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EXHIBIT 4.1
_________________________________________________________________
PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
and
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON
Rights Agent
Rights Agreement
Dated as of April 9, 1997
_________________________________________________________________
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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Section 1. Certain Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Section 3. Issue of Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Section 6. Transfer, Split-Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed,
Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Section 9. Availability of Preferred Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Section 15. Rights of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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Section 21. Change of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Section 23. Redemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Section 24. Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Section 26. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Section 28. Successors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Section 29. Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Section 31. Severability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Section 32. Governing Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Section 33. Counterparts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Section 34. Descriptive Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Exhibit A - Form of Certificate of Designation of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock of Pharmacyclics, Inc.
Exhibit B - Form of Right Certificate
Exhibit C - Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares
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RIGHTS AGREEMENT
Rights Agreement, dated as of April 9, 1997, between
Pharmacyclics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and The First
National Bank of Boston, a national banking association (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 (as hereinafter defined) of the Company outstanding as of the
Close of Business (as hereinafter defined) on May 1, 1997 (the "Record Date"),
each Right representing the right to purchase one one-hundredth (1/100th) of a
Preferred Share (as hereinafter defined) 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 between the Record Date and the earliest of the Distribution Date,
the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter
defined).
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 (as such
term is hereinafter defined) who or which, together with all Affiliates and
Associates (as such terms are hereinafter defined) of such Person, shall be the
Beneficial Owner (as such term is hereinafter defined) of 15% or more of the
Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include the
Company, any Subsidiary (as such term is hereinafter defined) 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:
(i) 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";
(ii) If the Board of Directors of the Company
determines (upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors
(as such term is hereinafter defined))
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in good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an Acquiring
Person, as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this
paragraph (a), is eligible to file and did file a Schedule 13G, 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 purpose of this Agreement; and
(iii) No Person shall become an "Acquiring Person"
if the transaction or series of related transactions in which such
Person (together with all Affiliates or Associates of such Person)
became the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the
Company then outstanding had received prior approval of a majority of
the Continuing Directors; provided, however, that in the event a
Person is not an Acquiring Person by reason of this clause (iii) of
this Section 1(a), such Person shall become an Acquiring Person, in
the event such Person thereafter acquires Beneficial Ownership of any
additional Common Shares unless such acquisition of such additional
Common Shares would not result in such Person becoming an Acquiring
Person by reason by any provision of this Agreement, including,
without limitation, this clause (iii) of this Section 1(a).
(b) "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the respective
meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and
Regulations under the Exchange Act (as such term is hereinafter defined).
(c) 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: (1) 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 (2) securities which a Person or
any Person's Affiliates or Associates may be deemed to have the right
to acquire pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement
between the Company and such Person (or one or more of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates)
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if such agreement has been approved by the Board of Directors of the
Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing
Directors, prior to there being an Acquiring Person; 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);
(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(c)(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 number of such securities not then actually issued and outstanding
which such Person would be deemed to own beneficially hereunder.
(d) "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a
Saturday, a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in the State of
California or the state in which the principal office of the Rights Agent is
located are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(e) "Company" shall have the meaning set forth in the
first paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(f) "Close of Business" on any given date shall mean 5:00
P.M., Eastern time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date is not a
Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the next succeeding
Business Day.
(g) "Common Shares" when used with reference to the
Company shall mean the shares of common stock of the Company. "Common Shares"
when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the
capital stock (or other equity interest) with the greatest voting power 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.
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(h) "Common Stock Equivalents" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(a)(iv) hereof.
(i) "Continuing Director" shall mean (i) any person who
is, while a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, not an Acquiring
Person, or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person, or a
representative or agent of an Acquiring Person or of any such Affiliate or
Associate, and who was a member of the Board of Directors prior to the date of
this Agreement, or (ii) any person who subsequently becomes a member of the
Board of Directors and who, is a member of the Board of Directors, is not an
Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person, or a
representative or agent of an Acquiring Person or of any such Affiliate or
Associate, if such Person's nomination for election or such Person's election
to the Board of Directors is recommended or approved by a majority of the
Continuing Directors then on the Board of Directors.
(j) "Current Per Share Market Price" shall have the
meaning set forth in Section 11(d)(i) hereof.
(k) "Current Value" shall have the respective meanings
set forth in Section 11(a)(iv) hereof and Section 24 hereof.
(l) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 3 hereof.
(m) "Equivalent Preferred Shares" shall have the meaning
set forth in Section 11(b) hereof.
(n) "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
(o) "Exchange Ratio" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 24 hereof.
(p) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 7 hereof.
(q) "Issuer" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
13 hereof.
(r) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation
or other entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of
such entity.
(s) "Preferred Shares" shall mean shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Shares, par value .0001, of the Company having
the rights and preferences set forth in the Form of Certificate of Designation
attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A.
(t) "Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4 hereof.
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(u) "Record Date" shall have the meaning set forth in the
second paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(v) "Redemption Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7 hereof.
(w) "Redemption Price" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 23 hereof.
(x) "Right" shall have the meaning set forth in the
second paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(y) "Rights Certificate" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 3 hereof.
(z) "Rights Agent" shall have the meaning set forth in
the first paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(aa) "Securities Act" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 9 hereof.
(ab) "Security" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(d)(i) hereof.
(ac) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date
of public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include,
without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange
Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become
such.
(ad) "Spread" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iv) hereof.
(ae) "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.
(af) "Substitution Period" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(a)(iv) hereof.
(ag) "Summary of Rights" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 3 hereof.
(ah) "Trading Day" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(d)(i) hereof.
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company
hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company 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 upon ten (10) days prior written notice
to the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall have no duty to supervise and
shall in no event be liable for the acts or omissions of any such co-Rights
Agent.
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Section 3. Issue of Rights Certificates. (a) Until the
earlier of (i) the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition Date or (ii) the
tenth business day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the
Board of Directors (upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors)
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 (including any such date which is
after the date of this Agreement and prior to the issuance of the Rights; the
earlier of such dates being herein referred to as the "Distribution Date"), (x)
the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the provisions of Section 3(b) hereof)
by the certificates for Common Shares registered in the names of the holders
thereof (which certificates shall also be deemed to be Rights Certificates) and
not by separate Rights Certificates, and (y) the right to receive Rights
Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of
Common Shares. As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company
will notify the Rights Agent thereof and 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) by first-class, insured,
postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of the Close of
Business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such holder shown on the
records of the Company, a Rights Certificate, in substantially the form of
Exhibit B hereto (a "Rights Certificate"), evidencing one Right for each Common
Share so held. As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced
solely by such Rights Certificates.
