EXHIBIT 4
SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC.,
a Virginia Corporation
AND
COMPUTERSHARE INVESTOR SERVICES, LLC
Rights Agent
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
DATED AS OF MAY 30, 2001
____________________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
Section Page
1. Certain Definitions..................................................................... 3
2. Appointment of Rights Agent............................................................. 6
3. Issue of Right Certificates............................................................. 6
4. Form of Right Certificates.............................................................. 8
5. Countersignature and Registration....................................................... 8
6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated,
Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates............................................ 9
7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights........................... 9
8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates...................................... 10
9. Availability of Preferred Shares........................................................ 10
10. Preferred Shares Record Date............................................................ 10
11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights...................... 11
12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.............................. 15
13. Consolidation, Merger, Share Exchange or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power.... 16
14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares................................................. 16
15. Rights of Action........................................................................ 17
16. Agreement of Right Holders.............................................................. 17
17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Shareholder....................................... 18
18. Concerning the Rights Agent............................................................. 18
19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent............................... 18
20. Duties of Rights Agent.................................................................. 19
21. Change of Rights Agent.................................................................. 20
22. Issuance of New Right Certificates...................................................... 21
23. Redemption.............................................................................. 21
24. Exchange................................................................................ 22
25. Notice of Certain Events................................................................ 23
26. Notices................................................................................. 23
27. Supplements and Amendments.............................................................. 24
28. Successors.............................................................................. 24
29. Benefits of this Agreement.............................................................. 24
30. Severability............................................................................ 24
31. Governing Law........................................................................... 24
32. Counterparts............................................................................ 24
33. Descriptive Headings.................................................................... 25
EXHIBITS
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Exhibit A - Form of Right Certificate
Exhibit B - Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares
Page (i)
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
----------------
This Rights Agreement (this "Agreement"), dated as of May 30, 2001, is
entered into between Smithfield Foods, Inc., a Virginia corporation (the
"Company"), and Computershare Investor Services, LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company, as rights agent (the "Rights Agent").
The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized and declared a
dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a "Right") for each Common Share
of the Company outstanding on May 31, 2001 (the "Record Date"), each Right
representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, upon
the terms and subject to the conditions herein set forth, and has further
authorized and directed the issuance of one Right with respect to each Common
Share that shall become outstanding (x) between the Record Date and the earliest
of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date and the Final Expiration Date (as
such terms are defined in Sections 3 and 7 hereof) or (y) after the Distribution
Date but before the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date,
if such Common Share became outstanding (A) upon the exercise of a stock option,
(B) pursuant to any employee plan or arrangement, (C) upon the exchange pursuant
to its terms of an Exchangeable Share, without par value (each an "Exchangeable
Share"), of Smithfield Canada Limited, an Ontario corporation ("Smithfield
Canada"), for such Common Share or (D) upon the exercise, conversion or exchange
of any other security (other than a Right), which option, plan, arrangement,
Exchangeable Share or other security was granted, established or issued, as the
case may be, by the Company (or, with respect to any Exchangeable Share, issued
by Smithfield Canada) before the Distribution Date (collectively, "Post-
Distribution Shares Bearing Rights").
Accordingly, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements
herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:
Section 1. Certain Definitions . For purposes of this Agreement, the
following terms have the meanings indicated:
(a) "Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person who or which, together
with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner
of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall
not include the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit
plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity holding
Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, no Person shall become an "Acquiring Person" as the result of an
acquisition of Common Shares by the Company which, by reducing the number of
shares outstanding, increases the proportionate number of shares beneficially
owned by such Person to 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then
outstanding; provided, however, that if a Person shall become the Beneficial
Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding by
reason of share purchases by the Company and shall, after such share purchases
by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any additional Common Shares of
the Company, then such Person shall be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person."
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Person who would otherwise qualify as an
Acquiring Person as of May 30, 2001 pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this
paragraph (a) shall not be deemed to be an Acquiring Person for any purpose of
this Agreement on and after such date unless and until such Person, together
with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner
of a percentage of Common Shares of the Company then outstanding equal to the
lesser of (i) 20% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding
or (ii) the sum of 1% and the percentage of Common Shares of the Company
Beneficially Owned by such Person and all Affiliates and Associates of such
Person as of May 30, 2001; provided, however, that the foregoing exclusion shall
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cease to apply with respect to any Person at such time as such Person, together
with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, ceases to Beneficially Own
15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the Company
determines in
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good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an "Acquiring Person," as
defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), has become
such inadvertently, and such Person divests as promptly as practicable a
sufficient number of Common Shares so that such Person would no longer be an
"Acquiring Person," as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this
paragraph (a), then such Person shall not be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person"
for any purposes of this Agreement.
(b) "Affiliate" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule
12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect
on the date of this Agreement.
(c) "Associate" shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule
12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect
on the date of this Agreement.
(d) A Person shall be deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of and shall be
deemed to "beneficially own" any securities:
(i) which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly;
(ii) which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates has (A) the right to acquire (whether such
right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage
of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or
understanding (other than customary agreements with and
between underwriters and selling group members with
respect to a bona fide public offering of securities), or
upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights,
rights (other than these Rights), warrants or options, or
otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be
deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own,
securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer
made by or on behalf of such Person or any of such
Person's Affiliates or Associates until such tendered
securities are accepted for purchase or exchange; or (B)
the right to vote pursuant to any agreement, arrangement
or understanding; provided, however, that a Person shall
not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially
own, any security if the agreement, arrangement or
understanding to vote such security (1) arises solely from
a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in
response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made
pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable rules
and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act and (2)
is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the
Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report); or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by
any other Person with which such Person or any of such
Person's Affiliates or Associates has any agreement,
arrangement or understanding (other than customary
agreements with and between underwriters and selling group
members with respect to a bona fide public offering of
securities) for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting
(except to the extent contemplated by the proviso to
Section 1(d)(ii)(B)) or disposing of any securities of the
Company.
Notwithstanding anything in this definition of Beneficial Ownership to the
contrary, the phrase "then outstanding," when used with reference to a Person's
Beneficial Ownership of securities of the Company, shall mean the number of such
securities then issued and outstanding together with the
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number of such securities not then actually issued and outstanding which such
Person would be deemed to own beneficially hereunder.
(e) "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a
Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in Smithfield, Virginia or
Chicago, Illinois are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to
close.
(f) "Close of Business" on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M.,
Chicago, Illinois time, on such date; provided, however, that, if such date is
not a Business Day, it shall mean 5:00 P.M., Chicago, Illinois time, on the next
succeeding Business Day.
(g) "Common Shares" when used with reference to the Company shall
mean the shares of Common Stock, par value $.50 per share, of the Company.
"Common Shares" when used with reference to any Person other than the Company
shall mean the capital stock (or equity interest) with the greatest voting
power, or having power to control or direct the management, of such other Person
or, if such other Person is a Subsidiary of another Person, the Person or
Persons which ultimately control such first-mentioned Person.
