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EXHIBIT 99.3
RIGHTS AGREEMENT
Agreement, dated as of November 21, 1996, between ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
Marketing, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and
SunTrust Bank, Altanta (the "Rights Agent").
The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized and
declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a "Right") for each
share of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (a "Common
Share") outstanding on the close of business on December 6, 1996 (the "Record
Date") and has authorized the issuance of one Right with respect to each
additional Common Share that shall become outstanding between the Record Date
and the earlier of the Distribution Date, the Expiration Date or the Final
Expiration Date (as such terms are defined in Sections 3 and 7 hereof), each
Right representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share, as hereinafter defined, or such different amount and/or kind of
securities as shall be hereinafter provided.
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:
"Acquiring Person" shall mean any Person who or which,
together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the
Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then
outstanding, but shall not include (i) the Company, (ii) any Subsidiary of the
Company, (iii) any employee benefit plan
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of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or (iv) any entity holding
Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such employee benefit plan.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, (1) 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 15% or more of the Common Shares
of the Company then outstanding; provided, however, that if a Person shall so
become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company
then outstanding by reason of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company
and shall, after such share purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial
Owner of an additional 1% of the outstanding Common Shares of the Company, then
such Person shall be deemed to be an "Acquiring Person"; and (2) 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, 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, then such Person shall not be
deemed to have become an "Acquiring Person" for any purposes of this Agreement.
"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.
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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), written or otherwise, or upon the exercise of
conversion rights, exchange rights, rights (other than the Rights), warrants or
options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed to
be the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, securities tendered
pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made pursuant to, and in accordance
with, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act
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, however, 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
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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), written or
otherwise, for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except to the extent
contemplated by the proviso to section (B) of the immediately preceding
paragraph (ii)) 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.
"Business Day" shall mean any day other than a Saturday,
Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are
authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
"Close of Business" on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M.,
New York time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date is not a
Business Day it shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York time, on the next succeeding
Business Day.
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"Common Shares" when used with reference to the Company shall
mean the shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 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.
"common stock equivalents" shall have the meaning set forth in
section 11(a)(iii)(B)(3).
"Current Value" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii)(A)(1) hereof.
"Distribution Date" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 3 hereof.
"Equivalent preferred shares" shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 11(b).
"Exchange Ratio" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
24(a).
"Final Expiration Date" shall mean November 21, 2006.
"Person" shall mean any individual, firm, corporation,
partnership, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, business trust,
limited liability company, unincorporated association or other entity, and shall
include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
"Preferred Shares" shall mean shares of Series A Junior
Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company.
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"Purchase Price" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
7(b).
"Redemption Date" shall mean the date on which the Rights are
redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof.
"Right Certificate" shall mean a certificate evidencing a
Right in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto.
"Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date" shall have the meaning set
forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
"Shares Acquisition Date" shall mean the earlier of the date
of (i) the public announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an
Acquiring Person has become such or (ii) the public disclosure of facts by the
Company or an Acquiring Person indicating that an Acquiring Person has become
such.
"Spread" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
11(a)(iii)(A)(2) hereof.
"Subsidiary" of any Person shall mean any Person of which a
majority of the voting power of the voting equity securities or equity interest
is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.
"Substitution Period" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.
"Summary of Rights" shall mean the Summary of Rights to
Purchase Preferred Shares in substantially the form of Exhibit C hereto.
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
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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 any of
the Persons referred to in the preceding parenthetical) to commence, a tender
or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in any Person becoming
the Beneficial Owner of Common Shares aggregating 15% or more of the then
outstanding Common Shares (such date 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,
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send) by first-class, insured, 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
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 the Record Date, or as soon as practicable
thereafter, the Company will send a copy of the Summary of Rights by
first-class, postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares as of
the Close of Business on the Record Date, at the address of such holder shown on
the records of the Company. 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 evidenced 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:
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This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof
to certain Rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement between
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc. and SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, as Rights
Agent, dated as of November 21, 1996 (the "Rights Agreement"),
the terms of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference
and a copy of which is on file at the principal executive
offices of ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc. Under certain
circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such
Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and will no
longer be evidenced by this certificate. ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing,
Inc. will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the
Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written
request therefor. Under certain circumstances, Rights that are
or were acquired or beneficially owned by Acquiring Persons (as
defined in the Rights Agreement) 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
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 canceled and retired so that the Company shall not be
entitled to exercise any Rights associated with the Common Shares which are no
longer outstanding.
