UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549


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TUCOWS INC.

(Name of Registrant as Specified Inin Its Charter)


(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other thanOther Than the Registrant)

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TUCOWS INC.

July 31, 201396 Mowat Avenue


Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3M1

Dear Fellow Shareholder:


You are cordially invited to attend the 2013 annual meetingSpecial Meeting of shareholdersShareholders of Tucows Inc. to be held at the offices of the company, 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1,Canada, on Wednesday, September 11,December 4, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. (local time).


The accompanying noticeNotice of annual meetingMeeting and proxy statement describesProxy Statement on the following pages describe the matters we will discussto be presented and votevoted on at the annual meeting. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions.Special Meeting.


Please read the accompanying notice of annual meeting and proxy statement carefully. It is important that your shares be represented at the meeting,Special Meeting, whether or not you attend the meetingSpecial Meeting and regardless of the number of shares you own. Whether or not you plan to attend, you can ensure that your shares are represented and voted at the annual meetingSpecial Meeting in accordance with your instructions by promptly completing, signing, dating and returning the enclosed proxy card in the envelope provided, or by voting your shares over the phone or Internet. You can revoke your proxy anytimeat any time before the annual meetingSpecial Meeting and issue a new proxy as you deem appropriate. You will find the procedures to follow if you wish to revoke your proxy on page 32 of this proxy statement. If you decide to attend the annual meetingSpecial Meeting and wish to change your proxy vote, you may do so by voting in person at the meeting.Special Meeting.


Your vote is very important.We look forward to seeing you on September 11,December 4, 2013.


Sincerely,

 

Elliot Noss
President and Chief Executive Officer



  

 
 

 

  

TUCOWS INC.

96 Mowat Avenue

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3M1

Canada


NOTICE OF ANNUALSPECIAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

September 11,To Be Held On December 4, 2013


The 2013 annual meetingSpecial Meeting of shareholdersShareholders (the “Special Meeting”) of Tucows Inc. will be held at 4:30 p.m. (local time) on September 11, 2013 at the offices of the company, 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1,Canada, to:on December 4, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. (local time), for the following purposes.


 

1.

Elect seven directorsTo approve an amendment (the “Reverse Stock Split Amendment”) to serve on ourthe Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to implement a reverse stock split, within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6 at any time prior to January 31, 2014, with the exact ratio of the reverse stock split to be determined by the Board of Directors untilof the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly elected and qualified;Company at its sole discretion.


 

2.

Ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent public accountants to audit our financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2013; and


3.

TransactTo transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting andSpecial Meeting or any and all adjournments andadjournment or postponements thereof.


At the annual meeting, the BoardThe holders of Directors intends to present Allen Karp, Rawleigh Ralls, Erez Gissin, Joichi Ito, Lloyd Morrisett, Elliot Noss, and Jeffery Schwartz as nominees for election to the Board of Directors.

Only shareholdersour common stock of record on the books of the company at the close of business on July 15,October 18, 2013 will be(the “Record Date”), are entitled to notice of and to vote at the annual meeting andSpecial Meeting, or any adjournment or postponementpostponements thereof. Your vote is important. Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting,Special Meeting, we encourage you to read our proxy statement and vote as soon as possible. As TucowsTucows’ shareholders, you should have received the formal Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (the “Availability Notice”) in the mail. If you did not receive the card in the mail, contact investor relations,our Investor Relations at (416) 538-5493.

 

We will make available at the annual meetingSpecial Meeting a complete list of the shareholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting,Special Meeting, and you may examine the list for any purpose relatedrelating to the annual meeting.Special Meeting.

If the Special Meeting cannot be organized because a quorum is not present, the shareholders present and entitled to vote at such meeting will have the power, except as otherwise provided by statute, to adjourn the Special Meeting to such time and place as they may determine. If the Special Meeting is adjourned for one or more periods aggregating at least 15 days because of an absence of a quorum, the shareholders entitled to vote and present, in person or by proxy, at any subsequent adjournment of the Special Meeting, although less than a quorum, shall nevertheless constitute a quorum for the purpose of approving the Reverse Stock Split Amendment.

 

As part of our efforts to cut unnecessary expenses and conserve the environment, Tucows has elected to provide Internet access to the proxy statement and annual report rather than mailing paper reports. This reduces postage and printing expenses and paper waste. We are sending the Availability Notice to our shareholders on or about July 31,October 24, 2013. All shareholders will have the ability to access the proxy materials on the Internet. Shareholders will also have the ability to request a printed set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials on the Internet or to request a printed copy may be found in the Availability Notice.

Michael Cooperman
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary


Toronto, Ontario 

July 31,Michael Cooperman

Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

October 21, 2013


 

 


 

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for

for the AnnualSpecial Meeting of StockholdersShareholders to Be Held on September 11,December 4, 2013:

 

Your vote is important. Please vote by using the internet,Internet, vote by telephone or if specifically requested, by signingsign and returningreturn the enclosed proxy card attached to the proxy materials as soon as possible to ensure your representation at the annual meeting.Special Meeting. The prompt return of proxies will ensure a quorum and save the Company the expense of further solicitation. Each proxy granted may be revoked by the shareholder appointing such proxy at any time before it is voted. If you receive more than one proxy card because your shares are registered in different names or addresses, each proxy should be voted.

 

We are furnishing proxy materials to you on the Internet. No printed materials will be available unless you specifically request them by following the instructions in the “Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials.” The Notice of Internet Availability will also instruct you as to how you may vote your proxy.

 

This proxy statement and the 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K areis available at

at:http://www.cfpproxy.com/71757175SM for viewing, downloading and printing.

 

A copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, except for exhibits, will be furnished without charge to any shareholder upon written or oral request to Tucows Inc., 96 Mowat Ave, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3M1, Attention: Investor Relations, Telephone: (416) 538-5493.

 


   

TUCOWS INC.

96 Mowat Avenue

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3M1

Canada


PROXY STATEMENT


ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

September 11, 2013


We are sending thisThis proxy statement to shareholdersis furnished in connection with the solicitation by the board of directors, or the “Board,” of Tucows Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, (“Tucows”referred to herein as the “Company,” “Tucows,” “we,” “us” or the “Company”), in connection with our board of directors’ solicitation“our,” of proxies for useto be voted at our annual meetingSpecial Meeting of shareholders to be held on September 11, 2013. We invite you to attend in person. We have also enclosed our 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K (which does not form a partDecember 4, 2013, at the offices of the proxy solicitation material).

VOTING INFORMATION

Record date.


company, 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1, Canada, at 4:30 p.m. (local time), and at any adjournment or postponements thereof. The holders of record date for the annual meeting was July 15, 2013. You may vote all shares of our common stock, that you ownedno par value per share, as of the close of business on that date. On July 15,October 18, 2013 we had 43,227,058(the “Record Date”), will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the Special Meeting and any adjournment or postponements thereof. As of the Record Date, there were 43,579,736 shares of our common stock outstanding.issued and outstanding and entitled to vote. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one (1) vote on eachany matter to be votedpresented at the annual meeting. We will begin mailing this proxy statement and the proxy card on or about July 31, 2013 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on the record date.Special Meeting.


How to vote.


By mail. If you hold your shares through a securities broker (that is, in street name), you may complete and mail the voting instruction card forwarded to you by your broker. If you hold your shares in your name as a holder of record, you can vote your shares by proxy by completing, signing and dating the proxy card and returning it in the enclosed postage-paid envelope. A properly completed and returned proxy cardThe Special Meeting will be voted as you instruct, unless you subsequently revoke your instructions.


By telephone. If you hold your shares through a securities broker, you may vote by telephone byheld to for the following the instructions included with the voting instruction card forwarded to you by your broker. If you vote your shares via telephone, you may incur additional charges.purposes.


By Internet. If you hold your shares through a securities broker, you may vote your shares via the Internet by following the instructions included with the voting instruction card forwarded to you by your broker. If you vote your shares via the Internet, you may incur costs such as telephone and Internet access charges.


At the annual meeting. Submitting your vote by mail or via the Internet does not limit your right to vote in person at the annual meeting if you later decide to do so. If you hold your shares in street name and want to vote in person at the annual meeting, you must obtain a proxy from your broker and bring it to the annual meeting.


Revoking your proxy.


You can revoke your proxy at any time before your shares are voted at the annual meeting by:


sending a written notice of revocation to our secretary at our principal executive office (96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1, Canada);


submitting a properly executed proxy showing a later date to our secretary at our principal executive office; or


attending the annual meeting and voting in person. Merely attending the annual meeting will not revoke your proxy.

 


1.

To approve an amendment (the “Reverse Stock Split Amendment”) to the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (the “Articles of Incorporation”) to implement a reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6 at any time prior to January 31, 2014, with the exact ratio of the Reverse Stock Split to be determined by the Board at its sole discretion.

 

2.

To transact such other business as may properly come before the Special Meeting or any adjournment or postponements thereof.

Returning your proxy without indicating your vote.


If you return a signed proxy card without indicating your vote and do not revoke your proxy, your shares will be voted according to the Board of Directors’ recommendations.


Withholding your vote or voting to “abstain.”


In the election of directors, you can withhold your vote for any of the nominees. Withheld votes will be excluded entirely from the vote and will have no effect on the outcome. On the other proposals, you can vote to “abstain.” If you vote to “abstain,” your shares will be excluded entirely from the vote and will have no effect on the outcome.


Quorum required to hold the annual meeting.


On September 11, 2013, we need a majority of shares of common stock outstanding as of July 15, 2013, the record date, present,The presence, in person or by proxy, of shareholders entitled to havecast at least a majority of the votes that all shareholders are entitled to cast on the Reverse Stock Split Amendment shall constitute a quorum to be able to holdof the annual meeting.Special Meeting. Shares represented by a properly signed and returned proxy are considered present at the annual meetingSpecial Meeting for purposes of determining a quorum, regardless of whether the holder of such shares or proxy withholds his, her or its vote or abstains. Broker non-votes also count as shares present at the annual meetingSpecial Meeting for purposes of a quorum.


Vote required to elect directors.


A plurality of the votes cast is required for the election of directors. Accordingly, the nine nominees for election as directors who receive the highest number of votes actually cast will be elected.


Vote required to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP.


The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by all holdersshareholders entitled to vote on the proposal is required to approve the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as voting against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes are included in the shares present at the Special Meeting for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present, and are counted as a vote against for purposes of determining whether Reverse Stock Split Amendment is approved.

If proxies in the accompanying form are properly voted and received, the shares of our common stock represented thereby will be voted in the manner specified therein. If not otherwise specified, the shares of our common stock represented by the proxies will be voted:

1.

FOR the approval the Reverse Stock Split Amendment to the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation to implement the Reverse Stock Split, within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6, with the exact ratio of the Reverse Stock Split to be determined by the Board of Directors of the Company, to be effected at any time prior to January 31, 2014;

2.

In the discretion of the persons named in the enclosed form of proxy, on any other proposals which may properly come before the Special Meeting or any adjournment or postponements thereof.

Your vote is very important. All properly completed proxy cards delivered pursuant to this solicitation, whether via mail, telephone or the Internet, and not revoked will be voted at the Special Meeting in accordance with the directions given. You may vote in favor of, against, or you may abstain from, voting on the proposal. You should specify your respective choice on the proxy card. If you do not give specific instructions with regard to the matters to be voted upon, the shares of common stock represented by your completed proxy card will be voted in accordance with the board of directors’ recommendation. We strongly encourage you to submit your voting instructions and exercise your right to vote as a shareholder.


