UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
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Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
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Copytele, Inc.
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COPYTELE, INC.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
OCTOBER 26, 2010
TO THE STOCKHOLDERS OF COPYTELE, INC.
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of CopyTele, Inc., a Delaware corporation, to be held at the Fox Hollow, Woodbury, New York, on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., local time, for the following purposes:
1. | To elect four directors to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders; |
2. | To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as CopyTeles independent auditors for fiscal year 2010; and |
3. | To transact such other business as may properly come before the Annual Meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof. |
The Board of Directors of CopyTele has fixed the close of business on September 22, 2010, as the record date for the Annual Meeting. This means that only holders of record of Common Stock at the close of business on that date will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or at any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting.
Whether or not you expect to attend the Annual Meeting, please read the accompanying proxy statement and promptly complete, date, sign and mail the enclosed proxy so that your shares may be represented at the Annual Meeting. If you attend the Annual Meeting, you may vote in person even if you have previously returned your proxy.
By Order of the Board of Directors | ||
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ANNE ROTONDO Secretary |
Melville, New York
September 27, 2010
COPYTELE, INC.
900 Walt Whitman Road
Melville, NY 11747
PROXY STATEMENT
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
OCTOBER 26, 2010
The Board of Directors of CopyTele, Inc. (CopyTele, we or us) is furnishing you this Proxy Statement to solicit proxies on its behalf to be voted at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., local time, and at any adjournments or postponements thereof. We are first sending this Proxy Statement and the accompanying form of proxy to stockholders on or about September 27, 2010.
VOTING
General
The Board of Directors has fixed the close of business on September 22, 2010 as the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting. Each stockholder will be entitled to one vote for each share of Common Stock held on all matters to come before the Annual Meeting and may vote in person or by proxy authorized in writing. As of September 22, 2010, there were 151,816,538 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding.
At the Annual Meeting, stockholders will be asked to consider and vote upon:
| the election of four directors; and |
| the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as our independent auditors for fiscal year 2010. |
Stockholders may also consider and act upon such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or adjournments thereof.
Quorum and Required Votes
To carry on the business of the Annual Meeting, we must have a quorum. This means that at least a majority of the outstanding shares eligible to vote must be present at the Annual Meeting, either by proxy or in person. Shares of Common Stock represented by a properly signed and returned proxy are considered present at the Annual Meeting for purposes of determining a quorum. Abstentions and broker non-votes are counted as present at the Annual Meeting for determining whether we have a quorum. A broker non-vote occurs when a broker returns a proxy but does not vote on a particular proposal because the broker does not have discretionary voting power for that particular item and has not received voting instructions from the beneficial owner.
Election of directors will be determined by a plurality vote of the combined voting power of all shares of Common Stock present in person or by proxy and voting at the Annual Meeting. Accordingly, votes withheld from director-nominee(s), abstentions and broker non-votes will not count against the election of such nominee(s).
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Approval of the proposal to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent auditors for fiscal year 2010 or any other matter that may come before the Annual Meeting, will be determined by the vote of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting and voting on such matters. With respect to an abstention, the shares will be considered present and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting and they will have the same effect as votes against the matter. With respect to broker non-votes, the shares will not be considered entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting for such matter and the broker non-votes will have the practical effect of reducing the number of affirmative votes required to achieve a majority vote for such matter by reducing the total number of shares from which the majority is calculated.
Voting and Revocation of Proxies
Your vote is important. We encourage you to promptly complete, date, sign and return the accompanying form of proxy in the enclosed envelope. The way you vote now does not limit your right to change your vote at the Annual Meeting if you attend in person.
Common Stock represented by properly executed proxies received by us and not revoked will be voted at the Annual Meeting in accordance with the instructions contained therein. If instructions are not given, proxies will be voted FOR the election of each nominee for election as a director named herein and FOR the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as CopyTeles independent auditors for fiscal year 2010. The Board of Directors has not received timely notice (and does not know) of any matters that are to be brought before the Annual Meeting other than as set forth in the Notice of Annual Meeting. If any other matters properly come before the Annual Meeting, the persons named in the enclosed form of proxy or their substitutes will vote in accordance with their best judgment on such matters.
Any proxy signed and returned by a stockholder may be revoked at any time before it is voted by filing with the Secretary of CopyTele written notice of such revocation or a duly executed proxy bearing a later date or by attending the Annual Meeting and voting in person. Attendance at the Annual Meeting will not in and of itself constitute revocation of a proxy.