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates. The Right
Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of
assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall be substantially the
same as 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
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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 other provisions of this Agreement, the Right
Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the
Purchase Price, but the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share and
the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration. The Right
Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the
Board, its Chief Executive Officer, its President, any of its Vice Presidents,
or its Treasurer, 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 any Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by
facsimile signature. The Right Certificates shall be countersigned by the
Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless so countersigned,
either manually or by facsimile. 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
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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.
Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or
cause to be kept, at its principal office, books for registration of the
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.
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-thousandths of a Preferred 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
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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 for any tax or governmental charge that may
be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange
of Right Certificates.
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 make and
deliver a new Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for 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
(other than a holder whose Rights have become void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii)
hereof or have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24 hereof) may exercise the
Rights evidenced thereby in whole or in part at any time after the Distribution
Date upon surrender of the
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Right Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side
thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at its principal office, together
with payment of the Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred
Share as to which the Rights are exercised, at or prior to the earliest of (i)
the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date, (ii) 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-thousandth of a Preferred Share to be purchased upon the exercise of a
Right shall initially be Ten Dollars ($10.00) (the "Purchase Price"), shall be
subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and 13
hereof and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America in
accordance with paragraph (c) below.
(c) Upon receipt of a Right Certificate
representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase and
certificate duly executed, accompanied by payment of the Purchase Price for the
number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share 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 by cash,
certified check, cashier's check or money order payable to the order of the
Company, the Rights Agent shall thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any
transfer agent of the Preferred Shares certificates for the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share to be purchased and the Company hereby
irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or
(B)
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requisition from any depositary agent for the Preferred Shares depositary
receipts representing such number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share
as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the Preferred 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 Preferred 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.
(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 his duly authorized assigns, subject to the
provisions of Section 14 hereof.
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to
the contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to
undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of
any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered
holder shall have (i) completed and signed the certificate following the form
of election
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to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Right Certificate surrendered
for such exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of
the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates
thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of 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
canceled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be canceled 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 canceled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at
the written request of the Company, destroy such canceled Right Certificates,
and in such case shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the
Company.
Section 9. Status and Availability of Preferred Shares.
(a) The Company covenants and agrees that it will
take all such action as may be necessary to ensure that all Preferred Shares
delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the
certificates for such Preferred Shares (subject to payment of the Purchase
Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and
non-assessable shares.
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(b) 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 Preferred 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 Preferred 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 Preferred
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.
(c) The Company covenants and agrees that it will
cause to be reserved and kept available, out of its authorized and unissued
Preferred Shares or any Preferred Shares held in its treasury, the number of
Preferred Shares that will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all
outstanding Rights in accordance with Section 7 hereof.
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date. Each person in
whose name any certificate for Preferred Shares is issued upon the exercise of
Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of
the Preferred Shares represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be
dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was
duly surrendered and
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payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made.
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 Preferred 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 of Preferred Shares
covered by each Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to
adjustment from time to time as provided in this Section 11.
(a)(i) In the event the Company shall at any time
after the date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares
payable in Preferred Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares,
(C) combine the outstanding Preferred Shares into a smaller number of Preferred
Shares or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of
the Preferred Shares (including any such reclassification in connection with a
consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving
corporation), 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
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and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised
immediately prior to such date, he 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 the following paragraph of this
subparagraph (ii) and to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the event any Person
shall become 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-thousandths of a Preferred
Share for which a Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of
this Agreement and in lieu of Preferred 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-thousandths of a Preferred 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 such Person became an
Acquiring Person. 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
that would eliminate or diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the
Rights.
