SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
________________________________
FORM 8-A
FOR REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN CLASSES OF SECURITIES
PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
General Mills, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 41-0274440
(State of incorporation or organization) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
Number One General Mills Boulevard
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55426
(Mail: P.O. Box 1113) (Mail: 55440)
If this Form relates to the If this Form relates to the
registration of a class of debt registration of a class of debt
securities and is effective upon securities and is to become ef-
filing pursuant to General fective simultaneously with the
Instruction A(c)(1) please check effectiveness of a concurrent
the following box. /_/ registration statement under the
Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to
General Instruction A(c)(2) please
check the following box. /_/
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
Preference Share Purchase New York Stock Exchange
Rights
Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of Class)
Item 1. Description of Securities To Be Registered.
On December 11, 1995, the Board of Directors of General
Mills, Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend of one preference
share purchase right (a "Right") for each outstanding share of
common stock, par value $.10 per share (the "Common Shares"), of
the Company. The dividend is payable on February 1, 1996 to
stockholders of record on January 10, 1996 (the "Record Date").
Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the
Company one one-hundredth of a share of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock, without par value (the "Preference
Shares"), of the Company at a price of $240 per one one-hundredth
of a Preference Share (the "Purchase Price"), subject to
adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set
forth in a Rights Agreement, dated as of December 11, 1995 (the
"Rights Agreement") between the Company and Norwest Bank
Minnesota, N.A., as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a
public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or
associated persons (an "Acquiring Person") have acquired
beneficial ownership of 20% or more of the outstanding Common
Shares or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be
determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time
as any person or group of affiliated persons becomes an Acquiring
Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of an
intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the
consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership by
a person or group of 20% or more of the outstanding Common Shares
(the earlier of such dates being called the "Distribution Date"),
the Rights will be evidenced, with respect to any of the Common
Share certificates outstanding as of the Record Date, by such
Common Share certificate with a copy of a Summary of Rights
attached thereto.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the
Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the
Rights), the Rights will be transferred with and only with the
Common Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier
redemption or expiration of the Rights), new Common Share
certificates issued after the Record Date upon transfer or new
issuance of Common Shares will contain a notation incorporating
the Rights Agreement by reference. Until the Distribution Date
(or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the
surrender for transfer of any certificates for Common Shares
outstanding as of the Record Date, even without such notation or
a copy of the Summary of Rights being attached thereto, will also
constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common
Shares represented by such certificate. As soon as practicable
following the Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing
the Rights ("Right Certificates") will be mailed to holders of
record of the Common Shares as of the close of business on the
Distribution Date and such separate Right Certificates alone will
evidence the Rights.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution
Date. The Rights will expire on February 1, 2006 (the "Final
Expiration Date"), unless the Final Expiration Date is extended
or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the
Company, in each case, as described below.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of
Preference Shares or other securities or property issuable, upon
exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time to
time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock dividend on,
or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the
Preference Shares, (ii) upon the grant to holders of the
Preference Shares of certain rights or warrants to subscribe for
or purchase Preference Shares at a price, or securities
convertible into Preference Shares with a conversion price, less
than the then-current market price of the Preference Shares or
(iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Preference Shares
of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular
periodic cash dividends paid out of earnings or retained earnings
or dividends payable in Preference Shares) or of subscription
rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preference Share issuable upon exercise of
each Right are also subject to adjustment in the event of a stock
split of the Common Shares or a stock dividend on the Common
Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions, consolidations
or combinations of the Common Shares occurring, in any such case,
prior to the Distribution Date.
Preference Shares purchasable upon exercise of the
Rights will not be redeemable. Each Preference Share will be
entitled to a minimum preferential quarterly dividend payment of
$10 per share but will be entitled to an aggregate dividend of
100 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the event
of liquidation, the holders of the Preference Shares will be
entitled to a minimum preferential liquidation payment of $100
per share but will be entitled to an aggregate payment of 100
times the payment made per Common Share. Each Preference Share
will have 100 votes, voting together with the Common Shares.
Finally, in the event of any merger, consolidation or other
transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged, each Preference
Share will be entitled to receive 100 times the amount received
per Common Share. These rights are protected by customary
antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preference Shares'
dividend, liquidation and voting rights, the value of the one one-
hundredth interest in a Preference Share purchasable upon
exercise of each Right should approximate the value of one Common
Share.
In the event that the Company is acquired in a merger
or other business combination transaction or 50% or more of its
consolidated assets or earning power are sold after a person or
group has become an Acquiring Person, proper provision will be
made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the
right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then current
exercise price of the Right, that number of shares of common
stock of the acquiring company which at the time of such
transaction will have a market value of two times the exercise
price of the Right. In the event that any person or group of
affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person,
proper provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right,
other than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person
(which will thereafter be void), will thereafter have the right
to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares having a
market value at the time of such occurrence of two times the
exercise price of the Right.
At any time after any person or group becomes an
Acquiring Person and prior to the acquisition by such person or
group of 50% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, the Board
of Directors of the Company may exchange the Rights (other than
Rights owned by such person or group which will have become
void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common
Share, or one one-hundredth of a Preference Share, per Right
(subject to adjustment).
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase
Price will be required until cumulative adjustments require an
adjustment of at least 1% in such Purchase Price. No fractional
Preference Shares will be issued (other than fractions which are
integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preference Share,
which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by
depositary receipts) and in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash
will be made based on the market price of the Preference Shares
on the last trading day prior to the date of exercise.
At any time prior to the acquisition by a person or
group of affiliated or associated persons of beneficial ownership
of 20% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, the Board of
Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not
in part, at a price of $.01 per Right (the "Redemption Price").
The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time,
on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors
in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any
redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will
terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to
receive the Redemption Price.
The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board of
Directors of the Company without the consent of the holders of
the Rights, including an amendment to lower certain thresholds
described above to not less than the greater of (i) the sum of
.001% and the largest percentage of the outstanding Common Shares
then known to the Company to be beneficially owned by any person
or group of affiliated or associated persons and (ii) 10%, except
that from and after such time as any person or group of
affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person, no
such amendment may adversely affect the interests of the holders
of the Rights.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as
such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company,
including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive
dividends.
The Rights Agreement and a form of press release
announcing the declaration of the Rights are attached hereto as
exhibits and are incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing
description of the Rights is qualified in its entirety by
reference to such exhibits.
Item 2. Exhibits.
1. Rights Agreement, dated as of December 11,
1995, between General Mills, Inc. and Norwest
Bank Minnesota, N.A., as Rights Agent.
2. Form of press release dated December 11,
1995.
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 thereunto duly authorized.
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
By: /s/ Siri S. Marshall
Name: Siri S. Marshall
Title: Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and
Secretary
Dated: December 18, 1995
EXHIBIT LIST
Exhibit Description
1. Rights Agreement, dated as of December 11,
1995, between General Mills, Inc. and Norwest
Bank Minnesota, N.A., as Rights Agent.
2. Form of press release dated December 11, 1995.
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
and
NORWEST BANK MINNESOTA, N.A.
Rights Agent
Rights Agreement
Dated as of December 11, 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Section 1. Certain Definitions 1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent 7
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates 7
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates 11
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration 12
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and
Exchange of Right Certificates;
Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or
Stolen Right Certificates 13
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price;
Expiration Date of Rights 15
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of
Right Certificates 18
Section 9. Availability of Common Shares 18
Section 10. Preference Shares Record Date 20
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of
Shares or Number of Rights 20
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price
or Number of Shares 36
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer
of Assets or Earning Power 36
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares 39
Section 15. Rights of Action 41
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders 42
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a
Stockholder 43
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent 44
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of
Name of Rights Agent 45
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent 46
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent 50
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates 53
Section 23. Redemption 53
Section 24. Exchange 54
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events 57
Section 26. Notices 59
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments 60
Section 28. Successors 61
Section 29. Benefits of this Agreement 62
Section 30. Severability 62
Section 31. Governing Law 62
Section 32. Counterparts 63
Section 33. Descriptive Headings 63
Signatures 63
Exhibit A - Form of Certificate of Designation
Exhibit B - Form of Right Certificate
Exhibit C - Summary of Rights to Purchase Preference
Shares
Agreement, dated as of December 11, 1995, between
General Mills, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and
Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A. (the "Rights Agent").
The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized
and declared a dividend of one Preference Share purchase right
(a "Right") for each Common Share (as hereinafter defined) of
the Company outstanding on January 10, 1996 (the "Record
Date"), each Right representing the right to purchase one one-
hundredth of a Preference Share (as hereinafter defined), upon
the terms and subject to the conditions herein set forth, and
has further authorized and directed the issuance of one Right
with respect to each Common Share that shall become outstanding
between the Record Date and the earliest of the Distribution
Date, the Redemption Date and the Final Expiration Date (as
such terms are hereinafter defined).
Accordingly, in consideration of the premises and the
mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as
follows:
Section 1. Certain Definitions. For purposes of
this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings
indicated:
(a) "Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person (as
such term is hereinafter defined) who or which, together with
all Affiliates and Associates (as such terms are hereinafter
defined) of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner (as such
term is hereinafter defined) of 20% or more of the Common
Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include
the Company, any Subsidiary (as such term is hereinafter
defined) of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the
Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity holding
Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an
"Acquiring Person" as the result of an acquisition of Common
Shares by the Company which, by reducing the number of shares
outstanding, increases the proportionate number of shares
beneficially owned by such Person to 20% or more of the Common
Shares of the Company then outstanding; provided, however, that
if a Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 20% or more of
the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding by reason of
share purchases by the Company and shall, after such share
purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any
additional Common Shares of the Company, then such Person shall
be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person". Notwithstanding the
foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the Company determines
in good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an
"Acquiring Person", as defined pursuant to the foregoing
provisions of this paragraph (a), has become such
inadvertently, and such Person divests as promptly as
practicable a sufficient number of Common Shares so that such
Person would no longer be an "Acquiring Person," as defined
pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a),
then such Person shall not be deemed to be an "Acquiring
Person" for any purposes of this Agreement.
