exv10w4



 







			
	Execution Copy
	 	Exhibit 10.4






SEVERANCE AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) dated as of September 29, 2005, between FLAG ACQUISITION CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, (the “Merger Sub”), and ROGER KROHN (“Krohn”).




     WHEREAS, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) made and entered
into as of the 18th day of May, 2005, by and among Flag Holdings Corporation, a Delaware
corporation (“Parent”), the Merger Sub, a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent, and Metals
USA, Inc. (the “Company”), Parent will acquire all of the capital stock of the Company by merging
(the “Merger”) Merger Sub with and into the Company (the “Transaction”);



     WHEREAS, concurrently with the execution of the Merger Agreement, as a condition and
inducement to Parent’s and the Merger Sub’s willingness to enter into the Merger Agreement, the
Merger Sub is entering into this Agreement;



     WHEREAS, Krohn, as a condition of his employment, will make a substantial investment in Parent
concurrently with the closing of the Transaction by purchasing 27,000 shares of common stock of
Parent, par value $0.01, at a price of $10 per share;



     NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein and other good and
valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties
hereto agree as follows:



     Section 1. Severance.



     If after the effective date of the Transaction (the “Effective Date”), the Company terminates
Krohn’s employment without Cause or Krohn resigns his employment for Good Reason, the Company shall
provide the following to Krohn.



          (a) The Company will continue to pay Krohn his then current salary as of the Termination Date
until the earlier of (i) the end of the twelfth month following the Termination Date (the
“Severance Period”), and (ii) the date, if any, Krohn violates any other term of this
Agreement.




          (b) After the Termination Date, provided Krohn elects to continue his and his beneficiaries’
participation in the Company’s medical benefit plan in which they participated prior to the
Termination Date pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (“COBRA”),
the Company will reimburse Krohn for the monthly cost of continuing such coverage within 10
business days of each payment by Krohn for the lesser of: (x) twelve months following the
Termination Date; and (y) the period preceding the date that Krohn becomes eligible to receive
medical coverage under another employee benefit plan (“COBRA Benefits”).




     If (i) the Company terminates Krohn’s employment for any reason other than without Cause
(including for Cause, because of a disability or as a result of Krohn’s death), or (ii)



 









 




Krohn’s resigns his employment for any reason other than for a Good Reason, no severance will
be paid to Krohn under this Section 1.




     Section 2. Notice of Termination. Any termination by the Company for Cause or without
Cause, or by Krohn for Good Reason or without Good Reason, shall be communicated by Notice of
Termination to the other party hereto given in accordance with Section 7(h). For purposes of this
Agreement, a “Notice of Termination” means a written notice which (i) indicates the specific
termination provision in this Agreement relied upon, (ii) to the extent applicable, sets forth in
reasonable detail the facts and circumstances claimed to provide a basis for termination of Krohn’s
employment under the provision so indicated and (iii) if the Termination Date is other than the
date of receipt of such notice, specifies the termination date. The failure by Krohn or the
Company to set forth in the Notice of Termination any fact or circumstance which contributes to a
showing of Good Reason or Cause shall not waive any right of Krohn or the Company hereunder or
preclude Krohn or the Company from asserting such fact or circumstance in enforcing Krohn’s or the
Company’s rights hereunder.



     Section 3. Definitions.



          (a) Cause. “Cause” means that the Company terminated Krohn’s employment after any of
the following actions are taken by Krohn without the Company’s consent: (i) the commission of a
felony or a crime of moral turpitude; (ii) a willful commission of a material act of dishonesty
involving the Company; (iii) a material non-curable breach of Krohn’s obligations hereunder or any
other agreement entered into between Krohn and the Company or any of its subsidiaries or
affiliates; (iv) any material breach of the Company’s policies or procedures that is not reasonably
curable in the Company’s sole discretion; (v) any other willful misconduct which causes material
harm to the Company or its business reputation, including due to any adverse publicity; or (vi) a
failure by Krohn to cure a material breach of his obligations under this Agreement, the Investor
Rights Agreement among the shareholders of Parent, the Subscription Agreement between Krohn and
Parent, the Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement between Krohn and Parent or the Restricted Stock
Agreement between Krohn and Parent within 30 days after written notice of such breach.




