Ebay Inc 8-K, filed Jan 13, 2023
Ebay Inc (EBAY)
About this 8-K
Ebay Inc filed this 8-K on January 13, 2023, reporting on events of January 12, 2023.
Items reported
- Item 5.03: Charter or bylaw amendment, or fiscal year change
- Item 9.01: Financial statements and exhibits
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event
reported):
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | |
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | |
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading symbol(s) | Name of exchange on which registered | ||
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging
growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 5.03. | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
On January 12, 2023, the board of directors (the “Board”) of eBay Inc. (the "Company") adopted amendments to the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”), effective immediately, to:
| · | clarify and further enhance procedural mechanics in connection with stockholder nominations of directors, including by requiring a stockholder delivering a nomination notice pursuant to the advance notice provisions of the Bylaws to (i) fully comply with Rule 14a-19 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and (ii) deliver reasonable evidence that such stockholder has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(3) no later than five business days prior to the applicable stockholder meeting; |
| · | require that any stockholder directly or indirectly soliciting proxies from other stockholders use a proxy card color other than white; and |
| · | update the Company’s requirements to align them with recent amendments to the Delaware General Corporation Law, including relating to (i) the availability of stockholder lists in connection with stockholder meetings and (ii) notices of adjournment of stockholder meetings. |
The Bylaws also incorporate ministerial, clarifying and conforming changes.
The foregoing general description of the amendments to the Bylaws is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Bylaws, a copy of which is included as Exhibit 3.1 to this report and incorporated by reference herein.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
(d) Exhibits.
The following materials are attached as exhibits to this Current Report on Form 8-K:
| Exhibit | ||
| No. | Description | |
| 3.1 | Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| eBay Inc. | |||
| Date: January 13, 2023 | By: | /s/ Molly Finn | |
| Name: | Molly Finn | ||
| Title: | Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Corporate & Assistant Secretary | ||
Exhibit 3.1
AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
OF
EBAY INC.
(a Delaware corporation)
eBay Inc. (the “Corporation”), pursuant to the provisions of Section 109 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, hereby adopts these Amended and Restated Bylaws, which restate, amend and supersede the bylaws of the Corporation, as previously amended and restated, in their entirety as described below:
ARTICLE I.
STOCKHOLDERS
Section 1.1: Place of Meetings. Meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation may be held at such place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as may be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may, in its sole discretion, determine that the meeting shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication as provided under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 1.2: Annual Meetings. If required by applicable law, an annual meeting of stockholders shall be held for the election of directors at such date and time, as the Board of Directors shall each year fix. Any other proper business may be transacted at the annual meeting.
Section 1.3: Special Meetings.
(a) General. Special meetings of the stockholders, for any purpose or purposes described in the notice of the meeting, may be called by (i) the Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors (whether or not there exist any vacancies in previously authorized directorships at the time any such resolution is presented to the Board of Directors for adoption), (ii) the Chairman of the Board or (iii) the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, and shall be held at such place, if any, on such date, and at such time as they shall fix. Subject to the provisions of Section 1.3(b) and other applicable provisions of these bylaws, a special meeting of stockholders shall be called by the Secretary of the Corporation upon the written request (a “Stockholder Requested Special Meeting”) of one or more stockholders of record of the Corporation that together have continuously held, for their own account or on behalf of others, beneficial ownership of at least a twenty percent (20%) aggregate “net long position” of the outstanding common stock of the Corporation (the “Requisite Percent”) for at least thirty (30) days as of the date such request is delivered to the Corporation. For purposes of determining the Requisite Percent, “net long position” shall be determined with respect to each requesting holder in accordance with the definition thereof set forth in Rule 14e-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (as so amended and inclusive of such rules and regulations, the “Exchange Act ”); provided that (x) for purposes of such definition, (A) “the date that a tender offer is first publicly announced or otherwise made known by the bidder to the holders of the security to be acquired” shall be the date of the relevant Special Meeting Request, (B) the “highest tender offer price or stated amount of the consideration offered for the subject security” shall refer to the closing sales price of the Corporation’s common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (or any successor thereto) on such date (or, if such date is not a trading day, the next succeeding trading day), (C) the “person whose securities are the subject of the offer” shall refer to the Corporation, and (D) a “subject security” shall refer to the outstanding common stock of the Corporation; and (y) the net long position of such holder shall be reduced by the number of shares of common stock of the Corporation as to which such holder does not, or will not, have the right to vote or direct the vote at the special meeting or as to which such holder has entered into any derivative or other agreement, arrangement or understanding that hedges or transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic consequences of ownership of such shares. Whether the requesting holders have complied with the requirements of this Article I and related provisions of the Bylaws shall be determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, which determination shall be conclusive and binding on the Corporation and the stockholders.
(b) Stockholder Requested Special Meetings. In order for a Stockholder Requested Special Meeting to be called, one or more requests for a special meeting (each, a “Special Meeting Request,” and collectively, the “Special Meeting Requests”) must be signed by the Requisite Percent of stockholders submitting such request and by each of the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request is being made and must be delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation. The Special Meeting Request(s) shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation by overnight express courier or registered mail, return receipt requested. Each Special Meeting Request shall (i) set forth a statement of the specific purpose(s) of the meeting and the matters proposed to be acted on at it, (ii) bear the date of signature of each such stockholder signing the Special Meeting Request, (iii) set forth (A) the name and address, as they appear in the Corporation’s books, of each stockholder signing such request and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf such request is made, and (B) the class, if applicable, and the number of shares of common stock of the Corporation that are owned of record and beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by each such stockholder and the beneficial owners, if any, on whose behalf such request is made, (iv) include documentary evidence that the stockholders requesting the special meeting own the Requisite Percent as of the date on which the Special Meeting Request is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation; provided, however, that if the stockholders are not the beneficial owners of the shares constituting all or part of the Requisite Percent, then to be valid, the Special Meeting Request must also include documentary evidence (or, if not simultaneously provided with the Special Meeting Request, such documentary evidence must be delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation within ten (10) days after the date on which the Special Meeting Request is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation) that the beneficial owners on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request is made beneficially own such shares as of the date on which such Special Meeting Request is delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation, (v) an agreement by each of the stockholders requesting the special meeting and each beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request is being made to notify the Corporation promptly in the event of any decrease in the net long position held by such stockholder or beneficial owner following the delivery of such Special Meeting Request and prior to the special meeting and an acknowledgement that any such decrease shall be deemed to be a revocation of such Special Meeting Request by such stockholder or beneficial owner to the extent of such reduction, and (vi) contain the information required by Section 1.14 and Section 1.15, as applicable, provided that all references to “Proposing Person” in Section 1.14 and all references to “Nominating Person” in Section 1.15 shall, for purposes of this Section 1.3(b), mean (i) the stockholders of record making the Special Meeting Request, (ii) any beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request is being made, and (iii) any affiliate or associate (each within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act for purposes of these Bylaws) of such stockholder or beneficial owner. Each stockholder making a Special Meeting Request and each beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the Special Meeting Request is being made is required to update the notice delivered pursuant to this Section 1.3(b) in accordance with Section 1.14(d) or Section 1.15(d), as applicable. Any requesting stockholder may revoke his, her or its Special Meeting Request at any time prior to the special meeting by written revocation delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation. If at any time after sixty (60) days following the earliest dated Special Meeting Request, the unrevoked (whether by specific written revocation by the stockholder or pursuant to clause (b)(v) of this Section 1.3) valid Special Meeting Requests represent in the aggregate less than the Requisite Percent, then the requesting stockholder(s) or beneficial owner(s) shall be deemed to have withdrawn such request (in connection with which the Board may cancel the meeting).
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In determining whether a special meeting of stockholders has been requested by stockholders holding in the aggregate at least the Requisite Percent, multiple Special Meeting Requests delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation will be considered together only if (i) each Special Meeting Request identifies substantially the same purpose or purposes of the special meeting and substantially the same matters proposed to be acted on at the special meeting (in each case as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors), and (ii) such Special Meeting Requests have been delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation within sixty (60) days of the earliest dated Special Meeting Request.