Proxy Solicitation
We will bear the costs of solicitations of proxies for the Annual Meeting. In addition to solicitation by mail, our directors, officers and regular employees may solicit proxies from stockholders by telephone, telegram, personal interview or otherwise. Such directors, officers and employees will not receive additional compensation, but may be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses in connection with such solicitation. We have requested brokers, nominees, fiduciaries and other custodians to forward soliciting material to the beneficial owners of Common Stock held of record by them, and such custodians will be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses.
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PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF COMMON STOCK
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to Common Stock beneficially owned as of September 22, 2010 by: (a) each person who is known by our management to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding Common Stock; (b) each director and executive officer of CopyTele; and (c) all directors and executive officers as a group:
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner |
Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership (1)&(2) |
Percent of Class (3) | |||
Mars Overseas Limited (4) P.O. Box 309, GI Ugland House South Church Street, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Island |
20,000,000 | 13.17 | % | ||
Denis A. Krusos 900 Walt Whitman Road Melville, NY 11747 |
10,169,880 | 6.32 | % | ||
Henry P. Herms 900 Walt Whitman Road Melville, NY 11747 |
755,575 | * | |||
George P. Larounis 900 Walt Whitman Road Melville, NY 11747 |
820,000 | * | |||
Lewis H. Titterton, Jr. 900 Walt Whitman Road Melville, NY 11747 |
5,346,562 | 3.52 | % | ||
All Directors and Executive Officers as a Group (4 persons) |
17,092,017 | 10.52 | % |
* | Less than 1%. |
(1) | A beneficial owner of a security includes any person who directly or indirectly has or shares voting power and/or investment power with respect to such security or has the right to obtain such voting power and/or investment power within sixty (60) days. Except as otherwise noted, each designated beneficial owner in this Proxy Statement has sole voting power and investment power with respect to the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such person. |
(2) | Includes 9,100,000 shares, 745,000 shares, 780,000 shares and 10,625,000 shares as to which Denis A. Krusos, Henry P. Herms, and George P. Larounis, and all directors and executive officers as a group, respectively, have the right to acquire within 60 days upon exercise of options granted pursuant to the CopyTele, Inc. 2000 Share Incentive Plan (the 2000 Plan) and the CopyTele, Inc. 2003 Share Incentive Plan (the 2003 Plan). |
(3) | Based on 151,816,538 shares of common stock outstanding as of September 22, 2010. |
(4) | The Company has relied solely on information provided in Amendment No. 1 to the Schedule 13G which Mars Overseas Limited filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2010. As reported in the Schedule 13G/A, Mars Overseas is a joint venture controlled by six entities. The governing documents of Mars Overseas require majority voting of the six entities that are party to the joint venture with respect to the 20,000,000 CopyTele shares owned by Mars Overseas. Four of these six entities are controlled by members of the Dhoot family, which include Messrs. Venugopal N. Dhoot, Rajkumar N. Dhoot and Pradipkumar N. Dhoot. The remaining two entities are publicly traded corporations outside of the United States, of which the above-mentioned members of the Dhoot family hold a significant percentage, although less than 50% of such publicly traded companies. Messrs. Venugopal N. Dhoot, Rajkumar N. Dhoot and Pradipkumar N. Dhoot all disclaim beneficial ownership in the shares held by Mars Overseas except to the extent of their pecuniary interest, and disclaim membership as a group. |
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ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
(Item 1)
Information regarding our current directors and executive officers is as follows:
Name |
Age |
Position with the Company | ||
Denis A. Krusos |
82 | Director, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | ||
Henry P. Herms |
65 | Director, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Finance | ||
George P. Larounis |
82 | Director | ||
Lewis H. Titterton Jr. |
66 | Director |
Mr. Krusos has served as one of our Directors and as our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since November 1982. He holds an M.S.E.E. degree from Newark College of Engineering, a B.E.E. degree from City College of New York and a J.D. degree from St. Johns University.
Mr. Herms has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Vice PresidentFinance since November 2000 and as one of our Directors since August 2001. Mr. Herms was also our Chief Financial Officer from 1982 to 1987. He is also a former audit manager and CPA with the firm of Arthur Andersen LLP. He holds a B.B.A. degree from Adelphi University.
Mr. Larounis has served as one of our Directors since September 1997, prior to which he served as a consultant to us. Mr. Larounis is currently retired. From 1960 to 1993, he held numerous positions as a senior international executive of The Bendix Corporation and AlliedSignal Inc., which is now known as Honeywell International, Inc. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of numerous affiliates of AlliedSignal in Europe, Asia and Australia. He holds a B.E.E. degree from the University of Michigan and a J.D. degree from New York University.
