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EXHIBIT 99.1
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MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP, INC.
and
FIRST CHICAGO TRUST COMPANY OF NEW YORK
(RIGHTS AGENT)
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
DATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 20, 1999
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
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Section 1. Certain Definitions.............................................................................1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent.....................................................................5
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates.....................................................................5
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates......................................................................7
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration...............................................................8
Section 6. Transfer, Split-Up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated,
Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates....................................................9
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights...................................9
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates.............................................11
Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Preferred Shares...............................................11
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date...................................................................12
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights.............................13
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.....................................20
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power...........................21
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares........................................................22
Section 15. Rights of Action...............................................................................24
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders.....................................................................24
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder..............................................25
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent....................................................................25
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent......................................25
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent.........................................................................26
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Section 21. Change of Rights Agent.........................................................................28
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates.............................................................28
Section 23. Redemption.....................................................................................29
Section 24. Exchange.......................................................................................30
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.......................................................................32
Section 26. Notices........................................................................................33
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments.....................................................................33
Section 28. Successors.....................................................................................34
Section 29. Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors...........................................34
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement.....................................................................34
Section 31. Severability...................................................................................34
Section 32. Governing Law..................................................................................35
Section 33. Counterparts...................................................................................35
Section 34. Descriptive Headings...........................................................................35
Exhibit A- Form of Certificate of Designation of Preferences and Rights of
Series A Preferred Stock of Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc.
Exhibit B- Form of Right Certificate
Exhibit C- Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares
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RIGHTS AGREEMENT
RIGHTS AGREEMENT, dated as of September 20, 1999, between MEADOWBROOK
INSURANCE GROUP, INC., a Michigan corporation (the "Company"), and First Chicago
Trust Company of New York, a New York corporation (the "Rights Agent").
The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized and declared a
dividend of one Preferred Share (as hereinafter defined) purchase right (a
"Right") for each Common Share (as hereinafter defined) of the Company
outstanding as of the Close of Business (as hereinafter defined) on October 15,
1999 (the "Record Date"), each Right representing the right to purchase one
one-hundredth of a Preferred Share (as such number may be adjusted pursuant to
the provisions of this Agreement) upon the terms and subject to the conditions
herein set forth, and has further authorized and directed the issuance of one
Right with respect to each Common Share that shall become outstanding between
the Record Date and the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date
or the Final Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter defined); provided,
however, that Rights may be issued with respect to Common Shares that shall
become outstanding after the Distribution Date and prior to the earlier of the
Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date in accordance with the provisions
of Section 22.
Now, Therefore, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:
SECTION 1. Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the
following terms have the meanings indicated:
(a) "Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person who or which,
together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the
Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then
outstanding, but shall not include (i) the Company, any Subsidiary of the
Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the
Company, or any Person holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any
such plan, (ii) Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx together with all Affiliates and Associates of
Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx (collectively "Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx"), or (iii) any Person, together
with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, who or which would be an
Acquiring Person solely by reason of (A) being the Beneficial Owner of Common
Shares, the Beneficial Ownership of which was acquired by such Person (and the
Affiliates and Associates of such Person) pursuant to any action or transaction,
or series of related actions or transactions, approved by the Board of
Directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors
prior to the Distribution Date, or (B) a reduction in the number of issued and
outstanding Common Shares pursuant to a transaction or series of related
transactions approved by the Board, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of
the Continuing Directors; provided, however, that in the event that such Person
described in this clause (iii) does not become an Acquiring Person by reason of
subclause (A) or (B) of this clause (iii), such Person nonetheless shall become
an
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Acquiring Person in the event such Person, together with all Affiliates and
Associates of such Person, thereafter acquires Beneficial Ownership of any
additional Common Shares unless the acquisition of such Beneficial Ownership
would not result in such Person becoming an Acquiring Person by reason of
subclause (A) or (B) of this clause (iii). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the
Board determines in good faith (upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors) that a Person who would otherwise be an Acquiring Person,
as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), is
eligible to file and did file a Schedule 13G and such Person divests (and/or
causes such Person's Affiliates and/or Associates to divest) as promptly as
practicable a sufficient number of Common Shares so that such Person would no
longer be an Acquiring Person as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of
this paragraph (a), then such Person shall not be deemed to be an "Acquiring
Person" for any purpose of this Agreement.
(b) "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the respective
meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and
Regulations under the Exchange Act.
(c) A Person shall be deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of and
shall be deemed to "Beneficially Own," and have "Beneficial Ownership" of, any
securities:
(i) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, for purposes
of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 thereunder (or any
comparable or successor law or regulation);
(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 or fulfillment of a
condition or both) 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 of the
Company), or upon the exercise ofconversion rights, exchange rights, rights
(other than the Rights), warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however,
that a Person shall not be deemed pursuant to this Section 1(c)(ii)(A) to be the
Beneficial Owner of, or to Beneficially Own, (1) securities tendered pursuant to
a tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of such Person or any of such
Person's Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are accepted
for purchase or exchange or (2) securities which a Person or any of such
Person's Affiliates or Associates may be deemed to have the right to acquire
pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement between the Company and
such Person (or one or more of such Person's Affiliates or Associates) if such
agreement has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, prior to there being
an Acquiring Person; or (B) the right to vote alone or in concert with others
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 pursuant to this Section 1(c)(ii)(B) 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
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13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report) other than by
reference to a proxy or consent solicitation being conducted by such Person; or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly
or indirectly, by any other Person (or any Affiliate or Associate thereof) 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 by the Company) 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, (x) 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, and (y) for purposes of
determining Beneficial Ownership, officers and directors of the Company solely
by reason of their status as such shall not constitute a group (notwithstanding
that they may be Associates of one another or may be deemed to constitute a
group for purposes of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) and shall not be deemed
to own shares owned by another officer or director of the Company.
(d) "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a
Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in the State of Michigan are
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(e) "Company" shall have the meaning set forth in the first
paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(f) "Close of Business" on any given date shall mean 5:00
P.M., Detroit, Michigan time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date
is not a Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., Detroit, Michigan time, on the
next succeeding Business Day.
(g) "Common Shares" when used with reference to the Company
shall mean shares of common stock of the Company. "Common Shares" when used with
reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the capital stock with
the greatest voting power, or the equity securities or other equity interest
having power to control or direct the management of such other Person or, if
such other Person is a Subsidiary of another Person, the Person or Persons which
ultimately control such first-mentioned Person.
(h) "Common Stock Equivalents" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(a)(iv) hereof.
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(i) "Continuing Director" shall mean any person who is a
member of the Board of Directors of the Company, while such person is a member
of the Board of Directors, who is not an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or
Associate of an Acquiring Person, or a representative, nominee or agent of an
Acquiring Person or of any such Affiliate or Associate, and who either (i) was a
member of the Board of Directors prior to the time that any Person became an
Acquiring Person or (ii) who subsequently became a member of the Board of
Directors and who, while such person is a member of the Board of Directors, is
not an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person, or
a representative, nominee or agent of an Acquiring Person or of any such
Affiliate or Associate, if such Person's nomination for election or such
Person's election to the Board of Directors is recommended or approved by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors then on the Board of
Directors.
(j) "Current Per Share Market Price" shall have the meaning
set forth in Section 11(d) hereof.
(k) "Current Value" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iv).
(l) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3 hereof.
(m) "Equivalent Preferred Shares" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(b) hereof.
(n) "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
(o) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 7 hereof.
(p) "Issuer" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13
hereof.