(c) Calling of a Special Meeting. Except as provided in the next sentence, a special meeting requested by stockholders shall be held at such date, time and place within or without the State of Delaware as may be fixed by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that the date of any such special meeting shall be not more than ninety (90) days after the date on which valid Special Meeting Request(s) constituting the Requisite Percent are delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation (such date of delivery being the “Delivery Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Secretary of the Corporation shall not be required to call a special meeting of stockholders if (i) the Board of Directors has already called an annual meeting of stockholders, or a special meeting of stockholders, which has not yet been held at which a Similar Item (as defined in this Section 1.3(c)) is to be presented pursuant to the notice of such meeting, in either case to be held not later than sixty (60) days after the Delivery Date; (ii) the Delivery Date is during the period commencing sixty (60) days prior to the first anniversary of the date of the immediately preceding annual meeting and ending on the date of the next annual meeting; or (iii) the Special Meeting Request(s) (A) contain an identical or substantially similar item (as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors, a “Similar Item”) to an item that was presented at any meeting of stockholders held not more than seventy-five (75) days before the Delivery Date (and, for purposes of this clause (iii) the election of directors shall be deemed a “Similar Item” with respect to all items of business involving the election or removal of directors); (B) relate to an item of business that is not a proper subject for action by the stockholders under applicable law; (C) were made in a manner that involved a violation of Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act or other applicable law; or (D) do not comply with the provisions of this Section 1.3.
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(d) Business Transacted at a Special Meeting. Business transacted at any Stockholder Requested Special Meeting shall be limited to the purpose or purposes stated in the Special Meeting Request(s) for such special meeting; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit the Board of Directors from submitting additional matters to stockholders at any such special meeting pursuant to the Corporation’s notice of meeting. If none of the stockholders who submitted a Special Meeting Request appears at or sends a duly authorized representative to the Stockholder Requested Special Meeting to present the matters to be presented for consideration that were specified in the Special Meeting Request, the corporation need not present such matters for a vote at such meeting.
Section 1.4: Notice of Meetings. Notice of all meetings of stockholders shall be given that shall state the place, if any, date and time of the meeting, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. Unless otherwise required by applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation as currently in effect (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), such notice shall be given not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting.
Section 1.5: Manner of Giving Notice; Affidavit of Notice.
(a) Notice of any meeting of stockholders, if mailed, is given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the stockholder at his, her or its address as it appears on the records of the Corporation.
(b) Except as otherwise prohibited by the Delaware General Corporation Law and without limiting the foregoing, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws shall be effective if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to (and not properly revoked by written notice to the Corporation) by the stockholder to whom the notice is given, to the extent such consent is required by the Delaware General Corporation Law. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice to the Corporation. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked if (i) the Corporation is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two (2) consecutive notices given by the Corporation in accordance with such consent and (ii) such inability becomes known to the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or to the transfer agent of the Corporation, or other person responsible for the giving of notice; provided, however, the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action. Any such notice shall be deemed given (i) if by facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; (ii) if by electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice; (iii) if by a posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (A) such posting and (B) the giving of such separate notice; and (iv) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder.
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(c) For the purposes of these Bylaws, an “electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process.
(d) Except as otherwise prohibited under the Delaware General Corporation Law and without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws may be given by a single written notice to stockholders who share an address if consented to by the stockholders at that address to whom such notice is given. Such consent shall have been deemed to have been given if a stockholder fails to object in writing to the Corporation within sixty (60) days of having been given written notice by the Corporation of its intention to send the single notice in accordance with this Section 1.5(d). Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholders by written notice to the Corporation.
(e) An affidavit of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or of the transfer agent or other agent of the Corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.
Section 1.6: Adjournments. Any meeting of stockholders may adjourn from time to time to reconvene at the same or another place, if any, or by means of remote communications (including an adjournment taken to address a technical failure to convene), if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, and notice need not be given of any such adjourned meeting if the place, if any, time and date thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are (i) announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken, (ii) displayed, during the time scheduled for such meeting, on the same electronic network used to enable stockholders and proxy holders to participate in such meeting by means of remote communication or (iii) set forth in the notice of such meeting given in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.5; provided, however, that if the adjournment is for more than thirty (30) days, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, then a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. At the adjourned meeting the Corporation may transact any business that might have been transacted at the original meeting.
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Section 1.7: Quorum. At each meeting of stockholders the holders of a majority of the shares of stock entitled to vote at the meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except if otherwise required by applicable law. Where a separate vote by a class or classes or series is required, a majority of the shares of such class or classes or series then outstanding and entitled to vote present in person or by proxy shall constitute a quorum entitled to take action with respect to that vote on that matter. If a quorum shall fail to attend any meeting, the chairman of the meeting or the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote who are present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting may adjourn the meeting. Shares of the Corporation’s stock belonging to the Corporation (or to another corporation, if a majority of the shares entitled to vote in the election of directors of such other corporation are held, directly or indirectly, by the Corporation), shall neither be entitled to vote nor be counted for quorum purposes; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not limit the right of the Corporation or any other corporation to vote any shares of the Corporation’s stock held by it in a fiduciary capacity.
Section 1.8: Conduct of Business. Meetings of stockholders shall be presided over by such person as the Board of Directors may designate as chairman of the meeting, or, in the absence of such a person, the Chairman of the Board, or, in the absence of such person, the President of the Corporation, or, in the absence of such person, such person as may be chosen by the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote who are present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting. The Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in his or her absence the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to make such rules or regulations for the conduct of meetings of stockholders as it shall deem necessary, appropriate or convenient. Subject to such rules and regulations of the Board of Directors, if any, the chairman of the meeting shall have the right and authority to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairman, are necessary, appropriate or convenient for the proper conduct of the meeting, including, without limitation, adjourning the meeting if the chairman determines in his or her sole discretion that an adjournment is advisable, establishing an agenda or order of business for the meeting, rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present, limitations on participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies and such other persons as the chairman shall permit, restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof, limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by participants and regulation of the opening and closing of the polls for balloting and matters which are to be voted on by ballot.
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Section 1.9: Voting; Proxies. Unless otherwise provided by law or the Certificate of Incorporation, each stockholder shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share of stock held by such stockholder of record according to the records of the Corporation. The stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.11 of these Bylaws, subject to Section 217 (relating to voting rights of fiduciaries, pledgors and joint owners of stock) and Section 218 (relating to voting trusts and other voting agreements) of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy. Any stockholder directly or indirectly soliciting proxies from other stockholders must use a proxy card color other than white, which shall be reserved for the exclusive use by the Board of Directors. Such a proxy may otherwise be prepared, transmitted and delivered in any manner permitted by applicable law. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or a Certificate of Designation relating to a series of Preferred Stock, directors shall be elected as provided in Section 2.2 of these Bylaws. Unless otherwise provided by applicable law, the rules or regulations of any stock exchange applicable to the Corporation, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, every matter other than the election of directors shall be decided by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the shares of stock entitled to vote thereon that are present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting.
Section 1.10: [Intentionally Omitted.]
Section 1.11: Fixing Date for Determination of Stockholders of Record. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof or entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix, in advance, a record date, which (i) in the case of determination of stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders or adjournment thereof, shall, unless otherwise required by law, not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting, and (ii) in the case of any other action, shall not be more than sixty (60) days prior to any such other action. If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors, then the record date shall be as provided by applicable law. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.
Section 1.12: List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote. A complete list of stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders, arranged in alphabetical order and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder, shall be open to the examination of any stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting, for a period of ten (10) days ending on the day before the meeting date, (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to the stockholders of the Corporation.
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Except as otherwise provided by law, such list shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by this Section 1.12 or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of the stockholders. The Corporation shall not be required to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list.
Section 1.13: Inspectors of Elections.
(a) Applicability. Unless otherwise provided in the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or required by the Delaware General Corporation Law, the following provisions of this Section 1.13 shall apply only if and when the Corporation has a class of voting stock that is:
(i) listed on a national securities exchange;
(ii) authorized for quotation on an interdealer quotation system of a registered national securities association; or
(iii) held of record by more than 2,000 stockholders; in all other cases, observance of the provisions of this Section 1.13 shall be optional, and at the discretion of the Corporation.
(b) Appointment. The Corporation shall, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more inspectors of election to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof. The Corporation may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the person presiding at the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting.
(c) Inspector’s Oath. Each inspector of election, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his or her ability.
(d) Duties of Inspectors. At a meeting of stockholders, the inspectors of election shall
(i) ascertain the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each share;
(ii) determine the shares represented at a meeting and the validity of proxies and ballots;
(iii) count all votes and ballots;
(iv) determine and retain for a reasonable period of time a record of the disposition of any challenges made to any determination by the inspectors; and
(v) certify their determination of the number of shares represented at the meeting, and their count of all votes and ballots. The inspectors may appoint or retain other persons or entities to assist the inspectors in the performance of the duties of the inspectors.
(e) Opening and Closing of Polls. The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced by the inspectors at the meeting. No ballot, proxies or votes, nor any revocations thereof or changes thereto, shall be accepted by the inspectors after the closing of the polls unless the Court of Chancery upon application by a stockholder shall determine otherwise.