(b) "Affiliate" and "Associate" shall have the
respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the
General Rules and Regulations under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), as in effect on the
date of this Agreement.
(c) A Person shall be deemed the "Beneficial Owner"
of and shall be deemed to "beneficially own" any securities:
(i) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates beneficially owns, directly or
indirectly;
(ii) which such Person or any of such Person's
Affiliates or Associates has (A) the right to acquire
(whether such right is exercisable immediately or only
after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement,
arrangement or understanding (other than customary
agreements with and between underwriters and selling group
members with respect to a bona fide public offering of
securities), or upon the exercise of conversion rights,
exchange rights, rights (other than these Rights),
warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that
a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or
to beneficially own, securities tendered pursuant to a
tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of such
Person or any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates
until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase
or exchange; or (B) the right to vote pursuant to any
agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided,
further, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial
Owner of, or to beneficially own, any security if the
agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such
security (1) arises solely from a revocable proxy or
consent given to such Person in response to a public proxy
or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in
accordance with, the applicable rules and regulations
promulgated under the Exchange Act and (2) is not also
then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or
any comparable or successor report); or
(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or
indirectly, by any other Person with which such Person or
any of such Person's Affiliates or Associates has any
agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than
customary agreements with and between underwriters and
selling group members with respect to a bona fide public
offering of securities) for the purpose of acquiring,
holding, voting (except to the extent contemplated by the
proviso to Section 1(c)(ii)(B)) or disposing of any
securities of the Company.
Notwithstanding anything in this definition of
Beneficial Ownership to the contrary, the phrase "then
outstanding," when used with reference to a Person's Beneficial
Ownership of securities of the Company, shall mean the number
of such securities then issued and outstanding together with
the number of such securities not then actually issued and
outstanding which such Person would be deemed to own
beneficially hereunder.
(d) "Business Day" shall mean any day other than a
Saturday, a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in
the State of the principal office of the Rights Agent are
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
(e) "Close of business" on any given date shall mean
5:00 P.M., local time in the State of the principal office of
the Rights Agent, on such date; provided, however, that if such
date is not a Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., local time
in the State of the principal office of the Rights Agent, on
the next succeeding Business Day.
(f) "Common Shares" when used with reference to the
Company shall mean the shares of common stock, par value $.10
per share, of the Company. "Common Shares" when used with
reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the
capital stock (or equity interest) with the greatest voting
power of such other Person or, if such other Person is a
Subsidiary of another Person, the Person or Persons which
ultimately control such first-mentioned Person.
(g) "Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 3 hereof.
(h) "Final Expiration Date" shall have the meaning
set forth in Section 7 hereof.
(i) "Person" shall mean any individual, firm,
corporation or other entity, and shall include any successor
(by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
(j) "Preference Shares" shall mean shares of
Series B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock, without par
value, of the Company.
(k) "Redemption Date" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 7 hereof.
(l) "Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the first
date of public announcement by the Company or an Acquiring
Person that an Acquiring Person has become such.
(m) "Subsidiary" of any Person shall mean any
corporation or other entity of which a majority of the voting
power of the voting equity securities or equity interest is
owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company
hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the
Company and the holders of the Rights (who, in accordance with
Section 3 hereof, shall prior to the Distribution Date also be
the holders of the Common Shares) in accordance with the terms
and conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such
appointment. The Company may from time to time appoint such co-
Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable.
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates. (a) Until
the earlier of (i) the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition
Date or (ii) the tenth business day (or such later date as may
be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such
time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person) after the date
of the commencement by any Person (other than the Company, any
Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the
Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company or any entity
holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such
plan) of, or of the first public announcement of the intention
of any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the
Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any
Subsidiary of the Company or any entity holding Common Shares
for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) to commence, a
tender or exchange offer the consummation of which would result
in any Person becoming the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares
aggregating 20% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares
(including any such date which is after the date of this
Agreement and prior to the issuance of the Rights; the earlier
of such dates being herein referred to as the "Distribution
Date"), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the
provisions of Section 3(b) hereof) by the certificates for
Common Shares registered in the names of the holders thereof
(which certificates shall also be deemed to be Right
Certificates) and not by separate Right Certificates, and (y)
the right to receive Right Certificates will be transferable
only in connection with the transfer of Common Shares. As soon
as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company will
prepare and execute, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the
Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent
will, if requested, send) by first-class, postage- prepaid
mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of the close of
business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such
holder shown on the records of the Company, a Right
Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (a
"Right Certificate"), evidencing one Right for each Common
Share so held. As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be
evidenced solely by such Right Certificates.
(b) On or about February 1, 1996, or as promptly as
reasonably practicable thereafter, the Company will send a copy
of a Summary of Rights to Purchase Preference Shares, in
substantially the form of Exhibit C hereto (the "Summary of
Rights"), by postage- prepaid mail, to each record holder of
Common Shares as of the close of business on the Record Date,
at the address of such holder shown on the records of the
Company. With respect to certificates for Common Shares
outstanding as of the Record Date, until the Distribution Date,
the Rights will be evidenced by such certificates registered in
the names of the holders thereof together with a copy of the
Summary of Rights attached thereto. Until the Distribution
Date (or the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final
Expiration Date), the surrender for transfer of any certificate
for Common Shares outstanding on the Record Date, with or
without a copy of the Summary of Rights attached thereto, shall
also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the
Common Shares represented thereby.
(c) Certificates for Common Shares which become
outstanding (including, without limitation, reacquired Common
Shares referred to in the last sentence of this paragraph (c))
after the Record Date but prior to the earliest of the
Distribution Date, the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration
Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or
otherwise affixed to them the following legend:
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder
hereof to certain Rights as set forth in the Rights
Agreement between General Mills, Inc. (the "Company") and
Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A. (the "Rights Agent"), dated
as of December 11, 1995 (as amended from time to time, the
"Rights Agreement"), the terms of which are hereby
incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on
file at the principal offices of the Company. Under
certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights
Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate
certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this
certificate. The Company will mail to the holder of this
certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement, as in effect
on the date of mailing, without charge promptly after
receipt of a written request therefor. Under certain
circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement, Rights
issued to, or held by, any Person who is, was or becomes
an Acquiring Person or any Affiliate or Associate thereof
(as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement),
whether currently held by or on behalf of such Person or
by any subsequent holder, may become null and void.
With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing
legend, until the Distribution Date, the Rights associated with
the Common Shares represented by such certificates shall be
evidenced by such certificates alone, and the surrender for
transfer of any such certificate shall also constitute the
transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares
represented thereby. In the event that the Company purchases
or acquires any Common Shares after the Record Date but prior
to the Distribution Date, any Rights associated with such
Common Shares shall be deemed cancelled and retired so that the
Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated
with the Common Shares which are no longer outstanding.
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates. The Right
Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase Preference
Shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof)
shall be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit B
hereto and may have such marks of identification or designation
and such legends, summaries or endorsements printed thereon as
the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to
comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation
made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any
stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to time be
listed, or to conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of
Section 22 hereof, the Right Certificates shall entitle the
holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-hundredths
of a Preference Share as shall be set forth therein at the
price per one one-hundredth of a Preference Share set forth
therein (the "Purchase Price"), but the number of such one one-
hundredths of a Preference Share or other securities
purchasable and the Purchase Price shall be subject to
adjustment as provided herein.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. (a)
The Right Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the
Company by its Chairman of the Board, its Chief Executive
Officer, its President, or any of its Vice Presidents, either
manually or by facsimile signature, shall have affixed thereto
the Company's seal or a facsimile thereof, and shall be
attested by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the
Company, either manually or by facsimile signature. The Right
Certificates shall be countersigned by the Rights Agent, either
manually or by facsimile signature, and shall not be valid for
any purpose unless so countersigned. In case any officer of
the Company who shall have signed any of the Right Certificates
shall cease to be such officer of the Company before
countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery
by the Company, such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be
countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by
the Company with the same force and effect as though the person
who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such
officer of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed
on behalf of the Company by any person who, at the actual date
of the execution of such Right Certificate, shall be a proper
officer of the Company to sign such Right Certificate, although
at the date of the execution of this Rights Agreement any such
person was not such an officer.
(b) Following the Distribution Date, the Rights
Agent will keep or cause to be kept, at its principal office,
books for registration and transfer of the Right Certificates
issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and
addresses of the respective holders of the Right Certificates,
the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Right
Certificates and the date of each of the Right Certificates.
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and
Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or
Stolen Right Certificates. (a) Subject to the provisions of
Section 14 hereof, at any time after the close of business on
the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the close of business
on the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration
Date, any Right Certificate or Right Certificates (other than
Right Certificates representing Rights that have become void
pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof or that have been
exchanged pursuant to Section 24 hereof) may be transferred,
split up, combined or exchanged for another Right Certificate
or Right Certificates, entitling the registered holder to
purchase a like number of one one- hundredths of a Preference
Share as the Right Certificate or Right Certificates
surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase. Any
registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or
exchange any Right Certificate or Right Certificates shall make
such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and
shall surrender the Right Certificate or Right Certificates to
be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the
principal office of the Rights Agent. Thereupon the Rights
Agent shall countersign and deliver to the person entitled
thereto a Right Certificate or Right Certificates, as the case
may be, as so requested. The Company may require payment of a
sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may
be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up,
combination or exchange of Right Certificates.
