Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-219370
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(TO PROSPECTUS DATED July 20, 2017)
5,437,502 Shares
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.
Common Stock
All of the 5,437,502 shares of common stock of SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. are being sold by the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus supplement. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares being sold by the selling stockholders.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) under the symbol SITE. The last reported sale price of our common stock on July 20, 2017 was $51.80 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See the section entitled Risk Factors on page S-3 of this prospectus supplement and on page 7 of the accompanying prospectus.
The underwriter has agreed to purchase the shares of common stock from the selling stockholders at a price of $51.63 per share, which will result in aggregate proceeds of $280,738,228 to the selling stockholders. The underwriter may offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated prices. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriter for certain expenses in connection with this offering. See Underwriting.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriter expects to deliver the shares to purchasers on or about July 26, 2017.
Deutsche Bank Securities
The date of this prospectus supplement is July 20, 2017.
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
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None of we, the selling stockholders and the underwriter has authorized anyone to provide you with different information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectus we have prepared. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
For investors outside the United States: None of we, the selling stockholders and the underwriter has done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. You are required to inform yourselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus outside of the United States.
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, as used in this prospectus supplement, the terms Company, SiteOne, we, us and our mean SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The term Holdings refers to SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. individually without its subsidiaries.
This document has two parts, a prospectus supplement and an accompanying prospectus dated July 20, 2017. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the SEC utilizing a shelf registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the selling stockholders named in a prospectus supplement may, from time to time, offer and sell our common stock in one or more offerings or resales.
The accompanying prospectus provides you with a general description of our common stock, which the selling stockholders may offer pursuant to this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement, which describes certain matters relating to us and the specific terms of this offering of shares of our common stock, adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein and herein. Any statement that we make in the accompanying prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by any inconsistent statement made by us in this prospectus supplement.
The rules of the SEC allow us to incorporate by reference information into this prospectus supplement. This information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus supplement, and information that we file later with the SEC, to the extent incorporated by reference, will automatically update and supersede this information. See Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference. You should read both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus together with the additional information incorporated by reference herein and therein, including all documents described under the headings Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference and Where You Can Find More Information in this prospectus supplement before investing in our common stock.
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We are the largest and only national wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the United States and have a growing presence in Canada. Our customers are primarily residential and commercial landscape professionals who specialize in the design, installation and maintenance of lawns, gardens, golf courses and other outdoor spaces. As of July 2, 2017, we had 479 branch locations in 45 states and five provinces. Through our expansive North American network, we offer a comprehensive selection of more than 100,000 stock keeping units, or SKUs, including irrigation supplies, fertilizer and control products (e.g., herbicides), landscape accessories, nursery goods, hardscapes (including pavers, natural stones and blocks), outdoor lighting and ice melt products. We also provide value-added consultative services to complement our product offering and to help our customers operate and grow their businesses. Based on our net sales for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017 (2016 Fiscal Year), we estimate that we are more than four times the size of our largest competitor and larger than the next two through ten competitors combined. We believe, based on managements estimates, that we have either the number one or number two local market position in nearly 80% of metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, where we have one or more branches. Our market leadership, coast-to-coast presence, broad product selection and extensive technical expertise provide us with significant competitive advantages and create a compelling value proposition for both our customers and suppliers.
Our principal executive offices are located at 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Suite 600, Roswell, Georgia 30076, and our telephone number at that address is (470) 277-7000).
Recent Developments
For a discussion of our preliminary results for the second fiscal quarter of 2017, see the accompanying prospectus beginning on page 4.
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Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows are subject to various risks. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described in the section entitled Risk Factors beginning on page 7 of the accompanying prospectus, as well as other risks, uncertainties and information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, before making an investment decision. The occurrence of any of the risks described in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein also contain forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks and uncertainties described in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
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This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and therein contain forward-looking statements and cautionary statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as may, intend, might, will, should, could, would, expect, believe, estimate, anticipate, predict, project, potential, or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions. You should be aware that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time that may cause our business not to develop as we expect, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:
| cyclicality in residential and commercial construction markets; |
| general economic and financial conditions; |
| weather conditions, seasonality and availability of water to end-users; |
| laws and government regulations applicable to our business that could negatively impact demand for our products; |
| public perceptions that our products and services are not environmentally friendly; |
| competitive industry pressures; |
| product shortages and the loss of key suppliers; |
| product price fluctuations; |
| inventory management risks; |
| ability to implement our business strategies and achieve our growth objectives; |
| acquisition and integration risks; |
| increased operating costs; |
| risks associated with our large labor force; |
| adverse credit and financial markets events and conditions; |
| credit sale risks; |
| retention of key personnel; |
| performance of individual branches; |
| environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; |
| hazardous materials and related materials; |
| construction defect and product liability claims; |
| computer data processing systems; |
| security of personal information about our customers; |
| intellectual property and other proprietary rights; |
| requirements of being a public company; |
| risks related to our internal controls; |
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| the possibility of securities litigation; |
| our substantial indebtedness and our ability to obtain financing in the future; |
| increases in interest rates; and |
| risks related to other factors discussed in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and therein. |
You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and therein completely and with the understanding that actual future results may be materially different from expectations. All forward-looking statements made in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and therein are qualified by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date presented, and we do not undertake any obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking or cautionary statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, unanticipated or otherwise, and changes in future operating results over time or otherwise.
Comparisons of results between current and prior periods are not intended to express any future trends, or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
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The selling stockholders will receive all of the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock offered by them pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders will bear the underwriting commissions and discounts attributable to their sale of our common stock, and we will bear the remaining expenses.
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Our common stock has been listed on the NYSE under the symbol SITE since May 12, 2016. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our common stock. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low sales prices per share of our common stock as reported on the NYSE:
High | Low | |||||||
2016: |
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Second quarter (1) |
$ | 35.90 | $ | 25.49 | ||||
Third quarter |
$ | 40.97 | $ | 33.66 | ||||
Fourth quarter |
$ | 37.00 | $ | 26.60 | ||||
2017: |
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First quarter |
$ | 48.68 | $ | 34.69 | ||||
Second quarter |
$ | 53.52 | $ | 46.00 | ||||
Third quarter (2) |
$ | 53.68 | $ | 50.94 |
(1) | Represents the period from May 12, 2016, the date of our initial listing on the NYSE, through July 3, 2016, the end of our 2016 second fiscal quarter. |
(2) | Represents the period from July 3, 2017 through July 20, 2017. |
A recent reported closing price for our common stock is set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement. As of July 14, 2017, there were 16 holders of record of our common stock. This stockholder figure does not include a substantially greater number of holders whose shares are held of record by banks, brokers and other financial institutions.
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The following tables set forth information as of July 14, 2017 with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock by the selling stockholders. The amounts and percentages of shares beneficially owned are reported on the basis of SEC regulations governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. Under SEC rules, a person is deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if that person has or shares voting power or investment power, which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days of the determination date, which in the case of the following table is July 14, 2017. Securities that can be so acquired are deemed to be outstanding for purposes of computing such persons ownership percentage, but not for purposes of computing any other persons percentage. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which such person has no economic interest.
The beneficial ownership percentages are based on 39,732,962 shares of our common stock outstanding as of July 14, 2017.
Except as otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table, the beneficial owner listed has, to our knowledge, sole voting and investment power with respect to the indicated shares of common stock. Addresses for the beneficial owners are set forth in the footnotes to the table.
Name and address of beneficial owner |
Number of Shares Owned |
Percent of Voting Power Before the Offering (%) |
Shares Offered Hereby |
Percent of Voting Power After the Offering (%) |
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CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. (1)(2) |
3,545,091 | 8.9 | % | 3,545,091 | 0 | % | ||||||||||
Deere & Company (2) |
1,892,411 | 4.8 | % | 1,892,411 | 0 | % |
(1) | CD&R Associates VIII, Ltd. (CD&R Holdings GP), as general partner of CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P., CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., as the sole stockholder of CD&R Associates VIII, Ltd., and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd., as the general partner of CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., may each be deemed to beneficially own the shares of the Companys common stock. Each of CD&R Holdings GP, CD&R Associates VIII, L.P. and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd. expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares of the Companys common stock in which CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. has beneficial ownership. CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd. is managed by a two-person board of directors. Donald J. Gogel and Kevin J. Conway, as the directors of CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd., may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the shares of the Companys common stock in which CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. has beneficial ownership. Such persons expressly disclaim such beneficial ownership. Investment and voting decisions with respect to the shares of the Companys common stock held by CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. are made by an investment committee of limited partners of CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., currently consisting of more than ten individuals (the Investment Committee). The CD&R investment professionals who have effective voting control of the Investment Committee are Michael G. Babiarz, Vindi Banga, James G. Berges, John C. Compton, Kevin J. Conway, Russell P. Fradin, Thomas C. Franco, Kenneth A. Giuriceo, Donald J. Gogel, Jillian Griffiths, Marco Herbst, John Krenicki, Jr., David A. Novak, Paul S. Pressler, Ravi Sachdev, Christian Rochat, Richard J. Schnall, Nathan K. Sleeper, Sonja Terraneo and David H. Wasserman. All members of the Investment Committee expressly disclaim beneficial ownership of the shares shown as beneficially owned by CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. The address for each of CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P., CD&R Holdings GP, CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd is c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, South Church Street, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. |
(2) | For information regarding certain material relationships between the selling stockholders and the Company, see Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions included in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 31, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement. |
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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS FOR NON-U.S. HOLDERS
The following is a discussion of material U.S. federal income and estate tax considerations relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock by Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below) that purchase our common stock pursuant to this offering and hold such common stock as a capital asset. This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), U.S. Treasury regulations promulgated or proposed thereunder, and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as in effect on the date hereof and all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, or to different interpretation. This discussion does not address all of the U.S. federal income and estate tax considerations that may be relevant to specific Non-U.S. Holders in light of their particular circumstances or to Non-U.S. Holders subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax law (such as banks, insurance companies, dealers in securities or other Non-U.S. Holders that generally mark their securities to market for U.S. federal income tax purposes, foreign governments, international organizations, tax-exempt entities, certain former citizens or residents of the United States, or Non-U.S. Holders that hold our common stock as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion or other integrated transaction). This discussion does not address any U.S. state or local or non-U.S. tax considerations or any U.S. federal gift or alternative minimum tax considerations.
As used in this discussion, the term Non-U.S. Holder means a beneficial owner of our common stock that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is:
| an individual who is neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States; |
| a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation) that is not created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia; |
| an estate that is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on income from non-U.S. sources which is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States; or |
| a trust unless (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of its substantial decisions or (ii) it has in effect a valid election under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
If an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes invests in our common stock, the U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to such investment will depend in part upon the status and activities of such entity and the particular partner. Any such entity should consult its own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to it and its partners relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock.
PERSONS CONSIDERING AN INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON STOCK SHOULD CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AND NON-U.S. INCOME, ESTATE AND OTHER TAX CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK IN LIGHT OF THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.
Distributions on Common Stock
If we make a distribution of cash or other property (other than certain pro rata distributions of our common stock or rights to acquire our common stock) in respect of a share of our common stock, the distribution generally will be treated as a dividend to the extent it is paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). If the amount of such distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, such excess generally will be treated first as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the Non-U.S. Holders adjusted tax basis in such share of our common stock, and then as capital gain (which will be treated in the manner described below under Sale, Exchange or Other Disposition
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of Common Stock). Distributions treated as dividends on our common stock that are paid to or for the account of a Non-U.S. Holder generally will be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30%, or at a lower rate if provided by an applicable tax treaty and the Non-U.S. Holder provides the documentation (generally Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E) required to claim benefits under such tax treaty to the applicable withholding agent. A Non-U.S. Holder that does not timely furnish the required documentation, but that qualifies for a reduced treaty rate, may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing an appropriate claim for a refund with the IRS. Even if our current or accumulated earnings and profits are less than the amount of the distribution, the applicable withholding agent may elect to treat the entire distribution as a dividend for U.S. federal withholding tax purposes. Each Non-U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisor regarding U.S. federal withholding tax on distributions, including such Non-U.S. Holders eligibility for a lower rate and the availability of a refund of any excess U.S. federal tax withheld.
If, however, a dividend is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States by a Non-U.S. Holder, such dividend generally will not be subject to the 30% U.S. federal withholding tax if such Non-U.S. Holder provides the appropriate documentation (generally, IRS Form W-8ECI) to the applicable withholding agent. Instead, such Non-U.S. Holder generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such dividend in substantially the same manner as a holder that is a U.S. person (except as provided by an applicable tax treaty). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder that is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate if provided by an applicable tax treaty) on its effectively connected income for the taxable year, subject to certain adjustments.
The foregoing discussion is subject to the discussion below under FATCA Withholding and Information Reporting and Backup Withholding.
Sale, Exchange or Other Disposition of Common Stock
A Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain recognized on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock unless:
i. | such gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States by such Non-U.S. Holder, in which event such Non-U.S. Holder generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on such gain in substantially the same manner as a holder that is a U.S. person (except as provided by an applicable tax treaty) and, if it is treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, may also be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate if provided by an applicable tax treaty); |
ii. | such Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year of such sale, exchange or other disposition and certain other conditions are met, in which event such gain (net of certain U.S. source capital losses) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 30% (except as provided by an applicable tax treaty); or |
iii. | we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of (x) the five-year period ending on the date of such sale, exchange or other disposition and (y) such Non-U.S. Holders holding period with respect to such common stock, and certain other conditions are met. |
Generally, a corporation is a United States real property holding corporation if the fair market value of its United States real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests and its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business (all as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes). We believe that we presently are not, and we do not presently anticipate that we will become, a United States real property holding corporation.
The foregoing discussion is subject to the discussion below under FATCA Withholding and Information Reporting and Backup Withholding.