Mr. Titterton was appointed Director by our Board of Directors effective August 16, 2010. Mr. Titterton is currently Chairman of the Board of NYMED, Inc., a diversified health services company. His background is in high technology with an emphasis on health care and he has been with NYMED, Inc. since 1989. Mr. Titterton founded MedE America, Inc. in 1986 and was Chief Executive Officer of Management and Planning Services, Inc. from 1978 to 1986. Mr. Titterton also served as one of our Directors from July 1999 to January 2003. He holds a M.B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany, and a B.A. degree from Cornell University.
Four directors are to be elected at the Annual Meeting by the holders of Common Stock, each to serve until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his successor shall be elected and shall qualify. Denis A. Krusos, Henry P. Herms, George P. Larounis and Lewis H. Titterton are nominated for reelection to the Board. All of the nominees at present are available for election as members of the Board of Directors. If for any reason a nominee becomes unavailable for election, the proxies solicited by the Board of Directors will be voted for a substitute nominee selected by the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR each nominee as a Director to hold office until the next Annual Meeting. Proxies received by the Board of Directors will be so voted unless stockholders specify in their proxy a contrary choice.
Board of Directors and Corporate Governance
General
Our Board of Directors oversees the activities of our management in the handling of the business and affairs of our company. As part of the Boards oversight responsibility, it monitors developments in the area of corporate governance, including new Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) requirements, and periodically reviews and amends, as appropriate, our governance policies and procedures.
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While we are not subject to the listing requirements of any national securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system which require that our Board be comprised of a majority of independent directors, Messrs. Titterton and Larounis meet the definition of independent as promulgated by the rules and regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
We do not have a standing audit, nominating or compensation committee. We believe that, given the size of our company, separate committees are unnecessary.
Our full Board of Directors has assumed the functions of our formal Audit Committee. The functions of the Audit Committee assumed by the Board of Directors include fulfilling its responsibility to oversee managements conduct of our financial reporting process, including the selection of our independent auditors and the review of the financial reports and other financial information provided by us to any governmental or regulatory body, the public or other users thereof, our systems of internal accounting and financial controls, and the annual independent audit of our financial statements.
As we do not have a standing compensation committee, the Board of Directors has full authority for determination of executive and director compensation. The Board of Directors processes and procedures for the consideration and determination of executive and director compensation are described under the heading Compensation Discussion and Analysis.
In July 2010, the Board of Directors established a Stock Option Committee comprised of Denis A. Krusos, George P. Larounis and Henry P. Herms. The functions of the Stock Option Committee include administration of the 2000 Plan, the 2003 Plan and the CopyTele, Inc. 2010 Share Incentive Plan (the 2010 Plan). We have discontinued granting options under the 2000 Plan.
Attendance
Forty-two meetings, exclusive of action by unanimous written consent, of the Board of Directors were held during fiscal year 2009. During such year, each incumbent director attended at least 75% of the aggregate number of meetings of the Board of Directors and committees on which he served while a member thereof. All members of our Board of Directors who then were serving as directors attended our 2009 annual meeting of stockholders. We encourage our directors to attend the annual meeting of stockholders.
Nominations of Directors
We have not designated a nominating committee or other committee performing a similar function, due to the size of our company and Board. Such matters are discussed by our Board of Directors as a whole. In selecting directors, the Board will consider candidates that possess qualifications and expertise that will enhance the composition of the Board, including the considerations set forth below. The considerations set forth below are not meant as minimum qualifications, but rather as guidelines in weighing all of a candidates qualifications and expertise.
| Candidates should be individuals of personal integrity and ethical character. |
| Candidates should have background, achievements, and experience that will enhance our Board. This may come from experience in areas important to our business, substantial accomplishments or prior or current associations with institutions noted for their excellence. Candidates should have demonstrated leadership ability, the intelligence and ability to make independent analytical inquiries and the ability to exercise sound business judgment. |
| Candidates should be free from conflicts that would impair their ability to discharge the fiduciary duties owed as a director to CopyTele and its stockholders, and we will consider directors independence from our management and stockholders. |
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| Candidates should have, and be prepared to devote, adequate time and energy to the Board and its committees to ensure the diligent performance of their duties, including by attending meetings of the Board and its committees. |
| Due consideration will be given to the Boards overall balance of diversity of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, as well as age, gender and ethnicity. |
| Consideration will also be given to relevant legal and regulatory requirements. |
We are of the view that the continuing service of qualified incumbents promotes stability and continuity in the board room, contributing to the Boards ability to work as a collective body, while giving us the benefit of the familiarity and insight into our affairs that our directors accumulate during their tenure. Accordingly, the process of the Board for identifying nominees for directors will reflect our practice of generally re-nominating incumbent directors who continue to satisfy the Boards criteria for membership on the Board, whom the Board believes continue to make important contributions and who consent to continue their service on the Board. If the Board determines that an incumbent director consenting to re-nomination continues to be qualified and has satisfactorily performed his or her duties as director during the preceding term, and that there exist no reasons, including considerations relating to the composition and functional needs of the Board as a whole, why in the Boards view the incumbent should not be re- nominated, the Board will, absent special circumstances, generally propose the incumbent director for re-election.