(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 C 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. With respect to certificates
for Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, until the Distribution
Date, the Rights will be evidenced by such certificates registered in the names
of the holders thereof together with a copy of the Summary of Rights attached
thereto. Until the Distribution Date (or the earlier of the Redemption Date or
the Final Expiration Date), the surrender for transfer of any certificate for
Common Shares outstanding on the Record Date, with or without a copy of the
Summary of Rights attached thereto, shall also constitute the transfer of the
Rights associated with the Common Shares represented thereby.
(c) Certificates for Common Shares which become
outstanding (including, without limitation, reacquired Common Shares referred
to in the last sentence of this paragraph (c)) after the Record Date but prior
to the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date
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or the Final Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or
otherwise affixed to them the following legend:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof
to certain rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement between
Pharmacyclics, Inc. and The First National Bank of Boston,
dated as of April 9, 1997 (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
Pharmacyclics, 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. Pharmacyclics, 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) may become null and void.
With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the
Distribution Date, the Rights associated with the Common Shares represented by
such certificates 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.
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 cancelled 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 Rights Certificates. The Rights
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 B 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 transaction reporting system on which the Rights may from
time to time be listed, or to conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of
Section 22 hereof, the Rights Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to
purchase such number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share as shall be set
forth therein at the price per one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share set forth
therein (the "Purchase Price"), but the number of such one one-hundredths of a
Preferred Share and the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as
provided herein.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. The
Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman
of the Board, its President, any of its Vice Presidents, or its Treasurer or
Chief Financial Officer, either manually or by facsimile
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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 Rights
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 Rights Certificates shall cease to be
such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and
issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights 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
Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any
Rights Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company by any person who, at
the actual date of the execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a proper
officer of the Company to sign such Rights 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 office designated for such purpose, books for
registration and transfer of the Rights Certificates issued hereunder. Such
books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the
Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the
Rights Certificates and the date of each of the Rights Certificates.
Section 6. Transfer, Split-Up, Combination and Exchange
of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights
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 Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates (other than Rights
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 Rights Certificate
or Rights Certificates, entitling the registered holder to purchase a like
number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share (or other securities or
property) as the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates surrendered then
entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to transfer,
split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates
shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall
surrender the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates to be transferred,
split up, combined or exchanged at the office of the Rights Agent designated
for such purpose. Thereupon the Rights Agent shall countersign and deliver to
the person entitled thereto a Rights Certificate or Rights 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 Rights
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 Rights Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of
indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company'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
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Rights Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Rights
Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the registered
holder in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or
mutilated.
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price;
Expiration Date of Rights. (a) Except as provided in Section 23(c), the
registered holder of any Rights 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 Rights Certificate, with the
form of election to purchase and certification on the reverse side thereof duly
executed, to the Rights Agent at the office of the Rights Agent designated for
such purpose, together with payment of the Purchase Price for each one
one-hundredth of a Preferred Share as to which the Rights are exercised, at or
prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on April 30, 2007, (the
"Final Expiration Date"), (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as
provided in Section 23 hereof (the "Redemption Date"), (iii) the time at which
such Rights are exchanged as provided in Section 24 hereof, or (iv) the
consummation of any merger or other acquisition involving the Company pursuant
to an agreement described in Section 1(c)(ii)(A)(2) hereof.
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of a
Preferred Share pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $125.00,
shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and
13 hereof and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America
in accordance with paragraph (c) below.
(c) Upon receipt of a Rights 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 Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof by
certified check, cashier's check or money 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 (if such transfer agent is an entity
other than the Rights Agent) certificates for the number of Preferred Shares to
be purchased and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes such transfer agent
to comply with all such requests, or (B) requisition, from a depositary agent
properly appointed by the Company, depositary receipts representing such number
of one one-hundredths 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 with the depositary agent) and the Company
hereby directs the 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)
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 Rights
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 Rights Certificate.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Rights
Certificate shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new
Rights Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to
9.
13
the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent to the
registered holder of such Rights Certificate or to his duly authorized assigns,
subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.
(e) 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 this Section 7.
(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of
any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered
holder shall have (i) completed and signed the certificate contained in the
form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights
Certificate surrendered for such exercise, and (ii) 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.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights
Certificates. All Rights 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 cancelled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent,
shall be cancelled by it, and no Rights Certificates shall be issued in lieu
thereof except as expressly permitted by any of the provisions of this Rights
Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and
retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Rights
Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the
exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver all cancelled Rights
Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written request of the Company,
destroy such cancelled Rights Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a
certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.
Section 9. Availability of Preferred Shares. (a) The
company covenants and agrees that it will use its best efforts to cause to be
reserved and kept available out of and to the extent of its authorized and
unissued shares of Preferred Stock not reserved for another purpose (and,
following the occurrence of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section
13(a), out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock and/or other
securities), the number of Preferred Shares (and, following the occurrence of
any such event, Common Stock and/or other securities) that will be sufficient
to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights.
(b) If the Preferred Shares (or, following the occurrence
of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), the Common Shares
and/or other securities) are at any time listed on a national securities
exchange or included for quotation on any transaction reporting system, then so
long as the Preferred Shares (and, following the occurrence of any such event,
Common Shares and/or other securities) issuable and deliverable upon exercise
of the Rights may be listed on such exchange or included for quotation on any
such transaction reporting
10.
14
system, the Company shall use its best efforts to cause, from and after such
time as the Rights become exercisable (but only to the extent that it is
reasonably likely that the Rights will be exercised), all shares reserved for
such issuance to be listed on such exchange or included for quotation on any
such transaction reporting system upon official notice of issuance upon such
exercise.
