RIGHTS AS A STOCKHOLDER, DIRECTOR, EMPLOYEE OR CONSULTANT The Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares covered by the Option until the date of the issuance of the shares for which the Option has been exercised (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company). No adjustment shall be made for dividends, distributions or other rights for which the record date is prior to the date the shares are issued, except as provided in Section 9. If the Participant is an Employee, the Participant understands and acknowledges that, except as otherwise provided in a separate, written employment agreement between a Participating Company and the Participant, the Participant’s employment is “at will” and is for no specified term. Nothing in this Option Agreement shall confer upon the Participant any right to continue in the Service of a Participating Company or interfere in any way with any right of the Participating Company Group to terminate the Participant’s Service as a Director, an Employee or Consultant, as the case may be, at any time.
Board Observer Rights (a) The Company agrees that it will invite Observer to attend, in a non-voting observer capacity, all meetings of the Board and any and all Committees for the purposes of permitting Observer to have current information with respect to the affairs of the Company and the actions taken by the Board and Observer to provide input and advice with respect thereto (the “Approved Purposes”). Observer shall have the right to be heard at any such meeting, but in no event shall Observer: (i) be deemed to be a member of the Board or such Committees; (ii) have the right to vote on any matter under consideration by the Board or such Committees or otherwise have any power to cause the Company to take, or not to take, any action; or (iii) except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, have or be deemed to have, or otherwise be subject to, any duties (fiduciary or otherwise) to the Company or its stockholders or any duties (fiduciary or otherwise) otherwise applicable to the directors of the Company. As a non-voting observer, Observer will also be provided (concurrently with delivery to the directors of the Company and in the same manner delivery is made to them) copies of all notices, minutes, consents, and all other materials or information (financial or otherwise) that are provided to the directors with respect to a meeting or any written consent in lieu of meeting (except to the extent Observer has been excluded therefrom pursuant to clause (c) below).
(b) If a meeting of the Board or any of the Committees is conducted via telephone or other electronic medium (e.g., videoconference), Observer may attend such meeting via the same medium; provided, however, that it shall be a material breach of this Agreement by Observer to provide any other person access to such meeting without the Company’s express prior written consent (which consent may be by e-mail).
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may exclude Observer from access to any material or meeting or portion thereof if: (i) the Board concludes in good faith, upon advice of the Company’s counsel, that such exclusion is reasonably necessary to preserve the attorney-client privilege between the Company and such counsel; provided, however, that any such exclusion shall apply only to such portion of the material or such portion of the meeting which would be required to preserve such privilege and not to any other portion thereof; or (ii) such portion of a meeting is an executive session limited solely to independent director members of the Board, independent auditors and/or legal counsel, as the Board may designate, and Observer (assuming Observer were a member of the Board) would not meet the then-applicable standards for independence adopted by the New York Stock Exchange, or such other exchange on which the Company’s securities are then traded.
(d) The Company shall compensate Observer in the same amount of all cash retainers, meeting fees and any other cash fees as if Observer were an independent director member of the Board and a member of each of the committees thereof, as such cash compensation may be modified from time to time. Further, the Company shall reimburse Observer for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Observer in connection with attendance at Board and Committee meetings. All compensation and reimbursements payable by the Company pursuant to this Section 1(d) shall be paid to Observer in accordance with the Company’s policies and practices with respect to director compensation and expense reimbursement then in effect; provided, however, that any such compensation or reimbursement shall be paid to Observer no later than comparable compensation or reimbursement is paid to the members of the Board.
(e) The rights described in this Section 1 shall terminate upon: (i) the end of the Observer Period, as described in the Merger Agreement; (ii) any material violation of the terms of this Agreement by Observer which (A) remains uncured within ten business days after receipt of notice thereof, or (B) if such violation is not subject to cure, directly causes harm to the Company in the Board’s sole and absolute discretion; or (iii) the death or disability of Observer.
Continuing Director A "Continuing Director" shall mean a Director of the Company who (i) is not an Acquiring Person, an Affiliate or Associate, a representative of an Acquiring Person or nominated for election by an Acquiring Person, and (ii) was either a member of the Board of Directors of the Company on the date of this Agreement or subsequently became a Director of the Company and whose initial election or initial nomination for election by the Company's stockholders was approved by at least two-thirds of the Continuing Directors then on the Board of Directors of the Company.
