UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

   

Current Report

 

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 14, 2015

 

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

         
         
         

Virginia

 

000-27022

 

54-1237042

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

   

5290 Concourse Drive

Roanoke, VA

 

24019

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(Zip Code)

 

(540) 265-0690

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

☐

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

☐

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

☐

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 
 
 

 

Table of Contents 

   

Item 8.01 Other Events

3

   

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

3

   

Signatures

4

   

Exhibits

 

 

 
2
 

 

Item  8.01 Other Events

 

On July 14, 2015, Optical Cable Corporation (“OCC ® ” or the “Company”) and BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC (“BB&T”) executed an Agreement whereby OCC will utilize BB&T to repurchase and retire up to 400,000 of the Company’s common stock (the “Agreement”), as approved by the Board of Directors of OCC. OCC anticipates that the purchases will be made during the next 24 to 36 months unless the entire number of shares expected to be purchased under the Agreement is sooner acquired. To date, there have been no purchases under the Agreement.

 

The press release announcing the repurchase plan is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

 

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

(d) Exhibits

 

The following is filed as an Exhibit to this Report.

 

     

Exhibit No.

  

Description of Exhibit

   

10.1

 

99.1

  

10b5-1 Repurchase Agreement (FILED HEREWITH)

 

Press release dated July 14, 2015 announcing the repurchase plan (FILED HEREWITH)

 

 

 
3
 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

     

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

   

By:

 

/s/ TRACY G. SMITH

Name:

 

Tracy G. Smith

Title:

 

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dated: July 14, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

Exhibit 10.1

 

 

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

10b5-1 REPURCHASE AGREEMENT

 

This 10b5-1 Repurchase Agreement (this “Repurchase Agreement”) is dated as of July 14, 2015, between Optical Cable Corporation, a Virginia corporation (the “Company”), and BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC. (“Broker”).

 

WHEREAS, the Company desires to repurchase shares of its common stock (the “Stock”) in the open market and in private transactions; and

 

WHEREAS, the Company desires to engage the Broker to effect repurchases of shares of Stock in accordance with this Repurchase Agreement;

 

NOW, THEREFORE, the Company and the Broker hereby agree as follows:

 

1.

Repurchases

 

A. Subject to the Company’s continued compliance with Section 2 hereof, the Broker shall (i) effect a purchase or purchases (each, a “Purchase”) of up to 400,000 shares of the Stock (the “Total Plan Shares”) as set forth in Attachment 1, and (ii) effect each Purchase in accordance with the trade parameters and trade order set forth in Attachment 1.

 

Attachment 1 may be amended from time to time by Company with any such amendment being effective as soon as possible immediately following receipt by Broker, but in no event later than the next business day. Any such amendment shall be delivered by email or by fax from the President, Chief Financial Officer or any employee designated by either to Broker. If delivered by fax, such fax shall be transmitted to (804-649-0597), Attention: Reid Burford. If delivered by email, such email shall be delivered to rburford@bbandtcm.com.

 

B. Purchases shall be made in the open market. The Broker shall comply with all applicable requirements of Rule 10b-18 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), specifically the requirements of paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(3) and (b)(4) of Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, in connection with Purchases of Stock in the open market pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement. The Company agrees not to take any action that would cause Purchases not to comply with Rule 10b-18, Rule 10b5-1 or Regulation M.

 

2.

Commission   and   Fees

 

The Company shall pay to the Broker a commission of $.02 cents per share of Stock repurchased pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement. In addition, the Company shall pay to the Broker the DWAC fee for the transfer agent. In accordance with the Broker’s customary procedures, the Broker will deposit shares of Stock purchased hereunder into an account established by the Broker for the Company against payment to the Broker of the purchase price therefor and commissions and other amounts in respect thereof payable pursuant to this Section. The Company will be notified of all transactions pursuant to customary trade confirmations.

 

3.

Term   of   the   Repurchase   Agreement

 

A. This Repurchase Agreement shall become effective immediately and shall terminate upon the first to occur of the following:

 

 

(i)

the ending of the Trading Period, if any, as set forth in Attachment 1;

     
  (ii)    the purchase of the number of Total Plan Shares pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement;
     
  (iii) the end of the second business day following the date of receipt by the Broker of notice of early termination signed by the Company’s President or Chief Financial Officer, delivered to the Broker by fax, transmitted to (804-649-0597), Attention: Reid Burford;
     
  (iv)     the commencement of any voluntary or involuntary case or other proceeding seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any bankruptcy, insolvency or similar law or seeking the appointment of a trustee, receiver or other similar official, or the taking of any corporate action by the Company to authorize or commence any of the foregoing;

 

 
 
 

 

  (v)   the public announcement of a tender or exchange offer for the Stock or of a merger, acquisition, recapitalization or other similar business combination or transaction as a result of which the Stock would be exchanged for or converted into cash, securities or other property; or
     
  (vi)  the failure of the Company to comply with Section 2 hereof.

