KRC 8-K
Kilroy Realty Corp (KRC)
8-K
2024-06-04
For: 2024-06-01
View Original
Added on
April 11, 2026
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): June 1, 2024
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Commission File No.) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||||
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(310 ) 481-8400
| (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) | ||||||||
| N/A | ||||||||
| (Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report) | ||||||||
| Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: | |||||||||||
| Registrant | Title of each class | Name of each exchange on which registered | Ticker Symbol | ||||||||
| Kilroy Realty Corporation | |||||||||||
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 (see General Instructions A.2.):
| 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)) | |||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).
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.
The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Kilroy Realty Corporation (the “Company”) amended and restated the Company’s Eighth Amended and Restated Bylaws (as amended and restated, the “Bylaws”), effective as of June 1, 2024, to clarify the ability for the Board to designate a Chair who is not (and will not be) an officer of the Company (i.e., a non-executive Chair).
The foregoing summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Company’s Bylaws, which are attached hereto as Exhibit 3.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
| (d) | Exhibits. | |||||||
| Exhibit | Description | ||||
| 3.1* | |||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) | ||||
_______________
* Filed herewith.
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 hereunto duly authorized.
| Kilroy Realty Corporation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: June 4, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Merryl E. Werber | |||||||||||||||||||
| Merryl E. Werber Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller | ||||||||||||||||||||
Exhibit 3.1
NINTH
AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS
OF
KILROY REALTY CORPORATION
AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS
OF
KILROY REALTY CORPORATION
(effective as of June 1, 2024)
ARTICLE I
OFFICES
Section 1. The principal executive office of Kilroy Realty Corporation, a Maryland corporation (the “Corporation”), shall be located at such place or places as the Board of Directors may designate.
Section 2. The Corporation may also have offices at such other places as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine or the business of the Corporation may require.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
Section 1. All meetings of the stockholders shall be held in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, at such place as may be fixed from time to time by the Board of Directors, or at such other place as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors and stated in the notice of the meeting.
Section 2. An annual meeting of stockholders shall be held on such date and at such time as may be determined by resolution adopted by the Board of Directors, at which the stockholders shall elect directors to succeed the directors whose terms are expiring, and transact such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting in accordance with these Bylaws.
(a) 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 2 and at the time of the meeting; (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (C) has complied with this Section 2 as to such business. Except for proposals properly made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 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”), 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 seeking to nominate persons for election to the Board of Directors must comply with Article III, Section 3 or Article III, Section 2, as applicable, and this Section 2 shall not be applicable to nominations except as expressly provided in such sections.
(b) 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 2. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than one hundred twenty (120) days nor more than one hundred fifty (150) 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 later than the one hundred twentieth (120th) 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 of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of Timely Notice as described above.
(c) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary shall set forth:
(i) 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); and (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 (the disclosures to be made pursuant to the foregoing clauses (A) and (B) are referred to as “Stockholder Information”);
(ii) 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 Synthetic Equity Interests shall be disclosed without regard to whether (x) the 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) As to each item of business that the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting, (A) a reasonably brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the annual 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 record or beneficial owner of the shares of any class or series of the Corporation (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business by such stockholder.
For purposes of this Section 2, the term “Proposing Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder providing the notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual 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 meeting is 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.
(d) A stockholder providing notice of business proposed to be brought before an annual 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 2 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 for the meeting, if practicable, or, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof).
(e) Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at an annual meeting except in accordance with this Section 2. 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 2, 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) This Section 2 is expressly intended to apply to any business proposed to be brought before an annual 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 2 with respect to any business proposed to be brought before an annual meeting, each Proposing Person shall comply with all applicable requirements of the Exchange Act with respect to any such business. Nothing in this Section 2 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) 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, or incorporated by reference 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.
Section 3. A majority of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders, the holders of which are present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business except as otherwise provided by law or by the Corporation’s charter. A quorum, once established, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum and the votes present may continue to transact business until adjournment. If, however, such quorum shall not be present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, the chair of the meeting or a majority of the voting stock represented in person or by proxy may adjourn the meeting from time to time until a date not more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the original record date, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum shall be present or represented. At such adjourned meeting at which a quorum shall be present or represented, any business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the meeting as originally notified. If the adjournment is more than
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one hundred twenty (120) days after the original record date, or if after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote thereat.
Section 4. (a) When a quorum is present at any meeting of the stockholders, a majority of the votes cast at the meeting shall decide any question brought before such meeting, except as otherwise provided in this Section 4 with respect to the election of directors, unless the question is one upon which by express provision of the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”) or the rules of any securities exchange on which the Corporation’s capital stock is listed or the Corporation’s charter a different vote is required, in which case such express provision shall govern and control the decision of such question.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in the Corporation’s charter with respect to directors to be elected by the holders of any class or series of preferred stock of the Corporation and in these Bylaws with respect to the filling of vacancies on the Board of Directors, each director shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast with respect to such director at any meeting of stockholders duly called and at which a quorum is present and directors are to be elected; provided, however, that the directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of the stockholders duly called and at which a quorum is present and directors are to be elected if, in connection with such meeting (i) the Secretary of the Corporation shall have received one or more notices that a stockholder or group of stockholders has nominated or proposes to nominate a person or persons for election as a director, which notice(s) purports to be in compliance with the advance notice requirements set forth in Section 2 of Article III of these Bylaws or the proxy access requirements set forth in Section 3 of Article III of these Bylaws, irrespective of whether the Board of Directors thereafter determines that any such notice(s) is not in compliance with such requirements, and (ii) as of the fourteenth (14th) day preceding the date on which notice of such meeting of the stockholders is first mailed or otherwise given in accordance with applicable law to the stockholders of the Corporation, such nomination or proposed nomination has not been withdrawn by such stockholder or group of stockholders and would thereby cause the number of nominees and proposed nominees to exceed the number of directors to be elected at such meeting, as determined by the Secretary of the Corporation, irrespective of whether such nomination or proposed nomination is thereafter withdrawn by such stockholder or group of stockholders (a “Contested Election”). If the directors are to be elected by a plurality of the votes cast pursuant to the provisions of the immediately preceding sentence, stockholders shall not be permitted to vote “against” any one or more nominees but shall only be permitted to vote “for” one or more nominees or withhold their votes with respect to one or more nominees. For purposes hereof, a majority of the votes cast means the number of votes cast “for” a director nominee must exceed the number of votes cast “against” that director nominee, with abstentions and broker non-votes not counted as a vote cast either “for” or “against” that director nominee.