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FATCA Withholding
Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act provisions of the Code and related U.S. Treasury guidance (FATCA), a withholding tax of 30% will be imposed in certain circumstances on payments of (i) dividends on our common stock, and (ii) beginning on or after January 1, 2019, gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock. In the case of payments made to a foreign financial institution (such as a bank, a broker, an investment fund or, in certain cases, a holding company), as a beneficial owner or as an intermediary, this tax generally will be imposed, subject to certain exceptions, unless such institution (i) has agreed to (and does) comply with the requirements of an agreement with the United States (an FFI Agreement) or (ii) is required by (and does comply with) applicable foreign law enacted in connection with an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and a foreign jurisdiction (an IGA), in either case to, among other things, collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities or other relevant tax authorities certain information regarding U.S. account holders of such institution, and, in either case, such institution provides the withholding agent with a certification as to its FATCA status. In the case of payments made to a foreign entity that is not a financial institution (as a beneficial owner), the tax generally will be imposed, subject to certain exceptions, unless such entity provides the withholding agent with a certification as to its FATCA status and, in certain cases, (i) certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners (generally, any specified U.S. person that directly or indirectly owns more than a specified percentage of such entity) or (ii) identifies its substantial U.S. owners. If our common stock is held through a foreign financial institution that has agreed to comply with the requirements of an FFI Agreement, such foreign financial institution (or, in certain cases, a person paying amounts to such foreign financial institution) generally will be required, subject to certain exceptions, to withhold tax on certain payments made to (i) a person (including an individual) that fails to provide any required information or documentation or (ii) a foreign financial institution that has not agreed to comply with the requirements of an FFI Agreement and is not subject to similar requirements under applicable foreign law enacted in connection with an IGA. Similar withholding requirements may apply to foreign financial institutions that are subject to FATCA requirements pursuant to applicable foreign law enacted in connection with an IGA. Each Non-U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisor regarding the application of FATCA to the ownership and disposition of our common stock.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Amounts treated as payments of dividends on our common stock paid to a Non-U.S. Holder and the amount of any U.S. federal tax withheld from such payments generally must be reported annually to the IRS and to such Non-U.S. Holder by the applicable withholding agent.
The information reporting and backup withholding rules that apply to payments of dividends to certain U.S. persons generally will not apply to payments of dividends on our common stock to a Non-U.S. Holder if such Non-U.S. Holder certifies under penalties of perjury that it is not a U.S. person (generally by providing an IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E to the applicable withholding agent) or otherwise establishes an exemption.
Proceeds from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock by a Non-U.S. Holder effected outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker generally will not be subject to the information reporting and backup withholding rules that apply to payments to certain U.S. persons, provided that the proceeds are paid to the Non-U.S. Holder outside the United States. However, proceeds from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock by a Non-U.S. Holder effected through a non-U.S. office of a non-U.S. broker with certain specified U.S. connections or a U.S. broker generally will be subject to these information reporting rules (but generally not to these backup withholding rules), even if the proceeds are paid to such Non-U.S. Holder outside the United States, unless such Non-U.S. Holder certifies under penalties of perjury that it is not a U.S. person (generally by providing an IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E to the applicable withholding agent) or otherwise establishes an exemption. Proceeds from the sale, exchange or other disposition of our common stock by a Non-U.S. Holder effected through a U.S. office of a broker generally will
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be subject to these information reporting and backup withholding rules unless such Non-U.S. Holder certifies under penalties of perjury that it is not a U.S. person (generally by providing an IRS Form W-8BEN or IRS Form W-8BEN-E to the applicable withholding agent) or otherwise establishes an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules generally will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a Non-U.S. Holders U.S. federal income tax liability if the required information is furnished by such Non-U.S. Holder on a timely basis to the IRS.
U.S. Federal Estate Tax
Shares of our common stock owned or treated as owned by an individual Non-U.S. Holder at the time of such Non-U.S. Holders death will be included in such Non-U.S. Holders gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes and may be subject to U.S. federal estate tax unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.
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The following is a summary of certain considerations associated with the purchase of our common stock by employee benefit plans that are subject to Title I of ERISA, plans, individual retirement accounts and other arrangements that are subject to Section 4975 of the Code or provisions under any federal, state, local, non-U.S. or other laws or regulations that are similar to such provisions of ERISA or the Code (collectively, Similar Laws), and entities whose underlying assets are considered to include plan assets of any such plan, account or arrangement (each, a Plan).
General Fiduciary Matters
ERISA and the Code impose certain duties on persons who are fiduciaries of a Plan subject to Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code (an ERISA Plan) and prohibit certain transactions involving the assets of an ERISA Plan and its fiduciaries or other interested parties. Under ERISA and the Code, any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over the administration of such an ERISA Plan or the management or disposition of the assets of such an ERISA Plan, or who renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation to such an ERISA Plan, is generally considered to be a fiduciary of the ERISA Plan.
In considering an investment in our common stock of a portion of the assets of any Plan, a fiduciary should determine whether the investment is in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the Plan and the applicable provisions of ERISA, the Code or any Similar Law relating to a fiduciarys duties to the Plan including, without limitation, the prudence, diversification, delegation of control and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code and any other applicable Similar Laws.
Prohibited Transaction Issues
Section 406 of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code prohibit ERISA Plans from engaging in specified transactions involving plan assets with persons or entities who are parties in interest, within the meaning of ERISA, or disqualified persons, within the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code, unless an exemption is available. A party in interest or disqualified person who engaged in a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to excise taxes and other penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. In addition, the fiduciary of the ERISA Plan that engaged in such a non-exempt prohibited transaction may be subject to penalties and liabilities under ERISA and the Code. The acquisition and/or holding of our common stock by an ERISA Plan with respect to which we or the underwriters is considered a party in interest or a disqualified person may constitute or result in a direct or indirect prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA and/or Section 4975 of the Code, unless the investment is acquired and is held in accordance with an applicable statutory, class or individual prohibited transaction exemption. In this regard, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued prohibited transaction class exemptions, or PTCEs, that may apply to the acquisition and holding of our common stock. These class exemptions include, without limitation, PTCE 84-14 respecting transactions determined by independent qualified professional asset managers, PTCE 90-1 respecting insurance company pooled separate accounts, PTCE 91-38 respecting bank collective investment funds, PTCE 95-60 respecting life insurance company general accounts and PTCE 96-23 respecting transactions determined by in-house asset managers, although there can be no assurance that all of the conditions of any such exemptions will be satisfied.
Because of the foregoing, our common stock should not be purchased or held by any person investing plan assets of any Plan, unless such purchase and holding will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under ERISA and the Code or similar violation of any applicable Similar Laws.
Representation
Accordingly, by acceptance of our common stock, each purchaser and subsequent transferee of our common stock will be deemed to have represented and warranted that either (i) no portion of the assets used by such
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purchaser or transferee to acquire and hold our common stock constitutes assets of any Plan or (ii) the purchase and holding of our common stock by such purchaser or transferee will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code or similar violation under any applicable Similar Laws.
Additionally, if any purchaser or subsequent transferee of our common stock is using assets of any ERISA Plan to acquire or hold our common stock, such purchaser and subsequent transferee will be deemed to represent that (i) none of us, the underwriters, and any of our or their respective affiliates has acted as the ERISA Plans fiduciary, or has been relied upon for any advice, with respect to the purchaser or transferees decision to acquire, hold, sell, exchange, vote or provide any consent with respect to, our common stock and none of us, the underwriters, and any of our or their respective affiliates shall at any time be relied upon as the ERISA Plans fiduciary with respect to any decision to acquire, continue to hold, sell, exchange, vote or provide any consent with respect to, our common stock and (ii) the decision to invest in our common stock has been made at the recommendation or direction of an independent fiduciary (Independent Fiduciary) within the meaning of U.S. Code of Federal Regulations 29 C.F.R. Section 2510.3-21(c), as amended from time to time (the Fiduciary Rule), who (a) is independent of us and the underwriters; (b) is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with respect to particular transactions and investment strategies (within the meaning of the Fiduciary Rule); (c) is a fiduciary (under ERISA and/or Section 4975 of the Code) with respect to the purchaser or transferees investment in our common stock and is responsible for exercising independent judgment in evaluating the investment in our common stock; (d) is either (A) a bank as defined in Section 202 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the Advisers Act), or similar institution that is regulated and supervised and subject to periodic examination by a state or federal agency of the United States; (B) an insurance carrier which is qualified under the laws of more than one state of the United States to perform the services of managing, acquiring or disposing of assets of such an ERISA Plan; (C) an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act or, if not registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act by reason of paragraph (1) of Section 203A of the Advisers Act, is registered as an investment adviser under the laws of the state (referred to in such paragraph (1)) in which it maintains its principal office and place of business; (D) a broker dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and/or (E) an Independent Fiduciary (not described in clauses (A), (B), (C) or (D) above) that holds or has under management or control total assets of at least $50 million, and will at all times that such purchaser or transferee holds our common stock hold or have under management or control total assets of at least $50 million; and (e) is aware of and acknowledges that (I) none of us, the underwriters and any of our or their respective affiliates is undertaking to provide impartial investment advice, or to give advice in a fiduciary capacity, in connection with the purchasers or transferees investment in our common stock, and (II) we, the underwriters and our and their respective affiliates have a financial interest in the purchasers or transferees investment in our common stock on account of the fees and other remuneration we or they expect to receive in connection with transactions contemplated hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any ERISA Plan which is an individual retirement account that is not represented by an Independent Fiduciary shall not be deemed to have made the representation in clause (ii)(d) above.
The foregoing discussion is general in nature and is not intended to be all inclusive. Due to the complexity of these rules and the penalties that may be imposed upon persons involved in non-exempt prohibited transactions, it is particularly important that fiduciaries, or other persons considering purchasing our common stock on behalf of, or with the assets of, any Plan, consult with their counsel regarding the potential applicability of ERISA, Section 4975 of the Code and any Similar Laws to such investment and whether an exemption would be applicable to the purchase and holding of our common stock.
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Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. is acting as the underwriter for this offering. The selling stockholders will enter into an underwriting agreement with the underwriter. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, the selling stockholders have agreed to sell to the underwriter, and the underwriter has agreed to purchase, the number of shares of common stock listed next to its name in the following table:
Underwriter |
Number of Shares | |||
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. |
5,437,502 |
The underwriter is committed to purchase all the common shares offered by the selling stockholders if they purchase any shares.
The underwriter may offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated prices. The underwriter may effect such transactions by selling shares of common stock to or through dealers, and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriter and/or purchasers of shares of common stock for whom they may act as agents or to whom they may sell as principal. The difference between the price at which the underwriter purchases shares and the price at which the underwriter resells such shares may be deemed underwriting compensation.
We estimate that the total expenses of this offering, including registration, filing and listing fees, printing fees and legal and accounting expenses will be approximately $500,000. We will bear such expenses. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriter for expenses up to $25,000 related to clearance of this offering with the Financial Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the web sites maintained by the underwriter, or selling group members, if any, participating in the offering. The underwriter may agree to allocate a number of shares to underwriter and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriter and selling group members that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
We have agreed that we will not (i) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose, except as provided in the underwriting agreement, of any of our securities that are substantially similar to the securities offered hereby, including but not limited to any options or warrants to purchase shares of our common stock or any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of our common stock or any such substantially similar securities, or (ii) enter into any hedging or other transaction which is designed or which reasonably could be expected to lead to or result in a sale or disposition of our common stock (other than pursuant to employee stock option plans existing on, or upon the conversion, exercise or exchange of any option or convertible or exchangeable securities outstanding as of, the date of this prospectus supplement), in each case without the prior written consent of the underwriter for a period of 45 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.
Our directors and executive officers and the selling stockholders will enter into lock-up agreements with the underwriter prior to the commencement of this offering pursuant to which each of these persons or entities, for a period of 45 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, may not, without the prior written consent of the underwriter, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, grant any option to purchase, make any short sale or otherwise dispose of any shares of our common stock, or any options or warrants to purchase any shares of our common stock, or any securities convertible into, exchangeable for or that represent the right to receive shares of our common stock, subject to certain exceptions.
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We and the selling stockholders have agreed to indemnify the underwriter against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute payments that the underwriter may be required to make in that respect.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SITE.
The underwriter has advised us and the selling stockholders that, in connection with this offering, the underwriter may engage in stabilizing transactions, which involves making bids for, purchasing and selling shares of common stock in the open market for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock while this offering is in progress. These stabilizing transactions may include making short sales of the common stock, which involves the sale by the underwriter of a greater number of shares of common stock than it is required to purchase in this offering, and purchasing shares of common stock on the open market to cover positions created by short sales. The underwriter may close out any covered short position by purchasing shares in the open market.
The underwriter has advised us that, pursuant to Regulation M of the Securities Act, it may also engage in other activities that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock, including the imposition of penalty bids.
These activities may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of the common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock, and, as a result, the price of the common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. If the underwriter commences these activities, it may discontinue them at any time. The underwriter may carry out these transactions on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriter that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
Selling Restrictions
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (as defined below), each, a Relevant Member State, with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State, no offer of shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be made to the public in that Relevant Member State other than:
A. | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
B. | to fewer than 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), per Relevant Member State, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives; or |
C. | in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, |
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provided that no such offer of shares shall require the Company or the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
Each person in a Relevant Member State (other than a Relevant Member State where there is a Permitted Public Offer) who initially acquires any shares or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that (A) it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the law in that Relevant Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive, and (B) in the case of any shares acquired by it as a financial intermediary, as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, the shares acquired by it in the offering have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Relevant Member State other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been given to the offer or resale. In the case of any shares being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a nondiscretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer of any shares to the public other than their offer or resale in a Relevant Member State to qualified investors as so defined or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The Company, the representatives and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representation, acknowledgement and agreement.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have been prepared on the basis that any offer of shares in any Relevant Member State will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of shares. Accordingly any person making or intending to make an offer in that Relevant Member State of shares which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the Company or the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive in relation to such offer. Neither the Company nor the representatives have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares in circumstances in which an obligation arises for the Company or the representatives to publish a prospectus for such offer.
For the purpose of the above provisions, the expression an offer to the public in relation to any shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the shares, as the same may be varied in the Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in the Relevant Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU) and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and any other material in relation to the shares described herein (the Shares) are being distributed only to, and are directed only at, persons who are qualified investors (as defined in the Prospectus Directive) who are (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the Order), or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, or (iii) persons to whom it would otherwise be lawful to distribute them, all such persons together being referred to as Relevant Persons. The Shares are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such Shares will be engaged in only with, Relevant Persons. This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and their contents are
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confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by any recipients to any other person in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or their contents. The Shares are not being offered to the public in the United Kingdom.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been approved by or registered with the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong or the Registrar of Companies of Hong Kong. The shares may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to professional investors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the shares may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to shares which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the shares may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the shares be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, or the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the shares are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended), or the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or
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indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or the ASIC, in relation to the offering. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001, or the Corporations Act, and do not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons, or the Exempt Investors, who are sophisticated investors (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), professional investors (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act), or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain general information only and do not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. They do not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or the DFSA. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. They must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
We have not and will not register with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or the FINMA, as a foreign collective investment scheme pursuant to Article 119 of the Federal Act on Collective Investment
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Scheme of 23 June 2006, as amended, or the CISA, and accordingly the shares being offered pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not and will not be approved, and may not be licensable, with FINMA. Therefore, the shares have not been authorized for distribution by FINMA as a foreign collective investment scheme pursuant to Article 119 CISA and the shares offered hereby may not be offered to the public, as this term is defined in Article 3 CISA, in or from Switzerland. The shares may solely be offered to qualified investors, (as this term is defined in Article 10 CISA) and in the circumstances set out in Article 3 of the Ordinance on Collective Investment Scheme of 22 November 2006, as amended, or the CISO, such that there is no public offer. Investors, however, do not benefit from protection under CISA or CISO or supervision by FINMA. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and any other materials relating to the shares are strictly personal and confidential to each offeree and do not constitute an offer to any other person. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may only be used by those qualified investors to whom it has been handed out in connection with the offer described herein and may neither directly or indirectly be distributed or made available to any person or entity other than its recipients. It may not be used in connection with any other offer and shall in particular not be copied and/or distributed to the public in Switzerland or from Switzerland. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute an issue prospectus as that term is understood pursuant to Article 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Federal Code of Obligations. We have not applied for a listing of the shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange or any other regulated securities market in Switzerland, and consequently, the information presented in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not necessarily comply with the information standards set out in the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange and corresponding prospectus schemes annexed to the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Qatar
The shares described in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been, and will not be, offered, sold or delivered, at any time, directly or indirectly in the State of Qatar in a manner that would constitute a public offering. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus have not been, and will not be, registered with or approved by the Qatar Financial Markets Authority or Qatar Central Bank and may not be publicly distributed. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are intended for the original recipient only and must not be provided to any other person. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not for general circulation in the State of Qatar and may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
The shares may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the shares must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contain a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriter is not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
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Other Relationships
The underwriter and its affiliates is a full service financial institution engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. The underwriter and its respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with the issuer, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. For example, the underwriter acted as a joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner under the Term Loan Facility (as defined in the accompanying prospectus) and an affiliate of the underwriter is a lender under the ABL Facility (as defined in the accompanying prospectus).
