UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
DC 20549
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VITACOST.COM INC.
(Name of
Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
(Name of
Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other than the Registrant)
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5400
Broken Sound Blvd., NW, Suite 500
Boca
Raton, Florida 33487
May 28,
2010
To All of
Our Stockholders:
You are
probably aware that the largest affiliated group of stockholders of Vitacost.com
Inc. (the “Company”), Great Hill Investors, LLC, Great Hill Equity Partners III,
L.P. and Great Hill Equity Partners IV, L.P. (collectively, “Great Hill”), is
soliciting written consents: (i) to amend the Company’s bylaws, as currently in
effect (the “Bylaws”), to allow the Company’s stockholders to fill any
vacancies, however caused, on the Board of Directors of the Company (the
“Board”); (ii) to remove, without cause, four current members of your Board; and
(iii) to elect four of Great Hill’s nominees, Messrs. Christopher S. Gaffney,
Mark A. Jung, Michael A. Kumin and Jeffrey M. Stibel, as insurgent directors of
the Company. Great Hill proposes to do this by soliciting your
written consent to three dissident proposals, each of which is described in the
enclosed document.
In short,
Great Hill is asking you to give your written consent to handing control of the
Board to Mr. Gaffney, a Managing Partner and co-founder of Great Hill Partners,
LLC (“GHP”), Mr. Kumin, who is a Partner with GHP, and two of their nominees,
none of whom have industry experience in health and wellness products, without
proper evaluation by your Board’s Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee (the
“Nominating Committee”). Great Hill asks you to hand over such
control without a payment to all of the Company’s stockholders and, by its own
admission, without specific plans to implement the Company’s growth and
expansion or any plan to support your current management. Indeed,
although no decisions have been made by management at this time, Great Hill has
not disclosed any plan for finding substitutes for your current management
should they choose to resign if Great Hill obtains one or more director seats on
your Board.
Great
Hill’s ownership of approximately 19.7% of our shares already allows it to
significantly influence the outcome of every transaction that may be submitted
to a vote of our stockholders, including a merger, business combination or other
extraordinary corporate transaction that could deliver a premium to all of the
Company’s stockholders for their shares. In addition, if you provide
written consent to all three of Great Hill’s dissident proposals (in their
entirety), Great Hill’s nominees will comprise four of the seven members of your
Board – a majority. If this happens, these insurgent directors would
have the ability, if acting together, to make binding decisions of your Board,
including with respect to ordinary corporate matters not necessarily affecting
the value of the Company’s common stock, and also with respect to whether to
give the Company’s stockholders the ability to vote on a merger, business
combination or other extraordinary corporate transaction that may provide a
premium to all of the Company’s stockholders for their shares.
Your
current Board is committed to the long-term growth and success of the Company,
and to enhancing the value of the shares of all stockholders. In
furtherance of this goal and recognizing that the current Board needed
compositional change, the Company announced, prior to Great Hill’s nomination of
its director nominees, the engagement of an independent executive search and
consulting firm to help identify, evaluate and ultimately submit for election at
the Company’s 2010 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2010 Annual Meeting”),
several new, experienced, qualified and independent individuals to replace
several members of your current Board. While this process is not
complete, it is well underway. No decision has been made at this time
as to which members of our current Board will be replaced. Such
decision will be made in connection with the 2010 Annual
Meeting.
Your
Board and management are continuing to focus on improving
operations. As you know, the Company recently opened a new 155,000
square foot distribution center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This new
distribution center implements new, automated technologies that the Company
expects will materially improve productivity, create efficiencies and support
the Company’s continued growth. The Company also recently announced
the expansion of its East Coast manufacturing and distribution facility in
Lexington, North Carolina. The Company is also taking proactive steps
to correct the short-term manufacturing logistics situation it experienced in
the first quarter of 2010. In addition, your Board has formed a
Strategic Alternatives Committee of the Board, which has commenced a formal
process to identify and evaluate the Company’s strategic and financial
alternatives to enhance stockholder value. The Company has engaged
Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a large and nationally recognized investment
banking firm, as its exclusive financial advisor in connection with this
process, which includes the identification of potential business combination
partners and purchaser candidates. The Company can make no assurances
that a transaction will occur.
The
Company believes that Great Hill’s proposal to amend the Bylaws to allow
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board could be
detrimental to the Company and all of our stockholders, and a distraction to the
Board and the Company because any stockholder, no matter how few shares he or
she owns, will have the ability to nominate director(s) of his or her own
choosing. The Company believes that to allow the Company’s
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board, regardless of
the fitness or suitability of the stockholder’s nominee(s), would not represent
good corporate governance, would do little to further the Company’s strategic
business plan, and could be detrimental to the Company and all of our
stockholders.
We
believe, for the reasons stated above and described in greater detail in the
enclosed document, that Great Hill’s actions are not in the best interests of
all of our stockholders and that Great Hill’s dissident nominees are not the
solution to a compositional change of your Board.
We urge you not to give your written
consent to Great Hill’s proposals, and recommend that you instead permit your
current Board and management an opportunity to put into action and achieve the
goals set forth in our strategic business plan and our orderly plan to
thoughtfully recompose the Board with several new, experienced, qualified and
independent individuals.
Allen S. Josephs, M.D., a director
and founder of the Company, who possesses voting control over approximately 7.1%
of the Company’s common stock, and Robert G. Trapp, M.D., a director of the
Company, who possesses voting control over approximately 2.7% of the Company’s
common stock, have indicated to the Board that they presently intend to consent,
in their capacity as stockholders, “for” proposal no. 1 in Great Hill’s consent
statement, to remove one or more of the current Company directors indicated in
proposal no. 2 in Great Hill’s consent statement, and to elect one or more of
Great Hill’s director nominees listed in proposal no. 3 in Great Hill’s consent
statement.
You can
reject Great Hill’s proposals in three ways. First, do
NOT
sign or submit Great
Hill’s WHITE consent card. Second, if you have already signed and
submitted to Great Hill or MacKenzie Partners, Inc. a WHITE consent card, you
may revoke that consent by immediately marking, signing, dating and mailing the
enclosed
GOLD
Consent
Revocation Card. Finally, if you have not signed or submitted Great
Hill’s WHITE consent card, you can show your support for your current Board by
marking, signing, dating and mailing the enclosed
GOLD
Consent Revocation
Card. REGARDLESS OF THE NUMBER OF SHARES YOU OWN, YOUR REVOCATION OF
CONSENT IS VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE ACT TODAY. Thank you for
your support.
Very
truly yours,
/s/
Ira P. Kerker
Ira P.
Kerker
Chief Executive Officer
If you
have any questions about revoking any consent you may have previously given, or
if you require assistance, please contact the Company’s consent revocation
solicitor:
The
Altman Group, Inc.
1200 Wall
Street West, 3rd Floor
Lyndhurst,
NJ 07071
Call Toll
Free: (800) 591-8269
Email:
proxyinfo@altmangroup.com
Facsimile:
(201) 460-0050
5400
Broken Sound Blvd., NW, Suite 500
Boca
Raton, Florida 33487
May 28,
2010
CONSENT
REVOCATION STATEMENT
BY
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VITACOST.COM INC.
IN
OPPOSITION TO
A
CONSENT SOLICITATION BY GREAT HILL INVESTORS, LLC, GREAT HILL
EQUITY
PARTNERS
III, L.P. AND GREAT HILL EQUITY PARTNERS IV, L.P.
This
Consent Revocation Statement is furnished by the Board of Directors (the
“Board”) of Vitacost.com Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Vitacost” or the
“Company”), to all holders of outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock,
par value $0.00001 per share (“Common Stock”), in connection with your Board’s
opposition to the solicitation of stockholder written consents by dissident
stockholders, Great Hill Investors, LLC, Great Hill Equity Partners III, L.P.
and Great Hill Equity Partners IV, L.P. (collectively, “Great
Hill”). As of May 25, 2010, Great Hill, the Company’s largest
affiliated group of stockholders, held shares that it purchased on March 23,
2010 from one of the Company’s co-founders and former Chief Operations
Architect, and certain other stockholders in privately negotiated block
transactions representing, in the aggregate, approximately 19.7% of the
Company’s outstanding Common Stock. Great Hill Investors, LLC (“GHI”)
is a Massachusetts limited liability company. Great Hill Equity
Partners III, L.P. (“GHPIII”) and Great Hill Equity Partners IV, L.P. (“GHPIV”)
are Delaware limited partnerships. Mr. Christopher S. Gaffney is a
manager of GHI, a manager of the general partners of GHPIII and GHPIV, and a
Managing Partner with, and one of the co-founders of, Great Hill Partners, LLC
(“GHP”), an affiliate of Great Hill. Mr. Michael A. Kumin is a
Partner with GHP.
On May
11, 2010, Great Hill filed preliminary consent solicitation materials with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), thereby publicly announcing its
intent to solicit stockholder written consents to amend the Company’s bylaws, as
currently in effect (the “Bylaws”), and to remove four current members of the
Board and replace them with four of its own nominees (the “Consent
Solicitation”). On May 17, 2010, Great Hill filed Amendment No. 1 to
its preliminary consent solicitation statement with the SEC in connection with
the Consent Solicitation. On May 25, 2010, Great Hill filed its
definitive consent solicitation statement with the SEC in connection with the
Consent Solicitation. Great Hill proposes to remove four of your
current directors “without cause” and replace them without input from your
Board’s Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee (the “Nominating
Committee”).
Great
Hill’s ownership of approximately 19.7% of our shares already allows it to
significantly influence the outcome of every transaction that may be submitted
to our stockholders for a vote, including a merger, business combination or
other extraordinary corporate transaction that could deliver a premium to all of
the Company’s stockholders for their shares. In addition, if you
provide written consent to all three of Great Hill’s proposals (in their
entirety), Great Hill’s nominees will comprise a majority of your Board and
would have the ability, if acting together, to make binding decisions of your
Board, including with respect to ordinary corporate matters not necessarily
affecting the value of the Company’s Common Stock, and also with respect to
whether to give the Company’s stockholders the ability to vote on a merger,
business combination or other extraordinary corporate transaction that may
provide a premium to all of the Company’s stockholders for their
shares.
Your
current Board is committed to the long-term growth and success of the Company
and to enhancing the value of the shares of all stockholders. In
furtherance of this goal and recognizing that the current Board needed a
compositional change, the Company announced, prior to Great Hill’s nomination of
its director nominees, the engagement of an independent executive search and
consulting firm to help identify, evaluate and ultimately submit for election at
the 2010 annual meeting of the Company’s stockholders (the “2010 Annual
Meeting”), several new, experienced, qualified and independent individuals to
replace several members of your current Board. While this process is
not complete, it is well underway. No decision has been made at this
time as to which members of our current Board will be replaced. Such
decision will be made in connection with the 2010 Annual
Meeting.
Without
giving the Company an opportunity to effect its previously announced plan to
identify and present to our stockholders at the 2010 Annual Meeting, new,
experienced, qualified and independent candidates for election to your Board,
Great Hill initiated its dissident Consent Solicitation. Great Hill’s
dissident Consent Solicitation seriously jeopardizes our ability to attract and
retain the new, experienced, qualified and independent director candidates
sought by the Company, including candidates having experience in our industry,
unlike Great Hill’s nominees. Further, your Board is concerned that
the Consent Solicitation is distracting your Board and our management from
executing our strategic plan to deliver value for all of the Company’s
stockholders.
Your
Board and management are continuing to focus on improving
operations. As you know, the Company recently opened a new 155,000
square foot distribution center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This new
distribution center implements new, automated technologies that the Company
expects will materially improve productivity, create efficiencies and support
the Company’s continued growth. The Company also recently announced
the expansion of its East Coast manufacturing and distribution facility in
Lexington, North Carolina. The Company is also taking proactive steps
to correct the short-term manufacturing logistics situation it experienced in
the first quarter of 2010. In addition, your Board has formed a
Strategic Alternatives Committee of the Board, which has commenced a formal
process to identify and evaluate the Company’s strategic and financial
alternatives to enhance stockholder value. The Company has engaged
Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a large and nationally recognized investment
banking firm, as its exclusive financial advisor in connection with this
process, which includes the identification of potential business combination
partners and purchaser candidates. The Company can make no assurances
that a transaction will occur.
