Document:

Exhibit 10.14

 

***        designates portions of this document that have been omitted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

AMENDED AND RESTATED

MARKETING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT

 

This AMENDED AND RESTATED MARKETING AND SERVICING AGREEMENT is effective the 29th day of November, 2011, and is between JTH Tax, Inc. d/b/a Liberty Tax Service, a Delaware corporation, with a principal place of business at 1716 Corporate Landing Parkway, Virginia Beach, VA 23454 (“Liberty”) and REPUBLIC BANK & TRUST COMPANY, with a principal place of business at 601 West Market Street, Louisville, KY 40202 (“Republic”).

 

RECITALS

 

A. Liberty is a tax preparation franchisor and an operator of company-owned tax preparation offices. Liberty provides software and systems to its franchisees and company-owned stores (together, “EROs”) in connection with the business of providing tax preparation, with electronic filing and related services.

 

B. Republic is engaged in, among other things, the underwriting, approval and funding of Refund Anticipation Loans (“RALs”), to Customers (as defined herein) whose federal and/or state income tax returns are filed electronically.  RALs are generally repaid when the Customer’s tax refund is electronically delivered to Republic.  The Customer’s refund amount is then debited for fees due Republic and others and for repayment of the RAL.  Republic is also in the business of receiving tax refunds electronically and issuing an Electronic Refund Check (“ERC”) or Electronic Refund Deposit (“ERD”) for the amount of the refund, minus fees due Republic and others, to the Customer (RALs, ERCs and ERDs collectively referred to as “Financial Products”).

 

C. Republic licenses EROs to offer its Financial Products in connection with the provision of the Financial Product Program (as defined herein).

 

D. Republic desires, and Liberty agrees to provide, its marketing and training services and personnel in connection with, and to devote support and additional resources in support of, the Financial Product Program.

 

E. Republic and Liberty entered into the Marketing and Servicing Agreement effective November 30, 2009, as amended on December 27, 2009 (as amended, the “Original Agreement”).

 

F. Republic and Liberty wish to amend and restate the Original Agreement as set forth herein.

 

In consideration of the mutual promises set forth herein, the parties intending to be legally bound, agree as indicated above and as follows:

 

1.                                      Definitions

 

(a)                                  “Applicable Law” shall mean all laws, rules, regulations and published regulatory guidance that are applicable to the provision of Financial Products, privacy of consumer information and tax preparation.

 

 

(b)                                 “Application” shall mean the Bank Product Application and Agreement in a form developed by Republic and reviewed by Liberty prior to each Tax Season.

 

(c)                                  “Business Day” shall mean any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday or any day recognized by the Federal Reserve Bank as a legal holiday.

 

(d)                                 “Customer” shall mean a customer of an ERO that applies for a Financial Product.  For purposes of this definition, joint borrowers or joint recipients of a Financial Product shall constitute one “Customer.”

 

(e)                                  “Disclosure Documents” shall mean a Republic-required disclosure document(s) or form(s) meeting the requirements of applicable federal laws and regulations as determined by Republic.

 

(f)                                    “Electronic Refund Check” or “ERC” shall mean a non-loan financial product through which a Customer’s federal and/or state income tax refund (as identified in IRS Form 8879 and any applicable state tax form, respectively) is deposited into an account established by Republic and disbursed, net of authorized fees and charges, to the Customer by ERC check.

 

(g)                                 “Electronic Refund Deposit” or “ERD” shall mean a non-loan financial product through which a Customer’s federal and/or state income tax refund (as identified in IRS Form 8879 and any applicable state tax form, respectively) is deposited into an account established by Republic and disbursed, net of authorized fees and charges, to the Customer (i) by debit card or (ii) via an automated clearing house credit (“ACH”) deposit to the Customer’s designated bank account.

 

(h)                                 “Financial Product(s)” shall mean the products offered by Republic under the Financial Product Program, specifically, a RAL, federal and state ERC and federal and state ERD (each as defined herein).

 

(i)                                     “Financial Product Program” shall mean the process described in this Agreement pursuant to which Republic will utilize Liberty’s software to enable EROs to provide Financial Products to Customers.

 

(k)                                  “Refund Anticipation Loan” or “RAL” shall mean a loan to a customer secured by the customer’s anticipated federal income tax return refund (as identified in IRS Form 8879 or similar form).

 

(l)                                     “State Disclosure Documents” shall mean disclosures required to be provided to a Customer pursuant to applicable State or local law in connection with an Application.

 

(m)                               “Tax Season” shall mean the period beginning on January 2 of a calendar year and ending on the last day an individual is permitted to file a federal income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), typically on or about October 15th of such calendar year.

 

2

 

2.                                      License/Marks. Republic hereby grants Liberty a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable license to grant a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable sublicense to any of Liberty’s EROs to use the Financial Product Program and offer the Financial Products. Liberty agrees that the Financial Product Program is the sole property of Republic and that it may not be duplicated or used for any purpose whatsoever without the express written consent of Republic. Republic hereby grants Liberty a nonexclusive and nontransferable license, during the term of this Agreement, to use Republic’s name, trade names, trademarks, service marks, and logos (whether or not registered or protected or protectable) to market Financial Products to EROs. All uses of the Republic marks must be approved in advance in writing by Republic, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Republic does not grant to Liberty any ownership in its marks. Liberty shall discontinue, and shall require its EROs to discontinue, all use of the Republic marks upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement and, upon request by Republic, will return all materials provided by Republic.

 

3.                                      Duties of Liberty.

 

a. Liberty will promote and market the Financial Products and Financial Product Program in promotional materials provided to Customers by Liberty and on Liberty’s website and other marketing, sales and promotional materials, comparisons, etc., said promotion to be no less equal than that of any other financial products or financial product providers(s) so promoted by Liberty. Liberty agrees to submit any and all Financial Product Program advertising/marketing material including, but not limited to, point-of-sale materials, direct mail pieces, newsletters, radio/television scripts/video, newspaper/magazine advertisements, internet website advertisements or links, training materials and/or announcements to Republic for prior written approval.

 

b. Liberty will incorporate the Financial Product Program into Liberty’s tax preparation software in accordance with Republic’s Record Layouts and Processing Specifications, incorporated herein by reference, which will be provided to Liberty, unless Republic releases Liberty from offering a specific requirement in writing.

 

c. Liberty agrees that the incorporation of the Financial Product Program into Liberty’s tax preparation software, including any check writing software, must be tested and approved in writing by Republic, before being made available to EROs. The testing shall include, but is not limited to, communications, electronic record formats, Truth-in-Lending disclosure calculations and the printing of consumer disclosures such as the Application, Disclosure Documents, State Disclosure Documents, checks and any other documentation that is contained in Republic’s Record Layouts and Processing Specifications.

 

d. Liberty agrees that Designated ERO Locations (as defined in Section 3.j. below) accepted to participate in the Financial Product Program will not be permitted to submit to any financial product provider other than Republic, through Liberty or otherwise, an Application for Customers to whom Republic makes available that Financial Product or substantially similar Financial Products, without prior written approval from Republic. EROs found to be participating in both the Financial Product Program and other bank programs, in violation of this Section 3.d., will be terminated from the Financial Product Program. Republic may accept or reject Designated 

 

3

 

ERO Locations based on criteria developed by Republic, which will be consistent with the criteria used by Republic in accepting or rejecting other tax preparers for similar Financial Product Programs.  If Republic rejects one or more EROs, Liberty will provide additional ERO locations *** pursuant to Section 3.j. below. EROs that are not accepted by Republic may offer Financial Products or similar financial products from other providers without any restriction imposed by this Agreement.

 

e. Liberty agrees to ensure that EROs affiliated with Liberty that select Republic as their Financial Products provider accept and/or agree to the Republic Bank Tax Refund Solutions ERO Agreement. Liberty agrees to require all of the owners of Designated ERO Locations to comply with the ERO Agreement.

 

f. Liberty shall offer to EROs training regarding Financial Products, and shall further require EROs to satisfactorily complete such training. In connection therewith, Liberty agrees to (i) submit the training to Republic for prior review and approval and, (ii) incorporate Republic’s ERO compliance and operational training into such training program. Liberty understands and agrees that Republic may offer and/or require EROs to receive additional training with respect to Financial Products.

 

g. Should Liberty choose to charge a transmitter fee, or any other similar fee (for transmission of necessary Financial Product information to Republic), Liberty shall require each participating ERO to charge the same amount for ERCs, ERDs and RALs. Liberty and Republic shall agree in advance to the amount of any transmitter or similar fee, and will not withhold their agreement to such fee that is consistent with industry standards.

 

h. Liberty agrees to procure and maintain Commercial General Liability insurance of not less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence and Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000) in the aggregate.

 

i. Liberty agrees to provide a Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan, with respect to the Financial Product Program, and the results of any recent Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery testing, upon Republic’s request.

 

j. On or prior to *** of each year of this Agreement, Liberty shall designate Republic as the sole and exclusive provider of Financial Products under the Financial Product Program for ERO locations that *** (the “Designated ERO Locations”); provided, however, that (i) on or prior to *** of each year of this Agreement, Liberty may designate Republic as the sole and exclusive Financial Product provider under the Financial Product Program for additional ERO locations ***, and (ii) Liberty may, only with Republic’s mutual understanding and prior written agreement, also designate Republic as the sole and exclusive Financial Product provider under the Financial Product Program for additional ERO locations. ***

 

4

 

k. To the extent that Customers request disbursement of the proceeds of any ERD on a debit or similar prepaid card, Republic shall cause such disbursement to be made on the prepaid cards made available to Customers by Liberty and its EROs.

 

l. Liberty shall pay to Republic an amount equal to *** during the tax season ending during such year who have obtained RALs from Republic pursuant to this Agreement based upon Republic’s RAL history as measured on ***.  No later than *** of each year, Republic shall deliver to Liberty the detail of the calculation of such amount.  Republic will provide Liberty with additional detailed information reasonably requested by Liberty to validate such calculation.  Liberty will make the payment to Republic no later than *** of each year.  If Liberty disputes Republic’s calculation, such disagreement shall be resolved pursuant to the dispute resolution procedures set forth in this Agreement and Liberty shall not be obligated to make any payment until such dispute is resolved. Liberty and Republic agree that the amount payable pursuant to this section 3.l. will be equitably adjusted by them each year if necessary to reflect any material changes in the fee structure associated with RALs in the Financial Product Program.  In addition, to the extent Republic later recovers from a Customer an amount of a delinquent RAL that has been included in a calculation pursuant to this section 3.l that resulted in a payment by Liberty to Republic, (including a collection by Republic pursuant to section 6.d.(ii)(4)), Republic shall use its best efforts to equitably adjust Liberty’s prior or subsequent payments to Republic to account for such recovery for any recovery made by Republic on or prior *** in the calendar year that is two calendar years after the calendar year in which this Agreement expires or is terminated.

 

4.                                      Duties of Republic.

 

a. Republic shall develop reasonable program guidelines for the offering, marketing, receipt and processing of Applications, the making of RALs and the delivery of Financial Product proceeds (“Program Guidelines”) and shall create and distribute to Liberty for its prior review forms to be used by Designated ERO Locations of each of the following: the Application, Disclosure Document(s), State Disclosure Documents, and disbursement checks.  For the avoidance of doubt, the term “Program Guidelines” shall not include guidelines or other materials that are developed by Liberty, including, without limitation, materials that are developed by Liberty and reviewed by Republic pursuant to Section 3.a. hereof or otherwise.  Republic may create solicitation, marketing and promotional materials relating to the Financial Products Program, each of which shall be subject to Liberty’s prior review.  Republic shall provide such assistance as Liberty reasonably may request in connection with the preparation and dissemination to customers of State Disclosure Documents.  Republic covenants and agrees that the Program Guidelines and all documents and materials provided by it hereunder (including, without limitation, the Application, Disclosure Document(s), State Disclosure Documents, disbursement checks, solicitation materials and marketing and promotional materials) shall comply with Applicable Law.

 

b. Republic shall provide Record Layouts and Processing Specifications to Liberty that shall contain the procedures and requirements for Liberty to offer the Financial Product Program.

 

5

 

c. Republic shall provide and distribute to each Designated ERO Location an adequate supply of checks upon which they may affix a facsimile signature of an authorized Republic signatory as provided by Republic, and shall promptly replenish such stock upon the ERO’s request at no charge, unless the ERO requests overnight delivery (in which case the ERO shall pay for such delivery).