(q) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation or
other entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such
entity.
(r) "Preferred Shares" shall mean shares of Series A Preferred
Stock of the Company having the rights and preferences set forth in the Form of
Certificate of Designation attached to this Agreement as EXHIBIT A.
(s) "Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4 hereof.
(t) "Record Date" shall have the meaning set forth in the
second paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(u) "Redemption Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7 hereof.
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(v) "Redemption Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 23 hereof.
(w) "Right" shall have the meaning set forth in the second
paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(x) "Right Certificate" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3 hereof.
(y) "Rights Agent" shall have the meaning set forth in the
first paragraph at the beginning of this Agreement.
(z) "Securities Act" shall mean the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended.
(aa) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the earlier of (i)
the first date of public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition,
shall include, without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) of
the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person
has become such, or (ii) the date on which a majority of the Continuing
Directors, in good faith, informs the Company by written notice of the existence
of an Acquiring Person.
(ab) "Spread" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iv) hereof.
(ac) "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.
(ad) "Substitution Period" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iv) hereof.
(ae) "Summary of Rights" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3 hereof.
(af) "Trading Day" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11 hereof.
SECTION 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints the
Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights (who,
in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall, prior to the Distribution Date, also
be the holders of 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
Close of Business on the tenth Business Day (or such later date as the Board of
Directors shall determine upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors then in office) after the Shares Acquisition Date or (ii)
the Close of Business on the tenth Business Day (or such later date as the Board
of Directors shall determine, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors then in office)
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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 Person 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 Person holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan)
to commence, a tender or exchange offer the consummation of which would result
in any Person becoming the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares aggregating 15% or
more of the then outstanding Common Shares (the earlier of such dates being
herein referred to as the "Distribution Date"), (x) the Rights will be evidenced
(subject to the provisions of Sections 3(b) and 3(c) 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 Certificates will be transferable only in
connection with the transfer of Common Shares. As soon as practicable after the
Distribution Date, the Company will notify the Rights Agent thereof and the
Company will prepare and execute, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the
Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested,
send) by first-class, 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, subject to adjustment as provided for
herein. 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 or the Rights Agent 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) Unless the Board of Directors by resolution adopted at or
before the time of issuance of any Common Shares specifies to the contrary,
Rights shall be issued in respect of all Common Shares that are issued after the
Record Date but prior to the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption
Date or the Final Expiration Date. Certificates representing such Common Shares
shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights, and shall bear the following
legend:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder
hereof to certain rights as set forth in a Rights
Agreement between
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Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc. (the "Company") and
First Chicago Trust Company of New York dated as of
September 20, 1999 (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 the Company. 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. The Company will mail to the holder of
this certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement
without charge after receipt of a written request
therefor. Under certain circumstances, as set forth
in the Rights Agreement, Rights issued to any Person
who is, was or becomes an Acquiring Person (or any
Affiliate or Associate thereof) (as defined in the
Rights Agreement), whether currently held by or on
behalf of such Person or by any subsequent holder,
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.
(a) The Right Certificates (and the forms of assignment,
certification and election to purchase Preferred Shares to be printed on the
reverse thereof) shall be substantially the same as EXHIBIT B hereto and may
have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries or
endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to
comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant
thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange or transaction
reporting system on which the Rights may from time to time be listed, or to
conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of Sections 11 and 22 hereof, the
Right Certificates whenever distributed, shall be dated as of the Record Date
(or in the case of Rights issued with respect to Common Shares issued by the
Company after the Record Date, as of the date of issuance of such Common Stock)
and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of
one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the
price per one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share set forth therein (the
"Purchase Price"), but the number of such one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share
and the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
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(b) Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a) or
Section 22 hereof that represents Rights Beneficially Owned by: (i) an Acquiring
Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee
of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such or (iii) a transferee of an
Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and
receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for
consideration) from the Acquiring Person to holders of equity interests in such
Acquiring Person or to any Person with whom such Acquiring Person has any
continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred
Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board of Directors of the Company has
determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has as a
primary purpose or effect avoidance of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, and any Rights
Certificate issued pursuant to Section 6 or Section 11 hereof upon transfer,
exchange, replacement or adjustment of any other Rights Certificate referred to
in this sentence, shall contain (to the extent feasible) the following legend:
The Rights represented by this Rights Certificate are
or were beneficially owned by a Person who was or
became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are
defined in the Rights Agreement). Accordingly, this
Rights Certificate and the Rights represented hereby
may become null and void in the circumstances
specified in the Rights Agreement.
SECTION 5. Countersignature and Registration.
(a) The Right Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the
Company by its Chairperson of the Board, its Vice-chairperson of the Board, its
President, any of its Vice Presidents, or its Treasurer, either manually or by
facsimile signature, shall have affixed thereto the Company's seal, if any, 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 (or by facsimile if permitted by
law) 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. 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 Agreement any such person was not
such an officer.
(b) 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
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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.
(a) 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-hundredths of a Preferred Share (or other securities or property) 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 with the form of certification and
assignment on the reverse side thereof duly endorsed (or enclosed with such
Rights Certificate a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the
Company and the Rights Agent), duly executed by the registered holder thereof or
his attorney duly authorized in writing, and with such signature duly
guaranteed. 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.
(b) 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) Subject to Sections 23(b) and 24(c) hereof, 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 and certification 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
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for each one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share as to which the Rights are
exercised, at or prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth
anniversary of the Record Date (the "Final Expiration Date"), (ii) the time at
which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof (the "Redemption
Date"), (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged as provided in Section
24 hereof, or (iv) the consummation of any merger or other acquisition involving
the Company pursuant to an agreement described in Section 1(c)(ii)(A)(2) hereof.
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of a
Preferred Share in connection with the exercise of a Right shall initially be
$80, shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11
and 13 hereof and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of
America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.
(c) Except as otherwise provided herein, upon receipt of a
Right Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of
certification and election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by payment of
the Purchase Price for the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share (or
other security or property, as the case may be) 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, subject to Section 20(j) hereof, thereupon promptly (i) (A)
requisition from any transfer agent of the Preferred Shares certificates for the
number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share to be purchased and the
Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such
requests, or (B) requisition from a depositary agent properly appointed by the
Company depositary receipts representing such number of one one-hundredths of a
Preferred Share as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the
Preferred Shares represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer
agent with the depositary agent) and the Company hereby directs the depositary
agent to comply with such request, (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the
Company the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares
in accordance with Section 14 hereof, (iii) after receipt of such certificates
or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of
the registered holder of such 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. In the case of a purchase of securities, other than Preferred
Shares, pursuant to Section 13 hereof, the Rights Agent shall promptly take the
appropriate actions corresponding in such case to that referred to in the
foregoing clauses (i) through (iv) of this Section 7(c). In the event that the
Company is obligated to issue other securities of the Company, and/or distribute
other property or consideration as provided for herein, the Company shall make
all arrangements necessary so that such other securities, and/or property or
other consideration are available for distribution by the Rights Agent, if and
when appropriate.
(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.
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(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of
any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered
holder shall have (i) completed and signed the form of certification and
election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Right Certificate
surrendered for such exercise, and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the
identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or
Associates thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.
SECTION 8. Cancellation and Destruction of 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 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.
