indemnification agreement
Exhibit 4.5
THIS INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”), dated as of January 1, 2018, is entered into by and between Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., an Israeli company whose address is 00 Xxxxxxx Xx., Xxxxx Xxx 00000, Xxxxxx (the “Company”), and ____________, a ________ of the Company whose address is ______________________ (the “Indemnitee”).
WHEREAS, Indemnitee is an Office Holder (“Xxxxx Xxxxx”), as such term is defined in the Companies Law, 5759–1999 (the “Companies Law” and “Office Holder” respectively), of the Company;
WHEREAS, the Articles of Association of the Company authorize the Company to indemnify and advance expenses to its Office Holders and provide for insurance and exculpation to its Office Holders, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and this Agreement is provided to Indemnitee in accordance with applicable law, the Articles of the Association of the Company and all requisite corporate approvals;
WHEREAS, the Company has determined that (i) the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining competent persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s shareholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the future, (ii) and it is reasonable, prudent and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
WHEREAS, the Company acknowledges that Indemnitee is relying on the obligations of the Company set forth in this Agreement in agreeing to continue to serve the Company, which obligations are therefore irrevocable;
WHEREAS, in recognition of Indemnitee’s need for substantial protection against loss arising from the Indemnitee's liability, including costs and expenses incurred by the Indemnitee due to his position as Office Holder, in order to assure Indemnitee’s continued service to the Company in an effective manner and, in part, in order to provide Indemnitee with specific contractual assurance that the indemnification, insurance and exculpation afforded by the Articles of Association will be available to Indemnitee, the Company wishes to undertake in this Agreement for the indemnification of and the advancing of expenses to Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law and as set forth in this Agreement and provide for insurance and exculpation of Indemnitee as set forth in this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE.
For the purpose of this Agreement, “Expenses” shall include, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and all other costs, expenses and obligations paid or incurred by Indemnitee in connection with investigating, defending, being a witness in or participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to defend, be a witness in or participate in any claim relating to any matter for which indemnification hereunder may be provided, and expenses paid or incurred by Indemnitee in successfully enforcing this Agreement. Expenses shall be considered paid or incurred by Indemnitee at such time as Indemnitee is required to pay or incur such cost or expenses, including upon receipt of an inoice or payment demand. The Company shall pay the Expenses in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.3.
The Company hereby declares that according to its Articles of Association it is authorized to indemnify the Indemnitee for liability, costs and expenses arising from events which are not described in Exhibit A, and it undertakes to consider any request made by the Indemnitee for such indemnification in accordance with the intent and purpose of this Agreement.
“Independent Counsel” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of Israeli corporate law and neither presently is, nor in the past five years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company, an “interested party” (as defined in the Companies Law) of the Company or Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than in the capacity of Independent Counsel with this respect to this Agreement or similar indemnification agreements of the Company), or (ii) any other party to the proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any person who, under the applicable standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the Company or Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee's rights under this Agreement. The Company agrees to pay the reasonable fees of the Independent Counsel referred to above and to fully indemnify such counsel against any and all expenses, claims,
liabilities and damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant hereto, provided, however, that the Independent Counsel shall have the authority, in his sole discretion, to oblige Indemnitee to reimburse the Company for all or a portion of his fees if he believes that Indemnitee's claims against the Company were made arbitrarily, vexatiously or not in good faith.
2. SPECIFIC LIMITATIONS ON INDEMNIFICATION.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the Company shall not indemnify or advance Expenses to Indemnitee with respect to (i) any act, event or circumstance with respect to which it is prohibited to do so under the Companies Law, or (ii) a counter claim made by the Company or in its name in connection with a claim against the Company filed by the Indemnitee.
3. REPAYMENT OF EXPENSES.
4. SUBROGATION.
5. REIMBURSEMENT.
Except as set forth in Section 4.2 above (to the extent applicable), the Company shall not be liable under this Agreement to make any payment in connection with any Indemnifiable Event to the extent Indemnitee has otherwise actually received payment under any insurance policy or otherwise (without any obligation of Indemnitee to repay any such amount) of the amounts otherwise indemnifiable hereunder. Any amounts paid to Indemnitee under such insurance policy or otherwise after the Company has indemnified Indemnitee for such liability or Expense shall be repaid to the Company promptly upon receipt by Indemnitee, in accordance with the terms set forth in Section 3.2.
6. EFFECTIVENESS.
The Company represents and warrants that this Agreement is valid, binding and enforceable in accordance with its terms and was duly adopted and approved by the Company, and shall be in full force and effect immediately upon its execution.
