SEC Company Response from FIRST HORIZON CORP (FHN, FHN-PB, FHN-PC, FHN-PE, FHN-PF) (CIK 0000036966) (FHN) — Feb 10, 2020
FIRST HORIZON CORP (FHN, FHN-PB, FHN-PC, FHN-PE, FHN-PF) (CIK 0000036966)
Date: Feb. 10, 2020 · CIK: 0000036966 · Accession: 0000930413-20-000293
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 333-235757
Referenced dates: January 24, 2020
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First Horizon National Corporation
February 10,
2020
VIA EDGAR AND FEDEX
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Finance
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attention: Sonia Bednarowski
Re:
First Horizon National Corporation
Registration Statement on Form S-4
Filed December 31, 2019
File No. 333-235757
Dear Ms. Bednarowski:
On behalf of First
Horizon National Corporation (“First Horizon”), and in response to the comments of the staff (the “Staff”)
of the Division of Corporation Finance (the “Division”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”)
to First Horizon’s registration statement on Form S-4 filed with the Commission on December 31, 2019 (the “Registration
Statement”) contained in your letter dated January 24, 2020 (the “Comment Letter”), I submit this letter containing
First Horizon’s responses to the Comment Letter. The responses set forth in this letter are numbered to correspond to the
numbered comments in the Comment Letter. For your convenience, we have set out the text of the comments from the Comment Letter
in bold text followed by our response.
In connection with
this letter, we are filing an amendment to the Registration Statement (“Amendment No. 1”) on the date hereof. Page
numbers referenced in the responses refer to page numbers in Amendment No. 1.
Cover Page
1. Please disclose here
the number of depositary shares representing 1/400th of an interest of First Horizon
Series B preferred stock, First Horizon Series C preferred stock and First Horizon Series
D preferred stock and the underlying Series B, Series C and Series D shares of preferred
stock that you are offering. In addition, please disclose the aggregate value of the
merger consideration.
Securities and Exchange Commission
February 10, 2020
Page 2
RESPONSE:
In response to the
Staff’s comment, First Horizon has (1) revised the cover page of the registration statement to disclose the number of depositary
shares being registered and (2) separately disclosed the aggregate value of the merger consideration on the cover page of the
joint proxy statement/prospectus.
Summary
Interests of Certain First Horizon
Directors and Executive Officers in the Merger, page 22
2. We note that, in connection
with the merger, named executive officers of First Horizon and IBKC will receive grants
of closing incentive restricted stock awards. Please revise to include quantitative information
regarding these awards here. In addition, please provide a brief summary of the terms
of Mr. Byrd’s compensation following the closing of the merger, including quantitative
information.
RESPONSE:
In response to the
Staff’s comment, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on pages 22, 23 and 24 of Amendment No. 1.
Governance of the Combined Company
After the Merger
Bylaws, page 24
3. Please provide a brief
summary of the amendments to the bylaws of First Horizon here and discuss such amendments
in greater detail in an appropriate section of your prospectus. In this regard, we note
your disclosure that the merger agreement requires First Horizon to implement “certain
governance matters for the combined company following the completion of the merger.”
RESPONSE:
In response to the
Staff’s comment, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on pages 24 and 132 of Amendment No. 1 to briefly summarize
the amendments to the bylaws of First Horizon that will be adopted in connection with the closing of the merger and to clarify
that the related subsections of “Summary—Governance of the Combined Company After the Merger” and “The
Merger—Governance of the Combined Company After the Merger” describe in more detail the substance of the foregoing
bylaw amendments.
Combining First Horizon and IBKC may
be more difficult, page 44
4. Please disclose the
“anticipated cost savings” from combining the businesses of First Horizon
and IBKC in an appropriate section of your prospectus and disclose a brief description
of how you calculated such cost savings, to the extent practicable, or advise. In addition,
we note your disclosure regarding the transaction and
Securities and Exchange Commission
February 10, 2020
Page 3
integration costs in connection
with the merger on page 48. Please provide an estimate of the expected transaction and integration costs here, or advise.
RESPONSE:
In response to the
Staff’s comment, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on pages 45 and 49 of Amendment No. 1.
Risk Factors
In connection with the merger, First
Horizon will assume IBKC’s outstanding debt obligations and preferred stock, page 48
5. Please disclose here
quantitative information regarding IBKC’s outstanding debt obligations, so that
investors can assess the risk.
RESPONSE:
In response to the Staff’s comment, First Horizon
has revised the disclosure on page 50 of Amendment No. 1.
The Merger
Background of the Merger, page 67
6. We note your disclosure
that each of the board of directors of IBKC and First Horizon reviewed and assessed their
respective strategic opportunities from time-to-time. Your disclosure does not appear
to mention any discussions of business combinations by First Horizon with any entities
other than IBKC. Please explain the extent to which First Horizon considered opportunities
with any other companies during this time period. If no other companies were considered
as potential merger partners, please explain why First Horizon did not expand its search.
RESPONSE:
In
response to the Staff’s comment, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on page 70 of Amendment No. 1.
7. We note the disclosure
that the financial advisors reviewed projections provided by First Horizon and IBKC.
Please disclose any material projections that were provided by First Horizon to IBKC
or its financial advisers as well as any material projections that were provided by IBKC
to First Horizon or its financial adviser. Alternatively, please tell us why you believe
that such disclosure is not material to an investor’s voting decision. We also
note that Morgan Stanley reviewed certain financial projections furnished to it by the
management of IBKC and First Horizon. In this regard, we note that you have included
the unaudited financial forecasts that were provided by IBKC and First Horizon to KBW
and Goldman Sachs for the purpose of performing financial analyses in connection with
their respective opinions.
