Xponential Fitness, Inc 8-K, filed Oct 13, 2026
Xponential Fitness, Inc. (XPOF)
About this 8-K
Xponential Fitness, Inc filed this 8-K on October 13, 2026, reporting on events of October 12, 2026.
Items reported
- Item 1.01: Entered into a material agreement
- Item 3.03: Change to shareholders' rights
- Item 5.03: Charter or bylaw amendment, or fiscal year change
- Item 7.01: Regulation FD disclosure
- Item 9.01: Financial statements and exhibits
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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| Item 1.01. | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On October 11, 2026, the board of directors (the “Board”) of Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), approved the adoption of and entry into the Stockholder Rights Agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026 (the “Rights Agreement”), between the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent thereunder (the “Rights Agent”), which is attached hereto as Exhibit 4.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. For a description of the material terms of the Rights Agreement and the rights to be issued pursuant thereto, please refer to Item 3.03 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 3.03. | Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders. |
On October 12, 2026, the Board declared a dividend distribution of one purchase right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (“Common Stock”), payable to stockholders of record as of the close of business on October 22, 2026 (the “Record Date”), and issuable as of that date. Except in the circumstances described below, each Right, when it becomes exercisable, entitles its registered holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company (“Preferred Stock” and each one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock, a “Unit”) at an exercise price of $15.00 per Unit, subject to adjustment (as adjusted, the “Exercise Price”). The rights of a holder of a Unit are substantially equivalent to the rights of a holder of a share of Common Stock. The Company will also make proper provision so that each holder of limited liability company units in XPO Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“XPO Holdings”) receives, at the Distribution Time (as defined below), the number of Rights such holder would have received had such holder redeemed and exchanged its XPO Holdings units for Common Stock immediately prior to that date, as more fully described in the Rights Agreement. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the Rights Agreement.
Summary of Terms of Rights Agreement
The below description and terms of the Rights are set forth in, and qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of, the Rights Agreement:
Separation and Distribution of Rights; Exercisability. As discussed below, initially the Rights will not be exercisable, certificates will not be sent to stockholders, and the Rights will automatically trade with the Common Stock.
The Rights will be represented by notation on the books and records for stock transfer of shares of Common Stock maintained by or on behalf of the Company until the close of business on the earlier to occur of (i) the tenth day after the date of public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons has become an “Acquiring Person”, which is defined as a person (or group of affiliated or associated persons) who, together with its affiliates and associates, is the beneficial owner of 19.9% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, subject to certain exceptions described below, and (ii) the tenth business day (or a later date determined by the Board) after the commencement of a tender or exchange offer by a person other than an Exempt Person (as defined below), the consummation of which would result in such person becoming an Acquiring Person (the earlier of these dates, the “Distribution Time”). For purposes of calculating beneficial ownership under the Rights Agreement, derivative positions relating to the Common Stock are treated as beneficial ownership of the number of shares of Common Stock equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative security, whether or not such shares would be deemed beneficially owned under federal securities laws.
As soon as practicable following the Distribution Time, the Rights Agent will mail separate certificates evidencing the Rights (“Right Certificates”) to holders of record of shares of Common Stock as of the close of business on the Distribution Time, and those separate certificates alone will evidence the Rights from and after the Distribution Time.
Each of the following persons will not be deemed to be an Acquiring Person, even if such person has acquired, or obtained the right to acquire, beneficial ownership of 19.9% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding: (i) the Company, any subsidiary of the Company, any employee benefit plan or employee stock purchase
plan of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company, or any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) shares of capital stock of the Company , for, or pursuant to the terms of any such plan (each, an “Exempt Person”); (ii) any person who becomes an Acquiring Person solely as the result of an acquisition of shares of Common Stock by the Company that, by reducing the number of shares outstanding, increases such person’s beneficial ownership percentage to 19.9% or more, unless and until such person thereafter becomes the beneficial owner of any additional shares of Common Stock (subject to certain exceptions) without first reducing its beneficial ownership below 19.9%; (iii) any person whom the Board determines in good faith has become an Acquiring Person inadvertently and who divests, as promptly as practicable, a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock so that such person would no longer be an Acquiring Person; (iv) any person who becomes the beneficial owner of 19.9% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding solely as a result of the unilateral grant of any security by the Company, or the exercise or vesting of options, warrants, rights, or similar interests granted by the Company to its directors, officers, and employees, or an issuance of Common Stock pursuant to a share settlement with respect to limited liability company units in XPO Holdings (subject to certain exceptions); (v) any bona fide swaps dealer who becomes an Acquiring Person as a result of actions taken in the ordinary course of its business that the Board determines were taken without the intent or effect of evading or assisting any person to evade the purposes of the Rights Agreement, or otherwise seeking to control or influence the management or policies of the Company; and (vi) any person who, together with its related persons, is, as of immediately prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of the Rights Agreement, the beneficial owner of 19.9% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding (a “Grandfathered Person”), unless and until such Grandfathered Person either ceases to beneficially own 19.9% or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, or increases its beneficial ownership of Common Stock to an amount at least equal to the greater of (A) 19.9% and (B) the sum of its lowest beneficial ownership percentage since that announcement plus one share. Grandfathered status applies only to the type and form of security held as of the date of the Rights Agreement, and is lost if that security is later changed, modified, swapped, or exchanged into a different type or form, unless such change is explicitly contemplated by the security’s own terms (such as an option exercise).
The Rights are not exercisable until after the Distribution Time. The Rights will expire at the close of business on October 11, 2027 (the “Final Expiration Date”), unless earlier redeemed or exchanged by the Company as described below.
Flip-in Event. In the event any person becomes an Acquiring Person, then, unless the event causing such person to become an Acquiring Person is a Flip-over Event, each holder of record of a Right, other than the Acquiring Person, will, subject to the Company’s right of redemption and exchange, thereafter have the right to receive, upon payment of the Exercise Price then in effect, in lieu of a number of Units, such number of shares of Common Stock as shall be equal to the result obtained by (i) multiplying the then-current Exercise Price by the number of Units for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such event and (ii) dividing that product by fifty percent (50%) of the then-current market price per share of Common Stock (the “Current Market Price”) on the date of such event. Any Right that is or was at any time, on or after the Distribution Time, beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person will become null and void. After such an event, to the extent that an insufficient number of shares of Common Stock are available for the exercise in full of the Rights, holders of Rights will receive upon exercise thereof shares of Common Stock to the extent available and then shares of Units, other Company securities, assets, or cash, in proportions determined by the Company, so that the aggregate value received is equal to the value the holder would otherwise have been entitled to receive. However, in no event shall the Company be required to issue such securities, assets, or cash upon the exercise of a Right if doing so would, in the judgment of the Board, violate the terms of any material agreement of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or is otherwise inadvisable, including, without limitation, any agreement or instrument evidencing indebtedness for borrowed money. Any such required issuance shall be deferred until such time as such issuance by the Company becomes legally permitted under the terms of any such agreement or instrument. No Right may be exercised until the Company’s right of redemption has expired.
Flip-over Event. The Rights Agreement provides that, on or after the date on which a person becomes an Acquiring Person, if the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination (in which any share of Common Stock is changed into or exchanged for other securities or assets) or fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets, cash flow, or earning power of the Company and its subsidiaries (taken as a whole) are sold or transferred in one or a series of related transactions, proper provision will be made so that each registered holder of a Right will have the right to receive, upon payment of the Exercise Price then in effect, in lieu of Units, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company (or other entity whose common stock has the greatest aggregate market value, as
determined in accordance with the Rights Agreement) having a value at the time of that transaction equal to the result obtained by dividing the then-current Exercise Price (multiplied by the number of Units for which a Right was exercisable) by fifty percent (50%) of the then-current market price of the common stock of the acquiring company.
Anti-dilution Adjustments; Fractional Shares. The Exercise Price, and the number of Units or other securities or property issuable upon exercise of the Rights, are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution: (i) in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the Preferred Stock; (ii) upon the grant to holders of shares of Preferred Stock of certain rights or warrants to subscribe for shares of Preferred Stock or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the Preferred Stock; or (iii) upon the distribution to holders of shares of Preferred Stock of evidences of indebtedness, cash, or assets (excluding dividends payable in Preferred Stock) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above). The Exercise Price, and the number of Units or other securities or property issuable upon exercise of the Rights, are also subject to adjustment from time to time in the event of a dividend on, or a subdivision or combination of, the shares of Common Stock.
No fractional Unit will be required to be issued upon exercise of the Rights and, in lieu thereof, a payment in cash equal to the fraction of the then-current value of a Unit may be made.
Exchange of the Rights. At any time after a person becomes an Acquiring Person, the Board may, at its option, exchange all or part of the outstanding Rights (other than those held by an Acquiring Person and certain transferees thereof) for shares of Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock for each Right, as adjusted, provided that the Board may not effect such an exchange at any time after any Acquiring Person becomes the beneficial owner of fifty percent (50%) or more of the Common Stock then outstanding. The Company will promptly give public notice of any exchange (although failure to give notice will not affect the validity of the exchange).
