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): June 28, 2010

 

L.B. Foster Company

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Pennsylvania (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)		000-10436 (Commission File Number)		25-1324733 (IRS Employer Identification No.)

415 Holiday Drive Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Address of Principal Executive Offices)		15220 (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (412) 928-3417

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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):

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 8.01		Other Events.

     On June 28, 2010, L.B. Foster Company (“L.B. Foster”) issued a press release announcing that the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “Antitrust Division”) has informally raised antitrust concerns to L.B. Foster’s proposed acquisition of Portec Rail Products, Inc. (“Portec”). The Antitrust Division has expressed concern that the proposed acquisition may have a potentially anti-competitive effect with respect to the merged company’s rail joint business. As a condition to the proposed acquisition, the DOJ may seek various restructuring alternatives, possibly including the sale of certain assets associated with the merged company's rail joint business. L.B. Foster is evaluating this matter. The press release also announced that, on June 24, 2010, the Court of Common Please of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania has dissolved the preliminary injunction issued on April 21, 2010, which enjoined the completion of L.B. Foster’s offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Portec.

Item 9.01		Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press Release issued by L.B. Foster Company dated June 28, 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.

Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.		Description
99.1		Press Release issued by L.B. Foster Company dated June 28, 2010.

Exhibit 99.1

L.B. Foster Announces Dissolution of Preliminary Injunction on Proposed Acquisition of Portec Rail Products, Inc.; Department of Justice Evaluation is Ongoing

PITTSBURGH, June 28, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — On February 16, 2010, L.B. Foster Company (“L.B. Foster”, NASDAQ: FSTR) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Foster Thomas Company, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Portec Rail Products, Inc. (“Portec”, NASDAQ: PRPX). Pursuant to the merger agreement, L.B. Foster, through its subsidiary, commenced a tender offer for all of Portec’s common stock at a price of $11.71 per share. The tender offer currently is set to expire on July 30, 2010 and is subject to all necessary antitrust clearances under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

L.B. Foster today announced that the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania has dissolved the preliminary injunction issued on April 21, 2010, which had enjoined the completion of L.B. Foster’s tender offer. Mr. Stan L. Hasselbusch, L.B. Foster’s Chief Executive Officer, commented “We are pleased that this obstacle to L.B. Foster’s acquisition of Portec has been removed”.

L.B. Foster also announced the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) informally has raised antitrust concerns to L.B. Foster’s proposed acquisition of Portec. Stan Hasselbusch further stated “The DOJ has set forth a concern that the proposed acquisition has potentially anti-competitive effects with respect to the merged company’s rail joint business. Although the DOJ has not made a final determination, the DOJ may seek, as a condition to the proposed acquisition, various restructuring alternatives, possibly including the sale of certain assets associated with the merged company's rail joint business. L.B. Foster is evaluating this matter.”

About L.B. Foster Company

L.B. Foster is a leading manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of products and services for the rail, construction, energy and utility markets with approximately 30 locations throughout the United States. The Company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. Please visit our Website: www.lbfoster.com.

About Portec Rail Products, Inc.

Established in 1906, Portec serves both domestic and international rail markets by manufacturing, supplying and distributing a broad range of rail products, rail anchors, rail spikes, railway friction management products and systems, rail joints, railway wayside data collection and data management systems and freight car securement systems. Portec also manufactures material handling equipment for industries outside the rail transportation sector through its United Kingdom operation. Portec operates through its four global business segments: Railway

Maintenance Products (Salient Systems), Shipping Systems, Portec Rail Nova Scotia Company in Canada (Kelsan friction management, rail anchor and spike products), and Portec Rail Products, Ltd. in the UK (material handling and Coronet Rail products). Portec is headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements”. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the anticipated timing of the closing of the transaction involving L.B. Foster and Portec and the expected benefits of the transaction, including potential synergies and cost savings, future financial and operating results, and the combined company’s plans and objectives. In addition, statements made in this communication about anticipated financial results, future operational improvements and results or regulatory approvals are also forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from L.B. Foster’s and Portec’s expectations.

Risks and uncertainties include the satisfaction of closing conditions for the acquisition, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act; the tender of sixty-five percent of the outstanding shares of common stock of Portec Rail Products, Inc., calculated on a fully diluted basis; the possibility that the transaction will not be completed, or if completed, not completed on a timely basis; the potential that market segment growth will not follow historical patterns; general industry conditions and competition; business and economic conditions, such as interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; technological advances and patents attained by competitors; and domestic and foreign governmental laws and regulations. L.B. Foster can give no assurance that any of the transactions related to the tender offer will be completed or that the conditions to the tender offer and the merger will be satisfied. A further list and description of additional business risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in Portec’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, as well as other Portec SEC filings and in L.B. Foster’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 as well as other L.B. Foster SEC filings. Copies of these filings, as well as subsequent filings, are available online at www.sec.gov, www.portecrail.com and www.lbfoster.com. Many of the factors that will determine the outcome of the subject matter of this communication are beyond L.B. Foster’s or Portec’s ability to control or predict. Neither L.B. Foster nor Portec undertakes to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments.

Important Additional Information

The tender offer (the “Offer”) described in this press release for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Portec has been made pursuant to a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO, containing an offer to purchase, a letter of transmittal and other documents relating to the Offer (the “Tender Offer Documents”), which L.B. Foster and Foster Thomas Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of L.B. Foster, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and first mailed to Portec stockholders on February 26, 2010. Also on February 26, 2010, Portec filed with the SEC a related Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 (the “Solicitation/Recommendation Statement”) with the SEC. This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase shares of common stock of Portec, nor is it a substitute for the Tender Offer Documents. Portec stockholders are strongly advised to read the Tender Offer Documents, the Solicitation/
Recommendation Statement and other relevant materials as they become available, because they contain important information about the Offer that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer.

Portec stockholders can obtain copies of these materials (and all other related documents filed with the SEC), when available, at no charge on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Tender Offer Documents by mailing a request to: Jeff Kondis, Manager, Corporate Marketing, L.B. Foster Company, 415 Holiday Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15220, or by email to: jkondis@lbfosterco.com, and free copies of the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement by mailing a request to: John N. Pesarsick, Chief Financial Officer, Portec Rail Products, Inc., 900 Old Freeport Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238, or by email to: jpesarsick@portecrail.com. Investors and Portec stockholders may also read and copy any reports, statements and other information filed by L.B. Foster or Portec with the SEC, at the SEC public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or visit the SEC’s website for further information on its public reference room.

Contact information: David Voltz, (412) 928-3431, voltz@lbfosterco.com