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): March 28, 2025
Quantum Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 001-13449 | 94-2665054 | ||
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) |
(Commission File Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
224 Airport Parkway, Suite 550 | ||
San Jose, CA | 95110 | |
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
(408) 944-4000
(Registrant’s telephone number,
including area code)
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:
☐ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
☐ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
☐ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered |
||
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | QMCO | Nasdaq Global Market |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter). Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Appointment of Chief Financial Officer
On April 3, 2025, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Quantum Corporation (the “Company”) appointed Lewis W. Moorehead, the Company’s Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, to serve as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer, effective as of April 4, 2025. Mr. Moorehead succeeds Kenneth P. Gianella, who will be transitioning out of his current role as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer, effective April 3, 2025, and will remain with the Company to assist the transition in an advisory role until the filing of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Moorehead, age 52, has served as the Company’s Vice President of Finance and Treasurer since June 2023, prior to which he had served as the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer from October 2018 to June 2023. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Moorehead was the Director of Finance, Accounting and Tax at Carvana, Co. (NYSE: CVNA), a publicly traded online retailer, from November 2016 to October 2018. From September 2004 to October 2016, he served as Managing Partner at Quassey, an investment firm. While at Quassey, he also served as Vice President of Finance and Principal Accounting Officer at Limelight Networks, Inc. (now Edgio, Inc.), a Nasdaq-listed global content delivery network and SaaS provider, from March 2010 to August 2013. Prior to that, he held finance and accounting positions at eTelecare Global Solutions, an outsourcing service company, Rivers and Moorehead PLLC, an accounting advisory firm, Intelligentias, Inc., a data intelligence company, American Express Company (NYSE: AXP), a payment card services company, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an advisory and tax services firm. Mr. Moorehead holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
There are no transactions between Mr. Moorehead and the Company that would be required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. There are no family relationships between Mr. Moorehead and any director or executive officer of the Company.
In connection with his appointment as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Moorehead entered into the Company’s standard indemnification agreement.
On March 28, 2025, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Letter Agreement”) with Mr. Gianella, providing for updated severance benefits under certain circumstances. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, upon execution of a definitive agreement providing for a certain qualifying transaction within 90 days of the Letter Agreement and an involuntary termination of Mr. Gianella following such date, subject to applicable withholding and the satisfaction of certain conditions set forth in the Letter Agreement, Mr. Gianella will be entitled to receive severance benefits and payments consisting of: (i) a lump sum cash payment equal to 12 months of Mr. Gianella’s then-current base salary, (ii) payment of previously awarded retention bonuses equal to an aggregate of $310,854, to the extent not previously paid, (iii) vesting of certain time-based restricted stock units, and (iv) continued health care coverage under COBRA for 12 months.
The foregoing description of the Letter Agreement does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Letter Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
Appointment of Director
On March 31, 2025, the Board, on the recommendation of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, appointed John A. Fichthorn as a director, effective April 3, 2025, to serve in such capacity until the Company’s 2025 annual meeting of stockholders or until his earlier resignation, removal or disqualification. Effective April 2, 2025, Todd W. Arden, a member of the Board, informed the Company of his decision to resign from the Board. Mr. Arden’s decision to resign is not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
Mr. Fichthorn, age 52, serves as the Founder and Managing Partner of Dialectic Capital Management, since the re-launching of Dialectic in May 2020. He is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Medtex Ventures, a medical device venture capital firm he founded in 2020. Prior to that, Mr. Fichthorn was the Head of Alternative Investments at B Riley Capital Management, LLC, an investment advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of B. Riley Financial, Inc. (“B. Riley”), from April 2017 until May 2020. Prior to B Riley, Mr. Fichthorn co-founded Dialectic Capital Management and was an equities portfolio manager and analyst from 2003 to 2017. Mr. Fichthorn previously served on the Company’s board of directors from April 2019 to July 2021. Mr. Fichthorn served on the board of directors of Benefytt, formerly called Health Insurance Innovations, Inc., a publicly traded health insurance and technology platform company, from December 2017 to August 2020, and TheMaven (now The Arena Group), a publicly traded online media company, from September 2018 to October 2021. Mr. Fichthorn also serves on the boards of directors of multiple private companies that are portfolio companies of Dialectic Capital and Medtex Ventures. Mr. Fichthorn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Astronomy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Fichthorn has significant experience in accounting and financial matters, experience serving on other public and private company boards and brings the perspective of stockholders to our Board as a result of his experience managing investment firms and being a shareholder activist.
