HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.
and
CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY,
Rights Agent
Rights Agreement
Dated as of November 19, 2002
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Section 1. Certain Definitions......................................................2
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent.............................................10
Section 3. Issuance of Rights Certificates.........................................11
Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates.............................................14
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration.......................................16
Section 6. Transfer, Split-Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights
Certificates............................................................17
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights...........19
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates.....................24
Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock...........................24
Section 10. Preferred Stock Record Date.............................................28
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number and Kind of Shares or
Number of Rights........................................................29
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares..............48
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets Cash
Flow or Earning Power...................................................48
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.................................54
Section 15. Rights of Action........................................................57
Section 16. Agreement of Rights Holders.............................................58
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder......................59
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Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent.............................................60
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent...............61
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent..................................................62
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. ................................................66
Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates.....................................68
Section 23. Redemption and Termination..............................................69
Section 24. Exchange................................................................71
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events................................................74
Section 26. Notices. ...............................................................76
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments..............................................77
Section 28. Successors..............................................................78
Section 29. Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors, etc...............78
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement..............................................79
Section 31. Severability............................................................79
Section 32. Governing Law...........................................................80
Section 33. Counterparts............................................................80
Section 34. Descriptive Headings....................................................80
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EXHIBITS
Exhibit A -- Form of Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights
Exhibit B -- Form of Rights Certificates
Exhibit C -- Form of Summary of Rights
iii
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
RIGHTS AGREEMENT, dated as of November 19, 2002 (the "Agreement"),
between Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York banking corporation
(the "Rights Agent").
W I T N E S S E T H
WHEREAS, on November 19, 2002 (the "Rights Dividend Declaration
Date"), the Board of Directors of the Company authorized and declared a
dividend distribution of one Right (as hereinafter defined) for each share of
common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company (the "Common Stock")
outstanding at the close of business on November 29, 2002 (the "Record Date"),
and has authorized the issuance of one Right (as such number may hereinafter
be adjusted pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(p) hereof) for each share
of Common Stock of the Company issued between the Record Date (whether
originally issued or delivered from the Company's treasury) and the
Distribution Date (as hereinafter defined) each Right initially representing
the right to purchase one one-hundredth of
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a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of the Company (the
"Preferred Stock") having the rights, powers and preferences set forth in the
form of Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights attached hereto as
Exhibit A, upon the terms and subject to the conditions hereinafter set forth
(the "Rights");
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 shares of Common Stock then
outstanding, but shall not include (i) the Company, (ii) any Subsidiary of the
Company, (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company, or of any Subsidiary
of the Company, or any Person or entity organized, appointed or established by
the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan, (iv) Xxxxxxx X.
Xxxxxx, M.D., unless he becomes the Beneficial Owner of 20% or more of the
shares of Common Stock then outstanding, or (v) any Person who becomes the
Beneficial Owner of fifteen percent (15%) or more of the shares of Common
Stock then outstanding as a result of a reduction in the number of shares of
Common Stock outstanding due to the repurchase of shares of Common Stock by
the Company unless and until such Person, after becoming
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aware that such Person has become the Beneficial Owner of fifteen percent
(15%) or more of the then outstanding shares of Common Stock, acquires
beneficial ownership of additional shares of Common Stock representing one
percent (1%) or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, or (vi)
any such Person who has reported or is required to report such ownership (but
less than 20%) on Schedule 13G under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or
successor report) or on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable
or successor report) which Schedule 13D does not state any intention to or
reserve the right to control or influence the management or policies of the
Company or engage in any of the actions specified in Item 4 of such schedule
(other than the disposition of the Common Stock) and, within 10 Business Days
of being requested by the Company to advise it regarding the same, certifies
to the Company that such Person acquired shares of Common Stock in excess of
14.99% inadvertently or without knowledge of the terms of the Rights and who
or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates, thereafter does not
acquire additional shares of Common Stock while the Beneficial Owner of 15% or
more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; provided, however, that
if the Person requested to so certify fails to do so within 10 Business Days,
then such Person shall become an Acquiring Person immediately after such
10-Business- Day period.
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(b) "Act" shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(c) "Adjustment Shares" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
(d) "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.
(e) A Person shall be deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of, and
shall be deemed to "beneficially own," any securities:
(i) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates, directly or indirectly, has the right to
acquire (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after
the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or
understanding (whether or not in writing) or upon the exercise of
conversion rights, exchange rights, other rights, warrants or
options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be
deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of, or to "beneficially own," (A)
securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by
such Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates until
such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange, (B)
securities
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issuable upon exercise of Rights at any time prior to the occurrence
of a Triggering Event (as hereinafter defined), or (C) securities
issuable upon exercise of Rights from and after the occurrence of a
Triggering Event which Rights were acquired by such Person or any of
such Person's Affiliates or Associates prior to the Distribution Date
(as hereinafter defined) or pursuant to Section 3(a) or Section 22
hereof (the "Original Rights") or pursuant to Section 11(i) hereof in
connection with an adjustment made with respect to any Original
Rights;
(ii) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates, directly or indirectly, has the right to
vote or dispose of or has "beneficial ownership" of (as determined
pursuant to Rule 13d-3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the
Exchange Act), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or
understanding, whether or not in writing; provided, however, that a
Person shall not be deemed the "Beneficial Owner" of, or to
"beneficially own," any security under this subparagraph (ii) as a
result of an agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such
security if such agreement, arrangement or understanding: (A) arises
solely from a revocable proxy given in response to a public proxy or
consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the
applicable
5
provisions of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange
Act, and (B) is not reportable by such Person on Schedule 13D under
the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report); or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or
indirectly, by any other Person (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
(whether or not in writing), for the purpose of acquiring, holding,
voting (except pursuant to a revocable proxy as described in the
proviso to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (d)) or disposing of
any voting securities of the Company; provided, however, that nothing
in this paragraph (d) shall cause a Person engaged in business as an
underwriter of securities to be the "Beneficial Owner" of, or to
"beneficially own," any securities acquired through such Person's
participation in good faith in a firm commitment underwriting until
the expiration of forty days after the date of such acquisition, and
then only if such securities continue to be owned by such Person at
such expiration of forty days.
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(f) "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday,
Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(g) "Close of business" on any given date shall mean 5:00
P.M., New York City time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date
is not a Business Day, it shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on the
next succeeding Business Day.
(h) "Common Stock" shall mean the common stock, par value
$0.001 per share, of the Company, except that "Common Stock" when used with
reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the capital stock of
such Person with the greatest voting power, or the equity securities or other
equity interest having power to control or direct the management, of such
Person.
(i) "Common Stock Equivalents" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(j) "Current Market Price" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(d)(i) hereof.
(k) "Current Value" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(l) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3(a) hereof.
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(m) "Equivalent Preferred Stock" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(b) hereof.
(n) "Exchange Act" shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended.
(o) "Exchange Ratio" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 24 hereof.
(p) "Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7(a) hereof.
(q) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 7(a) hereof.
(r) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation,
partnership or other entity.
(s) "Preferred Stock" shall mean shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company, and,
to the extent that there are not a sufficient number of shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock authorized to permit the full exercise of
the Rights, any other series of preferred stock of the Company designated for
such purpose containing terms substantially similar to the terms of the Series
A Junior Participating Preferred Stock.
(t) "Principal Party" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 13(b) hereof.
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(u) "Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4(a)(ii) hereof.
(v) "Qualified Offer" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
(w) "Record Date" shall have the meaning set forth in the
preamble of this Agreement.
(x) "Rights" shall have the meaning set forth in the
preamble of this Agreement.
(y) "Rights Agent" shall have the meaning set forth in the
preamble of this Agreement.
(z) "Rights Certificate" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3(a) hereof.
(aa) "Rights Dividend Declaration Date" shall have the
meaning set forth in the preamble of this Agreement.
(bb) "Section 11(a)(ii) Event" shall mean any event
described in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
(cc) "Section 13 Event" shall mean any event described in
clauses (x), (y) or (z) of Section 13(a) hereof.
(dd) "Spread" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii) hereof.
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(ee) "Stock Acquisition Date" shall mean the first date of
public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include,
without limitation, a report filed or amended pursuant to Section 13(d) under
the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring
Person has become such other than pursuant to a Qualified Offer.
(ff) "Subsidiary" shall mean, with reference to any Person,
any corporation of which an amount of voting securities sufficient to elect at
least a majority of the directors of such corporation is beneficially owned,
directly or indirectly, by such Person, or otherwise controlled by such
Person.
(gg) "Substitution Period" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(hh) "Summary of Rights" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3(b) hereof.
(ii) "Trading Day" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(d)(i) hereof.
(jj) "Triggering Event" shall mean any Section 11(a)(ii)
Event or any Section 13 Event.
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
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also be the holders of the Common Stock) 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. Issuance of Rights Certificates.
