Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 79 - CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS (§§ 79-1-1 — 79-37-604) › Chapter 25 - MISSISSIPPI SHAREHOLDER PROTECTION ACT (§§ 79-25-1 — 79-25-9) › Section 79-25-3 - Definitions

In Sections
79-25-3
through
79-25-9
, the following terms have the meanings ascribed herein:
(a)
"Affiliate," including the term "affiliated person," means a person that, directly or indirectly, through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, a specified person.
(b)
"Announcement date" means the first general public announcement of the proposal or intention to make a proposal of a business combination or its first communication generally to shareholders of the corporation, whichever is earlier.
(c)
"Associate," when used to indicate a relationship with any person, means:
(i)
Any corporation or organization (other than the corporation or a subsidiary of the corporation) of which such person is an officer, director or partner, or is, directly or indirectly, the beneficial owner of ten percent (10%) or more of any class of equity securities;
(ii)
Any trust or other estate in which such person has a substantial beneficial interest or as to which such person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and
(iii)
Any relative or spouse of such person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same home as such person or who is a director or officer of the corporation or any of its affiliates.
(d)
"Beneficial owner," when used with respect to any voting stock, means a person:
(i)
That, individually or with any of its affiliates or associates, beneficially owns voting stock, directly or indirectly; or
(ii)
That, individually or with any of its affiliates or associates, has:
(A)
The right to acquire voting stock (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time), pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; or
(B)
The right to vote voting stock pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; or
(iii)
That has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting, exercising investment power over, or disposing of voting stock with any other person that beneficially owns, or whose affiliates or associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, such shares of voting stock.
(e)
"Business combination" means:
(i)
Subject to the limitations provided in Sections
79-33-1
through
79-33-9
, unless the merger, consolidation or share exchange does not alter the contract rights of the stock as expressly set forth in the certificate of incorporation or change or convert in whole or in part any of the outstanding shares of stock of the corporation, any merger, consolidation, share exchange or similar transaction of the corporation or any subsidiary with any interested shareholder or any other corporation (whether or not itself an interested shareholder) which is, or after the merger, consolidation or share exchange would be, an affiliate of an interested shareholder that was an interested shareholder prior to the transaction; or
(ii)
Any sale, lease, transfer or other disposition, other than in the ordinary course of business, in one transaction or a series of transactions, to or with any interested shareholder or any affiliate of any interested shareholder (other than the corporation or any of its subsidiaries) of any assets of the corporation or any subsidiary having, at the time the transactions are approved by the board of directors of the corporation, an aggregate market value of twenty percent (20%) or more of the total market value of the outstanding stock of the corporation or of its assets, all as of the end of its most recently ended fiscal quarter, whichever is lower; or
(iii)
The issuance or transfer by the corporation, or any subsidiary (in one transaction or a series of transactions) of any securities of the corporation or any subsidiary which have an aggregate market value of five percent (5%) or more of the total market value of the outstanding stock of the corporation to any interested shareholder or any affiliate of any interested shareholder (other than the corporation or any of its subsidiaries), except pursuant to the exercise of warrants or rights to purchase securities offered pro rata to all holders of the corporation's voting stock or any other method affording substantially equal treatment to the holders of voting stock; or
(iv)
The adoption of any plan or proposal for the liquidation, dissolution of or similar transaction involving the corporation in which anything other than cash will be received by an interested shareholder or any affiliate or any interested shareholder; or
(v)
Any reclassification of securities (including any reverse stock split), or recapitalization of the corporation, or any merger, consolidation or share exchange of the corporation with any of its subsidiaries which has the effect, directly or indirectly, in one transaction or a series of transactions, of increasing by five percent (5%) or more of the total number of outstanding shares, the proportionate share of the outstanding shares of any class of equity securities of the corporation or any subsidiary which is directly or indirectly owned by any interested shareholder or any affiliate or associate of any interested shareholder, except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments.
(f)
"Common stock" means any stock other than preferred or preference stock.
(g)
"Continuing director" means any member of the board of directors of the corporation, while such person is a member of the board of directors, who is not an affiliate or associate or representative of the interested shareholder and was a member of the board of directors prior to the time that the interested shareholder became an interested shareholder, and any successor of a continuing director, while such successor is a member of the board of directors, who is not an affiliate or associate or representative of the interested shareholder and is recommended or elected to succeed the continuing director by a majority of continuing directors.
(h)
"Control," including the terms "controlling," "controlled by" and "under common control with," means the possession, directly, indirectly or beneficially, of the power, directly or indirectly, to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. The beneficial ownership of ten percent (10%) or more of the votes entitled to be cast by a corporation's voting stock creates a presumption of control.
(i)
"Corporation," means any domestic corporation, as defined in Section
79-3-3(a)
, Mississippi Code of 1972, which corporation's principal place of business is located in Mississippi or which corporation has substantial assets in Mississippi, provided that such corporation has securities listed on a securities exchange registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
A corporation shall not include:
(i)
Any state or national bank or any bank holding company or any affiliate thereof authorized by the appropriate regulatory authority to be owned by any of the above; or
(ii)
Any state or federal savings and loan association, savings bank or similar savings institution, and any holding company or other affiliate of any state or federal savings and loan association, savings bank or similar savings institution.
(j)
"Determination date" means the date on which an interested shareholder first became an interested shareholder.
(k)
"Equity security" or "security" means:
(i)
Any stock or similar security, certificate of interest, or participation in any profit sharing agreement, voting trust certificate, or certificate of deposit for an equity security;
(ii)
Any security convertible, with or without consideration, into an equity security, or any warrant or other security carrying any right to subscribe to or purchase an equity security; or
(iii)
Any put, call, straddle or other option or privilege of buying an equity security from or selling an equity security to another without being bound to do so.
(l)
"Interested shareholder" means any person or associated group of persons acting in concert (other than the corporation and/or any subsidiaries) that:
(i)
Is the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of twenty percent (20%) or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation; or
(ii)
Is an affiliate of the corporation and at any time within the two-year period immediately prior to the date in question was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of twenty percent (20%) or more of the voting power of the then outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
For the purpose of determining whether a person or group of persons is an interested shareholder, the number of shares of voting stock deemed to be outstanding shall include shares deemed owned by the person or group of persons through application of paragraph (d) of this subsection.
(m)
"Market value" means:
(i)
In the case of stock, the highest closing sale price during the thirty-day period immediately preceding the date in question of a share of such stock on the composite tape for New York Exchange listed stocks, or, if such stock is not quoted on the composite tape, on the New York Stock Exchange, or if such stock is not listed on such exchange, on the principal United States Securities Exchange registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on which such stock is listed, or, if such stock is not listed on any such exchange, the highest closing bid quotation with respect to a share of such stock during the thirty-day period preceding the date in question on the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., automated quotations system or any system then in use.
(ii)
In the case of property other than cash or stock, the fair market value of such property on the date in question as determined by a majority of the continuing directors of the corporation in good faith.
(n)
"Subsidiary" means any corporation of which voting stock having a majority of the voting stock is owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation.
(o)
"Valuation date" means:
(i)
For a business combination voted upon or consented to by shareholders, the latter of the day prior to the date of the shareholders vote or consent or the day twenty (20) days prior to the consummation of the business combination; and
(ii)
For a business combination not voted upon or consented to by shareholders, the date of the consummation of the business combination.
(p)
"Voting stock" means shares of capital stock of the corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.
Laws, 1985, ch. 449, § 2(1); Laws, 1987, ch. 479; Laws, 2004, ch. 353, § 9, eff. 4/20/2004.