<PAGE>
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
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FORM 8-A
FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
THE NORTH FACE, INC.
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(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 94-3204082
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(State of incorporation (IRS Employer
or organization) Identification No.)
2013 Farallon Dr.
San Leandro, CA 94577
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
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Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
TITLE OF EACH CLASS NAME OF EACH EXCHANGE ON WHICH
TO BE SO REGISTERED EACH CLASS IS TO BE REGISTERED
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None None
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE RIGHTS
-------------------------------
(Title of Class)
<PAGE>
Item 1. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES TO BE REGISTERED.
On July 6, 1998, pursuant to a Preferred Shares Rights Agreement (the
"Rights Agreement") between The North Face, Inc. (the "Company") and
American Stock Transfer & Trust, Co., as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent"),
the Company's Board of Directors declared a dividend of one right (a "Right")
to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of the Company's Series A
Participating Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value per share, ("Series A
Preferred") for each outstanding share of Common Stock, $0.0025 par value per
share, ("Common Shares"), of the Company. The dividend is payable on July
20, 1998 (the "Record Date") to stockholders of record as of the close of
business on that day. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase
from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred at an
exercise price of $140.00 (the "Purchase Price"), subject to adjustment.
The following summary of the principal terms of the Rights Agreement is
a general description only and is subject to the detailed terms and
conditions of the Rights Agreement. A copy of the Rights Agreement is
attached as Exhibit 1 to this Registration Statement and is incorporated
herein by reference.
RIGHTS EVIDENCED BY COMMON SHARE CERTIFICATES
The Rights will not be exercisable until the Distribution Date (defined
below). Certificates for the Rights ("Rights Certificates") will not be sent
to stockholders and the Rights will attach to and trade only together with
the Common Shares. Accordingly, Common Share certificates outstanding on the
Record Date will evidence the Rights related thereto, and Common Share
certificates issued after the Record Date will contain a notation
incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference. Until the Distribution Date
(or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the surrender or
transfer of any certificates for Common Shares, outstanding as of the Record
Date, even without notation or a copy of the Summary of Rights being attached
thereto, will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the
Common Shares represented by such certificate.
DISTRIBUTION DATE
The Rights will separate from the Common Shares, Rights Certificates
will be issued and the Rights will become exercisable upon the earlier of:
(i) ten days following the first date a public announcement by the Company or
an Acquiring Person (as defined below) that an Acquiring Person has become
such (the "Shares Acquisition Date") and (ii) ten business days (or such
later date as may be determined by the Board of Directors) following the
commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or
exchange offer, the consummation of which would result in a person or group
becoming an Acquiring Person. The earlier of such dates is referred to as
the "Distribution Date." A person or group of affiliated or associated
persons that beneficially owns, or has the right to acquire beneficial
ownership of, 15% or more of the outstanding Common Shares is referred to as
an "Acquiring Person."
<PAGE>
ISSUANCE OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATES; EXPIRATION OF RIGHTS
As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate Rights
Certificates will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Shares as of
the close of business on the Distribution Date and such separate Rights
Certificates alone will evidence the Rights from and after the Distribution
Date. The Rights will expire on the earliest of (i) July 6, 2008 (the "Final
Expiration Date") or (ii) redemption or exchange of the Rights as described
below.
INITIAL EXERCISE OF THE RIGHTS
Following the Distribution Date, and until one of the further events
described below, holders of the Rights will be entitled to receive, upon
exercise and the payment of the Purchase Price, one one-thousandth of a share
of the Series A Preferred.
RIGHT TO BUY COMPANY COMMON SHARES
Unless the Rights are earlier redeemed, in the event that a person
becomes an Acquiring Person (a "Triggering Event"), then proper provision
will be made so that each holder of a Right that has not theretofore been
exercised (other than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person or
any affiliate of the Acquiring Person, which will thereafter be void) will
thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise, Common Shares having a
value equal to two times the Purchase Price. In the event that the Company
does not have sufficient Common Shares available for all Rights to be
exercised, or the Board decides that such action is necessary and not
contrary to the interests of Rights holders, the Company may instead
substitute cash, assets or other securities for the Common Shares for which
the Rights would have been exercisable.
RIGHT TO BUY ACQUIRING COMPANY STOCK
Similarly, unless the Rights are earlier redeemed, in the event that,
after a Triggering Event, (i) the Company is acquired in a merger or other
business combination transaction, or (ii) 50% or more of the Company's
consolidated assets or earning power are sold (other than in transactions in
the ordinary course of business), proper provision must be made so that each
holder of a Right that has not theretofore been exercised (other than Rights
beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person or any affiliate of the Acquiring
Person, which will thereafter be void) will thereafter have the right to
receive, upon exercise, shares of common stock of the acquiring company
having a value equal to two times the Purchase Price.
EXCHANGE PROVISION
At any time after a Triggering Event and prior to the acquisition by any
person or entity of beneficial ownership of 50% or more of the Company's
outstanding Common Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange
the Rights (other than Rights owned by the Acquiring Person), in whole or in
part, at an exchange ratio of one Common Share per Right.
<PAGE>
REDEMPTION
At any time on or prior to the close of business on the earlier of (i)
the Distribution Date and (ii) the Final Expiration Date of the Rights,
the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of
$0.01 per Right.
ADJUSTMENTS TO PREVENT DILUTION
The Purchase Price payable, the number of Rights, and the number of
Series A Preferred or Common Shares or other securities or property issuable
upon exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time to time in
connection with the dilutive issuances by the Company as set forth in the
Rights Agreement. With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase
Price will be required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of
at least 1% in such Purchase Price.
CASH PAID INSTEAD OF ISSUING FRACTIONAL SHARES
No fractional portion less than integral multiples of one Common Share
or one one thousandth of a share of Series A Preferred will be issued upon
exercise of a Right and in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made
based on the market price of the security to be so issued on the last trading
date prior to the date of exercise.
NO STOCKHOLDERS' RIGHTS PRIOR TO EXERCISE
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no
rights as a stockholder of the Company (other than any rights resulting from
such holder's ownership of Common Shares), including, without limitation, the
right to vote or to receive dividends.
AMENDMENT OF RIGHTS AGREEMENT
The provisions of the Rights Agreement may be supplemented or amended by
the Board of Directors in any manner prior to the Distribution Date. After
such date, the provisions of the Rights Agreement may be amended by the Board
in order to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency, to make changes that
do not adversely affect the interests of holders of Rights (excluding the
interests of any Acquiring Person), or to shorten or lengthen any time period
under the Rights Agreement; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that no amendment to adjust
the time period governing redemption shall be made at such time as the Rights
are not redeemable.
RIGHTS AND PREFERENCES OF THE SERIES A PREFERRED
Series A Preferred purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will not be
redeemable. Each share of Series A Preferred will be entitled to an
aggregate dividend of 1,000 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In
the event of liquidation, the holders of the Series A Preferred will be
entitled to 1,000 times the amount paid per Common Share plus an amount equal
to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not
declared, to the date of such payment. Each share of Series A Preferred will
have 1,000 votes, voting together with the Common Shares. These rights are
protected by customary anti-dilution provisions.
<PAGE>
Because of the nature of the dividend, liquidation and voting rights of
the shares of Series A Preferred, the value of the one one-thousandth
interest in a share of Series A Preferred purchasable upon exercise of each
Right should approximate the value of one Common Share.
CERTAIN ANTI-TAKEOVER EFFECTS
The Rights approved by the Board are designed to protect and maximize
the value of the outstanding equity interests in the Company in the event of
an unsolicited attempt by an acquiror to take over the Company, in a manner
or on terms not approved by the Board of Directors. Takeover attempts
frequently include coercive tactics to deprive the Company's Board of
Directors and its stockholders of any real opportunity to determine the
destiny of the Company. The Rights have been declared by the Board in order
to deter such tactics, including a gradual accumulation of shares in the open
market of a 15% or greater position to be followed by a merger or a partial
or two-tier tender offer that does not treat all stockholders equally. These
tactics unfairly pressure stockholders, squeeze them out of their investment
without giving them any real choice and deprive them of the full value of
their shares.
The Rights are not intended to prevent a takeover of the Company and
will not do so. The Rights may be redeemed by the Company at $0.01 per Right
within ten days after the accumulation of 15% or more of the Company's shares
by a single acquiror or group. Accordingly, the Rights should not interfere
with any merger or business combination approved by the Board of Directors.
Issuance of the Rights does not in any way weaken the financial strength
of the Company or interfere with its business plans. The issuance of the
Rights themselves has no dilutive effect, will not affect reported earnings
per share, should not be taxable to the Company or to its stockholders, and
will not change the way in which the Company's shares are presently traded.
The Company's Board of Directors believes that the Rights represent a sound
and reasonable means of addressing the complex issues of corporate policy
created by the current takeover environment.
However, the Rights may have the effect of rendering more difficult or
discouraging an acquisition of the Company deemed undesirable by the Board of
Directors. The Rights may cause substantial dilution to a person or group
that attempts to acquire the Company on terms or in a manner not approved by
the Company's Board of Directors, except pursuant to an offer conditioned
upon the negation, purchase or redemption of the Rights.
<PAGE>
Item 2. EXHIBITS.
1. Preferred Shares Rights Agreement, dated as of July 6, 1998
between The North Face, Inc. and American Stock Transfer &
Trust, Co., including the Certificate of Designations, the
form of Rights Certificate and the Summary of Rights attached
thereto as Exhibits A, B and C, respectively.
2. Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of The North
Face, Inc.(1)
3. Amended and Restated Bylaws of The North Face, Inc., as
amended.(1)
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(1) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits filed with the Registrant's
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-04107) as amended on July 1,
1996.
<PAGE>
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
THE NORTH FACE, INC.
Date: July 7, 1998
/s/ Christopher F. Crawford
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SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED SIGNATORY
Christopher F. Crawford,
Chief Financial Officer
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PRINT NAME AND TITLE
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EXHIBIT INDEX
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
EXHIBIT
NO. EXHIBIT
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<S> <C>
1 Preferred Shares Rights Agreement, dated as of July 6, 1998
between The North Face, Inc. and American Stock Transfer
& Trust, Co., including the Certificate of Designations,
the form of Rights Certificate and the Summary of Rights
attached thereto as Exhibits A, B and C, respectively.
2 Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of The
North Face, Inc.(1)
3 Amended and Restated Bylaws of The North Face, Inc., as
amended.(1)
</TABLE>
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(1) Incorporated by reference to the exhibits filed with the Registrant's
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-04107) as amended on July 1,
1996.
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT 1
THE NORTH FACE, INC.
AND
AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER AND TRUST, CO.
