UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

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FORM 8-K

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CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): February 19, 2021

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EATON VANCE CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 482-8260

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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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

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  ☐

 

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.  ☐

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INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THE REPORT

 

As previously disclosed, on October 7, 2020, Eaton Vance Corp., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Morgan Stanley, a Delaware corporation (“Morgan Stanley”), Mirror Merger Sub 1, Inc., a Maryland corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (“Merger Sub 1”), and Mirror Merger Sub 2, LLC, a Maryland limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (“Merger Sub 2”), providing for, among other things, and subject to the conditions therein, (i) the merger of Merger Sub 1 with and into the Company (the “First Merger”), with the Company surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, and (ii) immediately following the completion of the First Merger, the merger of the Company with and into Merger Sub 2 (the “Second Merger” and, together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”), with Merger Sub 2 surviving the Second Merger and continuing as a wholly owned direct subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.

 

On February 19, 2021, the Company and Morgan Stanley issued a joint press release to announce that the Company and Morgan Stanley currently expect to complete the Mergers on March 1, 2021. In addition, the Company and Morgan Stanley announced in the joint press release that the deadline for Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., the exchange agent for the Mergers, to receive properly completed forms of election from Company shareholders with respect to the form of merger consideration that such shareholders desire to receive in the Mergers has been set for 5:00 pm, Eastern Time, on February 24, 2021. The press release also notes that, for purposes of determining the merger consideration payable to Eaton Vance shareholders that have elected to receive all cash or all stock consideration, the “Morgan Stanley Common Stock Reference Price” and “Parent Common Stock Reference Price” referenced in the forms of election and Merger Agreement, respectively, will be the volume-weighted average price, rounded to four decimal places, of one share of Morgan Stanley common stock for the ten consecutive trading days ending on the second full trading day preceding the closing date, as calculated by using the VWAP command for MS US Equity on the Bloomberg Terminal. Completion of the Mergers remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. A copy of the joint press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

 

Additional Information and Where to Find It

 

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

 

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed Mergers. In connection with the proposed Mergers, Morgan Stanley filed a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) that included a preliminary information statement of the Company and a prospectus of Morgan Stanley. The Registration Statement became effective on January 29, 2021. The final information statement/prospectus was filed with the SEC on January 29, 2021 and was first mailed to the holders of record of Company shares as of January 22, 2021 on or about January 29, 2021. Morgan Stanley and the Company may file additional relevant materials with the SEC in connection with the proposed Mergers.

 

MORGAN STANLEY AND THE COMPANY URGE INVESTORS AND SECURITYHOLDERS TO READ THESE MATERIALS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN, OR WILL CONTAIN, IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT MORGAN STANLEY, THE COMPANY AND THE PROPOSED MERGERS.

 

Investors and securityholders can obtain documents filed with the SEC (when they are available) and other documents filed with the SEC free of charge at the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Morgan Stanley or the Company (when they become available) can also be obtained free of charge by requesting them in writing or by telephone from Morgan Stanley or the Company at the following addresses and telephone numbers:

 

 

Forward Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “target,” similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the consummation of the proposed transaction and the anticipated benefits thereof. All such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, (i) the completion of the proposed transaction on anticipated terms and timing, including obtaining required regulatory approvals, anticipated tax treatment, unforeseen liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, losses, future prospects, business and management strategies for the management, expansion and growth of the combined company’s operations and other conditions to the completion of the acquisition, including the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period, (ii) the ability of Morgan Stanley and the Company to integrate the business successfully and to achieve anticipated synergies, risks and costs, (iii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction that could be instituted against Morgan Stanley, the Company or their respective officers or directors, (iv) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Morgan Stanley’s and the Company’s business, including current plans and operations, (v) the ability of Morgan Stanley or the Company to retain and hire key personnel, (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the acquisition, (vii) continued availability of capital and financing and rating agency actions, (viii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments, (ix) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the acquisition that could affect Morgan Stanley’s and/or the Company’s financial performance, (x) certain restrictions during the pendency of the acquisition that may impact Morgan Stanley’s or the Company’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions, (xi) unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism or outbreak of war or hostilities, as well as Morgan Stanley’s or the Company’s management’s response to any of the aforementioned factors, (xii) dilution caused by Morgan Stanley’s issuance of additional shares of its common stock in connection with the proposed transaction, (xiii) the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events, (xiv) those risks described in Item 1A of Morgan Stanley’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, (xv) those risks described in Item 1A of the Company’s most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Form 8-K and (xvi) those risks described in the Registration Statement available from the sources indicated above. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the proposed acquisition, are more fully discussed in the Registration Statement that has been filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed acquisition. While the list of factors presented here is, and the list of factors presented in the Registration Statement are, considered representative, no such list should be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Morgan Stanley’s or the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. Neither Morgan Stanley nor the Company assumes any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

 

 

(d) Exhibits

 

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.

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