(h) "Company" shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble
hereof.
(i) "current per share market price" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(d) hereof.
(j) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3
hereof.
(k) "equivalent preferred shares" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(b) hereof.
(l) "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended.
(m) "Exchange Ratio" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
24(a) hereof.
(n) "Exchangeable Share" shall have the meaning set forth in the
second paragraph hereof.
(o) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7(a) hereof.
(p) "NASDAQ" shall mean the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. Automated Quotations System.
(q) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation or other
entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
(r) "Post-Distribution Shares Bearing Rights" shall have the meaning
set forth in the introductory paragraph of this Agreement.
(s) "Preferred Shares" shall mean shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock, of $1.00 par value per share, of the Company
having the rights and preferences set forth in the Articles of Amendment
establishing such series of preferred stock.
(t) "Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(b)
hereof.
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(u) "Record Date" shall have the meaning set forth in the second
paragraph hereof.
(v) "Redemption Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
7(a) hereof.
(w) "Redemption Price" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
23(a) hereof.
(x) "Rights Agent" shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble
hereof.
(y) "Right" shall have the meaning set forth in the second
paragraph hereof.
(z) "Right Certificate" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3(a) hereof.
(aa) "Security" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d)
hereof.
(bb) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date of public
announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has
become such.
(cc) "Smithfield Canada" shall have the meaning set forth in the
second paragraph hereof.
(dd) "Subsidiary" of any Person shall mean any corporation or other
entity of which a majority of the voting power of the voting equity securities
or equity interest is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.
(ee) "Summary of Rights" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
3(b) hereof.
(ff) "Trading Day" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d)
hereof.
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints the
Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights (who,
in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall, prior to the Distribution Date, also
be the holders of the Common Shares) in accordance with the terms and conditions
hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment. The Company may
from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or
desirable.
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates. (a) Until the earlier of (i)
the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth day after the
Shares Acquisition Date occurs before the Record Date, the close of business on
the Record Date) or (ii) the tenth business day (or such later date as may be
determined by action of the Board of Directors of the Company prior to such time
as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person) after the date of the commencement by
any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee
benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company or any entity
holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) of, or of
the first public announcement of the intention of any Person (other than the
Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company
or of any Subsidiary of the Company or any entity holding Common Shares for or
pursuant to the terms of any such plan) to commence, a tender or exchange offer
the consummation of which would result in any Person becoming the Beneficial
Owner of Common Shares aggregating 15% or more of the then outstanding Common
Shares (the earlier of such dates being herein referred to as the "Distribution
Date"), (x) the Rights associated with Common Shares for which share
certificates have been issued will be evidenced by the certificates for Common
Shares registered in the names of the holders thereof (which certificates shall
also be deemed to be Right Certificates) and not by separate Right Certificates,
(y) the Rights associated with uncertificated Common Shares will be evidenced by
the registration of the Common Shares in the Company's share register in the
names of the holders thereof (which registration
Page 4
shall also be deemed to be registration of ownership of the associated Right)
and not by separate Right Certificates and (z) the right to receive Right
Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common
Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or the earlier of the Redemption Date or
the Final Expiration Date), the transfer of any Common Shares shall also
constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such Common Shares. As
soon as practicable after the Distribution Date (and subsequently with respect
to each issuance of Post-Distribution Shares Bearing Rights), the Company will
prepare and execute, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the Company will
send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested, send, at the
expense of the Company) by first-class, insured, postage-prepaid mail, to each
record holder of Common Shares as of the close of business on the Distribution
Date (or the date of issuance in the case of Post-Distribution Shares Bearing
Rights), at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, a
Right Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit A hereto (a "Right
Certificate"), evidencing one Right for each share of Common Shares so held. As
of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Right
Certificates. The failure to mail any such Rights Certificate shall not affect
the legality or validity of the Rights.
(b) On the Record Date, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the
Company will send a copy of a Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares, in
substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (the "Summary of Rights"), by first-
class, postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of the
Close of Business on the Record Date, at the address of such holder shown on the
records of the Company. The failure to send a copy of a Summary of Rights shall
not affect the legality or validity of the Rights.
(c) Certificates for Common Shares which become outstanding, or
initial transaction or subsequent periodic statements issued with respect to
uncertificated Common Shares (whether upon issuance out of authorized but
unissued Common Shares, issuance out of treasury, or issuance upon transfer or
exchange of outstanding Common Shares) after the Record Date but prior to the
earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration
Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or otherwise affixed to
them, in the case of share certificates, the following legend:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain
rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement, as amended, between Smithfield
Foods, Inc. and Computershare Investor Services, LLC, dated as of May 30,
2001 (the "Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal
executive offices of Smithfield Foods, Inc. Under certain circumstances,
as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by
separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate.
Smithfield Foods, Inc. will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy
of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request
therefor. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights
Agreement, Rights issued to any Person who becomes an Acquiring Person (as
defined in the Rights Agreement) will become null and void.
and in the case of initial transaction or subsequent periodic statements with
respect to uncertificated Common Shares, the following legend:
The registration in the share register of Smithfield Foods, Inc. of the
shares of common stock to which this initial transaction statement relates
also evidences and entitles the registered holder of such shares to certain
rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement, as amended, between Smithfield
Foods, Inc. and Computershare Investor Services, LLC, dated as of May 30,
2001 (the "Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal
executive offices of Smithfield Foods, Inc. Under certain circumstances,
as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by
separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate.
Smithfield Foods, Inc. will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy
of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a
Page 5
written request therefor. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the
Rights Agreement, Rights issued to any Person who becomes an Acquiring
Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement) will become null and void.
Until the Distribution Date, the Rights associated with the Common Shares
represented by certificates (whether or not containing the foregoing legend)
shall be evidenced by such certificates alone, and the surrender for transfer of
any such certificate shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated
with the Common Shares represented thereby. Until the Distribution Date, the
Rights associated with the Common Shares with respect to which such initial
transaction or subsequent periodic statements are issued (whether or not
containing the foregoing legend) shall be evidenced solely by the registration
of ownership of such Common Shares in the share register of the Company, and the
registration of transfer of ownership in such share register shall also
constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares whose
ownership is so transferred. In the event that the Company purchases or
acquires any Common Shares after the Record Date but prior to the Distribution
Date, any Rights associated with such Common Shares shall be deemed canceled and
retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights
associated with the Common Shares which are no longer outstanding.