Redemption of the Rights. At any time prior to the earlier of (i) the close of business on the tenth business day following the first public announcement that a person has become an Acquiring Person, and (ii) the Final Expiration Date, the Board may, at its option, cause the Company to redeem all, but not less than all, of the then-outstanding Rights at a price of $0.001 per Right, as such amount may be appropriately adjusted (“Redemption Price”). The Company may pay the Redemption Price in cash, shares of Common Stock, or other consideration deemed appropriate by the Board.
Immediately upon the action of the Board authorizing exchange or redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate, and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive: (i) in the case of an exchange, shares of Common Stock issuable in connection with such exchange; or (ii) in the case of a redemption, the Redemption Price.
No Right as Stockholder. Until a Right is exercised, the holder thereof, as such, will have no right as a stockholder of the Company, including no right to vote or to receive dividends.
Amendment of the Rights Agreement. For as long as the Rights are redeemable, the Company (by Board action) may amend the Rights Agreement in any manner, without the consent of holders of the Rights. Thereafter, the Company may also amend the Rights Agreement in any manner that does not materially adversely affect the interests of holders of the Rights, to cure ambiguities, or to correct or supplement any inconsistent provisions. At any time before a person becomes an Acquiring Person, the Company may also amend the Rights Agreement to make it inapplicable to a particular transaction or alter its terms with respect to such transaction, and may adopt procedures to facilitate the Rights and prevent the Acquiring Person and its affiliates from obtaining the benefits of their Rights (which amendments will not be deemed to adversely affect the interests of holders of the Rights).
Certain Anti-takeover Effects. The Rights have anti-takeover effects. The Rights will cause substantial dilution to a person who attempts to acquire the Company without obtaining the approval of the Board, the redemption of the Rights, or an amendment to the Rights Agreement permitting the acquisition. However, the Rights generally should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the Board.
Dividend, Liquidation, Voting and Redemption Rights of the Preferred Stock. Each share of Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive, when, as, and if authorized by the Board and declared by the Company out of funds legally available for that purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (i) $1,000 or (ii) 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise)), declared on the outstanding shares of Common Stock; provided that if no dividend or distribution is declared on the Common Stock during a quarterly period, subject to the rights of any holders of any preferred stock ranking prior to and senior to the Preferred Stock, a dividend of $10.00 per share on the Preferred Stock will nevertheless be payable on the applicable quarterly dividend payment date. Each share of Preferred Stock will be entitled to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s stockholders, and the holders of shares of Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of Company stockholders then entitled to vote at meetings of such stockholders. Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution, or winding up of the Company, the holders of shares of Preferred Stock will be entitled to a liquidation preference of $1,000 per share of Preferred Stock, plus an amount per share of Preferred Stock equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the “Liquidation Preference”). Following payment of the Liquidation Preference, no additional distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock shall have received an amount per share equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Liquidation Preference by (ii) 1,000 (as adjusted in accordance with the Certificate of Designation of Series B Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designation”)). Upon any consolidation, merger, combination, share exchange, or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are converted or exchanged into other stock or securities, cash, or any other property, each share of Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive an amount equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash, or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, received per share of Common Stock. These rights of holders of shares of Preferred Stock are protected by customary anti-dilution and other protective provisions. The shares of Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
The foregoing descriptions of the Preferred Stock and the Rights Agreement included in this Item 3.03 do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full texts of the Certificate of Designation and Rights Agreement, copies of which are attached hereto as Exhibit 3.1 and Exhibit 4.1, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 5.03. | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
Certificate of Designation of Series B Preferred Stock. In connection with the adoption of the Rights Agreement, the Board approved the Certificate of Designation classifying and designating the Preferred Stock as Series B Preferred Stock. The Company filed the Certificate of Designation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. See the description in Item 1.01 (which also incorporates by reference Item 3.03) of this Current Report on Form 8-K for a more complete description of the rights and preferences of the Preferred Stock. A copy of the Certificate of Designation is attached hereto as Exhibit 3.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
| Item 7.01. | Regulation FD Disclosure. |
On October 12, 2026, the Company issued a press release announcing the adoption of the Rights Agreement and the declaration of the Rights dividend, a copy of which is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
As provided in General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1 and the information contained in this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, nor shall they be deemed to be incorporated by reference in any filing under the Exchange Act or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| Exhibits. | The following exhibits are filed (or, in the case of Exhibit 99.1, furnished) as part of this report: | |
| 3.1 | Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights, and Limitations of Series B Preferred Stock of Xponential Fitness, Inc. | |
| 4.1 | Stockholder Rights Agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026, between Xponential Fitness, Inc. and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent. | |
| 99.1 | Press Release of Xponential Fitness, Inc., dated October 12, 2026, announcing adoption of Stockholder Rights Agreement. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL). | |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Dated: October 13, 2026
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| XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC. | ||||||
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By: | /s/ Gavin O’Connor | |||
| Name: Gavin O’Connor | ||||||
| Title: Chief Legal Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary | ||||||
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit 3.1
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
OF
SERIES B PREFERRED STOCK
OF
XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
The undersigned hereby certifies that the following resolution was duly adopted by the board of directors of Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), on October 11, 2026:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in the board of directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) by the Corporation’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Charter”), the Board hereby creates, authorizes and provides for the issue of a series of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Corporation, to be designated “Series B Preferred Stock” (hereinafter referred to as the “Series B Preferred Stock”), initially consisting of 1,000,000 shares, and to the extent that the designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the Series B Preferred Stock are not stated and expressed in the Charter, hereby fixes and herein states and expresses such designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, as follows:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series B Preferred Stock,” and the number of shares constituting such series shall be 1,000,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board; provided, however, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series B Preferred Stock.
Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.
(a) Subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (as defined in the Charter) ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series B Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Class A common stock, par value $.0001 per share, of the Corporation (the “Common Stock”) shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the last business day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as a “Quarterly Dividend Payment Date”), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment
Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (i) $1,000 or (ii) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, plus 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation, at any time after October 12, 2026 (the “Rights Declaration Date”), (x) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (y) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (z) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each case the amount to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(b) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2(a) above immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided, however, that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior to and superior to the shares of Series B Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, a dividend of $10.00 per share on the Series B Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.
(c) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series B Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series B Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than sixty (60) days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
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Section 3. Voting Rights.
The holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(a) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series B Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein or by law, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock shall vote collectively as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(c) Except as set forth herein or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series B Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
Section 4. Certain Restrictions.
(a) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 above are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:
(i) declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock other than (A) such redemptions or purchases that may be deemed to occur upon the exercise of stock options, warrants or similar rights or grant, vesting or lapse of restrictions on the grant of any performance shares, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other equity awards to the extent that such shares represent all or a portion of (x) the exercise or purchase price of such options, warrants or similar rights or other equity awards or (y) the amount of withholding taxes owed by the holder of such award in respect of such grant, exercise, vesting or lapse of restrictions; (B) such purchases necessary to satisfy the issuance of any shares upon the exercise or to satisfy the vesting and settlement of any options, warrants or similar rights or other equity awards pursuant to the terms of the Corporation’s equity plans maintained for the benefit its employees, directors and other service providers; or (C) the repurchase, redemption or other acquisition or retirement for value of any such shares from employees, directors, former directors, consultants or former consultants of the Corporation or their respective estate, spouse, former spouse or family member, pursuant to the terms of the agreement pursuant to which such shares were acquired;
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(ii) declare or pay dividends on or make any other distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series B Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any capital stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock; provided, that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such parity stock in exchange for shares of any capital stock of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock; or
(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series B Preferred Stock, or any shares of capital stock ranking on a parity with the Series B Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.
(b) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under Section 4(a) above, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series B Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board, subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein.
Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.
(a) Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have received $1,000 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the “Series B Liquidation Preference”). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series B Liquidation Preference, no additional distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock have received an amount per share (the “Common Adjustment”) equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series B Liquidation Preference by (ii) 1,000 (as appropriately adjusted as set forth in Section 6(c) below to reflect such events as stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock) (such number in clause (ii), the “Adjustment Number”). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series B Liquidation Preference and the Common Adjustment in respect of all outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock and Common Stock, respectively, and the payment of liquidation preferences of all other shares of capital stock which rank prior to or on a parity with Series B Preferred Stock, holders of Series B Preferred Stock and holders of shares of Common Stock shall receive their ratable and proportionate share of the remaining assets to be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1 with respect to such Preferred Stock and Common Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.
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(b) In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Series B Liquidation Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred Stock, if any, which rank on a parity with the Series B Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences. In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.
(c) In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such Adjustment Number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 7. Consolidation, Merger, Etc. In case the Corporation enters into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of Series B Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share (subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth) equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, for which or into which each share of Common Stock is exchanged or changed. In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (a) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (b) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (c) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 8. No Redemption. The shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 9. Ranking. The Series B Preferred Stock shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation’s Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, whether or not upon the dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation, unless the terms of any such series provides otherwise.
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Section 10. Amendment. The Charter shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series B Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.