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From and after the occurrence of such an event, any Rights
that are or were acquired or beneficially owned by such Acquiring Person (or
any Associate or Affiliate of such Acquiring Person) on or after the earlier of
(x) the date of such event and (y) the Distribution Date 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 or any Associate
or Affiliate thereof shall be canceled.
(iii) In the event that the number of Common Shares
which are authorized by the Company's certificate of incorporation and not
outstanding or subscribed for, or reserved or otherwise committed for issuance
for purposes other than upon exercise of the Rights, are not sufficient to
permit the holder of each Right to purchase the number of Common Shares to which
he would be entitled upon the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with
the foregoing subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of this Section 11, or should
the Board of Directors so elect, the Company shall: (A) determine the excess of
(1) the value of the Common Shares issuable
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upon the exercise of a Right (calculated as provided in the last sentence of
this subparagraph (iii)) pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof (the "Current
Value") over (2) the Purchase Price (such excess, the "Spread"), and (B) with
respect to each Right, make adequate provision to substitute for such Common
Shares, upon payment of the applicable Purchase Price, any one or more of the
following having an aggregate value determined by the Board of Directors to be
equal to the Current Value: (1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Purchase Price,
(3) Common Shares or other equity securities of the Company (including, without
limitation, shares, or units of shares, of preferred stock which the Board of
Directors of the Company has determined to have the same value as shares of
Common Stock (such shares of preferred stock, "common stock equivalents")), (4)
debt securities of the Company, or (5) other assets; provided, however, if the
Company shall not have made adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to
clause (B) above within thirty (30) days following the first occurrence of an
event triggering the rights to purchase Common Shares described in Section
11(a)(ii) the "Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date"), then the Company shall be
obligated to deliver, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without
requiring payment of the Purchase Price, shares of Common Stock (to the extent
available) and then, if necessary, cash, which shares and cash have an
aggregate value equal to the Spread. If the Board of Directors of the Company
shall determine in good faith that it is likely that sufficient additional
Common Shares could be authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the
Rights, the thirty (30) day period set forth above may be extended to the
extent necessary, but not more
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21
than ninety (90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date, in order that
the Company may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such
additional shares (such period, as it may be extended, the "Substitution
Period"). To the extent that the Company determines that some action need be
taken pursuant to the first and/or second sentences of this Section 11(a)(iii),
the Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 7(e) hereof and the last
paragraph of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, that such action shall apply uniformly to
all outstanding Rights, and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights
until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek any
authorization of additional shares and/or to decide the appropriate form of
distribution to be made pursuant to such first sentence and to determine the
value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the Company shall make a
public announcement, and shall deliver to the Rights Agent a statement, stating
that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended. At such
time as the suspension is no longer in effect, the Company shall make another
public announcement, and deliver to the Rights Agent a statement, so stating.
For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of the Common Shares shall be
the current per share market price (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)
hereof) of the Common Shares on the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the value
of any common stock equivalent shall be deemed to have the same value as the
Common Shares on such date.
(b) In case the Company shall fix a record date
for the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred
Shares entitling them (for a period expiring within 45
- 21 -
22
calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or purchase Preferred
Shares (or shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the
Preferred Shares ("equivalent preferred shares")) or securities convertible
into Preferred Shares or equivalent preferred shares at a price per Preferred
Share or equivalent preferred share (or having a conversion price per share, if
a security convertible into Preferred Shares or equivalent preferred shares)
less than the then current per share market price of the Preferred Shares (as
defined in Section 11(d)) on such record date, the Purchase Price to be in
effect after such record date shall be adjusted 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 Preferred Shares outstanding on such
record date plus the number of Preferred Shares which the aggregate offering
price of the total number of Preferred Shares and/or equivalent preferred
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 Preferred Shares
outstanding on such record date plus the number of additional Preferred Shares
and/or equivalent preferred 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
- 22 -
23
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. Preferred 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 Preferred 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 Preferred 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 Preferred 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 Preferred Share and
the denominator of which shall be such
- 23 -
24
current per share market price of the Preferred 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
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25
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 American Stock Exchange or, if the Security is not listed or
admitted to trading on the American 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 Preferred Shares shall be determined
in accordance with the method set forth in Section 11(d)(i). If the Preferred
Shares are not publicly traded, the "current per share market price" of the
Preferred Shares shall be
- 25 -
26
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 1000. If neither the Common Shares nor the
Preferred 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
ten-millionth of a Preferred 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 three years from the date of the transaction which requires such
adjustment.
