Exhibit 4.1     

                                                                            

 

Autoscope Technologies Corporation

and

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

and, only with respect to Section 37 hereof,

Image Sensing Systems, Inc.

Amended and Restated Rights Agreement 

Dated as of July 21, 2021

 

                                                                            













	














 



TABLE OF CONTENTS

	
	
	Page
	Section 1.	Definitions	2
	Section 2.	Appointment of Rights Agent	7
	Section 3.	Issue of Rights Certificates	7
	Section 4.	Form of Rights Certificates	9
	Section 5.	Countersignature and Registration	9
	
Section 6.


	Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates	9
	Section 7.	Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights	10
	Section 8.	Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates	11
	Section 9.	Availability of Preferred Shares	11
	Section 10.	Preferred Shares Record Date	12
	Section 11.	Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights	12
	Section 12.	Certificate fo Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares	18
	Section 13.	Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power	18
	Section 14.	Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares	19
	Section 15.	Rights of Action	19
	Section 16.	Agreement of Right Holders	20
	Section 17.	Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Shareholder	20
	Section 18.	Concerning the Rights Agent	20
	Section 19.	Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent	21
	Section 20.	Duties of Rights Agent	22
	Section 21.	Change of Rights Agent	23
	Section 22.	Issuance of New Rights Certificates	24









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	Section 23.	Redemption	24
	Section 24.	Exchange	25
	
Section 25.


	Process to Seek Exemption or Waiver	26
	Section 26.	
Notice of Certain Events


	28
	Section 27.	Notices	28
	Section 28.	Supplements and Amendments	29
	Section 29.	Successors	29
	Section 30.	Benefits of this Agreement	29
	Section 31.	Severability	29
	Section 32.	Governing Law	29
	Section 33.	Counterparts	30
	Section 34.	Descriptive Headings	30
	Section 35.	Force Majeure	30
	Section 36.	Determinations and Actions by the Board	30
	Section 37.	Assignment of Original Agreement	30


	

	Exhibit A — Form of Designation of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock
	Exhibit B — Form of Rights Certificate
	Exhibit C — Summary of Rights to Purchase Shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock


 


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amended and restated RIGHTS AGREEMENT

This Amended and Restated Rights Agreement is dated as of July 21, 2021 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Agreement”), among Autoscope Technologies Corporation, a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”); Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited-purpose trust company, as rights agent (the “Rights Agent”); and, solely with respect to Section 37 of this Agreement, Image Sensing Systems, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (“ISNS”).

 

Recitals:

 

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of ISNS authorized the issuance of and declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (an “ISNS Right”) for each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of ISNS (an “ISNS Common Share”) outstanding on June 17, 2013 (the “ISNS Record Date”), each ISNS Right representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a share of ISNS’s Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (an “ISNS Preferred Share),” upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in that certain Rights Agreement dated as of June 6, 2013 (the “Initial Agreement”), between ISNS and the Rights Agent, and further authorized and directed the issuance of one ISNS Right with respect to each ISNS Common Share that shall become outstanding between the ISNS Record Date and the earliest of the “Distribution Date,” the “Redemption Date,” and the “Final Expiration Date” (as such terms are defined in the Initial Agreement);

 

WHEREAS, ISNS and the Rights Agent entered into the First Amendment to Rights Agreement dated as of August 23, 2016 (the “First Amendment”), the Second Amendment to Rights Agreement dated as of March 12, 2018 (the “Second Amendment”), and the Third Amendment to Rights Agreement dated as of June 4, 2020 (the “Third Amendment”), all of which amended the Initial Agreement (the Initial Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the Third Amendment, is referred to in this Agreement as the “Original Agreement”);

 

WHEREAS, on the date hereof, ISNS consummated a merger (the “Merger”) of ISNS with Spruce Tree MergerCo, Inc. (“MergerCo”), which was a Minnesota corporation that was an indirect Subsidiary of the Company, with ISNS continuing as the surviving entity of the Merger as a direct, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company, and the Company becoming a holding company that was, immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, a direct Subsidiary of ISNS, in accordance with Section 302A.626 of the Minnesota Statutes (the “Holding Company Reorganization”) pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of the date hereof (the “Merger Agreement”) by and among ISNS, the Company, and MergerCo;

 

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Merger, each ISNS Common Share issued and outstanding immediately before the effective time of the Merger (the “Merger Effective Time”) was converted into one Common Share (as herein defined) of the Company;

 

WHEREAS, on July 20, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized, effective upon the Company’s entry into the Agreement, the issuance of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) for each Common Share of the Company outstanding on July 21, 2021 immediately after the Merger Effective Time (the “Record Date”), each Right representing the right to purchase one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (as hereinafter defined), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, and further authorized and directed the issuance of one Right with respect to each Common Share of the Company that shall become outstanding after the Merger Effective Time but prior to the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date, and the Final Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter defined); and





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WHEREAS, the Company desires to assume, effective as of the Merger Effective Time, all of the rights and obligations and duties of ISNS under the Original Agreement, and the Company, ISNS, and the Rights Agent desire to amend and restate the Original Agreement in its entirety, effective as of the Merger Effective Time, to provide that references in the Original Agreement to the terms “Company,” “Common Shares of the Company,” “Preferred Shares,” and similar terms are deemed to refer to the Company, Common Shares of the Company, and Preferred Shares (each as herein defined), respectively, and that each ISNS Right distributed or distributable under the Original Agreement become a Right subject to the same terms and conditions as the ISNS Rights as of immediately prior to the Merger Effective Time.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements set forth in this Agreement, the Original Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety as follows:

 

Section 1.                Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

(a)                “Acquiring Person” means any Person who or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include an “Exempt Person” (as hereinafter defined); provided, however, that no Person who Beneficially Owns, as of the time of the public announcement of this Agreement, 4.99% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding shall become an Acquiring Person unless such Person shall, after the time of the public announcement of this Agreement, increase its Beneficial Ownership of the then outstanding Common Shares (other than as a result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company) to an amount equal to or greater than the greater of (x) 4.99% of the outstanding Common Shares of the Company or (y) the sum of (i) the lowest Beneficial Ownership of such Person as a percentage of the outstanding Common Shares as of any time from and after the public announcement of this Agreement plus (ii) 1.00%. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an “Acquiring Person” as the result of an acquisition of Common Shares by the Company which, by reducing the number of Common Shares of the Company outstanding, increases the proportionate number of Common Shares of the Company Beneficially Owned by such Person to 4.99% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding; provided, however, that, if a Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding by reason of share purchases by the Company and shall, after the public announcement of such share purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any additional Common Shares of the Company, then such Person shall be deemed to be an Acquiring Person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Board determines in good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an Acquiring Person, as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), has become such inadvertently, and such Person divests


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as promptly as practicable a sufficient number of Common Shares so that such Person would no longer be an Acquiring Person, as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), then such Person shall not be deemed to be an Acquiring Person for any purposes of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a bona fide swaps dealer who would otherwise be an Acquiring Person has become so as a result of its actions in the ordinary course of its business that the Board determines, in its sole discretion, were taken without the intent or effect of evading or assisting any other Person to evade the purposes and intent of this Agreement, or otherwise seeking to control or influence the management or policies of the Company, then, and unless and until the Board shall otherwise determine, such Person shall not be deemed to be an Acquiring Person for any purposes of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Person shall become an “Acquiring Person” by means of share purchases or issuances (including debt to equity exchanges), directly from the Company or indirectly through an underwritten offering of the Company, in a transaction approved by the Board; provided, however, that a Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” if such Person (A) is or becomes the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding following such transaction and (B) following such transaction, becomes the Beneficial Owner of any additional shares of Common Stock without the prior written consent of the Board and then Beneficially Owns 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding.

