EXHIBIT 2.3
FORM OF VOTING AGREEMENT
VOTING AGREEMENT
THIS VOTING AGREEMENT (this "AGREEMENT") is made and entered into as of
November 30, 1999, among Informix Corporation, a Delaware corporation
("PARENT"), and the undersigned stockholder and/or option holder (the
"STOCKHOLDER") of Ardent Software, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "COMPANY").
RECITALS
A. The Company, Merger Sub (as defined below) and Parent have entered into
an Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the "REORGANIZATION AGREEMENT"), which
provides for the merger (the "MERGER") of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent
("MERGER SUB") with and into the Company. Pursuant to the Merger, all
outstanding capital stock of the Company shall be converted into the right to
receive common stock of Parent, as set forth in the Reorganization Agreement;
B. Stockholder is the beneficial owner (as defined in Rule 13d-3 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "EXCHANGE ACT")) of such number
of shares of the outstanding capital stock of the Company and shares subject to
outstanding options and warrants as is indicated on the signature page of this
Agreement; and
C. In consideration of the execution of the Reorganization Agreement by
Parent, Stockholder (in his or her capacity as such) agrees to vote the Shares
(as defined below) and other such shares of capital stock of the Company over
which Stockholder has voting power so as to facilitate consummation of the
Merger.
NOW, THEREFORE, intending to be legally bound, the parties hereto agree as
follows:
1. CERTAIN DEFINITIONS. Capitalized terms not defined herein shall have
the meanings ascribed to them in the Reorganization Agreement. For purposes of
this Agreement:
(a) "EXPIRATION DATE" shall mean the earlier to occur of (i) such date
and time as the Reorganization Agreement shall have been terminated pursuant
to Article VII thereof, or (ii) such date and time as the Merger shall
become effective in accordance with the terms and provisions of the
Reorganization Agreement.
(b) "PERSON" shall mean any (i) individual, (ii) corporation, limited
liability company, partnership or other entity, or (iii) governmental
authority.
(c) "SHARES" shall mean: (i) all securities of the Company (including
all shares of Company Common Stock and all options, warrants and other
rights to acquire shares of Company Common Stock) owned by Stockholder as of
the date of this Agreement; and (ii) all additional securities of the
Company (including all additional shares of Company Common Stock and all
additional options, warrants and other rights to acquire shares of Company
Common Stock) of which Stockholder acquires ownership during the period from
the date of this Agreement through the Expiration Date.
(d) TRANSFER. A Person shall be deemed to have effected a "TRANSFER"
of a security if such person directly or indirectly: (i) sells, pledges,
encumbers, grants an option with respect to, transfers or disposes of such
security or any interest in such security; or (ii) enters into an agreement
or commitment providing for the sale of, pledge of, encumbrance of, grant of
an option with respect to, transfer of or disposition of such security or
any interest therein.
2. TRANSFER OF SHARES.
(a) TRANSFEREE OF SHARES TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. Stockholder
agrees that, during the period from the date of this Agreement through the
Expiration Date, Stockholder shall not cause or permit any Transfer of any
of the Shares to be effected unless such Transfer is in accordance with any
affiliate agreement between Stockholder and Parent contemplated by the
Reorganization Agreement.
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(b) TRANSFER OF VOTING RIGHTS. Stockholder agrees that, during the
period from the date of this Agreement through the Expiration Date,
Stockholder shall not deposit (or permit the deposit of) any Shares in a
voting trust or grant any proxy or enter into any voting agreement or
similar agreement in contravention of the obligations of Stockholder under
this Agreement with respect to any of the Shares.
3. AGREEMENT TO VOTE SHARES. At every meeting of the stockholders of the
Company called, and at every adjournment thereof, and on every action or
approval by written consent of the stockholders of the Company, Stockholder (in
his or her capacity as such) shall cause the Shares to be voted in favor of
approval of the Reorganization Agreement and the Merger and in favor of any
matter that could reasonably be expected to facilitate the Merger.