If the incumbent directors are not nominated for re-election or if there is otherwise a vacancy on the Board, the Board may solicit recommendations for nominees from persons that the Board believes are likely to be familiar with qualified candidates, including from members of the Board and management. The Board may also determine to engage a professional search firm to assist in identifying qualified candidates. We do not have a policy with regard to the consideration of director candidates recommended by stockholders. Due to the size of our company and Board, the Board does not believe that such a policy is necessary.
Depending on its level of familiarity with the candidates, the Board may choose to interview certain candidates that it believes may possess qualifications and expertise required for membership on the Board. It may also gather such other information it deems appropriate to develop a well-rounded view of the candidate. Based on reports from those interviews or from Board members with personal knowledge and experience with a candidate, and on all other available information and relevant considerations, the Board will select and nominate candidates who, in its view, are most suited for membership on the Board.
Communications with Directors
Stockholders may send written communications to the Board by mailing those communications to CopyTele, Inc., 900 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, Attn.: Secretary, who will forward such communications to the relevant addressee. We will generally not forward to the directors shareholder communications that merely request general information about us.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a formal code of ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. We will provide a copy of our code of ethics to any person without charge, upon request. For a copy of our code of ethics write to Secretary, CopyTele, Inc., 900 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our directors, executive officers and ten percent stockholders to file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our
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Common Stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Directors, executive officers and ten percent stockholders are also required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms that they file. Based upon a review of these filings, we believe that all required Section 16(a) fillings were made on a timely basis during fiscal year 2009.
Related Person Transaction Approval Policy
Our Board of Directors review and approve all transactions between us and a related person, to the extent required by applicable rules and regulations. Generally, management would present to the Board of Directors for approval at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting any related person transactions proposed to be entered into by us.
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COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
The following discusses our executive compensation philosophy, decisions and practices for fiscal year 2009. As a small company with only 20 employees and a small management team, we have implemented a simple and modest compensation structure based on our overall goal to ensure that the total compensation paid to our executives is fair, reasonable and competitive. Our Board of Directors deems such a simple, less formula-based compensation structure advisable and consistent with the Companys overall compensation objectives and philosophies. Accordingly, the method of compensation decision-making actually employed by the Company does not lend itself to extensive analytical and quantitative analysis, but rather is based on the business judgment of the Companys Chief Executive Officer and our Board of Directors as described in more detail below.
Philosophy and Objectives
Our philosophy towards executive compensation is to create both short-term and long-term incentives based on the following principles:
| Total compensation opportunities should be competitive. We believe that our overall compensation program should be competitive so that we can attract, motivate and retain highly qualified executives. |
| Total compensation should be related to our performance. We believe that our executives total compensation should be linked to achieving specified financial objectives which we believe will create stockholder value. |
| Total compensation should be related to executives performance. We believe that our executives total compensation should reward individual performance achievements and encourage individual contributions to achieve better performance. |
| Equity awards help executives think like stockholders. We believe that our executives total compensation should have an equity component because stock based equity awards help reinforce our executives long-term interest in our overall performance and thereby align the interests of our executives with the interests of our stockholders. |
Role of our Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is primarily responsible for determining executive compensation and employee benefit plans. Our Board of Directors evaluates the performance of our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Denis A. Krusos, directly. Mr. Krusos is not present during the Board of Directors deliberations as to his compensation.
With respect to senior management other than Mr. Krusos, Mr. Krusos participates in the decision-making by making recommendations to the Board of Directors. After informal discussion regarding such recommendations, the Board of Directors vote on any recommended compensation changes. Our Board of Directors do not utilize any particular formula in determining any compensation changes but instead exercises its business judgment in view of our overall compensation philosophy and objectives.
Elements of Executive Compensation
Our executive compensation consists primarily of two elements: (1) base salary and (2) stock options under our stock equity incentive plans. Our Board of Directors do not follow a specific set of guidelines or formulas in determining the amount and mix of compensation elements. We seek to reward shorter-term performance through base salary and longer-term performance through stock options granted under our stock equity incentive plans.
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Base Salary
In setting salaries for fiscal year 2009, the Board of Directors considered several factors to help evaluate the reasonableness and competitiveness of the Companys base salaries. The Board of Directors initially determines base salary for each executive based on the executives salary for the prior fiscal year. The Board of Directors then considers the level of job responsibilities, the executives experience and tenor and the executives performance in helping the Company achieve certain goals, including (i) development of its flat panel technology, (ii) making business arrangements for licensing its technology, (iii) development of encryption products and (iv) making business arrangements to license and market its encryption products. The Board of Directors give no specific weight to any of the above factors so it is not possible to provide a complete qualitative and quantitative discussion linking the Companys compensation objectives and policies with the actual salaries paid to our executives.