(c) If, in any election of directors of the Corporation which is not a Contested Election, an incumbent director does not receive a majority of the votes cast and therefore is not re-elected, such incumbent director shall promptly tender his or her resignation as a director, subject to acceptance thereof by the Board, for consideration by the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors. The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee will promptly consider any such tendered resignation and will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors as to whether such tendered resignation should be accepted or rejected, or whether other action should be taken with respect to such offer to resign. Any incumbent director whose tendered resignation is under consideration may not participate in any deliberation or vote of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee or the Board of Directors regarding such tendered resignation. The Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee and the Board of Directors may consider any factors they deem relevant in deciding whether to accept, reject or take other action with respect to any such tendered resignation. Within ninety (90) days after the date on which certification of the stockholder vote on the election of directors is made, the Board of Directors will publicly disclose its decision and rationale regarding whether to accept, reject or take other action with respect to the tendered resignation in a press release, a periodic or current report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or by other public announcement. If any director’s tendered resignation is not accepted by the Board of Directors, such director will continue to serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders and until his or her successor is elected and qualified or his or her earlier death, retirement, resignation or removal. If any director’s tendered resignation is accepted by the Board of Directors, then such director will thereupon cease to be a director of the Corporation, and the Board of Directors, in its sole discretion, may fill the resulting vacancy under the provisions
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of the charter of the Corporation, Article III, Sections 1 or 2(h) hereof and applicable law or may decrease the size of the Board of Directors pursuant to the provisions of Article III, Section 1 hereof.
Section 5. At each meeting of the stockholders, each stockholder having the right to vote may vote in person or may authorize another person or persons to act for him by proxy appointed by an instrument executed by the stockholder or by the stockholder’s duly authorized agent in any manner permitted by law, bearing a date not more than eleven (11) months prior to said meeting, unless said instrument provides for a longer period. All proxies must be filed with the Secretary of the Corporation at the beginning of each meeting in order to be counted in any vote at the meeting. Subject to the provisions of the charter of the Corporation, each stockholder shall have one vote for each share of stock having voting power registered in his or her name on the books of the Corporation on the record date set by the Board of Directors as provided in Article V, Section 6 hereof. In the election of directors, each share may be voted for as many individuals as there are directors to be elected and for whose election the share is entitled to vote. Stockholders are not entitled to cumulative voting in the election of directors.
Section 6. (a) Special meetings of the stockholders for any purpose or purposes, unless otherwise proscribed by the Corporation’s charter, may be called only (i) by the Chief Executive Officer; (ii) by the President; (iii) by the Chair of the Board of Directors; (iv) by the Board of Directors, pursuant to a resolution approved by a majority of the entire Board of Directors; or (iv) by the Secretary of the Corporation, following his or her receipt of one or more written demands to call a special meeting of the stockholders in accordance with, and subject to, this Section 6 from stockholders of record as of the record date fixed in accordance with Section 6(d) who hold, in the aggregate, at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at the meeting. The notice of a special meeting shall state the purpose or purposes of the special meeting, and the business to be conducted at the special meeting shall be limited to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice. Except in accordance with this Section 6, stockholders shall not be permitted to propose business to be brought before a special meeting of the stockholders.
(b) No stockholder may demand that the Secretary of the Corporation call a special meeting of the stockholders pursuant to Section 6(a) unless a stockholder of record has first submitted a request in writing that the Board of Directors fix a record date for the purpose of determining the stockholders entitled to demand that the Secretary of the Corporation call such special meeting, which request shall be in proper form and delivered to, or mailed and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation.
(c) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 6, a request by a stockholder for the Board of Directors to fix a record date shall set forth:
(i) As to each Requesting Person (as defined below), the Stockholder Information (as defined in Section 2(c)(i), except that for purposes of this Section 6 the term “Requesting Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2(c)(i));
(ii) As to each Requesting Person, any Disclosable Interests (as defined in Section 2(c)(ii), except that for purposes of this Section 6 the term “Requesting Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Section 2(c)(ii) and the disclosure in clause (F) of Section 2(c)(ii) shall be made with respect to the business proposed to be conducted at the special meeting); and
(iii) As to the purpose or purposes of the special meeting, (A) a reasonably brief description of the purpose or purposes of the special meeting and the business proposed to be conducted at the special meeting, the reasons for conducting such business at the special meeting and any material interest in such business of each Requesting Person; and (B) a reasonably detailed description of all agreements, arrangements and understandings (x) between or among any of the Requesting Persons or (y) between or among any Requesting Person and any other record or beneficial owner of the shares of any class or series of the Corporation (including their names) in connection with the request for the special meeting or the business proposed to be conducted at the special meeting.
For purposes of this Section 6, the term “Requesting Person” shall mean (i) the stockholder making the request to fix a record date for the purpose of determining the stockholders entitled to demand that the Secretary call
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a special meeting; (ii) the beneficial owner or beneficial owners, if different, on whose behalf such request is made; and (iii) any affiliate or associate of such stockholder or beneficial owner.
(d) Within ten (10) days after receipt of a request to fix a record date in proper form and otherwise in compliance with this Section 6 from any stockholder of record, the Board of Directors may adopt a resolution fixing a record date for the purpose of determining the stockholders entitled to demand that the Secretary of the Corporation call a special meeting, which date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors. If no resolution fixing a record date has been adopted by the Board of Directors within the ten (10) day period after the date on which such a request to fix a record date was received, the record date in respect thereof shall be deemed to be the twentieth (20th) day after the date on which such a request is received. Notwithstanding anything in this Section 6 to the contrary, no record date shall be fixed if the Board of Directors determines that the demand or demands that would otherwise be submitted following such record date could not comply with the requirements set forth in clauses (ii), (iv), or (v) of Section 6(f).
(e) Without qualification, a special meeting of the stockholders shall not be called pursuant to Section 6(a) unless stockholders of record as of the record date fixed in accordance with Section 6(d) who hold, in the aggregate, at least a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at the meeting (the “Requisite Percentage”) timely provide one or more demands to call such special meeting in writing and in proper form to the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation. Only stockholders of record on the record date shall be entitled to demand that the Secretary of the Corporation call a special meeting of the stockholders pursuant to Section 6(a). To be timely, a stockholder’s demand to call a special meeting must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than the sixtieth (60th) day following the record date fixed in accordance with Section 6(d). To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 6, a demand to call a special meeting shall set forth (i) the business proposed to be conducted at the special meeting; (ii) the text of the proposal or business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration); and (iii) with respect to any stockholder or stockholders submitting a demand to call a special meeting (except for any stockholder that has provided such demand 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) (a “Solicited Stockholder”) the information required to be provided pursuant to this Section 6 of a Requesting Person. A stockholder may revoke a demand to call a special meeting by written revocation delivered to the Secretary at any time prior to the special meeting. If any such revocation(s) are received by the Secretary after the Secretary’s receipt of written demands from the holders of the Requisite Percentage of stockholders, and as a result of such revocation(s), there no longer are unrevoked demands from the Requisite Percentage of stockholders to call a special meeting, the Board of Directors shall have the discretion to determine whether or not to proceed with the special meeting.