(b)               “Affiliate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule 12b‐2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

(c)                “Associate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule 12b‐2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

(d)               A Person shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of and shall be deemed to “Beneficially Own” any securities: 

(i)                 which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates beneficially owns, directly or indirectly;

(ii)               which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates has (A) the right or the obligation to acquire (whether such right is exercisable, or such obligation is required to be performed, immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities), or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, rights (other than these Rights), warrants or options, or otherwise, including, without limitation, securities or other interests that would be treated as exercised under Section 1.382‐4(d) or other applicable sections of the Treasury Regulations; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to Beneficially Own, securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by or on behalf of such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange; or (B) the right to vote pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed 


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the Beneficial Owner of, or to Beneficially Own, any security if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such security (1) arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act and (2) is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report);

(iii)            that such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates (A) has any agreement, arrangement or understanding (other than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities) for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except to the extent contemplated by the proviso to Section 1(d)(ii)(B) hereof) or disposing of any securities of the Company or (B) beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, for purposes of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d‐3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, including, with respect to both clause (A) and clause (B) of this Section 1(d)(iii), pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing), but only if the effect of such agreement, arrangement or understanding is to treat such Persons as an “entity” under Section 1.382‐3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations; or

(iv)             which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by a Counterparty (or any of such Counterparty’s Affiliates or Associates) under any Derivatives Contract (without regard to any short or similar position under the same or any other Derivatives Contract) to which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates is a Receiving Party (as such terms are defined in the immediately following paragraph); provided, however, that the number of Common Shares of the Company that a Person is deemed to Beneficially Own pursuant to this clause (iv) in connection with a particular Derivatives Contract shall not exceed the number of Notional Common Shares with respect to such Derivatives Contract; provided, further, that the number of securities beneficially owned by each Counterparty (including its Affiliates and Associates) under a Derivatives Contract shall for purposes of this clause (iv) be deemed to include all securities that are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Counterparty (or any of such other Counterparty’s Affiliates or Associates) under any Derivatives Contract to which such first Counterparty (or any of such first Counterparty’s Affiliates or Associates) is a Receiving Party, with this proviso being applied to successive Counterparties as appropriate.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Person shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, and shall be deemed to “beneficially own,” securities if such Person would be deemed constructively to own such securities pursuant to Sections 1.382‐2T(h) and 1.382‐4(d) of the Treasury Regulations, such Person owns such securities pursuant to a “coordinated acquisition” treated as a single “entity” as defined in Section 1.382‐3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations, or such securities are otherwise aggregated with securities owned by such Person, pursuant to the provisions of Section 382 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

A “Derivatives Contract” is a contract between two parties (the “Receiving Party” and the “Counterparty”) that is designed to produce economic benefits and risks to the Receiving Party that correspond substantially to the ownership by the Receiving Party of a number of Common Shares specified or referenced in such contract (the number corresponding to such 


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economic benefits and risks, the “Notional Common Shares”), regardless of whether obligations under such contract are required or permitted to be settled through the delivery of cash, Common Shares or other property, without regard to any short position under the same or any other Derivative Contract. For the avoidance of doubt, interests in broad‐based index options, broad‐based index futures and broad‐based publicly traded market baskets of stocks approved for trading by the appropriate federal governmental authority shall not be deemed to be Derivatives Contracts.




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 are issuable by the Company and which such Person would be deemed to Beneficially Own hereunder.

(e)                “Board” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals.

(f)                “Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in St. Paul, Minnesota are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

(g)               “Close of Business” on any given date shall mean 6:00 P.M., Eastern time, on such date; provided, however, that, if such date is not a Business Day, it shall mean 6:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the next succeeding Business Day.

(h)               “Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code, as amended.

(i)                 “Common Shares” when used with reference to the Company shall mean the shares of common stock, par value $0.01 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.

(j)                 “Distribution Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(a) hereof. 

(k)               “Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(l)                 “Exchange Ratio” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a) hereof.

(m)             “Exempt Person” means (i) the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, in each case including the officers and members of the Board thereof acting in their fiduciary capacities; (ii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company or any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) Common Shares of the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan, or for the purpose of funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company; (iii) an underwriter or member of a banking or selling group that becomes the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares as a result of an acquisition from the 


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Company in connection with a distribution of securities pursuant to a prospectus or by way of a private placement; or (iv) any Person deemed to be an “Exempt Person” in accordance with Section 25(a) or (b).

(n)               “Expiration Date” means the earliest to occur of (i) the Close of Business on the Final Expiration Date; (ii) the Redemption Date; (iii) the time at which the Board orders the exchange of the Rights as provided in Section 24; (iv) the Close of Business on the effective date of the repeal of Section 382 of the Code or any successor statute or any other change if the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that this Rights Agreement is no longer necessary or desirable for the preservation of the Tax Benefits; (v) the time at which the Board determines that the Tax Benefits are fully utilized or no longer available pursuant to Section 382 of the Code or that an ownership change pursuant to Section 382 of the Code would not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the Tax Benefits, or materially impair the amount of the Tax Benefits that could be used by the Company in any particular time period, for applicable tax purposes; or (vi) a determination by the Board, in its sole discretion and prior to the Distribution Date, that this Rights Agreement and the Rights are no longer in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

(o)               “Final Expiration Date” means the date upon which the Rights expire and will be 6:00 p.m., Eastern time, on June 4, 2022.

(p)               “Nasdaq” shall mean The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.

(q)               “Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, trust, unincorporated organization or other entity, and shall include any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity, as well as any group under Rule 13d‐5(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.

(r)                “Preferred Shares” shall mean shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company having the rights and preferences set forth in the Form of Designation of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A.

(s)                “Purchase Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4 hereof.

(t)                 “Record Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

(u)               “Redemption Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a) hereof.

(v)               “Redemption Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23(a) hereof.

(w)             “Right” shall have the meaning set forth in the Recitals.

(x)               “Rights Certificate” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(a) hereof.

(y)               “Shares Acquisition Date” shall mean the first date of public announcement by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such.


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(z)                “Subsidiary” of any Person shall mean any corporation or other entity of which a majority of the voting power of the voting equity securities or equity interest is owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person.

(aa)            “Summary of Rights” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(b) hereof.

(bb)           “Tax Benefits” means net operating losses, capital loss carryovers, general business credit carryovers, alternative minimum tax credit carryovers, foreign tax credit carryovers or any loss or deduction attributable to a “net unrealized built‐in loss” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Code, in each case of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, and any other tax attribute the benefit of which is subject to possible limitation pursuant to Section 382 of the Code.

(cc)            “Trading Day” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d) hereof.

(dd)           “Treasury Regulations” shall mean the final and temporary (but not proposed) tax regulations promulgated under the Code, as such regulations may be amended from time to time.

Section 2.                Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment. The Company may from time to time appoint such co‐Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable, upon ten (10) days’ prior written notice to the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall have no duty to supervise, and shall in no event be liable for the acts or omissions of, any such co‐Rights Agent.

Section 3.                Issue of Rights Certificates.