(b) Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent
of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft,
destruction or mutilation of a Right Certificate, and, in case
of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security
reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company's request,
reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all
reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to
the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Right Certificate if
mutilated, the Company will execute and deliver a new Right
Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for
countersignature and delivery to the registered holder in lieu
of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or
mutilated.
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price;
Expiration Date of Rights. (a) The registered holder of any
Right Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced thereby
(except as otherwise provided herein) in whole or in part at
any time after the Distribution Date upon surrender of the
Right Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the
reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the
principal office of the Rights Agent, together with payment of
the Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of a Preference
Share as to which the Rights are exercised, at or prior to the
earliest of (i) the close of business on February 1, 2006 (the
"Final Expiration Date"), (ii) the time at which the Rights are
redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof (the "Redemption
Date"), or (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged as
provided in Section 24 hereof.
(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-hundredth of
a Preference Share purchasable pursuant to the exercise of a
Right shall initially be $240, and shall be subject to
adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 or 13
hereof and shall be payable in lawful money of the United
States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.
(c) Upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing
exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly
executed, accompanied by payment of the Purchase Price for the
shares to be purchased and an amount equal to any applicable
transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right
Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof, the Rights
Agent shall thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any
transfer agent of the Preference Shares certificates for the
number of Preference Shares to be purchased and the Company
hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with
all such requests, or (B) requisition from the depositary agent
depositary receipts representing such number of one one-
hundredths of a Preference Share as are to be purchased (in
which case certificates for the Preference Shares represented
by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with
the depositary agent) and the Company hereby directs the
depositary agent to comply with such request, (ii) when
appropriate, requisition from the Company the amount of cash to
be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares in accordance
with Section 14 hereof, (iii) after receipt of such
certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be
delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such
Right Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be
designated by such holder and (iv) when appropriate, after
receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the
registered holder of such Right Certificate. The payment of
the Purchase Price may be made (x) in cash or by certified bank
check or bank draft payable to the order of the Company, or (y)
by delivery of a certificate or certificates (with appropriate
stock powers executed in blank attached thereto) evidencing a
number of Common Shares equal to the then Purchase Price
divided by the current market price (as determined pursuant to
Section 11(d) hereof) per Common Share on the date of such
exercise. In the event that the Company is obligated to issue
other securities (including Common Shares) of the Company
pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof, the Company will make all
arrangements necessary so that such other securities are
available for distribution by the Rights Agent, if and when
appropriate.
(d) In case the registered holder of any Right
Certificate shall exercise less than all the Rights evidenced
thereby, a new Right Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent
to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the
Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Right Certificate
or to such holder's duly authorized assigns, subject to the
provisions of Section 14 hereof.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right
Certificates. All Right Certificates surrendered for the
purpose of exercise, transfer, split up, combination or
exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its
agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in
cancelled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall
be cancelled by it, and no Right Certificates shall be issued
in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by any of the
provisions of this Rights Agreement. The Company shall deliver
to the Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the
Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Right
Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than
upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver all
cancelled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the
written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Right
Certificates, and in such case shall deliver a certificate of
destruction thereof to the Company.
Section 9. Availability of Preference Shares. The
Company covenants and agrees that it will cause to be reserved
and kept available out of its authorized and unissued
Preference Shares or any Preference Shares held in its
treasury, the number of Preference Shares that will be
sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding
Rights in accordance with Section 7. The Company covenants and
agrees that it will take all such action as may be necessary to
ensure that all Preference Shares delivered upon exercise of
Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for
such Preference Shares (subject to payment of the Purchase
Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully
paid and nonassessable shares.
The Company further covenants and agrees that it will
pay when due and payable any and all federal and state transfer
taxes and charges which may be payable in respect of the
issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of any
Preference Shares upon the exercise of Rights. The Company
shall not, however, be required to pay any transfer tax which
may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Right
Certificates to a person other than, or the issuance or
delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the
Preference Shares in a name other than that of, the registered
holder of the Right Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered
for exercise or to issue or to deliver any certificates or
depositary receipts for Preference Shares upon the exercise of
any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such
tax being payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at
the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the
Company's reasonable satisfaction that no such tax is due.
Section 10. Preference Shares Record Date. Each
person in whose name any certificate for Preference Shares is
issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be
deemed to have become the holder of record of the Preference
Shares represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be
dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing
such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase
Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided,
however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a
date upon which the Preference Shares transfer books of the
Company are closed, such person shall be deemed to have become
the record holder of such shares on, and such certificate shall
be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the
Preference Shares transfer books of the Company are open.
Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the
holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to any
rights of a holder of Preference Shares for which the Rights
shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right
to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or to
exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to
receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as
provided herein.
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of
Shares or Number of Rights. The Purchase Price, the number and
kind of Preference Shares or other shares covered by each Right
and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment
from time to time as provided in this Section 11.
(a) (i) In the event the Company shall at any time
after the date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the
Preference Shares payable in Preference Shares, (B) subdivide
the outstanding Preference Shares, (C) combine the outstanding
Preference Shares into a smaller number of Preference Shares or
(D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification
of the Preference Shares (including any such reclassification
in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the
Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except as
otherwise provided in this Section 11(a), the Purchase Price in
effect at the time of the record date for such dividend or of
the effective date of such subdivision, combination or
reclassification, and the number and kind of shares of capital
stock issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted
so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall
be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares
of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised
immediately prior to such date and at a time when the
Preference Shares transfer books of the Company were open, such
holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to
receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or
reclassification; provided, however, that in no event shall the
consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less
than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of
the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right.
(ii) Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the
event any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a
Right shall thereafter have a right to receive, upon exercise
thereof at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price
multiplied by the number of one one-hundredths of a Preference
Share for which the Right is then exercisable, in accordance
with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of Preference
Shares, such number of Common Shares of the Company as shall
equal the result obtained by (x) multiplying the then current
Purchase Price by the number of one one-hundredths of a
Preference Share for which a Right is then exercisable and
dividing that product by (y) 50% of the then current per share
market price of the Company's Common Shares (determined
pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of the occurrence
of such event. In the event that any Person shall become an
Acquiring Person and the Rights shall then be outstanding, the
Company shall not take any action which would eliminate or
diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.
From and after the occurrence of such event, any
Rights that are or were acquired or beneficially owned by any
Acquiring Person (or any Associate or Affiliate of such
Acquiring Person) shall be void and any holder of such Rights
shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights under
any provision of this Agreement. No Right Certificate shall be
issued pursuant to Section 3 that represents Rights
beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be
void pursuant to the preceding sentence or any Associate or
Affiliate thereof; no Right Certificate shall be issued at any
time upon the transfer of any Rights to an Acquiring Person
whose Rights would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence
or any Associate or Affiliate thereof or to any nominee of such
Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate; and any Right
Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an
Acquiring Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the
preceding sentence shall be cancelled.
(iii) In the event that there shall not be sufficient
Common Shares issued but not outstanding or authorized but
unissued to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in
accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii), the Company
shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize
additional Common Shares for issuance upon exercise of the
Rights. In the event the Company shall, after good faith
effort, be unable to take all such action as may be necessary
to authorize such additional Common Shares, the Company shall
substitute, for each Common Share that would otherwise be
issuable upon exercise of a Right, a number of Preference
Shares or fraction thereof such that the current per share
market price of one Preference Share multiplied by such number
or fraction is equal to the current per share market price of
one Common Share as of the date of issuance of such Preference
Shares or fraction thereof.
(b) In case the Company shall fix a record date for
the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of
Preference Shares entitling them (for a period expiring within
45 calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or
purchase Preference Shares (or shares having the same rights,
privileges and preferences as the Preference Shares
("equivalent preference shares")) or securities convertible
into Preference Shares or equivalent preference shares at a
price per Preference Share or equivalent preference share (or
having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible
into Preference Shares or equivalent preference shares) less
than the then current per share market price of the Preference
Shares (as defined in Section 11(d)) on such record date, the
Purchase Price to be in effect after such record date shall be
determined by multiplying the Purchase Price in effect
immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the
numerator of which shall be the number of Preference Shares
outstanding on such record date plus the number of Preference
Shares which the aggregate offering price of the total number
of Preference Shares and/or equivalent preference shares so to
be offered (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price of
the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase at
such current market price and the denominator of which shall be
the number of Preference Shares outstanding on such record date
plus the number of additional Preference Shares and/or
equivalent preference shares to be offered for subscription or
purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be
offered are initially convertible); provided, however, that in
no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise
of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares
of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one
Right. In case such subscription price may be paid in a
consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other
than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as
determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the
Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement
filed with the Rights Agent. Preference Shares owned by or
held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed
outstanding for the purpose of any such computation. Such
adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record
date is fixed; and in the event that such rights, options or
warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be
adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect
if such record date had not been fixed.
(c) In case the Company shall fix a record date for
the making of a distribution to all holders of the Preference
Shares (including any such distribution made in connection with
a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the
continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of
indebtedness or assets (other than a regular quarterly cash
dividend or a dividend payable in Preference Shares) or
subscription rights or warrants (excluding those referred to in
Section 11(b) hereof), the Purchase Price to be in effect after
such record date shall be determined by multiplying the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date
by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the then current
per share market price of the Preference Shares on such record
date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith
by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination
shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent)
of the portion of the assets or evidences of indebtedness so to
be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants
applicable to one Preference Share and the denominator of which
shall be such current per share market price of the Preference
Shares; provided, however, that in no event shall the
consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less
than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of
the Company to be issued upon exercise of one Right. Such
adjustments shall be made successively whenever such a record
date is fixed; and in the event that such distribution is not
so made, the Purchase Price shall again be adjusted to be the
Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such record
date had not been fixed.