Any shareholder who has submitted a proxy may revoke it at any time before it is voted, by timely delivery of a later dated proxy (including a telephone or Internet vote), by delivering a written notice of your revocation addressed to and received by our Corporate Secretary at Tucows Inc., 96 Mowat Avenue Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3M1 or by electing to vote in person at the annual meeting, inSpecial Meeting. The mere presence at the Special Meeting of the person appointing a proxy does not, however, revoke the appointment.

On or byabout October 24, 2013, this proxy statement, together with the related proxy card, is being mailed to our shareholders of record as of the Record Date.

Our common stock is quoted on the NYSE MKT under the symbol “TCX” and entitled to vote is required to ratifyon the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent public accountantToronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “TC”. On October 18, 2013, the closing price for the year ended December 31, 2013.


Street Name Shares and Broker Non-Votes.


If you hold your shares in “street name” through a broker or other nominee, your broker or nominee may not be permitted to exercise voting discretion with respect to some ofcommon stock as reported by the matters to be acted upon. Under the rules that govern brokers who are voting with respect to shares held in street name, brokers have the discretion to vote such shares on routine matters, but not on non-routine matters. Routine matters include the election of directors. Non-routine matters include matters such as the approval of stock plans. Therefore, if you do not give your broker or nominee specific instructions, your shares may not be voted on non-routine matters and will not be counted in the voting results. Shares represented by such “broker non-votes” will be counted in determining whether there is a quorum. Broker non-votes will not be counted toward a nominee’s total of affirmative votes in the election of directors and will have no effect on the approval of the other proposals.


Postponement or adjournment of the annual meeting.


If the annual meeting is postponed or adjourned, your proxy will still be valid and may be voted at the rescheduled meeting. You will still be able to revoke your proxy until it is voted.NYSE AMEX was $2.65 per share.

  

 

  

BENEFICIALPROPOSAL 1 – APPROVAL OF THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT AMENDMENT

The Board is recommending that our shareholders approve the Reverse Stock Split Amendment to implement the Reverse Stock Split within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6 at any time prior to January 31, 2014, with the exact ratio of the Reverse Stock Split to be determined by the Board at its sole discretion.

If approved by the shareholders as proposed, the Board would have the sole discretion to effect the amendment and Reverse Stock Split at any time prior to January 31, 2014, and to fix the specific ratio for the combination, provided that the ratio would be within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6. The Board would also have the discretion to abandon the amendment prior to its effectiveness. The Board is hereby soliciting shareholder approval for the Reverse Stock Split Amendment.

If approved by our shareholders, the Reverse Stock Split proposal would permit (but not require) our Board to effect the Reverse Stock Split of our common stock at any time by a ratio of not less than 1-for-3 and not more than 1-for-6 with the specific ratio to be fixed within this range by our Board in its sole discretion. We believe that enabling the Board to fix the specific ratio of the Reverse Stock Split within the stated range will provide us with the flexibility to implement it in a manner designed to maximize the anticipated benefits for our shareholders. In fixing the ratio, the Board may consider, among other things, factors such as: the historical trading price and trading volume of our common shares; the number of common shares outstanding; the then-prevailing trading price and trading volume of our common shares; the anticipated impact of the Reverse Stock Split on the trading market for our common shares and prevailing general market and economic conditions.

The Reverse Stock Split, if approved by our shareholders, would become effective upon the filing of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or at the later time set forth in the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. The exact timing of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment will be determined by the Board based on its evaluation as to if and when such action will be the most advantageous to our Company and our shareholders. In addition, the Board reserves the right, notwithstanding shareholder approval and without further action by the shareholders, to abandon the Reverse Stock Split Amendment and the Reverse Stock Split if, at any time prior to the effectiveness of the filing of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that it is no longer in our best interest and the best interests of our shareholders to proceed.

The proposed form of the Reverse Stock Split Amendment is attached as Appendix A to this proxy statement. Any amendment to our Articles of Incorporation to effect the Reverse Stock Split will include the Reverse Stock Split ratio fixed by the Board, within the range approved by our shareholders.

If the proposed Reverse Stock Split is implemented, then the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock would be reduced. The Reverse Stock Split will have no effect on our authorized shares of common stock, and the total number of authorized shares would remain the same as before the Reverse Stock split.

Purpose of Proposed Reverse Stock Split

The Board is proposing the Reverse Stock Split in order to reduce the number of issued and outstanding shares and to increase the per share trading value of our common stock. The Board believes that the Reverse Stock Split is desirable and should be approved by shareholders for a number of reasons, including, without limitation, the following:

A sufficiently large increase in the share price of our common stock, such as one that could result from the Reverse Stock Split, would put the Company in a better position to have our shares listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC “NASDAQ”. We believe that listing on NASDAQ will increase our overall trading volume, market capitalization and liquidity and decrease volatility. To be eligible for listing on NASDAQ, we are required to meet the NASDAQ listing standards, which include, among other things, that our shares must meet a minimum closing price per share for a certain period of time;


If we are successful in maintaining a higher stock price, we believe it will improve the perception of our common stock as an investment security and will generate greater interest among professional investors and institutions in us;

The Reverse Stock Split would reduce the number of our outstanding shares to a level more appropriate for a company with our market capitalization;

The reverse split could decrease price volatility, as small price movements now cause relatively large percentage changes in our stock price; and

The Reverse Stock Split may help increase analyst and broker interest in our stock as their policies can discourage them from following or recommending companies with lower stock prices. Because of the trading volatility often associated with lower-priced stocks, many brokerage houses and institutional investors have adopted internal policies and practices that either prohibit or discourage them from investing in such stocks or recommending them to their customers. Some of those policies and practices may also function to make the processing of trades in lower-priced stocks economically unattractive to brokers. Additionally, because brokers’ commissions on transactions in lower-priced stocks generally represent a higher percentage of the stock price than commissions on higher-priced stocks, the current average price per share of our common stock can result in individual shareholders paying transaction costs representing a higher percentage of their total share value than would be the case if the share price were substantially higher.

The reverse split could reduce shareholder transaction costs because investors would pay lower commission to trade a fixed dollar amount of our stock if our stock price were higher than they would if our stock price were lower.

If our share price increases sufficiently, we would be able to facilitate the implementation of a program with a financial institution under which our employees would be able to borrow funds to assist them, should the wish to hold the shares they acquire upon exercise of any stock options, with paying the exercise price and withholding taxes payable upon exercise. If we implement such a program, we will not be a party to any of the agreements between the financial institution and our employees;

You should consider that, although the Board believes that the Reverse Stock Split will in fact increase the price of our common stock, in many cases, because of variables outside of a company’s control (such as market volatility, investor response to the news of a proposed Reverse Stock Split and the general economic environment), the market price of a company's shares of common stock may in fact decline in value after the Reverse Stock Split.  You should also keep in mind that the implementation of the Reverse Stock Split does not have an effect on the actual or intrinsic value of our business or a shareholder's proportional ownership in our Company.  However, should the overall value of our common stock decline after the proposed Reverse Stock Split, then the actual or intrinsic value of the shares of our common stock held by you will also proportionately decrease as a result of the overall decline in value.

Potential Effects of the Proposed Reverse Stock Split

The immediate effect of the Reverse Stock Split would be to reduce the number of shares of our common stock outstanding and to increase the trading price of our common stock. Notwithstanding the decrease in the number of outstanding shares following the proposed Reverse Stock Split, our Board of Directors does not intend for this transaction to be the first step in a “going private transaction” within the meaning of Rule 13e-3 of the Exchange Act.

However, we cannot predict the effect of the Reverse Stock Split upon the market price of our common stock over an extended period, and in many cases, the market value of a company’s Common Stock following the Reverse Stock Split declines. We cannot assure you that the trading price of our common stock after the Reverse Stock Split will rise in inverse proportion to the reduction in the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Also, we cannot assure you that the Reverse Stock Split would lead to a sustained increase in the trading price of our common stock. The trading price of our common stock may change due to a variety of other factors, including our operating results and other factors related to our business and general market conditions.


Examples of Potential Reverse Stock Split at Various Ratios.The table below provides examples of Reverse Stock Splits at various ratios up to 1-for-6:

Shares outstanding at

  

Reverse Stock Split Ratio

  

Shares outstanding

  

Reduction in

October 18, 2013

   

after Reverse Stock Split

 

Shares Outstanding

43,579,736

  

1-for-3

  

14,526,578

  

67%

43,579,736

  

1-for-4

  

10,894,934

  

75%

43,579,736

  

1-for-5

  

8,715,947

  

80%

43,579,736

  

1-for-6

  

7,263,289

  

83%

The resulting decrease in the number of shares of our common stock outstanding could potentially adversely affect the liquidity of our common stock, especially in the case of larger block trades.

Effects on Ownership by Individual Shareholders.  If we implement the Reverse Stock Split, the number of shares of our common stock held by each shareholder would be reduced by multiplying the number of shares held immediately before the Reverse Stock Split by the appropriate ratio and then rounding up to the nearest whole share. The Reverse Stock Split would not affect any shareholder's percentage ownership interest in our Company or proportionate voting power.

Effect on Options.  In addition, if we implement the Reverse Stock Split, we would adjust the number and value of all outstanding option grants under the terms of our 2006 Amended and Restated Equity Compensation Plan (the “2006 Plan”) or its predecessor, our 1996 Equity Compensation Plan entitling the holders to purchase shares of our common stock in accordance with the terms of our equity compensation plans. In particular, we would utilize the conversion ratio to reduce the number of shares of our common stock subject to each such outstanding option grant, and would increase the exercise price per share proportionately in accordance with the terms of each grant and based on the 1-for-3, up to 1-for-6 ratio of the Reverse Stock Split (i.e., the number of shares issuable under such securities would decrease by 67%, up to 83%, respectively, and the exercise price per share would be multiplied by 3, up to 6 times, respectively). These adjustments will result in approximately the same aggregate exercise price being required to be paid for all outstanding options upon exercise. Also, we would reduce the number of shares reserved for issuance and any maximum number of shares with respect to which grants may be made to any participant or in the aggregate under our existing 2006 Plan proportionately, based on the ratio of the Reverse Stock Split. A Reverse Stock Split would not otherwise affect any of the rights currently accruing to holders of our common stock or options exercisable for our common stock.

Other Effects on Outstanding Shares. If we implement the Reverse Stock Split, the rights pertaining to the outstanding shares of our common stock would be unchanged after the Reverse Stock Split. Each share of our common stock issued following the Reverse Stock Split would be fully paid and nonassessable.

The Reverse Stock Split would result in some shareholders owning “odd-lots” of less than 100 shares of our common stock. Brokerage commissions and other costs of transactions in odd-lots are generally higher than the costs of transactions in “round-lots” of even multiples of 100 shares.

Our Common Stock is currently registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As a result, we are subject to the periodic reporting and other requirements of the Securities Exchange Act. The proposed Reverse Stock Split would not affect the registration of our common stock under the Securities Exchange Act.