(a)                Until the tenth (10th) day after the Shares Acquisition Date (including any such date which is after the date of this Agreement and before the issuance of the Rights; the “Distribution Date”), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the provisions of Section 3(b) hereof) by the certificates for Common Shares of the Company registered in the names of the holders thereof (which certificates shall also be deemed to be Rights Certificates) and not by separate Rights Certificates, and (y) the right to receive Rights Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Shares of the Company. As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company will prepare and execute, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested, send) by first‐class, insured, postage‐prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares of the Company as of the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, a Rights Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (a “Rights Certificate”), evidencing one Right for each Common Share of the Company so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein. As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Rights Certificates.

(b)               On the Record Date, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested, send) a copy of a Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares, in substantially the form of Exhibit C hereto (the “Summary of Rights”), by first‐class, postage‐prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Shares of the Company as of the Close of Business on the Record Date, at the address of such holder shown on 


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the records of the Company. With respect to certificates for Common Shares of the Company 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 of the Company 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 of the Company represented thereby.

(c)                Certificates for Common Shares which become outstanding (including, without limitation, reacquired Common Shares referred to in the last sentence of this paragraph (c)) after the Record Date but before the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or otherwise affixed to them the following legend:

THIS CERTIFICATE ALSO EVIDENCES AND ENTITLES THE HOLDER HEREOF TO CERTAIN RIGHTS AS SET FORTH IN AN AGREEMENT DATED AS OF JULY 21, 2021 AMONG AUTOSCOPE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION (THE “COMPANY”); AND CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, AS RIGHTS AGENT; AND, AS TO ONLY SECTION 37, IMAGE SENSING SYSTEMS INC., AS THE SAME MAY BE AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME (THE “RIGHTS AGREEMENT”), THE TERMS OF WHICH ARE HEREBY INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE AND A COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE AT THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES OF THE COMPANY. UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, SUCH RIGHTS (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) MAY BE REDEEMED, MAY BECOME EXERCISABLE FOR SECURITIES OR ASSETS OF THE COMPANY OR SECURITIES OF ANOTHER ENTITY, MAY BE EXCHANGED FOR SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OR OTHER SECURITIES OR ASSETS OF THE COMPANY, MAY EXPIRE OR MAY BE EVIDENCED BY SEPARATE CERTIFICATES AND MAY NO LONGER BE EVIDENCED BY THIS CERTIFICATE. THE COMPANY 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 AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, RIGHTS THAT ARE OWNED BY, TRANSFERRED TO OR HAVE BEEN OWNED BY AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) OR ASSOCIATES (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) WILL BE NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERRABLE.

With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the Distribution Date, the Rights associated with the Common Shares of the Company represented by such certificates shall be evidenced by such certificates alone, and the surrender for transfer of any such certificate shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Shares of the Company represented thereby. If the Company purchases or acquires any Common Shares of the Company after the Record Date but before the Distribution Date, any Rights associated with such Common Shares of the Company shall be deemed cancelled and retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with the Common Shares of the Company which are no longer outstanding. Notwithstanding this Section 3(c), the omission of a legend shall not affect the enforceability of any part of this Rights Agreement or the rights of any holder of the Rights.


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Section 4.                Form of Rights Certificates. The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of the 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 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 applicable rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any applicable rule or regulation of any stock exchange or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or to conform to usage. Subject to the provisions of Section 22 of this Agreement, the Rights 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 price per one one‐thousandth of a Preferred Share set forth therein (the “Purchase Price”), but the number of such 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 Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its President and Chief Executive Officer, or its Chief Financial Officer, either manually or by facsimile signature, shall bear no seal, and shall be attested by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by facsimile signature. The Rights Certificates shall be countersigned, either manually or by facsimile signature, by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless countersigned. In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any of the Rights Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the individual who signed such Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any Rights Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company by any individual who, at the actual date of the execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Rights Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Agreement any such individual 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 and transfer of the Rights Certificates issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Rights Certificates and the date of each of the Rights Certificates.

Section 6.                Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates. Subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, and at or before the Close of Business on the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date, any Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates (other than Rights Certificates representing Rights that have 


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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 Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one one‐thousandths of a Preferred Share as the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the principal office of the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent then shall countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Rights 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 Rights Certificate, and, in case of the loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company’s request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Rights Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Rights Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.

Notwithstanding any other provisions hereof, the Company and the Rights Agent may amend this Rights Agreement to provide for uncertificated Rights in addition to or in place of Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates.

Section 7.                Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights.

(a)                The registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein), in whole or in part, at any time after the Distribution Date, upon surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office of the Rights Agent, together with payment of the Purchase Price for each one one‐thousandth of a Preferred Share as to which the Rights are exercised, at or before the earliest of (i) the Final Expiration Date, (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof (the “Redemption Date”), or (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged as provided in Section 24 hereof.

(b)               The Purchase Price for each one one‐thousandth of a Preferred Share purchasable pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $25.00 and shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 or Section 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 Rights Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by payment of the Purchase Price for the shares to be purchased and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof by certified check or 


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cashier’s check payable to the order of the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent shall thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the Preferred Shares certificates for the number of Preferred Shares to be purchased, and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes any such transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or (B) requisition from the depositary agent 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 of the Preferred Shares with such depositary agent), and the Company hereby directs such depositary agent to comply with such request; (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the Company the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares in accordance with Section 14 hereof; (iii) after receipt of such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder; and (iv) when appropriate, after receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights Certificate.

(d)               If the registered holder of any Rights Certificate shall exercise fewer than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Rights Certificate or to such holder’s duly authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.

Section 8.                Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates. All Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in cancelled form or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be cancelled by it, and no Rights Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof except as expressly permitted by any of the provisions of this Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, any other Rights Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. The Rights Agent shall deliver all cancelled Rights Certificates to the Company or shall, at the written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Rights Certificates, and, in such case, shall deliver a certificate of destruction thereof to the Company.

Section 9.                Availability of Preferred Shares. 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. 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 nonassessable shares.

The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Rights 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 Rights Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or 


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delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred Shares in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Rights Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or to deliver any certificates or depositary receipts for Preferred Shares upon the exercise of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of such Rights Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s reasonable satisfaction that no such tax is due.

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 Rights Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder of such shares on, and such certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company are open. Before the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of a Rights Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares 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) If 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 share exchange, consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a), the Purchase Price in effect at the time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of shares of capital stock issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised immediately before such date and at a time when the Preferred Shares transfer books of the Company were open, such holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or reclassification; provided, however, that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right.

(ii)               Subject to Section 24 hereof, if any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right shall thereafter have a right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one one‐thousandths of a 


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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 (A) 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 (B) 50% of the then current per share market price of the Common Shares of the Company (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of the occurrence of such event. If any Person shall become an Acquiring Person and the Rights shall then be outstanding, the Company shall not take any action which would eliminate or diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.

From and after the occurrence of such event, any Rights that are or were acquired or Beneficially Owned by any Acquiring Person (or any Associate or Affiliate of such Acquiring Person) shall be null and void without any further action, and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no right to exercise such Rights under any provision of this Agreement or otherwise. Neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have liability to any holder of Rights Certificates or other Person as a result of its failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or its Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder. No Rights Certificate shall be issued pursuant to Section 3 hereof 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 Rights 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 or with respect to any Common Shares otherwise deemed to be Beneficially Owned by any of the foregoing; and any Rights Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an Acquiring Person or other Person whose Rights would be void pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be cancelled.

(iii)            If there are not a sufficient number of Common Shares issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with subparagraph (ii) above, the Company shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares for issuance upon exercise of the Rights. If the Company shall, after a good faith effort, be unable to take all such action as may be necessary to authorize such number of additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for each Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon exercise of a Right, a number of Preferred Shares or fraction thereof such that the current per share market price of one Preferred Share multiplied by such number or fraction is equal to the current per share market price of one Common Share as of the date of issuance of such Preferred Shares or fraction thereof.