RIGHTS AGENT
PREFERRED SHARES RIGHTS AGREEMENT
DATED AS OF JULY 6, 1998
<PAGE>
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
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Section 1. Certain Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Section 3. Issuance of Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights
Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights
Certificates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Exercise Price; Expiration Date
of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates . . . . . .13
Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Preferred Shares. . . . . . . .13
Section 10. Record Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Section 11. Adjustment of Exercise Price, Number of Shares or Number of
Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Exercise Price or Number
of Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or
Earning Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Section 15. Rights of Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Section 16. Agreement of Rights Holders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder. . . . . . .28
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of
Rights Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
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<PAGE>
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(CONTINUED)
PAGE
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Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Section 23. Redemption. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Section 24. Exchange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Section 26. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Section 28. Successors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Section 29. Determinations and Actions by the Board of
Directors, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Section 31. Severability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Section 32. Governing Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Section 33. Counterparts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Section 34. Descriptive Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
EXHIBITS
Exhibit A Form of Certificate of Designation
Exhibit B Form of Rights Certificate
Exhibit C Summary of Rights
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<PAGE>
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
Agreement, dated as of July 6, 1998, between The North Face, Inc., a
Delaware corporation, and American Stock Transfer and Trust, Co.
On July 2, 1998 (the "RIGHTS DIVIDEND DECLARATION DATE"), the Board of
Directors of the Company authorized and declared a dividend of one Preferred
Share Purchase Right (a "RIGHT") for each Common Share (as hereinafter
defined) of the Company outstanding as of the Close of Business (as
hereinafter defined) on July 20, 1998 (the "RECORD DATE"), each Right
representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of Series A
Participating Preferred Stock (as such number may be adjusted pursuant to the
provisions of this Agreement), having the rights, preferences and privileges
set forth in the form of Certificate of Designations of Rights, Preferences
and Privileges of Series A Participating Preferred Stock attached hereto as
Exhibit A, upon the terms and subject to the conditions herein set forth, and
further authorized and directed the issuance of one Right (as such number may
be adjusted pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) with respect to
each Common Share that shall become outstanding between the Record Date and
the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date (as such terms
are hereinafter defined), and in certain circumstances after the Distribution
Date.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and the mutual
agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:
Section 1. CERTAIN DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Agreement, the
following terms have the meanings indicated:
(a) "ACQUIRING PERSON" shall mean any Person who or which,
together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the
Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding, but
shall not include the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company or any employee
benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or any
entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall be deemed to be an Acquiring
Person as the result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company which,
by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases the proportionate
number of shares beneficially owned by such Person to 15% or more of the
Common Shares of the Company then outstanding; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if a
Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares
of the Company then outstanding by reason of share purchases by the Company
and shall, after such share purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial
Owner of any additional Common Shares of the Company (other than pursuant to
a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding
Common Shares in Common Shares or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the
outstanding Common Shares), then such Person shall be deemed to be an
Acquiring Person unless upon becoming the Beneficial Owner of such additional
<PAGE>
Common Shares of the Company such Person does not beneficially own 15% or
more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, (i) if the Company's Board of Directors determines in good
faith that a Person who would otherwise be an "Acquiring Person," as defined
pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), has become such
inadvertently (including, without limitation, because (A) such Person was
unaware that it beneficially owned a percentage of the Common Shares that
would otherwise cause such Person to be an "Acquiring Person," as defined
pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), or (B) such
Person was aware of the extent of the Common Shares it beneficially owned but
had no actual knowledge of the consequences of such beneficial ownership
under this Agreement) and without any intention of changing or influencing
control of the Company, and if such Person divested or divests as promptly as
practicable a sufficient number of Common Shares so that such Person would no
longer be an "Acquiring Person," as defined pursuant to the foregoing
provisions of this paragraph (a), then such Person shall not be deemed to be
or to have become an "Acquiring Person" for any purposes of this Agreement;
and (ii) if, as of the date hereof, any Person is the Beneficial Owner of 15%
or more of the Common Shares outstanding, such Person shall not be or become
an "Acquiring Person," as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of
this paragraph (a), unless and until such time as such Person shall become
the Beneficial Owner of additional Common Shares (other than pursuant to a
dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding
Common Shares in Common Shares or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the
outstanding Common Shares), unless, upon becoming the Beneficial Owner of
such additional Common Shares, such Person is not then the Beneficial Owner
of 15% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding.
(b) "ADJUSTMENT FRACTION" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(i) hereof.
(c) "AFFILIATE" and "ASSOCIATE" shall have the respective meanings
ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations
under the Exchange Act, as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
(d) A Person shall be deemed the "BENEFICIAL OWNER" of and shall
be deemed to "BENEFICIALLY OWN" any securities:
(i) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, for
purposes of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 thereunder (or
any comparable or successor law or regulation);
(ii) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates has (A) the right to acquire (whether such right is
exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any
agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than customary agreements with
and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona
fide public offering of securities), or upon the exercise of conversion
rights, exchange rights, rights (other than the Rights), warrants or options,
or otherwise; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that a Person shall not be deemed pursuant
to this Section 1(d)(ii)(A) to be the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially
own, (1) securities
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<PAGE>
tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of such
Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates until such tendered
securities are accepted for purchase or exchange, or (2) securities which a
Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates may be deemed to have
the right to acquire pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement
between the Company and such Person (or one or more of its Affiliates or
Associates) if such agreement has been approved by the Board of Directors of
the Company prior to there being an Acquiring Person; or (B) the right to
vote pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to
beneficially own, any security under this Section 1(d)(ii)(B) if the
agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such security (1) arises
solely from a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to
a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance
with, the applicable rules and regulations of the Exchange Act and (2) is not
also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any
comparable or successor report); or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or
indirectly, by any other Person (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 (other
than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group
members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities) for the
purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except to the extent contemplated by
the proviso to Section 1(d)(ii)(B)) or disposing of any securities of the
Company; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in no case shall an officer or director of
the Company be deemed (x) the Beneficial Owner of any securities beneficially
owned by another officer or director of the Company solely by reason of
actions undertaken by such persons in their capacity as officers or directors
of the Company or (y) the Beneficial Owner of securities held of record by
the trustee of any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of
the Company for the benefit of any employee of the Company or any Subsidiary
of the Company, other than the officer or director, by reason of any
influence that such officer or director may have over the voting of the
securities held in the plan.
(e) "BUSINESS DAY" shall mean any day other than a Saturday,
Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in New York are authorized or
obligated by law or executive order to close.
(f) "CLOSE OF BUSINESS" on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M.,
New York time, on such date; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if such date is not a
Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York time, on the next succeeding
Business Day.
(g) "COMMON SHARES" when used with reference to the Company shall
mean the shares of Common Stock of the Company, $0.0025 par value. Common
Shares when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall
mean the capital stock (or equity interest) with the greatest voting power of
such other Person or, if such other Person is a Subsidiary of another Person,
the Person or Persons which ultimately control such first-mentioned Person.
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<PAGE>
(h) "COMMON STOCK EQUIVALENTS" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(i) "COMPANY" shall mean The North Face, Inc., a Delaware
corporation, subject to the terms of Section 13(a)(iii)(C) hereof.
(j) "CURRENT PER SHARE MARKET PRICE" of any security (a "Security"
for purposes of this definition), for all computations other than those made
pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, shall mean the average of the daily
closing prices per share of such Security for the thirty (30) consecutive
Trading Days immediately prior to such date, and for purposes of computations
made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, the Current Per Share Market
Price of any Security on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the
daily closing prices per share of such Security for the ten (10) consecutive
Trading Days immediately prior to such date; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in the
event that the Current Per Share Market Price of the Security is determined
during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such Security of
(i) a dividend or distribution on such Security payable in shares of such
Security or securities convertible into such shares or (ii) any subdivision,
combination or reclassification of such Security, and prior to the expiration
of the applicable thirty (30) Trading Day or ten (10) Trading Day period,
after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record
date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and in each
such case, the Current Per Share Market Price shall be appropriately adjusted
to reflect the current market price per share equivalent of such Security.
The closing price for each day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or,
in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid
and asked prices, regular way, in either case as reported in the principal
consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed
or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if the Security is
not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported
in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to
securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the
Security is listed or admitted to trading or, if the Security is not listed
or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last sale
price or, if such last sale price is not reported, 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 Security
is not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and
asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in
the Security selected by the Board of Directors of the Company. If on any
such date no market maker is making a market in the Security, the fair value
of such shares on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company shall be used. If the Preferred Shares are not
publicly traded, the Current Per Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares
shall be conclusively deemed to be the Current Per Share Market Price of the
Common Shares as determined pursuant to this Section 1(j), as appropriately
adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction
occurring after the date hereof, multiplied by 1000. If the Security is not
publicly held or so listed or traded, Current Per Share Market Price shall
mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of
Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a
statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all
purposes.
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(k) "CURRENT VALUE" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii) hereof.
(l) "DISTRIBUTION DATE" shall mean the earlier of (i) the Close of
Business on the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth
day after the Shares 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 may be determined by action of the
Company's Board of Directors) 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, assuming the successful consummation
thereof, such Person would be an Acquiring Person.
(m) "EQUIVALENT SHARES" shall mean Preferred Shares and any other
class or series of capital stock of the Company which is entitled to the same
rights, privileges and preferences as the Preferred Shares.
(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(a) hereof.
(p) "EXERCISE PRICE" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4(a) hereof.
(q) "EXPIRATION DATE" shall mean the earliest to occur of: (i) the
Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, (ii) the Redemption Date, or
(iii) the time at which the Board of Directors orders the exchange of the
Rights as provided in Section 24 hereof.
(r) "FINAL EXPIRATION DATE" shall mean July 6, 2008.
(s) "INTERESTED PERSON" with respect to a Transaction shall mean
any Person who (i) is or will become an Acquiring Person if the Transaction
were to be consummated or an Affiliate or Associate of such a Person, and
(ii) is, or directly or indirectly proposed, nominated or financially
supported a director of the Company in office at the time of consideration of
the Transaction in question who was elected by written consent of
stockholders.
(t) "NASDAQ" shall mean the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. Automated Quotations System.
(u) "PERSON" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation or other
entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such
entity.
(v) "POST-EVENT TRANSFEREE" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7(e) hereof.
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(w) "PREFERRED SHARES" shall mean shares of Series A Participating
Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value per share, of the Company.
(x) "PRE-EVENT TRANSFEREE" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 7(e) hereof.
(y) "PRINCIPAL PARTY" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
13(b) hereof.
(z) "RECORD DATE" shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals
at the beginning of this Agreement.
(aa) "REDEMPTION DATE"shall have the meaning set forth in Section
23(a) hereof.
(bb) "REDEMPTION PRICE" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
23(a) hereof.
(cc) "RIGHTS AGENT" shall mean American Stock Transfer and Trust,
Co. or its successor or replacement as provided in Sections 19 and 21 hereof.
(dd) "RIGHTS CERTIFICATE" shall mean a certificate substantially in
the form attached hereto as Exhibit B.
(ee) "RIGHTS DIVIDEND DECLARATION DATE" shall have the meaning set
forth in the recitals at the beginning of this Agreement.
(ff) "SECTION 11(a)(ii) TRIGGER DATE" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(gg) "SECTION 13 EVENT" shall mean any event described in clause
(i), (ii) or (iii) of Section 13(a) hereof.
(hh) "SECURITIES ACT" shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended.