SECTION 9. Reservation and Availability of Preferred Shares.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees that it will use its best
efforts to cause to be reserved and kept available out of and to the extent of
its authorized and unissued shares of Preferred Stock not reserved for another
purpose, or any Preferred Shares held in its treasury if then permitted by
applicable law (and, following the occurrence of an event described in Section
11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common
Stock and/or other securities), the number of Preferred Shares (and, following
the occurrence of any such event, Common Stock and/or other securities) that
will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights.
(b) If the Preferred Shares (or, following the occurrence of
an event described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), the Common Shares
and/or other securities) are at any time listed on a national securities
exchange or included for quotation on any transaction reporting system, then so
long as the Preferred Shares (and, following the occurrence of any such event
described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), the Common Shares and/or other
securities) issuable and deliverable upon exercise of the Rights may be listed
on such exchange or included for quotation on any such transaction reporting
system, the Company shall use its best efforts to cause, from and after such
time as the Rights become exercisable (but only to the extent that it is
reasonably likely that the Rights will be exercised), all shares reserved for
such issuance to be listed on such exchange or included for quotation on any
such transaction reporting system upon official notice of issuance upon such
exercise.
(c) The Company shall use its best efforts to (i) file, as
soon as practicable following the earliest date after the first occurrence of an
event described in Section 11(a)(ii) in
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which the consideration to be delivered by the Company upon exercise of the
Rights has been determined in accordance with Section 11(a)(iv) hereof, or as
soon as is required by law following the Distribution Date, as the case may be,
a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the securities
purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, (ii) cause such
registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such
filing and (iii) cause such registration statement to remain effective (with a
prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Securities Act) until
the earlier of (A) the date as of which the Rights are no longer exercisable for
such securities or (B) the date of expiration of the Rights. The Company may
temporarily suspend, for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days after the date
set forth in clause (i) of the first sentence of this Section 9(c), the
exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file such registration
statement and permit it to become effective. Upon any such suspension, the
Company shall issue a public announcement stating, and notify the Rights Agent,
that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as
a public announcement and notification to the Rights Agent at such time as the
suspension is no longer in effect. The Company will also take such action as may
be appropriate under, or to ensure compliance with, the securities or "blue sky"
laws of the various states in connection with the exercisability of the Rights.
Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights
shall not be exercisable in any jurisdiction, unless the requisite qualification
in such jurisdiction shall have been obtained, or an exemption therefrom shall
be available and until a registration statement has been declared effective.
(d) The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all
such action as may be necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares delivered
upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for
such Preferred Shares (subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and
validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable shares.
(e) The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay
when due and payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges
which may be payable in respect of the original 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 therefor (and any applicable transfer taxes) was
made; provided,
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however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the
Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are closed, such person shall be
deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and such certificate
shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Shares
transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights
evidenced thereby, the holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to
any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares for which the Rights shall be
exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote, to receive
dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall
not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except
as provided herein.
SECTION 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of
Rights. The Purchase Price, the number of Preferred Shares covered by each
Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time
to time as provided in this Section 11.
(a) (i) In the event the Company shall at any time after the date
of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares payable in
Preferred Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares, (C) combine
the outstanding Preferred Shares into a smaller number of Preferred Shares or
(D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred
Shares (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation
or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation),
then, in each such event, 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 issuable upon the exercise of such Rights, shall
be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such
time shall be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of
capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such
date and at a time when the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company were
open, such holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to
receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or
reclassification; provided, however, that in no event shall the consideration to
be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of
the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right.
If an event occurs which would require an adjustment under both this Section
11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii), the adjustment provided for in this Section
11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made prior to any adjustment
required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii).
(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the event
that any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right shall
thereafter have the right to receive for each Right, upon exercise thereof, at a
price equal to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of a number of one one-
hundredths of a Preferred Share, such number of Common Shares of the Company as
shall equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the then current Purchase
Price by the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share for which a Right
is then exercisable and dividing that product by (y) 50% of the then Current Per
Share Market Price of the Company's Common Shares (determined pursuant to
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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.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary,
from and after the first occurrence of an event in which any Person shall become
an Acquiring Person, any Rights Beneficially Owned by (A) an Acquiring Person or
an Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (B) a transferee of an
Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such, or (C) a transferee of an
Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who becomes a
transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and
receives such Rights pursuant to either (1) a transfer (whether or not for
consideration) from the Acquiring Person to holders of equity interests in such
Acquiring Person or to any Person with whom the Acquiring Person has any
continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred
Rights or (2) a transfer which the Board of Directors, upon the affirmative vote
of a majority of the Continuing Directors, has determined is part of a plan,
arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the
avoidance of this Section 11(a)(ii), shall become null and void without any
further action and no holder of such Rights shall have any rights whatsoever
with respect to such Rights, whether under any provision of this Agreement or
otherwise. No 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
or to any nominee or agent of such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate; 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 or agent 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.
The Company shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that
the provisions of this Section 11(a)(ii) are complied with, but shall have no
liability to any holder of Right Certificates or other Person as a result of its
failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or its
Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder.
(iii) The right to buy Common Shares of the Company pursuant
to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, (a) shall not arise if the event causing such
Person to become an Acquiring Person (A) is a consolidation, merger, sale,
transfer or similar transaction subject to Section 13 hereof, or (B) is an
acquisition of shares of Common Shares pursuant to a tender offer or an exchange
offer for all outstanding Common Shares at a price and on terms determined by
the Board of Directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors, and after receiving advice from one or more investment
banking firms, to be (1) at a price which is fair to stockholders (taking into
account all factors which such members of the Board of Directors deem relevant
including, without limitation, prices which could reasonably be achieved if the
Company or its assets were sold in an orderly basis designed to realize maximum
stockholder value) and (2) otherwise in the best interests of the Company and
its stockholders.
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(iv) In lieu of issuing Common Shares in accordance with
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the Company may, if the Board of Directors of the
Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors,
determines that such action is necessary or appropriate and not contrary to the
interest of holders of Rights (and/or in the event that the number of Common
Shares which are authorized by the Company's Articles of Incorporation but not
outstanding or reserved for issuance for purposes other than upon exercise of
the Rights is not sufficient to permit the exercise in full of the Rights, or if
any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance has not been obtained by the
Company), the Company shall: (A) determine the excess of (1) the value of the
Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right (determined as provided in
the last sentence of this subclause (iv), hereinafter referred to as the
"Current Value") over (2) the Purchase Price (such excess being referred to as
the "Spread") and (B) with respect to each Right, make adequate provision to
substitute for such Common Shares, upon exercise of the Rights, (1) cash, (2) a
reduction in the Purchase Price, (3) other equity securities of the Company
(including, without limitation, shares or units of shares of any series of
preferred stock which the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, has deemed to have
the same value as Common Shares (such shares or units of shares of preferred
stock are herein called "Common Stock Equivalents")), except to the extent the
Company has not obtained any necessary stockholder or regulatory approval for
such issuance, (4) debt securities of the Company, except to the extent that the
Company has not obtained any necessary stockholder or regulatory approval for
such issuance, (5) other assets or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having
an aggregate value equal to the Current Value, where such aggregate value has
been determined by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative
vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, based upon the advice of a
nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board of Directors
of the Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing
Directors; provided, however, if the Company shall not have made adequate
provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30) days
following the occurrence of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii), then the
Company shall be obligated to deliver, upon the surrender for exercise of a
Right and without requiring payment of the Purchase Price, Common Shares (to the
extent available), except to the extent that the Company has not obtained any
necessary stockholder or regulatory approval for such issuance, and then, if
necessary, cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value equal to the
Spread. If the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative vote of a
majority of the Continuing Directors, shall determine in good faith that it is
likely that sufficient additional Common Shares could be authorized for issuance
upon exercise in full of the Rights or that any necessary regulatory approval
for such issuance will be obtained, the thirty (30) day period set forth above
may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety (90) days
after the occurrence of an event described in Section 11(a)(ii), in order that
the Company may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such
additional shares or take action to obtain such regulatory approval (such
period, as it may be extended, the "Substitution Period"). To the extent that
the Company determines that some action need be taken pursuant to the first
and/or second sentences of this Section 11(a)(iv), the Company (x) shall provide
that such action shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights held by holders
entitled to receive Common Shares or other securities or property upon exercise
of such Rights and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the
expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek any
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authorization of additional shares, to take any action to obtain any required
regulatory approval and/or to decide the appropriate form of distribution to be
made pursuant to such first sentence and to determine the value thereof. In the
event of any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement
stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as
well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in
effect and shall promptly notify the Rights Agent of such suspension. For
purposes of this Section 11(a)(iv), the value of the Common Shares shall be the
Current Per Share Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof)
of the Common Shares at the Close of Business on the date of the occurrence of
one of the events described in Section 11(a)(ii) and the value of any Common
Stock Equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the Common Shares on
such date.
