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EXHIBIT 4.1
____________________________________________________________
APACHE Medical Systems, Inc.
and
First Chicago Trust Company of New York
Rights Agent
Rights Agreement
Dated as of May 6, 1997
____________________________________________________________
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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Section 1. Certain Definitions........................................... 1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent................................... 3
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates................................... 3
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates.................................... 5
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration............................. 5
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right
Certificates.................................................. 6
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights. 6
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates............ 7
Section 9. Availability of Preferred Shares.............................. 8
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date.................................. 8
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number
of Rights..................................................... 8
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.... 14
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or
Earning Power................................................. 14
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares....................... 15
Section 15. Rights of Action.............................................. 16
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders.................................... 16
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder............. 17
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent................................... 17
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent..... 18
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent........................................ 18
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent........................................ 20
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates............................ 20
Section 23. Redemption.................................................... 21
Section 24. Exchange...................................................... 21
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events...................................... 22
Section 26. Notices....................................................... 23
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments.................................... 24
Section 28. Successors.................................................... 24
Section 29. Benefits of this Agreement.................................... 24
Section 30. Severability.................................................. 24
Section 31. Governing Law................................................. 24
Section 32. Counterparts.................................................. 24
Section 33. Descriptive Headings.......................................... 25
Exhibit A - Form of Certificate of Designations
Exhibit B - Form of Right Certificate
Exhibit C - Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares
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Agreement, dated as of May 6, 1997, between APACHE Medical Systems, Inc.,
a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and First Chicago Trust Company of New
York (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 at the Close of
Business on June 2, 1997 (the "Record Date"), each Right representing the right
to purchase one one-thousandth 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 and 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. Unless otherwise defined herein,
initially capitalized terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person who or which, together with
all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner (as
such terms are hereinafter defined) of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the
Company then outstanding, but shall not include the Company, any Subsidiary of
the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the
Company, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of
any such plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an
"Acquiring Person" as the result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the
Company which, by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases the
proportionate number of shares beneficially owned by such Person to 15% or more
of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding; provided, however, that
if a Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common
Shares of the Company then outstanding by reason of share purchases by the
Company and shall, after such share purchases by the Company, become the
Beneficial Owner of any additional Common Shares of the Company, then such
Person shall be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person." Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith
that a Person who would otherwise be an "Acquiring Person," as defined pursuant
to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), has become such
inadvertently, and such Person divests as promptly as practicable a sufficient
number of Common Shares so that such Person would no longer be an "Acquiring
Person", as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a),
then such Person shall not be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person" for any
purposes of this Agreement.
(b) "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as
in effect on the date of this Agreement.
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(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 (determined as
provided in Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934);
(ii) which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates has (A) the right to acquire (whether such right is exercisable
immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement,
arrangement or understanding (other than customary agreements with and
between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona
fide public offering of securities), or upon the exercise of conversion
rights, exchange rights, rights (other than these Rights), warrants or
options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be
deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, securities
tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of
such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates until such
tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange; or (B) the
right to vote pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding;
provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner
of, or to beneficially own, any security if the agreement, arrangement or
understanding to vote such security (1) arises solely from a revocable
proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a public proxy or
consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the
applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act and
(2) is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act
(or any comparable or successor report); or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any
other Person with which such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or
Associates has any agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than
customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group
members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities) for
the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except to the extent
contemplated by the proviso to Section 1(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 New York are authorized
or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(e) "Close of Business" on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York
time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date is not a Business Day
it shall mean 5:00 P.M., Chicago time, on the next succeeding Business Day.
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(f) "Common Shares" when used with reference to the Company shall mean the
shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company. "Common
Shares" when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall
mean the capital stock (or equity interest) with the greatest voting power 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.
(g) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3
hereof.
(h) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7
hereof.
(i) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation or other
entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
(j) "Preferred Shares" shall mean shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company having the rights
and preferences set forth in the Form of Certificate of Designations attached
to this Agreement as Exhibit A.
(k) "Redemption Date" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7
hereof.
(l) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date of public
announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person
has become such.
(m) "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.
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints the
Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights
(who, in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall prior to the Distribution Date
also be the holders of the Common Shares) in accordance with the terms and
conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment. The
Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents as it may deem
necessary or desirable.
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates.
(a) Until the earlier of (i) the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition
Date or (ii) the tenth business day (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) 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 (other than the Company, any
Subsidiary of
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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) becoming the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares aggregating
30% 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 Right
Certificates) and not by separate Right Certificates, and (y) the right to
receive Right Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the
transfer of Common Shares. As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date,
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 Right
Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (a "Right
Certificate"), evidencing one Right for each Common Share so held. As of the
Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Right
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 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 APACHE Medical Systems,
Inc. and First Chicago Trust Company of New York, dated as of May 6, 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 APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. and the Rights Agent.
