Document:

ex41.htm

Exhibit 4.1

OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

 

and

 

COMPUTERSHARE SHAREOWNER SERVICES LLC

as Rights Agent

 

Rights Agreement

 

Dated as of September 18, 2012

 

  

  

  

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

	
Section 1.

	
Definitions 

	
1

	 	 	 
	

Section 2.

	

Appointment of Rights Agent 

	
5

	 	 	 
	

Section 3.

	

Issue of Right Certificates 

	
5

	 	 	 
	

Section 4.

	
Form of Right Certificates

	
7

	 	 	 
	

Section 5.

	

Countersignature and Registration 

	
7

	 	 	 
	

Section 6.

	
Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates

	
7

	  	  	  
	

Section 7.

	

Exercise of Rights; Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights 

	
8

	  	 	  
	

Section 8.

	
Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates 

	
9

	 	 	 
	

Section 9.

	
Availability of Preferred Shares 

	
9

	 	 	 
	

Section 10.

	
Preferred Shares Record Date 

	
10

	 	 	 
	

Section 11.

	
Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights 

	
10

	 	 	 
	

Section 12.

	
Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares 

	
16

	 	 	 
	

Section 13.

	
Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power 

	
16

	 	 	 
	

Section 14.

	
Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares 

	
17

	  	  	  
	Section 15.	

Rights of Action 

	18
	 	 	 
	
Section 16.

	
Agreement of Right Holders 

	
19

	 	 	 
	

Section 17.

	
Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder 

	
19

	 	 	 
	

Section 18.

	Concerning the Rights Agent	
19

	  	 	  
	

Section 19.

	

Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent 

	
20

	 	 	 
	

Section 20.

	
Duties of Rights Agent 

	
20

	  	  	  
	Section 21.	

Change of Rights Agent 

	22
	 	 	 
	

Section 22.

	
Issuance of New Right Certificates 

	
23

	 	 	 
	Section 23.	 Redemption 	23

  

  

  

 

	
Section 24.

	

Exchange 

	
23

	 	 	 
	

Section 25.

	

Notice of Certain Events 

	
24

	 	 	 
	

Section 26.

	

Notice 

	
25

	 	 	 
	

Section 27.

	

Supplements and Amendments 

	
26

	 	 	 
	

Section 28.

	

Successors

	
26

	 	 	 
	

Section 29.

	

Benefits of this Agreement 

	
26

	  	  	  
	

Section 30.

	

Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors 

	
26

	  	 	  
	

Section 31.

	

Severability 

	
26

	 	 	 
	

Section 32.

	

Governing Law 

	
27

	 	 	 
	

Section 33.

	

Counterparts 

	
27

	 	 	 
	

Section 34.

	

Descriptive Headings; Interpretation 

	
27

	 	 	 
	

Section 35.

	

Force Majeure 

	
27

	 	 	 
	

Section 36.

	

Customer Identification Program 

	
27

 

Exhibit A - Form of Certificate of Designations

Exhibit B - Form of Right Certificate

Exhibit C - Summary of Rights to Purchase Preferred Shares

  

  

  

 

 

 

Agreement, dated as of September 18, 2012 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Agreement”), between OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and COMPUTERSHARE SHAREOWNER SERVICES LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company, as rights agent (the “Rights Agent”).

 

The Board of Directors of the Company has authorized the issuance and declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) for each Common Share (as hereinafter defined) of the Company outstanding on September 27, 2012 (the “Record Date”), each Right representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (as hereinafter defined), upon the terms and subject to the conditions herein set forth, and has further authorized and directed the issuance of one Right with respect to each Common Share that shall become outstanding between the Record Date and the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date and the Final Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter defined).

 

Accordingly, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:

 

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

 

(a) “Acquiring Person” shall mean any Person (as hereinafter defined) who or which, together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person, shall be the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding, but shall not include the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity holding Common Shares for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan.  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 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding; provided, however, that, if a Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 15% or more of the Common Shares of the Company then outstanding by reason of share purchases by the Company and shall, after such share purchases by the Company, become the Beneficial Owner of any additional Common Shares (other than pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Shares or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Shares) of the Company, then such Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person.”  Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith that a Person who would otherwise be an “Acquiring Person,” as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), has become such inadvertently and without any intention of changing or influencing control of the Company, and such Person divests as promptly as practicable (as determined, in good faith, by the Board of Directors of the Company) a sufficient number of Common Shares (or, in the case solely of shares of Derivative Common Shares (as hereinafter defined), such Person terminates the subject Derivative Contract or disposes of the subject derivative security or securities, or establishes to the satisfaction of the Board of Directors of the Company that such shares of Derivative Common Shares are not held with any intention of changing or influencing control of the Company) so that such Person would no longer be an “Acquiring Person,” as defined pursuant to the foregoing provisions of this paragraph (a), then 

  

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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 of Directors of the Company 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 of Directors shall otherwise determine, such Person shall not be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” for any purposes of this Agreement.

 

(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 hereinafter defined) as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

 

(c) “Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in the first paragraph hereof.

 

(d) “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.

 

(e) A Person shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, shall be deemed to have “Beneficial Ownership” 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, within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act as in effect on the date of this Agreement;

 

(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), written or otherwise, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, rights (other than the Rights), warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed 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, written or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to Beneficially Own, any security if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such security (1) arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given to such Person in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act and (2) is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report);

 

(iii) which are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Person with which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates has any 

  

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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), whether or not in writing, for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except to the extent contemplated by the proviso to Section 1(e)(ii)(B) hereof) or disposing of any securities of the Company; 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 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.

 

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 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.

 

(f) “Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, or a day on which banking institutions in the City of New York, New York, the State of New Jersey, 

  

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or the state in which the principal office of the Rights Agent is located are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

 

(g) “Close of Business” on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on such date; provided, however, that, if such date is not a Business Day, it shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on the next succeeding Business Day.

 

(h) “Common Shares” when used with reference to the Company shall mean the shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company.  “Common Shares” when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the capital stock (or the equivalent 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.

 

(i) “Company” shall have the meaning set forth in the first paragraph hereof.

 

(j) “Derivative Common Shares” shall mean Common Shares that are deemed to be Beneficially Owned pursuant to Section 1(e)(iv) hereof.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

(n) “Final Expiration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a) hereof.

 

(o)  “NASDAQ” shall mean The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC.

 

(p) “Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, trust, joint venture, 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.

 

(q) “Preferred Shares” shall mean shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, of the Company having the rights and preferences set forth in the Form of Certificate of Designations attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A.

 

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

 

(s) “Record Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the second paragraph hereof.

 

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

 

  

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

 

(v) “Right” shall have the meaning set forth in the second paragraph hereof.

 

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

 

(x) “Rights Agent” shall have the meaning set forth in the first paragraph hereof.

 

(y) “Shares Acquisition Date” shall mean the first date of public announcement (which for purposes of this definition shall include, without limitation, a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such or such earlier date as a majority of the Board of Directors shall become aware of the existence of an Acquiring Person.

 

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

 

(cc) “Trust” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a) hereof.

 

(dd) “Trust Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a) hereof.

 

Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent.  The Company hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company in accordance with the express terms and conditions (and no implied 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 Right Certificates.  (a)  Until the Close of Business on the tenth day after the Shares Acquisition Date (including any such date which is after the date of this Agreement and prior to the issuance of the Rights ) (the “Distribution Date”), (x) the Rights, unless earlier expired, redeemed or terminated, 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 Right Certificates) and not by separate Right Certificates, and (y) the right to receive Right Certificates will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Shares of the Company.  The Company shall promptly notify the Rights Agent in writing upon the occurrence of the Distribution Date and, if such notification is given orally, the Company shall confirm same in 

  

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writing on or prior to the Business Day next following.  Until such written notice is received by the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent may presume conclusively for all purposes that the Distribution Date has not occurred.  As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company will prepare and execute, and upon written request from the Company, the Rights Agent will countersign, and the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested and provided with all necessary information and documents at the expense of the Company, 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 (other than any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person), at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, a Right Certificate, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (a “Right Certificate”), evidencing one Right for each Common Share so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein.  As of and after the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Right Certificates.

 

(b) On the Record Date, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the Company will send (directly, or at the expense of the Company, upon the written request of the Company and after providing all necessary information and documents, through the Rights Agent or the Company’s transfer agent for the Common Shares) 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 as of the Close of Business on the Record Date (other than any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of an Acquiring Person), at the address of such holder shown on 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 prior to the earliest of the Distribution Date, the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or otherwise affixed to them a legend in substantially the following form:

 

This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain rights as set forth in an Agreement between Oplink Communications, Inc. and Computershare Shareowner Services LLC, dated as of September 18, 2012, as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time  (the “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 Oplink Communications, Inc.  Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Agreement, such Rights (as defined in the Agreement) will be evidenced by separate 

  

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certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate.  Oplink Communications, Inc. will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefor.  As set forth in the Agreement, Rights Beneficially Owned by any Person (as defined in the Agreement) who becomes an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Agreement) will become null and void. 

 

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.  In the event that the Company purchases or otherwise acquires any Common Shares of the Company after the Record Date but prior to 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 Agreement or the rights of any holder of the Rights.

