VALOR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Filed by Registrant: þ
Filed by a Party other than the
Registrant: o
Check the appropriate box:
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o Preliminary
Proxy Statement |
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o Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by
Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
þ Definitive Proxy
Statement |
o Definitive
Additional Materials |
o Soliciting
Materials Pursuant to Section 240.14a-12 |
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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No fee required. |
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Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act
Rules 14a-6(i)(4) 0-11. |
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(1) |
Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
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(2) |
Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: |
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(3) |
Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (Set forth amount on
which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was
determined): |
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(4) |
Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: |
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o |
Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
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Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by
Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which
the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous
filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule
and the date of its filing. |
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(1) |
Amount Previously Paid: |
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(2) |
Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
201 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 200
Irving, Texas 75062
May 5, 2005
To Our Stockholders:
You are cordially invited to attend the 2005 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders of Valor Communications Group, Inc., which will be
held on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., local
time, at the Crown Plaza Hotel Times Square Manhattan, 1605
Broadway, New York, NY 10019. The matters to be acted upon at
the meeting are described in the attached Notice of Annual
Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement.
The Board of Directors values and encourages stockholder
participation. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting,
please complete, date, sign and return the enclosed proxy card
in the accompanying envelope as promptly as possible to ensure
that your shares are represented and voted in accordance with
your wishes.
Thank you for your support and continued interest in Valor.
Sincerely,
John J. Mueller
President and Chief Executive Officer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VALOR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.
NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON MAY 24, 2005
To the Stockholders of
Valor Communications Group, Inc.:
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders
of Valor Communications Group, Inc. will be held at the Crown
Plaza Hotel Times Square Manhattan, 1605 Broadway, New York, NY
10019, on Tuesday May 24, 2005, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern
Time, for the following purposes:
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(1) To elect eleven (11) directors to serve until the
2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders or until their successors
are duly elected and qualified or their earlier removal,
resignation or death; and |
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(2) To transact such other business as may properly come
before the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. |
The board of directors fixed the close of business on
April 28, 2005, as the record date for determining
stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting or
any adjournment or postponement of the meeting.
A complete list of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting
will be open to the examination of stockholders for a period of
ten days prior to the meeting, during ordinary business hours,
at the offices of the Company, 201 E. John Carpenter
Freeway, Suite 200, Irving, TX 75062, and also on the
meeting date.
You are cordially invited to attend the meeting. Whether or not
you plan to attend the meeting in person, please complete, date
and sign the accompanying proxy card or voting instruction form
and return it promptly in the enclosed envelope to ensure that
your shares are represented and voted in accordance with your
wishes. You may revoke your proxy by following the procedures
set forth in the accompanying proxy statement. If you choose,
you may still vote in person at the meeting even though you
previously submitted your proxy.
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By Order of the Board of Directors |
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William M. Ojile, Jr. |
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Secretary |
Irving, Texas
May 5, 2005
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
201 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 200
Irving, Texas, 75062
PROXY STATEMENT
GENERAL INFORMATION
This proxy statement is being furnished to the stockholders of
Valor Communications Group, Inc., a Delaware Corporation
(Valor), in connection with the solicitation of
proxies by and on behalf of the Board of Directors of Valor, for
use at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Valor to be
held on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 and at any adjournment or
postponement thereof. The accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting
of Stockholders sets forth the time, place and purposes of the
meeting. This proxy statement and the accompanying material are
first being mailed to the holders of Valors common stock,
par value $0.0001 per share, on or about May 5, 2005.
Valors principal executive offices are located at
201 E. John Carpenter Freeway, Suite 200, Irving,
Texas 75062.
QUORUM, VOTING RIGHTS AND PROXY SOLICITATION
The record date set by the Board of Directors for the
determination of stockholders entitled to notice of, and to vote
at, the meeting was the close of business on April 28, 2005
(the Record Date). As of the Record Date, there were
70,735,454 shares of Valor common stock outstanding. Each
share of common stock is entitled to one vote on all matters to
be acted on at the meeting. The presence, in person or by proxy,
of the holders of a majority of the votes of Valor common stock
entitled to vote at the meeting is necessary to constitute a
quorum for the conduct of business at the meeting. Shares of
Valor common stock that are voted to abstain from any business
coming before the meeting and broker/nominee non-votes will be
counted as being in attendance at the meeting for purposes of
determining whether a quorum is present.
The Directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes of
the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the
meeting and entitled to vote in the election of directors. The
accompanying proxy card provides space for a stockholder to
withhold authority to vote for any of the nominees of the Board
of Directors. Neither shares as to which the authority to vote
on the election of directors have been withheld nor
broker/nominee non-votes will be counted as affirmative votes to
elect director nominees to the Board of Directors. However,
since director nominees need only receive the vote of a
plurality of the votes represented and entitled to vote at the
meeting, a vote withheld from a particular nominee and
broker/nominee non-votes will not affect the election of such
nominee.
Except as applicable laws may otherwise provide, if a quorum is
present, the approval of any other matter that may properly come
before the meeting will require the affirmative vote of a
majority of the votes represented and entitled to vote at the
meeting. Shares of Valor common stock that are voted to abstain
from any other business coming before the meeting will be
counted and will have the effect of a negative vote.
Broker/nominee non-votes will not be counted as votes for or
against any such other matter and thus will have no effect.
Unless otherwise specified, the agents designated in the proxy
card will vote the shares represented by a proxy at the meeting
FOR the election of the nominees for director of the
Board of Directors and, to the extent allowed by the federal
securities laws, in the discretion of the agents on any other
matter that may properly come before the meeting.
The Bank of New York, the transfer agent and registrar for Valor
common stock as of the Record Date, has been appointed by the
Board of Directors to ascertain the number of shares
represented, receive proxies and ballots, tabulate the vote and
serve as inspector of election at the meeting.
Each holder of record of Valor common stock giving the proxy
enclosed with this proxy statement may revoke it at any time
prior to the voting at the meeting by delivering to the Bank of
New York a written revocation of the proxy or a duly executed
proxy bearing a later date or by voting in person at the
meeting. Attendance by a stockholder at the meeting will not in
itself constitute the revocation of such stockholders
proxy.
The Board of Directors is making this proxy solicitation.
We will pay all expenses related to the solicitation, including
charges for preparing, printing, assembling and distributing all
materials delivered to stockholders. In addition to the
solicitation by mail, directors, officers and regular employees
of Valor may solicit proxies by telephone or in person, for
which such persons will receive no additional compensation. Upon
request, we will reimburse banking institutions, brokerage
firms, custodians, trustees, nominees and fiduciaries for their
reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in distributing proxy
materials and voting instructions to the beneficial owners of
Valor Common Stock that such entities hold of record. Valor has
no present plans to hire special employees or paid solicitors to
assist in obtaining proxies, but reserves the option of doing so
if it should appear that a quorum might not otherwise be
obtained.
2
SECURITY OWNERSHIP
The following table and footnotes set forth as of March 31,
2005 the beneficial ownership, as defined by regulations of the
SEC, of Valor common stock held by each person or group of
persons known to Valor to own beneficially more than 5% of the
outstanding shares of Valor common stock, each director of
Valor, each current executive officer of Valor named in the
Summary Compensation Table in this proxy statement (a
named executive officer) and all current directors
and executive officers of Valor as a group. Except as otherwise
noted, the listed entities, individuals and group have sole
investment power and sole voting power as to all shares of Valor
common stock set forth opposite their names. All information is
taken from or based upon ownership filings made by such persons
with the SEC or upon information provided by such persons.
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Number | |
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%(1) | |
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Welsh, Carson, Anderson Stowe(2)
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19,575,167 |
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27.7 |
% |
Vestar Capital Partners(3)
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8,478,532 |
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12.0 |
% |
Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd.(4)
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4,486,999 |
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6.4 |
% |
Kenneth R. Cole
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58,058 |
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* |
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John Mueller(5)
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634,420 |
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* |
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John Butler
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55,267 |
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* |
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William Ojile(6)
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220,668 |
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* |
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Grant Raney(7)
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275,835 |
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* |
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Anthony J. de Nicola(8)(9)
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19,608,041 |
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27.8 |
% |
Sanjay Swani(8)(10)
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19,577,033 |
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27.7 |
% |
Norman W. Alpert(11)
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8,478,532 |
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12.0 |
% |
Federico Pena(11)
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8,478,532 |
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12.0 |
% |
Stephen B. Brodeur
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0 |
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* |
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Michael E. Donovan
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0 |
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* |
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Edward J. Heffernan
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0 |
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* |
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Edward L. Lujan
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0 |
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* |
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M. Ann Padilla
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0 |
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* |
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All directors and executive officers as a group (15 persons)
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29,481,638 |
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41.7 |
% |
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(1) |
The respective percentages of beneficial ownership are based on
70,648,109 shares of common stock as of March 31, 2005. |
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(2) |
Shares are held by the following affiliates of Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe: Welsh, Carson, Anderson &
Stowe VIII, L.P., Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe IX,
L.P., WCAS Capital Partners III, L.P. and WCA Management
Corporation. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe disclaims
beneficial ownership of such shares. WCAS VIII Associates, LLC,
a limited liability company and affiliate of Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe, exercises voting and investment
control over the shares held by Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe VIII, L.P. as general partner. Voting
and investment decisions by WCAS VIII Associates, LLC are
determined by an affirmative vote of two thirds of its managing
members. WCAS IX Associates, LLC, a limited liability company
and affiliate of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe,
exercises voting and investment control over the shares held by
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe IX, L.P. as general
partner. Voting and investment decisions by WCAS IX Associates,
LLC are determined by an affirmative vote of two thirds of its
managing members. The shareholders of WCA Management Corporation
exercise voting and investment control over the shares held by
WCA Management Corporation. The address of Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe is 320 Park Avenue, Suite 2500,
New York, NY 10022. |
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(3) |
Shares are held by the following affiliates of Vestar Capital
Partners: Vestar Capital Partners III, L.P., Vestar Capital
Partners IV, L.P. and Vestar/Valor LLC. Vestar Capital Partners
disclaims beneficial |
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ownership of such shares. Vestar Capital Partners III, L.P.
is a limited partnership, the general partner of which is Vestar
Associates III, L.P. As general partner of Vestar
Associates III, L.P., Vestar Associates
Corporation III, a corporation affiliated with Vestar
Capital Partners, exercises voting and investment control over
shares held by Vestar Capital Partners III, L.P. Vestar
Capital Partners IV, L.P. is a limited partnership, the general
partner of which is Vestar Associates IV, L.P. As general
partner of Vestar Associates IV, L.P., Vestar Associates
Corporation IV, a corporation and affiliate of Vestar Capital
Partners, exercises voting and investment control over shares
held by Vestar Capital Partners IV, L.P. Vestar/Valor LLC is a
limited liability company, the managing member of which is
Vestar Capital Partners IV, LP. As general partner of Vestar
Associates IV, LP, Vestar Associates Corporation IV
exercises voting and investment control over the shares held by
Vestar/Valor LLC. The address of Vestar Capital Partners is 245
Park Avenue, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10167. |
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(4) |
The address of Citicorp Venture Capital is 299 Park Avenue, New
York, NY 10022. |
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(5) |
Represents shares of restricted stock held by Mr. Mueller,
of which 137,917 shares are fully vested. |
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(6) |
Represents shares of restricted stock held by Mr. Ojile, of
which 33,100 shares are fully vested. |
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(7) |
Represents shares of restricted stock held by Mr. Raney, of
which 55,167 shares are fully vested. |
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(8) |
As members of WCAS VIII Associates LLC and WCAS IX Associates,
LLC, Mr. de Nicola and Mr. Swani may be deemed to
share beneficial ownership of the shares held by WCAS VIII
Associates LLC and WCAS IX Associates, LLC. Mr. de Nicola
and Mr. Swani disclaim beneficial ownership of such shares
and any other shares held by affiliates of Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe. |
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(9) |
Includes 32,874 shares held directly by Mr. de Nicola. |
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(10) |
Includes 1,866 shares held directly by Mr. Swani. |
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(11) |
As managing directors of Vestar Capital Partners,
Mr. Alpert and Mr. Pena may be deemed to share
beneficial ownership of the shares held by Vestar Capital
Partners. Mr. Alpert and Mr. Pena each disclaim
beneficial ownership of such shares and any other shares held by
affiliates of Vestar Capital Partners. |
4
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
At the annual meeting, 11 directors are to be elected to
hold office until the next annual meeting or until their
successors have been elected and qualified. All are currently
serving as our directors. The Board of Directors has nominated,
upon the recommendation of our nominating and governance
committee, the eleven current members of the Board named below.