(a) Until the earlier of (i) the close of business on the
tenth day after the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth day after the
Stock Acquisition Date occurs before the Record Date, the close of business on
the Record Date), or (ii) the close of business on the tenth Business Day (or
such later date as the Board shall determine) after the date that a tender or
exchange offer 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 or entity organized, appointed or established by the
Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) is first published or
sent or given within the meaning of Rule 14d-2(a) of the General Rules and
Regulations under the Exchange Act, if upon consummation thereof, such Person
would become an Acquiring Person, in either instance other than pursuant to a
Qualified Offer (the earlier of (i) and (ii) being herein referred to as the
"Distribution Date"), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the
provisions of paragraph (b) of this Section 3) by the certificates for the
Common Stock registered in the names of the holders of the Common Stock (which
certificates for
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Common Stock shall be deemed also to be certificates for Rights) and not by
separate certificates, and (y) the Rights will be transferable only in
connection with the transfer of the underlying shares of Common Stock
(including a transfer to the Company). As soon as practicable after the
Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will send by first-class, insured,
postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of the Common Stock as of the
close of business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such holder
shown on the records of the Company, one or more rights certificates, in
substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (the "Rights Certificates"),
evidencing one Right for each share of Common Stock so held, subject to
adjustment as provided herein. In the event that an adjustment in the number
of Rights per share of Common Stock has been made pursuant to Section 11(p)
hereof, at the time of distribution of the Rights Certificates, the Company
shall make the necessary and appropriate rounding adjustments (in accordance
with Section 14(a) hereof) so that Rights Certificates representing only whole
numbers of Rights are distributed and cash is paid in lieu of any fractional
Rights. As of and after the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced
solely by such Rights Certificates.
(b) The Company will make available, as promptly as
practicable following the Record Date, a copy of a Summary of Rights, in
substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit C (the "Summary of Rights")
to any holder of Rights who may so request from time to time prior to the
Expiration Date. With
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respect to certificates for the Common Stock outstanding as of the Record
Date, or issued subsequent to the Record Date, unless and until the
Distribution Date shall occur, the Rights will be evidenced by such
certificates for the Common Stock and the registered holders of the Common
Stock shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights. Until the
earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration Date (as such term is
defined in Section 7(a) hereof), the transfer of any certificates representing
shares of Common Stock in respect of which Rights have been issued shall also
constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such shares of Common
Stock.
(c) Rights shall be issued in respect of all shares of
Common Stock which are issued (whether originally issued or from the Company's
treasury) after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution
Date or the Expiration Date. Certificates representing such shares of Common
Stock shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights, and shall bear the
following legend if such certificates are issued after the Record Date but
prior to the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration Date:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder
hereof to certain Rights as set forth in the Rights Agreement between
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. (the "Company") and the Rights Agent
thereunder (the "Rights Agent") dated as of November 19, 2002 (the
"Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are hereby incorporated
herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal
offices of the Company. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in
the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate
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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, as in effect on the date of mailing, without
charge, promptly after receipt of a written request therefor. Under
certain circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement, Rights
issued to, or held by, any Person who is, was or becomes an Acquiring
Person or any Affiliate or Associate thereof (as such terms are
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
earlier of (i) the Distribution Date or (ii) the Expiration Date, the Rights
associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates shall be
evidenced by such certificates alone and registered holders of Common Stock
shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights, and the
transfer of any of such certificates shall also constitute the transfer of the
Rights associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates.
Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates.
(a) The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to
purchase and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall each be
substantially in the form set forth in 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
14
of any stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to time be listed, or
to conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of Section 11 and Section 22
hereof, the Rights Certificates, whenever distributed, shall be dated as of
the Record Date and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof to
purchase such number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock as
shall be set forth therein at the price set forth therein (such exercise price
per one one-hundredth of a share, the "Purchase Price"), but the amount and
type of securities purchasable upon the exercise of each Right and the
Purchase Price thereof shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
(b) Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a),
Section 11(i) 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
15
Board of Directors of the Company has determined is part of a plan,
arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the
avoidance of Section 7(e) 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 Section 7(e) of the Rights
Agreement.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration.
(a) The Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of
the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its President or any Vice President,
either manually or by facsimile signature, and shall have affixed thereto the
Company's seal or a facsimile thereof which shall be attested by the Secretary
or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by facsimile
signature. The Rights Certificates shall be countersigned by the Rights Agent,
either manually or by facsimile signature and shall not be valid for any
purpose unless so countersigned. In case any officer of the Company who shall
have signed any of the Rights Certificates shall cease to be such officer of
the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and
delivery by the Company, such Rights Certificates, nevertheless, may be
countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the
16
Company with the same force and effect as though the person who signed such
Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any
Rights Certificates may be signed on behalf of the Company by any person who,
at the actual date of the execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a
proper officer of the Company to sign such Rights Certificate, although at the
date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any such person was not such an
officer.
(b) Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will
keep, or cause to be kept, at its principal office or offices designated as
the appropriate place for surrender of Rights Certificates upon exercise or
transfer, books for registration and transfer of the Rights Certificates
issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of the
respective holders of the Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced
on its face by each of the Rights Certificates and the date of each of the
Rights Certificates.
Section 6. Transfer, Split-Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates.
(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b), Section 7(e)
and 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 Expiration
Date, any Rights Certificate or Certificates (other than Rights Certificates
representing Rights that may have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24
hereof) may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged for another Rights
Certificate or Certificates, entitling the
17
registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-hundredths of a share
of Preferred Stock (or, following a Triggering Event, Common Stock, other
securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as the Rights
Certificate or Certificates surrendered then entitles such holder (or former
holder in the case of a transfer) to purchase. Any registered holder desiring
to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or
Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent,
and shall surrender the Rights Certificate or Certificates to be transferred,
split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office or offices of the
Rights Agent designated for such purpose. Neither the Rights Agent nor the
Company shall be obligated to take any action whatsoever with respect to the
transfer of any such surrendered Rights Certificate until the registered
holder shall have completed and signed the certificate contained in the form
of assignment on the reverse side of such Rights Certificate and shall have
provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or
former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company
shall reasonably request. Thereupon the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section
4(b), Section 7(e), Section 14 hereof and Section 24 hereof, countersign and
deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Rights Certificate or Rights
Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may require
payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may
be
18
imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of
Rights 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 Rights Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or
destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and
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 Rights Certificate, if mutilated, the Company will execute and deliver a
new Rights Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for countersignature
and delivery to the registered owner in lieu of the Rights Certificate so
lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of
Rights.
(a) Subject to Section 7(e) hereof, at any time after the
Distribution Date the registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise
the Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein including,
without limitation, the restrictions on exercisability set forth in Section
9(c), Section 11(a)(iii) and Section 23(a) hereof) in whole or in part upon
surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase and
the certificate on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent
at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such
purpose, together with payment of the aggregate Purchase
19
Price with respect to the total number of one one-hundredths of a share (or
other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as to which such
surrendered Rights are then exercisable, at or prior to the earlier of (i)
5:00 P.M., New York City time, on November 19, 2012, (or such later date as may
be established by the Board of Directors prior to the expiration of the
Rights) (such date the "Final Expiration Date"), or (ii) the time at which the
Rights are redeemed or exchanged as provided in Section 23 and Section 24
hereof (the earlier of (i) and (ii) being herein referred to as the
"Expiration Date").
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of a share
of Preferred Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Right initially shall be
$30.00, shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in
Section 11 and Section 13(a) hereof and shall be payable in accordance with
paragraph (c) below.
(c) Upon receipt of a Rights Certificate representing
exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate
duly executed, accompanied by payment, with respect to each Right so
exercised, of the Purchase Price per one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred
Stock (or other shares, securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be)
to be purchased as set forth below and an amount equal to any applicable
transfer tax, the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 20(k) hereof,
thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the shares
of Preferred Stock (or make available, if the Rights Agent is the transfer
20
agent for such shares) certificates for the total number of one one-hundredths
of a share of Preferred Stock to be purchased and the Company hereby
irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or
(B) if the Company shall have elected to deposit the total number of shares of
Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights hereunder with a
depositary agent, requisition from the depositary agent depositary receipts
representing such number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the shares of Preferred
Stock represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent
with the depositary agent) and the Company will direct the depositary agent to
comply with such request, (ii) requisition from the Company the amount of
cash, if any, to be paid in lieu of fractional shares in accordance with
Section 14 hereof, (iii) after receipt of such certificates or depositary
receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or, upon the order of the
registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names
as may be designated by such holder, and (iv) after receipt thereof, deliver
such cash, if any, to or upon the order of the registered holder of such
Rights Certificate. The payment of the Purchase Price (as such amount may be
reduced pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof) shall be made in cash or by
certified bank check or bank draft payable to the order of the Company. In the
event that the Company is obligated to issue other securities (including
Common Stock) of the Company, pay cash and/or distribute other property
pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof,
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the Company will make all arrangements necessary so that such other
securities, cash and/or other property are available for distribution by the
Rights Agent, if and when appropriate. The Company reserves the right to
require prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event that, upon any exercise
of Rights, a number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of
Preferred Stock would be issued.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Rights Certificate
shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights
Certificate evidencing the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the
Rights Agent and delivered to, or upon the order of, the registered holder of
such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated
by such holder, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, from and after the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event,
any Rights beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or an 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
22
Acquiring Person or to any Person with whom the 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 have
determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has as a
primary purpose or effect the avoidance of this Section 7(e), 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. The Company shall use all reasonable
efforts to insure that the provisions of this Section 7(e) and Section 4(b)
hereof are complied with, but shall have no liability to any holder of Rights
Certificates or any other Person as a result of its failure to make any
determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or any of its Affiliates,
Associates or transferees hereunder.
(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence
of any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such
registered holder shall have (i) completed and signed the certificate
contained in the form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of
the Rights Certificate surrendered for such exercise, and (ii) provided such
additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or
23
former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company
shall reasonably request.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates.
All Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise,
transfer, split-up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the
Company or any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for
cancellation or in cancelled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent,
shall be cancelled by it, and no Rights Certificates shall be issued in lieu
thereof except as expressly permitted by any of the provisions of this
Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and
retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Rights
Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the
exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver all cancelled Rights
Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written request of the Company,
destroy such cancelled Rights Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a
certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.
Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to
be reserved and kept available out of its authorized and unissued shares of
Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, out of
its authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock and/or other securities or
out of its
24
authorized and issued shares held in its treasury), the number of shares of
Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common
Stock and/or other securities) that, as provided in this Agreement including
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full
of all outstanding Rights.
(b) So long as the shares of Preferred Stock (and, following
the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock and/or other securities)
issuable and deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights may be listed on any
national securities exchange, the Company shall use its best efforts to cause,
from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, all shares reserved
for such issuance to be listed on such exchange 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
a Section 11(a)(ii) Event on which the consideration to be delivered by the
Company upon exercise of the Rights has been determined in accordance with
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, a registration statement under the 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 Act) until the earlier of (A) the date as of which the
Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities, and (B) the date of the
expiration of the
25
Rights. 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. The Company may
temporarily suspend, for a period of time 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 that the
exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a
public announcement at such time as the suspension has been rescinded. In
addition, if the Company shall determine that a registration statement is
required following the Distribution Date, the Company may temporarily suspend
the exercisability of the Rights until such time as a registration statement
has been declared effective. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement
to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable in any jurisdiction if
the requisite qualification in such jurisdiction shall not have been obtained,
the exercise thereof shall not be permitted under applicable law, or a
registration statement shall not have been declared effective.
(d) The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all
such action as may be necessary to ensure that all one one-hundredths of a
share of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event,
Common
26
Stock and/or other securities) delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the
time of delivery of the certificates for such shares (subject to payment of
the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid
and nonassessable.
(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 issuance or delivery of the
Rights Certificates and of any certificates for a number of one one-hundredths
of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the
case may be) 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 Rights Certificates to a Person other than, or the
issuance or delivery of a number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in respect
of a name other than that of the registered holder of the Rights Certificates
evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or deliver any
certificates for a number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
(or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) in a name other
than that of the registered holder upon the exercise of any Rights until such
tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of such
Rights Certificates at the time of surrender) or until it has been established
to the Company's satisfaction that no such tax is due.
27
Section 10. Preferred Stock Record Date. Each person in whose name
any certificate for a number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) is issued
upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become
the holder of record of such fractional shares of Preferred Stock (or Common
Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) represented thereby on, and
such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Rights Certificate
evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price
(and all applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that if the
date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Stock
(or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be) transfer books
of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the
record holder of such shares (fractional or otherwise) on, and such
certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the
Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities, as the case may be)
transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights
evidenced thereby, the holder of a Rights Certificate shall not be entitled to
any rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to 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.
28
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number and Kind of Shares
or Number of Rights. The Purchase Price, the number and kind of shares covered
by each Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment
from time to time as provided in this Section 11.
(a)(i) In the event the Company shall at any time
after the date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the
Preferred Stock payable in shares of Preferred Stock, (B) subdivide
the outstanding Preferred Stock, (C) combine the outstanding
Preferred Stock into a smaller number of shares, or (D) issue any
shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred
Stock (including any such reclassification in connection with a
consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or
surviving corporation), except as otherwise provided in this Section
11(a) and Section 7(e) hereof, the Purchase Price in effect at the
time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of
such subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and
kind of shares of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may
be, issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that
the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled
to receive, upon payment of the Purchase Price then in effect, the
aggregate number and kind of
29
shares of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may be,
which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such
date and at a time when the Preferred Stock 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. If an event occurs which would
require an adjustment under both this Section 11(a)(i) and Section
11(a)(ii) hereof, 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) hereof.
(ii) In the event any Person shall, at any time
after the Rights Dividend Declaration Date, become an Acquiring
Person, unless the event causing such Person to become an Acquiring
Person is a transaction set forth in Section 13(a) hereof, or is an
acquisition of shares of Common Stock pursuant to a tender offer or
an exchange offer for all outstanding shares of Common Stock at a
price and on terms determined by the Board of Directors, after
receiving advice from one or more investment banking firms, to be (a)
at a price which is fair to stockholders and not inadequate (taking
into account all factors which such members of the Board deem
relevant,
30
including, without limitation, prices which could reasonably be
achieved if the Company or its assets were sold on an orderly basis
designed to realize maximum value) and (b) otherwise in the best
interests of the Company and its stockholders (a "Qualified Offer"),
then, promptly following the occurrence of such event, proper
provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right (except as
provided below and in Section 7(e) hereof) shall thereafter have the
right to receive, upon exercise thereof at the then current Purchase
Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a
number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock, such
number of shares of Common Stock of the Company as shall equal the
result obtained by (x) multiplying the then current Purchase Price by
the then number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first
occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event, and (y) dividing that
product (which, following such first occurrence, shall thereafter be
referred to as the "Purchase Price" for each Right and for all
purposes of this Agreement) by 50% of the Current Market Price
(determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per share of Common
Stock on the date of
31
such first occurrence (such number of shares, the "Adjustment
Shares").
(iii) In the event that the number of shares of
Common Stock which is authorized by the Company's Amended and
Restated Certificate 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 in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii) of this
Section 11(a), the Company shall (A) determine the value of the
Adjustment Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right (the "Current
Value"), and (B) with respect to each Right (subject to Section 7(e)
hereof), make adequate provision to substitute for the Adjustment
Shares, upon the exercise of a Right and payment of the applicable
Purchase Price, (1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Purchase Price, (3)
Common Stock or other equity securities of the Company (including,
without limitation, shares, or units of shares, of preferred stock,
such as the Preferred Stock, which the Board has deemed to have
essentially the same value or economic rights as shares of Common
Stock (such shares of preferred stock being referred to as "Common
Stock Equivalents")), (4) debt securities of the Company, (5) other
assets, or (6) any combination of the
32
foregoing, having an aggregate value equal to the Current Value (less
the amount of any reduction in the Purchase Price), where such
aggregate value has been determined by the Board based upon the
advice of a nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by
the Board; provided, however, that if the Company shall not have made
adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above
within thirty (30) days following the later of (x) the first
occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event and (y) the date on which the
Company's right of redemption pursuant to Section 23(a) expires (the
later of (x) and (y) being referred to herein as the "Section
11(a)(ii) Trigger Date"), then the Company shall be obligated to
deliver, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without
requiring payment of the Purchase Price, shares of Common Stock (to
the extent available) and then, if necessary, cash, which shares
and/or cash have an aggregate value equal to the Spread. For purposes
of the preceding sentence, the term "Spread" shall mean the excess of
(i) the Current Value over (ii) the Purchase Price. If the Board
determines in good faith that it is likely that sufficient additional
shares of Common Stock could be authorized for issuance upon exercise
in full of the Rights, the thirty (30) day period set forth above may
be extended to the extent neces-
33
sary, but not more than ninety (90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii)
Trigger Date, in order that the Company may seek shareholder approval
for the authorization of such additional shares (such thirty (30) day
period, as it may be extended, is herein called the "Substitution
Period"). To the extent that the Company determines that action
should be taken pursuant to the first and/or third sentences of this
Section 11(a)(iii), the Company (1) shall provide, subject to Section
7(e) hereof, that such action shall apply uniformly to all
outstanding Rights, and (2) may suspend the exercisability of the
Rights until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to
seek such shareholder approval for such authorization of additional
shares 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. For purposes of
this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of each Adjustment Share shall be
the Current Market Price per share of the Common Stock on the Section
11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the per share or per unit value of any
Common Stock Equivalent shall be
34
deemed to equal the Current Market Price per share of the Common
Stock on such date.
(b) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the
issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Stock
entitling them to subscribe for or purchase (for a period expiring within
forty-five (45) calendar days after such record date) Preferred Stock (or
shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the shares of
Preferred Stock ("Equivalent Preferred Stock")) or securities convertible into
Preferred Stock or Equivalent Preferred Stock at a price per share of
Preferred Stock or per share of Equivalent Preferred Stock (or having a
conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Stock or
Equivalent Preferred Stock) less than the Current Market Price (as determined
pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per share of Preferred Stock on such record
date, the Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be
determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to
such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of
shares of Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of
shares of Preferred Stock which the aggregate offering price of the total
number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock 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 shares of
35
Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of additional
shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock 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 by delivery of consideration, part or all of which may be in a form other
than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined in good
faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be
described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on
the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights. Shares of Preferred Stock
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 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 a
distribution to all holders of Preferred Stock (including any such
distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing corporation) of evidences of indebtedness, cash
(other than a regular quarterly cash dividend out of the earnings or retained
earnings of the Company), assets (other than a dividend payable in Preferred
Stock, but including any dividend payable in stock
36
other than Preferred Stock) 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 Current Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section
11(d) hereof) per share of Preferred Stock on such record date, less the fair
market value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the
Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the
Rights Agent) of the portion of the cash, assets or evidences of indebtedness
so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to
a share of Preferred Stock, and the denominator of which shall be such Current
Market Price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) per share of
Preferred Stock. 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 be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would have
been in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
(d)(i) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, other
than computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, the
Current Market Price per share of Common Stock on any date shall be
deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of
such Common Stock for the thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days
immediately prior to such date, and for
37
purposes of computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof,
the Current Market Price per share of Common Stock on any date shall
be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of
such Common Stock for the ten (10) consecutive Trading Days
immediately following such date; provided, however, that in the event
that the Current Market Price per share of the Common Stock is
determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer
of such Common Stock of (A) a dividend or distribution on such Common
Stock payable in shares of such Common Stock or securities
convertible into shares of such Common Stock (other than the Rights),
or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such
Common Stock, and the ex-dividend date for such dividend or
distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination or
reclassification shall not have occurred prior to the commencement of
the requisite thirty (30) Trading Day or ten (10) Trading Day period,
as set forth above, then, and in each such case, the Current Market
Price shall be properly adjusted to take into account ex-dividend
trading. 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
38
Exchange or, if the shares of Common Stock 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 shares of Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading
or, if the shares of Common Stock 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 the National
Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System
("NASDAQ") or such other system then in use, or, if on any such date
the shares of Common Stock 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 Common Stock
selected by the Board. If on any such date no market maker is making
a market in the Common Stock, the fair value of such shares on such
date as determined in good faith by the Board shall be used. The term
"Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the principal national
securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed or
admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if
the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on
any national securities exchange, a Business Day. If the Common Stock
is not publicly held or not so
39
listed or traded, Current Market Price per share shall mean the fair
value per share as determined in good faith by the Board, whose
determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights
Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.
(ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder,
the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock shall be
determined in the same manner as set forth above for the Common Stock
in clause (i) of this Section 11(d) (other than the last sentence
thereof). If the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock
cannot be determined in the manner provided above or if the Preferred
Stock is not publicly held or listed or traded in a manner described
in clause (i) of this Section 11(d), the Current Market Price per
share of Preferred Stock shall be conclusively deemed to be an amount
equal to 100 (as such number may be appropriately adjusted for such
events as stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with
respect to the Common Stock occurring after the date of this
Agreement) multiplied by the Current Market Price per share of the
Common Stock. If neither the Common Stock nor the Preferred Stock is
publicly held or so listed or traded, Current Market Price per share
of the Preferred Stock shall mean the fair value per share as
determined in good faith
40
by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.
(e) Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, no
adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be required unless such adjustment
would require an increase or decrease of at least one percent (1%) in the
Purchase Price; provided, however, that any adjustments which by reason of
this Section 11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and
taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this
Section 11 shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest ten-thousandth
of a share of Common Stock or other share or one-millionth of a share of
Preferred Stock, 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 (3) years from the date of the
transaction which mandates such adjustment, or (ii) the Expiration Date.
(f) If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section
11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a) hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter
exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock other
than Preferred Stock, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable
upon exercise of any Right and the Purchase Price thereof 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 Stock contained in
Sections 11(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), (h), (i),
41
(j), (k) and (m), and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 hereof
with respect to the Preferred Stock 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 share of Preferred Stock 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 share of Preferred Stock (calculated to
the nearest one-millionth) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of one
one-hundredths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to this
adjustment, by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such
adjustment of the Purchase Price, and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by
the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase
Price.
(i) The Company may elect on or after the date of any
adjustment of the Purchase Price to adjust the number of Rights, in lieu of
any
42
adjustment in the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock
purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after
the adjustment in the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of
one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was
exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right held of record
prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of
Rights (calculated to the nearest one-ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price
by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase
Price. The Company shall make a public announcement of its election to adjust
the number of Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if
known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. This record date
may be the date on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter,
but, if the Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (10)
days later than the date of the public announcement. If Rights Certificates
have been issued, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to
this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be
distributed to holders of record of Rights Certificates on such record date
Rights Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14 hereof, the additional
Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment,
or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such
holders of record in substitution and
43
replacement for the Rights Certificates held by such holders prior to the date
of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new
Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be
entitled after such adjustment. Rights Certificates so to be distributed shall
be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein (and
may bear, at the option of the Company, the adjusted Purchase Price) and shall
be registered in the names of the holders of record of Rights 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 share of Preferred Stock
issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights Certificates theretofore
and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price per one
one-hundredth of a share and the number of one one-hundredth of a share which
were expressed in the initial Rights Certificates issued hereunder.
(k) Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment
reducing the Purchase Price below the then stated value, if any, of the number
of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock 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
44
paid and nonassessable such number of one one-hundredths of a share of
Preferred Stock 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 issuance to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date
the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock and other
capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such
exercise over and above the number of one one-hundredths of a share of
Preferred Stock 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 (fractional or otherwise) or
securities 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 in their good faith judgment the Board
of Directors of the Company shall determine to be advisable in order that any
(i) consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Stock, (ii) issuance wholly
for cash of any shares of Preferred Stock at
45
less than the Current Market Price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of shares
of Preferred Stock or securities which by their terms are convertible into or
exchangeable for shares of Preferred Stock, (iv) stock dividends or (v)
issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to in this Section 11,
hereafter made by the Company to holders of its Preferred Stock shall not be
taxable to such stockholders.
(n) The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at
any time after the Distribution Date, (i) consolidate with any other Person
(other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with
Section 11(o) hereof), (ii) merge with or into any other Person (other than a
Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)
hereof), or (iii) sell or transfer (or permit any Subsidiary to sell or
transfer), in one transaction, or a series of related transactions, assets,
cash flow or earning power aggregating more than 50% of the assets or earning
power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other
Person or Persons (other than the Company and/or any of its Subsidiaries in
one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), if
(x) at the time of or immediately after such consolidation, merger or sale
there are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding
or agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise
eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights or (y) prior to,
simultaneously with or immediately after such consolidation, merger or sale,
the shareholders of the Person who
46
constitutes, or would constitute, the "Principal Party" for purposes of
Section 13(a) hereof shall have received a distribution of Rights previously
owned by such Person or any of its Affiliates and Associates.
(o) The Company covenants and agrees that, after the
Distribution Date, it will not, except as permitted by Section 23 or Section
26 hereof, take (or permit any Subsidiary to take) any action if at the time
such action is taken it is reasonably foreseeable that such action will
diminish substantially or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be
afforded by the Rights.
(p) Anything in this Agreement to the contrary
notwithstanding, in the event that the Company shall at any time after the
Rights Dividend Declaration Date and prior to the Distribution Date (i)
declare a dividend on the outstanding shares of Common Stock payable in shares
of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding shares of Common Stock, or
(iii) combine the outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of
shares, the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock then
outstanding, or issued or delivered thereafter but prior to the Distribution
Date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the number of Rights
thereafter associated with each share of Common Stock following any such event
shall equal the result obtained by multiplying the number of Rights associated
with each share of Common
47
Stock immediately prior to such event by a fraction the numerator which shall
be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to
the occurrence of the event and the denominator of which shall be the total
number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately following the
occurrence of such event.
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of
Shares. Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 and Section
13 hereof, the Company shall (a) promptly prepare a certificate setting forth
such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such
adjustment, (b) promptly file with the Rights Agent, and with each transfer
agent for the Preferred Stock and the Common Stock, a copy of such certificate
and (c) if a Distribution Date has occurred, mail a brief summary thereof to
each holder of a Rights Certificate (or, if prior to the Distribution Date, to
each holder of a Certificate representing shares of Common Stock) in
accordance with Section 25 hereof. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected
in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained.
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets Cash
Flow or Earning Power.
(a) In the event that, following the Stock Acquisition Date,
directly or indirectly, (x) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with
and into, any other Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a
transaction which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), and the Company shall
not be the
48
continuing or surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger, (y) any
Person (other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies
with Section 11(o) hereof) shall consolidate with, or merge with or 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 outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be changed
into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person or cash or
any other property, or (z) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or
one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one
transaction or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning
power aggregating more than 50% of the assets, cash flow or earning power of
the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any Person or Persons
(other than the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company in one or more
transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o) hereof), then, and in
each such case (except as may be contemplated by Section 13(d) hereof), proper
provision shall be made so that: (i) each holder of a Right, except as
provided in Section 7(e) hereof, shall thereafter have the right to receive,
upon the exercise thereof at the then current Purchase Price in accordance
with the terms of this Agreement, such number of validly authorized and
issued, fully paid, non-assessable and freely tradeable shares of Common Stock
of the Principal Party (as such term is hereinafter defined), not subject to
any liens, encumbrances, rights of first refusal or other adverse claims,
49
as shall be equal to the result obtained by (1) multiplying the then current
Purchase Price by the number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock for which a Right is exercisable immediately prior to the first
occurrence of a Section 13 Event (or, if a Section 11(a)(ii) Event has
occurred prior to the first occurrence of a Section 13 Event, multiplying the
number of such one one-hundredths of a share for which a Right was exercisable
immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event by the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such first occurrence of a
Section 11(a)(ii) Event), and (2) dividing that product (which, following the
first occurrence of a Section 13 Event, shall be referred to as the "Purchase
Price" for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by 50% of the
Current Market Price (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i) hereof) per
share of the Common Stock of such Principal Party on the date of consummation
of such Section 13 Event; (ii) such Principal Party shall thereafter be liable
for, and shall assume, by virtue of such Section 13 Event, all the obligations
and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the term "Company"
shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Principal Party, it being
specifically intended that the provisions of Section 11 hereof shall apply
only to such Principal Party following the first occurrence of a Section 13
Event; (iv) such Principal Party shall take such steps (including, but not
limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of shares of its Common
Stock) in connection with the consummation of any such transaction as may be
necessary to assure that the
50
provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may
be, in relation to its shares of Common Stock thereafter deliverable upon the
exercise of the Rights; and (v) the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof
shall be of no effect following the first occurrence of any Section 13 Event.
