UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549  

 

Form 8-K  

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 3, 2020  

 

Genesis Healthcare, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delaware

 

001-33459

 

20-3934755

(State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation)

 

(Commission

File Number)

 

(IRS Employer

Identification Number)

 

101 East State Street

Kennett Square,  PA

 

19348

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

(Zip Code)

 

 

 

(610) 444-6350

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable 

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)  

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

 

 

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

   

Title of each class

Trading Symbol(s)

Name of each exchange on which registered

Class A Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share

GEN

New York Stock Exchange

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company ◻

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ◻

 

 

 

 

 

Item 5.02Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

The 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Genesis Healthcare, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), was held on June 3, 2020.  At the Annual Meeting, stockholders approved the Company’s 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Incentive Plan”), which had been previously approved by the Company’s Board of Directors subject to stockholder approval.

The total number of new shares of Class A common stock of the Company reserved for issuance under the Omnibus Incentive Plan is 3,500,000.  The material terms of the Omnibus Incentive Plan are described under “Proposal 3 – Approval of Our 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan” in the Company’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
April 24, 2020 (the “Proxy Statement”). This description of the Omnibus Incentive Plan is incorporated herein by reference.

The description of the material terms of the Omnibus Incentive Plan is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Omnibus Incentive Plan, which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 5.03Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year.

At the Annual Meeting, the Company’s stockholders approved proposals to amend the Company’s Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended, the “Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) to (i) declassify the board of directors and (ii) lower the stock ownership threshold required to call a special meeting of stockholders.   On June 4, 2020, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which became effective immediately.

Following the above-described stockholder approval of the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Company amended its Second Amended and Restated Bylaws (as amended, the “Third Amended and Restated Bylaws”) to reflect the aforementioned changes.

The foregoing descriptions of the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and the Third Amended and Restated Bylaws are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and the Third Amended and Restated Bylaws, which are filed as Exhibits 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 5.07Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

At the Annual Meeting, the Company’s stockholders voted on six proposals, as described below. Each of the proposals was described in detail in the Proxy Statement.    At the close of business on April 6, 2020 (the record date for voting at the Annual Meeting), there were 164,810,488 shares of the Company’s stock outstanding and entitled to vote  (108,163,948 shares of Class A common stock, 744,396 shares of Class B common stock and 55,902,144 shares of Class C common stock).  The vote totals noted below are final voting results.

2

 

Proposal 1

 

The Company’s stockholders elected three Class III directors, with each to serve a three-year term expiring at the Company’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal. There were no abstentions for Proposal 1.

 

Name

Votes For

Votes Withheld

Broker Non-Votes

James H. Bloem

99,463,295
1,160,155
39,785,031

John F. DePodesta

99,460,295
1,163,155
39,785,031

Terry Allison Rappuhn

90,462,741
10,160,709
39,785,031

 

Proposal 2

 

The Company’s stockholders approved, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, as follows:

 

Votes For

Votes Against

Abstentions

Broker Non-Votes

89,721,710

10,821,686

80,054

39,785,031

 

Proposal 3

 

The Company’s stockholders approved the Company’s 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan:

 

Votes For

Votes Against

Abstentions

Broker Non-Votes

89,466,070

10,656,023

501,357

39,785,031

 

Proposal 4

 

The Company’s stockholders approved the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to declassify the board of directors:

 

Votes For

Votes Against

Abstentions

Broker Non-Votes

99,110,821

1,476,560

36,069

39,785,031

 

Proposal 5

 

The Company’s stockholders approved the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to lower the stock ownership threshold required to call a special meeting:

 

Votes For

Votes Against

Abstentions

Broker Non-Votes

99,092,409

1,502,497

28,544

39,785,031

 

3

 

Proposal 6

 

The Company’s stockholders ratified the selection of KPMG LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020, as follows:

 

Votes For

Votes Against

Abstentions

137,436,280

2,932,871

39,330

 

 

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d) Exhibits.

 

 

4

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

Date:  June 9, 2020

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

 

 

 

By: /s/ Michael S. Sherman

 

Michael S. Sherman

Senior Vice President, General Counsel,
Secretary and Assistant Treasurer

 

 

 

5

 

Exhibit 3.1

FOURTH AMENDED AND RESTATED
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

(ORIGINALLY INCORPORATED AS SHG HOLDING SOLUTIONS, INC.)

Pursuant to Sections 228, 242 and 245 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware

Genesis Healthcare, Inc. (the “Corporation”), a corporation organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), does hereby certify as follows:

1.The name of the Corporation is Genesis Healthcare, Inc.  The original certificate of incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware Secretary”) on October 21, 2005 under the name “SHG Holding Solutions, Inc.”

2.This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) and by the stockholders of the Corporation in accordance with Section 228, Section 242 and Section 245 of the DGCL.

3.This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation restates and integrates and further amends the certificate of incorporation of the Corporation, as heretofore amended or supplemented.

4.The text of the Certificate of Incorporation is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

FIRST:  The name of the Corporation is Genesis Healthcare, Inc.

SECOND:  The address of the registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware is 251 Little Falls Drive, City of Wilmington 19808, County of New Castle.  The name of its registered agent at that address is Corporation Service Company.

THIRD:  The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a corporation may be organized under the DGCL.

FOURTH:  (1) Authorized Capital Stock.  The total number of shares of all classes of stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 1,200,000,000, consisting of (i) 1,000,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”); (ii) 20,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class B Common Stock”); (iii) 150,000,000 shares of Class C Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Class C Common Stock” and, together with the Class A Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock, the “Common Stock”); and (iii) 30,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”).  The number of authorized shares of any of the Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock, Class C Common Stock or Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding or, in the case of Class A Common Stock, necessary for issuance upon

 

 

 

conversion of outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock, Class C Common Stock or exchange of OP Class A Common Units (as defined below)) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote thereon irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the DGCL (or any successor provision thereto), and no vote of the holders of any of the Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock, Class C Common Stock or Preferred Stock voting separately as a class shall be required therefor.

(2)

Common Stock.  The powers, preferences, and rights and the qualifications, limitations, and restrictions of the Class A Common Stock, the Class B Common Stock and the Class C Common Stock are as follows:

(a) Voting Rights.  Except as otherwise required by the DGCL or as provided by or pursuant to the provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation:

(i) Each holder of Class A Common Stock shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of Class A Common Stock held of record by such holder.  The holders of shares of Class A Common Stock shall not have cumulative voting rights.

(ii) Each holder of Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of Class B Common Stock held of record by such holder.  The holders of shares of Class B Common Stock shall not have cumulative voting rights.

(iii) Each holder of Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of Class C Common Stock held of record by such holder.  The holders of shares of Class C Common Stock shall not have cumulative voting rights.

(iv) Except as otherwise required in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law, the holders of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock shall vote together as a single class on all matters on which stockholders are generally entitled to vote (or, if any holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to vote together with the holders of Common Stock, as a single class with such holders of Preferred Stock).

(v) In addition to any other vote required in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law, the holders of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock shall each be entitled to vote separately as a class only with respect to amendments to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that increase or decrease the par value of the shares of such class, or alter or change the powers, preferences, or special rights of the shares of such class so as to affect them adversely.

(b) Dividends.  

(i) Subject to any other provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as it may be amended from time to time, holders of shares of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to receive ratably as a single class, in proportion to the number of shares held by them, such dividends and other distributions in cash, stock, or property of the Corporation when, as, and if declared thereon by the Board of Directors from time to time out of assets or funds of the Corporation legally available therefor.

2

 

 

(ii) Except as set forth in clause (iii) below and subject to any other provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as it may be amended from time to time, holders of shares of Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to receive ratably, in proportion to the number of shares held by them, the dividends and other distributions in cash, stock, or property of the Corporation payable or to be made on outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock that would have been payable on the shares of Class A Common Stock if such shares of Class C Common Stock had been converted into shares of Class A Common Stock immediately prior to the record date for such dividend or distribution, with each share of Class C Common Stock converted into a fraction of a share of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of (A) the Conversion Ratio (as used in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, such term has the meaning given to it in paragraph 20 of Schedule 1.02 of the Purchase and Contribution Agreement, dated as of August 18, 2014, by and between FC-GEN Operations Investment, LLC and the Corporation) multiplied by (B) the Adjustment Factor (as used in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, such term has the meaning given to it in the OP LLC Agreement) then in effect.  The holders of shares of Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to receive, on a pari passu basis with the holders of the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, such dividend or other distribution on the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock when, as, and if declared by the Board of Directors from time to time out of assets or funds of the Corporation legally available therefor.

(iii) In the event a dividend is paid in the form of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares), then the holders of Class A Common Stock shall receive shares of Class A Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares, as the case may be), holders of Class B Common Stock shall receive shares of Class B Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares, as the case may be), and holders of Class C Common Stock shall receive shares of Class C Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares, as the case may be), with the holders of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock receiving, on a per share basis, an identical number of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, as applicable.

(c) Liquidation, Dissolution, etc.  In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, or winding up (either voluntary or involuntary) of the Corporation, after payments to creditors of the Corporation that may at the time be outstanding and subject to the rights of any holders of Preferred Stock that may then be outstanding, holders of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to receive ratably, in proportion to the number of shares held by them, all remaining assets and funds of the Corporation available for distribution; provided,  however, that, for purposes of any such distribution, each share of Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to receive the same distribution as would have been payable if such shares of Class C Common Stock had been converted into shares of Class A Common Stock immediately prior to the record date for such Distribution, with such share of Class C Common Stock converted into a fraction of a share of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the Conversion Ratio and (ii) the Adjustment Factor then in effect.

(d) Reclassification.  None of the Class A Common Stock, the Class B Common Stock or the Class C Common Stock may be subdivided, consolidated, reclassified, or otherwise changed unless contemporaneously therewith the other class of Common Stock and the OP Class A Common Units (as defined below) are subdivided, consolidated, reclassified, or otherwise changed in the same proportion and in the same manner.

3

 

 

(e) Exchange.  The holder of each limited liability company interest of FC-GEN Operations Investment, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “OP”), designated as a “LLC Class A Common Unit” (an “OP Class A Common Unit”), other than OP Class A Common Units held by the Corporation, shall, pursuant to terms and subject to the conditions of the limited liability company operating agreement of the OP (the “OP LLC Agreement”) and as set forth hereunder, have the right to exchange each such OP Class A Common Unit for a number of  fully paid and nonassessable shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of one (1) multiplied by the Adjustment Factor (as defined in the OP LLC Agreement).

(i) In connection with such exercise of the exchange privilege under the OP LLC Agreement, the Corporation shall (unless and to the extent the OP has elected in accordance with the terms and provisions of the OP LLC Agreement to pay cash in lieu of shares of Class A Common Stock) issue to the OP a number of shares of Class A Common Stock, in exchange for OP Class A Common Units, equal to the product of the Adjustment Factor multiplied by the number of OP Class A Common Units surrendered to the OP by the exchanging holder.

(ii) Concurrently with such exercise of the exchange privilege under the OP LLC Agreement, a number of shares of Class C Common Stock equal to the lesser of (x) the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued as a result of such exchange and (y) the number of shares of Class C Common Stock then outstanding (the lesser of (x) and (y) is the “Class C Conversion Amount”) shall automatically, without further action by the exchanging holder or holders thereof, be converted into fully paid and nonassessable shares of Class A Common Stock on the basis of a fraction of a share of Class A Common Stock for each share of Class C Common Stock so converted equal to the product of (A) the Conversion Ratio multiplied by (B) the Adjustment Factor then in effect. The shares of Class C Common Stock to be converted into Class A Common Stock in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence shall be those owned by the exchanging holder of OP Class A Common Units; if such exchanging holder does not hold a number of shares of Class C Common Stock equal to or greater than the Class C Conversion Amount, then all of the shares of Class C Common Stock held by such exchanging holder, if any, shall be converted into Class A Common Stock and an aggregate number of shares of Class C Common Stock held by other holders equal to the excess of (x) Class C Conversion Amount over (y) the number of shares of Class C Common Stock, if any, held by such exchanging holder shall be converted into Class A Common Stock, apportioned among all other holders of shares of Class C Common Stock in proportion to the number of shares of Class C Common Stock held by each.  All such shares of Class C Common Stock that shall have been automatically converted as herein provided shall be retired and resume the status of authorized and unissued shares of Class C Common Stock, and all rights of the holder with respect to such shares, including the rights, if any, to receive notices and to vote, shall thereupon cease and terminate.  No fractional shares of Class A Common Stock shall be issued upon conversion of the shares of Class C Common Stock.  In lieu of any fractional shares to which the holder would otherwise be entitled, the Corporation shall pay to the holder cash equal to the Value of the fractional shares of Class A Common Stock. 

The term “Value” means, on any Valuation Date with respect to a share of Class A Common Stock, the average of the daily Market Prices for ten (10) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the Valuation Date.  The term “Market Price” on any date means, with respect to any outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, the last sale price for such shares of Class A Common Stock, regular way, or, in case no such sale

4

 

 

takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, for such shares of Class A Common Stock, in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if such shares of Class A Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported on the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which such shares of Class A Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading or, if such shares of Class A Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price, or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the principal automated quotation system that may then be in use or, if such shares of Class A Common Stock are not quoted by any such system, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in such shares of Class A Common Stock selected by the Board of Directors or, in the event that no trading price is available for such shares of Class A Common Stock, the fair market value of the shares of Class A Common Stock, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors.  The term “Valuation Date” means the date of receipt by the managing member of the OP of a notice of redemption, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the OP LLC Agreement, or such other date as specified herein, or, if such date is not a business day, the immediately preceding business day.

(iii) Such number of shares of Class A Common Stock as may from time to time be required for exchange pursuant to the terms of Clause (2)(e)(ii) of this Article FOURTH shall be reserved for issuance upon exchange of outstanding OP Class A Common Units.

(f) Conversion of Class B Common Stock.  

(i) Each holder of Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to convert at any time all or any portion of such holder's Class B Common Stock into shares of fully paid and non-assessable Class A Common Stock at the ratio of one share of Class A Common Stock for each share of Class B Common Stock so converted.

(ii) The holders of a majority of the voting power of all the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to cause the conversion at any time all, but not less than all, of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock into shares of fully paid and non-assessable Class A Common Stock at the ratio of one share of Class A Common Stock for each share of Class B Common Stock so converted. In the event of any such conversion, each share of Class B Common Stock which is then outstanding shall automatically, and without any notice to or action by the Corporation, the holder or any other Person, convert into one share of Class A Common Stock.

(iii) The right to convert shares of Class B Common Stock into shares of Class A Common Stock as provided by Clause (2)(f)(i) of this Article FOURTH and the first sentence of Clause (2)(f)(ii) of this Article FOURTH shall be exercised by the surrender to the Corporation of the certificate or certificates (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) representing the shares to be converted at any time during normal business hours at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, accompanied by a written notice of the holder of such shares stating that such holder desires to convert such shares, or a stated number of the shares

5

 

 

represented by such certificate or certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof), into shares of Class A Common Stock, as shall be stated in such notice, and, if certificates representing any of the shares to be issued upon such conversion are to be issued in a name other than that of the holder of the share or shares converted, accompanied by an instrument of transfer, in form satisfactory to the Corporation for the Common Shares, duly executed by such holder or such holder's duly authorized attorney. As promptly as practicable following the surrender for conversion of a certificate (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) representing shares to be converted with the notice and in the manner provided in this paragraph, the Corporation shall issue to such holder a certificate or certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) representing, the number of whole shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon such conversion, in such name or names as such holder may have directed. The issuance of certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) for, or registration on the stock transfer books of the Corporation of, shares upon such a conversion shall be made without charge to the holders of the shares to be converted for any stamp or other similar stock transfer or documentary tax assessed in respect of such issuance. Any such conversion of shares shall be considered to have been effected immediately prior to the close of business on the date of the surrender of the certificate or certificates (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) representing the shares to be converted accompanied by the required notice and payment, if any. Upon the date any such conversion is deemed effected, all rights of the holder of the converted shares as such holder shall cease (except as to matters for which the record date was prior to such conversion), and the person or persons in whose name or names the registration of, or certificate or certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) representing, the shares to be issued upon conversion of the shares surrendered for conversion shall be treated for all purposes as having become the record holder or holders of the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon such conversion; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the foregoing, if any such surrender and payment occurs on any date when the stock transfer books of the Corporation shall be closed, the person or persons in whose name or names the registration of the, or certificate or certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) representing, shares are to be so issued shall be deemed the record holder or holders thereof for all purposes immediately prior to the close of business on the next succeeding day on which the stock transfer books are open.

(iv) In the event of any conversion effected automatically without notice pursuant to Clause (2)(f)(ii) of this Article FOURTH, until the certificates (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) representing shares which have been converted shall have been surrendered to the Corporation, such certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) shall represent the appropriate number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which the shares of Class B Common Stock represented by such certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) shall have been converted or, if not all shares have been so converted, the appropriate number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which the shares of Class B Common Stock represented by such certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) shall have been converted and the appropriate number of shares of Class B Common Stock represented by such certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) that have not been so converted. Upon surrender by any holder of certificates (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) representing shares which have been automatically converted pursuant to Clause (2)(f)(ii) of this Article FOURTH the Corporation shall record, or cause to be recorded, on the Corporation's

6

 

 

stock transfer books, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which shares of Class B Common Stock represented by the surrendered certificates (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) shall have been converted and, if not all shares of Class B Common Stock represented by the surrendered certificates (or book-entries made in lieu thereof) have been so converted, the appropriate number of shares of Class B Common Stock that have not been so converted.  Upon conversion of such shares of Class B Common Stock into shares of Class A Common Stock, all rights of the holder of the converted shares as such holder shall cease (except as to matters for which the record date was prior to such conversion), and the holder of such converted shares and/or such holder's transferee(s) shall be treated for all purposes as having become the record holder or holders of the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon such conversion. Any such conversion of shares shall be considered to have been effected immediately prior to the close of business on the date such conversion has been automatically effected, or if such automatic conversion is effected on any date when the stock transfer books of the Corporation shall be closed, such automatic conversion shall be considered to have been effected immediately prior to the close of business on the next succeeding day on which the stock transfer books are open.

