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): July 12, 2010
GLOBALSTAR,
INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
|
Delaware
(State
or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation)
|
001-33117
(Commission
File
Number)
|
41-2116508
(IRS
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
|
461 South Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, California
|
95035
|
|
(Address of Principal
Executive Offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (408) 933-4000
N/A
(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:
o Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR
230.425)
o Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14d-2(b))
o Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.13e-4(c))
Item
5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;
Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements with Certain
Officers.
Effective
upon the filing of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June
30, 2010 (the “10-Q”), Fuad Ahmad will cease to be Chief Financial Officer, but
he will remain with the Company as Senior Vice President of Corporate
Development and Strategy. On July 12, 2010, the
Board of Directors elected Dirk J. Wild to become Chief Financial Officer upon
filing of the 10-Q.
Dirk J.
Wild (age 42) has been Senior Vice President of Finance of Globalstar since July
2010. He has served in several positions with The Shaw Group Inc., a
global provider of technology, engineering, procurement and facilities
management services since 2001, including as Senior Vice President
Administration from December 2007 to June 2010, Interim Chief Financial Officer
from May 2007 to October 2007, and Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting
Officer from October 2004 to December 2007. Mr. Wild is a Certified
Public Accountant (Louisiana).
Mr. Wild
does not have any family relationship with any director or executive officer of
Globalstar and has not been directly or indirectly involved in any transactions
with the Company.
Item
7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On July
13, 2010, Globalstar, Inc. issued a press release to announce the upcoming
relocation of its corporate headquarters to Covington, Louisiana. The text of
the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K.
The
information in this Item 7.01 to Current Report on Form 8-K and the Exhibit
attached hereto is furnished pursuant to the rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes
of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) or
otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed
incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the
Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such a
filing.
Item
9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
99.1 Press
release dated July 13, 2010
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.
| GLOBALSTAR, INC | ||
|
|
/s/ Peter J. Dalton | |
| Peter J. Dalton | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
Date: July
13, 2010
Exhibit
99.1
461 SO.
MILPITAS BLVD. BUILDING 5
MILPITAS
CA
95035
USA
NEWS
For
Immediate Release
GLOBALSTAR
RELOCATES CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS TO LOUISIANA
With
new second generation satellites about to be launched Globalstar begins new era
with decreased operating costs, improved speed to market for new products thanks
to vertical integration and a favorable business environment that includes State
sponsored incentives
COVINGTON, LA. -- (July
13, 2010) – Globalstar, Inc. (NASDAQ:GSAT), a leading provider of
commercial and consumer mobile satellite voice and data services, Louisiana Gov.
Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Stephen Moret
today announced that Globalstar will be re-locating its corporate headquarters
to Covington, LA. In addition, Globalstar’s product development
center, the company’s international customer care operations, call center and
other global business functions including finance, accounting, sales, marketing
and corporate communications will move to Louisiana. Globalstar
expects to relocate and create close to 150 high value jobs in Covington by the
end of 2011, increasing to 200 jobs by 2013 and a total of more than 490 by
2018.
Gov.
Jindal said, “Today’s announcement is a big win for Covington, the North Shore
and our whole state. This is exactly the kind of company that we positioned
Louisiana to secure when we created Louisiana FastStart in 2008 and enhanced our
digital media incentive program in 2009. Since early 2008, leading companies
have announced moves of their headquarters or other significant operations to
Louisiana from a wide variety of states, including California, Georgia,
Mississippi, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon and Texas. And
we’re not stopping there. With our nation still enduring tough economic times
and our state facing thousands of job losses associated with the federal
deepwater drilling moratorium, our efforts to retain and attract jobs are more
important than ever.”
“With
less than four months to go before we expect to begin launching our new
satellite constellation, this move is just another step toward rebuilding
Globalstar into the world's preeminent provider of high quality commercial
and consumer mobile satellite voice and data services,” said Jay Monroe,
Executive Chairman of Globalstar, Inc. “Relocating to Covington will
help dramatically reduce our operating costs as we execute our next generation
strategic initiatives. The telecommunications industry is extremely
competitive and we are seeing increased competition across the
industry. We are positioning Globalstar for long-term success by
lowering our cost of operations, improving revenue growth and speed to market
for new products through vertical integration and through the introduction of
new and innovative products developed in Louisiana.
“Thanks
to LED’s progressive digital interactive media incentives and tax credits,
Globalstar can expect to benefit immediately and on an annual basis well into
the future. I know the Gulf region quite well and we also have many
customers in the area. It boasts much lower taxes and employee cost
of living compared with our former home in Silicon Valley. Combined
with the work ethic and resourcefulness of the State's workforce, you
have an extremely attractive environment for innovative global companies such as
ours. I would like to thank Governor Bobby Jindal, Stephen Moret,
their respective staffs and all levels of local government involved for their
enthusiastic support and responsiveness in helping bring Globalstar to the Gulf
region.”
“Today is
a great day for Globalstar, our stockholders and employees, and we are proud to
call Covington and the state of Louisiana our new home” added Peter Dalton, CEO
Globalstar, Inc. “Louisiana’s leading universities including Loyola,
LSU, Tulane and The University of New Orleans plus the state’s reputation as a
recreational sporting enthusiast’s paradise provide an ideal environment for
recruiting highly skilled employees.”
Mr.
Dalton added, “This move also maximizes the benefits of our recent acquisition
of Covington based satellite asset tracking and messaging products manufacturer
Axonn and creates in Globalstar the first and only vertically integrated mobile
satellite company. Physically relocating our product team to work
directly with the former Axonn engineers not only decreases our pre-production
costs but it also will shorten the time to market for our company’s integrated
wireless and satellite based products. We considered relocating our
headquarters to numerous states but the overall advantages of moving here were
simply too compelling to ignore.”