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(f) Determinations. In determining the validity and counting of proxies and ballots, the inspectors shall be limited to an examination of the proxies, any envelopes submitted with those proxies, any information provided in connection with proxies in accordance with Section 211(e) or Section 212(c)(2) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or any information provided pursuant to Section 211(a)(2)(B)(i) or (iii) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, ballots and the regular books and records of the Corporation, except that the inspectors may consider other reliable information for the limited purpose of reconciling proxies and ballots submitted by or on behalf of banks, brokers, their nominees or similar persons which represent more votes than the holder of a proxy is authorized by the record owner to cast or more votes than the stockholder holds of record. If the inspectors consider other reliable information for the limited purpose permitted herein, the inspectors at the time they make their certification of their determinations pursuant to this Section 1.13 shall specify the precise information considered by them, including the person or persons from whom they obtained the information, when the information was obtained, the means by which the information was obtained and the basis for the inspectors’ belief that such information is accurate and reliable.
Section 1.14: Notice of Stockholder Business to be Brought Before an Annual or Special Meeting.
(a) Business Properly Brought Before an Annual or Special Meeting. At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting, business must be (i) brought before the meeting by the Corporation and specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, (ii) brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, or (iii) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder who (A) was a stockholder of record (and, with respect to any beneficial owner, if different, on whose behalf such business is proposed, only if such beneficial owner was the beneficial owner of shares of the Corporation) both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 1.14 and at the time of the meeting, (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (C) has complied with this Section 1.14 as to such business. Except for proposals properly made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, and included in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, the foregoing clause (iii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to propose business to be brought before an annual meeting of the stockholders. Stockholders shall not be permitted to propose business to be brought before a special meeting of the stockholders (other than pursuant to a Special Meeting Request in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 1.3), and the only matters that may be brought before a special meeting are the matters specified in the Corporation’s notice of meeting. Stockholders seeking to nominate persons for election to the Board must comply with Section 1.15 of these Bylaws, and this Section 1.14 shall not be applicable to nominations except as expressly provided in Section 1.15 of these Bylaws.
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(b) Requirement of Timely Notice of Stockholder Business. Without qualification, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice (as defined below) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation and (ii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 1.14. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders must be delivered by overnight express courier or registered mail, return receipt requested, and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than ninety (90) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the one year anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that if the date of the annual meeting is more than thirty (30) days before or more than sixty (60) days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not earlier than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made (such notice within such time periods, “Timely Notice”). In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of Timely Notice as described above.
(c) Requirements for Proper Form of Stockholder Notice of Proposed Business. To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 1.14, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary shall set forth:
(i) Stockholder Information. As to each Proposing Person (as defined below), (A) the name and address of such Proposing Person (including, if applicable, the name and address that appear on the Corporation’s books and records), (B) the class or series and number of shares of the Corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned of record or beneficially owned (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by such Proposing Person, except that such Proposing Person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of any class or series of the Corporation as to which such Proposing Person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future and (C) a representation whether such Proposing Person intends or is part of a group that intends (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding stock required to approve or adopt the proposal or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies from stockholders in support of such proposal;
(ii) Information Regarding Disclosable Interests. As to each Proposing Person, (A) any derivative, swap or other transaction or series of transactions engaged in, directly or indirectly, by such Proposing Person, the purpose or effect of which is to give such Proposing Person economic risk similar to ownership of shares of any class or series of the Corporation, including due to the fact that the value of such derivative, swap or other transactions are determined by reference to the price, value or volatility of any shares of any class or series of the Corporation, or which derivative, swap or other transactions provide, directly or indirectly, the opportunity to profit from any increase in the price or value of shares of any class or series of the Corporation (“Synthetic Equity Interests”), which such Synthetic Equity Interests shall be disclosed without regard to whether (x) such derivative, swap or other transactions convey any voting rights in such shares to such Proposing Person, (y) the derivative, swap or other transactions are required to be, or are capable of being, settled through delivery of such shares or (z) such Proposing Person may have entered into other transactions that hedge or mitigate the economic effect of such derivative, swap or other transactions, (B) any proxy (other than a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act by way of a solicitation statement filed on Schedule 14A), agreement, arrangement, understanding or relationship pursuant to which such Proposing Person has or shares a right to vote any shares of any class or series of the Corporation, (C) any agreement, arrangement, understanding or relationship, including any repurchase or similar so-called “stock borrowing” agreement or arrangement, engaged in, directly or indirectly, by such Proposing Person, the purpose or effect of which is to mitigate loss to, reduce the economic risk (of ownership or otherwise) of shares of any class or series of the Corporation by, manage the risk of share price changes for, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such Proposing Person with respect to the shares of any class or series of the Corporation, or which provides, directly or indirectly, the opportunity to profit from any decrease in the price or value of the shares of any class or series of the Corporation (“Short Interests”), (D) any rights to dividends on the shares of any class or series of the Corporation owned beneficially by such Proposing Person that are separated or separable from the underlying shares of the Corporation, (E) any performance related fees (other than an asset based fee) that such Proposing Person is entitled to based on any increase or decrease in the price or value of shares of any class or series of the Corporation, or any Synthetic Equity Interests or Short Interests, if any, and (F) any other information relating to such Proposing Person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies or consents by such Proposing Person in support of the business proposed to be brought before the meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) through (F) are referred to as “Disclosable Interests”); provided, however, that Disclosable Interests shall not include any such disclosures with respect to the ordinary course business activities of any broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee who is a Proposing Person solely as a result of being the stockholder directed to prepare and submit the notice required by these Bylaws on behalf of a beneficial owner; and
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(iii) Description of Proposed Business. As to each item of business the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual or special meeting, (A) a reasonably brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual or special meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the annual or special meeting and any material interest in such business of each Proposing Person, (B) the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration), and (C) a reasonably detailed description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings (x) between or among any of the Proposing Persons or (y) between or among any Proposing Person and any other person or entity (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder.
(iv) Definition of Proposing Person. For purposes of this Section 1.14, the term “Proposing Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual or special meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the business proposed to be brought before the annual or special meeting is made, and (iii) any affiliate or associate of such stockholder or beneficial owner.
(d) Update and Supplement of Stockholder Notice of Proposed Business. A stockholder providing notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual or special meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 1.14 or in any Special Meeting Request delivered pursuant to Section 1.3(b) shall be true and correct as of the record date for the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date of the meeting, or in the case of any adjournment or postponement thereof, eight (8) business days prior to the date of such adjournment or postponement. For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these Bylaws shall not be deemed to extend any applicable deadlines under these Bylaws, cure deficiencies in any notice of business or permit a change in the proposal, business or resolution proposed to be brought before a meeting of the stockholders.
(e) Business Not Properly Brought Before a Meeting. Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at an annual or special meeting except in accordance with this Section 1.14. The presiding officer of the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that the business was not properly brought before the meeting in accordance with this Section 1.14, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare to the meeting and any such business not properly brought before the meeting shall not be transacted.
(f) Exchange Act Compliance. This Section 1.14 is expressly intended to apply to any business proposed to be brought before an annual or special meeting of stockholders other than any proposal made pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act. In addition to the requirements of this Section 1.14 with respect to any business proposed to be brought before an annual or special meeting, each Proposing Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such business. Nothing in this Section 1.14 shall be deemed to affect the rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act.
(g) Definition of Public Disclosure. For purposes of these Bylaws, “public disclosure” shall mean disclosure in a press release reported by a national news service or in a document publicly filed by the Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Sections 13, 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
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Section 1.15: Nominations.
(a) Who May Make Nominations. Nominations of any person for election to the Board of Directors at an annual meeting or at a special meeting (but only if the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling such special meeting) may be made at such meeting only (i) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, including by any committee or persons appointed by the Board of Directors, or (ii) by a stockholder who (A) was a stockholder of record (and, with respect to any beneficial owner, if different, on whose behalf such nomination is proposed to be made, only if such beneficial owner was the beneficial owner of shares of the Corporation) both at the time of giving the notice provided for in this Section 1.15 and at the time of the meeting, (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (C) has complied with this Section 1.15 as to such nomination. The foregoing clause (ii) shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board of Directors at an annual meeting or special meeting (other than pursuant to a Special Meeting Request in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 1.3).
(b) Requirement of Timely Notice of Stockholder Nominations. Without qualification, in addition to such stockholder complying with the provisions of Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act, for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board of Directors at an annual meeting, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice (as defined in Section 1.14 of these Bylaws) thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation and (ii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 1.15. Without qualification, if the election of directors is a matter specified in the notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the person calling such special meeting, then for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board of Directors at a special meeting, the stockholder must (i) provide timely notice thereof in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation, and (ii) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by this Section 1.15. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for nominations to be made at a special meeting (other than pursuant to a Special Meeting Request in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section 1.3) must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such special meeting and not later than the ninetieth (90th) day prior to such special meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure (as defined in Section 1.14 of these Bylaws) of the date of such special meeting was first made. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.