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. APACHE Medical Systems, Inc. will mail to
the holder of this certificate a copy of the
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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 canceled and retired so that the Company shall
not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with the Common Shares which
are no longer outstanding.
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates. The Right Certificates (and the
forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of assignment to be printed
on the reverse thereof) shall be substantially the same as Exhibit 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 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 Right Certificates shall
entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the price per one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share set forth therein (the "Purchase Price"),
but the number of such one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share and the
Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. The Right Certificates
shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its
Chief Executive Officer, its President, any of its Vice Presidents, or its
Treasurer, either manually or by facsimile signature, shall have affixed
thereto the Company's seal or a facsimile thereof, and shall be attested by
the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by
facsimile signature. The Right Certificates shall be manually countersigned
by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless
countersigned. In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any
of the Right Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before
countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company,
such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent
and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as
though the person who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such
officer of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed on behalf of
the Company by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such
Right Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right
Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any
such person was not such an officer.
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Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be
kept, at its principal office, books for registration and transfer of the Right
Certificates issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses
of the respective holders of the Right Certificates, the number of Rights
evidenced on its face by each of the Right Certificates and the date of each of
the Right Certificates.
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates. Subject
to the provisions of Section 14 hereof, at any time after the Close of Business
on the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the Close of Business on the
earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date, any Right
Certificate or Right Certificates (other than Right Certificates representing
Rights that have become void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof or that have
been exchanged pursuant to Section 24 hereof) may be transferred, split up,
combined or exchanged for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates,
entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as the Right Certificate or Right
Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered
holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Right
Certificate or Right Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered
to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the Right Certificate or Right
Certificates to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the
principal office of the Rights Agent. Thereupon the Rights Agent shall
countersign and deliver to the person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or
Right Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may
require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge
that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or
exchange of Right Certificates.
Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably
satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Right
Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or
security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company's request,
reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses
incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of
the Right Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new
Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the
registered holder in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed
or mutilated.
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights.
(a) The registered holder of any Right Certificate may exercise the Rights
evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein) in whole or in part at
any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the Right Certificate,
with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly
executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office of the Rights Agent,
together with payment of the Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share (as such other securities, cash or other assets, as the case
may be) as to which the Rights are exercised, at or prior to the earliest of
(i) the Close of Business on May 6, 2007 (the "Final Expiration Date"), (ii)
the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23
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hereof (the "Redemption Date"), or (iii) the time at which such Rights are
exchanged as provided in Section 24 hereof.
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share
purchasable pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $60, and
shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 or
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 Right Certificate representing exercisable Rights,
with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by payment of
the Purchase Price for the shares to be purchased and an amount equal to any
applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right
Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof by certified check, cashier's
check or money order payable to the order of the Company, the Rights Agent
shall thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the
Preferred Shares certificates for the number of Preferred Shares to be
purchased and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to
comply with all such requests, or (B) requisition from the depositary agent
depositary receipts representing such number of one one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the
Preferred Shares represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the
transfer agent 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 Right Certificate,
registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder and (iv)
when appropriate, after receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the
registered holder of such Right Certificate.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Right Certificate shall exercise
less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Right Certificate evidencing
Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the
Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Right Certificate or to his duly
authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates. All Right
Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up,
combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its
agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in canceled form,
or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be canceled by it, and no Right
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 Right Certificate purchased or acquired by the
Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall
deliver all canceled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the
written request of the Company, destroy such canceled Right Certificates, and
in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.
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Section 9. Availability of Preferred Shares. The Company covenants and
agrees that it will cause to be reserved and kept available out of its
authorized and unissued Preferred Shares or any Preferred Shares held in its
treasury, the number of Preferred Shares that will be sufficient to permit the
exercise in full of all outstanding Rights in accordance with Section 7. The
Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such action as may be
necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares delivered upon exercise of Rights
shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such Preferred Shares
(subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and
issued and fully paid and nonassessable shares.
The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and
payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be
payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of
any Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not,
however, be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of
any transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a person other than, or the
issuance or delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred
Shares in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Right
Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or to
deliver any certificates or depositary receipts for Preferred Shares upon the
exercise of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax
being payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at the time of surrender)
or until it has been established to the Company's reasonable satisfaction that
no such tax is due.