Matters Requiring Investor Director Approval So long as either (x) the holders of Series A Preferred Stock are entitled to elect one or more Series A Directors or (y) the holders of the Series B Preferred Stock are entitled to elect one or more Series B Directors, the Company hereby covenants and agrees with each of the Investors that it shall not, nor shall it permit any subsidiary of the Company to, without approval of the Board, which approval must include the affirmative vote of a majority of the Preferred Directors (which majority shall include a Series B Director), or the approval of the Requisite Holders:
(a) make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to, or own any stock or other securities of, any subsidiary or other corporation, partnership, or other entity unless it is wholly owned by the Company;
(b) make, or permit any subsidiary to make, any loan or advance to any Person, including, without limitation, any employee or director of the Company or any subsidiary, in excess of $100,000 (in the case of individuals) or $500,000 (in the case of Persons that are not individuals), except advances and similar expenditures in the ordinary course of business or under the terms of an employee stock or option plan approved by the Board;
(c) guarantee, directly or indirectly, or permit any subsidiary to guarantee, directly or indirectly, any indebtedness of any third party, except for trade accounts of the Company or any subsidiary arising in the ordinary course of business;
(d) make any investment inconsistent with any investment policy approved by the Board;
(e) incur any aggregate indebtedness in excess of $500,000 that is not already included in a budget approved by the Board, other than trade credit incurred in the ordinary course of business;
(f) enter into or be a party to any transaction with any stockholder, director or officer of the Company or any “associate” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the Exchange Act) of any such Person, except for transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Purchase Agreement or transactions (including agreements related to the compensation of the Company’s executive officers) made in the ordinary course of business upon fair and reasonable terms that are approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the Board;
(g) increase the shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance under the Company’s equity incentive plan or adopt any other equity incentive plan;
(h) hire or terminate the chief executive officer;
(i) enter into any corporate strategic relationship involving the payment, contribution, or assignment of money or assets which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(j) sell, lease, transfer, exclusively license or otherwise dispose of material assets and/or intellectual property of the Company or its subsidiaries, in one or a series of related transactions, the aggregate value of which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(k) acquire (by merger or stock or asset purchase or otherwise) any Person, business or asset in one or a series of related transactions, the aggregate value of which exceeds $5,000,0000 in any such one or series of related transactions or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets on a consolidated basis in any consecutive twelve-month period;
(l) make any material change in the business plan or business scope;
(m) settle any material litigation, arbitration or legal disputes;
(n) appoint or remove the Company’s auditor or change materially in accounting policies and standards, including financial year or tax year of the Company;
(o) effect any single capital expenditure, the value of which exceeds $5,000,000 in any single transaction or in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the aggregate value of the Company’s net assets in any fiscal year; or
(p) enter into an agreement to do any of the foregoing. For purposes of this Section 5.4, the value of any net assets shall be the value as determined by the Company in good faith. Upon the request of any Investor, the Company shall provide such Investor with reasonable written documentation supporting the basis of such determination of value, and provide such Investor with reasonable access to the personnel, properties, books and records of the Company for the purpose of evaluating the foregoing determination. If such Investor raises any reasonable objections to the foregoing determination, the Company shall consider in good faith such objections and make such revisions to the final determination of value as may be mutually agreed between the Company and such Investor. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 5.4, such approval of the Board or the Requisite Holders shall not be required with respect to actions contemplated by any agreements entered into between the Company and its stockholder(s) on or prior to the date hereof.
Preferred Stock Directors Whenever, at any time or times, dividends payable on the shares of Designated Preferred Stock have not been paid for an aggregate of six quarterly Dividend Periods or more, whether or not consecutive, the authorized number of directors of the Issuer shall automatically be increased by two and the holders of the Designated Preferred Stock shall have the right, with holders of shares of any one or more other classes or series of Voting Parity Stock outstanding at the time, voting together as a class, to elect two directors (hereinafter the “Preferred Directors” and each a “Preferred Director”) to fill such newly created directorships at the Issuer’s next annual meeting of stockholders (or at a special meeting called for that purpose prior to such next annual meeting) and at each subsequent annual meeting of stockholders until all accrued and unpaid dividends for all past Dividend Periods, including the latest completed Dividend Period (including, if applicable as provided in Section 3(a) above, dividends on such amount), on all outstanding shares of Designated Preferred Stock have been declared and paid in full at which time such right shall terminate with respect to the Designated Preferred Stock, except as herein or by law expressly provided, subject to revesting in the event of each and every subsequent default of the character above mentioned; provided that it shall be a qualification for election for any Preferred Director that the election of such Preferred Director shall not cause the Issuer to violate any corporate governance requirements of any securities exchange or other trading facility on which securities of the Issuer may then be listed or traded that listed or traded companies must have a majority of independent directors. Upon any termination of the right of the holders of shares of Designated Preferred Stock and Voting Parity Stock as a class to vote for directors as provided above, the Preferred Directors shall cease to be qualified as directors, the term of office of all Preferred Directors then in office shall terminate immediately and the authorized number of directors shall be reduced by the number of Preferred Directors elected pursuant hereto. Any Preferred Director may be removed at any time, with or without cause, and any vacancy created thereby may be filled, only by the affirmative vote of the holders a majority of the shares of Designated Preferred Stock at the time outstanding voting separately as a class together with the holders of shares of Voting Parity Stock, to the extent the voting rights of such holders described above are then exercisable. If the office of any Preferred Director becomes vacant for any reason other than removal from office as aforesaid, the remaining Preferred Director may choose a successor who shall hold office for the unexpired term in respect of which such vacancy occurred.
