<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000769520-24-000028.txt : 20240904
<SEC-HEADER>0000769520-24-000028.hdr.sgml : 20240904
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20240725104229
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000769520-24-000028
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20240725

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			MIDDLEBY Corp
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000769520
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	REFRIGERATION & SERVICE INDUSTRY MACHINERY [3580]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	06 Technology
		IRS NUMBER:				363352497
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1228

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1400 TOASTMASTER DRIVE
		CITY:			ELGIN
		STATE:			IL
		ZIP:			60120
		BUSINESS PHONE:		8477413300

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1400 TOASTMASTER DRIVE
		CITY:			ELGIN
		STATE:			IL
		ZIP:			60120

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	MIDDLEBY CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19920703
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
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<title>Document</title></head><body><div id="ib8ab9267f5714989b971ad487415f5c0_35"></div><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div style="text-align:right"><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">File No. 001-09973</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">July 25, 2024</font></div><div style="padding-left:108pt;text-indent:36pt"><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">VIA EDGAR</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Joseph Kempf</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Division of Corporation Finance</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Office of Technology</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">100 F Street, NE</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Washington, D.C. 20549</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Re&#58;</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Middleby Corp</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 30, 2023</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Filed February 28, 2024</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Form 8-K Dated May 8, 2024</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">Filed on May 8, 2024</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">File No. 001-09973</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Aptos',san-serif;font-size:11pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Dear Joseph Kempf&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">Set forth below is the response of The Middleby Corporation (the &#34;Company&#34;) to the comment letter of the staff (the &#34;Staff&#34;) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the &#34;SEC&#34;), dated July 11, 2024 (the &#34;Comment Letter&#34;), regarding the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2023, filed on February 28, 2024 (the &#34;Form 10-K&#34;) and Form 8-K for the quarter ended March 30, 2024, filed on May 8, 2024 (the &#8220;Form 8-K&#8221;).</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">The Company's response to the Comment Letter is preceded by the Staff's comment in its entirety, with the Company's corresponding response set forth immediately following.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%;text-decoration:underline">Response dated July 25, 2024</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Form 10-K for the Year Ended December 30, 2023, Filed February 28, 2024 </font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Results of Operations</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Net Sales, page 32</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">1. In light of the material period to period changes in your net sales, describe and quantify the extent to which such changes are attributable to changes in prices or to changes in the volume or amount of goods or services being sold or to the introduction of new products or services, as required by Item 303(b)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-K.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%;text-decoration:underline">Middleby&#8217;s Response&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">We have reviewed and acknowledge the Staff&#8217;s comment. In the future, if there are changes to pricing, volume or the amount of goods or services sold, or the introduction of new products or services that materially impact our financial results, we will describe those changes in future filings. With respect to quantifying the extent to which any such material changes in net sales from period to period may be attributable to specific changes in prices, however, we do not assess specific pricing impacts at a granular level when analyzing changes in our net sales. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">1</font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Across our businesses, we offer many products that are sold at varying prices to different customers in several different regions. For example, changes in unit volumes may be driven in part by pricing as a result of promotions or from groups of products sold at a combined price or discount from the prices of the same products sold separately. New product launches and product discontinuations also contribute to changes in product mix that lead to different price and volume outcomes from period to period. </font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">As a result, when assessing changes in net sales, our management considers, among other things, overall pricing actions and how those actions apply to various product lines and customers. They also consider qualitative information about the processes to implement pricing actions and how such pricing actions have or may, on their own, impact demand or volume. If material, we include a description of these factors in our filings.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">We believe, based on these considerations and with our commitment in response to the Staff&#8217;s comment to describe material changes that are attributable to changes in prices or to changes in the volume or amount of goods or services being sold or the introduction of new products or services, our disclosures will comply with the requirements of Item 303(b)(2)(ii) of Regulation S-K.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:112%">Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses, page 33</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:112%">2. We note that unquantified lower compensation costs, professional fees, and intangible amortization expense partially offset higher but unquantified selling and marketing expenses. Please revise here and elsewhere, as applicable, to quantify the impact of each material factor when your results are impacted by two or more factors.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%;text-decoration:underline">Middleby&#8217;s Response&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">We have reviewed and acknowledge the Staff&#8217;s comment. In future filings, our disclosures will quantify the factors that resulted in material changes in selling, general, and administrative expenses from period to period. Such disclosure would be substantially similar to the example disclosure below, with appropriate adjustments to reflect the material factors for the relevant period. The following is an example of how we will enhance the disclosure in future filings, using the identified disclosure from the Form 10-K (changes noted in </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">bold</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">)&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">Combined selling, general, and administrative expenses increased by $9.7 million to $806.9 million in fiscal 2023 from $797.2 million in 2022. As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses amounted to 20.0% in fiscal 2023 and 19.8% in fiscal 2022.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">Selling, general and administrative expenses reflect increased costs of $33.6 million associated with acquisitions, including $5.6 million of non-cash intangible amortization expense.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">Selling, general and administrative expenses </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">reflect decreases </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">in intangible amortization expense</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%"> </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">of </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">$16.8 million</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">, compensation costs including commissions of </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">$7.8 million</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">, and professional fees of</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%"> $5.4 million</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">. These decreases were partially offset by </font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">$8.5 million</font><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%"> attributed to higher selling and marketing expenses. Foreign exchange rates had an unfavorable impact of $2.2 million.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Form 8-K Dated and Filed on May 8, 2024</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:107%">Exhibit 99.1</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:700;line-height:120%">The Middleby Corporation Reports First Quarter Results, page 1</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">3. Please revise in future filings to avoid presenting non-GAAP measures, such as Adjusted</font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-style:italic;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">EBITDA and Organic adjusted EBITDA margin, in greater prominence than the presentations of the most directly comparable GAAP measures. See the answers to Question 102.10 of the guidance provided by the Division of Corporation Finance's Compliance &#38; Disclosure Interpretations of the rules and regulations on the use of non-GAAP financial measures.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">2</font></div></div></div><hr style="page-break-after:always"><div style="min-height:72pt;width:100%"><div><font><br></font></div></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%;text-decoration:underline">Middleby&#8217;s Response&#58;</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">We have reviewed the Staff&#8217;s comment and confirm that we will not present our non-GAAP measures in greater prominence than the presentation of the most directly comparable GAAP measures in our future filings.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">If you have any questions or concerns, wish to discuss, or require clarification on any of the matters addressed herein, please do not hesitate to contact me at your convenience.</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">Very truly yours,</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">&#47;s&#47; Bryan E. Mittelman</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:10pt;font-weight:400;line-height:107%">Chief Financial Officer</font></div><div style="height:72pt;position:relative;width:100%"><div style="bottom:0;position:absolute;width:100%"><div><font style="color:#000000;font-family:'Arial',sans-serif;font-size:12pt;font-weight:400;line-height:120%">3</font></div></div></div></body></html>
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