(c) Requirements for Proper Form of Notice of Stockholder Nominations. To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 1.15, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary shall set forth:
(i) Stockholder Information. As to each Nominating Person (as defined below), (A) the name and address of such Nominating Person (including, if applicable, the name and address that appear on the Corporation’s books and records), (B) the class or series and number of shares of the Corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned of record or beneficially owned (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) by such Nominating Person, except that such Nominating Person shall in all events be deemed to beneficially own any shares of any class or series of the Corporation as to which such Nominating Person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership at any time in the future, (C) a representation as to whether or not such Nominating Person intends to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Corporation’s nominees in accordance with Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act and (D) a representation whether such Nominating Person intends or is part of a group that intends (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the Corporation’s outstanding stock reasonably believed by the Nominating Person to be sufficient to elect the nominee or nominees proposed to be nominated by the Nominating Person;
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(ii) Information Regarding Disclosable Interests. As to each Nominating Person, any Disclosable Interests (as defined in Section 1.14(c)(ii), except that for purposes of this Section 1.15 the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 1.14(c)(ii)), and the disclosure in clause (F) of Section 1.14(c)(ii) shall be made with respect to the election of directors at the meeting;
(iii) Information Regarding Proposed Nominees. As to each person whom a Nominating Person proposes to nominate for election as a director, (A) all information with respect to such proposed nominee that would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice pursuant to this Section 1.15 if such proposed nominee were a Nominating Person, (B) all information relating to such proposed nominee that is required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14(a) under the Exchange Act (including such proposed nominee’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected), (C) a description of all direct and indirect compensation and other material monetary agreements, arrangements and understandings during the past three years, and any other material relationships, between or among any Nominating Person, on the one hand, and each proposed nominee, his or her respective affiliates and associates, on the other hand, including, without limitation, all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 under Regulation S-K if such Nominating Person were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the proposed nominee were a director or executive officer of such registrant, and (D) a statement as to whether the proposed nominee, if elected, intends to tender, promptly following such person’s election or re-election, an irrevocable resignation effective upon the occurrence of both (1) such person’s failure to receive the required vote for re-election at the next meeting at which such person would face re-election and (2) acceptance of such resignation in accordance with Section 2.2 of these Bylaws and the Corporation’s Governance Guidelines for the Board of Directors; and
(iv) Other Information to be Furnished by Proposed Nominees. The Corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information (A) as may reasonably be required by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as an independent director of the Corporation in accordance with the Corporation’s Governance Guidelines or (B) that could be material to a reasonable stockholder’s understanding of the independence or lack of independence of such proposed nominee.
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(v) Definition of Nominating Person. For purposes of this Section 1.15, the term “Nominating Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting, (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf the notice of the nomination proposed to be made at the meeting is made, and (iii) any affiliate or associate of such stockholder or beneficial owner.
(d) Update and Supplement of Stockholder Notice of Nominations. A stockholder providing notice of any nomination proposed to be made at a meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 1.15 or in any Special Meeting Request delivered pursuant to Section 1.3(b) shall be true and correct as of the record date for the meeting and as of the date that is ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for the meeting (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of the record date), and not later than eight (8) business days prior to the date of the meeting, or in the case of any adjournment or postponement thereof, eight (8) business days prior to the date of such adjournment or postponement. For the avoidance of doubt, the obligation to update and supplement as set forth in this paragraph or any other Section of these Bylaws shall not be deemed to extend any applicable deadlines under these Bylaws, cure deficiencies in any notice of nominations or permit a change in the nominees or nominations proposed to be made at a meeting of the stockholders.
(e) Defective Nominations. Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, no person shall be eligible for election as a director of the Corporation unless nominated in accordance with this Section 1.15. The presiding officer at the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that a nomination was not properly made in accordance with this Section 1.15, and if he or she should so determine, he or she shall so declare such determination to the meeting and the defective nomination shall be disregarded.
(f) Compliance with Exchange Act. In addition to the requirements of Section 1.9 and this Section 1.15 with respect to any nomination proposed to be made at a meeting, each Nominating Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, with respect to any such nominations. Unless otherwise required by law, (i) no Nominating Person shall solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than the Corporation’s nominees unless such stockholder has complied with Rule 14a-19 promulgated under the Exchange Act in connection with the solicitation of such proxies, including the provision to the Corporation of notices required thereunder in a timely manner, and (ii) if such stockholder (1) provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act and (2) subsequently fails to comply with all applicable requirements of Section 1.9 and this Section 1.15 and Rules 14a-19(a)(2) and 14a-19(a)(3) promulgated under the Exchange Act, then the Corporation shall disregard any proxies or votes solicited for such stockholder’s director nominees. Upon request by the Corporation, if any such stockholder provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act, such stockholder shall deliver to the Corporation, no later than five (5) business days prior to the applicable meeting, reasonable evidence that it has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(3) under the Exchange Act.
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Section 1.16: Inclusion of Stockholder Director Nominations in the Corporation’s Proxy Materials.
(a) Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in these Bylaws, the Corporation shall include in its proxy materials for an annual meeting of stockholders the name, together with the Required Information (defined below), of any person nominated for election (the “Stockholder Nominee”) to the Board of Directors by a stockholder or group of stockholders that satisfy the requirements of this Section 1.16, including qualifying as an Eligible Stockholder (as defined in paragraph (e) below), and that expressly elects at the time of providing the written notice required by this Section 1.16 (a “Proxy Access Notice”) to have its nominee included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 1.16. For the purposes of this Section 1.16:
(i) “Voting Stock” shall mean outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally for the election of directors;
(ii) “Constituent Holder” shall mean any stockholder, collective investment fund included within a Qualifying Fund (as defined in paragraph (e) below) or beneficial holder whose stock ownership is counted for the purposes of qualifying as holding the Proxy Access Request Required Shares (as defined in paragraph (e) below) or qualifying as an Eligible Stockholder (as defined in paragraph (e) below);
(iii) “affiliate” and “associate” shall have the meanings ascribed thereto in Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder; provided, however, that the term “partner” as used in the definition of “associate” shall not include any limited partner that is a passive investor in, and not involved in the management of, the relevant partnership; and
(iv) a stockholder (including any Constituent Holder) shall be deemed to “own” only those outstanding shares of Voting Stock as to which the stockholder itself (or any Constituent Holder itself) possesses both (A) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares and (B) the full economic interest in (including the opportunity for profit and risk of loss on) such shares. The number of shares calculated in accordance with the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) shall be deemed not to include (and to the extent any of the following arrangements have been entered into by affiliates of the stockholder (or of any Constituent Holder), shall be reduced by) any shares (x) sold by such stockholder or Constituent Holder (or any of either’s affiliates) in any transaction that has not been settled or closed, including any short sale, (y) borrowed by such stockholder or Constituent Holder (or any of either’s affiliates) for any purposes or purchased by such stockholder or Constituent Holder (or any of either’s affiliates) pursuant to an agreement to resell or (z) subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale, other derivative or similar agreement entered into by such stockholder or Constituent Holder (or any of either’s affiliates), whether any such instrument or agreement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of Voting Stock, in any such case which instrument or agreement has, or is intended to have, or if exercised by either party thereto would have, the purpose or effect of (1) reducing in any manner, to any extent or at any time in the future, such stockholder’s or Constituent Holder’s (or either’s affiliate’s) full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares, and/or (2) hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree gain or loss arising from the full economic ownership of such shares by such stockholder or Constituent Holder (or either’s affiliate), other than any such arrangements solely involving an exchange listed multi-industry market index fund in which Voting Stock represents at the time of entry into such arrangement less than 10% of the proportionate value of such index. A stockholder (including any Constituent Holder) shall “own” shares held in the name of a nominee or other intermediary so long as the stockholder itself (or such Constituent Holder itself) retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and the right to direct the disposition thereof and possesses the full economic interest in the shares. A stockholder’s (including any Constituent Holder’s) ownership of shares shall be deemed to continue during any period in which such person has loaned such shares in the ordinary course of its business or delegated any voting power over such shares by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which loan or delegation in all such cases is revocable at any time by the stockholder (and, with respect to any such loans of shares, as long as such shares can be recalled within five (5) days). The terms “owned,” “owning” and other variations of the word “own” shall have correlative meanings.
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(b) For purposes of this Section 1.16, the “Required Information” that the Corporation will include in its proxy statement is (i) the information concerning the Stockholder Nominee and the Eligible Stockholder that the Corporation determines is required to be disclosed in the Corporation’s proxy statement by the regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act; and (ii) if the Eligible Stockholder so elects, a Statement (as defined in paragraph (g) below). The Corporation shall also include the name of the Stockholder Nominee in its proxy card. For the avoidance of doubt, and any other provision of these Bylaws notwithstanding, the Corporation may in its sole discretion solicit against, and include in the proxy statement its own statements or other information relating to, any Eligible Stockholder and/or Stockholder Nominee, including any information provided to the Corporation with respect to the foregoing.