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date. Each person in whose name any
certificate for Preferred Shares is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall
for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of the Preferred
Shares represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date
upon which the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered
and payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made;
provided, however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date
upon which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are closed, such
Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and
such certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the
Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise
of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of a Right Certificate shall not be
entitled to any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares for which the Rights
shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote, to
receive dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive rights,
and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the
Company, except as provided herein.
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of
Rights. The Purchase Price, the number and kind of 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
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merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except
as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a), the Purchase Price in effect at
the time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such
subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of shares
of capital stock issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so
that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to
receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such
Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the
Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company were open, he would have owned
upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend,
subdivision, combination or reclassification; 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.
(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the event any Person
becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right shall thereafter have a
right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current
Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred
Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares, such number of Common Shares of
the Company as shall equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the then
current Purchase Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred
Share for which a Right is then exercisable and dividing that product by (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. In the event that any Person shall become an Acquiring Person and
the Rights shall then be outstanding, the Company shall not take any action
which would eliminate or diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the
Rights.
From and after the occurrence of such event, any Rights that are or were
acquired or beneficially owned by any Acquiring Person (or any Associate or
Affiliate of such Acquiring Person, including, without limitation, any Rights
issued in respect of Common Shares that are beneficially owned by any Acquiring
Person at the time such Acquiring Person becomes an Acquiring Person) shall be
void and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no right to exercise
such Rights under any provision of this Agreement. No Right Certificate shall
be issued pursuant to Section 3 that represents Rights beneficially owned by an
Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence
or any Associate or Affiliate thereof; no Right Certificate shall be issued at
any time upon the transfer of any Rights to an Acquiring Person whose Rights
would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence or any Associate or Affiliate
thereof or to any nominee of such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate; and
any Right Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an
Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence
shall be canceled.
(iii) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common Shares issued
but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit the exercise in full
of the Rights in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii), the Company
shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common
Shares for issuance upon exercise of the Rights. In the event the Company
shall, after good faith effort, be unable to take all such action as may be
necessary
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to authorize such additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for
each Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon exercise of a Right, a
number of Preferred Shares or fraction thereof such that the current per share
market price of one Preferred Share multiplied by such number or fraction is
equal to the current per share market price of one Common Share as of the date
of issuance of such Preferred Shares or fraction thereof.
(b) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of rights,
options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Shares entitling them (for a
period expiring within 45 calendar days after such record date) to subscribe
for or purchase Preferred Shares (or shares having the same rights, privileges
and preferences as the Preferred Shares ("equivalent preferred shares")) or
securities convertible into Preferred Shares or equivalent preferred shares at
a price per Preferred Share or equivalent preferred share (or having a
conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Shares or
equivalent preferred shares) less than the then current per share market price
of the Preferred Shares (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); 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. In case such subscription price may be paid in a
consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other than cash, the
value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board
of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a
statement filed with the Rights Agent. Preferred Shares owned by or held for
the account of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of
any such computation. Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such
a record date is fixed; and in the event that such rights, options or warrants
are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase
Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
(c) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the making of a
distribution to all holders of the Preferred Shares (including any such
distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of
indebtedness or assets (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend or a
dividend payable in Preferred Shares) or subscription rights or warrants
(excluding those referred to in section 11(b) hereof), the Purchase Price to be
in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction,
the numerator of which shall be the then current per share market price of the
Preferred Shares on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined
in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination
shall be described in a statement filed with the
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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; 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 to be issued
upon exercise of one Right. 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 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 30 Trading Days after the ex-dividend date for such
dividend or distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination
or reclassification, then, and in each such case, the current per share market
price shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect the current market price per
share equivalent of such Security. The closing price for each day shall be the
last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day,
the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as
reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock
Exchange or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on the New
York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction
reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national
securities exchange on which the Security is listed or admitted to trading or,
if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities
exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high
bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the
Nasdaq Stock Market ("Nasdaq") or such other system then in use, or, if on any
such date the Security is not quoted by any such organization, the average of
the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker
making a market in the Security selected by the Board of Directors of the
Company. The term "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the principal
national securities exchange 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 thousand. If neither the
Common Shares nor the Preferred Shares are publicly
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held or so listed or traded, "current per share market price" shall mean the
fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of
the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with
the Rights Agent.
(e) No adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such
adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least 1% in the Purchase
Price; provided, however, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section
11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into
account in any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this Section 11
shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one one-millionth of a
Preferred Share or one ten-thousandth of any other share or security as the
case may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any
adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than the earlier
of (i) three years from the date of the transaction which requires such
adjustment or (ii) the date of the expiration of the right to exercise any
Rights.
(f) If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof,
theholder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive any
shares of capital stock of the Company other than Preferred Shares, thereafter
the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right shall
be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms as nearly
equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preferred
Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c), inclusive, and the provisions of
Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 with respect to the Preferred Shares shall apply on
like terms to any such other shares.