In connection with the Assignment described below, Mr. Fichthorn was appointed as a director of the Company. Other than the information provided in Item 8.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, which is incorporated herein by reference, there are no transactions between Mr. Fichthorn and the Company that would be required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. There are no family relationships between Mr. Fichthorn and any director or executive officer of the Company.
In connection with his appointment to the Board, Mr. Fichthorn entered into the Company’s standard indemnification agreement.
Item 8.01 | Other Items. |
On April 2, 2025, certain entities affiliated with Blue Torch Finance, LLC (“Blue Torch”), agent for lenders under the Company’s Term Loan Credit and Security Agreement, dated as of August 5, 2021 (as the same has been and may further be amended, modified, supplemented, renewed, restated or replaced from time to time, the “Term Loan Credit Agreement”), assigned their rights and obligations as lenders under the Term Loan Credit Agreement, in an aggregate amount of approximately $37.8 million in Initial Term Loans and $13.5 million in Delayed Draw Term Loans, to Dialectic Technology SPV LLC (the “Assignment”). The Company’s director, Mr. Fichthorn, is the Managing Partner of Dialectic Capital Management, an investment advisor to Dialectic Technology SPV LLC.
Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit |
Description |
|
10.1# | Letter Agreement dated March 28, 2025 by and between the Company and Kenneth P. Gianella. | |
104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). |
# | Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. |
SIGNATURE
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.
Date: April 3, 2025 | QUANTUM CORPORATION | |||||
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By: | /s/ Brian E. Cabrera |
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Name: | Brian E. Cabrera | ||||
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Title: | Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, and Corporate Secretary |
Exhibit 10.1
Quantum Corporation
224 Airport Parkway
Suite 550
San Jose, CA 95110
USA
+1 [408] 944-4000
March 26, 2025
Kenneth P. Gianella
Via email
Dear Ken:
This letter agreement (this Letter Agreement) reflects the agreement between you and Quantum Corporation (the Company) regarding certain compensation matters.
Reference is made to (1) the offer letter agreement between you and the Company dated December 15, 2022 (the Employment Agreement); (2) the Executive Change of Control Agreement between you and the Company dated March 31, 2023 (the Change of Control Agreement); and (3) the retention bonus letter agreement between you and the Company dated October 24, 2024 (the Retention Agreement).
As you know, the Company has been exploring several strategic and financial initiatives to pay down and eliminate its current outstanding debt. In order to assure that the Company will have your continued dedication and objectivity during this process and to provide you with additional financial certainty, the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) and you have agreed to amend the terms of the Employment Agreement, the Change of Control Agreement and the Retention Agreement as provided in this Letter Agreement to provide for certain fixed severance rights in the event that the Company executes a definitive agreement providing for a Qualifying Transaction (as defined below) on or before the 90th day following the date of this Letter Agreement (the Deadline).
Definition of Qualifying Transaction. A Qualifying Transaction means a debt restructuring transaction that is approved by the Board after the date hereof resulting in gross proceeds to the Company and/or one or more of its current lenders of an aggregate of at least $50 million of proceeds, regardless of whether such transaction also qualifies as a Change of Control (as defined in the Change of Control Agreement), excluding any proceeds raised pursuant to the terms of that certain Standby Equity Purchase Agreement dated January 25, 2025 by and between the Company and YA II PN, Ltd.