 

Section 4. Form of Right Certificates.  The Right Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase Preferred Shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof), when and if issued, 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  (but which do not affect the rights, duties, liabilities or responsibilities of the Rights Agent) 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 customary usage.  Subject to the provisions of Sections 11 and 22 hereof, the Right Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as shall be set forth therein at the price per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share set forth in Section 7 hereof (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 Right Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its Chief Executive Officer, its President, any of its Vice Presidents or its Treasurer, either manually or by facsimile signature, shall have affixed thereto the Company’s seal or a facsimile thereof, and shall be attested by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company, either manually or by facsimile signature.  The Right Certificates shall be countersigned by the Rights Agent, 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 or attested any of the Right Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the individual who signed or attested such Right Certificates had 

  

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not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed or attested on behalf of the Company by any individual who, at the actual date of the execution of such Right Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Agreement any such individual was not such an officer. 

 

Following the Distribution Date and receipt by the Rights Agent of notice to that effect and all other relevant information and documents referred to in Section 3(a), the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be kept, at its office designated for such purpose, books for registration and transfer of the Right Certificates issued hereunder.  Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Right Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Right Certificates and the date of each of the Right Certificates.

 

Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Right Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Right Certificates.  Subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Date, and at or prior to the Close of Business on the earlier of the Redemption Date or the Final Expiration Date, any Right Certificate or Right Certificates (other than Right Certificates representing Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof or that have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24 hereof) may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share as the Right Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered then entitled such holder to purchase.  Any registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Right Certificate or Right Certificates shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent, and shall surrender the Right Certificate or Right Certificates to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose.   The Right Certificates are transferrable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent.  Neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to take any action whatsoever with respect to the transfer of any such surrendered Right Certificate until the registered holder shall have properly completed and duly executed the certificate contained in the form of assignment on the reverse side of such Right Certificate, shall have provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby and the Affiliates and Associates of such Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) thereof as the Company or the Rights Agent shall reasonably request and paid a sum sufficient to cover any tax or charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Right Certificates as required hereunder.  Thereupon the Rights Agent shall, subject to Sections 11(a)(ii), 14 and 24 hereof, countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or Right Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested, registered in such name or names as may be designated by the surrendering registered holder.  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 Right Certificates.  The Rights Agent shall forward any such sum collected by it to the Company or to such Persons as the Company shall specify by written notice.  The Rights Agent shall have no duty or obligation under any Section of this Agreement that requires the payment of taxes or charges unless and until it is satisfied that all such taxes and/or charges have been paid. 

  

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Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Right Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company’s request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Right Certificate if mutilated, the Company will issue, execute, and deliver a new Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for countersignature and delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.

 

Notwithstanding any other provisions hereof, the Company and the Rights Agent may amend this 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 Right 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 Right Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof properly completed and duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, together with payment of the Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share as to which the Rights are exercised and an amount equal to any tax or charge required to be paid in cash, or by certified check, cashier’s check or money order payable to the order of the Company, at or prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on September 13, 2022 (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.  Except for those provisions herein that expressly survive the termination of this Agreement, this Agreement shall terminate at such time as the Rights are no longer exercisable hereunder.

 

(b) The Purchase Price for each one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share purchasable pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $102.20, and shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) below.

 

(c) Upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase properly completed and duly executed, accompanied by payment of the aggregate Purchase Price for the number of Preferred Shares to be purchased and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax or charge required to be paid by the holder of such Right Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof by cash or by certified check, cashier’s check or money order payable to the order of the Company, the Rights Agent shall thereupon promptly (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the Preferred Shares (or make available if the Rights Agent is the Transfer Agent) 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 necessary to comply 

  

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with this Agreement, 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 Right Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder; and (iv) when necessary to comply with this Agreement, after receipt, deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate.   In the event that the Company is obligated to issue securities of the Company other than Preferred Shares (including Common Shares) of the Company pursuant to Section 11(a) hereof, the Company will make all arrangements necessary so that such other securities are available for distribution by the Rights Agent. 

 

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

 

(e) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to undertake any action with respect to a registered holder of Rights or other securities upon the occurrence of any purported transfer or exercise as set forth in Section 6 hereof or this Section 7 unless such registered holder shall have (i) properly completed and duly executed the certification following the form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Right Certificate surrendered for such transfer or exercise, (ii) tendered the Purchase Price (and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right Certificate in accordance with Section 9) to the Company in the manner set forth in Section 7(c), and (iii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Affiliates or Associates thereof as the Company or the Rights Agent shall reasonably request.

 

Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Right Certificates.  All Right Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or to any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in cancelled form, or, if delivered or surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be cancelled by it, and no Right 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 Right Certificate purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof.  The Rights Agent shall deliver all cancelled Right Certificates to the Company, or shall, at the written request of the Company, destroy such cancelled Right 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 (or Common Shares and other securities, as the case may be) delivered upon 

  

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exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such Preferred Shares (or Common Shares and other securities, as the case may be) (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 taxes and charges that may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of any Preferred Shares upon the exercise of Rights.  The Company shall not, however, be required to pay any tax or charge that may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Preferred Shares in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Right Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or to deliver any certificates or depositary receipts for Preferred Shares upon the exercise of any Rights until any such tax or charge shall have been paid (any such tax or charge being payable by the holder of such Right Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s or the Rights Agent’s reasonable satisfaction that no such tax or charge is due.

 

Section 10. Preferred Shares Record Date.  Each Person in whose name any certificate for Preferred Shares or other securities is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of the Preferred Shares or other securities represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered with the forms of election and certification properly completed and duly executed and payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable taxes or charges) was made; provided, however, that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Preferred Shares or other securities 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 or other securities transfer books of the Company are open.  Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of a Right Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a holder of Preferred Shares for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein. 

 

Section 11. Adjustment of Purchase Price, Number of Shares or Number of Rights.  The Purchase Price, the number of Preferred Shares covered by each Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in this Section 11.

 

(a) (i)      In the event the Company shall at any time after the date of this Agreement (A) declare a dividend on the Preferred Shares payable in Preferred Shares, (B) subdivide the outstanding Preferred Shares, (C) combine the outstanding Preferred Shares into a smaller number of Preferred Shares or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred Shares (including any such reclassification in connection with a 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 

  

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time shall be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to 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, in the event 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 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.  In the event that any Person shall become an Acquiring Person and the Rights shall then be outstanding, the Company shall not take any action 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 Right Certificates or other Person as a result of the Company’s failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or its Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder.  No Right Certificate shall be issued pursuant to Section 3 hereof that represents Rights Beneficially Owned by an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be null and void pursuant to the preceding sentence or any Associate or Affiliate thereof; no Right Certificate shall be issued at any time upon the transfer of any Rights to an Acquiring Person whose Rights would be null and 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 Right Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent for transfer to an Acquiring Person or other Person whose Rights would be null and void pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be cancelled.  The Company shall give the Rights Agent written notice of the identity of any such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate, or the nominee of any of the foregoing, and the Rights Agent may rely on such written notice in carrying out its duties under this Agreement and shall be deemed not to have any knowledge of the identity of any such Acquiring Person, Associate or Affiliate, or the nominee of any of the foregoing, unless and until it shall have received such written notice. 

 

(iii) In the event that there shall not be sufficient 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.  In 

  

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the event 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 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) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Shares entitling them (for a period expiring within 45 calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or purchase Preferred Shares (or shares having similar 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 multiplying the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of Preferred Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of Preferred Shares which the aggregate offering price of the total number of Preferred Shares and/or equivalent preferred shares so to be offered (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price of the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase at such current market price and the denominator of which shall be the number of Preferred Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of additional Preferred Shares and/or equivalent preferred shares to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be offered are initially convertible); provided, however, that in no event shall the consideration to be paid upon the exercise of one Right be less than the aggregate par value of the shares of capital stock of the Company issuable upon exercise of one Right.  In case such subscription price may be paid in a consideration part or all of which shall be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent 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, in the event that such rights, options or warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

 

(c) In case the Company shall fix a record date for the making of a distribution to all holders of the Preferred Shares (including any such distribution made in connection with a 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 prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the then-current per share market price of the Preferred Shares on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose 

  

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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 30 consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to such date; provided, however, that, in the event that the current per share market price of the Security is determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such Security of (A) a dividend or distribution on such Security payable in shares of such Security or Securities convertible into such shares, or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such Security and prior to the expiration of 30 Trading Days after the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification, then, and in each such case, the current per share market price shall be appropriately adjusted to reflect the current market price per share equivalent of such Security.  The closing price for each day shall be the last sale price, regular way, reported at or prior to 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 New York Stock Exchange or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the Security is listed or admitted to trading or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price reported at or prior to 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 of Directors of the Company.  The term “Trading Day” shall mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which the Security is listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business, or, if the Security is not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.