The
Company believes that Great Hill’s proposal to amend the Bylaws to allow
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board could be
detrimental to the Company and all of our stockholders, and a distraction to the
Board and the Company because any stockholder, no matter how few shares he or
she owns, will have the ability to nominate director(s) of his or her own
choosing. The Company believes that to allow the Company’s
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board, regardless of
the fitness or suitability of the stockholder’s nominee(s), would not represent
good corporate governance, would do little to further the Company’s strategic
business plan, and could be detrimental to the Company and all of our
stockholders.
We
believe that Great Hill’s actions are not in the best interests of all of our
stockholders and that Great Hill’s dissident nominees are not the solution to a
compositional change of your Board.
We urge
you not to give your written consent to Great Hill’s proposals, and recommend
that you instead permit your current Board and management an opportunity to put
into action and achieve the goals set forth in our strategic business plan and
our orderly plan to thoughtfully recompose the Board with several new,
experienced, qualified and independent individuals. Allen S. Josephs,
M.D., a director and founder of the Company, who possesses voting control over
approximately 7.1% of the Company’s Common Stock, and Robert G. Trapp, M.D., a
director of the Company, who possesses voting control over approximately 2.7% of
the Company’s Common Stock, have indicated to the Board that they presently
intend to consent, in their capacity as stockholders, “for” proposal no. 1 in
Great Hill’s consent statement, to remove one or more of the current Company
directors indicated in proposal no. 2 in Great Hill’s consent statement, and to
elect one or more of Great Hill’s director nominees listed in proposal no. 3 in
Great Hill’s consent statement.
This
Consent Revocation Statement and the enclosed GOLD Consent Revocation Card are
first being mailed to stockholders on or about May 28, 2010.
Important
Notice Regarding the Availability of Consent Revocation Materials for this
Consent Revocation Solicitation
This
Consent Revocation Statement is available at
http://investor.vitacost.com.
YOUR
BOARD URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY DISSIDENT WHITE CONSENT CARD SENT TO
YOU BY OR ON BEHALF OF GREAT HILL, BUT INSTEAD TO MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN
THE COMPANY’S GOLD CONSENT REVOCATION CARD INCLUDED WITH THESE
MATERIALS.
If you
have previously signed and returned the WHITE consent card, you have every right
to change your vote and revoke your consent. Whether or not you have
signed and returned the WHITE consent card, we urge you to mark the “
YES, REVOKE MY CONSENT
” boxes
on the enclosed
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card and to sign, date and mail the card to The Altman Group,
Inc., at P.O. Box 268, Lyndhurst, NJ 07017 in the enclosed postage-paid
envelope. Although submitting a GOLD Consent Revocation Card will not
have any legal effect if you have not previously submitted a WHITE consent card,
it will help us to keep track of the progress of the consent revocation
process. Regardless of the number of shares you own, your consent
revocation is very important. Please act today.
If your
shares are held of record in “street name,” only your broker or your nominee can
act with respect to your shares. Please contact the person
responsible for your account and instruct him or her to submit a
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card
on your behalf today.
In
accordance with Delaware law and the Bylaws, and in reliance on Great Hill’s
written request that your Board fix a record date, the Board has fixed a record
date of June 2, 2010 (the “Record Date”) for the determination of the Company’s
stockholders who are entitled to execute, withhold or revoke consents relating
to the Consent Solicitation. Only stockholders of record as of the
close of business on June 2, 2010 may execute, withhold or revoke consents with
respect to the Consent Solicitation.
If you
have any questions about giving your consent revocation or require assistance,
please call:
The
Altman Group, Inc.
1200 Wall
Street West, 3rd Floor
Lyndhurst,
NJ 07071
Call Toll
Free: (800) 591-8269
Email:
proxyinfo@altmangroup.com
Facsimile:
(201) 460-0050
QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS ABOUT THIS CONSENT REVOCATION STATEMENT
Q: WHO
IS MAKING THIS SOLICITATION?
A: Your
Board, on behalf of the Company.
Q: WHAT
ARE WE ASKING YOU TO DO?
A: You
are being asked to revoke any consent that you may have previously delivered in
support of the proposals described in the Consent Solicitation materials and, by
doing so, allow your current Board and management to put into action and achieve
the goals set forth in our strategic business plan and our orderly plan to
thoughtfully recompose your Board with several new, experienced, qualified and
independent individuals.
Q: IF
I HAVE ALREADY DELIVERED A CONSENT, IS IT TOO LATE FOR ME TO CHANGE MY
VOTE?
A: No. Until
a requisite number of duly executed, unrevoked consents are delivered to the
Company in accordance with Delaware law and the Company’s organizational
documents and certified by the inspectors, the consent will not become effective
as stockholder action. At any time prior to the consents becoming
effective, you have the right to revoke your consent by delivering a GOLD
Consent Revocation Card, as discussed in the following question.
Q: WHAT
IS THE EFFECT OF DELIVERING A
GOLD
CONSENT REVOCATION
CARD?
A: By
marking the “
YES, REVOKE MY
CONSENT
” boxes on the enclosed GOLD Consent Revocation Card and by
signing, dating and mailing the card in the postage-paid envelope provided, you
will revoke any earlier-dated consent that you may have delivered to Great
Hill. Even if you have not submitted a WHITE consent card, you may
submit your consent revocation as described above. Although
submitting a
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card will not have any legal effect if you have not
previously submitted a WHITE consent card, it will help us keep track of the
progress of the consent revocation process.
Q: WHAT
SHOULD I DO TO REVOKE MY CONSENT?
A: Mark
the “
YES, REVOKE MY
CONSENT
” boxes next to each proposal listed on the enclosed GOLD Consent
Revocation Card. Then sign, date and return the enclosed
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card
today to The Altman Group, Inc. at P.O. Box 268, Lyndhurst, NJ 07017 in the
enclosed postage-paid envelope. It is very important that you date
the
GOLD
Consent
Revocation Card when you sign it.
Q: WHAT
HAPPENS IF I DO NOTHING?
A: If
you do not return either the
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card
or the WHITE consent card you have received, you will effectively be voting
AGAINST Great Hill’s proposals. If you previously marked, signed,
dated and mailed a WHITE consent card, and you do nothing more, then you will be
voting FOR Great Hill’s proposals.
Q: WHAT
IS THE BOARD’S POSITION WITH RESPECT TO GREAT HILL’S PROPOSALS?
A: Your
Board has determined that Great Hill’s proposals are not in the best interests
of the Company and all of our stockholders and that stockholders should reject
the proposals. The Board’s reasons and recommendations are contained
in the section entitled “Reasons to Reject Great Hill’s Consent Solicitation
Proposals.”
Q: WHAT
DOES THE BOARD RECOMMEND?
A: The
Board strongly believes that the Consent Solicitation is not in the best
interests of the Company and all of our stockholders. The Board
opposes the Consent Solicitation by Great Hill and urges stockholders to reject
the Consent Solicitation and revoke any consent previously
submitted. Allen S. Josephs, M.D., a director and founder of the
Company, who possesses voting control over approximately 7.1% of the Company’s
Common Stock, and Robert G. Trapp, M.D., a director of the Company, who
possesses voting control over approximately 2.7% of the Company’s Common Stock,
have indicated to the Board that they presently intend to consent, in their
capacity as stockholders, “for” proposal no. 1 in Great Hill’s consent
statement, to remove one or more of the current Company directors indicated in
proposal no. 2 in Great Hill’s consent statement, and to elect one or more of
Great Hill’s director nominees listed in proposal no. 3 in Great Hill’s consent
statement.
Q: WHO
IS ENTITLED TO CONSENT, WITHHOLD CONSENT OR REVOKE A PREVIOUSLY GIVEN CONSENT
WITH RESPECT TO GREAT HILL’S PROPOSALS?
A: Only
the stockholders of record of our Common Stock on the Record Date are entitled
to consent, withhold consent or revoke a previously given consent with respect
to Great Hill’s proposals. A Record Date of June 2, 2010 has been
established by your Board.
Q: WHO
SHOULD I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SOLICITATION?
A: Please
call The Altman Group, Inc. toll free at (800) 591-8269. You may also
contact The Altman Group, Inc. at proxyinfo@altmangroup.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This
Consent Revocation Statement and other reports and proxy statements filed with
the SEC, communications to stockholders, press releases and oral statements made
by representatives of the Company contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) that relate to possible
future events, our future performance, and our future operations. In
some cases, you can identify such forward-looking statements by the use of words
such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “plans,”
“future,” “intends,” “could,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or
the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, but these words are
not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such
statements are only our predictions. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements as a result
of the risk factors set forth from time to time in filings we make with the SEC,
including our annual reports on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form
10-Q. Therefore, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activities, performance or achievements. Except to the extent
required under the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations
promulgated by the SEC, we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements included herein, whether as a result of new information, future
events or circumstances, or otherwise.
DESCRIPTION
OF GREAT HILL’S CONSENT SOLICITATION
As set
forth in the Consent Solicitation materials filed with the SEC, Great Hill is
seeking your consent for the following proposals:
(1) to
amend Article IV, Section 4.3 of the Bylaws in order to allow the stockholders
to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board of Directors of the Company
(the “Bylaw Proposal”);
(2) to
remove, without cause, the following four members of the Board (and any person
or persons, other than those elected by the Consent Solicitation, elected,
appointed or designated by the Board to fill any vacancy or newly created
directorship on or after May 11, 2010 and prior to the time that any of the
actions proposed to be taken by the Consent Solicitation become effective): Eran
Ezra, Stewart L. Gitler, David N. Ilfeld, M.D. and Lawrence A. Pabst, M.D. (the
“Removal Proposal”); and
(3) to
elect Christopher S. Gaffney, Mark A. Jung, Michael A. Kumin and Jeffrey M.
Stibel to serve as directors of the Company until the next annual meeting of
stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified (the
“Board Election Proposal”).
BACKGROUND
OF THE CONSENT SOLICITATION
In early
2008, representatives of the Company met with representatives of Great Hill to
discuss a possible investment in the Company by Great Hill. Great Hill entered
into a non-disclosure agreement with the Company after which Great Hill
conducted weeks of due diligence on the Company. Great Hill chose not to proceed
with an investment in the Company at that time.
In
September 2009, the Company’s initial public offering of Common Stock, in which
11 million shares of Common Stock were sold to the public at an offering price
of $12.00 per share, was completed. The offering included
approximately 4.4 million shares sold by the Company and approximately 6.6
million shares sold by certain selling stockholders.
In
December 2009, representatives of Great Hill met with representatives of the
Company to discuss Great Hill’s possible purchase of shares of Common Stock from
certain of the Company’s stockholders.
According
to the Consent Solicitation materials, in January 2010 representatives of Great
Hill approached Wayne Gorsek, one of the Company’s co-founders and former Chief
Operations Architect, about acquiring some or all of his shares of Common
Stock. At the time, Mr. Gorsek beneficially owned approximately 4.8
million shares of Common Stock, representing approximately 17.4% of the
outstanding Common Stock.
At
various times in January, February and March 2010, representatives of Great Hill
discussed with representatives of the Company, Great Hill’s possible purchase of
shares of Common Stock from certain of the Company’s stockholders, including Mr.
Gorsek. During these discussions, representatives of Great Hill
conveyed to representatives of the Company that, as part of its purchase of
shares of Common Stock from certain of the Company’s stockholders, Great Hill
would require certain governance rights, including, among other things, the
right to designate members of your Board.
In
February 2010, the Board formed a Strategic Alternatives Committee (the
“Strategic Alternatives Committee”) consisting of members of the Board to work
with our management and professional advisors to explore, identify, review and
report to your Board, potential strategic and financial alternatives in the best
interests of the Company and all of our stockholders. The Company has
engaged Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a large and nationally recognized
investment banking firm, as its exclusive financial advisor in connection with
this process.