(v) Shares of Class B Common Stock that are converted into shares of Class A Common Stock (or another security) as provided herein shall continue as authorized but unissued shares of Class B Common Stock and shall be available for reissue by the Corporation; provided, however, that no shares of Class B Common Stock shall be re-issued at any time when no shares of Class B Common Stock are outstanding.

(g) Transfers.  

(i) Each share of Class B Common Stock shall be automatically converted into one fully paid and nonassessable share of Class A Common Stock, and each share of Class C Common Stock shall be automatically converted into fully paid and nonassessable shares of Class A Common Stock with each share of Class C Common Stock converted into a fraction of a share of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of (A) the Conversion Ratio multiplied by (B) the Adjustment Factor then in effect, in each case without further action of the holder thereof upon the occurrence of any direct sale, pledge (other than to a bank or institutional lender to secure a loan for borrowed money), conveyance, hypothecation, assignment or other transfer (“Transfer”) of such share of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock to any Person, other than (A) any affiliate, partner, member or other equityholder of such holder (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall include any Transfer by way of distribution to partners, members or other equityholders in connection with a holder’s dissolution), (B) any Family Member or Controlled Entity (each as defined in the OP LLC Agreement) of such holder, (C) a trust of such holder for estate tax planning purposes or (D) the estate of a deceased holder.  Each share of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock subject to such conversion shall, upon such conversion, be deemed to represent such Common Stock as a result of a conversion and upon surrender by such holder to the Corporation of any outstanding certificate(s) (or a letter of transmittal representing the transfer of book-entry entitlements in lieu thereof) formerly representing such holder’s shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, as applicable, issue the shares of Class A Common Stock into which such holder’s shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock were converted as a result of such conversion.  Each share of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock that is converted pursuant to

7

 

 

this Clause (2)(g) of this Article FOURTH shall thereupon be retired and resume the status of authorized and unissued shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, as applicable, and all rights of the holder with respect to such shares, including the rights, if any, to receive notices and to vote, shall thereupon cease and terminate.  No fractional shares of Class A Common Stock shall be issued upon conversion of the shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock.  In lieu of any fractional shares to which the holder would otherwise be entitled, the Corporation shall pay (or, in the case of a conversion of shares of Class C Common Stock, cause the OP to pay) to the holder cash equal to the Value of the fractional shares of Class A Common Stock.  The term “Person” means both natural persons and legal entities.

(ii) The Corporation may, as a condition to the Transfer or the registration of Transfer of shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, require the furnishing of such affidavits or other proof as it deems necessary to establish whether such transfer would result in an automatic conversion pursuant to the terms of Clause (2)(g)(i) of this Article FOURTH.

(h) No Preemptive or Subscription Rights.  No holder of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to preemptive or subscription rights.

(3)    Preferred Stock.

(i) The Board of Directors is expressly authorized to provide, out of the unissued shares of Preferred Stock, for the issuance of all or any shares of the Preferred Stock in one or more classes or series, and to fix for each such class or series such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and such distinctive designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as shall be stated and expressed in the resolution or resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors providing for the issuance of such class or series and as may be permitted by the DGCL, including, without limitation, the authority to provide that any such class or series may be: (i) subject to redemption at such time or times and at such price or prices; (ii) entitled to receive dividends (which may be cumulative or non-cumulative) at such rates, on such conditions, and at such times, and payable in preference to, or in such relation to, the dividends payable on any other class or classes or any other series; (iii) entitled to such rights upon the dissolution of, or upon any distribution of the assets of, the Corporation; or (iv) convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or classes of stock, or of any other series of the same or any other class or classes of stock, of the Corporation at such price or prices or at such rates of exchange and with such adjustments, all as may be stated in such resolution or resolutions.

(j) Except as otherwise required in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law, holders of a series of Preferred Stock shall be entitled only to such voting rights, if any, as shall expressly be granted thereto by this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designations relating to such series).

(4)     Power to Sell and Purchase Shares.  Subject to the requirements of applicable law, the Corporation shall have the power to issue and sell all or any part of any shares of any class of stock herein or hereafter authorized to such persons, and for such consideration, as the Board of Directors shall from time to time, in its discretion, determine, whether or not greater consideration could be received upon the issue or sale of (i) the same number of shares of such class to another person or (ii) the same number of shares of another class, and as otherwise permitted by law; provided,  however, that the Corporation shall only be permitted to issue and

8

 

 

sell shares of (a) Class A Common Stock to the extent such issuance and sale complies with the OP LLC Agreement and (b) Class C Common Stock in connection with the issuance by the OP of OP Class A Common Units in connection with any new capital raises, reclassifications, interest splits or exchanges, distributions, mergers or other business combinations, or recapitalizations.  Subject to the requirements of applicable law, the Corporation shall have the power to purchase any shares of any class of stock herein or hereafter authorized from such persons, and for such consideration, as the Board of Directors shall from time to time, in its discretion, determine, whether or not less consideration could be paid upon the purchase of (i) the same number of shares of such class from another person or (ii) the same number of shares of another class, and as otherwise permitted by law.  In the event that the Corporation determines to repurchase any shares of Class A Common Stock, the Corporation shall, as the managing member of the OP, cause the OP to repurchase from the Corporation an equal number of OP Class A Common Units and the proceeds received by the Corporation from the OP in such repurchase shall be used by the Corporation to fund the Corporation’s repurchase of shares of Class A Common Stock.

FIFTH: The following provisions are inserted for the management of the business and the conduct of the affairs of the Corporation, and for further definition, limitation, and regulation of the powers of the Corporation and of its directors and stockholders:

(1) The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors.

(2) The directors shall have concurrent power with the stockholders to make, alter, amend, change, add to, or repeal the Bylaws of the Corporation (the “Bylaws”).

(3) The number of directors of the Corporation shall be as from time to time fixed by, or in the manner provided in, the Bylaws of the Corporation.  Election of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws so provide.

(4) A director shall hold office until the annual meeting for the year in which his term expires and until his successor shall be elected and shall qualify, subject, however, to prior death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, or removal from office.  Any director may resign at any time in accordance with the Bylaws.

(5) Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances: (i) each director elected at or prior to the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2020 Annual Meeting”) shall be elected for a term expiring on the date of the third annual meeting of stockholders following the annual meeting at which the director was elected; (ii) each director elected at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2022 Annual Meeting”); (iii) each director elected at the 2022 Annual Meeting shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2023 Annual Meeting”); and (iv) commencing at the 2023 Annual Meeting and each annual meeting of stockholders thereafter, all directors shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the next annual meeting of stockholders and the Board shall no longer be divided into separate classes.  Prior to the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting, the Board shall be deemed to be classified for the purposes of Section 141 of the DGCL.

(6) Subject to the terms of any one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock, any vacancy on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors may be filled only by a majority of the Board of Directors then in office, provided that a quorum is present, and any other vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors may be filled only by a majority of the Board of Directors

9

 

 

then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.  Any director elected to fill a vacancy resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office for a term that shall coincide with the remaining term of the other directors.  Any director elected to fill a vacancy not resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall have the same remaining term as that of his predecessor.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, whenever the holders of any one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock issued by the Corporation shall have the right, voting separately by class or series, to elect directors at an Annual or Special Meeting of stockholders, the election, term of office, filling of vacancies, and other features of such directorships shall be governed by the terms of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation applicable thereto.

(7) Until the completion of the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting, after which the directors shall not be divided into separate classes and all directors shall be elected to serve for a term of one (1) year (the “Declassification”), directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed only for cause and only by a vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in connection with the election of the directors of the Corporation. Following the completion of the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting and the Declassification, directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed at any time either, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote at an election of directors of the Corporation, voting as a single class, except as otherwise required by applicable law.   Any vacancy or vacancies on the Board of Directors caused by any such removal shall be filled as provided in Clause (6) of this Article FIFTH.

(8) No director shall be personally liable to the Corporation or any of its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director; provided,  however, that to the extent required by the provisions of Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL or any successor statute, or any other laws of the State of Delaware, this provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the DGCL or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.  If the DGCL is amended after the date of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation, in addition to the limitation on personal liability provided in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended.  Any repeal or modification of this Clause (8) of Article FIFTH shall not adversely affect any limitation on the personal liability or any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to acts or omissions occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

(9) In addition to the powers and authority hereinbefore or by statute expressly conferred upon them, the directors are hereby empowered to exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation, subject, nevertheless, to the provisions of the DGCL, this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and any Bylaws adopted by the stockholders; provided,  however, that no Bylaws hereafter adopted by the stockholders shall invalidate any prior act of the directors that would have been valid if such Bylaws had not been adopted.

SIXTH: Meetings of stockholders may be held within or without the State of Delaware, as the Bylaws may provide.  The books of the Corporation may be kept (subject to any provision contained in the DGCL) outside the State of Delaware at such place or places as may be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors or in the Bylaws.

10

 

 

SEVENTH: Unless otherwise required by law, Special Meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation, for any purpose or purposes, may be called at any time by a majority of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, or from time to time by the stockholders as may be permitted by the Bylaws. Special Meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation may not be called by any other person or persons.

EIGHTH: Any action required or permitted to be taken at any Annual or Special Meeting of Stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in accordance with Section 228 of the DGCL and the Corporation’s Bylaws.

NINTH: The Corporation shall indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, as now or hereafter in effect, and such right to indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer of the Corporation and shall inure to the benefit of his heirs, executors, and personal and legal representatives; provided,  however, that, except for  proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall not be obligated to indemnify any director or officer (or his heirs, executors, or personal or legal representatives) in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized or consented to by the Board of Directors.  The right to indemnification conferred by this Article NINTH shall include the right to be paid by the Corporation the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding in advance of its final disposition upon receipt by the Corporation of an undertaking by or on behalf of the director or officer receiving advancement to repay the amount advanced if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation under this Article NINTH.

The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, provide rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to employees and agents of the Corporation similar to those conferred in this Article NINTH to directors and officers of the Corporation.

The rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses conferred in this Article NINTH shall not be exclusive of any other right that any person may have or hereafter acquire under this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Bylaws, any statute, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.

Any repeal or modification of this Article NINTH by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect any rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses of a director or officer of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to any acts or omissions occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

TENTH: The Bylaws may be amended, altered, changed or repealed, in whole or in part, either (i) by the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors (subject to any bylaw requiring the affirmative vote of a larger percentage of the members of the Board of Directors), or (ii) without the approval of the Board of Directors, by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in connection with the election of directors of the Corporation.

ELEVENTH:  Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, or employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the

11

 

 

Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director, officer, or employee of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director, officer, or employee of the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware; provided,  however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding shall be another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware.  Failure to enforce the foregoing provisions would cause the Corporation irreparable harm and the Corporation shall be entitled to equitable relief, including injunctive relief and specific performance, to enforce the foregoing provisions.  Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of this Article ELEVENTH.

TWELFTH:  The Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change, or repeal any provision contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended from time to time, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation; provided,  however, that, notwithstanding any other provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended from time to time, and in addition to any other vote that may be required by law), the affirmative vote of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the combined voting power of the shares entitled to vote in connection with the election of directors of the Corporation shall be required to amend, alter, change, or repeal, or to adopt any provision as part of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended from time to time, inconsistent with the purpose and intent of Articles FIFTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH or TWELFTH of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended from time to time.

THIRTEENTH:  If any provision in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation is determined to be invalid, void, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall continue to be valid and enforceable and shall in no way be affected, impaired, or invalidated.

FOURTEENTH:  The Corporation is to have perpetual existence.

 

 

 

[REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK]

12

 

 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be duly executed on its behalf this 4th day of June, 2020.

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

By: /s/ Michael Sherman
Name: Michael Sherman
Title:  Secretary and General Counsel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 3.2

 

THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED

BYLAWS

OF

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

A Delaware Corporation

Effective June 3, 2020

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

Page

Article I

 

OFFICES

 

 

 

Section 1.1

Registered Office

1

Section 1.2

Other Offices

1

 

Article II

 

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

 

 

Section 2.1

Place of Meetings

1

Section 2.2

Annual Meetings

1

Section 2.3

Special Meetings

1

Section 2.4

Notice

4

Section 2.5

Adjournments

4

Section 2.6

Quorum

5

Section 2.7

Voting

5

Section 2.8

Proxies

5

Section 2.9

Consent of Stockholders in Lieu of Meeting

6

Section 2.10

List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote

6

Section 2.11

Record Date

6

Section 2.12

Stock Ledger

7

Section 2.13

Conduct of Meetings

7

Section 2.14

Inspectors of Election

7

Section 2.15

Nature of Business at Meeting of Stockholders

7

Section 2.16

Nomination of Directors

9

Section 2.17

Proxy Access for Director Nominations.

11

 

Article III

 

DIRECTORS

 

 

 

Section 3.1

Number and Election of Directors

17

Section 3.2

Vacancies

17

Section 3.3

Duties and Powers

18

Section 3.4

Meetings

18

Section 3.5

Organization

18

Section 3.6

Resignations and Removals of Directors

18

Section 3.7

Quorum

19

Section 3.8

Actions of the Board by Written Consent

19

Section 3.9

Meetings by Means of Conference Telephone

19

Section 3.10

Committees

19

Section 3.11

Compensation

20

Section 3.12

Interested Directors

20

 

i

 

 

 

 

Article IV

 

OFFICERS

 

 

 

Section 4.1

General

20

Section 4.2

Election

21

Section 4.3

Voting Securities Owned by the Corporation

21

Section 4.4

Chairman of the Board

21

Section 4.5

Chief Executive Officer

21

Section 4.6

President

21

Section 4.7

Vice Presidents

22

Section 4.8

Secretary

22

Section 4.9

Treasurer

22

Section 4.10

Assistant Secretaries

22

Section 4.11

Assistant Treasurers

23

Section 4.12

Other Officers

23

 

Article V

 

STOCK

 

 

 

Section 5.1

Shares of Stock

23

Section 5.2

Signatures

23

Section 5.3

Lost Certificates

23

Section 5.4

Transfers

23

Section 5.5

Dividend Record Date

24

Section 5.6

Record Owners

24

Section 5.7

Transfer and Registry Agents

24

 

Article VI

 

NOTICES

 

 

 

Section 6.1

Notices

24

Section 6.2

Waivers of Notice

24

 

Article VII

 

GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

 

 

Section 7.1

Dividends

25

Section 7.2

Disbursements

25

Section 7.3

Fiscal Year

25

Section 7.4

Corporate Seal

25

 

Article VIII

 

INDEMNIFICATION

 

 

 

Section 8.1

Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings other than Those by or in the Right of the Corporation

25

Section 8.2

Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings by or in the Right of the Corporation

26

Section 8.3

Authorization of Indemnification

26

Section 8.4

Indemnification by a Court

26

 

ii

 

 

    

 

Section 8.5

Expenses Payable in Advance

27

Section 8.6

Non-exclusivity of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses

27

Section 8.7

Insurance

27

Section 8.8

Certain Definitions

27

Section 8.9

Survival of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses

27

Section 8.10

Limitation on Indemnification

28

Section 8.11

Indemnification of Employees and Agents

28

 

Article IX

 

AMENDMENTS

 

 

 

Section 9.1

Amendments

28

Section 9.2

Entire Board of Directors

28

 

 

 

iii

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

BYLAWS

OF

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

(hereinafter called the “Corporation”)

ARTICLE I

OFFICES

Section 1.1           Registered Office.  The registered office of the Corporation shall be in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, State of Delaware.

Section 1.2           Other Offices.  The Corporation may also have offices at such other places, both within and without the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.

ARTICLE II

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

Section 2.1           Place of Meetings.  Meetings of the stockholders for the election of directors or for any other purpose shall be held at such time and place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors.

Section 2.2           Annual Meetings.  The Annual Meeting of Stockholders for the election of directors shall be held on such date and at such time as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors.  Any other proper business may be transacted at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Section 2.3           Special Meetings.  Special meetings of the stockholders may be called at any time by (i) the majority of Board of Directors, (ii) the Chairman of the Board of Directors, (iii) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation or (iv) otherwise as provided by applicable law, the Corporation’s certificate of incorporation as then in effect (as the same may be amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”) or these Bylaws. Any such special meeting shall be held on such date and at such time and place, if any, designated by the Board of Directors. Subject to Section 2.3(a) of these Bylaws, a special meeting of stockholders shall be called by the Board of Directors upon the written request or requests of one or more stockholders (each, a “Requesting Stockholder”, and collectively, “Requesting Stockholders”) who are stockholders of record of the Corporation at the time a request is delivered holding shares of Common Stock representing in the aggregate at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (the “Requisite Percentage”), which shares of Common Stock are determined to be “Net Long Shares” in accordance with Section 2.3(a)(i) of these Bylaws. The Board of Directors may postpone, reschedule or cancel any special meeting of stockholders previously scheduled by the Board of Directors or the Chairman of the Board of Directors, subject to Section 2.3(a).