7. NOTIFICATION AND DEFENSE OF CLAIM.
Indemnitee shall notify the Company of the commencement of any action, suit or proceeding, and of the receipt of any notice or threat that any such legal proceeding has been or shall or may be initiated against Indemnitee (including any proceedings by or against the Company and any subsidiary thereof), promptly upon Indemnitee first becoming so aware; but the omission so to notify the Company will not relieve the Company from any liability which it may have to Indemnitee under this Agreement unless and to the extent that such failure to provide notice materially and adversely prejudices the Company’s ability to defend such action. Notice to the Company shall be directed to the Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of the Company at the address shown in the preamble to this Agreement (or such other address as the Company shall designate in writing to Indemnitee). With respect to any such action, suit or proceeding as to which Indemnitee notifies the Company of the commencement thereof and without derogating from Sections 1.1 and 2:
8. EXCULPATION.
Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law, the Company hereby releases, in advance, the Office Holder from liability to the Company for any damage that arises from the breach of the Office Holder’s duty of care to the Company (within the meaning of such terms under Sections 252 and 253 of the Companies Law), other than breach of the duty of care towards the Company in a distribution (as such term is defined in the Companies Law).
9. NON-EXCLUSIVITY.
The rights of the Indemnitee hereunder shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights Indemnitee may have under the Company’s Articles of Association, applicable law or otherwise, and to the extent the indemnification rights of the then serving directors and officers are more favorable to such directors or officers than the indemnification rights provided under this Agreement to Indemnitee, Indemnitee shall be entitled to the full benefits of such more favorable indemnification rights to the extent permitted by law.
10. PARTIAL INDEMNIFICATION.
If Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement to indemnification by the Company for some or a portion of the Expenses, judgments, fines or penalties actually or reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with any proceedings, but not, however, for the total amount thereof, the Company shall nevertheless indemnify Indemnitee for the portion of such Expenses, judgments, fines or penalties to which Indemnitee is entitled under any provision of this Agreement. Subject to the provisions of Section 5 above, any amount received by Indemnitee (under any insurance policy or otherwise) shall not reduce the Limit Amount hereunder and shall not derogate from the Company’s obligation to indemnify the Indemnitee in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement up to the Limit Amount, as set forth in Section 1.2.
11. BINDING EFFECT.
This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of and be enforceable by the parties hereto and their respective successors, permitted assigns (including any direct or indirect successor in the event of a Transaction) and a receiver, liquidator or the like of the Company, heirs, executors and personal and legal representatives. In the event of a reorganization, acquisition, change of control merger or consolidation of the Company or a transfer or disposition of all or substantially all of the business or assets of the Company (each a “Transaction”), the Company shall, or cause its successor (if applicable) to undertake toward the Indemnitee to, fulfill and honor in all respects the obligations of the Company pursuant to this Agreement, and the Company's Articles of Association will contain provisions with respect to exculpation, insurance and indemnification that are at least as favorable to
the Indemnitee as those contained in the Articles of Association of the Company as in effect on the date hereof, which provisions will not be amended, repealed or otherwise modified in any manner that would adversely affect the rights thereunder of Indemnitee, unless such modification is required by applicable law. In the event that the Company consolidates with or merges into any other entity and shall not be the continuing or surviving company or entity of such consolidation or merger or transfers or conveys all or a majority of its properties and assets, then, and in each such case, proper provisions shall be made so that the successors and assigns of the Company, as applicable, shall succeed to the obligations of the Company set forth in this Section 11.
In the event that in connection with a Transaction the Company purchases a directors and officers’ “tail” or “run-off” policy for the benefit of its then serving Office Holders, then such policy shall cover Indemnitee and such coverage shall be deemed to be in satisfaction of the insurance requirements under this Agreement. This Agreement shall continue in effect regardless of whether Indemnitee continues to serve in a Corporate Capacity.
12. SEVERABILITY.
The provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed severable and the invalidity or unenforceability of any provision shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof. If any provision of this Agreement, or the application thereof or any circumstance, is invalid or unenforceable, (a) a suitable and equitable provision shall be substituted therefor in order to carry out, so far as may be valid and enforceable, the intent and purpose of such invalid or unenforceable provision and (b) the remainder of this Agreement and the application of such provision or circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidity or unenforceability, nor shall such invalidity or unenforceability affect the validity or enforceability of such provision, or the application thereof, in any other jurisdiction.