Authorized Shares of Stock; Potential Anti-Takeover Effect

The Reverse Stock Split would affect all issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock and outstanding rights to acquire Common Stock. We will not change the number of shares of Common Stock currently authorized.  However, upon the effectiveness of the Reverse Stock Split, the number of authorized shares of Common Stock that are not issued or outstanding would increase due to the reduction in the number of shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. 


As of October 18, 2013, we had (i) 250,000,000 shares of authorized common stock, no par value per share, of which 43,579,736 shares of common stock were issued and outstanding, 1,159,315 shares were unissued but reserved for issuance under our 2006 Equity Compensation Plan, and the remaining 205,260,949 shares were authorized but unissued and not reserved for issuance, and (ii) 1,250,000 shares of authorized preferred stock, no par value per share, none of which are issued and outstanding.

We will reserve for issuance any authorized but unissued shares of common stock that would be made available as a result of the proposed Reverse Stock Split.

We do not have any plans, arrangements or understandings for the remaining portion of the authorized but unissued shares that will be available following the Reverse Stock Split.

Because the number of authorized shares of common stock will not be reduced proportionately, the Reverse Stock Split will increase the ability of the Board to issue authorized and unissued shares without further shareholder action. We currently do not have any plans, arrangements or understandings to issue any of the authorized but unissued shares that would become available as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. However, the development of our business may require substantial additional capital, and our continued operations may depend on our ability to raise additional funding, which could occur through fundraising transactions that involve issuance of shares of common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for common stock; depending on several factors including the number of shares that are issued or issuable in any such transaction, such shares could include authorized but unissued shares that would become available as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Authorized but unissued shares of common stock are available for future issuance as may be determined by the Board without further action by our shareholders, unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or securities exchange listing requirements in connection with a particular transaction. These additional shares may be issued in the future for a variety of corporate purposes including, but not limited to, raising additional capital, strategic partnering arrangements, equity incentive plans, acquisitions of assets or businesses, shareholder right plans, and stock splits or stock dividends. Except for a stock split or stock dividend, future issuances of common shares will dilute the voting power and ownership of our existing shareholders and, depending on the amount of consideration received in connection with the issuance, could also reduce shareholders’ equity on a per share basis. If the Board authorizes the issuance of additional shares after the Reverse Stock Split, the dilution to the ownership interest of our existing shareholders may be greater than would occur had the Reverse Stock Split not been effected. Many stock issuances do not require shareholder approval, and the Board generally seeks approval of our shareholders in connection with a proposed issuance only if required at that time.

The authorized shares could also be used to resist or frustrate a third-party transaction that is favored by a majority of the independent shareholders (for example, by permitting issuances that would dilute the stock ownership of a person seeking to effect a change in the composition of the Board or management of the Company or contemplating a tender offer or other transaction for the combination of the Company with another company). This could have an anti-takeover effect, in that additional shares could be issued (within the limits imposed by applicable law) in one or more transactions that could make a change in control or takeover of us more difficult. For example, additional shares could be issued by us so as to dilute the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to obtain control of us. Similarly, the issuance of additional shares to certain persons allied with our management could have the effect of making it more difficult to remove our current management by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of persons seeking to cause such removal. The newly available authorized shares resulting from the Reverse Stock Split have the potential to limit the opportunity for the Company’s shareholders to dispose of their stock at a premium. Despite these possible anti-takeover effects, our board of directors is not proposing the Reverse Stock Split with the intent that it be utilized as a type of anti-takeover device, nor is the Reverse Stock Split being proposed in response to any effort of which we are aware to accumulate shares of our capital stock or obtain control of the Company.

Procedure for Effecting the Proposed Stock Split and Exchange of Stock Certificates

If shareholders approve Proposal 1, we will file with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the Articles of Amendment to our Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation. The Reverse Stock Split will become effective at the time and on the date of filing of, or at such later time as is specified in, the Articles of Amendment, which we refer to as the “effective time” and “effective date,” respectively. Beginning at the effective time, each certificate representing shares of common stock will be deemed for all corporate purposes to evidence ownership of the number of whole shares into which the shares previously represented by the certificate were combined pursuant to the Reverse Stock Split.

If the Reverse Stock Split is effected, as soon as practicable thereafter, shareholders will be notified that the Reverse Stock Split has occurred and instructions will be provided regarding what actions, if any, need to be taken at that time.

Registered and Beneficial Shareholders

Upon the effectiveness of the Reverse Stock Split, we intend to treat shareholders holding our common shares in “street name” (that is, held through a bank, broker or other nominee) in the same manner as registered shareholders whose common shares are registered in their names. Banks, brokers or other nominees will be instructed to effect the Reverse Stock Split for their beneficial holders holding our common shares in “street name;” however, these banks, brokers or other nominees may apply their own specific procedures for processing the Reverse Stock Split. If you hold your common shares with a bank, broker or other nominee, and if you have any questions in this regard, we encourage you to contact your nominee.

Registered “Book-Entry” Shareholders

Our registered shareholders may hold some or all of their shares electronically in book-entry form. These shareholders will not have stock certificates evidencing their ownership of our common shares. They are, however, provided with a statement reflecting the number of our common shares registered in their accounts.

If you hold registered common shares in book-entry form, you do not need to take any action to receive your post-Reverse Stock Split common shares in registered book-entry form. If you are entitled to post-Reverse Stock Split common shares, a transaction statement will automatically be sent to your address of record as soon as practicable after the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split indicating the number of our common shares you hold.

Registered Certificated Shares

Some registered shareholders hold our common shares in certificate form or a combination of certificate and book-entry form. If any of your common shares are held in certificate form, you will receive a transmittal letter from our transfer agent as soon as practicable after the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split. The Company expects that Registrar and Transfer Company will act as exchange agent for purposes of implementing the exchange of stock certificates. The transmittal letter will be accompanied by instructions specifying how you can exchange your certificate representing the pre-Reverse Stock Split of our common shares for a certificate representing the post-Reverse Stock Split shares.


Following the Reverse Stock Split, shareholders holding physical certificates must exchange those certificates for new certificates.

Our transfer agent will advise registered shareholders of the procedures to be followed to exchange certificates in a letter of transmittal to be sent to shareholders. No new certificates will be issued to a shareholder until the shareholder has surrendered the shareholder’s outstanding certificate(s), together with the properly completed and executed letter of transmittal, to the transfer agent. Any old shares submitted for transfer, whether pursuant to a sale, other disposition or otherwise, will automatically be exchanged for new shares.

SHAREHOLDERS SHOULD NOT DESTROY ANY SHARE CERTIFICATE(S) AND SHOULD NOT SUBMIT ANY CERTIFICATE(S) UNTIL REQUESTED TO DO SO.

Fractional Shares

We will not issue fractional shares in connection with the Reverse Stock Split. Instead, shareholders who otherwise would be entitled to receive fractional shares because they hold a number of shares not evenly divisible by the reverse stock split ratio will automatically be entitled to receive an additional fraction of a share of Common Stock to round up to the next whole share.

No Appraisal Rights

No appraisal rights are available under the Pennsylvania General Corporation Law, our Articles of Incorporation, as amended, or our Second Amended and Restated Bylaws, as amended (the “Bylaws”) with respect to the Reverse Stock Split. There may exist other rights or actions under state law for shareholders who are aggrieved by Reverse Stock Splits generally.

Accounting Consequences

Our Common Stock would remain unchanged as no par shares after the Reverse Stock Split. Also, our capital account would remain unchanged, and we do not anticipate that any other accounting consequences would arise as a result of the Reverse Stock Split.

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences of the Reverse Stock Split

The following is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Reverse Stock Split to holders of our shares. This summary is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, and administrative rulings and court decisions in effect as of the date of this document, all of which may be subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. This summary only addresses holders who hold their shares as capital assets within the meaning of the Code and does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to holders subject to special tax treatment, such as financial institutions, dealers in securities, insurance companies, foreign persons and tax-exempt entities. In addition, this summary does not consider the effects of any applicable state, local, foreign or other tax laws.

We have not sought and will not seek any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, or an opinion from counsel with respect to the U.S. federal income tax consequences discussed below. There can be no assurance that the tax consequences discussed below would be accepted by the IRS or a court. The tax treatment of the Reverse Stock Split to holders may vary depending upon a holder’s particular facts and circumstances.

We urge holders to consult with their own tax advisors as to any U.S. federal, state, local or foreign tax consequences applicable to them that could result from the Reverse Stock Split.

The receipt of common stock in the Reverse Stock Split should not result in any taxable gain or loss to a holder for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The aggregate tax basis of the common stock received by a holder as a result of the Reverse Stock Split (including the basis of any fractional share to which a holder is entitled) will be equal to the aggregate basis of the existing Common Stock exchanged for such stock. A holder’s holding period for the common stock received in the Reverse Stock Split will include the holding period of the common stock exchanged therefor.


Required Vote

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast by all shareholders entitled to vote on the proposal is required to approve the Reverse Stock Split Amendment. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as voting against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes are included in the shares present at the Special Meeting for purposes of determining whether a quorum is present, and are counted as a vote against for purposes of determining whether Proposal 1 is approved.

Recommendation of the Board of Directors

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE “FOR” THE APPROVAL OF THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT AMENDMENT to implement THE reverse stock split within a range from 1-for-3 to 1-for-6 at any time prior to JANUARY 24, 2014, with the exact ratio of the Reverse Stock Split to be determined by the Board of Directors of the Company at its sole discretion. .


SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF COMMON STOCKCERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERSMANAGEMENT


Our common stock is the only class of stock entitled to vote at the Special Meeting. Only our shareholders of record as of the close of business on the Record Date are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Special Meeting. As of the Record Date, there were 301 holders of record of our common stock, and we had outstanding 43,576,736 shares of our common stock and each outstanding share is entitled to one (1) vote at the Special Meeting.

Stock ownership of executive officersdirectors and directors.management


The following table sets forth the beneficial ownershipcertain information, as of October 18, 2013, with respect to holdings of our common stock as of July 15, 2013, by our Chief Executive Officer, our two other most highly compensated executive officers,(i) each of our directors and our named executive officers; and (ii) all of our directors and our current executive officers as a group. The information on beneficial ownership in the table and related footnotes is based upon data furnished to us by, or on behalf of, the persons referred to in the table. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to the table, each person named has sole voting power and sole investment power with respect to the shares included in the table.


Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock

     

Name

Common
Stock
Beneficially
Owned
Excluding
Options

 

Stock Options
Exercisable
within
60 Days of
July 15, 2013

Total
Common
Stock
Beneficially
Owned

Percent of
Class(1)

Executive officers and directors

     

Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer

2,730,058

(2)

531,000

3,261,058

7.5%

Michael Cooperman, Chief Financial Officer

770,325

(3)

466,000

1,236,325

2.8%

David Woroch, Executive Vice-President, Sales and Support

270,000

 

356,000

626,000

1.4%

Eugene Fiume, Director

15,000

 

100,000

115,000

*

Erez Gissin, Director

35,000

 

120,000

155,000

*

Joichi Ito, Director

 

105,000

105,000

*

Allen Karp, Director

60,000

 

187,500

247,500

*

Lloyd Morrisett, Director

140,000

(4)

207,500

347,500

*

Rawleigh Ralls, Director

4,250,000

(5)

115,000

4,365,000

10.1%

Jeffrey Schwartz, Director

25,000

 

187,500

212,500

*

Stanley Stern, Director

233,850

 

162,500

396,350

*

All directors and executive officers as a group (13 persons)

8,529,433

 

3,110,000

11,639,433

25.1%

 


Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock

     

Name

Common
Stock
Beneficially
Owned
Excluding
Options

 

Stock Options
Exercisable
within
60 Days of
October 18, 2013

Total
Common
Stock
Beneficially
Owned

Percent of
Class(1)

Executive officers and directors

     

Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer

2,730,058

(2)

531,000

3,261,058

7.4%

Michael Cooperman, Chief Financial Officer

770,325

(3)

466,000

1,236,325

2.8%

David Woroch, Executive Vice-President, Sales and Support

300,000

 

326,000

626,000

1.4%

Erez Gissin, Director

55,000

 

115,000

170,000

*

Joichi Ito, Director

25,000

 

95,000

120,000

*

Allen Karp, Director

97,500

 

165,000

262,500

*

Lloyd Morrisett, Director

177,500

(4)

185,000

362,500

*

Rawleigh Ralls, Director

4,250,000

(5)

130,000

4,380,000

10.0%

Jeffrey Schwartz, Director

62,500

 

165,000

227,500

*

All directors and executive officers as a group (11 persons)

8,468,083

 

2,750,000

11,218,083

24.2%

____________

* Less than 1%

 

*

Less than 1%


(1)

Based on 43,2270,5843,579,736 shares outstanding as of July 15,October 18, 2013, adjusted for shares of common stock beneficially owned but not yet issued.

 

(2)

Includes an aggregate of 786,883 shares of common stock that are indirectly owned by Mr. Noss. Of these shares, Mr. Noss and his wife share investment and voting power over 90,072 shares held in three RRSP accounts belonging to Mr. Noss’ wife, 589,942 shares held in Mr. Noss’ RRSP accounts and 106,869 shares held by two separate family trusts for which Mr. Noss is the trustee.

 

(3)

Includes 148,750 shares of common stock that are held in Mr. Cooperman’s RRSP account.

 

(4)

These shares of common stock are owned jointly by Dr. Morrisett and his wife.

 

(5)

Includes an aggregate of 4,250,000 shares of common stock that are indirectly owned by Mr. Ralls. Of these shares, 225,000 shares are held in Mr. Ralls’ IRA account, 25,000 shares are held in Mrs. Ralls’ IRA account and 4,000,000 are held by Lacuna Hedge Fund LLLP (“Lacuna Hedge”) and are indirectly owned by Lacuna, LLC (“Lacuna LLC”) and Lacuna Hedge GP LLLP (“Lacuna Hedge GP”). Lacuna LLC is the sole general partner of Lacuna Hedge GP, which is the sole general partner of Lacuna Hedge. Neither Lacuna LLC nor Lacuna Hedge GP directly owns any securities of the Company. Each of Lacuna LLC and Lacuna Hedge GP disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by Lacuna Hedge, except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein. Mr. Ralls is a member of Lacuna LLC. Mr. Ralls disclaims beneficial ownership of the shares held by Lacuna Hedge, except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

  

 

 

Stock ownership of principal shareholders.certain beneficial owners


The following table sets forth information with respect to each shareholder known to us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock as of July 15,October 18, 2013.


Beneficial Ownership of

Common Stock

  

Beneficial Ownership of

Common Stock

  

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner

Number of

Shares

Beneficially

Owned

Percent of

Class(1)

  

Number of

Shares

Beneficially

Owned

  

  

Percent of

Class(1)

  

Lacuna, LLC

1100 Spruce Street, Suite 202

Boulder, CO 80302

  4,000,000(2)  9.3

%

  

  

4,000,000

(2)

  

  

9.2

%

        

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Osmium Partners, LLC

300 Drakes Landing Rd, Suite 172

Greenbrae, CA 94904

  2,029,676(3)  4.7

%

  

  

2,029,676

(3)

  

  

4.7

%

               

Elliot Noss

96 Mowat Avenue

Toronto, ON M6K 3M1

  3,261,058(4)  7.5

%

  

  

3,261,058

(4)

  

  

7.4

%


  

(1)

Based on 43,227,05843,576,736 shares outstanding as of July 15,October 18, 2013.

 

  

(2)

As disclosed on Form 4, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 20, 2012 by Mr. Ralls. These shares are held by Lacuna Hedge and are indirectly owned by Lacuna LLC and Lacuna Hedge GP. Lacuna LLC serves as the sole general partner of Lacuna Hedge GP, which serves as the sole general partner of Lacuna Hedge. Neither Lacuna LLC nor Lacuna Hedge GP directly owns any securities of the Issuer. Each of Lacuna LLC and Lacuna Hedge GP disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities held by Lacuna Hedge, except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein. Mr. Ralls is a member of Lacuna LLC. Mr. Ralls disclaims beneficial ownership of the securities held by Lacuna Hedge, except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.

   
 

(3)

As disclosed on Schedule 13G, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2013 by Mr. John H. Lewis, the controlling member of Osmium Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Osmium Partners”). Osmium Partners serves as the general partner of Osmium Capital, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Fund”) and Osmium Capital II, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Fund II”), and Osmium Spartan, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“Fund III”) (all of the foregoing, collectively, the “Filers”). The Fund, Fund II and Fund III are private investment vehicles formed for the purpose of investing and trading in a wide variety of securities and financial instruments. The Fund, Fund II and Fund III directly own the common shares reported in this proxy statement. Mr. Lewis and Osmium Partners may be deemed to share with the Fund, Fund II and Fund III (and not with any third party) voting and dispositive power with respect to such shares. Each Filer disclaims beneficial ownership with respect to any shares other than the shares owned directly by such Filer.

  


  

(4)

As disclosed on Form 4, filed with the SEC on July 9, 2013 by Mr. Noss. These shares include an aggregate of 786,883 shares of common stock that are indirectly owned by Mr. Noss. Of these shares, Mr. Noss and his wife share investment and voting power over 90,072 shares held in three RRSP accounts belonging to Mr. Noss’ wife, 589,942 shares held in Mr. Noss’ RRSP accounts and 106,869 shares held by two separate family trusts for which Mr. Noss is the trustee.

 



PROPOSAL NO. 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS


Our business is managed under the direction of our Board of Directors. Our Bylaws provide that our Board determines the number of directors from time to time, which is currently set at a maximum of nine. Our directors are all subject to annual election. The current term of office of all of our directors expires upon election of their successors at the 2013 annual meeting.


Our Board of Directors is presently composed of nine members of whom seven are standing for re-election. Stanley Stern and Eugene Fiume, current members of our Board, will not stand for re-election. Following the Annual Meeting, the Board intends to reduce the number of directors to seven. The Board of Directors proposes that the following seven nominees, all of whom are currently serving as directors, be elected for a term of one year and until their successors are duly selected and qualified. Unless otherwise directed, the individuals named in the accompanying form of proxy will vote that proxy for the election of the nominees, with each to hold office for a term of one year until the 2014 annual meeting or until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation, removal or death. The Board of Directors expects that all of the nominees will be available for election but, in the event that any of the nominees are not available, proxies received will be voted for substitute nominees to be designated by the Board or, in the event no such designation is made, proxies will be voted for a lesser number of nominees.


Set forth below is biographical information for each nominee standing for election at the 2013 Annual Meeting. The following descriptions also outline the specific experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills that qualify each person to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors.


The directors standing for election are:

Allen Karp

Co-Chairman of the Board since September 2012 and Director since October 2005

Mr. Karp, 72, was with Cineplex Odeon Corporation in various positions since 1986, where he retired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2002 and as Chairman Emeritus in 2005. From 1966 to 1986, he practiced law at the law firm of Goodman and Carr LLP, where he was named partner in 1970. Mr. Karp is a Director of Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc., the Chair of its corporate governance committee and sits on the audit committee. Mr. Karp is Chairman of the Board of Directors of IBI Group Inc., and Chairman of the Nominating, Governance and Compensation Committee from 2007-2012. Mr. Karp is a past director of the Toronto International Film Festival Group, where he served as Chairman of the Board from 1999 to 2007 and has served as Chairman of its Corporate Governance Committee since 2007.


Mr. Karp has extensive executive leadership skills, long-standing senior management experience, a strong ethics and compliance focus and audit committee experience. These skills and qualifications, in addition to his current service on the boards of directors of other public companies, enable him to bring valuable perspectives to our Board, particularly with respect to corporate governance matters, and qualify him to be a director of Tucows.

Rawleigh H. RallsCo-Chairman of the Board since September 2012 and Director since May 2009


Mr. Ralls, 51, is a founding partner of Lacuna, LLC, an investment management company focused on both public and private companies, which he formed in October 2006. Prior thereto, from 1999 to 2006, he was Chairman of Netidentity.com, an Internet email and web hosting company, where he led corporate strategy and development until the firm’s sale in 2006. Mr. Ralls currently serves on the Board of Directors of a number of companies, including Savoya, LLC, IntraOp Medical, Knowledge Factor, and Mocapay, Inc.


Mr. Ralls has a wealth of industry experience, most notably the experience that he gained through his leadership of Netidentity.com. In addition, Mr. Ralls contributes a unique perspective to the Board’s discussions and considerations based on the two decades of investing and portfolio management experience. All of these attributes qualify Mr. Ralls to be a director of Tucows.


Erez GissinDirector since August 2001

Mr. Gissin, 54, has served since 2010 as a managing partner in Helios Energy Investment, a Renewable Energy investment fund, and since 2005 as the Chief Executive Officer of BCID Ltd., an investment company focusing on infrastructure development projects in China. From July 2000 to March 2005, Mr. Gissin has served as the Chief Executive Officer of IP Planet Networks Ltd., an Israeli satellite communication operator providing Internet backbone connectivity and solutions to Internet Service Providers. From July 1995 to July 2000, Mr. Gissin was Vice President, Business Development of Eurocom Communications Ltd., a holding company that controls several telecommunications services, equipment and Internet companies in Israel.

Mr. Gissin has a strong background in the internet communications industry and has gained significant institutional knowledge in his long tenure as one of our directors. Mr. Gissin also has significant leadership experience as the Chief Executive Officer of BCID Ltd. and IP Planet Networks Ltd. and has extensive financial acumen derived from his years of executive experience. All of these qualities qualify Mr. Gissin to be a director of Tucows.

Joichi ItoDirector since December 2008

Mr. Ito, 47, is the director of the MIT Media Lab. He is also the Chairman of Creative Commons, where he has served on the board since April 2008 and is a co-founder of Digital Garage, where he has served on the board since September 2006. Since June 2012, Mr. Ito has been a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Times Corporation and in June 2013, he became a member of the Board of Directors of the Sony Corporation.

From June 2002 until July 2008, Mr. Ito served on the board of Pia Corporation, a ticket and entertainment magazine company in Japan (Tokyo Stock Exchange 4337). Since May 2009 Mr. Ito has served on the board of CCC, a video rental franchise company in Japan (Tokyo Stock Exchange 4756). He served on the board of ICANN, a U.S. non-profit corporation, from December 2004 until December 2007. ICANN manages the domain name registration system that Tucows uses for its domain name business and ICANN receives fees from Tucows for domain name registrations.

