Filed by the Registrant o | Filed by a Party other than the Registrant x |
o
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Preliminary
Proxy Statement
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o
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Confidential,
for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule
14a-6(e)(2))
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x
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Definitive
Proxy Statement
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o
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Definitive
Additional Materials
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o
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Soliciting
Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12
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|
DELCATH
SYSTEMS, INC.
|
(Name
of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
|
ROBERT
B. LADD
JONATHAN
A. FOLTZ
MICHAEL
KARPF, M.D.
PAUL
WILLIAM FREDERICK NICHOLLS
FRED
S. ZEIDMAN
LADDCAP
VALUE ASSOCIATES LLC
LADDCAP
VALUE PARTNERS LP
|
|
(Name
of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the
Registrant)
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x
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No
fee required.
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o
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Fee
computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.
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(1)
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Title
of each class of securities to which transaction applies:
N/A
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(2)
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Aggregate
number of securities to which transaction applies:
N/A
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(3)
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Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule | ||
0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined): | |||
N/A | |||
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(4)
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Proposed
maximum aggregate value of transaction: N/A
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(5)
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Total
fee paid: N/A
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o
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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,
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or
the Form or Schedule and the date of its
filing:
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(1)
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Amount
previously paid: N/A
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(2)
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Form,
Schedule or Registration Statement No.: N/A
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(3)
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Filing
party: N/A
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(4)
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Date
Filed: N/A
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1.
|
remove
without cause M.S. Koly, Samuel Herschkowitz, M.D., Mark A. Corigliano,
Daniel Isdaner and Victor Nevins as directors of the Company and
any other
person or persons (other than the persons elected pursuant to this
proposed action by written consent) elected or appointed to the
Board of
Directors (the “Board”)
of the Company prior to the effectiveness of these Proposals; and
|
2.
|
elect
the following five persons as directors of the Company to fill
the
vacancies resulting from Proposal 1: Jonathan A. Foltz, Michael
Karpf,
M.D., Robert B. Ladd, Paul William Frederick Nicholls and Fred
S. Zeidman
(the “Unaffiliated
Slate”);
and
|
3.
|
repeal
each of the provisions of the Company’s Bylaws or amendments of the Bylaws
that are adopted after December 31, 2005 and before the effectiveness
of
the foregoing two Proposals (as of the date of this consent solicitation
statement, we are not aware of any changes to the Company’s Bylaws that
were adopted after December 31,
2005).
|
1.
|
If
you hold your shares in your own name, please sign, date and mail
the
enclosed BLUE
Consent Card to The Altman Group in the postage-paid envelope provided
to
1200
Wall Street West, 3rd Floor, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071.
|
2.
|
If
your shares are held in the name of a brokerage firm, bank nominee
or
other institution, only it can execute a written consent representing
your
shares and only on receipt of your specific instructions. Accordingly,
you
should contact the person responsible for your account and give
instructions for a BLUE
Consent Card to be signed representing your shares. We urge you
to confirm
in writing your instructions to the person responsible for your
account
and provide a copy of those instructions to us in care of The Altman
Group, Inc. so that we will be aware of all instructions given
and can
attempt to ensure that those instructions are
followed.
|
1.
|
to
remove without cause M.S. Koly, Samuel Herschkowitz, M.D., Mark
A.
Corigliano, Daniel Isdaner and Victor Nevins as directors of the
Company
and any other person or persons (other than the persons elected
pursuant
to this proposed action by written consent) elected or appointed
to the
Board of Directors (the “Board”)
of the Company prior to the effectiveness of these Proposals; and
|
2.
|
elect
the following five persons as directors of the Company to fill
the
vacancies resulting from Proposal 1: Jonathan A. Foltz, Michael
Karpf,
M.D., Robert B. Ladd, Paul William Frederick Nicholls and Fred
S. Zeidman;
and
|
3.
|
repeal
each of the provisions of the Company’s Bylaws or amendments of the Bylaws
that are adopted after December 31, 2005 and before the effectiveness
of
the foregoing two Proposals (as of the date of this consent statement,
we
are not aware of any changes to the Company’s Bylaws that were adopted
after December 31, 2005).
|
· |
We
believe that Delcath’s Board lacks the types of professional experiences
from which Delcath’s management can draw as it looks toward FDA approval
of its delivery system. A review of Delcath’s public filings reveals that
Delcath’s current independent directors’ experience relates to
microcomputers, restaurant management, real estate and children’s
residential summer camps.