(d) (i) For the purpose of any computation
hereunder, the "current per share market price" of any security
(a "Security" for the purpose of this Section 11(d)(i)) on any
date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing
prices per share of such Security for the 30 consecutive
Trading Days (as such term is hereinafter defined) immediately
prior to such date; provided, however, that in the event that
the current per share market price of the Security is
determined during a period following the announcement by the
issuer of such Security of (A) a dividend or distribution on
such Security payable in shares of such Security or securities
convertible into such shares, or (B) any subdivision,
combination or reclassification of such Security and prior to
the expiration of 30 Trading Days after the ex-dividend date
for such dividend or distribution, or the record date for such
subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and in each
such case, the current per share market price shall be
appropriately adjusted to reflect the current market price per
share equivalent of such Security. The closing price for each
day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no
such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing
bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as reported
in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New
York Stock Exchange or, if the Security is not listed or
admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported
in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with
respect to securities listed on the principal national
securities exchange on which the Security is listed or admitted
to trading or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to
trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted
price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low
asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. Automated
Quotations System ("NASDAQ") or such other system then in use,
or, if on any such date the Security is not quoted by any such
organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices
as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in
the Security selected by the Board of Directors of the Company.
The term "Trading Day" shall mean a day on which the principal
national securities exchange on which the Security is listed or
admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or,
if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any
national securities exchange, a Business Day.
(ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder,
the "current per share market price" of the Preference Shares
shall be determined in accordance with the method set forth in
Section 11(d)(i). If the Preference Shares are not publicly
traded, the "current per share market price" of the Preference
Shares shall be conclusively deemed to be the current per share
market price of the Common Shares as determined pursuant to
Section 11(d)(i) (appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock
split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after
the date hereof), multiplied by one hundred. If neither the
Common Shares nor the Preference Shares are publicly held or so
listed or traded, "current per share market price" shall mean
the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the
Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be
described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent.
(e) No adjustment in the Purchase Price shall be
required unless such adjustment would require an increase or
decrease of at least 1% in the Purchase Price; provided,
however, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section
11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and
taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. All
calculations under this Section 11 shall be made to the nearest
cent or to the nearest one one-millionth of a Preference Share
or one ten-thousandth of any other share or security as the
case may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this
Section 11(e), any adjustment required by this Section 11 shall
be made no later than the earlier of (i) three years from the
date of the transaction which requires such adjustment or (ii)
the date of the expiration of the right to exercise any Rights.
(f) If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to
Section 11(a) hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter
exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of
capital stock of the Company other than Preference Shares,
thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon
exercise of any Right shall be subject to adjustment from time
to time in a manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as
practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preference
Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c), inclusive, and
the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 with respect to the
Preference Shares shall apply on like terms to any such other
shares.
(g) All Rights originally issued by the Company
subsequent to any adjustment made to the Purchase Price
hereunder shall evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted
Purchase Price, the number of one one- hundredths of a
Preference Share purchasable from time to time hereunder upon
exercise of the Rights, all subject to further adjustment as
provided herein.
(h) Unless the Company shall have exercised its
election as provided in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of
the Purchase Price as a result of the calculations made in
Sections 11(b) and (c), each Right outstanding immediately
prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter
evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price,
that number of one one-hundredths of a Preference Share
(calculated to the nearest one one-millionth of a Preference
Share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of one one-
hundredths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to
this adjustment by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately
prior to such adjustment of the Purchase Price and (ii)
dividing the product so obtained by the Purchase Price in
effect immediately after such adjustment of the Purchase Price.
(i) The Company may elect on or after the date of
any adjustment of the Purchase Price to adjust the number of
Rights, in substitution for any adjustment in the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preference Share purchasable upon the
exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after such
adjustment of the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the
number of one one-hundredths of a Preference Share for which a
Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment.
Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the
number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated
to the nearest one ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the
Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the
Purchase Price by the Purchase Price in effect immediately
after adjustment of the Purchase Price. The Company shall make
a public announcement of its election to adjust the number of
Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if
known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made.
This record date may be the date on which the Purchase Price is
adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Right Certificates
have been issued, shall be at least 10 days later than the date
of the public announcement. If Right Certificates have been
issued, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant
to this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as promptly as
practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of
Right Certificates on such record date Right Certificates
evidencing, subject to Section 14 hereof, the additional Rights
to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such
adjustment, or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be
distributed to such holders of record in substitution and
replacement for the Right Certificates held by such holders
prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if
required by the Company, new Right Certificates evidencing all
the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such
adjustment. Right Certificates so to be distributed shall be
issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for
herein and shall be registered in the names of the holders of
record of Right Certificates on the record date specified in
the public announcement.
(j) Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the
Purchase Price or the number of one one-hundredths of a
Preference Share issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the
Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may
continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of one
one-hundredths of a Preference Share which were expressed in
the initial Right Certificates issued hereunder.
(k) Before taking any action that would cause an
adjustment reducing the Purchase Price below one one-
hundredth of the then par value, if any, of the Preference
Shares issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall
take any corporate action which may, in the opinion of its
counsel, be necessary in order that the Company may validly and
legally issue fully paid and nonassessable Preference Shares at
such adjusted Purchase Price.
(l) In any case in which this Section 11 shall
require that an adjustment in the Purchase Price be made
effective as of a record date for a specified event, the
Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such event
the issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such
record date of the Preference Shares and other capital stock or
securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise
over and above the Preference Shares and other capital stock or
securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise
on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such
adjustment; provided, however, that the Company shall deliver
to such holder a due bill or other appropriate instrument
evidencing such holder's right to receive such additional
shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such
adjustment.
(m) Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Company shall be entitled to make such
reductions in the Purchase Price, in addition to those
adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to
the extent that it in its sole discretion shall determine to be
advisable in order that any consolidation or subdivision of the
Preference Shares, issuance wholly for cash of any Preference
Shares at less than the current market price, issuance wholly
for cash of Preference Shares or securities which by their
terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Preference
Shares, dividends on Preference Shares payable in Preference
Shares or issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to
hereinabove in Section 11(b), hereafter made by the Company to
holders of its Preference Shares shall not be taxable to such
stockholders.
(n) In the event that at any time after the date of
this Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company
shall (i) declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares
payable in Common Shares or (ii) effect a subdivision,
combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in
Common Shares) into a greater or lesser number of Common
Shares, then in any such case (A) the number of one one-
hundredths of a Preference Share purchasable after such event
upon proper exercise of each Right shall be determined by
multiplying the number of one one-hundredths of a Preference
Share so purchasable immediately prior to such event by a
fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares
outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator
of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately
after such event, and (B) each Common Share outstanding
immediately after such event shall have issued with respect to
it that number of Rights which each Common Share outstanding
immediately prior to such event had issued with respect to it.
The adjustments provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be
made successively whenever such a dividend is declared or paid
or such a subdivision, combination or consolidation is
effected.
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price
or Number of Shares. Whenever an adjustment is made as
provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, the Company shall promptly
(a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment, and a
brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment,
(b) file with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for
the Common Shares or the Preference Shares a copy of such
certificate and (c) subject to Section 25(c), mail a brief
summary thereof to each holder of a Right Certificate in
accordance with Section 25 hereof.
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or
Transfer of Assets or Earning Power. In the event, directly or
indirectly, at any time after a Person has become an Acquiring
Person, (a) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with
and into, any other Person, (b) any Person shall consolidate
with the Company, or merge with and into the Company and the
Company shall be the continuing or surviving corporation of
such merger and, in connection with such merger, all or part of
the Common Shares shall be changed into or exchanged for stock
or other securities of any other Person (or the Company) or
cash or any other property, or (c) the Company shall sell or
otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall
sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions,
assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets
or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as
a whole) to any other Person other than the Company or one or
more of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries, then, and in each such
case, proper provision shall be made so that (i) each holder of
a Right (except as otherwise provided herein) shall thereafter
have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at a price
equal to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the
number of one one-hundredths of a Preference Share for which a
Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement and in lieu of Preference Shares, such number of
Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as
successor thereto or as the surviving corporation) as shall
equal the result obtained by (A) multiplying the then current
Purchase Price by the number of one one-hundredths of a
Preference Share for which a Right is then exercisable and
dividing that product by (B) 50% of the then current per share
market price of the Common Shares of such other Person
(determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of
consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer;
(ii) the issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be
liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of such consolidation,
merger, sale or transfer, all the obligations and duties of the
Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the term "Company"
shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such issuer; and (iv)
such issuer shall take such steps (including, but not limited
to, the reservation of a sufficient number of its Common Shares
in accordance with Section 9 hereof) in connection with such
consummation as may be necessary to assure that the provisions
hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably
may be, in relation to the Common Shares thereafter deliverable
upon the exercise of the Rights. The Company shall not
consummate any such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer
unless prior thereto the Company and such issuer shall have
executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental
agreement so providing. The Company shall not enter into any
transaction of the kind referred to in this Section 13 if at
the time of such transaction there are any rights, warrants,
instruments or securities outstanding or any agreements or
arrangements which, as a result of the consummation of such
transaction, would eliminate or substantially diminish the
benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights. The provisions
of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers
or consolidations or sales or other transfers.