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriter and its affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with the issuer. The underwriter and its affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.
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The validity of the common stock offered in this offering will be passed upon for us by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, New York. Certain legal matters with respect to this offering will be passed upon for the underwriter by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York, New York.
The consolidated financial statements, and the related financial statement schedule, incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference from the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017 have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus supplement and any accompanying prospectus are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits thereto. Some items are omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information with respect to us and the common stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits filed therewith. Statements contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein as to the contents of any contract, agreement or any other document referred to are summaries of the material terms of the respective contract, agreement or other document. With respect to each of these contracts, agreements or other documents filed as an exhibit to the registration statement or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, reference is made to the exhibits for a more complete description of the matter involved. A copy of the registration statement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, including the exhibits thereto, may be read and copied at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov, from which interested persons can electronically access the registration statement, including the exhibits and any schedules thereto. Copies of the registration statement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, including the exhibits and schedules thereto, are also available at your request, without charge, from SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Suite 600, Roswell, Georgia 30076.
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and, accordingly, file annual reports containing financial statements audited by an independent registered public accounting firm, quarterly reports containing unaudited financial statements, current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may inspect and copy these reports, proxy statements and other information at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at the address noted above. You may also obtain copies of this material from the Public Reference Room of the SEC as described above, or inspect them without charge at the SECs website.
You may access, free of charge, our reports filed with the SEC (for example, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those forms) through our website (http://investors.siteone.com). Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. None of the information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our websites or any other website identified herein is part of, or incorporated into, this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. All website addresses in this prospectus supplement are intended to be inactive textual references only.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement information we file with the SEC in other documents. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to another document we have filed with the SEC. The information relating to us contained in this prospectus supplement should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference.
We incorporate by reference, as of their respective dates of filing, the documents listed below (excluding any portions of such documents that have been furnished but not filed for purposes of the Exchange Act):
| our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760); |
| our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2017, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760); |
| our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2017, March 23, 2017, April 17, 2017 (Item 9.01 only), May 18, 2017, May 24, 2017 and June 23, 2017 (Item 5.02 only); |
| our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 31, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760) (only those parts incorporated in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017); |
| the description of capital stock contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the SEC on May 2, 2016 (SEC File No. 001-37760), as supplemented by the Description of Capital Stock included in the accompanying prospectus; and |
| all documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as amended (other than Current Reports on Form 8-K furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 (including any financial statements or exhibits relating thereto furnished pursuant to Item 9.01) of Form 8-K and not specifically incorporated by reference), after the date of this prospectus supplement. |
You should read the information relating to us in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus together with the information in the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to incorporate information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC.
Any statement incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement from an earlier dated document that is inconsistent with a statement contained in this prospectus supplement or in any other document filed after the date of the earlier dated document, but prior to the date hereof, which also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus supplement by such statement contained in this prospectus supplement or in any other document filed after the date of the earlier dated document, but prior to the date hereof, which also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement.
Any person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is delivered may request copies of any of the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, without charge, by written or oral request directed to SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., c/o Briley Brisendine, Secretary, 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Roswell, Georgia 30076, Telephone: (470) 277-7000 or the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://investors.siteone.com or from the SEC through the SECs Internet website at the address provided under Where You Can Find More Information. All other information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus supplement. Documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement are available without charge, excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference into those documents.
S-23
PROSPECTUS
Up to 5,437,502 Shares
SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.
Common Stock
This prospectus relates to the resale, from time to time, of up to 5,437,502 of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, by CD&R Landscapes Holding, L.P., or the CD&R Investor, and Deere & Company, or Deere (together with the CD&R Investor, the selling stockholders). Any selling stockholder may offer and sell shares of our common stock held by them directly or through underwriters, agents or broker-dealers, in amounts, at prices and on terms that will be determined at the time of the offer and sale. For more information, see Plan of Distribution. We will not receive any proceeds from sales of the shares offered by the selling stockholders pursuant to this prospectus, but we have agreed to pay certain registration expenses, other than underwriting discounts and commissions.
The common stock of SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SITE. The last reported sale price of our common stock on July 19, 2017 was $51.21 per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See the section entitled Risk Factors on page 7 of this prospectus and any risk factors described in any applicable prospectus supplement and in the documents we incorporate by reference.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus is July 20, 2017.
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Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires, as used in this prospectus, the terms Company, SiteOne, we, us and our mean SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The term Holdings refers to SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. individually without its subsidiaries.
This prospectus is part of an automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the SEC as a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), utilizing a shelf registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the selling stockholders over time may offer and sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings or resales. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the shares of common stock the selling stockholders may offer. Under the shelf process, in certain circumstances, we may provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of a particular offering by the selling stockholders. Any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus may also add to, update, supplement or clarify information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. Any statement that we make in this prospectus will be modified or superseded by any inconsistent statement made by us in a prospectus supplement.
The rules of the SEC allow us to incorporate information by reference into this prospectus. This information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. See Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading Where You Can Find More Information.
Neither we, the selling stockholders nor any underwriters have authorized anyone to provide you with different information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the securities offered by this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.
You should not assume that the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectus prepared by us is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of those documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospectus may have changed since that date.
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We are the largest and only national wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the United States and have a growing presence in Canada. Our customers are primarily residential and commercial landscape professionals who specialize in the design, installation and maintenance of lawns, gardens, golf courses and other outdoor spaces. As of July 2, 2017, we had 479 branch locations in 45 states and five provinces. Through our expansive North American network, we offer a comprehensive selection of more than 100,000 stock keeping units, or SKUs, including irrigation supplies, fertilizer and control products (e.g., herbicides), landscape accessories, nursery goods, hardscapes (including pavers, natural stones and blocks), outdoor lighting and ice melt products. We also provide value-added consultative services to complement our product offering and to help our customers operate and grow their businesses. Based on our net sales for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017 (2016 Fiscal Year), we estimate that we are more than four times the size of our largest competitor and larger than the next two through ten competitors combined. We believe, based on managements estimates, that we have either the number one or number two local market position in nearly 80% of metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, where we have one or more branches. Our market leadership, coast-to-coast presence, broad product selection and extensive technical expertise provide us with significant competitive advantages and create a compelling value proposition for both our customers and suppliers.
Our principal executive offices are located at 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Suite 600, Roswell, Georgia 30076, and our telephone number at that address is (470) 277-7000.
Recent Developments
Expected Second Fiscal Quarter 2017 Results
For the three months ended July 2, 2017, we expect net sales to be $605.0 million to $610.0 million, an increase of $91.6 million to $96.6 million, or 18% to 19%, as compared to net sales of $513.4 million for the three months ended July 3, 2016; net income to be $43.9 million to $44.4 million, an increase of $17.0 million to $17.5 million, as compared to net income of $26.9 million for the three months ended July 3, 2016; and Adjusted EBITDA to be $92.0 million to $92.5 million, an increase of $17.1 million to $17.6 million, as compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $74.9 million for the three months ended July 3, 2016. For the six months ended July 2, 2017, we expect net sales to be $940.0 million to $945.0 million, an increase of $98.1 million to $103.1 million, or 12%, as compared to net sales of $841.9 million for the six months ended July 3, 2016; net income to be $33.4 million to $33.9 million, an increase of $12.1 million to $12.6 million, as compared to net income of $21.3 million for the six months ended July 3, 2016; and Adjusted EBITDA to be $93.2 million to $93.7 million, an increase of $13.8 million to $14.3 million, as compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $79.4 million for the six months ended July 3, 2016. Our results in both the quarter and the first six months benefited from the strong sales growth and gross margin improvements achieved through our operational initiatives. Our net sales growth in both the quarter and first six months reflected the impact of acquisitions and positive organic sales growth. In addition, net sales growth for the three months ended July 2, 2017 reflected a return to normal spring weather patterns as compared to the early spring in 2016 when we experienced unusually strong organic daily sales growth in the first quarter and correspondingly weaker organic daily sales growth in the second quarter.
Our ongoing liquidity needs are expected to be funded by cash on hand, net cash provided by operating activities and, as required, borrowings under our asset-based loan facility. Our borrowing base capacity under our asset-based loan facility was approximately $127.5 million as of July 2, 2017 after giving effect to approximately $193.1 million of revolving credit loans under our asset-based loan facility, a $102.1 million increase from $91.0 million of revolving credit loans outstanding as of January 1, 2017, reflecting a seasonal increase in working capital and the completion of five acquisitions in the first half of the year.
The estimated results for the three and six months ended July 2, 2017 are preliminary, unaudited and subject to completion, reflect managements current views and may change as a result of managements review of results
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and other factors, including a wide variety of significant business, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties. Such preliminary results are subject to the closing of the second fiscal quarter of 2017 and finalization of financial and accounting procedures (which have yet to be performed) and should not be viewed as a substitute for full quarterly financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). We caution you that the estimates of net sales, net income (loss) and Adjusted EBITDA are forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and that actual results may differ materially from those described above. You should read this information together with the financial statements and the related notes and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for prior periods included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017 and our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended April 2, 2017, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Neither our independent registered public accounting firm nor any other independent registered public accounting firm has audited, reviewed or compiled, examined or performed any procedures with respect to the estimated results, nor have they expressed any opinion or any other form of assurance on the estimated results.
Adjusted EBITDA Description and Reconciliation
We present Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate the operating performance and efficiency of our business. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA as further adjusted for items permitted under the covenants of our Credit Facilities (as defined below). EBITDA represents our net income (loss) plus the sum of income tax (benefit), depreciation and amortization and interest expense, net of interest income. Adjusted EBITDA is further adjusted for stock-based compensation expense, related party advisory fees, loss (gain) on sale of assets, other non-cash items, other non-recurring (income) and loss. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an important supplemental measure of operating performance because:
| Adjusted EBITDA is used to test compliance with certain covenants under our credit facilities; |
| we believe Adjusted EBITDA is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies, many of which present an Adjusted EBITDA measure when reporting their results; |
| we believe Adjusted EBITDA is helpful in highlighting operating trends, because it excludes the results of decisions that are outside the control of operating management and that can differ significantly from company to company depending on long-term strategic decisions regarding capital structure, the tax jurisdictions in which companies operate, age and book depreciation of facilities and capital investments; |
| we consider (gains) losses on the acquisition, disposal and impairment of assets as resulting from investing decisions rather than ongoing operations; and |
| other significant non-recurring items, while periodically affecting our results, may vary significantly from period to period and have a disproportionate effect in a given period, which affects comparability of our results. |
Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our liquidity or financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. The use of Adjusted EBITDA instead of net income has limitations as an analytical tool. For example, this measure:
| does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs; |
| does not reflect our interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debt; |
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| does not reflect our income tax (benefit) expense or the cash requirements to pay our income taxes; |
| does not reflect historical cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments; and |
| although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements. |
Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only as a supplement to provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting the business than GAAP results alone. Because not all companies use identical calculations, our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.
The following table reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to net income for the periods presented:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||
July 2, 2017 (preliminary) |
July 3, 2016 (actual) |
July 2, 2017 (preliminary) |
July 3, 2016 (actual) |
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(in millions) (unaudited) |
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Net income |
$43.9 $44.4 | $ | 26.9 | $33.4 $33.9 | $ | 21.3 | ||||||
Income tax expense |
26.3 | 18.1 | 18.7 | 14.7 | ||||||||
Interest expense, net |
6.6 | 6.5 | 12.8 | 9.1 | ||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
10.8 | 9.1 | 20.6 | 17.7 | ||||||||
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EBITDA |
$87.6 $88.1 | $ | 60.6 | $85.5 $86.0 | $ | 62.8 | ||||||
Stock-based compensation (a) |
1.6 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 | ||||||||
(Gain) loss on sale of assets (b) |
0.1 | | 0.2 | (0.1 | ) | |||||||
Advisory fees (c) |
| 8.0 | | 8.5 | ||||||||
Financing fees (d) |
1.1 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 3.1 | ||||||||
Rebranding, acquisitions and other adjustments (e) |
1.6 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 2.2 | ||||||||
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Adjusted EBITDA (f) |
$92.0 $92.5 | $ | 74.9 | $93.2 $93.7 | $ | 79.4 | ||||||
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(a) | Represents stock-based compensation expense recorded during the period. |
(b) | Represents the gain or loss associated with the sale or write-down of assets not in the ordinary course of business. |
(c) | Represents fees paid to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (CD&R) and Deere & Company (Deere) for consulting services. In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into termination agreements with CD&R and Deere pursuant to which the parties agreed to terminate the related consulting agreements. See Certain Relationships and Related Party TransactionsConsulting Agreements included in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. |
(d) | Represents fees associated with our debt refinancing and debt amendments, as well as fees incurred in connection with our initial public offering and secondary offering. |
(e) | Represents (i) expenses related to our rebranding to the name SiteOne and (ii) professional fees, retention and severance payments, and performance bonuses related to historical acquisitions. Although we have incurred professional fees, retention and severance payments, and performance bonuses related to acquisitions in several historical periods and expect to incur such fees and payments for any future acquisitions, we cannot predict the timing or amount of any such fees or payments. |
(f) | Adjusted EBITDA excludes any earnings or loss of acquisitions prior to their respective acquisition dates for all periods presented. |
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Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows are subject to various risks. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, as well as other information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. The occurrence of any of the following risks or additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks and uncertainties described below.