(ii) "SHARES ACQUISITION DATE" shall mean the first date of public
announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include, without
limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) under the Exchange Act)
by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become
such; PROVIDED THAT, if such Person is determined not to have become an
Acquiring Person pursuant to Section 1(a) hereof, then no Shares Acquisition
Date shall be deemed to have occurred.
(jj) "SPREAD" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii) hereof.
(kk) "SUBSIDIARY" of any Person shall mean any corporation or other
entity of which an amount of voting securities sufficient to elect a majority
of the directors or Persons having similar
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authority of such corporation or other entity is beneficially owned, directly
or indirectly, by such Person, or any corporation or other entity otherwise
controlled by such Person.
(ll) "SUBSTITUTION PERIOD" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
(mm) "SUMMARY OF RIGHTS" shall mean a summary of this Agreement
substantially in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C.
(nn) "TOTAL EXERCISE PRICE" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 4(a) hereof.
(oo) "TRADING DAY" shall mean a day on which the principal national
securities exchange on which a referenced security is listed or admitted to
trading is open for the transaction of business or, if a referenced security
is not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a
Business Day.
(pp) A "TRIGGERING EVENT" shall be deemed to have occurred upon any
Person, becoming an Acquiring Person.
Section 2. APPOINTMENT OF RIGHTS AGENT. The Company hereby appoints
the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the
Rights (who, in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall prior to the
Distribution Date also be the holders of the Common Shares) in accordance
with the terms and conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts
such appointment. The Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights
Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable.
Section 3. ISSUANCE OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATES.
(a) Until the Distribution Date, (i) the Rights will be evidenced
(subject to the provisions of Sections 3(b) and 3(c) hereof) by the
certificates for Common Shares registered in the names of the holders thereof
(which certificates shall also be deemed to be Rights Certificates) and not
by separate Rights Certificates and (ii) the right to receive Rights
Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of
Common Shares. Until the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Expiration
Date, the surrender for transfer of certificates for Common Shares shall also
constitute the surrender for transfer of the Rights associated with the
Common Shares represented thereby. As soon as practicable after the
Distribution Date, the Company will prepare and execute, the Rights Agent
will countersign, and the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the
Rights Agent will, if requested, send) by first-class, postage-prepaid mail,
to each record holder of Common Shares as of the Close of Business on the
Distribution Date, at the address of such holder shown on the records of the
Company, a Rights Certificate evidencing one Right for each Common Share so
held, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the event that an
adjustment in the number of Rights per Common Share has been made pursuant to
Section 11 hereof, then 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
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Rights are distributed and cash is paid in lieu of any fractional Rights. As
of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Rights
Certificates and may be transferred by the transfer of the Rights
Certificates as permitted hereby, separately and apart from any transfer of
Common Shares, and the holders of such Rights Certificates as listed in the
records of the Company or any transfer agent or registrar for the Rights
shall be the record holders thereof.
(b) On the Record Date or as soon as practicable thereafter, the
Company will send a copy of the Summary of Rights by first-class,
postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of the Close
of Business on the Record Date, at the address of such holder shown on the
records of the Company's transfer agent and registrar. With respect to
certificates for Common Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, until the
Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced by such certificates
registered in the names of the holders thereof together with the Summary of
Rights. Until the Distribution Date (or, if earlier, the Expiration Date),
the surrender for transfer of any certificate for Common Shares outstanding
on the Record Date, with or without a copy of the Summary of Rights, shall
also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares
represented thereby.
(c) Unless the Board of Directors by resolution adopted at or
before the time of the issuance of any Common Shares specifies to the
contrary, Rights shall be issued in respect of all Common Shares that are
issued after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution
Date or the Expiration Date or, in certain circumstances provided in Section
22 hereof, after the Distribution Date. Certificates representing such
Common Shares shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights, and shall
bear the following legend:
THIS CERTIFICATE ALSO EVIDENCES AND ENTITLES THE HOLDER HEREOF TO
CERTAIN RIGHTS AS SET FORTH IN A RIGHTS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NORTH
FACE, INC. AND AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER AND TRUST, CO., AS THE RIGHTS
AGENT, DATED AS OF JULY 6, 1998, (THE "RIGHTS AGREEMENT"), THE TERMS
OF WHICH ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE AND A COPY OF
WHICH IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF THE NORTH FACE,
INC. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS
AGREEMENT, SUCH RIGHTS WILL BE EVIDENCED BY SEPARATE CERTIFICATES AND
WILL NO LONGER BE EVIDENCED BY THIS CERTIFICATE. THE NORTH FACE, INC.
WILL MAIL TO THE HOLDER OF THIS CERTIFICATE A COPY OF THE RIGHTS
AGREEMENT WITHOUT CHARGE AFTER RECEIPT OF A WRITTEN REQUEST THEREFOR.
UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES 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.
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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 Shares represented by such certificates shall be
evidenced by such certificates alone, and the surrender for transfer of any
such certificate shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated
with the Common Shares represented thereby.
(d) In the event that the Company purchases or acquires any Common
Shares after the Record Date but prior to the Distribution Date, any Rights
associated with such Common Shares shall be deemed canceled and retired so
that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with
the Common Shares which are no longer outstanding.
Section 4. FORM OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATES.
(a) The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase
Common Shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall
be substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto and may have such marks of
identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements
printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to
comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant
thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange or automated
quotation system, on which the Rights may from time to time be listed or
included, 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 (or in the case of Rights issued with respect to
Common Shares issued by the Company after the Record Date, as of the date of
issuance of such Common Shares) and on their face shall entitle the holders
thereof to purchase such number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as
shall be set forth therein at the price set forth therein (such exercise
price per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share being hereinafter referred
to as the "EXERCISE PRICE" and the aggregate Exercise Price of all Preferred
Shares issuable upon exercise of one Right being hereinafter referred to as
the "TOTAL EXERCISE PRICE"), but the number and type of securities
purchasable upon the exercise of each Right and the Exercise Price shall be
subject to adjustment as provided herein.
(b) Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a) or
Section 22 hereof that represents Rights beneficially owned by: (i) an
Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a
transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who
becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such or (iii) a
transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Associate or Affiliate) who
becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person
becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer
(whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person to holders of
equity interests in such Acquiring Person or to any Person with whom such
Acquiring Person has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding
regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the Company's Board
of Directors has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding
which has as a primary purpose or effect 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
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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 Chief Executive Officer, its Chief
Financial Officer, its President or any Vice President, either manually or by
facsimile signature, and by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the
Company, either manually or by facsimile signature, and shall have affixed
thereto the Company's seal (if any) or a facsimile thereof. The Rights
Certificates shall be manually countersigned by the Rights Agent and shall
not be valid for any purpose unless countersigned. In case any officer of
the Company who shall have signed any of the Rights Certificates shall cease
to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent
and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights Certificates,
nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and
delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the person
who signed such Rights Certificates on behalf of the Company had not ceased
to be such officer of the Company; and any Rights Certificate may be signed
on behalf of the Company by any person who, at the actual date of the
execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the
Company to sign such Rights Certificate, although at the date of the
execution of this Rights Agreement any such person was not such an officer.
(b) Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or
cause to be kept, at its office designated for such purposes, 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 Sections 7(e), 14 and 24 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 Rights Certificates may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged
for another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates, entitling the
registered holder to
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purchase a like number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or, following
a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may
be) as the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates surrendered then
entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to
transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or Rights
Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights
Agent, and shall surrender the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates to
be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office of
the Rights Agent. 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 Sections
7(e), 14 and 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 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, at the Company's
request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable
expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and
cancellation of the Rights Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make
and deliver a new Rights Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for
delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost,
stolen, destroyed or mutilated.
Section 7. EXERCISE OF RIGHTS; EXERCISE PRICE; EXPIRATION DATE OF
RIGHTS.
(a) Subject to Sections 7(e), 23(b) and 24(b) hereof, the
registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced
thereby (except as otherwise provided herein) in whole or in part at any time
after the Distribution Date and prior to the Close of Business on the
Expiration Date by surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of
election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights
Agent at the principal office of the Rights Agent, together with payment of
the Exercise Price for each one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (or,
following a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or other assets as the
case may be) as to which the Rights are exercised.
(b) The Exercise Price for each one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share issuable pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be ONE
HUNDRED FORTY DOLLARS ($140.00), shall be subject to adjustment from time to
time as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof and shall be payable in lawful
money of the United States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.
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(c) Upon receipt of a Rights Certificate representing exercisable
Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by
payment of the Exercise Price for the number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share (or, following a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or
other assets as the case may be) to be purchased and an amount equal to any
applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Rights
Certificate in accordance with Section 9(e) hereof, the Rights Agent shall,
subject to Section 20(k) hereof, thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from
any transfer agent of the Preferred Shares (or make available, if the Rights
Agent is the transfer agent for the Preferred Shares) a certificate or
certificates for the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or,
following a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or other assets as the
case may be) 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 one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share (or, following a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or
other assets as the case may be) issuable upon exercise of the Rights
hereunder with a depositary agent, requisition from the depositary agent
depositary receipts representing such number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share (or, following a Triggering Event, other securities, cash or
other assets as the case may be) as are to be purchased (in which case
certificates for the Preferred Shares (or, following a Triggering Event,
other securities, cash or other assets as the case may be) represented by
such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary
agent) and the Company hereby directs the depositary agent to comply with
such request, (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the Company the amount
of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares in accordance
with Section 14 hereof, (iii) after receipt of such certificates or
depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of
the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or
names as may be designated by such holder and (iv) when appropriate, after
receipt thereof, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered
holder of such Rights Certificate. The payment of the Exercise Price (as
such amount may be reduced (including to zero) pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii)
hereof) and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be
paid by the holder of such Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 9(e)
hereof, may be made in cash or by certified bank check, cashier's check or
bank draft payable to the order of the Company. In the event that the
Company is obligated to issue securities of the Company other than Preferred
Shares, pay cash and/or distribute other property pursuant to Section 11(a)
hereof, 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.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Rights Certificate shall
exercise less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights Certificate
evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be
issued by the Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Rights
Certificate or to his or her duly authorized assigns, 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 Triggering 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 (a "POST-EVENT TRANSFEREE"), (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring
Person (or of any such Associate or
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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 the Acquiring Person has any continuing agreement, arrangement or
understanding regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the
Company's Board of Directors has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or
understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the avoidance of this
Section 7(e) (a "PRE-EVENT TRANSFEREE") or (iv) any subsequent transferee
receiving transferred Rights from a Post-Event Transferee or a Pre-Event
Transferee, either directly or through one or more intermediate transferees,
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 ensure 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 to any other Person as a result of its
failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or any
of such Acquiring Person's 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, in addition to having complied with the requirements of Section
7(a), have (i) completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of
election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights Certificate
surrendered for such exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of
the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or
Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.
Section 8. CANCELLATION AND DESTRUCTION OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATES. All
Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split
up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of
its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in canceled
form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be canceled 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 Rights Certificate purchased or
acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights
Agent shall deliver all canceled Rights Certificates to the Company, or
shall, at the written request of the Company, destroy such canceled Rights
Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction
thereof to the Company.