          (b) Good Reason. “Good Reason” means the Krohn resigns his employment voluntarily
within ninety (90) days after any of the following actions are taken by the Company or any of its
subsidiaries without Krohn’s consent: (i) a reduction in Krohn’s current annual base salary or
annual target bonus potential (but not including any diminution related to a broader compensation
reduction that is not limited to any particular employee or executive); (ii) a material diminution
of Krohn’s responsibilities as President, Plates and Shapes West; (iii) relocation of Krohn’s
primary work place, as assigned to him by the Company, beyond a fifty (50) mile radius from
Springfield, Ohio; or (iv) a material breach by the Company of this Agreement; provided, however,
that none of the events described in the foregoing clauses (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) shall
constitute Good Reason unless Krohn shall have notified the Company in writing describing the
events which constitute Good Reason and then only if the Company shall have failed to cure such
events within thirty (30) days after the Company’s receipt of such written notice.




          (c) Termination Date. The “Termination Date” means (i) if Krohn’s employment is
terminated by the Company for Cause, without Cause or by Krohn for Good




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Reason or without Good Reason, the date of receipt of the Notice of Termination or any later
date specified therein pursuant to Section 2, as the case may be.




     Section 4. Separation Agreement and General Release. The Company’s obligations to
make payments and to provide benefits under Sections 1(a) and (b) will be conditioned on Krohn
executing and delivering a mutually agreeable separation agreement and general release of the
Company and its Subsidiaries in a form acceptable to the Company.



     Section 5. Nondisclosure and Nonuse of Confidential Information.



          (a) Krohn shall not disclose or use at any time, either during his employment with the Company
or thereafter, any Confidential Information (as hereinafter defined) of which Krohn is or becomes
aware, whether or not such information is developed by him, except to the extent that such
disclosure or use is directly related to and required by Krohn’s performance in good faith of
duties assigned to Krohn by the Company. Krohn will take all appropriate steps to safeguard
Confidential Information in his possession and to protect it against disclosure, misuse, espionage,
loss and theft. Krohn shall deliver to the Company at the termination of the Employment Period, or
at any time the Company may request, all memoranda, notes, plans, records, reports, computer tapes
and software and other documents and data (and copies thereof) relating to the Confidential
Information of the business of the Company or any of its Affiliates which Krohn may then possess or
have under his control.




          (b) As used in this Agreement, the term “Confidential Information” means information
that is not generally known to the public and that is used, developed or obtained by Flag, the
Company and their affiliates in connection with their business, including, but not limited to,
information, observations and data obtained by the Executive while employed by the Company or any
predecessors thereof (including those obtained prior to the date of this Agreement) concerning:
(i) the business or affairs of Flag, the Company or their affiliates; (ii) products, services,
designs, inventions, devices, developments and copyrightable works (whether patentable or
unpatentable and whether or not reduced to practice); (iii) all production methods, processes,
know-how, technology and trade secret; (iv) fees, costs and pricing structures, (v) non-public
financial information, analyses and internal management documents; (vi) computer software and data
bases, including operating systems, applications and program listings; (vii) flow charts, manuals
and documentation; (viii) business methods (except those applicable to business, in general); (ix)
customers and clients, including customer and client contracts and lists; (x) vendors and
suppliers, including vender and supplier contracts and lists; and (xi) all information and
documents related to the Transaction. Confidential Information will not include any information
that has been published in a form generally available to the public prior to the date the Executive
proposes to disclose or use such information. Confidential Information will not be deemed to have
been published or otherwise disclosed merely because individual portions of the information have
been separately published, but only if all material features comprising such information have been
published in combination.




     Section 6. Non-Solicitation; Non-Compete.



          (a) During his employment with the Company and for the period commencing on the Termination
Date and ending on the twenty-four (24) month anniversary of the

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Termination Date for any reason, Krohn shall not directly or indirectly through another Person
(i) induce or attempt to induce any employee of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company to
leave the employ of the Company or such Affiliate, or in any way interfere with the relationship
between the Company or any such Affiliate, on the one hand, and any employee thereof, on the other
hand, (ii) hire any person who was an employee of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company until
twelve (12) months after such individual’s employment relationship with the Company or such
Affiliate has been terminated or (iii) induce or attempt to induce any customer, supplier, licensee
or other business relation of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company to cease doing business
with the Company or such Affiliate, or in any way interfere with the relationship between any such
customer, supplier, licensee or business relation, on the one hand, and the Company or any
Affiliate, on the other hand.




