S-8: Initial registration statement for securities to be offered to employees pursuant to employee benefit plans
Published on April 25, 2008
Registration
No. ____________
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
S-8
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT UNDER
THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
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58-0628465
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(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
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One
Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta,
Georgia 30313
(Address,
including zip code, of principal executive offices)
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The
Coca-Cola Company 2008 Stock Option Plan
(Full
title of plan)
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Geoffrey
J. Kelly
Senior
Vice President and General Counsel
The
Coca-Cola Company
One
Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta,
Georgia 30313
(Name
and address of agent for service)
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With
a copy to:
Carol
Crofoot Hayes
Associate
General Counsel and Secretary
The
Coca-Cola Company
One
Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta,
Georgia 30313
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(404)
676-2121
(Telephone
number, including area code, of agent for service)
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Large
accelerated filer x
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Accelerated
filer o
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Non-accelerated
filer o
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Smaller
reporting company o
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(Do
not check if a smaller
reporting
company)
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check
one):
Large
accelerated filer x
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Accelerated
filer o
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Non-accelerated
filer o
|
Smaller
reporting company o
|
(Do
not check if a smaller
reporting
company)
|
CALCULATION
OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title
of
Securities
to
be
Registered
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Amount
to
be
Registered
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Proposed
Maximum
Offering
Price
Per
Share(1)
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Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering
Price(1)
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Amount
of
Registration
Fee
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Common
Stock, par value $.25 per share
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140,000,000
shares
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$60.045
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$8,406,300,000
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$330,367.59
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(1) Estimated
solely for the purpose of computing the registration fee pursuant to Rule
457(h) of the Securities Act, on the basis of the average of the high and
low sales prices per share of Common Stock of The Coca-Cola Company as
reported on the New York Stock Exchange composite transactions reported in
The Wall Street Journal on April 21,
2008, which was $460.045.
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PART
II
INFORMATION
REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3.
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Incorporation
of Certain Documents by
Reference.
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The
following documents have been previously filed by The Coca-Cola Company (the
"Company") with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are hereby
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement as of their
respective dates:
(a)
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Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
2007;
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(b)
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Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 28,
2008;
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(c)
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Current
Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
February 21, 2008 and April 22, 2008;
and
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(d)
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The
description of the Company's Common Stock which is contained in its
Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed under the Exchange Act, including
all amendments and reports filed for the purpose of updating such
description.
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All
documents filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of
the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Registration Statement and prior
to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that
indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or that
deregisters all such securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be a part
hereof from the date of the filing of such documents.
Item 4.
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Description
of Securities.
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Inapplicable.
Item 5.
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Interest
of Named Experts and Counsel.
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The legality of the shares of Common
Stock offered hereby has been passed upon for the Company by Geoffrey J. Kelly,
Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Company. As of
April 18, 2008, Mr. Kelly beneficially owned
49,946 shares of Common Stock of the Company and, under stock option plans of
the Company, holds options to purchase 575,544 shares of Common
Stock.
Item 6.
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Indemnification
of Directors and Officers.
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Section
145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware empowers a Delaware
corporation to indemnify present and former directors, officers, employees or
agents for the corporation.
1. Article
Tenth of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company provides:
"A. A
director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or
its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a
director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of
loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not
in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of
law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv)
for any transaction from which the director derived any improper personal
benefit. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended after
approval by the stockholders of this Article to authorize corporate action
further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the
liability of a director of the corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the
fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so
amended.
2
B. Any
repeal or modification of Article Tenth, Paragraph A, by the stockholders
of the corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a
director of the corporation existing at the time of such repeal or
modification."
2. Article
Seventh of the By-Laws of the Company provides:
Section
1. Indemnification of
Directors, Officers, Employees and Agents. The Company shall
indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party
to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether
civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in
the right of the Company) by reason of the fact that he is or was a director,
officer, employee or agent of the Company, or is or was serving at the request
of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses
(including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement
actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or
proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interest of the Company, and, with respect to
any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his
conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by
judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or
its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did
not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or
not opposed to the best interest of the Company, and with respect to any
criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct
was unlawful.