Mr. Ito is also on the board of directors of a number of non-profit organizations, including The Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and The Mozilla Foundation. He has created numerous Internet companies, including PSINet Japan, Digital Garage (Tokyo Stock Exchange 4819) and Infoseek Japan and was an early stage investor in Twitter, Six Apart, Flickr, SocialText, Dopplr, Last.fm, Rupture and Kongregate. He has served and continues to serve on various Japanese central as well as local government committees and boards, advising the government on IT, privacy and computer security related issues.

Mr. Ito has extensive experience as a director of a number of publicly traded companies and has a wide range of experience with internet companies generally. This experience, along with Mr. Ito’s domain specific knowledge, enables him to bring key experience to the Company and qualifies him to be a director of Tucows.

Lloyd MorrisettDirector since February 1994

Dr. Morrisett, 83, served as a director and as a member of the audit and compensation committees of Infonautics, Inc., our predecessor, beginning in February 1994. Dr. Morrisett also served as chairman of the Board of Directors of Infonautics beginning in March 1998 until we merged with Tucows Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Tucows Delaware”), in August 2001 and became Tucows Inc. He is the co-founder of the Children’s Television Workshop—now Sesame Workshop—and served from 1969 to 1998 as president of The Markle Foundation, a charitable organization.


The breadth of Dr. Morrisett’s career has provided him with extensive business acumen and leadership experience. In addition, as a member of the board of directors of our predecessor, Dr. Morrisett is uniquely positioned to provide our Board and the Company with an important historical perspective with respect to the Company’s operations and strategy. These factors, combined with Dr. Morrisett’s experience as a public company board, audit committee and compensation committee member qualify him to be a director of Tucows.

Elliot NossDirector since August 2001


Mr. Noss, 51, is our President and Chief Executive Officer and has served in such capacity since the completion of our merger with Tucows Delaware in August 2001. From May 1999 until completion of the merger in August 2001, Mr. Noss served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Tucows Delaware. Before that, from April 1997 to May 1999, Mr. Noss served as Vice President of Corporate Services of Tucows Interactive Ltd., which was acquired by Tucows Delaware in May 1999.



Mr. Noss’s lengthy service as our Chief Executive Officer has provided him with extensive knowledge of, and experience with, Tucows’ operations, strategy and financial position. In addition, Mr. Noss has widespread knowledge of the internet and software industry generally that, coupled with his operational expertise, qualifies him to be a director of Tucows.

Jeffrey SchwartzDirector since June 2005


Mr. Schwartz, 51, has served as a director of Dorel Industries since 1987 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2003. Mr. Schwartz is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal and has a degree in the field of business administration.


Mr. Schwartz has a significant amount of public-company financial expertise, particularly in his executive experience as the chief financial officer of Dorel Industries, Inc. This executive experience, along with Mr. Schwartz’s service as one of our Audit Committee members (and as Chairman of our Audit Committee since 2005), qualifies him to be a director of Tucows.

  

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a voteSHAREHOLDERS’ PROPOSALS FOR the nominees listed above.THE 2014 ANNUAL MEETING


CORPORATE GOVERNANCE


Governance Principals


The governance principals of our Board of Directors are set forth in the charters of our Audit Committee, our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee, our code of conduct and our code of ethics. Each of these documents and various other documents embodying our governance principals are published on our website at www.tucowsinc.com. Amendments and waivers of our code of ethics will either be posted on our website or filed with the SEC on a Current Report on Form 8-K.


Affirmative Determinations Regarding Director Independence


In 2013, the Board of Directors determined that a majority of the Board of Directors met the independence requirements prescribed by the listing standards of NYSE MKT.


Meetings


Our Board of Directors met seven times during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 (“Fiscal 2012”). Our Board of Directors also took action by unanimous written consent on two occasions during Fiscal 2012. With the exception of Mr. Ito, each director attended at least 80% of the total number of meetings of the Board of Directors and the committees on which he served during Fiscal 2012.


Executive Sessions of Independent Directors


A majority of the independent directors met quarterly in executive sessions without members of our management present. Mr. Karp was responsible for chairing the executive sessions for Fiscal 2012.


Policy regarding attendance


Directors are expected, but are not required, to attend board meetings, meetings of committees on which they serve, and shareholder meetings, and to spend the time needed and meet as frequently as necessary to discharge their responsibilities properly. Elliot Noss attended our 2012 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in person while the remainder of the Board of Directors were availableby teleconference.


Committees


Our Board of Directors has two committees, an Audit Committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and a Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee. Our committees generally meet in connection with regularly scheduled quarterly and annual meetings of the Board of Directors, with additional meetings held as often as its members deem necessary to perform its responsibilities. From time to time, depending on the circumstances, the Board may form a new committee or disband a current committee.


The Audit Committee was reconstituted on November 12, 2012 and currently consists of Mr. Schwartz (Chair), Mr. Karp and Dr. Morrisett.


The Audit Committee held five meetings during Fiscal 2012. The Audit Committee also took action by unanimous written consent on one occasion during Fiscal 2012. The Audit Committee’s purposes are:


To assist the Board of Directors in its oversight of (1) our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of our financial statements, and (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;


To interact directly with and evaluate the performance of the independent auditors, including to determine whether to engage or dismiss the independent auditors and to monitor the independent auditors’ qualifications and independence; and


To prepare the report required by the rules of the SEC to be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.



Each of the members of our Audit Committee is an independent director and satisfies the independence standards specified in Section 803 of the NYSE MKT listing requirements and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements including balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements. Additionally, the Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Schwartz qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under Item 407(d)(v) of Regulation S-K. The Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for the Audit Committee, which the Audit Committee has reviewed and determined to be in compliance with the rules set forth in the NYSE MKT listing requirements and which is available atwww.tucowsinc.com/investors/charters.php.


The Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee was reconstituted on November 12, 2012 and currently consists of Messrs. Karp (Chair), Schwartz and Ralls.


The Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee held two meetings during Fiscal 2012. This committee also took action by unanimous written consent on one occasion during Fiscal 2012. The Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee’s purposes are:


o

To recommend and review the Company’s executive compensation;


o

To review employee compensation and benefit programs, including risk oversight;


o

To develop and recommend to the Board a set of corporate governance guidelines applicable to the Company and to periodically review the guidelines;


o

To oversee the Board’s annual evaluation of its performance and the performance of the other Board committees;


o

To advise the Board regarding membership and operations of the Board;


o

To oversee the Company’s director nominating process;


o

To identify individuals qualified to serve as members of the Board, to select, subject to ratification of the Board, the director nominees for the next annual meeting of shareholders and to recommend to the Board individuals to fill vacancies on the Board; and


o

To carry out responsibilities regarding related matters as required by the federal securities laws.


The Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee may delegate authority to one or more members of the committee or one or more members of management when appropriate, but no such delegation is allowed if the authority is required by law, regulation or listing standard to be exercised by the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee as a whole. Each of the members of our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee are independent directors as defined in Section 803 of the NYSE MKT listing standards. The Board of Directors has adopted a written charter for the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee, which the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee has reviewed and determined to be in compliance with the rules set forth in the NYSE MKT listing requirements and which is available atwww.tucowsinc.com/investors/charters.php.


Board Leadership Structure and Responsibilities


Our Board oversees management’s performance on behalf of our shareholders. The Board’s primary responsibilities are to (1) monitor management’s performance to assess whether we are operating in an effective, efficient and ethical manner to create value for our shareholders, (2) periodically review our long-range plans, business initiatives, capital projects and budget matters and (3) select, oversee and determine compensation for our President and Chief Executive Officer who, with senior management, manages our day-to-day operations.


The Board and its committees meet throughout the year on a set schedule, and also hold special meetings and act by written consent from time to time as appropriate. The independent directors meet without management present at regularly scheduled executive sessions at each quarterly Board meeting and some special Board meetings. The Board has delegated certain responsibilities and authority to its Audit Committee and Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee. The Audit Committee periodically discusses with management the Company's policies and guidelines regarding risk assessment and risk management, as well as the Company's major financial risk exposures and the steps that management has taken to monitor and control such exposures. The Audit Committee also reviews, evaluates and recommends changes to the Company’s financial reporting policies and procedures. The Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee reviews and evaluates the risks underlying the Company’s compensation policies and plans and recommends changes to these policies and plans accordingly. The Board believes that risk oversight actions taken by the Board and its committees are appropriate and effective at this time.



We believe it is beneficial to separate the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chairman to facilitate their differing roles in the leadership of our company. The role of the Chairman includes setting the agenda for, and presiding over, all meetings of the Board, including executive sessions of non-management or independent directors, providing input regarding information sent to the Board, serving as liaison between the Chief Executive Officer and the independent directors and providing advice and assistance to the Chief Executive Officer. The Chairman is also a key participant in establishing performance objectives and overseeing the process for the annual evaluation of our Chief Executive Officer’s performance. In addition, under our Bylaws, our Chairman has the authority to call special meetings of our Board and shareholders. In contrast, our Chief Executive Officer is responsible for handling our day-to-day management and direction, serving as a leader to the management team and formulating corporate strategy.


Currently our Co-Chairmen are Mr. Karp and Mr. Ralls, while Mr. Noss serves as our Chief Executive Officer. Both Mr. Karp and Mr. Ralls are independent directors. Mr. Karp has extensive executive leadership skills, long-standing senior management and board experience, a strong ethics and compliance focus and audit committee experience. Mr. Ralls has a wealth of industry experience, most notably the experience that he gained through his leadership of Netidentity.com. In addition, Mr. Ralls contributes a unique perspective to the Board's discussions and considerations based on two decades of investing and portfolio management experience.


We believe that this leadership structure for the Board provides us with the most effective level of oversight over the Company’s business operations while at the same time enhancing the Board’s ability to oversee our enterprise-wide approach to risk management and corporate governance and best serves the interests of our shareholders. It allows for a balanced corporate vision and strategy, which is necessary to address the challenges and opportunities we face at this time and demonstrates our commitment to good corporate governance. In addition, it allows for appropriate oversight of the Company by the Board, fosters appropriate accountability of management and provides a clear delineation of responsibilities for each position.


Role of the Board in Risk Oversight


One of our Board’s key functions is providing oversight of our risk management process. The Board does not have a standing risk management committee, but rather administers this oversight function directly through the Board as a whole, as well as through Board standing committees that address risks inherent in their respective areas of oversight. In particular, our Audit Committee has the responsibility to consider and discuss our major financial risk exposures and the steps our management has taken to monitor and control these exposures, our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee assesses and monitors whether any of our compensation policies and programs has the potential to encourage excessive risk-taking, monitors our major legal compliance risk exposures and our program for promoting and monitoring compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and our Board is responsible for monitoring and assessing strategic risk exposure and other risks not covered by our committees.


The full Board (or the appropriate committee in the case of risks that are under the purview of a particular committee) receives reports on the risks we face from our Chief Executive Officer or other members of management to enable us to understand our risk identification, risk management and risk mitigation strategies. When a committee receives the report, the chairman of the relevant committee reports on the discussion to the full Board during the committee reports portion of the next Board meeting. However, it is the responsibility of the committee chairs to report findings regarding material risk exposures to the Board as quickly as possible.


Director nomination process.


