UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K/A

 

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 26, 2018

 

UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

(401) 528-8634

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company   o

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.   o

 

 

 

Item 5.02

Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangement of Certain Officers.

 

United Natural Foods, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) previously announced on May 14, 2018 that Sean Griffin would retire from his current role as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, effective August 1, 2018 and would remain an employee of the Company until his expected retirement on October 1, 2018.  In connection with the anticipated acquisition of SUPERVALU INC., a Delaware corporation (“SUPERVALU”) by the Company, which was announced on July 26, 2018, the Company and Mr. Griffin have agreed that Mr. Griffin will not retire on October 1, 2018. Mr. Griffin will remain with the Company and serve as the head of integration of the two companies in the near term and, following completion of the acquisition, will lead the SUPERVALU business as its chief executive officer.  The Company announced this decision on the investor call held on July 26, 2018, the transcript of which was filed as Exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Form 8-K dated July 26, 2018.

 

The Company anticipates that Mr. Griffin’s compensation will be adjusted in September, 2018 in light of his new role, which may result in changes to the treatment of time-based vesting restricted stock units, performance-based vesting restricted stock units and a $75,000 lump sum payment previously described in the Company’s Form 8-K dated May 14, 2018.

 

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Information included or incorporated by reference in this Current Report on Form 8-K/A, and information which may be contained in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and press releases or other public statements, contains or may contain, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s and SUPERVALU’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the business combination, the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the business combination and the timing of the completion of the business combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results.  Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated as a result of various factors, including: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement relating to the proposed business combination; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted following the announcement of the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the business combination, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of SUPERVALU or other conditions to closing in the merger agreement; (4) risks related to the financing of the transaction; (5) the risk that the business combination disrupts current plans and operations as a result of the announcement and consummation of the business combination; (6) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees; (7) costs related to the business combination; (8) risks related to the disruption of the transaction to SUPERVALU and its management; (9) the effect of announcement of the transaction on SUPERVALU’s ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers and other third parties; and (10) other risks and uncertainties identified in the Company’s and SUPERVALU’s filings with the SEC.  The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included herein and elsewhere, including the Risk Factors included in the most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other documents of the Company and SUPERVALU on file with the SEC.  These SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  Any forward-looking statements made or incorporated by reference in this Current Report on Form 8-K/A are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the anticipated results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company.  Except to the extent required by applicable law, neither the Company nor SUPERVALU undertakes any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.  Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

 

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Additional Information will be Filed with the SEC

 

SUPERVALU INC. (including any successor thereof, “SUPERVALU”) plans to file with the SEC a proxy statement in connection with the contemplated transaction (the “Proxy Statement”), and SUPERVALU may file with the SEC other documents regarding the proposed transaction. The definitive Proxy Statement will be mailed to shareholders of SUPERVALU. SHAREHOLDERS OF SUPERVALU ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT REGARDING THE TRANSACTION CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BY SUPERVALU, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC by SUPERVALU through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Free copies of the Proxy Statement (when available) and other documents filed with the SEC can also be obtained by directing a request to  SUPERVALU INC., Investor Relations, P.O. Box 990, Minneapolis, MN 55344.

 

Participants in the Solicitation

 

The Company, SUPERVALU and their respective directors and certain of their executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of SUPERVALU in respect of the proposed transaction. Information regarding SUPERVALU’s directors and executive officers is available in its proxy statement for its 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on July 2, 2018, and information regarding the Company’s directors and executive officers is available in its proxy statement for its 2017 annual meeting of stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on November 3, 2017. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the Proxy Statement and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC when they become available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described in the preceding paragraph.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

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

 

 

	UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.
	By:	/s/ Jill E. Sutton
	Name:	Jill E. Sutton
	Title:	Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

 

 

Date:   August 1, 2018

 

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