 

d. The pricing, fees, and terms for the Financial Product Program shall be developed for each Tax Season by Republic in consultation with Liberty, provided, however, that if Republic and Liberty cannot agree on the pricing and fees for the Financial Products, Republic’s decision will control, subject to the parameters set forth in this Section 4.d.. The underwriting criteria for the Financial Products will be developed by Republic and may be modified from time to time at Republic’s sole discretion.  The pricing, fees, terms and underwriting criteria must be commercially reasonable, substantially similar to the pricing, fees and terms of financial product programs offered in other Liberty offices through other providers that are not corporate affiliates of Liberty, be established on a basis no less favorable than made available by Republic to any party other than Liberty, and within published regulatory guidelines, based on the best information available that tax season, including IRS prior-year funding trends, competitive product offerings and customer and ERO behavior.  The Financial Product Program pricing, fees and terms shall be set forth in writing by Republic no later than October 1 preceding each Tax Season.

 

e. Republic shall provide ERC and ERD services to all Customers requesting the same, if approved, with respect to all states whose taxing authority accepts state income tax returns electronically and disburses refund amounts via direct deposit.

 

f. Republic shall utilize substantially the same care, criteria, diligence and procedures in accepting or rejecting RAL Applications from, and in collecting RALs made to, Customers of Liberty and its EROs as it utilizes in accepting, rejecting and collecting similar Applications and obligations from customers of other tax preparers to which it makes available similar Financial Product programs.

 

g. *** Regardless, Liberty must ensure access to signed copies of such documents in accordance with Section 11 below.

 

5.                                      Liberty Procedures.

 

a. Liberty will provide ERO enrollment information to Republic in the form of applications and agreements provided by Republic (or approved substitute application), site listings and electronic site set-up records in accordance with Republic’s standard procedures established prior to each Tax Season.

 

6

 

b. Liberty shall require participating EROs to require that each Customer applying for a Financial Product (i) complete and sign the Application and applicable Disclosure Document(s), and (ii) is given a copy of any and all applicable State Disclosure Documents.  The Application shall include, among other things, a request for certain information and certifications, as well as an authorization, signed by the customer, to (A) disclose the tax return information for the application process in accordance with Section 301.7216 of the U.S. Treasury Department regulations (“Section 7216”) and (B) allow Republic to repay any delinquent RAL originated by Republic with the proceeds of the Financial Product obtained pursuant to the Application. Participating EROs shall be responsible, pursuant to the terms of the ERO Agreement, for ensuring that the Application is complete and accurately reflects all material information received from the customer; provided, however, if the ERO uses commercially reasonable due diligence and fraud prevention measures in accordance with the Program Guidelines, neither Liberty nor the ERO shall be held responsible for false or inaccurate information provided by Customers.

 

c. In connection with each Application, Liberty shall require each participating ERO to complete IRS Form 8879 and the direct deposit designation in the electronic portion of the applicant’s federal (and state, if applicable) income tax return which shall include information provided by Republic (such as the applicable Republic check routing number and customer account number) and shall name Republic as the financial institution.  The forms shall be signed by an employee of the ERO and by the Customer, and shall also indicate that the account is a checking account and that the source is “other”.  Liberty shall cause the same information to be contained in the appropriate data field as part of the income tax return electronically filed by the ERO.

 

d. Liberty shall require each participating ERO to timely provide to each applicant a signed copy of the Application, applicable Disclosure Document(s), and applicable State Disclosure Documents (which may be combined into one or more forms), signed IRS Form 8453 or similar form, together with any other agreements or documents that Republic reasonably may require; provided that Republic shall be solely responsible for the form and content of the Application, Disclosure Document(s), and State Disclosure Documents , subject to Liberty review prior to each Tax Season, and their compliance with Applicable Law.

 

e. Retention and Handling of Documents.

 

(i)                                     Liberty shall require each participating ERO to retain, a copy, electronic or otherwise, of the signed Application and signed Disclosure Document(s) in the Customer’s file, maintained by them for a period of three (3) years following the preparation and execution thereof, after which time such documents shall be properly destroyed by commercially reasonable methods in accordance with the Program Guidelines.  At the reasonable request of Republic, Liberty shall cause EROs to deliver to Republic a copy of any Application or other documentation within three (3) Business Days.

 

(ii)                                  For fraud detection, underwriting and collection purposes, subject to Liberty’s receipt of the Customer’s consent as provided in Section 7216, Liberty shall provide to Republic electronic copies of each such Customer’s electronically filed federal income tax return, in the format prescribed by the IRS, simultaneously with or promptly after the Application information is transmitted to Republic.

 

7

 

 

f. After Liberty has transmitted the Customer’s income tax return to the IRS, Liberty shall electronically transmit to Republic all information with respect to issuance of a Financial Product necessary to implement the Financial Product Program in accordance with Republic’s current year Record Layouts and Processing Specifications provided to Liberty.

 

g. The IRS has agreed to advise Liberty, as to each Customer, whether such Customer’s tax return has been accepted for Electronic Filing (the “IRS Acknowledgment”). When Liberty receives an IRS Acknowledgment, Liberty shall transmit the IRS Acknowledgment to Republic.

 

h. Upon receiving notice from Republic that a Customer’s Application has been approved, Liberty will transmit information to ERO enabling ERO to prepare a disbursement check by completing a blank check form supplied directly by Republic. Such check shall be for the amount of the RAL or ERC less all applicable fees and finance charges authorized by the Customer.

 

i. Liberty shall distribute to each participating ERO its tax preparation and electronic filing software, which will enable the ERO to file returns electronically through Liberty to the IRS, print the Application, Disclosure Documents, State Disclosure Documents as well as any and all other documents contained in the Record Layouts and Processing Specifications, and will also permit the ERO to send to Republic, via Liberty, the required information to process the Financial Product. Liberty will provide a check writing program to each ERO that will be printing Financial Product checks on site. This check writing program will be designed to permit checks to be written only in the name of the proper Customer provided by Republic and only in the amount approved by Republic as well as to control the preparation of information on the perforated stub of the check form. It will, in addition, have the capability of printing additional checks when additional funds are received causing an additional amount due the Customer.

 

j. After Liberty has sent an ERO a record approved by Republic authorizing the printing of the disbursement check for the Financial Product, Liberty shall timely transmit to Republic a check reconciliation file as described in Republic’s Record Layouts and Processing Specifications.

 

k. At the reasonable request of Republic, Liberty shall provide reasonable assistance to Republic, recognizing contractual and confidentiality limitations, which may aid Republic in the collection of past due RALs. This assistance may include, but not be limited to, providing updated addresses and phone numbers for EROs, Customers and taxpayers to the extent such information is in the possession of Liberty.

 

6.                                      Republic Procedures.

 

a. Republic shall, on each day during the Term (as defined in section 9.a.), including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, process Applications and provide Financial Products with respect thereto for all Applications received electronically in accordance with Republic’s underwriting criteria in effect at that time (as the same may be amended from time to time by the mutual consent of the parties) and in accordance with industry standards; provided that Republic shall use commercially reasonable efforts to process RAL Applications within *** (if a credit bureau is employed to evaluate the creditworthiness of a RAL applicant, then within

 

8

 

***; if there is a positive match to the Office of Foreign Assets Control List, then within ***) after having received from Liberty an acknowledgment of the due filing of the related tax return, together with any corresponding debt indicator (if applicable), as received from the IRS.  The foregoing process times shall, in each case, be met *** of the time (i.e., a *** service level).  Notwithstanding the foregoing, Republic shall not accept any Applications at any time if Republic (i) receives notification from the IRS that an ERO is under investigation, (ii) reasonably suspects fraudulent activity originating through an ERO, or (iii) considers loan delinquencies on RALs originating through an ERO to be unacceptable, in its reasonable discretion. Republic shall be responsible for decisions made by it to approve or deny RAL Applications, including, without limitation, the provision to applicants of adverse action notices or other notices required by Applicable Law.

 

b.                                      Republic shall promptly communicate disbursement authorizations to Liberty (i) immediately upon approval of a RAL solely for loan proceeds and (ii) for all other disbursements upon receipt of and after processing IRS or state refund pre-note files to the extent such practice does not violate any applicable bank regulations, provided that federal and state funding shall be released by Republic no later than the effective date designated by the IRS or applicable state taxing authority, respectively.  Republic shall be responsible for all disbursement/check authorizations issued by it, including losses incurred as a result of its issuance of duplicate or multiple check print authorizations or checks issued by Republic in error or with information inconsistent with the information in the disbursement request received from Liberty.  Liberty agrees to cooperate with Republic in the recovery of all duplicate checks.  Additionally, the ERO shall be responsible for and indemnify Republic for any losses incurred as a result of printing duplicate checks from a single check print authorization; provided, however, that such ERO shall have no indemnity obligations if the ERO complies with the requirements set forth in the Program Guidelines regarding check print authorizations and duplicate checks.

 

c.                                       Establishment of Accounts; Availability of Funds.

 

(i)                                     Republic shall establish and maintain at Republic a segregated account for the benefit of Customers (each, a “Deposit Account”), which account shall conform to the requirements of 12 C.F.R. 330.5 so as to afford such customers FDIC insurance with respect to such Deposit Accounts. Upon notification to Liberty that a RAL has been approved or that an ERC or ERD has been funded, Republic shall transfer the amount of the net loan proceeds or net refund, respectively, to the Deposit Account.  All disbursements to Customers shall be drawn on the Deposit Account and shall be paid promptly upon presentment.  Republic shall make all disbursements in the manner elected by the Customer, as set forth in the Application. Republic shall have the right to offset against the Deposit Account all fees and charges authorized by the Customer to be paid to Republic, the ERO or otherwise pursuant to such Customer’s Application for a Financial Product in an amount up to the amount of the Financial Product.

 

(ii)                                  Upon notification to Liberty that an ERC or ERD has been funded, Republic shall transfer funds via ACH from the Deposit Account into the account designated for receipt thereof by the Customer.  If the ACH transfer is not successful, then Republic shall disburse the refund via a check drawn on the Deposit Account and printed by the Customer’s ERO or mailed directly by Republic.

 

9

 

(iii)                               Republic shall have sufficient funds available at all times to pay all disbursements authorized by Republic under the Program. All checks shall, unless subject to potential defenses by Republic, be paid promptly upon presentment.

 

d.                                      Deduction of Additional Charges; Timing and Order of Disbursements.

 

(i)                                     Republic shall remit payment to the appropriate ERO of all fees and charges authorized by Customers to be paid to such ERO (e.g., tax preparation and other fees) upon funding of the Customer’s tax refund.  The foregoing shall be set forth in greater detail in the applicable ERO Agreement between such ERO and Republic and in the Program Guidelines.

 

(ii)                                  All Financial Product disbursements shall be made to the customer net of all authorized fees, deductions or charges.  From the Customer’s refund, and after the RAL payoff (if applicable), disbursements will be made in the following order:  (1) Republic, for Tax Refund Administration Fee; (2) ERO, for tax preparation fees;  (3) Liberty, for fees charged by Liberty as provided in section 3.g.; (4) Republic, for prior year RAL obligation(s) to Republic; and, (5) Customer, for all remaining funds.  However, in the event that following the RAL payoff Republic does not receive funds in excess of its Tax Refund Administration Fee, all funds received will be disbursed to the Customer.

 

(iii)                               If the Customer’s refund is less than the amount of the outstanding RAL, then Republic shall notify the ERO and the Customer of such shortfall, and demand prompt payment to Republic of the outstanding amount.

 

e. Upon the receipt of any IRS or state payments, Republic shall make available to Liberty a file that shall include a list of ACH transmissions from the IRS or state and a list of all paid items. At Liberty’s request, Republic shall provide weekly reports to Liberty describing all ACH transmissions from the IRS to Republic and all paid items, and covering such other matters and in such form as Liberty reasonably may request.  Republic covenants and agrees that each such report will be true, correct and complete in all respects and all such reports shall be available to Liberty on a secure website on a real-time basis.

 

f.                                         Republic shall send a proper adverse action notice under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Regulation B and other Applicable Laws to each applicant whose RAL request was declined by Republic.