|
· |
Laddcap
and stockholders representing nearly 60% of Delcath’s outstanding Shares
who voted at the annual meeting apparently think it is appropriate
that
Delcath avail itself of true expertise. Our stockholder proposal,
which
was approved overwhelmingly by the stockholders at the annual meeting,
asked Delcath to do just that by retaining a nationally-recognized
investment banking firm with expertise in the medical device
industry.
|
· |
Delcath
and its President, Mr. Koly, are co-plaintiffs in two lawsuits against
the
same defendant, Ms. Elizabeth Enney. One lawsuit is pending in the
United
States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Case No.:
305 CV
1281 (JCH)) and the other lawsuit is pending in the United States
District
Court, Northern District of Georgia (Case No. 3 06-CV-68 (JTC)).
According
to the complaints, Mr. Koly, Mr. Corigliano (a Delcath director),
and the
defendant are all members of the Rolls-Royce Owners Club, and certain
libelous and slanderous statements were made in connection with internal
Rolls-Royce club operations.
|
· |
In
2005, the Compensation Committee of the Current Board awarded a total
of
940,000 stock options to the members of the Current Board. The members
of
the Compensation Committee, comprised of two independent directors,
awarded themselves 140,000 options each, while Mr. Koly received
400,000
options. Non-director employees of the Company received only a total
of
17,500 stock options.
|
Name
and Business Address
|
Age
|
Principal
Occupation for Past Five Years and
Directorships
|
Jonathan
A. Foltz
191
Post Road
Westport,
CT 06880
|
45
|
From
September 2001 to the present, Mr. Foltz has been an independent
consultant / strategic advisor to high-tech companies and medical
device
companies, including Delcath Systems, Inc. From 1992 until 2001,
he was
the full-time Director of Operations of Delcath. Additionally,
from June
2002 to the present, Mr. Foltz has served as the President and
co-founder
of OS Technology, LLC, a medical device company developing a catheter
for
use in gynecology procedures. Mr. Foltz earned a B.S. in Finance
and
Computer Science from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from the
University
of Connecticut. Mr. Foltz has also earned a CFA designation. As
a Delcath
employee and consultant for the last 14 years, we believe that
Mr. Foltz
has substantial knowledge of Delcath, public companies and the
medical
device industry.
|
Michael
Karpf, M.D.
c/o
UK Chandler Medical Center
University
of Kentucky
Rose
Street
Lexington,
KY 40536
|
61
|
Since
October, 2003 to the present, Dr. Karpf has served as the Executive
Vice
President for Health Affairs for the University of Kentucky College
of
Medicine and Chandler Medical Center (essentially overseeing the
operations of a $1.1 billion operation). From January 1996 to October
2003, he served as the Vice Provost for hospitals at the UCLA Medical
Center. Dr. Karpf received both his undergraduate and medical degrees
from
the University of Pennsylvania. After an internship in Medicine
at Johns
Hopkins Hospital, he served as a Research Associate in the Laboratory
of
Immunology at the National Institutes of Health. He returned to
the
University of Pennsylvania to complete his medical residency, fellowship
in Hematology and Oncology and a Chief Residency in Internal Medicine.
As
the leader of a large health care organization and as a trained
Hematologist and Oncologist, we believe that Dr. Karpf has substantial
knowledge and experience that will inure to the benefit of Delcath
and its
stockholders.
|
Robert
B. Ladd
c/o
Laddcap Value Associates, LLC
650
Fifth Avenue, Suite 600
New
York, NY 10019
|
48
|
Since
January 2003 to the present, Mr. Ladd has served as the founder
and
managing member of Laddcap Value Associates LLC, the general partner
of
Laddcap Value Partners LP. From 1992 to November 2002, Mr. Ladd
served as
a Managing Director for Neuberger Berman; his responsibilities
at
Neuberger Berman included serving as a portfolio manager for various
high
net worth clients and as a securities analyst. Mr. Ladd graduated
from the
University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a B.S. in Economics in
1980. He received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of
Management in 1983. Mr. Ladd has also earned a CFA designation.
Based on
Mr. Ladd’s 23 years of experience of investing in and analyzing public
securities and public companies, and his fund’s substantial holdings in
Delcath, we believe that Mr. Ladd is well suited to become a member
of
Delcath’s board.
|
Paul
William Frederick Nicholls
c/o
Team Continuum Inc.