(f) Upon receipt of a written demand from one or more stockholders to call a special meeting, the Secretary shall inform the requesting stockholder(s) of the reasonably estimated cost of preparing and mailing the notice of meeting (including the Corporation’s proxy materials). The Secretary shall not be required to call a special meeting upon stockholder request and such meeting shall not be held unless, in addition to the satisfaction of the other requirements set forth in these Bylaws, the Secretary receives payment of such reasonably estimated cost prior to the mailing of any notice of the meeting. The Secretary shall not accept, and shall consider ineffective, a written demand from one or more stockholders to call a special meeting (i) that does not comply with this Section 6; (ii) that relates to an item of business to be transacted at such meeting that is not a proper subject for stockholder action under applicable law; (iii) that includes an item of business to be transacted at such meeting that did not appear on the written request that resulted in the determination of the record date (the “Current Record Date”) to determine the stockholders entitled to submit such written demand; (iv) that relates to an item of business (other than the election of directors) that is identical or substantially similar to an item of business (a “Similar Item”) for which a record date (other than the Current Record Date) was previously fixed and such demand is delivered between the time beginning on the sixty-first (61st) day after such previous record date and ending on the one-year anniversary of such previous record date; or (v) if a Similar Item will be submitted for stockholder approval at any stockholder meeting to be held on or before the ninetieth (90th) day after the Secretary receives such demand.
(g) After receipt of demands in proper form and in accordance with this Section 6 from a stockholder or stockholders holding the Requisite Percentage, the Board of Directors shall duly call, and determine
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the place, date and time of, a special meeting of stockholders for the purpose or purposes and to conduct the business specified in the demands received by the Corporation; provided, however, that the date and time of such special meeting shall not be more than ninety (90) days after the record date for the special meeting. Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, the Board of Directors may submit its own proposal or proposals for consideration at such a special meeting. The record date for such a special meeting shall be fixed in accordance with Article V, Section 6 of these Bylaws. The Board of Directors shall provide written notice of such special meeting to the stockholders in accordance with Section 8.
(h) In connection with a special meeting called in accordance with this Section 6, the stockholder or stockholders (except for any Solicited Stockholder) who requested that the Board of Directors fix a record date in accordance with this Section 6 or who delivered a demand to call a special meeting to the Secretary shall further update and supplement the information previously provided to the Corporation in connection with such request or demand, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such request or demand pursuant to this Section 6 shall be true and correct as of the record date for the special 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 special 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 for the meeting, if practicable, or, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the special meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof).
(i) Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, the Secretary shall not be required to call a special meeting pursuant to this Section 6 except in accordance with this Section 6. If the Board of Directors shall determine that any request to fix a record date or demand to call and hold a special meeting was not properly made in accordance with this Section 6, or shall determine that the stockholder or stockholders requesting that the Board of Directors fix such record date or submitting a demand to call the special meeting have not otherwise complied with this Section 6, then the Board of Directors shall not be required to fix a record date or to call and hold the special meeting. In addition to the requirements of this Section 6, each Requesting Person shall comply with all requirements of applicable law, including all requirements of the Exchange Act, with respect to any request to fix a record date or demand to call a special meeting.
Section 7. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to the purposes stated in the notice. Where the Company’s notice of meeting specifies that directors are to be elected at such special meeting, nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made (i) pursuant to the Company’s notice of meeting; (ii) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or (iii) by any committee of persons appointed by the Board of Directors with authority therefor or by a stockholder as provided in Section 2 of Article III hereof.
Section 8. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a notice of the meeting shall be given in writing or by any other manner permitted by law, which notice shall state the place, date and hour of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. The notice of any meeting shall be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting not less than ten (10) nor more than ninety (90) days before the date of the meeting. If mailed, notice is given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the stockholder at his or her address as it appears on the records of the Corporation.
Section 9. [Intentionally Omitted.]
Section 10. Notwithstanding any other provision of the charter of the Corporation or these Bylaws, Subtitle 7 of Title 3 of the MGCL (as the same may hereafter be amended from time to time) shall not apply to the voting rights of any shares of stock of the Corporation now or hereafter held by any existing or future stockholder of the Corporation (regardless of the identity of such stockholder).
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Section 11. Every meeting of stockholders shall be conducted by an individual appointed by the Board of Directors to be chair of the meeting or, in the absence of such appointment, by the Chair of the Board of Directors or, in the case of a vacancy in the office or absence of the Chair of the Board of Directors, by one of the following officers present at the meeting: the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, if there be one, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Vice Presidents in their order of rank and seniority, or, in the absence of such officers, a chair chosen by the stockholders by the vote of a majority of the votes cast by stockholders present in person or by proxy. The Secretary, or, in the Secretary’s absence, an Assistant Secretary, or in the absence of both the Secretary and Assistant Secretaries, a person appointed by the Board of Directors or, in the absence of such appointment, a person appointed by the chair of the meeting shall act as Secretary. In the event that the Secretary presides at a meeting of the stockholders, an Assistant Secretary, or in the absence of Assistant Secretaries, an individual appointed by the Board of Directors or the chair of the meeting, shall record the minutes of the meeting. The order of business and all other matters of procedure at any meeting of stockholders shall be determined by the chair of the meeting. The chair of the meeting may prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and take such action as, in the discretion of such chair, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting, including, without limitation, (a) restricting admission to the time set for the commencement of the meeting; (b) limiting attendance at the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized proxies and other such individuals as the chair of the meeting may determine; (c) limiting participation at the meeting on any matter to stockholders of record of the Corporation entitled to vote on such matter, their duly authorized proxies and other such individuals as the chair of the meeting may determine; (d) limiting the time allotted to questions or comments by participants; (e) maintaining order and security at the meeting; (f) removing any stockholder or any other individual who refuses to comply with meeting procedures, rules or guidelines as set forth by the chair of the meeting; and (g) recessing or adjourning the meeting to a later date and time and place announced at the meeting. Unless otherwise determined by the chair of the meeting, meetings of stockholders shall not be required to be held in accordance with the rules of parliamentary procedure.
ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS
Section 1. The Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of thirteen (13) directors. The number of directors shall be fixed or changed from time to time, within the minimum and maximum, by a majority of the entire Board of Directors, provided that the tenure of office of a director shall not be affected by a decrease in the number of directors, and further provided that at least a majority of the directors shall be “Independent Directors” (as defined in the next sentence). An Independent Director is a director who is not an employee, officer or affiliate of the Corporation or Kilroy Industries or a subsidiary or division thereof, or a relative of a principal executive officer, or who is not an individual member of an organization acting as an advisor, consultant or legal counsel receiving compensation on a continuing basis from the Corporation in addition to director’s fees. The directors need not be stockholders. Each director shall serve until the next annual meeting of stockholders following his or her election and until his or her successor is elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, retirement, resignation or removal. In the event of the occurrence of a vacancy on the Board of Directors which the remaining directors are otherwise permitted to fill under the provisions of the charter of the Corporation and applicable law, the Board of Directors may, in lieu of filling such vacancy, nominate, or authorize a committee or person appointed by the Board of Directors to nominate, a person to be elected by the stockholders to fill such vacancy at an annual meeting or a special meeting called for that purpose.