(c) The Company shall use its best efforts to (i) file,
as soon as practicable following the earliest date after the first occurrence
of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii) in which the consideration to be
delivered by the Company upon exercise of the Rights has been determined in
accordance with Section 11(a)(iv) hereof, or as soon as is required by law
following the Distribution Date, as the case may be, a registration statement
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), with
respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an
appropriate form, (ii) cause such registration statement to become effective as
soon as practicable after such filing and (iii) cause such registration
statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the
requirements of the Securities Act) until the earlier of (A) the date as of
which the Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities or (B) the date
of expiration of the Rights. The Company may temporarily suspend, for a period
not to exceed ninety (90) days after the date set forth in clause (i) of the
first sentence of this Section 9(c), the exercisability of the Rights in order
to prepare and file such registration statement and permit it to become
effective. Upon any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public
announcement stating, and notify the Rights Agent, that the exercisability of
the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement and
notification to the Rights Agent at such time as the suspension is no longer in
effect. The Company will also take such action as may be appropriate under, or
to ensure compliance with, the securities or "blue sky" laws of the various
states in connection with the exercisability of the Rights. Notwithstanding
any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be
exercisable in any jurisdiction, unless the requisite qualification in such
jurisdiction shall have been obtained, or an exemption therefrom shall be
available and until a registration statement has been declared effective.
(d) 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.
(e) 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 to the issuance or delivery of the
Rights 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 to any transfer or delivery of Rights 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 Rights 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
11.
15
such tax being payable by the holder of such Rights 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 the holder of record of
the Preferred Shares represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be
dated, the date upon which the Rights 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
Rights 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, such holder would have owned upon such exercise
and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision,
combination or reclassification; provided, however, that in no event shall the
consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the
aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable upon
exercise of one Right. If an event occurs which would require an adjustment
under both Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii), the adjustment provided for
in this Section 11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made prior to
any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii).
12.
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(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in
the event that 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-hundredths 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 (x) multiplying the then-current Purchase Price by the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable and
dividing that product by (y) 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. Except as provided in Section 23(C),
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.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
from and after the first occurrence of an event in which any Person shall
become an Acquiring Person, any Rights beneficially owned by (A) an Acquiring
Person or an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (B) a transferee of
an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such, or (C) a transferee of an
Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and
receives such Rights pursuant to either (1) a transfer (whether or not for
consideration) from the Acquiring Person to holders of equity interests in such
Acquiring Person or to any Person with whom the Acquiring Person has any
continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred
Rights or (2) a transfer which the Board of Directors, upon approval by a
majority of the Continuing Directors, has determined is part of a plan,
arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the
avoidance of this Section 11(a)(ii), shall become null and void without any
further action and no holder of such Rights shall have any rights whatsoever
with respect to such Rights, whether under any provision of this Agreement or
otherwise. No Rights 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 Rights 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 Rights 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. The
Company shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that the provisions of this
Section 11(a)(ii) are complied with, but shall have no liability to any holder
of Rights Certificates or other Person as a result of its failure to make any
determinations with respect to an Acquiring person or its Affiliates,
Associates or transferees hereunder.
(iii) The right to buy Common Shares of the Company
pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (a) shall not arise if the
event causing such Person to become an Acquiring Person (A) is a consolidation,
merger, sale, transfer or similar transaction subject
13.
17
to Section 13 hereof, or (B) is an acquisition of shares of Common Stock
pursuant to a tender offer or an exchange offer for all outstanding Common
Shares at a price and on terms determined by at least a majority of the
Continuing Directors, and after receiving advice from one or more investment
banking firms, to be (1) at a price which is fair to stockholders (taking into
account all factors which such members of the Board of Directors deem relevant
including, without limitation, prices which could reasonably be achieved if the
Company or its assets were sold in an orderly basis designed to realize maximum
value) and (2) otherwise in the best interests of the Company and its
stockholders.
(iv) In lieu of issuing Common Shares in
accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the Company may, if the Board of
Directors of the Company, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing
Directors, determines that such action is necessary or appropriate and not
contrary to the interest of holders of Rights (and, in the event that the
number of Common Shares which are authorized by the Company's Certificate of
Incorporation but not outstanding or reserved for issuance for purposes other
than upon exercise of the Rights are not sufficient to permit the exercise in
full of the Rights, or if any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance
has not been obtained by the Company), the Company shall: (A) determine the
excess of (1) the value of the Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of a
Right (the "Current Value") over (2) the Purchase Price (such excess being
referred to as the "Spread") and (B) with respect to each Right, make adequate
provision to substitute for such Common Shares, upon exercise of the Rights:
(1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Purchase Price, (3) other equity securities of
the Company (including, but without limitation, shares or units of shares of
any series of preferred stock which the Board of Directors of the Company, upon
approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, has deemed to have the same
value as Common Shares (such shares or units of shares of preferred stock are
herein called "common stock equivalents")), except to the extent that the
Company has not obtained any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance,
(4) debt securities of the Company, except to the extent that the Company has
not obtained any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance, (5) other
assets or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having an aggregate value equal
to the Current Value, based upon the advice of a nationally recognized
investment banking firm selected by the Board of Directors of the Company and
approved by a majority of the Continuing Directors, the Board of Directors of
the Company, subject to approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors,
shall determine such aggregate value; provided, however, if the Company shall
not have made adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above
within thirty (30) days following the occurrence of an event described in
Section 11(a)(ii), then the Company shall be obligated to deliver, upon the
surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of the Purchase
Price, Common Shares (to the extent available), except to the extent that the
Company has not obtained any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance,
and then, if necessary, cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value
equal to the Spread. If the Board of Directors, upon approval by a majority of
the Continuing Directors, shall determine in good faith that it is likely that
sufficient additional Common Shares could be authorized for issuance upon
exercise in full of the Rights or that any necessary regulatory approval for
such issuance will be obtained, the thirty (30) day period set forth above may
be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety (90) days after
the occurrence
14.
18
of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii), in order that the Company may seek
stockholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares or take
action to obtain such regulatory approval (such period, as it may be extended,
the "Substitution Period"). To the extent that the Company determines that
some action need be taken pursuant to the first and/or second sentences of this
Section 11(a)(iv), the Company (x) shall provide that such action shall apply
uniformly to all outstanding Rights held by holders entitled to receive Common
Shares or other securities or property upon exercise of such Rights and (y) may
suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the
Substitution Period in order to seek any authorization of additional shares, to
take any action to obtain any required regulatory approval and/or to decide the
appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to such first sentence and
to determine the value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the
Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of
the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at
such time as the suspension is no longer in effect and shall promptly notify
the Rights Agent of such suspension. For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iv),
the value of the Common Shares shall be the Current Per-Share Market Price (as
determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) of the Common Shares at the Close
of Business on the date of the occurrence of one of the events described in
Section 11(a)(ii) and the value of any "Common Stock Equivalent" shall be
deemed to have the same value as the Common Shares on such date.