(g) All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any
adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the
Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.
(h) Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as provided in
Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the
calculations made in Sections 11(b) and (c), each Right outstanding immediately
prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one one-millionth of a Preferred
Share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of one one-thousandths of a
share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment by (y) the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase
Price and (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-thousandths of a Preferred Share
purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after
such adjustment of the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of
one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable
immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record prior to such
adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights
(calculated to the nearest one ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to
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adjustment of the Purchase Price by the Purchase Price in effect immediately
after adjustment of the Purchase Price. The Company shall make a public
announcement of its election to adjust the number of Rights, indicating the
record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the time, the amount of the
adjustment to be made. This record date may be the date on which the Purchase
Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Right Certificates have
been issued, shall be at least 10 days later than the date of the public
announcement. If Right Certificates have been issued, upon each adjustment of
the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as
promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of Right
Certificates on such record date Right Certificates evidencing, subject to
Section 14 hereof, the additional Rights to which such holders shall be
entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company,
shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and
replacement for the Right Certificates held by such holders prior to the date
of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new
Right Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be
entitled after such adjustment. Right Certificates so to be distributed shall
be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein and
shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of Right Certificates
on the record date specified in the public announcement.
(j) Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or the
number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share issuable upon the exercise
of the Rights, the Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may
continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share which were expressed in the initial Right Certificates issued
hereunder.
(k) Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing the
Purchase Price below one one-thousandth of the then par value, if any, of the
Preferred Shares issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall take
any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its counsel, be necessary in
order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and
nonassessable Preferred Shares at such adjusted Purchase Price.
(l) In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an adjustment
in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a specified
event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such event the
issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date of the
Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any,
issuable upon such exercise over and above the Preferred Shares and other
capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such
exercise on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment;
provided, however, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due xxxx or
other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder's right to receive such
additional shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.
(m) Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding, the
Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in
addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to
the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine to be advisable in
order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Shares, issuance
wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less than the current market price,
issuance wholly for cash of
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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-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable after such event
upon proper exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying the
number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share so purchasable immediately
prior to such event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of
Common Shares outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of
which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event,
and (B) each Common Share outstanding immediately after such event shall have
issued with respect to it that number of Rights which each Common Share
outstanding immediately prior to such event had issued with respect to it. The
adjustments provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be made successively
whenever such a dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination
or consolidation is effected.
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.
Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, the
Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment,
and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (b) file
with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Shares or the
Preferred Shares a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary
thereof to each holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25
hereof.
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning
Power. In the event, directly or indirectly, at any time after a Person has
become an Acquiring Person, (a) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge
with and into, any other Person, (b) any Person shall consolidate with the
Company, or merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be the
continuing or surviving corporation of such merger and, in connection with such
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 (c) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one or
more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more
transactions, assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or
earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any
other Person other than the Company or one or more of its wholly owned
Subsidiaries, then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so
that (i) each holder of a Right (except as otherwise provided herein) shall
thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at a price
equal to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares,
such number of Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as
successor thereto or as the surviving corporation) as shall equal the result
obtained
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by (A) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable and
dividing that product by (B) 50% of the then current per share market price of
the Common Shares of such other Person (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)
hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or
transfer; (ii) the issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be liable for,
and shall assume, by virtue of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer,
all the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii)
the term "Company" shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such issuer; and (iv)
such issuer shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, the
reservation of a sufficient number of its Common Shares in accordance with
Section 9 hereof) in connection with such consummation as may be necessary to
assure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as
reasonably may be, in relation to the Common Shares thereafter deliverable upon
the exercise of the Rights. The Company shall not consummate any such
consolidation, merger, sale or transfer unless prior thereto the Company and
such issuer shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a
supplemental agreement so providing. The Company shall not enter into any
transaction of the kind referred to in this Section 13 if at the time of such
transaction there are any rights, warrants, instruments or securities
outstanding or any agreements or arrangements which, as a result of the
consummation of such transaction, would eliminate or substantially diminish the
benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights. The provisions of this Section
13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers or consolidations or sales or
other transfers.
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
(a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or to
distribute Right Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of
such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the
Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise
be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market
value of a whole Right. For the purposes of this Section 14(a), the current
market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the
Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would
have been otherwise issuable. The closing price for any day shall be the last
sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the
average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as
reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock
Exchange or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New
York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction
reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national
securities exchange on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading or,
if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities
exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high
bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by Nasdaq
or such other system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not
quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked
prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the
Rights selected by the Board of Directors of the Company. If on any such date
no such market maker is making a market in the Rights, the fair value of the
Rights on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of
the Company shall be used.