Pursuant to our bylaws, the Board of Directors has resolved that
the number of directors constituting the full Board of Directors
shall be thirteen. The Board currently operates with two
vacancies and will continue to do so until such time as the
nominating and governance committee recommends to the Board of
Directors persons to fill such vacancies. Therefore, proxies may
not be voted for more than the eleven director positions being
voted on at the meeting.
Directors will be elected by a plurality of the affirmative
votes of the holders of shares of common stock present in person
or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote at
the meeting. It is the intention of the persons named in the
enclosed proxy to vote FOR the election as directors
of the nominees specified. In case any of these nominees should
become unavailable for any reason, the proxy holders reserve the
right to substitute another person of their choice. The
information concerning the nominees and their security holdings
has been furnished to us by the nominees. There are no other
family relationships between any of the nominees.
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR THE
ELECTION OF THE FOLLOWING NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR.
Nominees for Director
The respective nominees for election as directors of Valor for
terms expiring at the 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders have
provided the following information.
John J. Mueller, age 48, has served as our Chief
Executive Officer and President since April 2004 and was
previously our President and Chief Operating Officer since
November 2002. Mr. Mueller was appointed to our Board of
Directors following the consummation of our initial public
offering. Mr. Mueller joined us in April 2002 as Executive
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining our
company, Mr. Mueller spent 23 years at Cincinnati Bell
Inc. including serving as General Manager Consumer
Markets from February 1999 to May 1999, President
Business Units from May 1999 to November 1999 and President of
the Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company from November 1999 to
October 2001.
Anthony J. de Nicola, age 40, has served as a
director of our company since March 2004 and as Chairman since
April 2004. Mr. de Nicola is currently a general partner of
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, which is one of our
stockholders. He joined Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe
in 1994 and focuses on investments in the information and
business services and communications industries. Before joining
Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, he worked for four
years in the private equity group at William Blair &
Company. Previously, Mr. de Nicola worked at Goldman,
Sachs & Co. in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department.
Mr. de Nicola is also a member of the boards of directors
of Alliance Data Systems Corporation, Centennial Communications
Corp., Dex Media, Inc., ITC Deltacom, Inc. and several private
companies.
Kenneth R. Cole, age 56, has served as a director of
our company since March 2004 and as our Vice Chairman since
April 2004. Prior to then, Mr. Cole served as our Chief
Executive Officer from January 2002 to April 2004. Mr. Cole
joined our company at its inception in January 2000 as President
and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining our company,
Mr. Cole had a 26-year career at CenturyTel, Inc.,
culminating in his service as Chief Operating Officer from May
1999 to January 2000.
Sanjay Swani, age 38, has served as a director of
our company since March 2004. Mr. Swani is currently a
general partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. He
joined Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in 1999 and
focuses on investments in the information and business services
and communications industries. Previously, he was a director of
Fox Paine & Company, a San Francisco-based private
equity firm. Mr. Swani also spent four years in the
Mergers, Acquisitions & Restructuring Department and
two years in the Debt Capital Markets Department of Morgan
Stanley Dean Witter & Co. Mr. Swani is also a
member of the boards of directors of Banctec, Inc., Dex Media,
Inc., ITC Deltacom, Inc. and other private companies.
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Norman W. Alpert, age 46, has served as a director
of our company since April 2005. Mr. Alpert is
currently a managing director of Vestar Capital Partners, which
is one of our stockholders. Mr. Alpert helped found Vestar
in 1988. Previously, he was a senior executive in the Management
Buyout Group of the First Boston Corporation. Mr. Alpert is
also a member of the board of directors of Solo Cup Company,
Gold Toe Corporation and Border Media Partners.
Stephen B. Brodeur, age 40, was appointed to our
Board of Directors after completion of our initial public
offering in February 2005. He is the former chief executive
officer of the Cambridge Strategic Management Group (CSMG).
CSMG, now a division of The Management Network Group, is a
provider of management consulting services to emerging and
established telecommunications operators, equipment
manufacturers and financial services companies. As a consultant
to telecommunications and related industries for 18 years,
Mr. Brodeur has consulted for domestic and international
companies including Verizon, Bell Canada, SBC, Sprint, AT&T,
CenturyTel, FPL, British Telecom, Telstra, Nextel, Siemens,
Nortel, Corning and Cisco.
Michael Donovan, age 28, was appointed to our Board
of Directors after completion of our initial public offering in
February 2005. He is an associate at Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe. Before joining Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe in 2001, Mr. Donovan worked at
Windward Capital Partners and in the investment banking division
at Merrill Lynch. He is currently a board member of several
private companies.
Edward Lujan, age 72, was appointed to our Board of
Directors after completion of our initial public offering in
February 2005. Since 1968, Mr. Lujan has been chairman of
the board of Manuel Lujan Agencies, a family insurance and real
estate business in New Mexico. Mr. Lujan is also chairman
of the board for the National Hispanic Cultural Center of New
Mexico and serves on numerous state and local advisory councils
and boards for business, economic development and education. He
also served as a member of the New Mexico Governmental Ethics
Oversight Committee.
M. Ann Padilla, age 62, was appointed to our
Board of Directors after completion of our initial public
offering in February 2005. Since 1975, Ms. Padilla has been
president and chief executive officer of Sunny Side, Inc./ Temp
Side, a staffing resource company in Denver, Colorado,
specializing in administrative, professional and technical
recruiting. Ms. Padilla has served on the board of
directors and advisory councils at various banks and financial
institutions and is also a trustee for the Denver Center for
Performing Arts. She has received numerous awards from national
and state business organizations.
Federico Pena, age 58, was appointed to our Board of
Directors after completion of our initial public offering in
February 2005. He is a managing director at Vestar Capital
Partners in Denver, Colo., since 1999. Mr. Pena was
formerly the U.S. Secretary of Energy and the
U.S. Secretary of Transportation in the Clinton
Administration. Prior to serving in the cabinet, he was
president and chief executive officer of Pena Investment
Advisors from 1991 to 1992 and the mayor of Denver from 1983 to
1991.
Edward J. Heffernan, age 42, was appointed to our
Board of Directors in April 2005. He is executive vice president
and chief financial officer of Alliance Data Systems. He first
joined Alliance Data Systems in May 1998. Before joining
Alliance Data, he served as vice president, mergers and
acquisitions for First Data Corporation from October 1994 to May
1998. Prior to that he served as vice president, mergers and
acquisitions for Citicorp from July 1990 to October 1994, and
prior to that he worked in the corporate finance department at
Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation from June 1986 until July
1990. He holds a Bachelors degree from Wesleyan University
and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Each of Messrs. de Nicola, Swani, Donovan, Alpert and Pena
were initially appointed to our Board of Directors pursuant to a
securityholders agreement among certain of our stockholders
pursuant to which each of Welsh, Carson, Anderson &
Stowe and Vestar Capital Partners and their respective
affiliates agree to vote their shares in favor of three
(3) persons designated by Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe and two (2) persons designated by
Vestar Capital Partners. See Related Party
Transactions Equity Sponsors
Securityholders Agreement.
6
Director Compensation
Independent members of the board of directors receive
compensation for their services. Each independent director
receives an annual retainer of $45,000, which is supplemented by
additional payments of $1,250 for each board meeting attended in
person, $625 for each board meeting attended telephonically,
$5,000 annually for acting as a committee member ($10,000 for
acting as audit committee chairperson and $7,500 for acting as
compensation committee chairperson), $1,000 for each committee
meeting attended in person, $500 for each committee meeting
attended telephonically and reasonable travel expenses for
attendance in person at board and committee meetings. In
addition, each independent member of the board of directors will
receive an up-front grant of 9,705 restricted shares pursuant to
our 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan. These restricted shares vest
over the three years following their issuance at 33% per
year. In addition, Mr. Cole, our Vice Chairman, will
receive the compensation described above for serving as a member
of our board of directors. No other non-independent director,
however, shall receive compensation for serving as a member of
our board of directors. Throughout the year, we reimburse our
non-employee directors for reasonable expenses incurred in
attending meetings and in the performance of other services
rendered on behalf of the Board of Directors or its committees.
GOVERNANCE OF THE COMPANY AND COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD
We continually review our corporate governance policies and
practices. This includes comparing our current policies and
practices to policies and practices of other public companies,
as well as to those suggested by various groups or authorities
active in corporate governance. Based upon this review, we have
adopted changes to current policies and practices to reflect
what the board of directors believes are best
practices, as well as those that are required to comply
with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of the SEC and the
New York Stock Exchange.
Following the completion of our initial public offering in
February 2005, the Board of Directors held two regular meetings
and one special meeting. Each director attended at least 75% of
the aggregate of these meetings and the total number of meetings
held by all committees of the board on which he or she served,
as described below under Committees of the Board.
Our independent directors have regularly scheduled executive
sessions in which they meet without the presence of management.
These executive sessions generally are held immediately before
or after regularly scheduled meetings of the board of directors.
The independent directors have held one such meeting following
our initial public offering, during which all of the independent
directors attended.
Committees of the Board
In connection with our initial public offering in February 2005,
our Board of Directors established the following committees:
Audit, Compensation, and Nomination and Governance. All members
of the audit, nominating and compensation committees are
independent as defined by the rules of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Stock Exchange.
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Audit Committee. Our Audit Committee is currently
composed of five directors, each of whom are
independent as defined under the rules of the SEC
and the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. Our
Audit Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the
Board of Directors, a copy of which is included in this proxy
statement at Appendix A. Our Audit Committee Charter is also
posted on our website at www.valortelecom.com, a hard copy of
which is available to stockholders upon request. The current
members of the Audit Committee are Mr. Swani as Chair,
Messrs. Lujan, Heffernan and Brodeur, and Ms. Padilla.