(b) In the event that 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 (as
defined in Section 11(d)) 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, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, whose
determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and
shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights. Preferred
Shares owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed
outstanding for the purpose of any such
15.
19
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, upon approval by a
majority of the Continuing Directors, 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
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 thirty (30)
consecutive Trading Days (as such term is hereinafter defined) 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 thirty (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, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the
closing bid and asked prices, in either case as reported in the principal
consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or
admitted to trading on the Nasdaq National Market ("Nasdaq") or, if the
Security is not listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq, 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 the Nasdaq or such
16.
20
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, upon approval by a majority
of the Continuing Directors. If on any such date no market maker is making a
market in the Security, the "Current Per-Share Market Price" of such Security
on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the
Company, as provided for above, shall be used. The term "Trading Day" shall
mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which the
Security is listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of
business or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any
national securities exchange, 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
hundred. 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, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, 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 one
percent (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.
(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, 13 and 14 with respect to
the Preferred Shares shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.
17.
21
(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-hundredths 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-hundredths of a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one
one-millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number
of one one-hundredths 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 (ii) 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-hundredths 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-hundredths 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 Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least 10 days
later than the date of the public announcement. If Rights 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 Rights Certificates on such record date
Rights 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 Rights Certificates held by
such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if
required by the Company, new Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to
which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Rights
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 Rights Certificates on the record date specified in the
public announcement.
18.
22
(j) Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the
Purchase Price or the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share
issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights Certificates theretofore
and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price and the number
of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share which were expressed in the initial
Rights Certificates issued hereunder.
(k) Before taking any action that would cause an
adjustment reducing the Purchase Price below one one-hundredth 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 stockholders.
(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-hundredths of a Preferred Share purchasable after such event
upon proper exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying the
number of one one-hundredths 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
19.
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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 Sections 11
and 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 (if such transfer agent is an entity
other than the Rights Agent) a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief
summary thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate in accordance with
Section 25 hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure by the
Company to make such certification or give such notice shall not affect the
validity of or the force or effect of the requirement for such adjustment. The
Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on
any adjustment contained therein and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of
such adjustment unless and until it shall have received such certificate.
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of
Assets or Earning Power. (a) Except as provided in Section 13(b) hereof, in
the event, directly or indirectly, (1) the Company shall consolidate with, or
merge with and into, any other Person, (2) 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 consolidation or merger and, in
connection with such consolidation or merger, 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 (3) the Company shall
sell or otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or
otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions, directly or indirectly,
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-hundredths 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-hundredths
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
20.
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(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, 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.
The supplemental agreement referred to above in this Section
13(a) to be entered into by the Company and the Rights Agent shall also provide
that, as soon as practicable after the date of any of the events described in
this Section 13(a), such Issuer shall:
(i) Prepare and file a registration statement
under the Securities Act with respect to the Rights and the securities
purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, use its best
efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as
practicable after such filing and use its best efforts to cause such
registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times
meeting the requirements of the Securities Act) until the Final Expiration
Date, and similarly comply with applicable state securities laws;
(ii) Use its best efforts to list (or continue the
listing of) the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the
Rights on a national securities exchange or to meet the eligibility
requirements for quotation on Nasdaq; and
(iii) Deliver to holders of the Rights historical
financial statements for such issuer which comply in all respects with the
requirements for registration on Form 10 (or any successor form) under the
Exchange Act.
(b) In the event of any merger or other acquisition
transaction involving the Company pursuant to an agreement described in Section
1(c)(ii)(A)(2), the provisions of Section 13(a) hereof shall not be applicable
to such transaction and this Rights Agreement and the rights of holders of
Rights hereunder shall be terminated in accordance with Section 7(a) hereof.
(c) The term "Issuer," for purposes of this Section 13,
shall refer to the Person (or Affiliate or Associate) referred to in Section
13(a); provided, however, that (i) if such Person (or Affiliate or Associate)
is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of another Person, Issuer shall refer to
such other Person, and (ii) in case such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or
indirectly, of more than one Person, Issuer shall refer to whichever of such
Persons is the Issuer of such Common Shares having the greatest aggregate
value.
21.
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(d) If, for any reason, the Rights cannot be exercised
for Common Shares of such issuer as provided in Section 13(a), then each holder
of Rights shall have the right to exchange its Rights for cash from such issuer
in an amount equal to the number of Common Shares that it would otherwise be
entitled to purchase multiplied by 50% of the Current Per-Share Market Price,
as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof, of such Common Shares of such
issuer. If, for any reason, the foregoing provision cannot be applied to
determine the cash amount into which the Rights are exchangeable, then the
Board of Directors of the Company, upon approval by a majority of the
Continuing Directors, based upon the advice of one or more nationally
recognized investment banking firms, shall determine such amount reasonably and
with good faith to the holders of Rights. Any such determination shall be
final and binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of Rights.
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares. (a)
The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or to distribute
Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of such
fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights
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, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of
the closing-bid and asked prices, in either case as reported in the principal
consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or
admitted to trading on the Nasdaq or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted
to trading on the Nasdaq, 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 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, upon approval by a
majority of the Continuing Directors. 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, upon
approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, shall be used. If the
Rights are not publicly traded, the current market value of a whole Right shall
equal the difference between the closing price of a Common Share (as determined
pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) less the current
Purchase Price, multiplied by 100.
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions
of Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one
one-hundredth 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-hundredth of a Preferred
Share). Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one
one-hundredth of a Preferred
22.
26
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-hundredth of a Preferred
Share, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights 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. If the Preferred Shares are
not publicly traded, the current market value shall be determined in accordance
with Section 11(d)(ii) hereof.
(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 to 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 Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered
holders of the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Rights
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 Rights
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in
such holder's own behalf and for such holder's own benefit, enforce, institute
and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or
otherwise act in respect to, such holder's right to exercise the Rights
evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the manner provided in such Rights
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 hereunder, 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 Rights Certificates
are transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered
at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, duly endorsed or
accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer;
23.