Section 11. Fractional Shares. Series B Preferred Stock may be issued in fractions of a share that entitle the holder, in proportion to such holder’s fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends, participate in distributions and have the benefit of all other rights of holders of Series B Preferred Stock.
* * * * * * *
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has executed this Certificate of Designation as of October 12, 2026.
| XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Gavin O’Connor | |
| Name: Gavin O’Connor | ||
| Title: Chief Legal Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary | ||
Certificate of Designation
Exhibit 4.1
STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS AGREEMENT
Xponential Fitness, Inc.
and
Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as Rights Agent
Dated as of October 12, 2026
Table of Contents
| Page | ||||||
| Section 1. |
Certain Definitions | 1 | ||||
| Section 2. |
Appointment of Rights Agent | 9 | ||||
| Section 3. |
Issuance of Rights Certificates | 9 | ||||
| Section 4. |
Form of Rights Certificates | 12 | ||||
| Section 5. |
Countersignature and Registration | 13 | ||||
| Section 6. |
Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates | 13 | ||||
| Section 7. |
Exercise of Rights; Exercise Price; Expiration Time of Rights | 15 | ||||
| Section 8. |
Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates | 17 | ||||
| Section 9. |
Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock | 17 | ||||
| Section 10. |
Preferred Stock Record Date | 19 | ||||
| Section 11. |
Adjustment of Exercise Price, Number and Kind of Shares or Number of Rights | 19 | ||||
| Section 12. |
Certificate of Adjusted Exercise Price or Number of Shares | 27 | ||||
| Section 13. |
Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets, Cash Flow or Earning Power | 28 | ||||
| Section 14. |
Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares | 32 | ||||
| Section 15. |
Rights of Action | 33 | ||||
| Section 16. |
Agreement of Rights Holders | 33 | ||||
| Section 17. |
Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder | 34 | ||||
| Section 18. |
Concerning the Rights Agent | 34 | ||||
| Section 19. |
Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent | 36 | ||||
| Section 20. |
Duties of Rights Agent | 36 | ||||
| Section 21. |
Change of Rights Agent | 39 | ||||
| Section 22. |
Issuance of New Rights Certificates | 39 | ||||
| Section 23. |
Redemption and Termination | 40 | ||||
| Section 24. |
Exchange | 41 | ||||
| Section 25. |
Notice of Certain Events | 43 | ||||
| Section 26. |
Notices | 44 | ||||
| Section 27. |
Supplements and Amendments | 45 | ||||
| Section 28. |
Successors | 45 | ||||
| Section 29. |
Determination and Action by the Board | 46 | ||||
| Section 30. |
Benefits of this Agreement | 46 | ||||
| Section 31. |
Tax Compliance and Withholding | 46 | ||||
| Section 32. |
Severability | 46 | ||||
| Section 33. |
Governing Law; Submission to Jurisdiction | 47 | ||||
| Section 34. |
Counterparts | 47 | ||||
| Section 35. |
Descriptive Headings; Interpretation | 47 | ||||
| Section 36. |
Force Majeure | 47 | ||||
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STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS AGREEMENT
This STOCKHOLDER RIGHTS AGREEMENT, dated as of October 12, 2026 (this “Agreement”), is by and between Xponential, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company , as rights agent (the “Rights Agent”).
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, on October 11, 2026 (the “Rights Dividend Declaration Date”), the board of directors of the Company (the “Board”) authorized and declared a dividend distribution of one Right (as defined below) for each share of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), outstanding at the Close of Business (as defined below) on October 22, 2026 (the “Record Date”), and has further authorized the issuance of one Right (as such number may hereinafter be adjusted pursuant to Section 11) for each share of Common Stock that shall become outstanding between the Record Date (whether originally issued or delivered from the Company’s treasury) and the earlier of the Distribution Time and the Expiration Time (as such terms are defined below) or, in certain circumstances provided in Section 22, after the Distribution Time.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual agreements herein set forth, the parties hereby agree as follows:
Section 1. Certain Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings indicated:
“Acquiring Person” shall mean any Person which, together with all of its Related Persons, is the Beneficial Owner of the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding, but shall exclude (x) Exempt Persons and (y) Grandfathered Persons. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no Person shall become an “Acquiring Person:”
(i) as the result of an acquisition of shares of Common Stock by the Company which, by reducing the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding, increases the percentage of the shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by such Person, together with all of its Related Persons, to the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; provided, however, that if a Person, together with all of its Related Persons, becomes the Beneficial Owner of the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding by reason of share acquisitions by the Company and, after such share acquisitions by the Company, becomes the Beneficial Owner of any additional shares of Common Stock (other than pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made by the Company on the outstanding Common Stock, pursuant to a split or subdivision of the outstanding Common Stock or pursuant to one or more transactions subject to clauses (ii), (iii) or (iv) of this definition), then such Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” unless, upon becoming the Beneficial Owner of such additional shares of Common Stock, such Person, together with all of its Related Persons, does not Beneficially Own the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding;
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(ii) if (A) the Board determines in good faith that such Person has become an “Acquiring Person” inadvertently (including because (1) such Person was unaware that it Beneficially Owned a percentage of the then outstanding shares of Common Stock that would otherwise cause such Person to be an “Acquiring Person” or (2) such Person was aware of the extent of its Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock but had no actual knowledge of the consequences of such Beneficial Ownership under this Agreement) and (B) such Person divests as promptly as practicable (as determined by the Board) a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock so that such Person would no longer be an “Acquiring Person;”
(iii) solely as a result of any unilateral grant of any security by the Company or through the exercise or vesting of any options, warrants, rights or similar interests (including restricted shares and restricted share units) granted by the Company to its director, officers and employees or as a result of an issuance of shares of Common Stock pursuant to a Share Settlement; provided, however, that a Person shall be deemed to be an “Acquiring Person” if such Person (A) is or becomes the Beneficial Owner of the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding following such transaction and (B) following such transaction, becomes the Beneficial Owner of any additional shares of Common Stock (other than pursuant to a transaction subject to clauses (ii), this clause (iii) or clause (iv) of this definition) and then Beneficially Owns the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; or
(iv) if such Person is a bona fide swaps dealer who has become an “Acquiring Person” as a result of its actions in the ordinary course of its business that the Board determines, in its sole discretion, were taken without the intent or effect of evading or assisting any other Person to evade the purposes and intent of this Agreement, or otherwise seeking to control or influence the management or policies of the Company.
“Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
“Adjustment Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(ii).
“Affiliate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act Regulations as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
“Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Associate” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act Regulations as in effect on the date of this Agreement.
A Person shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, and shall be deemed to “Beneficially Own” and have “Beneficial Ownership” of any securities (that are as such, “Beneficially Owned”):
(i) that such Person or any of such Person’s Related Persons beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act Regulations as in effect on the date of this Agreement;
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(ii) that such Person or any of such Person’s Related Persons, directly or indirectly, has the right or obligation to acquire (whether such right is exercisable, or such obligation is required to be performed, immediately or only after the passage of time or the satisfaction of other conditions) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether or not in writing and other than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities) or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, rights (other than the Rights), warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own,” (A) securities tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made in accordance with the Exchange Act Regulations by or on behalf of such Person or any of such Person’s Related Persons until such tendered securities are accepted for purchase or exchange, (B) securities issuable upon exercise of Rights at any time prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event, (C) securities issuable upon exercise of Rights from and after the occurrence of a Triggering Event which Rights were acquired by such Person or any such Person’s Related Persons prior to the Distribution Time (or at the Distribution Time in accordance with Section 3(e)), pursuant to Section 22 (the “Original Rights”), or pursuant to Section 11(i) in connection with an adjustment made with respect to any Original Rights or (D) securities which such Person or any of such Person’s Related Persons may acquire, does or do acquire or may be deemed to have the right to acquire, pursuant to any merger or other acquisition agreement between the Company and such Person (or one or more of such Person’s Related Persons), if such agreement has been approved by the Board prior to such Person’s becoming an Acquiring Person;
(iii) that are Beneficially Owned, directly or indirectly, by any other Person (or any Related Person of such Person) with which such Person (or any of such Person’s Related Persons) has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acting together with respect to acquiring, holding, voting or disposing of securities of the Company (whether or not in writing and other than customary agreements with and between underwriters and selling group members with respect to a bona fide public offering of securities); provided, however, that a Person shall not be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “beneficially own,” any security if such agreement, arrangement or understanding (A) arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a public proxy or consent solicitation made pursuant to, and in accordance with, the applicable provisions of the Exchange Act Regulations and (B) is not also then reportable by such Person on Schedule 13D under the Exchange Act (or any comparable or successor report); and
(iv) which are the subject of, or the reference securities for, or that underlie, any Derivative Position of such Person or any of such Person’s Related Persons ; provided, however, that the number of shares of Common Stock that a Person is deemed to Beneficially Own pursuant to this clause (iv) in connection with a particular Derivative Position shall be the notional or other number of shares of Common Stock specified in the documentation evidencing the Derivative Position as being subject to, or to be acquired upon the exercise, conversion or settlement of, the Derivative Position or as the basis upon which the value, exercise price, conversion price, or settlement amount of such Derivative Position is to be calculated in whole or in part or, if no such number of shares of Common Stock is specified in such documentation, as determined by the Board of Directors in its sole discretion to be the number of shares of Common Stock that are the subject of, that underlie, or that relate to the Derivative Position;
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provided, however, that:
(x) nothing in this definition shall cause a Person engaged in business as an underwriter of securities to be the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “Beneficially Own,” any securities acquired through such Person’s participation in good faith in a firm commitment underwriting until the expiration of forty (40) days after the date of such acquisition,
(y) no officer or director of the Company shall be deemed to Beneficially Own any securities of any other Person solely by virtue of any actions that such officer or director takes in such capacity, and
(z) no LLC Unitholder shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, or to “Beneficially Own” any securities which may be issued, or that form the basis for any Cash Settlement that may delivered, to such LLC Unitholder in exchange for such LLC Unitholder’s LLC Units pursuant to the terms and conditions of the XPO Holdings Operating Agreement, unless and until such LLC Unitholder actually receives the securities in exchange therefor, at which time such LLC Unitholder shall be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of and to “Beneficially Own” such securities.