(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 Preferred Shares, the number of such other shares so receivable upon
exercise of any Right shall thereafter be subject to adjustment from time to
time in a manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the
provisions
- 26 -
27
with respect to the Preferred Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c),
inclusive, and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 with respect to the
Preferred 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-thousandths of a Preferred 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-thousandths of a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest
one ten-millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the
number of one one-thousandths 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-thousandths of a
Preferred Share purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights
outstanding after such adjustment of
- 27 -
28
the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of one one-thousandths
of a Preferred Share for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to
such adjustment. Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the
number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest
one hundred-thousandth) obtained by dividing the 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 distributed, shall be at least 10 days later than the
date of the public announcement. If Right Certificates have been distributed,
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 to be so
distributed shall be issued, executed and
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29
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-thousandths of a Preferred 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-thousandths of a Preferred 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-thousandth of the then par
value of the Preferred 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 non-assessable Preferred 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 Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities
of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the
Preferred 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
- 29 -
30
Company shall deliver to such holder a due ▇▇▇▇ 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 (i) consolidation or subdivision of the
Preferred Shares, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less
than the current market price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of Preferred
Shares or securities which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable
for Preferred Shares, (iv) dividends on Preferred Shares payable in Preferred
Shares or (v) issuance of any rights, options or warrants referred to
hereinabove in Section 11(b), hereafter made by the Company to holders of its
Preferred 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 other than by payment of dividends in Common
Shares) into a greater or lesser number of Common Shares, then in any such case
(i) the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share purchasable after
such event upon proper exercise of each Right shall be determined by multiplying
the number of one one-
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31
thousandths of a Preferred 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 (ii) 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 Adjustment. Whenever an
adjustment is made as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof, the Company shall
promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment, and a brief
statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (b) file with the Rights
Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Shares or the Preferred
Shares a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary thereof to each
holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25 hereof. The Rights
Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any
adjustment therein contained.
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of
Assets or Earning Power.
In the event that, at any time after a Person becomes an
Acquiring Person, directly or indirectly, (i) the Company shall consolidate
with, or merge with and into, any other Person, (ii) any Person shall
consolidate with the Company, or merge with and into the Company and the Company
shall be the continuing or
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32
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 (iii) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one or more of its
Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions,
assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or earning power
of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person 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 (A) 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-thousandths of a Preferred Share for
which a Right is then exercisable, in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement and in lieu of Preferred 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 (x) multiplying the then
current Purchase Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred 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 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; (B) 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
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33
this Agreement; (C) the term "Company" shall thereafter be deemed to refer to
such issuer; and (D) 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 covenants
and agrees that it 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. For purposes hereof, the "earning
power" of the Company and its Subsidiaries shall be determined in good faith by
the Company's Board of Directors on the basis of the operating earnings of each
business operated by the Company and its Subsidiaries during the three fiscal
years preceding the date of such determination (or, in the case of any business
not operated by the Company or any Subsidiary during three full fiscal years
preceding such date, during the period such business was operated by the
Company or any Subsidiary).
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34
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 American Stock Exchange or, if the Rights are not
listed or admitted to trading on the American 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
- 34 -
35
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 Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral
multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the
Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares
(other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share). Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share may, at the election of the Company, be
evidenced by depositary receipts, pursuant to an appropriate agreement between
the Company and a depositary selected by it; provided, that such agreement
shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the
rights, privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as beneficial
owners of the Preferred Shares represented by such depositary receipts. In
lieu of fractional Preferred Shares that are not integral multiples of one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, the Company shall pay to each registered
holder 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 Preferred Share as the fraction of one Preferred Share that such
holder would otherwise receive upon the exercise of the aggregate number of
rights exercised by such holder. For the purposes of this Section 14(b), the
current market value of a Preferred Share shall be the
- 35 -
36
closing price of a Preferred 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 any right to receive fractional Rights or 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) may,
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), on his
own behalf and for his own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any
suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in
respect of, his right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such 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.
