SEC Company Response from COMPUTER HORIZONS CORP (CIK 0000023019) — Sep 8, 2005
COMPUTER HORIZONS CORP (CIK 0000023019)
Date: Sept. 8, 2005 · CIK: 0000023019 · Accession: 0001104659-05-043392
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: September 6, 2005
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CORRESP 1 filename1.htm SILLS CUMMIS EPSTEIN & GROSS A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION The Legal Center One Riverfront Plaza Newark, New Jersey 07102-5400 Tel: 973-643-7000 Fax: 973-643-6500 Robert Crane 30 Rockefeller Plaza Member of the Firm New York, NY 10112 Direct Dial: (973) 643-5055 Tel: 212-643-7000 E-mail: mcrane@sillscummis.com Fax: 212-643-6550 September 8, 2005 VIA EDGAR, FACSIMILE AND FEDERAL EXPRESS Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporation Finance 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20549 Attention: Nicholas P. Panos, Esq. Re: Computer Horizons Corp. Preliminary Schedule 14A filed on August 24, 2005 File No. 0-07282 Dear Mr. Panos: This letter sets forth the responses of Computer Horizons Corp., a New York corporation (the “Company”), to the comments received from the Staff (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) by letter dated September 6, 2005 concerning the Company’s Preliminary Schedule 14A filed with the Commission on August 24, 2005 (the “Preliminary Proxy Statement”). We are authorized by the Company to provide the responses contained in this letter on behalf of the Company. The responses in this letter correspond to the Staff’s comments as set forth in its letter to the Company dated September 6, 2005. Except as otherwise expressly indicated, references in the text of the responses herein to captions and page numbers are to the amendment no.1 to the preliminary proxy statement (the “Amended Preliminary Proxy Statement”) that is being filed herewith. For your convenience, we set forth each comment from your comment letter in bold type-face and include the Company’s response below it. General 1. We note that you filed this preliminary proxy statement under the header tag PRE14A. Be advised that all preliminary proxy statements filed in connection with contested solicitations should be filed under the header tag PREC14A. Please re-file this preliminary proxy statement under its proper header tag. Response: We note the Staff’s comment and, concurrently herewith, we are re-filing the Preliminary Proxy Statement under its proper header tag and have filed the Amended Preliminary Proxy Statement under such tag as well. 2. We note that preliminary results indicate that your shareholders did not approve the proposed share issuances and related matters associated with the Analysts International merger. In the event that the merger was not approved, please revise your disclosure accordingly. In this regard, your proxy should no longer reflect circumstances both in the event that the proposed merger shall have been approved and in the event that the proposed merger shall not have been approved. Also, describe management’s current views of the status of the proposed merger with Analysts International. Alternatively, if the merger was approved, please revise your proxy statement accordingly. Response: We advise the Staff supplementally that the final results of the voting on the proposals concerning the Company’s proposed merger with Analysts International Corporation (“Analysts”) indicate that a majority of the shares which voted on the proposals voted against them and, as such, the merger will not be consummated. We have revised the disclosure on page 3 of the Amended Preliminary Proxy Statement to reflect this. In addition, the Amended Preliminary Proxy Statement has been otherwise revised throughout so that it no longer reflects alternative circumstances. 3. We note that the record date for the meeting to be held on September 22, 2005 is currently set for September 12, 2005. Please provide us with a legal analysis with citations to your charter documents and New York State Corporate Law of the legal adequacy of the time permitted between the record date and the meeting date. Response: We note the Staff’s comment and advise the Staff supplementally that, pursuant to Section 3 of Article I of the Company’s by-laws, a shareholder requesting a special meeting shall state the date, time and place of the meeting. Section 15 of Article IV of the Company’s by-laws provides that the board of directors may fix a record date, which date shall not be more than fifty nor less than ten days before the date of such meeting. This provision is consistent with Section 604 of the New York Business Corporation Law which sets forth that the record date “shall not be more than sixty nor less than ten days before the date of such meeting”. In accordance with such provisions, the Computer Horizons Full Value Committee (the “Full Value Committee”) requested a special meeting and set the date therefor as September 22nd. The board of directors, in furtherance of the request, set the record date for the special meeting as September 12th, the minimum ten day period before the special meeting. This record date was selected in consideration of the then-pending special meeting relating to the proposed merger With Analysts 2 which, had the proposal relating to the proposed merger been approved, would have resulted in holders of Analysts common stock owning 48% of the Company’s common stock. With the intention of allowing the merger proposals vote results to be tabulated and certified and the proposed merger consummated once approved, the record date chosen was selected in order to allow new shareholders to vote with respect to such a significant issue as removal of directors particularly when, had the merger been consummated, the directors of the Company would have included five individuals who had previously been directors of Analysts. The Company believes that to do otherwise would have been a disenfranchisement of such new shareholders. 