Globalstar
expects to take advantage of the State’s reimbursement of relocation costs plus
a commercial lease subsidy for its new corporate headquarters and future
tax credits associated with a host of State programs. The Company
plans to maintain its network operations including its satellite and ground
operations control centers in California.
Globalstar
today announced it is strengthening its senior management team by naming three
new executives. Together with the current senior managers, these
individuals are mandated to improve and accelerate the Company’s financial
performance.
Dirk J.
Wild has joined the Company as Senior Vice President of Finance, and
will assume the role of chief financial officer in mid-August. Mr. Wild
previously served in numerous capacities, including Senior Vice President and
Chief Accounting Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer, for The Shaw Group
Inc., (NYSE symbol: SHAW) a leading global provider of technology, engineering,
procurement, and facilities management services for government and private
sector clients with approximately 27,000 global employees and over $7
billion in annual revenues. Mr. Wild holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Accounting from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Professional
Accounting from the University of Texas, Austin. Mr. Wild will lead the
transition of Globalstar's accounting, finance and other
administrative functions to Louisiana. Current Senior Vice
President and CFO Fuad Ahmad who is unable to relocate to Louisiana due to
family reasons will continue to serve as chief financial officer until
mid-August and will remain with the Company as Senior Vice President of
Corporate Development and Strategy.
Effective
immediately, L. Barbee Ponder IV has been named General Counsel and Vice
President of Regulatory Affairs for Globalstar, Inc. Mr. Ponder has previously
served as Senior Regulatory Counsel for BellSouth Corporation in Washington, D.C. where
he provided representation before the Federal Communications Commission,
Congress and the White House on issues concerning 1996 Telecommunications Act,
deregulation of broadband services and tax issues concerning the
telecommunications industry. Prior to joining BellSouth, Mr. Ponder
practiced with the Jones Walker law firm in New Orleans, where he
specialized in commercial litigation including class action defense. Mr.
Ponder will be responsible for all of Globalstar’s legal matters, including
those with the FCC and other international communications regulatory agencies.
Mr. Ponder holds a law degree (Juris Doctor with distinction) from the
Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, GA and a Bachelor of Science in
Management degree from the A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University,
New Orleans, LA. William F. Adler, who retired as Globalstar’s
General Counsel and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs in January 2010, will
continue in his present role as legal consultant to the company supporting Mr.
Ponder’s transition.
Effective
immediately, Brian Beck has been named Vice President Product Development and
Manufacturing for Globalstar, Inc. Mr. Beck has served in a number of
engineering, product design and strategic marketing roles including Director of
Engineering and Director of Business Development with Harris Corporation, a
leading wireless communications and information technology company that serves
government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. Mr.
Beck also co-founded and managed businesses in the health care industry. Mr.
Beck will be primarily responsible for product design, manufacturing and
customer service for Globalstar’s new product development center in Covington,
Louisiana. Mr. Beck holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Illinois and completed graduate studies in
business and engineering at the University of Florida.
“The
organizational changes announced today further demonstrate our commitment to our
investors and customers to grow the Company into the world’s premier provider of
mobile satellite services and consumer products,” added Mr.
Monroe. “These three experienced professionals were specifically
selected to advance and maximize our financial and next generation product
initiatives and to develop services and partnerships that further leverage
Globalstar’s global spectrum assets. Peter Dalton and I look forward
to working with the new members of our management team.”
About
Globalstar, Inc.
With
approximately 400,000 activated satellite voice and data units, Globalstar
offers high value, high quality satellite services to commercial and
recreational users in more than 120 countries around the world. The Company's
voice and data products include mobile and fixed satellite telephones, simplex
and duplex satellite data modems and flexible service packages. Many land based
and maritime industries benefit from Globalstar with increased productivity from
remote areas beyond cellular and landline service. Global customer segments
include: oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing,
utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness,
and business continuity as well as individual recreational users. Globalstar
data solutions are ideal for various asset tracking, data monitoring and SCADA
applications.
Safe
Harbor Language for Globalstar Releases
This
press release contains certain statements such as, “Globalstar expects to take
advantage of the State’s reimbursement of relocation costs plus a commercial
lease subsidy for its new corporate headquarters and future tax credits
associated with a host of State programs,” that are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
These statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, including demand for our
products and services, including commercial acceptance of our Simplex products
and the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, our ability to retain and migrate our
two-way communications services subscribers to our second-generation
constellation when it is deployed; problems relating to the construction, launch
or in-orbit performance of our existing and future satellites, including the
effects of the degrading ability of our first-generation satellite constellation
to support two-way communication; problems relating to the ground-based
facilities operated by us or by independent gateway operators; competition and
its competitiveness vis-a-vis other providers of satellite and ground-based
communications products and services; the pace and effects of industry
consolidation; the continued availability of launch insurance on commercially
reasonable terms, and the effects of any insurance exclusions; changes in
technology; our ability to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel;
worldwide economic, geopolitical and business conditions and risks associated
with doing business on a global basis; and legal, regulatory, and tax
developments, including changes in domestic and international government
regulation.
Any
forward-looking statements made in this press release speak as of the date made
and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results or developments may
differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements, and we undertake no obligation to update any such
statements. Additional information on factors that could influence our financial
results is included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
Current Reports on Form 8-K.
###
For
further media
information:
Globalstar,
Inc.
Dean
Hirasawa
(408)
933-4006
Dean.hirasawa@globalstar.com