Section 9. RESERVATION AND AVAILABILITY OF PREFERRED SHARES.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees that it will use its best
efforts to cause to be reserved and kept available out of its authorized and
unissued Preferred Shares not reserved for another purpose (and, following
the occurrence of a Triggering Event, out of its authorized and unissued
Common Shares and/or other securities), the number of Preferred Shares (and,
following the
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occurrence of the Triggering Event, Common Shares and/or other securities)
that will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding
Rights.
(b) If the Company shall hereafter list any of its Preferred
Shares on a national securities exchange, then so long as the Preferred
Shares (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Shares
and/or other securities) issuable and deliverable upon exercise of the Rights
may be listed on such exchange, the Company shall use its best efforts to
cause, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable (but only to
the extent that it is reasonably likely that the Rights will be exercised),
all shares reserved for such issuance to be listed on such exchange 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
Triggering Event in which the consideration to be delivered by the Company
upon exercise of the Rights is described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section
11(a)(iii) hereof, or as soon as is required by law following the
Distribution Date, as the case may be, a registration statement under the
Securities Act with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of
the Rights on an appropriate form, (ii) cause such registration statement to
become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and (iii) cause
such registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all
times meeting the requirements of the Securities Act) until the earlier of
(A) the date as of which the Rights are no longer exercisable for such
securities and (B) the date of expiration of the Rights. The Company may
temporarily suspend, for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days after the
date set forth in clause (i) of the first sentence of this Section 9(c), the
exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file such registration
statement and permit it to become effective. Upon any such suspension, the
Company shall issue a public announcement stating, and notify the Rights
Agent, that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended,
as well as a public announcement and notification to the Rights Agent at such
time as the suspension is no longer in effect. The Company will also take
such action as may be appropriate under, or to ensure compliance with, the
securities or "blue sky" laws of the various states in connection with the
exercisability of the Rights. Notwithstanding any provision of this
Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable in any
jurisdiction, unless the requisite qualification in such jurisdiction shall
have been obtained, or an exemption therefrom shall be available, and until a
registration statement has been declared effective.
(d) The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such
action as may be necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares (or other
securities of the Company) delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the
time of delivery of the certificates for such securities (subject to payment
of the Exercise Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully
paid and nonassessable shares.
(e) The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when
due and payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges
which may be payable in respect of the original issuance or delivery of the
Rights Certificates or of any Preferred Shares (or other securities of the
Company) upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not, however, be
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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 certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred
Shares (or other securities of the Company) in a name other than that of, the
registered holder of the Rights Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for
exercise or to issue or to deliver any certificates or depositary receipts
for Preferred Shares (or other securities of the Company) upon the exercise
of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being
payable by the holder of such Rights Certificate at the time of surrender) or
until it has been established to the Company's satisfaction that no such tax
is due.
Section 10. RECORD DATE. Each Person in whose name any certificate
for a number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or other securities of
the Company) is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be
deemed to have become the holder of record of the Preferred Shares (or other
securities of the Company) 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 Exercise Price with respect to which
the Rights have been exercised (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date
upon which the transfer books of the Company are closed, such Person shall be
deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and such
certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the
transfer books of the Company are open. Prior to the exercise of the Rights
evidenced thereby, the holder of a Rights Certificate shall not be entitled
to any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares (or other securities of the
Company) for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without
limitation, the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or
to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any
notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein.
Section 11. ADJUSTMENT OF EXERCISE PRICE, NUMBER OF SHARES OR NUMBER OF
RIGHTS. The Exercise Price, the number and kind of shares or other property
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) Anything in this Agreement to the contrary
notwithstanding, in the event the Company shall at any time after the date of
this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares payable in
Preferred Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares, (C) combine
the outstanding Preferred Shares (by reverse stock split or otherwise) into a
smaller number of Preferred Shares, or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock
in a reclassification of the Preferred Shares (including any such
reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), then, in each such event,
except as otherwise provided in this Section 11 and Section 7(e) hereof: (1) the
Exercise Price in effect at the time of the record date for such dividend or of
the effective date of such subdivision, combination or reclassification shall be
adjusted so that the Exercise Price thereafter shall equal the result obtained
by dividing the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such time by a
fraction (the "ADJUSTMENT FRACTION"), the numerator of which shall be the total
number of Preferred Shares (or shares of capital stock issued in such
reclassification of the Preferred Shares) outstanding immediately following such
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time and the denominator of which shall be the total number of Preferred
Shares outstanding immediately prior to such time; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in
no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be
less than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the
Company issuable upon exercise of such Right; and (2) the number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or share of such other capital stock)
issuable upon the exercise of each Right shall equal the number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or share of such other capital stock)
as was issuable upon exercise of a Right immediately prior to the occurrence
of the event described in clauses (A)-(D) of this Section 11(a)(i),
multiplied by the Adjustment Fraction; provided, however, that, no such
adjustment shall be made pursuant to this Section 11(a)(i) to the extent that
there shall have simultaneously occurred an event described in clause (A),
(B), (C) or (D) of Section 11(n) with a proportionate adjustment being made
thereunder. Each Common Share that shall become outstanding after an
adjustment has been made pursuant to this Section 11(a)(i) shall have
associated with it the number of Rights, exercisable at the Exercise Price
and for the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or shares of such
other capital stock) as one Common Share has associated with it immediately
following the adjustment made pursuant to this Section 11(a)(i).
(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the
event a Triggering Event shall have occurred, then promptly following such
Triggering Event each holder of a Right, except as provided in Section 7(e)
hereof, shall thereafter have the right to receive for each Right, upon
exercise thereof in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and payment
of the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to the occurrence of the
Triggering Event, in lieu of a number of one-thousandths of a Preferred
Share, such number of Common Shares of the Company as shall equal the result
obtained by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to
the occurrence of the Triggering Event by the number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable (or would have been
exercisable if the Distribution Date had occurred) immediately prior to the
first occurrence of a Triggering Event, and dividing that product by 50% of
the Current Per Share Market Price for Common Shares on the date of
occurrence of the Triggering Event; provided, however, that the Exercise
Price and the number of Common Shares of the Company so receivable upon
exercise of a Right shall be subject to further adjustment as appropriate in
accordance with Section 11(e) hereof to reflect any events occurring in
respect of the Common Shares of the Company after the occurrence of the
Triggering Event.
(iii) In lieu of issuing Common Shares in accordance
with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the Company may, if the Company's Board of
Directors determines that such action is necessary or appropriate and not
contrary to the interest of holders of Rights and, in the event that the
number of Common Shares which are authorized by the Company's Certificate of
Incorporation but not outstanding or reserved for issuance for purposes other
than upon exercise of the Rights are not sufficient to permit the exercise in
full of the Rights, or if any necessary regulatory approval for such issuance
has not been obtained by the Company, the Company shall: (A) determine the
excess of (1) the value of the Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of a
Right (the "CURRENT VALUE") over (2) the Exercise Price (such excess, the
"SPREAD") and (B) with respect to each Right, make adequate provision to
substitute for such Common Shares, upon exercise of the Rights, (1) cash, (2)
a reduction in the Exercise Price, (3) other equity securities of the Company
(including, without limitation, shares
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or units of shares of any series of preferred stock which the Company's Board
of Directors has deemed to have the same value as Common Shares (such shares
or units of shares of preferred stock are herein called "COMMON STOCK
EQUIVALENTS")), except to the extent that the Company has not obtained any
necessary stockholder or regulatory approval for such issuance, (4) debt
securities of the Company, except to the extent that the Company has not
obtained any necessary stockholder or regulatory approval for such issuance,
(5) other assets or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having an aggregate
value equal to the Current Value, where such aggregate value has been
determined by the Company's Board of Directors based upon the advice of a
nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by the Company's Board
of Directors; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, if the Company shall not have made adequate
provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30)
days following the later of (x) the first occurrence of a Triggering 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 Exercise Price, Common Shares (to the extent available),
except to the extent that the Company has not obtained any necessary
stockholder or regulatory approval for such issuance, and then, if necessary,
cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value equal to the Spread.
If the Company's Board of Directors shall determine in good faith that it is
likely that sufficient additional Common Shares could be authorized for
issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights or that any necessary regulatory
approval for such issuance will be obtained, the thirty (30) day period set
forth above may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety
(90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date, in order that the Company
may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares
or take action to obtain such regulatory approval (such period, as it may be
extended, the "SUBSTITUTION PERIOD"). To the extent that the Company
determines that some action need be taken pursuant to the first and/or second
sentences of this Section 11(a)(iii), the Company (x) shall provide, subject
to Section 7(e) hereof, that such action shall apply uniformly to all
outstanding Rights and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until
the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek any authorization
of additional shares, to take any action to obtain any required regulatory
approval and/or to decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made
pursuant to such first sentence and to determine the value thereof. In the
event of any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement
stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended,
as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer
in effect. For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of the Common
Shares shall be the Current Per Share Market Price of the Common Shares on
the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the value of any Common Stock
Equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the Common Shares on
such date.
(b) In case the Company shall, at any time after the date of this
Agreement, fix a record date for the issuance of rights, options or warrants to
all holders of Preferred Shares entitling such holders (for a period expiring
within forty-five (45) calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or
purchase Preferred Shares or Equivalent Shares or securities convertible into
Preferred Shares or Equivalent Shares at a price per share (or having a
conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Shares or
Equivalent Shares) less than the then Current Per
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Share Market Price of the Preferred Shares or Equivalent Shares on such
record date, then, in each such case, the Exercise Price to be in effect
after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Exercise Price
in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator
of which shall be the number of Preferred Shares and Equivalent Shares (if
any) outstanding on such record date, plus the number of Preferred Shares or
Equivalent Shares, as the case may be, which the aggregate offering price of
the total number of Preferred Shares or Equivalent Shares, as the case may
be, to be offered or issued (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price of
the convertible securities to be offered or issued) would purchase at such
current market price, and the denominator of which shall be the number of
Preferred Shares and Equivalent Shares (if any) outstanding on such record
date, plus the number of additional Preferred Shares or Equivalent Shares, as
the case may be, to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into which
the convertible securities so to be offered are initially convertible);
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon
the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares
of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right. In case
such subscription price may be paid in a consideration part or all of which
shall be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be
as determined in good faith by the Company's Board of Directors, whose
determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent
and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights.
Preferred Shares and Equivalent Shares owned by or held for the account of
the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such
computation. Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a
record date is fixed, and in the event that such rights, options or warrants
are not so issued, the Exercise Price shall be adjusted to be the Exercise
Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.
(c) In case the Company shall, at any time after the date of this
Agreement, fix a record date for the making of a distribution to all holders
of the Preferred Shares or of any class or series of Equivalent Shares
(including any such distribution made in connection with a consolidation or
merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of
evidences of indebtedness or assets (other than a regular quarterly cash
dividend, if any, or a dividend payable in Preferred Shares) or subscription
rights, options or warrants (excluding those referred to in Section 11(b)),
then, in each such case, the Exercise Price to be in effect after such record
date shall be determined by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect
immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which
shall be the Current Per Share Market Price of a Preferred Share or an
Equivalent Share on such record date, less the fair market value per
Preferred Share or Equivalent Share (as determined in good faith by the Board
of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a
statement filed with the Rights Agent) 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 Preferred Share or Equivalent Share, as the case
may be, and the denominator of which shall be such Current Per Share Market
Price of a Preferred Share or Equivalent Share on such record date; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the
exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares of
capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right. 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 Exercise Price
shall be adjusted to be the Exercise Price which would have been in effect if
such record date had not been fixed.
