Information Obligation.   Prior to the Listing Date, to the extent required by Section 260.f40.46 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations, the Company shall deliver financial statements to Participants at least annually. This subsection 10(g) shall not apply to key Employees whose duties in connection with the Company assure them access to equivalent information.

(h)      Repurchase Limitation.   The terms of any repurchase option shall be specified in the Stock Award and may be either at Fair Market Value at the time of repurchase or at not less than the original purchase price. To the extent required by Section 260.140.41 and Section 260.140.42 of Title 10 of the California Code of Regulations at the time a Stock Award is made, any repurchase option contained in a Stock Award granted prior to the Listing Date to a person who is not an Officer, Director or Consultant shall be upon the terms described below:

(i)      Fair Market Value.   If the repurchase option gives the Company the right to repurchase the shares of Common Stock upon termination of employment at not less than the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock to be purchased on the date of termination of Continuous Service, then (i) the right to repurchase shall be exercised for cash or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness for the shares of Common Stock within ninety (90) days of termination of Continuous Service (or in the case of shares of Common Stock issued upon

 

14


Table of Contents

exercise of Stock Awards after such date of termination, within ninety (90) days after the date of the exercise) or such longer period as may be agreed to by the Company and the Participant (for example, for purposes of satisfying the requirements of Section 1202(c)(3) of the Code regarding “qualified small business stock”) and (ii) the right terminates when the shares of Common Stock become publicly traded.

(ii)      Original Purchase Price.   If the repurchase option gives the Company the right to repurchase the shares of Common Stock upon termination of Continuous Service at the original purchase price, then (i) the right to repurchase at the original purchase price shall lapse at the rate of at least twenty percent (20%) of the shares of Common Stock per year over five (5) years from the date the Stock Award is granted (without respect to the date the Stock Award was exercised or became exercisable) and (ii) the right to repurchase shall be exercised for cash or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness for the shares of Common Stock within ninety (90)days of termination of Continuous Service (or in the case of shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of Options after such date of termination, within ninety (90) days after the date of the exercise) or such longer period as may be agreed to by the Company and the Participant (for example, for purposes of satisfying the requirements of Section 1202(c)(3) of the Code regarding “qualified small business stock”).

(i)      Registration Rights.   The Company shall use its best efforts to register the shares of Common Stock issued or to be issued to Participants pursuant to the exercise of Stock Awards with an SEC Form S-8 registration statement or comparable registration statement in the event that the Company registers its securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

11.

ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN STOCK AND CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS.

(a)      Capitalization Adjustments.   If any change is made in the Common Stock subject to the Plan, or subject to any Stock Award, without the receipt of consideration by the Company (through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, stock split; liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or other transaction not involving the receipt of consideration by the Company), the Plan will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to subsections 4(a) and 4(b) and the maximum number of securities subject to award to any person pursuant to subsection 5(c), and the outstanding Stock Awards will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and number of securities and price per share of Common Stock subject to such outstanding Stock Awards. The Board shall make such adjustments, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. (The conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be treated as a transaction “without receipt of consideration” by the Company.)

(b)    Change in Control–Dissolution or Liquidation.   In the event of a dissolution or liquidation of the Company, then all outstanding Stock Awards shall terminate immediately prior to such event.

(c)      Change in Control-Asset Sale, Merger, Consolidation or Reverse Merger.   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in the event of (i) a sale, lease or other disposition of

 

15


Table of Contents

all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, (ii) a consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person, or any other corporate reorganization, in which the Stockholders of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, merger or reorganization, own less than 50% of the Company’s outstanding voting power of the surviving entity (or its parent) following the consolidation, merger or reorganization or (iii) any transaction (or series of related transactions involving a person or entity, or a group of affiliated persons or entities) in which in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the Company’s outstanding voting power is transferred, then with respect to Stock Awards held by Participants whose Continuous Service has not terminated, the vesting of such Stock Awards (and, if applicable, the time during which such Stock Awards may be exercised) as well as the lapse of the Company’s right to repurchase outstanding restricted shares of Common Stock issued under Stock Awards, shall be accelerated in full, and the Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to such event unless they are assumed or substituted for by the acquiring or surviving entity (in their sole discretion). With respect to any other Stock Awards outstanding under the Plan, such Stock Awards shall terminate if not exercised (if applicable) prior to such event unless they are assumed or substituted for by the acquiring or surviving entity (in their sole discretion).