In March
2010, representatives of the Company met with representatives of Great Hill in
person at Great Hill’s request. The parties discussed Great Hill’s
desire to purchase shares of Common Stock from Mr. Gorsek and others, as well as
Great Hill’s desire to acquire an aggregate of up to 30% of the Company’s
outstanding Common Stock from certain stockholders and to obtain not less than
four seats on your Board. The parties agreed to negotiate, in good
faith, a standstill agreement, which would provide Great Hill with immediate
Board representation, subject to proper evaluation by the Nominating Committee
and the Board. At the end of the meeting, representatives of Great
Hill represented to the Company that Great Hill would not purchase the shares of
Common Stock if the Company intended to contest Great Hill’s obtaining Board
control.
Throughout
March 2010, representatives of the Company and representatives of Great Hill
negotiated on several occasions in an attempt to reach an appropriate framework
for a mutually acceptable standstill agreement. While in negotiations
with Great Hill, representatives of the Company learned that Great Hill had
already entered into a stock purchase agreement with Mr. Gorsek. In
response to Great Hill’s actions, your Board discussed implementing a
stockholder rights plan.
On March
23, 2010, Great Hill filed a statement on Schedule 13D with the SEC disclosing
that it had purchased on such date from Mr. Gorsek and certain other
stockholders, in privately negotiated transactions, an aggregate of 5,419,697
shares, representing approximately 19.7% of the Company’s outstanding Common
Stock at that time for $11.25 per share. The Schedule 13D stated that
Great Hill had previously had discussions with the Company about obtaining
certain Board nomination rights and other communication and participation rights
for Great Hill for as long as its ownership was maintained at a specified level,
in exchange for various agreements by Great Hill. The Schedule 13D
also stated that no agreement between the Company and Great Hill had been
reached on such matters as of such date, and that Great Hill might communicate
with the Board, members of management and/or other stockholders from time to
time with respect to operational, strategic, financial or governance matters or
otherwise work with management and the Board with a view to maximizing
stockholder value.
In your
Board’s judgment, Great Hill’s stated desire to acquire up to 30% of the
Company’s outstanding Common Stock and its desire to obtain not less than four
Board seats (a majority of your Board) would have represented effective
“negative control” in the hands of Great Hill because it would enable Great Hill
– a single stockholder group – to substantially influence the outcome of every
future proposal submitted for a vote to the Company’s stockholders, including a
merger, business combination or other extraordinary corporate transaction that
could deliver a premium to all of the Company’s stockholders for their
shares. Great Hill’s purchase of Common Stock on March 23, 2010 did
not, and any subsequent accumulation as threatened by Great Hill would not,
involve any payment to all of the Company’s stockholders.
On March
24, 2010, the Company announced that the Board had approved the adoption of a
stockholder rights plan (the “Rights Agreement”). Under the Rights
Agreement, the Board declared a dividend distribution of one preferred stock
purchase right for each outstanding share of Common Stock held by stockholders
of record as of the close of business on March 24, 2010.
On March
25, 2010, representatives of Great Hill contacted representatives of the Company
regarding the Rights Agreement. Representatives of Great Hill
expressed their disappointment that the Company did not contact them and advise
them in advance regarding the Company’s consideration of, and decision to adopt,
the Rights Agreement. Representatives of Great Hill also expressed
their belief that Great Hill, due to its status as the Company’s largest
affiliated group of stockholders, with beneficial ownership of approximately
19.7% of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock at that time, somehow had a
right to receive material non-public information before it was released to the
public. The Company did not agree. During this
conversation, representatives of the Company explained that the Company believed
it had no choice but to protect the Company and its stockholders from what the
Company perceived as a threat to the Company and a hostile act by Great
Hill. Representatives of the Company stated that they were
nevertheless willing to pursue the negotiation of a standstill agreement, which
would provide Great Hill with immediate minority representation on the Board,
subject to proper evaluation by the Nominating Committee and the
Board. In response, representatives of Great Hill stated that they
wanted a majority of Board seats.
In April
2010, representatives of the Company again met with representatives of Great
Hill to discuss the Rights Agreement and the Company’s recent earnings
announcements. Great Hill at that time indicated that it was
considering nominating one or more candidates for election to the Board at the
2010 Annual Meeting.
On April
29, 2010, and prior to Great Hill’s nomination of its director nominees, the
Board engaged the independent executive search and consulting firm of SSA
Executive Search International to work closely with the Nominating Committee to
identify and review the qualifications of several new, experienced, qualified
and independent director candidates. The Company announced that it
was seeking to enhance the diversity of the Board to add increased industry
experience, corporate governance expertise, mergers and acquisitions and capital
markets transactional expertise, and overall public company board experience,
and that no decision had been made at that time as to the future size of the
Board.
By letter
dated April 30, 2010, Great Hill notified the Company, under its advance notice
bylaw provisions, of its nomination of an opposition slate of four insurgent
directors for election to the Company’s Board at the 2010 Annual Meeting (the
“April 30th Letter”) or a special meeting of stockholders that includes the
election of directors. Great Hill identified the four individuals it
intended to nominate for election to the Board at the 2010 Annual Meeting –
Messrs. Gaffney, Jung, Kumin and Stibel. Also on such date, Great
Hill filed an amended Schedule 13D with the SEC, which stated that Great Hill
delivered the April 30th Letter to the Company and that Great Hill was
considering the possibility of calling a special meeting of the Company’s
stockholders or conducting a consent solicitation, in each case for the purpose
of, among other things, removing from office, without cause, certain of the
current directors and replacing them with a slate of nominees chosen solely by
Great Hill.
On or
about May 5, 2010, representatives of the Company invited representatives of
Great Hill to meet with the Board on May 24, 2010 to explain the value of Great
Hill’s proposed nominees and Great Hill’s plan for bringing value to the Company
in the future. The Company’s representatives explained that their
only concern was protecting and acting in the best interests of all of the
Company’s stockholders. Great Hill declined the
invitation.
On May
11, 2010, Great Hill filed a preliminary consent solicitation statement with the
SEC in connection with the Consent Solicitation. Also on such date,
Great Hill submitted a letter to the Company wherein it made a demand for the
stockholder list and certain books and records of the Company pursuant to
Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “Section 220 Demand
Letter”). Also on such date, Great Hill filed an amended Schedule 13D
with the SEC announcing that it had filed its preliminary consent solicitation
statement.
By letter
dated May 13, 2010, Great Hill submitted a letter to the Company’s Corporate
Secretary, wherein it requested that the Board set a record date in connection
with the Consent Solicitation (the “May 13th Letter”).
On May
17, 2010, Great Hill filed Amendment No. 1 to its preliminary consent
solicitation statement with the SEC in connection with the Consent
Solicitation.
On May
18, 2010, the Company’s special counsel responded to Great Hill’s counsel
regarding the Section 220 Demand Letter (the “May 18th Letter”). The
Company’s special counsel advised Great Hill’s counsel that, although the
Section 220 Demand Letter contained certain technical deficiencies, the Company,
nevertheless was willing to provide Great Hill access to the stockholder list
and books and records of the Company as, when and to the extent in its
possession, subject to the Company’s receipt of an appropriate power-of-attorney
and an executed confidentiality agreement from Great Hill.
On May
19, 2010, Great Hill’s counsel provided comments to the proposed confidentiality
agreement.
On May
20, 2010, Great Hill’s counsel further contacted the Company’s special counsel
regarding its comments to the proposed confidentiality
agreement. Also on such date, the Company publicly announced that the
Strategic Alternatives Committee commenced a formal process to identify and
evaluate strategic and financial alternatives to enhance stockholder value,
including the identification of potential business combination partners and
purchaser candidates, and that the Company had engaged Oppenheimer & Co.,
Inc., as its financial advisor to assist with such process.
On May
21, 2010, Great Hill’s counsel provided an executed power-of-attorney as
requested in the May 18th Letter. The Company’s special counsel
provided a revised confidentiality agreement in response to the comments of
Great Hill’s counsel.
On May
21, 2010, the Company filed with the SEC its preliminary consent revocation
statement in connection with the Consent Solicitation and Great Hill filed with
the SEC Amendment No. 2 to its preliminary consent solicitation
statement. Also, the Company announced the expansion of its East
Coast manufacturing and distribution facility in Lexington, North Carolina, and
further announced the progress the Nominating Committee was making in connection
with the previously announced process to identify and evaluate potential highly
qualified independent director candidates for service on the Company’s Board who
possess health and wellness product industry experience, public company director
experience and other qualifications.
On May
23, 2010, in reliance on the May 13th Letter, your Board established and fixed a
Record Date of June 2, 2010 for holders of the Common Stock to be eligible to
deliver written consents and revocations of consent, respectively, in the
Consent Solicitation and the Company’s revocation of consent
solicitation.
By letter
dated May 24, 2010, Great Hill submitted a letter to the Company’s Corporate
Secretary, wherein it requested that the Company provide it with certain
information, make certain elections and undertake certain actions, in each case
pursuant to Rule 14a-7 under the Exchange Act (the “Rule 14a-7 Request
Letter”). The 14a-7 Request Letter also alleged that the Company was
untimely in its obligations under Rule 14a-7.
Also, on
May 24, 2010, Great Hill’s counsel submitted to the Company an executed version
of the negotiated confidentiality agreement.
On or
about May 24, 2010, a stockholder (“Plaintiff”) filed a purported class action
complaint against the Company and certain of the Company’s officers and
directors in the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Florida. Plaintiff alleges claims under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, and the Exchange Act and purports to represent a class of investors
who purchased Common Stock of the Company between September 24, 2009 and April
20, 2010. Plaintiff alleges that the Company made false and/or
misleading statements (i) in the offering documents used for the Company’s
initial public offering, and (ii) in subsequent public
disclosures. Plaintiff does not specify the alleged
damages. The Company intends to defend itself
vigorously.
On May
25, 2010, the Company’s special counsel advised that the Company would provide
promptly after the Record Date certain books and records of the Company within
two business days in accordance with the confidentiality agreement and the stock
list materials provided in the confidentiality agreement. On May 25,
2010, the Company also responded to Great Hill’s prior request for a Rule 14a-7
election that the Company would mail the Consent Solicitation materials and
provided the other information required by Rule 14a-7.
Also on
May 25, 2010, Great Hill filed its definitive consent solicitation statement
with the SEC in connection with the Consent Solicitation.
On May
25, 2010, the Company delivered to Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. for
distribution to the Company’s stockholders a so-called “stop-look-listen” letter
requesting that the Company’s stockholders refrain from making any voting
decision in respect of the Consent Solicitation until the Company’s definitive
consent revocation statement and related revocation materials were disseminated
to the Company’s stockholders.
By letter
dated May 26, 2010 (the “May 26th Letter”), Great Hill’s counsel confirmed that
Great Hill had commenced the mailing of its consent solicitation materials to
beneficial (i.e., “street name”) holders of the Company’s Common Stock through
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., and asked whether the Company would
“reasonably promptly” (within the meaning of Rule 14a-7) mail the Consent
Solicitation materials to holders of record as of the close of business on a
“recent date,” not constituting the Record Date and whether the Company would
conduct a subsequent mailing to any new holders of record of the Company’s
Common Stock as of the Record Date. Great Hill’s counsel requested an
answer to this question by 12:00 p.m., Eastern time, on May 27,
2010.
By letter
dated May 27, 2010, the Company’s special counsel notified Great Hill’s counsel
that it did not agree with Great Hill’s assertions and demands expressed in the
May 26th Letter, but that, as requested by Great Hill, it would mail the Consent
Solicitation materials to holders of record of the Company’s Common Stock as of
a “recent date” not constituting the Record Date.
Also, on
May 27, 2010, the Company filed with the SEC Amendment No. 1 to its preliminary
consent revocation statement.
REASONS
TO REJECT GREAT HILL’S CONSENT SOLICITATION PROPOSALS
Your
Board strongly believes that the Consent Solicitation is not in the best
interests of the company and all of our stockholders.
Your
Board believes that Great Hill’s proposals are not in the best interests of the
Company and all of our stockholders. For the reasons set forth below,
your Board urges you to reject the Consent Solicitation and to mark, sign, date
and return the enclosed
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card,
whether or not you have previously signed or submitted a WHITE consent card sent
to you by Great Hill.
Your
Board believes it is not in the best interests of all stockholders to give
control of your Board to Great Hill and its director nominees.