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates. The Right Certificates (and the
forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of assignment to be printed
on the reverse thereof) shall be substantially the same as Exhibit A hereto and
may have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries
or endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to
comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant
thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange or automated
quotation system on which the Rights may from time to time be listed or quoted,
or to conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of Section 22 hereof, the
Right Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of
one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the
price per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share set forth therein, but the
number of such one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share and the Purchase Price
shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. The Right Certificates
shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its
Chief Executive Officer, its President, any of its Vice Presidents, or its
Treasurer, either manually or by facsimile signature, shall have affixed thereto
the Company's seal or a facsimile thereof, and shall be attested by the
Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by
facsimile signature. The Right Certificates shall be manually countersigned by
the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless countersigned.
In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any of the Right
Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before
countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company,
such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent
and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though
the Person who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such officer
of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company
by any Person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Right
Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right
Certificate although at the date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any
such Person was not such an officer.
Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be
kept, at its principal office, books for registration and transfer of the Right
Certificates issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of
the respective holders of the Right Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced
on its face by each of the Right Certificates and the date of each of the Right
Certificates.
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Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates. Subject
to the provisions of Section 14 hereof, at any time after the Close of Business
on the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the Close of Business on the
earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date, any Right
Certificate or Right Certificates (other than Right Certificates representing
Rights that have become void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof or that have
been exchanged pursuant to Section 24 hereof) may be transferred, split up,
combined or exchanged for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates
entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-thousandths
of a Preferred Share as the Right Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered
then entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to
transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Right Certificate or Right
Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent,
and shall surrender the Right Certificate or Right Certificates to be
transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office of the
Rights Agent. Neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
take any action whatsoever with respect to the transfer of any such surrendered
Right Certificate until the registered holder shall have completed and signed
the certificate contained in the form of assignment on the reverse side of such
Right Certificate and shall have provided such additional evidence of the
identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or
Associates thereof as the Company shall reasonably request. Thereupon the Rights
Agent shall (subject to Section 11(a)(ii) and Section 24 hereof) countersign and
deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or Right
Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may require
payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may be
imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of
Right Certificates.
Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably
satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Right
Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or
security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company's or Rights
Agent's request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all
reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent
and cancellation of the Right Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make
and deliver a new Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for
delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost,
stolen, destroyed or mutilated.
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Right.
(a) The registered holder of any Right Certificate may exercise the Rights
evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein), in whole or in part, at
any time after the Distribution Date, upon surrender of the Right Certificate,
with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly executed,
to the Rights Agent at the principal office of the Rights Agent, together with
payment of the Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share
as to which the Rights are exercised, at or prior to the earliest of (i) the
Close of Business on May 31, 2011 (the "Final Expiration Date"), (ii) the time
at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof (the
"Redemption Date") or (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged as
provided in Section 24 hereof.
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share purchasable pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be
$180, and shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in
Section 11 or 13 hereof (the "Purchase Price") and shall be payable in lawful
money of the United States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.
(c) Upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing exercisable
Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by
payment of the Purchase Price for the shares to be purchased and an amount equal
to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right
Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof by certified check, cashier's
check or money
Page 7
order payable to the order of the Company, the Rights Agent shall thereupon
promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the Preferred Shares
certificates for the number of Preferred Shares to be purchased and the Company
hereby irrevocably authorizes any such transfer agent to comply with all such
requests, or (B) requisition from the depositary agent depositary receipts
representing such number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as are to
be purchased (in which case certificates for the Preferred Shares represented by
such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent of the Preferred Shares
with such depositary agent) and the Company hereby directs such depositary agent
to comply with such request; (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the Company
the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares in
accordance with Section 14 hereof; (iii) promptly after receipt of such
certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon
the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate, registered in such
name or names as may be designated by such holder; and (iv) when appropriate,
after receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered holder
of such Right Certificate.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Right Certificate shall
exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Right Certificate
evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued
by the Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Right Certificate or to his
duly authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates. All Right
Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up,
combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its
agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in canceled form,
or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be cancelled by it, and no Right
Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by
any of the provisions of this Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the
Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so
cancel and retire, any other Right Certificate purchased or acquired by the
Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall
deliver all cancelled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the
written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Right Certificates, and,
in such case, shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.
Section 9. Availability of Preferred Shares. The Company covenants and
agrees that it will cause to be reserved and kept available out of its
authorized and unissued Preferred Shares or any Preferred Shares held in its
treasury, the number of Preferred Shares that will be sufficient to permit the
exercise in full of all outstanding Rights in accordance with Section 7. The
Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such action as may be
necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares delivered upon exercise of Rights
shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such Preferred Shares
(subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and
issued and fully paid and nonassessable shares.
The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and
payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be
payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of
any Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not,
however, be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of
any transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a Person other than, or the
issuance or delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred
Shares in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Right
Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or to deliver
any certificates or depositary receipts for Preferred Shares upon the exercise
of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being
payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at the time of surrender) or
until it has been established to the Company's reasonable satisfaction that no
such tax is due.
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date. Each Person in whose name any
certificate for Preferred Shares is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for
all purposes be deemed to have become
Page 8
the holder of record of the Preferred Shares represented thereby on, and such
certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing
such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price (and any
applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that if the date of such
surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Shares transfer books
of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record
holder of such shares on, and such certificate shall be dated, the next
succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the
Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the
holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a holder of
Preferred Shares for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without
limitation, the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or to
exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice
of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein.
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of
Rights. The Purchase Price, the number of Preferred Shares covered by each
Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time
to time as provided in this Section 11.
(a) (i) In the event the Company shall at any time after the date
of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares payable in
Preferred Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares, (C) combine
the outstanding Preferred Shares into a smaller number of Preferred Shares or
(D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred
Shares (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation
or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation),
except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a), the Purchase Price in effect
at the time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of
such subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of
shares of capital stock issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted
so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to
receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such
Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the
Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company were open, he would have owned
upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend,
subdivision, combination or reclassification.
(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the event any
Person becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right shall thereafter have
a right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current
Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred
Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares, such number of Common Shares of
the Company as shall equal the result obtained by (A) multiplying the then
current Purchase Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share
for which a Right is then exercisable and dividing that product by (B) 50% of
the then current per share market price of the Company's Common Shares
(determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of the occurrence of
such event. In the event that any Person shall become an Acquiring Person and
the Rights shall then be outstanding, the Company shall not take any action
which would eliminate or diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the
Rights.
From and after the occurrence of such event, any Rights that are or were
acquired or beneficially owned by any Acquiring Person (or any Associate or
Affiliate of such Acquiring Person) shall be void and any holder of such Rights
shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights under any provision of
this Agreement. No Right Certificate shall be issued pursuant to Section 3 that
represents Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person whose Rights would
be void pursuant to the preceding sentence or any Associate or Affiliate
thereof; no Right Certificate shall be issued at any time upon the transfer of
any Rights to an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the
preceding sentence or any Associate or Affiliate thereof or to any nominee of
such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate; and any Right Certificate
delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an Acquiring Person whose Rights
would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be cancelled.
