As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2007
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Registration File No: 333-_________ |
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Georgia |
58-1134883 |
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1111 Bay Avenue |
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Columbus, Georgia |
31901 |
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______________________________________________________________
SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP. 2007 OMNIBUS PLAN
(Full title of the plan)
______________________________________________________________
Kathleen Moates
Senior Vice President and Senior Deputy General Counsel
Synovus Financial Corp.
1111 Bay Avenue
Suite 501
Columbus, Georgia 31901
(706) 649-4818
(Name and address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of agent for service)
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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE | ||||
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Title of Securities to be Registered |
Amount to be Registered |
Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Share |
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price |
Amount of Registration Fee |
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Common Stock, $1.00 par value |
18,000,000(1) |
$32.26(2) |
$580,680,000(2) |
$17,826.88 |
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(1) |
Maximum number of shares which may be issued by Synovus Financial Corp. pursuant to the Synovus Financial Corp. 2007 Omnibus Plan. This Registration Statement also covers any additional shares of common stock issued or issuable as a result of a stock split or stock dividend. |
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(2) |
Determined pursuant to Rule 457(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee and represents the average of the high and low prices of the common stock of Synovus Financial Corp. on the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2007. |
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
The following documents and information previously filed by Synovus Financial Corp. (the “Company”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission are incorporated herein by reference in this Registration Statement as of their respective dates:
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a. |
The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. |
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b. |
All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Annual Report referred to in paragraph (a) above. |
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c. |
The description of the Company’s common stock contained in the Company’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 21, 1989, as amended on November 23, 2005. |
All documents filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing such documents.
Item 4. Description of Securities.
Not applicable.
Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
The legality of the securities offered hereby has been rendered by Kathleen Moates, Senior Deputy General Counsel of the Company. Ms. Moates owns shares of common stock of the Company and will be a participant in the Synovus Financial Corp. 2007 Omnibus Plan.
Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Subsection (a) of Section 14-2-851 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code provides that a corporation may indemnify or obligate itself to indemnify an individual made a party to a proceeding because he or she is or was a director against liability incurred in the proceeding if such individual conducted himself or herself in good faith and such individual reasonably believed, in the case of conduct in an official capacity, that such conduct was in the best interests of the corporation and, in all other cases, that such conduct was at least not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, in the case of any criminal proceeding, such individual had no reasonable cause to believe such conduct was unlawful. Subsection (d) of Section 14-2-851 of
the Georgia Business Corporation Code provides that a corporation may not indemnify a director in connection with a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation except for reasonable expenses incurred if it is determined that the director has met the relevant standard of conduct, or in connection with any proceeding with respect to conduct under Section 14-2-851 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code for which he was adjudged liable on the basis that personal benefit was improperly received by him, whether or not involving action in his official capacity. Notwithstanding the foregoing, pursuant to Section 14-2-854 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code, a court may order a corporation to indemnify a director or advance expenses if such court determines that the director is entitled to indemnification under the Georgia Business Corporation Code or that the director is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification or advance of expenses in view of all the relevant circumstances, whether or not such director met the standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 14-2-851 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code, failed to comply with Section 14-2-853 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code or was adjudged liable as described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d) of Section 14-2-851 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code.
Section 14-2-852 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code provides that to the extent that a director has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he was a party, because he or she is or was a director of the corporation, the corporation shall indemnify the director against reasonable expenses incurred by the director in connection therewith.
Section 14-2-857 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code provides that a corporation may indemnify and advance expenses to an officer of the corporation who is a party to a proceeding because he or she is an officer of the corporation to the same extent as a director and if he or she is not a director to such further extent as may be provided in its articles of incorporation, bylaws, resolution of its board of directors or contract except for liability arising out of conduct specified in Section 14-2-857(a)(2) of the Georgia Business Corporation Code. Section 14-2-857 of the Georgia Business Corporation Code also provides that an officer of the corporation who is not a director is entitled to mandatory indemnification under Section 14-2-852 and is entitled to apply for court ordered indemnification or advances for expenses under Section 14-2-854, in each case to the same extent as a director. In addition, Section 14-2-857 provides that a corporation may also indemnify and advance expenses to an employee or agent who is not a director to the extent, consistent with public policy, that may be provided by its articles of incorporation, bylaws, action of its board of directors or contract.