Each current and prospective member of the Audit Committee is
financially literate, as required by the listing standards of
the New York Stock Exchange. The Board of Directors has
determined that Mr. Swani meets the standard of an
audit committee financial expert under the rules of
the SEC. The Audit Committee has met two times following our
initial public offering. No member of the audit committee serves
on more than three public company audit committees. |
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The Audit Committee recommends to the Board of Directors the
selection of our independent accountants. Our independent
accountants are responsible for performing an independent audit
of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with
auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of
America for issuing a report thereon, and for reviewing our
Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q. Management is responsible for our internal
controls and the financial reporting process. The Audit
Committee assists the Board of Directors in undertaking and
fulfilling its responsibilities in monitoring Valors
financial reporting process, including (i) the integrity of
the financial statements of Valor, (ii) Valors
compliance with legal and regulatory requirements,
(iii) the independence and qualifications of Valors
internal and independent auditors, (iv) the performance of
Valors internal audit function and independent auditors,
and (v) the preparation of an audit committee report to be
included in Valors annual proxy statements. |
|
|
Our Audit Committee pre-approves all auditing and permissible
non-auditing services that will be provided by
Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent accountants, in
accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of
the SEC and the New York Stock Exchange. |
|
|
In accordance with the rules of the SEC, our Audit Committee has
established procedures to receive, retain, and treat complaints
received regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or
auditing matters and to allow for the confidential and anonymous
submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable
accounting or auditing matters. |
|
|
Compensation Committee. Our Compensation Committee is
composed of three directors and operates under a written charter
adopted by the Board of Directors, a copy of which is included
in this proxy statement at Appendix B. Our Compensation
Committee Charter is also posted on our website at
www.valortelecom.com, a hard copy of which is available to
stockholders upon request. The Compensation Committee is
currently composed of Mr. de Nicola, as Chairman, and
Messrs. Alpert and Swani, each of whom is considered
independent under the listing standards of the New York Stock
Exchange. The Compensation Committee reviews our general
compensation strategies, acts as the Committee for Valors
Incentive Compensation Plan and 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan,
and establishes and reviews compensation for our Chief Executive
Officer and other executive officers. Following our initial
public offering, the Compensation Committee met once, approving
the 2005 compensation plan. |
|
|
Nomination and Governance Committee. Our Nomination and
Governance Committee is composed of three directors and operates
under a written charter adopted by the Board of Directors, a
copy of which is included in this proxy statement at
Appendix C. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee Charter is also posted on our website at
www.valortelecom.com, a hard copy of which is available to
stockholders upon request. The Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee is chaired by Mr. de Nicola, and
Messrs. Pena and Swani are its other members. Each member
of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is
considered independent under the listing standards of the New
York Stock Exchange. One of the committees primary
functions is to establish criteria and qualifications for
candidates for the Board of Directors and then to identify and
recommend candidates for election to the Board of Directors. In
addition, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
takes a leadership role in shaping our corporate governance,
including making recommendations on matters relating to the
composition of the board of directors and its various committees
and our Corporate Governance Guidelines. Each candidate for
nomination as a director, including persons recommended by
stockholders, is evaluated in accordance with our Corporate
Governance Guidelines which are posted on our website at
www.valortelecom.com. The Nomination and Corporate Governance
Committee may seek advice from other members of the Board of
Directors or the Chief Executive Officer regarding director
candidates. The Board of Directors will consider a potential
director nominees ability to satisfy the need, if any, for
any required expertise on the Board of Directors or one of its
committees. Historically, our management has recommended
director nominees to the Board of Directors. The Nominating
Committee has not met formally since the consummation of our
initial public offering, but has taken one action by written
consent. |
8
Nominations by Stockholders
Pursuant to our bylaws, a stockholder may nominate a person for
election as a director at an annual meeting of stockholders only
if written notice of such stockholders intent to make such
nomination has been given to the Secretary of Valor not less
than sixty (60) days nor more than ninety (90) days
prior to the first anniversary of the preceding years
annual meeting, or if the date of the annual meeting is changed
by more than 30 days from such anniversary date, not later
than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the
earlier of the day on which notice of the date of such meeting
was mailed or public disclosure of the meeting date was made.
Each notice is required to set forth certain information,
including (1) the name and address of the stockholder
making the nomination and the number of shares of our common
stock they own beneficially or of record, (2) information
regarding each nominee as would be required to be included in a
proxy statement filed pursuant to the proxy rules of the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission had the nominee been
nominated, or intended to be nominated, by the Board, and
(3) the consent of each nominee to serve as a director if
so elected.
COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stockholders who wish to communicate with the Board of Directors
may do so through the following procedures. Stockholder
communications not involving complaints or concerns regarding
accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters
related to Valor (Accounting Complaints or Concerns)
may be sent to our corporate secretary at Valor Communications
Group, Inc., 201 E. John Carpenter Freeway,
Suite 200, Irving, Texas 75062. Stockholder communications
that relate to matters that are within the scope of the
responsibilities of the Board of Directors and its committees,
or summaries of such communications, will be forwarded to the
chairman of the audit committee.
Accounting Complaints or Concerns, which may be made
anonymously, should be sent to our Chief Legal Officer with a
copy to our Chief Financial Officer at the same address as the
corporate secretary. Accounting Complaints or Concerns will be
forwarded to the chairman of the audit committee. We will keep
Accounting Complaints or Concerns confidential and anonymous, to
the extent feasible, subject to applicable law. Information
contained in an Accounting Complaint or Concern may be
summarized, abstracted and aggregated for purposes of analysis
and investigation.
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors is
responsible for setting and administering compensation,
including base salaries, annual incentives, and stock-based
awards, paid or awarded to our executive officers. The
Compensation Committee also oversees and approves incentive plan
design, costs and administration. This report discusses the
Compensation Committees activities, as well as its
development and implementation of policies regarding
compensation paid to our executive officers for 2004.
Overall Compensation Policies
The Compensation Committee reviews and approves compensation
policies and practices related to our executive officers and
certain other employees, including stock-based compensation. Our
executive compensation system generally consists of two primary
components: salary and an incentive compensation award. Through
the use of the foregoing, the Compensation Committee seeks to
achieve a balanced compensation package that will attract and
retain high quality key executives, appropriately reflect each
such executive officers individual performance,
contributions, and general market value, and provide further
incentives to the executive officers to maximize annual
operating performance and long-term stockholder value. In doing
so, the Committee will regularly review and update:
|
|
|
|
|
An appropriate peer group of companies for the purposes of
comparing compensation levels and practices; and |
9
|
|
|
|
|
Key measures that the Compensation Committee will use in
assessing performance for the purposes of incentive compensation
awards to the CEO and other members of the senior management
team. |
Annual base salaries for our executive officers have been
established on a position-by-position basis. The chief executive
officer has the responsibility to conduct annual internal
reviews of executive officer salary levels in order to rank
salary, individual performance and job value to each position.
The chief executive officer then makes recommendations on
salaries, other than his own, to the Compensation Committee. The
Compensation Committee determines, reviews and approves
corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of
the CEO. The Compensation Committee reviews the recommendations
regarding changes in salaries for executive officers. The
Compensation Committee may take such action, including
modifications to the recommendations, as it deems appropriate.
The determinations of the Compensation Committee may be based on
a variety of factors, including a subjective evaluation of past
and potential future individual performance and contributions
and alternative career opportunities that might be available to
the executives. The Compensation Committee may also review
compensation data from companies employing executives in
positions similar to those whose salaries were being reviewed,
as well as market conditions for executives in general with
similar skills, responsibilities, background and performance
levels and other companies with similar financial and business
characteristics.
|
|
|
Annual Incentive Compensation |
The Compensation Committee determined that the amount of any
annual incentive compensation to be paid to our executive
officers, including the chief executive officer, would be
awarded based on Valor performance (determined by reference to
revenue and EBITDA targets established by Board resolution) and
each such officers performance, attitude and potential.
Accordingly, the Compensation Committee awarded 2004 incentive
compensation to certain of our executive officers based on a
discretionary evaluation of each such officers
performance, attitude and potential. In 2004, all incentive
compensation was in the form of cash awards because we were
contemplating a reorganization of our capital structure. Now
that we completed our reorganization, we expect that future
awards will be a mix of cash and equity awards. The Compensation
Committee based its actions regarding 2004 incentive
compensation upon the performance of Valor and upon the chairman
of the boards recommendation regarding the chief executive
officer, the chief executive officers recommendations
regarding the other executive officers and the Compensation
Committee members general business knowledge.
Additionally, there is no specific weighing of factors
considered in the determination of incentive compensation paid
to executive officers. The 2004 bonuses the named executive
officers received are disclosed in the bonus column in the
Summary Compensation Table set forth below. The Compensation
Committee in its March 2005 meeting approved the 2005 Incentive
Compensation Plan.
2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan. Our 2005 Long-Term
Incentive Plan provides for grants of stock options, restricted
stock and performance awards. Our directors, officers and other
employees and persons who engage in services for us are eligible
for grants under the plan. We plan to grant awards to these
individuals from time to time to provide long-term incentives
that are designed to couple the interests of key employees with
those of shareholders in that the potential value of the awards
is directly related to the future value of our stock.
A total of 2,500,000 shares of our common stock are
authorized for issuance under the plan, subject to adjustment in
the event of a reorganization, stock split, merger or similar
change in our corporate structure or the outstanding shares of
common stock. In connection with the offering, we granted
1,895,679 shares of restricted stock, of which
1,335,041 shares were granted to members of our senior
management team as noted in the table below, leaving
604,321 shares available for issuance under the plan.
10
Upon the consummation of our initial public offering, we granted
the following number of shares of restricted common stock:
2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Shares | |
|
|
Dollar | |
|
of Restricted | |
Name |
|
Value(1) | |
|
Stock(2) | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
John J. Mueller
|
|
$ |
9,516,300 |
|
|
|
634,420 |
|
John A. Butler(3)
|
|
|
827,505 |
|
|
|
55,167 |
|
W. Grant Raney
|
|
|
4,137,525 |
|
|
|
275,835 |
|
William M. Ojile, Jr.
|
|
|
3,310,020 |
|
|
|
220,668 |
|
Cynthia B. Nash
|
|
|
2,234,265 |
|
|
|
148,951 |
|
Executive Group
|
|
|
20,025,615 |
|
|
|
1,335,041 |
|
Non-Executive Officer Employee Group
|
|
|
5,099,550 |
|
|
|
339,970 |
|
Except as set forth below, the restricted stock vests on the
dates and in the percentages set forth in the following table:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vested upon | |
|
Vested on | |
|
Vested on | |
|
Vested on | |
Name |
|
Issuance | |
|
1/1/06 | |
|
1/1/07 | |
|
1/1/08 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
John J. Mueller
|
|
|
21.7391 |
% |
|
|
26.0870 |
% |
|
|
26.0870 |
% |
|
|
26.0869 |
% |
John A. Butler(3)
|
|
|
20.0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
|
|
0 |
% |
W. Grant Raney
|
|
|
20.0 |
% |
|
|
26.6667 |
% |
|
|
26.6667 |
% |
|
|
26.6666 |
% |
William M. Ojile, Jr.
|
|
|
15.0 |
% |
|
|
28.3334 |
% |
|
|
28.3333 |
% |
|
|
28.3333 |
% |
Cynthia B. Nash
|
|
|
18.5185 |
% |
|
|
27.1605 |
% |
|
|
27.1605 |
% |
|
|
27.1605 |
% |
All Others
|
|
|
25.0 |
% |
|
|
25.0 |
% |
|
|
25.0 |
% |
|
|
25.0 |
% |
|
|
(1) |
Dollar value determined based on offering price of $15 per
share. |
|
(2) |
As of March 31, 2005, no shares of common stock were issued
to non-executive directors. However, the directors are expected
to receive shares of restricted stock for their service on the
Board of Directors as further noted under the heading
Director Compensation. |
|
(3) |
Effective March 31, 2005, John Butler resigned from Valor.
As a result, 220,668 shares of restricted stock that vest
after the date of our initial public offering were forfeited. |
Annual Incentive Compensation Plan. We maintain an
incentive compensation plan whereby certain management and
supervisory personnel qualify for incentive payments if our
company and executives both meet or exceed certain financial
performance targets. These awards allow us to recognize
individual performance and contributions to Valor on an annual
basis. We may also choose to make semi-annual payments if we are
meeting or exceeding financial objectives and the outlook for
the remaining half of the year is favorable. Participants may
also qualify for a separate mid-year award at our
managements discretion. Our chief executive officer, in
consultation with the Board of Directors, may adjust or
eliminate any incentive payment that would otherwise be earned
under the incentive compensation plan based on such factors as
they may determine in their sole discretion. Our chief executive
officer, in consultation with the board of directors, may also
amend or cancel the bonus plan at any time for any reason.
In August 2004, our chief executive officer, with the approval
of our Compensation Committee, authorized bonus amounts for the
first half of 2004 for members of our management team eligible
to participate in the incentive compensation plan that qualified
for payment. The payments made were approximately one-third of
the 2004 bonus opportunity for the respective employees. Members
of our senior management team did not receive any payment. In
February 2005, our chief executive officer, with the approval of
our Compensation Committee, authorized bonus amounts for fiscal
year 2004 for members of our management team eligible to
participate in the incentive compensation plan that qualified
for payment.
Tax code limitation on executive compensation deductions.
In 1993, Congress amended the Code to impose a $1.0 million
deduction limit on compensation paid to the chief executive
officer and the four other
11
most highly compensated executive officers of public companies,
subject to certain transition rules and exceptions for
compensation received pursuant to non-discretionary
performance-based plans approved by such companys
shareholders. It is our general policy to structure the
performance-based portion of the compensation of its executive
officers in a manner that permits Valor to deduct fully such
compensation.