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37
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 maintained by the
Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly
endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer with a completed
form of certification; 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 Certificates or the
associated Common Shares certificate made by anyone other than the Company or
the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the
Rights Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.
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
Preferred Shares or any other securities of the Company which may at any time
be issuable on the exercise of the Rights represented thereby nor shall
anything contained herein or in any Right Certificate be construed to confer
upon the holder of
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38
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 gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on
the part of the Rights Agent, for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent
in connection with the acceptance and administration of this Agreement,
including the costs and expenses of defending against any claim or liability in
connection therewith.
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 Preferred Stock or for other securities of the
Company, instrument
- 38 -
39
of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter,
notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document
believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary,
verified or acknowledged, by the proper person or persons.
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of
Rights Agent. Any corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any
corporation resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights
Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any corporation
succeeding to the corporate trust business of the Rights Agent or any successor
Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement
without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of
any of the parties hereto, provided 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.
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40
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 expressly set forth in this Agreement and
no implied duties or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the
Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall perform those duties and obligations 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
- 40 -
41
and established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chairman of the
Board, the President, a Vice President, the Treasurer 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
only for its own gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.
(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or
by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this
Agreement or in the Right Certificates (except as to 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 adjustment required
under the provisions of Sections 11 or 13 hereof or responsible for the manner,
method or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of
facts that would require any such adjustment (except with respect to the
exercise of Rights evidenced by Right Certificates after actual notice of any
such adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any
representation or
- 41 -
42
warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Preferred
Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to
whether any shares of Preferred Stock will, when so issued, be validly
authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
(f) The Company agrees that it will perform,
execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed,
acknowledged end 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 President, a Vice
President, the Secretary or the Treasurer of the Company, and to apply to such
officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall
not be liable for any action taken or suffered to be taken by it in good faith
in accordance with instructions of any such officer.
(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder,
director, officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any
of the Rights or other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily
interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or
contract with or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely
as though it were not Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall
preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or
for any other legal entity.
- 42 -
43
(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 and the Preferred Stock 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 and
the Preferred Stock by registered or certified mail, and 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
- 43 -
44
apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new
Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or
by such a court, shall be a corporation organized and doing business under the
laws of the United States or of any state of the United States, in good
standing, having an office in the State of New York which is authorized under
such laws to exercise corporate trust powers and is subject to supervision or
examination by federal or state authority and which has at the time of its
appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $100
million. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be 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 and the Preferred Stock, and 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
- 44 -
45
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 $0.01 per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any
stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date
hereof (such redemption price being 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 subject to 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
- 45 -
46
redemption of the Rights pursuant to paragraph (a), 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. If the
payment of the Redemption Price is not included with such notice, each such
notice shall 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, 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,
- 46 -
47
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 a majority 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
subsection (a) of this Section 24 and without any further action and without
any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only
right thereafter of a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of
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.
- 47 -
48
(c) In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24,
the Company, at its option, may substitute Preferred Shares or common stock
equivalents for Common Shares exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of
one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (or an appropriate number of common
stock equivalents) for each Common Share, as appropriately adjusted to reflect
adjustments in the voting rights of the Preferred Shares pursuant to the terms
thereof, so that the fraction of a Preferred Share delivered in lieu of each
Common Share shall have the same voting rights as one Common Share.
(d) In the event that there shall not be
sufficient Common Shares, Preferred Shares or common stock equivalents
authorized by the Company's certificate of incorporation and not outstanding or
subscribed for, or reserved or otherwise committed for issuance for purposes
other than upon exercise of Rights, 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, Preferred
Shares or common stock equivalents for issuance upon exchange of the Rights.