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(d) Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, no adjustment
in the Exercise Price shall be required unless such adjustment would require
an increase or decrease of at least 1% in the Exercise Price; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section 11(d) 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 Common Share or
other share or one hundred-thousandth of a Preferred Share, as the case may
be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(d), 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 requires such
adjustment or (ii) the Expiration Date.
(e) If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a)
or 13(a) hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become
entitled to receive any shares of capital stock other than Preferred Shares,
thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any
Right and, if required, the Exercise 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 Shares contained
in Sections 11(a), 11(b), 11(c), 11(d), 11(g), 11(h), 11(i), 11(j), 11(k) and
11(l), and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 with respect to the
Preferred Shares shall apply on like terms to any such other shares.
(f) All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any
adjustment made to the Exercise Price hereunder shall evidence the right to
purchase, at the adjusted Exercise Price, the number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the
Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.
(g) Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as
provided in Section 11(h), upon each adjustment of the Exercise Price as a
result of the calculations made in Section 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 Exercise Price,
that number of Preferred Shares (calculated to the nearest one
hundred-thousandth of a share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of
Preferred Shares covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment, by
(y) the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the
Exercise Price, and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by the Exercise
Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Exercise Price.
(h) The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment
of the Exercise Price as a result of the calculations made in Section 11(b)
or (c) to adjust the number of Rights, in substitution for any adjustment in
the number of Preferred Shares purchasable upon the exercise of a Right.
Each of the Rights outstanding after such adjustment of the number of Rights
shall be exercisable for the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share
for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment. Each
Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall
become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one
hundred-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Exercise Price in effect
immediately prior to adjustment of the Exercise
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Price by the Exercise Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the
Exercise 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 Exercise 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(h), the Company shall, as
promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of
Rights Certificates on such record date Rights Certificates evidencing,
subject to Section 14 hereof, the additional Rights to which such holders
shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the
Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in
substitution and replacement for the Rights Certificates held by such holders
prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by
the Company, new Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such
holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Rights Certificates so to
be distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner
provided for herein (and may bear, at the option of the Company, the adjusted
Exercise 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.
(i) Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Exercise Price
or the number of Preferred Shares issuable upon the exercise of the Rights,
the Rights Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to
express the Exercise Price per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share and
the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which were expressed in
the initial Rights Certificates issued hereunder.
(j) Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment
reducing the Exercise Price below the par or stated value, if any, of the
number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share 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 as fully paid and nonassessable shares such number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share at such adjusted Exercise Price.
(k) In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an
adjustment in the Exercise Price be made effective as of a record date for a
specified event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such
event the issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date
of the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share and other capital stock
or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and
above the number of one-thousandths of a Preferred Share and other capital
stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on
the basis of the Exercise Price in effect prior to such adjustment; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other
appropriate instrument evidencing such holder's right to receive such
additional shares (fractional or otherwise) upon the occurrence of the event
requiring such adjustment.
(l) Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding,
prior to the Distribution Date, the Company shall be entitled to make such
reductions in the Exercise Price, in
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addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and
to the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine to be advisable
in order that any (i) consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred or Common
Shares, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any Preferred or Common Shares at
less than the current market price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of
Preferred or Common Shares or securities which by their terms are convertible
into or exchangeable for Preferred or Common Shares, (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 or Common Shares
shall not be taxable to such stockholders.
(m) The Company covenants and agrees that, after the Distribution
Date, it will not, except as permitted by Sections 23, 24 or 27 hereof, take
(or permit to be taken) 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.
(n) In the event the Company shall at any time after the date of
this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common
Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Common Shares, (C) combine the
outstanding Common Shares (by reverse stock split or otherwise) into a
smaller number of Common Shares, or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock
in a reclassification of the Common Shares (including any such
reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), then, in each such
event, except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a) and Section 7(e)
hereof: (1) each Common Share (or shares of capital stock issued in such
reclassification of the Common Shares) outstanding immediately following such
time shall have associated with it the number of Rights as were associated
with one Common Share immediately prior to the occurrence of the event
described in clauses (A)-(D) above; (2) the Exercise Price in effect at the
time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such
subdivision, combination or reclassification shall be adjusted so that the
Exercise Price thereafter shall equal the result obtained by multiplying the
Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such time by a fraction, the
numerator of which shall be the total number of Common Shares outstanding
immediately prior to the event described in clauses (A)-(D) above, and the
denominator of which shall be the total number of Common Shares outstanding
immediately after such event; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in no event shall the
consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the
aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable
upon exercise of such Right; and (3) the number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share (or shares of such other capital stock) issuable upon the
exercise of each Right outstanding after such event shall equal the number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or shares of such other capital stock)
as were issuable with respect to one Right immediately prior to such event.
Each Common Share that shall become outstanding after an adjustment has been
made pursuant to this Section 11(n) shall have associated with it the number
of Rights, exercisable at the Exercise Price and for the number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (or shares of such other capital stock)
as one Common Share has associated with it immediately following the
adjustment made pursuant to this Section 11(n). If an event occurs which
would require an adjustment under both this Section 11(n) and Section
11(a)(ii) hereof, the adjustment provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be
in addition to, and shall be made prior to, any adjustment required pursuant
to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
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Section 12. CERTIFICATE OF ADJUSTED EXERCISE PRICE OR NUMBER OF
SHARES. Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Sections 11 and 13
hereof, the Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth
such adjustment and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such
adjustment, (b) file with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for
the Preferred Shares a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary
thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 26
hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure of the Company
to make such certification or give such notice shall not affect the validity
of such adjustment or the force or effect of the requirement for such
adjustment. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such
certificate and on any adjustment contained therein and shall not be deemed
to have knowledge of such adjustment unless and until it shall have received
such certificate.
Section 13. CONSOLIDATION, MERGER OR SALE OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS OR
EARNING POWER.
(a) In the event that, following a Triggering Event, directly or
indirectly:
(i) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with
and into, any other Person (other than a wholly-owned Subsidiary of the
Company in a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the
state of incorporation of the Company and which complies with Section 11(m)
hereof);
(ii) any Person shall consolidate with the Company, or
merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or
surviving corporation of such consolidation or merger and, in connection with
such merger, all or part of the Common Shares shall be changed into or
exchanged for stock or other securities of any other person (or the Company);
or
(iii) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or
one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or
more transactions, assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the
assets or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a
whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company or one or more
of its wholly owned Subsidiaries in one or more transactions, each of which
individually (and together) complies with Section 11(m) hereof),
then, concurrent with and in each such case,
(A) 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 a price equal to the Total Exercise Price applicable
immediately prior to the occurrence of the Section 13 Event in accordance
with the terms of this Agreement, such number of validly authorized and
issued, fully paid, nonassessable and freely tradeable Common Shares of the
Principal Party (as hereinafter defined), free of any liens, encumbrances,
rights of first refusal or other adverse claims, as shall be equal to the
result obtained by dividing such Total Exercise Price by 50% of the Current
Per Share Market Price of the Common Shares of such Principal Party on the
date of consummation of such Section 13 Event, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the
Exercise Price and the number of Common Shares of such Principal Party
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so receivable upon exercise of a Right shall be subject to further adjustment
as appropriate in accordance with Section 11(e) hereof;
(B) 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;
(C) 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;
(D) such Principal Party shall take such steps
(including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of its
Common Shares) in connection with the consummation of any such transaction as
may be necessary to ensure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be
applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to its Common Shares
thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights; and
(E) upon the subsequent occurrence of any
consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets or other extraordinary
transaction in respect of such Principal Party, each holder of a Right shall
thereupon be entitled to receive, upon exercise of a Right and payment of the
Total Exercise Price as provided in this Section 13(a), such cash, shares,
rights, warrants and other property which such holder would have been
entitled to receive had such holder, at the time of such transaction, owned
the Common Shares of the Principal Party receivable upon the exercise of such
Right pursuant to this Section 13(a), and such Principal Party shall take
such steps (including, but not limited to, reservation of shares of stock) as
may be necessary to permit the subsequent exercise of the Rights in
accordance with the terms hereof for such cash, shares, rights, warrants and
other property.
(F) For purposes hereof, the "earning power"
of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be determined in good faith by the
Company's Board of Directors on the basis of the operating earnings of each
business operated by the Company and its Subsidiaries during the three fiscal
years preceding the date of such determination (or, in the case of any
business not operated by the Company or any Subsidiary during three full
fiscal years preceding such date, during the period such business was
operated by the Company or any Subsidiary).
(b) For purposes of this Agreement, the term "PRINCIPAL PARTY" shall
mean:
(i) in the case of any transaction described in clause
(i) or (ii) of Section 13(a) hereof: (A) the Person that is the issuer of the
securities into which the Common Shares are converted in such merger or
consolidation, or, if there is more than one such issuer, the issuer the Common
Shares of which have the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding,
or (B) if no securities are so issued, (x) the Person that is the other party to
the merger, if such Person survives said merger, or, if there is more than one
such Person, the Person the Common Shares of which have
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the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding or (y) if the
Person that is the other party to the merger does not survive the merger, the
Person that does survive the merger (including the Company if it survives) or
(z) the Person resulting from the consolidation; and
(ii) in the case of any transaction described in clause
(iii) of Section13(a) hereof, the Person that is the party receiving the
greatest portion of the assets or earning power transferred pursuant to such
transaction or transactions, or, if more than one Person that is a party to
such transaction or transactions receives the same portion of the assets or
earning power so transferred and each such portion would, were it not for the
other equal portions, constitute the greatest portion of the assets or
earning power so transferred, or if the Person receiving the greatest portion
of the assets or earning power cannot be determined, whichever of such
Persons is the issuer of Common Shares having the greatest aggregate market
value of shares outstanding;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that in any such case described in the foregoing clause
(b)(i) or (b)(ii), if the Common Shares of such Person are not at such time
or have not been continuously over the preceding 12-month period registered
under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, then (1) if such Person is a direct or
indirect Subsidiary of another Person the Common Shares of which are and have
been so registered, the term "Principal Party" shall refer to such other
Person, or (2) if such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of
more than one Person, the Common Shares of which are and have been so
registered, the term "Principal Party" shall refer to whichever of such
Persons is the issuer of Common Shares having the greatest aggregate market
value of shares outstanding, or (3) if such Person is owned, directly or
indirectly, by a joint venture formed by two or more Persons that are not
owned, directly or indirectly by the same Person, the rules set forth in
clauses (1) and (2) above shall apply to each of the owners having an
interest in the venture as if the Person owned by the joint venture was a
Subsidiary of both or all of such joint venturers, and the Principal Party in
each such case shall bear the obligations set forth in this Section 13 in the
same ratio as its interest in such Person bears to the total of such
interests.
