Board Recommendation The Acquiror Company Board, by unanimous written consent, has determined that this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement are advisable and in the best interests of the Acquiror Company’s stockholders and has duly authorized this Agreement and the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Company Board Recommendation (a) Subject to the terms of Section 6.3(b) and Section 6.3(c), the Company Board shall recommend that the holders of Company Shares accept the Offer, tender their Company Shares to Acquisition Sub pursuant to the Offer and, if required by the applicable provisions of Delaware Law, adopt this Agreement (the “Company Board Recommendation”).
(b) Neither the Company Board nor any committee thereof shall (i) fail to make the Company Board Recommendation to the holders of the Company Shares, (ii) withhold, withdraw, amend or modify in a manner adverse to Parent, or publicly propose to withhold, withdraw, amend or modify in a manner adverse to Parent, the Company Board Recommendation, (iii) adopt, approve, recommend, endorse or otherwise declare advisable the adoption of any Acquisition Proposal (it being understood that, only with respect to a tender offer or exchange offer, taking a neutral position or no position (other than in a communication made in compliance with Rule 14d-9(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act) with respect to any Acquisition Proposal shall be considered a breach of this clause (iii)), or (iv) resolve, agree or publicly propose to take any such actions (each such foregoing action or failure to act in clauses (i) through (iv) being referred to herein as an “Company Board Recommendation Change”). Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary set forth in this Agreement, if, at any time prior to the Appointment Time, the Company Board receives a Superior Proposal or there occurs an Intervening Event, the Company Board may effect a Company Board Recommendation Change provided that (i) the Company Board determines in good faith (after consultation with outside legal counsel) that the failure to effect a Company Board Recommendation Change would reasonably be expected to be a breach of its fiduciary duties to the Company Stockholders under applicable Delaware Law, and in the case of a Superior Proposal, the Company Board approves or recommends such Superior Proposal; (ii) the Company has notified Parent in writing that it intends to effect a Company Board Recommendation Change, describing in reasonable detail the reasons, including the material terms and conditions of any such Superior Proposal and a copy of the final form of any related agreements or a description in reasonable detail of such Intervening Event, as the case may be, for such Company Board Recommendation Change (a “Recommendation Change Notice”) (it being understood that the Recommendation Change Notice shall not constitute a Company Board Recommendation Change for purposes of this Agreement); (iii) if requested by Parent, the Company shall have made its Representatives available to discuss and negotiate in good faith with Parent’s Representatives any proposed modifications to the terms and conditions of this Agreement during the three (3) Business Day period following delivery by the Company to Parent of such Recommendation Change Notice; and (iv) if Parent shall have delivered to the Company a written proposal capable of being accepted by the Company to alter the terms or conditions of this Agreement during such three (3) Business Day period, the Company Board shall have determined in good faith (after consultation with outside legal counsel), after considering the terms of such proposal by Parent, that a Company Board Recommendation Change is still necessary in light of such Superior Proposal or Intervening Event in order to comply with its fiduciary duties to the Company Stockholders under applicable Delaware Law. Any material amendment or modification to any Superior Proposal will be deemed to be a new Superior Proposal for purposes of this Section 6.3. The Company shall keep confidential any proposals made by Parent to revise the terms of this Agreement, other than in the event of any amendment to this Agreement and to the extent required to be disclosed in any Company SEC Reports.
(c) Nothing in this Agreement shall prohibit the Company Board from (i) taking and disclosing to the Company Stockholders a position contemplated by Rule 14e-2(a) under the Exchange Act or complying with the provisions of Rule 14d-9 promulgated under the Exchange Act, and (ii) making any disclosure to the Company Stockholders that the Company Board determines in good faith (after consultation with its outside legal counsel) that the failure to make such disclosure would reasonably be expected to be a breach of its fiduciary duties to the Company Stockholders under applicable Delaware Law; provided, however, that in no event shall this Section 6.3(c) affect the obligations of the Company set forth in Sections 6.2 and 6.3; and provided, further, that any such disclosure will be deemed to be a Company Board Recommendation Change unless the Board of Directors publicly reaffirms the Company Board Recommendation within five Business Days of such disclosure.