(b) In the event that the Company shall fix a record date for
the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Shares
entitling them (for a period expiring within forty-five (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, then, in each such case, the Purchase Price
to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction,
the numerator of which shall be the number of Preferred Shares outstanding on
such record date plus the number of Preferred Shares which the aggregate
offering price of the total number of Preferred Shares and/or Equivalent
Preferred Shares so to be offered (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price
of the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase at such current
market price and the denominator of which shall be the number of Preferred
Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of additional Preferred
Shares and/or Equivalent Preferred Shares to be offered for subscription or
purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be offered are
initially convertible). In case such subscription price may be paid in a
consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other than cash, the value
of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the
holders of the Rights. Preferred Shares owned by or held for the account of the
Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such 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 periodic cash dividend or a dividend payable in
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Preferred Shares) or subscription rights or warrants (excluding those referred
to in Section 11(b) hereof), the Purchase Price to be in effect after such
record date shall be determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect
immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which
shall be the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares on such
record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the
Board of Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of
the Continuing Directors, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent) of the portion of the assets or evidences of
indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants
applicable to one Preferred Share and the denominator of which shall be such
Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares. Such adjustments shall
be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed; and in the event that
such distribution is not so made, the Purchase Price shall again be adjusted to
be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not
been fixed.
(d) (i) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the
"Current Per Share Market Price" of any security on any date shall be deemed to
be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such security for the
thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days (as such term is hereinafter defined)
immediately prior to such date; provided, however, that in the event that the
Current Per Share Market Price of the security is determined during a period
following the announcement by the Issuer of such security of (A) a dividend or
distribution on such security payable in shares of such security or securities
convertible into such shares, or (B) any subdivision, combination or
reclassification of such security and prior to the expiration of thirty (30)
Trading Days after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or
the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and
in each such case, the Current Per Share Market Price shall be appropriately
adjusted to reflect the current market price per share equivalent of such
security. The closing price for each day shall be the last sale price, 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 National Association of Securities
Dealers Automated Quotation System ("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, upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors. If on
any such date no market maker is making a market in the security, the "Current
Per Share Market Price" of such security on such date as determined in good
faith by the Board of Directors of the Company as provided for above shall be
used. The term "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the principal national
securities exchange on which the security is listed or admitted to trading is
open for the transaction of business or, if the security is not listed or
admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.
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(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 100. If neither the
Common Shares nor the Preferred Shares are publicly held or so listed or traded,
"Current Per Share Market Price" shall mean the fair value per share as
determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, whose determination
shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be
conclusive for all purposes.
(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, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled
to receive any shares of capital stock of the Company other than Preferred
Shares, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise
of any Right shall be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on
terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the
Preferred Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c), inclusive, and the
provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 with respect to the Preferred Shares
shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.
(g) All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to
any adjustment made to the Purchase Price hereunder shall evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, the number of one one-hundredths of a
Preferred Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the
Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.
(h) Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as
provided in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a
result of the calculations made in Sections 11(b) and (c), each Right
outstanding immediately prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter
evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of
one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one
one-millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number
of one one-hundredths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to this
adjustment by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such
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adjustment of the Purchase Price and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by
the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase
Price.
(i) The Company may elect on or after the date of any
adjustment of the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights, in substitution
for any adjustment in the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share
purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after
such adjustment of the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of
one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable
immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record prior to such
adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights
(calculated to the nearest one ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase
Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the
Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price. The
Company shall make a public announcement of its election to adjust the number of
Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the
time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. This record date may be the date
on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Right
Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (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-hundredths 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-hundredths
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-hundredth of the 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
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record date of the Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the
Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the Preferred Shares
and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such
exercise on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment;
provided, however that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due xxxx or
other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder's right to receive such
additional shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.
(m) Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the
Purchase Price, in addition to those adjustments expressly required by this
Section 11, as and to the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine
to be advisable in order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred
Shares, issuance wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less than the
current market price, issuance wholly for cash of Preferred Shares or securities
which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Preferred Shares,
dividends on Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares or issuance of rights,
options or warrants referred to hereinabove in Section 11(b), hereafter made by
the Company to holders of its Preferred Shares shall not be taxable to such
stockholders.
(n) In the event that at any time after the date of this
Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company shall (i) declare or
pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or (ii) effect a
subdivision or combination of the Common Shares (by reclassification or
otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares) into a greater or
lesser number of Common Shares, then in any such case (A) the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preferred Share purchasable after such event upon proper
exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preferred Share so purchasable immediately prior to such
event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares
outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of which is the
number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and (B) each
Common Share outstanding immediately after such event shall have issued with
respect to it that number of Rights which each Common Share outstanding
immediately prior to such event had issued with respect to it. The adjustments
provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be made successively whenever such a
dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination or consolidation
is effected.
SECTION 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.
Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof, the
Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment,
and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (b) file with
the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Shares or the
Preferred Shares 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.
Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure by the Company to make such
certification or give such notice shall not affect the validity of or the force
or effect of the requirement for such adjustment. The Rights Agent shall be
fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment
contained therein and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of such adjustment
unless and until it shall have received such certificate.
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SECTION 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning
Power.
(a) Except as provided in Section 13(b) hereof, in the event,
directly or indirectly, (1) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with
and into, any other Person, (2) any Person shall consolidate with the Company,
or merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or
surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger and, in connection with
such consolidation or merger, all or part of the Common Shares shall be changed
into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person (or the
Company) or cash or any other property, or (3) the Company shall sell or
otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise
transfer), in one or more transactions, directly or indirectly, assets or
earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or earning power of the
Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person other than
the Company or one or more of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries, then, and in each
such case, proper provision shall be made so that (i) each holder of a Right
(except as otherwise provided herein) shall thereafter have the right to
receive, upon the exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current Purchase
Price multiplied by the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share for
which a Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement and in lieu of Preferred Shares, such number of fully paid and
non-assessable Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as
successor thereto or as the surviving corporation in any such consolidation,
merger, sale or transfer), free of any liens, encumbrances, rights of first
refusal or other adverse claims, as shall equal the result obtained by (A)
multiplying the then current Purchase Price by the number of one one-hundredths
of a Preferred Share for which a Right is then exercisable and dividing that
product by (B) 50% of the then Current Per Share Market Price of the Common
Shares of such other Person (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the
date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (ii) the
Issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume,
by virtue of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, all the obligations
and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the term "Company"
shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Issuer; and (iv) such Issuer shall
take such steps (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, and
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 other arrangements of
any kind whatsoever 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 each
successive merger, consolidation, sale or transfer.
