THERMEDICS INC
8-A12B/A, 1999-11-22
MISC INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT
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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                           AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO 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


                                 Thermedics Inc.
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)


          Massachusetts                                04-2788806
          -------------                                -----------
(State of Incorporation or Organization)    (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

470 Wildwood Street, Woburn, Massachusetts                01888
- ------------------------------------------                -----
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                (Zip Code)

     If this form relates to the registration of a class of securities  pursuant
to  Section  12(b) of the  Exchange  Act and is  effective  pursuant  to General
Instruction A.(c), please check the following box. [X]

     If this form relates to the registration of a class of securities  pursuant
to  Section  12(g) of the  Exchange  Act and is  effective  pursuant  to General
Instruction A.(d), please check the following box. [ ]

     Securities  Act  registration  statement  file  number  to which  this form
relates: ________________ (If applicable)

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
      --------------------                      ------------------------------

      Common Stock, par value                   American Stock Exchange
      $.10 per share

Securities to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

                                      None
                                (Title of Class)




<PAGE>


Item 1.  Description of Registrant's Securities to be Registered.

      The  authorized  capital  stock of  Thermedics  Inc.  (the  "Corporation")
consists of  100,000,000  shares of common stock,  $.10 par value per share (the
"Common  Stock").  The  following  description  of  the  capital  stock  of  the
Corporation  is qualified  in its  entirety by  reference  to the  Corporation's
Articles of  Organization,  as amended  (the  "Articles of  Organization"),  and
Bylaws (the  "Bylaws"),  copies of which have been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.

Common Stock

      Holders of Common  Stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters
to be voted upon by the stockholders. There are no cumulative voting rights. The
holders of Common  Stock have no  preemptive  rights or rights to convert  their
Common Stock into any other  securities.  At all meetings of stockholders of the
Corporation,  all  questions,  except as  otherwise  expressly  provided  for by
statute,  the Articles of Organization  or the Bylaws,  shall be determined by a
majority vote of the stockholders present in person or represented by proxy. The
Common Stock is not subject to redemption. Upon any liquidation, distribution or
sale of assets,  dissolution  or winding up of the  Corporation,  the holders of
Common  Stock are  entitled  to share pro rata in the assets of the  Corporation
available for  distribution  after  provision for the payment of creditors.  The
outstanding shares of Common Stock are fully paid and  nonassessable.  There are
no restrictions on transferability  contained in the Articles of Organization or
Bylaws.  Holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive  ratably such dividends
as may be  declared by the Board of  Directors  out of funds  legally  available
therefor.  The Common Stock is listed on the  American  Stock  Exchange.  Thermo
Electron  Corporation  ("Thermo  Electron")  beneficially owns a majority of the
Common  Stock,  and  thus  has the  power to  elect  all of the  members  of the
Corporation's Board of Directors.

Certain Charter, By-Law and Statutory Provisions

      The  ownership  of a  majority  interest  in  the  Corporation  by  Thermo
Electron,  either alone or in  combination  with certain  provisions,  described
below,  of the  Articles of  Organization,  the Bylaws and  Chapter  110F of the
Business Corporation Law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (discussed below),
could have the effect of delaying,  deferring or  preventing a change in control
of the Corporation.

      The Bylaws provide that special  meetings of stockholders may be called by
the Corporation's Board of Directors,  certain officers,  or at the direction of
one or more stockholders who hold at least ten percent of the shares entitled to
vote at the meeting.

      The Articles of Organization include a provision eliminating the liability
of the  Corporation's  directors to the Corporation or to its  stockholders  for
money damages,  to the extent permitted by Massachusetts  law. In addition,  the
Bylaws contain provisions providing for the indemnification of the Corporation's
officers and  directors  from  liabilities  and expenses to which they may be or
become liable by reason of their being officers or directors of the Corporation.
<PAGE>

Chapter 110F of Massachusetts Business Corporation Law

      The Corporation is subject to Chapter 110F of the Business Corporation Law
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ("Chapter 110F"), which generally prohibits
any Massachusetts  corporation that has more than 200 stockholders of record and
(i) has its principal  executive offices or substantial  assets in Massachusetts
or (ii) more than 10% of its  stockholders are  Massachusetts  residents or more
than 10% of its outstanding  shares are owned by Massachusetts  residents,  from
engaging in a "business  combination"  with an  "interested  stockholder"  for a
period of three years after the date on which the person  becomes an  interested
stockholder,  unless (i) the interested  stockholder obtains the approval of the
Board of  Directors  prior  to  becoming  an  interested  stockholder,  (ii) the
interested stockholder owned at least 90% of the voting stock of the corporation
outstanding  at the time the  transaction  commenced  (excluding  shares held by
certain  affiliates of the  corporation)  or (iii) the business  combination  is
approved by both the Board of  Directors  and the holders of  two-thirds  of the
outstanding  voting  stock  of the  corporation  (excluding  shares  held by the
interested  stockholder),  voting  at  an  annual  or  special  meeting  of  the
stockholders  and not acting by written  consent.  An  "interested  stockholder"
generally  is a person  other than the  corporation  and any direct or  indirect
majority-owned  subsidiary  of  the  corporation  who  owns  5% or  more  of the
corporation's   outstanding  voting  stock,  or  who  is  an  affiliate  of  the
corporation  and was the  owner of 5% or more of the  corporation's  outstanding
voting stock at any time within the three-year period prior to the determination
of whether the person is an  interested  stockholder.  A "business  combination"
includes   mergers,   consolidations,   stock  sales,   asset  sales  and  other
transactions involving the corporation or any direct or indirect  majority-owned
subsidiary of the corporation.

      The  failure  of a  person  becoming  an  interested  stockholder  of  the
Corporation to obtain the consent of the Corporation's Board of Directors and/or
stockholders  (other  than the  interested  stockholder),  could  result  in the
interested  stockholder  finding  it  difficult  to manage the  business  of the
Corporation.  This  need  to  acquire  consent  of the  Corporation's  Board  of
Directors  and/or  stockholders  for Chapter 110F purposes imposes a substantial
burden on a  potential  acquiror  and could  therefore  act as an  anti-takeover
device.

      Notwithstanding the foregoing,  business combinations with Thermo Electron
and its affiliates are not subject to the provisions of Chapter 110F.

Item 2.  Exhibits.

1. Articles of Organization,  as amended,  of the Corporation  (filed as Exhibit
3(a) to the  Corporation's  Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1988 [File No. 1-9567] and incorporated herein by reference).
<PAGE>

2. Articles of Amendment to Articles of  Organization  (filed as Exhibit 3(c) to
the  Corporation's  Quarterly  Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal  quarter ended
October 2, 1993 [File No. 1-9567] and incorporated herein by reference).

3. Articles of Amendment to Articles of  Organization  (filed as Exhibit 3(i) to
the  Corporation's  Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 29,
1996 [File No. 1-9567] and incorporated herein by reference).

4. Amended and Restated  By-Laws of the  Corporation  (filed as Exhibit 10.14 to
the  Corporation's  Quarterly  Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 3,
1999 [File No. 1-9567] and incorporated herein by reference).

5.    Specimen Common Stock Certificate (filed as Exhibit 4 to the Corporation's
Registration Statement on Form S-1 [Reg. No. 2-84380] and incorporated herein by
reference).




<PAGE>


                                    SIGNATURE

      Pursuant to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities  Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.

                                   THERMEDICS INC.



                                   By:  /s/ Theo Melas-Kyriazi
                                        ------------------------------
                                        Theo Melas-Kyriazi
                                        Chief Financial Officer

Date: November 22, 1999







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