(c) The Company shall not consummate any Section 13 Event unless
the Principal Party shall have a sufficient number of authorized Common
Shares that 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 issuer shall have executed and delivered
to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement confirming that such Principal
Party shall, upon consummation of such Section 13 Event, assume this
Agreement in accordance with Sections 13(a) and 13(b) hereof, that all rights
of first refusal or preemptive rights in respect of the issuance of Common
Shares of such Principal Party upon exercise of outstanding Rights have been
waived, that there are no rights, warrants, instruments or securities
outstanding or any agreements or arrangements which, as a result of the
consummation of such transaction, would eliminate or substantially diminish
the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights and that such transaction
shall not result in a default by such Principal Party under this Agreement,
and further providing that, as soon as practicable after the date of such
Section 13 Event, such Principal Party will:
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(i) prepare and file a registration statement under
the Securities Act with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable
upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, use its best efforts to
cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable
after such filing and use its best efforts to cause such registration
statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the
requirements of the Securities Act) until the Expiration Date, and similarly
comply with applicable state securities laws;
(ii) use its best efforts to list (or continue the
listing of) the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the
Rights on a national securities exchange or to meet the eligibility
requirements for quotation on Nasdaq and list (or continue the listing of)
the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on
Nasdaq; and
(iii) deliver to holders of the Rights historical
financial statements for such Principal Party which comply in all respects
with the requirements for registration on Form 10 (or any successor form)
under the Exchange Act.
In the event that at any time after the occurrence of a Triggering Event
some or all of the Rights shall not have been exercised at the time of a
transaction described in this Section 13, the Rights which have not
theretofore been exercised shall thereafter be exercisable in the manner
described in Section 13(a) (without taking into account any prior adjustment
required by Section 11(a)(ii)).
(d) In case the "Principal Party" for purposes of Section 13(b)
hereof has provision in any of its authorized securities or in its
certificate of incorporation or by-laws or other instrument governing its
corporate affairs, which provision would have the effect of (i) causing such
Principal Party to issue (other than to holders of Rights pursuant to Section
13 hereof), in connection with, or as a consequence of, the consummation of a
Section 13 Event, Common Shares or Equivalent Shares of such Principal Party
at less than the then Current Per Share Market Price thereof or securities
exercisable for, or convertible into, Common Shares or Equivalent Shares of
such Principal Party at less than such then Current Per Share Market Price,
or (ii) providing for any special payment, tax or similar provision in
connection with the issuance of the Common Shares of such Principal Party
pursuant to the provisions of Section 13 hereof, then, in such event, the
Company hereby agrees with each holder of Rights that it shall not consummate
any such transaction unless prior thereto the Company and such Principal
Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental
agreement providing that the provision in question of such Principal Party
shall have been canceled, waived or amended, or that the authorized
securities shall be redeemed, so that the applicable provision will have no
effect in connection with or as a consequence of, the consummation of the
proposed transaction.
(e) The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any
time after the Distribution Date, effect or permit to occur any Section 13
Event, if (i) at the time or immediately after such Section 13 Event there
are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or
agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise
eliminate the
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benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights, (ii) prior to, simultaneously
with or immediately after such Section 13 Event, the stockholders of the
Person who constitutes, or would constitute, the "Principal Party" for
purposes of Section 13(b) hereof shall have received a distribution of Rights
previously owned by such Person or any of its Affiliates or Associates or
(iii) the form or nature of organization of the Principal Party would
preclude or limit the exercisability of the Rights.
(f) The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to
successive mergers or consolidations or sales or other transfers.
Section 14. FRACTIONAL RIGHTS AND FRACTIONAL SHARES.
(a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights
or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In
lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders
of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would
otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the
current market value of a whole Right. For the purposes of this Section
14(a), the current market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price
of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such
fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable, as determined pursuant
to the second sentence of Section 1(j) hereof.
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Preferred Shares (other than fractions that are integral multiples of one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to
distribute certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other
than fractions that are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share). Interests in fractions of Preferred Shares in integral
multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share may, at the election of
the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts, pursuant to an appropriate
agreement between the Company and a depositary selected by it; PROVIDED, that
such agreement shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts
shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences to which they are
entitled as beneficial owners of the Preferred Shares represented by such
depositary receipts. In lieu of fractional Preferred Shares that are not
integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, the Company
shall pay to the registered holders of 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 a Preferred Share. For purposes of
this Section 14(b), the current market value of a Preferred Share shall be
one thousand times the closing price of a Common Share (as determined
pursuant to the second sentence of Section 1(j) hereof) for the Trading Day
immediately prior to the date of such exercise.
(c) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common
Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares
upon the exercise or exchange of Rights. In lieu of such fractional Common
Shares, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights
Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an
amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a
Common Share. For purposes of this Section 14(c), the current market value
of a Common Share shall be the closing price of a Common
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Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 1(j) hereof)
for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise.
(d) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Right expressly
waives his or her right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional
shares (other than fractions that are integral multiples of one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of a Right.
Section 15. RIGHTS OF ACTION. All rights of action in respect of
this Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent
under Section 18 hereof, are vested in the respective registered holders of
the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered
holders of the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Rights
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares),
without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Rights
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may,
in his or her own behalf and for his or her 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 or her right to exercise the
Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the manner provided in such
Rights Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing or
any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically
acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at
law for any breach of this Agreement and will be entitled to specific
performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or
threatened violations of, the obligations 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 the Common Shares;
(b) after the Distribution Date, the Rights Certificates are
transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at
the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a
proper instrument of transfer and with the appropriate forms and certificates
fully executed; and
(c) subject to Sections 6(a) and 7(f) hereof, the Company and the
Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name the Rights
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares
certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights
evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on
the Rights Certificates or the associated Common Shares certificate made by
anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes
whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall be affected by
any notice to the contrary.
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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 to be the holder of the Preferred
Shares or any other securities of the Company which may at any time be
issuable on the exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall
anything contained herein or in any Rights Certificate be construed to confer
upon the holder of any Rights Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a
stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors
or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to
give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of
meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in
Section 25 hereof), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or
otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate
shall have been exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Section 18. CONCERNING THE RIGHTS AGENT.
(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 other disbursements incurred in the administration and execution of this
Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder. The
Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold it
harmless against, any loss, liability or expense, incurred without
negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent,
for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the
acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and
expenses of defending against any claim of liability in the premises. In no
event will the Rights Agent be liable for special, indirect, incidental or
consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever, even if the Rights Agent
has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damage.
(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 with, its administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any
Rights Certificate or certificate for the Preferred Shares or Common Shares
or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer,
power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction,
consent, certificate, statement or other paper or document reasonably
believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary,
verified or acknowledged, by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon
the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20 hereof.
Section 19. MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION OR CHANGE OF NAME OF RIGHTS AGENT.
(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 business of the Rights Agent or any
successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this
Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on
the part of any of the parties hereto; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that such
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corporation would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent
under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case at the time such
successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this Agreement,
any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned but not
delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of
the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Rights Certificates so
countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall
not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such
Rights Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in
the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Rights
Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates
and in this Agreement.
(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 written advice or opinion of such
counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights
Agent as to any action taken or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance
with such written advice or 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 Per Share 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 any one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief
Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Chief Financial
Officer, 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 to the Company and
any other Person only for its own negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.
(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any
of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the
Rights Certificates (except its countersignature
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thereof) or be required to verify the same, but all such statements and
recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only.
(e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in
respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery
hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of
the validity or execution of any 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 change in the
exercisability of the Rights or any adjustment in the terms of the Rights
(including the manner, method or amount thereof) provided for in Sections 3,
11, 13, 23 or 24, or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would
require any such change or adjustment (except with respect to the exercise of
Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates after receipt by the Rights Agent of
a certificate furnished pursuant to Section 12 describing such change or
adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any
representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any
Preferred Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights
Certificate or as to whether any Preferred Shares will, when issued, be
validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
(f) The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge
and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered
all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably
be required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the
Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.
(g) The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept
instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from any
one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President,
any Vice President, the Chief Financial Officer, the Secretary or any
Assistant Secretary of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice
or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall not be liable for
any action taken or suffered by it in good faith in accordance with
instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting while waiting for
those instructions. Any application by the Rights Agent for written
instructions from the Company may, at the option of the Rights Agent, set
forth in writing any action proposed to be taken or omitted by the Rights
Agent under this Rights Agreement and the date on and/or after which such
action shall be taken or such omission shall be effective. The Rights Agent
shall not be liable for any action taken by, or omission of, the Rights Agent
in accordance with a proposal included in any such application on or after
the date specified in such application (which date shall not be less than
five (5) Business Days after the date any officer of the Company actually
receives such application, unless any such officer shall have consented in
writing to an earlier date) unless, prior to taking any such action (or the
effective date in the case of an omission), the Rights Agent shall have
received written instructions in response to such application specifying the
action to be taken or omitted.
(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, officer or
employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or
other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any
transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with
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or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though
it were not Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude
the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any
other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or
powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by
or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be
answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any
such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any
such act, default, neglect or misconduct, provided reasonable care was
exercised in the selection and continued employment thereof.
(j) 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 Preferred Shares and the Common Shares by
registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates
by first-class mail. The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any
successor Rights Agent upon thirty (30) days' notice in writing, mailed to
the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each
transfer agent of the Preferred Shares and the Common Shares by registered or
certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates by first-class
mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise
become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the
Rights Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a
period of thirty (30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it
has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the
resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Rights
Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his or her Rights
Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any
Rights Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the
appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether
appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be a corporation organized
and doing business under the laws of the United States or of any state of the
United States, in good standing, which is authorized under such laws to
exercise corporate trust or stockholder services powers and is subject to
supervision or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the
time of its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at
least $100 million. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be
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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 Preferred Shares and the Common Shares, and mail a
notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights
Certificates. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21,
however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of
the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the
successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.
Section 22. ISSUANCE OF NEW RIGHTS CERTIFICATES. Notwithstanding any
of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the
Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates evidencing Rights
in such form as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any
adjustment or change in the Exercise Price and the number or kind or class of
shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Rights
Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. In
addition, in connection with the issuance or sale of Common Shares following
the Distribution Date and prior to the redemption or expiration of the
Rights, the Company (a) shall, with respect to Common Shares so issued or
sold pursuant to the exercise of stock options or under any employee plan or
arrangement or upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of other securities
of the Company outstanding at the date hereof 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 and
this sentence shall be null and void AB INITIO if, and to the extent that,
such issuance or this sentence would create a significant risk of or result
in material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person to whom
such Rights Certificate would be issued or would create a significant risk of
or result in such options' or employee plans' or arrangements' failing to
qualify for otherwise available special tax treatment and (ii) no such Rights
Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate
adjustment shall otherwise have been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.
Section 23. REDEMPTION.