 

(ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “current per share market price” of the Preferred Shares shall be determined in accordance with the method set forth in Section 11(d)(i).  If the Preferred Shares are not publicly traded, the “current per share market price” of the Preferred Shares shall be conclusively deemed to be the current per share market price of the Common Shares as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i) hereof (appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring 

  

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after the date hereof), multiplied by one hundred.  If neither the Common Shares nor the Preferred Shares are publicly held or so listed or traded, “current per share market price” shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on 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 one-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 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 prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share (calculated to the nearest one one-millionth of a Preferred Share) obtained by (A) multiplying (x) the number of one  one-thousandths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Purchase Price and (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 

 

  

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immediately prior to such adjustment.  Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one ten-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Purchase Price by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Purchase Price.  The Company shall make a public announcement (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) of its election to adjust the number of Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made.  This record date may be the date on which the Purchase Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Right Certificates have been issued, shall be at least 10 days later than the date of the public announcement.  If Right 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 Right Certificates on such record date Right Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14 hereof, the additional Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and replacement for the Right Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new Right Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment.  Right Certificates 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 Right Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement.

 

(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 Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which were expressed in the initial Right Certificates issued hereunder.

 

(k) Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing the Purchase Price below one one-thousandth of the then par value, 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 (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) until the occurrence of such event the issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date of the Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the Preferred Shares and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on the basis of the Purchase Price in effect prior to such adjustment; provided, however, that the 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 adjustments 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 

 

 

  

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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 stockholders.

 

(n) In the event that, at any time after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company shall (i) declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares, or (ii) effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise 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 prior to such event by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately before such event and the denominator of which is the number of Common Shares outstanding immediately after such event, and (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 prior to such event had issued with respect to it.  The adjustments provided for in this Section 11(n) shall be made successively whenever such a dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination or consolidation is effected.

 

Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.  Whenever an adjustment is made or any event affecting the Rights or their exercisability (including an event that causes Rights to become null and void) as provided in Section 11 or 13 hereof, the Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment or a brief, reasonably detailed statement of the facts, computation and methodology 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 Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25 hereof.  The Rights Agent shall be fully protected and incur no liability in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any such adjustment or event unless and until it shall have received such a certificate.

 

Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets or Earning Power.  .  In the event, 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 

 

 

  

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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 validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and freely tradeable Common Shares of such other Person (including the Company as successor thereto or as the surviving corporation) (such “issuer”) 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 issuer (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (ii) such 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 and further providing that, as soon as practicable after executing such agreement pursuant to this Section 13, such issuer will:

 

(a) prepare and file a registration statement under the Securities Act, if necessary, with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on an appropriate form, use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Securities Act) until the Final Expiration Date, and similarly comply with applicable state securities laws;

 

(b) use its best efforts, if the Common Shares of such issuer shall be listed or admitted to trading on the NYSE or on another national securities exchange, to list or admit to trading (or continue the listing of) the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on the NYSE or such securities exchange, or, if the Common Shares of such issuer shall not be listed or admitted to trading on the NYSE or a national securities exchange, to cause the Rights and the securities receivable upon exercise of the Rights to be reported by such other system then in use;

 

(c) deliver to holders of the Rights historical financial statements for such issuer which comply in all respects with the requirements for registration on Form 10 (or any successor form) under the Exchange Act; and

 

(d) obtain waivers of any rights of first refusal or preemptive rights in respect of the Common Shares of such issuer subject to purchase upon exercise of outstanding Rights.

 

  

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The Company shall not enter into any transaction of the kind referred to in this Section 13 if at the time of or immediately after 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.

 

Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.  (a)  The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights or to distribute Right Certificates which evidence fractional Rights.  In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Right.  For the purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a whole Right shall be the closing price of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable.  The closing price for any day shall be the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the New York Stock Exchange, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which the Rights are listed or admitted to trading or, if the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by NASDAQ or such other system then in use or, if on any such date the Rights are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in the Rights selected by the Board of Directors of the Company.  If on any such date no such market maker is making a market in the Rights, the fair value of the Rights on such date as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of the Company shall be used.

 

(b) The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional Preferred Shares (other than fractions which are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share).  Fractions of Preferred Shares in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts, pursuant to an appropriate agreement between the Company and a depositary selected by it; provided that such agreement shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as beneficial owners of the Preferred Shares represented by such depositary receipts.  In lieu of fractional Preferred Shares that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Right Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one Preferred Share.  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 prior to the date of such exercise.

 

  

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(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).

 

(d) Whenever a payment for fractional Rights or fractional shares or other securities is to be made by the Rights Agent under any Section of this Agreement, the Company shall (i) promptly prepare and deliver to the Rights Agent a certificate setting forth in reasonable detail the facts related to such payments and the prices and/or formulas utilized in calculating such payments, and (ii) provide sufficient monies to the Rights Agent in the form of fully collected funds to make such payments.  The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying upon such a certificate and shall have no duty with respect to, and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any payment for fractional Rights or fractional shares or other securities under any Section of this Agreement relating to the payment of fractional Rights or fractional shares or other securities unless and until the Rights Agent shall have received such a certificate and sufficient monies.

 

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 any section of this Agreement, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the Common Shares); and any registered holder of any Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Shares), 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 Right Certificate in the manner provided in such Right Certificate and in this Agreement.  Without limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement, and will be entitled to specific performance of the obligations under, and injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations of any Person subject to, this Agreement. 

 

Section 16. Agreement of Right Holders.  Every holder of a Right, by accepting the same, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent and with every other holder of a Right that:

 

(a) prior to the Distribution Date, the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the Common Shares;

 

(b) after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are transferable (subject to the provisions of this Agreement) only on the registry books maintained by the Rights Agent if surrendered at the office of  the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer with a completed form of certification; and

 

(c) the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the associated Common Shares certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby 

 

 

  

20

  

 

(notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Right 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. Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder.  No holder, as such, of any Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise or exchange of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Right Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Right Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25 hereof), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate shall have been exercised or exchanged in accordance with the provisions hereof.

 

Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent.  The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder, and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable expenses and counsel fees, expenses and other disbursements incurred in the preparation, negotiation, delivery, amendment, 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, damage, judgment, fine, penalty, claim, demand, settlement or expense (including, without limitation, the reasonable fees and expense of legal counsel) incurred without gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent (each as determined by a final, nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction), for any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance, administration, exercise and performance of its duties under this Agreement, including the costs and expenses of defending against any claim in connection herewith.  The costs and expenses incurred in enforcing this right of indemnification shall also be paid by the Company.  The provisions of this Section 18 and Section 20 below shall survive the exercise or expiration of the Rights, the termination of this Agreement and the resignation, replacement or removal of the Rights Agent.

 

The Rights Agent may conclusively rely upon and shall be authorized and protected and shall incur no liability for, or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in connection with its acceptance and administration of this Agreement, and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder, in reliance upon any Right 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 reasonably 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.  The Rights Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any event of which it was supposed to receive notice thereof hereunder, and the Rights Agent shall be fully protected and 

 

  

21

  

 

shall incur no liability for failing to take any action in connection therewith unless and until it has received such notice.

 

Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.  Any Person 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 shareholder services business of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or 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 Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right Certificates so countersigned; and, in case at that time any of the Right Certificates shall not have been  countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and, in all such cases, such Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.

 

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

 

Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent undertakes to perform only the duties and obligations imposed by this Agreement and no implied duties or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent shall perform those duties and obligations upon the following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Right Certificates, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:

 

(a) The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal counsel for the Company or an employee of the Rights Agent), and the advice or opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in accordance with such advice or 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 (including, without limitation, the identity of an Acquiring Person and the determination of the current per share market price of any security) be proved or established by the Company prior to taking, suffering or omitting to take 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 

 

  

22

  

 

established by a certificate signed by any one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such a 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  (each as determined by a final, nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction).  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, in no event will the Rights Agent be liable for special, punitive, indirect, incidental 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.  Any liability of the Rights Agent shall be limited to ten (10) times the amount of annual fees paid by the Company to the Rights Agent.

 

(d) The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Right Certificates (except 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 have any liability for or be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights (including the Rights becoming null and void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any adjustment or change in the terms of the Rights (including the manner, method or amount thereof) provided for in Section 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 Right Certificates after receipt of a certificate pursuant to Section 12 describing such change or adjustment upon which the Rights Agent may rely); 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 or other securities to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any Preferred Shares or other securities will, when so issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

 

(f) The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged 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.

 

(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 Chief Executive Officer, the President, any Vice President, the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer of the Company, and to apply to 

 

 

  

23

  

 

such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and such instructions shall be full authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and it shall not be liable for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting while waiting for those instructions. The Rights Agent shall be fully authorized and protected in relying upon the most recent instructions received by any such officer.  Any application by the Rights Agent for written instructions from the Company may, at the option of the Rights Agent, set forth in writing any action proposed to be taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by the Rights Agent with respect to its duties and obligations under this Agreement and the date on and/or after which such action shall be taken, suffered or such omission shall be effective.  The Rights Agent shall not be liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in accordance with a proposal included in any such application on or after the date specified therein (which date shall not be less than three Business Days after the date indicated in such application unless any such officer shall have consented in writing to an earlier date) unless, prior to taking, suffering or omitting to take any such action, the Rights Agent has received written instructions in response to such application specifying the action to be taken, suffered or omitted to be taken.

 

(h) The Rights Agent and any stockholder, Affiliate, 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 or any stockholder, Affiliate, director, officer or employee 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 (through its directors, officers and employees) 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 or any other Person resulting from any such act, default, neglect or misconduct, absent gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (as each is determined by a final, nonappealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction) in the selection and continued employment thereof.