(a)       Stockholder Requested Special Meetings

(i)    To be valid, a written request or requests for a special meeting of stockholders (each, a “Special Meeting Request” and collectively, “Special Meeting Requests”) shall be signed and dated by Requesting Stockholders (or their duly

 

 

 

authorized agents) holding Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate, the Requisite Percentage and delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation and shall include: (1) a statement of the specific purpose or purposes of the special meeting of stockholders and the matters proposed to be acted on at the special meeting of stockholders, the text of any proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and, in the event that such business includes a proposal to amend these Bylaws, the text of the proposed amendment), the reasons for conducting such business at the special meeting of stockholders and any material interest in such business of the Requesting Stockholders and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request(s) are being made; (2) as to the Requesting Stockholders and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request(s) are being made, the information required by Section 2.4 of these Bylaws to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice; (3) such other information, if applicable, required by Section 2.15 of these Bylaws including, but not limited to, such other information required to be set forth in connection with a stockholder’s director nomination to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice required by Section 2.16 of these Bylaws; (4) an acknowledgement by the Requesting Stockholders and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request(s) are being made that any reduction in the number of Net Long Shares with respect to which a Special Meeting Request relates following the delivery of such Special Meeting Request to the Secretary of the Corporation shall constitute a revocation of such Special Meeting Request to the extent of such reduction; (5) documentary evidence that the Requesting Stockholders hold Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate, the Requisite Percentage as of the date on which the Special Meeting Request(s) are delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation; provided, however, that if the Requesting Stockholders are not the beneficial owners of Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate, the Requisite Percentage, then to be valid, the Special Meeting Request(s) must also include documentary evidence (or, if not simultaneously provided with the Special Meeting Request(s), such documentary evidence must be delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation within ten (10) days after the date on which the Special Meeting Request(s) are delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation) that the beneficial owners on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request(s) are made beneficially own Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate, the Requisite Percentage as of the date on which such Special Meeting Request(s) are delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation; and (6) such other information as reasonably requested by the Corporation. For purposes of this Section 2.3(a)(1) and for determining the Requisite Percentage, Net Long Shares shall be limited to the number of shares beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any Requesting Stockholder or beneficial owner that constitute such person’s net long position as defined in Rule 14e-4 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”); provided that for purposes of such definition the date the tender offer is first announced shall instead be the date for determining a Requesting Stockholder’s or beneficial owner’s Net Long Shares and the reference to the highest tender price shall refer to the market price on such date and, to the extent not covered by such definition, reduced by any shares as to which such person does not have the right to vote or direct the vote at the special meeting of stockholders or as to which such person has entered into a derivative or other agreement, arrangement or understanding that hedges or transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such shares. In addition, to the extent any affiliates of the Requesting Stockholders or beneficial owner are acting in concert with the Requesting Stockholders or beneficial owner with respect to the calling of the special meeting of stockholders, the determination of Net Long Shares may include the effect of aggregating the Net Long Shares (including any negative number) of such affiliate or

2

 

 

affiliates. Whether shares constitute “Net Long Shares” shall be determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, and such determination shall be binding on the Corporation and its stockholders. In addition, the Requesting Stockholders and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request(s) are being made shall promptly provide any other information reasonably requested by the Corporation and, if requested by the Corporation on or prior to the record date for the meeting, the information required under clauses (a)(i)(2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this Section 2.3 shall be supplemented by such Requesting Stockholders and beneficial owners not later than ten (10) days after the record date for the special meeting of stockholders to disclose such information as of the record date (and with respect to the information required under clause (a)(i)(5) of this Section 2.3, as of a date not more than five (5) business days before the scheduled date of the special meeting of stockholders to which the Special Meeting Request relates). In determining whether a special meeting of stockholders has been requested by Requesting Stockholders holding Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate at least, the Requisite Percentage, multiple Special Meeting Requests delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation will be considered together only if (1) each Special Meeting Request identifies substantially the same purpose or purposes of the special meeting of stockholders and substantially the same matters proposed to be acted on at the special meeting of stockholders (in each case, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors), and (2) such Special Meeting Requests have been dated and delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated Special Meeting Request. A Requesting Stockholder may revoke a Special Meeting Request at any time prior to the special meeting of stockholders to which such Special Meeting Request relates by written revocation of such Special Meeting Request delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation. If, as of the date that is sixty (60) days following the earliest dated Special Meeting Request in respect of a special meeting of stockholders, there are Special Meeting Requests in respect of such special meeting of stockholders that have not been revoked (whether by express written revocation by such Requesting Stockholder or pursuant to clause (a)(i)(4) of this Section 2.3) by Requesting Stockholders owning Net Long Shares representing, in the aggregate, less than the Requisite Percentage, the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may cancel such special meeting of stockholders.

(ii)   Except as provided in the next sentence, a special meeting of stockholders requested by Requesting Stockholders in compliance with this Section 2.3 shall be held at such date, time and place within or without the State of Delaware as may be fixed by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that the date of any such special meeting of stockholders shall be not more than ninety (90) days after the Special Meeting Request is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation, unless a later date is required in order to allow the Corporation to file and clear with the Staff of the Securities Exchange Commission the information required by Regulation 14A promulgated under the Exchange Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, there shall be no requirement to hold any special meeting of stockholders to which a Special Meeting Request relates if (1) the Special Meeting Request does not comply with this Section 2.3, (2) the Special Meeting Request relates to an item of business that is not a proper subject for stockholder action under applicable law, (3) the Special Meeting Request is delivered during the period commencing ninety (90) days prior to the first anniversary of the date of the notice of annual meeting for the immediately preceding annual meeting and ending on the earlier of (a) the date of the next annual meeting and (b) thirty (30) days after the first anniversary of the date of the immediately preceding annual meeting, (4) an identical or substantially similar item (in each case, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, a “Similar Item”), other than the election of directors, was presented at a

3

 

 

meeting of stockholders held not more than twelve (12) months before the Special Meeting Request is delivered, (5) a Similar Item was presented at a meeting of stockholders held not more than ninety (90) days before the Special Meeting Request is delivered (and, for purposes of this clause (5), the election or removal of directors shall be deemed a “Similar Item” with respect to all items of business involving the election or removal of directors), (6) a Similar Item (including the election or removal of directors) is included in the Corporation’s notice as an item of business to be brought before an annual or special meeting of stockholders that has been called by the time the Special Meeting Request is delivered but not yet held or that is called for a date within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the delivery to the Corporation of a Special Meeting Request or (7) the Special Meeting Request was made in a manner that involved a violation of Regulation 14A promulgated under the Exchange Act or other applicable law. For purposes of this clause, the date of delivery of the Special Meeting Request shall be the first date on which valid Special Meeting Requests reflecting Net Long Shares representing the Requisite Percentage have been delivered to the Corporation. The Board of Directors shall determine in good faith whether a Special Meeting Request complies with this Section 2.3, and such determination shall be binding on the Corporation and its stockholders.

(iii)  Business transacted at a special meeting of stockholders requested by Requesting Stockholders pursuant to this Section 2.3 shall be limited to the purpose or purposes stated in the Special Meeting Request(s) to which such special meeting of stockholders relates; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the Board of Directors from submitting additional matters to stockholders at any such special meeting of stockholders. If none of the Requesting Stockholders who shall have submitted a Special Meeting Request that complies with this Section 2.3 appear or send a duly authorized agent to present the business to be presented for consideration specified in such Special Meeting Request, the Corporation need not present such business for a vote at the special meeting of stockholders to which such Special Meeting Request relates, regardless of whether any proxies in respect of such matter may have been delivered to the Corporation. The chairman of a special meeting of stockholders to which any Special Meeting Request relates shall determine all matters relating to the conduct of such special meeting of stockholders, including, without limitation, determining whether to adjourn such special meeting of stockholders and whether any nomination or other item of business has been properly brought before such special meeting of stockholders in accordance with this Section 2.3, and if the chairman of such special meeting of stockholders should so determine and declare that any nomination or other item of business has not been properly brought before such special meeting of stockholders, then such nomination or other business shall not be made or transacted at such special meeting of stockholders.

Section 2.4           Notice.  Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting shall be given which shall state the place, date and hour of the meeting, and, in the case of a Special Meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called.  Unless otherwise required by law, written notice of any meeting shall be given not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to notice of and to vote at such meeting.

Section 2.5           Adjournments.  Any meeting of the stockholders may be adjourned from time to time to reconvene at the same or some other place, and notice need not be given of any such adjourned meeting if the time and place thereof are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is

4

 

 

taken.  At the adjourned meeting, the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting.  If the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, notice of the adjourned meeting in accordance with the requirements of Section 2.4 shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting.

Section 2.6           Quorum.  Unless otherwise required by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation, the holders of a majority in voting power of the Corporation’s capital stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders for the transaction of business.  A quorum, once established, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum.  If, however, such quorum shall not be present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall have power to adjourn the meeting from time to time, in the manner provided in Section 2.5, until a quorum shall be present or represented.

Section 2.7           Voting.  Unless otherwise required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws or permitted by the rules of any stock exchange on which the Corporation’s shares are listed and traded, any question brought before any meeting of the stockholders, other than the election of directors, shall be decided by the vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares represented at the meeting and entitled to vote on such question, voting as a single class.  Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, and subject to Section 2.11(a), each stockholder represented at a meeting of the stockholders shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote for each share of the capital stock entitled to vote thereat held by such stockholder.  Such votes may be cast in person or by proxy as provided in Section 2.8.  The Board of Directors, in its discretion, or the officer of the Corporation presiding at a meeting of the stockholders, in such officer’s discretion, may require that any votes cast at such meeting shall be cast by written ballot.

Section 2.8           Proxies.  Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of the stockholders or to express consent or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted upon after three (3) years from its date, unless such proxy provides for a longer period.  Without limiting the manner in which a stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy, the following shall constitute a valid means by which a stockholder may grant such authority:

(a)       A stockholder may execute a writing authorizing another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy.  Execution may be accomplished by the stockholder or such stockholder’s authorized officer, director, employee or agent signing such writing or causing such person’s signature to be affixed to such writing by any reasonable means, including, but not limited to, by facsimile signature.

(b)       A stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy by transmitting or authorizing the transmission of a telegram or cablegram or other means of electronic transmission to the person who will be the holder of the proxy or to a proxy solicitation firm, proxy support service organization or like agent duly authorized by the person who will be the holder of the proxy to receive such transmission; provided, that any such telegram, cablegram or other means of electronic transmission must either set forth or be submitted with information from which it can be determined that the telegram, cablegram or other electronic transmission was authorized by the stockholder.  If it is determined that such telegrams, cablegrams or other electronic transmissions are valid, the inspectors or, if there are no inspectors, such other persons making that determination shall specify the information on which they relied.

5

 

 

Any copy, facsimile telecommunication or other reliable reproduction of the writing or transmission authorizing another person or persons to act as proxy for a stockholder may be substituted or used in lieu of the original writing or transmission for any and all purposes for which the original writing or transmission could be used; provided,  however, that such copy, facsimile telecommunication or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original writing or transmission.

Section 2.9           Consent of Stockholders in Lieu of Meeting.  Any action required or permitted to be taken at any Annual or Special Meeting of Stockholders of the Corporation may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted and shall be delivered to the Corporation in accordance with Section 228 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”).

Section 2.10         List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote.  The officer of the Corporation who has charge of the stock ledger of the Corporation shall prepare and make, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of the stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder.  Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, during ordinary business hours, for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting (i) either at a place within the city where the meeting is to be held, which place shall be specified in the notice of the meeting, or, if not so specified, at the place where the meeting is to be held or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation.  The list shall also be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any stockholder who is present.

Section 2.11         Record Date.

(a)        In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of the stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting.  If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held.  A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided,  however, that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.

(b)       Only to the extent that action by written consent of the stockholders is not prohibited by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, in order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall not be more than ten (10) days after the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors.  If no record date has been fixed by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, when no prior action by the Board of Directors is required by applicable law, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to the Corporation by delivery to its registered office in the State of Delaware, its principal place of business, or an officer or agent of the

6

 

 

Corporation having custody of the book in which proceedings of meetings of the stockholders are recorded.  Delivery made to the Corporation’s registered office shall be by hand or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested.  If no record date has been fixed by the Board of Directors and prior action by the Board of Directors is required by applicable law, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution taking such prior action.

Section 2.12         Stock Ledger.  The stock ledger of the Corporation shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the stock ledger, the list required by Section 2.10 or the books of the Corporation, or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of the stockholders.

Section 2.13         Conduct of Meetings.  The Board of Directors of the Corporation may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of any meeting of the stockholders as it shall deem appropriate.  Except to the extent inconsistent with such rules and regulations as adopted by the Board of Directors, the chairman of any meeting of the stockholders shall have the right and authority to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairman, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting.  Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribed by the chairman of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following:  (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) the determination of when the polls shall open and close for any given matter to be voted on at the meeting; (iii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iv) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the chairman of the meeting shall determine; (v) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (vi) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants.

Section 2.14         Inspectors of Election.  In advance of any meeting of the stockholders, the Board of Directors, by resolution, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the President shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof.  One or more other persons may be designated as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act.  If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of the stockholders, the chairman of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting.  Unless otherwise required by applicable law, inspectors may be officers, employees or agents of the Corporation.  Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of inspector, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of such inspector’s ability.  The inspector shall have the duties prescribed by law and shall take charge of the polls and, when the vote is completed, shall make a certificate of the result of the vote taken and of such other facts as may be required by applicable law.

Section 2.15         Nature of Business at Meeting of Stockholders.

(a)       Only such business (other than nominations for election to the Board of Directors, which must comply with the provisions of Section 2.16) may be transacted at an Annual Meeting of Stockholders as is either (i) specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof), (ii) otherwise properly brought before the Annual Meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof) or (iii) otherwise properly brought before the Annual Meeting by any stockholder of the Corporation (A) who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 2.15 and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at such Annual Meeting and (B) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.15.

7

 

 

(b)       In addition to any other applicable requirements, for business to be properly brought before an Annual Meeting by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation.

(c)        To be timely, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must be delivered to or be mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding Annual Meeting of Stockholders; provided,  however, that in the event that the Annual Meeting is called for a date that is not within twenty-five (25) days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which such notice of the date of the Annual Meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the Annual Meeting was made, whichever first occurs.  In no event shall the adjournment or postponement of an Annual Meeting, or the public announcement of such an adjournment or postponement, commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.

(d)       To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth the following information:  (i) as to each matter such stockholder proposes to bring before the Annual Meeting, a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the Annual Meeting and the proposed text of any proposal regarding such business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and, if such business includes a proposal to amend these Bylaws, the text of the proposed amendment), and the reasons for conducting such business at the Annual Meeting and (ii) as to the stockholder giving notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is being made: (A) the name and address of such person; (B) (I) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (II) the name of each nominee holder of shares of all stock of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of such shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (III) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (IV) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation; (C) a description of all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between or among such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with or relating to (I) the Corporation or (II) the proposal, including any material interest in, or anticipated benefit from the proposal to such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person; (D) a representation that the stockholder giving notice intends to appear in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting to bring such business before the meeting; and (E) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with the solicitation of proxies by such person with respect to the proposed business to be brought by such person before the Annual Meeting pursuant to Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(e)       A stockholder providing notice of business proposed to be brought before an Annual Meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information

8

 

 

provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.15 shall be true and correct as of the date of the Annual Meeting and such update and supplement shall be delivered to or be mailed and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation prior to the Annual Meeting.

(f)        No business shall be conducted at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders except business brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2.15;  provided,  however, that, once business has been properly brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with such procedures, nothing in this Section 2.15 shall be deemed to preclude discussion by any stockholder of any such business.  If the chairman of an Annual Meeting determines that business was not properly brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with the foregoing procedures, the chairman shall declare to the meeting that the business was not properly brought before the meeting and such business shall not be transacted.

(g)       Nothing contained in this Section 2.15 shall be deemed to affect any rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act (or any successor provision of law).

Section 2.16         Nomination of Directors.

(a)       Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the following procedures shall be eligible for election as directors of the Corporation, except as may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the right of holders of preferred stock of the Corporation to nominate and elect a specified number of directors in certain circumstances.  Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made at any Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or at any Special Meeting of Stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, (i) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof) or (ii) by any stockholder of the Corporation (A) who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 2.16 and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at such Annual Meeting or Special Meeting and (B) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.16.

(b)       In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be made by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation.

(c)        To be timely, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must be delivered to or be mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation (i) in the case of an Annual Meeting, not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding Annual Meeting of Stockholders; provided,  however, that in the event that the Annual Meeting is called for a date that is not within twenty-five (25) days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which such notice of the date of the Annual Meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the Annual Meeting was made, whichever first occurs and (ii) in the case of a Special Meeting of Stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which notice of the date of the Special Meeting was mailed or public disclosure of the date of the Special Meeting was made, whichever first occurs.  In no event shall the adjournment or postponement of an Annual Meeting or a Special Meeting called for the purpose of electing directors, or the public announcement of such an adjournment or postponement, commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.