(d)      Other Corporate Transactions.   In the event that, following the initial grant of Stock Awards under the Plan:

(i)     the Company authorizes the issuance or sale of any securities to Parthenon Investors, II, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, or any of its affiliates (collectively referred to for purposes of this Section ll(d) as “Parthenon”), which issuance and sale the Company agrees shall be solely for cash consideration as described in Section 3(a) of the Stockholders Agreement;

(ii)     there is a “Transfer,” within the meaning of such term in Section 4(c) of the Stockholders Agreement (other than a “Permitted Parthenon Transfer” (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement) not including the making of one or more Transfers to one or more “Permitted Parthenon Transferees” (as such term is defined in the Stockholder Agreement) resulting in the disposition of any or all of its interest in such Permitted Parthenon Transferee) by Parthenon of any “Stockholder Shares” (as such term is defined in the Stockholders Agreement)); or

(iii)     Parthenon sells its securities of the Company;

then, with respect to Stock Awards held by each Participant whose Continuous Service has not terminated, the vesting of all outstanding Stock Awards (and, if applicable, the time during which such Stock Awards may be exercised) of such Participant as well as the lapse of the Company’s right to repurchase restricted shares of Common Stock, if any, of such Participant issued under Stock Awards, shall be accelerated in full immediately prior to such event.

 

12.

AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN AND STOCK AWARDS.

(a)      Amendment of Plan.   The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the Plan. However, except as provided in Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in

 

16


Table of Contents

Common Stock; no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the Stockholders of the Company to the extent shareholder approval is necessary to satisfy the requirements of Section 422 of the Code, Rule 16b-3 or any Nasdaq or securities exchange listing requirements.

(b)      Shareholder Approval.   The Board may, in its sole discretion, submit any other amendment to the Plan for shareholder approval, including, but not limited to, amendments to the Plan intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and the regulations thereunder regarding the exclusion of performance-based compensation from the limit on corporate deductibility of compensation paid to certain executive officers.

(c)      Contemplated Amendments.   It is expressly contemplated that the Board may amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable to provide eligible Employees with the maximum benefits provided or to be provided under the provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder relating to Incentive Stock Options and/or to bring the Plan and/or Incentive Stock Options granted under it into compliance therewith.

(d)      No Impairment of Rights.   Rights under any Stock Award granted before amendment of the Plan shall not be impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless (i) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (ii) the Participant consents in writing.

(e)      Amendment of Stock Awards.   The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the terms of any one or more Stock Awards; provided, however, that the rights under any Stock Award shall not be impaired by any such amendment unless ( ) the Company requests the consent of the Participant and (ii) the Participant consents in writing.

 

13.

TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE PLAN.

(a)      Plan Term.   The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Unless sooner terminated, the Plan shall terminate on the day before the tenth (10th) anniversary of the date the Plan is adopted by the Board or approved by the Stockholders of the Company, whichever is earlier. No Stock Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.

(b)      No Impairment of Rights.   Suspension or termination of the Plan shall not impair rights and obligations under any Stock Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the Participant.

 

14.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN.

The Plan shall become effective as determined by the Board, but no Stock Award shall be exercised (or, in the case of a stock bonus, shall be granted) unless and until the Plan has been approved by the Stockholders of the Company, which approval shall be within twelve (12) months before or. after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board.

 

15.

CHOICE OF LAW.

The law of the State of Delaware shall govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to such state’s conflict of laws rules.

 

17


Table of Contents

Exhibit 10.3

EXECUTION

2004 DCS HOLDINGS

STOCK OPTION PLAN

ARTICLE I

PURPOSE OF PLAN

The 2004 DCS Holdings Stock Option Plan (the “ 2004 Plan” ) of DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, adopted by the Board of Directors and shareholders of the Company on January 8, 2004, for executive and other key employees of the Company, is intended to advance the best interests of the Company by providing those persons who have a substantial responsibility for its management and growth with additional incentives by allowing them to acquire an ownership interest in the Company and thereby encouraging them to contribute to the success of the Company and to remain in its employ. The availability and offering of stock options under the 2004 Plan also increases the Company’s ability to attract and retain individuals of exceptional managerial talent upon whom, in large measure, the sustained progress, growth and profitability of the Company depends.

All Options granted under the 2004 Plan are intended to qualify for an exemption (the “ Exemptions ”) from the registration requirements (i) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Act ”), pursuant to Rule 701 of the Act and (ii) under applicable state securities laws. In the event that any provision of the 2004 Plan would cause any options granted under the 2004 Plan to not qualify for any Exemptions, the 2004 Plan shall be deemed automatically amended to the extent necessary to cause all options granted under the 2004 Plan to qualify for such Exemptions.

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS

For purposes of the 2004 Plan, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

Board ” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Cause ” shall mean (i) the commission of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude, (ii) the commission of any other act or omission involving fraud with respect to the Company or any of its affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iii)· any act or omission involving dishonesty having a material adverse effect on the Company or any of its affiliates or any of their directors, stockholders, partners or members, (iv) gross negligence or willful misconduct with respect to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, (v) purposeful failure to perform the Participant’s responsibilities and duties to the Company or any of its affiliates, (vi) non-satisfactory performance of the Participant’s duties and obligations to the Company in the good faith determination of the Board (provided that it shall only be deemed “Cause” pursuant to this clause (vi) if the Participant is given notice of such non-satisfactory performance and fails to cure within 30 days) or (vii) any other breach of this


Table of Contents

Agreement or any other agreement between the Participant and the Company or any of its affiliates.

Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute.

Committee ” shall mean the committee of the Board which may be designated by the Board to administer the 2004 Plan. The Committee shall be composed of two or more directors as appointed from time to time to serve by the Board.

Common Stock ” shall mean the Company’s Common Stock $0.01 par value or if the outstanding Common Stock is hereafter changed into or exchanged for different stock or securities of the Company, such other stock or securities.

Company ” shall mean DCS Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and (except to the extent the context requires otherwise) any subsidiary corporation of DCS Holdings, Inc. as such term is defined in Section 425(f) of the Code.

Disability ” shall mean the incapacity of any Participant due to injury, illness, disease or bodily or mental infirmity, to perform substantially all of Participant’s usual duties of employment with the Company, such disability to be determined by the Company in good faith.

Fair Market Value ” of the Common Stock shall be determined by the Committee or, in the absence of the Committee, by the Board.

Options ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article IV.

Parthenon ” shall mean Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and/or any of its Subsidiaries, affiliates, or successors and assigns.

Participant ” shall mean any executive or other key employee of the Company who has been selected to participate in the 2004 Plan by the Committee or the Board.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association; a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization and a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Sale of the Company ” shall mean (i) a sale of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company to any Person or (ii) the transfer or other disposition to any Person (other than Parthenon or any affiliate thereof) of outstanding equity securities (whether by sale, issuance, merger, consolidation, reorganization, combination or otherwise) of the Company such that after giving effect to such transfer, such Person would own or control the right to elect at least a majority of the members of the Board.

 

2


Table of Contents

ARTICLE III

ADMINISTRATION

The 2004 Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided that if for any reason the Committee shall not have been appointed by the Board, all authority and duties of the Committee under the 2004 Plan shall be vested in and exercised by the Board. Subject to the limitations of the 2004 Plan, the Committee shall have the sole and complete authority to: (i) select Participants, (ii) grant Options (as defined in Article IV below) to Participants in such forms and amounts as it shall determine (including, without limitation, with respect to designating Options as Incentive Stock Options (as defined in Article V below) or non-qualified stock options), (iii) impose such limitations, restrictions and conditions upon such Options as it shall deem appropriate, (iv) interpret the 2004 Plan and adopt, amend and rescind administrative guidelines and other rules and regulations relating to the 2004 Plan, (v) correct any defect or omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the 2004 Plan or in any Option granted hereunder, and (vi) make all other determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the implementation and administration of the 2004 Plan, subject to such limitations as may be imposed by the Code on the grant of Incentive Stock Options or other applicable law. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in any Option Agreement (as defined below), all actions, decisions and determinations under the 2004 Plan and any of the Option Agreements shall be made by the Committee in its sole and absolute discretion and shall be conclusive and binding upon the Participants, the Company and all other Persons. All expenses associated with the administration of the 2004 Plan shall be borne by the Company. The Committee may, as approved by the Board and to the extent permissible by law, delegate any of its authority hereunder to such persons as it deems appropriate.

ARTICLE IV

LIMITATION ON AGGREGATE SHARES

The number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options may be granted under the 2004 Plan (the “ Options” ) and which may be issued upon the exercise thereof shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 2,000,000 shares; provided that the type and the aggregate number of shares which may be subject to Options shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.8 below, and provided further that to the extent any Options expire unexercised or are canceled, terminated or forfeited in any manner without the issuance of Common Stock thereunder, or if any Options are exercised and the shares of Common Stock issued thereunder are repurchased by the Company, such shares shall again be available under the 2004 Plan. The 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock available under the 2004 Plan may be either authorized and unissued shares, treasury shares or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine.

 

3


Table of Contents

ARTICLE V

AWARDS

5.1     Options .

The Committee may grant Options to Participants in accordance with this Article V . In no event shall the aggregate Fair Market Value of all Common Stock {determined at the time the Option is awarded) with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by an individual during any calendar year (under all 2004 Plans of the Company and its subsidiaries) exceed $100,000.

5.2     Form of Option .

Options granted under this 2004 Plan may be nonqualified stock options or “ Incentive Stock Options ” within the meaning of Section 422A of the Code or any successor provision. Unless otherwise indicated, references herein to “Options” shall include Incentive Stock Options and non-qualified stock options;

5.3     Exercise Price .

The option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Committee from time to time. If the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option, the option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Board at not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant of such Option (or 110% of such Fair Market Value if the holder of such Incentive Stock Option owns Common Stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any subsidiary determined with regard to the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code).

5.4     Exercisability .

Options shall be exercisable at such time or times as the Committee shall determine at or subsequent to grant.

5.5     Payment of Exercise Price .

Options shall be exercised in whole or in part by written notice to the Company (to the attention of the Company’s Secretary) accompanied by payment in full of the option exercise price. Payment of the option exercise price shall be made in cash (including check, bank draft or money order) or, in the discretion of the Committee, by delivery of a promissory note (if in accordance with policies approved by the Board).