Our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee is responsible for identifying potential nominees to the Board, and will consider any candidate proposed in good faith by one of our shareholders. As set forth in the charter of the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee, recommendations submitted by the Company’s shareholders shall be timely submitted, along with the following to the attention of the Chairperson of the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee at 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3M1 Canada, the following:


the candidate’s name and the information about the individual that would be required to be included in a proxy statement under the rules of the SEC;


information about the relationship between the candidate and the nominating shareholder;


the consent of the candidate to serve as a director; and


proof of the number of shares of our common stock that the nominating shareholder owns and the length of time the shares have been owned.


In order for a shareholder nominee to be considered by the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee, the shareholder nomination must be delivered at least 120 days before the date on which we first mailed our proxy materials for our prior year’s annual meeting of shareholders. Subject to compliance with statutory or regulatory requirements, our Board of Directors does not expect that candidates recommended by shareholders will be evaluated in a different manner than other candidates.


In considering candidates for nomination, our Board of Directors shall seek individuals who evidence strength of character, mature judgment and the ability to work collegially with others. Furthermore, it is the policy of our Board of Directors that it endeavor to have directors who collectively possess a broad range of skills, expertise, industry and other knowledge and business and other experience useful to the effective oversight of our business; therefore, in considering whether to nominate a person for election as a director, the independent directors and our Board of Directors will consider, among other factors, the contribution such person can make to the collective competencies of the Board based on such person’s background. In determining whether to nominate a current director for re-election, the Board will take into account these same criteria as well as the director’s past performance, including his or her participation in and contributions to the activities of the Board.


Ethics policy for senior officers.


Our Board of Directors has adopted an ethics policy for our senior officers, including our Chief Executive Officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. A copy of the ethics policy for senior officers can be obtained without charge from our Internet web site athttp://tucowsinc.com/investors/.


Communications with the Board of Directors.


We provide an informal process for shareholders to send communications to our Board of Directors. If you wish to communicate with our Board of Directors, you may send correspondence to the attention of our Secretary at 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3M1 Canada. The Secretary will submit your correspondence to the Chairmen of the Board of Directors, the chairman of the appropriate committee, or the appropriate individual director, as applicable.



Director compensation.


Under the terms of our 2006 Amended and Restated Equity Compensation Plan (the “2006 Plan”), we make automatic formula grants of nonqualified stock options to our non-employee directors and members of committees of our Board of Directors as described below. All stock-based compensation for our non-employee directors is governed by our 2006 Plan or its predecessor, our 1996 Equity Compensation Plan (the “1996 Plan”). All options granted under the automatic formula grants are immediately exercisable, have an exercise price equal to the fair market value per common share as determined by the per share price as of the close of business on the date of grant and have a five-year term. Effective October 1, 2012 the following automatic formula grants of nonqualified stock options to our non-employee directors and members of committees of our Board of Directors will be made:


on the date a non-employee director becomes a director, he or she is granted options to purchase 17,500 shares of our common stock;


on the date a director becomes a member of the Audit Committee, he or she is granted options to purchase 15,000 shares of our common stock;


on the date each director becomes a member of the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee, he or she is granted options to purchase 10,000 shares of our common stock; and


on each date on which we hold our annual meeting of shareholders, each non-employee director in office immediately before and after the annual election of directors will receive an automatic grant of options to purchase 15,000 shares of our common stock.

Effective as of October 1, 2012, the Co-Chairmen of our Board of Directors and all non-employee directors receive an annual fee of $15,000. In addition, our Co-Chairmen of the Board each receive an annual fee of $15,000 and the Chairmen of our Audit Committee and our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee each receive an annual fee of $4,000. Non-employee directors who serve as members of our Audit Committee receive an annual fee of $10,000 and non-employee directors who serve on our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee receive an annual fee of $10,000. In addition, all non-employee directors receive the following meeting attendance fees:

Director Meeting Attendance Fee

    

Board Meeting Personal Attendance Fees at our May scheduled Board Meeting (inclusive of Committee fees)

 $6,000

Board Meeting Personal Attendance Fees at our November scheduled Board Meeting (inclusive of Committee fees)

 $4,000

Regularly Scheduled Telephonic Board Meeting Attendance Fees (per meeting)

 $750

Regularly Scheduled Telephonic Audit Committee Meeting Attendance Fees (per meeting)

 $400

Regularly Scheduled Telephonic Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee Meeting Attendance Fees (per meeting)

 $400


All annual fees are paid to our directors in quarterly installments.


We also purchase directors and officers’ liability insurance for the benefit of our directors and officers as a group in the amount of $10 million. We also reimburse our directors for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of our Board of Directors or its committees. No fees are payable to directors for attendance at specially called meetings of the Board.


The table below shows all compensation paid to each of our non-employee directors during 2012. Each of the directors listed below served for the entire year.


Name

  

Fees earned or

paid in cash ($)

  

  

Option

awards ($)(1)

  

  

All other

compensation ($)

  

  

Total ($)

 

(a)

  

(b)

  

  

(d)

  

  

(g)

  

  

(h)

 

Stanley Stern

  

  

29,800

  

  

  

6,060

  

  

  

  

  

  

35,860

  

Eugene Fiume

  

  

18,750

  

  

  

6,060

  

  

  

  

  

  

24,810

  

Erez Gissin

  

  

18,750

  

  

  

6,060

  

  

  

  

  

  

24,810

  

Joichi Ito

  

  

11,250

  

  

  

8,333

  

  

  

  

  

  

19,583

  

Allen Karp

  

  

46,210

  

  

  

11,363

  

  

  

  

  

  

57,573

  

Lloyd Morrisett

  

  

36,750

  

  

  

6,060

  

  

  

  

  

  

42,810

  

Rawleigh Ralls

  

  

26,043

  

  

  

17,423

  

  

  

  

  

  

43,466

  

Jeffrey Schwartz

  

  

38,750

  

  

  

11,363

  

  

  

  

  

  

50,113

  

  

  

  

226,303

  

  

  

72,722

  

  

  

  

  

  

299,025

 


(1)

On September 11, 2012 under the 2006 Plan, our non-employee directors were awarded these automatic formula option grants. Under the 2006 Plan, these options vested immediately and carry an exercise price of $1.38. All these options remained outstanding at December 31, 2012 and have a five year term. The aggregate grant date fair value of the option grants was calculated in accordance with FASB ASC 718 and based on the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and used the same assumptions that are set forth in Note 9 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.



EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION


Please see “—Election of Directors” for a brief biography of Elliot Noss, President and CEO.


Michael Cooperman, Chief Financial Officer, has more than 30 years of experience in the financial and general management fields, primarily as a senior financial executive in the technology industry. Prior to joining Tucows, Mr. Cooperman worked at Archer Enterprise Systems Inc., a provider of SalesForce Automation Software. He also served as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, President and member of the board at SoftQuad International Inc., a leading provider of content publishing tools for the Internet and corporate Intranets. Mr. Cooperman holds a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences Degree from the University of South Africa.


David Woroch, Executive Vice President, Sales and Support, joined Tucows as Director of Sales in March 2000, and was promoted to Vice President of Sales in June 2001 responsible for all sales activities. He assumed responsibility for customer support in March 2004 and Domain Direct, the online retail department, in February 2005. In June 2005, he was given responsibility for the marketing department and became Vice President Sales and Marketing. In June 2009, David was named Executive Vice-President, Sales and Support. Mr. Woroch holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.


Summary Compensation Table


The following Summary Compensation table provides a summary of the compensation earned by the chief executive officer, Elliot Noss, and our two other most highly compensated executive officers for services rendered in all capacities during 2012. Specific aspects of this compensation are dealt with in further detail in the tables that follow. All dollar amounts below are shown in U.S. dollars. If necessary, amounts that were paid in Canadian dollars during the 2011 fiscal year were converted into U.S. dollars based upon the exchange rate of 1.0004 Canadian dollars for each U.S. dollar, which represents the average Bank of Canada exchange rate for 2012.

Name and Principal Position

Year

Salary

($)

Bonus(1)

($)

Stock

Awards(2)

($)

Option

Awards(3)

($)

All Other

Compensation(4)

($)

Total

($)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

    

(f)

(i)

(j)

Elliot Noss

2012

  350,860  200,470    23,070  10,495  584,895

President and Chief

2011

  345,090  93,405    14,385  10,636  463,516

Executive Officer

                         

Michael Cooperman

2012

  274,890  142,493    23,070  12,295  452,748

Chief Financial Officer

2011

  270,315  64,417    14,385  12,459  361,576

David Woroch

2012

  228,909  147,491    23,070  8,696  408,166

Vice President, Sales

2011

  224,309  64,417    14,385  8,812  311,923

(1)

Represents bonus earned during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Of the 2012 amount, the following amounts were paid in February 2013:

Elliot Noss

 $95,589

Michael Cooperman

 $62,975

David Woroch

 $65,787

Of the 2011 amount, the following amounts were paid in March 2012:

Elliot Noss

 $25,443

Michael Cooperman

 $17,547

David Woroch

 $17,547

(2)

Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of such awards, calculated in accordance with FASB ASC 718. Please see Note 9 entitled “Stock Options” in the notes to our audited financial statements, for a discussion of the assumptions underlying these calculations.


(3)

Represents the aggregate grant date fair value of such awards, calculated in accordance with FASB ASC 718. Please see Note 9 entitled “Stock Options” in the notes to our audited financial statements, for a discussion of the assumptions underlying these calculations.

(4)

Amounts reported in this column are comprised of the following items:

 

Year

Additional

Health

Spending

Credits

($)

Car

Allowance

($)

Health

Club

Membership

($)

All Other

Compensation

($)

Elliot Noss

2012

  1,499  8,996    10,495
 

2011

  1,519  9,117    10,636

Michael Cooperman

2012

  1,499  8,397  2,399  12,295
 

2011

  1,519  8,509  2,431  12,459

David Woroch

2012

  1,499  7,197    8,696
 

2011

  1,519  7,293    8,812

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth information concerning stock options held by the named executive officers as of December 31, 2012:

Name and Principal Position

Number of

Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options

(#) Exercisable

Number of

Securities

Underlying

Unexercised

Options

(#) Unexercisable

Option

Exercise

Price ($)

Option

Expiration

Date

Elliot Noss

  214,575    0.37

8/5/13

   223,991    0.37

8/5/13

   1,394,738    0.37

8/5/13

   76,500    0.36

8/4/13

   200,000    0.58

8/10/14

   150,000    0.85

3/18/14

   60,000    0.60

5/22/15

   64,000  64,000  0.70

5/16/17

   8,750  26,250  0.73

8/14/18

     30,000  1.38

5/17/19

   2,392,554  120,250     
              

Michael Cooperman

  621,475    0.37

8/5/13

   150,000    0.58

8/10/14

   120,000    0.85

3/18/14

   75,000    0.60

5/22/15

   64,000  64,000  0.70

5/16/17

   8,750  26,250  0.73

8/14/18

     30,000  1.38

5/17/19

   1,039,225  120,250     
              

David Woroch

  30,000    0.36

8/4/13

   60,000    0.58

8/10/14

   80,000    0.85

3/18/14

   65,000    0.60

5/22/15

   64,000  64,000  0.70

5/16/17

   8,750  26,250  0.73

8/14/18

     30,000  1.38

5/17/19

   307,750  120,250     


The stock options grants listed in the above table were issued under our 1996 Plan as well as under our 2006 Plan.