 

Section 21. Change of Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon 30 days’ notice in writing mailed to the Company and, in the event that 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.  In the event 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 as Rights Agent 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 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 Right Certificates by first-class mail.  If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become 

 

  

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incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent.  If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of 30 days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Right Certificate (which holder shall, with such notice, submit such holder’s Right Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any Right 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 any state of the United States that is in good standing and 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 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 Right Certificates.  Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21, however, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.

 

Section 22. Issuance of New Right Certificates.  Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Right Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by the Board of Directors of the Company to reflect any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

Section 23. Redemption.  (a)  The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, redeem all but not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.001 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 of Directors of the Company may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors of the Company, in its sole discretion, may establish. The Company may, at its option, pay the Redemption Price in cash, Common Shares (based on the current market price of the Common Shares at the time of the election by the Board of Directors of the Company to redeem the Rights as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i) hereof) or any other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the Board of Directors of the Company. 

 

(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company ordering the redemption of the Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 23, and without 

 

 

  

25

  

 

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 (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent); provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of such redemption.  Within 10 days after such action of the Board of Directors of the Company 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, prior to the Distribution Date, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common Shares.  Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice.  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 prior to the Distribution Date.

 

Section 24. Exchange.  (a)  The Board of Directors of the Company may, at its option, at any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have become null and void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) for Common Shares at an exchange ratio of one Common Share per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any 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, the Board of Directors of the Company shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after an Acquiring Person becomes the Beneficial Owner of 50% or more of the Common Shares then outstanding.  Prior to effecting an exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Board of Directors may direct the Company to enter into a Trust Agreement in such form and with such terms as the Board of Directors shall then approve (the “Trust Agreement”). If the Board of Directors so directs, the Company shall enter into the Trust Agreement and shall issue to the trust created by such agreement (the “Trust”) all of the Common Shares issuable pursuant to the exchange, and all Persons entitled to receive Common Shares pursuant to the exchange shall be entitled to receive such Common Shares (and any dividends or distributions made thereon after the date on which such Common Shares are deposited in the Trust) only from the Trust and solely upon compliance with the relevant terms and provisions of the Trust Agreement.

 

(b) Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company 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 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 (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) ; 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 

 

  

26

  

 

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 null and void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by each holder of Rights.

 

(c) In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Company, at its option, may substitute Preferred Shares (or equivalent preferred shares, as such term is defined in Section 11(b) hereof) for some or all of the Common Shares exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (or equivalent preferred share) for each Common Share, as appropriately adjusted to reflect adjustments in the voting rights of the Preferred Shares pursuant to the terms thereof, so that the fraction of a Preferred Share delivered in lieu of each Common Share shall have, the same voting rights as one Common Share.

 

(d) In the event that there shall not be sufficient Common Shares or Preferred 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 or Preferred Shares for issuance upon exchange of the Rights.

 

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

 

Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.  (a)  In case the Company shall, at any time after the Distribution Date, propose (i) to 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) to 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) to effect any reclassification of the Preferred Shares (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding Preferred Shares), (iv) to 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) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, or (vi) to declare or pay any dividend on the Common Shares payable in Common Shares or to effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Shares (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Shares), then, in each such case, the Company shall give to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, or distribution of 

 

  

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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 10 days prior to the record date for determining holders of the Preferred Shares for purposes of such action, and, in the case of any such other action, at least 10 days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of the Common Shares and/or Preferred Shares, whichever shall be the earlier.

 

(b) In case the event set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof shall occur, then the Company shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, give to the Rights Agent and to each holder of a Right Certificate, in accordance with Section 26 hereof, a notice of the occurrence of such event, which notice shall describe such event and the consequences of such event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.

 

Section 26. Notices.  Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if in writing and 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:

 

Oplink Communications, Inc.

46335 Landing Parkway

Fremont, CA 94538

Attention: General Counsel

 

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

      

Computershare Shareowner Services LLC

480 Washington Blvd.

Jersey City, NJ 07310

Attention:  Relationship Manager

with a copy to:

Computershare Shareowner Services LLC

480 Washington Boulevard

Jersey City, NJ 07310

Attention:  Legal 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 Right Certificate shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by 

 

 

  

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first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.

 

Section 27. Supplements and Amendments.  Subject to this Section 27, the Company may, and the Rights Agent shall, if directed by the Company, from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Right Certificates in order to cure any ambiguity, to correct or supplement any provision contained herein which may be defective or inconsistent with any other provisions herein, or to make any other provisions with respect to the Rights 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.  Upon delivery of a certificate from an appropriate officer of the Company that states that the proposed supplement or amendment is in compliance with the terms of this Section, the Rights Agent shall execute such supplement or amendment; provided, that notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, enter into any supplement or amendment that affects the Rights Agent’s own rights, duties, obligations or immunities under this Agreement.

 

Section 28. Successors.  All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.

 

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

 

Section 30. Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors or a duly authorized committee thereof of the Company shall have the exclusive power and authority to administer this Agreement and to exercise the rights and powers specifically granted to the Board of Directors of the Company or to the Company, or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Agreement, including, without limitation, the right and power to (i) interpret the provisions of this Agreement and (ii) make all determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this Agreement (including, without limitation, a determination to redeem or not redeem the Rights or to amend this Agreement).  All such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations that are done or made by the Board of Directors of the Company in good faith, shall be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights, as such, and all other parties.  The Rights Agent is always entitled to assume that the Company’s Board of Directors acted in good faith and shall be fully protected and incur no liability in reliance thereon.

 

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 

 

  

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Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated; provided, however, that if any such excluded term, provision, covenant or restriction shall adversely affect the rights, immunities, duties or obligations of the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent shall be entitled to resign immediately.

 

Section 32. Governing Law.  This Agreement and each Right Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such state applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such state; provided, however, that all provisions, regarding the rights, duties, obligations and liabilities of the Rights Agent shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed entirely within such State, without regard to the principles or rules concerning conflicts of laws which might otherwise require application of the substantive laws of another jurisdiction.

 

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 shall have the same authority, effect, and enforceability as an original signature.

 

Section 34. Descriptive Headings; Interpretation.  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.  The words “include,” “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation.” Each reference in this Agreement to a period of time following or after a specified date or event shall be calculated without including such specified date or the day on which such specified event occurs.

 

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 malfunction 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. Customer Identification Program.  The Company acknowledges that the Rights Agent is subject to the customer identification program (“Customer Identification Program”) requirements under the USA PATRIOT Act and its implementing regulations, and that the Rights Agent must obtain, verify and record information that allows the Rights Agent to identify the Company.  Accordingly, prior to accepting an appointment hereunder, the Rights Agent may request information from the Company that will help the Rights Agent to identify the Company, including without limitation the Company’s physical address, tax identification number, organizational documents, certificate of good standing, license to do business, or any other information that the Rights Agent deems necessary.  The Company agrees that the Rights Agent cannot accept an appointment hereunder unless and until the Rights Agent verifies the Company’s identity in accordance with the Customer Identification Program requirements.

 

 

  

30

  

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.

 

	  	
OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

	  	  
	
Attest:

By: /s/ Stephen M. Welles 

       Name:  Stephen M. Welles

       Title:    Vice President & General Counsel

	
 

By: /s/Joseph Liu                                                    

       Name:  Joseph Liu

       Title:    Chairman & CEO

	 	 
	  	
COMPUTERSHARE SHAREOWNER SERVICES LLC,

AS RIGHTS AGENT

	
Attest:

By: /s/ Oreste Casciaro                                                      

       Name:  Oreste Casciaro

       Title:    Vice President

	
 

By: /s/Eon Canzius                                                              

       Name:  Eon Canzius

       Title:    Vice President

  

31

  

Exhibit A

 

FORM

 

of

 

CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS

 

of

 

SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK

 

of

 

OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

 

(Pursuant to Section 151 of the Delaware General Corporation Law)

 

 

Oplink Communications, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (hereinafter called the “Corporation”), hereby certifies that the following resolution was adopted by the Board of Directors of the Corporation as required by Section 151 of the General Corporation Law at a meeting duly called and held on September 13, 2012:

 

RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the Board of Directors of this Corporation (hereinafter called the “Board of Directors” or the “Board”) in accordance with the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors hereby amends and restates the designation and number of shares, and fixes the relative rights, preferences, and limitations of the Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”) as follows:

 

Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock:

 

Section 1. Designation and Amount.  The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock” (the “Series A Preferred Stock”) and the number of shares constituting the Series A Preferred Stock shall be 50,000.  Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; 

  

A-1

  

 

provided, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series A Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series A Preferred Stock.

 

Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.

 

(A) Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and superior to the Series A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Corporation, and of any other junior stock, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the first day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as a “Quarterly Dividend Payment Date”), commencing on 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) $0.01 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series A Preferred Stock.  In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each  such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) of this Section immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided that, in the event 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 $0.01 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 

  

A-2

  

 

the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.  Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. 
 

Dividends paid on the shares of Series A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding.  The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be not more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.

 

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

 

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

 

shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

(B) Except as otherwise provided herein, in any other Certificate of Designations creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock, or by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock and any other capital stock of the Corporation having general voting rights shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.