With respect to any Person, for all purposes of this Agreement, any calculation of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding at any particular time, including for purposes of determining the particular percentage of the outstanding shares of Common Stock of which such Person is the Beneficial Owner, shall include the number of shares of Common Stock not outstanding at the time of such calculation that such Person is otherwise deemed to Beneficially Own for purposes of this Agreement; provided, however, that the number of shares of Common Stock not outstanding that such Person is otherwise deemed to Beneficially Own for purposes of this Agreement shall not be included for the purpose of computing the percentage of the outstanding shares of Common Stock Beneficially Owned by any other Person (unless such other Person is also deemed to Beneficially Own, for purposes of this Agreement, such shares of Common Stock not outstanding).
“Board” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in the State of New York are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
“Cash Settlement” has the meaning set forth in the XPO Holdings Operating Agreement.
“Charter” shall mean the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as further amended from time to time.
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“Close of Business” on any given date shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on such date; provided, however, that if such date is not a Business Day, “Close of Business” shall mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on the next succeeding Business Day.
“Closing Price” in respect of any security for any day shall mean the last sale price, regular way, or, in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices, regular way, in either case as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq or the NYSE or, if such shares of common stock (or other security) are not listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq or the NYSE, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal national securities exchange on which such shares of common stock (or other security) are listed or admitted to trading or, if such shares of common stock (or other security) are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, the last quoted price or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the OTC Bulletin Board service or such other quotation system then in use, or, if on any such date such shares of common stock (or other security) are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in such common stock (or other security) selected by the Board. If on any such date no such market maker is making a market in such common stock (or other security), the fair value of such common stock (or other security) on such date as determined in good faith by the Board shall be used.
“Common Stock” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Common Stock Equivalents” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii).
“Company” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Current Market Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(d).
“Current Value” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii).
“Derivative” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “Derivative Position” in this Section 1.
“Derivative Position” means any option, warrant, convertible security, stock appreciation right, or other security, contract right or derivative position or similar right (including any “swap” transaction with respect to any security, other than a broad based market basket or index) (any of the foregoing, a “Derivative”), whether or not presently exercisable, that has an exercise or conversion privilege or a settlement payment or mechanism at a price related to the value of the shares of Common Stock or a value determined in whole or in part with reference to, or derived in whole or in part from, the value of the shares of Common Stock and that increases in value as the market price or value of the shares of Common Stock increases or that provides an opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from any increase in the value of the shares of Common Stock, un each case regardless of whether (A) such Derivative is capable of being settled, in whole or in part, through delivery of cash, shares of Common Stock or otherwise (whether on a required or optional basis, and whether such settlement may occur immediately or only after the passage of time, the occurrence of conditions, the satisfaction of regulatory requirements or otherwise), (B) such Derivative conveys any voting rights in such shares of Common Stock to any Person or (C) any Person (including the holder of such Derivative) may have entered into other transactions that hedge its economic effect.
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“Distribution Time” shall mean the earlier of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth (10th) day after the Stock Acquisition Date (or, if the tenth (10th) day after the Stock Acquisition Date occurs before the Record Date, the Close of Business on the Record Date) or (ii) the Close of Business on the tenth (10th) Business Day (or, if such tenth (10th) Business Day occurs before the Record Date, the Close of Business on the Record Date), or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board prior to such time as any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, after the date that a tender or exchange offer by any Person (other than any Exempt Person) is first published or sent or given within the meaning of Rule 14d-2(a) of the Exchange Act Regulations, if upon consummation thereof, such Person would become an Acquiring Person.
“Equivalent Preferred Stock” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(b).
“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
“Exchange Act Regulations” shall mean the general rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act.
“Exchange Ratio” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a).
“Exempt Person” shall mean (i) the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) any officer, director or employee of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company solely in respect of such Person’s status or authority as such (including any fiduciary capacity) or (iii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any Subsidiary of the Company or any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) shares of capital stock of the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan or for the purpose of funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company.
“Exercise Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 4(a).
“Expiration Time” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a).
“Final Expiration Time” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 7(a).
“Flip-in Event” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(ii).
“Flip-in Trigger Date” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii).
“Flip-over Event” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13(a).
“Flip-over Party” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 13(b).
“Flip-over Stock” shall mean the capital stock (or similar equity interest) with the greatest voting power in respect of the election of directors (or other Persons similarly responsible for the direction of the business and affairs) of the Flip-over Party.
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“Grandfathered Person” shall mean any Person who or which, together with all of such Person’s Related Persons, is, as of immediately prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of this Agreement, the Beneficial Owner of the Specified Percentage or more of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding. A Person ceases to be a “Grandfathered Person” if and when (i) such Person becomes the Beneficial Owner of less than the Specified Percentage of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding; or (ii) such Person increases such Person’s Beneficial Ownership of shares of Common Stock to an amount equal to or greater than the greater of (A) the Specified Percentage of the shares of Common Stock then outstanding and (B) the sum of (1) the lowest Beneficial Ownership of such Person as a percentage of the shares of Common Stock outstanding as of any time from and after the first public announcement of the adoption of this Agreement (other than as a result of an acquisition of shares of Common Stock by the Company) plus (2) one share of Common Stock. The foregoing definition shall grandfather the security or instrument underlying such Beneficial Ownership only in the type and form as of the date of this Agreement and shall not grandfather any subsequent change, modification, swap or exchange of such security or instrument underlying such Beneficial Ownership into a different type or form of security or instrument (unless such change, modification, swap or exchange is contemplated explicitly by the terms of such security or instrument (e.g., as would be the case for options to purchase shares of Common Stock, in which case the shares of Common Stock purchased upon the exercise of such options would be grandfathered)).
“LLC Unit(s)” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(e).
“LLC Unitholder(s)” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(e).
“LLC Unit Redemption Rights” means the rights that a LLC Unitholder has to require the Company to redeem from time to time part or all of the LLC Unitholder’s LLC Units for the consideration set forth in the XPO Holdings Operating Agreement.
“Nasdaq” shall mean the Nasdaq Stock Market.
“Notional Common Shares” shall have the meaning set forth in the definition of “Derivatives Contract.”
“NYSE” shall mean the New York Stock Exchange.
“Person” shall mean any individual, partnership, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, trust, limited liability partnership, joint venture, unincorporated organization or other entity, including (i) any syndicate or group deemed to be a “person” under Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act and any group under Rule 13d-5(b) of the Exchange Act Regulations and (ii) any successor (by merger or otherwise) of such entity.
“Preferred Stock” shall mean the Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company having the designations, preferences and rights set forth in the form of certificate of designation attached to this Agreement as Exhibit A, and, to the extent that there is not a sufficient number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock authorized to permit the full exercise of the Rights, any other series of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company designated for such purpose containing terms substantially similar to the terms of the Series B Preferred Stock.
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“Record Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Redemption Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23(a).
“Redemption Price” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 23(a).
“Related Person” shall mean, as to any Person, any Affiliate or Associate of such Person.
“Right” shall mean a right initially representing the right to purchase one one-thousandth of one share of Series B Preferred Stock of the Company having the rights, powers and preferences set forth in the form of certificate of designation attached hereto as Exhibit A, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement.
“Rights Agent” shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement.
“Rights Certificates” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(b).
“Rights Dividend Declaration Date” shall have the meaning set forth in the recitals to this Agreement.
“Share Settlement” has the meaning set forth in the XPO Holdings Operating Agreement.
“Signature Guarantee” has the meaning set forth in Section 6(a).
“Specified Percentage” shall mean 19.9%.
“Spread” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii).
“Stock Acquisition Date” shall mean the first date of public announcement (which, for purposes of this definition, shall include a report filed pursuant to Section 13(d) under the Exchange Act) by the Company or an Acquiring Person that an Acquiring Person has become such, or such other date, as determined by the Board, on which a Person has become an Acquiring Person.