460
West 49th Street
New
York, NY 10019
|
58
|
Mr.
Nicholls is currently President/CEO of Team Continuum Inc, a 501(c)(3)
organization, dedicated to helping people living with cancer. Since
September 2000, Mr. Nicholls has been a self-employed Business
Development
Director consulting with a number of large international organizations,
particularly in the Biotech industry. Prior to 2000, Mr. Nicholls
was a
Business Development Director with the global advertising agency
Ogilvy
and Mather, specializing in cause related marketing and sponsorships.
He
was educated at Tonbridge School in England; Mr. Nicholls went
on to
Graduate from Maidstone College of Art and Design, gaining his
FTC with
honors. Mr. Nicholls filed for personal bankruptcy in 2002. Mr.
Nicholls’
personal bankruptcy resulted from his inability to maintain employment
while he battled Stage 4 Multiple Myeloma, a cancer occurring in
his bone
marrow. Mr. Nicholls required aggressive long-term treatment and
we are
pleased to report that he is now in full remission. We are proud
to have
Mr. Nicholls as part of our slate; we believe his unique perspective,
as a
cancer patient (who was a participant in clinical trials of developmental
treatments and who has personally experienced the toxicities of
melphalan)
along with his contacts developed as the President/CEO of Team
Continuum,
a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people living with
cancer,
will prove to be valuable assets to Delcath and its stockholders.
|
Fred
S. Zeidman
c/o
Greenberg Traurig LLP
1000
Louisiana Street
Suite
1800
Houston,
TX 77002
|
60
|
Since
July 2004, Mr. Zeidman has been a Senior Director of Governmental
Affairs
of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Mr. Zeidman served as Seitel Inc.’s interim
president and chief executive officer from October 2004 until December
2004. He also served as interim chief executive officer of Seitel
Inc.
from November 2002 to December 2002. Mr. Zeidman also currently
serves as
Chairman of the Board of Seitel, Inc., Emerge Capital Corp. and
Corporate
Strategies, Inc. and serves as a director of Prosperity Bank and
JL French
Automotive Castings, Inc., and he was appointed Chairman of the
United
States Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington, D.C. by President
George
W. Bush. Mr. Zeidman graduated from Washington University and received
an
M.B.A. from New York University. Mr. Zeidman was appointed Chairman
of the
Board of Directors of Seitel, Inc. in 2002 specifically to lead
a
restructuring effort. In 2002, when Mr. Zeidman was first appointed
as
Chairman of the Board of Seitel, its market capitalization was
under $15
million. Under Mr. Zeidman’s leadership, Seitel was successfully
shepherded through a financial restructuring that included Seitel
filing
for bankruptcy. Following extensive negotiations, every pre-petition
creditor of Seitel was paid 100% of their claim. Today, while Mr.
Zeidman
is still Chairman of the Board, Seitel’s market capitalization is nearly
$600 million. We believe that Mr. Zeidman’s experience and leadership
skills will be very beneficial to Delcath and its
stockholders.
|
Purchase
or Sale
|
Number
of Shares
|
Date
|
purchase
|
20,000
|
12/30/04
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
1/6/05
|
purchase
|
30,000
|
1/20/05
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
1/25/05
|
purchase
|