Compensation of Chief Executive Officer
John J. Mueller, Chief Executive Officer, earned $469,616 in
base salary in 2004, per our employment agreement with him. In
February 2005, the Compensation Committee approved an employment
agreement with Mr. Mueller, which had replaced a previous
employment agreement, as further described under the heading
Employment and Severance Agreements.
Mr. Muellers contract states that he will earn a
$500,000 annual base salary during the three year term of the
agreement. In setting the Chief Executive Officers base
salary, the committee considered company objectives, market and
corporate challenges and market compensation practices.
Mr. Mueller earned a bonus under our annual incentive
compensation plan of $625,000 in respect of the year ended
December 31, 2004. Mr. Muellers bonus reflects
our philosophy of meeting and exceeding certain corporate
financial targets. In addition, Mr. Mueller received a
one-time bonus of $1,250,000 in 2004 in recognition of his
efforts in connection with our debt recapitalization.
Furthermore he was awarded a $1,000,000 bonus in connection with
the completion of our initial public offering, $200,000 of which
was paid in February 2005, and the remainder of which is payable
in equal installments on January 1, 2006 and
January 1, 2007. See Related Party Transactions.
Mr. Mueller owns 634,420 shares of Valor common stock
pursuant to a restricted stock grant made to him in February
2005 under our 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan. 137,917 of such
shares are fully vested and the remainder will vest in equal
installments on January 1, 2006, 2007 and 2008. This grants
ties the Chief Executive Officers long-term compensation
to the goals of increasing shareholder value and including
at-risk compensation as a significant portion of the
executives compensation.
Conclusion
The Compensation Committee has reviewed each element of
compensation for each of the executive officers for fiscal 2004.
The Compensation Committee reported to the Board of Directors
that in the Compensation Committees opinion, the
compensation of each executive officer is reasonable in view of
the Companys performance and the Compensation
Committees subjective evaluation of the contribution of
each executive officer to that performance.
Members of the compensation committee of the Board of Directors
respectfully submit the foregoing report(1):
|
|
|
Anthony de Nicola |
|
Chairman of the Compensation Committee |
|
|
Sanjay Swani |
|
Member of the Compensation Committee |
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Mr. Alpert joined the Board of Directors and the
Compensation Committee subsequent to the issuance of this report. |
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER
PARTICIPATION
None of our executive officers served as: (i) a member of
the Compensation Committee (or other board committee performing
equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such committee,
the entire board of directors) of another entity, one of whose
executive officers served on our Compensation Committee;
(ii) a director of another entity, one of whose executive
officers served on our Compensation Committee; or (iii) a
member of the Compensation Committee (or other board committee
performing equivalent functions or, in the absence of any such
committee, the entire board of directors) of another entity, one
of whose executive officers served as one of our directors.
12
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The following table sets forth information with respect to our
executive officers and other key employees of Valor.
Biographical information for John J. Mueller is set forth
under Election of Officers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Age | |
|
Position |
|
|
| |
|
|
John J. Mueller
|
|
|
48 |
|
|
Chief Executive Officer and President, Director |
William M. Ojile, Jr.
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
Senior Vice President Chief Legal Officer and
Secretary |
W. Grant Raney
|
|
|
44 |
|
|
Senior Vice President Operations, Sales and Marketing |
Cynthia B. Nash
|
|
|
40 |
|
|
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer |
Keith D. Terreri
|
|
|
40 |
|
|
Vice President Treasury and Corporate Development |
Cynthia T. Cruz
|
|
|
45 |
|
|
Vice President Corporate Communications |
Randal S. Dumas
|
|
|
35 |
|
|
Vice President Accounting and Controller |
Ben Muro
|
|
|
58 |
|
|
Vice President Human Resources |
William M. Ojile, Jr. has served as our Senior Vice
President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary since November
2000. Before joining our company, Mr. Ojile worked at US
WEST, Inc. for approximately 12 years, serving as Regional
Executive Director Public Policy from January 1998
to July 2000 and, after the merger between US WEST and Qwest
Communications International in July 2000, as Corporate Counsel
for Qwest Communications International from July 2000 to
November 2000.
W. Grant Raney has served as our Senior Vice
President Operations, Sales and Marketing since
August 2004. Prior to then, Mr. Raney had served as our
Senior Vice President Operations and Engineering
since January 2001. In February 2000, Mr. Raney joined our
company as Vice President Operations. Prior to
joining our company, from March 1999 to February 2000,
Mr. Raney was Division Vice President at Spectra
Communications Group, a partnership of CenturyTel, Inc. Starting
March 1979 at CenturyTel, Mr. Raney has gained
26 years of experience in the telecommunications industry
in a variety of roles of increasing responsibility.
Cynthia B. Nash has served as our Senior Vice President
and Chief Information Officer since January 2004. In April 2002,
Ms. Nash joined our company as our Vice President and Chief
Technology Officer. Before joining our company, Ms. Nash
held various positions of increasing responsibility with
CenturyTel, Inc., including Vice President of Information
Technology from January 2001 to April 2002, Director of the
Program Management Office and Customer Care from September 2000
to January 2001, Director of Applications Development from
December 1999 to September 2000 and Director of Telco
Applications from September 1997 to December 1999. Ms. Nash
has over 17 years of experience in the telecommunications
industry.
Keith D. Terreri has served as our Vice
President Treasury and Corporate Department since
July 2001. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Terreri was
Vice President and Treasurer of RCN Corporation from December
1999 to June 2001 and Director of Finance from January 1998 to
December 1999. Mr. Terreri has over 7 years experience
in the telecommunications industry. Mr. Terreri began his
career at Deloitte & Touche LLP and is a certified
public accountant.
Cynthia T. Cruz has served as our Vice
President Corporate Communications since June 2000.
Prior to joining our company, Ms. Cruz was Senior Manager,
Public Affairs, for Levi Strauss & Company from 1998 to
2000. With over 17 years experience as a communications
professional, Ms. Cruz also previously held communications
management positions with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and the
office of U.S. Representative Henry B. Gonzalez.
Randal S. Dumas has served as our Vice
President Controller since July 2003. He joined our
company in January 2001 as Director Accounting, and
he added the responsibility of Controller in June 2002. Prior
13
to joining our company, Mr. Dumas worked for Citizens
Communications starting in 1994, where he was Revenue Accounting
Manager from January 1997 to January 2000, Director of General
Accounting from January to June 2000 and Director of Financial
Operations from June 2000 until January 2001. Mr. Dumas is
a certified public accountant. Effective April 1, 2004,
Mr. Dumas assumed the position of Principal Accounting
Officer and interim responsibilities as our Principal Financial
Officer.
Ben Muro has served as our Vice President
Human Resources since February 2000. Prior to joining our
company, Mr. Muro was Senior Vice President of Human
Resources for Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas from
March 1991 to February 2000.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth the compensation earned, awarded
or paid for services rendered in all capacities for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2004, by our Chief Executive
Officer and our four next most highly compensated executive
officers who earned more than $100,000 in salary and, to whom we
refer in this proxy statement collectively as the named
executive officers:
Summary Compensation Table
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-Term | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Compensation | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Annual Compensation | |
|
Securities | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Underlying | |
|
All Other | |
|
|
Fiscal Year | |
|
Salary | |
|
Bonus(3) | |
|
Options | |
|
Compensation | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Kenneth R. Cole
|
|
|
2004 |
|
|
$ |
433,462 |
|
|
$ |
5,750,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
45,577 |
(4) |
|
Vice Chairman(1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John J. Mueller
|
|
|
2004 |
|
|
|
469,616 |
|
|
|
1,875,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
46,004 |
(5) |
|
Chief Executive Officer and President |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
John A. Butler(2)
|
|
|
2004 |
|
|
|
312,663 |
|
|
|
1,393,750 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
22,006 |
(6) |
|
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Grant Raney
|
|
|
2004 |
|
|
|
253,167 |
|
|
|
1,160,625 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25,141 |
(7) |
|
Senior Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Customer
Service |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
William M. Ojile, Jr.
|
|
|
2004 |
|
|
|
246,692 |
|
|
|
656,250 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
21,197 |
(8) |
|
Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Mr. Cole served as our Chief Executive Officer from January
2002 through April 2004. |
|
(2) |
Mr. Butler resigned his employment with us in March 2005. |
|
(3) |
Consists of debt recapitalization bonuses paid in 2004, 2004
annual incentive bonuses, and in the case of Mr. Cole, the
one-time transition bonus paid to him in April 2004. |
|
(4) |
Consists of $28,874 of insurance premiums ($9,570 for medical
insurance; $14,530 for life insurance; and $4,774 for long-term
disability), $7,478 for personal travel paid for by the company,
and a $9,225 company contribution to our 401(k) plan. |
|
(5) |
Consists of $21,114 of insurance premiums ($9,570 for medical
insurance; $4,334 for life insurance; and $7,210 for long-term
disability), $7,478 for personal travel paid for by the company,
a car allowance of $8,187, and a $9,225 company
contribution to our 401(k) plan. |
|
(6) |
Consists of $12,781 of insurance premiums ($8,645 for medical
insurance; $1,921 for life insurance; and $2,215 for long-term
disability) and a $9,225 company contribution to our 401(k)
plan. |
14
|
|
(7) |
Consists of $8,438 of insurance premiums ($5,369 for medical
insurance; $2,025 for life insurance; and $1,044 for long-term
disability), $7,478 for personal travel paid for by the company,
and a $9,225 company contribution to our 401(k) plan. |
|
(8) |
Consists of $11,972 of insurance premiums ($8,645 for medical
insurance; $1,468 for life insurance; and $1,859 for long-term
disability), and a $9,225 company contribution to our
401(k) plan. |
Employment and Severance Agreements
We have entered into employment, confidentiality and
non-competition agreements with Messrs. Cole, Mueller,
Butler, Ojile and Raney, the material terms of which are
discussed below. We also have agreements with other key
employees at the director level and above that provide for an
agreement not to compete with us for a maximum period of up to
twelve months, in return for the payment of severance benefits
for involuntary termination without cause.
Agreement with Kenneth R. Cole. We entered into an
agreement with Kenneth C. Cole that will remain in effect until
March 31, 2007 pursuant to which Mr. Cole will receive
an annual base salary of $300,000, medical and other benefits.
Mr. Cole shall devote at least 25% of his professional
time, efforts and attention to the duties outlined in the
agreement, including but not limited to serving as Vice Chairman
of our company advising and assisting our Board of Directors and
management with regards to corporate strategy, the
identification and implementation of potential mergers,
acquisitions and other strategic transactions, regulatory
matters and business development efforts.
In connection with our initial public offering, we entered into
a letter agreement with Mr. Cole on April 9, 2004
pursuant to which Mr. Cole received a one- time transition
bonus of $5.0 million. In anticipation of our initial
public offering, Mr. Cole desired to implement our
succession plan so that we could make anticipated changes in our
senior management before becoming a public company. To
facilitate this, we negotiated with and paid Mr. Cole this
one-time bonus in consideration for his agreement to terminate
his then existing employment agreement, his agreement to serve
as our Vice Chairman and his agreement to remain as a part-time
employee, as discussed above. In addition, Mr. Cole was
also to receive an additional one-time payment of
$1.5 million if we consummated an equity offering prior to
April 9, 2005. On November 10, 2004, we amended
Mr. Coles letter agreement and part-time employment
agreement to pay him $750,000 in connection with our debt
recapitalization, and to pay him an additional $750,000 on the
earlier of either an initial public offering or the termination
of his agreement on March 31, 2007.
Agreement with John J. Mueller. We entered into an
employment agreement with John J. Mueller upon the consummation
of our initial public offering, which replaced his previous
employment agreement executed in 2004. Mr. Muellers
new employment agreement will remain in effect until the third
anniversary of the completion of the Offering and can be renewed
for successive one year periods thereafter. Mr. Mueller
receives an annual base salary of $500,000, an annual incentive
bonus and medical and other benefits. Mr. Muellers
annual bonus is targeted to be one times his base salary for the
applicable year, although our Board of Directors may increase or
decrease the amount of any award in its discretion. Pursuant to
his new employment agreement, Mr. Mueller also is entitled
to receive an initial public offering cash bonus, as described
below under the heading Related Party Transactions.