Because the market for talented executives is extremely competitive, the Board of Directors also considers, from time to time, the form and amount of compensation paid to executives of other companies, compiled from publicly available information. While the Company takes into account competitive market data, it does not target a specific benchmark for compensation from the other companies whose compensation it reviews. To maintain flexibility, the Company also does not target base salary at any particular percent of total compensation. While the Board of Directors can engage compensation consultants to assist with this task, the Board of Directors did not retain any third party consultants or engaged in any formal comparison of compensation of the Company to compensation at other companies during fiscal year 2009. Individual base salaries are reviewed annually.
In setting base salaries for fiscal year 2009, our Board of Directors decided to maintain the base salary for fiscal year 2009 for each of the persons who were named executive officers at the same level as their fiscal year 2008 base salary. In making such determination, the Board of Directors did not utilize any particular formula but instead exercised its business judgment in view of its overall compensation philosophy and objectives.
Equity Based Incentives
Our use of equity compensation is driven by our goal of aligning the long-term interests of our executives with our overall performance and the interests of our stockholders. The Board of Directors believes it is important to provide our senior management with stock-based incentive compensation that increases in value in direct correlation with improvement in the performance of our common stock. The fundamental philosophy is to link the amount of compensation for an executive to his or her contribution to the Companys success in achieving financial and other objectives. Equity incentives are not set at any particular percentage of total compensation.
In general, we grant stock options under stock equity incentive plans to directors, officers, and other employees upon commencement of their employment with us and periodically thereafter. We generally grant stock options at regularly scheduled Board meetings. The option awards are granted at an exercise price equal to the closing price of common stock on the grant date (the date the grant is approved). Options for directors and officers generally vest on the date of grant or after a 6 or 12 month period following the grant date, provided the directors or officers remain employed on the vesting date, so that such compensation is at risk of forfeiture based on the directors or officers continued service with us.
As with other elements of executive compensation, the determination of stock options granted were not based on complex or extensive quantitative or qualitative factors that lend themselves to substantive disclosure. Instead, the awards granted in fiscal year 2009 were based primarily on the business judgment of the Board of Directors.
The stock equity incentive plans also provide for the award of restricted stock, although such awards have not been used in any material respect. No restricted stock was awarded during fiscal year 2009.
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Other Benefits
We provide our executives with customary, board-based benefits that are provided to all employees, including medical insurance, life, and disability insurance. We also provide our executives with certain perquisites which are not a significant element of executive compensation.
Policy on Ownership of Stock and Options
We do not have any policy regarding levels of equity ownership (stock or options) by our executive officers or directors.
Policy on Deductibility of Compensation
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code limits the deductibility of compensation in excess of $1 million paid to certain executive officers named in the proxy statement, unless certain requirements are met. To maintain flexibility in compensating executive officers in a manner designed to aid in retention and promote varying corporate performance objectives, the Board of Directors has not adopted a policy of meeting the Section 162(m) requirements.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
As disclosed above, the Board of Directors is primarily responsible for overseeing our compensation and employee benefit plans and practices. We do not have a compensation committee or other Board committee that performs equivalent functions. During the last fiscal year, no officer or employee of the Company (other than officers who are also directors of the Company), nor any former officer of the Company, participated in deliberations of the Companys Board of Directors concerning executive compensation.
Compensation Committee Report
The members of our Board of Directors, excluding Mr. Titterton who was not a director during fiscal year 2009, have reviewed and discussed the above Compensation Discussion and Analysis with management. Based upon this review and discussion, the Board recommended that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2009.
Denis A Krusos
Henry P. Herms
George P. Larounis
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Executive Compensation
The following table sets forth certain information for fiscal year ended October 31, 2009, with respect to compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer (the Named Executive Officers). No other Named Executive Officer received total compensation in excess of $100,000 during fiscal year 2009.
SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE | ||||||||||||||
Name and Principal Position |
Year |
Salary ($) |
Option Awards ($)(1) |
All
Other Compensation ($)(2) |
Total Compensation ($) | |||||||||
Denis A. Krusos, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
2009 2008 2007 |
$ $ $ |
250,000 250,000 250,000 |
$ $ $ |
748,500 967,000 422,170 |
$ $ $ |
39,815 33,929 28,532 |
$ $ $ |
1,038,315 1,250,929 700,702 | |||||
Henry P. Herms Chief Financial Officer, Vice President- Finance and Director |
2009 2008 2007 |
$ $ $ |
125,000 125,000 100,000 |
$ $ $ |
74,850 72,525 30,155 |
$ $ $ |
18,779 21,777 14,300 |
$ $ $ |
218,629 219,302 144,455 |
(1) | Amounts in the Option Awards column represent the dollar amounts recognized for financial statement reporting purposes for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 for each Named Executive Officer in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 718 Stock Compensation (ASC 718). A discussion of assumptions used in valuation of option awards may be found in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009. |
(2) | Amounts in the All Other Compensation column reflect, for each Named Executive Officer, the sum of the incremental cost to us of all perquisites and personal benefits, which consisted solely of auto allowance and related expenses for fiscal years ended October 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007. |
The following table sets forth certain information with respect to grants of stock options to the Named Executive Officers during fiscal year 2009:
GRANTS OF PLAN BASED AWARDS | ||||||||||
Name |
Grant Date |
All Other Option Awards: Number of Securities Underlying Option (#) |
Exercise Price of Options Awards ($/Sh) |
Grant Date Fair Value ($) | ||||||
Denis A. Krusos |
10/08/09 | 1,000,000 | $ | 0.92 | $ | 748,500 | ||||
Henry P. Herms |
10/08/09 | 100,000 | $ | 0.92 | $ | 74,850 |
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The following table sets forth certain information with respect to unexercised stock options held by the Named Executive Officers outstanding on October 31, 2009:
OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END | |||||||
Option Awards | |||||||
Name |
Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options (#) Exercisable |
Option Exercise
Price ($) |
Option Expiration Date | ||||
Denis A. Krusos |
250,000 250,000 150,000 500,000 500,000 250,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 700,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 |
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ |
1.063 0.688 0.400 0.250 0.430 0.810 1.040 0.650 0.520 0.830 0.700 1.170 0.920 |
10/26/2010 1/1/2011 9/19/2011 5/5/2013 2/22/2014 5/10/2014 10/25/2014 2/17/2015 10/30/2015 5/31/2016 11/20/2016 11/11/2017 10/7/2019 | |||
Henry P. Herms |
100,000 50,000 50,000 70,000 100,000 100,000 50,000 50,000 75,000 100,000 |
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ |
0.938 0.688 0.810 1.040 0.650 0.520 0.830 0.700 1.170 0.920 |
11/19/2010 1/1/2011 5/10/2014 10/25/2014 2/17/2015 10/30/2015 5/31/2016 11/20/2016 11/11/2017 10/7/2019 |
12
Directors Compensation
There is no present arrangement for cash compensation of directors for services in that capacity. Under the 2003 Share Incentive Plan, and subsequently under the 2010 Share Incentive Plan, each non-employee director is entitled to receive nonqualified stock options to purchase 60,000 shares of common stock each year that such director is elected to the Board of Directors. Mr. Larounis received such an award upon his election to our Board of Directors at our 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and in October 2009, he received an additional award of stock options for his services as a director. Upon Lewis H. Titterton Jr.s appointment to the Board of Directors, he decided to forego any stock options that he was entitled to receive as a non-employee director.
Our employee directors, Denis A. Krusos and Henry P. Herms did not receive any additional compensation for services provided as a director during fiscal year 2009. The following table sets forth compensation of George P. Larounis, our sole non-employee director for fiscal year 2009:
DIRECTORS COMPENSATION | |||||
Name |
Option Awards ($)(1) |
All
Other Compensation ($) | |||
George P. Larounis |
$ | 60,564 | |
(1) | Amounts in the Option Awards column represent the dollar amounts recognized for financial statement reporting purposes for fiscal year 2009 for Mr. Larounis in accordance with ASC 718. A discussion of assumptions used in valuation of option awards may be found in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009. At October 31, 2009, Mr. Larounis held unexercised stock options to purchase 780,000 shares of our common stock. |
13
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
Because we no longer have a standing Audit Committee, the following is the report of our entire Board of Directors, including our independent director, Mr. Larounis, but excluding Mr. Titterton as he was not a director during fiscal year 2009, with respect to our audited financial statements for fiscal year 2009.
Review with Management. Mr. Larounis reviewed and discussed our audited financial statements with management.
Review and Discussions with Independent Auditors. The Board of Directors discussed with KPMG LLP, our independent auditors for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009, the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended (AICPA, Professional Standards, Vol. 1, AU section 380), as adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in Rule 3200T.
The Board of Directors also received written disclosures and the letter from KPMG LLP regarding their communications with the Board of Directors concerning independence, as required by the Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence Discussions with Audit Committees), as adopted by the PCAOB in Rule 3600T, and has discussed with KPMG LLP their independence.