The supplemental agreement referred to above in this
Section 13(a) to be entered into by the Company, Issuer and Rights Agent shall
also provide that, as soon as practicable after the date of any of the events
described in Section 13(a), such Issuer shall:
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(i) prepare and file a registration statement under the
Securities Act with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable upon
exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, use its best efforts to cause
such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after
such filing and use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to
remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the
Securities Act) until the Final Expiration Date, and similarly comply with
applicable state securities laws;
(ii) use its best efforts to list (or continue the listing
of) the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on a
national securities exchange or to meet the eligibility requirements for
quotation on NASDAQ; and
(iii) deliver to holders of the Rights historical
financial statements for such Issuer which comply in all respects with the
requirements for registration on Form 10 (or any successor form) under the
Exchange Act.
(b) In the event of any merger or other acquisition
transaction involving the Company pursuant to an agreement described in Section
1(c)(ii)(A)(2), the provisions of Section 13(a) hereof shall not be applicable
to such transaction and this Agreement and the rights of holders of Rights
hereunder shall be terminated in accordance with Section 7(a) hereof.
(c) The term "Issuer," for purposes of this Section 13, shall
refer to the Person (or the Affiliate or Associate of such Person) referred to
in Section 13(a); provided, however, that (i) if such Person (or the Affiliate
or Associate of such Person) is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of another
Person, the term "Issuer" shall refer to such other Person, and (ii) in case
such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one Person,
the term "Issuer" shall refer to whichever of such Person or Persons is the
Issuer of Common Shares having the greatest aggregate value.
(d) If, for any reason, the Rights cannot be exercised for
Common Shares of such Issuer as provided in Section 13(a), then each holder of
Rights shall have the right to exchange its Rights (without payment of the
Purchase Price) for cash from such Issuer in an amount equal to the product of
(A) 1/2 of the number of Common Shares of the Issuer that it would otherwise be
entitled to purchase pursuant to Section 13(a) hereof multiplied by (B) the
Current Per Share Market Price, as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof,
of such Common Shares of such Issuer. If, for any reason, the foregoing
provision cannot be applied to determine the cash amount into which the Rights
are exchangeable, then the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, based upon the
advice of one or more nationally recognized investment banking firms, shall
determine such amount reasonably and in good faith. Any such determination shall
be final and binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of Rights.
SECTION 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
(a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Rights or to distribute Right Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In
lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be
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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, upon approval
by a majority of the Continuing Directors. If on any such date no such market
maker is making a market in the Rights, the fair value of the Rights on such
date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon
approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors, shall be used.
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one
one-hundredth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute
certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other than fractions
which are integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share).
Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a
Preferred 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, however, that such agreement shall provide
that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights,
privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as beneficial owners of
the Preferred Shares represented by such depositary receipts. In lieu of
fractional Preferred Shares that are not integral multiples of one one-hundredth
of a Preferred Share, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of 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).
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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 such holder's own behalf and
for such holder's own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit,
action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect
of, such holder's 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 hereunder, and
injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations of
any Person subject to, this Agreement.
SECTION 16. Agreement of Right Holders. Every holder of a Right, by
accepting the same, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent
and with every other holder of a Right that:
(a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be
transferable only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;
(b) after the Distribution Date, the 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;
(c) subject to Sections 6 and 7 hereof, 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;
and
(d) notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to
any holder of a Right or other Person as a result of its inability to perform
any of its obligations under this Agreement by reason of any preliminary or
permanent injunction or other order, decree or ruling issued by a court of
competent jurisdiction or by a governmental, regulatory or administrative agency
or commission, or any statute, rule, regulation or executive order promulgated
or enacted by any governmental authority, prohibiting or otherwise restraining
performance of such obligation; provided, however, the Company must use its best
efforts to have any such order, decree or ruling lifted or otherwise overturned
as soon as possible.
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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
any action taken, suffered or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the
execution, acceptance and administration of this Agreement and the exercise and
performance hereunder of its duties, including the costs and expenses of
defending against and appealing any claim of liability in the premises.
The Rights Agent shall be protected and shall incur no
liability for, or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in
connection with, its administration of this Agreement and the exercise and
performance of its duties hereunder in reliance upon any Right Certificate or
certificate for the Preferred Shares or Common Shares or for other securities of
the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney,
endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate,
statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be
signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or acknowledged, by the proper
Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in
Section 20 hereof.
SECTION 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent. Any
corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be
merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from
any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights
Agent shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the stock transfer or
corporate trust business of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent,
shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the
execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the
parties hereto, provided that such corporation would be eligible for appointment
as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case
at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by
this Agreement any of the 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
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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 of its
choice (who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the reasonable opinion of
such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the
Rights Agent as to any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in good faith and
in accordance with such opinion.
(b) Whenever in the administration, exercise and performance
of its duties under this Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or
desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior
to taking, suffering or omitting any action hereunder, such fact or matter
(unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may
be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by
any one of the Chairperson of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the
Treasurer or the Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and
such certificate shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action
taken, suffered or omitted in good faith by it under the provisions of this
Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.
(c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to the Company
and any other Person only for its own 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 liability or
responsibility in respect of the legality, validity or enforceability of this
Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof
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(except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the
legality, validity or enforceability or the execution of any Right Certificate
(except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be liable or responsible for
any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this
Agreement or in any 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 receipt of the certificate
described in Section 12 hereof); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to
make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of
any Preferred Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any 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 administration, exercise and performance
of its duties hereunder from any one of the Chairperson of the Board, the
Vice-chairperson of the Board, 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 responsible or
liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in good faith in
accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting
while waiting for those instructions.
(h) The Rights Agent and any shareholder, director, officer or
employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other
securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in
which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the
Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent
under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting
in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the
rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself
or by or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be
answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any
such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such
act, default, neglect or misconduct, provided reasonable care was exercised in
the selection and continued employment thereof.
(j) If, with respect to any Right Certificate surrendered to
the Rights Agent for exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange, the
certification on the form of assignment or
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form of election to purchase, as the case may be, that the Rights evidenced by
the Right Certificate are not owned by an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof, has either not been completed or in any manner indicates any
other response thereto, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with
respect to such requested exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange,
without first consulting with the Company.