(b) "Principal Party" shall mean:
(i) in the case of any transaction described in
clause (x) or (y) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person
that is the issuer of any securities into which shares of Common
Stock of the Company are converted in such merger or consolidation,
and if no securities are so issued, the Person that is the other
party to such merger or consolidation; and
(ii) in the case of any transaction described in
clause (z) of the first sentence of Section 13(a), the Person that is
the party receiving the greatest portion of the assets, cash flow or
earning power transferred pursuant to such transaction or
transactions;
provided, however, that in any such case, (1) if the Common Stock of
such Person is not at such time and has not been continuously over
the preceding twelve (12) month period registered under Section 12 of
the Exchange Act, and such Person is a direct or indirect Subsidiary
of another Person the Common Stock of which is and has been so
registered, "Principal Party" shall
51
refer to such other Person; and (2) in case such Person is a
Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one Person, the
Common Stock of two or more of which are and have been so registered,
"Principal Party" shall refer to whichever of such Persons is the
issuer of the Common Stock having the greatest aggregate market
value.
(c) The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation,
merger, sale or transfer unless the Principal Party shall have a sufficient
number of authorized shares of its Common Stock which have not been issued or
reserved for issuance to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in
accordance with this Section 13 and unless prior thereto the Company and such
Principal Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a
supplemental agreement providing for the terms set forth in paragraphs (a) and
(b) of this Section 13 and further providing that, as soon as practicable
after the date of any consolidation, merger or sale of assets mentioned in
paragraph (a) of this Section 13, the Principal Party will
52
(i) prepare and file a registration statement under
the Act, with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable
upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, and will use its
best efforts to cause such registration statement to (A) become
effective as soon as practicable after such filing and (B) remain
effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of
the Act) until the Expiration Date; and
(ii) take all such other action as may be necessary
to enable the Principal Party to issue the securities purchasable
upon exercise of the Rights, including but not limited to the
registration or qualification of such securities under all requisite
securities laws of jurisdictions of the various states and the
listing of such securities on such exchanges and trading markets as
may be necessary or appropriate; and
(iii) will deliver to holders of the Rights
historical financial statements for the Principal Party and each of
its Affiliates which comply in all respects with the requirements for
registration on Form 10 under the Exchange Act.
The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers
or consolidations or sales or other transfers. In the event that a Section 13
Event shall occur at any time after the occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii)
Event, the Rights which have not theretofore been exercised shall thereafter
become exercisable in the manner described in Section 13(a).
(d) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the
contrary, Section 13 shall not be applicable to a transaction described in
subpara-
53
graphs (x) and (y) of Section 13(a) if (i) such transaction is consummated
with a Person or Persons who acquired shares of Common Stock pursuant to a
tender offer or exchange offer for all outstanding shares of Common Stock
which is a Qualified Offer as such term is defined in Section 11(a)(ii)(B)
hereof (or a wholly owned subsidiary of any such Person or Persons), (ii) the
price per share of Common Stock offered in such transaction is not less than
the price per share of Common Stock paid to all holders of shares of Common
Stock whose shares were purchased pursuant to such tender offer or exchange
offer and (iii) the form of consideration being offered to the remaining
holders of shares of Common Stock pursuant to such transaction is the same as
the form of consideration paid pursuant to such tender offer or exchange
offer. Upon consummation of any such transaction contemplated by this Section
13(d), all Rights hereunder shall expire.
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
(a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Rights, except prior to the Distribution Date as provided in Section 11(p)
hereof, or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights.
In lieu of such fractional Rights, the Company shall pay to the registered
holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights
would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of
the current market value of a whole Right. For purposes of this Section 14(a),
the current market value of a whole Right
54
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 of the Rights for any day shall be the last sale
price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the
average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as
reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock
Exchange or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New
York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction
reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national
securities exchange on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading, or
if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities
exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high
bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by NASDAQ
or such other system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not
quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked
prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the
Rights, selected by the Board of Directors of the Company. If on any such date
no such market maker is making a market in the Rights, the fair value of the
Rights on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of
the Company shall be used.
55
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral multiples
of one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock) upon exercise of the
Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of
Preferred Stock (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one
one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock). In lieu of fractional shares of
Preferred Stock that are not integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a
share of Preferred Stock, the Company may pay to the registered holders of
Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided
an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of
one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred Stock. For purposes of this Section
14(b), the current market value of one one-hundredth of a share of Preferred
Stock shall be one one-hundredth of the closing price of a share of Preferred
Stock (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(ii) hereof) for the Trading Day
immediately prior to the date of such exercise.
(c) Following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, the
Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock
upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence
fractional shares of Common Stock. In lieu of fractional shares of Common
Stock, the Company may pay to the registered holders of Rights Certificates at
the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal
to the same fraction of the
56
current market value of one (1) share of Common Stock. For purposes of this
Section 14(c), the current market value of one share of Common Stock shall be
the closing price per share of Common Stock (as determined pursuant to Section
11(d)(i) hereof) on the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such
exercise.
(d) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Rights
expressly waives his right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional
shares upon exercise of a Right, except as permitted by this Section 14.
Section 15. Rights of Action. All rights of action in respect of this
Agreement are vested in the respective registered holders of the Rights
Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of
the Common Stock); and any registered holder of any Rights Certificate (or,
prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), without the consent of
the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Rights Certificate (or, prior
to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), may, in his own behalf and for
his own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or
proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, his
right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the
manner provided in such Rights Certificate and in this Agreement. Without
limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it
is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an
adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and shall be entitled
to specific
57
performance of the obligations hereunder and injunctive relief against actual
or threatened violations of the obligations hereunder of any Person subject to
this Agreement.
Section 16. Agreement of Rights 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 Common Stock;
(b) after the Distribution Date, the Rights Certificates are
transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at
the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such
purposes, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer and
with the appropriate forms and certificates fully executed;
(c) subject to Section 6(a) and Section 7(f) hereof, the
Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name a
Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common
Stock certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the
Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or
writing on the Rights Certificates or the associated Common Stock certificate
made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes
whatsoever, and neither the
58
Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to the last sentence of Section 7(e)
hereof, shall be required to 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.
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder. No
holder, as such, of any Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive
dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the number of one
one-hundredths of a share of Preferred Stock or any other securities of the
Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise of the Rights
represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Rights
Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Rights Certificate,
as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to
vote for the election of directors or upon
59
any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or
withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or
other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25
hereof), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until
the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate shall have been
exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent.
(a) 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
disbursements and other disbursements incurred in the administration and
execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties
hereunder. The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to
hold it harmless against, any loss, liability, or expense, incurred without
gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights
Agent, for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the
acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and
expenses of defending against any claim of liability in the premises.
(b) 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
60
with its administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any Rights
Certificate or certificate for Common Stock 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.
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights
Agent.
(a) 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 corporate trust, stock transfer or other shareholder
services 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; but only if such corporation would be eligible for appointment as a
successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case at
the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by
this Agreement, any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned
but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the
countersignature of a predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Rights
Certificates so counter-
61
signed; and in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have
been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Rights
Certificates either in the name of the predecessor or in the name of the
successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall
have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.
(b) In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall
be changed and at such time any of the Rights Certificates shall have been
countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the
countersignature under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so
countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall
not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights
Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such
cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the
Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent undertakes the
duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement upon the following terms and
conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Rights
Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
(a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may
be legal counsel for the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be
full
62
and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent as to any action
taken or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.
(b) Whenever in the performance of its duties under this
Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact
or matter (including, without limitation, the identity of any Acquiring Person
and the determination of Current Market Price) be proved or established by the
Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter
(unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed)
may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate
signed by the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the
Treasurer, any Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary
of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall
be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action taken or suffered in
good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such
certificate.
(c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its
own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.
(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of
any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in
the Rights Certificates or be required to verify the same (except as to its
countersignature on
63
such Rights Certificates), but all such statements and recitals are and shall
be deemed to have been made by the Company only.
(e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility
in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery
hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of
the validity or execution of any Rights Certificate (except its
countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the
Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any
Rights Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any adjustment required
under the provisions of Section 11, Section 13 or Section 24 hereof or
responsible for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment or the
ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment
(except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Rights
Certificates after actual notice of any such adjustment); nor shall it by any
act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the
authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock
to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights Certificate or as to
whether any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock will, when so 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
64
delivered all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may
reasonably be required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing
by the Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to
accept instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder
from the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the
Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer
of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in
connection with its duties, and it shall not be liable for any action taken or
suffered to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with instructions of
any such officer.
(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, officer
or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or
other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any
transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend
money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were
not Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the
Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any
other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the
rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either
itself or by or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall
not be answerable or
65
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, however, reasonable care was exercised in the
selection and continued employment thereof.
(j) No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights
Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial
liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise
of its rights if there shall be reasonable grounds for believing that
repayment of such funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or
liability is not reasonably assured to it.
(k) If, with respect to any Rights Certificate surrendered
to the Rights Agent for exercise or transfer, the certificate attached to the
form of assignment or form of election to purchase, as the case may be, has
either not been completed or indicates an affirmative response to clause 1
and/or 2 thereof, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with
respect to such requested exercise or transfer 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 Stock and Preferred Stock, by registered or
certified mail, and, if such resignation occurs after the Distribution Date,
to the
66
registered holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class mail. The Company
may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon thirty (30)
days' 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 Stock and
Preferred Stock, by registered or certified mail, and, if such removal occurs
after the Distribution Date, to the holders of the Rights Certificates by
first-class mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall
otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to
the Rights Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a
period of thirty (30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it has
been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or
incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Rights Certificate (who
shall, with such notice, submit his Rights Certificate for inspection by the
Company), then any registered holder of any Rights Certificate may apply to
any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent.
Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a
court, shall be (a) a legal business entity organized and doing business under
the laws of the United States or of the State of New York or of any other
state of the United States, in good standing, having an office in the State of
New York, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust,
stock transfer or shareholder services powers and which has at the time of its
appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at
67
least $25,000,000 or (b) an affiliate of a legal business entity 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 Stock and the Preferred Stock, and, if
such appointment occurs after the Distribution Date, mail a notice thereof in
writing to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates. Failure to give
any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any defect therein,
shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the
Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may
be.
Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates. Notwithstanding any
of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the
Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates evidencing Rights in
such form as may be approved by the Board of Directors to reflect any
adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of
shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Rights
Certificates made in accordance with the
68
provisions of this Agreement. In addition, in connection with the issuance or
sale of shares of Common Stock following the Distribution Date and prior to
the redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with
respect to shares of Common Stock so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise
of stock options or under any employee plan or arrangement, granted or awarded
as of the Distribution Date, or upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of
securities hereinafter issued by the Company, and (b) may, in any other case,
if deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Company,
issue Rights Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in
connection with such issuance or sale; provided, however, that (i) no such
Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, the Company
shall be advised by counsel that such issuance would create a significant risk
of material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person to whom such
Rights Certificate would be issued, and (ii) no such Rights Certificate shall
be issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate adjustment shall otherwise
have been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.
Section 23. Redemption and Termination.
(a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its
option, at any time prior to the earlier of (i) the close of business on the
tenth day following the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the Stock Acquisition
Date shall have occurred prior to the Record Date, the close of business on
the tenth day following the Record
69
Date), or (ii) the Final Expiration Date, redeem all but not less than all of
the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.01 per Right, as such
amount may be 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".
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the
Rights shall not be exercisable after the first occurrence of a Section
11(a)(ii) Event until such time as the Company's right of redemption hereunder
has expired. The Company may, at its option, pay the Redemption Price in cash,
shares of Common Stock (based on the Current Market Price, as defined in
Section 11(d)(i) hereof, of the Common Stock at the time of redemption) or any
other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of
the Company ordering the redemption of the Rights, evidence of which shall
have been filed with the Rights Agent 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 for each Right so held. Promptly after the 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 the holders of the then
outstanding Rights by mailing such notice to all such holders at each holder's
last address as it appears upon the registry books of the Rights Agent
70
or, prior to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer
agent for the Common Stock. 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.
Section 24. Exchange.
(a) The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its
option, at any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all
or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not
include Rights that have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section
7(e) hereof) for Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of Common
Stock per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock
dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such exchange
ratio being hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange Ratio"). Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Board of Directors of the Company shall not be empowered to
effect such exchange at any time after any Person (other than the Company, any
Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any
such Subsidiary, or any entity holding Common Stock 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 Stock then
outstanding.
71
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of
the Company ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to subsection (a) of
this Section 24 and without any further action and without any notice, the
right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of
a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of shares of Common
Stock equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the
Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such
exchange; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such
notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly
shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights
at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights
Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be
deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice
of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the Common Stock
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 7(e) hereof) held by each
holder of Rights.
(c) In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the
Company, at its option, may substitute Preferred Stock (or Equivalent
Preferred Stock, as such term is defined in paragraph (b) of Section 11
hereof) for Common
72
Stock exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-hundredth of a
share of Preferred Stock (or Equivalent Preferred Stock) for each share of
Common Stock, as appropriately adjusted to reflect stock splits, stock
dividends and other similar transactions after the date hereof.
(d) In the event that there shall not be sufficient shares
of Common 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 for issuance upon exchange of the Rights.
(e) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
shares of Common Stock or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional
shares of Common Stock. In lieu of such fractional shares of Common Stock,
there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with
regard to which such fractional shares of Common Stock would otherwise be
issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market
value of a whole share of Common Stock. For the purposes of this subsection
(e), the current market value of a whole share of Common Stock shall be the
closing price of a share of Common Stock (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.
73
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.
(a) In case the Company shall propose, at any time after the
Distribution Date, (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to
the holders of Preferred Stock or to make any other distribution to the
holders of Preferred Stock (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend out
of earnings or retained earnings of the Company), or (ii) to offer to the
holders of Preferred Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase
any additional shares of Preferred Stock or shares of stock of any class or
any other securities, rights or options, or (iii) to effect any
reclassification of its Preferred Stock (other than a reclassification
involving only the subdivision of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock), or
(iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with any other Person
(other than a Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with
Section 11(o) hereof), 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
transaction or a series of related transactions, of more than 50% of the
assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken
as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company and/or any
of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with
Section 11(o) hereof), or (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or
winding up of the Company, then, in each such case, the Company shall give to
each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and in accor-
74
dance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of such proposed action, which shall
specify the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, 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
shares of Preferred Stock, 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 twenty (20) days prior to the record date for determining
holders of the shares of Preferred Stock for purposes of such action, and in
the case of any such other action, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date
of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by
the holders of the shares of Preferred Stock, whichever shall be the earlier.
(b) In case any of the events set forth in Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof shall occur, then, in any such case, (i) the Company shall as soon as
practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the
extent feasible and in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of the
occurrence of such event, which shall specify the event and the consequences
of the event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, and (ii) all
references in the preceding paragraph to Preferred Stock shall be deemed
thereafter to refer to Common Stock and/or, if appropriate, other securities.
75
Section 26. Notices. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement
to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Rights
Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent
by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is
filed in writing by the Rights Agent with the Company) as follows:
Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc.
0000 XXX Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Corporate Secretary
Subject to the provisions of Section 21, any notice or demand authorized by
this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any
Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or
made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another
address is filed in writing by the Rights Agent with the Company) as follows:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
00 Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Compliance Department
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made
by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate
(or, if prior to the Distribution Date, to the holder of certificates
representing shares of Common Stock) shall be sufficiently given or made if
sent by first-class mail,
76
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 and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs,
supplement or amend any provision of this Agreement without the approval of
any holders of certificates representing shares of Common Stock. From and
after the Distribution Date, the Company and the Rights Agent shall, if the
Company so directs, supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of
any holders of Rights Certificates in order (i) to cure any ambiguity, (ii) to
correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or
inconsistent with any other provisions herein, (iii) to shorten or lengthen
any time period hereunder or (iv) to change or supplement the provisions
hereunder in any manner which the Company may deem necessary or desirable and
which shall not adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights
Certificates (other than an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of
an Acquiring Person). Upon the delivery of a certificate from an appropriate
officer of the Company which states that the proposed supplement or amendment
is in compliance with the terms of this Section 27, the Rights Agent shall
execute such supplement or amendment. Notwithstanding anything herein to the
contrary, this Agreement may not be amended (other than pursuant to clauses
(i) or (ii) of the preceding sentence) at a time when the Rights are not
redeemable.
77
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,
etc. For all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of
shares of Common Stock or any other class of capital stock outstanding at any
particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular
percentage of such outstanding shares of Common Stock 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 shall have the exclusive power and
authority to administer this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers
specifically granted to the Board or to 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 in good faith, shall (x) be final, conclusive and binding
on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights
78
and all other parties, and (y) not subject the Board 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 Rights Certificates (and, prior to the
Distribution Date, registered holders of the Common Stock) any legal or
equitable right, remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement
shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent
and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the
Distribution Date, registered holders of the Common Stock).
Section 31. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or
restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the
terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain
in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or
invalidated; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or
restriction is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or
unenforceable and the Board of Directors of the Company 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
79
forth in Section 23 hereof shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the
close of business on the tenth day following the date of such determination by
the Board of Directors. Without limiting the foregoing, if any provision
requiring a specific group of directors to act is held to by any court of
competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or
unenforceable, such determination shall then be made by the Board of Directors
of the Company in accordance with applicable law and the Company's Amended and
Restated Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws.
Section 32. Governing Law. This Agreement, each Right and each Rights
Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the
laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts
made and to be 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 for convenience only and shall not
control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
80
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to
be duly executed, and their respective corporate seals to be hereunto affixed
and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
Attest: HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.
By By
-------------------------------- -----------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
Title: Secretary Title: Chairman of the Board
Attest: CONTINENTAL STOCK
TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY
By By
------------------------------- -----------------------
Name: Name:
Title: Title:
81
Exhibit A
FORM OF
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION, PREFERENCES AND RIGHTS
OF SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
of
HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the General Corporation Law
of the State of Delaware
We, Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D., Chairman of the Board, and Xxxxxx X.
Xxxxxxxxx, Secretary, of Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., a corporation organized
and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, in
accordance with the provisions of Section 103 thereof, DO HEREBY CERTIFY:
That pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Board of Directors
by the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the said
Corporation, the said Board of Directors on November 19, 2002, adopted the
following resolution creating a series of 500,000 shares of Preferred Stock
designated as Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in the Board of
Directors of this Corporation in accordance with the provisions of its Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, a series of Preferred Stock of the
Corporation be and it hereby is created, and that the designation and amount
thereof and the voting powers, preferences and relative, participating,
optional and other special rights of the shares of such series, and the
qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof are as follows:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be
designated as "Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock" and the number
of shares constituting such series shall be 500,000.
Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.
(A) Subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any
shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior and superior to the
shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock with respect to
dividends, the holders of outstanding shares of Series A Junior Participating
Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the
Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly
dividends payable in cash on the fifteenth 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
Junior Participating Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the
nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $1.00 or (b) 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, par value $0.001 per share, of the Corporation
(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
Junior Participating Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at
any time after November 19, 2002 (the "Rights Declaration Date") (i) declare
any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide
the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock
into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the amount to which
holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock were
entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding
sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the
numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding
immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of
shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock as provided in Paragraph (A)
above immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common
Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided
that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the
Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and
the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a dividend of $1.00 per
share on the Series A
2
Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such
subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.
