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Published on January 16, 2009
January
16, 2009
VIA EDGAR AND
FACSIMILE
(202)
772-9209
Mr.
Daniel Gordon
Branch
Chief
Division
of Corporate Finance
U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F
Street, NE
Washington,
DC 20549-3628
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Re:
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Tanger Factory Outlet Centers,
Inc.
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Tanger
Properties Limited Partnership
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Forms
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007
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Filed
02/28/08
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Definitive
Proxy Statement
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Filed
04/03/08
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File
Nos. 001-11986 and 333-03526-01
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Dear Mr.
Gordon:
On behalf
of our client, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (the “Company”), we are responding
to the comments of the staff of the Division of Corporate Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) set forth in your
letter dated December 18, 2008.
For your
convenience, the Staff’s comments are set forth below in bold, followed by the
Company’s responses to each comment.
Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2007
Current Developments and
Dispositions, page 31
1.
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In
future filings, please disclose the expected source of funding for each of
your potential developments.
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Response:
In future
filings, the Company will disclose the expected source of funding for each of
its potential developments.
Exhibits 31.1 and
31.2
2.
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We
note that the certifications are not in the proper form (specifically
paragraph 5). The required certifications must be in the exact
form prescribed by Item 601(B)(31) of Regulation S-K; the wording of the
required certifications may not be changed in any
respect. Please file amendments, including the entire periodic
reports and new, corrected certifications, to your Forms 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2007 as well as your quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q
for the periods ended March 31, June 30 and September 30,
2008.
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Response:
The
Company respectfully acknowledges that exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 in the above-
referenced filings are not in the proper form prescribed by Item 601(B)(31) of
Regulation S-K. While the Company acknowledges the error, the Company
believes that the amendments to the Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q should include only
the amended certifications in question, rather than the entire periodic
reports. The Company respectfully refers to amendments to periodic
reports and related correspondence with the Staff by Grubb & Ellis
Healthcare REIT, Inc. (Staff comment letter dated November 5, 2008, Form 10-K/A
filed November 23, 2008), LaSalle Hotel Properties (Staff comment letter dated
March 3, 2006, Form 10-K/A dated March 24, 2006) and Century Realty Trust (Staff
comment letter dated May 25, 2006, Form 10-K/A filed June 12, 2006, Form 10-Q/A
filed June 12, 2006), in which only amended certifications, rather than
amendments of entire periodic reports, were filed and accepted by the
Staff. In accordance with the examples of such other REITs, the
Company proposes to file abbreviated amendments to its Form 10-K and Forms 10-Q
consisting of a cover page, explanatory note, signature page, and the corrected
certifications.
Definitive Proxy Statement
on Schedule 14A.
Executive
Compensation
Role of Compensation
Consultants and Use of Aggregate Peer Group Data, Page 8
3.
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In
this section, you state that you review the compensation practices of
other REITs for informational purposes only and such data is not used to
set specific targets or benchmarks. You also state, however,
that this comparative data is used to set and adjust executive
compensation in your company and to ensure that compensation levels are
competitive. Furthermore, on page 12, you state that long-term
incentives are determined based on peer group compensation
practices. In future filings, please clarify your use of
comparative compensation data from peer
groups.
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2
Response:
The
Company acknowledges the Staff’s comment and proposes that in future filings it
will clarify how comparative compensation data from peer groups are
used. In order to satisfy the Staff’s request for future filings, the
Company proposes to use similar language as that set forth below which could
have been used in the Definitive Proxy Statement filed on April 3, 2008 (the
“2008 Proxy
Statement”):
“Role of Compensation Consultants and
Use of Aggregate Peer Group Data
Since
2004, the Compensation Committee has engaged the services of an outside
compensation consultant, the SMG Advisory Group, LLC, (referred to as “SMG”) to
assist it in determining the proper amounts, types and mix of compensation to
executive officers in order to achieve the overall objectives as described
above. The Compensation Committee, with the help of SMG, annually reviews the
compensation practices of other REITs in order to evaluate market trends and
compare our compensation programs with our competitors. Based in part
on this data and analysis provided by SMG, the Compensation Committee develops a
compensation plan which is intended to maintain the link between corporate
performance and shareholder wealth creation while being generally competitive
within our industry and geographic location.
During
each fiscal year, management prepares tally sheets that set forth the Company’s
total compensation obligations to the CEO and the other
officers. These tally sheets, which include the executive’s realized
compensation from the prior year and targeted compensation for the coming year,
are provided to SMG for the purpose of presenting the Compensation Committee
with an analysis of the compensation of our executives compared to that of our
peer companies. The analysis prepared by SMG compares each officer’s
compensation to the average, 25th,
50th
and 75th
percentile of officers with similar duties and responsibilities at the targeted
peer group companies in two categories: (1) base salary and incentive cash bonus
together as a total and (2) total overall compensation.
SMG
presents its analysis in a written report to the Compensation Committee,
typically during its regularly scheduled February meeting. In the
report, SMG recommends, based on their review of the peer group analysis and
other factors specifically related to the Company, the level of base and
incentive cash bonus compensation to be set for each officer as well as the
amount of equity awards to be granted to each officer (or, if applicable, that
the recommendations of the CEO or COO with respect to such compensation are
reasonable and within peer group standards). The Compensation
Committee considers the SMG recommendations and peer group analysis when
determining base salary and annual and long-term
incentives. In some cases, the Committee has determined that setting
and paying target compensation above or below the peer group range of the
25th
percentile to the 75th
percentile is justified due to a number of factors, including the Company’s or
individual’s overall performance relative to the peer group and the unique
circumstances associated with any individual candidate.”