 

(C) Except as set forth herein, or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series A Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.

 

Section 4. Certain Restrictions.

 

(A) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and 

  

A-3

  

 

until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series A Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.

 

Section 5. Reacquired Shares.  Any shares of Series A Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof.  All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein, in the Certificate of Incorporation, or in any other Certificate of Designations creating a series of Preferred Stock or any similar stock or as otherwise required by law.

Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.  Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, 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, 

 

  

A-4

  

 

provided that the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive an aggregate amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount to be distributed per share to holders of shares of Common Stock, or (2) to the holders of shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except distributions made ratably on the Series A Preferred Stock and all such parity stock in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are entitled upon such liquidation, dissolution or winding up.  In the event the Corporation shall at any time declare or pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision or combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the aggregate amount to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under the proviso in clause (1) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Section 10. Amendment.  The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely 

 

 

  

A-5

  

 

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.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Certificate of Designations is executed on behalf of the Corporation by its Chairman of the Board and attested by its Secretary this __ day of September, 2012.

 

	
 

	
 

	

 Chairman of the Board
	
Attest:

	
 

	
 

	
 

	
 

	
 

	

 Secretary	
 

	
 

 

  A-6

  

  

Exhibit B

 

Form of Right Certificate

 

Certificate No. R-                                                                                                                       Rights

 

NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 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. UNDER CERTAIN 

CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE AGREEMENT, RIGHTS OWNED BY OR 

TRANSFERRED TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OR BECOMES AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS 

DEFINED IN THE AGREEMENT) AND CERTAIN TRANSFEREES THEREOF WILL

BECOME NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERABLE.

 

Right Certificate

 

OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

 

This certifies that       , or registered assigns, is the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Agreement, dated as of September 18, 2012 (as it may be amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “Agreement”), between Oplink Communications, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Computershare Shareowner Services LLC (the “Rights Agent”), to purchase from the Company at any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Agreement) and prior to 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on September 13, 2022 at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, 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 $0.001 per share, of the Company (the “Preferred Shares”), at a purchase price of $102.20 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share (the “Purchase Price”), upon presentation and surrender of this Right Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase duly executed.  The number of Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate (and the number of one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share which may be purchased upon exercise hereof) set forth above, and the Purchase Price set forth above, are the number and Purchase Price as of        , ____, 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 Right Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain events.

 

This Right 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 Right Certificates.  Copies of the Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the Company and the offices of the Rights Agent. 

 

  

B-1

  

 

The Company will mail to the holder of this Right Certificate a copy of the Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefor.

 

This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon surrender at the office of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, may be exchanged for another Right Certificate or Right Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of Preferred Shares as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase.  If this Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.

 

Subject to the provisions of the Agreement, the Rights evidenced by this Right 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 $0.001 per share.

 

No fractional Preferred Shares will be issued upon the exercise or exchange 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 Right Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of the Preferred Shares or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise or exchange 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 stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any  meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in the Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate shall have been exercised or exchanged as provided in the Agreement.

 

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

 

 

B-2

  

  

WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company and its corporate seal.  Dated as of _______________, 201_.

 

 

 

	
 

	
 

	

 Chairman of the Board
	
Attest:

	
 

	
 

	
 

	
 

	
 

	

 Secretary	
 

	
 

 

 

Countersigned:

 

COMPUTERSHARE SHAREOWNER SERVICES LLC

By

Name:

Title:

 

  B-3

  

  

Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate

 

FORM OF ASSIGNMENT

 

 (To be executed by the registered holder if such

 

holder desires to transfer the Right Certificate.)

 

FOR VALUE RECEIVED   hereby sells, assigns and

 

transfers unto 

 

(Please print name and address of transferee)

 

Rights represented by this Right Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint   Attorney, to transfer said Rights on the books of the within-named Company, with full power of substitution.

 

Dated: ___________________

 

 

 

                                                       

Signature

 

Signature Guaranteed:

 

Signatures must be guaranteed by a participant in a Medallion Signature Guarantee Program at a guarantee level acceptable to the Company’s Rights Agent. A notary public is not sufficient.

 

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

 

                                           

Signature

 

 

B-4

  

  

Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate – continued

 

FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE

 

 (To be executed if holder desires to exercise

 

Rights represented by the Right Certificate.)

 

To: OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

 

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise   Rights represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the Preferred Shares issuable upon the exercise of such Rights and requests that certificates for such Preferred Shares be issued in the name of:

 

Please insert social security or other identifying number:

 

Please print name and address:

 

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

 

Please insert social security or other identifying number:

 

Please print name and address:

 

 

Dated: ___________________

 

 

 

                                                       

Signature

Signature Guaranteed:

 

Signatures must be guaranteed by a participant in a Medallion Signature Guarantee Program at a guarantee level acceptable to the Company’s Rights Agent. A notary public is not sufficient.

 

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

 

 

 

                                           

Signature

 

  

B-5

  

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 Right Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

 

In the event the certification set forth above in the Form of Assignment or the Form of Election to Purchase, as the case may be, is not completed, the Company and the Rights Agent will deem the Beneficial Owner of the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (each as defined in the Agreement) and such Assignment or Election to Purchase will not be honored.

 

B-6

  

  

Exhibit C

 

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE

 

PREFERRED SHARES

 

Introduction

 

On September 13, 2012, the Board of Directors of our Company, Oplink Communications, Inc., a Delaware corporation, declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of common stock, par value $0.001 per share.  The dividend is payable on September 27, 2012 to the stockholders of record on September 27, 2012.

 

Our Board has adopted this Agreement to protect stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics.  In general terms, it works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group which acquires 15% or more of our outstanding common stock without the approval of our Board.  The Agreement should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by our Board.

 

For those interested in the specific terms of the Agreement as made between our Company and Computershare Shareowner Services LLC, as the Rights Agent, on September 18, 2012, we provide the following summary description.  Please note, however, that this description is only a summary, and is not complete, and should be read together with the entire Agreement, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to a Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated September 19, 2012.  A copy of the agreement is available free of charge from our Company.

 

The Rights.  Our Board authorized the issuance of a Right with respect to each outstanding share of common stock on September 13, 2012.  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 September 27, 2012 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 Share”) for $102.20, once the Rights become exercisable.  This portion of a Preferred Share will give the stockholder approximately the same dividend, voting, and liquidation rights as would one share of common stock.  Prior to exercise, the Right does not give its holder any dividend, voting or liquidation rights.

 

Exercisability.  The Rights will not be exercisable until the close of business on the 10th day after the public announcement that a person or group has become an “Acquiring Person” by obtaining beneficial ownership of 15% 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 Regulation 13D of the Securities Exchange Act — are treated as beneficial 

 

  

C-1

  

 

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.

	
·  

	
Flip In.  If a person or group becomes an Acquiring Person, all holders of Rights except the Acquiring Person may, for $102.20, purchase shares of our common stock or, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, one one-thousandths of a Preferred Share, with a market value of $204.40, based on the market price of the common stock or preferred stock prior to 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 $102.20, purchase shares of the acquiring corporation with a market value of $204.40 based on the market price of the acquiring corporation’s stock, prior to such merger.

 

	
·  

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

 

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 $.00001, or an amount equal to the dividend paid on one share of common stock, whichever is greater.

 

	
·  

	
will entitle holders upon liquidation either to receive $1 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.

 

	
·  

	
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.

 

 

  

C-2

  

 

The value of one one-thousandth interest in a Preferred Share should approximate the value of one share of common stock.

Expiration.  The Rights will expire on September 13, 2022.

 

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 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.

 

 

  C-3grntchsupr8kex101_9182012.htm

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

 

 

OPERATING & EXPLORATION CONTRACT 

WITH OPTION TO PURCHASE

 

 

THIS OPERATING & EXPLORATION CONTRACT MADE AND ENTERED INTO on this 17th day of September, 2012, by and between:

 

Greentech Mining, Inc. a Delaware corporation and Greentech Mining Utah, LLC a Utah limited liability company and their respective corporate entities more specifically described in Exhibit A, (hereinafter referred to as “Owner”)

 

And                                                                                                                           

 

Greentech Mining International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor” or “Company”).

 

IN CONSIDERATION of THREE MILLION DOLLARS ($3,000,000) and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Owner does hereby grant exclusively unto Contractor for the duration and for the purposes herein specified, all rights necessary to operate and explore the mining claims, and to use the processing plant and equipment described in Exhibit A hereinafter referred to as the “Contracted Mines and Processing Plant”.

 

  I.    EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS CONTRACTED

 

	
1.  

	
The right to Operate the Processing Plant and the Exploration and Mining rights to the Mines are hereby contracted exclusively to Contractor and its successor-in-interest for the following purposes, all or any of which may be performed by Contractor in such manner and at such time or times as Contractor may determine in its absolute discretion, subject to the terms hereof:

 

	  	
a.

	  	
Exploring and prospecting for, developing, mining, excavating, leaching, milling, processing and smelting, whether by open pit, underground, strip mining, solution mining, heap leaching, or any other methods deemed desirable by Contractor in its sole discretion, all minerals, ores, valuable rocks, rare earths and materials of all kinds, including mine dumps and tailings (hereinafter collectively referred to as (“Contracted Substances”);

 

	  	
b.