(a) The Company may, at its option and with the approval of the
Board of Directors, at any time prior to the earlier of (i) the Distribution
Date or (ii) the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, redeem all
but not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of
$0.01 per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock
dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such
redemption price being herein referred to as the "REDEMPTION PRICE") and the
Company may, at its option, pay the Redemption Price either in Common Shares
(based on the Current Per Share Market Price thereof at the time of
redemption) or cash. Such redemption of the Rights by the Company may be
made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the
Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish. The date
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on which the Board of Directors elects to make the redemption effective shall
be referred to as the "REDEMPTION DATE."
(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. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such redemption;
PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the failure to give or any defect in, any such notice
shall not affect the validity of such redemption. Within ten (10) days 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 their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the
Rights Agent or, prior to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the
transfer agent for the Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the
manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder
receives the notice. Each such notice of redemption will state the method by
which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made. Neither the Company
nor any of its Affiliates or Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for
value any Rights at any time in any manner other than that specifically set
forth in this Section 23 or in Section 24 hereof, and other than in
connection with the purchase of Common Shares prior to the Distribution Date.
Section 24. EXCHANGE.
(a) Subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations, and subject
to subsection 24(c) below, the Company may, at its option, by action of the
Board of Directors, at any time after the occurrence of a Triggering Event,
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 Shares at an exchange ratio of one Common
Share per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock
dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such
exchange ratio being hereinafter referred to as the "EXCHANGE RATIO").
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors shall not be empowered
to effect such exchange at any time after any Person (other than the Company,
any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or
any such Subsidiary, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to
the terms of any such plan), together with all Affiliates and Associates of
such Person, becomes the Beneficial Owner of 50% or more of the Common Shares
then outstanding.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors ordering
the exchange of any Rights pursuant to subsection 24(a) and without any
further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such Rights
shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder of such Rights
shall be to receive that number of Common Shares equal to the number of such
Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The Company
shall give public notice of any such exchange; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the
failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity
of such exchange. The Company shall mail a notice of any such exchange to
all of the holders
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of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books
of the Rights Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided
shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each
such notice of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the
Common Shares for Rights will be effected and, in the event of any partial
exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged. Any partial exchange
shall be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights
which have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 7(e) hereof)
held by each holder of Rights.
(c) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common Shares
issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit any exchange
of Rights as contemplated in accordance with Section 24(a), the Company shall
either take such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common
Shares for issuance upon exchange of the Rights or alternatively, at the
option of a majority of the Board of Directors, with respect to each Right
(i) pay cash in an amount equal to the Current Value (as hereinafter
defined), in lieu of issuing Common Shares in exchange therefor, or (ii)
issue debt or equity securities or a combination thereof, having a value
equal to the Current Value, in lieu of issuing Common Shares in exchange for
each such Right, where the value of such securities shall be determined by a
nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by majority vote of
the Board of Directors, or (iii) deliver any combination of cash, property,
Common Shares and/or other securities having a value equal to the Current
Value in exchange for each Right. For purposes of this Section 24(c) only,
the Current Value shall mean the product of the Current Per Share Market
Price of Common Shares on the date of the occurrence of the event described
above in subparagraph (a), multiplied by the number of Common Shares for
which the Right otherwise would be exchangeable if there were sufficient
shares available. To the extent that the Company determines that some action
need be taken pursuant to clauses (i), (ii) or (iii) of this Section 24(c),
the Board of Directors may temporarily suspend the exercisability of the
Rights for a period of up to sixty (60) days following the date on which the
event described in Section 24(a) shall have occurred, in order to seek any
authorization of additional Common Shares and/or to decide the appropriate
form of distribution to be made pursuant to the above provision and to
determine the value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the
Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of
the Rights has been temporarily suspended.
(d) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common
Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares.
In lieu of such fractional Common Shares, there shall be paid to the
registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such
fractional Common Shares would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal
to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Common Share (as
determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 1(j) hereof).
(e) The Company may, at its option, by majority vote of the Board
of Directors, at any time before any Person has become an Acquiring Person,
exchange all or part of the then outstanding Rights for rights of
substantially equivalent value, as determined reasonably and with good faith
by the Board of Directors, based upon the advice of one or more nationally
recognized investment banking firms.
-34-
<PAGE>
(f) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors ordering
the exchange of any Rights pursuant to subsection 24(e) 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 rights in exchange therefor as has
been determined by the Board of Directors in accordance with subsection 24(e)
above. The Company shall give public notice of any such exchange; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not
affect the validity of such exchange. The Company shall mail a notice of any
such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last addresses as
they appear upon the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common
Shares of the Company. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein
provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the
notice. Each such notice of exchange will state the method by which the
exchange of the Rights will be effected.
Section 25. NOTICE OF CERTAIN EVENTS.
(a) In case the Company shall propose to effect or permit to occur
any Triggering Event or Section 13 Event, the Company shall give notice
thereof to each holder of Rights in accordance with Section 26 hereof at
least twenty (20) days prior to occurrence of such Triggering Event or such
Section 13 Event.
(b) In case any Triggering Event or Section 13 Event shall occur,
then, in any such case, the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter
give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, in accordance with Section 26
hereof, a notice of the occurrence of such event, which shall specify the
event and the consequences of the event to holders of Rights under Sections
11(a)(ii) and 13 hereof.
Section 26. NOTICES. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to
be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Rights Certificate
to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class
mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with
the Rights Agent) as follows:
The North Face, Inc.
2013 Farallon Drive
San Leandro, CA 94577
Attention: Chief Financial Officer
with a copy to:
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Professional Corporation
650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
Attention: Jeffrey D. Saper, Esq.
-35-
<PAGE>
Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or demand
authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the
holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be
sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid,
addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Company) as
follows:
American Stock Transfer and Trust, Co.
40 Wall Street, 46th Floor
New York, NY 10005
Attention: Steve Jones or Isaac Kagen
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate shall be
sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid,
addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the
registry books of the Company.
Section 27. SUPPLEMENTS AND AMENDMENTS. Prior to the occurrence of a
Distribution Date, the Company may supplement or amend this Agreement in any
respect without the approval of any holders of Rights and the Rights Agent
shall, if the Company so directs, execute such supplement or amendment. From
and after the occurrence of a Distribution Date, the Company and the Rights
Agent may from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement without the
approval of any holders of Rights in order to (i) cure any ambiguity, (ii)
correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective
or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, (iii) shorten or lengthen
any time period hereunder or (iv) to change or supplement the provisions
hereunder in any manner that the Company may deem necessary or desirable and
that shall not adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights (other
than an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring
Person); PROVIDED, this Agreement may not be supplemented or amended to
lengthen, pursuant to clause (iii) of this sentence, (A) a time period
relating to when the Rights may be redeemed at such time as the Rights are
not then redeemable or (B) any other time period unless such lengthening is
for the purpose of protecting, enhancing or clarifying the rights of, and/or
the benefits to, the holders of Rights (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 that 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.
Prior to the Distribution Date, the interests of the holders of Rights shall
be deemed coincident with the interests of the holders of Common Shares.
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
Common Shares outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of
determining the particular percentage of such outstanding Common Shares of
which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made in accordance with
the last
-36-
<PAGE>
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 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 Certificates 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, the Common Shares) any legal or equitable right,
remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the
sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the
registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution
Date, the Common Shares).
Section 31. SEVERABILITY. If any term, provision, covenant or
restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or
other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the
terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain
in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or
invalidated; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that notwithstanding anything in this
Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or
restriction is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or
unenforceable and the Board of Directors of the Company determines in its
good faith judgment that severing the invalid language from this Agreement
would adversely affect the purpose or effect of this Agreement, the right of
redemption set forth in Section 23 hereof shall be reinstated and shall not
expire until the Close of Business on the tenth day following the date of
such determination by the Board of Directors.
Section 32. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement and 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 to be made and performed entirely within such State.
Section 33. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in any
number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes
be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together
constitute but one and the same instrument.
Section 34. DESCRIPTIVE HEADINGS. Descriptive headings of the
several Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and
shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the
provisions hereof.
-37-
<PAGE>
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed as of the day and year first above written.
"COMPANY" THE NORTH FACE, INC.
By:____________________________________
Name:__________________________________
Title:_________________________________
"RIGHTS AGENT" AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER
AND TRUST, CO.
By:____________________________________
Name:__________________________________
Title:_________________________________
-38-
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT A
---------
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS OF RIGHTS, PREFERENCES
AND PRIVILEGES OF
SERIES A PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
OF THE NORTH FACE, INC.
The undersigned, James Fifield and Christopher Crawford do hereby certify:
1. That they are the duly elected and acting President and Secretary,
respectively, of The North Face, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"CORPORATION").
2. That pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Board of
Directors by the Certificate of Incorporation of the said Corporation, the
said Board of Directors on July 2, 1998 adopted the following resolution
creating a series of 100,000 shares of Preferred Stock designated as Series A
Participating Preferred Stock:
"RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in the Board of Directors
of the corporation by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of
Directors does hereby provide for the issue of a series of Preferred Stock of
the Corporation and does hereby fix and herein state and express the
designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the
qualifications, limitations and restrictions of such series of Preferred Stock
as follows:
Section 1. DESIGNATION AND AMOUNT. The shares of such series shall be
designated as "SERIES A PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK." The Series A
Participating Preferred Stock shall have a par value of $1.00 per share, and the
number of shares constituting such series shall be 100,000.
Section 2. PROPORTIONAL ADJUSTMENT. In the event the Corporation
shall at any time after the issuance of any share or shares of Series A
Participating Preferred Stock (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock of the
Corporation, par value $0.0025 per share, ("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 Corporation shall simultaneously effect a proportional
adjustment to the number of outstanding shares of Series A Participating
Preferred Stock.
Section 3. DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.
(a) Subject to the prior and superior right of the holders of any
shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior and superior to the
shares of Series A Participating Preferred Stock with respect to dividends,
the holders of shares of Series A 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 last day of January, April, July and
<PAGE>
October 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
Participating Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest
cent) equal to 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash
dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind)
of all non-cash dividends or other distributions other than a dividend
payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares
of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common
Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or,
with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first
issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Participating
Preferred Stock.
(b) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on
the Series A 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).
(c) Dividends shall begin to accrue on outstanding shares of
Series A Participating Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series A
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 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 from such
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear
interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A 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 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 4. VOTING RIGHTS. The holders of shares of Series A
Participating Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(a) Each share of Series A Participating Preferred Stock shall
entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote
of the stockholders of the Corporation.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein or by law, the holders of
shares of Series A 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.
-2-
<PAGE>
(c) Except as required by law, holders of Series A 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 5. CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.
(a) The Corporation shall not declare any dividend on, make any
distribution on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration
any shares of Common Stock after the first issuance of a share or fraction of
a share of Series A Participating Preferred Stock unless concurrently
therewith it shall declare a dividend on the Series A Participating Preferred
Stock as required by Section 3 hereof.