SECTION 21. Change of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement
upon thirty (30) days' 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 the Company shall mail notice thereof to the holders of the
Right Certificates by first-class mail. The Company may remove the Rights Agent
any successor Rights Agent upon thirty (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 thirty
(30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in
writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated
Rights Agent or by the holder of a Right Certificate (who shall, with such
notice, submit such holder's Right Certificate for inspection by the Company),
then the registered holder of any Right Certificate may apply to any court of
competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor
Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be (A)
a corporation organized and doing business under the laws of the United States
or of any state of the United States so long as such corporation is authorized
to do business as a banking institution, is in good standing, and 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 or (B) an Affiliate of a corporation described
in clause (A) of this sentence. 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, upon the affirmative
vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, to reflect any adjustment or
change in the
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Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or
property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in accordance with the
provisions of this Agreement. In addition, in connection with the issuance or
sale of Common Shares following the Distribution Date and prior to the
redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with respect to
Common Shares so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise of stock options or
under any employee benefit plan or arrangement or upon the exercise, conversion
or exchange of securities of the Company currently outstanding or issued at any
time in the future by the Company and (b) may, in any other case, if deemed
necessary or appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, issue Right
Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection with
such issuance or sale; provided, however, that (i) no such Right Certificate
shall be issued and this sentence shall be null and void ab initio if, and to
the extent that, such issuance or this sentence would create a significant risk
of or result in material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person
to whom such Right Certificate would be issued or would create a significant
risk of or result in such options' or employee plans' or arrangements' failing
to qualify for otherwise available special tax treatment and (ii) no such Right
Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate adjustment
shall otherwise have been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.
SECTION 23. Redemption.
(a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option,
upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, at any time
prior to the Close of Business on the earlier of (i) the tenth day following the
Shares Acquisition Date or such later date as may be determined by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors and publicly
announced by the Company, or (ii) the Final Expiration Date, redeem all but not
less than all of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.01 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"), and the Company may, at its
option, pay the Redemption Price either in cash, Common Shares (based on the
Current Per Share Market Price thereof (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)
hereof) at the time of redemption), or any other form of consideration deemed
appropriate by the Board of Directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority
of Continuing Directors. 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; provided, however, if
the Board of Directors of the Company authorizes redemption of the Rights on or
after the time a Person becomes an Acquiring Person, then there must be
Continuing Directors then in office and such authorization shall require the
concurrence of a majority of such Continuing Directors.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of
the Company ordering the redemption of the Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of
this Section 23, and without any further action and without any notice, the
right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the
holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price. The Company shall
promptly give public notice of any such redemption; provided, however, that the
failure to give, or
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any defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of such redemption.
Within ten (10) days after such action of the Board of Directors ordering the
redemption of the Rights, the Company shall give notice of such redemption to
the Rights Agent and shall mail a notice of redemption to all the holders of the
then outstanding Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry
books of the Rights Agent or, prior to the Distribution Date, on the registry
books of the transfer agent for the Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in
the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, 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) Notwithstanding any other provision herein to the
contrary, the Board of Directors of the Company, at its option, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, at any time after
any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, may exchange all or part of the then
outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have
become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) for (i)
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 (the "Exchange Shares") or (ii) Substitute
Consideration (as that term is defined below). The Board of Directors, upon the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors may determine, in its
sole discretion, whether to deliver Exchange Shares or Substitute Consideration.
(b) In the event the Board of Directors shall determine to
deliver Substitute Consideration in exchange for Rights, the Company shall (1)
determine the value of the Exchange Shares (the "Exchange Value"), and (2) with
respect to each Right to be exchanged, make adequate provision to substitute for
Exchange Shares the following (the "Substitute Consideration"): (v) cash, (w)
Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents (as that term is defined in Section
11(a)(iv) hereof) or Preferred Shares or Equivalent Preferred Stock (as that
term is defined in Section 11(b) hereof), (x) debt securities of the Company,
(y) other assets, or (z) any combination of the foregoing, having an aggregate
value equal to the Exchange Value, where such aggregate value has been
determined by the Board of Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative vote
of a majority of the Continuing Directors based upon the advice of a nationally
recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board of Directors of the
Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors.
For purposes of this Section 24(b), the value of the Common Shares shall be the
Current Per Share Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof)
on the day that is the later of (x) the first occurrence of an event described
in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof and (y) the date on which the Company's right of
redemption pursuant to Section 24(a) expires; and the value of any Common Stock
Equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the Common Shares on such
date.
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(c) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of
the Company ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to this Section 24, and
without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such
Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder of such Rights
shall be to receive Exchange Shares or Substitute Consideration for each Right
exchanged by such holder. 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 address 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 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.
(d) In the event that there shall not be sufficient shares of
Common Stock or Preferred Stock 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 shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock for issuance upon
exchange of the Rights. Notwithstanding anything else set forth in this Section
24, 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 of the Company then outstanding.
(e) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Common Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common
Shares. In lieu of such fractional Common Shares, the Company shall pay to the
registered holders of the 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 (e), the current market value of a whole Common Share
shall be the closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the
second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately
prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.
(f) The Company may, at its option, by majority vote of the
Board of Directors, at any time before any Person has become an Acquiring
Person, exchange all or part of the then outstanding Rights for rights of
substantially equivalent value, as determined reasonably and in good faith by
the Board of Directors, based upon the advice of one or more nationally
recognized investment banking firms.
(g) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors
ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to subsection (f) of this Section
24 and without any further action and without
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any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right
thereafter of a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of rights
in exchange therefor as has been determined by the Board of Directors in
accordance with subsection (f) above. The Company shall 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
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 transfer
agent for the Common Shares of the Company. 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 Rights will be effected.
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
periodic cash dividend), (ii) to offer to the holders of its Preferred Shares
rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional Preferred
Shares or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or
options, (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred Shares (other
than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred
Shares), (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with, or to effect
any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to
effect any sale or other transfer), in one or more transactions, of 50% or more
of the assets or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a
whole) to, any other Person, (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or
winding up of the Company, or (vi) to declare or pay any dividend on the Common
Shares payable in Common Shares or to effect a subdivision, combination or
consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by
payment of dividends in Common Shares), then, in each such case, the Company
shall give to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26
hereof, a notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record date
for the purposes of such stock dividend, or distribution of rights or warrants,
or the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale,
transfer, liquidation, dissolution, or winding up is to take place and the date
of participation therein by the holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred
Shares, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in
the case of any action covered by clause (i) or (ii) above at least ten (10)
days prior to the record date for determining holders of the Preferred Shares
for purposes of such action, and in the case of any such other action referred
to above, at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the taking of such
proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of the
Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, whichever shall be the earlier.
(b) In case any of the events set forth in Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof shall occur, then the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter
give to each holder of a 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. In the event any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, the
Company will promptly notify the Rights Agent thereof.
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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:
Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc.
00000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000-0000
Attention: President
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 Xxxx., Xxxxx 0000
Xxxxxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Corporate Actions 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 first-class mail, postage prepaid,
addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry
books of the Company.
SECTION 27. Supplements and Amendments. Prior to the Distribution
Date, the Company may, in its sole and absolute discretion, supplement or amend
this Agreement in any respect, including, without limitation, any amendment to
change the Purchase Price, without the approval of any holders of Rights, by
action of its Board of Directors upon approval by a majority of the Continuing
Directors, and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs, execute such
supplement or amendment. From and after the Distribution Date, the Company may
from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any
holders of Rights, by action of its Board of Directors, upon the affirmative
vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, in order to cure any ambiguity,
to correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective
or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to change or supplement any
other provisions with respect to the Rights which the Company may deem necessary
or desirable and which shall be consistent with, and for the purpose of
fulfilling, the objectives of the Board of Directors in adopting this Agreement,
including, without limitation, to change the Purchase Price, the Redemption
Price, any time periods herein specified, and any other term hereof, any such
supplement or amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and
the Rights Agent; provided, however, that from and after the Distribution Date,
this Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which would adversely affect
the interests of the holders of Rights. Upon receipt of a certificate from an
appropriate officer of the Company that the proposed supplement or amendment is
consistent with
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this Section 27 and, after the Distribution Date, that the proposed supplement
or amendment does not adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights,
the Rights Agent shall execute such supplement or amendment. Without limiting
the foregoing, the Company may at any time prior to the Distribution Date, by
action of its Board of Directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors, amend this Agreement to lower the thresholds set forth in
Sections 1(a) and 3(a) to not less than the greater of (i) any percentage
greater than the largest percentage of the outstanding Common Shares then 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, any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to
the terms of any such plan, or Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx) and (ii) 10%.