27
(c) Subject to Sections 6 and 7(f) hereof, the Company
and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name the Rights
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares
certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights
evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the
Rights Certificates or 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;
(d) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to
any holder of a Right or other Person as a result of its inability to perform
any of its obligations under this Agreement by reason of any preliminary or
permanent injunction or other order, decree or ruling issued by a court of
competent jurisdiction or by a governmental, regulatory or administrative
agency or commission, or any statute, rule, regulation or executive order
promulgated or enacted by any governmental authority, prohibiting or otherwise
restraining performance of such obligation; provided, however, the Company must
use its best efforts to have any such order, decree or ruling lifted or
otherwise overturned as soon as possible.
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a
Stockholder. No holder, as such, of any Rights 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 Rights Certificate be construed to confer
upon the holder of any Rights Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a
stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors
or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give
or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings
or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25
hereof), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until
the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights 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 any action taken, suffered or omitted by the
Rights Agent in connection with the execution, acceptance and administration of
this Agreement and the exercise and performance hereunder of its duties,
including the costs and expenses of defending against and appealing any claim
of liability in the premises. The indemnity provided herein shall survive the
termination of this Agreement and the expiration of the Rights.
24.
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The Rights Agent 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 and the exercise and
performance of its duties hereunder in reliance upon any Rights 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 business 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 act 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 Rights
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 Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case at
that time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any
successor Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in the
name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights
Agent; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force
provided in the Rights 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 Rights Certificates shall have been
countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the
countersignature under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so
countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall
not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights
Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such
cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights
Certificates and in this Agreement.
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent
undertakes the duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement upon the
following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of
Rights Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
(a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel of
its choice (who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the advice or
opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection
to the Rights Agent as to any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in good
faith and in accordance with such advice or opinion;
25.
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(b) Whenever in the administration, exercise and
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, suffering or omitting 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, suffered or
omitted 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;
(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 Rights 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 liability or
responsibility in respect to the legality, validity or enforceability of this
Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution hereof
by the Rights Agent) or in respect to the legality, validity or enforceability
or the execution of any Rights Certificate (except its countersignature
thereof); nor shall it be liable or responsible for any breach by the Company
of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Rights
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 Rights
Certificates after receipt of the certificate described in Section 12 hereof);
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
issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights 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 administration, exercise and
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
26.
30
advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall not be
responsible or liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted 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 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 and/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 five (5) Business Days after the date any officer of the Company actually
received 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 instructions in response to such application specifying the
action to be taken or omitted;
(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, 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 the 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 by
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 the Rights Agent in good faith believes that repayment of such
funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not
reasonably assured;
(k) If, in the case of any Rights Certificate surrendered
to the Rights Agent for exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange,
the form of assignment or the form of election to purchase (either of which may
be appropriate under the circumstances) certifies that the Rights evidenced by
the Rights Certificate are not owned by an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof, has either not been completed or in any manner indicates any
other response thereto, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with
respect to such requested exercise, transfer, split up, combination or
exchange, without first consulting with the Company.
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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 thirty (30) days' written notice mailed to the Company and
to each other transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares (if any)
(as to which the Rights Agent also has received prior written notice) by
registered or certified mail. The Company shall mail notice thereof to the
holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class mail. The Company may remove
the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon thirty (30) days' written
notice, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may
be, and to each other transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares
(if any) (as to which the Rights Agent has received prior written notice) by
registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights 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 thirty (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 Rights Certificate (who shall,
with such notice, submit such holder's Rights Certificate for inspection by the
Company), then the registered holder of any Rights 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 any state of the United States, in good standing,
authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or stock transfer
powers, and 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 written notice thereof with the predecessor Rights Agent and each
other transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares (if any), and
mail a notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights
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 Rights Certificates.
Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the
contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates
evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by its Board of Directors,
upon approval by a majority of the Continuing 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 Rights
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
28.
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of stock options or under any employee benefit plan or arrangement or upon the
exercise, conversion or exchange of securities of the Company currently
outstanding or issued at any time in the future by the Company and (b) may, in
any other case, if deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board of Directors of
the Company, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, issue
Rights Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection
with such issuance or sale; provided, however, that (i) no such Rights
Certificate shall be issued and this sentence shall be null and void ab initio
if, and to the extent that, such issuance or this sentence would create a
significant risk of or result in material adverse tax consequences to the
Company or the Person to whom such Rights Certificate would be issued or would
create a significant risk of or result in such options' or employee plans' or
arrangements' failing to qualify for otherwise available special tax treatment
and (ii) no such Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that,
appropriate adjustment shall otherwise have been made in lieu of the issuance
thereof.
Section 23. Redemption. (a) The Company may, at its
option, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, at any time
prior to the earlier of (i) the tenth business day following the Shares
Acquisition Date, or (ii) such date or dates on or after the tenth business day
following the Shares Acquisition Date to which such option may be extended by a
majority of the Continuing Directors (for one or more successive 10 day
periods) by vote(s) first taken or written consent(s) first given prior to the
tenth business day following the Shares Acquisition Date and, thereafter, prior
to the completion of any such 10 day extension or extensions (or, if the Shares
Acquisition Date shall have occurred prior to the Record Date, prior to (A) the
tenth business day following the Record Date or (B) such date or dates on or
after the tenth business day after the Record Date to which such option may be
extended by a majority of the Continuing Directors (for one or more successive
10 day periods) by vote(s) first taken or written consent(s) first given prior
to the tenth business day following the Record Date and, thereafter, prior to
the completion of any such 10 day extension or extensions), redeem all (but not
less than all) the then- outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.001 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"), and the Company may,
at its option, pay the Redemption Price either in cash, Common Shares (based on
the current per-share market price thereof (as determined pursuant to Section
11(d) hereof) at the time of redemption), or any other form of consideration
deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors. The redemption of the Rights by
the Board of Directors may be made effective at such time and on such basis and
with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may
establish, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors.
(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 ordering the redemption of the
29.
33
Rights, the Company shall give notice of such redemption to the Rights Agent
and 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, regardless of whether 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.
(c) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement
to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable pursuant to Section 7(a)
at any time when the Rights are redeemable hereunder.