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(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Preferred
Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth
of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates
which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are
integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share). Fractions of
Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts,
pursuant to an appropriate agreement between the Company and a depositary
selected by it; provided, that such agreement shall provide that the holders of
such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences
to which they are entitled as Beneficial Owners of the Preferred Shares
represented by such depositary receipts. In lieu of fractional Preferred
Shares that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Right Certificates at
the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal
to the same fraction of the current market value of one Preferred Share. For
the purposes of this Section 14(b), the current market value of a Preferred
Share shall be the closing price of a Preferred Share (as determined pursuant
to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day
immediately prior to the date of such exercise.
(c) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Right expressly waives
his right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon
exercise of a Right (except as provided above).
Section 15. Rights of Action. All rights of action in respect of this
Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent under
Section 18 hereof, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right
Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of
the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Right Certificate (or,
prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), without the consent of
the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Right Certificate (or, prior to
the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in his own behalf and for
his own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or
proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, his
right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate in the manner
provided in such Right Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the
foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is
specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate
remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and will be entitled to specific
performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or
threatened violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this
Agreement.
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders. Every holder of a Right, by
accepting the same, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent
and with every other holder of a Right that:
(a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable only in
connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;
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(b) after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are transferable
only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal
office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper
instrument of transfer; and
(c) the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose
name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated
Common Shares certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of
the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or
writing on the Right Certificates or the associated Common Shares certificate
made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes
whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall be affected by
any notice to the contrary.
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder. No
holder, as such, of any Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or
any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the
exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein
or in any Right Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Right
Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a 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 Right Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the
provisions hereof.
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent. The Company agrees to pay to the
Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder
and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable expenses
and counsel fees and other disbursements incurred in the administration and
execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties
hereunder. The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to
hold it harmless against, any loss, liability, or expense, incurred without
negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent,
for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the
acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and
expenses of defending against any claim of liability in the premises.
The 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 in reliance upon any Right Certificate or
certificate for the Preferred Shares or Common Shares or for other securities
of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney,
endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate,
statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be
signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or acknowledged, by the proper
person or persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in
Section 20 hereof.
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Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.
Any corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may
be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting
from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the stock
transfer or corporate trust powers of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights
Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without
the execution or filing of any paper or any further 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 Right Certificates shall have been
countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the
countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right
Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Right
Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may
countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the predecessor
Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such
cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right
Certificates and in this Agreement.
In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be changed and at
such time any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not
delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name
and deliver Right Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any
of the Right Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent
may countersign such Right Certificates either in its prior name or in its
changed name; and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full
force provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent undertakes the
duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement upon the following terms and
conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Right Certificates,
by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
(a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal
counsel for the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and
complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent as to any action
taken or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.
(b) Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the
Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be
proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action
hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be
herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and
established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chairman of the Board,
the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer
or the Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such
certificate shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action
taken or suffered in good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in
reliance upon such certificate.
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(c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to the Company and any other
Person only for its own 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 Right
Certificates (except its countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the
same, but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been
made by the Company only.
(e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect
of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except
the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or
execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor
shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or
condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it
be responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights (including
the Rights becoming void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any
adjustment in the terms of the Rights (including the manner, method or amount
thereof) provided for in Section 3, 11, 13, 23 or 24, or the ascertaining of
the existence of facts that would require any such change or adjustment (except
with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Right Certificates after
actual notice that such change or adjustment is required); nor shall it by any
act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the
authorization or reservation of any Preferred Shares to be issued pursuant to
this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any Preferred Shares
will, when issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and
nonassessable.
(f) The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and
deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such
further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be
required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights
Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept
instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from any
one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive officer, the President,
any Vice President, the Secretary or the Treasurer of the Company, and to apply
to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and
it shall not be liable for any action taken or suffered by it in good faith in
accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting
while waiting for those instructions.
(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 Rights Agent
under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from
acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers
hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or
through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable
or accountable for any act, default, neglect or
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22
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.