If we terminate Mr. Muellers employment without
cause or if he resigns for Good Reason,
as each such term is defined in his new employment agreement, he
will be entitled to receive severance benefits consisting of his
annual base salary and continued medical and other benefits for
eighteen months following the date of his termination, plus the
full amount of his target bonus for the year in which his
employment terminates and life insurance and medical benefits
for various periods. Mr. Muellers new employment
agreement provides that he will be restricted from engaging in
competitive activities for one year after the termination of his
employment although this restriction may be extended for an
additional six months under certain circumstances.
Agreement with John A. Butler. We entered into an
employment agreement with John A. Butler upon the consummation
of our initial public offering, which replaced his previous
employment agreement we
15
entered into with him in 2000. Effective March 31, 2005,
Mr. Butler voluntarily resigned from Valor. His employment
agreement terminated on that date, and he is not entitled to
receive severance or any other benefits of his employment
agreement following his resignation. Mr. Butler remains
subject to post-employment restrictions on the disclosure of
confidential information contained in his employment agreement.
Also, for one year following his resignation from Valor, he is
subject to non-competition and non-solicitation post employment
covenants contained in his employment agreement.
Agreement with William M. Ojile, Jr. We entered into
an employment agreement with William M. Ojile, Jr. upon the
consummation of our initial public offering, which replaced the
previous employment agreement we entered into with him in 2000.
Mr. Ojiles new employment agreement will remain in
effect until the third anniversary of the completion of the
Offering and can be renewed thereafter for one-year extensions
of the employment term, unless either party provides written
notice of its intention not to review the agreement within
90 days of the expiration of the then current term.
Mr. Ojile receives an annual base salary of $250,000, an
annual incentive bonus and medical and other benefits.
Mr. Ojiles annual bonus is targeted to be one-half
his base salary for the applicable year, although our Board of
Directors may increase or decrease the amount of any award in
its discretion. Pursuant to his new employment agreement,
Mr. Ojile is also entitled to receive an initial public
offering cash bonus, as described below under the heading
Related Party Transactions.
If we terminate Mr. Ojiles employment without
cause or if he resigns for Good Reason,
as each such term is defined in his new employment agreement, he
will be entitled to receive severance benefits consisting of his
annual base salary and continued medical and other benefits for
eighteen months following the date of his termination, plus,
with respect to the fiscal year in which his employment
terminates, the pro rata portion of the annual bonus he would
have received had he been employed by our company for the full
fiscal year. Mr. Ojiles new employment agreement
provides that he will be restricted from engaging in competitive
activities for one year after the termination of his employment.
Mr. Ojile may not solicit employees for one year following
termination of his employment with our company.
Agreement with W. Grant Raney. We entered into an
employment agreement with W. Grant Raney upon the consummation
of our initial public offering, which replaced the previous
employment agreement we entered into with him in 2000.
Mr. Raneys new employment agreement will remain in
effect until the third anniversary of the completion of the
Offering and can be renewed thereafter for one-year extensions
of the employment term, unless either party provides written
notice of its intention not to review the agreement within
90 days of the expiration of the then current term.
Mr. Raney receives an annual base salary of $257,000, an
annual incentive bonus and medical and other benefits.
Mr. Raneys annual bonus is targeted to be one-half
his base salary for the applicable year, although our Board of
Directors may increase or decrease the amount of any award in
its discretion. Pursuant to his new employment agreement,
Mr. Raney is also entitled to receive an initial public
offering cash bonus, as described below under the heading
Related Party Transactions.
If we terminate Mr. Raneys employment without
cause or if he resigned for Good Reason
as each such term is defined in his new employment agreement, he
will be entitled to receive severance benefits consisting of his
annual base salary and continued medical and other benefits for
eighteen months following the date of his termination, plus,
with respect to the fiscal year in which his employment
terminates, the pro rata portion of the annual bonus he would
have received had he been employed by our company for the full
fiscal year. Mr. Raneys new employment agreement
provides that he will be restricted from engaging in competitive
activities and soliciting employees for one year following
termination of his employment with our company.
SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING
COMPLIANCE
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, requires our executive officers, directors and persons
who own more than 10% of a registered class of Valors
equity securities to file reports of ownership with the SEC and
furnishes copies to the NYSE and Valor. Based solely on the
review of the copies of such forms and representations by
certain reporting persons, we believe that for the period from
the Offering
16
through March 31, 2005, its executive officers, directors
and 10% stockholders complied with all applicable filing
requirements under Section 16(a), except for one late
Form 4 filing for Mr. Butler due to inadvertence by
Valor administrative personnel.
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Equity Sponsors
Management Fees. Pursuant to the limited liability
company operating agreement of our subsidiary, Valor
Telecommunications, LLC, or VTC, each of Welsh, Carson,
Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) and Vestar provides
management services to us. In return for these services we paid
management fees of $571,430 to affiliates of WCAS in fiscal
2004, and $428,570 to an affiliate of Vestar in of fiscal 2004.
We ceased paying these fees at December 31, 2004.
Securityholders Agreement. We entered into a
securityholders agreement with WCAS, Vestar, Citicorp Venture
Capital (CVC) and certain of their respective
affiliates that contain the following registration rights:
|
|
|
|
|
WCAS and Vestar have demand registration rights relating to the
shares of our common stock that they received pursuant to our
reorganization, subject to the requirement that the securities
covered by each demand registration have an aggregate public
offering price of at least $25.0 million if registered
pursuant to a long-form registration statement, or
$10.0 million if registered pursuant to a short-form
registration statement; provided that the entities comprising
WCAS and Vestar that initiate a demand for registration must
hold a majority of the shares of common stock held by all such
WCAS or Vestar entities, as the case may be, to initiate a
demand for registration; provided, further, that WCAS or Vestar
may exercise a demand right for less than an aggregate public
offering price of $25.0 million if registered pursuant to a
long-form registration statement, or $10.0 million if
registered pursuant to a short-form registration statement, if
such proposed offering is for all of the remaining shares of
common stock held by WCAS or Vestar; provided, further, that
WCAS can request up to three registrations that are registered
pursuant to a long-form registration statement and Vestar can
request up to two registrations that are registered pursuant to
a long-form registration statement; and |
|
|
|
WCAS, Vestar and CVC have the right to include in our future
public offerings of securities the shares of our common stock
held by each of them. |
We have agreed to pay all costs and expenses in connection with
each such registration, except underwriting discounts and
commissions applicable to the securities sold, and to indemnify
WCAS and Vestar that have included securities in such offering
against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the
Securities Act.
Pursuant to the Securityholders Agreement, WCAS, Vestar, CVC and
certain of their respective affiliates have agreed to vote for
each others designees to our board of directors (to the
extent permitted by law and the rules of any securities
exchange, system or market on which our securities are then
listed), and to vote such that both WCAS and Vestar have at
least one designee on each of our committees.
Interest Paid on Subordinated Debt. In fiscal 2004, we
paid our equity sponsors $27 million of interest associated
with our outstanding subordinated debt that was repaid in
November 2004.
Management
Debt Recapitalization Cash Bonuses. We paid an aggregate
of $4,750,000 to the following executives in the following
amounts in December 2004 as a transaction bonus in recognition
of their efforts in connection with our debt recapitalization
and their past service to Valor: John J. Mueller, $1,250,000;
John A. Butler, $1,000,000; W. Grant Raney, $1,000,000; Kenneth
R. Cole, $750,000; William M. Ojile, Jr., $500,000; and
Cynthia Nash, $250,000. In addition, we paid an aggregate of
$367,500 in transaction bonuses to other
17
members of our management in connection with the debt
recapitalization. Therefore, the total debt recapitalization
cash bonuses were $5,117,500.
Initial Public Offering Cash Bonuses. In connection with
the consummation of the Offering we paid cash bonuses to our
executive officers and other members of management in the manner
set forth on the table below if such individuals remain an
employee of Valor or its affiliates as of any date on which such
payment becomes due. These payments are intended to compensate
our executive officers and other members of management for their
efforts in connection with the completion of our initial public
offering.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
|
Date of IPO | |
|
January 1, 2006 | |
|
January 1, 2007 | |
|
Total | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Kenneth R. Cole
|
|
$ |
750,000 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
750,000 |
|
John J. Mueller
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
|
|
1,000,000 |
|
John A. Butler(1)
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
W. Grant Raney
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
500,000 |
|
William M. Ojile, Jr.
|
|
|
50,000 |
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
100,000 |
|
|
|
250,000 |
|
Cynthia Nash
|
|
|
30,000 |
|
|
|
60,000 |
|
|
|
60,000 |
|
|
|
150,000 |
|
Other
|
|
|
311,500 |
|
|
|
223,000 |
|
|
|
223,000 |
|
|
|
757,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$ |
1,541,500 |
|
|
$ |
983,000 |
|
|
$ |
983,000 |
|
|
$ |
3,507,500 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
Effective March 31, 2005, John Butler resigned from Valor.
As a result, bonuses after the date of the initial public
offering were forfeited. |
18
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
Deloitte & Touche LLP were Valors independent
auditors for the year ended December 31, 2004 and have
reported on Valors consolidated financial statements
included in the annual report which accompanies this proxy
statement. The Audit Committee has reappointed
Deloitte & Touche LLP as independent auditors for
fiscal 2005. Representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP
are not expected to attend the meeting.
THE FOLLOWING REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE SHALL NOT BE DEEMED
TO BE SOLICITING MATERIAL OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 OR THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 OR INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN
ANY DOCUMENT SO FILED.
AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT
The Audit Committee has met and held discussions with management
and our independent accountants and has reviewed and discussed
the audited consolidated financial statements with management
and our independent accountants, including matters required to
be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61
(Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, AU
Section 380), Communication with Audit
committee.
Our independent accountants also provided the Audit Committee
with the written disclosures and the letter required by
Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1 (Independence
Standards Board Standard No. 1, Independence Discussions
with Audit Committees), and the Audit Committee discussed with
our independent accountants that firms independence.
Based upon the review and discussions referred to above, the
Audit Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the
audited consolidated financial statements be included in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2004, for filing with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Members of the audit committee of the Board of Directors
respectfully submit the foregoing report.(1)
|
|
|
Sanjay Swani |
|
Chairman of the Audit Committee |
|
|
|
Stephen Brodeur |
|
Member of the Audit Committee |
|
|
|
Ann Padilla |
|
Member of the Audit Committee |
|
|
|
Edward Lujan |
|
Member of the Audit Committee |
(1)Mr. Heffernan joined the Board of Directors and the
Audit Committee subsequent to the issuance of this report.
19
FEES PAID TO INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
The following table shows the aggregate fees D&T has billed
or is expected to bill to us for services rendered for 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
Type of Fees |
|
2004 | |
|
|
| |
Audit Fees(1)
|
|
$ |
512,611 |
|
Audit-Related Fees(2)
|
|
|
665,000 |
|
Tax Fees(3)
|
|
|
1,560,000 |
|
All Other Fees(4)
|
|
|
6,396 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
$ |
2,744,007 |
|
|
|
|
|
(1) Fees for the following services:
|
|
|
(a) audits of our consolidated year-end financial
statements for each year; |
|
|
(b) reviews of the unaudited quarterly financial statements
for each of the first three quarters of each year; |
|
|
(c) normally provided statutory or regulatory filings or
engagements for each year; and |
|
|
(d) estimated out-of-pocket costs D&T incurred in
providing all of such services for which we reimburse D&T. |
(2) Fees for registration statements and employee benefit
plan audits.
(3) Fees for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning
services.
(4) Fees for all services not described in the other
categories. For 2004, the disclosed fees include fees for an
annual on-line research tool.
