PATI Patriot Transportation Holding Inc

 

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

SCHEDULE 14A

 

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Filed by the Registrant ☒

Filed by a Party other than the Registrant ☐

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☐	Preliminary Proxy Statement
☐	Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
☐	Definitive Proxy Statement
☐	Definitive Additional Materials
☒	Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12

 

PATRIOT TRANSPORTATION HOLDING, INC. 

(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)

 

(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)

 

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☒	No fee required
☐	Fee paid previously with preliminary materials
☐	Fee computed on table in exhibit required by Item 25(b) per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11

 

 

Robert Sandlin, Chief Executive Officer of Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc. (“Patriot”), released a video to employees of Patriot regarding the proposed merger involving Patriot and United Petroleum Transports, Inc. (“UPT”). Below is a transcript of the video.

 

Hello, my name is Rob Sandlin, CEO of Patriot Transportation. Today, I am here to announce that Patriot’s board of directors has approved a merger with United Petroleum Transport, based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Both the executive team and the board of Patriot evaluated this merger with great care and diligence and, above all else, we feel this provides all of our employees with a great opportunity for stability, growth and longevity in a larger, yet private organization. I have known Greg Price, UPT’s Chairman and owner, for more than 20 years and have enjoyed getting to know Matt Herndon, UPT’s CEO, over the last year. UPT is a great company with a very similar culture and operating structure to Patriot and Florida Rock & Tank Lines. The combination of these companies will create a top 10 tank truck company operating from Arizona to the east coast with over 900 professional truck drivers and more than 30 terminals.

 

How does this impact our people here at Patriot and FRTL? Once the transaction is closed, we will continue to operate as Florida Rock & Tank Lines and the business will continue to run as we operate today. The management will remain in place with very similar roles and we look forward to growing our customer base, expanding our service offerings and growing into new markets with the UPT team. It is important so I will repeat, we will continue operating as Florida Rock & Tank Lines and our terminals will continue to operate as they do today.

 

Will there ultimately be some changes over time? Of course there will, but I can assure you that the combined management team will be reviewing the best practices of each company and coming out on the other end even better than either company operates today. I have been with Patriot and FRTL for over 39 years and plan to stay with the new organization, as does Matt McNulty, to be part of an exciting future for us all.

 

What happens next? As with any transaction, there is work to be done in the coming months and we would expect to close the merger sometime in the next 90 days. Greg and Matt Herndon will want to travel along with our management to visit our terminals and meet our team. We will keep you posted along the way, but please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

 

Finally, I want to thank our board, shareholders and the Baker family for being such great supporters of our business and our people over the years. It is a testament to all of our employees that Greg and Matt selected Patriot as their partner of choice to build the future. Let’s all work together to make the future exciting and successful.

 

I look forward to seeing you soon.

 

  

Additional Information About the Merger and Where to Find It 

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed merger involving Patriot and UPT. A meeting of the shareholders of Patriot will be announced to seek shareholder approval in connection with the proposed merger. Patriot will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) a proxy statement and other relevant documents in connection with the proposed merger. The definitive proxy statement will be sent or given to the shareholders of Patriot and will contain important information about the proposed merger and related matters. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF PATRIOT TRANSPORTATION HOLDING, INC. SHOULD READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT PATRIOT TRANSPORTATION HOLDING, INC., UNITED PETROLEUM TRANSPORTS, INC., AND THE MERGER. Investors may obtain a free copy of these materials (when they are available) and other documents filed by Patriot with the SEC at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, at Patriot’s website at www.patriottrans.com or by sending a written request to the Patriot’s Secretary at 200 W. Forsyth Street, 7^th Floor, Jacksonville, FL 32202.

 

Participants in the Solicitation 

Patriot and its directors, executive officers and certain other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in soliciting proxies from its shareholders in connection with the merger. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be considered to be participants in the solicitation of Patriot’s shareholders in connection with the merger will be set forth in Patriot’s definitive proxy statement for its shareholder meeting. Additional information regarding these individuals and any direct or indirect interests they may have in the merger will be set forth in the definitive proxy statement when it is filed with the SEC in connection with the merger. Information relating to the foregoing can also be found in Patriot’s definitive proxy statement for its 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the “Annual Meeting Proxy Statement”), which was filed with the SEC on December 9, 2022. To the extent that holdings of Patriot’s securities have changed since the amounts set forth in the Annual Meeting Proxy Statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC.

 

Forward Looking Statements 

This announcement contains “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the completion of the merger. These forward-looking statements are generally denoted by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “aim,” “target,” “plan,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “should,” and similar expressions. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. These factors include, but are not limited to: (a) the satisfaction of the conditions precedent to the consummation of the merger, including, without limitation, the timely receipt of shareholder approval; (b) uncertainties as to the timing of the merger and the possibility that the merger may not be completed, including uncertainties regarding UPT’s ability to finance the merger; (c) unanticipated difficulties or expenditures relating to the merger; (d) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement, including, in circumstances which would require Patriot to pay a termination fee; (e) legal proceedings, judgments or settlements, including those that may be instituted against Patriot, Patriot’s Board of Directors, Patriot’s executive officers and others following the announcement of the merger; (f) disruptions of current plans and operations caused by the announcement and pendency of the merger; (g) risks related to disruption of management’s attention from Patriot’s ongoing business operations due to the merger; (h) potential difficulties in employee retention due to the announcement and pendency of the merger; (i) the response of customers, suppliers, drivers and regulators to the announcement and pendency of the merger; (j) disruptions in the execution of plans, strategies, goals and objectives of management for future operations caused by the merger; (k) changes in accounting standards or tax rates, laws or regulations; (l) economic, market, business or geopolitical conditions (including resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions, or the conflict in the Middle East) or competition, or changes in such conditions, negatively affecting Patriot’s business, operations and financial performance; (m) risks that the price of Patriot’s common stock may decline significantly if the merger is not completed; (n) the possibility that Patriot could, following the merger, engage in operational or other changes that could result in meaningful appreciation in its value; and (o) the possibility that Patriot could, at a later date, engage in unspecified transactions, including restructuring efforts, special dividends or the sale of some or all of Patriot’s assets to one or more as yet unknown purchasers, which could conceivably produce a higher aggregate value than that available to Patriot’s shareholders in the merger. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or if any occur, what effect they will have on Patriot’s results of operations or financial condition.

 

If the proposed merger is consummated, Patriot’s shareholders will cease to have any equity interest in Patriot and will have no right to participate in its earnings and future growth. Other factors that could impact Patriot’s forward-looking statements are identified and described in more detail in Patriot’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2022 as well as Patriot’s subsequent filings and quarterly reports and is available online at www.sec.gov. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Patriot’s projections and other forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. Except as required by applicable law, Patriot undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

 

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