The
Company shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be
made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the
right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact
that he is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or is
or was serving at the request of the Company, as a director, officer, employee
or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against expenses (including attorneys' fees) actually and reasonably
incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or
suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in
or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and except that no
indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to
which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless
and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such
action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the
adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such
person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which
the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, except with respect to a proceeding to enforce rights to
indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Article VII, the Company
shall be required to indemnify a person under this Article VII in connection
with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such
proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of
Directors.
Section
2. Expenses. To
the extent that a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company has been
successful on the merits or otherwise, in whole or in part, in defense of any
action, suit or proceeding referred to in Section 1 or in defense of any claim,
issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against expenses (including
attorneys' fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection
therewith. The entitlement to expenses under this Section 2 shall include any
expenses incurred by a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company in
connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by such director,
officer, employee or agent to enforce a right to indemnification or payment of
expenses under this Article. If successful in whole or in part in any such
action, suit or proceeding, or in any action, suit or proceeding brought by the
Company to recover a payment of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking
provided in accordance with Section 4, the director, officer, employee or agent
also shall be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting or defending such
action, suit or proceeding.
3
Section
3. Procedure for Receiving
Indemnification. To receive indemnification under this By-Law,
a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company shall submit to the
Company a written request, including therein or therewith such documentation and
information as is reasonably available to him and reasonably necessary to
determine his entitlement to indemnification. Upon receipt by the Company of a
written request for indemnification, a determination, if required by applicable
law, with respect to a claimant's request shall be made: (1) by the Board of
Directors by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who were not
parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum; or
(2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such
directors, even though less than a quorum; or (3) if there are no such
directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a
written opinion; or (4) by the shareholders. The determination of a claimant's
entitlement to indemnification shall be made within a reasonable time, and in
any event within no more than 60 days, after receipt by the Company of a written
request for indemnification, together with the supporting documentation required
by this Section. The burden of establishing that a claimant is not entitled to
be indemnified under this Article or otherwise shall be on the
Company.
Section
4. Payment of
Expenses. Expenses incurred in defending a civil or criminal
action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Company in advance of the final
disposition of such action, suit or proceeding within 30 days after receipt by
the Company of a statement requesting payment of such expenses. Such statement
shall evidence the expenses incurred by the claimant and shall include an
undertaking by or on behalf of the claimant to repay such expenses if it shall
ultimately be determined, by final judicial decision from which there is no
further right to appeal, that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the
Company as authorized by this Article. The burden of establishing that a
claimant is not entitled to payment of expenses under this Article or otherwise
shall be on the Company. Any such payment shall not be deemed to be a loan or
extension or arrangement of credit by or on behalf of the Company.
Section
5. Provisions Non-Exclusive;
Survival of Rights. The indemnification and payment of
expenses provided by or granted pursuant to this Article shall not be deemed
exclusive of any other rights to which those indemnified or those who receive
payment of expenses may be entitled under any By-Law, agreement, vote of
shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in an
official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such
office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director,
officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs,
executors and administrators of such a person.
Section
6. Insurance. The
Company shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any
person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or
is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee
or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any
such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the Company
would have the power to indemnify him against such liability under the
provisions of this Article.
Section
7. Authority to Enter into
Indemnification Agreements. The Company shall have the power
to enter into contracts with any director, officer, employee or agent of the
Company in furtherance of the provisions of this Article to provide for the
payment of such amounts as may be appropriate, in the discretion of the Board of
Directors, to effect indemnification and payment of expenses as provided in this
Article.
Section
8. Effect of
Amendment. Any amendment, repeal or modification of this
Article shall not adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time
of such amendment, repeal or modification in respect of any act or omission
occurring prior to such amendment, repeal or modification.
4
Section
9. No Duplication of
Payments. The Company's obligation, if any, to indemnify or
pay expenses to any person under this Article shall be reduced to the extent
such person has otherwise received payment (under any insurance policy,
indemnity clause, bylaw, agreement, vote or otherwise).”
