PARK ELECTROCHEMICAL CORP. ANNOUNCES TERMINATION OF INSURANCE ARRANGEMENT WITH FOUNDER AND FORMER CHAIRMAN
Melville, New York, August 24, 2006…..Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE-PKE) announced that it had terminated a split-dollar life insurance arrangement with Jerry Shore, the founder and former Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Park. The insurance arrangement, which involved two life insurance policies payable on the death of the survivor of Jerry Shore and his spouse with an aggregate face value of $5 million and annual premium payments by Park of approximately $128,852, was implemented in 1997 but discontinued in 2004 in light of certain provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and due to changes in the income taxation of split-dollar life insurance arrangements. The arrangement is more fully described in Park’s annual proxy statements for each of the years 1998 through 2006.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into between Jerry Shore and Park Electrochemical Corp., the termination of the insurance arrangement will involve a payment of approximately $1.34 million by Park to Mr. Shore. Such termination and payment will result in a net cash cost to Park of approximately $685,000, after Park’s receipt of a portion of the cash surrender value of the life insurance policies. In addition, such termination and payment will result in a one-time, pre-tax charge of approximately $1.3 million for Park, which will be recorded in Park’s second fiscal quarter ending August 27, 2006.
Park Electrochemical Corp. is a global advanced materials company which develops and manufactures high-technology digital and RF/microwave printed circuit materials (the Nelco® product line) and advanced composite materials (the Nelcote™ product line) principally for the telecommunications and internet infrastructure, high-end computing and aerospace markets. Park’s core capabilities are in the areas of polymer chemistry formulation and coating technology. The Company’s manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, China, France, Connecticut, New York, Arizona and California.