(c) To be timely, a stockholder’s Proxy Access Notice must be delivered to the principal executive offices of the Corporation within the time periods applicable to stockholder notices of nominations pursuant to Section 1.14 of these Bylaws. In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting, the date of which has been announced by the Corporation, commence a new time period for the giving of a Proxy Access Notice.
(d) The number of Stockholder Nominees (including Stockholder Nominees that were submitted by an Eligible Stockholder for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 1.16 but either are subsequently withdrawn or that the Board of Directors decides to nominate as Board of Directors’ nominees) appearing in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders shall not exceed the greater of (x) two (2) and (y) the largest whole number that does not exceed 20% of the number of directors in office as of the last day on which a Proxy Access Notice may be delivered in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 1.16 (such greater number, the “Permitted Number”); provided, however, that the Permitted Number shall be reduced by:
(i) the number of directors in office or director candidates that in either case will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to such annual meeting as an unopposed (by the Corporation) nominee pursuant to an agreement, arrangement or other understanding with a stockholder or group of stockholders (other than any such agreement, arrangement or understanding entered into in connection with an acquisition of Voting Stock, by such stockholder or group of stockholders, from the Corporation), other than any such director referred to in this clause (i) who at the time of such annual meeting will have served as a director continuously, as a nominee of the Board of Directors, for at least two annual terms, but only to the extent the Permitted Number after such reduction with respect to this clause (i) equals or exceeds one; and
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(ii) the number of directors in office that will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to such annual meeting for whom access to the Corporation’s proxy materials was previously provided or requested pursuant to this Section 1.16, other than any such director referred to in this clause (ii) who at the time of such annual meeting will have served as a director continuously, as a nominee of the Board of Directors, for at least two annual terms; provided, further, that in the event the Board of Directors resolves to reduce the size of the Board of Directors effective on or prior to the date of the annual meeting, the Permitted Number shall be calculated based on the number of directors in office as so reduced. In the event that the number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 1.16 exceeds the Permitted Number, each Eligible Stockholder will promptly select one Stockholder Nominee for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials until the Permitted Number is reached, going in order of the amount (largest to smallest) of shares of Voting Stock each Eligible Stockholder disclosed as owned in its Proxy Access Notice submitted to the Corporation. If the Permitted Number is not reached after each Eligible Stockholder has selected one Stockholder Nominee, this selection process will continue as many times as necessary, following the same order each time, until the Permitted Number is reached.
(e) An “Eligible Stockholder” is one or more stockholders of record who own and have owned, or are acting on behalf of one or more beneficial owners who own and have owned (in each case as defined above), in each case continuously for at least three (3) years as of both the date that the Proxy Access Notice is received by the Corporation pursuant to this Section 1.16, and as of the record date for determining stockholders eligible to vote at the annual meeting, at least 3% of the aggregate voting power of the Voting Stock (the “Proxy Access Request Required Shares”), and who continue to own the Proxy Access Request Required Shares at all times between the date such Proxy Access Notice is received by the Corporation and the date of the applicable annual meeting, provided that the aggregate number of stockholders, and, if and to the extent that a stockholder is acting on behalf of one or more beneficial owners, of such beneficial owners, whose stock ownership is counted for the purpose of satisfying the foregoing ownership requirement shall not exceed twenty (20). Two or more funds that are (i) under common management and investment control, (ii) under common management and funded primarily by a single employer or (iii) a “group of investment companies,” as such term is defined in Section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (such funds together under each of (i), (ii) or (iii), a “Qualifying Fund”) shall be treated as one stockholder for the purpose of determining the aggregate number of stockholders referred to in the preceding sentence of this paragraph, provided that each fund included within a Qualifying Fund otherwise meets the requirements set forth in this Section 1.16. No shares may be attributed to more than one group constituting an Eligible Stockholder under this Section 1.16 (and, for the avoidance of doubt, no stockholder may be a member of more than one group constituting an Eligible Stockholder). A record holder acting on behalf of one or more beneficial owners will not be counted separately as a stockholder with respect to the shares owned by beneficial owners on whose behalf such record holder has been directed in writing to act, but each such beneficial owner will be counted separately, subject to the other provisions of this paragraph (e), for purposes of determining the number of stockholders whose holdings may be considered as part of an Eligible Stockholder’s holdings. For the avoidance of doubt, Proxy Access Request Required Shares will qualify as such if and only if the beneficial owner of such shares as of the date of the Proxy Access Notice has itself individually beneficially owned such shares continuously for the three-year (3 year) period ending on that date and through the other applicable dates referred to above (in addition to the other applicable requirements being met).
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(f) No later than the final date when a Proxy Access Notice pursuant to this Section 1.16 may be timely delivered to the Corporation, an Eligible Stockholder (including each Constituent Holder) must provide the following information in writing to the Secretary of the Corporation:
(i) with respect to each Constituent Holder, the name and address of, and number of shares of Voting Stock owned by, such person;
(ii) one or more written statements from the record holder of the shares (and from each intermediary through which the shares are or have been held during the requisite three-year (3 year) holding period) verifying that, as of a date within seven (7) calendar days prior to the date the Proxy Access Notice is timely delivered to the Corporation, such person owns, and has owned continuously for the preceding three (3) years, the Proxy Access Request Required Shares, and such person’s agreement to provide:
(A) within ten (10) days after the record date for the annual meeting, written statements from the record holder and intermediaries verifying such person’s continuous ownership of the Proxy Access Request Required Shares through the record date, together with any additional information reasonably requested to verify such person’s ownership of the Proxy Access Request Required Shares; and
(B) immediate notice if the Eligible Stockholder ceases to own any of the Proxy Access Request Required Shares prior to the date of the applicable annual meeting of stockholders;
(iii) any information relating to such Eligible Stockholder (including any Constituent Holder) and their respective affiliates or associates or others acting in concert therewith, and any information relating to such Eligible Stockholder’s Stockholder Nominee(s), in each case that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement and form of proxy or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for the election of such Stockholder Nominee(s) in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder or that would be required to be disclosed by Section 1.15 of these Bylaws in connection with submitting a notice nominating a Nominating Person;
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(iv) a description of all direct and indirect compensation and other material monetary agreements, arrangements and understandings during the past three (3) years, and any other material relationships, between or among the Eligible Stockholder (including any Constituent Holder) and its or their respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the one hand, and each of such Eligible Stockholder’s Stockholder Nominee(s), and his or her respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert therewith, on the other hand, including without limitation all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Rule 404 promulgated under Regulation S-K if the Eligible Stockholder (including any Constituent Holder), or any affiliate or associate thereof or person acting in concert therewith, were the “registrant” for purposes of such rule and the Stockholder Nominee were a director or executive officer of such registrant;
(v) a representation that such person:
(A) acquired the Proxy Access Request Required Shares in the ordinary course of business and not with the intent to change or influence control of the Corporation, and does not presently have such intent;
(B) has not nominated and will not nominate for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting any person other than the Stockholder Nominee(s) being nominated pursuant to this Section 1.16;
(C) has not engaged and will not engage in, and has not and will not be a “participant” in another person’s, “solicitation” within the meaning of Rule 14a-1(l) under the Exchange Act in support of the election of any individual as a director at the annual meeting other than its Stockholder Nominee(s) or a nominee of the Board of Directors;
(D) will not distribute to any stockholder any form of proxy for the annual meeting other than the form distributed by the Corporation; and
(E) will provide facts, statements and other information in all communications with the Corporation and its stockholders that are and will be true and correct in all material respects and do not and will not omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, and will otherwise comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations in connection with any actions taken pursuant to this Section 1.16;
(vi) in the case of a nomination by a group of stockholders that together is such an Eligible Stockholder, the designation by all group members of one group member that is authorized to act on behalf of all members of the nominating stockholder group with respect to the nomination and matters related thereto, including withdrawal of the nomination; and
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(vii) an undertaking that such person agrees to:
(A) assume all liability stemming from, and indemnify and hold harmless the Corporation and each of its directors, officers and employees individually against any liability, loss or damages in connection with any threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding, whether legal, administrative or investigative, against the Corporation or any of its directors, officers or employees arising out of any legal or regulatory violation arising out of the Eligible Stockholder’s communications with the stockholders of the Corporation or out of the information that the Eligible Stockholder (including such person) provided to the Corporation; and
(B) file with the Securities and Exchange Commission any solicitation by the Eligible Stockholder of stockholders of the Corporation relating to the annual meeting at which the Stockholder Nominee will be nominated.
