Composition of the Board At and following the Closing, each of the Partners and the Sponsor, severally and not jointly, agrees to take, for so long as such Party holds of record or beneficially owns any Registrable Securities, all Necessary Action to cause the Board to be comprised of eleven (11) directors nominated in accordance with this Article II, initially consisting of (i) seven (7) of whom have been nominated by the Partners, and thereafter designated pursuant to Section 2.1(b) or Section 2.1(d) of this Investor Rights Agreement (each, a “Partner Director”), at least four (4) of whom shall satisfy all applicable independence requirements (including at least two (2) of whom shall be sufficiently independent to serve on the audit and compensation committees of the Board), (ii) three (3) of whom have been nominated by the Sponsor, and thereafter designated pursuant to Section 2.1(c) or Section 2.1(d) of this Investor Rights Agreement (each, a “Sponsor Director”), at least one (1) of whom shall satisfy all applicable independence requirements (including being sufficiently independent to serve on the audit committee of the Board as a chair and the compensation committee as a member), and (iii) one (1) of whom has been jointly nominated by the mutual agreement of Sponsor and the Partners (the “Joint Director”), which Joint Director shall satisfy all applicable independence requirements. At and following the Closing, each of the Sponsor and the Partners, severally and not jointly, agrees to take, for so long as such Party holds of record or beneficially owns any Registrable Securities, all Necessary Action to cause the foregoing directors to be divided into three (3) classes of directors, with each class serving for staggered three (3) year terms. The initial term of the Class I directors shall expire immediately following PubCo’s 2022 annual meeting of stockholders at which directors are elected. The initial term of the Class II directors shall expire immediately following PubCo’s 2023 annual meeting of stockholders at which directors are elected. The initial term of the Class III directors shall expire immediately following PubCo’s 2024 annual meeting at which directors are elected.
Board Composition (a) On the date of this Agreement, the Company shall cause the Person(s), if any, listed on Schedule B to be designated as Minority Shareholder Observers (as defined below) with all rights set forth in Section 2.1(d) (it being understood that at any time after the date hereof until the date that the Minority Shareholder Observer(s) are appointed to the Board as directors pursuant to the immediately following sentence, the Company shall, promptly upon receipt of a written request from the Minority Shareholder Representative, cause any Person(s) named in such written request to be designated as Minority Shareholder Observer(s); provided, that there may be no more than two Minority Shareholder Observers at any one time). As soon as reasonably practicable following receipt of the Company Shareholder Approval and in any case within one Business Day thereafter, the Board shall increase the size of the Board by two directors and cause such persons to be appointed to the Board as directors; provided, that if the Company Shareholder Approval is not obtained by the date that is 30 days prior to the Designation Date for the Next Annual Meeting, (i) the Company shall take all commercially reasonable actions necessary to cause the election of two Minority Shareholder Observers to the Board as directors at the Next Annual Meeting or (ii) if the Minority Shareholders no longer beneficially own, in the aggregate, 66% or more of the Minority Shares, the Company shall take all commercially reasonable actions necessary to cause the election of one Minority Shareholder Observer, designated by the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders, to be elected to the Board as director at the Next Annual Meeting; in each case, the Company’s obligations to take all commercially reasonable actions necessary to cause the election of such Minority Shareholder Observers to the Board as directors shall include the obligation of the Company to take all actions to cause such Minority Shareholder Observers to be nominated by the Board, including the Governance Committee, for election at the Next Annual Meeting. Thereafter, and for so long as (i) the Minority Shareholders continue to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 66% or more of the Minority Shares (the “Two Designee Threshold”), the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders shall have the right to designate two directors for election to the Board and (ii)(x) the Minority Shareholders continue to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 10% or more of the then outstanding Equity Securities, or (y) the Minority Shareholders beneficially own, in the aggregate, less than 10% of the then outstanding Equity Securities but such Minority Shareholders continue to beneficially own, in the aggregate, 33% or more of the Minority Shares (“One Designee Threshold”), then the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders shall have the right to designate one director for election to the Board (each such director nominee, including such initial nominees, a “Minority Shareholder Designee”), such percentages in each case calculated on a fully diluted basis giving effect to any securities, warrants, options or other rights convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for equity securities of the Company, whether or not subject to contingencies or passage of time, or both; provided, that, if the Minority Shareholders’ beneficial ownership, in the aggregate, of Equity Securities (x) falls below the Two Designee Threshold, then one Minority Shareholder Designee, designated by the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders, shall resign from the Board as promptly as practicable upon the Minority Shareholder Representative becoming aware of the Minority Shareholders falling below such threshold, or (y) falls below the One Designee Threshold, then the Minority Shareholder Designee shall resign from the Board as promptly as practicable upon the Minority Shareholder Representative becoming aware of the Minority Shareholders falling below such threshold. So long as the Minority Shareholder Representative, on behalf of the Minority Shareholders, has the right to designate at least one director for election to the Board, one Minority Shareholder Designee designated by the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders shall be entitled to serve on each committee of the Board except as prohibited by applicable law or stock exchange requirements; provided, that if such Minority Shareholder Designee is so prohibited, such Minority Shareholder Designee shall nonetheless have the right to participate as a non-voting observer on such committee (any such observer, a “Committee Observer”). In each case, the Company shall take all commercially reasonable actions necessary to cause the appointment of such Minority Shareholder Designee(s) (x) to the Board (including taking all actions to cause such Minority Shareholder Designee(s) to be nominated by the Board, including the Governance Committee, for election at each annual meeting of the shareholders of Company (or at any special shareholder meeting of the Company at which the Board is to be elected)) and (y) to the applicable committee of the Board (including taking all actions to cause such Minority Shareholder Designee(s) to be elected by the Board to serve on such committee of the Board).