Section 24. Exchange. (a) The Company, at its option and
upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, at any time after any
Person becomes an Acquiring Person, may 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 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 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 subsection (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 actually 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 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by each holder of
Rights.
30.
34
(c) In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the
Company, at its option, may substitute Preferred Shares (or Equivalent
Preferred Shares, as such term is defined in Section 11(b) hereof) for Common
Shares exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-hundredth of a
Preferred Share (or Equivalent Preferred Share) for each Common Share, as
appropriately adjusted to reflect adjustments in the voting rights of the
Preferred Shares pursuant to the terms thereof, so that the fraction of a
Preferred Share delivered in lieu of each Common Share shall have the same
voting rights as one Common Share.
(d) In the event that there shall not be sufficient
Common Shares or Preferred Shares, either because such shares are issued but
not outstanding or authorized but unissued, to permit any exchange of Rights as
contemplated in accordance with Section 24(a), the Company shall either take
such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares or
Preferred Shares for issuance upon exchange of the Rights or, alternatively, at
the option of the Board of Directors and upon approval by a majority of the
Continuing Directors, the Company, with respect to each Right, shall (i) pay
cash in an amount equal to the Purchase Price, in lieu of issuing Common Shares
or Preferred Shares in exchange therefor, or (ii) issue debt or equity
securities, or a combination thereof, having a value equal to the Current Value
(as hereinafter defined) of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares exchangeable
for each such Right, where the value of such securities shall be determined by
a nationally recognized investment banking firm, selected by the Board of
Directors, and approved by a majority of the Continuing Directors, or (iii)
deliver any combination of cash, property, Common Shares, Preferred Shares
and/or other securities having a value equal to the Current Value in exchange
for each Right. The term "Current Value," for the purposes of this Section 24,
shall mean the product of the Current Per-Share Market Price of Common Shares
(determined pursuant to Section 11(d) on the date of the occurrence of the
event described above in subparagraph (a)) multiplied by the number of Common
Shares for which the Right otherwise would be exchangeable if there were
sufficient shares available. To the extent that the Company determines that
some action need be taken pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of this
Section 24(d), the Board of Directors, upon approval by a majority of the
Continuing Directors, may temporarily suspend the exercisability of the Rights
for a period of up to sixty (60) days following the date on which the event
described in Section 24(a) shall have occurred, in order to seek any
authorization of additional Common Shares or Preferred Shares and/or to decide
the appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to the above provision
and to determine the value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the
Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of
the Rights has been temporarily suspended.
(e) 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 Rights 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 (e), 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
31.
35
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 Rights 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 ten (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 ten (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 any of the events 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 Rights 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. In the event any Person becomes an Acquiring
Person, the Company will promptly notify the Rights Agent thereof.
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
Rights 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:
Pharmacyclics, Inc.
000 Xxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000-0000
32.
36
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
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
Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or
made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another
address is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:
The First National Bank of Boston
000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx
Mail Stop 45-02-62
Attention: Shareholder Services Division
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights 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. Prior to the
Distribution Date, the Company may supplement or amend this Agreement in any
respect, without the approval of any holders of Rights, by action of its Board
of Directors upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, and the
Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs, execute such supplement or
amendment. From and after the Distribution Date, the Company may from time to
time supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of
Rights, by action of its Board of Directors, and approval by a majority of the
Continuing Directors, 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 and which shall be
consistent with, and for the purpose of fulfilling, the objectives of the Board
of Directors in adopting this Agreement, including, without limitation, to
change the Purchase Price, the Redemption Price, any time periods herein
specified, and any other term hereof, 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. Upon receipt of a certificate
from an appropriate officer of the Company that the proposed supplement or
amendment is consistent with this Section 27 and, after such time as any Person
has become an Acquiring Person, that the proposed supplement or amendment does
not adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights, the Rights Agent
shall execute such supplement or amendment. Without limiting the foregoing,
the Company may at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an
Acquiring Person, by action of its Board of Directors, and approval by a
majority of the Continuing Directors, amend this Agreement to lower the
thresholds set forth in Sections 1(a) and 3(a) to not less than the greater of
(i) any percentage greater than the largest percentage of the outstanding
Common Shares then
33.
37
known by the Company to be beneficially owned by any Person (other than 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) and (ii) 10%.
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. Determinations and Actions by the Board of
Directors. For all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number
of Common Shares outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of
determining the particular percentage of such outstanding Common Shares of
which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made in accordance with the
last sentence of Rule 13d- 3(d)(1)(i) of the General Rules and Regulations
under the Exchange Act. The Board of Directors of the Company (and, where
specifically provided for herein, only upon approval by a majority of the
Continuing Directors) shall have the exclusive power and authority to
administer this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers specifically
granted to the Board, or the Company, or as may be necessary or advisable in
the administration of this Agreement, including, but without limitation, the
right and power to (i) interpret the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) make
all determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this
Agreement (including a determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights or to
amend the Agreement). All such actions, calculations, interpretations and
determinations (including, for purposes of clause (y) below, all omissions with
respect to the foregoing), which are done or made by the Board (or, where
specifically provided for herein, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing
Directors) in good faith, shall (x) be final, conclusive and binding on the
Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights Certificates and all other
parties and (y) not subject the Board or the Continuing Directors to any
liability to the holders of the Rights.
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in this
Agreement shall be construed to give to any person or corporation other than
the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights
Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the 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 Rights Certificates (and, prior to the
Distribution Date, the Common Shares).
Section 31. 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; provided, however, that notwithstanding
anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision,
covenant or restriction is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void
or unenforceable and the Board of Directors of the Company, upon approval by
34.
38
a majority of the Continuing Directors, determines in its good faith judgment
that severing the invalid language from this Agreement would adversely affect
the purpose or effect of this Agreement, the right of redemption set forth in
Section 23 hereof shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the tenth
business day following the date of such determination by the Board of Directors
of the Company.
Section 32. Governing Law. This Agreement and each
Rights Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under
the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts to
be made and performed entirely within such State.
Section 33. 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.
Section 34. Descriptive Headings. Descriptive headings
of the several Sections of this Agreement are inserted or convenience only and
shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the
provisions hereof.
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: PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
By /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx By /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
Title: Vice President, Finance Title: President and Chief
and Administration Executive Officer
ATTEST: THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF
BOSTON
as Rights Agent
By /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx By /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxx
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxx
Title: Administration Manager Title: Senior Account Manager
35.