 

g.                                      Republic shall cooperate with Liberty in developing and implementing procedures to detect fraudulent activity in the Financial Product Program.  Republic shall immediately inform Liberty when it suspects fraudulent activity originating through an ERO and Liberty shall inform Republic of the actions it takes in response to such notification.  Furthermore, Liberty agrees to take additional action as requested by Republic in reference to any participating ERO’s fraudulent activity, to the extent commercially reasonable.

 

h. Republic will provide Liberty with an ERO Agreement in advance of the applicable filing season to be provided to potential EROs.

 

10

 

8.                                      Representations and Warranties.

 

a. Republic and Liberty each represent and warrant to the other as follows: (i) it is duly organized and validly existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized and has the full corporate power to own its property and to carry on its business as now being conducted; (ii) the execution and delivery of this Agreement does not conflict with or result in a breach of the terms, conditions or provisions of, give rise to a right of termination under, constitute a default under, or result in any violation of, the organizational documents of it or any mortgage, agreement, contract, order, judgment, decree, statute, law, rule or regulation to which it or any of its respective properties is subject; (iii) no authorizations or other consents, approvals or notices of or to any person or entity are required in connection with (a) the performance by it of its obligations under this Agreement, (b) the validity and enforceability of this Agreement; or (c) the execution, delivery and performance by it of this Agreement; and (iv) it owns, or has the right to use under valid and enforceable agreements, all intellectual property rights reasonably necessary for and related to its performance of, and obligations under, this Agreement and the Financial Product Program.

 

b. Liberty represents and warrants to Republic that it is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, and shall be responsible for its compliance with all Applicable Laws, the Financial Product Program, the Record Layouts and Processing Specifications, and the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

 

c. Republic represents and warrants to Liberty that it is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, and shall be responsible for its compliance with all Applicable Laws and the Financial Product Program, as implemented pursuant to the Program Guidelines, and this Agreement.

 

9.                                      Term of Agreement.

 

a. The term of this Agreement (the “Term”) shall begin on the effective date, as stated above, and terminate on October 16, 2014. This Agreement shall only be renewable by mutual written consent of both parties.

 

b. Either party may at its option terminate this Agreement upon twenty (20) days’ prior written notice if (i) the other party has materially breached any of the terms hereof and has failed to cure such breach within such twenty day time period or (ii) the continued operation of the Financial Product Program or the electronic filing program is no longer commercially feasible or practical, or no longer provides the same opportunity, to the terminating party due to legal, legislative or regulatory determinations, enactments or interpretations or significant external events or occurrences beyond the control of the terminating party; provided, however, that in the case of clause (ii), the parties shall first mutually endeavor in good faith to modify the Financial Product Program in a manner resolving the problems caused by legal, legislative or regulatory or external events or occurrences. In addition, either party may terminate this Agreement immediately upon notice to the other party, upon (x) the filing by or against the other party of any petition in bankruptcy or for reorganization or debt consolidation under the federal bankruptcy laws or under comparable law, if such petition is not dismissed within ninety (90) days; (y) the other party’s

 

11

 

making of an assignment of all or substantially all of its assets for the benefit of creditors; or (z) application of the other party for the appointment of a receiver or trustee of its assets.  In addition, Republic may terminate this Agreement upon notice to Liberty at the latest date allowable by Republic’s regulator in the event that Republic is directed by one of its regulators to cease offering all of the Financial Products or to cease the Financial Product Program with Liberty.

 

10.                               Confidentiality.

 

a. The parties acknowledge that as a result of the matters provided for in this Agreement, trade secrets and information of a proprietary or confidential nature relating to the business of the parties and their affiliates may be disclosed to and/or developed by the parties including, without limitation, information about trade secrets, agreements, products, services, licenses, costs, sales and pricing information, and any other information that may not be known generally or publicly (collectively “Confidential Information”). The parties acknowledge that such Confidential Information is generally not known in the trade and is of considerable importance to the parties and their affiliates and agree that this relationship to each other with respect to such information shall be fiduciary in nature. Each party expressly agrees that during the term of this Agreement and thereafter it will hold in confidence and not disclose and not make use of any such Confidential Information, except (i) as required pursuant to this Agreement;  (ii) for disclosure to its directors, officers, employees, attorneys, advisors or agents who need to review the Confidential Information in connection with the conduct of its business (it being understood that such directors, officers, employees, advisors and agents will be informed of the confidential nature of such information); (iii) in the course of any litigation or court proceeding involving Republic and Liberty concerning this Agreement; (iv) as required by legal process or operation of applicable law, provided, however, that unless prohibited prompt notice of such requirement shall be provided to the party which owns the Confidential Information to allow such party a reasonable amount of time to seek a protective or similar order prior to any such disclosure; and (v) for disclosure of information that (a) was or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of a disclosure by its directors, officers, employees, advisors or agents in breach of this provision, (b) was available to it on a non-confidential basis prior to disclosure to it pursuant to this Agreement or prior to any similar agreement between Republic and Liberty, (c) is obtained by it on a non-confidential basis from a source other than such persons or their agents, which source is not prohibited from transmitting the information by a confidentiality agreement or other legal or fiduciary obligation, or (d) has been authorized by the other party to be disseminated to persons on a non-confidential basis.

 

b. Section 501(b)(3) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act states that information security standards must include various safeguards to protect against not only “unauthorized access to” but also the “use of” Confidential Information relating to taxpayers that could result in “substantial harm or inconvenience to any customer.” In addition to the definition of Confidential Information above, Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, taxpayers’ names, social security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, number of months at address, phone numbers, financial information as to loans with Republic or other loans or accounts, bankruptcy, employer names and phone numbers. Liberty will utilize its best efforts to protect all Confidential Information and to that extent utilize appropriate means including, but not limited to, firewalls, intrusion protections systems, encrypted data transfer, and software security controls to protect all Confidential Information. Both parties shall warrant that such reasonable and appropriate safeguards are and

 

12

 

will remain in place. Both parties will immediately provide notice of any breach resulting in unauthorized intrusion(s) of the Confidential Information and shall specify the corrective action taken by the breached party. The breached party shall assess the nature and scope of any incident and specifically identify the Confidential Information that has or may have been improperly accessed or misused. The breached party shall take appropriate steps to contain and control any incident of breach of security relating to the Confidential Information, assist the other party with all reasonably requested steps needed to notify customers of any such breach and prevent harm or inconvenience from such breach and agrees upon request to indemnify the injured party for any loss or costs associated with any breach of security or unauthorized disclosure.

 

11.                               Audit. Liberty agrees to provide to the internal and external auditors and personnel of Republic, and any examiners or agents from any regulatory body asserting jurisdiction over the business of Republic, all third party audit and examination reports prepared by regulatory examiners, subject to the prior approval of such examiners, or independent public accountants of Liberty, and shall grant such auditors, personnel, examiners and agents reasonable access to Liberty (including, without limitation, to its records). It shall fully cooperate and provide to such auditors, personnel, examiners and agents, in a timely manner, all such assistance as they may reasonably require in monitoring and/or verifying compliance with Applicable Law and this Agreement, including providing information concerning EROs or Customers and will assist Republic in obtaining any such information from EROs. Specifically, Liberty shall, and shall require an ERO to, provide to Republic upon its written request within three (3) days of such request Financial Product documentation and information about a Customer or Customers or one or more EROs. Additionally, Liberty agrees to implement additional criteria related to the Financial Product Program that will be mutually agreed to by Liberty and Republic, into Liberty’s onsite evaluations of EROs and provide all results of said onsite evaluations to Republic upon request.

 

12.                               Indemnification. Liberty shall indemnify, hold harmless and reimburse Republic and its officers, directors, employees and agents, for all expenses and costs including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees, judgments, penalties, payments of other direct expenses and payments and settlement or other disposition of, or in connection with, any claims, disputes, controversies or litigation with respect to anything wrongfully done or not done by Liberty or for the violation of any laws, rules or regulations applicable to Liberty in connection with the Financial Product Program.

 

13.                               Severability. If any provision of this agreement shall for any reason be held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, same shall not affect the validity of this Agreement or any other provision hereof and this Agreement shall be interpreted and construed as if such provision to the extent invalid, had not been contained herein.

 

14.                               Survival. Sections 1, 2 (the last sentence only), 3.l., 4.g, 5.e., 9.b., and 10 - 24 shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

 

15.                               Entire Agreement. The Agreement, as amended, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, including any obligations owed under all prior agreements (including the Original Agreement) and/or understandings, whether written or oral, relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. Upon the execution and delivery of

 

13

 

this Agreement by both parties, the Original Agreement shall be deemed to have been terminated and superseded by this Agreement.

 

16.                               Amendment. This Agreement may be amended or modified only by a written instrument executed by all the parties hereto.

 

17.                               Relationship of the Parties. This Agreement is not intended to create, and shall not create a partnership relationship or joint venture between Republic and Liberty, each party being an independent contractor.

 

18.                               Successors and Assigns. Neither party may assign this Agreement without the prior written approval from the other party.

 

19.                               Agreement Not Exclusive. This Agreement shall not be exclusive with respect to either Republic or Liberty.

 

20.                               Notice. All notices, consents, waivers or other communications, including any errors and omissions inquiries, required or permitted under this agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed effective upon personal delivery or when sent by registered or certified mail or overnight courier which provides a receipt upon delivery, postage prepaid, addressed to the following business addresses or at such other address or addresses as either party may designate to the other in writing hereinafter:

 

	
If   to Liberty:
    	
JTH   Tax, Inc.
    
	
 
    	
Attn:   Mr. Mark F. Baumgartner, CFO
    
	
 
    	
1716   Corporate Landing Parkway
    
	
 
    	
Virginia   Beach, Virginia 23454
    
	
 
    	
 
    
	
If   to Republic:
    	
Republic   Bank & Trust Company
    
	
 
    	
Tax   Refund Solutions
    
	
 
    	
Attn:   William R Nelson
    
	
 
    	
200   South 7th Street
    
	
 
    	
Louisville,   Kentucky 40202
    

 

21.                               Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original copy of this Agreement and all of which, when taken together, will be deemed to constitute one and the same Agreement. This Agreement is not binding until executed by both parties.

 

22.                               Waiver of Jury Trial. Both parties to this Agreement hereby knowingly, voluntarily, and intentionally waive any right to a trial by jury in any action, suit, proceeding, or counterclaim concerning any rights under this agreement, any related document or under any other document or agreement delivered in connection herewith or therewith, or arising from any relationship existing in connection with this agreement, and agree that any such action, suit, proceeding or counterclaim shall be tried before a court and not before a jury. This provision is a material inducement for the parties entering into this Agreement.

 

14

 

23.                               Applicable Law - Arbitration. Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the relationship or dealings between the practice hereto, shall be settled by mediation, or, if the parties cannot agree on an acceptable mediator or fail to reach a solution through the mediation process, then by binding arbitration, conducted on a confidential basis, under the then current Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (including the Optional Rules for Emergency Relief) strictly in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the substantive law of the State of Kentucky. The arbitration shall be held at a mutually agreeable location in Jefferson County, Kentucky and conducted by one (1) arbitrator chosen from a list of attorneys or judges. If the parties cannot within thirty (30) days agree on the selection of the arbitrator, the arbitrator will be appointed by the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, Kentucky in an action commenced to enforce this Section. The costs of the arbitration, including the fees to be paid to the arbitrator, shall be shared equally by the parties. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator shall not award any consequential, incidental punitive or exemplary damages. The parties acknowledge that they have voluntarily agreed to arbitrate their disputes in accordance with the foregoing and each party hereby irrevocably waives any damages in excess of compensatory damages.

 

24.                               Governing Law. The Agreement shall be constructed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and any action commenced hereunder to construe or enforce this Agreement shall be commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction located in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Liberty and Republic have executed this Agreement on the date indicated below.

 

	
Republic Bank & Trust Company
    	
 
    	
JTH Tax, Inc.
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
Signature:
    	
/s/   William R. Nelson
    	
 
    	
Signature:
    	
/s/   James J. Wheaton
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
Name:
    	
William   R. Nelson
    	
 
    	
Name:
    	
James   J. Wheaton
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
Title:
    	
President
    	
 
    	
Title:
    	
Vice   President
    
	
 
    	
 
    	
 
    
	
Date:   November 29, 2011
    	
 
    	
Date:   November 29, 2011
    

 

15Exhibit 4.1 Rights Agreement

Exhibit 4.1

SOFTECH, INC.

and

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY, as Rights Agent

RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Dated as of February 3, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(continued)

			
	 
	 
	Page

	SECTION 1.

	CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

	1

	SECTION 2.

	APPOINTMENT OF RIGHTS AGENT

	4

	SECTION 3.

	ISSUE OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES

	5

	SECTION 4.

	FORM OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES

	6

	SECTION 5.

	COUNTERSIGNATURE AND REGISTRATION

	6

	SECTION 6.

	TRANSFER, SPLIT UP, COMBINATION AND EXCHANGE OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES; MUTILATED, DESTROYED, LOST OR STOLEN RIGHT CERTIFICATES

	6

	SECTION 7.

	EXERCISE OF RIGHTS, PURCHASE PRICE; EXPIRATION DATE OF RIGHTS

	7

	SECTION 8.

	CANCELLATION AND DESTRUCTION OF RIGHT CERTIFICATES

	8

	SECTION 9.

	AVAILABILITY OF SHARES OF COMMON STOCK

	8

	SECTION 10.

	COMMON STOCK RECORD DATE

	9

	SECTION 11.

	ADJUSTMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE, NUMBER AND KIND OF SHARES AND NUMBER OF RIGHTS

	9

	SECTION 12.

	CERTIFICATE OF ADJUSTED PURCHASE PRICE OR NUMBER OF SHARES

	15

	SECTION 13.

	CONSOLIDATION, MERGER OR SALE OR TRANSFER OF ASSETS OR EARNING POWER

	16

	SECTION 14.

	FRACTIONAL RIGHTS AND FRACTIONAL SHARES

	18

	SECTION 15.

	RIGHTS OF ACTION

	19

	SECTION 16.

	AGREEMENT OF RIGHT HOLDERS

	19

	SECTION 17.

	RIGHT CERTIFICATE HOLDER NOT DEEMED A SHAREHOLDER

	19

	SECTION 18.

	MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION OR CHANGE OF NAME OF RIGHTS AGENT

	20

	SECTION 19.

	DUTIES OF RIGHTS AGENT

	20

	SECTION 20.

	CHANGE OF RIGHTS AGENT

	22

	SECTION 21.

	ISSUANCE OF NEW RIGHT CERTIFICATES

	22

	SECTION 22.

	REDEMPTION

	22

	SECTION 23.

	EXCHANGE

	23

	SECTION 24.

	NOTICE OF CERTAIN EVENTS

	24

	SECTION 25.

	NOTICES

	24

	SECTION 26.

	SUPPLEMENTS AND AMENDMENTS

	25

	SECTION 27.

	SUCCESSORS

	25

	SECTION 28.

	BENEFITS OF THIS AGREEMENT

	25

	SECTION 29.

	DETERMINATIONS AND ACTIONS BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

	25

	SECTION 30.

	SEVERABILITY

	25

	SECTION 31.

	GOVERNING LAW

	25

	SECTION 32.

	COUNTERPARTS

	25

	SECTION 33.

	DESCRIPTIVE HEADINGS

	25

-i-

RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Rights Agreement, dated as of February 3, 2012 (“Agreement”), between SofTech, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation (the “Company”), and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent (the “Rights Agent”).

WHEREAS, (a) the Company and certain of its Subsidiaries (as defined below) have certain net operating losses and certain other tax attributes (collectively, “NOLs”) for United States federal income tax purposes; (b) the Company desires to avoid an “ownership change” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and thereby preserve the Company’s ability to utilize such NOLS, and (c) in furtherance of such objective, the Company desires to enter into this Agreement;

WHEREAS, The Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) has authorized and declared a dividend of one common share purchase right (a “Right”) for each share of Common Stock (as hereinafter defined) of the Company outstanding as of the Close of Business (as defined below) on February 15, 2012 (the “Record Date”), each Right representing the right to purchase one share of Common Stock (subject to adjustment as provided herein), upon the terms and subject to the conditions herein set forth, and has further authorized and directed the issuance of one Right (subject to adjustment as provided herein) with respect to each share of Common Stock that shall become outstanding between the Record Date and the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date (as such terms are hereinafter defined); provided, however, that Rights may be issued with respect to shares of Common Stock that shall become outstanding after the Distribution Date and prior to the Expiration Date in accordance with Section 22.

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

Section 1.

Certain Definitions.  For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meaning indicated:

(a)

“Acquiring Person” shall mean any Person (as such term is hereinafter defined) who or which shall be the Beneficial Owner (as such term is hereinafter defined) of 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, but shall not include an Exempt Person (as such term is hereinafter defined); provided, however, that (i) if the Board of Directors determines in its sole discretion that a Person who would otherwise be an “Acquiring Person” became the Beneficial Owner of a number of shares of Common Stock such that the Person would otherwise qualify as an “Acquiring Person” inadvertently (including, without limitation, because (A) such Person was unaware that it beneficially owned a percentage of Common Stock that would otherwise cause such Person to be an “Acquiring Person” or (B) such Person was aware of the extent of its Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock but had no actual knowledge of the consequences of such Beneficial Ownership under this Agreement) and without any intention of changing or influencing control of the Company, then such Person shall not be deemed to be or to have become an “Acquiring Person” for any purposes of this Agreement unless and until such Person shall have failed to divest itself, as promptly as practicable (as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion), of Beneficial Ownership of a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock so that such Person would no longer otherwise qualify as an “Acquiring Person”; (ii) if, as of the date hereof or prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of this Agreement, any Person is or becomes the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock outstanding, such Person shall not be deemed to be or to become an “Acquiring Person” unless and until such time as such Person shall, after the first public announcement of the adoption of this Agreement, become the Beneficial Owner of additional shares of Common Stock representing one half of one percent (.5%) or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding (other than pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Stock or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock), unless, upon becoming the Beneficial Owner of such additional shares of Common Stock, such Person is not then the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; and (iii) no Person shall become an “Acquiring Person” as the result of (A) an acquisition of shares of Common Stock by the Company which, by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases the proportionate number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such Person to 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding or (B) an Exempt Transaction; provided, however, that if a Person shall become the Beneficial Owner of 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding by reason of such share acquisitions by the Company or such Exempt Transaction and shall thereafter become the Beneficial Owner of any additional shares of Common Stock (other than pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Stock or pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock), then such Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” unless upon becoming the Beneficial Owner of such additional shares of Common Stock such Person does not beneficially own 4.99% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding.  For all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular percentage of such outstanding shares of Common Stock of which any Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall be made pursuant to and in accordance with Section 382 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.

1

(b)

“Affiliate” and “Associate” shall have the respective meanings ascribed to such terms in Rule 12b-2 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act, as in effect on the date hereof, and to the extent not included within the foregoing clause of this Section 1(b), shall also include, with respect to any Person, any other Person (whether or not an Exempt Person) whose shares of Common Stock would be deemed constructively owned by such first Person, owned by a single “entity” as defined in Section 1.382-3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations, or otherwise aggregated with shares owned by such first Person pursuant to the provisions of the Code, or any successor provision or replacement provision, and the Treasury Regulations thereunder, provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed to be the Affiliate or Associate of another Person solely because either or both Persons are or were directors of the Company.

(c)

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, directly or indirectly, has the right to acquire (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing) (including any purchase orders for shares of Common Stock initiated prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of this Agreement) or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants, options, or other rights (in each case, other than upon exercise or exchange of the Rights); provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own” securities (including rights, options or warrants) which are convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for Common Stock until such time as such securities are converted or exchanged into or exercised for Common Stock except to the extent the acquisition or transfer of such rights, options or warrants would be treated as exercised on the date of its acquisition or transfer under Section 1.382-4(d) of the Treasury Regulations; provided, further, 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 such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange; 

(ii)

which such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates, directly or indirectly, has or shares the right to vote or dispose of, or has “beneficial ownership” of (as defined under Rule 13d-3 of the General Rules and Regulations under the Exchange Act), including pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing), but only if the effect of such agreement, arrangement or understanding is to treat such Persons as an “entity” under Section 1.382-3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations; or 

(iii)

of which any other Person is the Beneficial Owner, if such Person or any of such Person’s Affiliates or Associates has any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing) with such other Person (or any of such other Person’s Affiliates or Associates) with respect to acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of such securities of the Company, but only if the effect of such agreement, arrangement or understanding is to treat such Persons as an “entity” under Section 1.382-3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, any security (A) if such Person has the right to vote such security pursuant to an agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing) which (1) arises solely from a revocable proxy 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 of the Exchange Act and (2) is not also then reportable on Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report), or (B) if such beneficial ownership arises solely as a result of such Person’s status as a “clearing agency,” as defined in Section 3(a)(23) of the Exchange Act; provided, further, that nothing in this Section 1(d) shall cause a Person engaged in business as an underwriter of securities or member of a selling group to be the Beneficial Owner of, or to beneficially own, any securities acquired through such Person’s participation in good faith in an underwriting syndicate until the expiration of 40 calendar days after the date of such acquisition, or such later date as the Board of Directors may determine in any specific case. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, to the extent not within the foregoing provisions of this Section 1(c), a Person shall be deemed the Beneficial Owner of, and shall be deemed to beneficially own or have beneficial ownership of, securities which such Person would be deemed to constructively own or which otherwise would be aggregated with shares owned by such Person pursuant to Section 382 of the Code, or any successor provision or replacement provision and the Treasury Regulations thereunder. 

(d)

 “Board of Directors” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto and includes any duly authorized committee thereof.

2

(e)

“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York or the city in which the principal office of the Rights Agent is located are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

(f)

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

(g)

“Code” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.

(h)

“Common Stock” when used with reference to the Company shall mean the Common Stock, presently par value $.10 per share, of the Company.  “Common Stock” when used with reference to any Person other than the Company shall mean the common stock (or, in the case of an unincorporated entity, 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)

“Common Stock Equivalents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

(j)

“Current Value” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

(k)

“Distribution Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3 hereof.

(l)

“Equivalent Common Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(b) hereof.

(m)

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

(n)

“Exempt Person” shall mean (i) the Company or any Subsidiary (as such term is hereinafter defined) of the Company, in each case including, without limitation, in its fiduciary capacity, or any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company, or any entity or trustee holding Common Stock for or pursu­ant to the terms of any such plan or for the purpose of funding any such plan or funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company; or (ii) any Person whose Beneficial Ownership (together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person) of 4.99% or more of the then-outstanding Common Stock will not, as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion, jeopardize or endanger the availability to the Company of the NOLs; provided, however, that such a Person will cease to be an “Exempt Person” if the Board of Directors makes a contrary determination with respect to the effect of such Person’s Beneficial Ownership (together with all Affiliates and Associates of such Person) upon the availability to the Company of its NOLs.

(o)

“Exempt Transaction” shall mean (i) the exercise of any options, warrants, rights or similar interests (including restricted stock) granted by the Company to its directors, officers and employees, (ii) any unilateral grant of any security by the Company or (iii) any other transaction that the Board of Directors determines, in its sole discretion, is exempt, which determination shall be irrevocable.

(p)

“Exchange Ratio” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24 hereof.

(q)

“Expiration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7 hereof.

(r)

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

(s)

“Flip-In Event” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(ii) hereof.

(t)

“NOLs” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals hereto.

(u)

“Person” shall mean any individual, firm, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, trust or other legal entity, group of persons making a “coordinated acquisition” of shares or otherwise treated as an entity within the meaning of Section 1.382-3(a)(1) of the Treasury Regulations or otherwise, and includes any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such individual or entity.

3

(v)

“Principal Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13(b) hereof.

(w)

“Purchase Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(b) hereof.

(x)

“Redemption Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7 hereof.

(y)

“Redemption Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23 hereof.

(z)

“Right Certificate” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3 hereof.

(aa)

“Securities Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

(bb)

“Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

(cc)

“Spread” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

(dd)

“Stock Acquisition Date” shall mean the first date of the 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.

(ee)

“Subsidiary” of any Person shall mean any corporation or other entity of which securities or other ownership interests having ordinary voting power sufficient to elect a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by such Person, and any corporation or other entity that is otherwise controlled by such Person.

(ff)

“Substitution Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii) hereof.

(gg)

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

(hh)

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

(ii)

“Treasury Regulations” shall mean final, temporary and proposed income tax regulations promulgated under the Code, including any amendments thereto.

(jj)

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

(kk)

“Trust Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23(a) hereof.

Section 2.