Change of Recommendation Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, at any time prior to obtaining the Company Stockholder Approval, the Company’s Board of Directors may, if it concludes in good faith (after consultation with its financial advisors and outside legal advisors) that the failure to take such action would be inconsistent with its fiduciary duties under applicable Law, make an Adverse Recommendation Change; provided that prior to any such Adverse Recommendation Change, (A) the Company shall have given Parent and Merger Sub prompt written notice advising them of (x) the decision of the Company’s Board of Directors to take such action and the reasons therefor and (y) in the event the decision relates to an Alternative Transaction Proposal, a summary of the material terms and conditions of the Alternative Transaction Proposal and other information requested to be provided with respect thereto pursuant to this Section 5.4, including the information required to be provided pursuant to Section 5.4(b) and (c), (B) the Company shall have given Parent and Merger Sub three (3) Business Days (the “Notice Period”) after delivery of each such notice to propose revisions to the terms of this Agreement (or make another proposal) and, during the Notice Period, the Company shall, and shall direct its financial advisors and outside legal advisors to, negotiate with Parent in good faith (to the extent Parent desires to negotiate) to make such adjustments in the terms and conditions of this Agreement so that, if applicable, such Alternative Transaction Proposal ceases to constitute (in the judgment of the Company’s Board of Directors, after consultation with its financial advisors and outside legal advisors), a Superior Proposal or, if the Adverse Recommendation Change does not involve an Alternative Transaction Proposal, to make such adjustments in the terms and conditions of this Agreement so that such Adverse Recommendation Change is otherwise not necessary, and (C) the Company’s Board of Directors shall have determined in good faith, after considering the results of such negotiations and giving effect to the proposals made by Parent and Merger Sub, if any, that such Alternative Transaction Proposal, if applicable, continues to constitute a Superior Proposal or that such Adverse Recommendation Change is otherwise still required; provided further that, (1) if during the Notice Period described in clause (B) of this paragraph any revisions are made to the Superior Proposal, if applicable, and the Company’s Board of Directors in its good faith judgment determines (after consultation with its financial advisors and outside legal advisors) that such revisions are material (it being understood that any change in the purchase price or form of consideration in such Superior Proposal shall be deemed a material revision), the Company shall deliver a new written notice to Parent and shall comply with the requirements of this Section 5.4(d) with respect to such new written notice except that the new Notice Period shall be two (2) Business Days instead of three (3) Business Days and (2) in the event the Company’s Board of Directors does not make the determination referred to in clause (C) of this paragraph but thereafter determines to make an Adverse Recommendation Change pursuant to this Section 5.4(d), the procedures referred to in clauses (A), (B) and (C) above shall apply anew and shall also apply to any subsequent withdrawal, amendment or change.
Conclusions and Recommendations Based on our country-by-country analysis, 197 of the AEWA populations are already well-monitored both for population size and trend. Our prioritisation method allowed focusing on the AEWA conservation and management priorities (Priorities 1-2) and to consider cost effectiveness and feasibility (Priorities 3-6). Theoretically, the two- third target of the AEWA Strategic Plan can be just attained by focusing on the development of monitoring activities for Priority 1-5 populations (i.e. leaving out the 168 more widespread Priority 6 populations that would require more species-specific monitoring methods. Most of the Priority 1-5 populations would require improvement of the IWC though regional schemes focusing on the West Asian / East African flyway with possibly three subregional components in the Central Asia, Arabia and Eastern and Southern Africa. In the latter region, improvements in Tanzania and Mozambique are particularly important. In the Black Sea - Mediterranean - Sahelian flyway the focus should be primarily on the Sahel countries and especially on increasing the consistency of annual counts. The quality of monitoring is already better in the Black Sea and Mediterranean regions. In the East Atlantic, the ongoing capacity-building activities should continue and the consistency and representativity of site coverage should be further strengthened in most countries. Angola would require a major capacity improvement but primarily for the intra-African migrants on inland wetlands. It is also clear that the targets of the AEWA Strategic Plan cannot be achieved without complementing the IWC with periodic aerial surveys both in Western Africa as well as in Eastern and Southern Africa, by setting up a periodic offshore waterbird monitoring scheme in the Caspian Sea and by focusing in each country on a relatively small number of breeding bird species strategically selected in this report.