Board Observation Rights (a) The Borrower shall permit one (1) person representing the Lender (the “Observer”) to attend and observe (but not vote) at all meetings of the Borrower’s (or its Subsidiaries, as applicable) board of directors and any committee thereof, whether in person, by telephone or otherwise. The Borrower shall notify the Observer in writing at least five (5) Business Days in advance of (i) the date and time for each general or special meeting of its board of directors or any committee thereof and (ii) the adoption of any resolutions or actions by written consent (describing, in reasonable detail, the nature and substance of such action). The general meetings shall take place on no less than a quarterly basis. The Borrower shall concurrently deliver to the Observer all notices and any materials delivered to the board of directors or any committees thereof in connection with a board meeting or action to be taken by written consent, including a draft of any material resolutions or actions proposed to be adopted by written consent. The Observer shall be free prior to such meeting or adoption by consent to contact the board of directors and discuss the pending actions to be taken.
(b) The Borrower (or its Subsidiaries, as applicable) shall pay the Observer’s reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (including the cost of travel, meals and lodging) in connection with the attendance of such meetings.
(c) If an issue is to be discussed or otherwise arises at any meeting of the board of directors of the Borrower or committee thereof which, in the reasonable good faith judgment of the board of directors, is not appropriate to be discussed in the presence of the Observer in order to avoid a conflict of interest on the part of such Observer or would result in disclosure of trade secrets or to preserve an attorney-client privilege, then such issue may be discussed without the Observer being present and any materials delivered to the board of directors pertaining to such issue need not be delivered to the Observer, so long as the Observer is given notice of the occurrence of such judgment by the board of directors, that the Observer is being excused, and that certain materials will not be delivered to the Observer.
(d) The rights described in this Section 7.14 shall terminate and be of no further force or effect upon the assignment or transfer of the Lender’s rights and obligations hereunder or under any other Loan Document.
Independent Director As long as any Obligation is outstanding, the Member shall cause the Company at all times to have at least two Independent Directors who will be appointed by the Member. To the fullest extent permitted by law, including Section 18-1101(c) of the Act, the Independent Directors shall consider only the interests of the Company, including its respective creditors, in acting or otherwise voting on the matters referred to in Section 9(j)(iii). No resignation or removal of an Independent Director, and no appointment of a successor Independent Director, shall be effective until such successor (i) shall have accepted his or her appointment as an Independent Director by a written instrument, which may be a counterpart signature page to the Management Agreement, and (ii) shall have executed a counterpart to this Agreement as required by Section 5(c). In the event of a vacancy in the position of Independent Director, the Member shall, as soon as practicable, appoint a successor Independent Director. All right, power and authority of the Independent Directors shall be limited to the extent necessary to exercise those rights and perform those duties specifically set forth in this Agreement. Except as provided in the second sentence of this Section 10, in exercising their rights and performing their duties under this Agreement, any Independent Director shall have a fiduciary duty of loyalty and care similar to that of a director of a business corporation organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. No Independent Director shall at any time serve as trustee in bankruptcy for any Affiliate of the Company.
Independent Directors Those Directors who are not “interested persons” of the Company as such term is defined in the 1940 Act.
Approval of Stockholders If an option is granted by this Agreement prior to approval of the stockholders of the Plan, the option granted shall be null and void unless stockholder approval is obtained within twelve months after the Plan was adopted.
Stockholder Lock-Ups The Company has caused to be delivered to you prior to the date of this Agreement a letter, in the form of Exhibit A hereto (the “Lock-Up Agreement”), from each individual or entity listed on Schedule IV. The Company will enforce the terms of each Lock-Up Agreement and issue stop-transfer instructions to the transfer agent for the Common Stock with respect to any transaction or contemplated transaction that would constitute a breach of or default under the applicable Lock-Up Agreement.
