UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
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 15, 2005 |
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
|
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) |
Wisconsin
|
1-9183
|
39-1382325
|
(State or other jurisdiction |
(Commission File Number) |
(IRS Employer |
of incorporation) |
|
Identification No.) |
|
3700 West Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53208
|
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) |
(414) 342-4680
|
(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:
[ ] |
Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
[ ] |
Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
[ ] |
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b)) |
[ ] |
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c)) |
Item 1.01. |
Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On
February 15, 2005, the Human Resources Committee (the Committee) of the
Board of Directors of Harley-Davidson, Inc. (the Company), as
administrator of the Companys 2004 Incentive Stock Plan (the Plan),
approved a general form of option award agreement and a special form of option award
agreement and a general form of restricted stock award agreement and a special form of
restricted stock award agreement under the Plan. On that date, the Committee also approved
awards to approximately 480 employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, including
executive officers and management, of (i) options to purchase shares of common stock of
the Company under the Plan for which the general form of option agreement and/or the
special form of option agreement serves as the award agreement and (ii) restricted shares
of common stock of the Company under the Plan for which the general form of restricted
stock award agreement and/or the special form of restricted stock award agreement serves
as the award agreement.
The
forms of award agreements are being filed as Exhibits 99.1 through 99.4.
On
February 15, 2005, the Committee also approved payouts to approximately 9,000 employees of
the Company and its subsidiaries, including executive officers and management, under the
Companys short term incentive plans relating to 2004 performance. The approved
payouts were based on 2004 performance relative to goals that the Committee established in
December 2003. During 2004, the Company and its affiliates had four separate
Committee-approved short-term incentive plans in which employees participated: the
Companys Amended Corporate Short Term Incentive Plan (the Corporate
STIP); the Harley-Davidson Motor Company 2004 Short Term Incentive Plan, which
encompasses Harley-Davidson Motor Company Operations, Inc., Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Group, Inc. and Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Inc. (the Motor Company
STIP); the Harley-Davidson Financial Services 2004 Short Term Incentive
Compensation Plan (the HDFS STIP); and the Buell Motorcycle Company
2004 Short Term Incentive Plan (the Buell STIP). The majority of the
employees (over 8,750 employees) were covered by the Motor Company STIP (including a
majority of the executive officers).
As
determined on February 15, 2005, the 2004 Corporate STIP formula provided a bonus based on
earnings per share growth as the sole performance criterion. Award payouts under the Motor
Company STIP were based upon Motor Company financial targets related to earnings before
interest and taxes and objectively-measured strategic targets related to product quality
and customer satisfaction. Award payouts under the 2004 HDFS STIP were based on the
percentage increase in operating income and rate of return on equity. Award payouts under
the 2004 Buell STIP were based on earnings before interest and taxes,
performance against budget and objectively-measured strategic targets related to product quality
and cost.
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Item 5.03. |
Amendments
to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
On
February 15, 2005, the Companys Board of Directors approved amendments to the
Companys By-Laws. The following summary of the amendments to the Companys
By-Laws does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to
the full text of the Companys By-Laws, as amended, which is filed as Exhibit 99.5
and incorporated by reference herein.
Article I: Shareholders
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|
Special
Meetings of Shareholders. For purposes of determining whether holders of record of at
least 10% of all votes entitled to be cast on any issue proposed to be considered at a
special meeting of shareholders have submitted valid written demands for a special
meeting of shareholders pursuant to a demand of shareholders, the record date for
submitting demands will be treated as if it were the record date for the special meeting.