JOINT SETTLEMENT RECOMMENDATION 2. Staff conducted an investigation of the Respondent’s activities. The investigation disclosed that the Respondent had engaged in activity for which the Respondent could be penalized on the exercise of the discretion of the Hearing Panel pursuant to s. 24.1 of By-law No. 1.
3. Staff and the Respondent recommend settlement of the matters disclosed by the investigation in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below. The Respondent agrees to the settlement on the basis of the facts set out in Part IV herein and consents to the making of an Order in the form attached as Schedule “A”.
4. Staff and the Respondent agree that the terms of this Settlement Agreement, including the attached Schedule “A”, will be released to the public only if and when the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel.
Preparation of the Proxy Statement; Stockholders Meeting (a) If, after the Acceptance Time, the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the outstanding shares of Company Common Stock at a meeting of the holders of Company Common Stock is required under the MGCL in order to consummate the Merger (the “Company Stockholder Approval”), then:
(i) As promptly as practicable after the later of the Acceptance Time or the expiration of any subsequent offering period provided in accordance with Rule 14d-11 under the Exchange Act, the Company shall file with the SEC the Proxy Statement to be sent to the stockholders of the Company relating to the Company Stockholders Meeting. The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the SEC to clear the Proxy Statement as promptly as practicable after such filing (including by responding to comments of the SEC). Parent shall furnish all information as may be reasonably requested by the Company in connection with any such action and the preparation, filing and distribution of the Proxy Statement.
(ii) As promptly as practicable after the clearance of the Proxy Statement by the SEC, the Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to its stockholders. No filing of, or amendment or supplement to, the Proxy Statement will be made by the Company without providing Parent with a reasonable opportunity to review and comment thereon.
(iii) The Company shall notify Parent promptly of the receipt of any comments from the SEC or the staff of the SEC and of any request by the SEC or the staff of the SEC for amendments or supplements to the Proxy Statement or for additional information and shall supply Parent with copies of all correspondence between it or any of its Representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC or its staff, on the other hand, with respect to the Proxy Statement or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(b) If, after the Acceptance Time, the Company Stockholder Approval is required under the MGCL in order to consummate the Merger, then:
(i) As soon as practicable following the clearance of the Proxy Statement by the SEC, the Company shall duly call, give notice of, convene and hold a meeting of its stockholders (the “Company Stockholders Meeting”) for the purpose of seeking the Company Stockholder Approval.
(ii) Unless the Company has effected an Adverse Recommendation Change, the Company shall, through the Company Board, make the Board Recommendation to the extent related to the Merger, and shall include such Board Recommendation in the Proxy Statement, and use its reasonable best efforts to (x) solicit from its stockholders proxies in favor of the adoption of this Agreement, and (y) take all other action necessary or advisable to secure the Company Stockholder Approval.
(c) If, after the Acceptance Time, the Company Stockholder Approval is required under the MGCL in order to consummate the Merger, nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to relieve the Company of its obligation to submit the Merger to its stockholders for a vote on the approval thereof. The Company agrees that, unless this Agreement shall have been terminated in accordance with ARTICLE 9, its obligations to hold the Company Stockholder Meeting after the Acceptance Time pursuant to this Section 7.02(c) shall not be affected by the commencement, public proposal, public disclosure or communication to the Company of any Superior Proposal or by any Adverse Recommendation Change.