Under the 1996 Plan, these options vest over a period of four years and have a 10 year term. These options are not exercisable for one year after the grant. Thereafter they become exercisable at the rate of 25% after the first year, with the remaining 75% vesting evenly at each month end over the next 36 months, becoming fully exercisable after the fourth year.

Under the 2006 Plan, these options vest over a period of four years and have a 7 year term. These options are not exercisable for one year after the grant. Thereafter they become exercisable at the rate of 25% per annum, becoming fully exercisable after the fourth year.

Potential Payments on Termination or Change In Control

We have certain agreements that require us to provide compensation to our named executive officers in the event of a termination of employment or a change in control of Tucows. These agreements are summarized following the table below and do not include any payment for termination for cause. The tables below show estimated compensation payable to each named executive officer upon various triggering events. Actual amounts can only be determined upon the triggering event.

Elliot Noss(1)

 

2012

  

Termination

without Cause

  

  

Change in

Control

  

Compensation

 

  

  

 

  

  

 

  

Base Salary/Severance(2)

 

  

  

$

681,074

  

  

$

2,481,074

  

Bonus Plan(3)

 

  

  

  

339,864

  

  

  

339,864

  

Acceleration of Unvested Equity Awards(4)

 

  

  

  

67,798

  

  

  

67,798

  

Benefits(5)

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Car Allowance

 

  

  

  

8,996

  

  

  

8,996

  

Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

 

  

  

  

1,499

  

  

  

1,499

  

Health club

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

  

  

$

1,099,231

  

  

$

2,899,231

  

Michael Cooperman(1)

 

2012

  

Termination

without Cause

  

  

Change in

Control

  

Compensation

 

  

  

 

  

  

 

  

Base Salary/Severance(2)

 

  

  

$

422,351

  

  

$

1,322,351

  

Bonus Plan(3)

 

  

  

  

177,262

  

  

  

177,262

  

Acceleration of Unvested Equity Awards(4)

 

  

  

  

60,685

  

  

  

67,798

  

Benefits(5)

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Car Allowance

 

  

  

  

8,397

  

  

  

8,397

  

Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

 

  

  

  

1,499

  

  

  

1,499

  

Health club

 

  

  

  

2,399

  

  

  

2,399

  

  

 

  

  

$

672,593

  

  

$

1,579,706

  

David Woroch(1)

 

2012

  

Termination

without Cause

  

  

Change in

Control

  

Compensation

 

  

  

 

  

  

 

  

Base Salary/Severance(2)

 

  

  

$

332,024

  

  

$

332,024

  

Bonus Plan(3)

 

  

  

  

175,430

  

  

  

175,430

  

Acceleration of Unvested Equity Awards(4)

 

  

  

  

13,325

  

  

  

13,325

  

Benefits(5)

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Car Allowance

 

  

  

  

7,197

  

  

  

7,197

  

Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

 

  

  

  

1,499

  

  

  

1,499

  

Health club

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

  

  

$

529,475

  

  

$

529,475

  


(1)

For the purpose of the table we assumed an annual base salary at the executive’s level as of December 31, 2012

(2)

Severance for Mr. Noss is compensation for one year plus one month additional compensation for each completed year of service capped at 24 months. For Messrs. Cooperman and Woroch, severance compensation is for six months plus one month additional compensation for each completed year of service.


(3)

For the purpose of the table we assumed that the annual incentive bonus target as of December 31, 2012 had been achieved and that no overachievement bonus or special bonuses would be payable.

(4)

For purposes of the above table, we have assumed that if we terminate Mr. Noss without cause all his unvested options vest automatically and that for Messrs. Cooperman or Woroch, that their options continue to vest through any severance period. On a change in control we have assumed that all unvested options for Messrs. Noss or Cooperman vest automatically and that for Mr. Woroch, that his options continue to vest through and until the end of any severance period. Amounts disclosed in this table equal the closing market value of our common stock as of December 30, 2012, minus the exercise price, multiplied by the number of unvested shares of our common stock that would vest. The closing market value of our common stock on December 31, 2012 was $1.44.

(5)

Pay for unused vacation, extended health, matching registered retirement savings plan benefit, life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance are standard programs offered to all employees and are therefore not reported.

Employment Agreements—Termination

Employment contracts are currently in place for each of the named executive officers, whose contracts detail the severance payments that will be provided on termination of employment and the consequent obligations of non-competition and non-solicitation.

The following details the cash severance payment that will be paid to each of the named executive officers in the event of termination without cause or termination for good reason.

Upon termination without cause, Mr. Woroch is entitled to a severance payment in the amount of six months’ compensation plus one months’ compensation for each additional completed year of service. Severance payments can be made in equal monthly installments. Mr. Woroch is bound by a standard non-competition covenant for a period of twelve months following his termination.

Messrs Noss and Cooperman’s employment agreements are subject to early termination by us due to:

the death or disability of the executive;

for “cause;” or

without “cause.”

If we terminate Mr. Noss without “cause,” he is entitled to receive 12 months of compensation plus one month of compensation for each year of service, to a maximum of 24 months of compensation.

  

If we terminate Mr. Cooperman’s employment without “cause,” he is entitled to receive six months of compensation plus one month of compensation for each year of service.

For purposes of the employment agreements, “cause” is defined to mean the executive’s conviction (or plea of guilty or nolo contendere) for committing an act of fraud, embezzlement, theft or other act constituting a felony or willful failure or an executive’s refusal to perform the duties and responsibilities of his position, which failure or refusal is not cured within 30 days of receiving a written notice thereof from our Board of Directors.

Employment Agreements—Change in Control

Under their employment agreements, both Mr. Noss and Mr. Cooperman are also entitled to the change in control benefits described in the following paragraph if:

the executive resigns with or without “good reason” within the 30-day period immediately following the date that is six months after the effective date of the “change in control;” or


within 18 months after a “change in control” and executive’s employment is terminated either:

without “cause;” or

by resignation for “good reason.”

If an executive’s employment is terminated following a change in control under the circumstances described in the preceding paragraph, the executive is entitled to receive a lump sum payment based upon the fair market value of the Company on the effective date of the “change in control” as determined by our Board of Directors in the exercise of good faith and reasonable judgment taking into account, among other things, the nature of the “change in control” and the amount and type of consideration, if any, paid in connection with the “change in control.” Depending on the fair market value of the Company, the lump sum payments range from $375,000 to $2 million in the case of Mr. Noss, and from $187,500 to $1 million in the case of Mr. Cooperman. In addition to the lump sum payments, all stock options held by the executive officers will be immediately and fully vested and exercisable as of the date of termination.

A “change in control” is generally defined as:

the acquisition of 50% or more of our common stock;

a change in the majority of our Board of Directors unless approved by the incumbent directors (other than as a result of a contested election); and

certain reorganizations, mergers, consolidations, liquidations or dissolutions, unless certain requirements are met regarding continuing ownership of our outstanding common stock.

“Good reason” is defined to include the occurrence of one or more of the following:

the executive’s position, management responsibilities or working conditions are diminished from those in effect immediately prior to the change in control, or he is assigned duties inconsistent with his position;

the executive is required to be based at a location in excess of 30 miles from his principal job location or office immediately prior to the change in control;

the executive’s base compensation is reduced, or the executive’s compensation and benefits taken as a whole are materially reduced, from those in effect immediately prior to the change in control; or

we fail to obtain a satisfactory agreement from any successor to assume and agree to perform our obligations to the executive under his employment agreement.



AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT


The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a formal written charter that was most recently reviewed, approved and adopted by the Audit Committee in March 2013.


In accordance with that charter and the independence criteria prescribed by applicable law and the rules and regulations of the SEC for audit committee membership, each of the members of the Audit Committee is an independent director and meets the NYSE MKT’s financial sophistication requirements. Mr. Schwartz has been designated by our Board of Directors as an “audit committee financial expert” pursuant to Item 407(d)(v) of Regulation S-K.


The purposes of the Audit Committee are described on page 10 of this proxy statement under the caption “Corporate Governance—Committees” and in the charter of the Audit Committee. In particular, it is the Audit Committee’s duty to review the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Company on behalf of the Board. In fulfilling our responsibilities, the Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited consolidated financial statements to be contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, as amended, with our management and also with KPMG LLP, our independent auditors. Management is responsible for the financial statements and the reporting process, including the system of internal controls, and has represented to the Audit Committee that such financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The independent auditors are responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of those audited financial statements with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.


The Audit Committee has also discussed with KPMG LLP the matters that are required to be discussed by the auditors with the Audit Committee under Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61 (Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, AU § 380), as may be modified or supplemented. Furthermore, the Audit Committee discussed with KPMG LLP their independence from management and the Company and KPMG LLP provided the Audit Committee with the written disclosures and the letter required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding the independent accountant’s communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence.


The Audit Committee has appointed KPMG LLP as the independent registered accounting firm of the Company for fiscal 2013 and intends to submit such recommendation to the Company’s stockholders for ratification (but not for approval) at the Company’s 2013 Annual Meeting.


Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee has recommended to our Board of Directors that our audited consolidated financial statements be included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 as filed with the SEC.


In performing all of these functions, the Audit Committee acts in an oversight capacity. The Audit Committee reviews our earnings releases before issuance and the Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, prior to filing with the SEC. In its oversight role, the Audit Committee relies on the work and assurances of our management, which has the primary responsibility for financial statements and reports, and of the independent auditors, who, in their report, express an opinion on the conformity of our annual financial statements to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.


Audit Committee Members

Jeffrey Schwartz, Chair

Allen Karp 

Lloyd Morrisett



PROPOSAL NO. 2

RATIFICATION OF APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


Ratification of appointment.


KPMG LLP has served as our independent auditor since our merger with Tucows Delaware in August 2001. The Audit Committee of our Board of Directors has appointed KPMG LLP as the independent auditor of the Company and our subsidiaries for the year ending December 31, 2013. Although shareholder approval is not required, the Board of Directors desires to obtain shareholder ratification of this appointment. If the appointment is not ratified at the annual meeting, the Board of Directors will review its future selection of auditors. A representative of KPMG LLP is expected to be present at the annual meeting and will have the opportunity to make a statement, if he or she desires to do so, and to respond to appropriate questions.


The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent auditor.


AUDIT FEES AND ALL OTHER FEES


A summary of the fees of KPMG LLP for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 are set forth below:

 

2012 Fees

2011 Fees

Audit Fees(1)

 $265,500 $228,700

Audit-Related Fees

    25,300

Tax Fees(2)

  127,000  109,000

All Other Fees

    

Total Fees

 $392,500 $363,000


(1)

Consists of fees and expenses for the audit of consolidated financial statements, the reviews of our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and services associated with registration statements.

(2)

Consists of fees and expenses for tax consulting services.

Audit Committee pre-approval of audit and permissible non-audit services of independent auditors.


The Audit Committee has adopted a pre-approval policy that provides guidelines for the audit, audit-related, tax and other non-audit services that may be provided to us by our independent auditors. Under this policy, the Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and certain permissible accounting and non-audit services performed by the independent auditors. These permissible services are set forth on an attachment to the policy that is updated at least annually and may include audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. For audit services, the independent auditor provides the Audit Committee with an audit plan including proposed fees in advance of the annual audit. The Audit Committee approves the plan and fees for the audit.