SECTION 28. Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement
by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to
the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.
SECTION 29. Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors. For all
purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of Common Shares
outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the
particular percentage of such outstanding Common Shares of which any Person is
the Beneficial Owner, shall be made in accordance with the last sentence of Rule
13d-3(d)(1)(i) of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act. The
Board of Directors of the Company (and, where specifically provided for herein,
only upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors) shall
have the exclusive power and authority to administer this Agreement and to
exercise all rights and powers specifically granted to the Board, or the
Company, or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this
Agreement, including, without limitation, the right and power to (i) interpret
the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) make all determinations deemed
necessary or advisable for the administration of this Agreement (including a
determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights or to amend the Agreement). All
such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations (including, for
purposes of clause (y) below, all omissions with respect to the foregoing),
which are done or made by the Board (or, where specifically provided for herein,
upon approval by a majority of the Continuing Directors) in good faith, shall
(x) be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the
holders of the Right Certificates and all other parties and (y) not subject the
Board or the Continuing Directors to any liability to the holders of the Rights.
SECTION 30. Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be
construed to give to any Person 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 31. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction
of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other
authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the
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remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement
shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired
or invalidated; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or restriction
is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable and the
Board of Directors of the Company, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of
the Continuing Directors, determines in its good faith judgment that severing
the invalid language from this Agreement would adversely affect the purpose or
effect of this Agreement, the right of redemption set forth in Section 23 hereof
shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the tenth business day following
the date of such determination by the Board of Directors of the Company.
SECTION 32. Governing Law. This Agreement and each Right Certificate
issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the
State of Michigan and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts to be made and
performed entirely within such State.
SECTION 33. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of
counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to
be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and
the same instrument.
SECTION 34. Descriptive Headings. Descriptive headings of the several
Sections of this Agreement are inserted or convenience only and shall not
control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
FIRST CHICAGO TRUST COMPANY MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE
OF NEW YORK GROUP, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Title: Assistant Vice President Title: President
ATTEST:
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Name: Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
--------------------------------
Title: Title: Secretary
-------------------------------
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EXHIBIT A
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
OF
PREFERENCES AND RIGHTS OF SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK
OF
MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP, INC.
(Pursuant to Section 302 of the Michigan Business Corporation Act)
Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., a corporation organized and existing
under the Michigan Business Corporation Act (the "Corporation"), hereby
certifies that pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Board of Directors
by the Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation the following resolution was
adopted at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Corporation as required by
Section 302 of the Business Corporation Act on September 15, 1999:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the
Board of Directors of the Corporation (hereinafter called the "Board of
Directors" or the "Board") in accordance with the provisions of its Articles of
Incorporation, the Board of Directors hereby creates a series of preferred stock
of the Corporation and hereby states the designation and number of shares, and
voting power, preferences and relative participating, optional and other special
rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof as follows:
SECTION 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be
designated as "Series A Preferred Stock" (the "Series A Preferred Stock") and
the number of shares initially constituting the Series A Preferred Stock shall
be 150,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of
the Board of Directors; provided, that no decrease shall reduce the number of
shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares
then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the
exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of
any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation 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 of the Corporation (the "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 shares of the common stock of the Corporation (the
"Common Stock"), 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
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on the last 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 (i) $1.00 in cash,
or (ii) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 100 times
the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 100 times the
aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other
distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a
subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or
otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of
Series A Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after
the Record Date specified in that certain Rights Agreement approved and adopted
by the Corporation of even date herewith between the Corporation and First
Chicago Trust Company of New York as Rights Agent (the "Declaration Date"),
declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common
Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination of the outstanding shares of
Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) 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 the preceding subclause (ii) 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 2
immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock
(other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided that, if no
dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the
period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next succeeding
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a dividend of $1.00 per share payable in cash
on the Series A Preferred Stock shall nevertheless accrue and be cumulative on
the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock as provided in (C) of this
Section 2.
(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
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determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to
receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record
date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment
thereof.
SECTION 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series A Preferred
Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set
forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof
to 100 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the
Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the
Declaration Date declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in
shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) 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 shall vote together as one class on all
matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by
law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and
their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to
vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate
action.
SECTION 4. Certain Restrictions.
(A) The Corporation shall not declare any dividend on, make
any distribution on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration any shares of Common Stock after the first issuance of a share or
fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock unless concurrently therewith it
shall declare a dividend on the Series A Preferred Stock as required by Section
2 hereof.
(B) 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:
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(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.
(C) 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.
SECTION 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock
purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever
shall be retired and 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
to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject to
the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein, in the Articles 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 (A)
to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or as
to amounts payable 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 an amount per share (rounded to the nearest
cent) equal to the
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greater of (i) $100 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid
dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of
such payment, or (ii) an aggregate amount per share, subject to the provision
for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 100 times the aggregate amount to
be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock, plus an amount
equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions on the Series A
Preferred Stock whether or not declared, to the date of such payment or (B) to
the holders of shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or as
to amounts payable 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) 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 (A)(ii) of the preceding sentence shall
be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is
the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event
and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were
outstanding immediately prior to such event.
SECTION 7. Consolidation, Merger, Etc. In case the Corporation shall
enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which
the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or
securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of
Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or
changed into an amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment
hereinafter set forth, equal to 100 times the aggregate amount of stock,
securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may
be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged.
In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare after the Declaration
Date or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock,
or effect a subdivision or combination of the outstanding shares of Common Stock
(by reclassification or otherwise) 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
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, unless the terms of any
such series shall provide otherwise.
SECTION 10. Amendment. The Articles of Incorporation of the Corporation
shall not be further amended in any manner which would materially alter or
change the powers, preferences or special
A-5
45
rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without
the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding
shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.
SECTION 11. Fractional Shares. Series A Preferred Stock may be issued in
fractions of a share which shall entitle the holder, in proportion to such
holder's fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends,
participate in distributions and to have the benefit of all other rights of
holders of Series A Preferred Stock.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designation is executed on
behalf of the Corporation on this day of , 1999.
-----------------------------------------
Name:
Title:
ATTEST:
-----------------------------------
Name:
Title:
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EXHIBIT B
FORM OF RIGHT CERTIFICATE
Certificate No. R- Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER OCTOBER 15, 2009 OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR
EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT THE OPTION OF
THE COMPANY AT $0.01 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH
IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE
OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS
AGREEMENT) AND ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME NULL AND
VOID. [THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHT CERTIFICATE ARE OR WERE
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR
AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH TERMS ARE
DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT). ACCORDINGLY, THIS RIGHT CERTIFICATE
AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID IN THE
CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SUCH AGREEMENT.]*
* The portion of the legend in bracket shall be inserted only if applicable and
shall replace the preceding sentence.