39
EXHIBIT A
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
of
SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
of
PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
(Pursuant to Section 151 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law)
__________________________________
Pharmacyclics, Inc., a corporation organized and existing
under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (hereinafter called
the "Corporation"), hereby certifies that the following resolution was adopted
by the Board of Directors of the Corporation as required by Section 151 of the
General Corporation Law at a meeting duly called and held on April 9, 1997:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested
in the Board of Directors of the Corporation (hereinafter called the "Board of
Directors" or the "Board") in accordance with the provisions of the Certificate
of Incorporation, the Board of Directors hereby creates a series of Preferred
Stock, par value $.0001 per share (the "Preferred Stock"), of the Corporation
and hereby states the designation and number of shares, and fixes the relative
rights, preferences, and limitations thereof as follows:
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series
shall be designated as "Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock" (the
"Series A Preferred Stock") and the number of shares constituting the Series A
Preferred Stock shall be One Hundred Twenty Thousand (120,000). Such number of
shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors;
provided, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A
Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding
plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of
outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any
outstanding securities issued by the Corporation which are convertible into
Series A Preferred Stock.
40
Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.
(A) Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of
any series of Preferred Stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and
superior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends,
the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock, in preference to
the holders of the Common Stock, par value $.0001 per share (the
"Common Stock"), of the Corporation, and of any other junior stock,
shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of
Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly
dividends payable in cash on the first day of March, June, September
and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as
a "Quarterly Dividend Payment Date"), commencing on the first
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or
fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, in an amount per
share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to, subject to the provision
for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 100 times the aggregate per
share amount of all cash dividends, and 100 times the aggregate per
share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other
distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock
or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by
reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the
immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect
to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance
of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock. In
the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any
dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or
effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise
than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a
greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such
case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock
were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the
preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common
Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of
which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding
immediately prior to such event.
(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or
distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph
(A) of this Section immediately after it declares a dividend or
distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in
shares of Common Stock).
(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on
outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock from the Quarterly
Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares,
unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date
for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends
on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such
shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of
holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a
quarterly dividend and
2
41
before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events
such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall
not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred
Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the
time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on
a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding.
The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of
holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive
payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record
date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the
payment thereof.
Section 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series A
Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter
set forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the
holder thereof to 100 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the
stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall
at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in
shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or
consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares
of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common
Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which
holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled
immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such
number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares
of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the
denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were
outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) Except as otherwise provided herein, in any other
Certificate of Designation creating a series of Preferred Stock or any
similar stock, or by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred
Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock and any other capital
stock of the Corporation having general voting rights shall vote
together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of
stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided
by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special
voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the
extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set
forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
3
42
Section 4. Certain Restrictions.
(A) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or
distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in
Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid
dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of
Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the
Corporation shall not:
(i) declare or pay dividends, or make any other
distributions, on any shares of stock ranking junior (either
as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding
up) to the Series A Preferred Stock;
(ii) declare or pay dividends, or make any other
distributions, on any shares of stock ranking on a parity
(either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except
dividends paid ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all
such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears
in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all
such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration shares of any stock ranking junior (either as to
dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to
the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation
may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares
of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock
of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or
upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A
Preferred Stock; or
(iv) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, or any
shares of stock ranking on a parity with the Series A
Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer
made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board
of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as
the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective
annual dividend rates and other relative rights and
preferences of the respective series and classes, shall
determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable
treatment among the respective series or classes.
(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of
the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any
shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under
paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such
shares at such time and in such manner.
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43
Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series A
Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any
manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition
thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but
unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series
of Preferred Stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set
forth herein, in the Certificate of Incorporation, or in any other Certificate
of Designation creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock or as
otherwise required by law.
Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up. Upon any
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution
shall be made (1) to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior (either as
to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A
Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series A
Preferred Stock shall have received $125 per share, plus an amount equal to
accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not
declared, to the date of such payment, provided that the holders of shares of
Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an aggregate amount per
share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to
100 times the aggregate amount to be distributed per share to holders of shares
of Common Stock, or (2) to the holders of shares of stock ranking on a parity
(either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with
the Series A Preferred Stock, except distributions made ratably on the Series A
Preferred Stock and all such parity stock in proportion to the total amounts to
which the holders of all such shares are entitled upon such liquidation,
dissolution or winding up. In the event the Corporation shall at any time
declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common
Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by
payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser
number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the aggregate amount
to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled
immediately prior to such event under the proviso in clause (1) of the
preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction
the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding
immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of
shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 7. Consolidation, Merger, etc. In case the
Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other
transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed
into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any
such case each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be
similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share, subject to the
provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 100 times the
aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable
in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common
Stock is changed or exchanged. In the event the Corporation shall at any time
declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common
Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by
payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser
number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth
in the preceding sentence with respect
5
44
to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be
adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is
the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event
and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were
outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 8. No Redemption. The shares of Series A Preferred
Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 9. Rank. The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank,
with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, junior
to all series of any other class of the Corporation's Preferred Stock.
Section 10. Amendment. The Certificate of Incorporation of
the Corporation shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter
or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred
Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the
holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred
Stock, voting together as a single class.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designation is
executed on behalf of the Corporation by its President and Chief Executive
Officer and its Vice President, Finance and Administration and attested to by
its Secretary this 25th day of April, 1997.
/s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
------------------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
------------------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
Title: Vice President, Finance and
Administration
Attest:
/s/ J. Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
----------------------------
J. Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
Secretary
6
45
EXHIBIT B
Form of Rights Certificate
Certificate No. R- ________ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER APRIL 30, 2007, OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION
OR EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT
THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY AT $.001 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE
ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. UNDER CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING
PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS
SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND ANY
SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID.
[THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE ARE OR WERE
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN ACQUIRING
PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS
SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT). ACCORDINGLY,
THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY
BECOME NULL AND VOID IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SUCH
AGREEMENT.]*/
Rights Certificate
PHARMACYCLICS, 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, dated as of April 9, 1997, 1997 (the "Rights Agreement"),
between Pharmacyclics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and The
First National Bank of Boston (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., New York, New York time, on April 30,
2007, at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such
_____________________
*/ The portion of the legend in bracket shall be inserted only if
applicable and shall replace the preceding sentence.