(b) Each Minority Shareholder Designee shall comply in all respects with the Company’s corporate governance guidelines as in effect from time to time, in each case as determined by the Board’s Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee (the “Governance Committee”); provided, that the Company hereby acknowledges and agrees that the initial Minority Shareholder Designees comply with such corporate governance guidelines. The Minority Shareholder Representative shall notify the Company of any proposed Minority Shareholder Designee in writing no later than the latest date on which shareholders of the Company may make nominations to the Board in accordance with the Code of Regulations (such date, the “Designation Date”), together with all information concerning such nominee required to be delivered to the Company by the Code of Regulations and such other information reasonably requested by the Company; provided, that the Company shall give the Shareholder Representative 30 days written notice of the Designation Date; provided, further, that that in the event the Minority Shareholder Representative fails to provide any such notice, the Minority Shareholder Designees shall be the person(s) then serving as the Minority Shareholder Designees as long as the Minority Shareholder Representative provides such information to the Company promptly upon request by the Company.
(c) In the event of the death, disability, resignation or removal of a Minority Shareholder Designee, the Board will promptly elect to the Board a replacement director designated by the Minority Shareholder Representative, subject to the fulfillment of the requirements set forth in first sentence of Section 2.1(b), to fill the resulting vacancy, and such individual shall then be deemed a Minority Shareholder Designee for all purposes under this Agreement. In the event the Minority Shareholder Representative fails to designate a replacement director to fill any such vacancy, such Board seat shall remain vacant until the Minority Shareholder Representative designates such replacement director to fill such vacancy.
(d) So long as the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders has the right to designate any Minority Shareholder Designee for election to the Board pursuant to Section 2.1(b), the Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders shall have the right to designate a non-voting observer to the Board in lieu of, or as a replacement for, any Minority Shareholder Designee (any such observer, a “Minority Shareholder Observer”). Each Minority Shareholder Observer shall be entitled to (x) attend all meetings of the Board and each applicable committee of the Board except as prohibited by applicable law or stock exchange requirements and (y) receive all materials with respect to such meetings. The Minority Shareholder Representative on behalf of the Minority Shareholders shall have the right to remove or replace any Minority Shareholder Observer at any time from time to time, subject to compliance with the first sentence of Section 2.1(b). The Company shall (x) notify each Minority Shareholder Observer of all meetings of the Board (and the applicable committees thereof) using the same form of communication used to notify the directors on the Board and (y) provide each Minority Shareholder Observer with copies of all notices, minutes, consents and other materials provided to the directors on the Board no later than the time that such materials are provided to the directors. Each Minority Shareholder Observer shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Board (and the applicable committees thereof) to the same extent as directors on the Board.
(e) If a Committee Observer is designated pursuant to Section 2.1(a), such Committee Observer shall be entitled to (x) attend all meetings of each committee of the Board except as prohibited by applicable law or stock exchange requirements and (y) receive all materials with respect to such meetings. The Company shall (x) notify each Committee Observer of all meetings of the committees of the Board using the same form of communication used to notify the members of such committee and (y) provide each Committee Observer with copies of all notices, minutes, consents and other materials provided to the members of such committee no later than the time that such materials are provided to the members. Each Committee Observer shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in attending meetings of the committees of the Board to the same extent as members of such committees.
Continuation of the Business of the Partnership After Dissolution Upon (a) dissolution of the Partnership following an Event of Withdrawal caused by the withdrawal or removal of the General Partner as provided in Section 11.1(a)(i) or (iii) and the failure of the Partners to select a successor to such Departing General Partner pursuant to Section 11.1 or Section 11.2, then, to the maximum extent permitted by law, within 90 days thereafter, or (b) dissolution of the Partnership upon an event constituting an Event of Withdrawal as defined in Section 11.1(a)(iv), (v) or (vi), then, to the maximum extent permitted by law, within 180 days thereafter, the holders of a Unit Majority may elect to continue the business of the Partnership on the same terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement by appointing as a successor General Partner a Person approved by the holders of a Unit Majority. Unless such an election is made within the applicable time period as set forth above, the Partnership shall conduct only activities necessary to wind up its affairs. If such an election is so made, then:
(i) the Partnership shall continue without dissolution unless earlier dissolved in accordance with this Article XII;
(ii) if the successor General Partner is not the former General Partner, then the interest of the former General Partner shall be treated in the manner provided in Section 11.3; and
(iii) the successor General Partner shall be admitted to the Partnership as General Partner, effective as of the Event of Withdrawal, by agreeing in writing to be bound by this Agreement; provided, however, that the right of the holders of a Unit Majority to approve a successor General Partner and to continue the business of the Partnership shall not exist and may not be exercised unless the Partnership has received an Opinion of Counsel that (x) the exercise of the right would not result in the loss of limited liability of any Limited Partner under the Delaware Act and (y) neither the Partnership nor any Group Member would be treated as an association taxable as a corporation or otherwise be taxable as an entity for federal income tax purposes upon the exercise of such right to continue (to the extent not already so treated or taxed).