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
Cyclicality in our business could result in lower net sales and reduced cash flows and profitability. We have been, and in the future may be, adversely impacted by declines in the new residential and commercial construction sectors, as well as in spending on repair and upgrade activities.
We sell a significant portion of our products for landscaping activities associated with new residential and commercial construction sectors, which have experienced cyclical downturns, some of which have been severe. The strength of these markets depends on, among other things, housing starts, consumer spending, non-residential construction spending activity and business investment, which are a function of many factors beyond our control, including interest rates, employment levels, availability of credit, consumer confidence and capital spending. Weakness or downturns in residential and commercial construction markets could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.
Sales of landscape supplies to contractors serving the residential construction sector represent a significant portion of our business, and demand for our products is highly correlated with new residential construction. Housing starts are dependent upon a number of factors, including housing demand, housing inventory levels, housing affordability, foreclosure rates, demographic changes, the availability of land, local zoning and permitting processes, the availability of construction financing and the health of the economy and mortgage markets. Unfavorable changes in any of these factors could adversely affect consumer spending, result in decreased demand for homes and adversely affect our business. Beginning in mid-2006 and continuing through late-2011, the homebuilding industry experienced a significant downturn. The decrease in homebuilding activity had a significant adverse effect on our business during such time. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.2 million housing units were started in 2016, representing an increase of approximately 5% from 2015. Nevertheless, housing starts in 2016 remained significantly below their historical long-term average. In addition, some analysts project that the demand for residential construction may be negatively impacted as the number of renting households has increased in recent years and as a shortage in the supply of affordable housing is expected to result in lower home ownership rates. The timing and extent of any recovery in homebuilding activity and the resulting impact on demand for landscape supplies are uncertain.
Our net sales also depend, in significant part, on commercial construction, which similarly recently experienced a severe downturn. Previously, downturns in the commercial construction market have typically lasted about two to three years, resulting in market declines of approximately 20% to 40%, while the most recent downturn in the commercial construction market lasted over four years, resulting in a market decline of approximately 60%. According to U.S. Census Bureau, total private commercial construction put in place began to recover in 2013 and increased approximately 20% in 2014, 6% in 2015 and 11% in 2016. However, 2016 new commercial construction spending was still well below pre-recession levels. We cannot predict the duration of the current market conditions or the timing or strength of any future recovery of commercial construction activity in our markets.
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We also rely, in part, on repair and upgrade of existing landscapes. High unemployment levels, high mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates, lower home prices, limited availability of mortgage and home improvement financing, and significantly lower housing turnover, may restrict consumer spending, particularly on discretionary items such as landscape projects, and adversely affect consumer confidence levels and result in reduced spending on repair and upgrade activities.
Our business is affected by general business, financial market and economic conditions, which could adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business and results of operations are significantly affected by general business, financial market and economic conditions. General business, financial market and economic conditions that could impact the level of activity in the wholesale landscape supply industry include the level of new home sales and construction activity, interest rate fluctuations, inflation, unemployment levels, tax rates, capital spending, bankruptcies, volatility in both the debt and equity capital markets, liquidity of the global financial markets, the availability and cost of credit, investor and consumer confidence, global economic growth, local, state and federal government regulation, and the strength of regional and local economies in which we operate. With respect to the residential construction sector in particular, spending on landscape projects is largely discretionary and lower levels of consumer spending or the decision by home-owners to perform landscape upgrades or maintenance themselves rather than outsource to contractors may adversely affect our business. There was a significant decline in economic growth in the United States, which began in the second half of 2007 and continued through the last quarter of 2009. There can be no guarantee that the improvements since that time in the general economy and our markets will be sustained or continue.
Seasonality affects the demand for our products and services and our results of operations and cash flows.
The demand for our products and services and our results of operations are affected by the seasonal nature of our irrigation, outdoor lighting, nursery, landscape accessories, fertilizers, turf protection products, grass seed, turf care equipment and golf course maintenance supplies. Such seasonality causes our results of operations to vary considerably from quarter to quarter. Typically, our net sales and net income have been higher in the second and third quarters of each fiscal year due to favorable weather and longer daylight conditions during these quarters. Our net sales and net income, however, are significantly lower in the first and fourth quarters due to lower landscaping, irrigation and turf maintenance activities in these quarters. Accordingly, results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved for the full fiscal year.
Our operations are substantially dependent on weather conditions.
We supply landscape, irrigation and turf maintenance products, the demand for each of which is affected by weather conditions, including, without limitation, potential impacts, if any, from climate change. In particular, droughts could cause shortage in the water supply, which may have an adverse effect on our business. For instance, our supply of plants could decrease, or prices could rise, due to such water shortages, and customer demand for certain types of plants may change in ways in which we are unable to predict. Such water shortages may also make irrigation or the maintenance of turf uneconomical. Governments may implement limitations on water usage that make effective irrigation or turf maintenance unsustainable, which could negatively impact the demand for our products. In California, for instance, mandatory water restrictions went into effect across the state in 2015. We have also recently seen an increased demand in California for products related to drought-tolerant landscaping, including hardscapes and plants that require low amounts of water. There is a risk that demand for landscaping products will decrease overall due to persistent drought conditions in some of the geographic markets we serve, or that demand will change in ways that we are unable to predict.
Furthermore, adverse weather conditions, such as droughts, severe storms and significant rain or snowfall, can adversely impact the demand for our products, timing of product delivery, or our ability to deliver products at all. For example, severe winter storms can cause hazardous road conditions, which may prevent personnel from
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traveling or delivering to service locations. In addition, unexpectedly severe weather conditions, such as excessive heat or cold, may result in certain applications in the maintenance product cycle being omitted for a season or damage to or loss of nursery goods, sod and other green products in our inventory, which could result in losses requiring writedowns.
Laws and government regulations applicable to our business could increase our legal and regulatory expenses, and impact our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business is subject to significant federal, state, provincial and local laws and regulations. These laws and regulations include laws relating to consumer protection, wage and hour requirements, the employment of immigrants, labor relations, permitting and licensing, building code requirements, workers safety, the environment, employee benefits, marketing and advertising and the application and use of herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals. In particular, we anticipate that various federal, state, provincial and local governing bodies may propose additional legislation and regulation that may be detrimental to our business, may decrease demand for the products we supply or may substantially increase our operating costs, including proposed legislation, such as environmental regulations related to chemical or nutrient use, water use, climate change, equipment efficiency standards and other environmental matters; other consumer protection laws or regulations; or health care coverage. It is difficult to predict the future impact of the broad and expanding legislative and regulatory requirements affecting our businesses and changes to such requirements may adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, if we were to fail to comply with any applicable law or regulation, we could be subject to substantial fines or damages, be involved in litigation, suffer losses to our reputation or suffer the loss of licenses or incur penalties that may affect how our business is operated, which, in turn, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Public perceptions that the products we use and the services we deliver are not environmentally friendly or safe may adversely impact the demand for our products or services.
We sell, among other things, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, rodenticides and other chemicals. Public perception that the products we use and the services we deliver are not environmentally friendly or safe or are harmful to humans or animals, whether justified or not, or the improper application of these chemicals, could reduce demand for our products and services, increase regulation or government restrictions or actions, result in fines or penalties, impair our reputation, involve us in litigation, damage our brand names and otherwise have a material adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our industry and the markets in which we operate are highly competitive and fragmented, and increased competitive pressures could reduce our share of the markets we serve and adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We operate in markets with relatively few large competitors, but barriers to entry in the landscape supply industry are generally low, and we may have several competitors within a local market area. Competition varies depending on product line, type of customer and geographic area. Some local competitors may be able to offer higher levels of service or a broader selection of inventory than we can in particular local markets. As a result, we may not be able to continue to compete effectively with our competitors. Any of our competitors may foresee the course of market development more accurately than we do, provide superior service, sell or distribute superior products, have the ability to supply or deliver similar products and services at a lower cost, or on more favorable credit terms, develop stronger relationships with our customers and other consumers in the landscape supply industry, adapt more quickly to evolving customer requirements than we do, develop a superior network of distribution centers in our markets or access financing on more favorable terms than we can obtain. As a result, we may not be able to compete successfully with our competitors.
Competition can also reduce demand for our products and services, negatively affect our product sales and services or cause us to lower prices. Consolidation of professional landscape service firms may result in
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increased competition for their business. Certain product manufacturers that sell and distribute their products directly to landscapers may increase the volume of such direct sales. Our suppliers may also elect to enter into exclusive supplier arrangements with other distributors.
Former associates may start landscape supply businesses similar to ours, in competition with us. Our industry faces low barriers to entry, making the possibility of former associates starting similar businesses more likely. Increased competition from businesses started by former associates may reduce our market share and adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our customers consider the performance of the products we distribute, our customer service and price when deciding whether to use our services or purchase the products we distribute. Excess industry capacity for certain products in several geographic markets could lead to increased price competition. We may be unable to maintain our operating costs or product prices at a level that is sufficiently low for us to compete effectively. If we are unable to compete effectively with our existing competitors or new competitors enter the markets in which we operate, our financial condition, operating results and cash flows may be adversely affected.
Product shortages, loss of key suppliers, failure to develop relationships with qualified suppliers or dependence on third-party suppliers and manufacturers could affect our financial health.
Our ability to offer a wide variety of products to our customers is dependent upon our ability to obtain adequate product supply from manufacturers and other suppliers. Any disruption in our sources of supply, particularly of the most commonly sold items, could result in a loss of revenues, reduced margins and damage to our relationships with customers. Supply shortages may occur as a result of unanticipated increases in demand or difficulties in production or delivery. When shortages occur, our suppliers often allocate products among distributors. The loss of, or a substantial decrease in the availability of, products from our suppliers or the loss of key supplier arrangements could adversely impact our financial condition, operating results and cash flows.
Our ability to continue to identify and develop relationships with qualified suppliers who can satisfy our high standards for quality and our need to be supplied with products in a timely and efficient manner is a significant challenge. Our suppliers ability to provide us with products can also be adversely affected in the event they become financially unstable, particularly in light of continuing economic difficulties in various regions of the United States and the world, fail to comply with applicable laws, encounter supply disruptions, shipping interruptions or increased costs, or face other factors beyond our control.
Our agreements with suppliers are generally terminable by either party on limited notice, and in some cases we do not have written agreements with our suppliers. If market conditions change, suppliers may stop offering us favorable terms. Our suppliers may increase prices or reduce discounts on the products we distribute and we may be unable to pass on any cost increase to our customers, thereby resulting in reduced margins and profits. Failure by our suppliers to continue to supply us with products on favorable terms, commercially reasonable terms, or at all, could put pressure on our operating margins or have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The prices and costs of the products we purchase may be subject to large and significant price fluctuations. We might not be able to pass cost increases through to our customers, and we may experience losses in a rising price environment. In addition, we might have to lower our prices in a declining price environment, which could also lead to losses.
We purchase and sell a wide variety of products, the price and availability of which may fluctuate, and may be subject to large and significant price increases. Many of our contracts with suppliers include prices for commodities such as grass seed and chemicals used in fertilizer that are not fixed or are tied to an index, which allows our suppliers to change the prices of their products as the input prices fluctuate. Our business is exposed to these fluctuations, as well as to fluctuations in our costs for transportation and distribution. Changes in prices
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for the products that we purchase affect our net sales and cost of goods sold, as well as our working capital requirements, levels of debt and financing costs. We might not always be able to reflect increases in our costs in our own pricing. Any inability to pass cost increases on to customers may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if market prices for the products that we sell decline, we may realize reduced profitability levels from selling such products and lower revenues from sales of existing inventory of such products.
We are subject to inventory management risks; insufficient inventory may result in lost sales opportunities or delayed revenue, while excess inventory may harm our gross margins.
We balance the need to maintain inventory levels that are sufficient to ensure competitive lead times against the risk of inventory obsolescence because of changing customer requirements, fluctuating commodity prices, or the life-cycle of nursery goods, sod and other green products. In order to successfully manage our inventories, including grass seed, chemicals used in fertilizers, and nursery goods, sod and other green products, we must estimate demand from our customers and purchase products that substantially correspond to that demand. If we overestimate demand and purchase too much of a particular product, we face a risk that the price of that product will fall, leaving us with inventory that we cannot sell profitably. In addition, we may have to write down such inventory if we are unable to sell it for its recorded value. Contracts with certain suppliers require us to take on additional inventory or pay a penalty, even in circumstances where we have excess inventory. By contrast, if we underestimate demand and purchase insufficient quantities of a product and the price of that product were to rise, we could be forced to purchase that product at a higher price and forego profitability in order to meet customer demand. Insufficient inventory levels may lead to shortages that result in delayed revenue or loss of sales opportunities altogether as potential end-customers turn to competitors products that are readily available. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer a material adverse effect if either or both of these situations occur frequently or in large volumes.
Many factors, such as weather conditions, agricultural limitations and restrictions relating to the management of pests and disease, affect the supply of nursery goods, grass seed, sod and other green products. If the supply of these products available is limited, prices could rise, which could cause customer demand to be reduced and our revenues and gross margins to decline. For example, nursery goods, sod and grass seed are perishable and have a limited shelf life. Should we be unable to sell our inventory of nursery goods, grass seed, sod and other green products within a certain timeframe, we may face losses requiring write-downs. In contrast, we may not be able to obtain high-quality nursery goods and other green products in an amount sufficient to meet customer demand. Even if available, nursery goods from alternate sources may be of lesser quality or may be more expensive than those currently grown or purchased by us. If we are unable to effectively manage our inventory and that of our distribution partners, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
We may not successfully implement our business strategies, including achieving our growth objectives.
We may not be able to fully implement our business strategies or realize, in whole or in part within the expected time frames, the anticipated benefits of our various growth or other initiatives. Our various business strategies and initiatives, including our growth, operational and management initiatives, are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control. The execution of our business strategy and our financial performance will continue to depend in significant part on our executive management team and other key management personnel, the smooth transition of new senior leadership and our executive management teams ability to execute the new operational initiatives that they are undertaking. In addition, we may incur certain costs as we pursue our growth, operational and management initiatives, and we may not meet anticipated implementation timetables or stay within budgeted costs. As these initiatives are undertaken, we may not fully achieve our expected efficiency improvements or growth rates, or these initiatives could adversely impact our customer retention, supplier relationships or operations. Also, our business strategies may change from time to time in light of our ability to implement our business initiatives, competitive pressures, economic uncertainties or developments, or other factors.
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We may be unable to successfully acquire and integrate other businesses.
Our historical growth has been driven in part by acquisitions, and future acquisitions are an important element of our business strategy. We may be unable to continue to grow our business through acquisitions. We may not be able to continue to identify suitable acquisition targets and may face increased competition for these acquisition targets. In addition, acquired businesses may not perform in accordance with expectations, and our business judgments concerning the value, strengths and weaknesses of acquired businesses may not prove to be correct. We may also be unable to achieve expected improvements or achievements in businesses that we acquire. At any given time, we may be evaluating or in discussions with one or more acquisition targets, including entering into non-binding letters of intent. Future acquisitions may result in the incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities, legal liabilities, goodwill impairments, increased interest expense and amortization expense and significant integration costs.