Appointment of Rights Agent.  The Company hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company and the holders of the Rights (who, in accordance with Section 3 hereof, shall prior to the Distribution Date be the holders of Common Stock) in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment.  The Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable.

4

Section 3.

Issue of Right Certificates.

(a)

Until the Close of Business on the earlier of (i) the tenth day after the Stock Acquisition Date or (ii) the tenth Business Day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person) after the date of the commencement by any Person (other than an Exempt Person) of, or of the first public announcement of the intention of such Person (other than an Exempt Person) to commence, a tender or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in any Person (other than an Exempt Person) becoming the Beneficial Owner of shares of Common Stock aggregating 4.99% or more of the Common Stock then outstanding (the earlier of such dates being herein referred to as the “Distribution Date”, provided, however, that if either of such dates occurs after the date of this Agreement and on or prior to the Record Date, then the Distribution Date shall be the Record Date), (x) the Rights will be evidenced (subject to the provisions of Section 3(b) hereof) by the certificates for Common Stock registered in the names of the holders thereof and not by separate Right Certificates, and (y) the Rights will be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Stock.  As soon as practicable after the Distribution Date, the Company will prepare and execute, the Rights Agent will countersign and the Company will send or cause to be sent (and the Rights Agent will, if requested, send) by first-class, insured, postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Stock 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 A hereto (a “Right Certificate”), evidencing one Right (subject to adjustment as provided herein) for each share of Common Stock so held.  As of the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced solely by such Right Certificates.

(b)

On the Record Date, or as soon as practicable thereafter, the Company will send a copy of a Summary of Rights to Purchase Shares of Common Stock, in substantially the form of Exhibit B hereto (the “Summary of Rights”), by first-class, postage-prepaid mail, to each record holder of Common Stock as of the Close of Business on the Record Date (other than any Acquiring Person or any Associate or Affiliate of any Acquiring Person), at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company.  With respect to certificates for Common Stock 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 the Summary of Rights.  Until the Distribution Date (or, if earlier, the Expiration Date), the surrender for transfer of any certificate for Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date, with or without a copy of the Summary of Rights, shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Stock represented thereby.

(c)

Rights shall be issued in respect of all shares of Common Stock issued or disposed of (including, without limitation, upon disposition of Common Stock out of treasury stock or issuance or reissuance of Common Stock out of authorized but unissued shares) after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date, or in certain circumstances provided in Section 22 hereof, after the Distribution Date.  Certificates issued for Common Stock (including, without limitation, upon transfer of outstanding Common Stock, disposition of Common Stock out of treasury stock or issuance or reissuance of Common Stock out of authorized but unissued shares) after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution Date and the Expiration Date shall have impressed on, printed on, written on or otherwise affixed to them the following legend:

This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain rights as set forth in a Rights Agreement between SofTech, Inc. (the “Company”) and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent, dated as of February 3, 2012 and as amended from time to time (the “Rights Agreement”), the terms of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal executive offices of the Company.  Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, such Rights will be evidenced by separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate.  The Company will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefor.  Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, Rights owned by or transferred to any Person who is or becomes an Acquiring Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement) and certain transferees thereof will become null and void and will no longer be exercisable by or transferable to any Person.

5

With respect to such certificates containing the foregoing legend, until the Distribution Date the Rights associated with the Common Stock represented by such certificates shall be evidenced by such certificates alone, and the surrender for transfer of any such certificate, except as otherwise provided herein, shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Common Stock represented thereby.  In the event that the Company purchases or otherwise acquires any Common Stock after the Record Date but prior to the Distribution Date, any Rights associated with such Common Stock shall be deemed canceled and retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with the Common Stock which are no longer outstanding.  Notwithstanding this paragraph (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 shares and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof) shall be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit A hereto and may have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate and as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange or interdealer quotation system on which the Rights may from time to time be listed or quoted, or to conform to usage.  Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the Right Certificates shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of shares of Common Stock as shall be set forth therein at the price per share of Common Stock set forth therein (the “Purchase Price”), but the number of such shares of Common Stock and the Purchase Price shall be subject to adjustment as provided herein.

Section 5.

Countersignature and Registration.

(a)

The Right Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chairman of the Board, its Chief Executive Officer, its President or any Vice President, either manually or by facsimile signature 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 manually countersigned by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless countersigned.  In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed any of the Right Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Right Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the Person who signed such Right Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any Right Certificate may be signed on behalf of the Company by any Person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Right Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign such Right Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Agreement any such Person was not such an officer.

(b)

Following the Distribution Date, the Rights Agent will keep or cause to be kept, at an office or agency 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.

(a)

Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, at any time after the Distribution Date and prior to the Expiration Date, any Right Certificate or Right Certificates 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 shares of Common Stock 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 or agency of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose.  Thereupon the Rights Agent shall countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Right Certificate or Right Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested.  The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Right Certificates.

6

(b)

Subject to the provisions of this Agreement, at any time after the Distribution Date and prior to the Expiration Date, upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a Right Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security reasonably satisfactory to them, and, at the Company’s request, reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Right Certificate if mutilated, the Company will make and deliver a new Right Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for delivery to the registered holder in lieu of the Right Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated.

Section 7.

Exercise of Rights, Purchase Price; Expiration Date of Rights.

(a)

Except as otherwise provided herein, the Rights shall become exercisable on the Distribution Date, and thereafter the registered holder of any Right Certificate may, subject to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof and except as otherwise provided herein, exercise the Rights evidenced thereby in whole or in part upon surrender of the Right Certificate, with the form of election to purchase on the reverse side thereof duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the office or agency of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, together with payment of the aggregate Purchase Price with respect to the total number of shares of Common Stock (or other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as to which the Rights are exercised, at any time which is both after the Distribution Date and prior to the time (the “Expiration Date”) that is the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on February 2, 2015 (the “Final Expiration Date”), (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23 hereof (the “Redemption Date”), (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged as provided in Section 24 hereof, or (iv) the time at which the Board of Directors receives, at the Board’s request, a report from the Company’s advisors that the NOLs are utilized in all material respects or no longer available in any material respect under Section 382 of the Code or any applicable state law or that an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code would not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the NOLs, or materially impair the amount of the NOLs that could be used by the Company in any particular time period, for applicable tax purposes.

(b)

The Purchase Price shall be initially $5.00 for each share of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of a Right.  The Purchase Price and the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities or property to be acquired upon exercise of a Right shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Sections 11 and 13 hereof and shall be payable in lawful money of the United States of America in accordance with paragraph (c) of this Section 7.

(c)

Except as otherwise provided herein, upon receipt of a Right Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase duly executed, accompanied by payment of the aggregate Purchase Price for the shares of Common Stock to be purchased and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax required to be paid by the holder of such Right Certificate in accordance with Section 9 hereof, in 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 Common Stock, or make available if the Rights Agent is the transfer agent for the Common Stock,  certificates for the number of shares of Common Stock to be purchased, and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests, or (B) requisition from a depositary agent appointed by the Company depositary receipts representing interests in such number of shares of Common Stock as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the Common Stock represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary agent), and the Company hereby directs any such depositary agent to comply with such request, (ii) when appropriate, requisition from the Company the amount of cash to be paid in lieu of issuance of fractional shares in accordance with Section 14 hereof, (iii) promptly after receipt of such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder and (iv) when appropriate, after receipt, promptly deliver such cash to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Right Certificate.

(d)

Except as otherwise provided herein, in case the registered holder of any Right Certificate shall exercise less than all of the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Right Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the exercisable Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent to the registered holder of such Right Certificate or to his duly authorized assigns, subject to the provisions of Section 14 hereof.

7

(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 upon the occurrence of any purported transfer or exercise of Rights pursuant to Section 6 hereof or this Section 7 unless such registered holder shall have (i) completed and signed the certificate contained in the form of assignment or form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights Certificate surrendered for such transfer or exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) thereof as the Company shall reasonably request.

Section 8.

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

Section 9.

Availability of Shares of Common Stock.

(a)

The Company covenants and agrees that, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, it will cause to be reserved and kept available out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock or any shares of Common Stock held in its treasury, the number of shares of Common Stock that will be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to reserve and keep available shares of Common Stock or other securities sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights pursuant to the provisions of Section 11 or Section 13 hereof until the time that any Person becomes an Acquiring Person.

(b)

So long as the shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of Rights may be listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the Company shall use its best efforts to cause, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, all shares reserved for such issuance to be listed or admitted to trading on such exchange, upon official notice of issuance upon such exercise.

(c)

From and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, the Company shall use its best efforts, if then necessary to permit the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of Rights, to register and qualify such shares of Common Stock under the Securities Act and any applicable state securities or “Blue Sky” laws (to the extent exemptions therefrom are not available), cause such registration statement and qualifications to become effective as soon as possible after such filing and keep such registration and qualifications effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Securities Act) until the earlier of the date as of which the Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities and the Expiration Date.  The Company may temporarily suspend, for a period of time not to exceed 90 days, the exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file a registration statement under the Securities Act and permit it to become effective.  Upon any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect.  Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable in any jurisdiction unless the requisite qualification in such jurisdiction shall have been obtained and until a registration statement under the Securities Act shall have been declared effective, unless an exemption therefrom is available.

(d)

The Company covenants and agrees that it will take all such action as may be necessary to ensure that all shares of Common Stock delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates therefor (subject to payment of the Purchase Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and nonassessable shares.

8

(e)

The Company further covenants and agrees that it will pay when due and payable any and all federal and state transfer taxes and charges which may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Right Certificates or of any shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of Rights.  The Company shall not, however, be required to pay any transfer tax which may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Right Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or delivery of certificates or depositary receipts for the Common Stock in a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Right Certificate evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or deliver any certificates or depositary receipts for Common Stock  upon the exercise of any Rights until any such tax shall have been paid (any such tax being payable by that holder of such Right Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s reasonable satisfaction that no such tax is due.

Section 10.

Common Stock Record Date.  Each Person in whose name any certificate for Common Stock is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of the shares of Common Stock represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Right Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Purchase Price (and any applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the Common Stock 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 Common Stock 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 Common Stock for which the Rights shall be exercisable, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends or other distribu­tions, 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 and Kind of Shares and Number of Rights.  The Purchase Price, the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities or property purchasable upon exercise of 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 and pay a dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (B) subdivide or split the outstanding Common Stock, (C) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares of Common Stock or effect a reverse stock split of the Common Stock or (D) issue any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Stock (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation), except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a), the number and kind of shares of capital stock issuable upon exercise of a Right as of the record date for such dividend or the effective date of such subdivision, combination or reclassification, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive the aggregate number and kind of shares of capital stock which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the Common Stock transfer books of the Company were open, the holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, combination or reclassification. If an event occurs which would require an adjustment under both this Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii) hereof, the adjustment provided for in this Section 11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made prior to, any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii).

9

(i)

Subject to Section 24 of this Agreement, in the event any Person becomes an Acquiring Person (the first occurrence of such event being referred to hereinafter as the “Flip-In Event”), then (A) the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to the Flip-In Event multiplied by the number of shares of Common Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such Flip-In Event, whether or not such Right was then exercisable, and (B) each holder of a Right, except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a)(ii) and Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the Purchase Price (as so adjusted), in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, such number of shares of Common Stock as shall equal the result obtained by dividing the Purchase Price (as so adjusted) by 50% of the current market price per share of the Common Stock (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of such Flip-In Event; provided, however, that the Purchase Price (as so adjusted) and the number of shares of Common Stock so receivable upon exercise of a Right shall, following the Flip-In Event, be subject to further adjustment as appropriate in accordance with Section 11(f) hereof.  Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, however, from and after the Flip-In Event, any Rights that are beneficially owned by (x) any Acquiring Person (or any Affiliate or Associate of any Acquiring Person), (y) a transferee of any Acquiring Person (or any such Affiliate or Associate) who becomes a transferee after the Flip-In Event or (z) a transferee of any Acquiring Person (or any such Affiliate or Associate) who became a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Flip-In Event pursuant to either (I) a transfer from the Acquiring Person to holders of its equity securities or to any Person with whom it has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding the transferred Rights or (II) a transfer which the Board of Directors has determined is part of a plan, arrangement or understanding which has the purpose or effect of avoiding the provisions of this para­graph, and subsequent transferees of such Persons, shall be void without any further action and any holder of such Rights shall thereafter have no rights whatsoever with respect to such Rights under any provision of this Agreement.  The Company shall use all reasonable efforts to ensure that the provisions of this Section 11(a)(ii) are complied with, but shall have no liability to any holder of Right Certificates or other Person as a result of its failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or its Affiliates, Associates or transferees hereunder.  From and after the Flip-In Event, no Right Certificate shall be issued pursuant to Section 3 or Section 6 hereof that represents Rights that are or have become void pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph, and any Right Certificate delivered to the Rights Agent that represents Rights that are or have become void pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph shall be canceled.  From and after the occurrence of an event specified in Section 13(a) hereof, any Rights that theretofore have not been exer­cised pursuant to this Section 11(a)(ii) shall thereafter be exercisable only in accordance with Section 13 and not pursuant to this Section 11(a)(ii).

