-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, JnnSISV+V6+3K+S1Felx5fmKnzauCfj180sDQOYYOajqXLRkwz22qiD2T15XHWWt ikJjDfmcX6WWkCZKslpafw== 0000891554-99-000896.txt : 19990510 0000891554-99-000896.hdr.sgml : 19990510 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000891554-99-000896 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: SC 13D PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 FILED AS OF DATE: 19990507 GROUP MEMBERS: WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE L.P. I GROUP MEMBERS: WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE LP GROUP MEMBERS: WYNNEFIELD SMALL CAP VALUE OFFSHORE FUND, LTD. SUBJECT COMPANY: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: SYLVAN INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000861291 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION - CROPS [0100] IRS NUMBER: 251603408 STATE OF INCORPORATION: NV FISCAL YEAR END: 0103 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: SC 13D SEC ACT: SEC FILE NUMBER: 005-41138 FILM NUMBER: 99613233 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 MAIN STREET STREET 2: P.O. BOX 249 CITY: SAXONBURG STATE: PA ZIP: 16056-0249 BUSINESS PHONE: 724-352-75 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 333 MAIN STREET STREET 2: P.O. BOX 249 CITY: SAXONBURG STATE: PA ZIP: 16056-0249 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: SYLVAN FOODS HOLDINGS INC DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 19930328 FILED BY: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE LP CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000899083 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: [] IRS NUMBER: 133688497 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: SC 13D BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: ONE PENN PLAZA STREET 2: SUITE 4720 CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10119 BUSINESS PHONE: 2127600814 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: ONE PENN PLAZA STREET 2: SUITE 4720 CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 10119 SC 13D 1 SCHEDULE 13D SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D. C. 20549 SCHEDULE 13D (Rule 13d-1) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13D-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13D-2(a) SYLVAN INC. (Name of Issuer) Common Stock, Par Value $0.001 Per Share (Title of Class of Securities) 871371100 (CUSIP Number) Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. One Penn Plaza - Suite 4720 New York, New York 10119 Attention: Mr. Nelson Obus (212) 760-0134 (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized) to Receive Notices and Communications) Copy to: Jesse R. Meer, Esq. Berlack, Israels & Liberman LLP 120 West 45th Street New York, New York 10035 (212) 704-0100 May 3, 1999 (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: ( ) (Page 1 of 8 Pages) - ------------------- ----------------- CUSIP No. 871371100 Page 2 of 8 Pages - ------------------- ----------------- ________________________________________________________________________________ 1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON: Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON: 13-3688497 ________________________________________________________________________________ 2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) [x] (b) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 SEC USE ONLY ________________________________________________________________________________ 4 SOURCE OF FUNDS WC (SEE ITEM 3) ________________________________________________________________________________ 5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or (e) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OR ORGANIZATION DELAWARE ________________________________________________________________________________ 7 SOLE VOTING POWER NUMBER OF 149,397 SHARES _________________________________________________________________ 8 SHARED VOTING POWER BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY _________________________________________________________________ EACH 9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER REPORTING 149,397 PERSON _________________________________________________________________ 10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER WITH ________________________________________________________________________________ 11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 149,397 shares ________________________________________________________________________________ 12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 2.35% ________________________________________________________________________________ 14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON PN ________________________________________________________________________________ (Page 2 of 8 Pages) - ------------------- ----------------- CUSIP No. 871371100 Page 3 of 8 Pages - ------------------- ----------------- ________________________________________________________________________________ 1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON: Wynnefield Small Cap Value Offshore Fund, Ltd. S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON: Not Applicable ________________________________________________________________________________ 2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) [x] (b) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 SEC USE ONLY ________________________________________________________________________________ 4 SOURCE OF FUNDS WC (SEE ITEM 3) ________________________________________________________________________________ 5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or (e) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OR ORGANIZATION CAYMAN ISLANDS ________________________________________________________________________________ 7 SOLE VOTING POWER NUMBER OF 47,600 SHARES _________________________________________________________________ 8 SHARED VOTING POWER BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY _________________________________________________________________ EACH 9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER REPORTING 47,600 PERSON _________________________________________________________________ 10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER WITH ________________________________________________________________________________ 11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 47,600 shares ________________________________________________________________________________ 12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) .75% ________________________________________________________________________________ 14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON CO ________________________________________________________________________________ (Page 3 of 8 Pages) - ------------------- ----------------- CUSIP No. 871371100 Page 4 of 8 Pages - ------------------- ----------------- ________________________________________________________________________________ 1 NAME OF REPORTING PERSON: Wynnefield Small Cap Value L.P. I S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON: 13-3953291 ________________________________________________________________________________ 2 CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) [x] (b) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 SEC USE ONLY ________________________________________________________________________________ 4 SOURCE OF FUNDS WC (SEE ITEM 3) ________________________________________________________________________________ 5 CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEMS 2(d) or (e) [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 6 CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OR ORGANIZATION Delaware ________________________________________________________________________________ 7 SOLE VOTING POWER NUMBER OF 166,003 SHARES _________________________________________________________________ 8 SHARED VOTING POWER BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY _________________________________________________________________ EACH 9 SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER REPORTING 166,003 PERSON _________________________________________________________________ 