	  	
Processing, concentrating, beneficiating, treating, milling, smelting, shipping, selling and otherwise disposing of the Contracted Substances and receiving the proceeds of any such sale;

 

	  	
c.

	  	
Erecting, constructing, maintaining, using and operating in and on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant such buildings, structures, machinery, facilities and equipment as Contractor deems necessary, except that modifications to existing structures machinery, facilities and equipment require the prior approval of the Owner; and

 

	  	
d.

	  	
Engaging in any other activity that Contractor deems reasonable and necessary to achieve the foregoing purposes, and which may be described more specifically in Exhibit A.

  

  

  

 

II. TERM OF OPERATING & EXPLORATION CONTRACT

 

2. The term of this Operating & Exploration Contract shall be for three (3) years from the effective date set forth above, and may be renewed by Contractor for successive three (3) year periods upon substantially the same terms and provisions as set forth herein based upon the then-capital structure of the Contractor, until declared forfeited and canceled by Owner or relinquished by Contractor as provided herein. Contractor shall give Owner written notice of each renewal at least thirty (30) days prior to expiration of the respective three-year term. This Operating & Exploration contract shall automatically renew and continue so long as ores, minerals, or metals are produced or sold from the Contracted Properties on a continuous basis.

 

 

III. PAYMENTS, ADVANCE ROYALTY AND WORK COMMITMENT

 

3.1 Contractor shall make payment to Owner for the initial consideration of THREE MILLION dollars ($3,000,000) with the first payment of ONE MILLION dollars ($1,000,000) being made on or before November 1, 2012 and the remaining balance made in ten (10) consecutive payments of $200,000 beginning on December 1, 2012.  Owner warrants and covenants that it will utilize the funds to remove encumbrances and hold full title and exclusive possession of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant free and clear from all grants, sales, liens, defects, adverse claims and encumbrances of any kind by November 15, 2013.

 

3.2 The payments in section 3.1 received by Owner shall constitute an Advance Royalty paid the Owner pursuant to Article IV of this Operating & Exploration Contract.

 

3.3 After the Initial Consideration, the Contractor shall be entitled to a credit not to exceed $25,000 over the 3-year term of this Operating & Exploration, of all such Royalties paid against Production Royalties otherwise owing to Owner pursuant to Article IV of this Contract. The advance royalty credit shall not be applied until after the first full year of production, or total Production Royalties paid to Owner pursuant to Article IV exceed $275,000, whichever occurs first.

 

3.4 Contractor shall perform exploration, mining, development, production, processing or any other activity (“Work” herein) which benefits the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant at a minimum cost of $3,000,000 for the first year, $3,000,000 for the second year, and $3,000,000 for the third year of this Operating & Exploration contract and commencing on the date of this Contract. All work on other lands within 500 feet of the boundary of any portion of the Mines and Processing Plant shall be deemed to benefit the Mines and Processing Plant for the Work commitment if such work is part of an overall plan or project that includes the Contracted Mines or Processing Plant. All costs expended for Work in excess of $3,000,000 for any one (1) year term shall accrue and be applied to the “Option to Purchase” price as described in section XXI.

 

3.5 In the event that Contractor does not perform work in the amount of the entire minimum expenditure required for the applicable year (which amount will include any excess amount accrued from the prior three year term), Contractor shall pay Owner the amount of any such shortage in cash or cash equivalents. Within 30 days after the end of each three (3) year term, Contractor shall submit an accounting report of the expenditures toward the work commitment and a report containing factual, non-interpretive data concerning the work of Contractor during the preceding 3-year term. On or before November 30 of each year, a separate one-year report shall be prepared and furnished to Owner containing factual, non-interpretive data concerning work of Contractor, if any, during the preceding calendar year.

 

  

2

  

 

3.6 The breach, by Contractor, of paragraphs 3.4 and/or 3.5 above shall entitle Owner to immediately terminate the Contract and in such event, Owner waives the right to sue for monetary damages.

 

3.7 Contractor shall provide work progress reports to the Owner on a quarterly basis.

 

 

IV. PRODUCTION ROYALTY

 

4.1 In addition to the consideration set forth herein, Contractor shall pay Owner a Five Percent (5%) Net Smelter Royalty on all mineral bearing ores once Commercial Production has commenced. “Commercial Production” means the commercial-scale operation of any part of the Property as a Mine by, or on behalf of, the Contractor, but does not include processing of ore carried out in a pilot plant or processing ore for other testing purposes. Commercial Production shall be deemed to have commenced on the day immediately following the first 5 consecutive days during which Minerals have been produced by, or on behalf of, the Contractor.

 

4.2 The payment of Production Royalty shall be made not more than 45 days after the close of the month during which the payment is received from the smelter or buyer on which such Royalty is calculated.

 

4.3 “Net Smelter Returns” shall mean the net amount of money received by Contractor from the sale of Contracted Substances to a smelter, refinery or other buyer, after deduction of costs of transportation to point of sale and costs of any concentration of Contracted Substances prior to delivery to the smelter, refinery or other buyer, and less the deduction of all cost, penalties or charges required by said smelter, refinery or other buyer to be paid by Contractor as a condition of sale. In the event a Contracted Substance is sold to any buyer other than a smelter, all costs incurred by Contractor after mining for processing or treating such substances, including refining, shall be deductible costs. It is expressly intended that any money received by Contractor from existing tailings and/or dump material be included in the royalty calculation.

 

4.4 The payment of Production Royalty shall be made not more than 45 days after the close of the month during which the payment is received from the smelter or buyer on which such Royalty is calculated.

 

4.5 Contractor shall be entitled to credit all Advance Royalty payments paid to Owner pursuant to Article III Paragraph 3.1 and referenced in Paragraph 3.2 of this Operating & Exploration contract against all Production Royalties payable to Owner under this Article IV.

 

4.6 All Contracted Substances which the Contractor chooses to market shall be marketed at the best terms reasonably obtainable, with due regard to freight differentials, and if such ores or concentrates or other products shall be treated at a smelter or refinery of Contractor, the smelter or refinery schedules used for determining the Net Smelter Returns thereon shall not be less favorable than the terms and conditions either being offered to others or being contracted with others at the time for products of like character and in similar quantities for delivery to Contractor’s smelters or refineries.

 

4.7 If ores or concentrates produced from the Mining Properties are refined or smelted at a facility owned by the Contractor, then the royalty interest of the Owner provided for herein may be computed on the basis of the value of such concentrate or shipment at the input side of such facility. The value shall be mutually agreed. If such value cannot be agreed upon, it shall be the highest price which can be obtained by shipping such ores or concentrate to a smelter willing to buy the same, taking into consideration the cost of transportation to the smelter and smelter costs and penalties.

 

  

3

  

 

4.8 By thirty (30) days’ written notice to the Contractor, the Owner from time to time may elect to take its royalty interest in gold and silver in kind. In such event, the amount of the production shall be computed on the basis of the value thereof at the input of the smelter (either owned by the Contractor or otherwise), divided by the price thereof as above determined for gold or the Johnson Matthey quoted price for silver.

 

4.9 The Owner may request the smelter or other ore-purchasing agency to deliver said royalty interest in production directly to the Owner or retain possession of such interest at the smelter for future sale.

 

 

V. INSPECTION, REPORTS, BOOKS AND RECORDS

 

5.1 Owner, or its duly authorized agent or representative, shall be permitted to enter into or upon the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant for the purpose of inspection, at all reasonable times during business hours, after 48 hours advance notice in writing to Contractor. Owner shall enter upon said Contracted Mines and Processing Plant at Owner’s own risk and so as not to hinder the operations of Contractor. Owner shall indemnify and hold harmless Contractor from any damage, claim or demand arising from the entry or inspection by Owner or its agent or representatives, or any of them, on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant or the approaches thereto.

 

5.2 The books and records of Contractor insofar as they relate to operations on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant pursuant to this Operating & Exploration contract shall be open to inspection and copying by Owner or its duly authorized representatives, at the expenses of Owner, during regular business hours, after 48 hours advance request in writing to Contractor. Within twenty-four (24) months after the end of each calendar year, Owner may at its sole cost and expense make or have made an audit of the accounts and records of Contractor concerning operations on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant for that calendar year; provided that Owner may audit the accounts for a calendar year only once and provided further that Owner must notify Contractor in writing of its intention to cause such an audit to be made sixty (60) days in advance of such date.

 

 

VI. DATA ON THE PROPERTY

 

6. Upon execution of this Operating & Exploration, Owner will provide Contractor with access to all data concerning the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant then in possession of Owner or its agents. Contractor shall have the right to make and remove copies of all such data at the expense of Contractor, but Contractor shall not remove original documents without written consent of Owner. Contractor hereby acknowledges that Owner has provided all data in its possession.

 

VII. PROTECTION FROM LIENS, DAMAGES AND LIABILITY

 

7.1 Contractor shall keep the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant free and clear of liens for labor done or performed or materials furnished on or for the development or operation of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant under this Operating & Exploration. Contractor will not be considered in breach of this provision so long as Contractor, in good faith, contests the validity of any liens or claims against the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant.