(e) 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 per share market value
of a whole Common Share. For the purposes of this paragraph (e), the current
- 48 -
49
per share 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 after the
Distribution Date propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class
to the holders of its Preferred Shares or to make any other distribution to the
holders of its Preferred Shares (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend),
(ii) to offer to the holders of its Preferred Shares rights or warrants to
subscribe for or to purchase any additional Preferred Shares or shares of stock
of any class or any other securities, rights or options, (iii) to effect any
reclassification of its Preferred Shares (other than a reclassification
involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred 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, (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the
Company, or (vi) to declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in
Common Shares or to effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the
Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in
Common Shares), then, in each such case, the Company shall give to each holder
of a Right Certificate, in accordance
- 49 -
50
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 the Common Shares
and/or Preferred 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 Preferred
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 the Common Shares and/or
Preferred Shares, whichever shall be the earlier.
(b) In case any 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.
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:
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51
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc.
▇▇▇▇▇ ▇.▇. ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Attention: Secretary
Copy to:
▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ & Bockius
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇-▇▇▇▇
Attention: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
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:
SunTrust Bank, Atlanta
▇.▇. ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Attention: Department Manager
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, and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs,
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
- 51 -
52
herein, or to make any change to or delete any provision hereof or to adopt any
other provisions with respect to the Rights which the Company may deem
necessary or desirable, so long as the duties, liabilities and indemnification
of Rights Agent are not effected; provided, however, that from and after such
time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be
amended or supplemented in any manner which would adversely affect the
interests of the holders of Rights (other than an Acquiring Person and its
Affiliates and Associates). Any supplement or amendment authorized by this
Section 27 will be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights
Agent.
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 or corporation 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
- 52 -
53
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 to
be made and 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.
Section 34. Administration. The Board of Directors of
the Company shall have the exclusive power and authority to administer and
interpret the provisions of this Agreement and to exercise all rights and
powers specifically granted to the Board of Directors or the Company or as may
be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Agreement. All such
actions, calculations, determinations and interpretations which are done or
made by the Board of Directors in good faith shall be final, conclusive and
binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights and all
other parties and shall not subject the Board of Directors to any liability to
the holders of the Rights.
- 53 -
54
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Rights
Agreement to be duly executed and their respective corporate seals to be
hereunder affixed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written.
Attest: ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.
--------------------------- By: ---------------------------
Attest: SUNTRUST BANK, ATLANTA
--------------------------- By: ---------------------------
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55
--------------------------------------------------------
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc.
and
---------------------------------------
Rights Agent
Rights Agreement
Dated as of November 21, 1996.
--------------------------------------------------------
56
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
----
Section 1. Certain Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Section 3. Issue of Right Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Section 4. Form of Right Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and
Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated,
Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates . . . . . . . . . . 11
Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price;
Expiration Date of Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates . . . . . . . 15
Section 9. Status and Availability of Preferred Shares . . . . . . . . . . 15
Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number
of Shares or Number of Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Section 12. Certificate of Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer
of Assets or Earning Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Section 15. Rights of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Section 17. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder . . . . . . . 37
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent . . . 39
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57
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Section 23. Redemption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Section 24. Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Section 25. Notice of Certain Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Section 26. Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Section 28. Successors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Section 29. Benefits of this Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Section 30. Severability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Section 31. Governing Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Section 32. Counterparts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Section 33. Descriptive Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Section 34. Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Exhibit A Certificate of Designations of
Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock. . . . . . . . . . A-1
Exhibit B Form of Right Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Exhibit C Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares . . . . . . . . . C-1
- ii -
58
EXHIBIT A
FORM
of
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
of
SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK
of
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.
(Pursuant to Section 151 of the
Delaware General Corporation Law)
------------------------------------------------
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc., a corporation organized and existing
under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (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
General Corporation Law at a meeting duly called and held on November 21,
1996:
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 of the Corporation, as amended, the Board of Directors hereby
creates a series of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the
"Preferred Stock"), of the Corporation and hereby states the designation and
number of shares, and fixes the relative rights, preferences, and limitations
thereof as follows:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of this
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 40,000. 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
A-1
59
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 other stock) ranking prior and
superior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders
of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive, when, as and
if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the
purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the last day of March, June,
September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as
a "Quarterly Dividend Payment Date"), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend
Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of
Series A Preferred Stock, in an amount (if any) per share (rounded to the
nearest cent), subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth,
equal to 1000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and
1000 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, par value $0.0001 per share (the "Common Stock"), of the Company
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 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 due pursuant to paragraph (A) of
this Section 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 to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date, in which case
A-2
60
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 1000 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 the Restated
Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, including any other Certificate of
Designations 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
required 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.