Page 9
(iii) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common
Shares authorized but unissued to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in
accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii), the Company shall take all such
action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares for issuance
upon exercise of the Rights. In the event the Company shall, after good faith
effort, be unable to take all such action as may be necessary to authorize such
additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for each Common Share
that would otherwise be issuable upon exercise of a Right, a number of Preferred
Shares (which term shall include for purposes of this subparagraph (iii) other
shares of the Company's Preferred Stock having the same rights, privileges and
preferences as the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock if and to the
extent there shall not be sufficient Common Shares or shares of the Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock authorized but unissued to permit the
exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with this subparagraph (iii)) or
fraction thereof such that the current per share market price of one Preferred
Share multiplied by such number or fraction is equal to the current per share
market price of one Common Share as of the date of issuance of such Preferred
Shares or fraction thereof.
(b) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of
rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Shares entitling them
(for a period expiring within 45 calendar days after such record date) to
subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares (or shares having the same rights,
privileges and preferences as the Preferred Shares ("equivalent preferred
shares")) or securities convertible into Preferred Shares or equivalent
preferred shares at a price per Preferred Share or equivalent preferred share
(or having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible into
Preferred Shares or equivalent preferred shares) less than the then current per
share market price of the Preferred Shares on such record date, the Purchase
Price to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying
the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a
fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of Preferred Shares
outstanding on such record date plus the number of Preferred Shares which the
aggregate offering price of the total number of Preferred Shares and/or
equivalent preferred shares so to be offered (and/or the aggregate initial
conversion price of the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase
at such current market price and the denominator of which shall be the number of
Preferred Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of additional
Preferred Shares and/or equivalent preferred shares to be offered for
subscription or purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be
offered are initially convertible). In case such subscription price may be paid
in a consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other than cash, the
value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent. Preferred Shares owned by or held for the account
of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such
computation. Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record
date is fixed; and in the event that such rights, options or warrants are not so
issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which
would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
(c) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the making of a
distribution to all holders of the Preferred Shares (including any such
distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of indebtedness
or assets (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend or a dividend payable in
Preferred Shares) or subscription rights or warrants (excluding those referred
to in Section 11(b) hereof), the Purchase Price to be in effect after such
record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect
immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which
shall be the then current per share market price of the Preferred Shares on such
record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the
Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a
statement filed with the Rights Agent) of the portion of the assets or evidences
of indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants
applicable to one Preferred Share and the denominator of which shall be such
current per share market price of the Preferred Shares. Such
Page 10
adjustments shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed; and
in the event that such distribution is not so made, the Purchase Price shall
again be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such
record date had not been fixed.
(d) (i) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the "current
per share market price" of any security (a "Security" for the purpose of this
Section 11(d)(i)) on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily
closing prices per share of such Security for the 30 consecutive Trading Days
immediately prior to such date; provided, however, that in the event that the
current per share market price of the Security is determined during a period
following the announcement by the issuer of such Security of (A) a dividend or
distribution on such Security payable in shares of such Security or securities
convertible into such shares, or (B) any subdivision, combination or
reclassification of such Security and prior to the expiration of 30 Trading Days
after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record date
for such subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and in each such
case, the current per share market price shall be appropriately adjusted to
reflect the current market price per share equivalent of such Security. The
closing price for each day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in
case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and
asked prices, regular way, 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 the Security is not
listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported in the
principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities
listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the Security is
listed or admitted to trading or, if the Security is 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 NASDAQ or such other system then in use, or, if on any
such date the Security is not quoted by any such organization, the average of
the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker
making a market in the Security selected by the Board of Directors of the
Company. The term "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the principal
national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which the Security
is listed or admitted to trading or quoted is open for the transaction of
business or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any
national securities exchange or quoted on any automated quotation system, a
Business Day.
(ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the "current
per share market price" of the Preferred Shares shall be determined in
accordance with the method set forth in Section 11(d)(i). If the Preferred
Shares are not publicly traded, the "current per share market price" of the
Preferred Shares shall be conclusively deemed to be the current per share market
price of the Common Shares as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)
(appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar
transaction occurring after the date hereof), multiplied by one thousand. If
neither the Common Shares nor the Preferred Shares are publicly held or so
listed or traded, "current per share market price" shall mean the fair value per
share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company,
whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights
Agent.
(e) No adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such
adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least 1% in the Purchase
Price; provided, however, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section
11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into
account in any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this Section 11
shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one one-millionth of a
Preferred Share or one ten-thousandth of any other share or security as the case
may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any
adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than the earlier
of (i) three years from the date of the transaction which requires such
adjustment or (ii) the date of the expiration of the right to exercise any
Rights.
Page 11
(f) If, as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a)
hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to
receive any shares of capital stock of the Company other than Preferred Shares,
thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any
Right shall be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms
as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the
Preferred Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c), inclusive, and the
provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 with respect to the Preferred Shares
shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.
(g) All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any
adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of one one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the
Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.
(h) Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as provided
in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the
calculations made in Sections 11(b) and (c), each Right outstanding immediately
prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one one-millionth of a Preferred
Share) obtained by (A) multiplying (x) the number of one one-thousandths of a
share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment by (y) the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase
Price and (B) dividing the product so obtained by the Purchase Price in effect
immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase Price.
(i) The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of
the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights in substitution for any
adjustment in the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable
upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after such
adjustment of the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable
immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record prior to such
adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights
(calculated to the nearest one ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the
Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price.
The Company shall make a public announcement of its election to adjust the
number of Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known
at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. This record date may be
the date on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if
the Right Certificates have been issued, shall be at least 10 days later than
the date of the public announcement. If Right Certificates have been issued,
upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the
Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of
record of Right Certificates on such record date Right Certificates evidencing,
subject to Section 14 hereof, the additional Rights to which such holders shall
be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company,
shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and
replacement for the Right Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of
adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new Right
Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled
after such adjustment. Right Certificates so to be distributed shall be issued,
executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein and shall be
registered in the names of the holders of record of Right Certificates on the
record date specified in the public announcement.
(j) Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or
the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share issuable upon the
exercise of the Rights, the Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued
may continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths
of a Preferred Share which were expressed in the initial Right Certificates
issued hereunder.
Page 12
(k) Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment
reducing the Purchase Price below one one-thousandth of the then par value, if
any, of the Preferred Shares issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company
shall take any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be
necessary in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and
nonassessable Preferred Shares at such adjusted Purchase Price.
(l) In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an
adjustment in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a
specified event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such
event the issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date of
the Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if
any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the Preferred Shares and other
capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise
on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment; provided,
however, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due xxxx or other
appropriate instrument evidencing such holder's right to receive such additional
shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.