In addition, no later than the final date on which a Proxy Access Notice may be submitted under this Section 1.16, a Qualifying Fund whose stock ownership is counted for purposes of qualifying as an Eligible Stockholder must provide to the Secretary of the Corporation documentation reasonably satisfactory to the Board of Directors that demonstrates that the funds included within the Qualifying Fund satisfy the definition of Qualifying Fund as defined by this Section 1.16. In order to be considered timely, any information required by this Section 1.16 to be provided to the Corporation must be supplemented (by delivery to the Secretary of the Corporation) (1) no later than ten (10) days following the record date for the applicable annual meeting, to disclose the foregoing information as of such record date, and (2) no later than the fifth day before the annual meeting, to disclose the foregoing information as of the date that is no earlier than ten (10) days prior to such annual meeting. For the avoidance of doubt, the requirement to update and supplement such information shall not permit any Eligible Stockholder or other person to change or add any proposed Stockholder Nominee or be deemed to cure any defects or limit the remedies (including without limitation under these Bylaws) available to the Corporation relating to any defect.
(g) The Eligible Stockholder may provide to the Secretary of the Corporation, at the time the information required by this Section 1.16 is originally provided, a written statement for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy statement for the annual meeting, not to exceed five hundred (500) words for each Stockholder Nominee, in support of the candidacy of such Eligible Stockholder’s Stockholder Nominee(s) (the “Statement”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 1.16, the Corporation may omit from its proxy materials any information or Statement that it, in good faith, believes is materially false or misleading, omits to state any material fact, or would violate any applicable law or regulation.
(h) No later than the final date when a Proxy Access Notice pursuant to this Section 1.16 may be timely delivered to the Corporation, each Stockholder Nominee must:
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(i) provide an executed agreement, in a form deemed satisfactory by the Board of Directors or its designee (which form shall be provided by the Corporation reasonably promptly upon written request of a stockholder), that such Stockholder Nominee:
(A) consents to being named in the Corporation’s proxy statement and form of proxy card (and will not agree to be named in any other person’s proxy statement or form of proxy card) as a nominee and to serving as a director of the Corporation if elected;
(B) agrees, if elected, to adhere to the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Conduct and any other publicly available or publicly disclosed Corporation policies and guidelines applicable to directors; and
(C) is not and will not become a party to any compensatory, payment or other financial agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity in connection with his or her nomination, service or action as a director of the Corporation, or any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity as to how the Stockholder Nominee would vote or act on any issue or question as a director, in each case that has not been disclosed to the Corporation;
(ii) complete, sign and submit all questionnaires, representations and agreements required by these Bylaws or of the Corporation’s directors generally; and
(iii) provide such additional information as necessary to permit the Board of Directors to determine if such Stockholder Nominee:
(A) is independent under the listing standards of each principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing the independence of the Corporation’s directors;
(B) has any direct or indirect relationship with the Corporation other than those relationships that have been deemed categorically immaterial pursuant to the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines;
(C) would, by serving on the Board of Directors, violate or cause the Corporation to be in violation of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, the rules and listing standards of the principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed or any applicable law, rule or regulation; and
(D) is or has been subject to any event specified in Item 401(f) of Regulation S-K (or successor rule) of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the event that any information or communications provided by the Eligible Stockholder (or any Constituent Holder) or the Stockholder Nominee to the Corporation or its stockholders ceases to be true and correct in all material respects or omits a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, each Eligible Stockholder or Stockholder Nominee, as the case may be, shall promptly notify the Secretary of the Corporation of any defect in such previously provided information and of the information that is required to correct any such defect; it being understood for the avoidance of doubt that providing any such notification shall not be deemed to cure any such defect or limit the remedies (including without limitation under these Bylaws) available to the Corporation relating to any such defect.
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(i) Any Stockholder Nominee who is included in the Corporation’s proxy statement for a particular annual meeting of stockholders, but subsequently is determined not to satisfy the eligibility requirements of this Section 1.16 or any other provision of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or other applicable regulation any time before the annual meeting of stockholders, will not be eligible for election at the relevant annual meeting of stockholders.
(j) The Corporation shall not be required to include, pursuant to this Section 1.16, a Stockholder Nominee in its proxy materials for any annual meeting of stockholders, or, if the proxy statement already has been filed, to allow the nomination of a Stockholder Nominee, notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation:
(i) who is not independent under the listing standards of the principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is listed, any applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and any publicly disclosed standards used by the Board of Directors in determining and disclosing independence of the Corporation’s directors, in each case as determined by the Board of Directors;
(ii) whose service as a member of the Board of Directors would violate or cause the Corporation to be in violation of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws, the rules and listing standards of the principal U.S. exchange upon which the common stock of the Corporation is traded, or any applicable law, rule or regulation;
(iii) if the Eligible Stockholder (or any Constituent Holder) or applicable Stockholder Nominee otherwise breaches or fails to comply in any material respect with its obligations pursuant to this Section 1.16 or any agreement, representation or undertaking required by this Section; or
(iv) if the Eligible Stockholder ceases to be an Eligible Stockholder for any reason, including but not limited to not owning the Proxy Access Request Required Shares through the date of the applicable annual meeting;
(v) if the Corporation receives one or more stockholder notices nominating director candidates pursuant to Section 1.15 of these Bylaws.
ARTICLE II.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 2.1: Number; Qualifications. The Board of Directors shall consist of one or more members. The initial number of directors shall be five (5), and thereafter shall be fixed from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. No decrease in the authorized number of directors constituting the Board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director. Directors need not be stockholders of the Corporation.
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Section 2.2: Election.
(a) The directors shall be elected as provided in the Certificate of Incorporation.
(b) Each director to be elected by the stockholders of the Corporation shall be elected by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director by the shares represented and entitled to vote therefor at a meeting of the stockholders for the election of directors at which a quorum is present (an “Election Meeting”); provided, however, that if the Board of Directors determines that the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected at such meeting (a “Contested Election”), and the Board of Directors has not rescinded such determination by the date that is twenty (20) days prior to the date of the Election Meeting as initially announced, each of the directors to be elected at the Election Meeting shall be elected by the affirmative vote of a plurality of the votes cast by the shares represented and entitled to vote at such meeting with respect to the election of such director. For purposes of this Section 2.2, a “majority of the votes cast” means that the number of votes cast “for” a candidate for director exceeds the number of votes cast “against” that director. In an election other than a Contested Election, stockholders will be given the choice to cast votes “for” or “against” the election of directors or to “abstain” from such vote and shall not have the ability to cast any other vote with respect to such election of directors. In a Contested Election, stockholders will be given the choice to cast “for” or “withhold” votes for the election of directors and shall not have the ability to cast any other vote with respect to such election of directors. In the event an Election Meeting involves the election of directors by separate votes by class or classes or series, the determination as to whether an election constitutes a Contested Election shall be made on a class by class or series by series basis, as applicable.
(c) In the event one or more incumbent directors (each, a “Subject Director”) fails to receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at an Election Meeting at which there was no Contested Election, either (i) the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee or (ii) if one or more of the members of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is a Subject Director or the Board of Directors determines that any decision to be made with respect to a Subject Director should be made by a committee other than the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, a committee consisting solely of independent directors (as determined in accordance with any stock exchange rules and regulations applicable to the Corporation and any additional criteria set forth in the Corporation’s Governance Guidelines for the Board of Directors or Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee Charter, as applicable) who are not Subject Directors (the committee described in clause (i) or (ii) of this sentence, the “Committee”) will make a determination as to whether to accept or reject any previously tendered Resignations (as defined below), or whether other action should be taken (including whether to request that a Subject Director resign from the Board of Directors if no Resignation had been tendered prior to the relevant Election Meeting). The Committee will act with respect to any Subject Directors within ninety (90) days from the date of the certification of the election results and shall notify the Subject Directors of its decision. The Committee may consider all factors it considers relevant, including any stated reasons for “against” votes, whether the underlying cause or causes of the “against” votes are curable, the relationship between such causes and the actions of such Subject Director, the factors, if any, set forth in the Corporation’s Governance Guidelines for the Board of Directors or other policies that are to be considered by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee in evaluating potential candidates for the Board of Directors as such criteria relate to such Subject Director, the length of service of such Subject Director, the size and holding period of such Subject Director’s stock ownership in the Corporation, and such Subject Director’s contributions to the Corporation. Subject Directors shall not participate in the deliberation or decision(s) of the Committee. The Corporation shall publicly disclose the decision(s) of the Committee in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the result of accepting all tendered Resignations then pending and requesting resignations from incumbent directors who did not submit a Resignation prior to the relevant Election Meeting, would be that the Corporation would have fewer than three (3) directors who were in office before the election of directors, the Committee may determine to extend such ninety (90)-day period by an additional ninety (90) days if it determines that such an extension is in the best interests of the Corporation and its stockholders. For purposes of this Section 2.2, a “Resignation” is an irrevocable resignation submitted by an incumbent director nominated for re-election prior to the relevant Election Meeting that will become effective upon the occurrence of both (i) the failure to receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast at an Election Meeting at which there was no Contested Election and (ii) acceptance of such resignation by the Committee.