9

 

 

(d)       To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth the following information:  (i) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election as a director (A) the name, age, business address and residence address of such person, (B) the principal occupation or employment of such person, (C) (I) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (II) the name of each nominee holder of shares of all stock of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of such shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (III) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (IV) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation, (D) such person’s written representation and agreement that such person (I) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such person, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question, (II) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director of the Corporation that has not been disclosed to the Corporation in such representation and agreement and (III) in such person’s individual capacity, would be in compliance, if elected as a director of the Corporation, and will comply with, all applicable publicly disclosed confidentiality, corporate governance, conflict of interest, Regulation FD, code of conduct and ethics, and stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines of the Corporation and (E) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; and (ii) as to the stockholder giving the notice, and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is being made, (A) the name and record address of the stockholder giving the notice and the name and principal place of business of such beneficial owner; (B) (I) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (II) the name of each nominee holder of shares of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (III) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (IV) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation; (C) a description of (I) all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any proposed nominee, or any affiliates or associates of such proposed nominee, (II) all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any other person or persons (including their names) pursuant to which the

10

 

 

nomination(s) are being made by such person, or otherwise relating to the Corporation or their ownership of capital stock of the Corporation, and (III) any material interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, in such nomination, including any anticipated benefit therefrom to such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person; (D) a representation that the stockholder giving notice intends to appear in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting or Special Meeting to nominate the persons named in its notice; and (E) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with the solicitation of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.  Such notice must be accompanied by a written consent of each proposed nominee to being named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.

(e)       A stockholder providing notice of any nomination proposed to be made at an Annual Meeting or Special Meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 2.16 shall be true and correct as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of the Annual Meeting or Special Meeting, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to or be mailed and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of such Annual Meeting or Special Meeting.

No person shall be eligible for election as a director of the Corporation unless nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2.16.  If the chairman of the meeting determines that a nomination was not made in accordance with the foregoing procedures, the chairman shall declare to the meeting that the nomination was defective and such defective nomination shall be disregarded.

Section 2.17         Proxy Access for Director Nominations.

(a)       Whenever the Board of Directors solicits proxies with respect to the election of directors at an annual meeting of stockholders (following the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders), subject to the provisions of this Section 2.17, the Corporation shall include in its proxy statement for such annual meeting, in addition to any persons nominated for election by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof), the name, together with the Required Information (as defined below), of any person nominated for election to the Board of Directors by an Eligible Stockholder (as defined in Section 2.17(d)) pursuant to and in accordance with this Section 2.17 (a “Stockholder Nominee”).  For purposes of this Section 2.17, the “Required Information” that the Corporation will include in its proxy statement is (i) the information provided to the Secretary concerning the Stockholder Nominee and the Eligible Stockholder that is required to be disclosed in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) if the Eligible Stockholder so elects, a Supporting Statement (as defined in Section 2.17(h)).  For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this Section 2.17 shall limit the Corporation’s ability to solicit against any Stockholder Nominee or include in its proxy materials the Corporation’s own statements or other information relating to any Eligible Stockholder or Stockholder Nominee, including any information provided to the Corporation pursuant to this Section 2.17.  Subject to the provisions of this Section 2.17, the name of any Stockholder Nominee included in the Corporation’s proxy statement for an annual meeting of stockholders shall also be set forth on the form of proxy distributed by the Corporation in connection with such annual meeting.

(b)       In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be made by an Eligible Stockholder pursuant to this Section 2.17, the Eligible Stockholder must have given timely notice thereof (a “Notice of Proxy Access Nomination”) in proper written form to the Secretary and must expressly request in the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination to have such nominee included in

11

 

 

the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17.  To be timely, a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than one hundred twenty (120) days nor more than one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the anniversary of the date that the Corporation first distributed its proxy statement to stockholders for the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that no annual meeting was held in the previous year or if the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than sixty (60) days after such anniversary date, to be timely, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not more than one hundred sixty-five (165) days prior to the date of such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of (x) the one hundred thirty-fifth (135th) day prior to the date of such annual meeting or (y) the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting was made.  In no event shall the adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting, or the public disclosure of such an adjournment or postponement, commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination pursuant to this Section 2.17.

(c)        The maximum number of Stockholder Nominees nominated by all Eligible Stockholders that will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders shall not exceed the greater of (i) two (2) or (ii) twenty percent (20%) of the number of directors in office as of the last day on which a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination may be delivered pursuant to and in accordance with this Section 15 (the “Final Proxy Access Nomination Date”) or, if such amount is not a whole number, the closest whole number below twenty percent (20%) (such greater number, as it may be adjusted pursuant to this Section 2.17(c), the “Permitted Number”).  In the event that one or more vacancies for any reason occurs on the Board of Directors after the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date but before the date of the annual meeting and the Board of Directors resolves to reduce the size of the Board of Directors in connection therewith, the Permitted Number shall be calculated based on the number of directors in office as so reduced.  In addition, the Permitted Number shall be reduced by (i) the number of individuals who will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials as nominees recommended by the Board of Directors pursuant to an agreement, arrangement or understanding with a stockholder or group of stockholders (other than any such agreement, arrangement or understanding entered into in connection with an acquisition of stock from the Corporation by such stockholder or group of stockholders) and (ii) the number of directors in office as of the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date who were included in the Corporation’s proxy materials as Stockholder Nominees for any of the two (2) preceding annual meetings of stockholders (including any persons counted as Stockholder Nominees pursuant to the immediately succeeding sentence) and whose re-election at the upcoming annual meeting is being recommended by the Board of Directors.  For purposes of determining when the Permitted Number has been reached, any individual nominated by an Eligible Stockholder for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17 whose nomination is subsequently withdrawn or whom the Board of Directors decides to nominate for election to the Board of Directors shall be counted as one of the Stockholder Nominees.  Any Eligible Stockholder submitting more than one Stockholder Nominee for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17 shall rank such Stockholder Nominees based on the order in which the Eligible Stockholder desires such Stockholder Nominees to be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials in the event that the total number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 2.17 exceeds the Permitted Number.  In the event that the number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 2.17 exceeds the Permitted Number, the highest ranking Stockholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 2.17 from each Eligible Stockholder will be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials until the Permitted Number is reached, going in order of the amount (largest to smallest) of shares of common stock of the Corporation each Eligible Stockholder disclosed as Owned (as defined in Section 2,17(e)) in its Notice of Proxy Access Nomination.  If the Permitted Number is not reached after the

12

 

 

highest ranking Stockholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 2.17 from each Eligible Stockholder has been selected, then the next highest ranking Stockholder Nominee who meets the requirements of this Section 2.17 from each Eligible Stockholder will be selected for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials, and this process will continue as many times as necessary, following the same order each time, until the Permitted Number is reached.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.17, the Corporation shall not be required to include any Stockholder Nominees in its proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17 for any meeting of stockholders for which the Secretary receives a notice (whether or not subsequently withdrawn) that a stockholder intends to nominate one or more persons for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to Section 2.16.

(d)       An “Eligible Stockholder” is a stockholder or group of no more than twenty (20) stockholders (counting as one stockholder, for this purpose, any two (2) or more funds that are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group (as defined below)) that (i) has Owned continuously for at least three (3) years (the “Minimum Holding Period”) a number of shares of common stock of the Corporation equal to no less than the Required Shares (as defined below), (ii) continues to Own the Required Shares through the date of the annual meeting and (iii) meets all other requirements of this Section 2.17.  “Required Shares” means a number of shares of common stock of the Corporation that represents at least three percent (3%) of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation as of the date the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation in accordance with this Section 2.17.  A “Qualifying Fund Group” means two (2) or more funds that are (i) under common management and investment control, (ii) under common management and funded primarily by the same employer or (iii) a “group of investment companies” as such term is defined in Section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  Whenever the Eligible Stockholder consists of a group of stockholders (including a group of funds that are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group), (i) each provision in this Section 2.17 that requires the Eligible Stockholder to provide any written statements, representations, undertakings, agreements or other instruments or to meet any other conditions shall be deemed to require each stockholder (including each individual fund) that is a member of such group to provide such statements, representations, undertakings, agreements or other instruments and to meet such other conditions (except that the members of such group may aggregate the shares that each member has Owned continuously throughout the Minimum Holding Period in order to meet the three percent (3%) Ownership requirement of the “Required Shares” definition) and (ii) a breach of any obligation, agreement or representation under this Section 2.17 by any member of such group shall be deemed a breach by the Eligible Stockholder.  No stockholder may be a member of more than one group of stockholders constituting an Eligible Stockholder with respect to any annual meeting.

(e)       For purposes of this Section 2.17, a stockholder shall be deemed to “Own” and have “Ownership” of only those outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation as to which the stockholder possesses both (i) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares and (ii) the full economic interest in (including the opportunity for profit from and risk of loss on) such shares; provided that the number of shares calculated in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) shall not include any shares (A) sold by such stockholder or any of its affiliates in any transaction that has not been settled or closed, (B) borrowed by such stockholder or any of its affiliates for any purposes or purchased by such stockholder or any of its affiliates pursuant to an agreement to resell, or (C) subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale, or other derivative or similar instrument or agreement entered into by such stockholder or any of its affiliates, whether any such instrument or agreement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of shares of outstanding common stock of the Corporation, in any such case which instrument or agreement has, or is intended to have, the purpose or effect of (1) reducing in any manner, to any extent or at any time in the future, such stockholder’s or its affiliates’ full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares and/or (2) hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree any gain or loss realized or realizable from maintaining the full

13

 

 

economic ownership of such shares by such stockholder or affiliate.  A stockholder shall “Own” shares held in the name of a nominee or other intermediary so long as the stockholder retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and possesses the full economic interest in the shares.  A stockholder’s Ownership of shares shall be deemed to continue during any period in which (x) the stockholder has loaned such shares, provided that the stockholder has the power to recall such loaned shares on five (5) business days’ notice and includes in the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination an agreement that it (A) will promptly recall such loaned shares upon being notified that any of its Stockholder Nominees will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials and (B) will continue to hold such recalled shares through the date of the annual meeting or (y) the stockholder has delegated any voting power by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which is revocable at any time by the stockholder.  The terms “Owned,” “Owning” and other variations of the word “Own” shall have correlative meanings.  Whether outstanding shares of common stock of the Corporation are “Owned” for these purposes shall be decided by the Board of Directors.

(f)        To be in proper written form, a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must set forth or be accompanied by the following:

(i)    a statement by the Eligible Stockholder (A) setting forth and certifying as to the number of shares it Owns and has Owned continuously throughout the Minimum Holding Period, (B) agreeing to continue to Own the Required Shares through the date of annual meeting and (C) indicating whether it intends to continue to own the Required Shares for at least one year following the annual meeting;

(ii)   one or more written statements from the record holder of the Required Shares (and from each intermediary through which the Required Shares are or have been held during the Minimum Holding Period) verifying that, as of a date within seven (7) calendar days prior to the date the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, the Eligible Stockholder Owns, and has Owned continuously throughout the Minimum Holding Period, the Required Shares, and the Eligible Stockholder’s agreement to provide, within five (5) business days following the later of the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the annual meeting and the date notice of the record date is first publicly disclosed, one or more written statements from the record holder and such intermediaries verifying the Eligible Stockholder’s continuous Ownership of the Required Shares through the record date;

(iii)   a copy of the Schedule 14N that has been or is concurrently being filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by Rule 14a-18 under the Exchange Act;

(iv)   the information, representations, agreements and other documents that would be required to be set forth in or included with a stockholder’s notice of nomination made pursuant Section 2.16;

(v)    a representation that the Eligible Stockholder (A) did not acquire, and is not holding, any securities of the Corporation for the purpose or with the intent of changing or influencing control of the Corporation, (B) has not nominated and will not nominate for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting any person other than the Stockholder Nominee(s) it is nominating pursuant to this Section 2.17, (C) has not engaged and will not engage in, and has not and will not be a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(l) under the Exchange

14

 

 

Act in support of the election of any individual as a director at the annual meeting other than its Stockholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors, (D) has not distributed and will not distribute to any stockholder of the Corporation any form of proxy for the annual meeting other than the form distributed by the Corporation, (E) has complied and will comply with all laws, rules and regulations applicable to solicitations and the use, if any, of soliciting material in connection with the annual meeting and (F) has provided and will provide facts, statements and other information in all communications with the Corporation and its stockholders that are or will be true and correct in all material respects and do not and will not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;

(vi)  an undertaking that the Eligible Stockholder agrees to (A) assume all liability stemming from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Eligible Stockholder’s communications with the stockholders of the Corporation or out of the information that the Eligible Stockholder provided to the Corporation, (B) indemnify and hold harmless the Corporation and each of its directors, officers and employees individually against any liability, loss or damages in connection with any threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding, whether legal, administrative or investigative, against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees arising out of any nomination submitted by the Eligible Stockholder pursuant to this Section 2.17 or any solicitation or other activity in connection therewith and (C) file with the Securities and Exchange Commission any solicitation or other communication with the stockholders of the Corporation relating to the meeting at which its Stockholder Nominee(s) will be nominated, regardless of whether any such filing is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act or whether any exemption from filing is available for such solicitation or other communication under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;

(vii)  in the case of a nomination by an Eligible Stockholder consisting of a group of stockholders, the designation by all group members of one member of the group that is authorized to receive communications, notices and inquiries from the Corporation and to act on behalf of all members of the group with respect to all matters relating to the nomination under this Section 2.17 (including withdrawal of the nomination); and

(viii)              in the case of a nomination by an Eligible Stockholder consisting of a group of stockholders in which two (2) or more funds are intended to be treated as one stockholder for purposes of qualifying as an Eligible Stockholder, documentation reasonably satisfactory to the Corporation that demonstrates that the funds are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group.

(g)       In addition to the information required or requested pursuant to Section 2.17(f) or any other provision of these Bylaws, (i) the Corporation may require any proposed Stockholder Nominee to furnish any other information (A) that may reasonably be requested by the Corporation to determine whether the Stockholder Nominee would be independent under the rules and listing standards of the securities exchanges upon which the stock of the Corporation is listed or traded, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission or any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing the independence of the Corporation’s directors (collectively, the “Independence Standards”), (B) that could be material to a reasonable stockholder’s understanding of the independence, or lack thereof, of such Stockholder Nominee or (C) that may reasonably be requested by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such Stockholder Nominee to be included in the

15

 

 

Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17 or to serve as a director of the Corporation, and (ii) the Corporation may require the Eligible Stockholder to furnish any other information that may reasonably be requested by the Corporation to verify the Eligible Stockholder’s continuous Ownership of the Required Shares throughout the Minimum Holding Period and through the date of the annual meeting.

(h)       For each of its Stockholder Nominees, the Eligible Stockholder may, at its option, provide to the Secretary, at the time the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is provided, a written statement for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials, not to exceed five hundred (500) words, in support of such Stockholder Nominee’s candidacy (a “Supporting Statement”).  Only one Supporting Statement may be submitted by an Eligible Stockholder (including any group of stockholders together constituting an Eligible Stockholder) in support of each of its Stockholder Nominee(s).  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.17, the Corporation may omit from its proxy materials any information or Supporting Statement (or portion thereof) that it, in good faith, believes would violate any applicable law, rule or regulation.

(i)        In the event that any information or communications provided by an Eligible Stockholder or a Stockholder Nominee to the Corporation or its stockholders is not, when provided, or thereafter ceases to be, true and correct in all material respects or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, such Eligible Stockholder or Stockholder Nominee, as the case may be, shall promptly notify the Secretary of any such defect and of the information that is required to correct any such defect.  Without limiting the foregoing, an Eligible Stockholder shall provide immediate notice to the Corporation if the Eligible Stockholder ceases to Own a number of shares of the Corporation’s common stock at least equal to the Required Shares prior to the date of the annual meeting.  In addition, any person providing any information to the Corporation pursuant to this Section 2.17 shall further update and supplement such information, if necessary, so that all such information shall be true and correct as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the annual meeting, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to or be mailed and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days following the later of the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the annual meeting and the date notice of the record date is first publicly disclosed.  For the avoidance of doubt, no notification, update or supplement provided pursuant to this Section 2.17(i) or otherwise shall be deemed to cure any defect in any previously provided information or communications or limit the remedies available to the Corporation relating to any such defect (including the right to omit a Stockholder Nominee from its proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17).

(j)        Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 2.17, the Corporation shall not be required to include in its proxy materials, pursuant to this Section 2.17, any Stockholder Nominee (i) who would not be an independent director under the Independence Standards, (ii) whose election as a member of the Board of Directors would cause the Corporation to be in violation of these Bylaws, the Certificate of Incorporation, the rules and listing standards of the securities exchanges upon which the stock of the Corporation is listed or traded, or any applicable law, rule or regulation, (iii) who is or has been, within the past three (3) years, an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, (iv) who is a named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses) or has been convicted in such a criminal proceeding within the past ten (10) years, (v) who is subject to any order of the type specified in Rule 506(d) of Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or (vi) who shall have provided any information to the Corporation or its stockholders that was untrue in any material respect or that omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances in which they were made, not misleading.

16

 

 

(k)       Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, if (i) a Stockholder Nominee and/or the applicable Eligible Stockholder breaches any of its agreements or representations or fails to comply with any of its obligations under this Section 2.17 or (ii) a Stockholder Nominee otherwise becomes ineligible for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 2.17, or dies, becomes disabled or otherwise becomes ineligible or unavailable for election at the annual meeting, in each case as determined by the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof) or the chairman of the annual meeting, (A) the Corporation may omit or, to the extent feasible, remove the information concerning such Stockholder Nominee and the related Supporting Statement from its proxy materials and/or otherwise communicate to its stockholders that such Stockholder Nominee will not be eligible for election at the annual meeting, (B) the Corporation shall not be required to include in its proxy materials any successor or replacement nominee proposed by the applicable Eligible Stockholder or any other Eligible Stockholder and (C) the chairman of the annual meeting shall declare such nomination to be invalid and such nomination shall be disregarded, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation.