4. IRREVOCABLE PROXY. Concurrently with the execution of this Agreement,
Stockholder agrees to deliver to Parent a proxy in the form attached hereto as
EXHIBIT A (the "PROXY"), which shall be irrevocable to the fullest extent
permissible by law, with respect to the Shares.
5. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE STOCKHOLDER. Stockholder (i) is
the beneficial owner of the shares of Company Common Stock and the options and
warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock of the Company indicated on the
final page of this Agreement, free and clear of any liens, claims, options,
rights of first refusal, co-sale rights, charges or other encumbrances;
(ii) does not beneficially own any securities of the Company other than the
shares of Company Common Stock and options and warrants to purchase shares of
Common Stock of the Company indicated on the final page of this Agreement; and
(iii) has full power and authority to make, enter into and carry out the terms
of this Agreement and the Proxy.
6. ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS. Stockholder (in his or her capacity as such)
hereby covenants and agrees to execute and deliver any additional documents
necessary or desirable, in the reasonable opinion of Parent, to carry out the
intent of this Agreement.
7. CONSENT AND WAIVER. Stockholder (not in his capacity as a director or
officer of the Company) hereby gives any consents or waivers that are reasonably
required for the consummation of the Merger under the terms of any agreements to
which Stockholder is a party or pursuant to any rights Stockholder may have.
8. LEGENDING OF SHARES. If so requested by Parent, Stockholder agrees that
the Shares shall bear a legend stating that they are subject to this Agreement
and to an irrevocable proxy. Subject to the terms of Section 2 hereof,
Stockholder agrees that Stockholder shall not Transfer the Shares without first
having the aforementioned legend affixed to the certificates representing the
Shares.
9. TERMINATION. This Agreement shall terminate and shall have no further
force or effect as of the Expiration Date.
10. MISCELLANEOUS.
(a) SEVERABILITY. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of
this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
void or unenforceable, then 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.
(b) BINDING EFFECT AND ASSIGNMENT. This Agreement and all of the
provisions hereof shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the
parties hereto and their respective successors and permitted assigns, but,
except as otherwise specifically provided herein, neither this Agreement nor
any of the rights, interests or obligations of the parties hereto may be
assigned by either of the parties without prior written consent of the
other.
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(c) AMENDMENTS AND MODIFICATION. This Agreement may not be modified,
amended, altered or supplemented except upon the execution and delivery of a
written agreement executed by the parties hereto.
(d) SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE; INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The parties hereto
acknowledge that Parent shall be irreparably harmed and that there shall be
no adequate remedy at law for a violation of any of the covenants or
agreements of Stockholder set forth herein. Therefore, it is agreed that, in
addition to any other remedies that may be available to Parent upon any such
violation, Parent shall have the right to enforce such covenants and
agreements by specific performance, injunctive relief or by any other means
available to Parent at law or in equity.
(e) NOTICES. All notices and other communications pursuant to this
Agreement shall be in writing and deemed to be sufficient if contained in a
written instrument and shall be deemed given if delivered personally,
telecopied, sent by nationally-recognized overnight courier or mailed by
registered or certified mail (return receipt requested), postage prepaid, to
the parties at the following address (or at such other address for a party
as shall be specified by like notice):
If to Parent: Informix Corporation
0000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Esq.
Telecopy No.: (000) 000-0000
With a copy to: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx & Xxxxxx
Professional Corporation
000 Xxxx Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, Esq.
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx, Esq.
Telecopy No.: (000) 000-0000
If to Stockholder: To the address for notice set forth on the
signature page hereof.
(f) GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
State of Delaware, without reference to rules of conflicts of law.
(g) ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement and the Proxy contain the entire
understanding of the parties in respect of the subject matter hereof, and
supersede all prior negotiations and understandings between the parties with
respect to such subject matter.