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(d) If a Subject Director’s tendered Resignation is not accepted by the Committee or such Subject Director does not otherwise submit his or her resignation to the Board of Directors, such director shall continue to serve until his or her successor is duly elected, or his or her earlier resignation or removal pursuant to Section 2.3. If a Subject Director’s Resignation is accepted by the Committee pursuant to this Section 2.2, or if a nominee for director is not elected and the nominee is not an incumbent director, then the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may fill any resulting vacancy pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.3 or decrease the size of the Board of Directors pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.1 of these Bylaws.
Section 2.3: Resignation; Removal; Vacancies. Subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, each director shall serve until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal from service as a director. Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the Corporation. Subject to the rights of any holders of Preferred Stock then outstanding and the Certificate of Incorporation:
(i) (A) prior to the third annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that declassifies the Board of Directors (the “Declassification Amendment”), any director or the entire Board of Directors may be removed, only for cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors and (B) after the third annual meeting of stockholders following the effectiveness of the Declassification Amendment, the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote in an election of directors may remove any director or the entire Board of Directors with or without cause, and
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(ii) any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors for any reason, and any newly created directorship resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors to be elected by all stockholders having the right to vote as a single class, shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.
Section 2.4: Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such places, within or without the State of Delaware, and at such times as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine. Notice of regular meetings need not be given if the date, times and places thereof are fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 2.5: Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer or a majority of the members of the Board of Directors then in office and may be held at any time, date or place, within or without the State of Delaware, as the person or persons calling the meeting shall fix. Notice of the time, date and place of such meeting shall be given, orally or in writing, by the person or persons calling the meeting to all directors at least four (4) days before the meeting if the notice is mailed, or at least twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting if such notice is given by telephone, hand delivery, overnight express courier, facsimile, electronic mail or other electronic transmission. Unless otherwise indicated in the notice, any and all business may be transacted at a special meeting. The notice shall be deemed given
(i) in the case of hand delivery or notice by telephone, when received by the director to whom notice is to be given or by any person accepting such notice on behalf of such director,
(ii) in the case of delivery by mail, upon deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the director to whom notice is being given at such director’s address as it appears on the records of the Corporation,
(iii) in the case of delivery by overnight express courier, on the first business day after such notice is dispatched, and
(iv) in the case of delivery via facsimile, electronic mail or other electronic transmission, when sent to the director to whom notice is to be given or by any person accepting such notice on behalf of such director at such director’s facsimile number or electronic mail address, as the case may be, as it appears on the Corporation’s records.
Section 2.6: Telephonic Meetings Permitted. Members of the Board of Directors, or any committee of the Board of Directors, may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors or such committee by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in a meeting pursuant to conference telephone or similar communications equipment shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.
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Section 2.7: Quorum; Vote Required for Action. At all meetings of the Board of Directors a majority of the total number of authorized directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Except as otherwise provided herein or in the Certificate of Incorporation, or required by law, the vote of a majority of the directors present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Board of Directors. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the Board of Directors, then the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present.
Section 2.8: Chairman of the Board. The Board of Directors shall have the power to elect the Chairman of the Board from among the members of the Board of Directors. The Chairman of the Board shall have the power to preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors and shall have such other powers and duties as provided in these Bylaws and as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
Section 2.9: Organization. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be presided over by the Chairman of the Board, or in his or her absence by the Chief Executive Officer, or in his or her absence by a chairman chosen at the meeting. The Secretary shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in his or her absence the chairman of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting.
Section 2.10: Written Action by Directors. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors, or of any committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board or such committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing, or by electronic transmission and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board or committee, respectively. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.
Section 2.11: Powers. The Board of Directors may, except as otherwise required by law or the Certificate of Incorporation, exercise all such powers and do all such acts and things as may be exercised or done by the Corporation.
Section 2.12: Compensation of Directors. Directors, as such, may receive, pursuant to a resolution of the Board of Directors, fees and other compensation for their services as directors, including without limitation their services as members of committees of the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE III.
COMMITTEES
Section 3.1: Committees. The Board of Directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the authorized number of directors, designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation. The Board may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of the committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting of such committee who are not disqualified from voting, whether or not he, she or they constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent provided in a resolution of the Board of Directors, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers that may require it; but no such committee shall have power or authority in reference to the following matters: (i) approving or adopting, or recommending to the stockholders, any action or matter (other than the election or removal of directors) expressly required by the Delaware General Corporation Law to be submitted to stockholders for approval, or (ii) adopting, amending or repealing any Bylaw of the Corporation.
Section 3.2: Committee Rules. Unless the Board of Directors otherwise provides, each committee designated by the Board of Directors may make, alter and repeal rules for the conduct of its business. In the absence of such rules each committee shall conduct its business in the same manner as the Board of Directors conducts its business pursuant to Article II of these Bylaws.
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ARTICLE IV.
OFFICERS
Section 4.1: Generally. The officers of the Corporation shall consist of a Chief Executive Officer and/or a President, one or more Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer and such other officers, including a Chief Financial Officer, as may from time to time be appointed by the Board of Directors. All officers shall be elected by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may empower the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation to appoint officers other than the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer or the Treasurer. Each officer shall hold office until his or her successor is elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation or removal. Any number of offices may be held by the same person. Any officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation. Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation by death, resignation, removal or otherwise may be filled by the Board of Directors.
Section 4.2: Chief Executive Officer. Subject to the control of the Board of Directors and such supervisory powers, if any, as may be given by the Board of Directors, the powers and duties of the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation are:
(a) To act as the general manager and, subject to the control of the Board of Directors, to have general supervision, direction and control of the business and affairs of the Corporation;
(b) To preside at all meetings of the stockholders;
(c) To call meetings of the stockholders to be held at such times and, subject to the limitations prescribed by law or by these Bylaws, at such places as he or she shall deem proper; and
(d) To affix the signature of the Corporation to all deeds, conveyances, mortgages, guarantees, leases, obligations, bonds, certificates and other papers and instruments in writing which have been authorized by the Board of Directors or which, in the judgment of the Chief Executive Officer, should be executed on behalf of the Corporation; to sign certificates for shares of stock of the Corporation; and, subject to the direction of the Board of Directors, to have general charge of the property of the Corporation and to supervise and control all officers, agents and employees of the Corporation.
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The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation unless the Board of Directors shall designate another officer to be the Chief Executive Officer. If there is no President, and the Board of Directors has not designated any other officer to be the Chief Executive Officer, then the Chairman of the Board shall be the Chief Executive Officer.
Section 4.3: President. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation unless the Board of Directors shall have designated another officer as the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation. Subject to the provisions of these Bylaws and to the direction of the Board of Directors, and subject to the supervisory powers of the Chief Executive Officer (if the Chief Executive Officer is an officer other than the President), and subject to such supervisory powers and authority as may be given by the Board of Directors to the Chairman of the Board, and/or to any other officer, the President shall have the responsibility for the general management and the control of the business and affairs of the Corporation and the general supervision and direction of all of the officers, employees and agents of the Corporation (other than the Chief Executive Officer, if the Chief Executive Officer is an officer other than the President) and shall perform all duties and have all powers that are commonly incident to the office of President or that are delegated to the President by the Board of Directors.
Section 4.4: Vice President. Each Vice President shall have all such powers and duties as are commonly incident to the office of Vice President, or that are delegated to him or her by the Board of Directors or the Chief Executive Officer. A Vice President may be designated by the Board to perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chief Executive Officer in the event of the Chief Executive Officer’s absence or disability.
Section 4.5: Chief Financial Officer. Subject to the direction of the Board of Directors and the President, the Chief Financial Officer shall perform all duties and have all powers that are commonly incident to the office of chief financial officer.
Section 4.6: Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have custody of all monies and securities of the Corporation. The Treasurer shall make such disbursements of the funds of the Corporation as are authorized and shall render from time to time an account of all such transactions. The Treasurer shall also perform such other duties and have such other powers as are commonly incident to the office of Treasurer, or as the Board of Directors or the President may from time to time prescribe.