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
(a) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of
Rights or to distribute Right Certificates which evidence
fractional Rights. In lieu of such fractional Rights, there
shall be paid to the registered holders of the Right
Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would
otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same
fraction of the current market value of a whole Right. For the
purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a
whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the
Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such
fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable. The
closing price for any day shall be the last sale price, regular
way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the
average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in
either case as reported in the principal consolidated
transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed
or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if
the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New
York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated
transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed
on the principal national securities exchange on which the
Rights are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Rights are
not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities
exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the
average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-
counter market, as reported by NASDAQ or such other system then
in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not quoted by any
such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked
prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a
market in the Rights selected by the Board of Directors of the
Company. If on any such date no such market maker is making a
market in the Rights, the fair value of the Rights on such date
as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the
Company shall be used.
(b) The Company shall not be required to issue
fractions of Preference Shares (other than fractions which are
integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preference Share)
upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which
evidence fractional Preference Shares (other than fractions
which are integral multiples of one one-hundredth of a
Preference Share). Fractions of Preference Shares in integral
multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preference 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
Preference Shares represented by such depositary receipts. In
lieu of fractional Preference Shares that are not integral
multiples of one one-hundredth of a Preference Share, the
Company shall pay to the registered holders of Right
Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein
provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the
current market value of one Preference Share. For the purposes
of this Section 14(b), the current market value of a Preference
Share shall be the closing price of a Preference Share (as
determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i)
hereof) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of
such exercise.
(c) The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the
Right expressly waives such holder's right to receive any
fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon exercise of a
Right (except as provided above).
Section 15. Rights of Action. All rights of action
in respect of this Agreement, excepting the rights of action
given to the Rights Agent under Section 18 hereof, are vested
in the respective registered holders of the Right Certificates
(and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of
the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Right
Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common
Shares), without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the
holder of any other Right Certificate (or, prior to the
Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in such holder's
own behalf and for such holder's own benefit, enforce, and may
institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against
the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, such
holder's right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right
Certificate in the manner provided in such Right Certificate
and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing or any
remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically
acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an
adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement and
will be entitled to specific performance of the obligations
under, and injunctive relief against actual or threatened
violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this
Agreement.
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders. Every
holder of a Right, by accepting the same, consents and agrees
with the Company and the Rights Agent and with every other
holder of a Right that:
(a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will
be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the
Common Shares;
(b) after the Distribution Date, the Right
Certificates are transferable only on the registry books of the
Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal office of the
Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper
instrument of transfer; and
(c) the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and
treat the person in whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior
to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares
certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of
the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of
ownership or writing on the Right Certificate or the associated
Common Shares certificate made by anyone other than the Company
or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither
the Company nor the Rights Agent shall be affected by any
notice to the contrary.
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a
Stockholder. No holder, as such, of any Right Certificate
shall be entitled to vote, receive dividends or be deemed for
any purpose the holder of the Preference Shares or any other
securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on
the exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall
anything contained herein or in any Right Certificate be
construed to confer upon the holder of any Right Certificate,
as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or
any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any
matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to
give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive
notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders
(except as provided in Section 25 hereof), or to receive
dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right
or Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate shall have been
exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent. The
Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable
compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder and,
from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its
reasonable expenses and counsel fees and other disbursements
incurred in the administration and execution of this Agreement
and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder. The
Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to
hold it harmless against, any loss, liability, or expense,
incurred without negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on
the part of the Rights Agent, for anything done or omitted by
the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance and
administration of this Agreement, including the costs and
expenses of defending against any claim of liability in the
premises.
The Rights Agent shall be protected and shall incur
no liability for, or in respect of any action taken, suffered
or omitted by it in connection with, its administration of this
Agreement in reliance upon any Right Certificate or certificate
for the Preference Shares or Common Shares or for other
securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or
transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter,
notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other
paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be
signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or
acknowledged, by the proper person or persons, or otherwise
upon the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20 hereof.
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of
Name of Rights Agent. Any corporation into which the Rights
Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be merged or with which
it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from any
merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any
successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any corporation
succeeding to the stock transfer or corporate trust business of
the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the
successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the
execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part
of any of the parties hereto; provided, that such corporation
would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent
under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case at the time
such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created
by this Agreement, any of the Right Certificates shall have
been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights
Agent may adopt the countersignature of the predecessor Rights
Agent and deliver such Right Certificates so countersigned; and
in case at that time any of the Right Certificates shall not
have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may
countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the
predecessor Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights
Agent; and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have
the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this
Agreement.
In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent
shall be changed and at such time any of the Right Certificates
shall have been countersigned but not delivered, the Rights
Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name and
deliver Right Certificates so countersigned; and in case at
that time any of the Right Certificates shall not have been
countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Right
Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name;
and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the
full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this
Agreement.
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights
Agent undertakes the duties and obligations imposed by this
Agreement upon the following terms and conditions, by all of
which the Company and the holders of Right Certificates, by
their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
(a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel
(who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the opinion of
such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and
protection to the Rights Agent as to any action taken or
omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such
opinion.
(b) Whenever in the performance of its duties under
this Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or
desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by
the Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder,
such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof
be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be
conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by
any one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive
Officer, the President, any Vice President, or the Secretary of
the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such
certificate shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for
any action taken or suffered in good faith by it under the
provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.
(c) The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to
the Company and any other Person only for its own negligence,
bad faith or willful misconduct.
(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by
reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained
in this Agreement or in the Right Certificates (except its
countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the same,
but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to
have been made by the Company only.
(e) The Rights Agent shall not be under any
responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or
the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution
hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or
execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature
thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the
Company of any covenant or condition contained in this
Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it be
responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights
(including the Rights becoming void pursuant to
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any adjustment in the terms of the
Rights (including the manner, method or amount thereof)
provided for in Section 3, 11, 13, 23 or 24, or the
ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any
such change or adjustment (except with respect to the exercise
of Rights evidenced by Right Certificates after actual notice
that such change or adjustment is required); nor shall it by
any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or
warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any
Preference Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or
any Right Certificate or as to whether any Preference 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 or the 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.
(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director,
officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal
in any of the Rights or other securities of the Company or
become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the
Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to
the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it
were not Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein
shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other
capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.
(i) The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of
the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty
hereunder either itself or by or through its attorneys or
agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or
accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any
such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company
resulting from any such act, default, neglect or misconduct,
provided reasonable care was exercised in the selection and
continued employment thereof.
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. The Rights
Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be
discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon 30 days'
notice in writing mailed to the Company and to each transfer
agent of the Common Shares or Preference Shares by registered
or certified mail, and to the holders of the Right Certificates
by first-class mail. The Company may remove the Rights Agent
or any successor Rights Agent upon 30 days' notice in writing,
mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the
case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Shares or
Preference Shares by registered or certified mail, and, after
the Distribution Date, to the holders of the Right Certificates
by first-class mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be
removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the
Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent. If the
Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of
30 days after giving notice of such removal or after it has
been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by
the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of
a Right Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his
Right Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the
registered holder of any Right Certificate 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 other state of the United States so long as
such corporation is authorized to do business as a banking
institution in the State of Minnesota or New York, in good
standing, having an office in the State of Minnesota or New
York, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate
trust or stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision or
examination by federal or state authority, or which is a
Subsidiary of such banking institution, 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 vested with the same powers,
rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been
originally named as Rights Agent without further act or deed;
but the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to
the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it
hereunder, and execute and deliver any further assurance,
conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Not later
than the effective date of any such appointment, the Company
shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor
Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Shares or
Preference Shares, and, after the Distribution Date, mail a
notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the
Right Certificates. Failure to give any notice provided for in
this Section 21, however, or any defect therein, shall not
affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal
of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights
Agent, as the case may be.
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates.
Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of
the Rights to the contrary, the Company may, at its option,
issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as
may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any
adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or
kind or class of shares or other securities or property
purchasable under the Right Certificates made in accordance
with the provisions of this Agreement.
Section 23. Redemption. (a) The Board of Directors
of the Company may, at its option, at any time prior to such
time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, redeem all but
not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption
price of $.01 per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any
stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring
after the date hereof (such redemption price being hereinafter
referred to as the "Redemption Price"). The redemption of the
Rights by the Board of Directors may be made effective at such
time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of
Directors in its sole discretion may establish.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of
Directors of the Company ordering the redemption of the Rights
pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 23, and without any
further action and without any notice, the right to exercise
the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the
holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price.
The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such
redemption; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any
defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of
such redemption. Within 10 days after such action of the Board
of Directors ordering the redemption of the Rights, the Company
shall mail a notice of redemption to all the holders of the
then outstanding Rights at their last addresses as they appear
upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior to the
Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent
for the Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the
manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not
the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of redemption
will state the method by which the payment of the Redemption
Price will be made. Neither the Company nor any of its
Affiliates or Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for
value any Rights at any time in any manner other than that
specifically set forth in this Section 23 or in Section 24
hereof, and other than in connection with the purchase of
Common Shares prior to the Distribution Date.
Section 24. Exchange. (a) The Board of Directors
of the Company may, at its option, at any time after any Person
becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all or part of the then
outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include
Rights that have become void pursuant to the provisions of
Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) for Common Shares at an exchange
ratio of one Common Share per Right, appropriately adjusted to
reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction
occurring after the date hereof (such exchange ratio being
hereinafter referred to as the "Exchange Ratio").