Amended Severance Rights. If the Company executes a definitive agreement providing for a Qualifying Transaction on or before the Deadline, and you experience an Involuntary Termination (as defined in the Change of Control Agreement and as modified below) upon or following such date, then in lieu of the severance benefits contained in the Employment Agreement or the Change of Control Agreement, and subject to the Release Requirement provided below, you will be entitled to receive the following severance benefits and payments (collectively, the Severance Benefits):
• | A lump sum payment equal to 12 months’ worth of your current base salary (the Salary Severance); |
• | A lump sum payment equal to $310,854, representing the April and July 2025 bonus installments under the Retention Agreement to the extent not paid to you prior to your Involuntary Termination (the Retention Bonus); |
• | The time-based restricted stock units (RSUs) identified on Exhibit A to this Agreement will become fully vested and the restrictions thereon will lapse (the Vesting Benefit); and |
• | If you timely and properly elect health continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), the Company will reimburse you for your monthly COBRA premiums for you and your eligible dependents through the earliest of (A) the 12-month anniversary of the date of your termination of employment, (B) the date you and your eligible dependents (if any) are no longer are eligible to receive COBRA continuation coverage, and (C) the date on which you become eligible to receive substantially similar coverage from another employer (the COBRA Benefits). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company determines in its sole discretion that it cannot provide the COBRA Benefits without potentially violating applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 2716 of the Public Health Service Act), then in lieu of the COBRA Benefits, the Company will provide to you during the 12 months following your termination a taxable monthly payment in an amount equal to the monthly COBRA premium that you would be required to pay to continue coverage under the COBRA Benefits. Such payments would be made regardless of whether you elect COBRA continuation coverage, solely if the Company is unable to provide the COBRA Benefits. |
The parties agree that if your employment ends for any reason within 30 days following the execution of a definitive agreement providing for a Qualifying Transaction on or before the Deadline, then you will be deemed to have experienced an Involuntary Termination.
In addition, if you experience an Involuntary Termination following the date of this Agreement and prior to the Company executing a definitive agreement providing for a Qualifying Transaction on or before the Deadline, then in addition to the severance benefits contained in the Employment Agreement or the Change of Control Agreement, and subject to the Release Requirement provided below, you will be entitled to receive a lump sum payment equal to $310,854, representing the April and July 2025 bonus installments under the Retention Agreement to the extent not paid to you prior to your Involuntary Termination. In no case will you be paid more than $310,854 for your Retention Bonus.
Release Requirement; Payment Timing. The Severance Benefits are subject to your entering into and not revoking a release of claims in favor of the Company in substantially the form attached to your Change of Control Agreement (together with any subsequent revisions deemed necessary or advisable by the Company for compliance with applicable law) (the Release), within the period required by the Release. To the extent applicable, the Salary Severance and the Retention Bonus will be paid within two (2) business days upon the completion of the revocation period provided for in the Release, provided that you do not revoke the Release prior to such time. Subject to the foregoing, the Release will also confirm the enforceability of your Indemnification Agreement with the Company subject to and in accordance with the terms thereof, and will include a reasonable mutual nondisparagement clause and right to comment on any Company communications related to the termination of your employment.
Acknowledgements. You acknowledge and agree that in exchange for the Severance Benefits provided in this Agreement, you waive your right to receive severance pursuant to the terms of the Change of Control Agreement in the event that the Qualifying Transaction would otherwise constitute a “Change of Control” as defined therein. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that you may not resign and claim an Involuntary Termination solely by virtue of the amendments to your severance benefits provided by this Agreement. If no definitive agreement for a Qualifying Transaction is executed by the Deadline, this Agreement will become null and void, and any severance benefits to which you may be entitled in the future will be as originally provided in your Employment Agreement or Change of Control Agreement, as applicable.
Withholding; Tax Matters. The Company shall have the right to withhold from any amount payable hereunder any Federal, state, and local taxes in order for the Company to satisfy any withholding tax obligation it may have under any applicable law or regulation. In addition, Section 3 [Code Section 409A] and Section 5 [Limitation on Payments (280G)] of the Change of Control Agreement are incorporated herein by reference. For purposes of Section 409A of the Code, any installment payments provided under this Agreement shall each be treated as a separate payment.
Other Terms. This Agreement, together with the Employment Agreement, the Change of Control Agreement and the Retention Agreement, constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Company with respect to a Qualifying Transaction. The terms of this Agreement may not be amended, modified or waived, except with the prior approval of the Board, and by an instrument in writing signed by you and an authorized officer of the Company or member of the Board. This Agreement will be governed by California law without regard to conflicts of law principles. This Agreement may be executed and sent via electronic transmission and in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original for all purposes, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
[Signature Page Follows]
Thank you for your service to the Company in these challenging times. Please indicate your acceptance of the terms of this letter by signing below and returning a copy to me.
Very truly yours, | ||
QUANTUM CORPORATION | ||
/s/ Don Jaworski |
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Don Jaworski | ||
Lead Independent Director | ||
AGREED AND ACCEPTED: | ||
/s/ Kenneth P. Gianella |
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Kenneth P. Gianella | ||
Date: March 28, 2025 |