Section 2. (a) Except as provided in Section 3 of this Article III, 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) pursuant to the Company’s notice of meeting; (ii) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, including by any committee or persons appointed by the Board of Directors; or (iii) 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 2 and at the time of the meeting; (B) is entitled to vote at the meeting; and (C) has complied with this Section 2 as to such nomination. Except as provided
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in Section 3 of this Article III, the foregoing clause (iii) 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.
(b) Without qualification, for a stockholder to make any nomination of a person or persons for election to the Board of Directors at an annual meeting pursuant to Section 2(a)(iii) of this Article III, the stockholder must (i) provide Timely Notice (as defined in Article II, Section 2) 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 2. 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 2. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice for nominations to be made at a special meeting must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the Corporation not earlier than the one hundred fiftieth (150th) day prior to such special meeting and not later than the one hundred twentieth (120th) day prior to such special meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the day on which public disclosure (as defined in Article II, Section 2) of the date of such special meeting was first made. In no event shall any adjournment 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) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 2, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary shall set forth:
(i) As to each Nominating Person (as defined below), the Stockholder Information (as defined in Article II, Section 2(c)(i), except that for purposes of this Section 2 the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Article II, Section 2(c)(i));
(ii) As to each Nominating Person, any Disclosable Interests (as defined in Article II, Section 2(c)(ii), except that for purposes of this Section 2 the term “Nominating Person” shall be substituted for the term “Proposing Person” in all places it appears in Article II, Section 2(c)(ii) and the disclosure in clause (F) of Article II, Section 2(c)(ii) shall be made with respect to the election of directors at the meeting);
(iii) 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 2 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 (3) years, and any other material relationships, between or among any Nominating Person, on the one hand, and each proposed nominee, and 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 completed and signed questionnaire, representation and agreement as provided in Section 2(f) of this Article III; and
(iv) 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 Corporate 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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For purposes of this Section 2, 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) 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 2 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 for the meeting, if practicable, or, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof).
(e) Except as provided in Section 3 of this Article III, no person shall be eligible for election as a director of the Corporation unless nominated in accordance with this Section 2. The presiding officer at the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine that a nomination was not properly made in accordance with this Section 2, 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) To be eligible to be a nominee for election as a director of the Corporation, the proposed nominee must deliver (in accordance with the time periods prescribed for delivery of notice under this Section 2) to the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation a written questionnaire with respect to the background and qualification of such proposed nominee (which questionnaire shall be provided by the Secretary upon written request) and a written representation and agreement (in form provided by the Secretary upon written request) that such proposed nominee (i) is not and will not become a party to (A) any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such proposed nominee, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question (a “Voting Commitment”) that has not been disclosed to the Corporation or (B) any Voting Commitment that could limit or interfere with such proposed nominee’s ability to comply, if elected as a director of the Corporation, with such proposed nominee’s fiduciary duties under applicable law; (ii) is not, and will not become a party to, any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director that has not been disclosed to the Corporation and (iii) in such proposed nominee’s individual capacity and on behalf of the stockholder (or the beneficial owner, if different) on whose behalf the nomination is made, would be in compliance, if elected as a director of the Corporation, and will comply with all corporate governance, conflict of interest, confidentiality and stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines of the Corporation, and any other policies and guidelines of the Corporation applicable to directors.
(g) In addition to the requirements of this Section 2 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 with respect to any such nominations.
(h) Except as may otherwise be provided pursuant to Article IV of the Corporation’s charter with respect to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors and any other requirement in these Bylaws or any agreement relating to the right to designate nominees for election to the Board of Directors, should a vacancy in the Board of Directors occur or be created (whether arising through death, retirement or resignation), such vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even though less than a quorum of the Board of Directors or, in the case of a vacancy resulting from an increase in the number of directors, by a majority of the Board of Directors. In the case of a vacancy created by the removal of a director, the vacancy shall be filled by the stockholders of the Corporation at the next annual meeting of the stockholders or at a special meeting of the stockholders called for such purpose, provided, however, that such vacancy may be filled by the
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affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors (subject to approval by the stockholders at the next annual meeting of the stockholders or at a special meeting of the stockholders called for such purpose).
(i) The provisions of this Section 2 shall not apply to any director nomination made pursuant to Section 3 of this Article III, except to the extent expressly provided in Section 3 of this Article III.
Section 3. (a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Bylaws, whenever the Board of Directors solicits proxies with respect to the election of directors at an annual meeting of stockholders, subject to the provisions of this Section 3, the Corporation shall include in its proxy statement and other applicable filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors for such annual meeting pursuant to Section 14(a) under the Exchange Act (“proxy materials”), in addition to any persons nominated for election by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the name, together with the Required Information (as defined below), of any person nominated for election (the “Stockholder Nominee”) to the Board of Directors by a stockholder or group of no more than twenty (20) stockholders (counting as one stockholder, for this purpose, any two or more funds that are part of the same Qualifying Fund Group (as defined below)) who satisfies the requirements of this Section 3 (the “Eligible Stockholder”), and who expressly elects at the time of providing the written notice required by this Section 3 (the “Notice of Proxy Access Nomination”) to have its nominee or nominees included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3. For purposes of this Section 3, (i) a “Qualifying Fund Group” is a group of two or more funds that are (A) under common management and investment control, (B) under common management and funded primarily by the same employer, or (C) a “group of investment companies,” as such term is defined in Section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and (ii) the “Required Information” that the Corporation will include in its proxy materials is the information provided to the Secretary of the Corporation concerning the Stockholder Nominee and the Eligible Stockholder that is required to be disclosed in such proxy materials by the regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act, and if the Eligible Stockholder so elects, a written statement in support of the candidacy of the Stockholder Nominee(s), not to exceed 500 words, delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation at the time the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination required by this Section 3 is provided (the “Statement”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 3, the Corporation may omit from its proxy materials any information or Statement (or portion thereof) that it, in good faith, believes would violate any applicable law or regulation.