(b)               If 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 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 determined by 


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multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately before 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 cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and holders of the Rights. Preferred Shares owned by or held for the account of the Company or any Subsidiary 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, if 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)                If 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 share exchange, 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 before 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, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and holders of the Rights) 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 then‐current per share market price of the Preferred Shares on such record date; provided, however, that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company 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 thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days immediately before such date; provided, however, that, if 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 


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or reclassification of such Security and before the expiration of thirty (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, reported at or before 4:00 P.M. Eastern time or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the bid and asked prices, regular way, reported as of 4:00 P.M. Eastern time, in either case, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq, 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 reported at or before 4:00 P.M. Eastern time or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over‐the‐counter market, as reported as of 4:00 P.M. Eastern time by Nasdaq or such other system then in use, or, if on any such date the Security is not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Security selected by the Board. 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 conclusively deemed to be the current per share market price of the Common Shares of the Company as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i) hereof (appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof), multiplied by one thousand. If neither the Company’s 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, 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 the earlier of (i) three years from the date of the transaction which requires such adjustment or (ii) the date of the expiration of the right to exercise any Rights.

(f)                If, as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock of the Company other than Preferred Shares, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right shall be subject to adjustment from time to time in a 


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manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preferred Shares contained in Section 11(a) through (c) hereof, inclusive, and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10 and 13 hereof 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) hereof, upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the calculations made in Sections 11(b) and (c) hereof, each Right outstanding immediately before 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 ten‐millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (A) multiplying (x) the number of one one‐thousandths of a share covered by a Right immediately before this adjustment by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately before such adjustment of the Purchase Price and (B) 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 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 before such adjustment. Each Right held of record before such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one ten‐thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase Price in effect immediately before 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 Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (10) days later than the date of the public announcement. If Rights Certificates have been issued, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of Rights Certificates on such record date Rights Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14 hereof; the additional Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and replacement for the Rights Certificates held by such holders before the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Rights Certificates so to be distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein, and shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of Rights Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement.


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(j)                 Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price or in the number of one one‐thousandths of a Preferred Share issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights 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 Rights 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, if any, 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 nonassessable 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 before such adjustment; provided, however, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder’s right to receive such additional shares upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment.

(m)             Anything in this Section 11 to the contrary notwithstanding, the Company shall be entitled to make such reductions in the Purchase Price, in addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to the extent that it, in its sole discretion, shall determine to be advisable in order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Shares, issuance wholly for cash of any Preferred Shares at less than the current market price, issuance wholly for cash of Preferred Shares or securities which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Preferred Shares, dividends on Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares or issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to in Section 11(b) hereof; hereafter made by the Company to holders of the Preferred Shares shall not be taxable to such shareholders.

(n)               If, at any time after the date of this Agreement and before the Distribution Date, the Company shall (i) declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares, or (ii) effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares) into a greater or lesser number of Common Shares, then, in any such case, (A) the number of one one‐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‐thousandths of a Preferred Share so purchasable immediately before such event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and (B) each Common Share outstanding immediately after such event shall have issued with respect to it that number of Rights which each Common Share outstanding immediately before 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 affected.


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Section 12.            Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares. Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, the Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment or describing such event and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment or describing such event, (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) if such adjustment occurs at any time after the Distribution Date, mail a brief summary thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 26 hereof.

Section 13.            Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power. If, directly or indirectly, at any time after a Person has become an Acquiring Person, (a) the Company shall effect a share exchange, consolidate with, or merge with and into, any other Person, (b) any Person shall effect a share exchange, consolidate with the Company, or merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or surviving corporation of such share exchange or merger and, in connection with such merger, all or part of the Common Shares shall be changed into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person (or the Company) or cash or any other property, or (c) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions, assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person other than the Company or one or more of its wholly‐owned Subsidiaries, then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so that (i) each holder of a Right (except as otherwise provided herein) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at a price equal to the then current Purchase Price multiplied by the number of one one‐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 (A) 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 (B) 50% of the then current per share market price of the Common Shares of such other Person (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (ii) the issuer of such Common Shares shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, all the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (iii) the term “Company” shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such issuer; and (iv) such issuer shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of its Common Shares in accordance with Section 9 hereof) in connection with such consummation as may be necessary to assure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to the Common Shares of the Company thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights. The Company shall not consummate any such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer unless, prior thereto, the Company and such issuer shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement so providing. The Company shall not enter into any transaction of the kind referred to in this Section 13 if at the time of such transaction there are any rights, warrants, instruments or securities outstanding or any agreements or arrangements which, as a result of the consummation of such transaction, would eliminate or substantially diminish the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights. The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive mergers, share exchanges, or consolidations or sales or other transfers.


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Section 14.            Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.

(a)                The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Right. For the purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately before 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 Nasdaq or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over‐the‐counter market, as reported by Nasdaq or such other system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Rights selected by the Board. 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 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 the registered holders of Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one Preferred Share. For the purposes of this Section 14(b), the current market value of a Preferred Share shall be the closing price of a Preferred Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately before the date of such exercise.

(c)                The holder of a Right, by the acceptance of the Right, expressly waives such holder’s right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon exercise of a Right (except as provided above).

Section 15.            Rights of Action. All rights of action in respect of this Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent under Section 18 hereof, are vested in the respective 


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registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, before the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Rights Certificate (or, before the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Rights Certificate (or, before the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), may, in such holder’s own behalf and for such holder’s own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, such holder’s right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the manner provided in such Rights Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement, and will be entitled to specific performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this Agreement.

Section 16.            Agreement of 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)                before the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares of the Company;

(b)               after the Distribution Date, the Rights Certificates are transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at the principal office of the Rights Agent, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer; and

(c)                the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the Person in whose name the Rights Certificate (or, before the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Rights Certificate or the associated Common Shares certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

Section 17.            Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Shareholder. No holder, as such, of any Rights 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 Rights Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Rights Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to shareholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting shareholders (except as provided in Section 26 hereof), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.

Section 18.            Concerning the Rights Agent. The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder, and, from time to time, on 


	-20-









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 of liability in the premises.

The Rights Agent shall be protected and shall incur no liability for, or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in connection with, its administration of this Agreement in reliance upon any Rights Certificate or certificate for the Preferred Shares or Common Shares or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be signed, executed and, where necessary, verified or acknowledged, by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20 hereof.

Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, in no event will the Rights Agent be liable for special, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits), even if the Rights Agent has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of action.

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 effect a share exchange, be consolidated, or any Person resulting from any merger, share exchange, or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any Person succeeding to the stock transfer or corporate trust powers 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 document or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto; provided that such Person would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21 hereof. In case at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this Agreement, any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Rights Certificates so countersigned; and, in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and, in all such cases, such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.

If at any time the name of the Rights Agent shall be changed and at such time any of the Rights Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so countersigned; and, in case at that time any of the Rights Certificates shall not have been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and, in all such cases, such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement.


	-21-









Section 20.            Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent undertakes the duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement upon the following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Rights Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:

(a)                The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the 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 before taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chairman of the Board, the President and Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action taken or suffered in good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.

(c)                The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to the Company and any other Person only for its own 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 Rights Certificates (except its countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the same, but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only.

