DEFA14A 1 a2019-08x06xdefa14a.htm DEFA14A Document


 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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SCHEDULE 14A
(Rule 14a-101)
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Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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Brookdale Senior Living Inc.
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The following is a transcript of excerpts from the earnings call held by Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (the "Company") on August 6, 2019.

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[...]

Lucinda M. Baier (President and Chief Executive Officer):

I wanted to touch on the recent public letters from one of our shareholders, Land & Buildings that you might have seen. I'd like to reiterate that at Brookdale, we are always open to constructive feedback from all of our shareholders and appreciate engaging in a dialogue toward a common goal of value creation.

Earlier this year, the Investment Committee of the Board, made up of three independent directors, one of whom was appointed as part of a prior agreement with Land & Buildings, carefully evaluated Land & Buildings' ideas with the assistance of BofA Merrill Lynch, which was the independent advisory firm suggested by Land & Buildings. Based on that review, and as discussed in our February 2019 earnings call, we determined, at the unanimous recommendation of the Investment Committee, after consultation with BofA Merrill Lynch, not to proceed with the actions advocated by Land & Buildings, as they would be unlikely to generate additional shareholder value.

More recently, the Board asked BofA Merrill Lynch to assist with the Board's further evaluation of Land and Buildings' proposal, and also asked a second independent financial advisor, Morgan Stanley, to evaluate a range of potential Prop Co/Op Co structures. Following that review and discussions with each of the advisors, the Board concluded that pursuing a Prop Co/Op Co transaction would be imprudent at this time and that there were fundamental flaws in Green Street Advisors' theoretical assessment of a Prop Co/Op Co structure. Those flaws include disregard of numerous critical practical and market considerations and execution risk, and the use of unrealistic assumptions.

There is no question that we have tremendous value in our owned real estate portfolio. At this time, we believe there is sizable upside to the portfolio by maximizing net operating income, and with our operational turnaround and increased capital investments, we are making strides to realize that value.

We don’t intend to say anything more on this matter today, as the purpose of this call is to discuss our strong results and the progress we are demonstrating with our turnaround plan.

[...]

* * * * *

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and include all statements regarding the Company’s future prospects, any other statements that are not historical statements of fact, and those regarding the Company’s intent, belief or expectations. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "would," "potential," "intend," "expect," "endeavor," "seek," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "project," "predict," "continue," "plan," "target" or other similar words or expressions. Although these forward looking statements are based on assumptions





and expectations that the Company believes are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that its assumptions or expectations will be attained and actual results and performance could differ materially from those projected. Factors which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operations and future prospects or which could cause events or circumstances to differ from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, events which adversely affect the ability of seniors to afford resident fees and entrance fees, including downturns in the economy, national or local housing markets, consumer confidence or the equity markets and unemployment among family members; changes in reimbursement rates, methods or timing under governmental reimbursement programs including the Medicare and Medicaid programs; the impact of ongoing healthcare reform efforts; the effects of continued new senior housing construction and development, oversupply and increased competition; disruptions in the financial markets that affect the Company’s ability to obtain financing or extend or refinance debt as it matures and the Company’s financing costs; the risks associated with current global economic conditions and general economic factors such as inflation, the consumer price index, commodity costs, fuel and other energy costs, interest rates and tax rates; the Company’s ability to generate sufficient cash flow to cover required interest and long-term lease payments and to fund its planned capital projects; the effect of the Company’s indebtedness and long-term leases on its liquidity; the effect of the Company’s non-compliance with any of its debt or lease agreements (including the financial covenants contained therein), including the risk of lenders or lessors declaring a cross default in the event of the Company’s non-compliance with any such agreements and the risk of loss of the Company’s property securing leases and indebtedness due to any resulting lease terminations and foreclosure actions; the effect of the Company's borrowing base calculations and the Company's consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio on availability under its revolving credit facility; increased competition for or a shortage of personnel, wage pressures resulting from increased competition, low unemployment levels, minimum wage increases and changes in overtime laws, and union activity; failure to maintain the security and functionality of the Company’s information systems or to prevent a cybersecurity attack or breach; the Company’s ability to complete pending or expected disposition or other transactions on agreed upon terms or at all, including in respect of the satisfaction of closing conditions, the risk that regulatory approvals are not obtained or are subject to unanticipated conditions, and uncertainties as to the timing of closing, and the Company’s ability to identify and pursue any such opportunities in the future; the Company’s ability to obtain additional capital on terms acceptable to it; the Company’s ability to complete its capital expenditures in accordance with its plans; the Company’s ability to identify and pursue development, investment and acquisition opportunities and its ability to successfully integrate acquisitions; competition for the acquisition of assets; delays in obtaining regulatory approvals; risks associated with the lifecare benefits offered to residents of certain of the Company’s entrance fee CCRCs; terminations, early or otherwise, or non-renewal of management agreements; conditions of housing markets, regulatory changes and acts of nature in geographic areas where the Company is concentrated; terminations of the Company’s resident agreements and vacancies in the living spaces it leases; departures of key officers and potential disruption caused by changes in management; risks related to the implementation of the Company’s strategy, including initiatives undertaken to execute on its strategic priorities and their effect on the Company’s results; actions of activist stockholders; market conditions and capital allocation decisions that may influence the Company’s determination from time to time whether to purchase any shares under its existing share repurchase program and the Company’s ability to fund any repurchases; the Company’s ability to maintain consistent quality control; a decrease in the overall demand for senior housing; environmental contamination at any of the Company’s communities; failure to comply with existing environmental laws; an adverse determination or resolution of complaints filed against the Company; the cost and difficulty of complying with increasing and evolving regulation; costs to respond to, and adverse determinations resulting from, government reviews, audits and investigations; unanticipated costs to comply with legislative or regulatory developments; as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange





Commission (the "SEC"), including those contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in such SEC filings. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's views as of the date of the earnings call. The Company cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and it expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any of these forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find It

The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the 2019 annual meeting of stockholders (the "2019 Annual Meeting"). The Company plans to file a proxy statement with the SEC in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the 2019 Annual Meeting (the “2019 Proxy Statement”), together with a WHITE proxy card. STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE 2019 PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT THE COMPANY WILL FILE WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Additional information regarding the identity of these potential participants, none of whom owns in excess of one percent (1%) of the Company’s shares, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the 2019 Proxy Statement and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the 2019 Annual Meeting. Information relating to the foregoing can also be found in the Company’s Amendment No. 1 to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2019 (the “10-K/A”). To the extent holdings of the Company’s securities by such potential participants (or the identity of such participants) have changed since the information printed in the 10-K/A, such information has been or will be reflected on Statements of Ownership and Change in Ownership on Forms 3 and 4 filed with the SEC.

Stockholders will be able to obtain, free of charge, copies of the 2019 Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements thereto and any other documents (including the WHITE proxy card) when filed by the Company with the SEC in connection with the 2019 Annual Meeting at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov), at the Company’s website (http://www.brookdale.com/investor) or by contacting Chad C. White by phone at (615) 221-2250, by email at cwhite@brookdale.com or by mail at Brookdale Senior Living Inc., Attention: Chad C. White, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, 111 Westwood Place, Suite 400, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027.