The audit committee adopted a pre-approval policy in 2005 as
further described in the Audit Committee Charter in
Appendix A. As of the completion of our offering in
February 2005, the audit committee became responsible for
pre-approving every engagement of D&T to perform audit or
non-audit services on behalf of Valor or any of its
subsidiaries. Prior to the initial public offering the Audit
Committee was not required to pre-approve audit or non-audit
services.
EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION
We did not have any outstanding shares of capital stock, and did
not adopt our 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan until we consummated
our reorganization immediately prior to the closing of our
initial public offering. Therefore, no options, warrants or
rights to acquire shares of Valor common stock were outstanding
under our equity compensation plans at December 31, 2004.
OTHER MATTERS
The Board of Directors knows of no other business that will be
presented for consideration at the Meeting. If any other matters
properly come before the Meeting, the persons designated as
agents in the enclosed proxy card will vote on such matters in
accordance with their reasonable judgment.
STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR THE 2006 ANNUAL MEETING
Stockholders may submit proposals on matters appropriate for
stockholder action at our annual stockholders meetings,
consistent with rules adopted by the SEC. We must receive such
proposals not later than January 12, 2006 to be considered
for inclusion in the proxy statement and form of proxy card
relating to the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in 2006. In
addition, our Bylaws establish an advance notice procedure with
regard to certain matters, including shareholder proposals not
included in our proxy statement, to be
20
brought before an annual meeting of shareholders. In general,
notice must be received by our Secretary at our principal
executive office not less than 60 days or more than
90 days prior to the scheduled annual meeting, regardless
of any postponements, deferrals or adjournments of that meeting
unless less than 70 days notice or prior public disclosure
of the date scheduled for the meeting is given or made, in which
event notice by the shareholder to be timely must be delivered
or received not later than the close of business on the tenth
day following the earlier of (i) the day on which such
notice of the date of the scheduled annual meeting was mailed or
(ii) the day on which such public disclosure was made. Our
bylaws require that the proposal must set forth a brief
description of the proposal, the name and address of the
proposing stockholder as they appear on our books, the number of
shares of Valor Common Stock the stockholder holds and any
material interest the stockholder has in the proposal.
2004 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2004, as filed with the SEC, is
included as part of the annual report mailed to Valors
stockholders with this proxy statement. This Annual Report on
Form 10-K may also be accessed on our website at
www.valortelecom.com.
ADDITIONAL COPIES
To obtain copies of Valors 2004 annual report or this
proxy statement without charge, please mail your request to
William M. Ojile, Jr., Corporate Secretary, at Valor
Communications Group, Inc., 201 E. John Carpenter
Freeway, Suite 200, Irving, Texas 75056, or call him at
(972) 373-1000.
21
Appendix A
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER
This Audit Committee Charter was adopted by the Board of
Directors (the Board) of Valor Communications Group,
Inc. (the Company) on February 8, 2005 and
replaces any charter previously used by the committee.
Mandate
The Audit Committee (the Committee) assists the
Board in its oversight responsibilities relating to financial
matters including:
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|
|
i. the integrity of the Companys financial statements; |
|
|
ii. the independent auditors qualifications and
independence; |
|
|
iii. the performance of the Companys internal audit
function and independent auditors; |
|
|
iv. the Companys compliance with legal and regulatory
requirements; and |
|
|
v. the preparation of an audit committee report as required
by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC)
to be included in the Companys annual proxy statement. |
In discharging its responsibilities, the Committee is not itself
responsible for the planning or conduct of audits, or for any
determination that the Companys financial statements and
disclosures are complete and accurate or are in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and
applicable rules and regulations. This is the responsibility of
the Companys management, internal auditor (or others
responsible for the internal audit function, including
contracted non-employee or audit or accounting firms engaged to
provide internal audit services) (the internal
auditor) and the Companys independent auditor.
Notwithstanding any thing to the contrary contained in this
charter, the Companys independent auditor is ultimately
accountable to the Committee and the Board. The Committee and
the Board have the ultimate authority and responsibility to
select, evaluate and, where appropriate, replace the
Companys independent auditor (or, as and when applicable,
to nominate the independent auditor to be proposed for approval
in any proxy statement of the Company).
Organization
The Committee shall be comprised of three directors. The members
and the Chair of the Committee shall be appointed by the full
Board on an annual basis and may be re-appointed or replaced at
the Boards discretion at any time.
Each Committee member shall be financially literate, as
determined by the Board in its business judgment, or must become
financially literate within a reasonable period of time after
his or her appointment to the Committee. At least one member of
the Committee shall have accounting or related financial
management expertise, as the Board interprets such qualification
in its business judgment. In addition, at least one member of
the Committee shall be an audit committee financial
expert as defined in Item 401(h) of
Regulation S-K; provided that if no member of the Committee
is an audit committee financial expert, then the
Company shall disclose in its periodic reports filed with the
SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
Exchange Act) the reasons why at least one member of
the Committee is not an audit committee financial
expert. A determination by the Board that a member of the
Committee is an audit committee financial expert shall
constitute a determination by the Board that such member has
accounting or related financial management expertise.
A-1
Each Committee member shall satisfy the independence
requirements of the New York Stock Exchange Listed Company
Manual Sections 303 and 303A and Exchange Act
Rule 10A-3, unless the Company avails itself of any
applicable exemption allowed under such rules and regulations.
The Company shall make any required disclosures relating to the
use of any such exemptions.
No Committee member may serve on the audit committee of more
than three public companies unless the Board has determined that
such simultaneous service would not impair the ability of such
member to serve effectively on the Committee. Any such
determination shall be disclosed in the Companys annual
proxy statement or annual report.
The Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for calling
meetings of the Committee, developing the meeting agenda,
providing reading materials to Committee members relative to
agenda items and chairing the meetings.
The Committee shall meet at least four times a year. Meetings
may be in person or by conference call. A majority of the
Committee members must be in attendance for a quorum. The
Committee may also act by unanimous written consent. The
Committee shall keep minutes of its meetings and report
regularly to the full Board on the Committees activities.
Such reports shall include, without limitation, the minutes as
required hereunder and a review of any issues that arise with
respect to the quality or integrity of the Companys
financial statements, the Companys compliance with legal
or regulatory requirements, the performance and independence of
the Companys independent auditors, or the performance of
the internal audit function.
The Committee shall meet separately, periodically, with
management, with internal auditor (or other personnel
responsible for the internal audit function) and independent
auditor.
The Committee shall have the sole authority to retain any
independent counsel, experts or other advisors (accounting,
financial or otherwise) that the Committee believes to be
necessary or appropriate to carry out its duties. The Committee
may also use the services of the Companys legal counsel or
other advisors to the Company. The Company shall provide for
appropriate funding, as determined by the Committee, for payment
of (i) compensation to any registered public accounting
firm engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit
report or performing other audit, review or attestation services
for the Company, (ii) compensation to any advisors employed
by the Committee and (iii) ordinary administrative expenses
of the Committee that are necessary or appropriate in carrying
out its duties.
The Committee is empowered to conduct its own investigations
into issues related to its responsibilities.
Responsibilities
|
|
|
Appointment and Oversight of Independent Auditor |
The Committee shall be directly responsible for the appointment,
compensation, retention and oversight of the work of any
registered public accounting firm engaged (including resolution
of disagreements between Company management and the auditor
regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or
issuing
A-2
an audit report or performing other audit, review or attestation
services for the Company, and each such registered public
accounting firm shall report directly to the Committee.
|
|
|
Appointment and Oversight of Additional Audit Firm |
The Committee shall be directly responsible for the appointment,
compensation, retention and oversight work of any other
registered public accounting firm engaged for the purpose of
preparing or issuing an audit report or related work or
performing other audit, review or attestation services for the
Company and such firm shall also report directly to the
Committee.
Before the Companys independent auditing firm is engaged
by the Company or its subsidiaries to render audit or non-audit
services, the Committee shall pre-approve the engagement. The
Committee may delegate to one or more members of the Committee
the authority to grant pre-approvals, provided such approvals
are presented to the Committee at the next scheduled Committee
meeting.
|
|
|
i. Committee pre-approval of audit and non-audit services
will not be required if the engagement for the services is
entered into pursuant to pre-approval policies and procedures
established by the Committee regarding the Companys
engagement of the independent auditing firm; provided the
policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular
service, the Committee is informed of each service provided and
such policies and procedures do not include delegation of the
Committees responsibilities under the Exchange Act to the
Companys management. |
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ii. Committee pre-approval of non-audit services (other
than review and attestation services) also will not be required
if such services fall within an available exception established
by the SEC. |
The Committee shall, at least annually, evaluate the independent
auditors qualifications, performance and independence. In
making its evaluation, the Committee should take into account
the opinions of management and the Companys internal
auditors (or other personnel responsible for the audit function.
The Committee shall present its conclusions with respect to the
independent auditor to the full Board. In conducting its
evaluation the Committee shall take the following steps:
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i. the Committee shall obtain and review a report prepared
by the independent auditor describing (a) the independent
auditing firms internal quality-control procedures,
(b) any material issues raised by the most recent internal
quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent
auditing firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by
governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding
five years, respecting one or more independent audits carried
out by the independent auditing firm, and any steps taken to
deal with any such issues and (c) to assess the independent
auditing firms independence, all relationships between the
independent auditor and the Company; |
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ii. the Committee shall obtain and review a formal written
statement prepared by the independent auditor describing the
fees billed in each of the last two fiscal years in each of the
categories required to be disclosed in the Companys annual
proxy statement; |
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iii. the Committee shall (a) actively engage in
dialogue with the independent auditor with respect to any
disclosed relationships or services that may impact the
objectivity and independence of the independent auditor from the
Company, and obtain, (b) review on a periodic basis a
formal written statement prepared by the independent auditor
delineating all relationships between the independent auditor
and the Company, consistent with Independence Standards Board
Standard 1, and (c) recommend that the Board take
appropriate action in response to the independent auditors
report as may be necessary or advisable to comply with
applicable rules and regulations; |
A-3
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iv. the Committee shall review and evaluate the
qualifications, performance and independence of the independent
auditing firm, including without limitation a review and
evaluation of the lead partner of the independent auditor; |
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v. the Committee, in addition to assuring the regular
rotation of the lead audit partner as required by law, shall
consider whether, in order to assure continuing auditor
independence, the Company should adopt a regular rotation of the
independent audit firm; and |
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vi. the Committee shall, if applicable, consider whether
the independent auditors provision of any permitted
non-audit services to the Company is compatible with maintaining
the independence of the independent auditor. |
Financial Statements and Disclosures
In connection with each annual audit, the Committee shall
discuss with management, the independent auditor and the
internal auditor the overall scope and plans for such audits,
including the adequacy of staffing and other factors that may
affect the effectiveness and timeliness of such audits.
The Committee shall review and discuss with management and the
independent auditor: (i) major issues regarding accounting
principles and financial statement presentations, including any
significant changes in the Companys selection or
application of accounting principles, and major issues as to the
adequacy of the Companys internal controls and any special
audit steps adopted in light of material control deficiencies;
(ii) analyses prepared by management and/or the independent
auditor setting forth significant financial reporting issues and
judgments made in connection with the preparation of the
Companys financial statements, including analyses of the
effects of alternative GAAP methods on the Companys
financial statements; (iii) the effect of regulatory and
accounting initiatives, as well as off-balance sheet structures,
on the Companys financial statements and
(iv) managements and/or the independent
auditors judgment about the quality, not just
acceptability, of accounting principles, the reasonableness of
significant judgments, the clarity of the disclosures in the
financial statements and the adequacy of internal controls.
The Committee shall review and discuss the Companys annual
audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements
with management and the independent auditor, including the
Companys disclosures under Managements
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations.