(l)        Any Stockholder Nominee who is included in the Corporation’s proxy materials for a particular annual meeting of stockholders but either (i) withdraws from or becomes ineligible or unavailable for election at the annual meeting, or (ii) does not receive at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the votes cast in favor of such Stockholder Nominee’s election, will be ineligible to be a Stockholder Nominee pursuant to this Section 2.17 for the next two (2) annual meetings of stockholders.  For the avoidance of doubt, the immediately preceding sentence shall not prevent any stockholder from nominating any person to the Board of Directors pursuant to Section 2.16.

(m)      This Section 2.17 provides the exclusive method for a stockholder to include nominees for election to the Board of Directors in the Corporation’s proxy materials.

ARTICLE III

DIRECTORS

Section 3.1           Number and Election of Directors.  The Board of Directors shall consist of not less than three (3) nor more than nineteen (19) members, the exact number of which shall initially be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors.  Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances,: (i) each director elected at or prior to the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2020 Annual Meeting”) shall be elected for a term expiring on the date of the third annual meeting of stockholders following the annual meeting at which the director was elected; (ii) each director elected at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2022 Annual Meeting”); (iii) each director elected at the 2022 Annual Meeting shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the 2023 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2023 Annual Meeting”); and (iv) commencing at the 2023 Annual Meeting and each annual meeting of stockholders thereafter, all directors shall be elected for a one-year term expiring at the next annual meeting of stockholders and the Board shall no longer be divided into separate classes.  Prior to the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting, the Board shall be deemed to be classified for the purposes of Section 141 of the DGCL.  Except as provided in Section 3.2, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the Annual Meeting for the year in which his or her term expires and each director so elected shall hold office until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal.  Directors need not be stockholders.

Section 3.2           Vacancies.  Subject to the terms of any one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock, any vacancy on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of

17

 

 

directors may be filled only by a majority of the Board of Directors then in office, provided that a quorum is present, and any other vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors may be filled only by a majority of the Board of Directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.  Any director elected to fill a vacancy resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office for a term that shall coincide with the remaining term of the other directors.  Any director elected to fill a vacancy not resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall have the same remaining term as that of his predecessor.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, whenever the holders of any one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock issued by the Corporation shall have the right, voting separately by class or series, to elect directors at an Annual or Special Meeting of stockholders, the election, term of office, filling of vacancies, and other features of such directorships shall be governed by the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation applicable thereto.

Section 3.3           Duties and Powers.  The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors which may exercise all such powers of the Corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by statute or by the Certificate of Incorporation or by these Bylaws required to be exercised or done by the stockholders.

Section 3.4           Meetings.  The Board of Directors and any committee thereof may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or without the State of Delaware.  Regular meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may be held without notice at such time and at such place as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors or such committee, respectively.  Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chairman of the Board, if there be one, the Chief Executive Officer or the Board of Directors.  Special meetings of any committee of the Board of Directors may be called by the chairman of such committee, if there be one, the Chief Executive Officer, or any director serving on such committee.  Notice of any special meeting stating the place, date and hour of the meeting shall be given to each director (or, in the case of a committee, to each member of such committee) either by mail not less than forty-eight (48) hours before the date of the meeting, by telephone, telegram or electronic means on twenty-four (24) hours’ notice, or on such shorter notice as the person or persons calling such meeting may deem necessary or appropriate in the circumstances.

Section 3.5           Organization.  At each meeting of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the Chairman of the Board or the chairman of such committee, as the case may be, or, in his or her absence or if there be none, a director chosen by a majority of the directors present, shall act as chairman.  Except as provided below, the Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary at each meeting of the Board of Directors and of each committee thereof.  In case the Secretary shall be absent from any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof, an Assistant Secretary shall perform the duties of secretary at such meeting; and in the absence from any such meeting of the Secretary and all the Assistant Secretaries, the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the members of each committee of the Board of Directors may appoint any person to act as secretary of any meeting of such committee and the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Corporation may, but need not if such committee so elects, serve in such capacity.

Section 3.6           Resignations and Removals of Directors.  Any director of the Corporation may resign from the Board of Directors or any committee thereof at any time, by giving notice in writing to the Chairman of the Board, if there be one, the Chief Executive Officer or the Secretary of the Corporation and, in the case of a committee, to the chairman of such committee, if there be one.  Such resignation shall take effect at the time therein specified or, if no time is specified, immediately; and, unless otherwise specified in such notice, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.  Until the completion of the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting, after which the directors shall not be divided into separate classes and all directors shall be elected to serve for

18

 

 

a term of one (1) year (the “Declassification”), directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed only for cause and only by a vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in connection with the election of the directors of the Corporation, except as otherwise required by the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law. Following the completion of the Corporation’s 2023 Annual Meeting and the Declassification, directors (other than the directors elected by the holders of any series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, voting separately as a series or together with one or more other such series, as the case may be) may be removed at any time either, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote at an election of directors of the Corporation, voting as a single class, except as otherwise required by the Certificate of Incorporation or applicable law.  Any director serving on a committee of the Board of Directors may be removed from such committee at any time by the Board of Directors.

Section 3.7           Quorum.  Except as otherwise required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or the rules and regulations of any securities exchange or quotation system on which the Corporation’s securities are listed or quoted for trading, at all meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, a majority of the entire Board of Directors or a majority of the directors constituting such committee, as the case may be, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and the act of a majority of the directors or committee members present at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be the act of the Board of Directors or such committee, as applicable.  If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting of the time and place of the adjourned meeting, until a quorum shall be present.  A meeting at which a quorum is initially present may continue to transact business notwithstanding the withdrawal of directors, if any action taken is approved by a majority of the required quorum for that meeting.

Section 3.8           Actions of the Board by Written Consent.  Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting, if all the members of the Board of Directors or such committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, and the writing or writings are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Directors or such committee.

Section 3.9           Meetings by Means of Conference Telephone.  Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, members of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, or any committee thereof, may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors or such committee by means of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in a meeting pursuant to this Section 3.9 shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

Section 3.10         Committees.  The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation.  Each member of a committee must meet the requirements for membership, if any, imposed by applicable law and the rules and regulations of any securities exchange or quotation system on which the securities of the Corporation are listed or quoted for trading.  The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of any such committee.  Subject to the rules and regulations of any securities exchange or quotation system on which the securities of the Corporation are listed or quoted for trading, in the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, and in the absence of a designation by the Board of Directors of an alternate member to replace the absent or disqualified member, the member or members

19

 

 

thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another qualified member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in the place of any absent or disqualified member.  Any committee, to the extent permitted by law and provided in the resolution establishing such committee, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it.  Each committee shall keep regular minutes and report to the Board of Directors when required.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Article III, the resolution of the Board of Directors establishing any committee of the Board of Directors and/or the charter of any such committee may establish requirements or procedures relating to the governance and/or operation of such committee that are different from, or in addition to, those set forth in these Bylaws and, to the extent that there is any inconsistency between these Bylaws and any such resolution or charter, the terms of such resolution or charter shall be controlling.

Section 3.11         Compensation.  The directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary for service as director, payable in cash or securities.  No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor.  Chairpersons or members of special or standing committees may be allowed like compensation for such service.

Section 3.12         Interested Directors.  No contract or transaction between the Corporation and one or more of its directors or officers, or between the Corporation and any other corporation, partnership, association or other organization in which one or more of its directors or officers are directors or officers or have a financial interest, shall be void or voidable solely for this reason, or solely because the director or officer is present at or participates in the meeting of the Board of Directors or committee thereof which authorizes the contract or transaction, or solely because any such director’s or officer’s vote is counted for such purpose if:  (i) the material facts as to the director’s or officer’s relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the Board of Directors or the committee, and the Board of Directors or committee in good faith authorizes the contract or transaction by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors be less than a quorum; (ii) the material facts as to the director’s or officer’s relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the stockholders entitled to vote thereon, and the contract or transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the stockholders; or (iii) the contract or transaction is fair as to the Corporation as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified by the Board of Directors, a committee thereof or the stockholders.  Common or interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board of Directors or of a committee which authorizes the contract or transaction.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 4.1           General.  The officers of the Corporation shall be chosen by the Board of Directors and shall be a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.  The Board of Directors, in its discretion, also may choose a Chairman of the Board (who must be a director) and one or more Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries, Assistant Treasurers and other officers.  Any number of offices may be held by the same person, unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws.  The officers of the Corporation need not be stockholders of the Corporation nor, except in the case of the Chairman of the Board, need such officers be directors of the Corporation.

20

 

 

Section 4.2           Election.  The Board of Directors, at its first meeting held after each Annual Meeting of Stockholders shall elect the officers of the Corporation who shall hold their offices for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors; and each officer of the Corporation shall hold office until such officer's successor is elected and qualified, or until such officer's earlier death, resignation or removal.  Any officer elected by the Board of Directors may be removed at any time by the Board of Directors.  Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation shall be filled by the Board of Directors.

Section 4.3           Voting Securities Owned by the Corporation.  Powers of attorney, proxies, waivers of notice of meeting, consents and other instruments relating to securities owned by the Corporation may be executed in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation by the Chief Executive Officer, the President or any other officer authorized to do so by the Board of Directors and any such officer may, in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, take all such action as any such officer may deem advisable to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of security holders of any corporation in which the Corporation may own securities and at any such meeting shall possess and may exercise any and all rights and power incident to the ownership of such securities and which, as the owner thereof, the Corporation might have exercised and possessed if present.  The Board of Directors may, by resolution, from time to time confer like powers upon any other person or persons.

Section 4.4           Chairman of the Board.  The Chairman of the Board, if there be one, shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and of the Board of Directors.  The Chairman of the Board shall also perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may from time to time be assigned by these Bylaws or by the Board of Directors.

Section 4.5           Chief Executive Officer.  The Chief Executive Officer shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors and, if there be one, the Chairman of the Board, have general supervision of the business and affairs of the Corporation and of its several officers and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect.  The Chief Executive Officer shall have the power to execute, by and on behalf of the Corporation, all deeds, bonds, mortgages, contracts and other instruments of the Corporation requiring a seal, under the seal of the Corporation, except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and executed and except that the other officers of the Corporation may sign and execute documents when so authorized by these Bylaws, the Board of Directors or the Chief Executive Officer.  In the absence or disability of the Chairman of the Board, or if there be none, the Chief Executive Officer shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and, provided the Chief Executive Officer is also a director, at all meetings of the Board of Directors.  The Chief Executive Officer shall also perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may from time to time be assigned to such officer by these Bylaws or by the Board of Directors.

Section 4.6           President.  Unless otherwise provided by the Board of Directors, the President shall be the Chief Executive Officer.  The President shall, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, if there be one, and the Chief Executive Officer, if the President shall not be the Chief Executive Officer, have general supervision of the business and affairs of the Corporation.  The President shall have the power to execute all bonds, mortgages, contracts and other instruments of the Corporation requiring a seal, under the seal of the Corporation, except where required or permitted by law to be otherwise signed and executed and except that the other officers of the Corporation may sign and execute documents when so authorized by these Bylaws, the Board of Directors or, if the President shall not be the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Executive Officer.  In general, the President shall perform all duties incident to the office of President and such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to the President by the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, if there be one, or the Chief Executive Officer, if the President shall not be the Chief Executive Officer.  In the absence or disability of the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer, the President

21

 

 

shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and, provided the President is also a director, at all meetings of the Board of Directors.  If the President shall not be the Chief Executive Officer, in the event of the inability or refusal of the Chief Executive Officer to act, the Board of Directors may designate the President to perform the duties of the Chief Executive Officer, and, when so acting, the President shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Chief Executive Officer.

Section 4.7           Vice Presidents.  At the request of the President or in the President's absence or in the event of the President's inability or refusal to act (and if there be no Chairman of the Board), the Vice President, or the Vice Presidents if there are more than one (in the order designated by the Board of Directors), shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President.  Each Vice President shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors from time to time may prescribe.  If there be no Chairman of the Board and no Vice President, the Board of Directors shall designate the officer of the Corporation who, in the absence of the President or in the event of the inability or refusal of the President to act, shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President.

Section 4.8           Secretary.  The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings thereat in a book or books to be kept for that purpose; the Secretary shall also perform like duties for committees of the Board of Directors when required.  The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the stockholders and special meetings of the Board of Directors, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the President, under whose supervision the Secretary shall be.  If the Secretary shall be unable or shall refuse to cause to be given notice of all meetings of the stockholders and special meetings of the Board of Directors, and if there be no Assistant Secretary, then either the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer or the President may choose another officer to cause such notice to be given.  The Secretary shall have custody of the seal of the Corporation, if any, and the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary, if there be one, shall have authority to affix the same to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by the signature of the Secretary or by the signature of any such Assistant Secretary.  The Board of Directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest to the affixing by such officer's signature.  The Secretary shall see that all books, reports, statements, certificates and other documents and records required by law to be kept or filed are properly kept or filed, as the case may be.

Section 4.9           Treasurer.  The Treasurer shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation and shall deposit all moneys and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors.  The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the Corporation as may be ordered by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the Chief Executive Officer, the President and the Board of Directors, at its regular meetings, or when the Board of Directors so requires, an account of all transactions as Treasurer and of the financial condition of the Corporation.  If required by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer shall give the Corporation a bond in such sum and with such surety or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the Board of Directors for the faithful performance of the duties of the office of the Treasurer and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of the Treasurer's death, resignation, retirement or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in the Treasurer's possession or under the Treasurer's control belonging to the Corporation.

Section 4.10         Assistant Secretaries.  Assistant Secretaries, if there be any, shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of

22

 

 

Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, if there be one, or the Secretary, and in the absence of the Secretary or in the event of the Secretary's inability or refusal to act, shall perform the duties of the Secretary, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Secretary.

Section 4.11         Assistant Treasurers.  Assistant Treasurers, if there be any, shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, if there be one, or the Treasurer, and in the absence of the Treasurer or in the event of the Treasurer's inability or refusal to act, shall perform the duties of the Treasurer, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Treasurer.  If required by the Board of Directors, an Assistant Treasurer shall give the Corporation a bond in such sum and with such surety or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the Board of Directors for the faithful performance of the duties of the office of Assistant Treasurer and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of the Assistant Treasurer's death, resignation, retirement or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in the Assistant Treasurer's possession or under the Assistant Treasurer's control belonging to the Corporation.

Section 4.12         Other Officers.  Such other officers as the Board of Directors may choose shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors may delegate to any other officer of the Corporation the power to choose such other officers and to prescribe their respective duties and powers.

ARTICLE V

STOCK

Section 5.1           Shares of Stock.  Except as otherwise provided in a resolution approved by the Board of Directors, all shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be uncertificated shares.

Section 5.2           Signatures.  To the extent any shares are represented by certificates, any or all of the signatures on a certificate may be a facsimile.  In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if such person were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.

Section 5.3           Lost Certificates.  The Board of Directors may direct a new certificate or uncertificated shares be issued in place of any certificate theretofore issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed.  When authorizing such issuance of a new certificate or uncertificated shares, the Board of Directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to advertise the same in such manner as the Board of Directors shall require and/or to give the Corporation a bond in such sum as it may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.

Section 5.4           Transfers.  Stock of the Corporation shall be transferable in the manner prescribed by applicable law and in these Bylaws.  Transfers of stock shall be made on the books of the Corporation, and in the case of certificated shares of stock, only by the person named in the certificate or by such person’s attorney lawfully constituted in writing and upon the surrender of the certificate therefor,

23

 

 

properly endorsed for transfer and payment of all necessary transfer taxes; or, in the case of uncertificated shares of stock, upon receipt of proper transfer instructions from the registered holder of the shares or by such person’s attorney lawfully constituted in writing, and upon payment of all necessary transfer taxes and compliance with appropriate procedures for transferring shares in uncertificated form; provided,  however, that such surrender and endorsement (to the extent any shares are represented by certificates), compliance or payment of taxes shall not be required in any case in which the officers of the Corporation shall determine to waive such requirement.  With respect to certificated shares of stock, every certificate exchanged, returned or surrendered to the Corporation shall be marked “Cancelled,” with the date of cancellation, by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or the transfer agent thereof.  No transfer of stock shall be valid as against the Corporation for any purpose until it shall have been entered in the stock records of the Corporation by an entry showing from and to whom transferred.

Section 5.5           Dividend Record Date.  In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action.  If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.

Section 5.6           Record Owners.  The Corporation shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner of shares to receive dividends, and to vote as such owner, and to hold liable for calls and assessments a person registered on its books as the owner of shares, and shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise required by law.

Section 5.7           Transfer and Registry Agents.  The Corporation may from time to time maintain one or more transfer offices or agencies and registry offices or agencies at such place or places as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VI

NOTICES

Section 6.1           Notices.  Whenever written notice is required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to be given to any director, member of a committee or stockholder, such notice may be given by mail, addressed to such director, member of a committee or stockholder, at such person’s address as it appears on the records of the Corporation, with postage thereon prepaid, and such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when the same shall be deposited in the United States mail.  Written notice may also be given personally or by telegram, telex, cable or by means of electronic transmission.

Section 6.2           Waivers of Notice.  Whenever any notice is required by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to be given to any director, member of a committee or stockholder, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto.  Attendance of a person at a meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where the person attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.  Neither the

24

 

 

business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any Annual or Special Meeting of Stockholders or any regular or special meeting of the directors or members of a committee of directors need be specified in any written waiver of notice unless so required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws.