30,000
|
1/28/05
|
purchase
|
30,330
|
1/31/05
|
purchase
|
7,170
|
2/1/05
|
purchase
|
3,000
|
2/2/05
|
purchase
|
1,800
|
2/3/05
|
purchase
|
23,000
|
2/4/05
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
2/9/05
|
purchase
|
4,700
|
2/11/05
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
2/18/05
|
purchase
|
4,100
|
2/25/05
|
purchase
|
30,300
|
3/7/05
|
sale
|
1,000
|
3/7/05
|
purchase
|
13,600
|
3/8/05
|
purchase
|
12,300
|
3/9/05
|
purchase
|
38,700
|
3/10/05
|
purchase
|
3,000
|
3/11/05
|
purchase
|
7,000
|
3/14/05
|
purchase
|
2,600
|
3/16/05
|
purchase
|
2,000
|
3/21/05
|
purchase
|
2,400
|
3/23/05
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
4/1/05
|
purchase
|
1,000
|
4/29/05
|
purchase
|
7,400
|
5/6/05
|
sale
|
6,000
|
5/6/05
|
purchase
|
2,600
|
5/9/05
|
purchase
|
50,000
|
5/11/05
|
sale
|
60,000
|
5/11/05
|
purchase
|
76,000
|
5/12/05
|
purchase
|
32,600
|
5/13/05
|
purchase
|
14,400
|
5/16/05
|
purchase
|
8,000
|
5/17/05
|
purchase
|
3,400
|
5/18/05
|
purchase
|
10,600
|
5/25/05
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
6/1/05
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
6/2/05
|
purchase
|
4,950
|
6/7/05
|
Purchase
or Sale
|
Number
of Shares
|
Date
|
purchase
|
3,100
|
6/8/05
|
purchase
|
17,150
|
6/10/05
|
purchase
|
4,800
|
6/13/05
|
purchase
|
16,500
|
6/14/05
|
purchase
|
13,500
|
6/15/05
|
sale
|
3,000
|
6/16/05
|
sale
|
3,400
|
6/17/05
|
purchase
|
9,000
|
6/21/05
|
purchase
|
24,000
|
6/23/05
|
sale
|
1,000
|
6/24/05
|
purchase
|
2,920
|
6/27/05
|
sale
|
4,400
|
6/27/05
|
purchase
|
5,820
|
6/30/05
|
purchase
|
10,060
|
7/8/05
|
purchase
|
100
|
7/12/05
|
purchase
|
47,876
|
7/19/05
|
purchase
|
2,024
|
7/20/05
|
purchase
|
12,400
|
7/21/05
|
purchase
|
8,100
|
7/26/05
|
purchase
|
9,380
|
7/27/05
|
purchase
|
28,770
|
7/28/05
|
purchase
|
13,491
|
7/29/05
|
purchase
|
16,441
|
8/1/05
|
purchase
|
500
|
8/3/05
|
purchase
|
12,430
|
8/4/05
|
purchase
|
18,100
|
8/10/05
|
purchase
|
6,625
|
8/11/05
|
purchase
|
40,502
|
8/12/05
|
purchase
|
21,100
|
8/15/05
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
8/16/05
|
purchase
|
6,000
|
8/18/05
|
purchase
|
19,353
|
8/22/05
|
purchase
|
5,408
|
8/25/05
|
purchase
|
14,640
|
10/7/05
|
purchase
|
43,200
|
10/10/05
|
purchase
|
27,303
|
10/11/05
|
purchase
|
7,800
|
10/13/05
|
purchase
|
8,500
|
10/14/05
|
purchase
|
19,148
|
10/18/05
|
purchase
|
42,900
|
10/19/05
|
purchase
|
44,140
|
10/20/05
|
purchase
|
9,000
|
10/25/05
|
purchase
|
29,000
|
10/31/05
|
purchase
|
51,053
|
11/1/05
|
purchase
|
8,416
|
11/2/05
|
purchase
|
26,794
|
11/3/05
|
Purchase
or Sale
|
Number
of Shares
|
Date
|
purchase
|
3,477
|
11/4/05
|
purchase
|
4,100
|
11/7/05
|
purchase
|
7,200
|
11/8/05
|
purchase
|
52,040
|
11/9/05
|
purchase
|
12,000
|
11/10/05
|
purchase
|
45,000
|
11/11/05
|
purchase
|
11,240
|
11/21/05
|
purchase
|
30,150
|
11/23/05
|
purchase
|
7,100
|
11/25/05
|
purchase
|
6,000
|
11/28/05
|
purchase
|
18,125
|
11/30/05
|
purchase
|
9,100
|
12/1/05
|
purchase
|
24,200
|
12/2/05
|
purchase
|
1,000
|
12/5/05
|
purchase
|
58,500
|
12/12/05
|
purchase
|
41,210
|
12/13/05
|
purchase
|
37,167
|
12/14/05
|
purchase
|
4,500
|
12/20/05
|
purchase
|
3,000
|
12/21/05
|
purchase
|
16,420
|
12/22/05
|
purchase
|
24,615
|
12/23/05
|
purchase
|
3,300
|
12/27/05
|
purchase
|
82,374
|
12/28/05
|
purchase
|
64,389
|
12/30/05
|
purchase
|
27,512
|
1/6/06
|