Acquisitions involve a number of special risks, including:
| our inability to manage acquired businesses or control integration costs and other costs relating to acquisitions; |
| potential adverse short-term effects on operating results from increased costs or otherwise; |
| diversion of managements attention; |
| failure to retain existing customers or key personnel of the acquired business and recruit qualified new associates at the location; |
| failure to successfully implement infrastructure, logistics and systems integration; |
| potential impairment of goodwill; |
| risks associated with the internal controls of acquired companies; |
| exposure to legal claims for activities of the acquired business prior to acquisition and inability to realize on any indemnification claims, including with respect to environmental and immigration claims; |
| the risks inherent in the systems of the acquired business and risks associated with unanticipated events or liabilities; and |
| our inability to obtain financing necessary to complete acquisitions on attractive terms or at all. |
Our strategy could be impeded if we do not identify, or face increased competition for, suitable acquisition targets, and such increased competition could result in higher purchase price multiples we have to pay for acquisition targets or reduce the number of suitable targets. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected if any of the foregoing factors were to occur.
Increases in operating costs could adversely impact our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our financial performance is affected by the level of our operating expenses, such as occupancy costs associated with the leases for our branch locations and costs of fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment, parts, wages and salaries, employee benefits, health care, self-insurance costs and other insurance premiums as well as various regulatory compliance costs, all of which may be subject to inflationary pressures. In particular, our financial performance is adversely affected by increases in these operating costs.
Most of our facilities are located in leased premises. Many of our current leases are non-cancelable and typically have terms ranging from three to five years, with options to renew for specified periods of time. We believe that leases we enter into in the future will likely be long-term and non-cancelable and have similar
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renewal options. However, we may be unable to renew our current or future leases on favorable terms or at all which could have an adverse effect on our operations and costs. In addition, if we close a location, we generally remain committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, which include, among other things, payment of the base rent for the balance of the lease term.
We deliver a substantial volume of products to our customers by truck. Petroleum prices have fluctuated significantly in recent years. Prices and availability of petroleum products are subject to political, economic and market factors that are outside our control. Political events in petroleum-producing regions as well as hurricanes and other weather-related events may cause the price of fuel to increase. Our operating profit will be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain the fuel we require or to fully offset the anticipated impact of higher fuel prices through increased prices or fuel surcharges to our customers. Besides passing fuel costs on to customers, we have not entered into any hedging arrangements that protect against fuel price increases and we do not have any long-term fuel purchase contracts. If shortages occur in the supply of necessary petroleum products and we are not able to pass along the full impact of increased petroleum prices to our customers, our results of operations would be adversely affected.
We cannot predict the extent to which we may experience future increases in costs of occupancy, fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment, parts, wages and salaries, employee benefits, health care, self-insurance costs and other insurance premiums as well as various regulatory compliance costs and other operating costs. To the extent such costs increase, we may be prevented, in whole or in part, from passing these cost increases through to our existing and prospective customers, and the rates we pay to our suppliers may increase, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Risks associated with our large labor force could have a significant adverse effect on our business.
We have an employee base of approximately 3,300 associates. Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationships with our associates and affect our operating costs. These laws include employee classifications as exempt or non-exempt, minimum wage requirements, unemployment tax rates, workers compensation rates, overtime, family leave, anti-discrimination laws, safety standards, payroll taxes, citizenship requirements and other wage and benefit requirements for employees classified as non-exempt. As our associates may be paid at rates that relate to the applicable minimum wage, further increases in the minimum wage could increase our labor costs. Associates may make claims against us under federal or state laws, which could result in significant costs. Significant additional government regulations, including the Employee Free Choice Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Arbitration Fairness Act, could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we compete with other companies for many of our associates in hourly positions, and we invest significant resources to train and motivate our associates to maintain a high level of job satisfaction. Our hourly employment positions have historically had high turnover rates, which can lead to increased spending on training and retention and, as a result, increased labor costs. If we are unable to effectively retain highly qualified associates in the future, it could adversely impact our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
None of our associates are currently covered by collective bargaining or other similar labor agreements. However, if a large number of our associates were to unionize, including in the wake of any future legislation that makes it easier for associates to unionize, our business could be negatively affected. Any inability by us to negotiate collective bargaining arrangements could cause strikes or other work stoppages, and new contracts could result in increased operating costs. If any such strikes or other work stoppages occur, or if other associates become represented by a union, we could experience a disruption of our operations and higher labor costs.
In addition, certain of our suppliers have unionized work forces and certain of our products are transported by unionized truckers. Strikes, work stoppages or slowdowns could result in slowdowns or closures of facilities where the products that we sell are manufactured or could affect the ability of our suppliers to deliver such products to us. Any interruption in the production or delivery of these products could delay or reduce availability of these products and increase our costs.
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We depend on a limited number of key personnel. We may not be able to attract or retain key executives, which could adversely impact our business and inhibit our ability to operate and grow successfully.
We depend upon the ability and experience of a number of our executive management and other key personnel who have substantial experience with our operations and within our industry, including Doug Black, our Chief Executive Officer. The loss of the services of one or a combination of our senior executives or key employees could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Our business may also be negatively impacted if one of our senior executives or key employees is hired by a competitor. Our success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, manage and retain other qualified management personnel as we grow. We may not be able to continue to attract or retain such personnel in the future.
An impairment of goodwill and/or other intangible assets could reduce net income.
Acquisitions frequently result in the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets. As of April 2, 2017, goodwill represented approximately 12% of our total assets. Goodwill is not amortized for financial reporting purposes and is subject to impairment testing at least annually using a fair-value based approach. The identification and measurement of goodwill impairment involves the estimation of the fair value of our reporting units. Our accounting for impairment contains uncertainty because management must use its judgment in determining appropriate assumptions to be used in the measurement of fair value. We determine the fair values of our reporting units by using both a market and income approach.
We evaluate the recoverability of goodwill for impairment in between our annual tests when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. Any impairment of goodwill will reduce net income in the period in which the impairment is recognized.
Adverse credit and financial market events and conditions could, among other things, impede access to, or increase the cost of, financing or cause our customers to incur liquidity issues that could lead to some of our products not being purchased or being cancelled, or result in reduced operating revenue and net income, any of which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Disruptions in credit or financial markets could, among other things, lead to impairment charges, make it more difficult for us to obtain, or increase our cost of obtaining, financing for our operations or investments or to refinance our indebtedness, cause our lenders to depart from prior credit industry practice and not give technical or other waivers under the Credit Facilities (as defined under Risks Related to Our Substantial Indebtedness below), to the extent we may seek them in the future, thereby causing us to be in default under one or more of the Credit Facilities. These disruptions could also cause our customers to encounter liquidity issues that could lead to a reduction in the amount of our products purchased or services used, could result in an increase in the time it takes our customers to pay us, or could lead to a decrease in pricing for our products, any of which could adversely affect our accounts receivable, among other things, and, in turn, increase our working capital needs. In addition, adverse developments at federal, state and local levels associated with budget deficits resulting from economic conditions could result in federal, state and local governments increasing taxes or other fees on businesses, including us, to generate more tax revenues, which could negatively impact spending by customers on our products.
The majority of our net sales are derived from credit sales, which are made primarily to customers whose ability to pay is dependent, in part, upon the economic strength of the geographic areas in which they operate, and the failure to collect monies owed from customers could adversely affect our working capital and financial condition.
The majority of our net sales in our 2016 Fiscal Year were derived from the extension of credit to our customers whose ability to pay is dependent, in part, upon the economic strength of the areas where they operate.
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We offer credit to customers, generally on a short-term basis, either through unsecured credit that is based solely upon the creditworthiness of the customer, or secured credit for materials sold for a specific project where we establish a security interest in the material used in the project. The type of credit we offer depends on the customers financial strength. If any of our customers are unable to repay credit that we have extended in a timely manner, or at all, our working capital, financial condition, operating results and cash flows would be adversely affected. Further, our collections efforts with respect to non-paying or slow-paying customers could negatively impact our customer relations going forward.
Because we depend on certain of our customers to repay extensions of credit, if the financial condition of our customers declines, our credit risk could increase as a result. Significant contraction in the residential and non-residential construction markets, coupled with limited credit availability and stricter financial institution underwriting standards, could adversely affect the operations and financial stability of certain of our customers. Should one or more of our larger customers declare bankruptcy, it could adversely affect the collectability of our accounts receivable, bad debt reserves and net income.
Because we operate our business through highly dispersed locations across the United States, our operations may be materially adversely affected by inconsistent practices and the operating results of individual branches may vary.
We operate our business through a network of highly dispersed locations throughout the United States, supported by corporate executives and services in our headquarters, with local branch management retaining responsibility for day-to-day operations and adherence to applicable local laws. Our operating structure could make it difficult for us to coordinate procedures across our operations in a timely manner or at all. We may have difficulty attracting and retaining local personnel. In addition, our branches may require significant oversight and coordination from headquarters to support their growth. Inconsistent implementation of corporate strategy and policies at the local level could materially and adversely affect our overall profitability, prospects, business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. In addition, the operating results of an individual branch may differ from that of another branch for a variety of reasons, including market size, management practices, competitive landscape, regulatory requirements and local economic conditions. As a result, certain of our branches may experience higher or lower levels of growth than other branches.
Compliance with, or liabilities under, environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws and regulations pertaining to the use and application of fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, could result in significant costs that adversely impact our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We are subject to federal, state, provincial and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including laws that regulate the emission or discharge of materials into the environment, govern the use, packaging, labeling, transportation, handling, treatment, storage, disposal and management of chemicals and hazardous substances and waste, and protect the health and safety of our associates and users of our products. Such laws also impose liability for investigating and remediating, and damages resulting from, present and past releases of hazardous substances, including releases at sites we have ever owned, leased or operated or used as a disposal site. We could be subject to fines, penalties, civil or criminal sanctions, personal injury, property damage or other third-party claims as a result of violations of, or liabilities under, these laws and regulations. We could also incur significant investigation and cleanup costs for contamination at any currently or formerly owned or operated facilities, including LESCOs manufacturing and blending facilities. In addition, changes in, or new interpretations of, existing laws, regulations or enforcement policies, the discovery of previously unknown contamination, or the imposition of other environmental liabilities or obligations in the future, including obligations with respect to any potential health hazards of our products, may lead to additional compliance or other costs that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
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In addition, in the United States, products containing herbicides and pesticides generally must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or the EPA, and similar state agencies before they can be sold or applied. The failure to obtain or the cancellation of any such registration, or the withdrawal from the marketplace of such products, could have an adverse effect on our business, the severity of which would depend in part on the products involved, whether other products could be substituted and whether our competitors were similarly affected. The herbicides and pesticides we use are manufactured by independent third parties and are evaluated by the EPA as part of its ongoing exposure risk assessment. The EPA may decide that a herbicide or pesticide we use will be limited or will not be re-registered for use in the United States. We cannot predict the outcome or the severity of the effect of the EPAs continuing evaluations.
In addition, the use of certain herbicide and pesticide products is regulated by various federal, state, provincial and local environmental and public health agencies. We may be unable to prevent violations of these or other regulations from occurring. Even if we are able to comply with all such regulations and obtain all necessary registrations and licenses, the herbicides and pesticides or other products we supply could be alleged to cause injury to the environment, to people or to animals, or such products could be banned in certain circumstances. The regulations may also apply to customers who may fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and subject us to liabilities. Costs to comply with environmental, health and safety laws, or to address liabilities or obligations thereunder, could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our business exposes us to risks associated with hazardous materials and related activities, not all of which are covered by insurance.
Because our business includes the managing, handling, storing, selling and transporting and disposing of certain hazardous materials, such as fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and rodenticides, we are exposed to environmental, health, safety and other risks. We carry insurance to protect us against many accident-related risks involved in the conduct of our business and we maintain insurance coverage in accordance with our assessment of the risks involved, the ability to bear those risks and the cost and availability of insurance. Each of these insurance policies is subject to exclusions, deductibles and coverage limits. We do not insure against all risks and may not be able to insure adequately against certain risks and may not have insurance coverage that will pay any particular claim. We also may be unable to obtain at commercially reasonable rates in the future adequate insurance coverage for the risks we currently insure against, and certain risks are or could become completely uninsurable or eligible for coverage only to a reduced extent. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially impaired by environmental, health, safety and other risks that reduce our revenues, increase our costs or subject us to other liabilities in excess of available insurance.
The nature of our business exposes us to construction defect and product liability claims as well as other legal proceedings.
We rely on manufacturers and other suppliers to provide us with the products we sell and distribute. As we do not have direct control over the quality of the products manufactured or supplied by such third-party suppliers, we are exposed to risks relating to the quality of the products we distribute. It is possible that inventory from a manufacturer or supplier could be sold to our customers and later be alleged to have quality problems or to have caused personal injury, subjecting us to potential claims from customers or third parties. We have been subject to such claims in the past, which have been resolved without material financial impact.
We operate a large fleet of trucks and other vehicles. From time to time, the drivers of these vehicles are involved in accidents which could result in material personal injuries and property damage claims and in which goods carried by these drivers may be lost or damaged.
We cannot make assurances that we will be able to obtain insurance coverage to address a portion of these types of liabilities on acceptable terms in the future, if at all, or that any such insurance will provide adequate
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coverage against potential claims. Further, while we seek indemnification against potential liability for products liability claims from relevant parties, including but not limited to manufacturers and suppliers, we do not have written indemnification agreements from all of our suppliers and we may be unable to recover under such indemnification agreements that exist. An unsuccessful product liability defense could be highly costly and accordingly result in a decline in revenues and profitability. Finally, even if we are successful in defending any claim relating to the products we distribute, claims of this nature could negatively impact customer confidence in our products and our company.
From time to time, we may be involved in government inquiries and investigations, as well as employment, tort proceedings, including toxic tort actions, and other litigation. We cannot predict with certainty the outcomes of these legal proceedings and other contingencies, including environmental investigation, remediation and other proceedings commenced by government authorities. The outcome of some of these legal proceedings and other contingencies could require us to take, or refrain from taking, actions which could adversely affect our operations or could require us to pay substantial amounts of money. Additionally, defending against lawsuits and proceedings may involve significant expense and diversion of managements attention and resources from other matters regardless of the ultimate outcome.