Great
Hill is asking you in advance of the upcoming 2010 Annual Meeting to remove four
of your directors, without cause, and simply replace them with Great Hill’s
nominees. In effect, Great Hill is asking you to give it control of
your Board and the Company, without providing you with any payment whatsoever
and, by its own admission, without specific plans to implement the Company’s
growth and expansion or any plan to support your current
management. Indeed, although no decisions have been made by
management at this time, Great Hill has not disclosed any plan for finding
substitutes for your current management should they choose to resign if Great
Hill obtains one or more director seats on your Board. Your Board
believes that it is not in the best interests of all stockholders to give
control of your Company to any individual stockholder or group of stockholders,
especially one that is looking to protect the value of “its”
investment.
Your
Board is committed to the long-term growth and success of the Company, and to
enhancing the value of the shares of all stockholders. In furtherance
of this goal and recognizing that the current Board needed compositional change,
the Company announced, prior to Great Hill’s nomination of its director
nominees, the engagement of an independent executive search and consulting firm
to help identify, evaluate and ultimately submit for election at the 2010 Annual
Meeting several new, experienced, qualified and independent individuals to
replace several members of your current Board. While this process is
not complete, it is well underway. No decision has been made at this
time as to which members of our current Board will be replaced. Such
decision will be made in connection with the 2010 Annual Meeting. The
Consent Solicitation seriously jeopardizes our ability to attract and retain the
new experienced, qualified and independent director candidates sought by the
Company, including candidates having experience in our industry, unlike Great
Hill’s insurgent nominees.
Your
Board has announced and initiated a process to nominate several new,
experienced, qualified and independent directors for election to the
Board.
Recognizing
that the current Board needed compositional change, the Company announced, prior
to Great Hill’s nomination of its director nominees, the engagement of an
independent executive search and consulting firm, SSA Executive Search
International, to work closely with the Nominating Committee to help identify,
evaluate and ultimately submit for election at the Company’s 2010 Annual
Meeting, several new, experienced, qualified and independent individuals to
replace several members of your current Board. While this process is
not complete, it is well underway.
Great
Hill has not presented a specific plan.
Great
Hill makes a number of statements about its self-professed ability and
experience to oversee the Company’s growth strategy, to enhance the value of
your shares and to improve the Company’s performance. When the
Company asked Great Hill to present a business or operating plan and to meet
with your Board to explain its specific plans to enhance stockholder value,
however, Great Hill declined to do so and instead took action to protect “its”
investment. Your Board believes that Great Hill’s proposed “plans”
for the Company articulated in the Consent Solicitation materials are vague,
conclusory and unsupported by any proven track record in the
industry. In fact, Great Hill admits that neither it nor its
insurgent nominees have any specific plans (other than redeeming the Rights
Agreement) to implement the Company’s growth and expansion or any plan to
support your current management. For example:
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Great
Hill proposes to seek to “[e]nsure the Company’s growth and expansion
plans are properly implemented without further disruption to ongoing
operations,” without articulating a specific
plan.
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Great
Hill proposes to use its nominees’ “professional network of relationships”
to identify “select additional hires” for the Company’s existing
management team, but fails to identify any areas where additional
management resources are necessary or explain why the Company’s existing
management needs additional help.
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Great
Hill also makes generalized statements, such as the assertion that its
nominees will “[b]ring their deep experience with technology and Internet
companies to the boardroom in support of the Company and its
management.” Although no decisions have been made by management
at this time, Great Hill has not disclosed any plan for finding
substitutes for your current management should they choose to resign if
Great Hill obtains one or more director seats on your
Board. Despite Great Hill’s insistence that its nominees have
the necessary experience to serve on your Board, none of the dissident
nominees has industry experience in health and wellness
products.
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Great
Hill asserts that the Board adopted the Rights Agreement in “the complete
absence of a takeover threat and despite assurances from Great Hill that
it had no intention of seeking to acquire the Company.” In
March 2010, however, Great Hill purchased a significant amount of our
shares in private transactions entered into with certain of the Company’s
stockholders. Great Hill also expressed to the Company its
desire to acquire up to 30% of our issued and outstanding shares and to
obtain at least four seats on your Board. Such acquisition
would have represented effective “negative control” in the hands of Great
Hill because it would enable Great Hill to substantially influence the
outcome of every transaction or Company matter submitted for a vote to the
Company’s stockholders, including a merger, business combination or other
extraordinary corporate transaction that could deliver a premium to all of
the Company’s stockholders for their shares. Great Hill’s
purchase of our shares on March 23, 2010 did not, and any subsequent
accumulation as threatened by Great Hill would not, involve any payment to
all of the Company’s stockholders. In view of such overt
threat, including Great Hill’s refusal to meet with the Board to present
any business or operating plan to improve the Company’s business or to
enhance the value of our shares, the Company adopted the Rights
Agreement.
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Despite
what Great Hill tells you, you will have the power to vote to approve or
disapprove of the Rights Agreement at the 2012 annual meeting of our
stockholders or it will expire 30 days
thereafter.
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Your
Board has already taken action to address Great Hill’s criticisms, including
engaging an independent executive search and consulting firm to help identify,
evaluate and ultimately submit for election at the 2010 Annual Meeting several
new, experienced, qualified and independent individuals to replace several
members of your current Board. This process is well underway,
although not yet completed. Meanwhile, Great Hill has made only vague
proclamations with no specifics or tangible solutions whatsoever regarding
growing the Company or enhancing stockholder value. Your Board urges
you not to take the leap of faith that Great Hill is asking of you.
Great
Hill’s approximately 19.7% equity stake in the Company allows it to
significantly influence the outcome of every transaction that may be submitted
to a vote of our stockholders, including a merger, business combination or other
extraordinary corporate transaction that could deliver a premium to all of the
Company’s stockholders for their shares of Common Stock.
Great
Hill owns approximately 19.7% of all shares, which allows it to significantly
influence the outcome of every transaction that may be submitted to a vote of
our stockholders, including a merger, business combination or other
extraordinary corporate transaction that could deliver a premium to all of the
Company’s stockholders for their shares. If you provide written
consent to all three of Great Hill’s proposals in their entirety, Great Hill’s
nominees will comprise a majority (four of seven) of your Board. If
this happens, these insurgent directors would have the ability, if acting
together, to make binding decisions of your Board, including with respect to
ordinary corporate matters not necessarily affecting the value of the Company’s
Common Stock, and also with respect to whether to give the Company’s
stockholders the ability to vote on a merger, business combination or other
extraordinary corporate transaction that may provide a premium to all of the
Company’s stockholders for their shares.
Great
Hill has declined your Board’s invitation to consider Great Hill’s nominees
under the Company’s established nominating process.
The
Company repeatedly invited Great Hill to present its nominees for interview and
evaluation by the Nominating Committee and your full Board, but Great Hill
declined to do so, and instead elected to proceed with its expensive,
time-consuming and distracting Consent Solicitation.
Although
Great Hill states its belief that each of its nominees is independent of the
Company under the listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market, LLC and is not
currently affiliated with the Company or any of its subsidiaries, more
importantly, three of its nominees have a relationship with Great Hill or its
affiliates.
Two of
Great Hill’s nominees – Mr. Christopher S. Gaffney and Mr. Michael A. Kumin –
are managers or employees of Great Hill or its affiliates. In
addition, Mr. Mark A. Jung was the Chief Executive Officer of a company that was
acquired by affiliates of Great Hill in 2003, and Mr. Jung continued as Chief
Executive Officer following the transaction until 2005, when the company was
sold to a third party. As the Company’s largest stockholder, Great
Hill may have interests different from, and in direct conflict with, the best
interests of all of the Company’s stockholders, a fact that Great Hill
acknowledges on page 12 of its definitive consent solicitation statement on
Schedule 14A as filed with the SEC on May 25, 2010. Despite this
potential conflict, Great Hill states that it expects its nominees to fully
discharge their obligations to the Company and its stockholders under Delaware
law.
Your
Board has and will continue to act in the best interests of the Company and our
stockholders.
Your
Board has acted and will continue to act in the best interests of the Company’s
stockholders. The Company has not taken the traditional steps that
many public companies take to disable hostile takeovers and consent
solicitations, such as implementing a staggered board of directors, prohibiting
stockholder action by written consent by charter provision or prohibiting the
removal of directors without cause, precisely because the Company values input
from its stockholders. Since May 11, 2010, when Great Hill informed
the Company of its intention to commence the Consent Solicitation, the Board met
multiple times to discuss the Consent Solicitation, the Company’s future and the
best interests of the Company’s stockholders. In determining that the
Bylaw Proposal, the Removal Proposal and the Board Election Proposal are not in
the best interests of the Company and all of its stockholders, the Board
considered the information in Great Hill’s consent statement, the experience of
and background of Great Hill’s nominees, the Company’s current search for new,
experienced, qualified and independent director candidates, the experience,
background and performance of our current directors, the potential
disproportionate representation Great Hill, as a minority stockholder, would
have on the Board and the financial and strategic position of the
Company.
Recognizing
that the current Board needed compositional change, the Company announced, prior
to Great Hill’s nomination of its director nominees, the engagement of an
independent executive search and consulting firm to help identify, evaluate and
ultimately submit for election at the 2010 Annual Meeting, several new,
experienced, qualified and independent individuals to replace several members of
your current Board. While this process is not complete, it is well
underway.
Your
Board has formed a Strategic Alternatives Committee consisting of members of the
Board to work with our management and professional advisors, which has commenced
a formal process to identify and evaluate the Company’s strategic and financial
alternatives to enhance stockholder value. The Company has engaged
Oppenheimer & Co., Inc., a large and nationally recognized investment
banking firm, as its exclusive financial advisor in connection with this
process, which includes the identification of potential business combination
partners and purchaser candidates. The Company can make no assurances
that a transaction will occur.
Your
Board is continuing to focus on improved operations. The Company
recently opened a 155,000 square foot distribution center in Las Vegas,
Nevada. This new distribution center implements new, automated
technologies that the Company expects will materially improve productivity,
create efficiencies and support the Company’s continued growth. The
Company also recently announced the expansion of its East Coast manufacturing
and distribution facility in Lexington, North Carolina. The Company
is also taking proactive steps to correct the short-term manufacturing logistics
situation that it experienced in the first quarter of 2010.
The
Company believes it is not in the best interests of all stockholders to allow
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board.
The
Company believes that Great Hill’s proposal to amend the Bylaws to allow
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board could be
detrimental to the Company and all of our stockholders, and a distraction to the
Board and the Company because any stockholder, no matter how few shares he or
she owns, will have the ability to nominate director(s) of his or her own
choosing. The Company believes that to allow the Company’s
stockholders to fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board, regardless of
the fitness or suitability of the stockholder’s nominee(s), would not represent
good corporate governance, would do little to further the Company’s strategic
business plan, and could be detrimental to the Company and all of our
stockholders.
WE
URGE STOCKHOLDERS TO REJECT GREAT HILL’S CONSENT SOLICITATION AND TO IMMEDIATELY
REVOKE ANY CONSENT PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED.
IN
ORDER TO ENSURE THAT YOUR EXISTING BOARD IS ABLE TO ACT IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS,
PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE ENCLOSED GOLD CONSENT REVOCATION CARD AS
SOON AS POSSIBLE. DO NOT DELAY.
THE
CONSENT PROCEDURE
Background
In
accordance with Delaware law and the Bylaws, and in reliance on Great Hill’s
written request that your Board fix a record date, your Board has fixed a Record
Date of June 2, 2010 for the determination of the Company’s stockholders who are
entitled to execute, withhold or revoke consents relating to the Consent
Solicitation. As of May 24, 2010, there were 27,888,039 shares of
Common Stock outstanding, each entitled to one vote. The Company
intends to notify stockholders of the number of shares of Common Stock
outstanding as of the Record Date by issuing a press release, which it will also
file with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Only
stockholders of record as of the close of business on the Record Date are
eligible to execute, withhold or revoke consents in connection with Great Hill’s
proposals. Persons beneficially owning shares of our Common Stock
(but not holders of record), such as persons whose ownership of our Common Stock
is through a broker, bank or other financial institution, should contact such
broker, bank or financial institution and instruct such person to execute a GOLD
Consent Revocation Card on their behalf to withhold or revoke their
consents.