(b) To be eligible to have its nominee included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3, an Eligible Stockholder must have owned (as defined below) at least three (3) percent or more of the Corporation’s outstanding Common Stock (the “Required Shares”) continuously for at least three (3) years (the “Minimum Holding Period”) as of both the date the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is delivered to, or mailed to and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation in accordance with this Section 3 and the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting, and must continue to own the Required Shares through the meeting date. For purposes of this Section 3, an Eligible Stockholder shall be deemed to “own” only those outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Corporation as to which the stockholder possesses both (i) the full voting and investment rights pertaining to the shares and (ii) the full economic interest in (including the opportunity for profit from and risk of loss on) such shares; provided that the number of shares calculated in accordance with clauses (i) and (ii) shall not include any shares (x) sold by such stockholder or any of its affiliates in any transaction that has not been settled or closed, including short sales, (y) borrowed by such stockholder or any of its affiliates for any purposes or purchased by such stockholder or any of its affiliates pursuant to an agreement to resell or (z) subject to any option, warrant, forward contract, swap, contract of sale, other derivative or similar instrument, agreement or arrangement entered into by such stockholder or any of its affiliates, whether any such instrument, agreement or arrangement is to be settled with shares or with cash based on the notional amount or value of shares of outstanding Common Stock of the Corporation, in any such case which instrument, agreement or arrangement has, or is intended to 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 its affiliates’ full right to vote or direct the voting of any such shares, and/or (2) hedging, offsetting or altering to any degree any gain or loss arising from the full economic ownership of such shares by such stockholder or affiliate. An Eligible Stockholder shall “own” shares of Common Stock held in the name of a nominee or other intermediary so long as the stockholder retains the right to instruct how the shares are voted with respect to the election of directors and possesses the full economic interest in the shares. An Eligible Stockholder’s ownership of shares of Common Stock shall be deemed to continue during any period in which (i) the
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stockholder has loaned such shares, provided that the stockholder has the power to recall such loaned shares on five days’ notice, includes with the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination an agreement that it will promptly recall such loaned shares upon being notified that any of its Stockholder Nominees will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials and continues to hold such recalled shares (including the right to vote such shares) through the date of the annual meeting, or (ii) the stockholder has delegated any voting power by means of a proxy, power of attorney or other instrument or arrangement which is revocable at any time by the stockholder. For purposes of this Section 3, the terms “owned,” “owning” and other variations of the word “own” shall have correlative meanings. Whether outstanding shares of the Common Stock of the Corporation are “owned” for these purposes shall be determined by the Board of Directors or any committee thereof. In addition, the term “affiliate” or “affiliates” shall have the meaning ascribed thereto the Exchange Act.
(c) To be eligible to have its nominee included in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3, an Eligible Stockholder must (i) provide, within the time period specified below, a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination 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 3. To be timely, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination must be delivered to, or mailed to and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation at the principal executive offices of the Corporation in proper form not less than one hundred twenty (120) days nor more than one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the one year anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting of stockholders; 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 later than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the tenth (10th) day following the date on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made. In no event shall any postponement or adjournment of an annual meeting of stockholders or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholders notice as described above.
(d) To be in proper form for purposes of this Section 3, the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination to the Secretary shall include the following information:
(i) one or more written statements from the record holder of the Required Shares (or from each intermediary through which the Required Shares are or have been held during the Minimum Holding Period and, if applicable, each participant in the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or affiliate of a DTC participant through which the Required Shares are or have been held by such intermediary during the Minimum Holding Period if the intermediary is not a DTC participant or affiliate of a DTC participant) verifying that, as of a date within seven (7) days prior to the date the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination is delivered to, or mailed to and received by, the Secretary of the Corporation, the Eligible Stockholder owns, and has owned continuously for the Minimum Holding Period, the Required Shares, and the Eligible Stockholder’s agreement to provide, within five (5) business days after the record date for the annual meeting, written statements from the record holder and intermediaries verifying the Eligible Stockholder’s continuous ownership of the Required Shares through the record date;
(ii) a copy of the Schedule 14N that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as required by Rule 14a-18 under the Exchange Act;
(iii) information that is the same as would be required to be set forth in a stockholder’s notice of nomination pursuant to paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii)(A) and (iii)(C) of Section 2(c) of this Article III;
(iv) the questionnaire, representations, agreements and other information required by Section 2(f) of this Article III;
(v) the consent of each Stockholder Nominee to being named in the proxy statement as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected;
(vi) a representation that the Eligible Stockholder (A) acquired the Required Shares in the ordinary course of business and not with the intent to change or influence control of the Corporation, and that neither the Eligible Stockholder nor any Stockholder Nominee being nominated thereby presently has such intent, (B)
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intends to continue to own the Required Shares through the date of the annual meeting, (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) has complied, and will comply, with all applicable laws and regulations applicable to solicitations and the use, if any, of soliciting material in connection with the annual meeting, (E) will not distribute to any stockholder any form of proxy for the annual meeting other than the form distributed by the Corporation, and (F) 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 3 and (G) has not provided and will not provide facts, statements or other information in its communications with the Corporation and its stockholders that are not or will not be true, correct and complete in all material respects or which omitted or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make such information, in light of the circumstances under which it is or will be made or provided, not misleading;
(vii) a representation as to the Eligible Stockholder’s intentions with respect to continuing to own the Required Shares for at least one year following the annual meeting; and
(viii) an undertaking that the Eligible Stockholder agrees to (A) assume all liability stemming from any legal or regulatory violation arising out of communications with the stockholders of the Corporation by the Eligible Stockholder, its affiliates and associates or their respective agents or representatives, either before or after providing a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination pursuant to this Section 3, or out of the facts, statements or other information that the Eligible Stockholder or its Stockholder Nominee(s) provided to the Corporation pursuant to this Section 3 or otherwise in connection with the inclusion of such Stockholder Nominee(s) in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3, and (B) 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 nomination submitted by the Eligible Stockholder pursuant to this Section 3.
The Corporation may also require each Stockholder Nominee to furnish such other information (A) as may reasonably be required by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such Stockholder Nominee to serve as an independent director of the Corporation in accordance with the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines or (B) that could be material to a reasonable stockholder’s understanding of the independence or lack of independence of such Stockholder Nominee.
(e) A stockholder providing a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination pursuant to this Section 3 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 3 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 for the meeting, if practicable, or, if not practicable, on the first practicable date prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof (in the case of the update and supplement required to be made as of ten (10) business days prior to the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof).
(f) The maximum number of Stockholder Nominees nominated by all Eligible Stockholders that will be included in the Corporation’s proxy materials with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders shall not exceed 25% of the number of directors in office as of the last day on which a Notice of Proxy Access Nomination may be timely delivered pursuant to and in accordance with this Section 3 (the “Final Proxy Access Nomination Date”), or if such amount is not a whole number, the closest whole number below 25%. In the event that one or more vacancies for any reason occurs on the Board of Directors after the Final Proxy Access Nomination Date but before the date of the annual meeting and the Board of Directors elects to reduce the size of the Board of Directors in connection therewith, the maximum number of Stockholder Nominees eligible for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3 shall be calculated based on the number of directors in office as so
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reduced. Any individual nominated by an Eligible Stockholder for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials pursuant to this Section 3 whose nomination is subsequently withdrawn or whom the Board of Directors or any committee thereof decides to nominate for election to the Board of Directors shall be counted as one of the Stockholder Nominees for purposes of determining when the maximum number of Stockholder Nominees provided for in this Section 3 has been reached. In the event the number of Stockholder Nominees submitted by Eligible Stockholders pursuant to this Section 3 exceeds the maximum number of nominees provided for in this Section 3(f), each eligible Stockholder will select one Stockholder Nominee for inclusion in the Corporation’s proxy materials until the maximum number is reached, proceeding in order of the amount of shares of Common Stock of the Corporation (largest to smallest) disclosed as owned by each Eligible Stockholder in the Notice of Proxy Access Nomination submitted to the Corporation. If the maximum 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 maximum number is reached.