(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding
shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock from the Quarterly
Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, 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 Junior Participating 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 Junior Participating Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total
amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall
be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the
time outstanding. The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the
determination of holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared
thereon, which record date shall be no more than 30 days prior to the date
fixed for the payment thereof.
Section 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth,
each share of Series A Junior Participating 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 Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common
Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common
Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of
shares, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders
of shares of Series A Junior Participating 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.
3
(B) Except as otherwise provided herein or by law, the holders of
shares of Series A Junior Participating 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) (i) If at any time dividends on any Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall be in arrears in an amount
equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon, the occurrence of such
contingency shall xxxx the beginning of a period (herein called a
"default period") which shall extend until such time when all accrued
and unpaid dividends for all previous quarterly dividend periods and
for the current quarterly dividend period on all shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock then outstanding shall have been
declared and paid or set apart for payment. During each default
period, all holders of Preferred Stock (including holders of the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock) with dividends in
arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends thereon,
voting as a class, irrespective of series, shall have the right to
elect two (2) directors.
(ii) During any default period, such voting right
of the holders of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock may
be exercised initially at a special meeting called pursuant to
subparagraph (iii) of this Section 3(C) or at any annual meeting of
stockholders, and thereafter at annual meetings of stockholders,
provided that such voting right shall not be exercised unless the
holders of ten percent (10%) in number of shares of Preferred Stock
outstanding shall be present in person or by proxy. The absence of a
quorum of the holders of Common Stock shall not affect the exercise
by the holders of Preferred Stock of such voting right. At any
meeting at which the holders of Preferred Stock shall exercise such
voting right initially during an existing default period, they shall
have the right, voting as a class, to elect directors to fill such
vacancies, if any, in the Board of Directors as may then exist up to
two (2) directors or, if such right is exercised at an annual
meeting, to elect two (2) directors. If the number which may be so
elected at any special meeting does not amount to the required
number, the holders of the Preferred Stock shall have the right to
make such increase in the number of directors as shall be necessary
to permit the election by them of the required number. After the
holders of the Preferred Stock shall have exercised their right to
elect directors in any default period and during the continuance of
such period, the number of directors shall not be increased or
decreased except by vote of the holders of Preferred
4
Stock as herein provided or pursuant to the rights of any equity
securities ranking senior to or pari passu with the Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock.
(iii) Unless the holders of Preferred Stock shall,
during an existing default period, have previously exercised their
right to elect directors, the Board of Directors may order, or any
stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate not less than ten
percent (10%) of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock
outstanding, irrespective of series, may request, the calling of a
special meeting of the holders of Preferred Stock, which meeting
shall thereupon be called by the President, a Vice-President or the
Secretary of the Corporation. Notice of such meeting and of any
annual meeting at which holders of Preferred Stock are entitled to
vote pursuant to this Paragraph (C)(iii) shall be given to each
holder of record of Preferred Stock by mailing a copy of such notice
to him at his last address as the same appears on the books of the
Corporation. Such meeting shall be called for a time not earlier than
20 days and not later than 60 days after such order or request or in
default of the calling of such meeting within 60 days after such
order or request, such meeting may be called on similar notice by any
stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate not less than ten
percent (10%) of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock
outstanding. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Paragraph
(C)(iii), no such special meeting shall be called during the period
within 60 days immediately preceding the date fixed for the next
annual meeting of the stockholders.
(iv) In any default period, the holders of Common
Stock, and other classes of stock of the Corporation if applicable,
shall continue to be entitled to elect the whole number of directors
until the holders of Preferred Stock shall have exercised their right
to elect two (2) directors voting as a class, after the exercise of
which right (x) the directors so elected by the holders of Preferred
Stock shall continue in office until their successors shall have been
elected by such holders or until the expiration of the default
period, and (y) any vacancy in the Board of Directors may (except as
provided in Paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3) be filled by vote of
a majority of the remaining directors theretofore elected by the
holders of the class of stock which elected the director whose office
shall have become vacant. References in this Paragraph (C) to
directors elected by the holders of a particular class of stock shall
include directors elected by
5
4
such directors to fill vacancies as provided in clause (y) of the
foregoing sentence.
(v) Immediately upon the expiration of a default
period, (x) the right of the holders of Preferred Stock as a class to
elect directors shall cease, (y) the term of any directors elected by
the holders of Preferred Stock as a class shall terminate, and (z)
the number of directors shall be such number as may be provided for
in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws irrespective of any
increase made pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (C)(ii) of this
Section 3 (such number being subject, however, to change thereafter
in any manner provided by law or in the certificate of incorporation
or by-laws). Any vacancies in the Board of Directors effected by the
provisions of clauses (y) and (z) in the preceding sentence may be
filled by a majority of the remaining directors.
(D) Except as set forth herein, holders of Series A Junior
Participating 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) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions
payable on the Series A Junior Participating 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
Junior Participating Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full,
the Corporation shall not
(i) declare or pay dividends on, make any other
distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to
dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock;
(ii) declare or pay dividends on 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 Junior Participating Preferred Stock, except dividends paid
ratably on the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and all
such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in
6
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 on a parity (either as to
dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, provided that the
Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire
shares of any such parity 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 Junior
Participating Preferred Stock; or
(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration any shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock, or any shares of stock ranking on a parity with the Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a
purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by
the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms
as the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective
annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of
the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will
result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or
classes.
(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the
Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of
stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under Paragraph (A) of
this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in
such manner.
Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the
Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly
after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation
become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued
as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or
resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject to the conditions and
restrictions on issuance set forth herein.
Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up. (A) Upon any
liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the
Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of stock
ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding up) to the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock unless, prior
thereto, the holders of shares of Series A
7
Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall have received an amount equal
to $1.00 per share of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, plus an amount
equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or
not declared, to the date of such payment (the "Series A Liquidation
Preference"). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series A
Liquidation Preference, no additional distributions shall be made to the
holders of shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock unless,
prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock shall have received an
amount per share (the "Common Adjustment") equal to the quotient obtained by
dividing (i) the Series A Liquidation Preference by (ii) 1 (as appropriately
adjusted as set forth in subparagraph (C) below to reflect such events as
stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common
Stock) (such number in clause (ii), the "Adjustment Number"). Following the
payment of the full amount of the Series A Liquidation Preference and the
Common Adjustment in respect of all outstanding shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock and Common Stock, respectively, holders of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock and holders of shares of Common
Stock shall receive their ratable and proportionate share of the remaining
assets to be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1 with
respect to such Preferred Stock and Common Stock, on a per share basis,
respectively.
(B) In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets
available to permit payment in full of the Series A Liquidation Preference and
the liquidation preferences of all other series of preferred stock, if any,
which rank on a parity with the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock,
then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such
parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences. In
the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit
payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such remaining assets shall be
distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.
(C) In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights
Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of
Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine
the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each
such case the Adjustment Number in effect immediately prior to such event
shall be adjusted by multiplying such Adjustment 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.
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,
8
cash and/or any other property, then in any such case the shares of Series A
Junior Participating Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly
exchanged or changed in 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 after the Rights
Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of
Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine
the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, 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 Junior Participating 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 Junior Participating
Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 9. Ranking. The Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation's Preferred Stock as
to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, unless the terms
of any such series shall provide otherwise.
Section 10. Amendment. At any time when any shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock are outstanding, neither the Amended and
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation nor this Certificate
of Designation shall be amended in any manner which would materially alter or
change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority or more of the outstanding
shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, voting separately as
a class.
Section 11. Fractional Shares. Series A Junior Participating
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 Junior Participating
Preferred Stock.
9
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have executed and subscribed this Certificate
and do affirm the foregoing as true under the penalties of perjury this 19th
day of November, 2002.
_____________________________
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx, M.D.
Title: Chairman of the Board
Attest:
_________________________
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx
Title: Secretary
10
Exhibit B
Form of Rights Certificate
Certificate No. R- ________ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER NOVEMBER 19, 2012 OR EARLIER
IF REDEEMED BY THE COMPANY. THE RIGHTS ARE
SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE
COMPANY, AT $.01 PER RIGHT ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN
THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. 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 SECTION 7(e) OF THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
Rights Certificate
HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, 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 November 19, 2002 (the "Rights Agreement"),
between Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"),
and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation (the
"Rights
Agent"), to purchase from the Company at any time prior to 5:00 P.M. (New York
City time) on November 19, 2012 (unless such date is extended prior thereto by
the Board of Directors) at the office or offices of the Rights Agent
designated for such purpose, or its successors as Rights Agent, one
one-hundredth of a fully paid, non-assessable share of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock (the "Preferred Stock") of the Company, at a
purchase price of $ 30.00 per one one-hundredth of a share (the "Purchase
Price"), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate with the
Form of Election to Purchase and related Certificate duly executed. The number
of Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate (and the number of shares which
may be purchased upon exercise thereof) set forth above, and the Purchase
Price per share set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of
November 19, 2002, based on the Preferred Stock as constituted at such date.
The Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence of a
Triggering Event (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) that a
number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock
will be issued.
Upon the occurrence of a Section 11(a)(ii) Event (as such term is
defined in the Rights Agreement), if the Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate are beneficially owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate
or Associate of any such Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the
Rights Agreement), (ii) a transferee of any such Acquiring Person, Associate
or Affiliate, or (iii) under certain circumstances specified in the Rights
Agreement, a transferee of a person who, after
2
such transfer, became an Acquiring Person, or an Affiliate or Associate of an
Acquiring Person, such Rights shall become null and void and no holder hereof
shall have any right with respect to such Rights from and after the occurrence
of such Section 11(a)(ii) Event.