Effectiveness
of Consents
Under
Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in a corporation’s certificate of
incorporation, stockholders may act without a meeting, without prior notice and
without a vote, if consents in writing setting forth the action to be taken are
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. The Company’s certificate of incorporation does not prohibit
stockholder action by written consent. Under Section 228 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law, Great Hill’s proposals will become effective
if valid, unrevoked consents signed and dated by the holders of a majority of
the shares of our Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date (13,944,020
shares, assuming that the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the
Record Date remains 27,888,039) are delivered to the Company within 60 days of
the earliest dated consent delivered to the Company.
BECAUSE
GREAT HILL’S PROPOSALS COULD BECOME EFFECTIVE BEFORE THE EXPIRATION OF THE
60-DAY PERIOD, WE URGE YOU TO ACT PROMPTLY TO RETURN THE ENCLOSED GOLD CONSENT
REVOCATION CARD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Withheld
shares, abstentions, failures to sign, date and return consent cards, and broker
non-votes, if any, will have the same effect as a vote against Great Hill’s
proposals.
Effect
of GOLD Consent Revocation Card
A
stockholder may revoke any previously signed or submitted consent by signing,
dating and returning to the Company a GOLD Consent Revocation Card. A
consent may also be revoked by delivering a written revocation of your consent
to Great Hill. Stockholders are urged, however, to deliver all
consent revocations to The Altman Group, Inc. at P.O. Box 268, Lyndhurst, NJ
07017. The Company requests that if a revocation is instead delivered
to Great Hill, a copy of the revocation also be delivered to the Company, c/o
The Altman Group, Inc. at the address or facsimile number set forth above, so
that the Company will be aware of all revocations.
Unless
you specify otherwise, by signing, dating and delivering the
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card,
you will be deemed to have revoked your consent to all of Great Hill’s
proposals.
If any
shares of our Common Stock that you owned on the Record Date were held for you
in an account with a stock brokerage firm, bank nominee or other similar “street
name” holder, you must give instructions to your stock brokerage firm, bank
nominee or other similar “street name” holder to grant or revoke consent for the
shares of Common Stock held in your name. Accordingly, you should
contact the person responsible for your account and direct him or her to execute
a
GOLD
Consent
Revocation Card on your behalf. You are urged to confirm in writing
your instructions to the person responsible for your account and provide a copy
of those instructions to the Company, c/o The Altman Group, Inc. at the address
set forth above so that the Company will be aware of your instructions and can
attempt to ensure that your instructions are followed.
YOU HAVE
THE RIGHT TO REVOKE ANY CONSENT YOU MAY HAVE PREVIOUSLY GIVEN TO GREAT
HILL. TO DO SO, YOU NEED ONLY SIGN, DATE AND RETURN, IN THE ENCLOSED
POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE, THE
GOLD
CONSENT REVOCATION CARD
WITH RESPECT TO GREAT HILL’S PROPOSALS. THE CONSENT REVOCATION WILL
BE USED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BOARD’S RECOMMENDATION TO REVOKE ANY CONSENT WITH
RESPECT TO SUCH PROPOSALS.
The
Company has retained The Altman Group, Inc. to assist it in communicating with
stockholders in connection with the Consent Solicitation and to assist in our
efforts to obtain consent revocations. If you have any questions
about how to complete or submit your
GOLD
Consent Revocation Card
by mail or any other questions, The Altman Group, Inc. will be pleased to assist
you. You may call The Altman Group, Inc. toll free at (800)
591-8269. You may also contact The Altman Group, Inc. at
proxyinfo@altmangroup.com.
You
should carefully review this Consent Revocation Statement. YOUR
TIMELY RESPONSE IS VERY IMPORTANT. You are urged not to sign or
return any dissident WHITE consent card. Instead, reject the
solicitation efforts of Great Hill by promptly marking, signing, dating and
mailing the GOLD Consent Revocation Card to The Altman Group, Inc. at P.O. Box
268, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 in the enclosed postage-paid
envelope. Please be aware that if you sign, date and return a WHITE
consent card but do not check any of the boxes on the card and do not otherwise
direct that one or more of your current directors not be removed or one or more
of Great Hill’s nominees not be elected by writing in the space provided on the
WHITE consent card, you will be deemed to have consented to Great Hill’s
proposals.
Cancellation
of Consent Revocation
Any
consent revocation may itself be revoked by marking, signing, dating and
delivering a written revocation of your consent revocation to the Company or to
Great Hill or by delivering to Great Hill a subsequently dated WHITE consent
card that Great Hill sent to you.
Results
of this Consent Revocation Solicitation
In the
event that Great Hill delivers written consents to the Company purporting to
represent a majority of our shares issued and outstanding and entitled to
consent as of the Record Date, the Company will retain person(s) to act as
independent inspector(s) of election. To the extent retained, the
inspector(s) of election will review any consents and revoked consents delivered
to the Company to determine the sufficiency of the consents and revocations and
the validity of the action to be taken by stockholder consent. The
Company intends to notify stockholders of the results of the Consent
Solicitation by issuing a press release, which it will also file with the SEC as
an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Termination
of this Consent Revocation Solicitation
The
Company intends to notify stockholders of the termination of the consent
revocation solicitation by issuing a press release, which it will also file with
the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.
APPRAISAL
RIGHTS
Our
stockholders are not entitled to appraisal rights in connection with the Consent
Solicitation or this Consent Revocation Statement.
DELIVERY
OF DOCUMENTS TO STOCKHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS
Certain
brokers and other nominee record holders may be participating in the practice of
“householding” for this Consent Revocation Statement and other proxy
materials. This means that only one copy of this Consent Revocation
Statement and other proxy materials may have been sent to multiple stockholders
in a stockholder’s household. The Company will promptly deliver
additional copies of the Consent Revocation Statement and other proxy materials
to any stockholder who contacts the Company’s consent revocation solicitor, The
Altman Group, Inc. at 1200 Wall Street West, 3rd Floor, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 or
call toll free at (800) 591-8269 or via email at proxyinfo@altmangroup.com or
via facsimile at (201) 460-0050, requesting such additional
copies. If a stockholder is receiving multiple copies of the Consent
Revocation Statement and other proxy materials at the stockholder’s household
and would like to receive in the future only a single copy of proxy materials
for a stockholder’s household, such stockholder should contact their broker,
other nominee record holder, or the Company’s investor relations department to
request the future mailing of only a single copy of the Company’s proxy
statement and other proxy materials.
DEADLINE
FOR SUBMISSION OF STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR 2010 ANNUAL MEETING OF
STOCKHOLDERS
Stockholders
are entitled to present proposals for consideration at upcoming stockholder
meetings, provided that they comply with the Bylaws and the proxy rules
promulgated by the SEC. Stockholders wishing to present a proposal at
our 2010 Annual Meeting must have submitted such proposal to us by February 26,
2010, if they wished for it to be eligible for inclusion in the proxy statement
and form of proxy relating to that meeting. In addition, under the
Bylaws, a stockholder wishing to nominate a person to your Board at the 2010
Annual Meeting (but not include such nomination in the proxy statement) or
wishing to make a proposal with respect to any other matter at the 2010 Annual
Meeting (but not include such proposal in the proxy statement), must have
delivered written notice to the Secretary of the Company containing the required
information between April 2, 2010 and May 2, 2010.
If the
date of the stockholder meeting is moved more than 30 days before or 30 days
after the anniversary of the Company’s annual meeting for the prior year, then
written notice of a stockholder proposal that is not intended to be included in
the Company’s proxy statement under Rule 14a-8 or a stockholder nomination must
be received not earlier than the 120th day prior to the meeting and not later
than the 90th day prior to the meeting or the 10th day following the day on
which public announcement of the date of the meeting is first made by the
Company.
SECTION
16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE
Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors, officers, and persons that own
more than 10% of a registered class of our Company’s equity securities to file
reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Officers, directors,
and greater than 10% stockholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish our
Company with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file.
Based
solely upon our review of the copies of such forms received by us during the
year ended December 31, 2009, and written representations that no other reports
were required, we believe that each person who, at any time during such year,
was a director, officer, or beneficial owner of more than 10% of our Common
Stock complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements during such
year.
SOLICITATION
OF CONSENT REVOCATIONS
COST
AND METHOD
The cost
of the solicitation of revocations of consent will be borne by the Company,
including expenses in connection with preparing and mailing this Consent
Revocation Statement and certain other communications that we will be sending to
you regarding the Company and your Board. The Company estimates that
the total expenditures relating to the Company’s current consent revocation
solicitation (other than salaries and wages of regular employees and officers)
will be approximately $525,000, of which approximately $330,000 has been
incurred as of the date hereof. In addition to solicitation of
proxies by mail, directors, officers, and employees of the Company may, without
additional compensation, solicit revocations by means of in-person meetings,
telephone calls, mailings of supplemental materials or
facsimiles. The Company does not plan to solicit consent revocations
via Internet chat rooms.
The
Company has retained The Altman Group, Inc. as solicitors, at a fee not expected
to exceed $60,000, to assist in the solicitation of consent
revocations. The Company will reimburse brokerage houses, banks,
custodians and other nominees and fiduciaries for out-of-pocket expenses
incurred in forwarding the Company’s consent revocation materials to, and
obtaining instructions relating to such materials from, beneficial owners of the
Common Stock in accordance with the rules of the SEC. The Altman
Group, Inc. has advised the Company that approximately 25 of its employees will
be involved in the solicitation of consent revocations on behalf of the
Company. In addition, certain related persons will be indemnified
against certain liabilities arising out of or in connection with the
engagement.
INFORMATION
REGARDING THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS CONSENT REVOCATION SOLICITATION
Under
applicable SEC rules and regulations, each of the members of the Board and
certain of our executive officers identified herein are “participants” in this
solicitation of consent revocations. Please refer to
Appendix A
“Recent Trading History of
Participants in this Consent Revocation Solicitation” and
Appendix B
“Security Ownership of
Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” for information regarding our
directors and certain of our executive officers who are participants in the
solicitation. The following sets forth the name, principal business
address, present office or other principal occupation or employment, and the
name, principal business and the address of any corporation or other
organization in which such employment is carried on, of the directors of the
Company who may solicit consent revocations from stockholders of the
Company. Unless otherwise set forth below, the principal business
address of each such participant is 5400 Broken Sound Blvd., NW, Suite 500, Boca
Raton, Florida 33487.
Ira P.
Kerker was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer and Director in January
2007. From February 2005 through January 2007, he served as our
general counsel where he acted as a member of our executive management
team. From December 2003 through February 2005, Mr. Kerker performed
legal services, on a contract basis, for Fireman’s Fund Insurance and USAA
Insurance. From September 1995 to September 2004, Mr. Kerker was a
financial representative of MetLife/New England Financial. From 2001
through September 2003, Mr. Kerker was a financial representative and Managing
Partner of MetLife/New England Financial. Mr. Kerker received a B.S.
in Business Administration from the University of Florida and his J.D. from
Whittier College School of Law.
Stewart
L. Gitler has served as our Director since September 2008 and was appointed as
our Chairman of the Board in June 2009. Mr. Gitler has over 25 years
legal experience in handling intellectual property matters on both a national
and international level at Hoffman, Wasson & Gitler, P.C., where he has
served as managing partner since 2000. Mr. Gitler concentrates on
matters concerning patents, trademarks and copyrights. Since 2008,
Mr. Gitler has also served as general counsel to Charge Anywhere, LLC, an
electronic payment solutions provider. Mr. Gitler is registered to
practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Gitler has
a BChE in Chemical Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of
Science and Art and a J.D. from Hofstra University Law School. He is
a member of the State of New York, Commonwealth of Virginia and District of
Columbia Bars.
Allen S.
Josephs, M.D., has served as our Director since 1995 and served as our Chairman
of the Board from January 2007 to June 2009. Since January 2007, he
has also served as our Director of Research and provides consulting services to
us. He served as our President from 2001 through 2005. Dr.
Josephs also maintains a private practice in neurology with Essex Neurological
Associates where he served as Section Chief of Neurology at St. Barnabas
Hospital, a 600-bed hospital in Livingston, New Jersey. He received
his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and served
his internal medicine residency at Temple University in Philadelphia and his
neurology residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City where he also served
as Chief Resident in Neurology. Dr. Josephs is board certified in
internal medicine and neurology. He is a member of the American
Academy of Neurology.