Proxy Statement As promptly as practicable following the date of this Agreement, the Company shall prepare and file with the SEC the Proxy Statement, and each of the Company and Parent shall, or shall cause their respective Affiliates to, prepare and, after consultation with each other, file with the SEC all Other Filings that are required to be filed by such party in connection with the Transactions contemplated hereby. The Company shall consult with Parent and provide Parent and its counsel a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Proxy Statement and any amendments or supplements thereto (and to review and comment on any comments of the SEC or its staff on the Proxy Statement or any amendments or supplements thereto), and shall incorporate all reasonable comments and requests made by Parent, prior to the filing thereof. The Company shall cause the Proxy Statement to comply with all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and all other applicable Laws and shall directly or indirectly incorporate the fairness option referred to in Section 3.29 therein if requested by Parent. The Company shall promptly provide Parent and its counsel with a copy or a description of any comments received by the Company or its counsel from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, and shall respond as promptly as practicable to any such comments. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable best efforts to have the Proxy Statement cleared by the SEC as promptly as reasonably practicable after it is filed. The Company shall cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company’s stockholders as promptly as practicable after the earlier of (i) receiving notification that the SEC or its staff is not reviewing the Proxy Statement or (ii) the conclusion of any SEC or staff review of the Proxy Statement. If any event relating to any of the Company Entities occurs, or if the Company becomes aware of any information, that causes any information provided by it for use in the Proxy Statement to have become false or misleading in any material respect, then the Company shall promptly inform Parent thereof and shall promptly file an appropriate amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, mail such amendment or supplement to the stockholders of the Company. If any event relating to Parent or Merger Sub occurs, or if Parent becomes aware of any information, that causes any information provided by it for use in the Proxy Statement to have become false or misleading in any material respect, then Parent shall promptly inform the Company thereof and the Company shall promptly file an appropriate amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, mail such amendment or supplement to the stockholders of the Company.
Stockholder Meeting; Proxy Material Subject to the provisions of Section 5.04, the Company shall cause the Company Stockholder Meeting to be duly called and held as soon as reasonably practicable for the purpose of voting on the approval and adoption of this Agreement and the Merger unless a vote of stockholders of the Company is not required by New York Law. Subject to the provisions of Section 5.04, the Directors of the Company shall recommend approval and adoption of this Agreement and the Merger by the Company's stockholders at the Company Stockholder Meeting, and will include such recommendation in the Company Proxy Statement; provided, however, that, consistent with its fiduciary duties set forth in Section 5.04, the Board of Directors of the Company shall be permitted to (i) not recommend to the Company's stockholders that they give the Company Stockholder Approval or (ii) withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Buyer and Merger Subsidiary its recommendation to the Company's stockholders that they give the Company Stockholder Approval, but in each of cases (i) and (ii) only if and to the extent that the Company has complied with Section 5.04 and this Section 5.02 and a Superior Proposal (as defined below) is pending at the time the Company's Board of Directors determines to take any such action or inaction. The Company will (i) in connection with the Company Stockholder Meeting, promptly prepare and file with the SEC, use commercially reasonable efforts to have cleared by the SEC as promptly as practicable and thereafter mail to its stockholders as promptly as practicable the Company Proxy Statement and all other proxy materials for such Company Stockholder Meeting and (ii) unless, to the extent permitted by the second sentence of this Section 5.02, and subject to Section 5.04, the Board of Directors shall not recommend to the Company's stockholders that they give the Company Stockholder Approval or shall have withdrawn or modified in a manner adverse to Buyer its recommendation, use commercially reasonable efforts to solicit proxies in favor of the approval of this Agreement and the Merger, provided that the obligation of the Company to cause the Company Proxy Statement and the proxy to be mailed to the Company's stockholders is subject to the Board of Directors of the Company having received from Jefferies & Co., Inc. confirmation of its opinion referred to in Section 3.02 as of the date scheduled for mailing of the Company Proxy Statement if the Board of Directors requests such a confirmation. For purposes of this Agreement, "Superior Proposal" means any bona fide Acquisition Proposal, on terms that the Board of Directors of the Company determines in its reasonable good faith judgment are more favorable to the Company's stockholders taken as a whole than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and with respect to which the Company's Board of Directors determines, in its reasonable good faith judgment, after consultation with its financial advisors, the Person making such Acquisition Proposal has the financial means to consummate such Acquisition Proposal. For purposes of this Agreement, "Acquisition Proposal" means any offer or proposal for a merger, consolidation or tender or exchange offer or other business combination involving the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or the acquisition of any substantial debt or equity interest in, or a substantial portion of the assets of, the Company or of any Company Subsidiary, other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