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement
upon 30 days' notice in writing mailed to the Company and to each transfer
agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares by registered or certified mail,
and to the holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail. The Company
may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon 30 days' notice
in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case
may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares by
registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Right Certificates by
first-class mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall
otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to
the Rights Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a
period of 30 days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been
notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or
incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Right Certificate (who shall,
with such notice, submit his Right Certificate for inspection by the Company),
then the registered holder of any Right Certificate or the Rights Agent 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, the State of Delaware or the State of New York (or
of any other state of the United States so long as such corporation is
authorized to do business as a banking institution in the State of Delaware or
the State of New York), in good standing, have an office in the State of
Delaware or the State of New York, which is authorized under such laws to
exercise corporate trust or stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision
or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the time of its
appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $50
million. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with
the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been
originally named as Rights Agent without further act or deed; but the
predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights
Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder, and execute and deliver
any further assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Not
later than the effective date of any such appointment the Company shall file
notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer
agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares, and mail a notice thereof in
writing to the registered holders of the Right Certificates. Failure to give
any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any defect therein,
shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the
Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may
be.
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates. Notwithstanding any of the
provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company may,
at its option, issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as
may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment or change
in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other
securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
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23
Section 23. Redemption.
(a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time
prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, redeem all but
not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.01 per
Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or
similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such redemption price
being hereinafter referred to as the "Redemption Price"). The redemption of
the Rights by the Board of Directors 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.
(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 Rights, the Company shall mail a notice of
redemption to all the holders of the then outstanding Rights at their last
addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior
to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the
Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall
be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such
notice of redemption will state the method by which the payment of the
Redemption Price will be made. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates
or Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for value any Rights at any time
in any manner other than that specifically set forth in this Section 23 or in
Section 24 hereof, and other than in connection with the purchase of Common
Shares prior to the Distribution Date.
Section 24. Exchange.
(a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time
after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all or part of the then
outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have
become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 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 paragraph (a) of this Section
24 and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise
such Rights shall terminate and the only right
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thereafter of a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of Common
Shares equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the
Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such
exchange; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such
notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly
shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights
at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights
Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be
deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice
of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the Common Shares
for Rights will be effected and, in the event of any partial exchange, the
number of Rights which will be exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be
effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have
become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by
each holder of Rights.
(c) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common Shares issued
but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights
as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all
such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares for
issuance upon exchange of the Rights. In the event the Company shall, after
good faith effort, be unable to take all such action as may be necessary to
authorize such additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for each
Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon exchange of a Right, a
number of Preferred Shares or fraction thereof such that the current per share
market price of one Preferred Share multiplied by such number or fraction is
equal to the current per share market price of one Common Share as of the date
of issuance of such Preferred Shares or fraction thereof.
(d) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common Shares
or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares. In lieu
of such fractional Common Shares, the Company shall pay to the registered
holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Common
Shares would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction
of the current market value of a whole Common Share. For the purposes of this
paragraph (d), the current market value of a whole Common Share shall be the
closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence
of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date
of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.
(a) In case the Company shall propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in
stock of any class to the holders of its Preferred Shares or to make any other
distribution to the holders of its Preferred Shares (other than a regular
quarterly cash dividend), (ii) to offer to the holders of its Preferred Shares
rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional Preferred
Shares or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or
options, (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred Shares (other
than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred
Shares), (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with, or to effect
any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to
effect any sale or other transfer), in one or more transactions, of 50% or more
of the assets or earning
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power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to, any other
Person, (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the
Company, or (vi) to declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in
Common Shares or to effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the
Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in
Common Shares), then, in each such case, the Company shall give to each holder
of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of such
proposed action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such
stock dividend, or distribution of rights or warrants, or the date on which
such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer, liquidation,
dissolution, or winding up is to take place and the date of participation
therein by the holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, if any
such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any
action covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least 10 days prior to the record
date for determining holders of the Preferred Shares for purposes of such
action, and in the case of any such other action, at least 10 days prior to the
date of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein
by the holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, whichever shall be
the earlier.
(b) In case the event set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof shall occur,
then the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter give to each holder of
a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of the
occurrence of such event, which notice shall describe such event and the
consequences of such event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
Section 26. Notices. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be
given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right Certificate to
or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class
mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing
with the Rights Agent) as follows:
APACHE Medical Systems, Inc.
0000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
XxXxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Assistant Secretary
Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or demand authorized
by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any
Right Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be 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:
First Chicago Trust Company of New York
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx 00000
Attention: Tenders and Exchanges Administration
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Right Certificate shall be
sufficiently given or made if sent by
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26
first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of
such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments. The Company may from time to time
supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Right
Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any
provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any
other provisions herein, or to make any other provisions with respect to the
Rights which the Company may deem necessary or desirable, any such supplement
or amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights
Agent; provided, however, that from and after such time as any Person becomes
an Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which
would adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights. Without
limiting the foregoing, the Company may at any time prior to such time as any
Person becomes an Acquiring Person amend this Agreement to lower the thresholds
set forth in Sections 1(a) and 3(a) to not less than the greater of (i) the sum
of .001% and the largest percentage of the outstanding Common Shares then 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. 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 Right 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 Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the
Common Shares).
