<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001193125-18-270028.txt : 20180910
<SEC-HEADER>0001193125-18-270028.hdr.sgml : 20180910
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20180910160601
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001193125-18-270028
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	DEFA14A
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20180910
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20180910
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20180910

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORP
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001092796
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	ORDNANCE & ACCESSORIES, (NO VEHICLES/GUIDED MISSILES) [3480]
		IRS NUMBER:				870543688
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			NV
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0430

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		DEFA14A
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	001-31552
		FILM NUMBER:		181062811

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2100 ROOSEVELT AVENUE
		CITY:			SPRINGFIELD
		STATE:			MA
		ZIP:			01104
		BUSINESS PHONE:		844-363-5386

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2100 ROOSEVELT AVENUE
		CITY:			SPRINGFIELD
		STATE:			MA
		ZIP:			01104

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS CORPORATON
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20170103

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	SMITH & WESSON HOLDING CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20020315

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	SAF T HAMMER CORP/NV
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	20000404
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>DEFA14A
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>d606300ddefa14a.htm
<DESCRIPTION>DEFA14A
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 <P STYLE="line-height:1.0pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;border-bottom:1px solid #000000">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="line-height:3.0pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:2pt;border-bottom:1px solid #000000">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:18pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>UNITED STATES </B></P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:18pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION </B></P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>Washington, D.C. 20549 </B></P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P><center>
<P STYLE="line-height:6.0pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:2pt;border-bottom:1.00pt solid #000000;width:21%">&nbsp;</P></center> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:18pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>SCHEDULE 14A
</B></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the </B></P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:12pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;) </B></P>
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<P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Filed by the Registrant&nbsp;&nbsp;&#9746; </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Filed by a Party
other than the Registrant&nbsp;&nbsp;&#9744;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Check the appropriate box: </P> <P STYLE="font-size:6pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">Preliminary Proxy Statement</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom"><B>Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))</B></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
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<TD VALIGN="bottom">Definitive Proxy Statement</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9746;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">Definitive Additional Materials</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
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<TD VALIGN="bottom">Soliciting Material Pursuant to &#167;240.14a-12</TD></TR></TABLE> <P STYLE="margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:22pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>American
Outdoor Brands Corporation </B></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>(Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter) </B></P>
<P STYLE="font-size:18pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:8pt; font-family:Times New Roman" ALIGN="center"><B>(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if Other Than the Registrant)
</B></P> <P STYLE="margin-top:18pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box): </P>
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<TD VALIGN="top" COLSPAN="3">No fee required.</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
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<TD VALIGN="top" COLSPAN="3">Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11.</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">(1)</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">(2)</TD>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing
fee is calculated and state how it was determined):</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">(5)</TD>
<TD VALIGN="bottom">&nbsp;</TD>
<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Total fee paid:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top">&#9744;</TD>
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<TD VALIGN="top" COLSPAN="3">Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top" COLSPAN="3">Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement
number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.</TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Amount Previously Paid:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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<TD VALIGN="top"> <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Filing Party:</P> <P STYLE="font-size:12pt;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt">&nbsp;</P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:1pt; border-bottom:1px solid #000000; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P></TD></TR>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman"><B>Response to ISS Report on American Outdoor Brands Corporation </B></P>
<P STYLE="margin-top:6pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">On September&nbsp;7, 2018, ISS issued its Proxy Analysis&nbsp;&amp; Benchmark Policy Voting Recommendation, or ISS Report, related to the
annual meeting of stockholders of American Outdoor Brands Corporation. We are extremely disappointed in ISS&#146; recommendation that the shareholder proposal warrants shareholder support. That proposal would require us to issue a report on our gun
safety measures and activities to mitigate harm associated with gun violence as well as the associated reputational risks to us. As explained more fully below, ISS&#146; recommendation is based on misinformation, a misunderstanding of how the
firearms industry operates, and, most especially, a misplaced reliance on the true motives behind proponent&#146;s proposal. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Proponent
