defa14a
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
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Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12 |
OM GROUP, INC.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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On April 29, 2011, the Company sent the following form of cover email communication and letter
to certain of its stockholders:
Form of Cover Email Communication to Certain Stockholders
I am sending this memo to follow up on our recent voicemail exchanges regarding our upcoming annual
meeting and shareholder vote, as well as formally document our reply to the voting recommendations
published by ISS. In particular, ISS has recommended a Withhold vote for William Reidy, one of
our long-standing and very valuable directors. We are asking you to please consider the following:
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William Reidy has an extensive background in public accounting and provides
that expertise to our Board |
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He led a major office of one of the worlds largest accounting firms,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, and holds or has held other leadership roles, including currently
as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation |
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Mr. Reidy is one of two directors remaining on our Board from prior to 2005
(joined in 2002), when Mr. Scaminace joined us, and brings that historical context to Board
deliberations |
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Mr. Reidy is one of two directors who have been determined by our Board to be
an Audit Committee financial expert, and provides that financial leadership and expertise
to the Audit Committee as its chairperson |
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ISS considers Mr. Reidy to be an Affiliated Outsider due to the following: |
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PWC provides some of the companys global tax services and also provides
support services to the companys internal auditor |
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Mr. Reidys daughter is an employee of PWC |
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While the above facts are true, we ask you to consider the following |
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PWC provides valuable tax advisory services and internal audit support
services relative to our operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo which is not
available from any other firm |
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Internal procedures of PWC do not permit Mr. Reidys daughter to be involved
with any services it provides to us |
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Mr. Reidy does not participate in the selection or evaluation of PWC as a
service provider |
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Mr. Reidy has not been affiliated with PWC for more than 11 years |
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In light of these circumstances, the Board determined that the relationship
did not impact Mr. Reidys independence or affect his ability to exercise independent
judgment as our director. |
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The upcoming term will be Mr. Reidys last term as he will reach retirement
age according to our by-laws |
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We have recently announced the addition of Patrick Mullin to our Board of
Directors and he will work with Mr. Reidy over the next couple years to successfully
transition the financial expertise and leadership of that Committee |
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Having Mr. Reidy continue with the Board and Audit Committee will facilitate
a smooth transition of this important role |
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We ask that you support Mr. Reidy and OMG by voting for his election to the
Board of Directors |
Additionally, please find attached a letter from our Chairman, Joseph Scaminace.
On behalf of OM Group and our Board of Directors, thank you for your support and I welcome the
opportunity to discuss this or any other matter with you.
Thank you,
Troy Dewar
Troy Dewar, CFA
Director, Investor Relations
OM Group, Inc.
127 Public Square
1500 Key Tower
Cleveland, OH 44114-1221
216-263-7765
troy.dewar@na.omgi.com
www.omgi.com
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Letter to Certain Stockholders
Joseph Scaminace
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
April 29, 2011
Dear stockholder:
As you are aware, our Annual Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10, 2011. At
that meeting we are presenting and have recommended two current directors for re-election. One of
those directors is Bill Reidy. Mr. Reidy has an extensive background in public accounting and
provides that expertise to our Board. He is also one of 2 directors who have been determined by
our Board to be an Audit Committee financial expert and provides financial leadership to the Audit
Committee as its chairperson.
We have been advised by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) that they consider Mr. Reidy an
Affiliated Outsider and recommended a withhold vote. ISS came to this conclusion based on the
fact that PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) provides certain tax, internal audit support and
transaction advisory services to the company and Mr. Reidys daughter works for PWC. As we
disclosed in our proxy statement sent to you, Mr. Reidys daughter has no connection with nor does
she influence or derive any benefit from work undertaken by PWC for the company and Mr. Reidy plays
no role in the companys engagement of PWC. PWC was selected by our management to do work for the
company based on its expertise in international taxation and its internal audit support resources
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). At the time of their engagement they were the
only international accounting firm with a presence in the DRC and the services they provide to us
there are fundamental to our operating an effective compliance system.
Mr. Reidy is standing for election for the last time based on the Board retirement policy at age
72. In order to provide ongoing financial expertise to our Board, we have already publicly
announced that Patrick Mullin, the managing partner of Deloitte & Touches northeast Ohio office
will be joining the Board and the Audit Committee of the Board following his retirement from
Deloitte on June 1, 2011. We expect to have Bill and Pat work closely together over the next
several years as we plan for Bills
retirement. The continued high performance of our Audit Committee is imperative and a smooth
transition of financial expertise on that Committee is the best assurance for that continued
performance.
The Board strongly supports the re-election of Bill Reidy. I ask that you support his
re-election.
Sincerely,
/s/ Joseph Scaminace
Joseph Scaminace
World Headquarters
127 Public Square 1500 Key Tower Cleveland, OH 44114-1221
Tel. 216.263.7475 Fax 216.263.7757 Email joe.scaminace@na.omgi.com
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