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Communication with Independent Auditors |
i. The Committee shall discuss with the independent auditor
the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing
Standards No. 61, Communication with Audit
Committees, as then in effect.
ii. The Committee shall regularly review with the
independent auditor any problems or difficulties the independent
auditor may have encountered during the course of audit work,
including any restrictions imposed on the scope of activities or
access to requested information, any significant disagreements
with management, and managements responses to such
matters. Among the items that the Committee should consider
reviewing with the independent auditor are: (a) any
accounting adjustments that were noted or proposed by the
auditor but were passed (as immaterial or
otherwise); (b) any communications between the independent
audit team and the independent auditing firms national
office respecting auditing or accounting issues presented by the
engagement; and (c) any management or
internal control letter issued, or proposed to be
issued, by the independent auditing firm to the Company. The
review should also include discussion of the responsibilities,
budget and staffing of the Companys internal audit
function.
A-4
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Review of Independent Auditor Report to Audit
Committee |
The Committee shall review the report that any registered public
accounting firm is required to make to the Committee regarding:
(i) all critical accounting policies and practices to be
used; (ii) all alternative treatments within GAAP that have
been discussed among Company management and the registered
public accounting firm, ramifications of the use of such
alternative disclosures and treatments, and the treatment
preferred by the registered public accounting firm; and
(iii) all other material written communications between the
registered public accounting firm and Company management, such
as any management letter, management representation letter,
reports on observations and recommendations on internal
controls, independent auditors engagement letter,
independent auditors independence letter, schedule of
unadjusted differences or a listing of adjustments and
reclassifications not recorded.
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Recommendation to Include Financial Statements in Annual
Report |
The Committee shall, based on its review and discussions
outlined in paragraphs above, determine whether to recommend to
the Board that the audited financial statements be included in
the Companys annual report.
Internal Audit Function
The Company shall maintain an internal audit function to provide
management and the Committee with ongoing assessments of the
Companys risk management and system of internal control.
The Committee shall meet periodically with the Companys
internal auditor (or others responsible for the internal audit
function, including contracted non-employee or audit or
accounting firms engaged to provide internal audit services) to
discuss the responsibilities, budget and staffing of the
Companys internal audit function and any issues that the
internal auditor believes warrant attention of the Committee or
the Board of Directors.
Compliance Oversight
The Committee shall discuss with management and the independent
auditor the Companys policies with respect to risk
assessment and risk management, the Companys major
financial risk exposures and the steps management has taken to
limit, monitor and control such exposures. While the Committee
is not required to be the sole body responsible for risk
assessment and management, the Committee must discuss guidelines
and policies to govern the process by which risk assessment and
management is undertaken.
The Committee shall report regularly to, and review with, the
Board any issues that arise with respect to the quality or
integrity of the Companys financial statements, the
Companys compliance with legal or regulatory requirements,
the performance and independence of the Companys
independent auditor, the performance of the Companys
internal audit function or any other matter the Committee
determines is necessary or advisable to report to the Board.
The Committee shall approve guidelines for the Companys
hiring of employees or former employees of the independent
auditing firm.
The Committee shall obtain from the independent auditor
assurances that the independent auditor is not aware of any
matters required to be reported under Section 10A(b) of the
Exchange Act.
A-5
The Committee shall establish procedures for (i) the
receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the
Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or
auditing matters and (ii) the confidential, anonymous
submission by employees of the Company of concerns regarding
questionable accounting or auditing matters.
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Press Releases and Analyst Communications |
The Committee shall discuss with management and the independent
auditor the Companys earnings press releases, as well as
financial information and earnings guidance provided to analysts
and rating agencies. The Committee shall also review the type
and presentation of information to be included in earnings press
releases (paying particular attention to any use of pro
forma, or adjusted non-GAAP, information. The
Committees discussion in this regard may be general in
nature (i.e., discussion of the types of information to be
disclosed and the type of presentation to be made) and need not
take place in advance of each earnings release or each instance
in which the Company may provide earnings guidance.
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Disclosure Controls and Procedures |
The Committee shall review with the Chief Executive Officer,
Chief Legal Officer and the Chief Financial Officer the
Companys disclosure controls and procedures and review
periodically managements conclusions about the efficacy of
such disclosure controls and procedures.
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Preparation of Audit Committee Report |
The Committee shall provide the full Board with the report of
the Committee with respect to the audited financial statements
for inclusion in each of the Companys annual proxy
statements.
The Committee shall review and discuss any reports concerning
material violations submitted to the Committee by the
Companys attorneys pursuant to SEC attorney professional
responsibility rules or otherwise.
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Committee Self-Assessment |
The Committee is responsible for developing and conducting an
annual self-assessment of its performance. The Committee will
work with the Nomination and Governance Committee to design and
coordinate the annual self-assessment in conjunction with the
overall Board assessment process. The Committee shall report to
the full Board on the results of its assessment each year and
shall make any appropriate recommendations to further enhance
the Committees performance.
The Committee shall also fulfill any other responsibilities that
may be assigned to the Committee by the Board from time to time.
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Charter Modifications/ Updating |
The Committee shall review and reassess the adequacy of this
charter on an annual basis, and may recommend to the Board from
time to time any proposed changes to the charter and to any
other documents related to the responsibilities of the Committee.
A-6
Appendix B
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
COMPENSATION COMMITTEE CHARTER
This Compensation Committee Charter (the Charter)
was adopted by the Board of Directors (the Board) of
Valor Communications Group, Inc. (the Company) on
February 8, 2005 and replaces any charter previously used
by this committee.
Mandate
The Compensation Committee (the Committee) assists
the Board in its oversight of compensation for the
Companys senior management, compensation for the Board of
Directors, evaluation and succession planning for the Chief
Executive Officer (the CEO) and related matters. The
Committee shall have direct responsibility to:
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(i) develop and approve the Companys executive
compensation philosophy; |
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(ii) review and approve corporate goals and objectives
relevant to CEO compensation, evaluate the CEOs
performance in light of those goals and objectives, and, either
as a committee or together with the other independent directors
(as directed by the Board) determine and approve the CEOs
compensation level based upon this evaluation; |
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(iii) make recommendations to the Board with respect to
director non-CEO executive officer compensation, and
incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject
to Board approval; |
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(iv) conduct an annual performance evaluation of the
Committee; |
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(v) oversee CEO and executive succession planning and
development; |
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(vi) produce a Committee report on executive officer
compensation as required by the rules and regulations
promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) to be included in the Companys annual
proxy statement or annual report; and |
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(vii) fulfill any other responsibilities set forth in this
Charter and any additional duties that may be assigned to the
Committee by the Board from time to time. |
Organization
The Committee shall be comprised of three directors. The members
and Chair of the Committee shall be appointed by the full Board
on an annual basis and may be re-appointed or replaced at the
Boards discretion at any time. Each Committee member shall
be familiar with executive compensation issues and best
practices and will undertake to keep current on developments in
this field while serving on the Committee. Each Committee member
shall satisfy the independence requirements of the New York
Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual Section 303A and
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act)
Rule 10A-3, unless the Company avails itself of any
applicable exemption allowed under such rules and regulations.
The Company shall make any required disclosures relating to the
use of any such exemptions. The Committee may designate on or
more subcommittees, each subcommittee to consist solely of
members of the Board who satisfy the independence requirements
of New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual
Section 303A and Exchange Act Rule 10A-3, at least one
of whom shall be a member of the Committee.
The Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for calling
meetings of the Committee, developing the meeting agenda,
providing reading materials to Committee members relative to
agenda items and chairing the meetings.
B-1
The Committee shall meet at least twice a year. Meetings may be
in person or by conference call. A majority of the Committee
members must be in attendance to constitute a quorum. The vote
of a majority of the total number of members of the Committee at
a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the
Committee. The Committee may also act by unanimous written
consent. The Committee shall keep minutes of its meetings and
report regularly to the full Board on the Committees
activities. Such reports shall include, without limitation, the
minutes required hereunder.
The Committee shall have sole authority to retain and terminate
any executive compensation consultant or consulting firm engaged
to assist in the evaluation of director, CEO or executive
officer compensation, including the sole authority to approve
such consultants or consulting firms fees and other
retention terms. The Committee shall also have the authority to
retain other professional advisors that the Committee believes
necessary or appropriate to carry out its duties. The Company
shall provide funding to cover the professional fees of any such
advisors that have been approved by the Committee.
The Committee may consult with Company management on
compensation issues and may delegate to management, where
appropriate, the duty to work with and/or supervise the
day-to-day activities of independent consultants and advisors
retained by the Committee.
Responsibilities
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Executive Compensation Philosophy and Programs |
In consultation with the Board, the CEO and senior management,
the Committee shall review and approve the Companys
executive compensation philosophy, including the balance between
or mix of base salary, cash, equity-based incentive compensation
or other compensation components for the CEO, other executive
officers and the Board. In so doing, the Committee shall
establish and regularly review and update:
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i) an appropriate peer group of companies for the purposes
of comparing compensation levels and practices; and |
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ii) key measures that the Committee will use in assessing
performance for the purposes of incentive compensation awards to
the CEO and other members of the senior management team. |
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Evaluation and Compensation of the CEO |
At the start of each year, the Committee shall determine, review
and approve corporate goals and objectives relevant to the
compensation of the CEO, consistent with the terms of any
existing contracts between the CEO and the Company. At the end
of the year, the Committee shall evaluate the performance of the
CEO in light of the agreed upon goals and objectives and shall
determine and approve the compensation level (including base
salary, incentive compensation and any other component of
compensation for the CEO). In addition, in determining the
long-term incentive component of CEO compensation, the Committee
should consider, without limitation, the Companys
performance and relative shareholder, the value of similar
incentive awards to CEOs at comparable companies, and the awards
given to the Companys CEO in past years.
The Committee shall also negotiate and approve all formal
employment or other contracts with the CEO.
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Compensation of Other Executive Officers |
The Committee shall review approve corporate goals and
objectives relating to the compensation of executive officers
other than the CEO and review the CEOs evaluation of the
performance of the executive officers in light of these goals
and objectives. The Committee shall review, approve and make
recommendations to the Board with respect to non-CEO executive
officer salary levels, incentive awards and other compensation.
B-2
The Committee shall also review and approve all formal
employment agreements or other contracts with executive officers
of the Company negotiated by the CEO, or any other arrangements
for which authority has not been delegated to management.
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Incentive-Compensation and Equity-Based Plans |
The Committee shall approve the Companys
incentive-compensation and equity based plans that are subject
to Board approval, including the performance measures to be
applied in determining incentive awards. The Committee shall
also review and make recommendations with respect to the
adoption or modification of any equity-based plans for Company
employees for approval by the Board and company stockholders,
unless reserved by the Board through plan provisions or
applicable rules and regulations. The Committee shall also
oversee the administration of these plans to ensure consistency
with the Committees compensation philosophy and policies
with respect to plan participation.
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Retirement Programs and Other Benefits |
The Committee shall review and make recommendations to the Board
for approval with respect to the types and structures of
employee retirement plans for the CEO, executive officers and
other employees. The Committee shall also establish and
periodically review Company policies with respect to perquisites
and other non-cash benefits for executive officers.
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Other Compensation Programs |
The Committee shall periodically review the operation of the
Companys broad-based programs and overall compensation
programs for key employees and consider their effectiveness in
promoting key Company objectives and stockholder value.
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Report on Executive Compensation and Other Regulatory
Compliance Matters |
The Committee shall be responsible for the production of the
annual compensation committee report on executive compensation
to be included in either the Companys annual proxy
statement or annual report in accordance with applicable SEC
rules and regulations.
In consultation with senior management, the Committee shall
oversee regulatory compliance with respect to compensation
matters, including overseeing the Companys policies on
structuring compensation programs to preserve tax deductibility
the Committee may approve awards (with or without ratification
of the Board) as may be required to comply with applicable tax
law, including providing certification that performance goals
have been attained for the purposes of Section 162(m) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The Committee shall work with the CEO to develop succession
plans for the Chief Executive Office for emergency situations
and over the long term. The Committee, in conjunction with the
CEO, shall update the entire Board with respect to executive
development and succession planning initiatives.
The Committee shall annually review the Companys practices
regarding amounts paid as compensation to non-management Board
members and shall make recommendations to the full Board with
respect to any changes or modifications to the directors
compensation program.