(g) In the event that any facts, statements or other information provided by the Eligible Stockholder or the Stockholder Nominee to the Corporation or its stockholders ceases to be true, correct and complete in all material respects or omits a material fact necessary to make such information, in light of the circumstances under which it is made or provided, 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.
(h) The Corporation shall not be required to include, pursuant to this Section 3, a Stockholder Nominee in its proxy materials for any meeting of stockholders (i) for which the Secretary of the Corporation receives a notice that the Eligible Stockholder or any other stockholder of the Corporation has nominated one or more persons for election to the Board of Directors pursuant to the advance notice requirements for stockholder nominees for director set forth in Section 2 of this Article III, (ii) if the Eligible Stockholder who has nominated such Stockholder Nominee has engaged in or is currently engaged in, or has been or is 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, (iii) if such Stockholder Nominee would not be an independent director under the Corporation’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, (iv) if the election of such Stockholder Nominee as a member of the Board of Directors would cause the Corporation to be in violation of these Bylaws, the Corporation’s charter, the rules and listing standards of any principal U.S. exchange upon which the Common Stock of the Corporation is traded, or any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation, (v) if such Stockholder Nominee is or has been, within the past three (3) years, an officer or director of a competitor, as defined in Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914, (vi) if the Stockholder Nominee is a named subject of a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses) or has been convicted in such a criminal proceeding within the past ten (10) years, (vii) if such Stockholder Nominee is subject to any order of the type specified in Rule 506(d) of Regulation D promulgated under the Exchange Act, (viii) if the Eligible Stockholder who has nominated such Stockholder Nominee or such Stockholder Nominee provides any facts, statements or other information to the Corporation or its stockholders required or requested pursuant to this Section 3 that is not true, correct and complete in all material respects or that omits a material fact necessary to make such information, in light of the circumstances in which it is made or provided, not misleading, or that otherwise contravenes any of the agreements or representations made by such Eligible Stockholder or Stockholder Nominee pursuant to this Section 3, or (ix) if the Eligible Stockholder who has nominated such Stockholder Nominee or such Stockholder Nominee fails to comply with its obligations pursuant to this Section 3.
(i) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Board of Directors or the presiding officer at the meeting shall declare a nomination by an Eligible Stockholder to be invalid, and such nomination shall be disregarded notwithstanding that proxies in respect of such vote may have been received by the Corporation, if (i) the Stockholder Nominee(s) and/or the applicable Eligible Stockholder shall have breached its or their obligations under this Section 3, as determined by the Board of Directors or the presiding officer, or (ii) the Eligible Stockholder (or a qualified representative thereof) does not appear at the meeting of stockholders to present any nomination pursuant to this Section 3. For purposes of this Section 3(i), to be considered a qualified representative of the stockholder, a person must be a duly authorized officer, manager or partner of such stockholder
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or must be authorized by a writing executed by such stockholder or an electronic transmission delivered by such stockholder to act for such stockholder as proxy at the meeting of stockholders and such person must produce such writing or electronic transmission, or a reliable reproduction thereof, at the meeting of stockholders.
(j) Whenever the Eligible Stockholder consists of a group of more than one stockholder, each provision in this Section 3 that requires the Eligible Stockholder to provide any written statements, representations, undertakings, agreements or other instruments or to meet any other conditions shall be deemed to require each stockholder that is a member of such group to provide such statements, representations, undertakings, agreements or other instruments and to meet such other conditions (which, if applicable, shall apply with respect to the portion of the Required Shares owned by such stockholder). No person may be a member of more than one group of persons constituting an Eligible Stockholder with respect to any annual meeting.
(k) Any Stockholder Nominee who is included in the Corporation’s proxy materials for a particular annual meeting of stockholders but either (i) withdraws from or becomes ineligible or unavailable for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting or (ii) does not receive at least 25% of the votes cast in favor of his or her election at the annual meeting, will be ineligible to be a Stockholder Nominee pursuant to this Section 3 for the next two annual meetings. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 3(k) shall not prevent any stockholder from nominating any person to the Board of Directors pursuant to and in accordance with Section 2 of this Article III.
(l) This Section 3 provides the exclusive method for a stockholder to include nominees for election to the Board of Directors in the Corporation’s proxy materials.
Section 4. The property and business of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of its Board of Directors. In addition to the powers and authorities by these Bylaws expressly conferred upon it, the Board of Directors may exercise all such powers of the Corporation and do all such lawful acts and things as are not by statute or by the Corporation’s charter or by these Bylaws directed or required to be exercised or done by the stockholders.
MEETINGS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 5. The directors may hold their meetings and have one or more offices, and keep the books of the Corporation, outside the State of Maryland.
Section 6. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at such time and place as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors, and no additional notice shall be required.
Section 7. [Intentionally Omitted.]
Section 8. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chief Executive Officer, the President or the Chair of the Board of Directors on twenty-four (24) hours’ notice to each director, either personally or by mail or by any other manner permitted by law; special meetings shall be called by the President or the Secretary in like manner and on like notice on the written request of two (2) directors unless the Board of Directors consists of only one director, in which case special meetings shall be called by the President or Secretary in like manner and on like notice on the written request of the sole director.
Section 9. Unless otherwise restricted by the Corporation’s charter or these Bylaws, 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 of Directors or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and such consent is filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board of Directors or committee.
Section 10. Unless otherwise restricted by the Corporation’s charter or these Bylaws, members of the Board of Directors, or any committee designated by the Board of Directors, may participate in a meeting of the
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Board of Directors, or any 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 such participation in a meeting shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.
RESIGNATION FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 11. A director may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation’s Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, Chair of the Board of Directors, President or Secretary. Any such resignation shall take effect at the time or upon the satisfaction of any condition specified therein or, if the time or condition is not specified, upon receipt thereof, and the acceptance of such resignation, unless required by the terms thereof, shall not be necessary to make such resignation effective.
COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS
Section 12. The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, each such committee to consist of not less than the minimum number of directors required for committees of the Board of Directors under the MGCL. The Board of Directors 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. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the Board of Directors, and to the maximum extent permitted under the MGCL, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it.
Without limiting the power of the Board of Directors to designate and appoint, and delegate powers and authority to, other committees at any time and from time to time, the Corporation shall from and after the incorporation have the following committees, the specific authority and members of which shall be as designated herein or by resolution of the Board of Directors:
(i) An Audit Committee, which shall consist solely of Independent Directors and which shall make recommendations concerning the engagement of independent public accountants, review with the independent public accountants the scope and results of the audit engagement, approve professional services provided by the independent public accountants, review the independence of the independent public accountants, consider the range of audit and non-audit fees and review the adequacy of the Corporation’s internal accounting controls.