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors shall not
be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after any
Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company,
any employee benefit plan of the Company or any such
Subsidiary, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant
to the terms of any such plan), together with all Affiliates
and Associates of such Person, becomes the Beneficial Owner of
50% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding.
(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of
Directors of the Company ordering the exchange of any Rights
pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 24 and without any
further action and without any notice, the right to exercise
such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a
holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of Common
Shares equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder
multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly
give public notice of any such exchange; provided, however,
that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall
not affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly
shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders
of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the
registry books of the Rights Agent. Any notice which is mailed
in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or
not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of
exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the
Common Shares for Rights will be effected and, in the event of
any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be
exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata
based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have
become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof) held by each holder of Rights.
(c) In the event that there shall not be sufficient
Common Shares issued but not outstanding or authorized but
unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in
accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all
such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common
Shares for issuance upon exchange of the Rights. In the event
the Company shall, after good faith effort, be unable to take
all such action as may be necessary to authorize such
additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for
each Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon
exchange of a Right, a number of Preference Shares or fraction
thereof such that the current per share market price of one
Preference Share multiplied by such number or fraction is equal
to the current per share market price of one Common Share as of
the date of issuance of such Preference Shares or fraction
thereof.
(d) The Company shall not be required to issue
fractions of Common Shares or to distribute certificates which
evidence fractional Common Shares. In lieu of such fractional
Common Shares, the Company shall pay to the registered holders
of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional
Common Shares would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash
equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a
whole Common Share. For the purposes of this paragraph (d),
the current market value of a whole Common Share shall be the
closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the
second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day
immediately prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this
Section 24.
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events. (a) In case
the Company shall propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in
stock of any class to the holders of its Preference Shares or
to make any other distribution to the holders of its Preference
Shares (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend), (ii) to
offer to the holders of its Preference Shares rights or
warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional
Preference Shares or shares of stock of any class or any other
securities, rights or options, (iii) to effect any
reclassification of its Preference Shares (other than a
reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding
Preference Shares), (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger
into or with, or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to
permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to effect any sale or
other transfer), in one or more transactions, of 50% or more of
the assets or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries
(taken as a whole) to, any other Person, or (v) to effect the
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, then, in
each such case, the Company shall give to each holder of a
Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a
notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record
date for the purposes of such stock dividend, or distribution
of rights or warrants, or the date on which such
reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer,
liquidation, dissolution, or winding up is to take place and
the date of participation therein by the holders of Preference
Shares, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall
be so given in the case of any action covered by clause (i) or
(ii) above at least 10 days prior to the record date for
determining holders of the Preference Shares for purposes of
such action, and in the case of any such other action, at least
10 days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action
or the date of participation therein by the holders of
Preference Shares, whichever shall be the earlier.
(b) In case the event set forth in Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof shall occur, then the Company shall as soon as
practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Right
Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of
the occurrence of such event, which notice shall describe such
event and the consequences of such event to holders of Rights
under Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to
the contrary, prior to the Distribution Date a filing by the
Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission shall
constitute sufficient notice to the holders of securities of
the Company, including the Rights, for purposes of this
Agreement and no other notice need be given.
Section 26. Notices. Notices or demands authorized
by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by
the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the Company shall
be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail,
postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in
writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:
General Mills, Inc.
Number One General Mills Boulevard
Minneapolis, MN 55426
Attention: Corporate Secretary
Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or
demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the
Company or by the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the
Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by
first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another
address is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:
Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A.
161 North Concord Exchange
P.O. Box 566
South St. Paul, MN 55075-0738
Attention: Shareholder Services
Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or
made by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any
Right Certificate shall be sufficiently given or made if sent
by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder
at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of
the Company.
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments. The Company
may from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement
without the approval of any holders of Right Certificates in
order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any
provision contained herein which may be defective or
inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to make any
other provisions with respect to the Rights which the Company
may deem necessary or desirable, any such supplement or
amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company
and the Rights Agent; provided, however, that from and after
such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, this
Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which would
adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights.
Without limiting the foregoing, the Company may at any time
prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person
amend this Agreement to lower the thresholds set forth in
Sections 1(a) and 3(a) to not less than the greater of (i) the
sum of .001% and the largest percentage of the outstanding
Common Shares then known by the Company to be beneficially
owned by any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of
the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any
Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity holding Common Shares
for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan) and (ii) 10%.
Section 28. Successors. All the covenants and
provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the
Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit
of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.
Section 29. Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in
this Agreement shall be construed to give to any Person other
than the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders
of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date,
the Common Shares) any legal or equitable right, remedy or
claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the
sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and
the registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to
the Distribution Date, the Common Shares).
Section 30. Severability. If any term, provision,
covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of
competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void
or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions,
covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in
full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired
or invalidated.
Section 31. Governing Law. This Agreement and each
Right Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a
contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for
all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance
with the laws of such State applicable to contracts made and to
be performed entirely within such State.
Section 32. Counterparts. This Agreement may be
executed in any number of counterparts and each of such
counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an
original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute
but one and the same instrument.
Section 33. Descriptive Headings. Descriptive
headings of the several Sections of this Agreement are inserted
for convenience only and shall not control or affect the
meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused
this Agreement to be duly executed and attested, all as of the
day and year first above written.
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
Attest:
By /s/ Ivy S. Bernhardson By /s/ Siri S. Marshall
Title: Assistant Secretary Title: Senior Vice President
Attest: NORWEST BANK MINNESOTA, N.A.
By /s/ Kenneth Swanson By /s/ Barbara M. Novak
Title: Assistant Secretary Title: Assistant Vice President
Exhibit A
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION, PREFERENCES AND
RIGHTS OF SERIES B PARTICIPATING
CUMULATIVE PREFERENCE STOCK
of
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the General Corporation Law
of the State of Delaware
________________________________
We, Stephen W. Sanger, Chairman of the Board, and
Siri S. Marshall, Secretary, of General Mills, Inc., a
corporation organized and existing under the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, in accordance with
the provisions of Section 103 thereof, DO HEREBY CERTIFY:
That pursuant to the authority conferred upon the
Board of Directors by the Restated Certificate of
Incorporation of the said Corporation; the said Board of
Directors on December 11, 1995, adopted the following
resolution creating a series of 2,000,000 shares of
Cumulative Preference Stock designated as Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in
the Board of Directors of this Corporation in accordance
with the provisions of its Restated Certificate of
Incorporation, a series of Cumulative Preference Stock of
the Corporation be and it hereby is created, and that the
designation and amount thereof and the voting powers,
preferences and relative, participating, optional and other
special rights of the shares of such series, and the
qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof are as
follows:
1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such
series shall be designated as "Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock" and the number of shares
constituting such series shall be 2,000,000.
2. Dividends and Distributions.
(A) The holders of shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock shall be entitled
to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of
Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose,
quarterly dividends payable in cash on the fifteenth day of
March, June, September and December in each year (each such
date being referred to herein as a "Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date"), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction
of a share of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference
Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent)
equal to the greater of (a) $10.00 or (b) subject to the
provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 100 times
the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and
100 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind)
of all non-cash dividends or other distributions other than
a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a
subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by
reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common
Stock, par value $.10 per share, of the Corporation (the
"Common Stock") since the immediately preceding Quarterly
Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of
any share or fraction of a share of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock. In the event the Corporation
shall at any time after December 11, 1995 (the "Right
Declaration Date") (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock
payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the
outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding
Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each
such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock were entitled
immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the
preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such
amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of
shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such
event and the denominator of which is the number of shares
of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to
such event.
(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or
distribution on the Series B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock as provided in paragraph (A) above
immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on
the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of
Common Stock); provided that, in the event no dividend or
distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock
during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date, a dividend of $10.00 per share on the Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock shall nevertheless
be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date.
(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be
cumulative on outstanding shares of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock from the Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares
of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference 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 of 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 B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock
entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such
Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events
such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from
such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid
dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the
shares of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference 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 B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock
entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution
declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than 45
days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
3. Voting Rights. In addition to the voting
rights set forth in Article IV of the Restated Certificate
of Incorporation or otherwise required by law, the holders
of shares of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference
Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment
hereinafter set forth, each share of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock shall entitle the holder thereof
to 100 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the
stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the
Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration
Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in
shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding
Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock
into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the
number of votes per share to which holders of shares of
Series B Participating Preference Stock were entitled
immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by
multiplying such number by a fraction the numerator of which
is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding
immediately after such event and the denominator of which is
the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding
immediately prior to such event.
(B) Except as otherwise provided herein or by
law, the holders of shares of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock and the holders of shares of
Common Stock shall vote together as one class on all matters
submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) (i) If at any time dividends on any Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock shall be in
arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends
thereon, the occurrence of such contingency shall mark the
beginning of a period (herein called a "default period")
which shall extend until such time when all accrued and
unpaid dividends for all previous quarterly dividend periods
and for the current quarterly dividend period on all shares
of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock then
outstanding shall have been declared and paid or set apart
for payment. During each default period, all holders of
Cumulative Preference Stock (including holders of the Series
B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock) with dividends
in arrears in an amount equal to six (6) quarterly dividends
thereon, voting as a class, irrespective of series, shall
have the right to elect two (2) Directors.