4. We note statements made in your letter to shareholders filed on Form 425 on August 12, 2005, and in other filings indirectly linking Messrs. Scott and Braun to conduct at Columbia/HCA. Please provide a factual foundation for your statements that Mr. Scott “was forced” out as CEO for Columbia/HCA and the foundation for your indirect link between the civil and criminal conduct of Columbia/HCA and Mr. Scott. Further, provide support for your statement that Mr. Braun “resigned in the wake of the scandal.” See Note (b) to Rule 14a-9. Please supplementally provide us with additional documentation concerning the nature of the criminal and civil charges against Columbia/HCA and provide a legal analysis for why the statements discussed above are consistent with Note (b) to Rule 14a-9. Response: We advise the Staff supplementally that the factual foundation for the Company’s assertions arises from Columbia/HCA’s agreement with the United States Department of Justice to plead guilty to criminal charges and pay more than $840 million in criminal fines, civil penalties and damages as a result of alleged unlawful billing practices which took place, in whole or in part, while Messrs. Scott and Braun were executive officers of Columbia/HCA. In September 1996, a criminal investigation was launched against Columbia/HCA by the United States Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and on March 19, 1997, federal officials executed search warrants on the company’s offices in El Paso, Texas. In addition, numerous shareholder lawsuits, including one filed on April 4, 1997, were launched against former Columbia/HCA directors and/or executive officers, including Richard L. Scott, who at such time was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia/HCA, subsequent to announcements of a federal investigation and possible criminal activity by Columbia/HCA relative to - among other things - large-scale fraudulent billing activities within the company. On July 25, 1997, shortly after the raid by the FBI, Mr. Scott entered into a separation agreement with Columbia/HCA whereby Mr. Scott resigned from his position as Columbia/HCA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Given the short time period between the FBI raid and Mr. Scott’s resignation, it appears likely that Mr. Scott did not leave the position of CEO by his own volition. Later, in 1997, Mr. Braun resigned as the general counsel of Columbia/HCA. 3 Given that this was subsequent to the launch of the criminal investigation, the Company believes it is fair to say that he resigned in the wake of the scandal. Also, we are providing supplementally in paper form under separate cover a copy of the complaint relating to the Columbia/HCA litigation. 5. We note disclosure in this proxy statement and in your Form 425s that the Crescendo Group is motivated by short-term gains at the expense of the long-term interests of the rest of our shareholders. Please provide support for this statement. Response: We note the Staff’s comment and advise the Staff supplementally that the factual foundation for this statement arises from matters disclosed in the Full Value Committee’s proxy materials and Statement on Schedule 13D, including the disclosure that members of the Full Value Committee initially purchased the Company’s common stock on May 31, 2005, after the announcement of the proposed merger with Analysts. Additionally, the Full Value Committee’s proxy materials include the following disclosure: “If elected, the Nominees will cause Computer Horizons to retain an investment banking firm to assist in the review of all available strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value including, but not limited to, selling the entire company by means of a merger, tender offer or otherwise to the highest bidder, divesting or spinning-off all the assets of the Company on a tax efficient basis or continuing to operate the Company and divesting or spinning-off its non-core assets. If this is not successful, the Nominees will seek to maximize the Company’s profitability by cutting costs, pursuing internal growth and/or using its excess cash to repurchase its undervalued Shares.” [emphasis added]. In the Company’s view, these statements demonstrate a focus on short-term actions that may lead to a quick gain in lieu of focusing on the growth of the Company. Further, a review of publicly available information reveals past conduct of Crescendo Partners and/or its affiliates which the Company believes constitutes