(m) Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding,
the Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in
addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to
the extent that it, in its sole discretion, shall determine to be advisable in
order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Shares, issuance
wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less than the current market price,
issuance wholly for cash of Preferred Shares or securities which by their terms
are convertible into or exchangeable for Preferred Shares, dividends on
Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares or issuance of rights, options or
warrants referred to hereinabove in Section 11(b), hereafter made by the Company
to holders of its Preferred Shares shall not be taxable to such shareholders.
(n) In the event that at any time after the date of this Agreement
and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company shall (i) declare or pay any
dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or (ii) effect a
subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares)
into a greater or lesser number of Common Shares, then in any such case (A) the
number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable after such event
upon proper exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying the number
of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share so purchasable immediately prior to
such event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares
outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of which is the
number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and (B) each
Common Share outstanding immediately after such event shall have issued with
respect to it that number of Rights which each Common Share outstanding
immediately prior to such event had issued with respect to it. The adjustments
provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be made successively whenever such a
dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination or consolidation
is effected.
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.
Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, the
Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment,
and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (b) file with
the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Shares or the
Preferred Shares a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary thereof
to each holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25 hereof. The
Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on
any adjustment therein contained, and shall not be obligated or responsible for
calculating any adjustment, nor shall it be deemed to have knowledge of such an
adjustment unless and until it shall have received such certificate.
Page 13
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger, Share Exchange or Sale or Transfer of
Assets or Earning Power. In the event, directly or indirectly, at any time
after a Person has become an Acquiring Person, (a) the Company shall consolidate
with, or merge with and into, any other Person, (b) any Person shall consolidate
with the Company, or merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be
the continuing or surviving corporation of such merger, or consummate a share
exchange with the Company, and, in connection with such merger or share
exchange, all or part of the Common Shares shall be changed into or exchanged
for stock or other securities of any other Person (or the Company) or cash or
any other property, or (c) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one
or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more
transactions, assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or
earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any
other Person other than the Company or one or more of its wholly-owned
Subsidiaries, then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so
that (i) each holder of a Right (except as otherwise provided herein) shall
thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at a price equal
to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one one-
thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares,
such number of Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as
successor thereto or as the surviving corporation) as shall equal the result
obtained by (A) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable and
dividing that product by (B) 50% of the then current per share market price of
the Common Shares of such other Person (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)
hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or
transfer; (ii) the issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be liable for,
and shall assume, by virtue of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, all
the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the
term "Company" shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such issuer; and (iv) such
issuer shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, the reservation of
a sufficient number of its Common Shares in accordance with Section 9 hereof) in
connection with such consummation as may be necessary to assure that the
provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may
be, in relation to the Common Shares thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of
the Rights. The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation, merger,
share exchange, sale or transfer unless prior thereto the Company and such
issuer shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental
agreement so providing. The Company shall not enter into any transaction of the
kind referred to in this Section 13 if at the time of such transaction there are
any rights, warrants, instruments or securities outstanding or any agreements or
arrangements which, as a result of the consummation of such transaction, would
eliminate or substantially diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the
Rights. The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive
mergers or consolidations or sales or other transfers.
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares. (a) The Company
shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or to distribute Right
Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of such fractional
Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Right Certificates
with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable, an
amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole
Right. For the purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a
whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the Trading Day
immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would have been
otherwise issuable. The closing price for any day shall be the last sale price,
regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of
the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, 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
the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange,
as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on
which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Rights 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 NASDAQ or such other
system then in use or, if on any such
Page 14
date the Rights are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the
closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making
a market in the Rights selected by the Board of Directors of the Company. If on
any such date no such market maker is making a market in the Rights, the fair
value of the Rights on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company shall be used.
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-
thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute
certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other than fractions
which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share).
Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary
receipts, pursuant to an appropriate agreement between the Company and a
depositary selected by it; provided that such agreement shall provide that the
holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and
preferences to which they are entitled as beneficial owners of the Preferred
Shares represented by such depositary receipts. In lieu of fractional Preferred
Shares that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Right Certificates at
the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to
the same fraction of the current market value of one Preferred Share. For the
purposes of this Section 14(b), the current market value of a Preferred Share
shall be the closing price of a Preferred Share (as determined pursuant to the
second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately
prior to the date of such exercise.
(c) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Right expressly
waives his right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon
exercise of a Right (except as provided above).
Section 15. Rights of Action. All rights of action in respect of this
Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent under
Section 18 hereof, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right
Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the
Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Right Certificate (or, prior to
the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), without the consent of the Rights
Agent or of the holder of any other Right Certificate (or, prior to the
Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in his own behalf and for his own
benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding
against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, his right to
exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate in the manner provided
in such Right Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing
or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically
acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law
for any breach of this Agreement and will be entitled to specific performance of
the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or threatened
violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this Agreement.
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders. Every holder of a Right, by
accepting the same, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent
and with every other holder of a Right that:
(a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable
only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;
(b) after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are
transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at
the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a
proper instrument of transfer; and
(c) the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the Person
in whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the
associated Common Shares certificate,
Page 15
in the case of certificated Common Shares, or, in the case of uncertificated
Common Shares, the associated Common Shares reflected on the Company's share
register) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights
evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the
Right Certificates or, in the case of certificated Common Shares, the associated
Common Shares certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights
Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent
shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Shareholder. No
holder, as such, of any Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or any
other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the
exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein
or in any Right Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Right
Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company or any
right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to
shareholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any
corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting
shareholders (except as provided in Section 25 hereof), or to receive dividends
or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by
such Right Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the
provisions hereof.
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent. The Company agrees to pay to
the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it
hereunder and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable
expenses and counsel fees and other disbursements incurred in the administration
and execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties
hereunder. The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to
hold it harmless against, any loss, liability or expense incurred without gross
negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent, for
anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance
and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and expenses of
defending against any claim of liability in the premises. The indemnity provided
for herein shall survive the expiration of the Rights, the termination of this
Agreement, and the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent. The reasonable
costs and expenses of enforcing this right of indemnification shall also be paid
by the Company.
The Rights Agent may conclusively rely upon and shall be protected and
shall incur no liability for, or in respect of any action taken, suffered or
omitted by it in connection with, its administration of this Agreement in
reliance upon any Right Certificate or certificate for the Preferred Shares or
Common Shares or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment
or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice,
direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document believed
by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or
acknowledged, by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of
counsel as set forth in Section 20 hereof.
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.
Any corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be
merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from
any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights
Agent shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the stock transfer or
corporate trust powers of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall
be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution
or filing of any paper or any further fact on the part of any of the parties
hereto; provided that such corporation would be eligible for appointment as a
successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case at the
time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this
Agreement, any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not
delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of the
predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right Certificates so countersigned;
and in case at that time any of the Right Certificates shall not have been
countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Right
Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent
Page 16
or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Right
Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in
this Agreement.