Section 30. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or
restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the
terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in
full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.
Section 31. Governing Law. This Agreement and each Right Certificate
issued hereunder shall be 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 32. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of
counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to
be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and
the same instrument.
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Section 33. Descriptive Headings. Descriptive headings of the several
Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not
control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed, as of the day and year first above written.
ATTEST: APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Xx.
------------------------------- ------------------------------------
Title: Secretary Title: Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer
ATTEST: FIRST CHICAGO TRUST COMPANY OF NEW YORK
By: /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Title: Assistant Vice President Title: Assistant Vice President
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Exhibit A
FORM
of
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS
of
SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
of
APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
(Pursuant to Section 151 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law)
______________________________
APACHE Medical Systems, 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 by unanimous written consent dated ______________,
1997:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in
the Board of Directors of this Corporation (hereinafter called the "Board
of Directors" or the "Board") in accordance with the provisions of the
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors
hereby creates a series of Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 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 30,000. 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
30
outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any
outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A
Preferred Stock.
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
Common Stock, par value $0.01 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 the greater
of (a) $1 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set
forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends,
and 1,000 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); provided
that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared
on the Common stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a
dividend of $1 per share on the Series A Preferred Stock shall
nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date.
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31
(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 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 1,000 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
Designations 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
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required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of
Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
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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33
Section 5. Required Shares. Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock
purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever
shall be retired and canceled 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
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or in any other Certificate
of Designations 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 $1,000 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 1,000 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 1,000 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 to the
exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred
-5-
34
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 Amended and Restated 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 two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Series
A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designations is executed on behalf
of the Corporation by its Chief Executive Officer and attested by its Secretary
this ____ day of May, 1997.
APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
-----------------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Xx., Ph.D.
Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Attest:
-------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, R.N., M.S.
Title: Secretary
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Exhibit B
Form of Right Certificate
Certificate No. R- _______ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER MAY 6, 2007 OR EARLIER IF
REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT
TO REDEMPTION AT $.01 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE
TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
Right Certificate
APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, 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 May 6, 1997 (the "Rights Agreement"), between
APACHE Medical Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and First
Chicago Trust Company of New York (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 time, on May 6, 2007 at the
principal office of the Rights Agent, or at the office of its successor as
Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series
A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the
"Preferred Shares"), of the Company, at a purchase price of $60 per one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"), upon presentation
and surrender of this Right Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase
duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate (and
the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which may be purchased
upon exercise hereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price set forth above,
are the number and Purchase Price as of May 6, 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-thousandths of a Preferred Share which
may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of
certain events.
This Right Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and
conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are
hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which
Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights,
limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the
Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of
the Rights
36
Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the Company and the
above-mentioned offices of the Rights Agent.
This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon
surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, may be exchanged for
another Right Certificate or Right Certificates of like tenor and date
evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of
Preferred Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right
Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this
Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to
receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates
for the number of whole Rights not exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights evidenced by
this Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption price of
$.01 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged in whole or in part for Preferred
Shares or shares of the Company's Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share.
No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the exercise of any
Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which are integral
multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, which may, at the
election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu
thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or of
any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the
exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or herein
be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a
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 the Rights
Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until
the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been
exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose
until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
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WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company and
its corporate seal. Dated as of ____________, _____.
ATTEST: APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
By: By:
---------------------------------- --------------------------------
Its: Its:
------------------------------ ----------------------------
Countersigned:
FIRST CHICAGO TRUST
COMPANY OF NEW YORK, as Rights Agent
By:
----------------------------------
Authorized Signature
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38
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such holder
desires to transfer the Right Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED _____________________________ hereby sells, assigns and
transfers unto ________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address of transferee)
this Right Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein,
and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint __________________ Attorney,
to transfer the within Right Certificate on the books of the within-named
Company, with full power of substitution.
Dated: __________________, _____
____________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a registered national
securities exchange, a member of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc., or a commercial bank or trust company having an office or
correspondent in the United States.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate
or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
________________________________
Signature
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39
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate - Continued
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights represented by the Right
Certificate.)
TO: APACHE MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC.
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise ____________________
________________________ Rights represented by this Right Certificate to
purchase the Preferred Shares issuable upon the exercise of such Rights and
requests that certificates for such Preferred Shares be issued in the name of:
Please insert social security or other identifying number
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
_______________________________________________________________________________
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate, a new Right Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights
shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security or other identifying number
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dated: ___________________, _____
_______________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a registered national
securities exchange, a member of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc., or a commercial bank or trust company having an office or
correspondent in the United States.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are not beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate
or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).
