mtw-ex43_664.htm



Exhibit 4.3

The manitowoc company, inc.

Description of securities

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that we have the authority to issue 75 million shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 3.5 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. The following is a summary of the material provisions of our common stock and preferred stock. This summary does not purport to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by reference to applicable Wisconsin law and our amended and restated articles of incorporation and restated by-laws.

Common Stock

After all cumulative dividends have been paid or declared and set apart for payment on any shares of preferred stock that are outstanding, our common stock is entitled to such dividends as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors in accordance with applicable law.

Except as provided under Wisconsin law and except as may be determined by our board of directors with respect to any series of preferred stock, only the holders of our common stock will be entitled to vote for the election of members to our board of directors and on all other matters. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share of common stock held by them on all matters properly submitted to a vote of shareholders, subject to Section 180.1150 of the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law. Please see “Certain Statutory Provisions—Control Share Voting Restrictions” below. Shareholders have no cumulative voting rights, which means that the holders of shares entitled to exercise more than 50% of the voting power are able to elect all of the directors to be elected.

All shares of our common stock are entitled to participate equally in distributions in liquidation, subject to the prior rights of any preferred stock that may be outstanding. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive rights to subscribe for or purchase our shares. There are no conversion rights, sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to our common stock.

Preferred Stock

Under our amended and restated articles of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue up to 3.5 million shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the variations in the powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of our common stock. Our board of directors, without shareholder approval, may issue preferred stock with voting, conversion or other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of our common stock. As a result, preferred stock could be issued quickly with terms that will delay or prevent a change of control or make removal of management more difficult. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock and may 

 



 

adversely affect the voting and other rights of our common stock. At present, there are no shares of preferred stock outstanding.

Certain Statutory Provisions

Business Combination Statute. Sections 180.1140 to 180.1144 of the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law regulate a broad range of business combinations between a “resident domestic corporation” and an “interested stockholder.” A business combination is defined to include any of the following transactions:

•a merger or share exchange;

•a sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition of assets equal to 5% or more of the market value of the stock or consolidated assets of the resident domestic corporation or 10% of its consolidated earning power or income;

•the issuance of stock or rights to purchase stock with a market value equal to 5% or more of the outstanding stock of the resident domestic corporation;

•the adoption of a plan of liquidation or dissolution; or

•certain other transactions involving an interested shareholder.

A “resident domestic corporation” is defined to mean a Wisconsin corporation that has a class of voting stock that is registered or traded on a national securities exchange or that is registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and that, as of the relevant date, satisfies any of the following:

•its principal offices are located in Wisconsin;

•it has significant business operations located in Wisconsin;

•more than 10% of the holders of record of its shares are residents of Wisconsin; or

•more than 10% of its shares are held of record by residents of Wisconsin.

Manitowoc is a resident domestic corporation for purposes of these statutory provisions.

An interested shareholder is defined to mean a person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% of the voting power of the outstanding voting stock of a resident domestic corporation or who is an affiliate or associate of the resident domestic corporation and beneficially owned 10% of the voting power of its then outstanding voting stock within the last three years.

Under this law, we cannot engage in a business combination with an interested shareholder for a period of three years following the date such person becomes an interested shareholder, unless the board of directors approved the business combination or the acquisition of the stock that resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder before such acquisition. We may engage in a business combination with an interested shareholder after the 

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three-year period with respect to that shareholder expires only if one or more of the following conditions is satisfied:

•the board of directors approved the acquisition of the stock prior to such shareholder’s acquisition date;

•the business combination is approved by a majority of the outstanding voting stock not beneficially owned by the interested shareholder; or

•the consideration to be received by shareholders meets certain fair price requirements of the statute with respect to form and amount.

Fair Price Statute. The Wisconsin Business Corporation Law also provides, in Sections 180.1130 to 180.1133, that certain mergers, share exchanges or sales, leases, exchanges or other dispositions of assets in a transaction involving a significant shareholder and a resident domestic corporation such as Manitowoc require a supermajority vote of shareholders in addition to any approval otherwise required, unless shareholders receive a fair price for their shares that satisfies a statutory formula. A “significant shareholder” for this purpose is defined as a person or group who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting stock of the resident domestic corporation, or is an affiliate of the resident domestic corporation and beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting stock of the resident domestic corporation within the last two years. Any such business combination must be approved by 80% of the voting power of the resident domestic corporation’s stock and at least two-thirds of the voting power of its stock not beneficially owned by the significant shareholder who is party to the relevant transaction or any of its affiliates or associates, in each case voting together as a single group, unless the following fair price standards have been met:

•the aggregate value of the per share consideration is equal to the highest of:


	
 
	
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the highest price paid for any common shares of the corporation by the significant shareholder in the transaction in which it became a significant shareholder or within two years before the date of the business combination;





	
 
	
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the market value of the corporation’s shares on the date of commencement of any tender offer by the significant shareholder, the date on which the person became a significant shareholder or the date of the first public announcement of the proposed business combination, whichever is higher; or





	
 
	
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the highest preferential liquidation or dissolution distribution to which holders of the shares would be entitled; and





	
 
	
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either cash, or the form of consideration used by the significant shareholder to acquire the largest number of shares, is offered.




Control Share Voting Restrictions. Under Section 180.1150 of the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law, unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or otherwise 

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specified by the board of directors, the voting power of shares of a resident domestic corporation held by any person or group of persons acting together in excess of 20% of the voting power in the election of directors is limited (in voting on any matter) to 10% of the full voting power of those shares. This restriction does not apply to shares acquired directly from the resident domestic corporation, in certain specified transactions, or in a transaction in which the corporation’s shareholders have approved restoration of the full voting power of the otherwise restricted shares. Our articles do not provide otherwise.

Defensive Action Restrictions. Section 180.1134 of the Wisconsin Business Corporation Law provides that, in addition to the vote otherwise required by law or the articles of incorporation of a resident domestic corporation, the approval of the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote is required before such corporation can take certain action while a takeover offer is being made or after a takeover offer has been publicly announced and before it is concluded. This statute requires shareholder approval for the corporation to do either of the following:

•acquire more than 5% of its outstanding voting shares at a price above the market price from any individual or organization that owns more than 3% of the outstanding voting shares and has held such shares for less than two years, unless a similar offer is made to acquire all voting shares and all securities which may be converted into voting shares; or

•sell or option assets of the corporation which amount to 10% or more of the market value of the corporation, unless the corporation has at least three independent directors (directors who are not officers or employees) and a majority of the independent directors vote not to have this provision apply to the corporation.

We currently have more than three independent directors. The foregoing restrictions may have the effect of deterring a shareholder from acquiring our shares with the goal of seeking to have us repurchase such shares at a premium over market price.

 

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