ARTICLE VII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 7.1           Dividends.  Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the requirements of the DGCL and the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, if any, may be declared by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors (or any action by written consent in lieu thereof in accordance with Section 3.8), and may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the Corporation’s capital stock.  Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the Board of Directors from time to time, in its absolute discretion, deems proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for purchasing any of the shares of capital stock, warrants, rights, options, bonds, debentures, notes, scrip or other securities or evidences of indebtedness of the Corporation, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or for any proper purpose, and the Board of Directors may modify or abolish any such reserve.

Section 7.2           Disbursements.  All checks or demands for money and notes of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers or such other person or persons as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.

Section 7.3           Fiscal Year.  The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.

Section 7.4           Corporate Seal.  The corporate seal shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation, the year of its organization and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware”.  The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.

ARTICLE VIII

INDEMNIFICATION

Section 8.1           Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings other than Those by or in the Right of the Corporation.  Subject to Section 8.3, the Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was a director or officer of the Corporation serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.  The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with

25

 

 

respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful.

Section 8.2           Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings by or in the Right of the Corporation.  Subject to Section 8.3, the Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was a director or officer of the Corporation serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation; except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

Section 8.3           Authorization of Indemnification.  Any indemnification under this Article VIII (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director or officer is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 8.1 or Section 8.2, as the case may be.  Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (i) by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by a majority of such directors, even though less than a quorum, (iii) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion or (iv) by the stockholders.  Such determination shall be made, with respect to former directors and officers, by any person or persons having the authority to act on the matter on behalf of the Corporation.  To the extent, however, that a present or former director or officer of the Corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding described above, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith, without the necessity of authorization in the specific case.

Section 8.4           Indemnification by a Court.  Notwithstanding any contrary determination in the specific case under Section 8.3, and notwithstanding the absence of any determination thereunder, any director or officer may apply to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or any other court of competent jurisdiction in the State of Delaware for indemnification to the extent otherwise permissible under Section 8.1 or Section 8.2.  The basis of such indemnification by a court shall be a determination by such court that indemnification of the director or officer is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 8.1 or Section 8.2, as the case may be.  Neither a contrary determination in the specific case under Section 8.3 nor the absence of any determination thereunder shall be a defense to such application or create a presumption that the director or officer seeking indemnification has not met any applicable standard of conduct.  Notice of any application for indemnification pursuant to this Section 8.4 shall be given to the Corporation promptly upon the filing of such application.  If successful, in whole or in part, the director or officer seeking indemnification shall also be entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such application.

26

 

 

Section 8.5           Expenses Payable in Advance.  Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a present or former director or officer in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this Article VIII.  Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by employees and agents (other than present and former directors and officers) may be so paid upon such additional terms and conditions, if any, as the Corporation deems appropriate.

Section 8.6           Non-exclusivity of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses.  The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article VIII shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, it being the policy of the Corporation that indemnification of the persons specified in Section 8.1 and Section 8.2 shall be made to the fullest extent permitted by law.  The provisions of this Article VIII shall not be deemed to preclude the indemnification of any person who is not specified in Section 8.1 or Section 8.2 but whom the Corporation has the power or obligation to indemnify under the provisions of the DGCL, or otherwise.

Section 8.7           Insurance.  The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was a director or officer of the Corporation serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power or the obligation to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of this Article VIII.

Section 8.8           Certain Definitions.  For purposes of this Article VIII, references to “the Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors or officers, so that any person who is or was a director or officer of such constituent corporation, or is or was a director or officer of such constituent corporation serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article VIII with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.  The term “another enterprise” as used in this Article VIII shall mean any other corporation or any partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise of which such person is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent.  For purposes of this Article VIII, references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the Corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director or officer with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation” as referred to in this Article VIII.

Section 8.9           Survival of Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses.  The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article VIII shall,

27

 

 

unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

Section 8.10         Limitation on Indemnification.  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Article VIII to the contrary, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification (which shall be governed by Section 8.4), the Corporation shall not be obligated to indemnify any director or officer (or his or her heirs, executors or personal or legal  representatives) or advance expenses in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized or consented to by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.

Section 8.11         Indemnification of Employees and Agents.  The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, provide rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to employees and agents of the Corporation similar to those conferred in this Article VIII to directors and officers of the Corporation.

ARTICLE IX

AMENDMENTS

Section 9.1           Amendments.  These Bylaws may be amended, altered, changed or repealed, in whole or in part, or new Bylaws may be adopted by either (i) the affirmative vote of a majority of the entire Board of Directors, or (ii) without the approval of the Board of Directors, by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the shares entitled to vote in connection with the election of directors of the Corporation; provided,  however, that in any case, notice of such amendment, alteration, change, repeal or adoption of new Bylaws shall be contained in the notice of such meeting (if there is one) of the stockholders or Board of Directors, as the case may be.

Section 9.2           Entire Board of Directors.  As used in this Article IX and in these Bylaws generally, the term “entire Board of Directors” means the total number of directors which the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies.

* * *

 

Last Amended as of:       June 3, 2020

28

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

GENESIS HEALTHCARE, INC.

2020 OMNIBUS INCENTIVE PLAN

Section 1.             Purpose of Plan.

The name of this Plan is the Genesis Healthcare, Inc. 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Plan”).  The purposes of the Plan are to provide an additional incentive to selected employees, directors, independent contractors and consultants of the Company or its Affiliates whose contributions are essential to the growth and success of the Company’s business, in order to strengthen the commitment of such persons to the Company and its Subsidiaries, motivate such persons to faithfully and diligently perform their responsibilities, and attract and retain competent and dedicated persons whose efforts will result in the long-term growth and profitability of the Company.  To accomplish such purposes, the Plan provides that the Company may grant Options, Share Appreciation Rights, Restricted Shares, Restricted Share Units, Other Share-Based Awards, Cash Awards or any combination of the foregoing.

Section 2.             Definitions.

For purposes of the Plan, the following terms shall be defined as set forth below:

(a)           “2015 Plan” means the Amended and Restated Genesis Healthcare, Inc. 2015 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan, as amended from time to time.

(b)          “Administrator” means the Board, or, if and to the extent the Board does not administer the Plan, the Committee in accordance with Section 3 hereof.

(c)           “Affiliate” means a Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the Person specified.  An entity shall be deemed an Affiliate of the Company for purposes of this definition only for such periods as the requisite ownership or control relationship is maintained.

(d)          “Applicable Laws” means the applicable requirements under U.S. federal and state corporate laws, U.S. federal and state securities laws, including the Code, any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable laws of any other country or jurisdiction where Awards are granted under the Plan, as are in effect from time to time.

(e)           “Authorized Officer” has the meaning set forth in Section 3(c) hereof.

(f)           “Award” means any Option, Share Appreciation Right, Restricted Share, Restricted Share Unit, Other Share-Based Award or Cash Award granted under the Plan.

(g)          “Award Agreement” means any written agreement, contract or other instrument or document evidencing an Award, including through electronic medium, which shall contain such terms and conditions with respect to an Award as the Administrator shall determine, consistent with the Plan.

(h)          “Base Price” has the meaning set forth in Section 8(b) hereof.

(i)           “Beneficial Owner” (or any variant thereof) has the meaning defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act.

(j)           “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

 

 

 

(k)          “Bylaws” mean the bylaws of the Company, as may be amended and/or restated from time to time.

(l)           “Cash Award” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 12 hereof, including cash awarded as a bonus or upon the attainment of performance goals or otherwise as permitted under the Plan.

(m)         “Cause” shall have the meaning assigned to such term in any individual employment or severance agreement or Award Agreement with the Participant or, if no such agreement exists or if such agreement does not define “Cause,” Cause means: (i) conviction of, or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, by the Participant to any felony (whether or not involving the Company) or any other crime involving moral turpitude which subjects, or if generally known, would subject the Company to public ridicule or embarrassment, (ii) fraud or other willful misconduct in respect of Participant’s duties of the office held by Participant, or (iii) Participant’s continued willful and intentional failure to substantially comply with the reasonable mandates of the Company commensurate with his/her position after a written demand for substantial compliance is delivered to him/her by the Company, which demand specifically identifies the mandate(s) with which the Company believes he/she has not substantially complied, and which failure is not substantially corrected by him/her within ten (10) days after receipt of such demand. Any voluntary termination of employment by the Participant in anticipation of an involuntary termination of the Participant’s employment for Cause shall be deemed to be a termination for Cause.

(n)          “Change in Capitalization” means any (i) merger, amalgamation, consolidation, reclassification, recapitalization, spin-off, spin-out, repurchase or other reorganization or corporate transaction or event, (ii) special or extraordinary dividend or other extraordinary distribution (whether in the form of cash, shares of Common Stock or other property), stock split, reverse stock split, share subdivision or consolidation, (iii) combination or exchange of shares or (iv) other change in corporate structure, which, in any such case, the Administrator determines, in its sole discretion, affects the Shares such that an adjustment pursuant to Section 5 hereof is appropriate.

(o)          “Change in Control” means an event set forth in any one of the following paragraphs shall have occurred:

(i)           any Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company (not including in the securities beneficially owned by such Person or any securities acquired directly from the Company or any Affiliate thereof) representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities, excluding any Person who becomes such a Beneficial Owner in connection with a transaction described in clause (i) of paragraph (3) below;

(ii)          there is consummated a merger or consolidation of the Company or any direct or indirect Subsidiary with any other corporation or other entity, other than (i) a merger or consolidation which results in (A) the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or any parent thereof), in combination with the ownership of any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary, more than 50% of the combined voting power of the securities of the Company or such surviving entity or any parent thereof outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation and (B) the directors then still in office who either were directors on the date hereof or whose appointment, election or nomination for election was previously so approved or recommended (“Incumbent Directors”) continuing immediately thereafter to represent at least a majority of the board of directors of the Company, the entity surviving such merger or consolidation or, if the Company or the entity surviving such merger or consolidation is then a Subsidiary, the ultimate parent thereof, or (ii) a merger or consolidation

2

 

effected to implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company (not including in the securities Beneficially Owned by such Person any securities acquired directly from the Company or its Affiliates) representing 50% or more of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities; or

(iii)         the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company or there is consummated an agreement for the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets, other than (i) a sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets to an entity, at least fifty percent (50%) of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are owned by stockholders of the Company following the completion of such transaction in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of the Company immediately prior to such sale or (ii) a sale or disposition of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets immediately following which the individuals who comprise the Board immediately prior thereto constitute at least a majority of the board of directors of the entity to which such assets are sold or disposed or, if such entity is a subsidiary, the ultimate parent thereof.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, (x) a Change in Control shall not be deemed to have occurred by virtue of the consummation of any transaction or series of integrated transactions immediately following which the holders of Common Stock and other equity securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction or series of transactions continue to have substantially the same direct or indirect proportionate ownership in an entity which, directly or indirectly, owns all or substantially all of the assets of the Company immediately following such transaction or series of transactions, and (y) if all or a portion of an Award constitutes deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code and such Award (or portion thereof) is to be settled, distributed or paid on an accelerated basis due to a Change in Control event that is not a “change in control event” described in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5) or successor guidance, if such settlement, distribution or payment would result in additional tax under Section 409A of the Code, such Award (or the portion thereof) shall vest at the time of the Change in Control (provided such accelerated vesting will not result in additional tax under Section 409A of the Code), but settlement, distribution or payment, as the case may be, shall not be accelerated.

(p)          “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, or any successor thereto.

(q)          “Committee” means any committee or subcommittee the Board may appoint to administer the Plan.  Unless the Board determines otherwise, the Committee shall be composed entirely of individuals who meet the qualifications of (i) a “non-employee director” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 and (ii) any other qualifications required by the applicable stock exchange on which the Common Stock is traded.  If at any time or to any extent the Board shall not administer the Plan, then the functions of the Administrator specified in the Plan shall be exercised by the Committee.

(r)           “Common Stock” means the Class A common stock, par value U.S. $0.001 per share, of the Company.

(s)           “Company” means Genesis Healthcare, Inc., a Delaware corporation (or any successor company, except as the term “Company” is used in the definition of “Change in Control” above).

(t)           “Disability” means, with respect to any Participant, that such Participant (i) as determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion, is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, or (ii) is, by reason of

3

 

any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, receiving income replacement benefits for a period of not less than three (3) months under an accident and health plan covering employees of the Company or an Affiliate thereof.

(u)          “Effective Date” has the meaning set forth in Section 19 hereof.

(v)          “Eligible Recipient”  means an employee, director, independent contractor or consultant of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company who has been selected as an eligible participant by the Administrator; provided, however, to the extent required to avoid accelerated taxation and/or tax penalties under Section 409A of the Code, an Eligible Recipient of an Option or a Share Appreciation Right means an employee, non-employee director, independent contractor or consultant of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company with respect to whom the Company is an “eligible issuer of service recipient stock” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code; and provided,  further, that an Eligible Recipient of an ISO means an individual who is an employee of the Company, a “parent corporation” (as such term is defined in Section 424(e) of the Code) of the Company or a “subsidiary corporation” (as such term is defined in Section 424(f) of the Code) of the Company.

(w)         “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended from time to time.

(x)          “Executive Officer” means an officer of the Company who is subject to the liability provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

(y)          “Exercise Price” means, with respect to any Option, the per share price at which a holder of such Option may purchase Shares issuable upon the exercise of such Option.

(z)           “Fair Market Value” of a share of Common Stock or another security as of a particular date shall mean the fair market value as determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion; provided, however, (i) if the Common Stock or other security is admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, the fair market value on any date shall be the closing sale price reported on such date (or if no shares of Common Stock or such other security (as the case may be) were traded on such date, on the last preceding date on which there was a sale of a share of Common Stock or other security on such exchange), or (ii) if the Common Stock or other security is then traded in an over-the-counter market, the fair market value on any date shall be the average of the closing bid and asked prices for such share or other security in such over-the-counter market for the last preceding date on which there was a sale of such share in such market (or, if none, for the last preceding date on which there was a sale of such share or other security in such market).

(aa)         “Free Standing Right” has the meaning set forth in Section 8(a) hereof.

(bb)        “Good Reason” has the meaning assigned to such term or an analogous term in any individual employment agreement or Award Agreement with the Participant or, if no such agreement exists or if such agreement does not define “Good Reason” or an analogous term, then “Good Reason” shall mean (i) a reduction by the Company in the Participant’s base pay or (ii) any relocation of the Participant’s principal place of employment to a location more than forty-five (45) miles from the Participant’s residence or, if immediately before such relocation the Participant resides more than forty-five (45) miles from the Participant’s principal place of employment, any relocation of the Participant’s principal place of employment to a location more than ten (10) miles farther from the Participant’s residence.

4

 

(cc)         “Incumbent Directors” has the meaning set forth in the definition of Change in Control in this Section 2.

(dd)        “ISO” means an Option intended to be and designated as, and that satisfies the requirements to be, an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.

(ee)         “Nonqualified Stock Option” means an Option that is not designated as an ISO or that otherwise does not satisfy the requirements to be an ISO, as such requirements are set forth in Section 422 of the Code.

(ff)          “Option” means an option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to Section 7 hereof.  The term “Option” as used in the Plan includes the terms “Nonqualified Stock Option” and “ISO.”

(gg)        “Other Share-Based Award” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 10 hereof.

(hh)        “Participant” means any Eligible Recipient selected, pursuant to the authority provided for in Section 3 below, to receive grants of Awards, any permitted assigns, and, upon his or her death, his or her successors, heirs, executors and administrators, as the case may be.

(ii)          “Person” has the meaning given in Section 3(a)(9) of the Exchange Act, as modified and used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) thereof, except that such term shall not include (i) the Company or any Subsidiary thereof, (ii) a trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary thereof, (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to an offering of such securities, or (iv) a corporation owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their ownership of shares of the Company.

(jj)          “Plan” has the meaning set forth in Section 1 hereof.

(kk)        “Related Right” has the meaning set forth in Section 8(a) hereof.

(ll)          “Restricted Shares” means Shares granted pursuant to Section 9 hereof subject to certain restrictions that lapse at the end of a specified period (or periods) and/or upon attainment of specified performance objectives.

(mm)      “Restricted Share Unit” means the right granted pursuant to Section 9 hereof to receive a Share or, in the case of an Award denominated in cash, to receive the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock, at the end of a specified restricted period (or periods) of time and/or upon attainment of specified performance objectives.

(nn)        “Rule 16b-3” has the meaning set forth in Section 3(a) hereof.

(oo)        “Shares” means Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan, as adjusted pursuant to the Plan, and any successor (pursuant to a merger, amalgamation, consolidation or other reorganization) security.

(pp)        “Share Appreciation Right” means the right pursuant to an Award granted under Section 8 hereof to receive an amount equal to the excess, if any, of (i) the aggregate Fair Market Value, as of the date such Award or portion thereof is surrendered, of the Shares covered by such Award or such portion thereof, over (ii) the aggregate Base Price of such Award or such portion thereof.

5

 

(qq)        “Share Bonus” means a bonus payable in fully vested shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to Section 11 hereof.

(rr)          “Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, as of any date of determination, any other Person as to which such first Person owns or otherwise controls, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of the voting shares or other similar interests or a sole general partner interest or managing member or similar interest of such other Person.  An entity shall be deemed a Subsidiary of the Company for purposes of this definition only for such periods as the requisite ownership or control relationship is maintained.

(ss)         “Transfer” has the meaning set forth in Section 17 hereof.