We rely on our computer and data processing systems, and a large-scale malfunction or failure in our information technology systems could disrupt our business, create potential liabilities for us or limit our ability to effectively monitor, operate and control our operations and adversely impact our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
Our ability to keep our business operating effectively depends on the functional and efficient operation of our enterprise resource planning, telecommunications, inventory tracking, billing and other information systems. We rely on these systems to track transactions, billings, payments and inventory, as well as to make a variety of day-to-day business decisions. We may experience system malfunctions, interruptions or security breaches from time to time. Our systems also run older generations of software that may be unable to perform as efficiently as, and fail to communicate well with, newer systems. We are in the process of upgrading our management information technology systems. As we implement or develop new systems in the future, we may elect to modify, replace or discontinue certain technology initiatives, which could result in write-downs, and changes or modifications to our information technology systems could cause disruptions to our operations or cause challenges with respect to our compliance with laws, regulations or other applicable standards.
A significant or large-scale malfunction, interruption or security breach of our systems could adversely affect our ability to manage and keep our operations running efficiently and damage our reputation. A malfunction that results in a wider or sustained disruption to our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, as well as on the ability of management to align and optimize technology to implement business strategies. A security breach might also lead to violations of privacy laws, regulations, trade guidelines or practices related to our customers and associates and could result in potential claims from customers, associates, shareholders or regulatory agencies. If our disaster recovery plans do not work as anticipated, or if any third-party vendors to which we have outsourced certain information technology or other services fail to fulfill their obligations to us, our operations may be adversely impacted and any of these circumstances could adversely impact our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
If we fail to protect the security of personal information about our customers, we could be subject to interruption of our business operations, private litigation, reputational damage and costly penalties.
We rely on, among other things, commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for collecting, processing, transmitting and storing confidential customer information, such as payment card and personally identifiable information. The systems we currently use for payment card transactions, and the technology utilized in payment cards themselves, all of which can put payment card data at risk, are central to
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meeting standards set by the payment card industry, or PCI. We continue to evaluate and modify our systems and protocols for PCI compliance purposes; however PCI data security standards may change from time to time. Activities by third parties, advances in computer and software capabilities and encryption technology, new tools and discoveries and other events or developments may facilitate or result in a compromise or breach of our systems. Any compromises, breaches or errors in application related to our systems or failures to comply with data security standards set by the PCI could cause damage to our reputation and interruptions in our operations, including our customers ability to pay for our products and services by credit card or their willingness to purchase our products and services, and could further result in a violation of applicable laws, regulations, orders, industry standards or agreements and subject us to costs, penalties, litigation and liabilities which could have a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights that are material to our business.
Our ability to compete effectively depends in part on our rights to service marks, trademarks, trade names and other intellectual property rights we own or license, particularly our registered brand names SiteOne and LESCO. We have not sought to register or protect every one of our marks or brand names either in the United States or in every country in which they are or may be used. Furthermore, because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws, we may not receive the same protection in other countries as we would in the United States. If we are unable to protect our proprietary information and brand names, we could suffer a material adverse impact on our reputation, business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary information, or to defend against claims by third parties that our products, services or activities infringe their intellectual property rights.
The requirements of being a public company, including compliance with the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), may strain our resources, increase our costs and distract management, and we may be unable to comply with these requirements in a timely or cost-effective manner.
Our initial public offering was completed on May 17, 2016. Prior to that, we operated as a private company since our separation from Deere, and before that operated as a subsidiary of Deere. As a public company, we face significant legal, accounting, compliance and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. We are obligated to file annual and quarterly information and other reports with the SEC, as required by the Exchange Act, and applicable SEC rules. We are also subject to other reporting and corporate governance requirements, including certain requirements of the NYSE, which impose significant compliance obligations upon us and increase our operating costs. Among other things, we instituted a comprehensive compliance function related to various regulations, established additional internal policies and controls and are required to prepare financial statements that are compliant with SEC reporting requirements on a timely basis, draft a proxy statement and hold annual meetings of stockholders, appoint independent directors, comply with additional corporate governance matters and utilize outside counsel and accountants in the above activities.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the NYSE, have imposed increased regulation and disclosure obligations and have required enhanced corporate governance practices of public companies. Our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards are likely to result in increased administrative expenses and a diversion of managements time and attention from sales-generating activities. These changes require a significant commitment of additional resources. We may not be successful in complying with these requirements. If we do not comply with such requirements we might be subject to sanctions or investigation by regulatory authorities, such as the SEC or the NYSE. Any such action could harm our reputation and the confidence of investors and could materially adversely affect our business and cause our stock price to decline.
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These changes also place additional demands on our finance and accounting staff and on our financial accounting and information systems. Other expenses associated with being a public company include increases in auditing, accounting and legal fees and expenses, investor relations expenses, increased directors fees and director and officer liability insurance costs, registrar and transfer agent fees and listing fees, as well as other expenses. As a public company, we are required, among other things, to define and expand the roles and the duties of our board of directors and its committees and institute more comprehensive compliance and investor relations functions.
Any deficiencies in our financial reporting or internal controls could adversely affect our business and the trading price of our common stock.
As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and determine the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Beginning with our second annual report following our initial public offering, we will be required to provide a management report on internal control over financial reporting.
If we have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, we may not detect errors on a timely basis and our financial statements may be materially misstated. In addition, our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all errors and fraud. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud will be detected.
If there are material weaknesses or failures in our ability to meet any of the requirements related to the maintenance and reporting of our internal controls, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which in turn could cause the price of our common stock to decline. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary to produce reliable financial reports and to prevent fraud. If we have deficiencies in our internal controls, it may negatively impact our business, results of operations and reputation. In addition, we could become subject to investigations by the NYSE, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional management attention and which could adversely affect our business.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention and resources from our business.
Our share price may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of managements attention and resources, which could adversely impact our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.
Risks Related to Our Substantial Indebtedness
We have substantial indebtedness and may incur substantial additional indebtedness, which could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to obtain financing in the future, react to changes in our business or satisfy our obligations.
As of April 2, 2017, we had $502.9 million aggregate principal amount of total long-term consolidated indebtedness outstanding and $11.1 million of capital leases.
SiteOne Landscape Supply Holding LLC (Landscape Holding) and SiteOne Landscape Supply LLC (Landscape) are parties to a credit agreement, dated December 23, 2013, which has been amended pursuant to the First Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated June 13, 2014, the Second Amendment to the Credit
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Agreement, dated January 26, 2015, the Third Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated February 13, 2015, the Fourth Amendment to the Credit Agreement, dated October 20, 2015, and the Omnibus Amendment, dated May 24, 2017 (such agreement, as so amended, the ABL Credit Agreement), providing for an asset-based loan facility in the amount of up to $325.0 million, subject to availability under a borrowing base, with UBS AG, Stamford Branch, as administrative agent and collateral agent, and the other financial institutions and lenders from time to time party thereto (the ABL Facility).
Landscape Holding and Landscape are parties to an amended and restated credit agreement, dated April 29, 2016, which has been amended pursuant to the First Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated November 23, 2016, the Increase Supplement, dated November 23, 2016 and the Second Amendment to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated May 24, 2017, providing for a senior secured term loan facility in the amount of $299.5 million with UBS AG, Stamford Branch, as administrative agent and collateral agent, and the other financial institutions and lenders from time to time party thereto (the Term Loan Facility and, together with the ABL Facility, the Credit Facilities).
In addition, we are able to incur additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the limitations contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness. Our substantial indebtedness could have important consequences to you. Because of our substantial indebtedness:
| our ability to engage in acquisitions without raising additional equity or obtaining additional debt financing is limited; |
| our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements or general corporate purposes and our ability to satisfy our obligations with respect to our indebtedness may be impaired in the future; |
| a large portion of our cash flow from operations must be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the funds available to us for other purposes; |
| we are exposed to the risk of increased interest rates because borrowings under the Credit Facilities and certain floating rate operating and capital leases are at variable rates of interest; |
| it may be more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to our creditors, resulting in possible defaults on, and acceleration of, such indebtedness; |
| we may be more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions; |
| we may be at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors with proportionately less indebtedness or with comparable indebtedness on more favorable terms and, as a result, they may be better positioned to withstand economic downturns; |
| our ability to refinance indebtedness may be limited or the associated costs may increase; |
| our flexibility to adjust to changing market conditions and ability to withstand competitive pressures could be limited; and |
| we may be prevented from carrying out capital spending and restructurings that are necessary or important to our growth strategy and efforts to improve operating margins of our businesses. |
Increases in interest rates would increase the cost of servicing our indebtedness and could reduce our profitability.
Our indebtedness under the Credit Facilities bears interest at variable rates, and as a result, increases in interest rates would increase the cost of servicing our indebtedness and could materially reduce our profitability and cash flows. As of April 2, 2017, each one percentage point change in interest rates would result in an approximately $2.1 million change in the annual interest expense on the amount outstanding under the ABL Facility. As of April 2, 2017, each one percentage point change in interest rates would result in an approximately
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$3.0 million change in the annual interest expense on the Term Loan Facility. The impact of increases in interest rates could be more significant for us than it would be for some other companies because of our substantial indebtedness.
A lowering or withdrawal of the ratings, outlook or watch assigned to our debt securities by rating agencies may increase our future borrowing costs and reduce our access to capital.
The ratings, outlook or watch assigned to our indebtedness could be lowered or withdrawn entirely by a rating agency if, in that rating agencys judgment, current or future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, outlook, or watch such as adverse changes to our business, so warrant. Based on the financial performance of our businesses and the outlook for future years, our credit ratings, outlook or watch could be negatively impacted. Any lowering of our ratings, outlook or watch likely would make it more difficult or more expensive for us to obtain additional debt financing.
The agreements and instruments governing our indebtedness contain restrictions and limitations that could significantly impact our ability to operate our business.
Our Credit Facilities contain customary representations and warranties and customary affirmative and negative covenants that restrict some of our activities. The negative covenants limit the ability of Landscape Holding, Landscape and their restricted subsidiaries to:
| incur additional indebtedness; |
| pay dividends, redeem stock or make other distributions; |
| repurchase, prepay or redeem subordinated indebtedness; |
| make investments; |
| create restrictions on the ability of Landscape Holding and its restricted subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other intercompany transfers; |
| create liens; |
| transfer or sell assets; |
| make negative pledges; |
| consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of Landscape Holdings assets; |
| enter into certain transactions with affiliates; |
| designate subsidiaries as unrestricted subsidiaries; |
| enter into new lines of business; |
| consummate acquisitions; and |
| enter into hedging arrangements. |
In addition, the ABL Facility is subject to various covenants requiring minimum financial ratios, and our additional borrowings may be limited by these financial ratios. Our ability to comply with the covenants and restrictions contained in the Credit Facilities may be affected by economic, financial and industry conditions beyond our control including credit or capital market disruptions. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default that would permit the applicable lenders to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. If we are unable to repay indebtedness, lenders having secured obligations, such as the lenders under the Credit Facilities, could proceed against the collateral securing the indebtedness. In any such case, we may be unable to borrow under the Credit Facilities and may not be able to repay the amounts due under such facilities. This could have serious consequences to our financial position and results of operations and could cause us to become bankrupt or insolvent.
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Our ability to generate the significant amount of cash needed to pay interest and principal on our indebtedness and our ability to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness or obtain additional financing depends on many factors beyond our control.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on, or to refinance our obligations under, our indebtedness depends on the financial and operating performance of our subsidiaries, which, in turn, depends on their results of operations, cash flows, cash requirements, financial position and general business conditions and any legal and regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends to which they may be subject, many of which may be beyond our control.
We may be unable to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal and interest on our indebtedness. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our indebtedness. In the future, our cash flow and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our indebtedness, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations.
The final maturity date of the ABL Facility is October 20, 2020. The final maturity date of the Term Loan Facility is April 29, 2022. We may be unable to refinance any of our indebtedness or obtain additional financing, particularly because of our high levels of indebtedness. Market disruptions, such as those experienced in 2008 and 2009, as well as our significant indebtedness levels, may increase our cost of borrowing or adversely affect our ability to refinance our obligations as they become due. If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness or access additional credit, or if short-term or long-term borrowing costs dramatically increase, our ability to finance current operations and meet our short-term and long-term obligations could be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Holdings is a holding company with no operations of its own, and it depends on its subsidiaries for cash to fund all of its operations and expenses, including to make future dividend payments, if any.
Our operations are conducted entirely through our subsidiaries, and our ability to generate cash to fund operations and expenses, to pay dividends or to meet debt service obligations is highly dependent on the earnings and the receipt of funds from our subsidiaries through dividends or intercompany loans. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings or cash flow of Landscape and its subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay such distributions. Additionally, to the extent that Holdings needs funds, and its subsidiaries are restricted from making such distributions under applicable law or regulation or under the terms of our financing arrangements, or are otherwise unable to provide such funds, it could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Further, the terms of the agreements governing the Credit Facilities restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends, make loans or otherwise transfer assets to Holdings. Furthermore, our subsidiaries are permitted under the terms of the Credit Facilities and other indebtedness to incur additional indebtedness that may restrict or prohibit the making of distributions, the payment of dividends or the making of loans by such subsidiaries to us. In addition, Delaware law may impose requirements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common stock.
We do not currently expect to declare or pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Payments of dividends, if any, will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including general and economic conditions, our financial condition and operating results, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions and implications of the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries (including Landscape) to us, and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, Delaware law may impose requirements that may restrict our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common
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stock. To the extent that we determine in the future to pay dividends on our common stock, none of our subsidiaries will be obligated to make funds available to us for the payment of dividends.
The market price of our common stock may be volatile and could decline.
Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Among the factors that could affect our stock price are:
| industry or general market conditions; |
| domestic and international economic factors unrelated to our performance; |
| changes in our customers or their end-users preferences; |
| new regulatory pronouncements and changes in regulatory guidelines; |
| lawsuits, enforcement actions and other claims by third parties or governmental authorities; |
| actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating results; |
| changes in securities analysts estimates of our financial performance or lack of research coverage and reports by industry analysts; |
| action by institutional stockholders or other large stockholders, including future sales; |
| failure to meet any guidance given by us or any change in any guidance given by us, or changes by us in our guidance practices; |
| announcements by us of significant impairment charges; |
| speculation in the press or investment community; |
| investor perception of us and our industry; |
| changes in market valuations or earnings of similar companies; |
| announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, dispositions or strategic partnerships; |
| war, terrorist acts and epidemic disease; |
| any future sales of our common stock or other securities; and |
| additions or departures of key personnel. |
In particular, we cannot assure you that you will be able to resell your shares at or above your purchase price. The stock markets have experienced extreme volatility in recent years that has been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a companys securities, class action litigation has often been instituted against the affected company. Any litigation of this type brought against us could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managements attention and resources, which would harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Future sales of shares by us or our existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.