In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be changed and at
such time any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not
delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name
and deliver Right Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any of
the Right Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may
countersign such Right Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed
name; and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force
provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent undertakes the
duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement, and no implied duties or
obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Rights Agent, upon the
following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of
Right Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
(a) Before the Rights Agent acts or refrains from acting, the Rights
Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal counsel for the Company),
and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and
protection to the Rights Agent as to any action taken or omitted by it in good
faith and in accordance with such opinion.
(b) Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement
the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be
proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action
hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be
herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and
established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chairman of the Board, the
Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer or the
Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate
shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action taken or suffered
in good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such
certificate.
(c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to the Company and any
other Person only for its own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.
In no event shall the Rights Agent be liable for special, indirect, punitive or
consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited
to, lost profits), unless such loss or damage results directly from the Rights
Agent's willful misconduct or bad faith.
(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of
the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Right
Certificates (except its countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the
same, but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been
made by the Company only.
(e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect
of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except
the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or
execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor
shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or
condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it
be responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights (including the
Rights becoming void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any adjustment in
the terms of the Rights (including the manner, method or amount thereof)
provided for in Section 3, 11, 13, 23 or 24, or the ascertaining of the
existence of facts that would require any such change or adjustment (except with
respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Right Certificates after actual
notice that such change or adjustment is required); nor shall it by any act
hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the
authorization or reservation of any Preferred Shares to be
Page 17
issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any
Preferred Shares will, when issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid
and nonassessable.
(f) The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and
deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such
further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required
by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of
the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept
instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from any
one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President,
any Vice President, the Secretary or the Treasurer of the Company, and to apply
to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and
it shall not be liable for any action taken or suffered by it in good faith in
accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting
while waiting for those instructions. Any application by the Rights Agent for
written instructions from the Company shall be addressed and delivered in
accordance with Section 26 of this Agreement and may, at the option of the
Rights Agent, set forth in writing any action proposed to be taken or omitted by
the Rights Agent under this Rights Agreement and the date on or after which such
action shall be taken or such omission shall be effective. The Rights Agent
shall not be liable for any action taken by, or omission of, the Rights Agent in
accordance with a proposal included in any such application on or after the date
specified in such application (which date shall not be less than ten Business
Days after the date any officer of the Company actually receives such
application, unless any such officer shall have consented in writing to an
earlier date) unless, prior to taking any such action (or the effective date in
the case of an omission), the Rights Agent shall have received written
instruction in response to such application subject to the proposed action or
omission and/or specifying the action to be taken or omitted.
(h) The Rights Agent and any shareholder, director, officer or
employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other
securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in
which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the
Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent
under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from
acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or
powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or
through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or
accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any such attorneys or
agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such act, default,
neglect or misconduct, provided reasonable care was exercised in the selection
and continued employment thereof.
(j) No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights Agent to
expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the
performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its rights if
there shall be reasonable grounds for believing that repayment of such funds or
adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not reasonably
assured to it.
(k) Except as may be otherwise specified in this Agreement, the
Rights Agent shall not be required to take notice or be deemed to have notice of
any fact, event or determination (including, without limitation, any dates or
events defined in this Agreement or the designation of any Person as an
Acquiring Person, Affiliate or Associate) under this Agreement unless and until
the Rights Agent shall be specifically notified in writing by the Company of
such fact, event or determination.
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement
upon 30 days' notice in writing mailed to
Page 18
the Company and to each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares
by registered or certified mail, and at the expense of the Company to the
holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail. The Company may remove
the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon 30 days' notice in writing,
mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to
each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares by registered or
certified mail, and to the holders of the Right Certificates by first-class
mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become
incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent.
If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of 30 days
after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of
such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or
by the holder of a Right Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his
Right Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of
any Right Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the
appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed
by the Company or by such a court, shall be a corporation organized and doing
business under the laws of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Virginia
or the State of Illinois (or of any other state of the United States so long as
such corporation is authorized to do business as a banking institution in the
Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of Illinois), in good standing, having an
office in the Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of Illinois or the State of
New York, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or
stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision or examination by federal or
state authority and which has at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent a
combined capital and surplus of at least $50 million. After appointment, the
successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and
responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Rights Agent without
further act or deed; but the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer
to the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder, and
execute and deliver any further assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for
the purpose. Not later than the effective date of any such appointment, the
Company shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent
and each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares, and mail a
notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Right Certificates.
Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any
defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or
removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as
the case may be.
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates. Notwithstanding any of
the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company
may, at its option, issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in such form
as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment or change
in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other
securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. In addition, in connection
with the issuance or sale of Common Shares following the Distribution Date and
prior to the redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with
respect to Common Shares so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise of stock
options or under any employee plan or arrangement or with respect to the
exchange pursuant to their terms of any Exchangeable Shares (so long as such
options, plan or arrangement were granted or established by the Company, or such
Exchangeable Shares were issued by Smithfield Canada, as the case may be, prior
to the Distribution Date), or upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of any
other securities issued by the Company after the Record Date and prior to the
Distribution Date, and (b) may, in any other case if deemed necessary or
appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Company, issue Rights Certificates
representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection with such issuance
or sale.
Section 23. Redemption. (a) The Board of Directors of the Company may,
at its option, at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring
Person, redeem all but not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a
redemption price of $.0001 per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any
stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date
hereof (such redemption price being hereinafter referred to as the "Redemption
Price"). The redemption of the Rights by the
Page 19
Board of Directors of the Company may be made effective at such time, on such
basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors of the Company, in its
sole discretion, may establish.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the
Company ordering the redemption of the Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
Section 23, and without any further action and without any notice, the right to
exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the holders
of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price. The Company shall promptly
give public notice of any such redemption; provided, however, that the failure
to give, or any defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of such
redemption. Within 10 days after such action of the Board of Directors of the
Company ordering the redemption of the Rights, the Company shall mail a notice
of redemption to all the holders of the then outstanding Rights at their last
addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior
to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the
Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall
be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such
notice of redemption will state the method by which the payment of the
Redemption Price will be made. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates or
Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for value any Rights at any time in
any manner other than that specifically set forth in this Section 23 or in
Section 24 hereof, and other than in connection with the purchase of Common
Shares prior to the Distribution Date.
Section 24. Exchange. (a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at
its option, at any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange
all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not
include Rights that have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 3(a)
or Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) for Common Shares at an exchange ratio of one
Common Share per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock
dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such exchange
ratio being hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange Ratio"). Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Board of Directors of the Company shall not be empowered to
effect such exchange at any time after any Person (other than the Company, any
Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any such
Subsidiary, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of
any such plan), together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person,
becomes the Beneficial Owner of 50% or more of the Common Shares then
outstanding.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the
Company ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of this
Section 24 and without any further action and without any notice, the right to
exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder
of such Rights shall be to receive that number of Common Shares equal to the
number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The
Company shall promptly give public notice of any such exchange; provided,
however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not
affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly shall mail a notice
of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last
addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent. Any notice
which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or
not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of exchange will state the
method by which the exchange of the Common Shares for Rights will be effected
and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be
exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata based on the number
of Rights (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to the provisions
of Section 3(a) or Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by each holder of Rights.