“Subsidiary” shall mean, with reference to any Person, any other Person of which (i) a majority of the voting power of the voting securities or equity interests is Beneficially Owned, directly or indirectly, by such first-mentioned Person or otherwise controlled by such first-mentioned Person or (ii) an amount of voting securities or equity interests sufficient to elect at least a majority of the directors (or other Persons similarly responsible for the direction of the business and affairs of such other Person) of such other Person is Beneficially Owned, directly or indirectly, by such first-mentioned Person, or otherwise controlled by such first-mentioned Person.
“Substitution Period” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 11(a)(iii).
“Summary of Rights” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(c).
“Trading Day” shall mean a day on which the principal national securities exchange on which shares of an issuer’s common stock (or other security) are listed or admitted to trading is open for the transaction of business or, if such shares of common stock (or other security) are not listed or admitted to trading on any national securities exchange, a Business Day.
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“Triggering Event” shall mean a Flip-in Event or a Flip-over Event.
“Trust” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a).
“Trust Agreement” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 24(a).
“XPO Holdings” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 3(e).
“XPO Holdings Operating Agreement” means the Second Amended and Restated Limited Liability Operating Agreement of XPO Holdings, as amended by Amendment Number One thereto, dated as of December 20, 2021 (as may be further amended, restated, supplemented, or otherwise modified from time to time).
Section 2. Appointment of Rights Agent. The Company hereby appoints the Rights Agent to act as agent for the Company in accordance with the express terms and conditions of this Agreement (and no implied terms or conditions), and the Rights Agent hereby accepts such appointment. The Company may from time to time appoint such co-Rights Agents as it may deem necessary or desirable (the term “Rights Agent” being used herein to refer, collectively, to the Rights Agent together with any such co-Rights Agents), upon ten (10) days’ prior written notice to the Rights Agent. In the event the Company appoints one or more co-Rights Agents, the respective duties of the Rights Agent and any co-Rights Agents shall be as the Company reasonably determines, provided that such duties are consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement and that contemporaneously with such appointment the Company shall notify, in writing, the Rights Agent and any co-Rights Agents of any such duties. The Rights Agent shall have no duty to supervise, and shall in no event be liable for, the acts or omissions of any such co-Rights Agents.
Section 3. Issuance of Rights Certificates.
| (a) | Until the earlier of the Distribution Time and the Expiration Time, (i) with respect to shares of Common Stock outstanding as of the Record Date, or which become outstanding subsequent to the Record Date, the Rights shall be evidenced by the certificates for shares of Common Stock registered in the names of the holders of shares of Common Stock (or, in the case of uncertificated shares of Common Stock, by the book-entry account that evidences record ownership of such shares) (which certificates or book entries for Common Stock shall be deemed also to be certificates or book entries for Rights), and not by separate certificates (or book entries), (ii) the surrender for transfer of any certificate representing shares of Common Stock (or, in the case of uncertificated shares of Common Stock, the effectuation of a book-entry transfer of such shares of Common Stock) in respect of which Rights have been issued shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with such shares of Common Stock and (iii) the Rights shall be transferable only in connection with the transfer of the underlying shares of Common Stock. As of and after the Distribution Time, the Rights shall be evidenced solely by such Rights Certificates, and the Rights Certificates and the Rights shall be transferable separately from the Common Stock. |
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| (b) | The Company shall promptly notify the Rights Agent of a Distribution Time and request its transfer agent (if its transfer agent is not the Rights Agent) to give the Rights Agent a stockholder list together with all other relevant information, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Rights Agent. If such notification is given orally, the Company shall confirm the same in writing (email to be sufficient) within (2) Business Days. Until such written notice or confirmation in writing (in each case, email to be sufficient) is received by the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent may presume conclusively for all purposes that the Distribution Time has no occurred. As soon as practicable after the Rights Agent is notified of the Distribution Time and receives such information, the Rights Agent shall send by first-class, insured, postage prepaid mail, to each record holder of the Common Stock as of the Close of Business on the Distribution Time, at the address of such holder shown on the records of the Company, one or more Rights certificates, in substantially the form of Exhibit B (the “Rights Certificates”), evidencing one Right for each share of Common Stock so held, subject to adjustment as provided herein. To the extent that a Flip-in Event has also occurred, the Company may implement such procedures, as it deems appropriate in its sole discretion (but which do not affect the rights, duties, liabilities or responsibilities of the Rights Agent), to minimize the possibility that Rights Certificates are received by Persons whose Rights would be null and void under Section 7(e) and provide reasonably prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent. In the event that any adjustment in the number of Rights per share of Common Stock has been made pursuant to Section 11, at the time of distribution of the Rights Certificates, the Company shall make the necessary and appropriate rounding adjustments (in accordance with Section 14(a)) so that Rights Certificates representing only whole numbers of Rights are distributed and cash is paid in lieu of any fractional Rights. |
| (c) | The Company shall make available, as promptly as practicable, a copy of a Summary of Rights, in substantially the form attached as Exhibit C (the “Summary of Rights”), to any holder of Rights who may so request from time to time prior to the Expiration Time. |
| (d) | Rights shall be issued in respect of all shares of Common Stock that are issued (whether originally issued or from the Company’s treasury) after the Record Date but prior to the earlier of the Distribution Time or the Expiration Time or, in certain circumstances provided in Section 22, after the Distribution Time. Certificates representing such shares of Common Stock shall also be deemed to be certificates for Rights and shall bear a legend substantially in the following form: |
This certificate also evidences and entitles the holder hereof to certain rights (the “Rights”) as set forth in the Stockholder Rights Agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026 (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “Rights Agreement”), by and between Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, as rights agent, the terms of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference and a copy of which is on file at the principal executive offices of the Company. Under certain circumstances, as set forth in the Rights Agreement, the Rights shall be evidenced by separate certificates and will no longer be evidenced by this certificate. The Company will mail to the holder of this certificate a copy of the Rights Agreement, as in effect on the date of mailing, without charge, promptly after receipt of a written request therefor.
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Under certain circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement, any Rights that are Beneficially Owned by any Person who is or was an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement) or certain transferees of an Acquiring Person or of any such Related Person will become null and void and will no longer be transferable.
With respect to any book-entry shares of Common Stock, such legend shall be included in a notice to the record holder of such shares to the extent required by applicable law. With respect to certificated shares of Common Stock containing the foregoing legend, or any notice of the foregoing legend delivered to record holders of book-entry shares, until the earlier of (i) the Distribution Time or (ii) the Expiration Time, the Rights associated with such shares of Common Stock represented by certificates or registered in book-entry form shall be evidenced by such certificates alone, or such registration in book-entry form alone, and registered holders of such shares of Common Stock shall also be the registered holders of the associated Rights, and the transfer of any of such shares of Common Stock represented by such certificates or book-entries shall also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the shares of Common Stock represented by such certificates or book entries. In the event the Company purchases or acquires any shares of Common Stock after the Record Date but prior to the Distribution Time, any Rights associated with such shares shall be deemed cancelled and retired so that the Company shall not be entitled to exercise any Rights associated with shares of Common Stock that are no longer outstanding. The omission of any legend described in this Section 3 shall not affect the status, validity or enforceability of any part of this Agreement or the rights of any holder of the Rights.
| (e) | Prior to the Distribution Time, holders (other than the Company) (“LLC Unitholders”) of limited liability company units (“LLC Units”) in XPO Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“XPO Holdings”) shall not be deemed as holding any Rights solely by reason of holding any such LLC Units. At the Distribution Time, proper provision shall be made by the Company in order to provide each LLC Unitholder with the number of Rights, evidenced by Rights Certificates, as would be issued to the applicable LLC Unitholder as if (i) the LLC Unitholder had exercised its LLC Unit Redemption Rights with respect to all LLC Units held by the LLC Unitholder immediately prior to the Distribution Time and (ii) the Company had elected to satisfy the LLC Unit Redemption Rights solely by means of a Share Settlement (in lieu of any Cash Settlement) (the amount of such Share Settlement to be calculated without giving effect to any issuance, exercise or exchange of any Rights) immediately prior to the Distribution Time pursuant to the terms and conditions of the XPO Holdings Operating Agreement. Each LLC Unitholder shall thereafter have all of the rights, privileges, benefits and obligations with respect to the Rights as are provided for herein with respect to holders of Rights. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no Rights (or Rights Certificates evidencing such Rights) shall be provided (x) to any LLC Unitholder who is an Acquiring Person or Related Person of an Acquiring Person or (y) if such Rights have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e). |
| (f) | Notwithstanding any other provision hereof, the Company and the Rights Agent may amend this Agreement to provide for uncertificated Rights in addition to or in lieu of Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates, to the extent permitted by applicable law. |
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Section 4. Form of Rights Certificates.