B-1.
46
purpose, or at the office of its successor as Rights Agent, one one-hundredth
of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock, par value $.0001 per share (the "Preferred Shares") of the Company, at a
purchase price of $125.00 per one one- hundredth of a Preferred Share (the
"Purchase Price"), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate
with the Form of Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of Rights
evidenced by this Rights Certificate (and the number of one one-hundredths 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
April 9, 1997 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-hundredths of a Preferred Share which may be purchased upon the exercise of
the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are subject to modification and
adjustment upon the happening of certain events.
This Rights 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 Rights
Certificates. Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the principal
executive offices of the Company.
This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights
Certificates, upon surrender at the office of the Rights Agent designated for
such purpose, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights
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 Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates surrendered shall have entitled
such holder to purchase. If this Rights Certificate shall be exercised in
part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another
Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates for the number of whole Rights not
exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights
evidenced by this Certificate may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption
price of $.001 per Right.
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-hundredth 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 Rights Certificate, as such, 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 stockholder of the Company or any right to vote
for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at
any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or
to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except
B-2.
47
as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription
rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for
any purpose until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
WITNESS the signature of the proper officers of the Company
and its corporate seal. Dated as of ___________, 1997.
ATTEST: PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
_________________________________ By _________________________________
Countersigned:
THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON
as Rights Agent
By ______________________________
Authorized Signatory
B-3.
48
Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such holder desires
to transfer the Rights Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED _______________________________ hereby sells,
assigns and transfers unto
________________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address of transferee)
this Rights Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein,
and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint _______________ Attorney, to
transfer this Rights Certificate on the books of the within-named Company, with
full power of substitution.
Dated: ______________________, 19__
________________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a participant in a Securities
Transfer Association Inc. recognized signature guarantee medallion program.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CERTIFICATION
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by
this Rights Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an
Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
________________________________________
Signature
Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate -- continued
B-4.
49
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise the Rights Certificate.)
To PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise
___________________________ Rights represented by this Rights 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 Rights
Certificate, a new Rights 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: __________________, 19__
________________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a participant in a Securities
Transfer Association Inc. recognized signature guarantee medallion program.
B-5.
50
Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate -- continued
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CERTIFICATION
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by
this Rights Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an
Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
________________________________________
Signature
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE
The signature in the foregoing Forms of Assignment and Election
to Purchase must conform to the name as written upon the face of this Rights
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 Rights 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.
B-6.
51
EXHIBIT C
PHARMACYCLICS, INC.
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED SHARES
On April 9, 1997, the Board of Directors of Pharmacyclics, Inc.
(the "Company") declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a
"Right") for each outstanding share of Common Stock (the "Common Stock"), par
value $.0001 per share (the "Common Shares"), of the Company. The dividend is
payable on May 1, 1997 (the "Record Date") to the stockholders of record on that
date. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company
one one-hundredth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock,
par value $.0001 per share (the "Preferred Shares"), of the Company at a price
of $125.00 per one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"),
subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in
a Rights Agreement dated as of April 9, 1997 (the "Rights Agreement") between
the Company and the First National Bank of Boston, as Rights Agent (the "Rights
Agent").
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 business 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 prior to such time as any
Person 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 such outstanding Common Shares (the earlier of such
dates being called the "Distribution Date"), the Rights will be evidenced, with
respect to any of the Common Share certificates outstanding as of the Record
Date, by such Common Share certificate with a copy of this Summary of Rights
attached thereto.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the Distribution
Date, the Rights will be transferred with and only with the Common Shares.
Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the
Rights), new Common Share certificates issued after the Record Date, upon
transfer or new issuance of 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 surrender for transfer of any
certificates for Common Shares, outstanding as of the Record Date, 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 the Common Shares
represented by such certificate. As soon as practicable following the
Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights ("Rights
Certificates") will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Shares as of
the Close of Business on the Distribution Date and such separate Right
Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.
1.
52
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date.
The Rights will expire at the close of business on April 30, 2007 (the "Final
Expiration Date"), unless the Final Expiration Date is extended or unless the
Rights are earlier redeemed 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 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-hundredths 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.
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will
not be redeemable. Each Preferred Share will be entitled to an aggregate
dividend of 100 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the event of
liquidation, the holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to an
aggregate payment of 100 times the payment made per Common Share. Each
Preferred Share will have 100 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 100 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 the one one-hundredth interest in a
Preferred Share purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the
value of one Common Share.
In the event that, following the Distribution Date, the
Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction with
an Acquiring Person or an affiliate thereof, or 50% or more of its consolidated
assets or earning power are sold to an Acquiring Person or an affiliate
thereof, proper provision will be made so that each holder of a Right will
thereafter have the right to receive, upon 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.
2.
53
In the event that any person or group of affiliated or
associated persons becomes the beneficial owner of 15% or more of the
outstanding Common Shares (except pursuant to a tender offer for all of the
Common Shares at a price and on terms determined by a majority of the
Continuing Directors to be fair to and otherwise in the best interests of the
Company and its stockholders) 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 (or cash, other securities or property)
having a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.
At any time after the acquisition by a person or group of
affiliated or associated persons of beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the
outstanding Common Shares 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 have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one
Common Share (or a fraction of a Preferred Share having equivalent market
value) 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
one percent (1%) in such Purchase Price. No fractional Preferred Shares will
be issued (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one
one-hundredth 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.
At any time within ten (10) business days after a person or
group of affiliated or associated persons acquire beneficial ownership of 15%
or more of the outstanding Common Shares (unless the Board of Directors extends
such ten-day period), the Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the
Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $.001 per Right (the
"Redemption Price"), upon the approval of a majority of the Continuing
Directors. The redemption of the rights may be made effective at such time on
such basis and 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 Rights are also
redeemable under other circumstances as specified in the Rights Agreement.
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 upon
the approval of a majority of the Continuing Directors, including an amendment
to lower certain thresholds described above to not less than the greater of (i)
any percentage greater than the largest percentage of the outstanding Common
Shares then known to the Company to be beneficially owned by any person or
group of
3.
54
affiliated or associated persons and (ii) 10%, except that from and after a
Distribution Date 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 stockholder 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. 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.
4.
