Republic Services Inc. filed SEC Form 8-K: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
$RSG
Environmental Services
Utilities
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): May 23, 2024
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) | ||||||||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||||||||||
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (480 ) 627-2700
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class | Trading Symbol | Name of exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
| Emerging growth company | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o | |||||
| Item 5.07 | Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders | ||||
On May 23, 2024, Republic Services, Inc. (“Republic” or the “Company”) held its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting”). The shareholders voted on the matters set forth below:
1. The nominees for election to the Board of Directors were elected, each for a one-year term, based on the following votes:
| Nominee | Votes For | Votes Against | Abstentions | Broker Non-Votes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manny Kadre | 279,324,923 | 2,295,339 | 237,629 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tomago Collins | 278,775,045 | 2,769,792 | 313,054 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael A. Duffy | 279,734,023 | 1,883,882 | 239,986 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Thomas W. Handley | 272,434,274 | 9,185,011 | 238,606 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jennifer M. Kirk | 277,860,048 | 3,700,073 | 297,770 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michael Larson | 259,004,531 | 22,612,534 | 240,826 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
N. Thomas Linebarger | 279,738,301 | 1,843,994 | 275,596 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Meg Reynolds | 273,885,392 | 7,734,028 | 238,471 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James P. Snee | 277,345,117 | 4,272,294 | 240,480 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brian S. Tyler | 279,427,696 | 2,192,318 | 237,877 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jon Vander Ark | 280,962,567 | 654,285 | 241,039 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sandra M. Volpe | 276,923,224 | 4,697,909 | 236,758 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Katharine B. Weymouth | 262,736,666 | 18,880,743 | 240,482 | 12,024,118 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2. The proposal to approve the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers was approved based on the following advisory, non-binding votes:
Votes for | 274,002,683 | ||||
Votes against | 7,192,754 | ||||
Abstentions | 662,454 | ||||
Broker non-votes | 12,024,118 | ||||
3. The proposal to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for 2024 was approved based on the following votes:
Votes for | 284,558,962 | ||||
Votes against | 9,096,410 | ||||
Abstentions | 226,637 | ||||
4. The shareholder proposal to report on stakeholder impact from the Company’s climate change strategy was not approved based on the following votes:
Votes for | 42,647,383 | ||||
Votes against | 237,320,310 | ||||
Abstentions | 1,890,198 | ||||
Broker non-votes | 12,024,118 | ||||
According to an Arizona statute, if a person or group acquires 20% or more of the stock of a public corporation, the shares in excess of the 20% threshold may not be voted on matters other than the election of directors (subject to limited exceptions). This statute, on its face, applies to any public company that is headquartered in Arizona, has assets of at least $1 million in Arizona and has more than 500 Arizona employees. In a 2007 decision, a federal court in Arizona stated that the statute is unconstitutional and unenforceable in the case of an entity, like Republic, that is incorporated in Delaware. If the statute were deemed to be enforceable and applicable to us and to the shares of our common stock held by Cascade Investment, L.L.C. (“Cascade”) (which held approximately 34.9% of our common stock as of the record date for the Annual Meeting), approximately 47 million fewer shares would have been voted for each of proposals two through four, but the outcome of the decisions on those matters would not have been impacted. The Company does not currently take any position regarding the enforceability of the statute or its application to us or the common stock voted by Cascade.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| REPUBLIC SERVICES, INC. | |||||||||||
| Date: | May 28, 2024 | By: | /s/ CATHARINE D. ELLINGSEN | ||||||||
Catharine D. Ellingsen Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary | |||||||||||