10

(ii)

In the event that there shall not be sufficient shares of Common Stock issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii), the Board of Directors shall with respect to such deficiency, to the extent permitted by applicable law and any material agreements then in effect to which the Company is a party (A) determine the excess (such excess, the “Spread”) of (1) the value of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of a Right in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii) (the “Current Value”) over (2) the Purchase Price (as adjusted in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii)), and (B) with respect to each Right (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to the foregoing subparagraph (ii)), make adequate provision to substitute for the shares of Common Stock issuable in accordance with the foregoing subparagraph (ii) upon exercise of the Right and payment of the Purchase Price (as adjusted in accordance therewith), (1) cash, (2) a reduction in such Purchase Price, (3) other equity securities of the Company (including, without limitation, equity securities which, by virtue of having dividend, voting and liquidation rights substantially comparable to those of the shares of Common Stock, are deemed in good faith by the Board of Directors to have substantially the same value as the shares of Common Stock (such equity securities are hereinafter referred to as “Common Stock Equivalents”)), (4) debt securities of the Company, (5) other assets, or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having a value which, when added to the value of the shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of such Right, shall have an aggregate value equal to the Current Value (less the amount of any reduction in such Purchase Price), where such aggregate value has been determined by the Board of Directors upon the advice of a nationally recognized investment banking firm selected in good faith by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that if the Company shall not make adequate provision to deliver value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30) days following the Flip-In Event (the date of the Flip-In Event being the “Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date”), then the Company shall be obligated to deliver, to the extent permitted by applicable law and any material agreements then in effect to which the Company is a party, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of such Purchase Price, shares of Common Stock (to the extent available), and then, if necessary, cash, which has an aggregate value equal to the Spread.  If, upon the occurrence of the Flip-In Event, the Board of Directors shall determine in good faith that it is likely that sufficient additional shares of Common Stock could be authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights, then, if the Board of Directors so elects, the thirty (30) day period set forth above may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety (90) days after the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date, in order that the Company may seek shareholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares (such thirty (30) day period, as it may be extended, is herein called the “Substitution Period”).  To the extent that the Company determines that some action need be taken pursuant to the second and/or third sentence of this Section 11(a)(iii), the Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof and the last sentence of this Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, that such action shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek any authorization of additional shares and/or to decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to such second sentence and to determine the value thereof.  In the event of any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect.  For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of the shares of Common Stock shall be the current market price per share (as determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)) on the Section 11(a)(ii) Trigger Date and the per share or fractional value of any “Common Stock Equivalent” shall be deemed to equal the current market price per share of the Common Stock.  The Board of Directors may, but shall not be required to, establish procedures to allocate the right to receive shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of the Rights among holders of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(a)(iii).

11

(b)

In case the Company shall fix a record date for the issuance of rights, options or warrants to all holders of Common Stock entitling them (for a period expiring within 45 calendar days after such record date) to subscribe for or purchase Common Stock (or shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the Common Stock (“Equivalent Common Shares”)) or securities convertible into Common Stock or Equivalent Common Shares at a price per share of Common Stock or Equivalent Common Shares (or having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible into shares of Common Stock or Equivalent Common Shares) less than the then current market price per share of the Common Stock (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) 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 shares of Common Stock and Equivalent Common Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of shares of Common Stock and Equivalent Common Shares which the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares of Common Stock and/or Equivalent Common 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 shares of Common Stock and Equivalent Common Shares outstanding on such record date plus the number of additional shares of Common Stock and/or Equivalent Common 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, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent.  Shares of Common Stock and Equivalent Common Shares owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such computation.  Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed; and in the event that such rights, options or warrants are not so issued, the Purchase Price shall be adjusted to be the Purchase Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed.

(c)

In case the Company shall fix a record date for the making of a distribution to all holders of the Common Stock (including any such distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving corporation) of evidences of indebtedness or assets (other than a regular cash dividend or a dividend payable in Common Stock) 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 market price per share of the Common Stock (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent) of the portion of the assets or evidences of indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to one share of Common Stock, and the denominator of which shall be such current market price per share (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) of the Common Stock; 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.

12

(d)

(i)

Except as otherwise provided herein, for the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “current market price” per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the 30 consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to but not including such date, and for purposes of computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii) hereof, the “current market price” per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily closing prices per share of such Common Stock for the 10 consecutive Trading Days immediately following but not including such date; provided, however, that in the event that the current market price per share of the Common Stock is determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such Common Stock of (A) a dividend or distribution on such Common Stock payable in shares of such Common Stock or securities convertible into shares of such Common Stock (other than the Rights), or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such Common Stock, and prior to, but not including, the expiration of the requisite 30-Trading-Day or 10-Trading-Day period, as set forth above, after the 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 market price” shall be properly adjusted to take into account the effect of such dividend, distribution, subdivision, combination or reclassification.  The closing price for each 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 on the principal national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading or, if on any such date the shares of Common Stock 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 such system then in use, or, if on any such date the shares of Common Stock 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 Common Stock selected by the Board.  If on any such date no market maker is making a market in the Common Stock, the fair value of such shares on such date as determined in good faith by the Board shall be used.  The term “Trading Day” shall mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which the shares of Common Stock are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if the shares of Common Stock are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.  If the Common Stock is not publicly held or not so listed or traded, “current market price” per share shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, whose determination shall be described in a written statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.

(i)

For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the value of any securities or assets other than Common Stock shall be the fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors or by a nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board of Directors, which determination shall be described in a written statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes.

(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 ten-thousandth of a share, 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 Expiration Date.

(f)

If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a) or Section 13 hereof, the holder of any Right thereafter exercised shall become entitled to receive any shares of capital stock of the Company other than the Common Stock, thereafter the Purchase Price and the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of a 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 Common Stock contained in Sections 11(a), 11(b), 11(c), 11(e), 11(h), 11(i) and 11(m) hereof, as applicable, and the provisions of Sections 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 hereof with respect to the Common Stock 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 shares of Common Stock purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein.

13

(h)

Unless the Company shall have exercised its election as provided in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Purchase Price as a result of the calculations made in Sections 11(b) and 11(c), each Right outstanding immediately prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Purchase Price, that number of shares of Common Stock (calculated to the nearest ten-thousandth of a share of Common Stock) obtained by (i) multiplying (x) the number of shares purchasable upon the exercise of a Right immediately prior to such adjustment by (y) the Purchase Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by the Purchase Price in effect immediately after such adjustment.

(i)

The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of the Purchase Price pursuant to Sections 11(b) or 11(c) hereof to adjust the number of Rights, in substitution for any adjustment in the number of shares of Common Stock 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 shares of Common Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment.  Each Right held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest 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 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.  Such 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 may, 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 the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of a Right, the Right Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the Purchase Price and the number of shares of Common Stock 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 the then par value, if any, of the shares of Common Stock or other  capital stock issuable upon exercise of a Right, 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 shares of Common Stock or other such shares at such adjusted Purchase Price.

(l)

In any case in which this Section 11 shall require that an adjustment in the Purchase Price be made effective as of a record date for a specified event, the Company may elect to defer until the occurrence of such event issuing to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date the Common Stock and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise over and above the Common Stock 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 determine to be advisable in order that any consolidation or subdivision of the Common Stock, issuance wholly for cash of any shares of Common Stock at less than the current market price, issuance wholly for cash of Common Stock or securities which by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock, dividends on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock or issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to hereinabove in Section 11(b), hereafter made by the Company to holders of its Common Stock shall not be taxable to such shareholders.

14

(n)

Anything in this Agreement to the contrary notwithstanding, in the event that at any time after the date of this Agreement and prior to the Distribution Date, the Company shall (i) declare and pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in Common Stock or (ii) effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend payable in Common Stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then, in each such case, the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock then outstanding, or issued or delivered thereafter, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the number of Rights thereafter associated with each share of Common Stock following any such event shall equal the result obtained by multiplying the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock immediately prior to such event by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the occurrence of the event and the denominator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately following the occurrence of such event.

(o)

The Company agrees that, after the earlier of the Distribution Date or the Stock Acquisition Date, it will not, except as permitted by Sections 23, 24 or 27 hereof, take (or permit any Subsidiary to take) any action if at the time such action is taken it is reasonably foreseeable that such action will diminish substantially or eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights.

Section 12.

Certificate of Adjusted Purchase Price or Number of Shares.  Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11, 13 or 24 hereof, the Company shall promptly (a) prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment, and a brief statement of the facts accounting for such adjustment, (b) file with the Rights Agent and with each transfer agent for the Common Stock a copy of such certificate and (c) mail a brief summary thereof to each holder of a Right Certificate in accordance with Section 25 hereof (if so required under Section 25 hereof).  Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure of the Company to make such certification or give such notice shall not affect the validity of or the force or effect of the requirement for such adjustment. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any such adjustment unless and until it shall have received such certificate.

15

Section 13.

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

(a)

In the event, directly or indirectly, at any time after the Flip-In Event (i) the Company shall consolidate with or shall merge into any other Person, (ii) any Person shall merge with and into the Company and the Company shall be the continuing or surviving corporation of such merger and, in connection with such merger, all or part of the Common Stock shall be changed into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person (or of the Company) or cash or any other property, or (iii) the Company shall sell or otherwise transfer (or one or more of its Subsidiaries shall sell or otherwise transfer), in one or more transactions, assets or earning power aggregating 50% or more of the assets or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person (other than the Company or one or more wholly-owned Subsidiaries of the Company), then upon the first occurrence of such event, proper provision shall be made so that: (A) each holder of a Right (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) shall thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof at the Purchase Price (as theretofore adjusted in accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof), in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and in lieu of shares of Common Stock of the Company, such number of validly authorized and issued, fully paid, non-assessable and freely tradeable shares of Common Stock of the Principal Party (as such term is hereinafter defined), not subject to any liens, encumbrances, rights of first refusal or other adverse claims, as shall equal the result obtained by dividing the Purchase Price (as theretofore adjusted in accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) by 50% of the current market price per share of the Common Stock of such Principal Party (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) on the date of consummation of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; provided, however, that the Purchase Price (as theretofore adjusted in accordance with Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) and the number of shares of Common Stock of such Principal Party so receivable upon exercise of a Right shall be subject to further adjustment as appropriate in accordance with Section 11(f) hereof to reflect any events occurring in respect of the Common Stock of such Principal Party after the occurrence of such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer; (B) such Principal Party 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; (C) the term “Company” shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Principal Party; and (D) such Principal Party shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, the reservation of a sufficient number of its shares of Common Stock in accordance with Section 9 hereof) in connection with such consummation of any such transaction as may be necessary to assure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to the shares of its Common Stock thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights; provided that, upon the subsequent occurrence of any consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets or other extraordinary transaction in respect of such Principal Party, each holder of a Right shall thereupon be entitled to receive, upon exercise of a Right and payment of the Purchase Price as provided in this Section 13(a), such cash, shares, rights, warrants and other property which such holder would have been entitled to receive had such holder, at the time of such transaction, owned the Common Stock of the Principal Party receivable upon the exercise of a Right pursuant to this Section 13(a), and such Principal Party shall take such steps (including, but not limited to, reservation of shares of stock) as may be necessary to permit the subsequent exercise of the Rights in accordance with the terms hereof for such cash, shares, rights, warrants and other property.