Securities and Exchange Commission
February 10, 2020
Page 4
RESPONSE
In response to the Staff’s comment, First Horizon
has revised the disclosure on pages 111 through 116 of Amendment No. 1.
8. We note your disclosure
on page 71 that, at a meeting held by the IBKC board with members of IBKC’s management
on October 15, 2019, IBKC reviewed the process conducted to date with respect to looking
at “both potential buyers of IBKC.” Please disclose the material facts related
to these potential buyers of IBKC. In this regard, we note that the IBKC was in discussion
with Party A but that these discussions ended on August 30, 2019, when Party A communicated
that it was no longer interested in a merger with IBKC. In addition, we note your disclosure
that, on October 20, 2019, Sullivan & Cromwell provided a term sheet to Simpson
Thacher that outlined the proposed terms of Mr. Byrd’s employment with First Horizon
following the closing of a transaction and that, on October 31, 2019, First Horizon provided
IBKC with a draft of Mr. Jordan’s employment agreement to be effective upon and
subject to the closing of the merger. Please provide a summary of the material terms
of these agreements and any material negotiations or discussions regarding these agreements.
Similarly, please describe in greater detail the discussions and negotiations regarding
the exchange ratio, including which party initially proposed the consideration, and whether
either party proposed changes to it as negotiations continued.
RESPONSE
Rather than
referring to specific potential buyers of IBKC, the reference on page 71 regarding “both potential buyers of
IBKC” was intended to refer to possible alternative types of strategic transactions that could be undertaken by IBKC,
specifically to either enter into a transaction (1) pursuant to which IBKC was acquired or (2) pursuant to which IBKC either
acquired another entity or engaged in a merger of equals. In response to the Staff’s comment about potential buyers of
IBKC, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on page 73 of Amendment No. 1 to eliminate any cause of confusion.
In response to the Staff’s comment about the employment agreements,
Fist Horizon has revised the disclosure on pages 73, 74 and 75 of Amendment No. 1.
In response to the
Staff’s comment about the discussions and negotiations regarding the exchange ratio, First Horizon has revised the
disclosure on pages 70 and 71 of Amendment No. 1.
Opinions of IBKC’s Financial
Advisors
Opinion of Keefe, Bruyette &
Woods, Inc., page 88
9. We note the disclosure
on page 91 that, because the estimates used in KBW’s analyses are inherently subject
to uncertainty, KBW assumes no responsibility or liability for their accuracy. Please
remove this disclaimer and all similar disclaimers, including Goldman Sachs’ disclaimer
on page 107 that none of IBKC, Goldman Sachs or any other person assumes responsibility
if future results are materially different from those forecast,” because, while
it is acceptable for a financial advisor to include language that qualifies the estimates
or analyses or describes the uncertainties, it cannot disclaim responsibility for them.
In addition please disclose the compensation IBKC paid to KBW or its affiliates during
the past two years. In this regard, we note your disclosure on page 98 that in the past
two years KBW provided investment banking or financial advisory services to IBKC and
received compensation for such services. Similarly, disclose any material relationship
that existed during the past two years between Goldman Sachs and its affiliates and IBKC,
if any.
Securities and Exchange Commission
February 10, 2020
Page 5
RESPONSE:
In response to the Staff’s comment
about disclosure of relationships with, and services provided to, IBKC, First Horizon has revised the disclosure on pages 100
and 111 of Amendment No. 1. With respect to the portion of the Staff’s comment to remove language referenced by the
Staff on pages 91 and 107 of the S-4, First Horizon supplementally advises the Staff that both KBW and Goldman Sachs
respectfully disagree with the Staff’s conclusion, and the response in the ensuing paragraphs represents the position
taken by KBW and Goldman Sachs that First Horizon hereby presents to the Staff on their behalf.
KBW and Goldman Sachs believe that the relevant
language in their respective disclosures is appropriate because, as a factual matter, the underlying estimates used in their respective
analyses were provided to them by IBKC and/or First Horizon. Such information is the responsibility of IBKC and/or First Horizon,
and neither IBKC nor First Horizon are disclaiming responsibility for the information that each provided to the financial advisors.
Unlike in past circumstances in which the
Staff has requested that similar language regarding projections be removed, the language in KBW’s and Goldman
Sachs’ disclosures disclaiming responsibility applies to the applicable financial advisor rather than the issuer or the
party to the transaction which prepared the estimates used in such financial advisor’s analyses. In this case, such
estimates were provided to KBW and Goldman Sachs by IBKC and/or First Horizon. Neither KBW nor Goldman Sachs independently
verified such estimates and, accordingly, neither assumed responsibility or liability for their accuracy. When rendering a
fairness opinion, it is customary for financial advisors to disclaim responsibility for independent verification of the
accuracy of the financial statements, data and other information that are furnished by the client because, among other
things, such information was provided to the financial advisor. Such disclaimers of responsibility are consistent with the
terms of the engagement letters that IBKC has entered into with KBW and Goldman Sachs.
Neither KBW nor Goldman Sachs believes that the referenced language in the S-4
disclaims responsibility for their respective analyses. Rather, KBW and Goldman Sachs view their respective disclosure in the
S-4 as appropriately informing IBKC’s shareholders about an important qualification regarding the scope of their
respective opinions as well as the analyses they performed. For the foregoing reasons, no modifications have been made to the
registration statement in this regard except, on page 110 of Amendment No. 1, to remove references to “IBKC” or
“any other person” to make clear that such qualification only relates to Goldman Sachs.
Opinion of Goldman Sachs &
Co. LLC
Summary of Financial Analyses
Selected Companies Analyses for
IBKC, page 101
10. We note the disclosure
on page 101 that Goldman Sachs selected publicly traded banking industry companies with
operations that, for purposes of analysis, may be considered “similar to certain