(e)                The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or execution of any Rights Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Rights Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights (including the Rights becoming void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any adjustment in the terms of the Rights (including the manner, method or amount thereof) provided for in Sections 3, 11, 13, 23 or 24 hereof, or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such change or adjustment (except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates after receipt of a certificate pursuant to Section 12 describing such change or adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any Preferred Shares to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights Certificate or as to whether any Preferred Shares will, when issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

(f)                The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement.


	-22-












(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 and Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall not be liable for any action taken or suffered by it in good faith in accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting while waiting for those instructions.

(h)               The Rights Agent and any shareholder, 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 Person.

(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 that 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 thirty (30) days’ notice in writing mailed to the Company and, if the Rights Agent or one of its Affiliates is not also the transfer agent for the Company, to each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares by registered or certified mail. If the transfer agency relationship in effect between the Company and the Rights Agent terminates, the Rights Agent will be deemed to have resigned automatically and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement as of the effective date of such termination, and the Company shall be responsible for sending any required notice. The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent (with or without cause) upon thirty (30) days’ notice in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares by registered or certified mail, and to the holders of the Rights Certificates by first‐class mail. If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Rights Certificate (which holder shall, with such notice, submit such holder’s Rights Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any Rights Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be either (a) a Person organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or of the State of New York (or of any other state of the United States so long as such corporation is authorized to do business as a banking institution in such state), in good standing which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the time of 


	-23-









its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $50 million or (b) an affiliate or direct or indirect wholly‐owned Subsidiary of such Person or its wholly‐owning parent. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Rights Agent without further act or deed; but the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder and execute and deliver any further assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose. Not later than the effective date of any such appointment, the Company shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Shares or Preferred Shares and mail a notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.

Section 22.            Issuance of New Rights Certificates. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by the Board 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 Rights Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Section 23.            Redemption. (a) The Board may, at its option, at any time before 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 $0.001 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 may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board, in its sole discretion, may establish.

(b)               Immediately upon the action of the Board 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 ten (10) days after such action of the Board ordering the redemption of the Rights, the Company shall mail a notice of redemption to all the holders of the then outstanding Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, before the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common Shares. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of redemption will state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made. Neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates or Associates may redeem, acquire or purchase for value any Rights at any time in any manner other than that specifically set forth in this Section 23 or in Section 24 hereof, and other than in connection with the purchase of Common Shares before the Distribution Date.


	-24-









 

Section 24.            Exchange. 

(a) The Board 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 two Common Shares per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any adjustment in the number of Rights pursuant to Section 11(i) (such exchange ratio being hereinafter referred to as the “Exchange Ratio”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) the Board shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after any Person (other than the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any such Subsidiary, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan), together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, becomes the Beneficial Owner of 50% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding; and (ii) no exchange shall result in a Person becoming an Acquiring Person, and the Company may, at its option, substitute for each Common Share that would otherwise be issued to cause such Person to become an Acquiring Person cash via check or wire transfer, promissory notes or other property having a value equal to the current market value of such Common Share determined in accordance with Section 11(d). The exchange of the Rights by the Board may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board in its sole discretion may establish.

(b)               Immediately upon the action of the Board ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 24, and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate, and the only right thereafter of a holder of such Rights shall be to receive that number of Common Shares of the Company equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such exchange; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange. The Company promptly shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of exchange will state the method by which the exchange of the Common Shares for Rights will be effected, and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by each holder of Rights.

(c)                If there shall not be sufficient Common Shares issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all such action as may be necessary to authorize additional Common Shares for issuance upon exchange of the Rights. If the Company shall, after good faith effort, be unable to take all such action as may be necessary to authorize such additional Common Shares, the Company shall substitute, for each Common Share that would otherwise be issuable upon exchange of a Right, a number of Preferred Shares or fraction thereof such that the current per share market price of one Preferred Share multiplied by such number or fraction is equal to the current per share market price of one Common Share as of the date of issuance of such Preferred Shares or fraction thereof.


	-25-












(d)               The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Common Shares or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Common Shares. In lieu of such fractional Common Shares, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Common Shares would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Common Share. For the purposes of this paragraph (d), the current market value of a whole Common Share shall be the closing price of a Common Share (as determined pursuant to the second sentence of Section 11(d)(i) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately before the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24.

Section 25.            Process to Seek Exemption or Waiver.

(a)                Any Person who desires to effect any acquisition of Common Shares that would, if consummated, result in such Person beneficially owning 4.99% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares (a “Requesting Person”) may, prior to the Shares Acquisition Date and in accordance with this Section 25(a), request that the Board grant an exemption with respect to such acquisition under this Rights Agreement so that such Person would be deemed to be an “Exempt Person” under Section 1(m) for purposes of this Rights Agreement (an “Exemption Request”). An Exemption Request shall be in proper form and shall be delivered by overnight delivery service or first‐class mail, postage prepaid, to the Secretary of the Company at the principal executive office of the Company. The Exemption Request shall be deemed made upon receipt by the Secretary of the Company. To be in proper form, an Exemption Request shall set forth (i) the name and address of the Requesting Person, (ii) the number and percentage of Common Shares then Beneficially Owned by the Requesting Person, together with all Affiliates and Associates of the Requesting Person, and (iii) a reasonably detailed description of the transaction or transactions by which the Requesting Person would propose to acquire Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares aggregating 4.99% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares and the maximum number and percentage of Common Shares that the Requesting Person proposes to acquire. The Board shall make a determination whether to grant an exemption in response to an Exemption Request as promptly as practicable (and, in any event, within ten (10) Business Days) after receipt thereof; provided, that the failure of the Board to make a determination within such period shall be deemed to constitute the denial by the Board of the Exemption Request. The Requesting Person shall respond promptly to reasonable and appropriate requests for additional information from the Board and its advisors to assist the Board in making its determination. For purposes of considering the Exemption Request, any calculation of the number of Common Shares outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular percentage of such outstanding Common Shares of which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made pursuant to and in accordance with Section 382 of the Code. The Board shall grant an exemption in response to an Exemption Request only if the Board determines in its sole discretion that the acquisition of Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares by the Requesting Person (A) will not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the Tax Benefits or limit or impair the availability to the Company of the Tax Benefits or (B) is in the best interests of the Company despite the fact that it may adversely impact in a material respect the time period in which the Company could use the Tax Benefits or limit or impair the availability to the Company of the Tax Benefits. Any exemption granted hereunder may be granted in whole or in part, and may be subject to limitations or conditions (including a requirement that the Requesting Person agree 


	-26-









that it will not acquire Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares in excess of the maximum number and percentage of shares approved by the Board), in each case as and to the extent the Board shall determine necessary or desirable to provide for the protection of the Tax Benefits. Any Exemption Request may be submitted on a confidential basis and, except to the extent required by applicable law, the Company shall maintain the confidentiality of such Exemption Request and the Board’s determination with respect thereto, unless the information contained in the Exemption Request or the Board’s determination with respect thereto otherwise becomes publicly available. The Exemption Request shall be considered and evaluated by directors serving on the Board, or a duly constituted committee thereof, who are independent of the Company and the Requesting Person and disinterested with respect to the Exemption Request, and the action of a majority of such independent and disinterested directors shall be deemed to be the determination of the Board for purposes of such Exemption Request.