5.6     Terms of Options .

The Committee shall determine the term of each Option, which term shall in no event exceed ten (10) years from the date of grant. If a holder of an Incentive Stock Option owns Common Stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any subsidiary, determined with regard to the attribution rules of Section 424(d) of the Code, the term of such Incentive Stock Option shall not exceed five (5) years from the date of grant.

ARTICLE VI

GENERAL PROVISIONS

6.1     Conditions and Limitations on Exercise .

Options may be made exercisable in one or more installments, upon the happening of certain events, upon the passage of a specified period of time, . upon the fulfillment of certain conditions or upon the achievement by the Company of certain performance goals, as the Committee shall decide in each case when the

 

4


Table of Contents

Options are granted. Options may also be terminated, accelerated or extended to the extent set forth in any Option Agreement.

6.2     Sale of the Company .

In the event of a Sale of the Company, the Committee may provide, in its sole discretion, that all or any portion of the Options (including, all or any portion of any group or type of Option) shall become immediately exercisable by any Participants who are employed by the Company at the time of the Sale of the Company.

6.3     Written Agreement .

Each Option granted hereunder to a Participant shall be embodied in a written agreement (an “Option Agreement”) which shall be signed by the Participant and by the President of the Company or any other officer authorized by the Board for and in the name and on behalf of the Company, and not individually, and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the 2004 Plan.

6.4     Listing, Registration and Compliance with Laws and Regulations .

Options shall be subject to the requirement that if at any time the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration or qualification of the shares subject to the Options upon any securities exchange or under any state or federal securities or other law or regulation, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body, is necessary or desirable as a condition to or in connection ‘with the granting of the Options or the issuance or purchase of shares thereunder, no Options may be granted or exercised, in whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval shall have been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Committee. The holders of such Options shall supply the Company with such certificates, representations and information as the Company shall request and shall otherwise cooperate with the Company in obtaining such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval. In the case of officers and other Persons subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Committee may, at any time, impose any limitations upon the exercise of an Option that, in the Committee’s discretion, are necessary or desirable in order to comply with such Section 16(b) and the rules and regulations thereunder. If the Company, as part of an offering of securities or otherwise, finds it desirable because of federal or state regulatory requirements to reduce the period during which any Options may be exercised, the Committee, may, in its discretion and without the Participant’s consent, so reduce such period on not less than fifteen (15) days written notice to the holders thereof.

6.5     Nontransferability .

Options may not be transferred other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and, during the lifetime of the Participant, may be exercised only by such Participant (or his legal guardian or legal representative). In the event of the death of a Participant, exercise of Options granted hereunder shall be made only:

(i)    by the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Participant or the Person or Persons to whom the deceased Participant’s rights under the Option shall pass by will or the laws of descent and distribution; and

(ii)    to the extent that the deceased Participant was entitled thereto at the date of his death, unless otherwise provided by the Committee in such Participant’s Option Agreement.

 

5


Table of Contents

6.6     Expiration of Options .

(a)     Normal Expiration .  In no event shall any part of any Option be exercisable after the date of expiration thereof (the “ Expiration Date ”), as determined by the Committee pursuant to Section 5.6 above.

(b)     Early Expiration Upon Termination of Employment.   Except as otherwise provided by the Committee in the Option Agreement, any portion of a Participant’s Option that was not vested and exercisable on the date of the termination of such Participant’s employment shall expire and be forfeited as of such date, and any portion of a Participant’s Option that was vested and exercisable on the date of the termination of such Participant’s employment shall expire and be forfeited as of such date, except that: (i) if Employee’s employment is terminated, with or without Cause or employment with the Company is terminated by Employee, such Employee’s Option shall expire 30 days after the date of his discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date, and (ii) if Employee dies, such Employee’s Option shall expire 180 days after the date of his death but in no event after the Expiration Date.

(c)     Sale of the Company .  Upon a Sale of the Company, all or any portion of the Options which have not been exercised prior to or in connection with the Sale of the Company shall be forfeited, unless otherwise determined by the Committee in its sole discretion.

6.7     Withholding of Taxes .

The Company shall be entitled, if necessary or desirable, to withhold from any Participant from any amounts due and payable by the Company to such Participant (or secure payment from such Participant in lieu of withholding) the amount of any withholding or other tax due from the Company with respect to any shares issuable under the Options, and the Company may defer such issuance unless indemnified to its satisfaction. Upon the disposition (within the meaning of . Section 424(c) of the Code) of shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option prior to the expiration of the holding period requirements of Section 422(a)(1) of the Code, the Participant shall be required to give notice to the Company of such disposition and the Company shall have the right to require the payment of the amount of any taxes that are required by law to be withheld with respect to such disposition.