Registration Statement; Joint Proxy Statement (a) As promptly as practicable after the date of this Agreement, Parent and the Company shall prepare and cause to be filed with the SEC the Joint Proxy Statement and simultaneously or thereafter Parent shall prepare and cause to be filed with the SEC the Form S-4 Registration Statement, in which the Joint Proxy Statement will be included as a prospectus. Each of Parent and the Company shall use all reasonable efforts to cause the Form S-4 Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement to comply with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC, to respond promptly to any comments of the SEC or its staff and to have the Form S-4 Registration Statement declared effective under the Securities Act as promptly as practicable after it is filed with the SEC. Parent will use all reasonable efforts to cause the Joint Proxy Statement to be mailed to Parent's stockholders, and the Company will use all reasonable efforts to cause the Joint Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company's shareholders, as promptly as practicable after the Form S-4 Registration Statement is declared effective under the Securities Act. Each of the Company and Parent shall promptly furnish to the other all information concerning the Acquired Corporations and the Company's shareholders and the Parent Corporations, respectively, that may be required or reasonably requested in connection with any action contemplated by this Section 5.1. Each of the Company and Parent shall notify the other promptly of the receipt of any comments from the SEC or its staff and of any request by the SEC or its staff for any amendment or supplement to the Form S-4 Registration Statement or Joint Proxy Statement or for any other information and shall supply the other with copies of all correspondence between such party and the SEC or its staff or other governmental officials with respect to the S-4 Registration Statement or Joint Proxy Statement. The information supplied by each of Parent and the Company for inclusion in the Form S-4 Registration Statement and the Joint Proxy Statement shall not (i) at the time the Form S-4 Registration Statement is declared effective, (ii) at the time the Joint Proxy Statement is first mailed to the shareholders and shareholders of Parent and the Company, respectively, (iii) at the time of the Company Shareholders' Meeting and at the time of the Parent Stockholders' Meeting, and (iv) at the Effective Time, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. If Parent or the Company becomes aware of any information, that should be disclosed in an amendment or supplement to the Form S-4 Registration Statement or the Joint Proxy Statement, then Parent or the Company, as the case may be, shall promptly inform the Company or Parent thereof and shall cooperate with the other in filing such amendment or supplement with the SEC and, if appropriate, in mailing such amendment or supplement to the shareholders of the Company or the stockholders of Parent.
(b) Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall use reasonable efforts to obtain all regulatory approvals needed to ensure that the Parent Common Stock to be issued in the Merger (i) will be registered or qualified under the securities law of every jurisdiction of the
Stockholder Meeting (a) The Company will duly call, give notice of, convene and hold a meeting of stockholders (the "Stockholder Meeting") for the purpose of considering the approval of this Agreement and at such meeting call for a vote and cause proxies to be voted in respect of the approval and adoption of this Agreement. The Stockholder Meeting shall be held as soon as practicable following the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer, and the Company will, through its Board of Directors, recommend to its stockholders the approval of this Agreement, and shall not withdraw or modify such recommendation. The record date for the Stockholder Meeting shall be a date subsequent to the date Parent or Sub becomes a record holder of Company Common Stock purchased pursuant to the Offer.
(b) The Company shall, at Parent's request, as soon as practicable following the expiration of the Offer, prepare and file a preliminary Proxy Statement with the SEC and shall use its reasonable best efforts to respond to any comments of the SEC or its staff and to cause the Proxy Statement to be mailed to the Company's stockholders as promptly as practicable after responding to all such comments to the satisfaction of the staff. The Company shall notify Parent promptly of the receipt of any comments from the SEC or its staff and of any request by the SEC or its staff for amendments or supplements to the Proxy Statement or for additional information and will supply Parent with copies of all correspondence between the Company or any of its representatives, on the one hand, and the SEC or its staff, on the other hand, with respect to the Proxy Statement or the Merger. If at any time prior to the Stockholder Meeting there shall occur any event that should be set forth in an amendment or supplement to the Proxy Statement, the Company shall promptly prepare and mail to its stockholders such an amendment or supplement. The Company shall not mail any Proxy Statement, or any amendment or supplement thereto, to which Parent reasonably objects. Parent shall cooperate with the Company in the preparation of the Proxy Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, including the supply of any information required to be included in the Proxy Statement regarding Parent or Sub.
(c) Parent agrees to cause all Shares purchased pursuant to the Offer and all other Shares owned by Parent or any subsidiary of Parent to be voted in favor of approval of the Merger.