 

  

4

  

 

7.2 Contractor shall indemnify and shall hold harmless Owner and all of Owner’s partners, agents, and employees, and each of them, from and against any and all obligations, debts, loss, damage, claims, demands, suits, controversies, costs, fees, liens, encumbrances, and liabilities whatsoever, including attorneys’ fees, in any way resulting from or arising out of any failure by Contractor to abide by any material term of the Operating & Exploration contract or any negligent or intentional act or omission by Contractor’s contractors arising out of or in connection with the operations and activities of Contractor hereunder, or out of its possession and occupancy of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant, including environmental costs resulting from Contractor’s operations, or from any similar actions by the public during the term of this Operating & Exploration. Owner shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage to Contractor or to Contractor’s property or business that may be occasioned by or through acts or omissions of persons or entities (other than for negligent or reckless acts or willful misconduct or omissions by Owner or any of its partners, agents or employees) occupying, using, or passing over any part of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant. Contractor shall use and occupy the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant at its own risk, and hereby releases Owner, to the full extent permitted by law, from all claims of every kind or nature, including claims for loss of life, personal or bodily injury, or property damage except as otherwise excluded herein.

 

7.3 Owner hereby indemnifies and holds Contractor harmless from and against any claim by the EPA or some similar federal or state agency based solely on past mining contamination or violations. In the event the EPA or a similar federal or state agency brings suit against Contractor as a person in the chain of title, Owner further agrees to defend any such suit on Contractor’s behalf at its sole cost and expense.

 

7.4 Contractor shall establish a contingency reclamation reserve fund for the purpose of assuring payment of reclamation costs caused by Contractor. There shall be deducted from net smelter returns on all materials produced and sold from the Mining Properties, after the Owner’s royalties are computed, five percent (5%) of the value thereof, for the purpose of a contingency reclamation reserve fund for paying potential reclamation costs, up to FIVE HUNRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ($500,000). Said five-percent deduction shall be placed in an escrow account. If upon the termination of this Contract and the payment of all reclamation costs, there remain sums in said contingency reclamation reserve fund, the same shall be returned to the Contractor. If at any time after two years from the time the Mining Properties subject hereto or any of them are placed in production, it is determined that 5% of the value of such production exceeds the probable amount of reclamation to be paid from such fund or is insufficient to pay such taxes, then said 5% deduction shall be reduced or increased in such amount as may reasonably be expected to pay the reclamation costs which are to be paid therefrom. The monies placed in such reserve fund shall be deposited in such manner, if possible, to derive interest therefrom, and the interest shall become a part of the contingency reclamation reserve fund.

 

VIII. COMPLIANCE WITH LAW

 

8.1 In conducting its operations hereunder, Contractor will cause all work, development and mining to be done in a careful and miner-like manner, and Contractor shall fully comply with the terms and provisions of worker’s compensation laws and all other laws governing its operations under this Operating & Exploration contract, including but not limited to any mining or environmental obligation, under existing or hereafter enacted legislation.

 

  

5

  

IX. TERMINATION BY CONTRACTOR

 

9.1 Contractor shall have the continuing right to terminate this Operating & Exploration contract at any time and to surrender the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant to Owner by giving Owner written notice thereof at least 30 days prior to the stated date of termination.

 

9.2 In the event of termination, all sums theretofore paid Owner by Contractor shall, except in the case of manifest error, be retained by Owner, and all obligations of Contractor to make payments (expect those accruing prior to the date to termination) and perform any other obligation set forth in this Operating & Exploration contract shall terminate, except any reclamation required by any federal or state regulatory agency. All reclamation responsibilities of Contractor shall survive the termination of this agreement.

 

9.3 In the event of termination, Contractor, upon request by Owner, shall make, execute, acknowledge and deliver to Owner a written relinquishment of this Operating & Exploration contract in recordable form.

 

9.4 Termination of this Operating & Exploration contract shall not relieve Contractor of its obligation to pay all royalties due to Owner hereunder as well as its pro-rata share of taxes and fees.

 

 

X. DEFAULT

 

10.1 Contractor shall be in default hereunder if either of the following shall occur:

 

a. Contractor fails to fulfill an obligation to Owner, or does not in good faith contest in writing the particular obligation, within thirty (30) days after receipt by Contractor of written notice from Owner that a required obligation has become due and has not been satisfied; or

 

b. Contractor fails to perform any of the other covenants or agreements herein contained, and such failure continues for a period of 60 days after receipt by Contractor of written notice from Owner of such failure, stating how it may be cured, and Contractor is not diligently proceeding to cure such failure or is not in good faith contesting the claimed failure.

 

c. In the event of default by Contractor as provided above, Owner may at once enter into and upon the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant or any part thereof and declare a forfeiture and cancellation of this Operating & Exploration.

 

 

XI. REMOVAL OF EQUIPMENT

 

11.1 During the term hereof, Contractor is Contracted exclusive use of all structures, improvements and personal property located on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant and owned by Owner as of the date of this Operating & Exploration contract as described in Exhibit A.

 

  

6

  

 

11.2 In the case of a valid forfeiture, surrender or other termination of this Operating & Exploration contract, Contractor shall have the right for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days to remove from the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant all warehouse stocks, merchandise, materials, tools, hoists, compressors, engines, motors, pumps, transformers, electrical accessories, metal or wooden tanks and mine cars and any and all other machinery, trade-fixtures and equipment erected or placed in or upon said Contracted Mines and Processing Plant by it, except only rails, mine timbers, installed pipes and connections. All property not removed within said period shall be deemed abandoned to Owner, unless such period is extended by agreement of Contractor and Owner or by reason of force majeure as defined herein.

 

11.3 Contractor will not discard any structures, improvements and personal property located on the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant and owned by Owner as of the date of this Operating & Exploration, or discovered by Contractor during the term of this Operating & Exploration, without prior written consent of Owner.

 

 

XII. TITLE

 

12.1 Owner warrants and covenants that it holds title and is in actual and exclusive possession of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant free and clear from all grants, sales, liens, defects, adverse claims and encumbrances of any kind other than the third party obligations previosly disclosed to Contractor. Owner shall deliver said actual, peaceful and exclusive possession of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant to Contractor for the Term of this Operating & Exploration contract and, during the Term of this Operating & Exploration contract Owner shall not encumber or burden title to the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant in any way without the prior written consent of Contractor.

 

12.2 Owner agrees to furnish Contractor such abstract, deeds or other evidence of title as may be in Owner’s possession and control, and to allow and cooperate with Contractor, at Contractor’s option and expense, to have abstracts brought to date and to take such steps and proceedings to establish title as Contractor shall deem advisable. Contractor hereby acknowledges that Owner has provided all title information in its possession.

 

12.3 The Owner has the right and authority to execute this Operating & Exploration Contract for the Mines and Processing Plant to the Contractor.

 

12.4 The Owner is not aware of any litigation, claims, or demands made by others with respect to the title of its Mines and Processing Plant other than items previously disclosed to Contractor.

  

7

  

 

XIII. FORCE MAJEURE

 

13.1 The obligations of Contractor hereunder shall be suspended to the extent and for the period that performance of any of Contractor’s obligations hereunder is prevented by any cause, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable, which are determined to be beyond Contractor’s reasonable control (hereinafter “an event of force majeure”) including, without limitation any of the following, acts of nature; labor disputes; strikes or threats of strike; fire; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; landslide; avalanche; drought or other adverse weather condition; interruption or delay in transportation; war ; insurrection; riot; laws, regulations, orders, proclamations, instructions or requests of any government or governmental entity; judgments or orders of any court; inability to obtain, on reasonably acceptable terms, any public or private license, permit or other authorization; curtailment or suspension of activities to remedy or avoid an actual or alleged, present or prospective, enforcement of federal, state or local environmental standards; unavoidable casualties; shortage of labor, equipment, fuel, material, parts, supplies, services or equipment; plant breakdown; or any disabling cause, whether similar or dissimilar to the foregoing enumeration.

 

13.2 If an event of force majeure occurs, the suspension of Contractor’s performance hereunder during such occurrence shall not be deemed a breach of the Operating & Exploration contract, and the Term of this Operating & Exploration contract shall be extended for a time period equal to the duration of such suspension. Contractor shall promptly give notice to Owner of the suspension of performance, stating therein the cause and duration thereof. Contractor agrees to use reasonable diligence to remove such causes of suspension as may occur from time to time, but shall not be required to settle strikes or other labor difficulties contrary to its own judgment.

 

 

XIV. NOTICES

 

14.1 All notices, payments and elections required, permitted or requested hereunder shall be made in writing and delivered personally or made in writing and sent by regular mail, facsimile transmission or e-mail (except notice of termination or default, which shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested), addressed as follows:

 

To Owner:

 

President

Greentech Mining Inc.

1840 Gateway Drive, Suite 200

Foster City, CA 94404

 

To Contractor:

 

President

Greentech Mining International, Inc.

840 Gateway Drive, Suite 200

Foster City, CA 94404

 

unless otherwise changed or modified by written request of the recipient party.