6.8     Adjustments .

Without in any way limiting Section 6.6(c) hereof, in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of Common Stock or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, the Board or the Committee may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under outstanding Options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by the 2004 Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding Options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable. No adjustments to any Incentive Stock Option shall be made pursuant to this Section 6.8 which consist of a modification of such Incentive Stock Option under Section 422(h)(3)(C) of the Code.

6.9     Rights of Participants .

Nothing in this 2004 Plan or in any Option Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company to terminate any Participant’s employment at any time (with or without Cause), nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employ of the Company for any period of time or to continue his present (or any

 

6


Table of Contents

other) rate of compensation, and except as otherwise provided under this 2004 Plan or by the Committee in the Option Agreement, in the event of any Participant’s termination of employment (including, but not limited to, the termination by the Company without Cause) any portion of such Participant’s Option that was not previously vested and exercisable shall expire and be forfeited as of the date of such termination. No employee shall have a right to be selected as a Participant or, having been so selected, to be selected again as a Participant.

6.10     Amendment, Suspension and Termination of 2004 Plan .

The Board or the Committee may suspend or terminate the 2004 Plan or any portion thereof at any time and may amend it from time to time in such respects as the Board or the Committee may deem advisable; provided that no such amendment shall be made without stockholder approval to the extent such approval is required by law, agreement or the rules of any exchange upon which the Common Stock is listed, and no such amendment, suspension or termination shall impair the rights of Participants under outstanding Options without the consent of the Participants affected thereby. No Options shall be granted hereunder after the tenth (10th) anniversary of the adoption of the 2004 Plan.

6.11     Amendment, Modification and Cancellation of Outstanding Options .

The Committee may amend or modify any Option in any manner to the extent that the Committee would have had the authority under the 2004 Plan initially to grant such Option; provided that no such amendment or modification shall impair the rights of any Participant under any Option without the consent of such Participant. With the Participant’s consent, the Committee may cancel any Option and issue a new Option to such Participant.

6.12     Indemnification .

In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or the Committee, the members of the Committee shall be indemnified by the Company against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which they or any of them may be party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the 2004 Plan or any Option granted thereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by independent legal counsel selected by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding; provided that any such Committee member shall be entitled to the indemnification rights set forth in this Section 6.12 only if such member has acted in good faith and in a manner that such member reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that such conduct was unlawful, and further provided that upon the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding a Committee member shall give the Company written notice thereof and an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before such Committee member undertakes to handle and defend it on his own behalf.

*        *        *         *

 

7


Table of Contents

Exhibit 10.4

PERFORMANT FINANCIAL CORPORATION

2007 STOCK OPTION PLAN

ARTICLE I

Purpose of Plan

The 2007 Stock Option Plan (the “ Plan ”) of Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), adopted by the Board of Directors and the shareholders of the Company on May 25, 2007, for certain employees and service providers of the Company, is intended to advance the best interests of the Company by providing those persons who have a substantial responsibility for its management and growth with additional incentives by allowing them to acquire an ownership interest in the Company and thereby encouraging them to contribute to the success of the Company and to remain in its employ. The availability and offering of stock options under the Plan also increases the Company’s ability to attract and retain individuals of exceptional managerial talent upon whom, in large measure, the sustained progress, growth and profitability of the Company depends.

This Plan is intended to be a “compensatory benefit plan” within the meaning of such term under Rule 701 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and all Options granted under the Plan are intended to qualify for an exemption (the “ Exemptions ”) from the registration requirements (i) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”), pursuant to Rule 701 of the Securities Act and (ii) under applicable state or other securities laws, including, without limitation, Section 25102(o) of the California Securities Act. In the event that any provision of the Plan would cause any Option granted under the Plan to not qualify for any Exemptions, the Plan shall be deemed automatically amended to the extent necessary to cause all Options granted under the Plan to qualify for such Exemptions.

ARTICLE II

Definitions

For purposes of the Plan, except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

Affiliate ” of any particular Person means any other Person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such particular Person, where “control” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct the management and policies of a Person whether through the ownership of voting securities, contract or otherwise.

Board ” shall mean the Board of Directors of the Company.

Cause ” shall mean (i) a Participant’s theft or embezzlement, or attempted theft or embezzlement, of money or property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, a Participant’s perpetration or attempted perpetration of fraud, or a Participant’s participation in a fraud or


Table of Contents

attempted fraud, on the Company or any of its subsidiaries or a Participant’s unauthorized appropriation of, or a Participant’s attempt to misappropriate, any tangible or intangible assets or property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, (ii) any act or acts of disloyalty, misconduct or moral turpitude by a Participant injurious to the interest, property, operations, business or reputation of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or a Participant’s conviction of a crime the commission of which results in injury to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) a Participant’s failure or inability (other than by reason of Disability) to carry out effectively his duties and obligations to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or to participate effectively and actively in the management of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, as determined in the good faith judgment of the Board.

Code ” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and any successor statute.

Committee ” shall mean the committee of the Board which may be designated by the Board to administer the Plan.