Lawrence
A. Pabst, M.D., has served as our Director since April 2007. Dr.
Pabst is also a member of our scientific advisory board. Dr. Pabst
developed an orthopedic group practice and associated entities in Galion, Ohio
from 1979 to January 2008, when the practice was merged with Galion Community
Hospital. Dr. Pabst continues to be affiliated with Galion Community
Hospital, where he served as the Chief of Staff in 1985 and 1995. Dr.
Pabst is also an owner, together with other partners, of three Wendy’s
restaurant franchises and real estate related to such
franchises. From 1983 to 2007, Dr. Pabst was a controlling owner of
PN Investments, a privately held real estate development company. Dr.
Pabst is board certified by the American Academy of Orthopedic
Surgeons. Dr. Pabst attended the University of Michigan and received
his M.D. from The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
David N.
Ilfeld, M.D., has served as our Director since 2003, is a member of our
scientific advisory board and, from time to time, has provided consulting
services to us. Dr. Ilfeld maintained a private practice in internal
medicine at Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, Israel from 1990 through
2005, when he retired. Dr. Ilfeld received a B.S. in Physics from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968 and his M.D. from Harvard Medical
School in 1973. Dr. Ilfeld is American Board certified in Internal
Medicine, Rheumatology, and Allergy & Immunology and has published 39
scientific articles.
Eran Ezra
has served as our Director since August 2008. Mr. Ezra currently
serves as Global and Corporate Treasurer of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.
(“Teva”). As Global and Corporate Treasurer, Mr. Ezra is responsible
for investing and managing funds totaling over $2 billion, raising capital and
developing and implementing financial and risk management strategies including
the hedging of currencies, interest rates and credit risks. Prior to
serving as Global and Corporate Treasurer, from 1999 to 2008, Mr. Ezra served as
a director and as Assistant Chief Financial Officer of Teva. In this
capacity, Mr. Ezra oversaw Teva’s U.S. offerings of convertible and other bonds
aggregating over $5.3 billion including interfacing with underwriters, auditors,
investment bankers, rating agencies, legal counsel and
others. Additionally, Mr. Ezra was responsible for Teva’s SEC
filings.
Robert G.
Trapp, M.D., has served as our Director since April 2007. Dr. Trapp
is also a member of our scientific advisory board. Dr. Trapp has
maintained a private practice in rheumatology in Springfield, Illinois since
1989. He was a faculty member at Southern Illinois University School
of Medicine from 1981 – 1989 where he served as Chief of the Division of
Rheumatology. He has been a principal investigator in more than 125
phase I, II and III clinical trials evaluating new therapies in the treatment of
rheumatological diseases. Dr. Trapp is board certified in internal
medicine and rheumatology. He is a Fellow of the American College of
Physicians and a member of the American College of Rheumatology. He
received a B.A. from Earlham College and his M.D. from Northwestern University
School of Medicine.
Richard
P. Smith, CPA, has served as our Chief Financial and Accounting Officer since
January 2004. From June 2003 through December 2003, he served as
Chief Financial Officer of Hair Club for Men, Inc. From June 2001
through October 2002, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of Coppercom,
Inc., a telecommunications company, and from May 2000 through May 2001, he
served as the Chief Financial Officer of Datamax System Solutions,
Inc. From September 1996 through April 2000, Mr. Smith served as the
Chief Financial Officer of Systemone Technologies, Inc. Mr. Smith is
a graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University and received his M.B.A. from the
University of Illinois and a Masters in Finance from Cambridge University,
England.
Sonya L.
Lambert has served as our Vice President Marketing since December
2004. Ms. Lambert joined us in March 2003 as our Director of
Marketing. From April 1999 through September 2001, Ms. Lambert was
the Director of Marketing, Online Programs for Gerald Stevens, Inc. and was a
Senior Marketing Manager for SportsLine.com from 1995 to 1999. Ms.
Lambert left the industry from September 2001 through March 2003 to pursue
personal interests. She is responsible for the development and
execution of eCommerce and catalog marketing strategies. Ms. Lambert
received a B.S. in Communications from the University of Florida.
Robert D.
Hirsch has served as our Vice President Information Technology and Chief
Information Officer since September 2008. Mr. Hirsch is responsible
for the strategic and operational management of our technology. He
also provides leadership in the development, implementation and governance of
our information systems and operational infrastructure. Prior to
joining us, from 2006 to 2008, Mr. Hirsch served as Vice President of
Application Development for JM Solutions, a division within JM Family
Enterprises, a privately-held $10 billion diversified automotive
company. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Hirsch served as Vice President and
Chief Information Officer of QEP Corporation, a publicly-traded manufacturer,
marketer and distributor of flooring tools and accessories for the home
improvement and professional installer markets. Prior thereto, Mr.
Hirsch served as Director of Technology for Vision Care Holdings, LLC, a
Managing Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers and a Vice President of
Citicorp. Mr. Hirsch earned his Masters of Science in Information
Technology from Barry University and received his undergraduate degree in
Computer Science from the University of Miami.
Bobby
Birender S. Brar has served as the Vice President of Supply Chain for Vitacost
since May 2008. Mr. Brar is responsible for product selection,
pricing strategy, vendor management, inventory management and
replenishment. From January 2007 through May 2008, Mr. Brar took a
leave of absence from Vitacost.com Inc. to pursue personal business investments
in India. From February 2005 to January 2007, Mr. Brar served as
Director of Purchasing at Vitacost.com Inc. Prior to joining
Vitacost.com Inc. Mr. Brar served as Chief Merchant of Village Market
Place. Mr. Brar studied Business Management at Armstrong College,
Berkeley and holds a certificate in Supply Chain Management and Strategy from
MIT. Mr. Brar is fluent in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and Spanish and is a
recipient of the Gold Award from HRH Duke of Edinburgh.
Mary L.
Marbach was appointed General Counsel of Vitacost.com Inc. in December,
2009. Ms. Marbach has been an attorney at the Company since July of
2009. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Marbach was Senior
Transactional Counsel at Imperial Finance and Trading, LLC in Boca Raton,
Florida. Ms. Marbach was an associate at Greenberg Traurig, LLP in
its Corporate and Securities Group in Boca Raton, Florida from 2002 through
2004. Prior to that, she was an associate at Morrison & Foerster,
LLP in its Corporate & Securities Group in Palo Alto,
California. Ms. Marbach has a BS from Syracuse University, an MBA
from the University of Miami, and a JD from Boston University School of
Law. Ms. Marbach is a member of the State Bar of California and the
State Bar of Florida.
The
Company has entered into Second Amendments to the Employment, Non-Competition
and Proprietary Rights Agreement with each of Mr. Kerker (the “Kerker
Amendment”), Mr. Smith (the “Smith Amendment”), Ms. Lambert (the “Lambert
Amendment”) and Mr. Hirsch (the “Hirsch Amendment,”), and a First Amendment to
the Employment, Non-Competition and Proprietary Rights Agreement with Mr. Brar
(the “Brar Amendment,” and together with the Kerker Amendment, the Smith
Amendment, the Lambert Amendment and the Hirsch Amendment, the
“Amendments”). The Amendments amend the respective Employment,
Non-Competition and Proprietary Rights Agreement between the Company and each of
Mr. Kerker (the “Kerker Agreement”), Mr. Smith (the “Smith Agreement”), Ms.
Lambert (the “Lambert Agreement”), Mr. Hirsch (the “Hirsch Agreement”) and Mr.
Brar (the “Brar Agreement,” and together with the Kerker Agreement, the Smith
Agreement, the Lambert Agreement and the Hirsch Agreement, as each have been
previously amended, the “Agreements”).
Pursuant
to the Kerker Amendment, the employment term in the Kerker Agreement was amended
to provide for a three year term for Mr. Kerker commencing on March 15, 2010,
renewable upon mutual agreement by the Company and Mr.
Kerker. Pursuant to the Smith Amendment and the Lambert Amendment,
the employment term in each of their respective Agreements was amended to
provide for a two year term commencing on March 15, 2010, renewable upon mutual
agreement by the Company and the respective party. In addition, the
Kerker Amendment and Smith Amendment provide that the respective compensation of
Mr. Kerker and Mr. Smith will be reviewed by the Board on an annual basis (based
on the original anniversary date of the effective date of their respective
Agreements, January 29, 2007) and may be increased (but not decreased), as
determined by the Board of Directors.
The
Kerker Amendment and the Smith Amendment further amended each of the Kerker
Agreement and Smith Agreement to provide, among other things, that in the event
of a termination by the Company of Mr. Kerker or Mr. Smith “Without Cause” (as
defined in the respective Agreements) or by Mr. Kerker or Mr. Smith for “Good
Reason” (as defined in the respective Amendments), then, in addition to any
compensation and benefits accrued through such termination, Mr. Kerker and Mr.
Smith, as the case may be, are entitled to receive (i) a severance payment equal
to the greater of (a) 2.5 times the sum of his then current base salary and the
average of the prior two years’ annual bonus, or (b) the amount he would be
entitled to receive (e.g. base salary, bonus, vacation pay) for the remainder of
the term as if he remained employed until the last day of such term, payable in
24 equal monthly payments and (ii) 18 months of company-paid continuation
medical benefits. The Lambert Amendment further amended the Lambert
Agreement to provide that in the event of a termination by the Company of Ms.
Lambert “Without Cause” (as defined in the Lambert Agreement), then, in addition
to any compensation and benefits accrued through such termination, Ms. Lambert
is entitled to (i) a severance payment equal to the greater of (a) two times the
sum of her then current base salary and the average of her prior two years’
annual bonus, or (b) the amount she would be entitled to receive (e.g. base
salary, bonus, vacation pay) for the remainder of the term as if she remained
employed until the last day of such term, payable in 24 equal monthly payments
and (ii) 18 months of company-paid continuation medical benefits. The
Hirsch Amendment and the Brar Amendment further amended each of the Hirsch
Agreement and Brar Agreement to provide that in the event of a termination by
the Company of Mr. Hirsch or Mr. Brar “Without Cause” (as defined in the
respective Agreements), then, in addition to any compensation and benefits
accrued through such termination, Mr. Hirsch or Mr. Brar, as the case may be,
are entitled to (i) a severance payment equal to the greater of (a) the sum of
his then current base salary and the average of his prior two years’ annual
bonus, or (b) the amount he would be entitled to receive (e.g. base salary,
bonus, vacation pay) for the remainder of the term as if he remained employed
until the last day of such term, payable in 12 equal monthly payments and (ii)
18 months of company-paid continuation medical benefits. In the event
of a termination by the Company Without Cause or by the executive for Good
Reason within the time periods specified above, then the executives identified
above would be entitled to the following severance payments: Mr.
Kerker, $1,265,625; Mr. Smith, $1,200,625; Ms. Lambert, $796,056; Mr. Hirsch,
$230,070; and Mr. Brar, $175,750.
The
Amendments further amended the Agreements to provide that if the employment of
Mr. Kerker, Mr. Smith, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Hirsch or Mr. Brar is terminated
following a “Change in Control” (as defined in the respective Amendment), either
by the Company Without Cause (as defined in the respective Agreement) or by the
executive for Good Reason (as defined in the respective Amendment), then the
executive is entitled to the following severance terms (in addition to any
compensation and benefits accrued through such termination (1) for Mr. Kerker,
if terminated Without Cause or for Good Reason within two years after a Change
in Control, a lump sum payment equal to 2.99 times his then current base salary
and 2.99 times the higher of (i) the average of the prior two years’ annual
bonus and (ii) last year’s bonus; (2) for Mr. Smith, if terminated Without Cause
or for Good Reason within 18 months after a Change in Control, a lump sum
payment equal to 2.5 times his then current base salary and 2.5 times the higher
of (i) the average of the prior two years’ annual bonus and (ii) last year’s
bonus; (3) for Ms. Lambert, if terminated Without Cause or for Good Reason
within 18 months after Change in Control, a lump sum payment equal to two times
her then current base salary and two times the higher of (i) the average of the
prior two years’ annual bonus and (ii) last year’s bonus; (4) for Mr. Hirsch, if
terminated Without Cause or for Good Reason within 12 months after a Change in
Control, a lump sum payment equal to his then current base salary and the higher
of (i) the average of the prior two years’ annual bonus and (ii) last year’s
bonus; and (5) for Mr. Brar, if terminated Without Cause or for Good Reason
within 12 months after a Change in Control, a lump sum payment equal to his then
current base salary and the higher of (i) the average of the prior two years’
annual bonus and (ii) last year’s bonus. If the employment of Mr.