(b)               The Board may, of its own accord or upon the request of a shareholder (a “Waiver Request”), subsequent to a Shares Acquisition Date and prior to the Distribution Date, and in accordance with this Section 25(b), grant an exemption with respect to any Acquiring Person under this Rights Agreement so that such Acquiring Person would be deemed to be an “Exempt Person” under Section 1(m) for purposes of this Rights Agreement. A Waiver Request shall be in proper form and shall be delivered by overnight delivery service or first‐class mail, postage prepaid, to the Secretary of the Company at the principal executive office of the Company. The Waiver Request shall be deemed made upon receipt by the Secretary of the Company. To be in proper form, a Waiver Request shall set forth (i) the name and address of the Acquiring Person, (ii) the number and percentage of Common Shares then Beneficially Owned by the Acquiring Person, together with all Affiliates and Associates of the Acquiring Person, and (iii) a reasonably detailed description of the transaction or transactions by which the Acquiring Person acquired Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares aggregating 4.99% or more of the then outstanding Common Shares and the maximum number and percentage of Common Shares that the Acquiring Person proposes to acquire. The Board shall make a determination whether to grant an exemption in response to a Waiver Request as promptly as practicable (and, in any event, within 10 Business Days) after receipt thereof; provided, that the failure of the Board to make a determination within such period shall be deemed to constitute the denial by the Board of the Waiver Request. The Acquiring Person shall respond promptly to reasonable and appropriate requests for additional information from the Board and its advisors to assist the Board in making its determination. For purposes of considering the Waiver Request, any calculation of the number of Common Shares outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular percentage of such outstanding Common Shares of which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made pursuant to and in accordance with Section 382 of the Code. The Board shall only grant an exemption for an Acquiring Person if the Board determines in its sole discretion that the acquisition of Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares by such Acquiring Person does not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the Tax Benefits or limit or impair the availability to the Company of the Tax Benefits. Any exemption granted hereunder may be granted in whole or in part, and may be subject to limitations or conditions (including a requirement that such Acquiring Person agree that it will not acquire Beneficial Ownership of Common Shares in excess of the maximum number and percentage of shares approved by the Board), in each case as and to the extent the Board shall determine necessary or desirable to provide for the protection of the Tax Benefits. The facts and circumstances with respect to the Waiver Request, including whether to grant an 


	-27-









exemption, shall be considered and evaluated by directors serving on the Board, or a duly constituted committee thereof, who are independent of the Company and such Acquiring Person and disinterested with respect to the Waiver Request, and the action of a majority of such independent and disinterested directors shall be deemed to be the determination of the Board for purposes of any exemption granted pursuant to this Section 25(b).

Section 26.            Notice of Certain Events. (a) If the Company shall, at any time after the Distribution Date, propose to (i) pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of the Preferred Shares or to make any other distribution to the holders of the Preferred Shares (other than a regular quarterly cash dividend), (ii) offer to the holders of the 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) effect any reclassification of the Preferred Shares (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred Shares), (iv) effect any share exchange, 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) effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, or (vi) 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 Rights Certificate, in accordance with this 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 share exchange, 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 ten (10) days before 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 ten (10) days before 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)               If the event set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof shall occur, then the Company shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, in accordance with this 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 27.            Notices. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by overnight delivery service or first‐class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:

Autoscope Technologies Corporation

400 Spruce Tree Centre

1600 University Avenue West 

St. Paul, MN 55104

Attention: Corporate Secretary





	-28-









Subject to the provisions of Section 21 hereof, any notice or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by overnight delivery service or first‐class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

1 State Street, 30th Floor

New York, New York 10004

Attention: Compliance Department

 

Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first‐class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.

Section 28.            Supplements and Amendments. The Company may and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs, supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Rights Certificates in order to (a) cure any ambiguity; (b) correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any other provisions herein; or (c) change or supplement the provisions of this Agreement in any manner which the Company may deem necessary or desirable, any such supplement or amendment to be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights Agent; provided, however, that from and after such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, this Agreement shall not be amended in any manner which would adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Rights Agent shall not be required to execute any such supplement or amendment which adversely affects its rights, duties, or obligations under this Agreement.

Section 29.            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 30.            Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to give to any Person other than the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, before the Distribution Date, the Common Shares) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, before the Distribution Date, the Common Shares).

Section 31.            Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.


	-29-












Section 32.            Governing Law. This Agreement and each Rights Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of New York (other than its conflicts of law provisions) and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such state applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such state.

Section 33.            Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. A signature to this Agreement transmitted electronically or via facsimile shall have the same authority, effect, and enforceability as an original signature.

Section 34.           Descriptive Headings. Descriptive headings of the several Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof.

Section 35.            Force Majeure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Rights Agent shall not be liable for any delays or failures in performance resulting from acts beyond its reasonable control including, without limitation, acts of God, terrorist acts, shortage of supply, breakdowns or malfunctions, interruptions or malfunctions of computer facilities, or loss of data due to power failures or mechanical difficulties with information storage or retrieval systems, labor difficulties, war, or civil unrest. 

Section 36.            Determinations and Actions by the Board. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the Board has the exclusive power and authority to administer this Rights Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers specifically granted to the Board or to the Company hereunder, or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Rights Agreement, including, without limitation, the right and power (a) to interpret the provisions of this Rights Agreement, and (b) to make all determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this Rights Agreement (including, without limitation, a determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights in accordance with Section 23 hereof, to exchange or not exchange the Rights in accordance with Section 24 hereof, and to amend or not amend this Rights Agreement in accordance with Section 28 hereof). All such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations (including, for purposes of clause (ii) below, all omissions with respect to the foregoing) that are done or made by the Board shall be (i) be final, conclusive, and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights and all other parties; and (ii) not subject the Board or any member thereof to any liability to the holders of the Rights.”

Section 37.            Assignment of Original Agreement. Effective as of the Merger Effective Time, ISNS hereby assigns to the Company, and the Company hereby assumes from ISNS, all of the rights and obligations and duties of ISNS under the Original Agreement. The Company, ISNS, and the Rights Agent agree that this Agreement amends and restates the Original Agreement in its entirety, and, upon execution and delivery of this Agreement by the Company, ISNS, and the Rights Agent, the Original Agreement shall cease to have any force or effect, and no Person shall have any rights or obligations with respect thereto.

[Signature page follows.]


	-30-












[Signature Page to Rights Agreement

Dated as of July 21, 2021

by and among Autoscope Technologies Corporation and

Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and, only

As to Section 37 of the Agreement, Image Sensing Systems, Inc.]

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed and attested, all as of the day and year first above written

	
Attest:

	
Autoscope Technologies Corporation


	
 

	
 


	
By /s/ Frank G. Hallowell           

	
By /s/ Andrew T. Berger             


	
Name: Frank G. Hallowell

	
Name:  Andrew T. Berger


	
Title:  Chief Financial Officer

	
Title:  Chief Executive Officer


	
 

	
 


	
Attest:

	
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company


	
 

	
 


	
By /s/ Ana Gois                  

	
By /s/ Stacy Aqui                  


	
Name: Ana Gois

	
Name:  Stacy Aqui


	
Title: Vice President

	
Title: Vice President


	
 

	
 


	
 

	
Solely with respect to Section 37:


	
Attest:

	
Image Sensing Systems, Inc.


	
 

	
 


	
By /s/ Frank G. Hallowell           

	
By /s/ Chad A. Stelzig               


	
Name: Frank G. Hallowell

	
Name: Chad A. Stelzig


	
Title:  Chief Financial Officer

	
Title:  Chief Executive Officer




 




	













Exhibit A

Form 

of 

Designation 

of 

Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock 

of Autoscope Technologies Corporation

 














































	A-1











 



Designation

of

Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock

of

Autoscope Technologies Corporation

 

Section 1                   Designation and Amount. Of the 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, which the Company is authorized to issue under its Articles of Incorporation, 50,000 of such shares shall be designated as “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock” (the “Series A Preferred Stock”). Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Company convertible into Series A Preferred Stock.