| (a) | The Rights Certificates (and the forms of election to purchase and of assignment to be printed on the reverse thereof), when and if issued, shall each be substantially in the form set forth in Exhibit B and may have such marks of identification or designation and such legends, summaries or endorsements printed thereon as the Company may deem appropriate (but which do not affect the rights, duties, liabilities or responsibilities of the Rights Agent) and as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, or as may be required to comply with any applicable law or with any rule or regulation made pursuant thereto or with any rule or regulation of any stock exchange on which the Rights may from time to time be listed, or to conform to customary usage. Subject to Section 11 and Section 22, the Rights Certificates, whenever distributed, shall be dated as of the Record Date or, in the case of Rights with respect to shares of Common Stock issued or becoming outstanding after the Record Date, the same date as the date of the stock certificate evidencing such shares (or, with respect to uncertificated shares of Common Stock, the date of the issuance of such shares of Common Stock indicated in the books of the registrar and transfer agent), and on their face shall entitle the holders thereof to purchase such number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as shall be set forth therein at the price set forth therein (such exercise price per one one-thousandth of a share, the “Exercise Price”), but the amount and type of securities purchasable upon the exercise of each Right and the Exercise Price thereof shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 and Section 13(a). |
| (b) | Any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 3(a), Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 22 that represents Rights Beneficially Owned by any Person known to be (i) an Acquiring Person or any Related Person of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Related Person) who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Related Person) who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) to holders of equity interests in such Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) or to any Person with whom such Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing, regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board has determined is part of a plan, agreement, arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect of avoidance of Section 7(e), and any Rights Certificate issued pursuant to Section 6 or Section 11 upon transfer, exchange, replacement or adjustment of any other Rights Certificate referred to in this sentence, shall contain (to the extent feasible) the following legend: |
The Rights represented by this Rights Certificate are or were Beneficially Owned by an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026 (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “Rights Agreement”), by and between Xponential Fitness, Inc. and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent) or a certain transferee of an Acquiring Person or of any such Related Person. Accordingly, this Rights Certificate and the Rights represented hereby will become null and void in the circumstances specified in Section 7(e) of such Rights Agreement.
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The absence of the foregoing legend on any Rights Certificate shall in no way affect any of the other provisions of this Agreement, including the provisions of Section 7(e). The Company shall instruct the Rights Agent in writing of any Rights Certificate that should be so legended. The Company shall give written notice to the Rights Agent as soon as practicable after it becomes aware of the existence and identity of any Acquiring Person or any Related Person thereof.
Section 5. Countersignature and Registration.
| (a) | The Rights Certificates shall be executed on behalf of the Company by its Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Secretary or Treasurer, or any other authorized officer of the Company, either manually or by facsimile or other electronic signature. The Rights Certificates shall be countersigned manually or by facsimile or other electronic signature by the Rights Agent and shall not be valid for any purpose unless so countersigned. In case any officer of the Company who shall have signed or attested any of the Rights Certificates shall cease to be such officer of the Company before countersignature by the Rights Agent and issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights Certificates, nevertheless, may be countersigned by the Rights Agent and issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the person who signed or attested such Rights Certificates had not ceased to be such officer of the Company; and any Rights Certificates may be signed or attested on behalf of the Company by any person who, at the actual date of the execution of such Rights Certificate, shall be a proper officer of the Company to sign or attest such Rights Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Agreement any such person was not such an officer. In case any authorized signatory of the Rights Agent who has countersigned any Rights Certificate ceases to be an authorized signatory of the Rights Agent before issuance and delivery by the Company, such Rights Certificate, nevertheless, may be issued and delivered by the Company with the same force and effect as though the person who countersigned such Rights Certificate had not ceased to be an authorized signatory of the Rights Agent; and any Rights Certificate may be countersigned on behalf of the Rights Agent by any person who, at the actual date of the countersignature of such Rights Certificate, is properly authorized to countersign such Rights Certificate, although at the date of the execution of this Agreement any such person was not so authorized. |
| (b) | Following the Distribution Time, and upon receipt by the Rights Agent of notice to that effect and all other relevant information and documents referred to herein, the Rights Agent shall keep or cause to be kept, at its principal office or offices designated as the appropriate place for surrender of Rights Certificates upon exercise or transfer, books for registration and transfer of the Rights Certificates issued hereunder. Such books shall show the names and addresses of the respective holders of the Rights Certificates, the number of Rights evidenced on its face by each of the Rights Certificates and the certificate number and the date of each of the Rights Certificates. |
Section 6. Transfer, Split Up, Combination and Exchange of Rights Certificates; Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost or Stolen Rights Certificates.
| (a) | Subject to Section 4(b), Section 7(e) and Section 14, at any time after the Close of Business on the Distribution Time, and at or prior to the Close of Business on the Expiration Time, any Rights Certificate (other than Rights Certificates representing Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e), that have been redeemed pursuant to Section 23 or that have been exchanged pursuant to Section 24) may be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged for another Rights |
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| Certificate, entitling the registered holder to purchase a like number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or, following a Triggering Event, Common Stock, other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as the Rights Certificate surrendered then entitled such holder (or former holder in the case of a transfer) to purchase. Any registered holder desiring to transfer, split up, combine or exchange any Rights Certificate shall make such request in writing delivered to the Rights Agent and shall surrender the Rights Certificate to be transferred, split up, combined or exchanged, with the form of assignment and certificate contained therein properly completed and duly executed and with all signatures guaranteed from an eligible guarantor institution participating in a signature guarantee program approved by the Securities Transfer Association (a “Signature Guarantee”), at the offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose. Neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to take any action whatsoever with respect to the transfer, split up, combination or exchange of any such surrendered Rights Certificate until the registered holder has properly completed and duly executed the certificate contained in the form of assignment on the reverse side of such Rights Certificate, accompanied by a Signature Guarantee and has provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Related Persons thereof and such other documentation as the Company or the Rights Agent reasonably requests. Thereupon the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 4(b), Section 7(e), Section 14 and Section 24, countersign and deliver to the Person entitled thereto a Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates, as the case may be, as so requested. The Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or governmental charge that may be imposed in connection with any transfer, split up, combination or exchange of Rights Certificates. If and to the extent the Company does require payment of any such taxes or charges, the Company shall give the Rights Agent prompt written notice thereof and the Rights Agent shall not be obligated to deliver any Rights Certificate unless and until it is satisfied that all such payments have been made, and the Rights Agent shall forward any such sum collected by it to the Company or to such Persons as the Company specifies by written notice. The Rights Agent shall have no duty or obligation to take any action with respect to a Rights holder under this Agreement that requires the payment by such Rights holder of any tax or governmental charge unless and until the Rights Agent is satisfied that all such taxes and charges have been paid. |
| (b) | Upon receipt by the Company and the Rights Agent of evidence reasonably satisfactory to them of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of a valid Rights Certificate, and, in case of loss, theft or destruction, of indemnity or security satisfactory to them, and reimbursement to the Company and the Rights Agent of all reasonable expenses incidental thereto, and upon surrender to the Rights Agent and cancellation of the Rights Certificates if mutilated, the Company shall prepare, execute and deliver a new Rights Certificate of like tenor to the Rights Agent for countersignature and delivery to the registered owner in lieu of the Rights Certificate so lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated. |
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Section 7. Exercise of Rights; Exercise Price; Expiration Time of Rights.