(ii) A Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee, which shall consist solely of Independent Directors and which shall: Identify individuals qualified to become members of the Board of Directors; select, or recommend that the Board of Directors select, nominees for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meetings of stockholders; develop and recommend to the Board of Directors corporate governance guidelines applicable to the Corporation; and oversee the evaluation of the Board of Directors and management.
(iii) An Executive Compensation Committee, which shall consist solely of Independent Directors and which shall determine compensation for the Corporation’s executive officers and administer a stock incentive plan adopted by the Corporation and any other incentive programs now or hereafter adopted by the Corporation.
Section 13. Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the Board of Directors when required. The presence of a majority of the total membership of any committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of such committee and the act of a majority of those present shall be necessary and sufficient for the taking of any action thereat. Notice of committee meetings shall be given in the same manner as notice of special meetings of the Board of Directors.
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COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS
Section 14. Unless otherwise restricted by the charter of the Corporation or these Bylaws, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation of non-employee directors. The non-employee directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary as director. Officers of the Corporation who are also members of the Board of Directors shall not be paid any director’s fees.
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 15. The Corporation shall indemnify, in the manner and to the maximum extent permitted by law, any person (or the estate of any person) who is or was a party to, or is threatened to be made a party to, any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether or not by or in the right of the Corporation, and whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative, or otherwise, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or that such person while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, trustee, partner, member, agent or employee of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the indemnification provided herein shall include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, and any such expenses may be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding and without requiring a preliminary determination of the ultimate entitlement to indemnification.
Neither the amendment nor repeal of this Section 15 of this Article III, nor the adoption or amendment of any other provision of the charter or Bylaws of the Corporation inconsistent with this Section, shall apply to or affect in any respect the applicability of the preceding paragraph with respect to any act or failure to act that occurred prior to such amendment, repeal or adoption.
The indemnification and reimbursement of expenses provided herein shall not be deemed to limit the right of the Corporation to indemnify any other person against any liability and expenses to the fullest extent permitted by law, nor shall it be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which any person seeking indemnification from the Corporation may be entitled under any agreement, the charter or Bylaws of the Corporation, a vote of stockholders or Independent Directors, or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity as an officer or director and as to action in another capacity, at the request of the Corporation, while acting as an officer or director of the Corporation.
RATIFICATION
Section 16. The Board of Directors or the stockholders may ratify and make binding on the Corporation, any action or inaction by the Corporation or its officers to the extent that the Board of Directors or the stockholders could have originally authorized the matter. Moreover, any action or inaction questioned in any stockholders’ derivative proceeding or any other proceeding on the ground of lack of authority, defective or irregular execution, adverse interest of a director, officer or stockholder, non-disclosure, miscomputation, the application of improper principles or practices of accounting, or otherwise, may be ratified, before or after judgment, by the Board of Directors or by the stockholders, and if so ratified, shall have the same force and effect as if the questioned action or inaction had been originally duly authorized, and such ratification shall be binding upon the Corporation and its stockholders and shall constitute a bar to any claim or execution of any judgment in respect of such questioned action or inaction.
ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1. The officers of this Corporation shall be chosen by the Board of Directors and shall include a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Corporation may also have at the discretion of the
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Board of Directors such other officers as are desired, including a Chair of the Board, additional Vice Presidents, a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Chief Operating Officer, one or more Assistant Secretaries and one or more Assistant Treasurers, and such other officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of this Article IV. In the event there are two or more Vice Presidents, then one or more may be designated as Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President or other similar or dissimilar title. At the time of the election of officers, the directors may by resolution determine the order of their rank. Any number of offices may be held by the same person, unless the charter or these Bylaws otherwise provide, except that one individual may not simultaneously hold the office of President and Vice President.
Section 2. The Board of Directors, at its first meeting after each annual meeting of stockholders, or at such other time as the Board of Directors may determine, shall elect the officers of the Corporation.
Section 3. The Board of Directors may appoint such other officers and agents as it shall deem necessary who shall hold their offices for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
Section 4. The compensation of the Corporation’s executive officers shall be determined by the Corporation’s Executive Compensation Committee.
Section 5. The officers of the Corporation shall hold office until their successors are chosen and qualify in their stead. Any officer elected or appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board of Directors. If the office of any officer or officers becomes vacant for any reason, the vacancy shall be filled by the Board of Directors.
Section 6. Any officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the Corporation’s Board of Directors, Chair of the Board of Directors, President or Secretary. Any such resignation shall take effect at the time or upon the satisfaction of any condition specified therein or, if the time or condition is not specified, upon receipt thereof, and the acceptance of such resignation, unless required by the terms thereof, shall not be necessary to make such resignation effective. Any such resignation will not prejudice the rights, if any, of the Corporation under any contract to which the officer is a party.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Section 7. The Chief Executive Officer shall have the general powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of the Chief Executive Officer. He or she shall have general supervision, direction and control of the business of the Corporation; and shall also exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may from time to time be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or prescribed by these Bylaws. In the absence or disability, or if there is a vacancy in the office, of the Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer shall preside at all meetings of stockholders unless another individual is appointed by the Board of Directors to be chair of the meeting of stockholders.
CHAIR OF THE BOARD
Section 8. The Board of Directors may designate from among its members a Chair of the Board, who shall not, solely by reason of these Bylaws, be an officer of the Corporation. The Board of Directors may designate the Chair of the Board as an executive Chair (who shall, by reason of such designation, be an officer of the Corporation) or a non-executive Chair (who shall not, by reason of such designation, be an officer of the Corporation). The Chair of the Board shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors, and at all meetings of the stockholders, unless another individual is appointed by the Board of Directors to be chair of the meeting of stockholders. The Chair of the Board shall exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may from time to time be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or prescribed by these Bylaws.
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PRESIDENT
Section 9. Subject to such supervisory powers and duties of management given by the Board of Directors to the Chief Executive Officer and to the Chair of the Board, if any, the President shall have the supervisory powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of the President and shall exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may be assigned to him or her by the Board of Directors or prescribed by these Bylaws. In the absence or disability, or if there is a vacancy in the office, of the Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer, the President shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders, unless another individual is appointed by the Board of Directors to be chair of the meeting of stockholders, and at all meetings of the Board of Directors (if the President is a member thereof), and shall perform all of the duties of the Chair of the Board and/or Chief Executive Officer, as applicable.
VICE PRESIDENTS AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Section 10. In the absence or disability, or if there is a vacancy in the office, of the President, the Vice Presidents and the Chief Operating Officer in order of their rank as fixed by the Board of Directors, or if not ranked, the Vice President designated by the Board of Directors (or the Chief Operating Officer if designated by the Board of Directors), shall perform all the duties of the President, and when so acting shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. The Vice Presidents and the Chief Operating Officer shall exercise and perform such other duties as from time to time may be prescribed for them, respectively, by the Board of Directors.