          (b) Krohn acknowledges that, in the course of his employment with the Company and/or its
Affiliates and their predecessors, he has become familiar, or will become familiar, with the
Company’s and its Affiliates’ and their predecessors’ trade secrets and with other Confidential
Information concerning the Company, its Affiliates and their respective predecessors and that his
services have been and will be of special, unique and extraordinary value to the Company and its
Affiliates. Therefore, Krohn agrees that during his employment with the Company and for the period
commencing on the Termination Date and continuing until the twelfth month anniversary of the
Termination Date if his employment is terminated without Cause or he resigns his employment for
Good Reason or for the period commencing on the Termination Date and continuing until the
twenty-fourth month anniversary of the Termination Date if his employment is terminated for any
other reason (the “Restricted Period”), Krohn shall not directly or indirectly, engage in the
fabrication, sale or distribution of any product fabricated, sold or distributed by the Company or
its subsidiaries on the Termination Date or during the Restricted Period anywhere in the United
States in which the Company or its subsidiaries is doing business. For purposes of this Agreement,
the phrase “directly or indirectly engage in” shall include any direct or indirect
ownership or profit participation interest in such enterprise, whether as an owner, stockholder,
partner, joint venturer of or otherwise, and shall include any direct or indirect participation in
such enterprise as an employee, consultant, licensor of technology or otherwise. Nothing herein
shall prohibit Krohn from being a passive owner of not more than 4.9% of the outstanding equity
interest in any entity which is publicly traded, so long as Krohn has no active participation in
the business of such corporation.




     Section 7. Severance Payments.



          In addition to any other rights or remedies available to the Company at law or equity, if
Krohn violates any provision of the foregoing Sections 5 or 6, any severance payments then or
thereafter due from the Company to Krohn shall be terminated immediately and the Company’s
obligation to pay and Krohn’s right to receive such severance payments shall terminate and be of no
further force or effect.




     Section 8. General Provisions.



          (a) At –Will Employment. Nothing in this Agreement shall confer upon Krohn any right
to continue in the employ of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates

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or interfere in any way with the right of the Company, its subsidiaries or its affiliates, as
the case may be, in its sole discretion, to terminate Krohn’s employment at any time and for any
reason.




          (b) Severability. It is the desire and intent of the parties hereto that the
provisions of this Agreement be enforced to the fullest extent permissible under the laws and
public policies applied in each jurisdiction in which enforcement is sought. Accordingly, if any
particular provision of this Agreement shall be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to
be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable under any present or future law, and if the rights and
obligations of any party under this Agreement will not be materially and adversely affected
thereby, such provision, as to such jurisdiction, shall be ineffective, without invalidating the
remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of such
provision in any other jurisdiction; furthermore, in lieu of such invalid or unenforceable
provision there will be added automatically as a part of this Agreement, a legal, valid and
enforceable provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be
possible. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if such provision could be more narrowly drawn so as not
to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable in such jurisdiction, it shall, as to such jurisdiction,
be so narrowly drawn, without invalidating the remaining provisions of this Agreement or affecting
the validity or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.




          (c) Entire Agreement. This Agreement, the Investor Rights Agreement, the Subscription
Agreement, the Stock Incentive Plan, the Non-Qualified Stock Option Agreement and the Restricted
Stock Agreement embody the complete agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with
respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede and preempt any prior understandings, agreements
or representations by or among the parties, written or oral, which may have related to the subject
matter hereof in any way. For the avoidance of doubt, Krohn and Merger Sub (or, from and after the
closing of the Transaction, the Company) acknowledge that any agreement between Krohn and Metals
USA, Inc. entered into prior to the Effective Date, including without limitation, any employment
agreement, shall be of no further force and effect as of the Effective Date.




          (d) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts, each of
which is deemed to be an original and all of which taken together constitute one and the same
agreement.




          (e) Successors and Assigns.




               (i) This Agreement is personal to Krohn and without the prior written consent of Merger Sub
(or, from and after the closing of the Transaction, the Company) shall not be assignable by Krohn
otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution. This Agreement shall inure to the
benefit of and be enforceable by Krohn’s legal representatives.



               (ii) Effective as of the Closing of the Transaction, the Merger Sub will require the Company
to assume and agree to perform this Agreement.



               (iii) This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon Merger Sub (or, from
and after the closing of the Transaction, the Company) and its successors and assigns. The Company
will require any successor (whether direct or indirect, by purchase,



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merger, consolidation or otherwise) to all or substantially all of the business and/or assets
of the Company to assume expressly and agree to perform this Agreement in the same manner and to
the same extent that the Company would be required to perform it if no such succession had taken
place. As used in this Agreement, “Company” shall mean the Company as hereinbefore defined and any
successor to its business and/or assets as aforesaid which assumes and agrees to perform this
Agreement by operation of law, or otherwise.