(c) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common Shares
authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in
accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all such action as may
be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares for issuance upon exchange of
the Rights. In the event the Company shall, after good faith effort, be unable
to take all such action as may be necessary to authorize such additional Common
Shares, the Company
Page 20
shall substitute, for each Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon
exchange of a Right, a number of Preferred Shares or fraction thereof such that
the current per share market price of one Preferred Share multiplied by such
number or fraction is equal to the current per share market price of one Common
Share as of the date of issuance of such Preferred Shares or fraction thereof.
(d) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common
Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares.
In lieu of such fractional Common Shares, the Company shall pay to the
registered holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such
fractional Common Shares would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to
the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Common Share. For the
purposes of this paragraph (d), the current market value of a whole Common Share
shall be the closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the
second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately
prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events. (a) In case the Company shall
propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of
its Preferred Shares or to make any other distribution to the holders of its
Preferred Shares (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend), (ii) to offer
to the holders of its Preferred Shares rights or warrants to subscribe for or to
purchase any additional Preferred Shares or shares of stock of any class or any
other securities, rights or options, (iii) to effect any reclassification of its
Preferred Shares (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision
of outstanding Preferred Shares), (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger
into or with, or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more
of its Subsidiaries to effect any sale or other transfer), in one or more
transactions, of 50% or more of the assets or earning power of the Company and
its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to, any other Person, (v) to effect the
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, or (vi) to declare or pay
any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or to effect a
subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares),
then, in each such case, the Company shall give to each holder of a Right
Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of such proposed
action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such stock
dividend, or distribution of rights or warrants, or the date on which such
reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer, liquidation,
dissolution, or winding up is to take place and the date of participation
therein by the holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, if any such
date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any action
covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least 10 days prior to the record date
for determining holders of the Preferred Shares for purposes of such action, and
in the case of any such other action, at least 10 days prior to the date of the
taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the
holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, whichever shall be the
earlier.
(b) In case the event set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof shall
occur, then the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter give to each
holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of
the occurrence of such event, which notice shall describe such event and the
consequences of such event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
Section 26. Notices. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to
be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right Certificate
to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class
mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with
the Rights Agent) as follows:
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Corporate Secretary
Page 21
Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or demand authorized
by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any
Right Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sent by Federal Express or
another overnight courier service, registered or certified mail and shall be
deemed given upon receipt and addressed (until another address is filed in
writing with the Company) as follows:
Computershare Investor Services, LLC
0 Xxxxx XxXxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
cc: Xxxxx Xxxxxxx
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Right Certificate shall be
sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid,
addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry
books of the Company.
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments. The Company may from time to
time supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of
Right Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any
provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any other
provisions herein, or to make any other provisions with respect to the Rights
which the Company may deem necessary or desirable, any such supplement or
amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights
Agent; provided, however, that from and after such time as any Person becomes an
Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which would
adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights.
Section 28. Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this
Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind
and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.
Section 29. Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall
be construed to give to any Person other than the Company, the Rights Agent and
the registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution
Date, the registered holders of Common Shares) any legal or equitable right,
remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the sole
and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered
holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the
Common Shares).
Section 30. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or
restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the
terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in
full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.
Section 31. Governing Law. This Agreement and each Right Certificate
issued hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the
substantive laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia without regard to its conflict
of laws rules.
Section 32. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number
of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed
to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one
and the same instrument.
Page 22
Section 33. Descriptive Headings. Descriptive headings of the several
Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not
control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
Page 23
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
ATTEST: COMPUTERSHARE INVESTOR SERVICES, LLC,
as Rights Agent
By: /s/ Xxx Xxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
-------------- -----------------
Name: Xxx Xxxxxx Name: Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Client Services Manager Title: Relationship Manager
ATTEST: SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx By: C. Xxxxx Xxxx
------------------- -------------
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxx Name: C. Xxxxx Xxxx
Title: Secretary and Title: Vice President and
Associate General Counsel Chief Financial Officer
Page 24
Exhibit A
Form of Right Certificate
Certificate No. R-
_______ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER MAY 31, 2011 OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS.
THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT $.0001 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE
TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
Right Certificate
SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC.
This certifies that _________________, or registered assigns, is the
registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles
the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights
Agreement, as amended, dated as of May 30, 2001 (the "Rights Agreement"),
between Smithfield Foods, Inc., a Virginia corporation (the "Company"), and
Computershare Investor Services, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the
"Rights Agent"), to purchase from the Company at any time after the Distribution
Date (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) and prior to 5:00 P.M.,
Chicago, Illinois time, on May 31, 2011 at the principal office of the Rights
Agent, or at the office of its successor as Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of
a fully paid non-assessable share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock, $1.00 par value per share, of the Company, (the "Preferred Shares") at a
purchase price of $180 (subject to adjustment as provided in the Rights
Agreement) per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"),
upon presentation and surrender of this Right Certificate with the Form of
Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this
Right Certificate (and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share
which may be purchased upon exercise hereof) set forth above, and the Purchase
Price set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of May 31, 2001,
based on the Preferred Shares as constituted at such date. As provided in the
Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced
by this Right Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the
happening of certain events.
This Right Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and
conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are
hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which
Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights,
limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the
Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of
the Rights Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the
Company and the offices of the Rights Agent.
This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon
surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, may be exchanged for
another Right Certificate or Right Certificates of like tenor and date
evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of
Preferred Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right
Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this
Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to
receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates
for the number of whole Rights not exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights evidenced by
this Right Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption price
of $.0001 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged
Exhibit A, Page 1
in whole or in part for Preferred Shares or shares of the Company's Common
Stock, par value $0.50 per share.
No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the exercise of any
Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which are integral
multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, which may, at the election
of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but, in lieu thereof, a
cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or of
any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the
exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or herein
be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a
shareholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or
upon any matter submitted to shareholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or
withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or
other actions affecting shareholders (except as provided in the Rights
Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until
the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been
exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Right Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose
until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company and
its corporate seal. Dated as of ______, ____.
COMPUTERSHARE INVESTOR SERVICES, LLC
By: _______________________________
Name:
Title:
ATTEST: SMITHFIELD FOODS, INC.
By: _____________________ By: _________________________________
Name: Name:
Title: Title:
Exhibit A, Page 2
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such holder desires to transfer the
Right Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, ________________________________________________ hereby
sells, assigns and transfers unto ______________________________________________
___________ (Please print name and address of transferee) this Right
Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does
hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint ____________________________ Attorney,
to transfer the within Right Certificate on the books of the within-named
Company, with full power of substitution.