In addition, the definition of Soliciting Shareholder has been amended to
clarify that an affiliate of a Soliciting Shareholder will in all cases be considered a
Soliciting Shareholder for purposes of the Companys By-Laws if such
affiliate is a member of the Soliciting Shareholders group for purposes
of Rule 13d-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. |
|
|
Place
of Meeting. In addition to the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board and the
President of the Company may now designate the place to reconvene an adjourned meeting. |
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Notice
of Meeting. With respect to a special meeting of shareholders pursuant to a demand of
shareholders, notice of such meeting must be sent prior to the later of (a) two days
after the record date for the special meeting and (b) 30 days after the date that valid
written demands for the special meeting by the holders of record as of the relevant
record date of shares representing at least 10% of all votes entitled to be cast on any
issue proposed to be considered at the special meeting are delivered to the Company (the
Delivery Date). |
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|
Adjournment;
Postponement. This provision has been expanded to detail the circumstances under
which a shareholder meeting may be postponed or adjourned and the procedures that must be
followed to postpone or adjourn a meeting. Pursuant to this provision, a special meeting
of shareholders pursuant to a demand of shareholders cannot be postponed beyond the 100th day
following the Delivery Date. |
|
|
Conduct
of Meetings. This provision provides that the Companys Chief Executive Officer,
or in his or her absence an officer designated by the Board of Directors, shall preside
over shareholders meetings and that the Companys Secretary, or in his or her
absence an officer designated by the Board of Directors, shall act as the secretary at
shareholders meetings. The Board of Directors may adopt rules and regulations for
shareholders meetings as it deems appropriate, which rules and regulations can be
supplemented by the chairman of the meeting to the extent not inconsistent with the rules
and regulations adopted by the Board of Directors. |
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Article IV: General
Provisions
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Notices.
This provision has been amended to expand the permitted means of delivering
notices to directors and shareholders. |
Article V: Indemnification
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|
Article
V has been expanded to clarify the circumstances under which the Company will indemnify
its directors and officers and now addresses, among other things, mandatory
indemnification, procedural requirements, the process for making a determination of
indemnification rights, circumstances under which the Company must or is permitted to
allow expenses to a director, officer or an affiliate of the Company, maintenance of
insurance, notice requirements, the nonexclusivity of a directors or officers
indemnification rights under the Companys By-Laws and the contractual nature of
Article V. Prior to these amendments, the Companys By-Laws provided in general
terms that the Company would indemnify its employees, directors and officers to the
fullest extent permitted under the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law. |
On
February 15, 2005, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly
cash dividend of 12.5 cents per share, payable on March 25, 2005 to all shareholders of
record as of March 8, 2005. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit
99.6.
Item 9.01. |
Financial
Statements and Exhibits. |
|
(c) |
Exhibits.
The following exhibits are being furnished herewith: |
|
(99.1) |
Form
of Notice of Grant of Stock Options and Option Agreement of Harley-Davidson,
Inc. |
|
(99.2) |
Form
of Notice of Special Grant of Stock Options and Option Agreement of
Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
|
(99.3) |
Form
of Notice of Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement of
Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
|
(99.4) |
Form
of Notice of Special Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement
of Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
|
(99.5) |
By-Laws
of Harley-Davidson, Inc., as amended February 15, 2005. |
|
(99.6) |
Press
Release of Harley-Davidson, Inc., dated February 15, 2005. |
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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.
|
HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC.
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Date: February 22, 2005 |
By: |
/s/ Gail A. Lione
|
|
|
Gail A. Lione
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
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HARLEY-DAVIDSON, INC.
Exhibit Index to
Current Report on Form 8-K
Dated February 15, 2005
(99.1) |
Form
of Notice of Grant of Stock Options and Option Agreement of Harley-Davidson,
Inc. |
(99.2) |
Form
of Notice of Special Grant of Stock Options and Option Agreement of
Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
(99.3) |
Form
of Notice of Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement of
Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
(99.4) |
Form
of Notice of Special Award of Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Agreement
of Harley-Davidson, Inc. |
(99.5) |
By-Laws
of Harley-Davidson, Inc., as amended February 15, 2005. |
(99.6) |
Press
Release of Harley-Davidson, Inc., dated February 15, 2005. |
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