Section 2                   Dividends and Distributions.

(a)                Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and superior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, and of any other junior stock, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the 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 per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $1.00 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non‐cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock. If the Company shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then, in each such case, the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

(b)               The Company 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 


	A-2









distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided that, if no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a dividend of $1.00 per share on the Series A Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.

(c)                Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series 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 dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share‐by‐share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.

Section 3                   Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:

(a)                Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the shareholders of the Company. If the Company shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

(b)               Except as otherwise provided herein, in any other Certificate of Designation creating a series of the Company’s 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 Company having general voting rights shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders of the Company.

(c)                Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except 


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to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.

Section 4                   Certain Restrictions.

(a)                Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter, and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Company shall not:

(i)                 declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock;

(ii)               declare or pay dividends, or make any other distributions, on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;

(iii)            redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the Company may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock of the Company ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock; or

(iv)             redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series A Preferred Stock, or any shares of stock ranking on a parity with the Series A Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.

(b)               The Company shall not permit any subsidiary of the Company to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Company unless the Company 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 Company in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of preferred stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein, in the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, or in any other Certificate of Designation creating a series of preferred stock of the Company or any similar stock or as otherwise required by law.


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Section 6                   Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up. Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, no distribution shall be made (1) to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have received $1,000 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment, provided that the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an aggregate amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount to be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock, or (2) to the holders of shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except distributions made ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are entitled upon such liquidation, dissolution or winding up. In the event the Company shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the aggregate amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under the proviso in clause (1) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

Section 7                   Consolidation, Merger, etc. In case the Company shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of Series A Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged. If the Company shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

Section 8                   No Redemption. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.

Section 9                   Rank. The Series A Preferred Stock shall rank, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, junior to all series of any other class of the Company’s preferred stock.


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Section 10              Amendment. The Articles of Incorporation of the Company shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two‐thirds of the outstanding shares of Series A Preferred Stock, voting together as a single class.


	A-6











 









Exhibit B

Form of Rights Certificate

Certificate No. R‐  _____ Rights

NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER THE FINAL EXPIRATION DATE (AS DEFINED IN THE AGREEMENT) OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS. THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT $0.001 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE AGREEMENT.

Rights Certificate

Autoscope Technologies Corporation

This certifies that ______________, or his, her or its 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 Agreement, dated as of July 21, 2021 (the “Agreement”), by and among Autoscope Technologies Corporation, a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”), and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (the “Rights Agent”), and, as to only Section 37 thereof, Image Sensing Systems, Inc., to purchase from the Company at any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Agreement) and before 5:00 P.M., Eastern time, on the Final Expiration Date (as such term is defined in the Agreement) 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 $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Preferred Shares”), at a purchase price of $25.00 per one one‐thousandth of a Preferred Share (the “Purchase Price”), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this Rights 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 July 21, 2021, based on the Preferred Shares as constituted at such date. As provided in the 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 Rights Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain events.

This Rights Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Rights Certificates. Copies of the Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the Company and the offices of the Rights Agent.

This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates, upon surrender at the principal office of the Rights Agent, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of Preferred Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this Rights Certificate


	B-1









shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.




Subject to the provisions of the Agreement, the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption price of $0.001 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged in whole or in part for Preferred Shares or shares of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share.

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 Agreement.

No holder of this Rights 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 Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to shareholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting shareholders (except as provided in the Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Agreement.

This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose until it shall have been countersigned by the Rights Agent.

WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company. Dated as of ______________, ____.

	
Autoscope Technologies Corporation 


	
	Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company

	
	
	
	
	

	By	
	
	By	

	Name:	
	
	Name:	

	Title:	
	
	Title:	










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Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate 

FORM OF ASSIGNMENT

(To be executed by the registered holder if such 
holder desires to transfer the Rights Certificate.)

FOR VALUE RECEIVED hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto  ______________ (Please print name and address of transferee) this Rights Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint ________________ Attorney, to transfer the within Rights Certificate on the books of the within‐named Company, with full power of substitution.

Dated:                        

                                          

 Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

Signatures must be guaranteed by a member or participant in the Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program, the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature Program, or the Stock Exchange Medallion Program.

The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are not Beneficially Owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Agreement).

                                          

 Signature

 

 

Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate — continued


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FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE

(To be executed if holder desires to exercise 
Rights represented by the Rights Certificate.)

To: Autoscope Technologies Corporation

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise _____________ Rights represented by this Rights 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 Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:

Please insert social security 

or other identifying number

                                                                            

(Please print name and address)

                                                                            

If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance remaining of such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:

Dated:                   

                                         

 Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

Signatures must be guaranteed by a member or participant in the Securities Transfer Agent Medallion Program, the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature Program, or the Stock Exchange Medallion Program.

The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are not Beneficially Owned by an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Agreement).

                                         

 Signature






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NOTICE

The signature in the Form of Assignment or Form of Election to Purchase, as the case may be, must conform to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

If 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 Rights Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the 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

Introduction

As previously disclosed, effective June 6, 2013, the Board of Directors of Image Sensing Systems, Inc., a Minnesota corporation (“ISNS”), declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (an “ISNS Right”) for each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of ISNS (the “ISNS common stock”). The dividend was paid on June 17, 2013 to ISNS’s shareholders of record on that date pursuant to a Rights Agreement dated as of June 6, 2013 (the ”Initial Rights Agreement”) between ISNS and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights Agent.  The ISNS Board of Directors adopted the Initial Rights Agreement to protect shareholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics. In general terms, it worked by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group which acquired 20% or more of the outstanding common stock of ISNS without the approval of the ISNS Board of Directors. The description and terms of the ISNS Rights are set forth in the Initial Rights Agreement, which was filed by ISNS with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 6, 2013. 

ISNS and the Rights Agent entered into a First Amendment to Rights Agreement dated as of August 23, 2016 (the “First Amendment”). The First Amendment amended the Initial Rights Agreement to, among other things, change the threshold at which a person or group becomes an “Acquiring Person” from 20% to 4.99% of the outstanding shares of the ISNS common stock.  The purpose of the First Amendment was to help preserve the value of certain deferred tax benefits of ISNS, including those generated by net operating losses (collectively, the “Tax Benefits”). In general terms, it works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group that acquires 4.99% or more of the outstanding shares of ISNS’s common stock without the approval of the ISNS Board. ISNS’s ability to use these Tax Benefits would be substantially limited if it were to experience an “ownership change” as defined under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended (the “Code”). In general, an ownership change would occur if there is a greater than 50-percentage point change in ownership of securities by shareholders owning (or deemed to own under Section 382 of the Code) five percent or more of a corporation’s securities over a rolling three-year period. The First Amendment reduces the likelihood that changes in ISNS’s investor base have the unintended effect of limiting ISNS’s use of its Tax Benefits. The ISNS Board believed it was in the best interest of ISNS and its shareholders that ISNS provide for the protection of the Tax Benefits by adopting the First Amendment.  The ISNS shareholders approved the First Amendment, and thereafter, the First Amendment caused the Initial Rights Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment, to expire at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on June 6, 2018, unless such date was extended.