10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER WITH ________________________________________________________________________________ 11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 166,003 shares ________________________________________________________________________________ 12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES [_] ________________________________________________________________________________ 13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 2.61% ________________________________________________________________________________ 14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON PN ________________________________________________________________________________ (Page 4 of 8 Pages) Item 1. Security and Issuer. This Statement relates to shares of the Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (the "Shares"), of Sylvan Inc., a Nevada corporation (the "Issuer"). The principal executive offices of the Issuer are located at 333 Main Street, Saxonburg, Pennsylvania 16056-0249. Item 2. Identity and Background. (a), (b), (c) and (f). This Statement is being filed by Wynnefield Partners Small Cap Value, L.P. (the "Partnership"), Wynnefield Small Cap Value Offshore Fund, Ltd. (the "Fund"), and Wynnefield Small Cap Value, L.P. I (the "Partnership-I"). The Partnership, the Fund and Partnership-I are sometimes referred to collectively as the "Wynnefield Group". Wynnefield Capital Management, LLC, a New York limited liability company ("WCM) is the general partner of the Partnership and the Partnership-I, which are private investment companies organized as limited partnerships under the laws of the State of Delaware. Nelson Obus, Joshua Landes and Robert Melnick are the managing members of WCM. Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick are principal executive officers of Wynnefield Capital, Inc., the investment manager of the Fund, a private investment company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick are citizens of the United States of America. The business address of Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes, and Mr. Melnick, WCM and each of the entities in the Wynnefield Group is One Penn Plaza, Suite 4720, New York, New York 10119. (d) and (e). During the last five years, neither Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes, Mr. Melnick, WCM nor any of the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group has been (i) convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors) or (ii) a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as a result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violation with respect to such laws. Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration. The Wynnefield Group entities purchased their Shares for the consideration shown in the following table: (Page 5 of 8 Pages) Name Number of Shares Consideration Paid ---- ---------------- ------------------ Partnership 149,397 $1,680,658.89 Partnership-I 166,003 2,076,671.22 Fund 47,600 627,685.70 Such Shares were paid for from the working capital of each entity in the Wynnefield Group, each of which maintains an investment fund, consisting of capital contributions from their respective partners and investors and capital appreciation derived therefrom for the principal purpose of buying and selling securities (including financial and money market instruments) and interests in domestic and foreign securities, including, without limitation, convertible securities, stock index features contracts, options, puts and calls on stock and warrants. Item 4. Purposes of Transaction. The entities comprising the Wynnefield Group intend to urge the Issuer's management and its Board of Directors to consider all strategic options for surfacing shareholders' value. Except as set forth above, none of the entities in the Wynnefield Group has any present plans or intentions to effect transactions that would result in or relate to any of the actions described in subparagraphs (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D. Item 5. Interests in Securities of the Issuer. (a) As of the close of business on the date hereof, the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group beneficially owned a total of 363,000 Shares, the separate ownership of which is set forth in Item 3 of this Statement. Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick, by virtue of their status as managing members of WCM, the general partner of the Partnership and Partnership-I, and Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick as officers of the Fund's investment manager, may be deemed to have indirect beneficial ownership of the Shares owned by the Wynnefield Group. The Shares owned by the Wynnefield Group represent approximately 5.7% of the outstanding Shares of the Issuer, based on the 6,368,836 Shares reported by the Issuer as outstanding on March 3, 1999. Pursuant to Rule 13d-4 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick disclaim beneficial ownership of any Shares owned by the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group and disclaim membership in the Wynnefield Group with respect to the Shares for purposes (Page 6 of 8 Pages) of Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Exchange Act or for any other purpose under any other provision of the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. (b) Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick, by virtue of their status as managing members of WCM, the general partner of the Partnership and Partnership-I, and Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes and Mr. Melnick as officers of the Fund's investment manager, have the power to vote or to direct the vote and the power to dispose and to direct the disposition of the Shares owned by the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group. (c) During the past 60 days, the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group purchased the following Shares of Issuer in the NASDAQ Stock Market:
ENTITY DATE NO. OF SHARES PRICE PER SHARE ------ ---- ------------- --------------- Partnership April 5 3,600 $ 9.91 Partnership April 16 5,500 9.945 Partnership April 20 2,000 10.125 Partnership April 28 8,000 10.2361 Partnership May 3 10,500 10.25 Fund April 5 2,000 $ 9.91 Fund April 16 3,000 9.945 Fund April 20 1,000 10.125 Fund April 28 4,500 10.2361 Fund May 3 6,000 10.25 Partnership-I April 5 4,400 $ 9.91 Partnership-I April 16 6,500 9.945 Partnership-I April 20 2,000 10.125 Partnership-I April 28 10,000 10.2361 Partnership-I May 3 12,500 10.25
(Page 7 of 8 Pages) (d) Each of the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group as an owner of the Shares reported in this Statement has the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the Shares owned by such entity as reported in this Statement. (e) Not applicable. Item 6. Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships with Respect to Securities of the Issuer. Neither Mr. Obus, Mr. Landes, Mr. Melnick, WCM nor any of the entities comprising the Wynnefield Group has any contracts, arrangements, understandings or relationships (legal or otherwise) with any person with respect to any securities of the Issuer, including but not limited to any contracts, arrangements, understandings or relationships concerning the transfer or voting of such securities, finder's fees, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees of profits, division of profits or losses, or the giving or withholding of proxies. Item 7. Material to be Filed as Exhibits. Not applicable. SIGNATURES After reasonable inquiry and to the best of their knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this Statement is true, complete and correct. Dated: May 5, 1999 WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE, L.P. WYNNEFIELD PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE, L.P. I By: Wynnefield Capital Management, LLC, General Partner By: S/Nelson Obus ------------------------------------------- Nelson Obus, Managing Member WYNNEFIELD SMALL CAP VALUE OFFSHORE FUND, LTD. By: Wynnefield Capital, Inc. S/Nelson Obus ------------------------------------------- Nelson Obus, President (Page 8 of 8 Pages) -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----