Dated: _______________, __________
Signature
___________________________
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a registered national
securities exchange, a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
Inc., or a commercial bank or trust company having an office or correspondent in
the United States.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
Signature
___________________________
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Exhibit A, Page 3
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights represented by the Right
Certificate.)
To: Smithfield Foods, Inc.
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise______Rights
represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the Preferred Shares issuable
upon the exercise of such Rights and requests that certificates for such
Preferred Shares be issued in the name of:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
(Please print name and address)
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate, a new Right Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights
shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
(Please print name and address)
Dated:________________, ____________
Signature
____________________________
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a registered national
securities exchange, a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
Inc., or a commercial bank or trust company having an office or correspondent in
the United States.
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Exhibit A, Page 4
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
Signature
___________________________
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NOTICE
The signature in the Form of Assignment or Form of Election to Purchase, as
the case may be, must conform to the name as written upon the face of this Right
Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change
whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above in the Form of Assignment or
the Form of Election to Purchase, as the case may be, is not completed, the
Company and the Rights Agent will deem the beneficial owner of the Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement) and such Assignment or
Election to Purchase will not be honored.
Exhibit A, Page 5
Exhibit B
Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares
On May 30, 2001, the Board of Directors of Smithfield Foods, Inc., a
Virginia corporation (the "Company"), declared a dividend of one preferred share
purchase right (a "Right") for each outstanding share of Common Stock, par value
$0.50 per share, of the Company (the "Common Shares"). The dividend was payable
on May 31, 2001 (the "Record Date") to the shareholders of record on that date.
Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-
thousandth of a Series A Junior Participating Preferred Share of the Company,
$1.00 par value per share (the "Preferred Shares") at a price of $180
(subject to adjustment as provided in the Rights Agreement) per one one-
thousandth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"), subject to adjustment.
The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in a Rights Agreement, as
amended (the "Rights Agreement"), between the Company and Computershare Investor
Services, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, as Rights Agent (the
"Rights Agent").
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a public announcement
that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (an "Acquiring
Person") have acquired beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding
Common Shares or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined
by action of the Board of Directors of the Company prior to such time as any
person or group of affiliated persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the
commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or
exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the beneficial
ownership by a person or group of 15% or more of the outstanding Common Shares
(the earlier of such dates being the "Distribution Date"), the Rights will be
evidenced, with respect to any of the Common Shares outstanding as of the Record
Date, by such Common Share certificate with a copy of this Summary of Rights
attached thereto, in the case of Common Shares for which certificates have been
issued, and, in the case of uncertificated Common Shares, by the registration of
ownership of Common Shares in the Company's share register.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the Distribution Date (or earlier
redemption or expiration of the Rights), the Rights will be transferred with and
only with the Common Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption
or expiration of the Rights), upon transfer or new issuance of Common Shares,
new Common Share certificates issued after the Record Date, in the case of
certificated Common shares, and, in the case of uncertificated Common Shares,
the initial transaction statement issued with respect to such Common Shares,
will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference. Until
the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the
transfer of any Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, including in
the case of certificated Common Shares surrender for transfer of any
certificates therefor even without such notation or a copy of this Summary of
Rights being attached thereto, will also constitute the transfer of the Rights
associated with such Common Shares. As soon as practicable following the
Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights ("Right
Certificates") will be mailed to holders of record of the Company's Common
Shares as of the close of business on the Distribution Date and such separate
Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. The Rights
will expire on May 31, 2011 (the "Final Expiration Date"), unless the Final
Expiration Date is extended or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or
exchanged by the Company, in each case, as described below.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Preferred Shares or other
securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights are subject to
adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock
dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the Preferred
Exhibit B, Page 1
Shares; (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Preferred Shares of certain rights
or warrants to subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares at a price, or
securities convertible into Preferred Shares with a conversion price, less than
the then-current market price of the Preferred Shares; or (iii) upon the
distribution to holders of the Preferred Shares of evidences of indebtedness or
assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends paid out of earnings or
retained earnings or dividends payable in Preferred Shares) or of subscription
rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of one one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share issuable upon exercise of each Right are also subject to
adjustment in the event of a stock split of the Common Shares or a stock
dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions,
consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such case,
prior to the Distribution Date (other than the already-declared stock dividend
referred to in the first paragraph above).
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will be
nonredeemable. Each Preferred Share will have a minimum preferential quarterly
dividend rate of $1.00 per share, but will be entitled to an aggregate dividend
of 1,000 times the dividend declared on the Common Shares. In the event of
liquidation, the holders of the Preferred Shares will receive a preferential
liquidation payment equal to the greater of $180,000 or 1,000 times the payment
made per Common Share. Each Preferred Share will have 1,000 votes, voting
together with the Common Shares. Finally, in the event of any merger,
consolidation or other transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged, each
Preferred Share will be entitled to receive 1,000 times the amount received per
Common Share. These rights are protected by customary antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preferred Shares' dividend, liquidation and
voting rights, the value of a one one-thousandth interest in a Preferred Share
purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the value of one
Common Share.
In the event that the Company is acquired in a merger or other business
combination transaction or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or earning
power are sold after a person or group has become an Acquiring Person, proper
provision will be made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the
right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then current exercise price
of the Right, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company
which at the time of such transaction will have a market value of two times the
exercise price of the Right. In the event that any person or group of
affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person, proper provision
shall be made so that each holder of a Right, other than Rights beneficially
owned by the Acquiring Person (which will thereafter be void), will thereafter
have the right to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares having a
market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.
At any time after any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person and prior
to the acquisition by such person or group of 50% or more of the outstanding
Common Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange the Rights
(other than Rights owned by such person or group which will have become void),
in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common Share, or one one-
thousandth of a Preferred Share (or of a share of a class or series of the
Company's preferred stock having equivalent rights, preferences and privileges),
per Right (subject to adjustment).
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be
required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in
such Purchase Price. No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued (other than
fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary
receipts) and, in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the
market price of the Preferred Shares on the last trading day prior to the date
of exercise.
Exhibit B, Page 2
At any time prior to the acquisition by a person or group of affiliated or
associated persons of beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding
Common Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in
whole, but not in part, at a price of $.0001 per Right (the "Redemption Price").
The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time on such basis
with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may
establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise
the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to
receive the Redemption Price.
The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board of Directors of the
Company without the consent of the holders of the Rights, except that from and
after such time as any person or group of affiliated or associated persons
becomes an Acquiring Person no such amendment may adversely affect the interests
of the holders of the Rights.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a shareholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right
to vote or to receive dividends.
A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated
May 30, 2001. A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of charge from
the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not purport to be
complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement,
which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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Exhibit B, Page 3