Conclusion. Based on the review and discussions referred to above, the Board of Directors determined to include our audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2009, for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Denis A. Krusos George P. Larounis |
Henry P. Herms |
The information contained in the foregoing reports shall not be deemed to be soliciting material or to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate them by reference in such filing.
14
RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
(Item 2)
The Board of Directors has appointed the firm of KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, to serve as our independent auditors for fiscal year 2010, subject to ratification of this appointment by our stockholders. We have been advised by that firm that neither it nor any member thereof have any direct or material indirect financial interest in CopyTele.
KPMG LLP audited our consolidated financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2009. Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2008 were audited by Grant Thornton LLP. The Company dismissed Grant Thornton LLP as the Companys independent registered accounting firm on August 11, 2009. The decision to change accountants was recommended and approved by the Board of Directors. Grant Thornton LLPs reports on our financial statements for the two most recent fiscal years did not contain an adverse opinion, a disclaimer of opinion, nor was it qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope, or accounting principles.
During the year ended October 31, 2008 and the interim period between October 31, 2008 and August 11, 2009, there were no disagreements with Grant Thornton LLP on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, auditing scope or procedure, which disagreement(s), if not resolved to the satisfaction of Grant Thornton LLP, would have caused Grant Thornton LLP to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement(s) in connection with its report. Grant Thornton LLP furnished us with a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which indicated that it agreed with the foregoing statements contained in this and the preceding paragraphs.
During the year ended October 31, 2008 and the interim period between October 31, 2008 and August 11, 2009, neither CopyTele nor anyone on our behalf consulted with KPMG LLP regarding either the application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, either completed or proposed, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on our financial statements or any matter that was either the subject of a disagreement or a reportable event.
One or more representatives of KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2010, are expected to be present at the Annual Meeting. They will have the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so and will be available to respond to appropriate questions. It is not expected that any representatives of Grant Thornton LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm for fiscal year 2008, will be present at the Annual Meeting.
Ratification of the appointment of the independent auditors requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at the Annual Meeting.
The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR this proposal. Proxies received by the Board of Directors will be so voted unless stockholders specify in their proxy a contrary choice.
15
Principal Accounting Audit Fees and Services
The following table describes fees for professional audit services rendered and billed by KPMG LLP from August 2009 through October 31, 2009, our present independent registered public accounting firm and principal accountant, for the audit of our annual financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2009 and Grant Thornton LLP during the period from November 1, 2007 through August 2009, for the audit of our annual financial statements and for other services for the year ended October 31, 2008 and for review of our quarterly financial statements for the three month periods ended January 31, 2009 and April 30, 2009.
Type of Fee |
2009 | 2008 | ||||
Audit Fees (1) |
$ | 517,743 | $ | 432,151 | ||
Audit Related Fees (2) |
| 11,644 | ||||
Tax Fees (3) |
| 1,000 | ||||
All Other Fees |
| | ||||
Total Fees |
$ | 517,743 | $ | 444,795 |
(1) | Audit fees for fiscal year 2009 represent billed fees for professional services rendered by KPMG LLP and Grant Thornton LLP of $50,000 and $467,743, respectively. |
(2) | Audit related fees consist of fees related to a Securities and Exchange Commission comment letter. |
(2) | Tax fees consist of tax consulting services. |
Procedures for Board of Directors Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of Independent Auditors. Our Board of Directors is responsible for reviewing and approving, in advance, any audit and any permissible non-audit engagement or relationship between us and our independent registered public accounting firm. KPMGs engagement to conduct our audit was approved by our Board of Directors on August 11, 2009. We did not enter into any non-audit engagement or relationship with KPMG during fiscal year 2009. Grant Thorntons engagement to conduct our audit was approved by the Board of Directors on July 18, 2008. We did not enter into any non-audit engagement or relationship with Grant Thornton LLP during fiscal year 2008.
16
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS
All proposals from stockholders to be included in the proxy materials to be distributed by us in connection with the next annual meeting must be received by the Secretary of CopyTele, 900 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, New York 11747, not later than the close of business on August 10, 2011.
In addition, in accordance with Article I, Section 10 of our Amended and Restated By-laws, in order to be properly brought before the next annual meeting, a matter must have been: (i) specified in a written notice of such meeting (or any supplement thereto) given to stockholders of record by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (which would be accomplished if a stockholder proposal were received by the Secretary of the CopyTele as set forth in the preceding paragraph); (ii) brought before such meeting at the direction of the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the meeting; or (iii) specified in a written notice given by or on behalf of a stockholder of record on the record date for such meeting, or a duly authorized proxy for such stockholder, which conforms to the requirements of Article I, Section 10 of our Amended and Restated By-laws and is delivered personally to, or mailed to and received by, the Secretary of CopyTele at the address set forth in the preceding paragraph not less than 45 days prior to the first anniversary of the date of the notice accompanying this Proxy Statement; provided however, that such notice need not be given more than 75 days prior to the next annual meeting.