_____________________________
Signature
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40
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate - Continued
NOTICE
The signature in the Form of Assignment or Form of Election to Purchase,
as the case may be, must conform to the name as written upon the face of this
Right Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any
change whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above in the Form of Assignment
or the Form of Election to Purchase, as the case may be, is not completed, the
Company and the Rights Agent will deem the beneficial owner of the Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate
or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement) and such Assignment
or Election to Purchase will not be honored.
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41
Exhibit C
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED SHARES
On January 28, 1997, the Board of Directors of APACHE Medical Systems,
Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right
(a "Right") for each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.01 per
share (the "Common Shares"), of the Company. The dividend is payable on June
2, 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-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par
value $0.01 per share (the "Preferred Shares"), of the Company at a price of
$60 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"), subject
to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in a
Rights Agreement (the "Rights Agreement") between the Company and First Chicago
Trust Company of New York, as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a public announcement
that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (other than the
Company, a 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) have acquired beneficial ownership of
15% or more of the outstanding Common Shares (an "Acquiring Person") 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 or group of affiliated persons
becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of
an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of
which would result in the beneficial ownership by a person or group of 30% or
more of the 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 (or
earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the Rights will be transferred
with and only with the Common Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier
redemption or expiration of the Rights), 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 ("Right 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.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. The Rights
will expire on May 6, 2007 (the "Final Expiration Date"), unless the Final
Expiration Date is extended or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or
exchanged by the Company, in each case, as described below.
42
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 conversation
price, less than the then-current market price of the Preferred Shares of (iii)
upon the distribution to holders of the Preferred Shares of evidences of
indebtedness or assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends paid out of
earnings or retained earnings or dividends payable in Preferred Shares) or of
subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of one one-thousandths of
a Preferred Share issuable upon exercise of each Right are also subject to
adjustment in the event of a stock split of the Common Shares or a stock
dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions,
consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such
case, prior to the Distribution Date.
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will not be
redeemable. Each Preferred Share will be entitled to a minimum preferential
quarterly dividend payment of $1 per share but will be entitled to an aggregate
dividend of 1,000 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the event
of liquidation, the holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to a
minimum preferential liquidation payment of $1,000 per share but will be
entitled to an aggregate payment of 1,000 times the payment made per Common
Share. Each Preferred Share will have 1,000 votes, voting together with the
Common Shares. Finally, in the event of any merger, consolidation or other
transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged, each Preferred Share will be
entitled to receive 1,000 times the amount received per Common Share. These
rights are protected by customary antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preferred Shares' dividend, liquidation and
voting rights, the value of the one one-thousandth interest in a Preferred
Share purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the value of
one Common Share.
In the event that the Company is acquired in a merger or other business
combination transaction or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or earning
power are sold after a person or group has become an Acquiring Person, proper
provision will be made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the
right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then-current exercise price
of the Right, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company
which at the time of such transaction will have a market value of two times the
exercise price of the Right. In the event that any person or group of
affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person, proper provision
shall be made so that each holder of a Right, other than Rights beneficially
owned by the Acquiring Person (which will thereafter be void), will thereafter
have the right to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares having a
market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.
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43
At any time after any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person and
prior to the acquisition by such person or group of 50% or more of the
outstanding Common Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange
the Rights (other than Rights owned by such person or group which will have
become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common Share, or
one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (or of a share of a class or series of
the Company's preferred stock having equivalent rights, preferences and
privileges), per Right (subject to adjustment).
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be
required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in
such Purchase Price. No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued (other than
fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary
receipts) and in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the
market price of the Preferred Shares on the last trading day prior to the date
of exercise.
At any time prior to (i) the acquisition by a person or group of
affiliated or associated persons of beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the
outstanding Common Shares or (ii) the public announcement or commencement of a
tender or exchange offer which, if consummated, would result in a person having
beneficial ownership of 30% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, the Board
of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at
a price of $.01 per right (the "Redemption Price"). The redemption of the
Rights may be made effective at such time on such basis with such conditions as
the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon
any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate
and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption
Price.
The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board of Directors of the
Company without the consent of the holders of the Rights, including an
amendment to lower certain thresholds described above to not less than the
greater of (i) the sum of .001% and the largest percentage of the outstanding
Common Shares then known to the Company to be beneficially owned by any person
or group of affiliated or associated persons and (ii) 10%, except that from and
after such time as any person or group of affiliated or associated persons
becomes an Acquiring Person no such amendment may adversely affect the
interests of the holders of the Rights.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a 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 dated
______________, 1997. A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of
charge from the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not
purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the
Rights Agreement, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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