As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the
number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or other securities, which may be
purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate
are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain
events, including Triggering Events.
This Rights Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions
and conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions
are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to
which Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the
rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of
the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Rights Certificates,
which limitations of rights include the temporary suspension of the
exercisability of such Rights under the specific circumstances set forth in
the Rights Agreement. Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the
above-mentioned office of the Rights Agent and are also available upon written
request to the Rights Agent.
This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates,
upon surrender at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent
designated for
3
such purpose, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights
Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to
purchase a like aggregate number of one one-hundredths of a share of Preferred
Stock as the Rights evidenced by the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates
surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this Rights
Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to
receive upon surrender hereof another Rights Certificate or Rights
Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights
evidenced by this Certificate may be redeemed by the Company at its option at
a redemption price of $.01 per Right at any time prior to the earlier of the
close of business on (i) the tenth day following the Stock Acquisition Date
(as such time period may be extended pursuant to the Rights Agreement), and
(ii) the Final Expiration Date. In addition, under certain circumstances
following the Stock Acquisition Date, the Rights may be exchanged, in whole or
in part, for shares of the Common Stock, or shares of preferred stock of the
Company having essentially the same value or economic rights as such shares.
Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company
authorizing any such exchange, and without any further action or any notice,
the Rights (other than Rights which are not subject to such exchange) will
terminate and the Rights will only enable holders to receive the shares
issuable upon such exchange.
4
No fractional shares of Preferred Stock 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 share of Preferred Stock,
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. The Company, at its election, may require that a number of
Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock would be
issued.
No holder of this Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote or
receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of shares of
Preferred Stock 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 consent to or withhold consent from any
corporate action, or, to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting
stockholders (except as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive
dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights
evidenced by this Rights Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in
the Rights Agreement.
This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any
purpose until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
5
WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company
and its corporate seal.
Dated as of November 19, 2002
ATTEST: HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.
---------------------------- --------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx Name:
Title: Secretary Title:
Countersigned:
CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY
------------------------------------
Authorized Signature
6
Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such
holder desires to transfer the Rights Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED ___________________________________________________
hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto ______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address of transferee)
_______________________________________________________________________________
this Rights Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein,
and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint __________________
Attorney, to transfer the within Rights Certificate on the books of the within
named Company, with full power of substitution.
Dated: __________________,__
--------------------
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Certificate
The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes
that:
(1) this Rights Certificate [ ] is [ ] is not being sold, assigned
and transferred by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person
or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Acquiring Person (as such terms are
defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement);
(2) after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned,
it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate
from any Person who is, was or subsequently became an Acquiring Person or an
Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person.
Dated: _______________, __ ---------------------------
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
NOTICE
The signature to the foregoing Assignment and Certificate must
correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in
every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights
represented by the Rights Certificate.)
To: HEMISPHERX BIOPHARMA, INC.:
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise __________
Rights represented by this Rights Certificate to purchase the shares of
Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights (or such other
securities of the Company or of any other person which may be issuable upon
the exercise of the Rights) and requests that certificates for such shares be
issued in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
_______________________________________________________________________________
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by
this Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance 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:
Certificate
The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes
that:
(1) the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate [ ] are [ ] are
not being exercised by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring
Person or an Affiliate or Associate of any such Acquiring Person (as such
terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement);
(2) after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned,
it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate
from any Person who is, was or became an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate of an Acquiring Person.
Dated: ______________,__ -------------------------
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
NOTICE
The signature to the foregoing Election to Purchase and Certificate
must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights
Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any
change whatsoever.
Exhibit C
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED STOCK
On November 19, 2002, the Board of Directors of Hemispherx Biopharma,
Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend distribution of one Right for each
outstanding share of Common Stock to stockholders of record at the close of
business on November 29, 2002 (the "Record Date"). Each Right entitles the
registered holder to purchase from the Company a unit consisting of one
one-hundredth of a share (a "Unit") of Series A Junior Participating Preferred
Stock, par value $.01 per share (the "Series A Preferred Stock") at a Purchase
Price of $30.00 per Unit, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of
the Rights are set forth in a Rights Agreement (the "Rights Agreement")
between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights
Agent.
Initially, the Rights will be attached to all Common Stock
certificates representing shares then outstanding, and no separate Rights
Certificates will be distributed. Subject to certain exceptions specified in
the Rights Agreement, the Rights will separate from the Common Stock and a
Distribution Date will occur upon the earlier of (i) 10 days following a
public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons
(an "Acquiring Person") has acquired
beneficial ownership of 15% or more (or 20% or more for Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx,
M.D.) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (the "Stock Acquisition
Date"), other than as a result of repurchases of stock by the Company or
certain inadvertent actions by institutional or certain other stockholders or
(ii) 10 business days (or such later date as the Board shall determine)
following the commencement of a tender offer or exchange offer that would
result in a person or group becoming an Acquiring Person. Until the
Distribution Date, (i) the Rights will be evidenced by the Common Stock
certificates and will be transferred with and only with such Common Stock
certificates, (ii) new Common Stock certificates issued after the Record Date
will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference and
(iii) the surrender for transfer of any certificates for Common Stock
outstanding will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with
the Common Stock represented by such certificate. Pursuant to the Rights
Agreement, the Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence
of a Triggering Event (as defined below) that, upon any exercise of Rights, a
number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock
will be issued.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date and will
expire at 5:00 P.M. (New York City time) on November 19, 2012, unless such
date is extended or the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the
Company as described below.
As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, Rights
Certificates will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Stock as of the
close of business on the Distribution Date and, thereafter, the separate
Rights Certificates alone will
2
represent the Rights. Except as otherwise determined by the Board of
Directors, only shares of Common Stock issued prior to the Distribution Date
will be issued with Rights.
In the event that a Person becomes an Acquiring Person, except
pursuant to an offer for all outstanding shares of Common Stock which the
independent directors determine to be fair and not inadequate and to otherwise
be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, after receiving
advice from one or more investment banking firms (a "Qualified Offer"), each
holder of a Right will thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise,
Common Stock (or, in certain circumstances, cash, property or other securities
of the Company) having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the
Right. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, following the occurrence of the
event set forth in this paragraph, all Rights that are, or (under certain
circumstances specified in the Rights Agreement) were, beneficially owned by
any Acquiring Person will be null and void. However, Rights are not
exercisable following the occurrence of the event set forth above until such
time as the Rights are no longer redeemable by the Company as set forth below.
In the event that, at any time following the Stock Acquisition Date,
(i) the Company engages in a merger or other business combination transaction
in which the Company is not the surviving corporation (other than a merger or
business combination with an entity which acquired the shares pursuant to a
Qualified Offer in which holders of the Company common stock receive the same
consideration per share as in the Qualified Offer ), (ii) the Company engages
in a merger or other business combination transaction in which the Company is
the surviving corporation
3
and the Common Stock of the Company is changed or exchanged, or (iii) 50% or
more of the Company's assets, cash flow or earning power is sold or
transferred, each holder of a Right (except Rights which have previously been
voided as set forth above) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon
exercise, common stock of the acquiring company having a value equal to two
times the exercise price of the Right. The events set forth in this paragraph
and in the second preceding paragraph are referred to as the "Triggering
Events."
At any time after a person becomes an Acquiring Person and prior to
the acquisition by such person or group of fifty percent (50%) or more of the
outstanding Common Stock, the Board may exchange the Rights (other than Rights
owned by such person or group which have become void), in whole or in part, at
an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock, or one one-hundredth of a
share of Preferred Stock (or of a share of a class or series of the Company's
preferred stock having equivalent rights, preferences and privileges), per
Right (subject to adjustment).
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Units of Preferred
Stock or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights
are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution (i) in the
event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or
reclassification of, the Preferred Stock, (ii) if holders of the Preferred
Stock are granted certain rights or warrants to subscribe for Preferred Stock
or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the
Preferred Stock, or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Preferred
Stock of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular quarterly cash
dividends) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to
above).
4
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be
required until cumulative adjustments amount to at least 1% of the Purchase
Price. No fractional Units will be issued and, in lieu thereof, an adjustment
in cash will be made based on the market price of the Preferred Stock on the
last trading date prior to the date of exercise.
At any time until ten days following the Stock Acquisition Date, the
Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $.01
per Right (payable in cash, Common Stock or other consideration deemed
appropriate by the Board of Directors). Immediately upon the action of the
Board of Directors ordering redemption of the Rights, the Rights will
terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the
$.01 redemption price.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the
right to vote or to receive dividends. While the distribution of the Rights
will not be taxable to stockholders or to the Company, stockholders may,
depending upon the circumstances, recognize taxable income in the event that
the Rights become exercisable for Common Stock (or other consideration) of the
Company or for common stock of the acquiring company or in the event of the
redemption of the Rights as set forth above.
Any of the provisions of the Rights Agreement may be amended by the
Board of Directors of the Company prior to the Distribution Date. After the
Distribution Date, the provisions of the Rights Agreement may be amended by
the Board in order to cure any ambiguity, to make changes which do not
adversely affect the interests of holders of Rights, or to shorten or lengthen
any time period under the
5
Rights Agreement. The foregoing notwithstanding, no amendment may be made at
such time as the Rights are not redeemable.
A copy of the Rights Agreement is being filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a Registration Statement on Form 8-A,
dated November 19, 2002. A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of
charge from the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not
purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the
Rights Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference.
6
