AMENDMENT NINE TO RIGHTS AGREEMENT
Exhibit 4.1
AMENDMENT NINE
TO
THIS AMENDMENT NINE TO RIGHTS AGREEMENT (this “Amendment”), dated February 22, 2018, is entered into by and between Astrotech Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as rights agent (the “Rights Agent”), pursuant to Section 27 of the Rights Agreement, dated as of July 29, 2009, as amended July 29, 2010, August 10, 2011, August 10, 2012, August 6, 2013, June 9, 2014, August 5, 2015, August 4, 2016 and July 20, 2017 (the “Rights Agreement”), between the Company and the Rights Agent.
WHEREAS, Section 27 of the Rights Agreement provides that prior to the time any person becomes an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement) the Company may from time to time supplement and amend any provision of the Rights Agreement in any respect without the approval of the holders of the Rights (as defined in the Rights Agreement); and
WHEREAS, on December 22, 2017, the Company changed its state of incorporation from Washington to Delaware; and
WHEREAS, to properly reflect such reincorporation, the Board of Directors of the Company has determined that it is in the best interests of the Company to make certain amendments to the Rights Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual agreements set forth herein and in the Rights Agreement, the parties hereby agree as follows:
Section 1. Definitions. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the Rights Agreement.
Section 2. Amendments to Rights Agreement.
(a)Amendment to the Preamble of the Rights Agreement. The Preamble is hereby amended by replacing the reference to “Astrotech Corporation, a Washington corporation” with “Astrotech Corporation, a Delaware corporation”.
(b)Amendment to Section 1(r) of the Rights Agreement. Section 1(r) is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
“Preferred Shares” shall mean shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, $.001 par value, of the Company having the rights and preferences set forth in the Form of Designation of Rights, Terms and Preferences attached to this Rights Agreement as Exhibit A.
(c)Amendment to Section 23 of the Rights Agreement. Section 23 is hereby amended by replacing the reference to “$.01 per Right” with “$.001 per Right”.
(d)Amendment to Section 31 of the Rights Agreement. Section 31 is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows:
“Governing Law. This Rights Agreement and each Right Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such State.”
(e)Amendment of Exhibit A to the Rights Agreement. Exhibit A to the Rights Agreement is hereby replaced in its entirety with Schedule A attached hereto.
(f)Amendment to Exhibit B to the Rights Agreement. Exhibit B to the Rights Agreement is hereby amended:
(i) | by replacing the reference to “Astrotech Corporation, a Washington corporation” with “Astrotech Corporation, a Delaware corporation”; |
(ii) | by replacing the reference to “Series D Junior Participating Preferred Stock” with “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock”; |
(iii) | by replacing references to “$.01 per Right” with “$0.001 per Right”; and |
(iv) | by replacing the reference to “par value $.01 per share” with “par value $0.001 per share. |
Exhibit 4.1
(g)Amendment to Exhibit C to the Rights Agreement. Exhibit C to the Rights Agreement is hereby amended:
(i) | by replacing the reference to “Series D Junior Participating Preferred Stock” with “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock”; |
(ii) | by replacing the reference to “$.01 per Right” with “$0.001 per Right”; and |
(iii) | by replacing the reference to “par value $.01 per share” with “par value $0.001 per share”. |
Section 3. Miscellaneous.
(a)The term “Agreement” as used in the Rights Agreement shall be deemed to refer to the Rights Agreement as amended hereby.
(b)The Amendment shall be effective as of the date first above written, and, except as set forth herein, the Rights Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall be otherwise unaffected hereby.
(c)This Amendment 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.
(d)This Amendment shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such State.
(e)The Rights Agent and the Company hereby waive any notice requirement under the Rights Agreement pertaining to the matters covered by this Agreement.
(f)Except to the extent specifically amended hereby, the provisions of the Rights Agreement shall remain unmodified, and the Rights Agreement as amended hereby is confirmed as being in full force and effect.
[Signature page follows]
Exhibit 4.1
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be duly executed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
ASTROTECH CORPORATION
By: 
Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ III
Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ III
Title: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
AMERICAN STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, LLC, as Rights Agent
Schedule A
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
of
SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
of
ASTROTECH CORPORATION
(Pursuant to Section 151 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law)
Astrotech Corporation, a Delaware corporation (hereinafter called the “Corporation”), hereby certifies that the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation as required by Section 151 of the Delaware General Corporation Law by unanimous written consent effective on December 22, 2017.
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the Board of Directors of this Corporation (hereinafter called the “Board of Directors” or the “Board”) in accordance with the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors hereby creates a series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, par value $0.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), and hereby states the designation and number of shares, and fixes the relative rights, preferences, and limitations thereof as follows:
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock” (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) and the number of shares constituting the Series A Preferred Stock shall be 300,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A Preferred Stock.
Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.
(A) Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and superior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Corporation, and of any other junior stock, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the first 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 thefirst Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $10 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) of this Section immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock).
(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next-preceding the date of issue of such shares, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior
Schedule A
to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
Section 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) Except as otherwise provided herein, in any other Certificate of Designation creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock, or by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock and any other capital stock of the Corporation having general voting rights shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
Section 4. Certain Restrictions.
(A) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:
(i) declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock,
(ii) declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock, or
(iv) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, or any shares of stock ranking on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.
Schedule A
(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein, in the Certificate of Incorporation, or in any other Certificate of Designation creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock or as otherwise required by law.
Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up. Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made (1) to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have received $1,000 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment, provided that the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an aggregate amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount to be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock, or (2) to the holders of shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except distributions made ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are entitled upon such liquidation, dissolution or winding up. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the aggregate amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under the proviso in clause (1) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 7. Consolidation, Merger, etc. In case the Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged. In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 8. No Redemption. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 9. Rank. The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, junior to all series of any other class of the Corporation’s Preferred Stock.
Section 10. Amendment. The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.
[Signature Page Follows]
Schedule A
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has caused this Certificate of Designation to be duly executed on its behalf by its duly authorized officer on December 22, 2017.
Astrotech Corporation | |||
By: | /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ III | ||
Name: | ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ III | ||
Title: | Chairman of the Board and Chief | ||
Executive Officer | |||