(ii) During any default period, such voting
right of the holders of Series B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock may be exercised initially at a special
meeting called pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this
Section 3(C) or at any annual meeting of stockholders, and
thereafter at annual meetings of stockholders, provided that
neither such voting right nor the right of the holders of
any other series of Cumulative Preference Stock, if any, to
increase, in certain cases, the authorized number of
Directors shall be exercised unless the holders of ten
percent (10%) in number of shares of Cumulative Preference
Stock outstanding shall be present in person or by proxy.
The absence of a quorum of the holders of Common Stock shall
not affect the exercise by the holders of Cumulative
Preference Stock of such voting right. At any meeting at
which the holders of Cumulative Preference Stock shall
exercise such voting right initially during an existing
default period, they shall have the right, voting as a
class, to elect Directors to fill such vacancies, if any, in
the Board of Directors as may then exist up to two (2)
Directors or, if such right is exercised at an annual
meeting, to elect two (2) Directors. If the number which
may be so elected at any special meeting does not amount to
the required number, the holders of the Cumulative
Preference Stock shall have the right to make such increase
in the number of Directors as shall be necessary to permit
the election by them of the required number. After the
holders of the Cumulative Preference Stock shall have
exercised their right to elect Directors in any default
period and during the continuance of such period, the number
of Directors shall not be increased or decreased except by
vote of the holders of Cumulative Preference Stock as herein
provided or pursuant to the rights of any equity securities
ranking senior to or pari passu with the Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock.
(iii) Unless the holders of Cumulative
Preference Stock shall, during an existing default period,
have previously exercised their right to elect Directors,
the Board of Directors may order, or any stockholder or
stockholders owning in the aggregate not less than ten
percent (10%) of the total number of shares of Cumulative
Preference Stock outstanding, irrespective of series, may
request, the calling of a special meeting of the holders of
Cumulative Preference Stock, which meeting shall thereupon
be called by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive
Officer, the President, a Vice-President or the Secretary of
the Corporation. Notice of such meeting and of any annual
meeting at which holders of Cumulative Preference Stock are
entitled to vote pursuant to this paragraph (C)(iii) shall
be given to each holder of record of Cumulative Preference
Stock by mailing a copy of such notice to the holder the
last address appearing on the books of the Corporation.
Such meeting shall be called for a time not earlier than 20
days and not later than 60 days after such order or request
or in default of the calling of such meeting within 60 days
after such order or request, such meeting may be called on
similar notice by any stockholder or stockholders owning in
the aggregate not less than ten percent (10%) of the total
number of shares of Cumulative Preference Stock outstanding.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (C)(iii),
no such special meeting shall be called during the period
within 60 days immediately preceding the date fixed for the
next annual meeting of the stockholders.
(iv) In any default period, the holders of
Common Stock, and other classes of stock of the Corporation,
if applicable, shall continue to be entitled to elect the
whole number of Directors until the holders of Cumulative
Preference Stock shall have exercised their right to elect
two (2) Directors voting as a class, after the exercise of
which right (x) the Directors so elected by the holders of
Cumulative Preference Stock shall continue in office until
their successors shall have been elected by such holders or
until the expiration of the default period, and (y) any
vacancy in the Board of Directors may (except as provided in
paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3) be filled by vote of a
majority of the remaining Directors theretofore elected by
the holders of the class of stock which elected the Director
whose office shall have become vacant. References in this
paragraph (C) to Directors elected by the holders of a
particular class of stock shall include Directors elected by
such Directors to fill vacancies as provided in clause (y)
of the foregoing sentence.
(v) Immediately upon the expiration of a
default period, (x) the right of the holders of Cumulative
Preference Stock as a class to elect Directors shall cease,
(y) the term of any Directors elected by the holders of
Cumulative Preference Stock as a class shall terminate, and
(z) the number of Directors shall be such number as may be
provided for in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws
irrespective of any increase made pursuant to the provisions
of paragraph (C)(ii) of this Section 3 (such number being
subject, however, to change thereafter in any manner
provided by law or in the certificate of incorporation or by-
laws). Any vacancies in the Board of Directors effected by
the provisions of clauses (y) and (z) in the preceding
sentence may be filled by a majority of the remaining
Directors.
(D) Except as set forth herein, holders of Series
B Participating Cumulative Preference 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.
4. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock purchased or
otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner
whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the
acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their
cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of
Cumulative Preference Stock and may be reissued as part of a
new series of Cumulative Preference Stock to be created by
resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject
to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth
herein.
5. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.
(A) Upon any voluntary liquidation, dissolution
or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be
made to the holders of shares of stock ranking (either as to
dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up)
junior to the Series B Participating Cumulative Preference
Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series
B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock shall have
received $100 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and
unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not
declared, to the date of such payment (the "Series B
Liquidation Preference"). Following the payment of the full
amount of the Series B Liquidation Preference, no additional
distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of
Series B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock unless,
prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock shall
have received an amount per share (the "Common Adjustment")
equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series B
Liquidation Preference by (ii) 100 (as appropriately
adjusted as set forth in subparagraph C below to reflect
such events as stock splits, stock dividends and
recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock) (such
number in clause (ii), the "Adjustment Number"). Following
the payment of the full amount of the Series B Liquidation
Preference and the Common Adjustment in respect of all
outstanding shares of Series B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock and Common Stock, respectively, holders of
Series B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock and
holders of shares of Common Stock shall receive their
ratable and proportionate share of the remaining assets to
be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1
with respect to such Cumulative Preference Stock and Common
Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.
(B) In the event, however, that there are not
sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the
Series B Liquidation Preference and the liquidation
preferences of all other series of Cumulative Preference
Stock, if any, which rank on a parity with the Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock, then such
remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders
of such parity shares in proportion to their respective
liquidation preferences. In the event, however, that there
are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in
full of the Common Adjustment then such remaining assets
shall be distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.
(C) In the event the Corporation shall at any
time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any
dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock,
(ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii)
combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number
of shares, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in
effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by
multiplying such Adjustment Number by a fraction the
numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock
outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator
of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were
outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(D) Notwithstanding anything contained herein to
the contrary, and so long as Paragraph (2)(i) of Article IV
of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall so
require, the aggregate involuntary liquidation value of all
shares of Cumulative Preference Stock outstanding at any
time shall not exceed $300,000,000 and the aggregate
involuntary liquidation value of all shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock outstanding at any
time shall not exceed an amount equal to (i) $300,000,000,
minus (ii) the aggregate involuntary liquidation value of
all shares of any other series of Cumulative Preference
Stock then outstanding. The aggregate involuntary
liquidation value of the Series B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock otherwise payable shall be reduced, if
necessary, to comply with the preceding sentence.
6. 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 B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock shall at the same time be similarly
exchanged or changed in an amount per share (subject to the
provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth) equal to 100
times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or
any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be,
into which or for which each share of Common Stock is
changed or exchanged. In the event the Corporation shall at
any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any
dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock,
(ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii)
combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number
of shares, then in each such case the amount set forth in
the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or
change of shares of Series B Participating Cumulative
Preference Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such
amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of
shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such
event and the denominator of which is the number of shares
of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to
such event.
7. No Redemption. The shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock shall not be
redeemable.
8. 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, preferences or special rights of the Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock so as to affect
them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders
of a majority or more of the outstanding shares of Series B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock, voting separately
as a class.
9. Fractional Shares. Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference 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 B
Participating Cumulative Preference Stock.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have executed and
subscribed this Certificate and do affirm the foregoing as
true under the penalties of perjury this 18th day of
December, 1995.
/s/S. W. Sanger
Chairman of the Board
Attest:
/s/S. S. Marshall
Secretary
Exhibit B
Form of Right Certificate
Certificate No. R- _____ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER FEBRUARY 1, 2006 OR EARLIER IF
REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUB-
JECT TO REDEMPTION AT $.01 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE
ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
Right Certificate
GENERAL MILLS, 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 December 11, 1995 (the "Rights
Agreement"), between General Mills, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the "Company"), and Norwest Bank Minnesota, N.A.
(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., local time in the
State of the principal office of the Rights Agent, on February
1, 2006 at the principal office of the Rights Agent, or at the
office of its successor as Rights Agent, one one- hundredth of
a fully paid non-assessable share of Series B Participating
Cumulative Preference Stock, without par value (the "Preference
Shares"), of the Company, at a purchase price of $240 per one
one-hundredth of a Preference Share (the "Purchase Price"),
upon presentation and surrender of this Right Certificate with
the Form of Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of
Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate (and the number of
one one- hundredths of a Preference Share which may be
purchased upon exercise hereof) set forth above, and the
Purchase Price set forth above, are the number and Purchase
Price as of December 11, 1995, based on the Preference Shares
as constituted at such date. As provided in the Rights
Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number of one one-
hundredths of a Preference Share (or other securities) which
may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by
this Right Certificate are subject to modification and
adjustment upon the happening of certain events.
This Right Certificate is subject to all of the
terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, which
terms, provisions and conditions are hereby incorporated herein
by reference and made a part hereof and to which Rights
Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of
the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and
immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the
holders of the Right Certificates. Copies of the Rights
Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the
Company and the above-mentioned offices of the Rights Agent.
This Right Certificate, with or without other Right
Certificates, upon surrender at the principal office of the
Rights Agent, may be exchanged for another Right Certificate or
Right Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights
entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of
Preference Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right
Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered shall have
entitled such holder to purchase. If this Right Certificate
shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to
receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or
Right Certificates for the number of whole Rights not
exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement,
the Rights evidenced by this Certificate (i) may be redeemed by
the Company at a redemption price of $.01 per Right or (ii) may
be exchanged in whole or in part for Preference Shares or
shares of the Company's Common Stock, par value $.10 per share.