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As of July 14, 2017, we had 39,732,962 shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, all of the 11,500,000 shares sold in our initial public offering, the 10,350,000 shares sold in the November 2016 secondary offering and the 11,500,000 shares sold in the April 2017 secondary offering by certain of our stockholders are, and the shares to be sold under the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part will be, freely transferable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), except for any shares held by affiliates, as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. In May 2016, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register the shares of common stock to be issued under our equity compensation plans and, as a result, all shares of common stock acquired upon exercise of stock options granted under our plans are also freely tradable under the Securities Act, subject to the terms of the lock-up agreements, unless purchased by our affiliates. As of July 14, 2017, there were stock options outstanding to purchase a total of 3,338,175 shares of our common stock, 61,430 shares of our common stock subject to restricted stock units, or RSUs and 35,842 shares of our common stock subject to deferred stock units, or DSUs. In addition, as of July 18, 2017, 1,364,311 shares of our common stock were reserved for future issuance under the SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. 2016 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan.
The remaining shares of common stock outstanding as of July 14, 2017 are restricted securities within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act, but will be eligible for resale subject to applicable volume, means of sale, holding period and other limitations of Rule 144 under the Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from registration under Rule 701 under the Securities Act.
In the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other equity or debt securities convertible into common stock in connection with a financing, acquisition, litigation settlement or associate arrangement or otherwise. Any of these issuances could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish misleading or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts that cover our common stock downgrade our stock or publish misleading or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price may decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the CD&R Investor and Deere and their respective affiliates and, in some circumstances, any of our directors and officers who is also a director, officer, employee, member or partner of the CD&R Investor or Deere and their respective affiliates, have no obligation to offer us corporate opportunities.
The policies relating to corporate opportunities and transactions with the CD&R Investor or Deere set forth in our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or amended and restated certificate of incorporation, address potential conflicts of interest between Holdings, on the one hand, and the CD&R Investor or Deere and their respective officers, directors, employees, members or partners who are directors or officers of our company, on the other hand. In accordance with those policies, the CD&R Investor and Deere may pursue corporate opportunities, including acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, without offering those opportunities to us. By becoming a stockholder in Holdings, you will be deemed to have notice of and have consented to these provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Although these provisions are designed to resolve conflicts between us and the CD&R Investor or Deere and their respective affiliates fairly, conflicts may not be so resolved.
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Future offerings of debt or equity securities may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
If, in the future, we decide to issue debt or equity securities that rank senior to our common stock, it is likely that such securities will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock and may result in dilution to owners of our common stock. We and, indirectly, our stockholders, will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common stock will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting the value of their stock holdings in us.
Anti-takeover provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws could discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company and may affect the trading price of our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and second amended and restated by-laws, or amended and restated by-laws, include a number of provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a change in our management or control over us that stockholders may consider favorable. For example, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws collectively:
| authorize the issuance of blank check preferred stock that could be issued by our board of directors to thwart a takeover attempt; |
| provide for a classified board of directors, which divides our board of directors into three classes, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms, which prevents stockholders from electing an entirely new board of directors at an annual meeting; |
| limit the ability of stockholders to remove directors; |
| provide that vacancies on our board of directors, including vacancies resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office; |
| prohibit stockholders from calling special meetings of stockholders; |
| prohibit stockholder action by written consent, thereby requiring all actions to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders; |
| establish advance notice requirements for nominations of candidates for election as directors or to bring other business before an annual meeting of our stockholders; and |
| require the approval of holders of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding shares of our common stock to amend our amended and restated by-laws and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. |
These provisions may prevent our stockholders from receiving the benefit from any premium to the market price of our common stock offered by a bidder in a takeover context. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if the provisions are viewed as discouraging takeover attempts in the future.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws may also make it difficult for stockholders to replace or remove our management. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. These provisions may facilitate management entrenchment that may delay, deter, render more difficult or prevent a change in our control, which may not be in the best interests of our stockholders.
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We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock and, consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock.
We do not intend to declare and pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We currently intend to invest our future earnings, if any, to service our debt, to fund our growth, to develop our business, for working capital needs and for general corporate purposes. Therefore, you are not likely to receive any dividends on your common stock for the foreseeable future and the success of an investment in shares of our common stock will depend upon any future appreciation in their value. There is no guarantee that shares of our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which our stockholders have purchased their shares. In addition, Holdings operations are conducted entirely through our subsidiaries. As such, to the extent that we determine in the future to pay dividends on our common stock, none of our subsidiaries will be obligated to make funds available to Holdings for the payment of dividends. Further, the agreements governing the Credit Facilities significantly restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or otherwise transfer assets to us.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the exclusive forum for certain litigation that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, other employees, agents or stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising out of or under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or the DGCL, or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (including, without limitation, any action asserting a claim arising out of or pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated by-laws) or (iv) any action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. By becoming a stockholder in our company, you will be deemed to have notice of and have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation related to choice of forum. The choice of forum provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may limit our stockholders ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees, agents or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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This prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein contain forward-looking statements and cautionary statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terms such as may, intend, might, will, should, could, would, expect, believe, estimate, anticipate, predict, project, potential, or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions. You should be aware that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time that may cause our business not to develop as we expect, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:
| cyclicality in residential and commercial construction markets; |
| general economic and financial conditions; |
| weather conditions, seasonality and availability of water to end-users; |
| laws and government regulations applicable to our business that could negatively impact demand for our products; |
| public perceptions that our products and services are not environmentally friendly; |
| competitive industry pressures; |
| product shortages and the loss of key suppliers; |
| product price fluctuations; |
| inventory management risks; |
| ability to implement our business strategies and achieve our growth objectives; |
| acquisition and integration risks; |
| increased operating costs; |
| risks associated with our large labor force; |
| adverse credit and financial markets events and conditions; |
| credit sale risks; |
| retention of key personnel; |
| performance of individual branches; |
| environmental, health and safety laws and regulations; |
| hazardous materials and related materials; |
| construction defect and product liability claims; |
| computer data processing systems; |
| security of personal information about our customers; |
| intellectual property and other proprietary rights; |
| requirements of being a public company; |
| risks related to our internal controls; |
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| the possibility of securities litigation; |
| our substantial indebtedness and our ability to obtain financing in the future; |
| increases in interest rates; and |
| risks related to other factors discussed in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus. |
You should read this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein completely and with the understanding that actual future results may be materially different from expectations. All forward-looking statements made in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein are qualified by these cautionary statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date presented, and we do not undertake any obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking or cautionary statements to reflect changes in assumptions, the occurrence of events, unanticipated or otherwise, and changes in future operating results over time or otherwise.
Comparisons of results between current and prior periods are not intended to express any future trends, or indications of future performance, unless expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
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The selling stockholders will receive all of the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock offered pursuant to this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders. The selling stockholders will bear the underwriting commissions and discounts attributable to their sale of our common stock, and we will bear the remaining expenses.
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We do not expect to declare or pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Instead, we intend to retain future earnings, if any, to service our debt, finance the growth and development of our business and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Our ability to pay dividends to holders of our common stock in the future will be limited as a practical matter by the Credit Facilities, insofar as we may seek to pay dividends out of funds made available to us by Landscape or its subsidiaries, because Landscapes debt instruments directly or indirectly restrict Landscapes ability to pay dividends or make loans to us. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock is subject to the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon various factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity requirements, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, contractual restrictions with respect to payment of dividends, restrictions imposed by applicable law, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationExternal FinancingLimitations on Distributions and Dividends by Subsidiaries in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017, incorporated by reference in this prospectus for a description of the restrictions on our ability to pay dividends.
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The following descriptions of our capital stock, amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws are intended as summaries only and are qualified in their entirety by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws.
General
Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,000,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share and 100,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $1.00 per share. As of July 14, 2017, there were 39,732,962 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, not including 3,338,175 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, 61,430 shares of our common stock subject to outstanding RSUs and 35,842 shares of our common stock subject to outstanding DSUs.
Common Stock
Holders of common stock are entitled:
| to cast one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders; |
| to receive, on a pro rata basis, dividends and distributions, if any, that our board of directors may declare out of legally available funds, subject to preferences that may be applicable to preferred stock, if any, then outstanding; and |
| upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, to share equally and ratably in any assets remaining after the payment of all debt and other liabilities, subject to the prior rights, if any, of holders of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. |
Our ability to pay dividends on our common stock is subject to our subsidiaries ability to pay dividends to us, which is in turn subject to the restrictions set forth in the agreements that govern our indebtedness.
The holders of our common stock do not have any preemptive, cumulative voting, subscription, conversion, redemption or sinking fund rights. The common stock is not subject to future calls or assessments by us. The rights and privileges of holders of our common stock are subject to any series of preferred stock that we may issue in the future, as described below.
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SITE.
As of July 14, 2017, we had 39,732,962 shares of common stock outstanding and 16 holders of record of common stock.
Preferred Stock
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the voting powers, designations, preferences and the relative participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations and restrictions of each series, including dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series. No shares of our authorized preferred stock are currently outstanding. Because the board of directors has the power to establish the preferences and rights of the shares of any additional series of preferred stock, it may afford holders of any preferred stock preferences, powers and rights, including voting and dividend rights, senior to the rights of holders of our common stock, which could adversely affect the holders of the common stock and could delay, discourage or prevent a takeover of us even if a change of control of our company would be beneficial to the interests of our stockholders.
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Annual Stockholders Meeting
Our amended and restated by-laws provide that annual stockholder meetings will be held at a date, time and place, if any, as exclusively selected by our board of directors. To the extent permitted under applicable law, we may conduct meetings by remote communications, including by webcast.
Voting
The affirmative vote of a plurality of the shares of our common stock present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors will decide the election of any directors, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our common stock present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting and entitled to vote at any annual or special meeting of stockholders will decide all other matters voted on by stockholders, unless the question is one upon which, by express provision of law, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or under our amended and restated by-laws, a different vote is required, in which case such provision will control.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws summarized below may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that you might consider in your best interest, including an attempt that might result in your receipt of a premium over the market price for your shares. These provisions are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors, which could result in an improvement of their terms.
Authorized but Unissued Shares of Common Stock. Shares of our authorized and unissued common stock are available for future issuances without additional stockholder approval. While the additional shares are not designed to deter or prevent a change of control, under some circumstances we could use the additional shares to create voting impediments or to frustrate persons seeking to effect a takeover or otherwise gain control by, for example, issuing those shares in private placements to purchasers who might side with our board of directors in opposing a hostile takeover bid.
Authorized but Unissued Shares of Preferred Stock. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the voting powers, designations, preferences and the relative participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations and restrictions of each series, including dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series. The existence of authorized but unissued preferred stock could reduce our attractiveness as a target for an unsolicited takeover bid since we could, for example, issue shares of preferred stock to parties who might oppose such a takeover bid or shares that contain terms the potential acquiror may find unattractive. This may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, may discourage bids for the common stock at a premium over the market price of the common stock, and may adversely affect the market price of, and the voting and other rights of the holders of, our common stock.
Classified Board of Directors. In accordance with the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors consists of such number of directors as may be determined from time to time by resolution of the board of directors, but in no event may the number of directors be less than one. Any additional directorships resulting from an increase in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of the directors. Our amended and restated certificate of
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incorporation also provides that any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of our directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director, subject to our amended stockholders agreement with respect to the director designation rights of the CD&R Investor and Deere, to the extent applicable. Any director elected to fill a vacancy will hold office until such directors successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or until such directors earlier death, resignation or removal. Our classified board of directors could have the effect of delaying or discouraging an acquisition of us or a change in our management.
Removal of Directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that directors may be removed only for cause upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock then entitled to vote at an election of directors.
Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a special meeting of stockholders may be called only by the Chairman of our board of directors or by a resolution adopted by a majority of our board of directors. Stockholders are not permitted to call a special meeting of stockholders.
Stockholder Advance Notice Procedure. Our amended and restated by-laws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders to make nominations of candidates for election as directors or to bring other business before an annual meeting of our stockholders. The amended and restated by-laws provide that any stockholder wishing to nominate persons for election as directors at, or bring other business before, an annual meeting must deliver to our corporate secretary a written notice of the stockholders intention to do so. These provisions may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. We expect that these provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirers own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company. To be timely, the stockholders notice must be delivered to our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days before the first anniversary date of the annual meeting for the preceding year; provided, however, that in the event that the annual meeting is set for a date that is more than 30 days before or more than 70 days after the first anniversary date of the preceding years annual meeting, a stockholders notice must be delivered to our corporate secretary (x) not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the meeting or (y) no later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which a public announcement of the date of the meeting is first made by us.
No Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholder action may be taken only at an annual meeting or special meeting of stockholders.
Amendments to Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by both the affirmative vote of a majority of our board of directors and the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock then entitled to vote at any annual or special meeting of stockholders; provided that specified provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may not be amended, altered or repealed unless the amendment is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding shares of our common stock then entitled to vote at any annual or special meeting of stockholders, including the provisions governing:
| liability and indemnification of directors; |
| corporate opportunities; |
| elimination of stockholder action by written consent; |
| prohibition on the rights of stockholders to call a special meeting; |
| removal of directors for cause; |
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| classified board of directors; and |
| required approval of the holders of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding shares of our common stock to amend our amended and restated by-laws and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. |
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws provide that our amended and restated by-laws may be amended, altered or repealed, or new by-laws may be adopted, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the board of directors or by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2⁄3% of the outstanding shares of our common stock then entitled to vote at any annual or special meeting of stockholders.
These provisions make it more difficult for any person to remove or amend any provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated by-laws that may have an anti-takeover effect.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we elected not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL, as permitted under and pursuant to subsection (b)(3) of Section 203, until the first date on which the CD&R Investor ceases to beneficially own (directly or indirectly) at least 5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporations outstanding voting stock for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, we are not subject to any anti-takeover effects of Section 203.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions permitted under the DGCL relating to the liability of directors. These provisions eliminate a directors personal liability for monetary damages resulting from a breach of fiduciary duty, except in circumstances involving:
| any breach of the directors duty of loyalty; |
| acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the law; |
| Section 174 of the DGCL (unlawful dividends); or |
| any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit. |
The principal effect of the limitation on liability provision is that a stockholder will be unable to prosecute an action for monetary damages against a director unless the stockholder can demonstrate a basis for liability for which indemnification is not available under the DGCL. These provisions, however, should not limit or eliminate our rights or any stockholders rights to seek non-monetary relief, such as an injunction or rescission, in the event of a breach of a directors fiduciary duty. These provisions do not alter a directors liability under federal securities laws. The inclusion of this provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may discourage or deter stockholders or management from bringing a lawsuit against directors for a breach of their fiduciary duties, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise have benefited us and our stockholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws require us to indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL and other applicable law, except in the case of a proceeding instituted by the director without the approval of our
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board of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors and executive officers, to the fullest extent permitted by law, for all judgments, fines, settlements, legal fees and other expenses incurred in connection with pending or threatened legal proceedings because of the directors or officers positions with us or another entity that the director or officer serves at our request, subject to various conditions, and to advance funds to our directors and officers to enable them to defend against such proceedings. To receive indemnification, the director or officer must have been successful in the legal proceeding or have acted in good faith and in what was reasonably believed to be a lawful manner in our best interest and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, have had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.