 

Section 3.             Administration.

(a)           The Plan shall be administered by the Administrator and shall be administered in accordance with the requirements of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act (“Rule 16b-3”), to the extent applicable.

(b)          Pursuant to the terms of the Plan, the Administrator, subject, in the case of any Committee, to any restrictions on the authority delegated to it by the Board, shall have the power and authority, without limitation:

(1)          to select those Eligible Recipients who shall be Participants;

(2)          to determine whether and to what extent Awards are to be granted hereunder to Participants;

(3)          to determine the number of Shares to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

(4)          to determine the terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of each Award granted hereunder (including (i) the restrictions applicable to Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units and the conditions under which restrictions applicable to such Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units shall lapse, (ii) the performance goals and periods applicable to Awards, (iii) the Exercise Price of each Option and the Base Price of each Share Appreciation Right, (iv) the vesting schedule applicable to each Award, (v) the number of Shares or amount of cash or other property subject to each Award and (vi) subject to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code (to the extent applicable), any amendments to the terms and conditions of outstanding Awards, including equitable adjustments to performance goals in recognition of unusual or non-recurring events affecting the Company or any Affiliate thereof or the financial statements of the Company or any Affiliate thereof, in response to changes in Applicable Laws or regulations, or to account for items of gain, loss or expense determined to be extraordinary or unusual in nature or infrequent in occurrence or related to the disposal of a segment of a business or related to a change in accounting principles);

(5)          to determine the terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, which shall govern all written instruments evidencing Awards;

(6)          to determine the Fair Market Value in accordance with the terms of the Plan;

6

 

(7)          to determine the duration and purpose of leaves of absence which may be granted to a Participant without constituting termination of the Participant’s employment or service for purposes of Awards granted under the Plan;

(8)          to determine the impact of leaves of absence, including unpaid and un-protected leaves of absence, changes from full-time to part-time employment, partial Disability or other changes in the employment status or service status of a Participant, on Awards, both with regard to vesting schedule and termination;

(9)          to adopt, alter and repeal such administrative rules, regulations, guidelines and practices governing the Plan as it shall from time to time deem advisable;

(10)        to construe and interpret the terms and provisions of the Plan and any Award issued under the Plan (and any Award Agreement relating thereto), and to otherwise supervise the administration of the Plan and to exercise all powers and authorities either specifically granted under the Plan or necessary and advisable in the administration of the Plan; and

(11)        to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to sub-plans established for the purpose of satisfying applicable foreign laws or for qualifying for favorable tax treatment under applicable foreign laws, which rules and regulations may be set forth in an appendix or appendixes to the Plan.

(c)           To the extent permitted by Applicable Law, the Board may, by resolution, authorize one or more Executive Officers (each, an “Authorized Officer”) to do one or both of the following on the same basis as (and as if the Authorized Officer for such purposes were) the Administrator: (i) designate Eligible Recipients to receive Awards and (ii) determine the size and terms of any such Awards; provided, however, that (1) the Board shall not delegate such responsibilities to any Executive Officer for Awards granted to an Eligible Recipient who is an Executive Officer, a non-employee director of the Company, or a more than 10% Beneficial Owner of any class of the Company’s equity securities that is registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act, as determined in accordance with Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and (2) the resolution providing for such authorization shall set forth the total number of shares of Common Stock the Authorized Officer may grant during any period; provided that no such authorization shall authorize grants of Awards during any calendar year covering shares of Common Stock in excess of 50,000 Shares for any individual or 250,000 Shares in the aggregate.  The Authorized Officer(s) shall report periodically to the Board or Committee regarding the nature and scope of the Awards granted pursuant to the authority delegated.

(d)          Subject to Section 5 hereof, neither the Board nor the Committee shall have the authority to reprice or cancel and regrant any Award at a lower Exercise Price, Base Price or purchase price or cancel any Award with an Exercise Price, Base Price or purchase price in exchange for cash, property or other Awards without first obtaining the approval of the Company’s shareholders.

(e)          Any Award granted hereunder in respect of shares made available under Section 4(a) hereof shall provide for a vesting period or performance period, as applicable, of at least one (1) year following the date of grant.  Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, Awards representing a maximum of five percent (5%) of the Shares initially reserved for issuance under Section 4(a) hereof may be granted hereunder without any such minimum vesting condition.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 3(e), the Administrator may accelerate the vesting of or waive restrictions on Awards in whole or in part for any reason.

(f)           Any vested Option or Share Appreciation Right which is not exercised before the earlier of (i) the dates provided above or other applicable date provided in the Award Agreement or (ii) its term

7

 

shall expire.  Unless otherwise accelerated or where an Award Agreement or the Administrator provides for continued vesting after termination of employment, all unvested Awards shall be forfeited upon termination of employment.

(g)          All decisions made by the Administrator pursuant to the provisions of the Plan shall be final, conclusive and binding on all Persons, including the Company and the Participants.  No member of the Board or the Committee, nor any officer or employee of the Company or any Subsidiary thereof acting on behalf of the Board or the Committee, shall be personally liable for any action, omission, determination, or interpretation taken or made in good faith with respect to the Plan, and all members of the Board or the Committee and each and any officer or employee of the Company and of any Subsidiary thereof acting on their behalf shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, be fully indemnified and protected by the Company in respect of any such action, omission, determination or interpretation.

 

Section 4.             Shares Reserved for Issuance; Certain Limitations; Minimum Vesting.

(a)           The maximum number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan shall be (i) 3,500,000 plus (ii)(A) the number of shares of Common Stock under the 2015 Plan not subject to awards under the 2015 Plan as of the Effective Date, and (B) the number of shares of Common Stock subject to awards that are outstanding under the 2015 Plan immediately prior to the Effective Date and that terminate or otherwise expire without a distribution of shares of Common Stock (in the case of both clauses (i) and (ii), subject to adjustment as provided in Section 5 hereof).  On and after the Effective Date, no additional awards will be granted under the 2015 Plan.

(b)          Notwithstanding anything in this Plan to the contrary, subject to adjustment as provided by Section 5 hereof):

(i)           No Participant who is not a non-employee director will be granted Options or Share Appreciation rights covering in in excess of 2,000,000 Shares during any single fiscal year.

(ii)          No Participant who is not a non-employee director will be granted Restricted Shares, Restricted Share Units or Other Share-Based Awards covering in excess of 1,000,000 Shares during any single fiscal year.

(iii)         The maximum Cash Award that any Participant who is not a non-employee director may receive with respect to a Cash Award in respect of any annual performance period is $2,500,000 and for any other performance period, such amount multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of months in the performance period and the denominator of which is twelve.

(iv)         The maximum number of Shares subject to Awards granted during a single fiscal year to any non-employee director, when aggregated with such non-employee director’s cash fees with respect to the fiscal year, shall not exceed $860,000 in total value (calculating the value of any such Awards based on the grant date fair market value of such Awards for financial reporting purposes. The foregoing limit shall be increased to $1,220,000 for any non-employee director who serves as Chairman of the Board.

(c)          All of the shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan may be made subject to an Award that is an ISO.

(d)          Shares issued under the Plan may, in whole or in part, be authorized but unissued Shares or Shares that shall have been or may be reacquired by the Company in the open market, in private

8

 

transactions or otherwise.  If any Shares subject to an Award are forfeited, cancelled, exchanged or surrendered or if an Award otherwise terminates or expires without a distribution of Shares to the Participant, the Shares with respect to such Award shall, to the extent of any such forfeiture, cancellation, exchange, surrender, termination or expiration, again be available for Awards under the Plan.  Shares of Common Stock that are exchanged by a Participant or withheld by the Company as full or partial payment in connection with the exercise of any Option or Share Appreciation Right under the Plan or the payment of any purchase price with respect to any other Award under the Plan, as well as any shares of Common Stock exchanged by a Participant or withheld by the Company or any Subsidiary to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to any Award under the Plan, shall not again be available for subsequent Awards under the Plan, and notwithstanding that a Share Appreciation Right is settled by the delivery of a net number of Shares, the full number of Shares underlying such Share Appreciation Right shall not be available for subsequent Awards under the Plan.  Upon the exercise of any Award granted in tandem with any other Awards, such related Awards shall be cancelled to the extent of the number of Shares as to which the Award is exercised and, notwithstanding the foregoing, such number of Shares shall no longer be available for Awards under the Plan.  In addition, (i) to the extent an Award is denominated in shares of Common Stock, but paid or settled in cash, the number of Shares with respect to which such payment or settlement is made shall again be available for grants of Awards pursuant to the Plan and (ii) shares of Common Stock underlying Awards that can only be settled in cash shall not be counted against the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock available for Awards under the Plan.

 

Section 5.             Equitable Adjustments.

(a)           In the event of any Change in Capitalization, an equitable substitution or proportionate adjustment shall be made, in each case, as may be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, to prevent the dilution or enlargement of the rights of Participants, in (i) the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Plan and the maximum number of shares of Common Stock or cash that may be subject to Awards granted to any Participant in any calendar year, (ii) the kind and number of securities subject to, and the Exercise Price or Base Price of, any outstanding Options and Share Appreciation Rights granted under the Plan, and (iii) the kind, number and purchase price of shares of Common Stock, or the amount of cash or amount or type of other property, subject to outstanding Restricted Shares, Restricted Share Units, Share Bonuses and Other Share-Based Awards granted under the Plan; provided,  however, that any fractional shares resulting from the adjustment shall be eliminated.  Such other equitable substitutions or adjustments shall be made as may be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion.

(b)          Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, in connection with a Change in Capitalization, the Administrator may provide, in its sole discretion, but subject in all events to the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, for the cancellation of any outstanding Award in exchange for payment in cash or other property having an aggregate Fair Market Value equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock, cash or other property covered by such Award, reduced by the aggregate Exercise Price or Base Price thereof, if any; provided, however, that if the Exercise Price or Base Price of any outstanding Award is equal to or greater than the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock, cash or other property covered by such Award, the Administrator may cancel such Award without the payment of any consideration to the Participant.  Further, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, with respect to Awards subject to foreign laws, adjustments made hereunder shall be made in compliance with applicable requirements.

(c)          With respect to ISOs, any adjustment pursuant to this Section 5 shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 424(h) of the Code and any regulations or guidance promulgated thereunder.  No adjustment pursuant to this Section 5 shall cause any Award which is or

9

 

becomes subject to Section 409A of the Code to fail to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

(d)          The determinations made by the Administrator, pursuant to this Section 5 shall be final, binding and conclusive.

 

Section 6.             Eligibility.

The Participants under the Plan shall be selected from time to time by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, from those individuals who qualify as Eligible Recipients.

Section 7.             Options.

(a)          General.  Each Award Agreement evidencing the grant of an Option shall contain such terms and conditions as the Administrator shall determine, in its sole discretion, including, among other things, the Exercise Price of the Option, the term of the Option, the provisions regarding exercisability of the Option, and whether the Option is intended to be an ISO or a Nonqualified Stock Option (and in the event the Award Agreement has no such designation, the Option shall be a Nonqualified Stock Option).  The provisions of each Option need not be the same with respect to each Participant.  More than one Option may be granted to the same Participant and be outstanding concurrently hereunder.  Options granted under the Plan shall be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Section 7 and shall contain such additional terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, as the Administrator shall deem desirable and set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

(b)          Exercise Price.  The Exercise Price of Shares purchasable under an Option shall be determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion at the time of grant, but, in no event shall the Exercise Price of an Option be less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the related shares of Common Stock on the date of grant.

(c)          Option Term.  The maximum term of each Option shall be fixed by the Administrator, but no Option shall be exercisable more than ten (10) years after the date such Option is granted.  Each Option’s term is subject to earlier expiration pursuant to the applicable provisions in the Plan and the Award Agreement.

(d)          Exercisability.  Each Option shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions, including the attainment of performance goals, as shall be determined by the Administrator in the applicable Award Agreement.  The Administrator may also provide that any Option shall be exercisable only in installments.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, an Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a share.

(e)           Method of Exercise.  Options may be exercised in whole or in part by giving written notice of exercise to the Company specifying the number of whole Shares to be purchased, accompanied by payment in full of the aggregate Exercise Price of the Shares so purchased in cash or its equivalent, as determined by the Administrator.  As determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, with respect to any Option or category of Options, payment in whole or in part may also be made (i) by means of consideration received under any cashless exercise procedure approved by the Administrator (including the withholding of Shares otherwise issuable upon exercise), (ii) in the form of unrestricted Shares already owned by the Participant which have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate Exercise Price of the Shares as to which such Option shall be exercised, (iii) any other form of consideration approved by the Administrator and permitted by Applicable Law or (iv) any combination of the foregoing.

10

 

(f)           ISOs.  The terms and conditions of ISOs granted hereunder shall be subject to the provisions of Section 422 of the Code and the terms, conditions, limitations and administrative procedures established by the Administrator from time to time in accordance with the Plan.

(i)           ISO Grants to 10% Stockholders.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, if an ISO is granted to a Participant who owns shares representing more than ten percent (10%) of the voting power of all classes of shares of the Company, its “parent corporation” (as such term is defined in Section 424(e) of the Code) or a Subsidiary of the Company, the term of the ISO shall not exceed five (5) years from the time of grant of such ISO and the Exercise Price shall be at least one hundred and ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant.

(ii)          $100,000 Per Year Limitation For ISOs.  To the extent the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined on the date of grant) of the Shares for which ISOs are exercisable for the first time by any Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company) exceeds $100,000, such excess ISOs shall be treated as Nonqualified Stock Options.

(iii)         Disqualifying Dispositions.  Each Participant awarded an ISO under the Plan shall notify the Company in writing immediately after the date the Participant makes a “disqualifying disposition” of any Share acquired pursuant to the exercise of such ISO.  A “disqualifying disposition” is any disposition (including any sale) of such Shares before the later of (i) two (2) years after the date of grant of the ISO and (ii) one year after the date the Participant acquired the Shares by exercising the ISO.  The Company may, if determined by the Administrator and in accordance with procedures established by it, retain possession of any Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of an ISO as agent for the applicable Participant until the end of the period described in the preceding sentence, subject to complying with any instructions from such Participant as to the sale of such Shares.

(g)          Rights as Shareholder.  A Participant shall have no rights to dividends, dividend equivalents or distributions or any other rights of a shareholder with respect to the Shares subject to an Option until the Participant has given written notice of the exercise thereof, has paid in full for such Shares, the Shares have been issued and the Participant has satisfied the requirements of Section 16 hereof.

(h)          Termination of Employment or Service.  Subject to Section 3(f) hereof, in the event of the termination of employment or service with the Company and all Affiliates thereof of a Participant who has been granted one or more Options, such Options shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement.

 

Section 8.             Share Appreciation Rights.

(a)          General.  Share Appreciation Rights may be granted either alone (“Free Standing Rights”) or in conjunction with all or part of any Option granted under the Plan (“Related Rights”).  Related Rights may be granted either at or after the time of the grant of such Option.  The Administrator shall determine the Eligible Recipients to whom, and the time or times at which, grants of Share Appreciation Rights shall be made, the number of Shares to be awarded, the Base Price, and all other conditions of Share Appreciation Rights.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Related Right may be granted for more Shares than are subject to the Option to which it relates.  The provisions of Share Appreciation Rights need not be the same with respect to each Participant.  Share Appreciation Rights granted under the Plan shall be subject to the following terms and conditions set forth in this Section 8 and shall contain such additional terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, as the Administrator shall deem desirable, as set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.

11

 

(b)          Base Price.  Except as provided in the applicable Award Agreement, each Share Appreciation Right shall be granted with a base price that is not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the related Common Stock on the date of grant (such amount, the “Base Price”).

(c)          Awards; Rights as Stockholder.  A Participant shall have no rights to dividends, dividend equivalents or distributions or any other rights of a shareholder with respect to the Common Stock, if any, subject to a Share Appreciation Right until the Participant has given written notice of the exercise thereof, any underlying Shares have been issued and the Participant has satisfied the requirements of Section 16 hereof.

(d)          Exercisability.

(1)          Share Appreciation Rights that are Free Standing Rights shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as shall be determined by the Administrator in the applicable Award Agreement (which may include achievement of performance goals).

(2)          Share Appreciation Rights that are Related Rights shall be exercisable only at such time or times and to the extent that the Options to which they relate shall be exercisable in accordance with the provisions of Section 7 hereof and this Section 8 of the Plan.

(e)           Consideration Upon Exercise.

(1)          Upon the exercise of a Free Standing Right, the Participant shall be entitled to receive up to, but not more than, that number of Shares equal in value to (i) the excess of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock as of the date of exercise over the Base Price per share specified in the Free Standing Right, multiplied by (ii) the number of Shares in respect of which the Free Standing Right is being exercised.

(2)          A Related Right may be exercised by a Participant by surrendering the applicable portion of the related Option.  Upon such exercise and surrender, the Participant shall be entitled to receive up to, but not more than, that number of Shares equal in value to (i) the excess of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock as of the date of exercise over the Base Price specified in the related Option, multiplied by (ii) the number of Shares in respect of which the Related Right is being exercised.  Options which have been so surrendered, in whole or in part, shall no longer be exercisable to the extent the Related Rights have been so exercised.

(3)          Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Administrator may determine to settle the exercise of a Share Appreciation Right in cash (or in any combination of Shares and cash).

(f)           Termination of Employment or Service.  Subject to Section 3(e) hereof:

(1)          In the event of the termination of employment or service with the Company and all Affiliates thereof of a Participant who has been granted one or more Free Standing Rights, such rights shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement; and

(2)          In the event of the termination of employment or service with the Company and all Affiliates thereof of a Participant who has been granted one or more Related Rights, such rights shall be exercisable at such time or times and subject to such terms and conditions as set forth in the related Options.