No fractional Preference Shares will be issued upon
the exercise of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other
than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-
hundredth of a Preference Share, which may, at the election of
the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu
thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights
Agreement.
No holder of this Right Certificate shall be entitled
to vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the
holder of the Preference Shares or of any other securities of
the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise
hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or
herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such,
any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right
to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter
submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or
withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice
of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as
provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or
subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been exercised
as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Right 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
__________________.
ATTEST: GENERAL MILLS, INC.
By
Countersigned:
NORWEST BANK MINNESOTA, N.A.
By
Authorized Signature
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such
holder desires to transfer the Right Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED ____________ hereby sells, assigns
and transfers unto
____________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address of transferee)
this Right Certificate, together with all right, title and
interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and
appoint ___________ Attorney, to transfer the within Right
Certificate on the books of the within-named Company, with full
power of substitution.
Dated: ___________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a
registered national securities exchange, a member of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or a
commercial bank or trust company having an office or
correspondent in the United States.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned
by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as
defined in the Rights Agreement).
Signature
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise
Rights represented by the Right Certificate.)
To: GENERAL MILLS, INC.
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise
____________ Rights represented by this Right Certificate to
purchase the Preference Shares issuable upon the exercise of
such Rights and requests that certificates for such Preference
Shares be issued in the name of:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
(Please print name and address)
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced
by this Right Certificate, a new Right Certificate for the
balance remaining of such Rights shall be registered in the
name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number
(Please print name and address)
Dated: ____________________
Signature
Signature Guaranteed:
Signatures must be guaranteed by a member firm of a
registered national securities exchange, a member of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or a
commercial bank or trust company having an office or
correspondent in the United States.
Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights
evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned
by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as
defined in the Rights Agreement).
Signature
NOTICE
The signature in the Form of Assignment or Form of
Election to Purchase, as the case may be, must conform to the
name as written upon the face of this Right Certificate in
every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any
change whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above in the
Form of Assignment or the Form of Election to Purchase, as the
case may be, is not completed, the Company and the Rights Agent
will deem the beneficial owner of the Rights evidenced by this
Right Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or
Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement) and such
Assignment or Election to Purchase will not be honored.
Exhibit C
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERENCE SHARES
On December 11, 1995, the Board of Directors of
General Mills, Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend of one
preference share purchase right (a "Right") for each
outstanding share of common stock, par value $.10 per share
(the "Common Shares"), of the Company. The dividend is payable
on February 1, 1996 to stockholders of record on January 10,
1996 (the "Record Date"). Each Right entitles the registered
holder to purchase from the Company one one-hundredth of a
share of Series B Participating Cumulative Preference Stock,
without par value (the "Preference Shares"), of the Company at
a price of $240 per one one-hundredth of a Preference Share
(the "Purchase Price"), subject to adjustment. The description
and terms of the Rights are set forth in a Rights Agreement
(the "Rights Agreement") between the Company and Norwest Bank
Minnesota, N.A., as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").
Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a
public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or
associated persons (an "Acquiring Person") have acquired
beneficial ownership of 20% or more of the outstanding Common
Shares or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be
determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such
time as any person or group of affiliated persons becomes an
Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or
announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or
exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the
beneficial ownership by a person or group of 20% or more of the
outstanding Common Shares (the earlier of such dates being
called the "Distribution Date"), the Rights will be evidenced,
with respect to any of the Common Share certificates
outstanding as of the Record Date, by such Common Share
certificate with a copy of this Summary of Rights attached
thereto.
The Rights Agreement provides that, until the
Distribution Date (or earlier redemption or expiration of the
Rights), the Rights will be transferred with and only with the
Common Shares. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier
redemption or expiration of the Rights), new Common Share
certificates issued after the Record Date upon transfer or new
issuance of Common Shares will contain a notation incorporating
the Rights Agreement by reference. Until the Distribution Date
(or earlier redemption or expiration of the Rights), the
surrender for transfer of any certificates for Common Shares
outstanding as of the Record Date, even without such notation
or a copy of this Summary of Rights being attached thereto,
will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with
the Common Shares represented by such certificate. As soon as
practicable following the Distribution Date, separate
certificates evidencing the Rights ("Right Certificates") will
be mailed to holders of record of the Common Shares as of the
close of business on the Distribution Date and such separate
Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution
Date. The Rights will expire on February 1, 2006 (the "Final
Expiration Date"), unless the Final Expiration Date is extended
or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the
Company, in each case, as described below.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of
Preference Shares or other securities or property issuable,
upon exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time
to time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock
dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification
of, the Preference Shares, (ii) upon the grant to holders of
the Preference Shares of certain rights or warrants to
subscribe for or purchase Preference Shares at a price, or
securities convertible into Preference Shares with a conversion
price, less than the then-current market price of the
Preference Shares or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of
the Preference Shares of evidences of indebtedness or assets
(excluding regular periodic cash dividends paid out of earnings
or retained earnings or dividends payable in Preference Shares)
or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those
referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of
one one-hundredths of a Preference Share issuable upon exercise
of each Right are also subject to adjustment in the event of a
stock split of the Common Shares or a stock dividend on the
Common Shares payable in Common Shares or subdivisions,
consolidations or combinations of the Common Shares occurring,
in any such case, prior to the Distribution Date.
Preference Shares purchasable upon exercise of the
Rights will not be redeemable. Each Preference Share will be
entitled to a minimum preferential quarterly dividend payment
of $10 per share but will be entitled to an aggregate dividend
of 100 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the
event of liquidation, the holders of the Preference Shares will
be entitled to a minimum preferential liquidation payment of
$100 per share but will be entitled to an aggregate payment of
100 times the payment made per Common Share. Each Preference
Share will have 100 votes, voting together with the Common
Shares. Finally, in the event of any merger, consolidation or
other transaction in which Common Shares are exchanged, each
Preference Share will be entitled to receive 100 times the
amount received per Common Share. These rights are protected
by customary antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preference Shares'
dividend, liquidation and voting rights, the value of the one
one-hundredth interest in a Preference Share purchasable upon
exercise of each Right should approximate the value of one
Common Share.
In the event that the Company is acquired in a merger
or other business combination transaction or 50% or more of its
consolidated assets or earning power are sold after a person or
group has become an Acquiring Person, proper provision will be
made so that each holder of a Right will thereafter have the
right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the then current
exercise price of the Right, that number of shares of common
stock of the acquiring company which at the time of such
transaction will have a market value of two times the exercise
price of the Right. In the event that any person or group of
affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person,
proper provision shall be made so that each holder of a Right,
other than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person
(which will thereafter be void), will thereafter have the right
to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares having a
market value at the time of such occurrence of two times the
exercise price of the Right.
At any time after any person or group becomes an
Acquiring Person and prior to the acquisition by such person or
group of 50% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, the
Board of Directors of the Company may exchange the Rights
(other than Rights owned by such person or group which will
have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of
one Common Share, or one one-hundredth of a Preference Share,
per Right (subject to adjustment).
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the
Purchase Price will be required until cumulative adjustments
require an adjustment of at least 1% in such Purchase Price.
No fractional Preference Shares will be issued (other than
fractions which are integral multiples of one one-hundredth of
a Preference Share, which may, at the election of the Company,
be evidenced by depositary receipts) and in lieu thereof, an
adjustment in cash will be made based on the market price of
the Preference Shares on the last trading day prior to the date
of exercise.
At any time prior to the acquisition by a person or
group of affiliated or associated persons of beneficial
ownership of 20% or more of the outstanding Common Shares, the
Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in
whole, but not in part, at a price of $.01 per Right (the
"Redemption Price"). The redemption of the Rights may be made
effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions
as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish.
Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to
exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the
holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.
The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board
of Directors of the Company without the consent of the holders
of the Rights, including an amendment to lower certain
thresholds described above to not less than the greater of
(i) the sum of .001% and the largest percentage of the
outstanding Common Shares then known to the Company to be
beneficially owned by any person or group of affiliated or
associated persons and (ii) 10%, except that from and after
such time as any person or group of affiliated or associated
persons becomes an Acquiring Person, no such amendment may
adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Rights.
Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as
such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company,
including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive
dividends.
A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a
Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated December __, 1995. A
copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of charge from
the Company. This summary description of the Rights does not
purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by
reference to the Rights Agreement, which is hereby incorporated
herein by reference.
December 11, 1995
GENERAL MILLS DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND;
UPDATES SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- The General Mills' Board of
Directors today approved a quarterly dividend payment at the
prevailing rate of 47 cents per share, payable February 1,
1996, to shareholders of record January 10.
General Mills plans to review its dividend in calendar
1996 and intends to increase dividends over time--although at
a rate slower than earnings growth until the payout ratio
reaches the targeted range of 50-to 60-percent.
The Board also adopted an updated Preferred Share
Purchase Rights Plan to replace the existing plan which
expires in early March 1996. The Board of Directors
originally adopted a Shareholder Rights Plan in February 1986
to protect shareholder interests in the event the Company was
faced with a takeover initiative that would deny shareholders
the full value of their investment. General Mills has no
knowledge that anyone is considering a hostile takeover of
the Company.
The new Rights are similar in purpose and effect to the
existing Rights, and are intended to enable all shareholders
to realize the long-term value of their investment in General
Mills. The new Rights will be exercisable only if a person
acquires, or announces a tender offer which would result in
ownership of, 20% or more of the Company's common stock. The
initial exercise price will be $240 per Right. The Rights
will expire on February 1, 2006. A summary of the updated
Rights plan will be sent to shareholders in February.