Kerker, Mr. Smith, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Hirsch or Mr. Brar is terminated following a
Change in Control, either by the Company Without Cause or by the executive for
Good Reason, within the time periods specified above, then the executive is
entitled to the following severance payments: Mr. Kerker, $1,420,250;
Mr. Smith, $1,200,625; Ms. Lambert, $796,056; Mr. Hirsch, $230,070; and Mr.
Brar, $175,750.
The
compensation of our officers is set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 filed with the SEC on March 30,
2010.
We
believe that the election of all of Great Hill’s nominees would constitute a
Change in Control under the Amendments. Accordingly, if the
employment of Mr. Kerker, Mr. Smith, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Hirsch or Mr. Brar is
terminated following the election of all of Great Hill’s nominees, either by the
Company Without Cause or by the executive for Good Reason, then the executive
would be entitled to the aforementioned severance terms.
We
believe that the election of all of Great Hill’s nominees would constitute a
“change in control” under the Vitacost.com Inc. 2007 Stock Award Plan (the
“Plan”). Pursuant to the Plan, following a Change in Control, the
Board has discretionary authority to accelerate the vesting, exercisability,
lapsing of restrictions or expiration of deferral of any awards granted pursuant
to the Plan.
All
directors hold office until their successors have been elected and qualified or
until their earlier resignation or removal. Directors are elected
annually. None of the directors are involved in certain legal
proceedings covered under Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K. Your Board
has determined that Drs. Josephs, Pabst and Trapp, and Messrs. Gitler and Ezra
are “independent directors” and meet the independence requirements under the
listing standards of The NASDAQ Stock Market.
Our
certificate of incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that limit the
liability of our directors and provide for indemnification of our officers and
directors to the full extent permitted under Delaware law. In
addition, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with our
directors and officers that could require the Company to, among other things,
indemnify them against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their
status or service as directors or officers. Such provisions do not,
however, affect liability for any breach of a director’s duty of loyalty to the
Company or its stockholders, liability for acts or omissions not in good faith
or involving active and deliberate dishonesty or knowing violations of law or
liability for transactions in which the director derived an improper personal
benefit, among others.
Except as
described in this Consent Revocation Statement or
Appendix A
or
Appendix B
, none of
the participants (i) beneficially owns (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under
the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, any shares or other securities of our
Company or any of our subsidiaries, (ii) has purchased or sold any of such
securities within the past two years or (iii) is, or within the past year was, a
party to any contract, arrangement or understanding with any person with respect
to any such securities. Except as disclosed in this Consent
Revocation Statement or
Appendix A
or
Appendix B
, none of
the participants’ associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, any of
our securities. Other than as disclosed in this Consent Revocation
Statement or
Appendix
A
or
Appendix
B
, neither we nor any of the participants has any substantial interests,
direct or indirect, by security holding or otherwise, in any matter to be acted
upon pursuant to this Consent Revocation Statement or is or has been within the
past year a party to any contract, arrangement or understanding with any person
with respect to any of our securities, including, but not limited to, joint
ventures, loan or option agreements, puts or calls, guarantees against loss or
guarantees of profit, division of losses or profits or the giving or withholding
of proxies. Other than as set forth in this Consent Revocation
Statement or
Appendix
A
or
Appendix
B
, neither of the Company, the participants nor any of their associates
has had, or will have, a direct or indirect material interest in any transaction
or series of similar transactions since the beginning of our last fiscal year or
any currently proposed transactions, or series of similar transactions, to which
we or any of our subsidiaries was or is to be a party in which the amount
involved exceeds $120,000.
Other
than as set forth in this Consent Revocation Statement or
Appendix A
or
Appendix B
, neither
the Company, the participants, nor any of their affiliates owns any shares of
record, but not beneficially.
Other
than as set forth in this Consent Revocation Statement or
Appendix A
or
Appendix B
, neither
the Company, the participants, nor any of their affiliates has any arrangements
or understandings with any person with respect to any future employment by the
Company or its affiliates or with respect to any future transactions to which
the Company or its affiliates will or may be a party.
Other
than as set forth in this Consent Revocation Statement or
Appendix A
or
Appendix B
, there are
no material legal proceedings in which any of the directors or executive
officers of the Company or any of their affiliates is a party adverse to the
Company or any of its subsidiaries, or proceedings in which such nominees or
affiliates have a material interest adverse to the Company or any of its
subsidiaries. Other than the persons described above and in
Appendix A
, no
general class of employee of the Company will be employed to solicit
stockholders. However, in the course of their regular duties,
employees may be asked to perform clerical or ministerial tasks in furtherance
of this solicitation of revocations of consents.
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
Appendix B
to this
Consent Revocation Statement sets forth information regarding beneficial
ownership of the Common Stock by certain beneficial owners and the Company’s
management as of April 30, 2010. There were 27,888,039 shares of
Common Stock outstanding and entitled to consent as of May 24,
2010. The Company intends to notify stockholders of the number of
shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the Record Date by issuing a press
release, which it will also file with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report
on Form 8-K.
Dated: May
28, 2010
APPENDIX
A
RECENT
TRADING HISTORY OF PARTICIPANTS
IN
THIS CONSENT REVOCATION SOLICITATION
The
following is a list of all acquisitions and dispositions of the Common Stock of
Vitacost.com Inc. (the “Company”) that were made during the last two years by
persons who are participants in the Company’s solicitation of revocations of
consent. None of the purchase price or market value of the securities
of the Company purchased or sold within the past two years is represented by
funds borrowed or otherwise obtained for the purpose of acquiring or holding
such securities.
Name of Participant
|
|
Date
|
|
Acquired
|
|
|
Disposed
|
|
|
Price per
Share
|
|
Description
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
400,000
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Gifts
to the participant, the participant’s spouse and the participant’s
children
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
188,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Acquired
by the participant
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
188,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Acquired
by the participant’s spouse
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
188,000
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Disposed
of by the participant’s spouse
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
188,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Acquired
from the participant’s spouse
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
376,000
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Transferred
to the Allen S. Josephs 2009 Three Year Annuity Trust
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
6/16/2009
|
|
|
376,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Acquired
by the Allen S. Josephs 2009 Three Year Annuity Trust
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
129,234
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (owned through Charitable Remainder Trust)
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
129,234
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (owned by participant’s spouse)
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
3/4/2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
180,000
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Gift
from the A.M. Josephs Family Limited Partnership
|
Allen
S. Josephs
|
|
3/4/2010
|
|
|
180,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Gift
to the A.M. Josephs Family Foundation
|
Bobby
Brar
|
|
2/22/2010
|
|
|
2,400
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
7.50
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Bobby
Brar
|
|
2/22/2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2,400
|
|
|
$
|
11.22
|
|
Sold
upon Option Exercise
|
Bobby
Brar
|
|
2/22/2010
|
|
|
4,800
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
7.50
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Bobby
Brar
|
|
2/22/2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4,800
|
|
|
$
|
11.11
|
|
Sold
upon Option Exercise
|
David
Ilfeld
|
|
11/20/2009
|
|
|
35,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
7.30
average
weighted
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Ira
Kerker
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
25,804
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
3.13
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Ira
Kerker
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25,804
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (upon Option Exercise)
|
Ira
Kerker
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
64,000
|
|
|
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
6/17/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Transferred
to Lawrence Pabst Trustee of the agreement of trust of Lawrence Pabst
5/15/09
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
6/17/2009
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.00
|
|
Acquired
by Lawrence Pabst Trustee of the agreement of trust of Lawrence Pabst
5/15/09
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
48,772
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
40,000
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (owned through Pabst Company
Ltd.)
|
Name of Participant
|
|
Date
|
|
Acquired
|
|
|
Disposed
|
|
|
Price per
Share
|
|
Description
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
40,000
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (owned through Trust of Lawrence Pabst 5/15/09)
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
3/16/2010
|
|
|
26,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.16
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Lawrence
Pabst
|
|
3/16/2010
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26,000
|
|
|
$
|
11.99
average
weighted
|
|
Sold
upon Option Exercise
|
Mary
Marbach
|
|
11/6/2009
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
8.94
|
|
In
trust for minor child
|
Mary
Marbach
|
|
11/9/2009
|
|
|
100
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
8.47
|
|
Open
Market Purchase
|
Mary
Marbach
|
|
2/26/2010
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
11.11
|
|
In
trust for minor child
|
Mary
Marbach
|
|
2/26/2010
|
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
11.11
|
|
Open
Market Purchase
|
Mary
Marbach
|
|
3/1/2010
|
|
|
22
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
11.35
|
|
Open
Market Purchase
|
Richard
P. Smith
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
53,831
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
2.03
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Richard
P. Smith
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
53,831
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (upon Option Exercise)
|
Robert
G. Trapp
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
132,164
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO
|
Sonya
Lambert
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
34,194
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
3.55
average weighted
|
|
Option
Exercise
|
Sonya
Lambert
|
|
9/24/2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
34,194
|
|
|
$
|
12.00
|
|
Sold
in IPO (upon Option
Exercise)
|
APPENDIX
B
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial
ownership of our Common Stock on April 30, 2010, by the following:
|
·
|
each
of our directors and executive
officers;
|
|
·
|
all
of our directors and executive officers as a group;
and
|
|
·
|
each
person known by us to own more than 5% of our Common
Stock.
|
Beneficial
ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and
Exchange Commission. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a
person and the percentage ownership of that person, shares of Common Stock
subject to options or warrants held by that person that are currently
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 30, 2010 are deemed
outstanding, but are not deemed outstanding for computing the percentage
ownership of any other person. Percentage of beneficial ownership is based upon
27,488,353 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of April 30, 2010.
Except as
otherwise indicated and subject to applicable community property laws, each
person named in the table has sole voting and investment power with respect to
the shares set forth opposite such person’s name.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)
|
|
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
|
|
Percent
Beneficially
Owned
|
|
Directors
and Executive Officers:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ira
P. Kerker (2)
|
|
|
508,480
|
|
|
|
1.8
|
%
|
Allen
S. Josephs, M.D. (3)
|
|
|
2,567,285
|
|
|
|
9.3
|
%
|
Richard
P. Smith (4)
|
|
|
393,600
|
|
|
|
1.4
|
%
|
Sonya
L. Lambert (5)
|
|
|
295,200
|
|
|
|
1.0
|
%
|
Robert
D. Hirsch (6)
|
|
|
100,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Bobby
Birender S. Brar
|
|
|
―
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Mary
L. Marbach (7)
|
|
|
180
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
David
N. Ilfeld, M.D. (8)
|
|
|
2,733,412
|
|
|
|
9.9
|
%
|
Lawrence
A. Pabst, M.D. (9)
|
|
|
708,710
|
|
|
|
2.5
|
%
|
Robert
G. Trapp, M.D. (10)
|
|
|
753,926
|
|
|
|
2.7
|
%
|
Stewart
Gitler (11)
|
|
|
29,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Eran
Ezra(12)
|
|
|
18,000
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Directors
and Executive Officers as a group (12 persons)
|
|
|
8,107,766
|
|
|
|
29.4
|
%
|
5%
Stockholders:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Group
comprised of Great Hill Investors, LLC, Great Hill Equity Partners III,
L.P. and Great Hill Equity Partners IV, L.P.(13)
|
|
|
5,419,697
|
|
|
|
19.7
|
%
|
Group
comprised of Baron Capital Group, Inc., BAMCO, Inc., Baron Capital
Management, Inc. and Ronald Baron(14)
|
|
|
1,679,300
|
|
|
|
6.1
|
%
|
* Less
than 1%
(1)
|
Except
as otherwise indicated, each person may be reached at our company’s
address at Vitacost.com, Inc., 5400 Broken Sound Boulevard, NW, Suite 500,
Boca Raton, FL 33487.