Section 4.7: Secretary. The Secretary shall issue or cause to be issued all authorized notices for, and shall keep, or cause to be kept, minutes of all meetings of the stockholders and the Board of Directors. The Secretary shall have charge of the corporate minute books and similar records and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as are commonly incident to the office of Secretary, or as the Board of Directors or the President may from time to time prescribe.
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Section 4.8: Delegation of Authority. The Board of Directors may from time to time delegate the powers or duties of any officer to any other officers or agents, notwithstanding any provision hereof.
Section 4.9: Removal. Any officer of the Corporation shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors and may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the Board of Directors. Such removal shall be without prejudice to the contractual rights of such officer, if any, with the Corporation.
ARTICLE V.
STOCK
Section 5.1: Certificates. The shares of the Corporation shall be represented by certificates, provided that the Board of Directors may provide by resolution or resolutions that some or all of any or all classes or series of the Corporation’s stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the Corporation. Every holder of stock represented by certificates shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by or in the name of the Corporation by the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the President or a Vice President, and by the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer, or the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary, of the Corporation, representing the number of shares registered in certificate form. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile.
Section 5.2: Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Stock Certificates; Issuance of New Certificates or Uncertificated Shares. The Corporation may issue a new certificate of stock or uncertificated shares in the place of any certificate previously issued by it, alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the Corporation may require the owner of the lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to agree to indemnify the Corporation and/or to give the Corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify it, against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.
Section 5.3: Other Regulations. The issue, transfer, conversion and registration of stock certificates or uncertificated shares shall be governed by such other regulations as the Board of Directors may establish.
ARTICLE VI.
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 6.1: Indemnification of Officers and Directors. Each person who was or is made a party to, or is threatened to be made a party to, or is involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she (or a person of whom he or she is the legal representative), is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or a Reincorporated Predecessor (as defined below) or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation or a Reincorporated Predecessor (as defined below) as a director, officer or employee of another corporation, or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefit plans (each such director, officer or employee, a “Covered Person”), shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, against all expenses, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith; provided, however, that the Corporation shall indemnify any such Covered Person seeking indemnity in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Covered Person only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. As used herein, the term “Reincorporated Predecessor” means a corporation that is merged with and into the Corporation in a statutory merger where (a) the Corporation is the surviving corporation of such merger; (b) the primary purpose of such merger is to change the corporate domicile of the Reincorporated Predecessor to Delaware.
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Section 6.2: Advance of Expenses. The Corporation shall pay all expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a Covered Person in defending any such proceeding as they are incurred in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that if the Delaware General Corporation Law then so requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by a Covered Person in advance of the final disposition of such proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such Covered Person, to repay all amounts so advanced if it should be determined ultimately that such Covered Person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article VI or otherwise; and provided, further, that the Corporation shall not be required to advance any expenses to a Covered Person against whom the Corporation directly brings a claim, in a proceeding, alleging that such person has breached his or her duty of loyalty to the Corporation, committed an act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or derived an improper personal benefit from a transaction.
Section 6.3: Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on any person in this Article VI shall not be exclusive of any other right that such person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaw, agreement, vote or consent of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. Additionally, nothing in this Article VI shall limit the ability of the Corporation, in its discretion, to indemnify or advance expenses to persons whom the Corporation is not obligated to indemnify or advance expenses pursuant to this Article VI. The Board of Directors of the Corporation shall have the power to delegate to such officer or other person as the Board of Directors shall specify the determination of whether indemnification shall be given to any person pursuant to this Section 6.3.
Section 6.4: Indemnification Contracts. The Board of Directors is authorized to cause the Corporation to enter into indemnification contracts with any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or any person serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including employee benefit plans, providing indemnification rights to such person. Such rights may be greater than those provided in this Article VI.
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Section 6.5: Continuation of Indemnification. The rights to indemnification and to advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article VI shall continue notwithstanding that the person has ceased to be a Covered Person and shall inure to the benefit of his or her estate, heirs, executors, administrators, legatees and distributees; provided, however, that the Corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnity in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
Section 6.6: Effect of Amendment or Repeal. The provisions of this Article VI shall constitute a contract between the Corporation, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, each individual who serves or has served as a Covered Person (whether before or after the adoption of these Bylaws), in consideration of such person’s performance of such services, and pursuant to this Article VI, the Corporation intends to be legally bound to each such current or former Covered Person. With respect to current and former Covered Persons, the rights conferred under this Article VI are present contractual rights and such rights are fully vested, and shall be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon adoption of these Bylaws. With respect to any Covered Persons who commence service following adoption of these bylaws, the rights conferred under this Article VI shall be present contractual rights, and such rights shall fully vest, and be deemed to have vested fully, immediately upon such Covered Person’s service in the capacity which is subject to the benefits of this Article VI.
ARTICLE VII.
NOTICES
Section 7.1: Notice.
(a) General. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein or required by law, all notices required to be given pursuant to these Bylaws shall be in writing and may in every instance be effectively given by hand delivery (including use of a delivery service), by depositing such notice in the mail, postage prepaid, or by sending such notice by prepaid overnight express courier or facsimile. Any such notice shall be addressed to the person to whom notice is to be given at such person’s address or facsimile number, as the case may be, as it appears on the records of the Corporation. The notice shall be deemed given
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(i) in the case of hand delivery, when received by the person to whom notice is to be given or by any person accepting such notice on behalf of such person;
(ii) in the case of delivery by mail, upon deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the person to whom notice is being given at such person’s address as it appears on the records of the Corporation;
(iii) in the case of delivery by overnight express courier, on the first business day after such notice is dispatched; and
(iv) in the case of delivery via facsimile, when directed to the person to whom notice is to be given or by any person accepting such notice on behalf of such person.
Section 7.2: Waiver of Notice. Whenever notice is required to be given under any provision of these Bylaws, a written waiver of notice, signed by the person entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person entitled to notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the stockholders, directors or members of a committee of directors need be specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic transmission.
ARTICLE VIII.
INTERESTED DIRECTORS
Section 8.1: Interested Directors; Quorum. No contract or transaction between the Corporation and one or more of its directors or officers, or between the Corporation and any other corporation, partnership, association or other organization in which one or more of its directors or officers are directors or officers, or have a financial interest, shall be void or voidable solely for this reason, or solely because the director or officer is present at or participates in the meeting of the Board of Directors or committee thereof that authorizes the contract or transaction, or solely because his, her or their votes are counted for such purpose, if:
(i) the material facts as to his, her or their relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the Board of Directors or the committee, and the Board of Directors or committee in good faith authorizes the contract or transaction by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors be less than a quorum;
(ii) the material facts as to his, her or their relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the stockholders entitled to vote thereon, and the contract or transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the stockholders; or
(iii) the contract or transaction is fair as to the Corporation as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified by the Board of Directors, a committee thereof, or the stockholders. Common or interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board of Directors or of a committee which authorizes the contract or transaction.
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ARTICLE IX.
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 9.1: Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 9.2: Seal. The Board of Directors may provide for a corporate seal, which shall have the name of the Corporation inscribed thereon and shall otherwise be in such form as may be approved from time to time by the Board of Directors.
Section 9.3: Form of Records. Any records maintained by the Corporation in the regular course of its business, including its stock ledger, books of account and minute books, may be kept on, or by means of, or be in the form of, any information storage device or method provided that the records so kept can be converted into clearly legible paper form within a reasonable time. The Corporation shall so convert any records so kept upon the request of any person entitled to inspect such records pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 9.4: Reliance Upon Books and Records. A member of the Board of Directors, or a member of any committee designated by the Board of Directors shall, in the performance of his or her duties, be fully protected in relying in good faith upon records of the Corporation and upon such information, opinions, reports or statements presented to the Corporation by any of the Corporation’s officers or employees, or committees of the Board of Directors, or by any other person as to matters the member reasonably believes are within such other person’s professional or expert competence and who has been selected with reasonable care by or on behalf of the Corporation.
Section 9.5: Certificate of Incorporation Governs. In the event of any conflict between the provisions of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation shall govern.
Section 9.6: Severability. If any provision of these Bylaws shall be held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the provisions of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation, then such provision shall nonetheless be enforced to the maximum extent possible consistent with such holding and the remaining provisions of these Bylaws (including without limitation, all portions of any section of these Bylaws containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the Certificate of Incorporation, that are not themselves invalid, illegal, unenforceable or in conflict with the Certificate of Incorporation) shall remain in full force and effect.
ARTICLE X.
AMENDMENT
Section 10.1: Amendments. Subject to Section 6.6 of these Bylaws, stockholders of the Corporation holding at least a majority of the Corporation’s outstanding voting stock shall have the power to adopt, amend or repeal Bylaws. To the extent provided in the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors of the Corporation shall also have the power to adopt, amend or repeal Bylaws of the Corporation.
Dated: January 12, 2023
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