ANNUAL REPORT
A copy of our Annual Report, including financial statements for fiscal year 2009, accompanies this Proxy Statement.
By Order of the Board of Directors | ||
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ANNE ROTONDO Secretary |
Melville, New York
September 27, 2010
17
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
OCTOBER 26, 2010 - 10:30 A.M.
TO BE HELD AT:
FOX HOLLOW
7725 JERICHO TURNPIKE
WOODBURY, NEW YORK 11797
(516) 921-1415
LONG ISLAND EXPRESSWAY TO EXIT 44 NORTH (RT. 135 NORTH) TO EXIT 14 EAST (WOODBURY 25 EAST).
NORTHERN STATE PARKWAY TO EXIT 36B NORTH (RT. 135 NORTH) TO EXIT 14 EAST (WOODBURY 25 EAST).
BELT PARKWAY TO SOUTHERN STATE PARKWAY TO EXIT 28A NORTH (RT. 135 NORTH) TO EXIT 14 EAST.
AT EXIT 14 EAST, BEAR RIGHT AND MAKE A RIGHT TURN ONTO JERICHO TURNPIKE (25 EAST).
FOX HOLLOW IS ON LEFT SIDE AFTER FIRST TRAFFIC LIGHT.
¨ n
THIS PROXY SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
COPYTELE, INC.
Annual Meeting of Stockholders October 26, 2010
THE UNDERSIGNED stockholder of CopyTele, Inc., hereby appoints DENIS A. KRUSOS and HENRY P. HERMS, or either of them, with full power of substitution, as the proxy or proxies of the undersigned at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of CopyTele to be held at the Fox Hollow, Woodbury, New York, on October 26, 2010, at 10:30 a.m., and any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof, and to vote thereat all shares of Common Stock of CopyTele which the undersigned would be entitled to vote if personally present in accordance with the instructions on the reverse side of this Proxy.
The shares represented by this Proxy will be voted as specified on the reverse side hereof, but if no specification is made, the proxies intend to vote FOR the election of all nominees as directors, FOR the ratification of the selection of auditors and, in the discretion of such proxies, for or against such other matters as may properly come before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment(s) or postponement(s) thereof.
(Continued and to be signed on the reverse side)
n | 14475 n |
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS OF
COPYTELE, INC.
October 26, 2010
NOTICE OF INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIAL:
The Annual Report, Notice of Meeting, Proxy Statement
are available at http://www.copytele.com/investors. html
Please sign, date and mail
your proxy card in the
envelope provided as soon
as possible.
ê Please detach along perforated line and mail in the envelope provided. ê
n 20430000000000000000 8 102610
PLEASE SIGN, DATE AND RETURN PROMPTLY IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. PLEASE MARK YOUR VOTE IN BLUE OR BLACK INK AS SHOWN HERE x
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1. Election of Directors: | NOMINEES: | FOR | AGAINST | ABSTAIN | ||||||||
¨ FOR ALL NOMINEES
¨ WITHHOLD AUTHORITY FOR ALL NOMINEES
¨ FOR ALL EXCEPT (See instructions below) |
o Denis A. Krusos o Henry P. Herms o George P. Larounis o Lewis H. Titterton |
2. RATIFICATION OF THE SELECTION OF KPMG LLP AS INDEPENDENT AUDITORS OF COPYTELE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 31, 2010. |
¨ | ¨ | ¨ | |||||||
3. IN THEIR DISCRETION, THE PROXIES ARE AUTHORIZED TO VOTE UPON SUCH OTHER MATTERS AS MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE MEETING OR ANY ADJOURNMENT(S) OR POSTPONEMENT(S) THEREOF.
Receipt is acknowledged of Notice of Annual Meeting, Proxy Statement and Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2009. | ||||||||||||
INSTRUCTIONS: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark FOR ALL EXCEPT and fill in the circle next to each nominee you wish to withhold, as shown here: l
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To change the address on your account, please check the box at right and indicate your new address in the address space above. Please note that changes to the registered name(s) on the account may not be submitted via this method.
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Signature of Stockholder | Date: | Signature of Stockholder | Date: |
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Note: Please sign exactly as your name or names appear on this Proxy. When shares are held jointly, each holder should sign. When signing as executor, administrator, attorney, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. If the signer is a corporation, please sign full corporate name by duly authorized officer, giving full title as such. If signer is a partnership, please sign in partnership name by authorized person. |
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