In accordance with Article VIII of the Company’s Bylaws, every person who is or was (and the heirs and personal representatives of such person) a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from and against the obligation to pay a judgment, settlement, penalty, fine (including an excise tax assessed with respect to an employee benefit plan), and reasonable expenses (including attorneys’ fees and disbursements) that may be imposed upon or incurred by him or her in connection with or resulting from any threatened, pending, or completed, action, suit, or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative, formal or informal, in which he or she is, or is threatened to be made, a named defendant or respondent: (a) because he or she is or was a director, officer,
employee, or agent of the Company; (b) because he or she is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise; or (c) because he or she is or was serving as an employee of the corporation who was employed to render professional services as a lawyer or accountant to the corporation; regardless of whether such person is acting in such a capacity at the time such obligation shall have been imposed or incurred, if (i) such person acted in a manner he or she believed in good faith to be in or not opposed to the best interest of such corporation, and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, if such person had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful or (ii) with respect to an employee benefit plan, such person believed in good faith that his or her conduct was in the interests of the participants in and beneficiaries of the plan.
Pursuant to Article VIII of the Bylaws of the Company, reasonable expenses incurred in any proceeding shall be paid by the Company in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding if authorized by the Board of Directors in the specific case, or if authorized in accordance with procedures adopted by the Board of Directors, upon receipt of a written undertaking executed personally by or on behalf of the director, officer, employee or agent to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by the Company, and a written affirmation of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct required for indemnification.
The foregoing rights of indemnification and advancement of expenses are not intended to be exclusive of any other right to which those indemnified may be entitled, and the Company has reserved the right to provide additional indemnity and rights to its directors, officers, employees or agents to the extent they are consistent with law.
The Company carries insurance for the purpose of providing indemnification to its directors and officers. Such policy provides for indemnification of the Company for losses and expenses it might incur to its directors and officers for successful defense of claims alleging negligent acts, errors, omissions or breach of duty while acting in their capacity as directors or officers and indemnification of its directors and officers for losses and expense upon the unsuccessful defense of such claims.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "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 Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company 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 Company 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.
Not applicable.
Item 8. Exhibits.
Exhibit
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4.1 |
Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2006. |
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4.2 |
Bylaws of the Company, as amended, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2006. |
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5 |
Legal opinion of Kathleen Moates, Senior Deputy General Counsel of the Company, as to the legality of the securities being offered. |
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23.1 |
Consent of KPMG LLP. |
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23.2 |
The consent of Kathleen Moates, Senior Deputy General Counsel of the Company, is contained in her opinion filed as Exhibit 5. |
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24 |
Powers of Attorney contained on the signature pages of this Registration Statement. |
Item 9. Undertakings.
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(a) |
The Company hereby undertakes: |
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(1) |
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; |
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(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 Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and
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(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 registration statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
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(2) |
That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, 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) |
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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(4) |
That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser: |
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(i) |
If the Company is relying on Rule 430B, (A) each prospectus filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be a part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement and (B) each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which such prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that |
time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is a part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date; or
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If the Company is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
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That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the Company undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the Company pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the Company will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
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(i) |
Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the Company relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
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(ii) |
Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the Company or used or referred to by the Company; |
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(iii) |
The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the Company or its securities provided by or on behalf of the Company; and |
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(iv) |
Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the |
Company to the purchaser.
(b) The Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Company’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 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 Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company 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 Company 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.
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 Columbus, State of Georgia, on the 16th day of May, 2007.
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SYNOVUS FINANCIAL CORP. |
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(Registrant) |
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By: /s/Richard E. Anthony |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Richard E. Anthony and Frederick L. Green, III and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s), with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all amendments to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with all exhibits and schedules thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s) full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney(s)-in-fact and agent(s), or their substitute(s), may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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/s/Richard E. Anthony |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Richard E. Anthony,
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/s/Frederick L. Green, III |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Frederick L. Green, III
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/s/Thomas J. Prescott |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Thomas J. Prescott,
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/s/Liliana McDaniel |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Liliana McDaniel | |
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Chief Accounting Officer | |
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/s/Daniel P. Amos |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Daniel P. Amos, | |
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Director | |
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/s/James H. Blanchard |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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James H. Blanchard |
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Director |
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/s/Richard Y. Bradley |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Richard Y. Bradley, | |
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Director | |
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/s/Frank W. Brumley |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Frank W. Brumley, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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Elizabeth W. Camp, | |
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Director | |
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/s/Gardiner W. Garrard, Jr. |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Gardiner W. Garrard, Jr., | |
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Director | |
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/s/Michael Goodrich |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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T. Michael Goodrich, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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V. Nathaniel Hansford, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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Alfred W. Jones III, | |
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Director | |
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/s/Mason H. Lampton |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Mason H. Lampton, | |
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Director | |
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/s/Elizabeth C. Ogie |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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Elizabeth C. Ogie, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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H. Lynn Page, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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J. Neal Purcell, | |
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Director | |
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Date: May __, 2007 |
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Melvin T. Stith, | |
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Director | |
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/s/William B. Turner, Jr. |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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William B. Turner, Jr., | |
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Director | |
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/s/James D. Yancey |
Date: May 16, 2007 |
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James D. Yancey, | |
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Director | |