SECRETARY AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Section 11. The Secretary shall attend all sessions of the Board of Directors and all meetings of the stockholders and record all votes and the minutes of all proceedings in a book to be kept for that purpose; and shall perform like duties for the standing committees when required by the Board of Directors unless, in each case, another individual is appointed by the Board of Directors to do so. He or she shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the stockholders and of the Board of Directors, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors or the Bylaws. He or she shall keep in safe custody the seal of the Corporation, and when authorized by the Board of Directors, affix the same to any instrument requiring it, and when so affixed it shall be attested by his or her signature or by the signature of an Assistant Secretary. The Board of Directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest the affixing by his or her signature.
Section 12. The Assistant Secretary, or if there be more than one, the Assistant Secretaries in the order determined by the Board of Directors, or if there be no such determination, the Assistant Secretary designated by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the Secretary, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Secretary and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, TREASURER AND ASSISTANT TREASURERS
Section 13. The Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation shall have the custody of the corporate funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation and shall deposit all moneys, and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation, in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors. He or she shall disburse the funds of the Corporation as may be ordered by the Board of Directors, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the Board of Directors, at its regular meetings, or when the Board of Directors so requires, an account of all his or her transactions as Chief Financial Officer and of the financial condition of the Corporation. If required by the Board of Directors, he or she shall give the Corporation a bond, in such sum and with such surety or sureties as shall be satisfactory to the Board of Directors, for the faithful performance of the duties of his or her office and for the restoration to the Corporation, in case of his or her death, resignation, retirement or removal from office, of all books, papers, vouchers, money and other property of whatever kind in his or her possession or under his or her
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control belonging to the Corporation. If no other person then be appointed to the position of Treasurer of the Corporation, the person holding the office of Chief Financial Officer shall also be the Treasurer of the Corporation.
Section 14. The Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer, or if there shall be more than one, the Assistant Treasurers in the order determined by the Board of Directors, or if there be no such determination, the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer designated by the Board of Directors, shall, in the absence or disability of the Chief Financial Officer, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chief Financial Officer and shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors may from time to time prescribe.
ARTICLE V
CERTIFICATES OF STOCK
Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in these Bylaws, this Section 1 and the other Sections of Article V of these Bylaws shall not be interpreted to limit the authority of the Board of Directors to issue some or all of the shares of any or all classes or series of the Corporation’s capital stock without certificates. Every holder of stock of the Corporation shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by, the Chair of the Board of Directors, or the Chief Executive Officer, the President or a Vice President, and countersigned by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary, or the Treasurer or an Assistant Treasurer of the Corporation, certifying the number of shares of capital stock represented by the certificate owned by such stockholder in the Corporation.
Section 2. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent, or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.
Section 3. If the Corporation shall be authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of capital stock or series thereof and the qualification, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights shall be set forth in full or summarized on the face or back of the certificate which the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock, provided that, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, there may be set forth on the face or back of the certificate which the Corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock, a statement that the Corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights. In addition, in the event that any stock issued by the Corporation is subject to a restriction on its transferability, the stock certificate shall on its face or back contain a full statement of the restriction or state that the Corporation will furnish information about the restriction to the stockholder on request and without charge.
LOST, STOLEN OR DESTROYED CERTIFICATES
Section 4. The Board of Directors may direct a new certificate or certificates to be issued in place of any certificate or certificates theretofore issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate or certificates, the Board of Directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate or certificates, or his or her legal representative, to advertise the same in such manner as it shall require and/or to give the Corporation a bond in such sum as it may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the Corporation with respect to the certificate alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed.
TRANSFERS OF STOCK
Section 5. Upon surrender to the Corporation, or the transfer agent of the Corporation, of a certificate for shares duly endorsed or accompanied by proper evidence of succession, assignment or authority to transfer, it shall
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be the duty of the Corporation to issue a new certificate to the person entitled thereto, cancel the old certificate and record the transaction upon its books, subject, however, to the Ownership Limit (as defined in the charter of the Corporation) and other restrictions on transferability applicable thereto from time to time.
FIXING RECORD DATE
Section 6. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of the stockholders, or any adjournment thereof, or to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, 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 a record date, which shall not be more than ninety (90) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting, nor more than ninety (90) days prior to any other action. 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. A meeting of stockholders convened on the date for which it was called may be adjourned from time to time without further notice to a date not more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the original record date.
REGISTERED STOCKHOLDERS
Section 7. The Corporation shall be entitled to treat the holder of record of any share or shares of stock as the holder in fact thereof and accordingly shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim or interest in such share on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as expressly provided by the laws of the State of Maryland.
ARTICLE VI
GENERAL PROVISIONS
DIVIDENDS
Section 1. Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the provisions of the Corporation’s charter, if any, may be authorized and declared by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting, pursuant to law. Dividends may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the capital stock, subject to the provisions of the Corporation’s charter and the MGCL.
Section 2. Before payment of any dividend there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the directors from time to time, in their absolute discretion, think proper as a reserve fund to meet contingencies, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or for such other purpose as the directors shall think conducive to the interests of the Corporation, and the directors may abolish any such reserve.
CHECKS
Section 3. All checks or demands for money and notes of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.
FISCAL YEAR
Section 4. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.
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SEAL
Section 5. The corporate seal shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation, the year of its organization and the words “Corporate Seal, Maryland.” Said seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.
NOTICES
Section 6. Whenever, under the provisions of the MGCL or of the charter of the Corporation or of these Bylaws, notice is required to be given to any director or stockholder, it shall not be construed to mean personal notice, but such notice may be given in writing, by mail, addressed to such director or stockholder, at his or her address as it appears on the records of the Corporation, with postage thereon prepaid, and such notice shall be deemed to be given at the time when the same shall be deposited in the United States mail. Notice to directors may also be given by any other manner permitted by law.
Section 7. Whenever any notice is required to be given under the provisions of the MGCL or of the charter of the Corporation or of these Bylaws, a waiver thereof in writing or by any other manner permitted by law, from the person or persons entitled to said notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto.
ANNUAL STATEMENT
Section 8. The Board of Directors may present at each annual meeting of stockholders, and when called for by vote of the stockholders shall present to any annual or special meeting of the stockholders, a full and clear statement of the business and condition of the Corporation.
ARTICLE VII
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed or new Bylaws may be adopted by the vote of a majority of the Board of Directors or by the affirmative vote of a majority of all votes entitled to be cast by the holders of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Corporation. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, this Section 1 of Article VII and Section 10 of Article II hereof may not be altered, amended or repealed except by the affirmative vote of a majority of all votes entitled to be cast by the holders of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Corporation.
ARTICLE VIII
EXCLUSIVE FORUM FOR CERTAIN LITIGATION
Section 1. Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that court does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by any present or former director or officer or other employee or stockholder of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders or any standard of conduct applicable to the directors of the Corporation, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any present or former director or officer or other employee of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL, the Corporation’s charter or these Bylaws (in each case, as the same may be amended from time to time), or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any present or former director or officer or other employee of the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine.
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