Common Stock ” shall mean the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, or if the outstanding Common Stock is hereafter changed into or exchanged for different stock or securities of the Company, such other stock or securities.

Company ” shall mean Performant Financial Corporation, a Delaware corporation, and any successor corporation.

Disability ” shall mean the inability, due to documented illness, accident, injury, physical or mental incapacity or other disability, of any Participant to carry out effectively his duties and obligations to the Company or to participate effectively and actively in the management of the Company for a period of at least 90 consecutive days or for shorter periods aggregating at least 120 days (whether or not consecutive) during any twelve-month period, as determined in the reasonable judgment of the Board.

Fair Market Value ” of the Common Stock shall be determined by the Committee or, in the absence of the Committee, by the Board.

Issued Shares ” shall mean (i) all Common Stock issued upon the proper exercise of an Option and (ii) all securities issued with respect to the Common Stock referred to in clause (i) above and the securities referred to in this clause (ii) by way of dividend or split or in connection with any conversion, merger, consolidation or recapitalization or other reorganization affecting the Common Stock or other securities described in this clause (ii). Unless provided otherwise herein or in a Participant’s Option Agreement (as defined below), Issued Shares will continue to be Issued Shares in the hands of any holder other than the Participant (except for the Company), and each such transferee thereof will succeed to the rights and obligations of a holder of Issued Shares hereunder.

Options ” shall have the meaning set forth in Article IV .

Parthenon ” means Parthenon DCS Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and its Affiliates.

 

2


Table of Contents

Participant ” shall mean any employee or other service provider of the Company who has been selected to participate in the Plan by the Committee or the Board.

Person ” means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, a joint stock company, a trust, a joint venture, an unincorporated organization and a governmental entity or any department, agency or political subdivision thereof.

Public Offering ” means a public offering and sale of common equity securities of the Company pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act; provided that a Public Offering shall not include an offering made in connection with a business acquisition or combination or an employee benefit plan.

Sale of the Company ” means any transaction or series of transactions pursuant to which any Person or group of related Persons (other than Parthenon) acquires, directly or indirectly, (i) equity securities of the Company possessing the voting power under normal circumstances to elect a majority of the Board, or (ii) all or substantially all of the Company’s assets determined on a consolidated basis (in either case, whether by merger, consolidation, sale or transfer of the Company’s equity securities, sale or transfer of the Company’s consolidated assets or otherwise), provided that a Sale of the Company shall not include a Public Offering or a simple reincorporation of the Company in another jurisdiction.

Securities Act ” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any similar federal law then in force.

ARTICLE III

Administration

The Plan shall be administered by the Committee; provided that if for any reason the Committee shall not have been appointed by the Board, all authority and duties of the Committee under the Plan shall be vested in and exercised by the Board. Subject to the limitations of the Plan, the Committee shall have the sole and complete authority to: (i) select Participants, (ii) grant Options (as defined in Article IV below) to Participants in such forms and amounts as it shall determine, (iii) impose such limitations, restrictions and conditions upon such Options as it shall deem appropriate, (iv) interpret the Plan and adopt, amend and rescind administrative guidelines and other rules and regulations relating to the Plan, (v) correct any defect or omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan or in any Option granted hereunder, (vi) determine whether the Options comply with requirements of Section 409A of the Code and (vii) make all other determinations and take all other actions necessary or advisable for the implementation and administration of the Plan. The Committee’s determinations on matters within its authority shall be conclusive and binding upon the Participants, the Company and all other Persons. All expenses associated with the administration of the Plan shall be borne by the Company. The Committee may, as approved by the Board and to the extent permissible by law, delegate any of its authority hereunder to such persons as it deems appropriate.

The Company may establish a committee of outside directors meeting the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code to (i) approve the grant of Options that might reasonably be

 

3


Table of Contents

anticipated to result in the payment of employee remuneration that would otherwise exceed the limit on employee remuneration deductible for income tax purposes by the Company pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code and (ii) administer the Plan. In such event, the powers reserved to the Committee in the Plan shall be exercised by such compensation committee. In addition, Options under the Plan shall be granted upon satisfaction of the conditions to such grants provided pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code and any Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

It is the Company’s intent that the options not be treated as a nonqualified deferred compensation plan that fails to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and that any ambiguities in construction be interpreted in order to effectuate such intent. Options under the Plan shall contain such terms as the Committee determines are appropriate to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code. In the event that, after the issuance of an option under the Plan, Section 409A of the Code or regulations thereunder are issued or amended, or the Internal Revenue Service or Treasury Department issues additional guidance interpreting Section 409A of the Code, the Committee may (but shall have no obligation to do so) amend or modify the terms of any such previously issued option to the extent the Committee determines that such amendment or modification is necessary to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

ARTICLE IV

Limitation on Aggregate Shares

The number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options may be granted under the Plan (the “ Options ”) and which may be issued upon the exercise thereof shall not exceed, in the aggregate, 1,500,000 shares (all of which shares may be, but are not required to be, issued pursuant to incentive stock options); provided that the type and the aggregate number of shares which may be subject to Options shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions of Section 6.8 below, and further provided that to the extent any Options expire unexercised or are canceled, terminated or forfeited in any manner without the issuance of Common Stock thereunder, such shares shall again be available under the Plan. The 1,500,000 shares of Common Stock available under the Plan may be either authorized and unissued shares, treasury shares or a combination thereof, as the Committee shall determine.

