If the Merger Agreement is terminated due to Ryerson’s board of directors changing or withdrawing its recommendation in connection with the Merger, or due to Ryerson committing a willful and material breach of its non-solicitation obligations, Ryerson will be required to pay to Olympic $15 million. If the Merger Agreement is terminated due to Olympic’s board of directors changing its recommendation in connection with the Merger, or due to Olympic committing a willful and material breach of its non-solicitation obligations, then Olympic will be required to pay Ryerson $15 million. In addition, if the Merger Agreement is terminated due to either party’s failure to obtain stockholder approval (and Ryerson’s board of directors has not changed or withdrawn its recommendation in connection with the Merger), Ryerson or Olympic, as applicable, will be required to reimburse the other party for its expenses incurred in connection with the transaction in an amount not to exceed $10 million.
The Merger Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing description does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement.
The Merger Agreement has been included to provide securityholders and investors with information regarding its terms. It is not intended to provide any other factual information about Ryerson, Olympic or any other person. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Merger Agreement were made solely for purposes of the Merger Agreement and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to the Merger Agreement, may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties, including being qualified by confidential disclosures made for the purposes of allocating contractual risk between the parties to the Merger Agreement instead of establishing these matters as facts, and may be subject to standards of materiality applicable to the contracting parties that differ from those applicable to securityholders. Securityholders and investors are not third-party beneficiaries under the Merger Agreement and should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of Ryerson or Olympic. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in Ryerson’s or Olympic’s public disclosures.
| Item 5.02 |
Departure of Directors or Principal Officers, Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers. |
Ryerson Board Changes and Officer Appointments
In connection with the Closing of the Merger Agreement, Stephen Larson, a director of Ryerson, notified Ryerson of his intent to resign from the Ryerson Board, effective upon the closing of the Merger. The resignation is not the result of any disagreements with Ryerson relating to Ryerson’s operations, policies or practices.
Upon Closing, Michael Siegal, age 72, will be appointed as the Chair of the Ryerson Board. In connection with Mr. Siegal’s expected appointment to the Ryerson Board, Ryerson and Mr. Siegal entered into a letter agreement (the “Board Chair Letter Agreement”). As set forth in the Board Chair Letter Agreement, at the Effective Time there will be no changes to Mr. Siegal’s compensation.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Siegal and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected to be the Chair of the Ryerson Board, other than as set forth in the Merger Agreement and the Board Chair Letter Agreement. There are no family relationships between Mr. Siegal and any previous or current officers or directors of Ryerson. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Ryerson agreed to appoint, subject to and effective upon the Closing, Zachary Siegal, the son of Mr. Siegal, as the Senior Vice President, Business Development of Ryerson. Upon appointment, Zachary Siegal will be compensated in a manner that is appropriate for his responsibilities and experience. Except as set forth herein, there are no related party transactions with respect to Mr. Siegal reportable under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
The foregoing description of the Board Chair Letter Agreement does not purport to be a complete description of the rights and obligations of the parties thereunder and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Board Chair Letter Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
President, Chief Operating Officer Appointee
Contingent and effective upon the Effective Time, on October 28, 2025, Ryerson and Olympic entered into a Letter Agreement (the “Letter Agreement”), with Richard Marabito, Chief Executive Officer of Olympic, pursuant to which Mr. Marabito will be appointed as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Ryerson at the Effective Time. Mr. Marabito, age 61, has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Olympic since January 2019. From March 2000 through December 2018, Mr. Marabito served as Olympic’s Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Marabito joined Olympic in 1994 as Corporate Controller and served in this capacity until March 2000. Mr. Marabito also served as Treasurer from 1994 through 2002 and again from 2010 through 2012. Prior to joining Olympic, Mr. Marabito served as Corporate Controller for a publicly traded wholesale distribution company and was employed by a national accounting firm in its audit department. Mr. Marabito currently serves on the board of the American Iron and Steel Institute and on the Board of Trustees for the University of Mount Union. Since August 2021, Mr. Marabito has served on the Board and currently serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee of CBIZ, Inc., one of the nation’s top providers of accounting, tax and advisory services.
Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, at the Effective Time Mr. Marabito will be entitled to receive a one-time sign on award with a grant date fair value of $3,880,000 restricted stock units, which will vest on the third anniversary of the Closing, subject to Mr. Marabito’s continued employment through such date. There will be no additional changes to Mr. Siegal’s compensation arrangements as a result of this appointment at this time.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Marabito and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as President and Chief Operating Officer of Ryerson, other than as set forth in the Merger Agreement and the Letter Agreement. There are no family relationships between Mr. Marabito and any previous or current officers or directors of Ryerson, and there are no related party transactions with respect to Mar. Marabito reportable under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
The foregoing description of the Letter Agreement does not purport to be a complete description of the rights and obligations of the parties thereunder and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Letter Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.