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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; or
(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 (as to dividends and upon
dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock.
(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 canceled promptly after the acquisition
thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but
unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series
of Preferred Stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set
forth herein, in the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company,
including any Certificate of Designations 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 the holders of
shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an aggregate
amount per share, subject to the provision
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for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1000 times the aggregate amount
to be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock plus an amount
equal to any accrued and unpaid dividends. 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 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 1000 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. Amendment. The Certificate of Incorporation
of the Corporation shall not be amended in any manner, including in a merger or
consolidation, which would alter, change, or repeal 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.
Section 9. Rank. The Series A Preferred Stock shall
rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and upon
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liquidation, dissolution and winding up, junior to all series of Preferred
Stock.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designations is executed on
behalf of the Corporation by its ____________ this ______ day of ____________,
1996.
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.
By:
-----------------------------
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EXHIBIT B
Form of Right Certificate
Certificate No. R- _______ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER NOVEMBER 21, 2006 OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR
EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT $0.01 PER
RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, RIGHTS THAT ARE OR WERE ACQUIRED OR
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON OR ANY ASSOCIATES OR
AFFILIATES THEREOF (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT)
OR ANY SUBSEQUENT HOLDER OF SUCH RIGHTS MAY BECOME NULL AND VOID.
Right Certificate
▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.
This certifies that _______________________, or registered assigns, is the
registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which
entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of
the Rights Agreement, dated as of November 21, 1996 (the "Rights Agreement"),
between ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ Marketing, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), and
SunTrust Bank, Atlanta (the "Rights Agent"), to purchase from the Company at
any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights
Agreement) and prior to 5:00 P.M., New York time, on November 21, 2006, at the
principal office of the Rights Agent, or at the office of its successor as
Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of a fully paid non-assessable share of Series
A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the
"Preferred Shares"), of the Company, at a purchase price of $10.00 per one
one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the "Purchase Price"), upon presentation
and surrender of this Right Certificate with the certification and the Form of
Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this
Right Certificate (and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred 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 November 21,
1996, based on the Preferred Shares as constituted at such date. As provided
in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price and the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred Share 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.
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From and after the occurrence of an event described in Section
11(a)(ii) of the Rights Agreement, if the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are or were at any time on or after the earlier of (x) the date of
such event and (y) the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights
Agreement) acquired or beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an Associate
or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights
Agreement), such Rights shall become void, and any holder of such Rights shall
thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights.
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 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 Preferred 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, at the
Company's option, the Rights evidenced by this Certificate (i) may be redeemed
by the Company at a redemption price of $0.01 per Right or (ii) may be
exchanged in whole or in part for shares of the Company's Common Stock, par
value $0.0001 per share, or Preferred Shares.
No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the
exercise of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions which
are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred 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 Preferred
Shares or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be
issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights
Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any
of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the
election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any
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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: ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.
----------------------------- By:
---------------------------
Countersigned:
-----------------------------
Rights Agent
By: -------------------------
Authorized Signature
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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.
Date:
------------- ---, -----
-------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate -- continued
FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to
exercise the Right Certificate.)
To ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ MARKETING, INC.:
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise
________________ Rights represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the
Preferred Shares issuable upon the exercise of such Rights and requests that
certificates for such Preferred 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.
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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 foregoing Forms of Assignment and Election
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.