| (a) | Subject to Section 7(e), the registered holder of any Rights Certificate may exercise the Rights evidenced thereby (except as otherwise provided herein including the restrictions on exercisability set forth in Section 7(c), Section 9(c), Section 11(a)(iii) and Section 23(a)) in whole or in part at any time after the Distribution Time upon surrender of the Rights Certificate, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate on the reverse side thereof properly completed and duly executed, to the Rights Agent at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, accompanied by a Signature Guarantee and such other documentation as the Rights Agent may reasonably request together with payment of the aggregate Exercise Price with respect to the total number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock, other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) as to which such surrendered Rights are then exercisable, and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax or charge required to be paid under Section 9(e), at or prior to the earliest of (i) the Close of Business on October 11, 2027 (the “Final Expiration Time”), (ii) the time at which the Rights are redeemed as provided in Section 23, (iii) the time at which such Rights are exchanged pursuant to Section 24, or (iv) the closing of any merger or other acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to an agreement of the type described in Section 13(f), at which time, the Rights are terminated (the earliest of (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) being herein referred to as the “Expiration Time”). Except for those provisions herein that expressly survive the termination of this Agreement, this Agreement shall terminate at such time as the Rights are no longer exercisable hereunder. |
| (b) | The Exercise Price for each one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Right shall initially be $15.00, and shall be subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in Section 11 and Section 13(a) and shall be payable in accordance with Section 7(c). |
| (c) | Except as otherwise provided herein, upon receipt of a Rights Certificate representing exercisable Rights, with the form of election to purchase and the certificate properly completed and duly executed, accompanied by payment, with respect to each Right so exercised, of the Exercise Price per one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (or other securities, cash or other assets, as the case may be) to be purchased as set forth below and an amount equal to any applicable transfer tax or charge required to be paid by the holder of the Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 9(e), the Rights Agent shall, subject to Section 20(k), thereupon as soon as practicable (i) (A) requisition from any transfer agent of the shares of Preferred Stock (or make available, if the Rights Agent is the transfer agent for such shares) certificates for the total number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or fractions of shares that are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock) to be purchased and the Company hereby irrevocably authorizes its transfer agent to comply with all such requests or (B) if the Company has elected to deposit the total number of shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights hereunder with a depositary agent, requisition from the depositary agent depositary receipts representing such number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as are to be purchased (in which case certificates for the shares of Preferred Stock represented by such receipts shall be deposited by the transfer agent with the depositary agent) and the Company shall direct the depositary agent to comply with such request, (ii) when necessary to comply with this Agreement, requisition from the Company the amount of cash, if any, to be paid in lieu of fractional shares in accordance with Section 14, (iii) after receipt of such certificates or depositary receipts, cause the same to be delivered to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder and (iv) when necessary to comply with this Agreement, after receipt thereof, deliver such cash, if any, to or upon the order of the registered holder of such Rights |
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| Certificate. The payment of the Exercise Price (as such amount may be reduced pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii)) shall be made in cash or by certified bank check or bank draft payable to the order of the Company. In the event that the Company is obligated to issue other securities (including Common Stock) of the Company, pay cash and/or distribute other property pursuant to Section 11(a), the Company shall make all arrangements necessary so that such other securities, cash and/or other property are available for distribution by the Rights Agent, if and when necessary to comply with the terms of this Agreement, and until so received, the Rights Agent shall have no duties or obligations with respect to such securities, cash and/or other property. The Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event that, upon any exercise of Rights, a number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock would be issued. |
| (d) | In case the registered holder of any Rights Certificate properly exercises less than all the Rights evidenced thereby, a new Rights Certificate evidencing Rights equivalent to the Rights remaining unexercised shall be issued by the Rights Agent and delivered to, or upon the order of, the registered holder of such Rights Certificate, registered in such name or names as may be designated by such holder, subject to Section 14. |
| (e) | Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, from and after the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event, any Rights Beneficially Owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or any Related Person of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Related Person) who becomes a transferee after the Acquiring Person becomes such or (iii) a transferee of an Acquiring Person (or of any such Related Person) who becomes a transferee prior to or concurrently with the Acquiring Person becoming such and receives such Rights pursuant to either (A) a transfer (whether or not for consideration) from the Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) to holders of equity interests in such Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) or to any Person with whom such Acquiring Person (or any Related Person thereof) has any continuing agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing, regarding the transferred Rights or (B) a transfer which the Board has determined is part of an agreement, arrangement or understanding which has as a primary purpose or effect the avoidance of this Section 7(e), shall become null and void without any further action and no holder of such Rights shall have any rights whatsoever with respect to such Rights, whether under any provision of this Agreement or otherwise. The Company shall notify the Rights Agent in writing when this Section 7(e) applies and shall use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the provisions of this Section 7(e) and Section 4(b) are complied with, but neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to any holder of Rights or other Person (without limiting the rights of the Rights Agent under Section 18) as a result of the Company’s failure to make any determinations with respect to an Acquiring Person or any of its Related Persons or transferees hereunder. |
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| (f) | Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Rights Agent nor the Company shall be obligated to undertake any action with respect to a registered holder upon the occurrence of any purported exercise as set forth in this Section 7 unless such registered holder has (i) properly completed and duly executed the certificate contained in the form of election to purchase set forth on the reverse side of the Rights Certificate surrendered for such exercise and (ii) provided such additional evidence of the identity of the Beneficial Owner (or former Beneficial Owner) or Related Persons thereof as the Company or the Rights Agent reasonably requests. |
Section 8. Cancellation and Destruction of Rights Certificates. All Rights Certificates surrendered for the purpose of exercise, transfer, split up, combination or exchange shall, if surrendered to the Company or any of its agents, be delivered to the Rights Agent for cancellation or in canceled form, or, if surrendered to the Rights Agent, shall be canceled by the Rights Agent in accordance with the Rights Agent’s procedures, which shall include the removal of the attached rights legend from the shares but would not involve physical destruction or delivery of cancelled forms, and no Rights Certificates shall be issued in lieu thereof, except as expressly permitted by this Agreement. The Company shall deliver to the Rights Agent for cancellation and retirement, and the Rights Agent shall so cancel and retire, in accordance with the Rights Agent’s procedures, which shall include the removal of the attached rights legend from the shares but would not involve physical destruction or delivery of cancelled forms, any other Rights Certificates purchased or acquired by the Company otherwise than upon the exercise thereof. At the expense of the Company, the Rights Agent shall, at the written request of the Company, deliver a certificate of destruction thereof, executed by the Rights Agent, to the Company.
Section 9. Reservation and Availability of Capital Stock.
| (a) | The Company shall cause to be reserved and kept available out of its authorized and unissued shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock and/or other securities, or out of its authorized and issued shares held in its treasury), the number of shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock and/or other securities, if any) that, as provided in this Agreement, including Section 11(a)(iii), shall be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Rights. |
| (b) | So long as the shares of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, Common Stock and/or other securities, if any) issuable and deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights may be listed on any national securities exchange, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to cause, from and after such time as the Rights become exercisable, all shares (and other securities, if any) reserved for such issuance to be listed on such exchange, upon official notice of issuance upon such exercise. |
| (c) | If the Company is required to file a registration statement pursuant to the Act with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall use its best efforts to (i) prepare and file, as soon as practicable following the earliest date after the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event on which the consideration to be delivered by the Company upon exercise of the Rights has been determined in accordance with Section 11(a)(iii), or as soon as is required by applicable law following the Distribution Time, as the case may be, a registration statement under the Act with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of |
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| the Rights on an appropriate form, (ii) cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and (iii) cause such registration statement to remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the earlier of (A) the date as of which the Rights are no longer exercisable for such securities and (B) the Expiration Time. The Company shall also take such action as may be appropriate under, or to ensure compliance with, the securities or “blue sky” laws of the various states in connection with the exercisability of the Rights. The Company may temporarily suspend (with prompt written notice to the Rights Agent), for a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days after the date set forth in clause (i) of the first sentence of this Section 9(c), the exercisability of the Rights in order to prepare and file such registration statement and permit it to become effective. Upon any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect. In addition, if the Company determines that a registration statement is required following the Distribution Time, and a Flip-in Event has not occurred, the Company may temporarily suspend (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) the exercisability of Rights until such time as a registration statement has been declared effective. Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable in any jurisdiction if the requisite qualification or exemption in such jurisdiction shall not have been obtained, the exercise thereof shall not be permitted under applicable law or a registration statement shall not have been declared effective. |
| (d) | The Company shall take all such actions as may be necessary to ensure that all one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (and, following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, shares of Common Stock and/or other securities, if any) delivered upon exercise of Rights shall, at the time of delivery of the certificates for such shares and/or other securities (subject to payment of the Exercise Price), be duly and validly authorized and issued and fully paid and non-assessable. |
| (e) | The Company shall be responsible for the payment of any and all transfer taxes and governmental charges that may be payable in respect of the issuance or delivery of the Rights Certificates and of any certificates for a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) upon the exercise of Rights. The Company shall not, however, be required to pay any tax or charge that may be payable in respect of any transfer or delivery of Rights Certificates to a Person other than, or the issuance or delivery of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) in respect of a name other than that of, the registered holder of the Rights Certificates evidencing Rights surrendered for exercise or to issue or deliver any certificates for a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) in a name other than that of the registered holder upon the exercise of any Rights until such tax has been paid (any such tax being payable by the holder of such Rights Certificate at the time of surrender) or until it has been established to the Company’s satisfaction that no such tax or charge is due. |
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Section 10. Preferred Stock Record Date. Each Person in whose name any certificate for shares of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) is issued upon the exercise of Rights shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of such shares of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) represented thereby on, and such certificate shall be dated, the date upon which the Rights Certificate evidencing such Rights was duly surrendered and payment of the Exercise Price (and all applicable transfer taxes) was made; provided, however, that if the date of such surrender and payment is a date upon which the applicable transfer books of the Company are closed, such Person shall be deemed to have become the record holder of such securities (fractional or otherwise) on, and such certificate shall be dated, the next succeeding Business Day on which the applicable transfer books of the Company are open; provided, further, that if delivery of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) is delayed pursuant to Section 9(c), such Persons shall be deemed to have become the record holders of such number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) only when such shares of Preferred Stock (or Common Stock and/or other securities) first become deliverable. Prior to the exercise of the Rights evidenced thereby, the holder of a Rights Certificate shall not be entitled to any rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to shares or other securities for which the Rights are exercisable, including the right to vote, to receive dividends or other distributions or to exercise any preemptive rights, and shall not be entitled to receive any notice of any proceedings of the Company, except as provided herein.