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Kerker holds options to purchase 508,480 shares of Common Stock at the
following prices: (i) 33,480 shares at $3.125 per share; (ii) 140,000
shares at $3.75 per share; (iii) 130,000 shares at $7.50 per share; (iv)
200,000 shares at $12.00 per share; and (v) 5,000 shares at $10.35 per
share. All options are immediately exercisable or exercisable
within 60 days of April 30, 2010 and are included in the table
above.
|
(3)
|
Dr.
Josephs owns 1,477,485 shares of Common Stock through the Josephs Family
Limited Partnership, 300,800 shares in the Josephs Grantor Retained
Annuity Trust, and 180,000 shares in the A.M. Josephs Family Foundation.
He also holds options to purchase 609,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at the following prices: (i) 270,000 at $0.1563 per share;
(ii) 102,000 at $1.875 per share; (iii) 102,000 at $2.50 per share; (iv)
122,000 at $3.125 per share; (v) 8,000 at $7.50 per share and (vi) 5,000
at $10.35. All options are immediately exercisable or exercisable within
60 days of April 30, 2010 and are included in the table
above.
|
(4)
|
Mr.
Smith holds options to purchase 393,600 shares of Common Stock exercisable
at the following prices: (i) 100,000 shares at $3.75 per share; (ii)
20,000 shares at $2.50 per share; (iii) 13,600 shares at $2.03 per share;
(iv) 130,000 at $7.50 per share; and (v) 130,000 at $12.00 per
share. All options are immediately exercisable or exercisable
within 60 days of April 30, 2010 and are included in the table
above.
|
(5)
|
Ms.
Lambert holds options to purchase 295,000 shares of Common Stock at the
following prices: (i) 135,000 shares at $3.75 per share; (ii) 80,000
shares at $7.50 per share; and (iii) 80,000 at $12.00 per share. All
options are immediately exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April
30, 2010 and are included in the table
above.
|
(6)
|
Mr.
Hirsch holds options to purchase (i) 80,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at $7.50 per share ; and (ii) 20,000 shares of common stick
exercisable at $12.00 per share. All options are immediately
exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of April 30, 2010 and are
included in the table above.
|
(7)
|
Ms.
Marbach owns 145 shares of Common Stock individually, and 35 shares are
owned by her minor child.
|
(8)
|
Dr.
Ilfeld owns 2,733,412 shares of Common Stock (including 64,000 shares of
Common Stock owned by his spouse to which he disclaims beneficial
ownership) and holds options to purchase (i) 14,000 additional shares of
Common Stock at $7.50 per share; and (ii) 5,000 shares of Common Stock at
$10.35 a share. All options are immediately
exercisable.
|
(9)
|
Dr.
Pabst owns 263,710 shares individually, an additional 280,000 shares
through Pabst Company Limited and an additional 120,000 shares through the
Trust of Lawrence Pabst 5/15/09. He also holds options to purchase 71,000
shares of Common Stock exercisable at the following prices: (i) 20,000 at
$0.156 per share; (ii) 2,000 at $1.875 per share; (iii) 2,000 at $2.50 per
share; (iv) 2,000 at $3.125 per share; (v) 14,000 shares at $7.50 per
share and (vi) 5,000 shares at $10.35 per share. All options are
immediately exercisable.
|
(10)
|
Dr.
Trapp owns 753,926 shares of Common Stock and holds options to purchase
27,800 shares of Common Stock exercisable at the following prices: (i)
10,000 at $0.156 per share; (ii) 800 at $1.875 per share; (iii) 800 at
$2.50 per share; (iv) 800 at $3.125 per share; (v) 10,400 at $7.50 per
share; and (vi) 5,000 at $10.35 per share. All options are immediately
exercisable.
|
(11)
|
Mr.
Gitler holds options to purchase (i) 14,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at $7.50 per share; and (ii) 15,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at $10.35 . All options are immediately
exercisable.
|
(12)
|
Mr.
Ezra holds options to purchase (i) 8,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at $7.50 per share; and (ii) 10,000 shares of Common Stock
exercisable at $10.35. All options are immediately
exercisable.
|
(13)
|
Based
on the statement on Schedule 13D (Amendment No. 3) filed with the SEC on
May 25, 2010, Christopher S. Gaffney and John G. Hayes have shared voting
and dispositive power with respect to all 5,419,697 shares of Common
Stock. GHI has reported shared voting and dispositive power
with respect to 15,801 of such shares of Common Stock. GHEPIII,
Great Hill Partners GP III, L.P. (“GPIII”) and GHP III, LLC (“GHPIII”)
have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to 3,545,064 of such
shares of Common Stock. GHEPIV, Great Hill Partners GP IV, L.P.
(“GPIV”) and GHP IV, LLC (“GHPIV”) have shared voting and dispositive
power with respect to 1,858,832 of such shares of Common
Stock. Matthew T. Vettel has shared voting and dispositive
power with respect to 5,403,896 of such shares of Common
Stock. GPIII is the sole general partner of GHEPIII, and the
sole general partner of GPIII is GHPIII. The sole general
partner of GHEPIV is GPIV, and the sole general partner of GPIV is
GHPIV. Messrs. Gaffney and Hayes are managers of GHI, and
managers of the general partners of GHPIII and GHPIV, and Mr. Vettel is a
manager of GHPIII and GHPIV. GPIII may be deemed to indirectly
beneficially own the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by GHEPIII,
and GHPIII may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the shares of
Common Stock beneficially owned by GHEPIII and that may be deemed
indirectly beneficially owned by GPIII. GPIV may be deemed to
indirectly beneficially own the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned
by GHEPIV, and GHPIV may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the
shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by GHEPIV and that may be deemed
indirectly beneficially owned by GPIV. Each of Messrs. Gaffney
and Hayes may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the shares of
Common Stock beneficially owned by GHI, GHPIII and GHPIV, and Mr. Vettel
may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own the shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned by GHPIII and GHPIV. Each of Messrs.
Gaffney, Hayes and Vettel, GHI, GHPIII and GHPIV disclaims beneficial
ownership of such shares of Common Stock. The address of Great
Hill Investors, LLC, Great Hill Equity Partners III, L.P. and Great Hill
Equity Partners IV, L.P. is One Liberty Square, Boston, MA
02109.
|
(14)
|
Based
on the statement on Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12,
2010. Baron Capital Group, Inc., BAMCO, Inc. and Ronald Baron
have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to all 5,419,697
shares of Common Stock. The address of Baron Capital Group,
Inc., BAMCO, Inc., Baron Capital Management, Inc. and Ronald Baron is 767
Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, NY
10153.
|
FORM
OF CONSENT REVOCATION CARD — GOLD
CONSENT
REVOCATION
SOLICITED
BY THE
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF
VITACOST.COM INC.
Your
vote is very important. If you have any questions about revoking any
consent you may have previously
given,
or if you require assistance, please contact the Company’s consent revocation
solicitor:
The
Altman Group, Inc.
Call
Toll Free: (800) 591-8269
Email:
proxyinfo@altmangroup.com
Facsimile: (201)
460-0050
The
undersigned, a record holder of shares of common stock, par value $0.00001 per
share, of Vitacost.com Inc. (the “Company”), acting with respect to all shares
of the Company’s common stock held by the undersigned, hereby acts as follows
concerning the proposals of Great Hill set forth below.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY (THE “BOARD”) URGES YOU TO MARK THE “YES,
REVOKE MY CONSENT” BOXES.
Please
mark your selection
þ
as indicated in this
example.
PROPOSAL
1:
|
Proposal
made by Great Hill to amend Article IV, Section 4.3 of the bylaws, as
currently in effect, of the Company in order to allow the stockholders to
fill any vacancies, however caused, on the Board:
£
YES,
REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
NO,
DO NOT REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
ABSTAIN
|
|
|
PROPOSAL
2:
|
Proposal
made by Great Hill to remove, without cause, the following four members of
the Board (and any person or persons, other than those elected by Great
Hill’s consent solicitation, elected, appointed or designated by the Board
to fill any vacancy or newly created directorship on or after May 11, 2010
and prior to the time that any of the actions proposed to be taken by
Great Hill’s consent solicitation become effective): Eran Ezra, Stewart L.
Gitler, David N. Ilfeld, M.D. and Lawrence A. Pabst, MD:
£
YES,
REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
NO,
DO NOT REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
ABSTAIN
|
|
|
INSTRUCTION:
|
IF
YOU WISH TO REVOKE CONSENT TO THE REMOVAL OF CERTAIN OF THE PERSONS NAMED
IN PROPOSAL 2, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM, CHECK THE “YES, REVOKE MY CONSENT” BOX
ABOVE AND WRITE THE NAME OF EACH SUCH PERSON YOU WANT TO BE REMOVED IN THE
FOLLOWING SPACE:
|
PROPOSAL
3:
|
Proposal
made by Great Hill to elect Christopher S. Gaffney, Mark A. Jung, Michael
A. Kumin and Jeffrey M. Stibel to serve as directors of the Company until
the next annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are
duly elected and qualified:
£
YES,
REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
NO,
DO NOT REVOKE MY CONSENT
£
ABSTAIN
|
|
|
INSTRUCTION:
|
IF
YOU WISH TO REVOKE CONSENT TO THE ELECTION OF CERTAIN OF THE PERSONS NAMED
IN PROPOSAL 3, BUT NOT ALL OF THEM, CHECK THE “YES, REVOKE MY CONSENT” BOX
ABOVE AND WRITE THE NAME OF EACH SUCH PERSON YOU WANT TO BE ELECTED IN THE
FOLLOWING SPACE:
|
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY URGES YOU TO MARK THE “YES, REVOKE MY CONSENT”
BOXES.
UNLESS
OTHERWISE INDICATED ABOVE, THIS REVOCATION CARD REVOKES ALL PRIOR CONSENTS GIVEN
WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSALS SET FORTH HEREIN.
UNLESS
YOU SPECIFY OTHERWISE, BY SIGNING AND DELIVERING THIS CONSENT REVOCATION CARD TO
THE COMPANY, YOU WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE REVOKED CONSENT TO ALL THREE OF THE
PROPOSALS SET FORTH HEREIN.
IN
ORDER FOR YOUR CONSENT REVOCATION TO BE VALID, IT MUST BE SIGNED AND
DATED. PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND MAIL IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE
PROVIDED.
Dated: ____________________________,
2010
Print
Name: ________________________________
Signature
(Title, if any): _______________________
Signature
(if held jointly): ______________________
Title or
Authority:_________________________________
Please
sign in the same form as name appears hereon. Executors and
fiduciaries should indicate their titles. If signed on behalf of a corporation,
give the title of officer signing.
IMPORTANT
WE
STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU REJECT GREAT HILL AND ITS EFFORTS, WHICH THE BOARD
STRONGLY BELIEVES ARE NOT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE COMPANY AND ALL OF ITS
STOCKHOLDERS. FIRST, DO NOT SIGN OR RETURN GREAT HILL’S WHITE CONSENT
CARD. SECOND, IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY SIGNED OR RETURNED A WHITE
CONSENT CARD, YOUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU REVOKE THAT CONSENT BY MARKING,
SIGNING, DATING AND MAILING THIS CONSENT REVOCATION CARD
IMMEDIATELY. FINALLY, IF YOU HAVE NOT SIGNED OR RETURNED
GREAT HILL’S WHITE CONSENT CARD, YOU CAN SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR YOUR BOARD BY
MARKING, SIGNING, DATING AND MAILING THIS CONSENT REVOCATION
CARD. PLEASE ACT TODAY.
Your
vote is very important. If you have questions or need assistance in voting your
shares, please call:
The
Altman Group, Inc.
1200 Wall
Street West, 3rd Floor
Lyndhurst,
NJ 07071
Call Toll
Free: (800) 591-8269
Email:
proxyinfo@altmangroup.com
Facsimile:
(201) 460-0050
PLEASE
RETURN THIS CONSENT REVOCATION CARD IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED. IN
ADDITION, YOU MAY ALSO FAX BOTH SIDES OF THIS CONSENT REVOCATION CARD TO THE
ALTMAN GROUP, INC.
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