(b) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or
distributions payable on the Series A Participating Preferred Stock as
provided in Section 3 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and
unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of
Series A 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 Participating
Preferred Stock;
(ii) declare or pay dividends on, 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 Series A
Participating Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A
Participating Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends
are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the
holders of all such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for
consideration shares of any stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends
or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A
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
Participating Preferred Stock;
(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration
any shares of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, or any shares of stock
ranking on a parity with the Series A 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.
-3-
<PAGE>
(c) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the
Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of
stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (a) of
this Section 5, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in
such manner.
Section 6. REACQUIRED SHARES. Any shares of Series A Participating
Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any
manner whatsoever shall be retired and canceled promptly after the
acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become
authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part
of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions
of the Board of Directors, subject to the conditions and restrictions on
issuance set forth herein and, in the Restated Certificate of Incorporation,
as then amended.
Section 7. LIQUIDATION, DISSOLUTION OR WINDING UP. Upon any
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, the holders of
shares of Series A Participating Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive
an aggregate amount per share equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount to be
distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock plus an amount
equal to any accrued and unpaid dividends on such shares of Series A
Participating Preferred Stock.
Section 8. CONSOLIDATION, MERGER, ETC. In case the Corporation
shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction
in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other
stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case
the shares of Series A Participating Preferred Stock shall at the same time
be similarly exchanged or changed in an amount per share equal to 1,000 times
the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property
(payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of
Common Stock is changed or exchanged.
Section 9. NO REDEMPTION. The shares of Series A Participating
Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 10. RANKING. The Series A 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 11. AMENDMENT. The Restated Certificate of Incorporation of
the Corporation shall not be further amended in any manner which would
materially alter or change the powers, preference or special rights of the
Series A Participating Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without
the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares
of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.
-4-
<PAGE>
Section 12. FRACTIONAL SHARES. Series A 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 Participating Preferred Stock.
RESOLVED FURTHER, that the President or any Vice President and the
Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of this corporation be, and they hereby
are, authorized and directed to prepare and file a Certificate of Designation
of Rights, Preferences and Privileges in accordance with the foregoing
resolution and the provisions of Delaware law and to take such actions as
they may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the intent of the
foregoing resolution."
We further declare under penalty of perjury that the matters set forth
in the foregoing Certificate of Designation are true and correct of our own
knowledge.
Executed at San Leandro, California, on July 6, 1998.
---------------------------------
James Fifield, President
---------------------------------
Christopher Crawford, Secretary
-5-
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT B
---------
FORM OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATE
Certificate No. R- _________ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER THE EARLIER OF (i) JULY 6, 2008 (ii) THE DATE
TERMINATED BY THE COMPANY OR (iii) THE DATE THE COMPANY EXCHANGES THE
RIGHTS PURSUANT TO THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO
REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY, AT $0.01 PER RIGHT ON THE
TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES,
RIGHTS BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR
ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE
RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME
NULL AND VOID. [THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE ARE
OR WERE BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN ACQUIRING
PERSON OR AN AFFILIATE OR ASSOCIATE OF AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS SUCH
TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT). ACCORDINGLY, THIS RIGHTS
CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID
IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SECTION 7(e) OF SUCH RIGHTS
AGREEMENT.](*)
RIGHTS CERTIFICATE
THE NORTH FACE, 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 July 6, 1998, (the "RIGHTS AGREEMENT"), between
The North Face, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "COMPANY"), and American Stock
Transfer and Trust, Co. (the "RIGHTS AGENT"), to purchase from the Company at
any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights
Agreement) and prior to 5:00 P.M., New York time, on July 6, 2008 at the
principal office of the Rights Agent, or at the office of its successor as
Rights Agent, one one-thousandth (1/1,000) of a fully paid non-assessable share
of Series A Participating Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value, (the "PREFERRED
SHARES"), of the Company, at a Exercise Price of One Hundred Forty Dollars
($140.00) per one-thousandth of a
- ---------------------
(*) The portion of the legend in bracket shall be inserted only if
applicable and shall replace the preceding sentence.
<PAGE>
Preferred Share (the "EXERCISE 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 one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which may
be purchased upon exercise hereof) set forth above are the number and
Exercise Price as of July 6, 1998 based on the Preferred Shares as
constituted at such date. As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Exercise
Price and the number and kind of Preferred Shares 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.
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
principal executive offices of the Company and the above-mentioned office of
the Rights Agent.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights
evidenced by this Rights Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company, at
its option, at a redemption price of $0.01 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged
by the Company in whole or in part for Common Shares, substantially
equivalent rights or other consideration as determined by the Company.
This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates,
upon surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, 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 amount of
securities 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.
No fractional portion of less than one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share will be issued upon the exercise of any Right or Rights
evidenced hereby but in lieu thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided
in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Rights Certificate, as such, shall be entitled to
vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the
Preferred Shares or of any other securities of the Company which may at any
time be issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the
Rights Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as
such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote
for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at
any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action,
or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders
(except as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or
subscription rights, or otherwise,
-2-
<PAGE>
until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate shall have
been exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose
until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.
WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company
and its corporate seal. Dated as of _______________, 19____.
ATTEST: THE NORTH FACE, INC.
_____________________________________ By:____________________________________
Christopher Crawford, Secretary James Fifield, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Countersigned:
AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER
AND TRUST, CO.
____________________________________
as Rights Agent
By:_________________________________
Its:________________________________
-3-
<PAGE>
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: _______________, 19____
_______________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (a bank,
stockbroker, savings and loan association or credit union with membership in an
approved signature guarantee medallion program) pursuant to Rule 17Ad-15 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
<PAGE>
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 Person (as such terms are defined in
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 any such Person.
Dated: _______________, 19____
_______________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (a
bank, stockbroker, savings and loan association or credit union with
membership in an approved signature guarantee medallion program) pursuant to
Rule 17Ad-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
<PAGE>
FORM OF REVERSE SIDE OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATE -- CONTINUED
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
----------------------------
(To be executed if holder desires to
exercise the Rights Certificate)
To: ___________________________
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise ________________
Rights represented by this Rights Certificate to purchase the number of
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share issuable upon the exercise of such Rights
and requests that certificates for such number of one-thousandths of a
Preferred Share issued in the name of:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
_______________________________________________________________________________
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Rights
Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights
shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
_______________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
_______________________________________________________________________________
Dated: ___________________ , 19____
_______________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (a bank,
stockbroker, savings and loan association or credit union with membership in an
approved signature guarantee medallion program) pursuant to Rule 17Ad-15 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
<PAGE>
CERTIFICATE
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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 Person (as such terms are defined in
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 any such Person.
Dated: _______________, 19____
_______________________________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (a
bank, stockbroker, savings and loan association or credit union with
membership in an approved signature guarantee medallion program) pursuant to
Rule 17Ad-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
<PAGE>
FORM OF REVERSE SIDE OF RIGHTS CERTIFICATE -- CONTINUED
NOTICE
------
The signature in the foregoing Forms of Assignment and Election must
conform to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in
every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.<PAGE>
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT C
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PROPOSED STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN
THE NORTH FACE, INC.
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS
DISTRIBUTION AND The Board of Directors has declared a dividend of one
TRANSFER OF RIGHTS; Right for each share of The North Face, Inc. Common
RIGHTS CERTIFICATE: Stock outstanding. Prior to the Distribution Date
referred to below, the Rights will be evidenced by
and trade with the certificates for the Common Stock.
After the Distribution Date, The North Face, Inc.
(the "COMPANY") will mail Rights certificates to the
Company's stockholders and the Rights will become
transferable apart from the Common Stock.
DISTRIBUTION DATE: Rights will separate from the Common Stock and become
exercisable following the tenth day (or such later
date as may be determined by a majority of the
Directors not affiliated with the acquiring person or
group (the "CONTINUING DIRECTORS")) after a person or
group (a) acquires beneficial ownership of 15% or
more of the Company's Common Stock or (b) announces a
tender or exchange offer, the consummation of which
would result in ownership by a person or group of
15% or more of the Company's Common Stock.
PREFERRED STOCK After the Distribution Date, each Right will entitle
PURCHASABLE UPON the holder to purchase for $140.00, a fraction
EXERCISE OF RIGHTS: of a share of the Company's Preferred Stock with
economic terms similar to that of one share of the
Company's Common Stock.
FLIP-IN: If an acquiror (an "ACQUIRING PERSON") obtains 15%
or more of the Company's Common Stock (other than
pursuant to a tender offer deemed adequate and in the
best interests of the Company and its stockholders by
the Board of Directors (a "PERMITTED OFFER")), THEN
each Right (other than Rights owned by an Acquiring
Person or its affiliates) will entitle the holder
thereof to purchase, for the exercise price, a number
of shares of the Company's Common Stock having a then
current market value of twice the exercise price.
<PAGE>
FLIP-OVER: If, after the Shares Acquisition Date (defined
below), (a) the Company merges into another entity,
(b) an acquiring entity merges into the Company or
(c) the Company sells more than 50% of the Company's
assets or earning power, THEN each Right (other than
Rights owned by an Acquiring Person or its
affiliates) will entitle the holder thereof to
purchase, for the exercise price, a number of shares
of Common Stock of the person engaging in the
transaction having a then current market value of
twice the exercise price (unless the transaction
satisfies certain conditions and is consummated with
a person who acquired shares pursuant to a Permitted
Offer, in which case the Rights will expire).
EXCHANGE PROVISION: At any time after an event triggering the flip-in or
flip-over rights and prior to the acquisition by the
Acquiring Person of 50% or more of the outstanding
Common Stock, the Board of Directors of the Company
may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by
the Acquiring Person or its affiliates), in whole or
in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common Share per
Right (subject to adjustment).
REDEMPTION OF Rights will be redeemable at the Company's option for
THE RIGHTS: $0.01 per Right at any time on or prior to the
tenth day (or such later date as may be determined by
a majority of the Continuing Directors) after public
announcement that a person has acquired beneficial
ownership of 15% or more of the Company's Common
Stock (the "SHARES ACQUISITION DATE").
EXPIRATION OF The Rights expire on the earliest of (a)
THE RIGHTS: July 6, 2008, (b) exchange or redemption of the Rights
as described above, or (c) consummation of a merger or
consolidation resulting in expiration of the Rights as
described above.
AMENDMENT OF The terms of the Rights and the Rights Agreement may
TERMS OF RIGHTS: be amended in any respect without the consent of the
Rights holders on or prior to the Distribution Date;
thereafter, the terms of the Rights and the Rights
Agreement may be amended without the consent of the
Rights holders in order to cure any ambiguities or to
make changes which do not adversely affect the
interests of Rights holders (other than the Acquiring
Person).
VOTING RIGHTS: Rights will not have any voting rights.
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<PAGE>
ANTI-DILUTION Rights will have the benefit of certain customary
PROVISIONS: anti-dilution provisions.
TAXES: The Rights distribution should not be taxable for
federal income tax purposes. However, following an
event which renders the Rights exercisable or upon
redemption of the Rights, stockholders may recognize
taxable income.
The foregoing is a summary of certain principal terms of the Stockholder
Rights Plan only and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the detailed
terms of the Rights Agreement dated as of July 6, 1998, between the Company and
the Rights Agent.
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