13. NOTICE.
All notices and other communications pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed provided if delivered personally, telecopied, sent by electronic facsimile, email, reputable overnight courier or mailed by registered or certified mail (return receipt requested), postage prepaid, to the parties at the addresses shown in the preamble to this Agreement, or to such other address as the party to whom notice is to be given may have furnished to the other party hereto in writing in accordance herewith. Any such notice or communication shall be deemed to have been delivered and received (i) in the case of personal delivery, on the date of such delivery, (ii) in the case of telecopier or an electronic facsimile or email, one business day after the date of transmission if confirmation of receipt is received, (iii) in the case of a reputable overnight courier, three business days after deposit with such reputable overnight courier service, and (iv) in the case of mailing, on the seventh business day following that on which the mail containing such communication is posted.
14. GOVERNING LAW; JURISDICTION.
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Israel, without giving effect to the conflicts of law provisions of those laws. The Company and Indemnitee each hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of Tel Aviv, Israel for all purposes in connection with any action or proceeding which arises out of or relates to this Agreement.
15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT AND TERMINATION.
This Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes any other agreements, contracts or understandings between the parties, whether written or oral, with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. It is hereby expressly agreed and understood that this Agreement amends, restates and supersedes the previous indemnification agreement between Indemnitee and the Company in its entirety. In the event of any contradiction between this Agreement and a previous indemnification agreement between Indemnitee and the Company, the provisions of this Agreement will prevail.
16. NO MODIFICATION AND NO WAIVER.
No supplement, modification or amendment, termination or cancellation of this Agreement shall be binding unless executed in writing by both of the parties hereto. No waiver of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be deemed or shall constitute a waiver of any other provisions hereof (whether or not similar) nor shall such waiver constitute a continuing waiver. Any waiver shall be in writing. The Company hereby undertakes not to amend its Articles of Association in a manner which will adversely affect the provisions of this Agreement.
17. ASSIGNMENTS; NO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
Neither party hereto may assign any of its rights or obligations hereunder except with the express prior written consent of the other party. Nothing herein shall be deemed to create or imply an obligation for the benefit of a third party. Without limitation of the foregoing, nothing herein shall be deemed to create any right of any insurer that provides directors' and officers’ liability insurance, to claim, on behalf of Indemnitee, any rights hereunder.
18. INTERPRETATION.
The obligations of the Company according to this Agreement shall be interpreted broadly and in a manner that shall facilitate its execution, to the extent permitted by law, and for the purposes for which it was intended. For example, the obligations of the Company shall apply to any type of legal proceeding, including without limitation, a proceeding brought against Indemnitee alone or jointly with other defendants, and whether the plaintiff is a third party, the Company or Office Holders or shareholders thereof. In addition, the Company agrees that it shall not contend that an act was committed by the Indemnitee recklessly unless it can prove that such recklessness attained a level equivalent to that of an act committed with actual deliberate intent. In the event of a conflict between any provision of this Agreement and any provision of the law, said provision of the law shall supersede the specific provision in this Agreement, but shall not limit or diminish the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement.
19. COUNTERPARTS.
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and enforceable against the parties actually executing such counterpart, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument; it being understood that parties need not sign the same counterpart. The exchange of an executed Agreement (in counterparts or otherwise) by facsimile or by electronic delivery in pdf format shall be sufficient to bind the parties to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, as an original.
[SIGNATURE PAGE TO FOLLOW]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties, each acting under due and proper authority, have executed this Indemnification Agreement as of the date first mentioned above, in one or more counterparts.
Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
By: __________________
Name and title:
_____________
Title: ____________________
Signature: __________________
EXHIBIT A*
TYPE OF EVENT |
LIMIT AMOUNT |
1. Claims in connection with employment relationships with employees of the Company, and in connection with business relations between the Company and its employees, independent contractors, customers, suppliers and various service providers.
|
US$20,000,000 |
2. Negotiations, execution, delivery and performance of agreements of any kind or nature, anti-competitive acts, acts of commercial wrongdoing, approval of corporate actions including the approval of the acts of the Company’s management, their guidance and their supervision, actions concerning the approval of transactions with Office Holders or shareholders, including controlling persons and claims of failure to exercise business judgment and a reasonable level of proficiency, expertise and care with respect to the Company’s business.
|
US$20,000,000 |
3. Violation, infringement and other misuse of copyrights, patents, designs, trade secrets and any other intellectual property rights, breach of confidentiality obligations, acts in regard of invasion of privacy including with respect to databases, acts in connection with slander and defamation, and claims in connection with publishing or providing any information, including any filings with any governmental authorities, whether or not required under any applicable laws.