 

  

8

  

 

XV. COMMINGLING OF ORE

 

15.1 The Contractor may mill ore produced from the Mining Properties and from other mining properties operated by him in the same general area in a mill located on the mining property operated by him or under his control and may commingle for milling purposes ore produced from any of the mining properties as well as ore produced from the Mining Properties subject hereto with ore from other properties not subject to this Operating & Exploration contract. In such event the Contractor shall establish procedures for determining the content of metal in the ores produced from such properties by calculating on a metallurgical basis in accordance with sampling and mill efficiency experience, so that the production royalties applicable to ores produced from each of the properties from which ores are commingled may reasonably be determined. Records relating to comingled ores shall be available for inspection by Owner at all reasonable times. Such procedures and the records thereof may be questioned by the Owner at any time and submitted to arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association if Owner believes that such procedures are resulting in a disadvantage to its property.

 

 

XVI. TAXES

 

16.1 Contractor agrees to pay all taxes assessed against the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant during the term hereof (except federal, state or local taxes assessed on income) including, but not limited to, ad valorem property taxes, net proceeds or mine taxes, and all taxes for ores mined and ores treated under this Operating & Exploration contract. Contractor will deliver the appropriate tax and BLM maintenance fee to the Owner and the Owner will satisfy these responsibilities. Owner will provide receipts of these transactions to the Contractor. These transactions will be on a timely basis as to not encumber or jeopardize the properties. Payment of such taxes shall be made prior to the delinquency date of the tax.

 

 

XVII. INCIDENTAL USE OF PROPERTY

 

17.1 Contractor may possess, occupy and use, in the course of and as pertinent to its operations in the vicinity of, or upon the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant, all or any of the structures owned by Owner located upon or within the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant. Contractor shall maintain in reasonably good state of repair all such structures which it elects to use to which it is Contracted exclusive use within the scope of such grant in Article XI, except for the ordinary wear and tear and reasonable depreciation resulting from Contractor’s said use and possession. During the period of use by Contractor, Contractor shall pay the insurance, power, light and miscellaneous costs that accrue on such structures as Contractor elects to use. Owner makes no warranty as to the condition or safety of any structures upon the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant and Contractor agrees to accept the risk of loss resulting from its use of structures. Contractor shall maintain adequate fire and casualty insurance on all structures used by Contractor.

 

  

9

  

 

XVIII. ASSIGNMENT

 

18. With prior consent of Owner, not to be unreasonably withheld, the Contractor shall have the right to assign all or any portion of the Mining Properties to any financially able party or parties, provided that all conditions of this Operating & Exploration contract shall be binding upon the assignee and that he accepts Liability there for in writing and the Owner is notified of such assignment and receives written acceptance of liability. No conveyance, assignment, or transfer affecting the mineral rights on the Mining Properties or the mineral production therefrom shall be made except subject to the terms and conditions of this Operating & Exploration contract.

 

 

XIX. INUREMENT

 

19. The terms, provisions, covenants, warranties and agreements herein contained shall extend to, be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties.

 

 

XX. MEMORANDUM OF CONTRACT

 

20. Owner and Contractor agree to execute a Memorandum setting forth the basic terms and conditions of this Operating & Exploration contract. Said Memorandum may be recorded in all public records where such documents are customarily recorded. Owner and Contractor agree that this Operating & Exploration contract shall not be recorded.

 

 

XXI. OPTION TO PURCHASE

 

21. Owner grants to Contractor the sole and exclusive option to purchase all of Owner’s right, title and interest in the property (the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant) for a total purchase price of TWO MILLION dollars ($2,000,000), plus a perpetual two percent (2%) Net Smelter Royalty (hereinafter referred to as the “Purchase Price”). The Purchase Price may be paid in cash or other cash equivalent as mutually agreed by the Owner and Contractor. Exercise of the option shall be no sooner than November 15, 2013 unless Owner removes all encumbrances and holds full title and exclusive possession of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant free and clear from all grants, sales, liens, defects, adverse claims and encumbrances of any kind prior to November 15, 2013 or if Owner utilizes all or a portion of the purchase price to remove all encumbrances and holds full title and exclusive possession of the Contracted Mines and Processing Plant free and clear from all grants, sales, liens, defects, adverse claims and encumbrances of any kind to be so transferred.  Exercise of the option shall be effective upon delivery of written notice thereof to Owner at Owner’s business address or the address of Owner’s registered agent. Contractor shall deliver to Owner a negotiable instrument in the full amount of the Purchase Price in exchange for properly executed and acknowledged Deeds and/or other indicia of ownership in recordable form. Closing shall occur within sixty (60) days after exercise of the option.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties undersigned warrant that they are properly authorized to bind their respective organizations and enter into this Operating & Exploration contract according to all terms and provisions hereof, effective as of the day and year first above written.

 

 

[SIGNATURE PAGE FOLLOWS]

 

  

10

  

 

 

	  	  	  
	
Owner:

	  	
/s/ Mathew Neher

Greentech Mining, Inc. And Greentech Mining Utah, a Utah LLC

	  	  	
Matt Neher, President and Managing Member

	  	  	  
	
Date signed:

	  	
September 17, 2012

 

 

	  	  	  
	
Contractor:

	  	
/s/ Timothy Neher

	  	  	
Greentech Mining International, Inc.

Timothy Neher, Member Board of Directors, its

	
 

	  	
Authorized Representative

	  	  	  
	
Date signed:

	  	
September 17, 2012

	  	  	  

 

  

11

  

 

EXHIBIT A

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF MINING PROPERTIES, EQUIPMENT AND PROJECTS

 

 

	
  

	
1.

	
671 Acre Processing Facility Property Legal Description:

 

All of section 36, township 29 south, range 11 east, salt lake base and meridian, in Wayne County, Utah.

Tax parcel no. 02-0066-0948; serial no. 0-946-2

 

Water Rights:

Utah Water Right No. 95-5290, in the name of Greentech Mining Inc.

 

 

	
30 X 120 METAL BUILDING, INSULATED, HEATED, LIGHTING, WATER .

	
CONCRETE ORE STORAGE BINS AND PADS FULLY LINED

	
HDTP WATER STORAGE POND SYSTEMS

	
671 ACRE PERIMETER SECURITY FENCE

	
2 COMPLETE WATER WELL SYSTEMS WITH WATER RIGHTS

	
TRUCK WEIGHT SCALE CONCRETE ASSEMBLY

	
UNDERGROUND PIPING AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

	
1 UNIT -  T-2000 COMPLETE DRAGON SMELTER SYSTEM-DEISEL FIRED INDUSTRIAL SEMI ROTARY METALLURGICAL MOLD CAPACITY OF 2000 LBS.

	
7 UNITS - UNIVERSAL AUGER TRANSFER UNITS WITH MOTORS BALDOR CAT # CEM 366IT 3 HP. W/ 4INCH AND 14 DRIVE SYSTEM

	
5 UNITS - FLUX MIXING METAL BIN SYSTEMS WITH VIBRATORS/BALDOR MOTOR CAT # GIF1848C-AP17.55 RATIO

	
1 UNIT - 40FT COMPLETE BAG HOUSE TANK ASSEMBLY  20HP VIBRATING ASSEMBLY

	
1 UNIT - 20 TON COMPLETE BATCH MIXING FEED BIN ASSEMBLY MM

	
3 UNITS - 20 HP VENTILATION BLOWER ASSEMBLIES

	
1 UNIT - FEEDER BIN WITH AUGER ASSEMBLY

	
1 UNIT - STUTENROTH 10 ROCK CRUSHING MILL

	
1 UNIT - SIMPLICITY 3' X 6' VIBRATING 2 DECK SCREEN PLANT

	
1 UNIT - 4' X 16' REVERSE BELT GOLD CONCENTRATOR

	
2 UNITS 3 X 2 GALLIGER SLURRY PUMP

	
1 UNIT 4 X 3 GALLIGER SLURRY PUMP

	
1 UNIT - TRIPLE DECK DEISTER TABLE

	
1 UNIT #6 DEISTER FINISHING TABLE

	
MISC. ELECTRICAL PANELS, SWITCHES AND CABLES

	
MISC PLUMBINIG SYSTEMS - IN-GROUND AND IN-BUILDING

	
MISC SMALL TOOLS AND SPARE PARTS

	
2 UNITS - MOBILE OFFICES

 

  

12

  

 

2. 10 Acre Property and Building

 

North 1⁄2 of the North 1⁄2 of the Northwest quarter of the Southeast quarter of Section 25, Township 18 North, Range 13 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian, Mohave County, Arizona property.

 

 

Other Properties and Projects:

 

GOLDEN EAGLE CLAIM GROUP, 105 Placer Claims totaling 2100 acres – Garfield County, Utah

Claim Numbers UMC 413213 - UMC413309

Claim Numbers UMC414263 – UMC 414270

 

SILVER EAGLE CLAIM GROUP, 25 Lode Claims totaling 500 acres – Garfield County, Utah

Claim Numbers UMC414271 – UMC414295

 

BALD EAGLE CLAIM GROUP, 43 Lode Claims totaling 860 acres – Garfield County, Utah

Claim Numbers UMC414196 – UMC414238

 

COPPER EAGLE CLAIM GROUP, 24 Lode Claims totaling 480 acres – Garfield County, Utah

Claim Numbers UMC414239 – UMC414262

 

 

 

 

 

13

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