(b)

“Principal Party” shall mean:

(i)

in the case of any transaction described in (i) or (ii) of the first sentence of Section 13(a) hereof: (A) the Person that is the issuer of the securities into which the shares of Common Stock are converted in such merger or consolidation, or, if there is more than one such issuer, the issuer the shares of Common Stock of which have the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding, or (B) if no securities are so issued, (x) the Person that is the other party to the merger, if such Person survives said merger, or, if there is more than one such Person, the Person the shares of Common Stock of which have the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding or (y) if the Person that is the other party to the merger does not survive the merger, the Person that does survive the merger (including the Company if it survives) or (z) the Person resulting from the consolidation; and

16

(ii)

in the case of any transaction described in (iii) of the first sentence of Section 13(a) hereof, the Person that is the party receiving the greatest portion of the assets or earning power transferred pursuant to such transaction or transactions, or, if each Person that is a party to such transaction or transactions receives the same portion of the assets or earning power so transferred or if the Person receiving the greatest portion of the assets or earning power cannot be determined, whichever of such Persons is the issuer of Common Stock having the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding; provided, however, that in any such case described in the foregoing clause (b)(i) or (b)(ii), if the Common Stock of such Person is not at such time or has not been continuously over the preceding 12-month period registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, then (1) if such Person is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of another Person the Common Stock of which is and has been so registered, the term “Principal Party” shall refer to such other Person, or (2) if such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one Person, the Common Stock of all of which is and has been so registered, the term “Principal Party” shall refer to whichever of such Persons is the issuer of Common Stock having the greatest aggregate market value of shares outstanding, or (3) if such Person is owned, directly or indirectly, by a joint venture formed by two or more Persons that are not owned, directly or indirectly, by the same Person, the rules set forth in clauses (1) and (2) above shall apply to each of the owners having an interest in the venture as if the Person owned by the joint venture was a Subsidiary of both or all of such joint venturers, and the Principal Party in each such case shall bear the obligations set forth in this Section 13 in the same ratio as its interest in such Person bears to the total of such interests.

(c)

The Company shall not consummate any consolidation, merger, sale or transfer referred to in Section 13(a) hereof unless prior thereto the Company and the Principal Party involved therein shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent an agreement confirming that the requirements of Sections 13(a) and (b) hereof shall promptly be performed in accordance with their terms and that such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets shall not result in a default by the Principal Party under this Agreement as the same shall have been assumed by the Principal Party pursuant to Sections 13(a) and (b) hereof and providing that, as soon as practicable after executing such agreement pursuant to this Section 13, the Principal Party will:

(i)

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 Expiration Date and similarly comply with applicable state securities laws;

(ii)

use its best efforts, if the Common Stock of the Principal Party shall be listed or admitted to trading on a 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 such securities exchange, or, if the Common Stock of the Principal Party shall not be listed or admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, to cause the Rights and the securities receivable upon exercise of the Rights to be authorized for quotation on such other system then in use;

(iii)

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

(iv)

obtain waivers of any rights of first refusal or preemptive rights in respect of the Common Stock of the Principal Party subject to purchase upon exercise of outstanding Rights.

17

(d)

In case the Principal Party has provision in any of its authorized securities or in its certificate of incorporation or by-laws or other instrument governing its affairs, which provision would have the effect of (i) causing such Principal Party to issue (other than to holders of Rights pursuant to this Section 13), in connection with, or as a consequence of, the consummation of a transaction referred to in this Section 13, shares of Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents of such Principal Party at less than the then current market price per share thereof (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) or securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Common Stock or Common Stock Equivalents of such Principal Party at less than such then current market price, or (ii) providing for any special payment, tax or similar provision in connection with the issuance of the Common Stock of such Principal Party pursuant to the provisions of Section 13, then, in such event, the Company hereby agrees with each holder of Rights that it shall not consummate any such transaction unless prior thereto the Company and such Principal Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement providing that the provision in question of such Principal Party shall have been canceled, waived or amended, or that the authorized securities shall be redeemed, so that the applicable provision will have no effect in connection with, or as a consequence of, the consummation of the proposed transaction.

(e)

The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any time after the Flip-In Event, enter into any transaction of the type described in clauses (i) through (iii) of Section 13(a) hereof if (i) at the time of or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or other transaction there are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights, (ii) prior to, simultaneously with or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or other transaction, the stockholders of the Person who constitutes, or would constitute, the Principal Party for purposes of Section 13(b) hereof shall have received a distribution of Rights previously owned by such Person or any of its Affiliates or Associates or (iii) the form or nature of organization of the Principal Party would preclude or limit the exercisability of the Rights.

Section 14.

Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.

(a)

The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights (except prior to the Distribution Date in accordance with Section 11(n) hereof) 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 a national securities exchange 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 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.  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 shall be used.

(b)

The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Common Stock upon the exercise or exchange of Rights.  In lieu of such fractional shares of Common Stock, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of the Right Certificates with regard to which such fractional shares of Common Stock would otherwise be issuable an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole share of Common Stock (as determined in accordance with Section 14(a) hereof) for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise or exchange.

(c)

The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Right expressly waives his right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon exercise or exchange of a Right (except as provided above).

18

Section 15.

Rights of Action.  All rights of action in respect of this Agreement, excepting the rights of action given to the Rights Agent under Section 18 hereof, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Right Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Date, the registered holders of the Common Stock); and any registered holder of any Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, of the Common Stock), 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 Stock), on his own behalf and for his own benefit, may enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, his right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, such Common Stock) in the manner provided therein 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 Stock;

(b)

after the Distribution Date, the Right Certificates are transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at the office or agency of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer; and

(c)

the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the Person in whose name the Right Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Date, the Common Stock certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Right Certificates or the Common Stock certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to Section 7(e) hereof, shall be affected by any notice to the contrary.

Section 17.

Right Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Shareholder.  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 Common Stock 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 shareholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to shareholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting shareholders (except as provided in this Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Rights evidenced by such Right Certificate shall have been exercised or exchanged in accordance with the provisions hereof.

(a)

The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensa­tion for all services rendered by it hereunder and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable expenses and counsel fees and other disbursements incurred in the administration and execution of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder.  The Company also agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold it harmless against, any loss, liability or expense, incurred without negli­gence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent, for anything done or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the acceptance and administration of this Agreement, including the costs and expenses of defending against any claim of liability arising therefrom, directly or indirectly.

(b)

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

19

Section 18.

Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.

(a)

Any corporation into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any corporation resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any corporation succeeding to the stock transfer or corporate trust powers of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto; provided, that such corporation would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent under the provisions of Section 21 hereof.  In case at the time such successor Rights Agent shall succeed to the agency created by this Agreement, any of the Right Certificates shall have been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of the predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Right Certificates so countersigned; and in case at that time any of the Right Certificates shall not have been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Right Certificates either in the name of the predecessor Rights Agent or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Right Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Right Certificates and in this Agreement.

(b)

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 19.

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

(a)

The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be legal counsel for the Company), and the opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent as to any action taken or omitted by it in good faith and in accordance with such opinion.

(b)

Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the Rights Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by the Chief Executive Officer or the President and the Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full authorization to the Rights Agent for any action taken or suffered in good faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate.

(c)

The Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder to the Company and any other Person only for its own negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct.

(d)

The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Right Certificates (except its countersignature thereof) or be required to verify the same, but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only.

(e)

The Rights Agent shall not be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execu­tion hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the validity or execution of any Right Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Right Certificate; nor shall it be responsible for any change in the exercisability of the Rights (including the Rights becoming void pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) or any adjustment in the terms of the Rights provided for in Sections 3, 11, 13, 23 and 24, 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 furnished pursuant to Section 12, describing such change or adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock or other securities to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Right Certificate or as to whether any shares of Common Stock or other securities will, when issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

20

(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 person reasonably believed by the Rights Agent to be one of the Chief Executive Officer, President or Secretary of the Company and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties, and it shall not be liable for any action taken or suffered by it in good faith in accordance with instructions of any such officer or for any delay in acting while waiting for those instructions.  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 or omitted by the Rights Agent under this Agreement and the date on and/or after which such action shall be taken or such omission shall be effective.  The Rights Agent shall not be liable for any action taken by, or omission of, the Rights Agent in accordance with a proposal included in any such application on or after the date specified in such application (which date shall not be less than five Business Days after the date any officer of the Company actually receives such application unless any such officer shall have consented in writing to an earlier date) unless, prior to taking any such action (or the effective date in the case of an omission), the Rights Agent shall have received written instructions in response to such application specifying the action to be taken or omitted.

(h)

The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent under this Agreement.  Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other legal entity.

(i)

The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or accountable for any act, default, neglect or misconduct of any such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company resulting from any such act, default, neglect or misconduct, provided reasonable care was exercised in the selection and continued employment thereof.

(j)

If, with respect to any Rights Certificate surrendered to the Rights Agent for exercise or transfer, the certificate contained in the form of assignment or the form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse thereof, as the case may be, has not been completed to certify the holder is not an Acquiring Person (or an Affiliate or Associate thereof) or a transferee thereof, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with respect to such requested exercise or transfer without first consulting with the Company.

21

Section 20.

Change of Rights Agent.  The Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon 30 days’ notice in writing mailed to the Company and to each transfer agent of the Common Stock by registered or certified mail, and, following the Distribution Date, to the holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail.  The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon 30 days’ notice in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Stock by registered or certified mail, and, following the Distribution Date, to the holders of the Right Certificates by first-class mail.  If the Rights Agent shall resign or be removed or shall otherwise become incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent.  If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of 30 days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by the holder of a Right Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit his Right Certificate for inspection by the Company), then the registered holder of any Right Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent.  Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be (a) a Person organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or the laws of any state of the United States or the District of Columbia, in good standing, which is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust or stock transfer powers and is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority and which has at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent a combined capital and surplus of at least $50 million, or (b) an Affiliate of such a Person described in clause (a).  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 Stock, and, following the Distribution Date, 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 21.

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 forms as may be approved by its Board of Directors to reflect any adjustment or change in the Purchase Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Right Certificates made in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.  In addition, in connection with the issuance or sale of Common Stock following the Distribution Date and prior to the Expiration Date, the Company may with respect to shares of Common Stock so issued or sold pursuant to (i) the exercise of stock options, (ii) under any employee plan or arrangement, (iii) upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of securities, notes or debentures issued by the Company or (iv) a contractual obligation of the Company, in each case existing prior to the Distribution Date, issue Rights Certificates representing the appropriate number of Rights in connection with such issuance or sale.

Section 22.

Redemption.

(a)

The Board of Directors may, at any time prior to the Flip-In Event, redeem all but not less than all the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $.001 per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring in respect of the Common Stock after the date hereof (the redemption price being hereinafter referred to as the “Redemption Price”).  The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish.  The Redemption Price shall be payable, at the option of the Company, in cash, shares of Common Stock, or such other form of consideration as the Board of Directors shall determine.

22

(b)

Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors ordering the redemption of the Rights pursuant to paragraph (a) of this Section 23 (or at such later time as the Board of Directors may establish for the effectiveness of such redemption), and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price.  The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such redemption; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, any such notice shall not affect the validity of such redemption.  Within 10 days after such action of the Board of Directors ordering the redemption of the Rights (or such later time as the Board of Directors may establish for the effectiveness of such redemption), 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 Stock.  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 shall state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made.

Section 23.

Exchange.

(a)

The Board of Directors may, at its option, at any time after the Flip-In Event, exchange all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) for Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring in respect of the Common Stock after the date hereof (such amount per Right being hereinafter referred to as the “Exchange Ratio”).  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Directors shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after an Acquiring Person shall have become the Beneficial Owner of shares of Common Stock aggregating 50% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding.  From and after the occurrence of an event specified in Section 13(a) hereof, any Rights that theretofore have not been exchanged pursuant to this Section 24(a) shall thereafter be exercisable only in accordance with Section 13 and may not be exchanged pursuant to this Section 24(a).  The exchange of the Rights by the Board of Directors may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish.  Prior to effecting an exchange pursuant to this Section 23, 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 shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the exchange, and all Persons entitled to receive shares pursuant to the exchange shall be entitled to receive such shares (and any dividends or distributions made thereon after the date on which such 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 effectiveness of the action of the Board of Directors 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 shares of Common Stock equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio.  The Company shall promptly give public notice of any such exchange; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity of such exchange.  The Company shall promptly mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of the Rights so exchanged 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 shares of Common Stock for Rights will be effected and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged.  Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have become void pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) hereof) held by each holder of Rights.