With respect to non-audit and accounting services of our independent auditors that are not pre-approved under the policy, the employee making the request must submit the request to our Chief Financial Officer. The request must include a description of the services, the estimated fee, a statement that the services are not prohibited services under the policy and the reason why the employee is requesting our independent auditors to perform the services. If the aggregate fees for such services are estimated to be less than or equal to $25,000, our Chief Financial Officer will submit the request to the Chairman of the Audit Committee for consideration and approval, and the engagement may commence upon the approval of the Chairman. The Chairman is required to inform the full Audit Committee of the services at its next meeting. If the aggregate fees for such services are estimated to be greater than $25,000, our Chief Financial Officer will submit the request to the full Audit Committee for consideration and approval, generally at its next meeting or special meeting called for the purpose of approving such services. The engagement may only commence upon the approval of full Audit Committee.


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION


The members of the Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors during Fiscal 2012 were Messrs. Karp (Chair), Schwartz, Stern, and Dr. Morrisett until it was reconstituted effective October 1, 2012. Currently the members of the Committee are Messrs. Karp (Chair), Schwartz and Ralls. To ensure that our compensation policies are administered in an objective manner, our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee is comprised entirely of independent directors. None of the members of our Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee has ever been an officer or employee of the Company or its subsidiaries. None of our executive officers serves as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers on our Board of Directors or Corporate Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee.



SECTION 16(A) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE


Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our directors and executive officers and persons who own more than 10 percent of a registered class of our equity securities to file with the SEC reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common stock and our other equity securities. These persons are required by SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) reports they file.


We believe that, under the SEC’s rules and based solely upon our review of the copies of the Forms 3, 4 and 5, and any amendments thereto, furnished to us, or written representations from certain reporting persons that any such Forms have been filed in a timely manner and that all of our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10 percent of a registered class of our equity securities complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to them during Fiscal 2012, with the exception of Mr. Schwartz, who failed to timely file his Form 4 with respect to the exercise of stock options on May 30, 2012, and Messrs. Cooperman, Noss, Schafer and Woroch and Ms. Goertz, who failed to timely file their Forms 4 with respect to the grant of stock options on May 18, 2012.


OTHER MATTERS TO BE DECIDED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING


All of the matters we knew about as of the time of the mailing of this proxy statement to be brought before the annual meeting are described in this proxy statement. If any matters properly come before the annual meeting that are not specifically set forth on your proxy and in this proxy statement, the persons appointed to vote the proxies will vote on such matters in accordance with their best judgment.



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


Shareholder proposals for the 2014 annual meeting.


If you would like to submit a proposal for inclusion in the proxy materials for our annual meeting of shareholders in 2014, youthe shareholder may do so by following the procedures prescribed in Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act. To be eligible for inclusion, shareholder proposals must be received by the Secretary at Tucows Inc., 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6K 3M1, Canada, at any time before April 2, 2014.


If youa shareholder would like to present a proposal at the 2014 annual meeting, but do not want to include the proposal in our proxy statement, youthe shareholder will have to comply with the advance notice procedures set forth in our current bylaws.Bylaw. The bylawsBylaw require that a shareholder submit a written notice of intent to present such a proposal to our secretary no more than 90 days and no less than 60 days prior to the anniversary of the date on which we first mailed our proxy materials for the preceding year’s annual meeting. Therefore, we must receive notice of such proposal for the 2014 annual meeting no earlier than May 9, 2014 and no later than June 8, 2014. If the notice is received before May 9, 2014 or after June 8, 2014, it will be considered untimely and we will not be required to present it at the 2014 annual meeting.


If we do not receive notice by that date, the persons named as proxies in the proxy materials relating to that meeting will use their discretion in voting the proxies when these matters are raised at the meeting.


CostHOUSEHOLDING OF SPECIAL MEETING MATERIALS

Some banks, brokers and other nominee record holders may be participating in the practice of “householding” proxy solicitation.


statements. This means that only one (1) copy of our proxy statement may have been sent to multiple shareholders in your household. We will paypromptly deliver a separate copy of our proxy statement to you if you call or write us at the expenses of the preparationfollowing address or phone number: 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1, Canada (416) 538-5493. If you want to receive separate copies of the proxy materialsstatement (and any other documents sent therewith) in the future or if you are receiving multiple copies and would like to receive only one (1) copy for your household, you should contact your bank, broker, or other nominee record holders, or you may contact us at the above address and phone number.

OTHER MATTERS

The Board is not aware of any matter to be presented for action at the Special Meeting other than the matters referred to above and does not intend to bring any other matters before the Special Meeting. However, if other matters should come before the Special Meeting, it is intended that holders of the proxies will vote thereon in their discretion.

GENERAL

The accompanying proxy is solicited by and on behalf of the Board, whose notice of meeting is attached to this proxy statement, and the entire cost of such solicitation will be borne by the board of directors of your proxy. We will make solicitations primarily by mail or by facsimileus. Our officers and our regularselected employees may solicit proxies personally orfrom shareholders. In addition to the use of the mails, proxies may be solicited by personal interview, telephone butand telegram by our directors, officers and other employees who will not be specificallyspecially compensated for suchthese services. We will ask brokerage houses and otheralso request that brokers, nominees, custodians and other fiduciaries to forward proxy soliciting material and our Annual Report on Form 10-Kmaterials to the beneficial owners of the shares of our common stock held of record by them,such brokers, nominees, custodians and weother fiduciaries. We will reimburse these record holderssuch persons for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in doing so.connection therewith

  

Availability of Materials

A COPY OF THE ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012 AS FILED WITH THE SEC, EXCLUDING EXHIBITS, MAY BE OBTAINED BY SHAREHOLDERS WITHOUT CHARGE BY WRITTEN REQUEST ADDRESSED TO: ATTN: CORPORATE SECRETARY, 96 MOWAT AVENUE. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, M6K 3M1.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS
FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

ThisCertain information contained in this proxy statement relating to the occupations and security holdings of our Annual Report on Form 10-K fordirectors and officers is based upon information received from the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 are available to shareholders atwww.tucowsinc.com in the “Investors—Filings” section.


By Order of the Board of Directors,

Michael Cooperman
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

individual directors and officers.

 

 

  

PLEASE DATE, SIGN AND RETURN THE PROXY FOR ANNUAL MEETINGCARD AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE IN THE ENCLOSED RETURN ENVELOPE OR VOTE VIA TELEPHONE OR THE INTERNET. A PROMPT RETURN OF SHAREHOLDERS—September 11, 2013


This proxy is solicited by the board of directors of Tucows Inc.YOUR PROXY CARD WILL BE APPRECIATED AS IT WILL SAVE THE EXPENSE OF FURTHER MAILINGS.


This proxy is solicited by the Board of Directors of Tucows Inc. for the annual meeting of shareholders to be held on September 11, 2013, at 4:30 p.m. EST at the offices of the company: 96 Mowat Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3M1,Canada.


The undersigned having duly received notice of the annual meeting and the proxy statement therefore, and revoking all prior proxies, hereby appoints Elliot Noss and Michael Cooperman, and each of them, proxies, with the powers the undersigned would possess if personally present, and with full power of substitution, to vote all common shares held of record by the undersigned in Tucows Inc., upon all subjects that may properly come before the annual meeting, including the matters described in the proxy statement furnished herewith, subject to any directions indicated on this card.The shares represented by this proxy will be voted as directed by the undersigned. If no directions are given, the proxies will be voted in accord with the directors’ recommendations on the subjects listed on this card and at their discretion on any other matter that may properly come before the annual meeting or any adjournment thereof.


If you do not sign and return a proxy, or attend the annual meeting and vote by ballot, your shares cannot be voted, nor your instructions followed.


Proposal 1:

Election of the following nominees as directors: Allen Karp, Rawleigh Ralls, Erez Gissin, Joichi Ito, Lloyd Morrisett, Elliot Noss, and Jeffery Schwartz.
Authority withheld for the following only: (Please strike through name above)

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” each of the nominees.

FOR

 ☐

AUTHORITY WITHHELD
FOR ALL NOMINEES

 ☐

Proposal 2:

Ratification of KPMG LLP as Auditors

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote “FOR” ratification.

FOR

 ☐

AGAINST

 ☐

ABSTAIN

 ☐


In their discretion, the proxy holders are authorized to vote upon such other matters as may properly come before the annual meeting.


Attendance of the undersigned at the annual meeting or at any adjournment thereof, will not be deemed to revoke this proxy unless the undersigned shall affirmatively indicate at such meeting the intention of the undersigned to revoke said proxy in person. If the undersigned hold(s) any of the shares of Tucows Inc. in a fiduciary, custodial or joint capacity or capacities, this proxy is signed by the undersigned in every such capacity, as well as individually.


 

PLEASE MARK, SIGN, DATE AND PROMPTLY RETURN THIS PROXY CARD IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. Please sign exactly as name or names appear on this proxy. If stock is held jointly, each holder should sign. If signing as attorney, trustee, executor, administrator, custodian, guardian or corporate officer, please give full title.

DATE

, 2013

SIGNATURE

 
 

SIGNATURE

By Order of the Board of Directors
   
  

Votes must be indicated (X) in BlackMichael Cooperman 
Secretary

Toronto, Ontario
October 21, 2013

 

  


IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS
FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013Appendix A

ARTICLES OF AMENDMENT

This proxy statementTO

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

OF

TUCOWS INC.

Tucows Inc., a corporation organized and our Annual Report on Form 10-Kexisting under and by virtue of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988, as amended (the “PBCL”), for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 are availablepurpose of amending its Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation pursuant to Sections 1915 and 1916 of the PBCL does hereby certify as follows:

1.     Article 3 of the Fourth Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby amended to add the following new subsection E:

“E.     Upon the filing (the “Effective Time”) of this Articles of Amendment pursuant to the Sections 1915 and 1916 of the of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988, as amended, each _________ (__) shares of the Corporation’s common stock, no par value per share, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (the “Old Common Stock”) shall automatically without further action on the part of the Corporation or any holder of Old Common Stock, be reclassified, combined, converted and changed into one (1) fully paid and nonassessable share of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the “New Common Stock”), subject to the treatment of fractional share interests as described below (the “reverse stock split”). The conversion of the Old Common Stock into New Common Stock will be deemed to occur at the Effective Time. From and after the Effective Time, certificates representing the Old Common Stock shall represent the number of shares of New Common Stock into which such Old Common Stock shall have been converted pursuant to this Certificate of Amendment. Holders who otherwise would be entitled to receive fractional share interests of New Common Stock upon the effectiveness of the reverse stock split shall be entitled to receive a whole share of New Common Stock in lieu of any fractional share created as a result of such reverse stock split.”

2.     The Corporation hereby certifies that the amendment set forth above has been duly adopted by Corporation’s board of directors and shareholders atwww.tucowsinc.comin accordance with the “Investors—Filings” section.provisions of Sections 1912 and 1914 of the PBCL.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused these Articles of Amendment to be duly adopted and executed in its corporate name and on its behalf by its duly authorized officer as of the __th day of ___________, 2013.

TUCOWS INC.
By:_________________________________
      Name:  Michael Cooperman
      Title:  Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Secretary