Sec Form 13D Filing - Engaged Capital LLC filing for SunOpta Inc. (STKL) - 2023-03-02

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13D

(Rule 13d-101)

INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT

TO § 240.13d-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO

§ 240.13d-2(a)

(Amendment No. 10)¹

SunOpta Inc.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Shares, no par value per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

8676EP108

(CUSIP Number)

 

glenn w. welling

engaged capital, llc

610 Newport Center Drive, Suite 250

Newport Beach, California 92660

(949) 734-7900

 

STEVE WOLOSKY

RYAN NEBEL

OLSHAN FROME WOLOSKY LLP

1325 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

(212) 451-2300

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person

Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

 

February 28, 2023

(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 §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d-1(f) or 240.13d-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 § 240.13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

 

 

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 (“Act”) 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).

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Engaged Capital Flagship Master Fund, LP
	2		CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP															(a) ☐
																		(b) ☐
	3		SEC USE ONLY
	4		SOURCE OF FUNDS
				WC
	5		CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e)															☐
				;
	6		CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION
				CAYMAN ISLANDS
NUMBER OF				7		SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY							5,754,068
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							5,754,068
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				5,754,068
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.1%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				PN

  

1

NAME OF REPORTING PERSON

Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A, LP

2

CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP

(a) ☐

(b) ☐

3

SEC USE ONLY

4

SOURCE OF FUNDS

WC

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

304,466

OWNED BY

8

SHARED VOTING POWER

EACH

REPORTING

- 0 -

PERSON WITH

9

SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER

304,466

10

SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER

- 0 -

11

AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON

304,466

12

CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES

☐

13

PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)

Less than 1%

14

TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON

PN

  

 

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Engaged Capital Flagship Fund, LP
	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							5,754,068
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							5,754,068
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				5,754,068
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.1%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				PN

  

 

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Engaged Capital Flagship Fund, Ltd.
	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
				CAYMAN ISLANDS
NUMBER OF				7		SOLE VOTING POWER
SHARES
BENEFICIALLY							5,754,068
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							5,754,068
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				5,754,068
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.1%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				CO

  

 

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Engaged Capital, LLC
	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							6,559,095
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							6,559,095
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				6,559,095
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.8%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				OO

  

 

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Engaged Capital Holdings, LLC
	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							6,559,095
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							6,559,095
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				6,559,095
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.8%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				OO

  

 

	1		NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
				Glenn W. Welling
	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							6,559,095
OWNED BY				8		SHARED VOTING POWER
EACH
REPORTING							- 0 -
PERSON WITH				9		SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER
							6,559,095
				10		SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER
							- 0 -
	11		AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
				6,559,095
	12		CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES															☐
			< /td>
	13		PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11)
				5.8%
	14		TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON
				IN

  

 

The following constitutes Amendment No. 10 to the Schedule 13D filed by the undersigned (“Amendment No. 10”). This Amendment No. 10 amends the Schedule 13D as specifically set forth herein.

Item 4.

Purpose of Transaction.

Item 4 is hereby amended to add the following:

On February 28, 2023, the Engaged Investors (as defined in Amendment No. 4 to the Schedule 13D) delivered a letter to the Issuer and SunOpta Foods Inc. (the “Holder Exchange Notice”) notifying such parties of their election to exchange all Series B-1 Preferred Stock (as defined in Amendment No. 3 to the Schedule 13D) held by them for Shares (the “Exchange”) pursuant to the Exchange and Support Agreement (as defined in Amendment No. 4 to the Schedule 13D). The Exchange is expected to be completed on or about March 3, 2023. Assuming completion of the Exchange, Engaged Capital Flagship Master will receive 5,318,017 Shares, Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A will receive 304,466 Shares and Engaged Capital will receive 466,848 Shares.

Also on February 28, 2023, the Engaged Investors delivered a demand registration request to the Issuer pursuant to the Investor Rights Agreement (as defined in Amendment No. 4 to the Schedule 13D) requesting that the Issuer register the resale of an aggregate of 6,089,331 Shares for resale under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, by filing a resale shelf registration statement.

Item 5.

Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

Items 5(a) and (c) are hereby amended and restated to read as follows:

(a)       The aggregate percentage of Shares reported owned by each person named herein is based upon 107,948,348 Shares outstanding as of February 24, 2023, which is the total number of Shares outstanding as reported in the Issuer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2023.

As of the date hereof, Engaged Capital Flagship Master directly beneficially owned 5,754,068 Shares, including 5,318,017 Shares issuable upon the conversion of 13,100 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock, constituting approximately 5.1% of the Shares outstanding. Each of Engaged Capital Fund and Engaged Capital Offshore, as feeder funds of Engaged Capital Flagship Master, may be deemed to beneficially own the 5,754,068 Shares directly beneficially owned by Engaged Capital Flagship Master, constituting approximately 5.1% of the Shares outstanding.

As of the date hereof, Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A directly beneficially owned 304,466 Shares, consisting of 304,466 Shares issuable upon the conversion of 750 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock, constituting less than 1% of the Shares outstanding.

As of the date hereof, 500,561 Shares were directly beneficially held in the Engaged Capital Account, including 466,848 Shares issuable upon the conversion of 1,150 shares of Series B-1 Preferred Stock, constituting less than 1% of the Shares outstanding.

Engaged Capital, as the general partner and investment adviser of Engaged Capital Flagship Master and Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A and the investment adviser of the Engaged Capital Account, may be deemed to beneficially own the 6,559,095 Shares beneficially owned in the aggregate by Engaged Capital Flagship Master, Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A and beneficially held in the Engaged Capital Account, constituting approximately 5.8% of the Shares outstanding. Engaged Holdings, as the managing member of Engaged Capital, may be deemed to beneficially own the 6,559,095 Shares beneficially owned in the aggregate by Engaged Capital Flagship Master, Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A and beneficially held in the Engaged Capital Account, constituting approximately 5.8% of the Shares outstanding. Mr. Welling, as the Founder and CIO of Engaged Capital and sole member of Engaged Holdings, may be deemed to beneficially own the 6,559,095 Shares beneficially owned in the aggregate by Engaged Capital Flagship Master, Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A and beneficially held in the Engaged Capital Account, constituting approximately 5.8% of the Shares outstanding.

The filing of this Schedule 13D shall not be deemed an admission that the Reporting Persons are, for purposes of Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the beneficial owners of any securities of the Issuer that he or it does not directly own. Each of the Reporting Persons specifically disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities reported herein that he or it does not directly own.

(c)       Except as otherwise set forth herein, none of the Reporting Persons has entered into any transactions in the securities of the Issuer since the filing of Amendment No. 9 to the Schedule 13D.

SIGNATURES

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of his knowledge and belief, the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Dated: March 2, 2023

 

	Engaged Capital Flagship Master Fund, LP
	By:	Engaged Capital, LLC General Partner
	By:	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Founder and Chief Investment Officer

 

 

	Engaged Capital Co-Invest IV-A, LP
	By:	Engaged Capital, LLC General Partner
	By:	< p style="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0; border-bottom: Black 0.5pt solid">/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Founder and Chief Investment Officer

 

 

	Engaged Capital Flagship Fund, LP
	By:	Engaged Capital, LLC General Partner
	By:	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Founder and Chief Investment Officer

 

 

	Engaged Capital Flagship Fund, Ltd.
	By:	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Director

 

 

	Engaged Capital, LLC
	By:	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Founder and Chief Investment Officer

 

 

	Engaged Capital Holdings, LLC
	By:	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
		Name:	Glenn W. Welling
		Title:	Sole Member

 

 

	/s/ Glenn W. Welling
	Glenn W. Welling