(c)

The Company may at its option substitute, and, in the event that there shall not be sufficient shares of Common Stock issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit an exchange of Rights for Common Stock as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall substitute to the extent of such insufficiency, for each share of Common Stock that would otherwise be issuable upon exchange of a Right, a number of Equivalent Common Shares (as such term is defined in Section 11(b)) having an aggregate current market price per share (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) equal to the current market price per share of one share of Common Stock (determined pursuant to Section 11(d) hereof) as of the date of such exchange.

23

Section 24.

Notice of Certain Events.

(a)

In case the Company shall at any time after the earlier of the Distribu­tion Date or the Stock Acquisition Date propose (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class to the holders of its Common Stock or to make any other distribution to the holders of its Common Stock (other than a regular cash dividend), (ii) to offer to the holders of its Common Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional shares of Common Stock or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or options, (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Common Stock (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision or combination of outstanding Common Stock), (iv) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, or (v) to pay any dividend on the Common Stock payable in Common Stock or to effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise than by payment of dividends in Common Stock), 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 dividend or distribution or offering of rights or warrants, or the date on which such liquidation, dissolution, winding up, reclassification, subdivision, combination or consolidation is to take place and the date of participation therein by the holders of the Common Stock, 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 Common Stock 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 Stock, whichever shall be the earlier.

(b)

In case any event described in Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13 shall occur then the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Right Certificate (or if occurring prior to the Distribution Date, the holders of the Common Stock) 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) and Section 13 hereof.

Section 25.

Notices.  Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Right Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if sent by first-class mail, postage prepaid, addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:

SofTech, Inc.

59 Lowes Way, Suite 401

Lowell, MA 01851

Attention: Chief Executive Officer

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

Registrar and Transfer Company

10 Commerce Drive

Cranford, NJ 07016

Attention:  _____________________

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

24

Section 26.

Supplements and Amendments.  Except as provided in the penultimate sentence of this Section 27, for so long as the Rights are then redeemable, the Company may in its sole and absolute discretion, and the Rights Agent shall if the Company so directs, supplement or amend any provision of this Agreement in any respect without the approval of any holders of the Rights.  At any time when the Rights are no longer redeemable, except as provided in the penultimate sentence of this Section 27, the Company may, and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs, supplement or amend this Agreement without the approval of any holders of Rights, provided that no such supplement or amendment may (a) adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights as such (other than an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate of an Acquiring Person), (b) cause this Agreement again to become amendable other than in accordance with this sentence or (c) cause the Rights again to become redeemable.  Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, no supplement or amendment shall be made which changes the Redemption Price.  Upon the delivery of a certificate from an appropriate officer of the Company which states that the supplement or amendment is in compliance with the terms of this Section 27, the Rights Agent shall execute such supplement or amendment, provided that any supplement or amendment that does not amend Sections 18, 19, 20 or 21 hereof in a manner adverse to the Rights Agent shall become effective immediately upon execution by the Company, whether or not also executed by the Rights Agent.

Section 27.

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 28.

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 Stock) 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 Stock).

Section 29.

Determinations and Actions by the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors 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 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 or not amend this Agreement).  All such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations that are done or made by the Board of Directors in good faith shall be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights, as such, and all other parties. 

Section 30.

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

Section 31.

Governing Law.  This Agreement and each Right Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such Commonwealth applicable to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such Commonwealth; provided, however, that all provisions regarding the rights, duties and obligations of the Rights Agent shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey applicable to contracts made and to be performed entirely within such State.

Section 32.

Counterparts.  This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument.

Section 33.

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

25

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

SOFTECH, INC.

By: /s/ Joseph P. Mullaney               

Joseph P. Mullaney

President & Chief Executive Officer

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY

as Rights Agent

By: /s/ Nicola Giancaspro                

Nicola Giancaspro

Vice President

26

Exhibit A

Form of Right Certificate

Certificate No. R-______

NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER FEBRUARY 2, 2015 OR EARLIER IF REDEMPTION OR EXCHANGE OCCURS.  THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION AT $.001 PER RIGHT AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.  UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, RIGHTS OWNED BY OR TRANSFERRED TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OR BECOMES AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND CERTAIN TRANSFEREES THEREOF WILL BECOME NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERABLE.

RIGHT CERTIFICATE

SOFTECH, INC.

This certifies that ____________________________ or registered assigns, is the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, dated as of February 3, 2012, as the same may be amended from time to time (the “Rights Agreement”), between SofTech, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation (the “Company”), and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent (the “Rights Agent”), to purchase from the Company at any time after the Distribution Date (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) and prior to 5:00 P.M., City of New York time, on February 2, 2015 at the office or agency of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, or of its successor as Rights Agent, one fully paid non-assessable share of Common Stock, par value $.10 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company at a purchase price of $5.00 per share of Common Stock (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 Rights Certificate (and the number of shares of Common Stock 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 ________ __, 20__, based on the Common Stock as constituted at such date.  As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Purchase Price, the number of shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights and the number of 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 Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Right Certificates.  Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the principal executive offices of the Company and the above-mentioned office or agency of the Rights Agent.  The Company will mail to the holder of this Right Certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement without charge after receipt of a written request therefore.

This Right Certificate, with or without other Right Certificates, upon surrender at the office or agency 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 shares of Common Stock as the Rights evidenced by the Right Certificate or Right Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase.  If this Right Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Right Certificate or Right Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.

Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights evidenced by this Certificate (i) may be redeemed by the Company at a redemption price of $.001 per Right or (ii) may be exchanged in whole or in part for shares of the Company’s Common Stock or other equity securities of the Company.

No fractional shares of Common Stock will be issued upon the exercise or exchange of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby, but in lieu thereof a cash payment will be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.

A-1

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

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

WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officers of the Company.  Dated as of ____________, 20__.

SOFTECH, INC.

By: _________________________________________

[Name]

[Title]

ATTEST:

____________________________________

[Name]

[Title]

Countersigned:

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY, as Rights Agent

By__________________________________

[Name]

[Title]

A-2

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 bank, trust company, broker, dealer or other eligible institution participating in a recognized signature guarantee medallion program.

__________________________________________

(To be completed)

The undersigned hereby certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned by, were not acquired by the undersigned from, and are not being assigned to an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).

__________________________________________

Signature

A-3

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 Rights Certificate)

To:  SOFTECH, INC.

The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise ________ Rights represented by this Right Certificate to purchase the shares of Common Stock (or other securities or property) issuable upon the exercise of such Rights and requests that certificates for such shares of Common Stock (or such other securities) be issued in the name of:

_________________________________________________________________________

(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 must conform to holder specified on Right Certificate)

Signature Guaranteed:

Signature must be guaranteed by a bank, trust company, broker, dealer or other eligible institution participating in a recognized signature guarantee medallion program.

A-4

Form of Reverse Side of Right Certificate - continued

_________________________________________________________________________

(To be completed)

The undersigned certifies that the Rights evidenced by this Right Certificate are not beneficially owned by, and were not acquired by the undersigned from, an Acquiring Person or an Affiliate or Associate thereof (as defined in the Rights Agreement).

__________________________________________

Signature

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, such Assignment or Election to Purchase will not be honored.

A-5

Exhibit B

UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, RIGHTS OWNED BY OR TRANSFERRED TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OR BECOMES AN ACQUIRING PERSON (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) AND CERTAIN TRANSFEREES THEREOF WILL BECOME NULL AND VOID AND WILL NO LONGER BE TRANSFERABLE.

SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF SOFTECH, INC.

On February 3, 2012, the Board of Directors of SofTech, Inc. (the “Company”) declared a dividend of one common share purchase right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of common stock, par value $.10 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”).  The dividend is payable on February 15, 2012 to the stockholders of record on February 15, 2012 (the “Record Date”).  Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from the Company one share of Common Stock at a price of $5.00  per share of Common Stock (the “Purchase Price”), subject to adjustment.  The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in a Rights Agreement dated as of February 3, 2012, as the same may be amended from time to time (the “Rights Agreement”), between the Company and Registrar and Transfer Company, as Rights Agent (the “Rights Agent”).

Until the earlier to occur of (i) 10 days following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (with certain exceptions, an “Acquiring Person”) has acquired beneficial ownership of 4.99% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock or (ii) 10 business days (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board of Directors prior to such time as any person or group of affiliated persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership by a person or group of 4.99% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (the earlier of such dates being called the “Distribution Date”), the Rights will be evidenced, with respect to any of the Common Stock certificates outstanding as of the Record Date, by such Common Stock certificate together with this Summary of Rights.

The Rights Agreement provides that, until the Distribution Date (or earlier expiration of the Rights), the Rights will be transferred with and only with the Common Stock.  Until the Distribution Date (or earlier expiration of the Rights), new Common Stock certificates issued after the Record Date upon transfer or new issuances of Common Stock will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference.  Until the Distribution Date (or earlier expiration of the Rights), the surrender for transfer of any certificates for shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the Record Date, even without such notation or a copy of this Summary of Rights, will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the shares of Common Stock represented by such certificate.  As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights (“Right Certificates”) will be mailed to holders of record of the Common Stock as of the close of business on the Distribution Date and such separate Right Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.

The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date.  The Rights will expire on February 2, 2015 (the “Final Expiration Date”), unless the Final Expiration Date is advanced or extended or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company, in each case as described below, or upon the time at which the Board of Directors receives, at the Board’s request, a report from the Company’s advisors that the NOLs are utilized in all material respects or no longer available in any material respect under Section 382 of the Code or any applicable state law or that an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code would not adversely impact in any material respect the time period in which the Company could use the NOLs, or materially impair the amount of the NOLs that could be used by the Company in any particular time period, for applicable tax purposes.

The Purchase Price payable, and the number of shares of Common Stock or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights is subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution (i) in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, split, reverse stock split, combination or reclassification of, the Common Stock, (ii) upon the grant to holders of the Common Stock of certain rights or warrants to subscribe for or purchase Common Stock at a price, or securities convertible into Common Stock with a conversion price, less than the then-current market price of the Common Stock or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of the Common Stock of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular periodic cash dividends or dividends payable in Common Stock) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above).

B-1

The number of outstanding Rights is subject to adjustment in the event of a stock dividend on the Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock or subdivisions, consolidations or combinations of the Common Stock occurring, in any such case, prior to the Distribution Date.

In the event that any person or group of affiliated or associated persons becomes an Acquiring Person, each holder of a Right, other than Rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person (which will thereupon become void), will thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise of a Right that number of shares of Common Stock having a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.

In the event that, after a person or group has become an Acquiring Person, the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or earning power are sold, proper provisions will be made so that each holder of a Right (other than Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person which will have become void) will thereafter have the right to receive upon the exercise of a Right that number of shares of common stock of the person with whom the Company has engaged in the foregoing transaction (or its parent) that at the time of such transaction have a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.

At any time after any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person and prior to the earlier of one of the events described in the previous paragraph or the acquisition by such Acquiring Person of 50% or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the Board of Directors of the Company may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by such Acquiring Person which will have become void), in whole or in part, for shares of Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock per Right.

With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the Purchase Price will be required until cumulative adjustments require an adjustment of at least 1% in such Purchase Price.  No fractional shares of Common Stock will be issued, and in lieu thereof an adjustment in cash will be made based on the current market price of the Common Stock.

At any time prior to the time an Acquiring Person becomes such, the Board of Directors of the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $.001 per Right (the “Redemption Price”) payable, at the option of the Company, in cash, shares of Common Stock or such other form of consideration as the Board of Directors of the Company shall determine.  The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board of Directors in its sole discretion may establish.  Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.

For so long as the Rights are then redeemable, the Company may, except with respect to the Redemption Price, amend the Rights Agreement in any manner.  After the Rights are no longer redeemable, the Company may, except with respect to the Redemption Price, amend the Rights Agreement in any manner that does not adversely affect the interests of holders of the Rights.

Until a Right is exercised or exchanged, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.

A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Exhibit to a Current Report on Form 8-K.  A copy of the Rights Agreement is available free of charge from the Company.  This summary description of the Rights does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement, as the same may be amended from time to time, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

B-2

Source: [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00198-of-00352.parquet"}, [{"source": "alea-institute/alea-institute/kl3m-data-edgar-agreements/train-00198-of-00352.parquet"}]]