 

B. Sections 2 and 13 of this Repurchase Agreement shall survive any termination hereof. In addition, the Company’s obligation under Section 2 hereof in respect of any shares of Stock purchased prior to any termination hereof shall survive any termination hereof.

 

4.

Market   Disruptions   and   Restrictions

 

The Company understands that the Broker may not be able to effect a Purchase due to a market disruption or a legal, regulatory or contractual restriction or internal policy applicable to the Broker or otherwise. If any Purchase cannot be executed as required by Section 1 due to a market disruption, a legal, regulatory or contractual restriction or internal policy applicable to the Broker or any other event, such Purchase shall be cancelled and shall not be effected pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement.

 

5.

Representations   of   Company

 

The Company represents and warrants, on the date hereof and on the date of any amendment hereto, that:

 

A. it is not aware of material, nonpublic information with respect to the Company or any securities of the Company (including the Stock);

 

B. it is entering into or amending, as the case may be, this Repurchase Agreement in good faith and not as part of a plan or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act or other applicable securities laws; and

 

C. its execution of this Repurchase Agreement or amendment hereto, as the case may be, and the Purchases contemplated hereby do not and will not violate or conflict with the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws or, if applicable, any similar constituent document, or any law, rule, regulation or agreement binding on or applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its or of their property or assets.

 

6.

Rules   10b5-1   and   10b-18

 

It is the intent of the parties that this Repurchase Agreement comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, and this Repurchase Agreement shall be interpreted to comply with the requirements thereof.

 

7.

Notification   and   Indemnification

 

The Company shall, on the business day prior to the intended date of such purchase, notify the Broker of the intention on the part of any affiliated purchaser, as defined in Rule 10b-18, of the Company to purchase the Stock on any day if such purchase is to be effected otherwise than through the Broker pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement and the Broker shall refrain from purchasing any Stock hereunder on the day following receipt of such notice. The Company shall be solely responsible for any purchases made by the Broker as the Company’s agent prior to the Broker’s receipt of such written notice. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Broker receives such notice, the Broker may nevertheless be entitled to make, and the Company shall be solely responsible for, a purchase hereunder pursuant to a bid made before such notice is received by the Broker. The Company shall be solely responsible for notifying the Broker of any purchases of the Stock by any such affiliated purchaser, and, without limiting the generality of Section 14 hereof, the Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Broker for any failure to so notify the Broker or any error in any such notification. The Company also acknowledges that any action that it takes that causes or influences any such affiliated purchaser to purchase the Stock may cause the Daily Share Purchase Amount to be reduced.

 

 
 
 

 

8.

Exclusive   Agreement

 

At the time of the Company’s execution of this Repurchase Agreement, the Company has not entered into a similar agreement with respect to the Stock. The Company agrees not to enter into any such agreement while this Repurchase Agreement remains in effect.

 

9.

Compliance

 

Except as specifically contemplated hereby, the Company shall be solely responsible for compliance with all statutes, rules and regulations applicable to the Company and the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, reporting and filing requirements.

 

10.

Applicable   Law

 

This Repurchase Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia (without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions), and may be modified or amended only by a writing signed by the parties hereto.

 

11.

Authorization   of   Program

 

The Company represents and warrants that the transactions contemplated hereby are consistent with the Company’s publicly announced stock repurchase program (“Program”) and said Program has been duly authorized by the Company’s Board of Directors.

 

12.

Stock   Splits

 

The number of Total Plan Shares, other share amounts and prices, if applicable, set forth in section 1(a) shall be adjusted automatically on a proportionate basis to take into account any stock split, reverse stock split or stock dividend with respect to the Stock or any change in capitalization with respect to the Company that occurs during the term of this Repurchase Agreement.

 

13.

Authority;   Influence   and   Control

 

Except as contemplated by Section 1.A. and Section 3.A. iii. of this Repurchase Agreement, the Company acknowledges and agrees that it will have limited authority, influence or control over any Purchase effected by the Broker pursuant to this Repurchase Agreement and the Company will not attempt to exercise any authority, influence or control over Purchases. The Broker agrees not to seek advice from the Company with respect to the manner in which it effects Purchases under this Repurchase Agreement.

 

14.

Indemnification

 

The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Broker and its affiliates and their officers, directors, employees and representatives against any loss, claim, damage or liability, including legal fees and expenses, arising out of any action or proceeding relating to this Repurchase Agreement or any Purchase, except to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability is determined in a non-appealable determination of a court of competent jurisdiction to be solely the result of the indemnified person’s willful misconduct or gross negligence.

 

 
 
 

 

15.

Counterparts

 

This Repurchase Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, all of which, taken together, shall constitute one and the same agreement.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have signed this Repurchase Agreement as of the date first written above.