ARTICLE V

Awards

5.1 Options . The Committee may grant Options to Participants in accordance with this Article V .

5.2 Form of Option . It is within the Company’s discretion whether to grant nonqualified stock options or “incentive stock options” within the meaning of Section 422A of the Code or any successor provision, be granted under the Plan. The Committee, in its sole discretion, may from time to time grant to eligible participants nonqualified Stock Options or incentive stock options. The options granted shall take such form as the Committee shall determine, subject to the terms and conditions herein.

 

4


Table of Contents

5.3 Exercise Price . The option exercise price per share of Common Stock shall be fixed by the Committee at, at least, 100% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant, or such other price as may be determined by the Committee, unless the holder of such Option, in the case of incentive stock options, owns more than 10% of the Company’s or any of the Company’s Affiliates’ voting stock, in which case the exercise price will equal 125% of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the date of grant.

5.4 Exercisability . Options shall be exercisable at such time or times as the Committee shall determine, but in no event more than ten years from the date of grant.

5.5 Payment of Exercise Price . Options, to the extent exercisable, shall be exercised in whole or in part by written notice to the Company (to the attention of the Company’s Secretary) accompanied by payment in full of the option exercise price.

5.6 Terms of Options . The Committee shall determine the term of each Option, which term shall in no event exceed ten years from the date of grant.

ARTICLE VI

General Provisions

6.1 Conditions and Limitations on Exercise . Options may be made exercisable only upon the earlier of one or more of the events described in Section 5.4 , and to the extent not exercised in accordance with Section 5.4 , the Options shall not be exercisable and shall immediately terminate, except that: (i) if the separation from service of a Participant arises other than in connection with Participant’s discharge for Cause, such Participant’s Option shall expire 30 days after the date of such discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date or a Sale of the Company and (ii) if the separation from service of a Participant is due to Participant being discharged for Cause, such Participant’s Option shall expire 14 days after the date of such discharge, but in no event after the Expiration Date or a Sale of the Company.

6.2 Sale of the Company . In the event of a Sale of the Company, the Committee or the Board may provide, in its discretion, without further notice to holders of the Options, (i) that the Options shall become immediately exercisable by any Participants who are employed by the Company at the time of the Sale of the Company, (ii) that all Options shall automatically terminate if not exercised as of the date of the Sale of the Company or other prescribed period of time and/or (iii) for the assumption of the Options pursuant to Section 6.8 , it being understood that different determinations may be made with respect to different Participants.

6.3 Written Agreement . Each Option granted hereunder to a Participant shall be embodied in a written agreement (an “ Option Agreement ”) which shall be signed by the Participant and by the Chief Executive Officer or another senior executive officer of the Company for and in the name and on behalf of the Company and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan prescribed in the Agreement (including, but not limited to, (i) the right

 

5


Table of Contents

of the Company and such other Persons as the Committee shall designate (“ Designees ”) to repurchase from each Participant, and such Participant’s transferees, all shares of Common Stock issued or issuable to such Participant upon the exercise of an Option in the event of such Participant’s termination of employment, (ii) rights of first refusal granted to the Company and Designees, (iii) holdback and other registration right restrictions in the event of a public registration of any equity securities of the Company and (iv) any other terms and conditions which the Committee shall deem necessary and desirable).

6.4 Listing, Registration and Compliance with Laws and Regulations . Options shall be subject to the requirement that if at any time the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration or qualification of the shares subject to the Options upon any securities exchange or under any state or federal securities or other law or regulation, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body, is necessary or desirable as a condition to or in connection with the granting of the Options or the issuance or purchase of shares thereunder, no Options may be granted or exercised, in whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval shall have been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Committee. The holders of such Options shall supply the Company with such certificates, representations and information as the Company shall request and shall otherwise cooperate with the Company in obtaining such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval. In the case of officers and other Persons subject to Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Committee may at any time impose any limitations upon the exercise of an Option that, in the Committee’s discretion, are necessary or desirable in order to comply with such Section 16(b) and the rules and regulations thereunder. If the Company, as part of an offering of securities or otherwise, finds it desirable because of federal or state regulatory requirements to reduce the period during which any Options may be exercised, the Committee, may, in its discretion and without the Participant’s consent, so reduce such period on not less than 15 days written notice to the holders thereof.