The Company has purchased directors’
and officers’ liability insurance covering many of the possible actions and
omission of persons acting or failing to act in such capacities.
For the undertaking with respect to
indemnification, see Item 9.
Item 7.
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Exemptions
from Registration Claimed.
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Inapplicable.
Item 8.
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Exhibits
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5.1
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Opinion
of Geoffrey J. Kelly, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the
Company, regarding the validity of the securities being
registered*
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10.1
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The
Coca-Cola Company 2008 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22,
2008)
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23.1
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Consent
of Geoffrey J. Kelly, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the
Company (included as part of
Exhibit 5.1)
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23.2
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Consent
of Ernst & Young LLP*
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24.1
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Powers
of Attorney*
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*Filed
herewith.
Item 9.
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Undertakings
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(a)
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The
Company hereby undertakes:
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(1)
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To
file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
post-effective amendment to this Registration
Statement:
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(i) To
include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act
of 1933 (the "Securities Act");
(ii) To
reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date
of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
in the information set forth in the Registration
Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered
would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or
high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of
prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule
424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more
than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in
the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration
Statement;
(iii) To
include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not
previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to
such information in the Registration Statement; provided, however, that
paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information
required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is
contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the
registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") that are incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement.
5
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(2)
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That
for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each
such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration
statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of
such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.
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(3)
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To
remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the
securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the
offering.
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(b) The
Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant to
Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each
filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to
Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the
Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering
thereof.
(c) Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be
permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant
to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in
the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is
against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore,
unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.
[INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK]
6
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that
it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for
filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City
of Atlanta, State of Georgia on the 24th day of
April, 2008.
THE
COCA-COLA COMPANY
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/s/
Gary P. Fayard
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Gary
P. Fayard
Executive Vice President and and Chief Financial Officer |
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement
has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated as of the
24th
of April, 2008.
/s/ E. Neville
Isdell
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E.
Neville Isdell
Chairman,
Board of Directors, Chief
Executive
Officer and a Director
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
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/s/
Gary P. Fayard
|
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Gary
P. Fayard
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Executive
Vice President and Chief
Financial
Officer
(Principal
Financial Officer)
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/s/ Harry L. Anderson
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Harry
L. Anderson
Vice
President and Controller
(Principal
Accounting Officer)
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7
Directors:
/s/
E. Neville Isdell
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*
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E.
Neville Isdell
Chairman,
Board of Directors,
Chief
Executive Officer and a Director
|
Muhtar
Kent
President,
Chief Operating Officer
and
a Director
|
April
24, 2008
|
April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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Herbert
A. Allen
Director
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Ronald
Allen
Director
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April
24, 2008
|
April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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Cathleen
P. Black
Director
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Barry
Diller
Director
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April
24, 2008
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April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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Alexis
M. Herman
Director
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Donald
R. Keough
Director
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April
24, 2008
|
April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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Donald
F. McHenry
Director
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Sam
Nunn
Director
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April
24, 2008
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April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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James
D. Robinson III
Director
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Peter
V. Ueberroth
Director
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April
24, 2008
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April
24, 2008
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*
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*
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8
*
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*
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Jacob
Wallenberg
Director
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James
B. Williams
Director
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April
24, 2008
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April
24, 2008
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*By:
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/s/
Carol Crofoot Hayes
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Carol
Crofoot Hayes
Attorney-in-fact
April
24, 2008
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9
INDEX TO
EXHIBITS
Exhibit No.
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Exhibit
|
5.1
|
Opinion
of Geoffrey J. Kelly, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the
Company, regarding the validity of the securities being
registered*
|
10.1
|
The
Coca-Cola Company 2008 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by referenced to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-k filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on April 22, 2008)
|
23.1
|
Consent
of Geoffrey J. Kelly, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the
Company (included as part of Exhibit 5.1)
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23.2
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Consent
of Ernst & Young LLP*
|
24.1
|
Powers
of Attorney*
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*Filed
herewith.