3
The
Company respectfully submits that this language clarifies its use of comparative
compensation data from peer groups as requested by the Staff and proposes to use
similar language in future filings to satisfy the Staff’s request.
Long-Term
Incentives: Description and Analysis, page 12
4.
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In
future filings, with respect to long-term incentive awards, please provide
a more detailed analysis of how the company determined the actual
awards. Please disclose the actual factors considered in making
the equity awards for each named executive
officer.
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Response:
The
Company acknowledges the Staff’s comment and proposes that in future filings it
will provide a more detailed analysis of how the equity awards were
determined. In order to satisfy the Staff’s request for future
filings, the Company proposes to use similar language as that set forth below
which could have been used in the 2008 Proxy Statement:
“On February 20, 2007, the Option
Committee awarded 72,000 restricted Common Shares to Mr. Stanley K. Tanger,
48,000 restricted Common Shares to Mr. Steven B. Tanger and 20,000 restricted
Common Shares to Mr. Frank C. Marchisello, Jr. These awards were
identical to the awards made in 2006. Our CEO recommended that the
number of restricted Common Shares awarded to each officer be the same number as
granted during the previous year based on the Company’s financial performance
during 2006 and the total returns on investment our shareholders achieved over
the last 5 years. During 2006, our shareholders achieved a 41.5%
total return on their investment , up from 14.3% in 2005 and 38.1% in
2004. Over the 5 year period ending in 2006, our shareholders
received a total return of 413.50%, representing a compound annual return of
approximately 39% per year. In 2006, we outperformed the Standard
& Poors 500 for the 7th consecutive year and the NAREIT All Equity REIT
Index for the 5th consecutive year. We ranked 1st among 9 mall REITs and 5th out
of 104 equity REITs in total return to shareholders for the five years ending in
2006.
The
compensation consultants compared the number of restricted Common Share awards
as recommended by the CEO to similar awards granted in each officer’s peer group
and determined that the recommendations were within peer group
standards. In addition, the Compensation Committee recommended that
the Option Committee make awards of restricted Common Shares to other executive
officers based upon the recommendations of the CEO and COO. Based on
such recommendations and consistent with the advice of the Compensation
Committee and its outside compensation consultants, the Option Committee awarded
2,000 restricted Common Shares to each of the other executive
officers.”
4
The
Company respectfully submits that this language presents a more detailed
analysis of how the company determined the long-term incentive awards as
requested by the Staff and proposes to use similar language in future filings to
satisfy the Staff’s request.
2007 Summary Compensation
Table, page 15
5.
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We
refer you to Section II.B.1 of Securities Act Release No. 33-8732A (Aug.
26, 2006). The Compensation Discussion and Analysis should be
sufficiently precise to identify material differences in compensation
policies with respect to individual executive officers. In
future filings, please explain the reasons for the differences in the
amounts of compensation awarded to the named executive
officers. For example, we note that both Messrs. Stanley K.
Tanger and Steven B. Tanger received significantly more share awards than
the other named executive officers. Please see Item
402(b)(2)(vii) of Regulation S-K.
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Response:
The
Company respectfully refers the Staff to the information included under the
caption “Base Salary: Description and Analysis” on page 10 of the 2008 Proxy
Statement. The Company believes that this disclosure provided reasons for the
differences in amounts of base salary awarded to the named executive
officers. The Company acknowledges the Staff’s comment regarding
grants of equity awards to the named executive officers and proposes that in
future filings will explain the reasons for the differences in the amounts of
all compensation awarded to the named executive officers. In order to
satisfy the Staff’s request for future filings, the Company proposes to use
similar language as that set forth below which could have been used in the 2008
Proxy Statement:
“The
number of restricted Common Shares granted to Messrs. Stanley K. Tanger and
Steven B. Tanger and the incentive cash bonus opportunities of each of the
Tangers and of Mr. Marchisello are significantly greater than the restricted
Common Share grants and incentive bonus opportunities provided to our other
executive officers. Stanley Tanger is the founder of the Company and he and his
son, Steven Tanger, have been, since the Company was founded, responsible for
making the most critical decisions for the Company and have played the most
significant role in the Company’s growth in shareholder value since its initial
public offering. Accordingly, the Compensation Committee believes
that the equity awards and incentive cash bonus for those individuals should be
set a level significantly above the other executive officers and that this
policy is consistent with other similar companies. Given his role as
Chief Financial Officer, his responsibilities over the Company’s financial
reporting processes, including the regulatory requirement to certify that the
Company’s internal controls were effective during the reporting period, as well
as his supervisory responsibilities over the executive officers that oversee the
Company’s accounting, operations, marketing, human resources, information
systems, and legal functions, the Compensation Committee believes Mr.
Marchisello’s incentive cash bonus award opportunity should be set at a level
similar to the Tangers and at a level significantly above the other
officers.”
5
The
Company respectfully submits that this language explains the reasons for the
differences in the amounts of compensation awarded to the named executive
officers as requested by the Staff and proposes to use similar language in
future filings to satisfy the Staff’s request.
The
Company has authorized us to acknowledge on its behalf that, in connection with
this response, that:
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the
Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in
the filings;
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Staff
comments or changes to disclosure in response to Staff comments do not
foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the
filings; and
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·
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the
Company may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding
initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities
laws of the United States.
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We hope
the foregoing answers are responsive to your comments and look forward to
resolving any outstanding issues as quickly as possible. If you have
any questions in connection with our responses to your comments, please feel
free to call me at (212) 906-1369.
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remainder of this page is intentionally left blank]
6
Best
regards,
/s/
Raymond Y. Lin
Raymond
Y. Lin
of LATHAM
& WATKINS LLP
cc: Frank
Marchisello/Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.