          (f) Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY CHOICE OF LAW OR CONFLICTING
PROVISION OR RULE (WHETHER OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION) THAT WOULD CAUSE THE
LAWS OF ANY JURISDICTION OTHER THAN THE STATE OF DELAWARE TO BE APPLIED. IN FURTHERANCE OF THE
FOREGOING, THE INTERNAL LAW OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE WILL CONTROL THE INTERPRETATION AND
CONSTRUCTION OF THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF UNDER SUCH JURISDICTION’S CHOICE OF LAW OR CONFLICT OF LAW
ANALYSIS, THE SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF SOME OTHER JURISDICTION WOULD ORDINARILY APPLY.




          (g) Remedies. Each of the parties to this Agreement and any such person or entity
granted rights hereunder whether or not such person or entity is a signatory hereto (including,
without limitation, Apollo Management V, L.P. and its Affiliates) shall be entitled to enforce its
rights under this Agreement specifically to recover damages and costs for any breach of any
provision of this Agreement and to exercise all other rights existing in its favor. The parties
hereto agree and acknowledge that money damages may not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the
provisions of this Agreement, including Sections 5 or 6 of this Agreement, and that the Company may
in its sole discretion apply to any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction for specific
performance and/or other injunctive relief (without posting any bond or deposit) in order to
enforce or prevent any violations of the provisions of this Agreement or require Krohn to account
for and pay over to the Company all economic benefits derived from or received as a result of any
transactions constituting a breach of the covenants contained herein in this Agreement, if and when
final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction is so entered against Krohn. Each party shall
be responsible for paying its own attorneys’ fees, costs and other expenses pertaining to any
judgment or verdict unless the court awards otherwise.




          (h) Amendment and Waiver. The provisions of this Agreement may be amended and waived
only with the prior written consent of Merger Sub (or, from and after the closing of the
Transaction, the Company) and Krohn and no course of conduct or failure or delay in enforcing the
provisions of this Agreement shall be construed as a waiver of such provisions or affect the
validity, binding effect or enforceability of this Agreement or any provision hereof.




          (i) Notices. Any notice provided for in this Agreement must be in writing and must be
either personally delivered, transmitted via telecopier, mailed by first class mail (postage
prepaid and return receipt requested) or sent by reputable overnight courier service (charges
prepaid) to the recipient at the address below indicated or at such other address or to the
attention of such other person as the recipient party has specified by prior written notice to the
sending party. Notices will be deemed to have been given hereunder and received when

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delivered personally, when received if transmitted via telecopier, five days after deposit in
the U.S. mail and one day after deposit with a reputable overnight courier service.




     If to the Company, to:


Metals USA, Inc.

One Riverway, Suite 1100

Houston, Texas 77056

Facsimile: (713) 965-9967

Attention: Chairman of the Board




     with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:


The Apollo Group

9 West 57th Street

New York, New York 10019

Facsimile: (212) 515-3288

Attention Marc Becker




     And with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:


Dreier LLP

499 Park Avenue

New York, New York

Facsimile: (212) 328-6101

Attention: Andrew Bernstein, Esq.




     If to Krohn, to Krohn’s address set forth on the signature page hereto.



          (j) Effectiveness. This Agreement shall become of no force or effect if the
Transaction does not close on or before December 15, 2005.




          (k) Descriptive Headings. The descriptive headings of this Agreement are inserted for
convenience only and do not constitute a part of this Agreement.




          (l) Construction. Where specific language is used to clarify by example a general
statement contained herein, such specific language shall not be deemed to modify, limit or restrict
in any manner the construction of the general statement to which it relates. The language used in
this Agreement shall be deemed to be the language chosen by the parties to express their mutual
intent, and no rule of strict construction shall be applied against any party.




          (m) Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ALL
RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION, PROCEEDING OR COUNTERCLAIM ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS
AGREEMENT.




[signature page follows]




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          IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the date first
written above.




	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	FLAG ACQUISITION CORPORATION
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 

	 	By:	 	/s/ M. Ali Rashid 	 	 
	 

	 	 	 	 

Name:  M. Ali Rashid

Title:    President
	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 











	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	ROGER KROHN
	 	 	Signature: /s/ ROGER KROHN
	 

	 	 	 	 

	 	 






	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	Residence Address:
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	425 W. Home Road

Springfield, Ohio 45504







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