6.5 Nontransferability . Options may not be transferred other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution and, during the lifetime of the Participant, may be exercised only by such Participant (or his legal guardian or legal representative). In the event of the death of a Participant, exercise of Options granted hereunder shall be made only:

(i) by the executor or administrator of the estate of the deceased Participant or the Person or Persons to whom the deceased Participant’s rights under the Option shall pass by will or the laws of descent and distribution; and

(ii) to the extent that the deceased Participant was entitled thereto at the date of his death, unless otherwise provided by the Committee in such Participant’s Option Agreement.

6.6 Normal Expiration of Options . In no event shall any part of any Option be exercisable after the date of expiration thereof (the “ Expiration Date ”), as determined by the Committee pursuant to Section 5.6 above.

6.7 Withholding of Taxes . The Company shall be entitled, if necessary or desirable, to withhold from any Participant from any amounts due and payable by the Company to such

 

6


Table of Contents

Participant (or secure payment from such Participant in lieu of withholding) the amount of any withholding or other tax due from the Company with respect to any shares issuable under the Options, and the Company may defer such issuance unless indemnified to its satisfaction. In the event that the Company or its Affiliates does not make such deductions or withholdings, Participant shall indemnify the Company and its Affiliates for any amounts paid or payable by the Company or any of its Affiliates with respect to any such taxes, together with any interest, penalties and additions to tax and any related expenses thereto.

6.8 Organic Change . Unless the Options held by a Participant are terminated in accordance with Section 6.2 above or pursuant to the terms of any Option Agreement, after the consummation of any “ Corporate Transaction ” (as defined in Treasury Regulation §1.424-1(a)(3) and including any merger to effect the reincorporation of the Company in another jurisdiction), if the requirements of Treasury Regulation §1.424-1 would be met with respect to the substitution or assumption of such Option assuming the Option were or is an incentive stock option as described in Code §422, the corporation that is the employer of the Participant after such Corporate Transaction or a related corporation (within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.421-1(i)(2)) shall, by reason of the Corporate Transaction, (i) substitute a new option for such Options or (ii) assume such Options. If the requirements of Treasury Regulation §1.424-1 cannot be satisfied even assuming the Option were an incentive stock option as described in Code §422, then such Options shall automatically be terminated and the Company, in the Board’s sole discretion, shall take such actions as are reasonably necessary to issue substantially similar options to Participants of the Plan.

6.9 Adjustments . Subject to Section 6.2 , in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend or stock split, or combination or other change in the shares of Common Stock or any merger, consolidation or exchange of shares, the Board or the Committee may, in order to prevent the dilution or enlargement of rights under outstanding Options, make such adjustments in the number and type of shares authorized by the Plan, the number and type of shares covered by outstanding Options and the exercise prices specified therein as may be determined to be appropriate and equitable.

6.10 Rights of Participants . Nothing in this Plan or in any Option Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Company to terminate any Participant’s employment at any time (with or without Cause), nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employ of the Company for any period of time or to continue his present (or any other) rate of compensation, and except as otherwise provided under this Plan or by the Committee in the Option Agreement, in the event of any Participant’s termination of employment (including, but not limited to, the termination by the Company without Cause) any portion of such Participant’s Option that was not previously vested and exercisable shall expire and be forfeited as of the date of such termination. No employee shall have a right to be selected as a Participant or, having been so selected, to be selected again as a Participant.

6.11 Amendment, Suspension and Termination of Plan . The Board or the Committee may suspend or terminate the Plan or any portion thereof at any time and may amend it from time to time in such respects as the Board or the Committee may deem advisable; provided that no such amendment shall be made without stockholder approval to the extent such approval is required by law, agreement or the rules of any exchange upon which the Common Stock is listed,

 

7


Table of Contents

and no such amendment, suspension or termination shall impair the rights of Participants under outstanding Options without the consent of the Participants affected thereby. No Options shall be granted hereunder after the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Plan.

6.12 Amendment, Modification and Cancellation of Outstanding Options . The Committee may amend or modify any Option in any manner to the extent that the Committee would have had the authority under the Plan initially to grant such Option; provided that no such amendment or modification shall impair the rights of any Participant under any Option without the consent of such Participant. With the Participant’s consent, the Committee may cancel any Option and issue a new Option to such Participant.

6.13 Indemnification . In addition to such other rights of indemnification as they may have as members of the Board or the Committee, the members of the Committee shall be indemnified by the Company against all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with any action, suit or proceeding to which they or any of them may be party by reason of any action taken or failure to act under or in connection with the Plan or any Option granted thereunder, and against all amounts paid by them in settlement thereof (provided such settlement is approved by independent legal counsel selected by the Company) or paid by them in satisfaction of a judgment in any such action, suit or proceeding; provided that any such Committee member shall be entitled to the indemnification rights set forth in this Section 6.12 only if such member has acted in good faith and in a manner that such member reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that such conduct was unlawful, and further provided that upon the institution of any such action, suit or proceeding a Committee member shall give the Company written notice thereof and an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before such Committee member undertakes to handle and defend it on his own behalf.

* * * *

 

8