In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into an indemnification agreement with each of our directors. We have also entered into indemnification agreements with each of Mr. Dunbar, Mr. Grebe and Ms. Isbell. The indemnification agreements provide our directors with contractual rights to the indemnification and expense advancement rights provided under our amended and restated by-laws, as well as contractual rights to additional indemnification as provided in the indemnification agreements.
Corporate Opportunities
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we, on our behalf and on behalf of our subsidiaries, renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, corporate opportunities, that are from time to time presented to the CD&R Investor or Deere or any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, stockholders, members, partners, affiliates or subsidiaries (other than us and our subsidiaries), even if the opportunity is one that we or our subsidiaries might reasonably be deemed to have pursued or had the ability or desire to pursue if granted the opportunity to do so. Neither the CD&R Investor nor Deere nor their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, stockholders, members, partners, affiliates or subsidiaries will generally be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries for breach of any fiduciary or other duty, as a director or otherwise, by reason of the fact that such person pursues or acquires such corporate opportunity, directs such corporate opportunity to another person or fails to present such corporate opportunity, or information regarding such corporate opportunity, to us or our subsidiaries unless, in the case of any such person who is a director or officer of Holdings, such corporate opportunity is expressly offered to such director or officer in writing solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of Holdings. Stockholders will be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Choice of Forum
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, other employees, agents or stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising out of or under the DGCL or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (including, without limitation, any action asserting a claim arising out of or pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated by-laws) or (iv) any action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. By becoming a stockholder in our company, you will be deemed to have notice of and have consented to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation related to choice of forum.
Market Listing
Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SITE.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
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The following tables set forth information as of July 14, 2017 with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common stock by the selling stockholders. The amounts and percentages of shares beneficially owned are reported on the basis of SEC regulations governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. Under SEC rules, a person is deemed to be a beneficial owner of a security if that person has or shares voting power or investment power, which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days of the determination date, which in the case of the following table is July 14, 2017. Securities that can be so acquired are deemed to be outstanding for purposes of computing such persons ownership percentage, but not for purposes of computing any other persons percentage. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which such person has no economic interest.
The beneficial ownership percentages are based on 39,732,962 shares of our common stock outstanding as of July 14, 2017.
Except as otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table, the beneficial owner listed has, to our knowledge, sole voting and investment power with respect to the indicated shares of common stock. Addresses for the beneficial owners are set forth in the footnotes to the table.
Name and address of beneficial owner |
Number of Shares Owned |
Percent of Voting Power (%) |
||||||
CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. (1)(2) |
3,545,091 | 8.9 | % | |||||
Deere & Company (2) |
1,892,411 | 4.8 | % |
(1) | CD&R Associates VIII, Ltd. (CD&R Holdings GP), as general partner of CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P., CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., as the sole stockholder of CD&R Associates VIII, Ltd., and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd., as the general partner of CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., may each be deemed to beneficially own the shares of the Companys common stock. Each of CD&R Holdings GP, CD&R Associates VIII, L.P. and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd. expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares of the Companys common stock in which CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. has beneficial ownership. CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd. is managed by a two-person board of directors. Donald J. Gogel and Kevin J. Conway, as the directors of CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd., may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the shares of the Companys common stock in which CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. has beneficial ownership. Such persons expressly disclaim such beneficial ownership. Investment and voting decisions with respect to the shares of the Companys common stock held by CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. are made by an investment committee of limited partners of CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., currently consisting of more than ten individuals (the Investment Committee). The CD&R investment professionals who have effective voting control of the Investment Committee are Michael G. Babiarz, Vindi Banga, James G. Berges, John C. Compton, Kevin J. Conway, Russell P. Fradin, Thomas C. Franco, Kenneth A. Giuriceo, Donald J. Gogel, Jillian Griffiths, Marco Herbst, John Krenicki, Jr., David A. Novak, Paul S. Pressler, Ravi Sachdev, Christian Rochat, Richard J. Schnall, Nathan K. Sleeper, Sonja Terraneo and David H. Wasserman. All members of the Investment Committee expressly disclaim beneficial ownership of the shares shown as beneficially owned by CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P. The address for each of CD&R Landscapes Holdings, L.P., CD&R Holdings GP, CD&R Associates VIII, L.P., and CD&R Investment Associates VIII, Ltd is c/o Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, South Church Street, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-1104, Cayman Islands. |
(2) | For information regarding certain material relationships between the selling stockholders and the Company, see Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions included in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 31, 2017, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus. |
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General
The selling stockholders may sell the shares of our common stock covered by this prospectus using one or more of the following methods:
| to or through underwriters in a public offering; |
| at the market to or through market makers or into an existing market for the securities; |
| ordinary brokerage transactions and transactions in which the broker-dealer solicits purchasers; |
| block trades in which the broker-dealer will attempt to sell the securities as agent but may position and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction; |
| purchases by a broker-dealer as principal and resale by the broker-dealer for its account; |
| privately negotiated transactions; |
| short sales (including short sales against the box); |
| through the writing or settlement of standardized or over-the-counter options or other hedging or derivative transactions, whether through an options exchange or otherwise; |
| by pledge to secure debts and other obligations; |
| in other ways not involving market makers or established trading markets, including direct sales to purchasers or sales effected through agents; |
| through the distribution by any selling stockholder to its partners, members or shareholders; |
| a combination of any such methods of sale; and |
| any other method permitted pursuant to applicable law. |
Registration of shares of our common stock covered by this prospectus does not mean that those securities necessarily will be offered or sold.
To the extent required by law, this prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time to time to describe a specific plan of distribution. Any prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering of our common stock by the selling stockholders may include the following information to the extent required by law:
| the name or names of the selling stockholders and the amounts to be sold by them; |
| the terms of the offering; |
| the names of any underwriters or agents and the amounts of shares underwritten or purchased by each of them; |
| the purchase price of the securities; |
| any delayed delivery arrangements; |
| any underwriting discounts and other items constituting underwriter compensation; |
| any initial public offering price; and |
| any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. |
The selling stockholders may offer our common stock to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or through underwriters without an underwriting syndicate. If underwriters are used for the sale of our common stock, the securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own
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account. The underwriters may resell the common stock in one or more transactions, including in negotiated transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. In connection with any such underwritten sale of common stock, underwriters may receive compensation from the selling stockholders, for whom they may act as agents, in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell common stock to or through dealers, and the dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents. Such compensation may be in excess of customary discounts, concessions or commissions. Any offering price and any discounts, concessions or commissions may be changed from time to time.
If the selling stockholders use an underwriter or underwriters to effectuate the sale of shares of our common stock, we and they will execute an underwriting agreement with those underwriters at the time of sale of those securities. To the extent required by law, the names of the underwriters will be set forth in the prospectus supplement used by the underwriters to sell those securities. Unless otherwise indicated in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular offering of common stock, the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to customary conditions precedent and the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered if any of the securities are purchased.
In effecting sales, brokers or dealers engaged by the selling stockholders may arrange for other brokers or dealers to participate. Broker-dealers may receive discounts, concessions or commissions from the selling stockholders (or, if any broker-dealer acts as agent for the purchaser of shares, from the purchaser) in amounts to be negotiated. Such compensation may be in excess of customary discounts, concessions or commissions. If dealers are utilized in the sale of securities, the names of the dealers and the terms of the transaction will be set forth in a prospectus supplement, if required.
The selling stockholders may also sell shares of our common stock from time to time through agents. We will name any agent involved in the offer or sale of such shares and will list commissions payable to these agents in a prospectus supplement, if required. These agents will be acting on a best efforts basis to solicit purchases for the period of their appointment, unless we state otherwise in any required prospectus supplement.
The selling stockholders may sell shares of our common stock directly to purchasers. In this case, it may not engage underwriters or agents in the offer and sale of such shares.
Any underwriters, broker-dealers or agents that participate in the sale of the selling stockholders shares of common stock or interests therein may be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act. Any discounts, commissions, concessions or profit they earn on any resale of the shares may be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. If any entity is deemed an underwriter or any amounts deemed underwriting discounts and commissions, the prospectus supplement will identify the underwriter or agent and describe the compensation received from the selling stockholders.
Certain of the underwriters, broker-dealers or agents who may become involved in the sale of the shares of common stock may engage in transactions with and perform other services for us in the ordinary course of their business for which they will receive ordinary compensation.
We are not aware of any plans, arrangements or understandings between the selling stockholders and any underwriter, broker-dealer or agent regarding the sale of the shares of our common stock by the selling stockholders. We cannot assure you that the selling stockholders will sell any or all of the shares of our common stock offered by them pursuant to this prospectus. In addition, we cannot assure you that the selling stockholders will not transfer, devise or gift the shares of our common stock by other means not described in this prospectus. Moreover, shares of common stock covered by this prospectus that qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 under the Securities Act may be sold under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
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From time to time, the selling stockholders may pledge, hypothecate or grant a security interest in some or all of the shares it owns. The pledgees, secured parties or persons to whom the shares have been hypothecated will, upon foreclosure, be deemed to be a selling stockholder. The number of the selling stockholders shares offered under this prospectus will decrease as and when it takes such actions. The plan of distribution for that selling stockholders shares will otherwise remain unchanged. In addition, the selling stockholders may, from time to time, sell the shares short, and, in those instances, this prospectus may be delivered in connection with the short sales and the shares offered under this prospectus may be used to cover short sales.
The selling stockholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers and the broker-dealers may engage in short sales of the shares in the course of hedging the positions they assume with such selling stockholders, including, without limitation, in connection with distributions of the shares by those broker-dealers. The selling stockholders may enter into option or other transactions with broker-dealers that involve the delivery of the shares offered hereby to the broker-dealers, who may then resell or otherwise transfer those securities.
The selling stockholders may elect to make a pro rata in-kind distribution of the shares of common stock to their members, partners or shareholders. In such event, we may file a prospectus supplement to the extent required by law in order to permit the distributees to use the prospectus to resell the common stock acquired in the distribution. A selling stockholder which is an individual may make gifts of shares of our common stock covered hereby. Such donees may use the prospectus to resell the shares or, if required by law, we may file a prospectus supplement naming such donees.
Indemnification
We and the selling stockholders may enter agreements under which underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of our common stock may be entitled to indemnification by us and/or the selling stockholders against various liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribution with respect to payments which the underwriters, dealers or agents may be required to make.
Price Stabilization and Short Positions
If underwriters or dealers are used in the sale of shares of our common stock, until the distribution of the shares is completed, rules of the SEC may limit the ability of any underwriters to bid for and purchase our common stock. As an exception to these rules, representatives of any underwriters are permitted to engage in transactions that stabilize the price of our common stock. These transactions may consist of bids or purchases for the purpose of pegging, fixing or maintaining the price of our common stock. If the underwriters create a short position in shares of our common stock in connection with an offering (that is, if they sell more shares than are set forth on the cover page of the applicable prospectus supplement) the representatives of the underwriters may reduce that short position by purchasing shares in the open market.
We make no representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, we make no representation that the representatives of any underwriters will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
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The validity of the common stock offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, New York. Certain legal matters with respect to the common stock may be passed upon by counsel for any underwriters, dealers or agents, each of whom will be named in the related prospectus supplement.
The consolidated financial statements, and the related financial statement schedule, incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017 have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits thereto. Some items are omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information with respect to us and the common stock offered hereby, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits filed therewith. Statements contained in this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein or therein as to the contents of any contract, agreement or any other document referred to are summaries of the material terms of the respective contract, agreement or other document. With respect to each of these contracts, agreements or other documents filed as an exhibit to the registration statement or the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement, reference is made to the exhibits for a more complete description of the matter involved. A copy of the registration statement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, including the exhibits thereto, may be read and copied at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov, from which interested persons can electronically access the registration statement, including the exhibits and any schedules thereto. Copies of the registration statement and the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference therein, including the exhibits and schedules thereto, are also available at your request, without charge, from SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Suite 600, Roswell, Georgia 30076.
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and, accordingly, file annual reports containing financial statements audited by an independent registered public accounting firm, quarterly reports containing unaudited financial statements, current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may inspect and copy these reports, proxy statements and other information at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC at the address noted above. You may also obtain copies of this material from the Public Reference Room of the SEC as described above, or inspect them without charge at the SECs website.
You may access, free of charge, our reports filed with the SEC (for example, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those forms) through our website (http://investors.siteone.com). Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC will be available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. None of the information contained on, or that may be accessed through, our websites or any other website identified herein is part of, or incorporated into, this prospectus. All website addresses in this prospectus are intended to be inactive textual references only.
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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to incorporate by reference into this prospectus information we file with the SEC in other documents. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring to another document we have filed with the SEC. The information relating to us contained in this prospectus should be read together with the information in the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference.
We incorporate by reference, as of their respective dates of filing, the documents listed below (excluding any portions of such documents that have been furnished but not filed for purposes of the Exchange Act):
| our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760); |
| our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2017, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760); |
| our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2017, March 23, 2017, April 17, 2017 (Item 9.01 only), May 18, 2017, May 24, 2017 and June 23, 2017 (Item 5.02 only); |
| our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on March 31, 2017 (SEC File No. 001-37760) (only those parts incorporated in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 1, 2017); |
| the description of capital stock contained in the Registration Statement on Form 8-A, as filed with the SEC on May 2, 2016 (SEC File No. 001-37760), as supplemented by the Description of Capital Stock included in this prospectus; and |
| all documents filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as amended (other than Current Reports on Form 8-K furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 (including any financial statements or exhibits relating thereto furnished pursuant to Item 9.01) of Form 8-K and not specifically incorporated by reference), after the date of this prospectus. |
You should read the information relating to us in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement together with the information in the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to incorporate information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC.
Any statement incorporated by reference in this prospectus from an earlier dated document that is inconsistent with a statement contained in this prospectus or in any other document filed after the date of the earlier dated document, but prior to the date hereof, which also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus by such statement contained in this prospectus or in any other document filed after the date of the earlier dated document, but prior to the date hereof, which also is incorporated by reference in this prospectus.
Any person, including any beneficial owner, to whom this prospectus is delivered may request copies of any of the documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, without charge, by written or oral request directed to SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc., c/o Briley Brisendine, Secretary, 300 Colonial Center Parkway, Roswell, Georgia 30076, Telephone: (470) 277-7000 or the Investor Relations portion of our website at http://investors.siteone.com or from the SEC through the SECs Internet website at the address provided under Where You Can Find More Information. All other information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus. Documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus are available without charge, excluding any exhibits to those documents unless the exhibit is specifically incorporated by reference into those documents.
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SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc.
Common Stock
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
Deutsche Bank Securities
July 20, 2017