requests that we monitor violent events associated with our firearms and implies that such monitoring would somehow make our communities safer and reduce criminal behavior. As explained in our opposition statement in our definitive proxy statement
and in additional proxy materials filed with the SEC, or opposition statements, such monitoring is not possible since our firearms are lawfully sold to federally licensed distributors, large retailers, and cooperative buying groups. We do not
transfer our firearms to <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">end-consumers</FONT> and have no way of monitoring or impacting the criminal misuse of our firearms. According to ATF reported data, as of 2017, the average time elapsed from the first sale
of a firearm to recovery in a crime was 9.30 years. We have no accurate or reliable means of tracing the chain of use, retail distribution, or ownership of any of our firearms after they are initially sold by us. Even Glass Lewis, in its Proxy Paper
issued on September&nbsp;4, 2018, recognized that it is &#147;unreasonable to assume that the Company can monitor&#148; violent events associated with our products &#147;with any level of accuracy.&#148; Moreover, even if we could monitor such
criminal behavior, it would do nothing to reduce the societal misuse and criminal violence associated with the illegal use of firearms as proponent concedes in its exempt solicitation filed on August&nbsp;22, 2018. Such monitoring, even if feasible,
which it is not, would also do nothing to help &#147;mitigate potential damage to the company&#146;s reputation among <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">law-abiding</FONT> owners and other members of the public&#148; as the ISS Report erroneously
suggests without any support. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Proponent next proposes we report on our efforts to produce safer firearms and, in particular, <FONT
STYLE="white-space:nowrap">so-called</FONT> &#147;smart gun&#148; technology. ISS supports this proposal on the mistaken belief that there is &#147;reason to believe that smart gun technology could be employed to make guns safer in the U.S. and that
any engineering problems could be overcome if there was a market for the product.&#148; Nothing could be further from the truth. As we explained in our opposition statements, smart gun technology is not commercially available today or reliable, and,
in fact, could potentially cause more injuries, not less. If the opposite were true, it would be used <I>extensively</I> by law enforcement agencies since it was originally designed for that purpose. Not one law enforcement agency uses such
technology. Moreover, as stated in our opposition statements, we do not invest in R&amp;D for smart gun technology so there is nothing further to report. And the fact that there is no market for the product, as ISS concedes, should put the issue to
rest. Why would any manufacturer invest significant capital to produce a product it can&#146;t sell? It is remarkable that ISS is substituting its judgment for ours on what firearms we should develop, market, and sell to our customers. </P>
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 <P STYLE="margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">Lastly, proponent proposes, and ISS supports, that we report on the corporate reputational
and financial risks related to gun violence. As we explained in our opposition statements, that report already exists in great detail in our Annual Report on <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">Form&nbsp;10-K.</FONT> In fact, we devote over
18&nbsp;pages of text in our Annual Report to an in-depth discussion of the material risks we face as a firearms manufacturer. To suggest that our stockholders do not fully understand the corporate reputational and financial risks involved in
investing in a firearms manufacturer is na&iuml;ve and disingenuous at best. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">The ISS Report also places undue reliance on faulty and
misleading gun violence statistics. According to an August 2018 report issued by the Crime Prevention Research Center entitled &#147;Concealed Carry Permit Holders Across the United States: 2018,&#148; or the Concealed Carry Report, the number of
concealed handgun permits has increased 273% since 2007 and now stands at 17.5&nbsp;million. According to proponent, an increase in firearms correlates to increased gun violence. The increase has had the <I>opposite</I> effect. According to the
Concealed Carry Report, the vast majority of peer reviewed academic research by criminologists and economists concludes that ownership of permitted concealed handguns <I>reduces</I> violent crime. The 25 states with the <I>highest</I> concealed
handgun carry rates experienced significantly <I>lower</I> rates of murder and violent crime. A significant portion of our population believes that owning a firearm makes them <I>safer. </I>According to the Concealed Carry Report, in a poll
conducted in 2014, Gallup found that 63% of Americans thought that owning a firearm made their home <I>safer</I>. A Rasmussen poll from June 2018 found that a
<FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap"><FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">68-to-22&nbsp;percent</FONT></FONT> margin of Americans &#147;feel safer in a neighborhood where guns are allowed.&#148; Concealed handgun carry owners are extremely law abiding.
According to the Concealed Carry Report, in Florida and Texas permit holders are convicted of misdemeanors and felonies at <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">one-sixth</FONT> the rate at which police officers are convicted and the statistics are
similar in other states. </P> <P STYLE="margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:0pt; text-indent:4%; font-size:10pt; font-family:Times New Roman">In recommending that proponent&#146;s proposal warrants shareholder support, ISS is misguided in its belief that
proponent has submitted its resolution for our company&#146;s benefit and for the benefit of our stockholders. As reported in <I>Institutional Investor</I> on August&nbsp;20, 2018, Coleen Scanlon, a <FONT STYLE="white-space:nowrap">co-sponsor</FONT>
of proponent&#146;s proposal, readily admitted that organizations like proponent began purchasing shares of firearm manufacturers solely to become &#147;activists&#148; not because they thought it was a &#147;good investment.&#148; Proponent has
purchased 200 shares of our stock to push an anti-firearms agenda designed to harm our company and our stockholders. The ISS Report either misses the obvious or, worse, chooses to ignore it. Proponent has no interest in safety, governance, or risk
mitigation, but rather the disruption of the lawful sale of our products which will inevitably destroy value not create it. Political issues should be debated and decided in the federal and state legislatures not at the annual meeting of
stockholders. For these reasons, ISS was mistaken in supporting proponent&#146;s proposal. </P>
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