(h) EFFECT OF HEADINGS. The section headings are for convenience only
and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
(i) COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in several
counterparts, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together
shall constitute one and the same agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be duly
executed on the day and year first above written.
Informix Corporation Stockholder
By:
Signature
By:
Name: Name:
Title: Title:
Print Address
Telephone
Facsimile No.
Shares beneficially owned:
shares of Company Common Stock
shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon
exercise of outstanding options or warrants
[SIGNATURE PAGE TO VOTING AGREEMENT]
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IRREVOCABLE PROXY
The undersigned stockholder of Ardent Software, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the "COMPANY"), hereby irrevocably (to the fullest extent permitted by law)
appoints the directors on the Board of Directors of Informix Corporation, a
Delaware corporation ("PARENT"), and each of them, as the sole and exclusive
attorneys and proxies of the undersigned, with full power of substitution and
resubstitution, to vote and exercise all voting and related rights (to the full
extent that the undersigned is entitled to do so) with respect to all of the
shares of capital stock of the Company that now are or hereafter may be
beneficially owned by the undersigned, and any and all other shares or
securities of the Company issued or issuable in respect thereof on or after the
date hereof (collectively, the "SHARES") in accordance with the terms of this
Proxy. The Shares beneficially owned by the undersigned stockholder of the
Company as of the date of this Proxy are listed on the final page of this Proxy.
Upon the undersigned's execution of this Proxy, any and all prior proxies given
by the undersigned with respect to any Shares are hereby revoked and the
undersigned agrees not to grant any subsequent proxies with respect to the
Shares until after the Expiration Date (as defined below).
This Proxy is irrevocable (to the fullest extent permitted by law), is
coupled with an interest and is granted pursuant to that certain Voting
Agreement of even date herewith by and among Parent and the undersigned
stockholder (the "VOTING AGREEMENT"), and is granted in consideration of Parent
entering into that certain Agreement and Plan of Reorganization (the
"REORGANIZATION AGREEMENT"), among Parent, Iroquois Acquisition Corporation, a
Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ("MERGER SUB"), and
the Company. The Reorganization Agreement provides for the merger of Merger Sub
with and into the Company in accordance with its terms (the "MERGER"). As used
herein, the term "EXPIRATION DATE" shall mean the earlier to occur of (i) such
date and time as the Reorganization Agreement shall have been validly terminated
pursuant to Article VII thereof or (ii) such date and time as the Merger shall
become effective in accordance with the terms and provisions of the
Reorganization Agreement.
The attorneys and proxies named above, and each of them, are hereby
authorized and empowered by the undersigned, at any time prior to the Expiration
Date, to act as the undersigned's attorney and proxy to vote the Shares, and to
exercise all voting, consent and similar rights of the undersigned with respect
to the Shares (including, without limitation, the power to execute and deliver
written consents) at every annual, special or adjourned meeting of stockholders
of the Company and in every written consent in lieu of such meeting in favor of
approval of the Merger, the execution and delivery by the Company of the
Reorganization Agreement and the adoption and approval of the terms thereof and
in favor of each of the other actions contemplated by the Reorganization
Agreement and any action required in furtherance hereof and thereof.
The attorneys and proxies named above may not exercise this Proxy on any
other matter except as provided above. The undersigned stockholder may vote the
Shares on all other matters.
Any obligation of the undersigned hereunder shall be binding upon the
successors and assigns of the undersigned.
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This Proxy is irrevocable (to the fullest extent permitted by law). This
Proxy shall terminate, and be of no further force and effect, automatically upon
the Expiration Date.
Dated: ____________, 1999
Signature of Stockholder: ___________
Print Name of Stockholder: __________
Shares beneficially owned:
_________shares of the Company Common
Stock
_________shares of the Company Common
Stock issuable upon exercise of
outstanding options or warrants
[SIGNATURE PAGE TO IRREVOCABLE PROXY]
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