In making its recommendations, the Committee shall consider
director compensation policies and practices at the
Companys principal competitors and other comparable
companies to ensure that the compensation (both direct and
indirect) paid to the Companys directors is reasonable and
appropriate.
B-3
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Committee Self-Assessment |
The Committee is responsible for developing and conducting an
annual self-assessment of its performance. The Committee will
work with the Nomination and Governance Committee to design and
coordinate the annual self-assessment in conjunction with the
overall Board assessment process. The Committee shall report to
the full Board on the results of its assessment each year and
shall make any appropriate recommendations to further enhance
the Committees performance.
The Committee shall also fulfill any other responsibilities that
may be assigned to the Committee by the Board from time to time.
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Charter Modifications/ Updating |
The Committee shall review this charter regularly and may
recommend to the Board from time to time any proposed changes to
the charter and to any other documents related to the
responsibilities of the Compensation Committee.
B-4
Appendix C
Valor Communications Group, Inc.
NOMINATION AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE CHARTER
This Nomination and Governance Committee Charter (the
Charter) was adopted by the Board of Directors (the
Board) of Valor Communications Group, Inc. (the
Company) on February 8, 2005.
Mandate
The Nomination and Governance Committee (the
Committee) assists the Board in its oversight of
Board composition, corporate governance policies and practices,
and related matters. The Committees mandate includes the
following:
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(viii) establishing criteria and qualifications for Board
members, identifying individuals qualified to serve as Board
members, and recommending to the Board annually a slate of
nominees to be forwarded to the stockholders for election at the
Annual Meeting for all Board seats subject to stockholder vote; |
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(ix) making recommendations to the Board with respect to
the membership and chairmanship of each of the Board committees
and reviewing the composition and structure of the Board
committees on a regular basis; |
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(x) developing the Companys Corporate Governance
Guidelines in accordance with the requirements of the New York
Stock Exchange (NYSE), recommending these to the
Board for approval, reviewing them on a regular basis and
recommending updates or modifications to them, as appropriate; |
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(xi) developing and leading the annual performance
evaluation of the Board, conducting an annual evaluation of the
Committee and coordinating the annual evaluations of each of the
other Board committees led by the respective Committee
Chairs; and |
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(xii) fulfilling any other responsibilities set forth in
this Charter and any additional duties that may be assigned to
the Committee by the Board from time to time. |
Organization
The Committee shall be comprised of three directors. The members
and Chair of the Committee shall be appointed by the full Board
on an annual basis and may be re-appointed or replaced at the
Boards discretion at any time. Each Committee member shall
be familiar with corporate governance issues and best practices
and will undertake to keep current on developments in this field
while serving on the Committee. Each Committee member shall
satisfy the independence requirements of the New York Stock
Exchange Listed Company Manual Section 303A and Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act)
Rule 10A-3, when the Company avails itself of any
applicable exemption allowed under such rules and regulations.
The Company shall make any required disclosures relating to the
use of any such exemptions. The Committee may designate one or
more subcommittees, each subcommittee to consist solely of
members of the Board who satisfy the independence requirements
of New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual
Section 303A and Exchange Act Rule 10A-3, at least one
of whom shall be a member of the Committee.
The Chair of the Committee shall be responsible for calling
meetings of the Committee, developing the meeting agenda,
providing reading materials to Committee members relative to
agenda items and chairing the meetings.
The Committee shall meet at least twice a year. Meetings may be
in person or by conference call. A majority of the Committee
members must be in attendance to constitute a quorum. The vote
of a majority of the total number of members of the Committee at
a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of
C-1
the Committee. The Committee may also act by unanimous written
consent. The Committee shall keep minutes of its meetings and
report regularly to the Board on the Committees
activities. Such reports shall include, without limitation, the
minutes required hereunder.
The Committee shall have sole authority to retain and terminate
any search firm used to identify candidates for the Board,
including the sole authority to approve such firms fees
and other retention terms. The Committee shall also have the
authority to retain other professional advisors that the
Committee believes necessary or appropriate to carry out its
duties. The Company shall provide funding to cover the
professional fees of any such advisors that have been approved
by the Committee.
Responsibilities
The Committees role and duties in Board nomination extend
only to those Board candidates who will be presented to the
stockholders for election at the Annual Meeting. Where a third
party has the right to nominate one or more directors to the
Companys Board, the selection and nomination of such
directors shall not be subject to the Committees process.
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Director Criteria and Qualifications |
The Committee shall develop criteria and qualifications for
Board nominees to be used in reviewing and selecting director
candidates, including policies with respect to Board and
committee member independence, terms, tenure, and compliance
with applicable regulatory requirements. Director qualifications
shall be set out in the Companys Corporate Governance
Guidelines.
The Committee shall present the director criteria and
qualifications to the full Board for discussion and approval.
Once approved, these will be used by the Committee in recruiting
directors, in reviewing any director candidates submitted by
stockholders, and in reviewing incumbent directors for
re-nomination. The Committee will review the director criteria
and qualifications regularly and recommend any revisions or
updates to the Board, as appropriate.
The Committee shall develop a formal nominating process to be
used in identifying, recruiting, evaluating, and recommending
director candidates. The nominating process shall be set out in
the Companys Corporate Governance Guidelines. The
Committee will review and refine the process, as appropriate.
The Committee shall identify, recruit, and recommend candidates
for the Board and shall also be responsible for reviewing and
evaluating any candidates recommended by stockholders using the
nominating process outlined in the Corporate Governance
Guidelines. The Committees recommendations shall be
submitted to a vote of the full Board. Candidates approved by a
majority of the Board will be presented to stockholders for
election at the Annual Meeting.
The Committee may also make recommendations to fill any Board
vacancies that arise between Annual Meetings with respect to any
Board seats subject to a vote of the stockholders. Such
recommendations will also be subject to a vote of the majority
of the Board. Board members appointed in this way will be
required to stand for election by stockholders at the next
Annual Meeting.
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Board Committee Appointments |
The Committee shall review and recommend to the Board annually
the members and chairmen of each Board committee. Such committee
appointments shall be subject to approval of the majority of the
full Board.
C-2
In making its recommendations, the Committee shall take into
account the criteria for committee membership as outlined in
each committees charter. Where independence or other
regulatory requirements must be met for membership on a
particular Board committee, the Committee shall satisfy itself
that its recommendations would comply with such requirements.
There is no limitation on the re-appointment of a Board member
to serve as a member or chairman of any committee. The Committee
may also make recommendations to the Board to replace any
committee chairmen or members or to add any members to a Board
committee at any time during the year.
The Committee is responsible for overseeing the Companys
corporate governance policies and practices, including
compliance with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE. The
Committee shall keep abreast of best practices, regulatory
changes and other developments in the area of corporate
governance and shall update the full Board, as appropriate, on
these issues.
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Corporate Governance Guidelines and Policies |
The Committee shall develop a set of Corporate Governance
Guidelines for the Company in accordance with the NYSE rules and
present these to the Board for discussion and approval. The
Guidelines shall address, among other things: director
qualifications, director responsibilities, director access to
management and independent advisors, director compensation,
director orientation and continuing education, management
succession, and the annual performance evaluation of the Board.
Once approved, the Committee shall ensure that the Guidelines
are posted on the Companys website and kept current. The
Committee shall review the Guidelines regularly and recommend
changes or updates to them, whenever appropriate.
The Committee shall work with the chairmen of each Board
committee to ensure that the charter and membership of the
committee is in compliance with all applicable regulatory
requirements, including the rules of the NYSE. The Committee
shall also review and make recommendations to the Board for any
changes to the Boards committee structure or to the
charters of any Board committees. The Committee shall ensure the
Board committee charters are posted on the Companys
website. The Committees role in the appointment of members
and chairmen of the Board committees is outlined above.
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Corporate Governance Disclosure |
The Committee is responsible for reviewing and overseeing the
preparation of any disclosure relative to the Companys
corporate governance practices and descriptions of the Board
committees provided in the Companys annual proxy statement
and/or other materials distributed to stockholders.
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Board and Committee Assessment |
The Committee is responsible for developing and leading an
annual self-assessment of the Boards performance and an
annual self-assessment of the Committees own performance.
In addition, the Committee will work with the chairmen of the
other Board committees to design and coordinate the annual
self-assessments of each Board committee. The Committee shall
report to the full Board on the results of the Board and
committee assessments each year and make any appropriate
recommendations to further enhance Board or committee
performance.
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Director Orientation and Continuing Education |
In conjunction with the CEO and management, the Committee shall
develop, implement and regularly review and update the
orientation program for new Board members so that they can
quickly become sufficiently knowledgeable about the Company and
its issues to contribute meaningfully to Board discussions
C-3
and decision making. The Committee will also work with the CEO,
management, and other members of the Board to develop and/or
recommend continuing education sessions or programs for
directors that are practical and useful.
The Committee shall also fulfill any other responsibilities that
may be assigned to the Committee by the Board from time to time.
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Charter Modifications/ Updating |
The Committee shall review this charter regularly and may
recommend to the Board from time to time any proposed changes to
the charter and to any other documents related to the
responsibilities of the Nomination and Governance Committee,
including the Corporate Governance Guidelines.
C-4
ê DETACH PROXY CARD HERE ê
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PLEASE MARK,
SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE PROXY CARD PROMPTLY USING
THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. |
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x Votes must be indicated (X) in Black
or Blue ink. |
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THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
RECOMMENDS A VOTE FOR EACH OF THE LISTED PROPOSALS. |
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ELECTION OF DIRECTORS. |
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FOR all nominees |
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WITHHOLD AUTHORITY
to vote for all nominees |
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Mark, sign and date your
proxy card. Detach your proxy card. Return your proxy card in the postage paid envelope provided. |
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Nominees: |
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01 John J. Mueller, 02 Kenneth R. Cole, 03 Anthony J. de Nicola, |
To change your address, please mark this box. |
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04 Sanjay Swani, 05
Michael E. Donvan, 06 Norman W. Alpert, |
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07 Federico Pena, 08 Stephen Brodeur, 09 Edward Heffernan, 10 Edward L. Lujan, 11 M. Ann Padilla |
To include any comments, please mark this box. |
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(AUTHORITY
TO VOTE FOR ANY NOMINEE NAMED MAY BE WITHHELD BY LINING THROUGH THAT
NOMINEES NAME.)
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1. |
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In their discretion, upon any other matter as may properly come before the meeting or at any adjournment thereof. |
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This proxy must be signed exactly as your name appears hereon.
Executors, administrators, trustee, etc., should give full title, as
such. If the shareholder is a corporation, a duly authorized officer
should sign on behalf of the corporation and should indicate his or her title. |
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Date |
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Share Owner sign here |
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Co-Owner sign
here |
VALOR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.
PROXY SOLICITED ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE COMPANY FOR ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 24, 2005
The undersigned, a shareholder of Valor Communications Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
Company),
acknowledges receipt of a copy of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the accompanying
Proxy Statement
and the Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004; and, revoking
any proxy previously
given, hereby constitutes and appoints John J. Mueller and William M. Ojile, Jr., and each of them,
his or her true and lawful
agents and proxies with full power of substitution in each, to vote the shares of Common Stock of
the Company standing
in the name of the undersigned at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company to be held at
the Crowne Plaza
Hotel Times Square Manhattan, 1605 Broadway, New York, New York 10019, on May 24, 2005, at 10:00
a.m., local time,
and at any adjournment thereof, on all matters coming before said meeting.
THIS PROXY WHEN PROPERLY EXECUTED WILL BE VOTED IN THE MANNER DIRECTED HEREBY BY THE
UNDERSIGNED SHAREHOLDER. IF NO DIRECTION IS MADE, THIS PROXY WILL BE VOTED FOR PROPOSAL 1. IF ANY
NOMINEE BECOMES UNAVAILABLE FOR ANY REASON, THE PERSONS NAMED AS PROXIES SHALL VOTE FOR THE
ELECTION OF SUCH OTHER PERSON AS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAY PROPOSE TO REPLACE SUCH NOMINEE.
VALOR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, INC.
P.O. BOX 11259
NEW YORK, N.Y. 10203-0259