Effective as of March 12, 2018, ISNS and the Rights Agent entered into a Second Amendment to Rights Agreement (the “Second Amendment”) to the Initial Rights Agreement between the Company and the Rights Agent, as amended by the First Amendment.  The ISNS shareholders approved the Second Amendment, and thereafter, the Second Amendment caused 


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the Initial Rights Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment and the Second Amendment, to expire at 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on June 5, 2020, unless such date was extended.




Effective as of June 4, 2020, ISNS and the Rights Agent entered into a Third Amendment to Rights Agreement (the “Third Amendment”) to the Initial Rights Agreement between the Company and the Rights Agent.  The ISNS shareholders approved the Third Amendment, and thereafter, the Third Amendment caused the Initial Rights Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the Third Amendment, to expire at 6:00 p.m., Eastern time, on June 4, 2022, unless such date is extended.

The Initial Rights Agreement, as amended by the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the Third Amendment, is referred to in this summary as the “Original Rights Agreement.”  The description and terms of the ISNS Rights are set forth in the Initial Rights Agreement, which was filed by ISNS with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 6, 2013; as amended by the First Amendment filed by ISNS with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 23, 2016; the Second Amendment filed by ISNS with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 12, 2018; and the Third Amendment filed by ISNS with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 4, 2020. 

Copies of the Initial Agreement, the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, and the Third Amendment are available free of charge from Autoscope Technologies Corporation, a Minnesota corporation (our “Company”).

Effective July 21, 2021, ISNS consummated a merger (the “Merger”) of ISNS with Spruce Tree MergerCo, Inc. (“MergerCo”), which was a Minnesota corporation that was an indirect subsidiary of the Company, with ISNS continuing as the surviving entity of the Merger as a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and the Company becoming a holding company that was, immediately prior to the effective time of the Merger, a direct subsidiary of ISNS, in accordance with Section 302A.626 of the Minnesota Statutes (the “Holding Company Reorganization”) pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as July 20, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”) by and among ISNS, the Company, and MergerCo.  In the Merger, each ISNS share of common stock issued and outstanding immediately before the effective time of the Merger (the “Merger Effective Time”) was converted into one share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of our Company (the “common stock”).

On July 21, 2021, simultaneously with the Merger Effective Time, our Company, the Rights Agent and, solely with respect to Section 37 thereof, ISNS, entered into an Amended and Restated Rights Agreement dated as of July 21, 2021 (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Agreement”), pursuant to which (i) our Company assumed, effective as of the Merger Effective Time, all of the rights and obligations and duties of ISNS under the Original Rights Agreement and (ii) the Original Rights Agreement was amended and restated in its entirety, effective as of the Merger Effective Time, to provide that references in the Original Rights Agreement to the terms “Company,” “Common Shares of the Company,” and “Preferred Shares” and similar terms are deemed to refer to our Company, shares of common stock of our Company, and shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of our Company (the “Preferred Shares”), respectively, and that each ISNS 


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Right distributed or distributable under the Original Agreement become a preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) representing the right to purchase one ten-thousandths of a Preferred Share upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Agreement.




For those interested in the specific terms of the Agreement, we provide the following summary description. Please note, however, that this description is only a summary, it is not complete, and it should be read together with the entire Agreement, which has been filed with the SEC as an exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 21, 2021. A copy of the Agreement is available free of charge from our Company.

The Rights. Effective July 21, 2021, our Board authorized the issuance of a Right with respect to each outstanding share of common stock, which Rights were issued on July 21, 2021, which is the record date for the determination of holders of common stock entitled to the Rights. The Rights will initially trade with, and will be inseparable from, the common stock. The Rights are evidenced only by certificates that represent shares of common stock. New Rights will accompany any new shares of common stock we issue after July 21, 2021 until the Distribution Date described below.

Exercise Price. Each Right will allow its holder to purchase from our Company one one‐thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock (“Preferred Shares”) for $25.00, once the Rights become exercisable. This portion of a Preferred Share will give the shareholder approximately the same dividend, voting and liquidation rights as would one share of common stock. Before exercise, the Right does not give its holder any dividend, voting or liquidation rights.

Exercisability. The Rights will not be exercisable until 10 days after the public announcement that a person or group has become an “Acquiring Person” by obtaining beneficial ownership of 20% or more of our outstanding common stock. Certain synthetic interests in securities created by derivative positions — whether or not such interests are considered to be ownership of the underlying common stock or are reportable for purposes of Rule 13d‐1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 — are treated as beneficial ownership of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative position, to the extent actual shares of the Company’s common stock are directly or indirectly held by counterparties to the derivatives contracts. Swaps dealers unassociated with any control intent or intent to evade the purposes of the Rights Plan are excepted from such imputed beneficial ownership.

We refer to the date when the Rights become exercisable as the “Distribution Date.” Until that date, the common stock certificates will also evidence the Rights, and any transfer of shares of common stock will constitute a transfer of Rights. After that date, the Rights will separate from the common stock and be evidenced by book‐entry credits or by Rights certificates that we will mail to all eligible holders of common stock. Any Rights held by an Acquiring Person are void and may not be exercised.

Consequences of a Person or Group Becoming an Acquiring Person.


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	●	Flip In. If a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, all holders of Rights except the Acquiring Person may, for $25.00, purchase shares of our common stock with a market value of $50.00, based on the market price of the common stock before such acquisition.
	
	
	

	
	●	Flip Over. If our Company is later acquired in a merger or similar transaction after the Rights Distribution Date, all holders of Rights except the Acquiring Person may, for $25.00, purchase shares of the acquiring corporation with a market value of $50.00 based on the market price of the acquiring corporation’s stock before such merger.
	
	
	

	
	●
	Notional Shares. Shares held by Affiliates and Associates of an Acquiring Person, and Notional Shares held by counterparties to a Derivatives Contract with an Acquiring Person, will be deemed to be beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person.


Expiration. The Rights will expire on the Close of Business on June 6, 2018 unless earlier exchanged or redeemed by the Company.

Redemption. Our Board may redeem the Rights for $0.001 per Right at any time before any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person. If our Board redeems any Rights, it must redeem all of the Rights. Once the Rights are redeemed, the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the redemption price of $0.001 per Right. The redemption price will be adjusted if we have a stock split or stock dividends of our common stock.

Exchange. After a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, but before an Acquiring Person owns 50% or more of our outstanding common stock, our Board may extinguish the Rights by exchanging one share of common stock or an equivalent security for each Right, other than Rights held by the Acquiring Person.

Anti‐Dilution Provisions. Our Board may adjust the purchase price of the Preferred Shares, the number of Preferred Shares issuable and the number of outstanding Rights to prevent dilution that may occur from a stock dividend, a stock split, a reclassification of the Preferred Shares or common stock. No adjustments to the Exercise Price of less than 1% will be made.

Amendments. The terms of the Rights Agreement may be amended by our Board without the consent of the holders of the Rights. After a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, our Board may not amend the agreement in a way that adversely affects holders of the Rights.

Preferred Share Provisions. Each one one‐thousandth of a Preferred Share, if issued: 

will not be redeemable;

	
	●	will entitle holders to quarterly dividend payments of $0.001 per share, or an amount equal to the dividend paid on one share of common stock, whichever is greater;






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	●	will entitle holders upon liquidation either to receive $1.00 per share or an amount equal to the payment made on one share of common stock, whichever is greater;
	
	
	

	
	●	will have the same voting power as one share of common stock; and
	
	
	

	
	●
	if shares of our common stock are exchanged via merger, consolidation, or a similar transaction, will entitle holders to a per share payment equal to the payment made on one share of common stock.


The value of one one‐thousandth interest in a Preferred Share should approximate the value of one share of the Company’s common stock.


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