purchase
|
79,467
|
1/9/06
|
sale
|
79,467
|
1/9/06
|
purchase
|
12,435
|
1/11/06
|
sale
|
15,000
|
1/24/06
|
purchase
|
800
|
1/25/06
|
sale
|
17,448
|
1/27/06
|
sale
|
22,150
|
1/30/06
|
purchase
|
27,200
|
2/1/06
|
purchase
|
58,500
|
2/2/06
|
sale
|
34,450
|
2/7/06
|
sale
|
11,000
|
2/8/06
|
sale
|
14,900
|
2/15/06
|
purchase
|
46,049
|
2/16/06
|
sale
|
9,249
|
2/17/06
|
purchase
|
103,500
|
2/22/06
|
sale
|
30,000
|
3/14/06
|
purchase
|
36,000
|
3/15/06
|
sale
|
48,500
|
3/15/06
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
3/16/06
|
purchase
|
11,475
|
3/17/06
|
purchase
|
7,525
|
3/20/06
|
purchase
|
1,000
|
3/23/06
|
Purchase
or Sale
|
Number
of Shares
|
Date
|
purchase
|
3,200
|
3/29/06
|
sale
|
12,100
|
3/29/06
|
purchase
|
1,400
|
3/30/06
|
purchase
|
31,600
|
4/3/06
|
purchase
|
25,000
|
4/4/06
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
4/5/06
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
4/6/06
|
purchase
|
22,000
|
4/17/06
|
purchase
|
6,891
|
4/21/06
|
purchase
|
27,300
|
4/28/06
|
purchase
|
23,548
|
5/10/06
|
purchase
|
23,700
|
5/19/06
|
purchase
|
41,700
|
6/9/06
|
purchase
|
27,000
|
6/13/06
|
purchase
|
17,800
|
6/28/06
|
purchase
|
10,000
|
6/30/06
|
purchase
|
17,488
|
7/11/06
|
purchase
|
16,000
|
7/13/06
|
purchase
|
39,956
|
8/2/06
|
purchase
|
2,600
|
8/3/06
|
purchase
|
5,000
|
8/4/06
|
purchase
|
2,000
|
8/7/06
|
purchase
|
3,700
|
8/8/06
|
purchase
|
1,000
|
8/9/06
|
purchase
|
2,200
|
8/10/06
|
purchase
|
3,100
|
8/11/06
|
purchase
|
7,000
|
8/14/06
|
Purchase
or Sale
|
Number
of Shares
|
Date
|
sale*
|
1,000
|
10/27/04
|
sale*
|
1,000
|
10/27/04
|
sale*
|
1,000
|
10/27/04
|
sale*
|
1,000
|
10/27/04
|
purchase**
|
5,000
|
11/1/04
|
sale
|
1,000
|
12/3/04
|
purchase***
|
2,000
|
12/16/04
|
sale
|
1,000
|
1/20/05
|
purchase****
|
2,500
|
9/6/05
|
purchase***
|
2,000
|
11/21/05
|
sold
|
1,000
|
5/9/06
|
sold
|
600
|
5/12/06
|
purchase***
|
6,000
|
6/19/06
|
* |
Sale
of Delcath 2003 Warrant
|
** |
Exercise
of warrant
|
*** |
Exercise
of stock option
|
**** |
Grant
of common shares
|
1. |
The
removal without cause of M.S. Koly, Samuel Herschkowitz, M.D.,
Mark A.
Corigliano, Daniel Isdaner and Victor Nevins as directors of the
Company
and any other person or persons (other than the persons elected
pursuant
to this proposed action by written consent) elected or appointed
to the
Board of Directors of the Company prior to the effectiveness of
these
Proposals.
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
||
Consent
|
Withhold
Consent
|
Abstain
|
2. |
The
election of the following five persons as directors of the Company
to fill
the vacancies resulting from Proposal 1: Jonathan A. Foltz, Michael
Karpf,
M.D., Robert B. Ladd, Paul William Frederick Nicholls and Fred
S.
Zeidman.
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
||
Consent
|
Withhold
Consent
|
Abstain
|
3. |
The
repeal of each provision of the Company’s Bylaws or amendments of the
Bylaws that are adopted after December 31, 2005 and before the
effectiveness of the foregoing two Proposals (as of the date of
the
accompanying consent solicitation statement, we are not aware of
any
changes to the Company’s Bylaws that were adopted after December 31,
2005).
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
||
Consent
|
Withhold
Consent
|
Abstain
|
Date:
|
,
2006
|
Signature:
|
|
Signature:
(if
held jointly)
|
|
Title(s):
|
|