RIGHT CERTIFICATE
MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP, 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 September 20, 1999 (the "Rights
Agreement"), between Meadowbrook Insurance Group, Inc., a Michigan 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.,
Detroit, Michigan time, on October 15, 2009, at the principal office of the
Rights Agent designated for such purpose, or at the office of its successor as
Rights Agent, one one-hundredth of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series A
Preferred Stock
B-1
47
(the "Preferred Shares") of the Company, at a purchase price of $80 per one
one-hundredth 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-hundredths of a Preferred Share which may be purchased upon
exercise hereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price set forth above, are
the number and Purchase Price as of September 20, 1999, based on the Preferred
Shares as constituted at such date. As provided in the Rights Agreement, the
Purchase Price and the number of one one-hundredths of a Preferred Share which
may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of
certain events.
This Right Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and
conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are
hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which
Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights,
limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the
Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of
the Rights Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the
Company and the principal office 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 its option, at a
redemption price of $0.01 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged by the Company in
whole or in part for Preferred Shares, shares of the Company's Common Stock, or
substantially equivalent rights or other consideration as determined by the
Company.
No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the exercise of any
Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which are integral
multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share, which may, at the election
of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu thereof a cash
payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Right Certificate, as such, shall be entitled to vote
or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred
Shares or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be
issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights
Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any
of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the
election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any
meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to
receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as
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provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription
rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Right Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose
until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
WITNESS the signature of the proper officers of the Company
and its corporate seal. Dated as of , 19 .
[SEAL]
ATTEST: MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE
GROUP, INC.
By: By:
------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Its: Its:
------------------------------- ----------------------------------
Countersigned:
, as Rights Agent
----------------------------------
By:
-------------------------------
Authorized Signature
Its:
------------------------------
Title
B-3
49
[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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CERTIFICATION
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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Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise the Right
Certificate.)
To MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP, 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.
B-5
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Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
CERTIFICATION
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTICE
The signature in the foregoing Forms of Assignment and Election to
Purchase must conform to the name as written upon the face of this 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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52
EXHIBIT C
MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP, INC.
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED SHARES
On September 15, 1999, the Board of Directors of Meadowbrook Insurance
Group, Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase
right (a "Right") for each outstanding share of Common Stock (the "Common
Shares"), of the Company. The dividend is payable on October 15, 1999 (the
"Record Date") to stockholders of record on that date. Each Right entitles the
registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-hundredth of a share of
Series A Preferred Stock (the "Preferred Shares"), of the Company at a price of
$80 per one one-hundredth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"), subject
to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in a Rights
Agreement dated as of September 20, 1999 (the "Rights Agreement") between the
Company and First Chicago Trust Company of New York, as Rights Agent (the
"Rights Agent") and are summarized below.
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 business days (or such later date
as may be determined by a majority of the Continuing Directors) following the
date of public announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person that any
person or group of affiliated or associated persons have become an Acquiring
Person, (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined by a
majority of the Continuing Directors) 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 associated persons of 15% or more of the Company's outstanding Common
Shares, or (iii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined by a
majority of the Continuing Directors) following the date on which a majority of
the Continuing Directors (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement), in
good faith, informs the Company by written notice of the existence of an
Acquiring Person (the earliest 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.
"Acquiring Person" shall mean any person who or which, together with
all affiliates and associates of such person is the Beneficial Owner of 15% or
more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include
(i) the Company, any subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or any person holding Common Shares
for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan, (ii) Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx together
with all Affiliates and Associates of Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx, or (iii) any person,
together with all affiliates and associates of such person, who or which would
be an Acquiring Person solely by reason of (A) being the beneficial owner of
Common Shares, the beneficial ownership of which was acquired by such person
(and the affiliates and associates of such person) pursuant to any action or
transaction, or series of related actions or transactions, approved by the Board
of Directors of the Company, upon
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the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, prior to the
Distribution Date, or (B) a reduction in the number of issued and outstanding
Common Shares pursuant to a transaction or series of related transactions
approved by the Board of Directors, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of
the Continuing Directors; provided however that in the event that such person
described in clause (iii) above does not become an Acquiring Person by reason of
clause (A) or (B), such person nonetheless shall become an Acquiring Person in
the event such person, together with all affiliates and associates of such
person, thereafter acquires beneficial ownership of any additional Common Shares
unless the acquisition of such beneficial ownership would not result in such
person becoming an Acquiring Person by reason of subclause (A) or (B) of clause
(iii) above. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the
Company determines (upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing
Directors) in good faith that a person who would otherwise be an Acquiring
Person is eligible to file and did file a Schedule 13G and such person divests
(and/or causes such person's affiliates and/or associates to divest) 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,
then such person shall not be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person" for purposes of
the Rights Agreement.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the Distribution Date, the
Rights will be transferred 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 the tenth anniversary of the Record Date (the "Final Expiration
Date"), unless the Final Expiration Date is extended or unless the Rights are
earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company, in each case as described below.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Preferred Shares or other
securities or property issuable upon exercise of, or in exchange for, the Rights
are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution in the event of
a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the
Preferred Shares. The number of outstanding Rights and the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preferred Share issuable upon exercise of each Right are
also subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split of the Common Shares or
a stock dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions,
consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such case,
prior to the Distribution Date.
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54
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will not be
redeemable. Each Preferred Share will be entitled to receive on the last day of
March, June, September and December an amount per share (rounded to the nearest
cent) equal to the greater of (i) $1.00 in cash or (ii) an aggregate dividend of
100 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the event of liquidation,
the holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to receive an amount per
share equal to the greater of (i) $100 per share or (ii) an aggregate payment of
100 times the payment made per Common Share. Each Preferred Share will have 100
votes, voting together with the Common Shares. Finally, in the event of any
merger, consolidation or other transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged,
each Preferred Share will be entitled to receive 100 times the amount received
per Common Share. These rights are protected by customary anti-dilution
provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preferred Shares' dividend, liquidation
and voting rights, the value of the one one-hundredth interest in a Preferred
Share purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate the value of
one Common Share.
In the event that, after the Rights become exercisable, the Company is
acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction with any person
or an affiliate thereof, or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or earning
power are sold to any person or an affiliate thereof, proper provision will be
made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the right to receive,
upon exercise thereof at the then current Purchase 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 Purchase 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 of the Company (or cash, other securities
or property) having a market value of two times the Purchase Price of the Right.
At any time after a person or group of affiliated or associated persons
becomes an Acquiring Person, the Company may, upon the affirmative vote of a
majority of the Continuing Directors, exchange the Rights (other than Rights
owned by such person or group which have become void), in whole or in part for
Common Shares, Preferred Shares or other consideration (or fractions or
combinations thereof), at an exchange ratio of one Common Share 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-hundredth of a Preferred
Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary
receipts), and, in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the
market price of the Preferred Shares on the last trading day prior to the date
of exercise.
C-3
55
At any time prior to the earliest of (i) the expiration of 10 business
days following the Shares Acquisition Date (as such term is defined in the
Rights Agreement) (or such later publicly announced date determined by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors) or (ii) the Final
Expiration Date, the Company may, upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the
Continuing Directors, 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 and with such conditions as the Board,
upon the affirmative vote of a majority of the Continuing Directors, in its sole
discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the
right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of
Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price. The Rights are also redeemable
under other circumstances as specified in the Rights Agreement.
The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board of Directors of the
Company without the consent of the holders of the Rights upon the affirmative
vote a majority of the Continuing Directors, including an amendment to lower
certain thresholds. From and after such time as any person 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, no right
to vote or to receive dividends.
A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a Registration Statement on Form 8-A. A
copy of the Rights Agreement is available to holders of a Common Share 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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