|
US$20,000,000 |
4. Violations of securities laws of any jurisdiction, including without limitation, fraudulent disclosure claims, failure to comply with any securities authority or any stock exchange disclosure or other rules and any other claims relating to relationships with investors, debt holders, shareholders and the investment community; claims relating to or arising out of financing arrangements, any breach of financial covenants or other obligations towards lenders or debt holders of the Company, class actions, violations of laws requiring the Company to obtain regulatory and governmental licenses, permits and authorizations in any jurisdiction; actions taken in connection with the issuance of any type of securities of Company, including, without limitation, the grant of options to purchase any of the same.
|
US$20,000,000 |
5. Liabilities arising in connection with any products or services developed, distributed, sold, provided, licensed or marketed by the Company, and any actions in connection with the distribution, sale, license or use of such products.
|
US$20,000,000 |
6. The offering of securities by the Company to the public and/or to private investors or the offer by the Company to purchase securities from the public and/or from private investors or other holders pursuant to a prospectus, agreements, notices, reports, tenders and/or other proceedings.
|
US$20,000,000 |
7. Events in connection with change in ownership or in the structure of the Company, its reorganization, dissolution, or any decision concerning any of the foregoing, including but not limited to, merger, sale or acquisition of assets, division or change in capital.
|
US$50,000,000 |
8. Any claim or demand made in connection with any transaction not in the ordinary course of business of the Company, including the sale, lease or purchase of any assets or business.
|
US$20,000,000 |
9. Any claim or demand made by any third party suffering any personal injury and/or bodily injury or damage to business or personal property or any other type of damage through any act or omission attributed to the Company, or its employees, agents or other persons acting or allegedly acting on its behalf.
|
US$20,000,000 |
10. Any claim or demand made directly or indirectly in connection with complete or partial failure, by the Company or its directors, officers and employees, to pay, report, keep applicable records or otherwise, of any foreign, federal, state, county, local, municipal or city taxes or other compulsory payments of any nature whatsoever, including, without limitation, income, sales, use, transfer, excise, value added, registration, severance, stamp, occupation, customs, duties, real property, personal property, capital stock, social security, unemployment, disability, payroll or employee withholding or other withholding, including any interest, penalty or addition thereto, whether disputed or not.
|
US$20,000,000 |
11. Any administrative, regulatory, judicial or civil actions, orders, decrees, suits, demands, demand letters, directives, claims, liens, investigations, proceedings or notices of noncompliance or violation by any governmental entity or other person alleging potential responsibility or liability (including potential responsibility or liability for costs of enforcement investigation, cleanup, governmental response, removal or remediation, for natural resources damages, property damage, personal injuries or penalties or for contribution, indemnification, cost recovery, compensation or injunctive relief) arising out of, based on or related to (a) the presence of, release, spill, emission, leaning, dumping, pouring, deposit, disposal, discharge, leaching or migration into the environment (each a “Release”) or threatened Release of, or exposure to, any hazardous, toxic, explosive or radioactive substances, wastes or other pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos-containing material, polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”) or PCB-containing materials or equipment, radon gas, infectious or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any environmental law, at any location, whether or not owned, operated, leased or managed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or (b) circumstances forming the basis of any violation of any environmental law or environmental permit, license, registration or other authorization required under applicable environmental law.
|
US$20,000,000 |
12. Any administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, orders, decrees, suits, demands, demand letters, directives, claims, liens, investigations, proceedings or notices of noncompliance or violation by any governmental entity or other person alleging the failure to comply with any statute, law, ordinance, rule, regulation, order or decree of any governmental entity applicable to the Company or any of its businesses, assets or operations, or the terms and conditions of any operating certificate or licensing agreement.
|
US$20,000,000 |
13. Participation and/or non-participation at the Company’s Board meetings, bona fide expression of opinion and/or voting and/or abstention from voting at the Company’s Board meetings.
|
US$20,000,000 |
14. Review and approval of the Company’s financial statements, including any action, consent or approval related to or arising from the foregoing, including, without limitations, execution of certificates for the benefit of third parties related to the financial statements.
|
US$20,000,000 |
15. All actions, consents and approvals relating to a distribution of dividends, in cash or otherwise.
|
US$20,000,000 |
16. Liabilities arising out of advertising, including misrepresentations regarding the Company's products and unlawful distribution of emails.
|
US$20,000,000 |
* Any reference in this Exhibit A to the Company shall include the Company and any entity in which the Indemnitee serves in a Corporate Capacity.