 

                 

BB&T Capital Markets,

a division of BB&T Securities, LLC

 

 

 

Optical Cable Corporation

     

 /s/ Reid Burford

 

 

 

 /s/ Tracy G. Smith

By:

 

Reid Burford

 

 

 

By:

 

Tracy G. Smith

Its:

 

Managing Director, Corporate Equity Services

 

 

 

Its:

 

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

Exhibit 99.1

 

 

 

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

5290 Concourse Drive

Roanoke, VA 24019

(Nasdaq GM: OCC)

www.occfiber.com

AT THE COMPANY:  

 

Neil Wilkin   

Tracy Smith

Chairman, President & CEO

Senior Vice President & CFO

(540) 265-0690  (540) 265-0690
investorrelations@occfiber.com     investorrelations@occfiber.com
   

AT JOELE FRANK, WILKINSON BRIMMER KATCHER:

   
Andrew Siegel   Aaron Palash
(212) 355-4449 ext. 127     (212) 355-4449 ext. 103
occ-jfwbk@joelefrank.com    occ-jfwbk@joelefrank.com

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

 

OPTICAL CABLE CORPORATION

ANNOUNCES SHARE REPURCHASE PLAN

 

ROANOKE, VA, Ju ly 14 , 2015 — Optical Cable Corporation (Nasdaq GM: OCC) (“OCC ® ” or the “Company”) today announced that the Company’s Board of Directors has approved a plan to purchase and retire up to 400,000 shares of OCC’s common stock, or approximately 6 percent of the current shares outstanding. OCC anticipates that the purchases will be made during the next 24 to 36 months.

 

“The repurchase plan announced today underscores the Board of Directors’ continuing confidence and belief in OCC’s long-term prospects. OCC’s strong balance sheet and cash flow from operating activities give us the flexibility to invest in our business and institute this repurchase plan,” stated Neil Wilkin, President and CEO of Optical Cable Corporation.

 

OCC expects to purchase shares from time to time in open market transactions. The timing and the amount of any purchases will be determined periodically by the Company’s management based on its evaluation of market conditions, capital allocation alternatives and other factors. The new share repurchase program does not require the Company to acquire any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended, extended or terminated by the Company at any time without prior notice. OCC will execute purchases only during periods which the Company’s management and the Board of Directors are not aware of material inside information that would likely affect a seller’s decision to sell.

 

As of July 14, 2015, OCC had approximately 7.1 million common shares outstanding.

 

 
 
 

 

Company Information

 

Optical Cable Corporation (“OCC ® ”) is a leading manufacturer of a broad range of fiber optic and copper data communication cabling and connectivity solutions primarily for the enterprise market (or non-carrier market), offering an integrated suite of high quality products which operate as a system solution or seamlessly integrate with other providers’ offerings. OCC’s product offerings include designs for uses ranging from commercial, enterprise network, datacenter, residential and campus installations to customized products for specialty applications and harsh environments, including military, industrial, mining, petrochemical, wireless carrier and broadcast applications. OCC products include fiber optic and copper cabling, fiber optic and copper connectors, specialty fiber optic and copper connectors, fiber optic and copper patch cords, pre-terminated fiber optic and copper cable assemblies, racks, cabinets, datacom enclosures, fiber optic and copper patch panels, face plates, multi-media boxes, fiber optic reels and accessories and other cable and connectivity management accessories. OCC products are designed to meet the most demanding needs of end-users, delivering a high degree of reliability and outstanding performance characteristics. 

 

OCC ® is internationally recognized for pioneering the design and production of fiber optic cables for the most demanding military field applications, as well as of fiber optic cables suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, and creating a broad product offering built on the evolution of these fundamental technologies. OCC also is internationally recognized for its role in establishing copper connectivity data communications standards, through its innovative and patented technologies.

 

Founded in 1983, OCC is headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia with offices, manufacturing and warehouse facilities located in each of Roanoke, Virginia, near Asheville, North Carolina and near Dallas, Texas. OCC’s facilities are ISO 9001:2008 registered and OCC’s Roanoke and Dallas facilities are MIL-STD-790F certified.

 

Optical Cable Corporation, OCC ® , Procyon ® , Procyon Blade™, Superior Modular Products, SMP Data Communications, Applied Optical Systems, and associated logos are trademarks of Optical Cable Corporation.

 

Further information about OCC ® is available at www.occfiber.com.

 

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

 

This news release by Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company” or “OCC”) may contain certain forward-looking information within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking information may include, among other information, (i) statements concerning our outlook for the future, (ii) statements of belief, anticipation or expectation, (iii) future plans, strategies or anticipated events, and (iv) similar information and statements concerning matters that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our expectations, and such known and unknown variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks may also adversely affect Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries, the Company’s future results of operations and future financial condition, and/or the future equity value of the Company. A partial list of such variables, uncertainties, contingencies and risks that could cause or contribute to such differences from our expectations or that could otherwise adversely affect Optical Cable Corporation and its subsidiaries is set forth in Optical Cable Corporation’s quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the heading “Forward-Looking Information.” OCC’s quarterly and annual reports are available to the public on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In providing forward-looking information, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update this information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

 

 

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