motivation to seek short-term gain but at the expense of the longer-term prospects of the enterprise. Selected instances of such conduct include the following: • Spar Aerospace Ltd: Beginning in January 1999, Crescendo Partners accumulated an approximate 18% stake in Spar and formed a group that, on March 25, 1999, sought a special meeting of Spar shareholders to remove all but 2 members of Spar’s board, to elect 5 new directors (including Crescendo executives, Eric Rosenfeld and Richard Martino) and to pay a special cash dividend to Spar shareholders. At the special meeting of Spar shareholders, Mr. Rosenfeld was elected Chairman of the Spar board and the newly constituted Spar board approved a CDN$50M cash dividend which was paid on June 9, 1999. • Call Net Enterprises Inc.: In late 1999, subsequent to acquiring a 9.6% interest in Call Net and as a result of calling a special meeting seeking to remove six directors of the nine 4 person Call Net board, Eric Rosenfeld, an executive of Crescendo Partners, and another nominee were appointed to the board of directors of Call Net. In addition, two Call Net board members resigned and two new independent members were elected. The reconstituted board agreed to hire an investment banker and seek alternatives to obtain higher shareholder value. However, in April 2000, Call-Net stopped seeking to sell the entire company, apparently due to the lack of interest from prospective purchasers. In May 2000, Mr. Rosenfeld announced he would not seek re-nomination to the Call-Net board. 6. Support for each statement or assertion of opinion or belief must be self-evident, disclosed in the proxy materials, or provided to the staff on a supplemental basis. For example, we note that you disclose throughout your proxy statement that “the dissident shareholder group’s proposals are not in the best interest of all of CHC’s shareholders but, instead, were made in furtherance of the dissident’s shareholder group’s own interest to take control of your company without giving you, the CHC shareholders, any immediate value in return.” Explain the basis for your belief that the Full Value Committee’s proposal was made for its “own interest.” You further disclose that “the dissident shareholders group’s proxy material and public statements show a lack of understanding of [y]our business and industry, as well as a lack of vision about the future of CHC and the company’s greater potential.” Revise to support your statement by explaining the basis for the belief the Full Value Committee shows a lack of understanding of your business and a lack of vision. State why the Full Value Committee, in your view, does not consider the company’s greater potential. Response: We note the Staff’s comment and advise the Staff supplementally as follows: • As to the statement that “the dissident shareholder group’s proposals are not in the best interest of all of CHC’s shareholders but, instead were made in furtherance of the dissident shareholder group’s own interest to take control of your company without giving you, the CHC shareholders, any immediate value in return”, we advise the Staff that reference to the Full Value Committee’s own proxy materials reveals a lack of any reference to immediate payment or premium to the Company’s shareholders for control of the Company by virtue of removing the current board and replacing them with the Full Value Committee’s own slate. Further, the Company’s opinion in this regard is based, in part, upon the Full Value Committee’s short tenure as a shareholder (as indicated in its disclosures in its Statement on Schedule 13D and in its proxy materials), which limit its ability to have a full understanding of the interests of all of the shareholders. We also direct the Staff to the response to Comment 5 above which indicates two instances in which Crescendo Partners and/or its affiliates has undertaken takeover attempts of other companies apparently with short-term objectives demonstrating that they have engaged in a pattern of taking control of companies with short-term gains such as dividends or sales as their objective. 5 • As to the statement that “the dissident shareholder group’s proxy materials and public statements show a lack of understanding of your business and industry, as well as a lack of vision about the future of CHC and the Company’s greater potential”, we advise the Staff supplementally that the Company believes its board has an understanding of the information technology industry which has been demonstrated by its strategic investment decisions to acquire RGII and AIM and proposed acquisition of Analysts. In contrast, the Full Value Committee’s basis for removal of the Company’s directors does not illustrate any understanding of the Company’s industry or any vision. The Full Value Committee criticizes the price proposed to be paid for Analysts in connection with the proposed merger; the Company’s share price performance and October 2004 accounting error have been disappointing; and management’s lack of significant actual ownership of shares. The Full Value Committee has not addressed the ongoing consolidation of the IT industry, candidly admitting in its proxy in opposition to the proposed merger that it had not retained an i