12

 

(g)          Term.

(1)          The term of each Free Standing Right shall be fixed by the Administrator, but no Free Standing Right shall be exercisable more than ten (10) years after the date such right is granted.

(2)          The term of each Related Right shall be the term of the Option to which it relates, but no Related Right shall be exercisable more than ten (10) years after the date such right is granted.

 

Section 9.             Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units.

(a)          General.  Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units may be issued either alone or in addition to other Awards granted under the Plan.  The Administrator shall determine the Eligible Recipients to whom, and the time or times at which, grants of Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units shall be made; the number of Shares to be awarded; the price, if any, to be paid by the Participant for the acquisition of Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units; the period of time prior to which Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units become vested and free of restrictions on Transfer (the “Restricted Period”); the performance goals (if any) upon whose attainment the Restricted Period shall lapse in part or full; and all other conditions of the Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units.  If the restrictions, performance goals and/or conditions established by the Administrator are not attained, a Participant shall forfeit his or her Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units, in accordance with the terms of the grant.  The provisions of Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units need not be the same with respect to each Participant.

(b)          Awards and Certificates.

(1)          Except as otherwise provided in Section 9(b)(3) hereof, (i) each Participant who is granted an Award of Restricted Shares may, in the Company’s sole discretion, be issued a share certificate in respect of such Restricted Shares; and (ii) any such certificate so issued shall be registered in the name of the Participant, and shall bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to any such Award.  The Company may require that the share certificates, if any, evidencing Restricted Shares granted hereunder be held in the custody of the Company until the restrictions thereon shall have lapsed, and that, as a condition of any Award of Restricted Shares, the Participant shall have delivered a share transfer form, endorsed in blank, relating to the Shares covered by such Award.  Certificates for unrestricted shares of Common Stock may, in the Company’s sole discretion, be delivered to the Participant only after the Restricted Period has expired without forfeiture in respect of such Restricted Shares.

(2)          Subject to Section 9(e) below, with respect to Restricted Share Units to be settled in Shares, at the expiration of the Restricted Period, share certificates in respect of the shares of Common Stock underlying such Restricted Share Units may, in the Company’s sole discretion, be delivered to the Participant, or his or her legal representative, in a number equal to the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Award of Restricted Share Units.

(3)          Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, any Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units to be settled in Shares (at the expiration of the Restricted Period, and whether before or after any vesting conditions have been satisfied) may, in the Company’s sole discretion, be issued in uncertificated form.

(4)          Further, with respect to Restricted Share Units, at the expiration of the Restricted Period, Shares shall promptly be issued to the Participant, unless otherwise deferred in

13

 

accordance with procedures established by the Company in accordance with Section 409A of the Code, and such issuance shall in any event be made within such period as is required to avoid the imposition of tax under Section 409A of the Code.

(c)           Restrictions and Conditions.  The Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units granted pursuant to this Section 9 shall be subject to any restrictions or conditions as determined by the Administrator (which may include achievement of performance goals) at the time of grant or, subject to Section 409A of the Code where applicable, thereafter.  Except as provided in the applicable Award Agreement, the Participant shall generally have the rights of a shareholder of the Company with respect to Restricted Shares during the Restricted Period, including the right to vote such Shares and to receive any dividends declared with respect to such Shares; provided, however, that any dividends declared during the Restricted Period with respect to such Shares shall only become payable if (and to the extent) the underlying Restricted Shares vest.  The Participant shall generally not have the rights of a shareholder with respect to Shares subject to Restricted Share Units during the Restricted Period; provided, however, that, subject to Section 409A of the Code, an amount equal to any dividends declared during the Restricted Period with respect to the number of Shares covered by Restricted Share Units may, to the extent set forth in an Award Agreement, be provided to the Participant at the time (and to the extent) that Shares in respect of the related Restricted Share Units are delivered to the Participant.

(d)          Termination of Employment or Service.  Subject to Section 3(f) hereof, the rights of Participants granted Restricted Shares or Restricted Share Units upon termination of employment or service with the Company and all Affiliates thereof for any reason during the Restricted Period shall be set forth in the Award Agreement.

(e)          Form of Settlement.  The Administrator reserves the right in its sole discretion to provide (either at or after the grant thereof) that any Restricted Share Unit represents the right to receive the amount of cash per unit that is determined by the Administrator in connection with the Award.

 

Section 10.           Other Share-Based Awards.

Other forms of Awards that may be denominated or payable in, valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on or related to, the Common Stock (including unrestricted Shares, Restricted Share Units, dividend equivalents or performance units, each of which may be subject to the attainment of performance goals or a period of continued employment or other terms or conditions as permitted under the Plan), may be granted either alone or in addition to other Awards (other than in connection with Options or Share Appreciation Rights) under the Plan.  Any dividend or dividend equivalent awarded hereunder shall be subject to the same restrictions, conditions and risks of forfeiture as the underlying Awards and shall only become payable if (and to the extent) the underlying Awards vest.  Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Administrator shall have sole and complete authority to determine the individuals to whom and the time or times at which such Other Share-Based Awards shall be granted, the number of shares of Common Stock to be granted pursuant to such Other Share-Based Awards, or the manner in which such Other Share-Based Awards shall be settled (e.g., in shares of Common Stock, cash or other property), or the conditions to the vesting and/or payment or settlement of such Other Share-Based Awards (which may include achievement of performance goals) and all other terms and conditions of such Other Share-Based Awards.

Section 11.           Share Bonuses.

In the event that the Administrator grants a Share Bonus, the Shares constituting such Share Bonus shall, as determined by the Administrator, be evidenced in certificated or uncertificated form in the name of the Participant to whom such grant was made and delivered to such Participant as soon as practicable after the date on which such Share Bonus is payable.

14

 

Section 12.           Cash Awards.

The Administrator may grant Awards that are denominated in, or payable solely in, cash as deemed by the Administrator to be consistent with the purposes of the Plan, and such Cash Awards shall be subject to the terms, conditions, restrictions and limitations as determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, from time to time.  Cash Awards may be granted with value and payment contingent upon the achievement of performance goals.

Section 13.           Change in Control Provisions.

Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator and evidenced in an Award Agreement and subject to Section 3(e) hereof, in the event that (i) a Change in Control occurs and (ii) either (x) an outstanding Award is not assumed or substituted in connection therewith, or (y) an outstanding Award is assumed or substituted in connection therewith and the Participant’s employment or service is terminated by the Company, its successor or an Affiliate thereof without Cause or by the Participant for Good Reason on or after the effective date of the Change in Control but prior to twenty-four (24) months following the Change in Control, then:

(a)           any unvested or unexercisable portion of any Award carrying a right to exercise shall become fully vested and exercisable; and

(b)          the restrictions (including exercise restrictions), deferral limitations, payment conditions and forfeiture conditions applicable to an Award granted under the Plan shall lapse and such Awards shall be deemed fully vested and any performance conditions imposed with respect to such Awards shall be deemed to be achieved at the highest level of performance.

If the Administrator determines in its sole discretion pursuant to Section 3(e) hereof to accelerate the vesting of Options and/or Share Appreciation Rights in connection with a Change in Control, the Administrator shall also have discretion in connection with such action to provide that all Options and/or Share Appreciation Rights outstanding immediately prior to such Change in Control shall expire on the effective date of such Change in Control.

For purposes of this Section 13, an Award shall be considered assumed or substituted for if, following the Change in Control, the Award remains subject to the same terms and conditions that were applicable to the Award immediately prior to the Change in Control except that, if the Award related to shares, the Award instead confers the right to receive common stock of the acquiring entity.

Section 14.           Amendment and Termination.

The Board may amend, alter or terminate the Plan at any time, but no amendment, alteration, or termination shall be made that would impair the rights of a Participant under any Award theretofore granted without such Participant’s consent.  The Board shall obtain approval of the Company’s stockholders for any amendment to the Plan that would require such approval in order to satisfy any rules of the stock exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are traded or other Applicable Law.  The Administrator may amend the terms of any Award theretofore granted, prospectively or retroactively, but, subject to Section 5 of the Plan and the immediately preceding sentence, no such amendment shall impair the rights of any Participant without his or her consent.

15

 

Section 15.           Unfunded Status of Plan.

The Plan is intended to constitute an “unfunded” plan for incentive compensation.  With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant by the Company, nothing contained herein shall give any such Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company.

Section 16.           Withholding Taxes.

Each Participant shall, no later than the date as of which the value of an Award first becomes includible in the gross income of such Participant for purposes of applicable taxes, pay to the Company, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Company regarding payment of, an amount in respect of such taxes up to the maximum statutory rates in the Participant’s applicable jurisdiction(s) with respect to the Award, as determined by the Company.  The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be conditional on the making of such payments or arrangements, and the Company shall, to the extent permitted by law, have the right to deduct any such taxes from any payment of any kind otherwise due to such Participant.  Whenever cash is to be paid pursuant to an Award, the Company shall have the right to deduct therefrom an amount sufficient to satisfy any applicable withholding tax requirements related thereto as determined by the Company.  Whenever Shares or property other than cash are to be delivered pursuant to an Award, the Company shall have the right to require the Participant to remit to the Company in cash an amount sufficient to satisfy any related taxes to be withheld and applied to the tax obligations as determined by the Company; provided,  however, that, with the approval of the Administrator, a Participant may satisfy the foregoing requirement by either (i) electing to have the Company withhold from delivery of Shares or other property, as applicable, or (ii) by delivering already owned unrestricted shares of Common Stock, in each case, having a value equal to the applicable taxes to be withheld and applied to the tax obligations as determined by the Company (with any fractional share amounts resulting therefrom settled by the Participant in cash).  Such withheld or already owned and unrestricted shares of Common Stock shall be valued at their Fair Market Value on the date on which the amount of tax to be withheld is determined.  Such an election may be made with respect to all or any portion of the Shares to be delivered pursuant to an award.  The Company may also use any other method of obtaining the necessary payment or proceeds, as permitted by law, to satisfy its withholding obligation with respect to any Award as determined by the Company.

Section 17.           Transfer of Awards.

No purported sale, assignment, mortgage, hypothecation, transfer, charge, pledge, encumbrance, gift, transfer in trust (voting or other) or other disposition of, or creation of a security interest in or lien on, any Award or any agreement or commitment to do any of the foregoing (each, a “Transfer”) by any holder thereof will be valid, except as otherwise expressly provided in an Award Agreement or with the prior written consent of the Administrator, which consent may be granted or withheld in the sole discretion of the Administrator.  Any other purported Transfer of an Award or any economic benefit or interest therein shall be null and void ab initio, and shall not create any obligation or liability of the Company, and any Person purportedly acquiring any Award or any economic benefit or interest therein transferred in violation of this Section 17 shall not be entitled to be recognized as a holder of any shares of Common Stock or other property underlying such Award.  Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, an Option or Share Appreciation Right may be exercised, during the lifetime of the Participant, only by the Participant or, during any period during which the Participant is under a legal Disability, by the Participant’s guardian or legal representative.

Section 18.           Continued Employment or Service.

Neither the adoption of the Plan nor the grant of an Award hereunder shall confer upon any Eligible Recipient any right to continued employment or service with the Company or any Subsidiary

16

 

or any Affiliate thereof, as the case may be, nor shall it interfere in any way with the right of the Company or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof to terminate the employment or service of any of its Eligible Recipients at any time.

Section 19.           Effective Date.

The Plan was adopted by the Board on March 25, 2020 and shall become effective on the date that it is approved by the Company’s shareholders (“Effective Date”).

Section 20.           Term of Plan.

No Award shall be granted pursuant to the Plan on or after the tenth anniversary of the Board’s adoption of the Plan, but Awards theretofore granted may extend beyond that date.

Section 21.           Securities Matters and Regulations.

(a)          Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the obligation of the Company to sell or deliver Shares with respect to any Award granted under the Plan shall be subject to all Applicable Laws, rules and regulations, including all applicable federal and state securities laws, and the obtaining of all such approvals by governmental agencies as may be deemed necessary or appropriate by the Administrator in its sole discretion.  The Administrator may require, as a condition of the issuance and delivery of certificates evidencing shares of Common Stock pursuant to the terms hereof, that the recipient of such shares make such agreements and representations, and that such certificates bear such legends, as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, deems necessary or advisable.

(b)          Each Award is subject to the requirement that, if at any time the Administrator determines that the listing, registration or qualification of Shares is required by any securities exchange or under any state or federal law, or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory body is necessary or desirable as a condition of, or in connection with, the grant of an Award or the issuance of Shares, no such Award shall be granted or payment made or Shares issued, in whole or in part, unless such listing, registration, qualification, consent or approval has been effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Administrator.

(c)           In the event that the disposition of Shares acquired pursuant to the Plan is not covered by a then current registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and is not otherwise exempt from such registration, such Shares shall be restricted against transfer to the extent required by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or regulations thereunder, and the Administrator may require a Participant receiving shares of Common Stock pursuant to the Plan, as a condition precedent to receipt of such shares of Common Stock, to represent to the Company in writing that the shares of Common Stock acquired by such Participant is acquired for investment only and not with a view to distribution.

 

Section 22.           Section 409A of the Code.

The Plan as well as payments and benefits under the Plan are intended to be exempt from, or to the extent subject thereto, to comply with Section 409A of the Code, and, accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted, the Plan shall be interpreted in accordance therewith.  Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, to the extent required in order to avoid accelerated taxation and/or tax penalties under Section 409A of the Code, the Participant shall not be considered to have terminated employment or service with the Company for purposes of the Plan and no payment shall be due to the Participant under the Plan or any Award until the Participant would be considered to have incurred a “separation from service” from the Company and its Affiliates within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code.  Any payments described in the Plan that are due within the “short term deferral

17

 

period” as defined in Section 409A of the Code shall not be treated as deferred compensation unless Applicable Law requires otherwise.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan, to the extent that any Awards (or any other amounts payable under any plan, program or arrangement of the Company or any of its Affiliates) are payable upon a separation from service and such payment would result in the imposition of any individual tax and penalty interest charges imposed under Section 409A of the Code, the settlement and payment of such awards (or other amounts) shall instead be made on the first business day after the date that is six (6) months following such separation from service (or upon death, if earlier).  Each amount to be paid or benefit to be provided under this Plan shall be construed as a separate identified payment for purposes of Section 409A of the Code.  The Company makes no representation that any or all of the payments or benefits described in this Plan will be exempt from or comply with Section 409A of the Code and makes no undertaking to preclude Section 409A of the Code from applying to any such payment.  The Participant shall be solely responsible for the payment of any taxes and penalties incurred under Section 409A.

Section 23.           Notification of Election Under Section 83(b) of the Code.

If any Participant shall, in connection with the acquisition of shares of Common Stock under the Plan, make the election permitted under Section 83(b) of the Code, such Participant shall notify the Company of such election within ten (10) days after filing notice of the election with the Internal Revenue Service.

Section 24.           No Fractional Shares.

No fractional shares of Common Stock shall be issued or delivered pursuant to the Plan.  The Administrator shall determine whether cash, other Awards, or other property shall be issued or paid in lieu of such fractional shares or whether such fractional shares or any rights thereto shall be forfeited or otherwise eliminated.

Section 25.           Beneficiary.

A Participant may file with the Administrator a written designation of a beneficiary on such form as may be prescribed by the Administrator and may, from time to time, amend or revoke such designation.  If no designated beneficiary survives the Participant, the executor or administrator of the Participant’s estate shall be deemed to be the Participant’s beneficiary.

Section 26.           Paperless Administration.

In the event that the Company establishes, for itself or using the services of a third party, an automated system for the documentation, granting or exercise of Awards, such as a system using an internet website or interactive voice response, then the paperless documentation, granting or exercise of Awards by a Participant may be permitted through the use of such an automated system.

Section 27.           Severability.

If any provision of the Plan is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions of the Plan shall not be affected but shall be applied as if the invalid or unenforceable provision had not been included in the Plan.

Section 28.           Clawback.

Notwithstanding any other provisions in this Plan, any Award which is subject to recovery under any law, government regulation, stock exchange listing requirement, Award Agreement or

18

 

Company policy, will be subject to such deductions and clawback as may be required to be made pursuant to such law, government regulation or stock exchange listing requirement (or any Award Agreement or policy adopted by the Company pursuant to any such law, government regulation, stock exchange listing requirement or otherwise).

Section 29.           Governing Law.

The Plan and all determinations made and actions taken pursuant thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without giving effect to the principles of conflicts of law of such state.

Section 30.           Titles and Headings.

The titles and headings of the sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.

Section 31.           Interpretation.

Unless the context of the Plan otherwise requires, words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number, respectively; derivative forms of defined terms will have correlative meanings; the terms “hereof,” “herein” and “hereunder” and derivative or similar words refer to this entire Plan; the term “Section” refers to the specified Section of this Plan and references to “paragraphs” or “clauses” shall be to separate paragraphs or clauses of the Section or subsection in which the reference occurs; the words “include,” “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”; and the word “or” shall be disjunctive but not exclusive.

Section 32.           Successors.

The obligations of the Company under the Plan shall be binding upon any successor corporation or organization resulting from the merger, consolidation or other reorganization of the Company, or upon any successor corporation or organization succeeding to substantially all of the assets and business of the Company.

Section 33.           Relationship to other Benefits.

No payment pursuant to the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits under any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare, or other benefit plan of the Company or any Affiliate except to the extent otherwise expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.

19