sec document
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
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SCHEDULE 13D
(RULE 13d-101)
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT
TO RULE 13d-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO
RULE 13d-2(a)
(Amendment No. 7)(1)
Layne Christensen Company
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(Name of Issuer)
Common Stock, $.01 Par Value
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(Title of Class of Securities)
521050104
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(CUSIP Number)
STEVEN WOLOSKY, ESQ.
OLSHAN GRUNDMAN FROME ROSENZWEIG & WOLOSKY LLP
Park Avenue Tower
65 East 55th Street
New York, New York 10022
(212) 451-2300
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(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person
Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)
May 25, 2005
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(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of This Statement)
If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to
report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing
this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), 13d-1(f) or 13d-1(g), check the
following box / /.
Note. Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and
five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See Rule 13d-7 for other
parties to whom copies are to be sent.
(Continued on following pages)
(Page 1 of 8 Pages)
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(1) The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting
person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of
securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would
alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be
deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act
but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the
Notes).
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 2 of 8 Pages
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================================================================================
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)
STEEL PARTNERS II, L.P.
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2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) / /
(b) / /
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3 SEC USE ONLY
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4 SOURCE OF FUNDS*
WC
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5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED
PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) / /
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6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
DELAWARE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBER OF 7 SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY 1,435,818
OWNED BY
EACH
REPORTING
PERSON WITH -----------------------------------------------------------------
8 SHARED VOTING POWER
- 0 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
1,435,818
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
- 0 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING
PERSON
1,435,818
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
CERTAIN SHARES* / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
11.4%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
PN
================================================================================
*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT!
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 3 of 8 Pages
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================================================================================
1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)
STEEL PARTNERS, L.L.C.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) / /
(b) / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 SOURCE OF FUNDS*
OO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED
PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
DELAWARE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBER OF 7 SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY 1,435,818
OWNED BY
EACH
REPORTING
PERSON WITH -----------------------------------------------------------------
8 SHARED VOTING POWER
- 0 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
1,435,818
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
- 0 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING
PERSON
1,435,818
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
CERTAIN SHARES* / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
11.4%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
OO
================================================================================
*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT!
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 4 of 8 Pages
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1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS
I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS (ENTITIES ONLY)
WARREN G. LICHTENSTEIN
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2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) / /
(b) / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 SEC USE ONLY
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 SOURCE OF FUNDS*
OO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED
PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
USA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUMBER OF 7 SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY 1,440,818(1)
OWNED BY
EACH
REPORTING
PERSON WITH -----------------------------------------------------------------
8 SHARED VOTING POWER
- 0 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
1,440,818(1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
- 0 -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING
PERSON
1,440,818(1)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES
CERTAIN SHARES* / /
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
11.4%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON*
IN
================================================================================
*SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT!
(1) Includes 5,000 shares of Common Stock underlying options granted to Mr.
Lichtenstein that are exercisable within 60 days of the date hereof.
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 5 of 8 Pages
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The following constitutes Amendment No. 7 ("Amendment No. 7") to the
Schedule 13D filed by the undersigned. This Amendment No. 7 amends the Schedule
13D as specifically set forth.
Item 4 is hereby amended to add the following:
Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 and incorporated herein by reference is
an open letter from Steel Partners II to the stockholders of the Issuer in
support of Steel Partners II's proposal to eliminate the classification of the
Issuer's Board of Directors which has been included in the Issuer's proxy
statement for the 2005 annual meeting of stockholders scheduled to be held on
June 9, 2005.
Item 7 is hereby amended to add the following exhibit:
4. Letter from Steel Partners II, L.P. to the stockholders of Layne
Christensen Company, dated May 25, 2005.
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 6 of 8 Pages
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SIGNATURES
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of his knowledge and belief,
each of the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this
statement is true, complete and correct.
Dated: May 25, 2005 STEEL PARTNERS II, L.P.
By: Steel Partners, L.L.C.
General Partner
By: /s/ Warren G. Lichtenstein
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Warren G. Lichtenstein
Managing Member
STEEL PARTNERS, L.L.C.
By: /s/ Warren G. Lichtenstein
------------------------------
Warren G. Lichtenstein
Managing Member
/s/ Warren G. Lichtenstein
----------------------------------
WARREN G. LICHTENSTEIN
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 7 of 8 Pages
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EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT PAGE
1. Joint Filing Agreement by and among Steel Partners II, --
L.P., Steel Partners, L.L.C. and Warren G.
Lichtenstein, dated December 2, 2003 (previously
filed).
2. Purchase Trading Plan Agreement by and between Steel --
Partners II, L.P. and Mutual Securities, Inc., dated
January 15, 2004 (previously filed).
3. Letter from Steel Partners II, L.P. to the Corporate --
Secretary of Layne Christensen Company, dated December
21, 2004, submitting a stockholder proposal (enclosures
omitted) (previously filed).
4. Letter from Steel Partners II, L.P. to the stockholders 8
of Layne Christensen Company, dated May 25, 2005.
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CUSIP No. 521050104 13D Page 8 of 8 Pages
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STEEL PARTNERS II, L.P.
590 Madison Avenue, 32nd Floor
New York, New York 10022
TEL (212) 758-3232
FAX (212) 758-5789
May 25, 2005
Dear Fellow Stockholder,
Steel Partners II, L.P. is the owner of 1,435,818 shares of common stock of
Layne Christensen Company ("LAYN" or the "Company") and third largest
stockholder of LAYN. I am the managing member of Steel Partners and a director
of LAYN. Steel Partners is asking for your support FOR its stockholder proposal
included in the Company's proxy statement for the 2005 annual meeting of
stockholders, which asks the LAYN board of directors to take the steps necessary
to declassify the LAYN board. We believe that the annual election of the entire
board of directors will give LAYN stockholders the most direct and effective
voice in the governance of our company.
The Company's board is currently divided into three classes, each elected to a
three-year term. Any single director must face the stockholders and have his
performance ratified only once in three years. We believe sound corporate
governance practices, such as the annual election of directors, will impose the
level of management accountability necessary to help insure that a good
performance record continues over the long term.
As a governance matter, the classified board is a paternalistic anachronism in
today's investment environment; the underlying premise is that stockholders
could be stampeded into ousting the entire board to the detriment of their own
investment. A classified board will thus, in theory, protect the stockholders
from their own folly. We believe this is nonsense, and that LAYN's stockholders,
a majority of whom are professional money managers, can make intelligent choices
on their own. Consider that, in 2004, according to the Investor Responsibility
Research Center, stockholder proposals to end board classification received, on
average, the favorable vote of 70.6% of the stockholder votes cast. We believe
these votes have sent a clear message that public companies should not ignore.
In casting your vote, please remember that this proposal is a request for the
board to act. LAYN's stockholders are unable to alter the classified board on
their own - they can only act after approval by the board, and thereafter by a
supermajority vote of 80% of the outstanding shares in a separate binding
proposal if made at the discretion of the board. Your vote is therefore
critical. LAYN's directors are your elected representatives. Send them a clear
message that you desire stockholder empowerment and basic good governance by
voting FOR proposal 2 today.
Thank you for your support,
/s/ Warren G. Lichtenstein
----------------------------
Warren G. Lichtenstein
Steel Partners II, L.P.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COST OF THIS LETTER IS BEING BORNE
ENTIRELY BY STEEL PARTNERS II, L.P.THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR PROXY CARD TO STEEL PARTNERS II, L.P.