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EXHIBIT C
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE
PREFERRED SHARES
On November 21, 1996, the Board of Directors of ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇
Marketing, Inc. (the "Company") declared a dividend of one preferred share
purchase right (a "Right") for each outstanding share of common stock, par
value $0.0001 per share (the "Common Shares") outstanding on December 6, 1996
(the "Record Date") to the stockholders of record on that date. Each Right
entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth
of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001
per share (the "Preferred Shares"), of the Company, at a price of $10.00
per one one-thousandth of a Preferred 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 SunTrust Bank,
Atlanta, 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") has acquired beneficial ownership of 15% 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 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 15% or more of such 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 Agreement provides that, until the Distribution Date, 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 or upon transfer or new
issuance of Common Shares will contain a notation incorporating the 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.
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The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date.
The Rights will expire on November 21, 2006 (the "Final Expiration Date"),
unless the Final Expiration Date is extended or unless the Rights are earlier
redeemed by the Company, in each case, as described below.
The Purchase Price payable, and the number of Preferred 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
Preferred Shares, (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Preferred Shares of
certain rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares at a
price, or securities convertible into Preferred Shares with a conversion price,
less than the then current market price of the Preferred Shares or (iii) upon
the distribution to holders of the Preferred Shares of evidences of
indebtedness or assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends paid out of
earnings or retained earnings or dividends payable in Preferred Shares) or of
subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).
The number of outstanding Rights and the number of one
one-thousandths of a Preferred 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.
Preferred Shares purchasable upon exercise of the Rights will
not be redeemable. Each Preferred Share will be entitled to a quarterly
dividend payment of 1000 times the dividend declared per Common Share. In the
event of liquidation, the holders of the Preferred Shares will be entitled to
an aggregate payment of 1000 times the aggregate payment made per Common Share.
Each Preferred Share will have 1000 votes, voting together with the Common
Shares. In the event of any merger, consolidation or other transaction in
which Common Shares are exchanged, each Preferred Share will be entitled to
receive 1000 times the amount received per Common Share. These rights are
protected by customary antidilution provisions.
Because of the nature of the Preferred Shares' dividend,
liquidation and voting rights, the value of the one one-thousandth interest in
a Preferred Share purchasable upon exercise of each Right should approximate
the value of one Common Share.
From and after the occurrence of an event described in Section
11(a)(ii) of the Rights Agreement, if the Rights evidenced by this Right
Certificate are or were at any time on or after the earlier of (x) the date of
such event and (y) the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights
Agreement) acquired or beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person or an
Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the
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Rights Agreement), such Rights shall become void, and any holder of such Rights
shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights.
In the event that, at any time after a Person becomes an
Acquiring Person, 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, 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 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 and its Affiliates and Associates (which will thereafter be void), will
thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise that number of Common Shares
having a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. If the
Company does not have sufficient Common Shares to satisfy such obligation to
issue Common Shares, or if the Board of Directors so elects, the Company shall
deliver upon payment of the exercise price of a Right an amount of cash or
securities equivalent in value to the Common Shares issuable upon exercise of a
Right; provided that, if the Company fails to meet such obligation within 30
days following the later of (x) the first occurrence of an event triggering the
right to purchase Common Shares and (y) the date on which the Company's right
to redeem the Rights expires, the Company must deliver, upon exercise of a
Right but without requiring payment of the exercise price then in effect,
Common Shares (to the extent available) and cash equal in value to the
difference between the value of the Common Shares otherwise issuable upon the
exercise of a Right and the exercise price then in effect. The Board of
Directors may extend the 30-day period described above for up to an additional
60 days to permit the taking of action that may be necessary to authorize
sufficient additional Common Shares to permit the issuance of Common Shares
upon the exercise in full of the Rights.
At any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person and
prior to the acquisition by any person or group of a majority 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 have become
void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one Common 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 Preferred Shares will be issued
(other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a
Preferred Share, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by
depositary receipts) and in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash
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will be made based on the market price of the Preferred Shares on the last
trading day prior to the date of exercise.
At any time prior to the time any Person becomes an Acquiring
Person, the Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole,
but not in part, at a price of $0.01 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,
except that from and after such time as any person becomes an Acquiring Person
no such amendment may adversely affect the interests of the holders of the
Rights (other than the Acquiring Person and its Affiliates and Associates).
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.
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