Section 11. Adjustment of Exercise Price, Number and Kind of Shares or Number of Rights. The Exercise Price, the number and kind of shares covered by each Right and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time to time as provided in this Section 11.
| (a) | i) In the event the Company at any time after the date of this Agreement (A) declares a dividend on any outstanding shares of Preferred Stock payable in shares of Preferred Stock, (B) subdivides any outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, (C) combines any outstanding shares of Preferred Stock into a smaller number of shares or (D) issues any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Preferred Stock (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving entity), except as otherwise provided in this Section 11(a) and Section 7(e), the Exercise Price in effect at the time of the record date for such dividend or of the effective date of such subdivision, combination or reclassification, and the number and kind of shares (or fractions thereof) of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may be, issuable on such date, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the holder of any Right exercised after such time shall be entitled to receive, upon payment of the Exercise Price then in effect, the aggregate number and kind of shares (or fractions thereof) of Preferred Stock or capital stock, as the case may be, which, if such Right had been exercised immediately prior to such date and at a time when the applicable transfer books of the Company were open, such holder would have owned upon such exercise and been entitled to receive by virtue of such dividend, subdivision, |
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| combination or reclassification. If an event occurs that would require an adjustment under both this Section 11(a)(i) and Section 11(a)(ii), the adjustment provided for in this Section 11(a)(i) shall be in addition to, and shall be made prior to, any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii). |
| (ii) | Subject to Section 24, in the event any Person (other than any Exempt Person) becomes an Acquiring Person (such event, a “Flip-in Event”), unless the event causing such Person to become an Acquiring Person is a Flip-over Event, then proper provision shall be made so that promptly following the Redemption Period, each holder of a Right (except as provided below and in Section 7(e)) thereafter has the right to receive, upon exercise thereof at a price equal to the then-current Exercise Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock, such number of shares of Common Stock as shall be equal to the result obtained by (A) multiplying the then-current Exercise Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event and (B) dividing that product (which, following such first occurrence shall thereafter be referred to as the “Exercise Price” for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by fifty percent (50%) of the Current Market Price per share of Common Stock on the date of such first occurrence (such number of shares, the “Adjustment Shares”). |
| (iii) | In the event that the number of shares of Common Stock authorized by the Charter, but not outstanding or reserved for issuance for purposes other than upon exercise of the Rights, is not sufficient to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with Section 11(a)(ii), the Board shall, to the extent permitted by applicable law and by any agreements or instruments then in effect to which the Company is a party, (A) determine the excess of (1) the value of the Adjustment Shares issuable upon the exercise of a Right (the “Current Value”) over (2) the Exercise Price (such excess being the “Spread”) and (B) with respect to each Right (subject to Section 7(e)), make adequate provision to substitute for some or all of the Adjustment Shares, upon the exercise of a Right and payment of the applicable Exercise Price, (1) cash, (2) a reduction in the Exercise Price, (3) shares or fractions of a share of preferred stock or other equity securities of the Company (including shares, or units of shares, of preferred stock, such as the Preferred Stock, which the Board has determined to have substantially the same value or economic rights as shares of Common Stock) (such shares of equity securities being herein called “Common Stock Equivalents”), (4) debt securities of the Company, (5) other assets or (6) any combination of the foregoing, having an aggregate value equal to the Current Value (less the amount of any reduction in the Exercise Price), where such aggregate value has been determined by the Board based upon the advice of a nationally recognized investment banking firm selected by the Board; provided, however, that if the Company has not made adequate provision to deliver |
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| value pursuant to clause (B) above within thirty (30) days following the later of (x) the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event and (y) the date on which the Redemption Period expires (the later of (x) and (y) being referred to herein as the “Flip-in Trigger Date”), then the Company shall be obligated to deliver, to the extent permitted by applicable law, upon the surrender for exercise of a Right and without requiring payment of the Exercise Price, shares of Common Stock (to the extent available), and then, if necessary, such number or fractions of shares of Preferred Stock (to the extent available) and then, if necessary, cash, which shares and/or cash have an aggregate value equal to the Spread. If, upon the occurrence of a Flip-in Event, the Board determines in good faith that it is likely that sufficient additional shares of Common Stock could be authorized for issuance upon exercise in full of the Rights, the thirty (30)-day period set forth above may be extended to the extent necessary, but not more than ninety (90) days after the Flip-in Trigger Date, in order that the Company may seek stockholder approval for the authorization of such additional shares (such thirty (30)-day period, as it may be extended, the “Substitution Period”). To the extent the Company determines that action should be taken pursuant to the first sentence or third sentence of this Section 11(a)(iii), the Company (x) shall provide, subject to Section 7(e), that such action shall apply uniformly to all outstanding Rights and (y) may suspend the exercisability of the Rights until the expiration of the Substitution Period in order to seek such stockholder approval for authorization of additional shares and/or to decide the appropriate form of distribution to be made pursuant to such first sentence and to determine the value thereof. In the event of any such suspension, the Company shall issue a public announcement stating that the exercisability of the Rights has been temporarily suspended, as well as a public announcement at such time as the suspension is no longer in effect (with prompt written notice of such announcements to the Rights Agent). For purposes of this Section 11(a)(iii), the value of each Adjustment Share shall be the Current Market Price per share of Common Stock on the Flip-in Trigger Date, and the value of any Common Stock Equivalent shall be deemed to equal the Current Market Price per share of the Common Stock on such date. The Board may establish procedures to allocate the right to receive shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of the Rights among holders of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(a)(iii). |
| (b) | In case the Company fixes a record date for the issuance of rights (other than the Rights), options or warrants to all holders of Preferred Stock entitling them to subscribe for or purchase (for a period expiring within forty-five (45) days after such record date) Preferred Stock (or shares having the same rights, privileges and preferences as the shares of Preferred Stock (“Equivalent Preferred Stock”)) or securities convertible into Preferred Stock or Equivalent Preferred Stock at a price per share of Preferred Stock or per share of Equivalent Preferred Stock (or having a conversion price per share, if a security convertible into Preferred Stock or Equivalent Preferred Stock) less than the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock on such record date, the Exercise Price to be in effect after such |
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| record date shall be determined by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock which the aggregate offering price of the total number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock so to be offered (and/or the aggregate initial conversion price of the convertible securities so to be offered) would purchase at such Current Market Price, and the denominator of which shall be the number of shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock outstanding on such record date, plus the number of additional shares of Preferred Stock and/or Equivalent Preferred Stock to be offered for subscription or purchase (or into which the convertible securities so to be offered are initially convertible). In case such subscription price may be paid by delivery of consideration part or all of which may be in a form other than cash, the value of such consideration shall be as determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights. Shares of Preferred Stock and Equivalent Preferred Stock owned by or held for the account of the Company shall not be deemed outstanding for the purpose of any such computation. Such adjustment shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed, and in the event that such rights, options or warrants are not so issued, the Exercise Price shall be adjusted to be the Exercise Price which would then be in effect if such record date had not been fixed. |
| (c) | In case the Company fixes a record date for a distribution to all holders of Preferred Stock (including any such distribution made in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving entity) of evidences of indebtedness, cash (other than a regular periodic cash dividend out of the earnings or retained earnings of the Company), assets (other than a dividend payable in Preferred Stock, but including any dividend payable in stock other than Preferred Stock) or subscription rights, options or warrants (excluding those referred to in Section 11(b)), the Exercise Price to be in effect after such record date shall be determined by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such record date by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock on such record date, less the fair market value (as determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights) of the portion of the cash, assets or evidences of indebtedness so to be distributed or of such subscription rights or warrants applicable to a share of Preferred Stock and the denominator of which shall be such Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock. Such adjustments shall be made successively whenever such a record date is fixed, and in the event that such distribution is not so made, the Exercise Price shall be adjusted to be the Exercise Price that would have been in effect if such record date had not been fixed. |
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| (d) | ii) For the purpose of any computation hereunder, other than computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii), the “Current Market Price” per share of common stock (or similar equity interest) of an issuer on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily Closing Prices per share of such common stock (or other security) for the thirty (30) consecutive Trading Days immediately prior to but not including such date, and for purposes of computations made pursuant to Section 11(a)(iii), the “Current Market Price” per share of Common Stock on any date shall be deemed to be the average of the daily Closing Prices per share of such Common Stock for the ten (10) consecutive Trading Days immediately following but not including such date; provided, however, that in the event that the Current Market Price per share of common stock (or other security) of an issuer is determined during a period following the announcement by the issuer of such common stock (or other security) of (A) a dividend or distribution on such common stock (or other security) payable in shares of such common stock (or other security) or securities convertible into shares of such common stock (or other security) (other than the Rights) or (B) any subdivision, combination or reclassification of such common stock (or other security), and the ex-dividend date for such dividend or distribution, or the record date for such subdivision, combination or reclassification shall not have occurred prior to the commencement of the requisite thirty (30) Trading Day or ten (10) Trading Day period, as set forth above, then, and in each such case, the Current Market Price shall be properly adjusted, as determined in good faith by the Board, to take into account any trading during the period prior to such ex-dividend date or record date. If an issuer’s shares of common stock (or other security) are not publicly held or not so listed or traded, “Current Market Price” per share shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be conclusive for all purposes. |
| (ii) | For the purpose of any computation hereunder, the “Current Market Price” per share of Preferred Stock shall be determined in the same manner as set forth above for the Common Stock in Section 11(d)(i) (other than the last sentence thereof). If the Current Market Price per share of Preferred Stock cannot be determined in the manner provided above, or if the Preferred Stock is not publicly held or listed or traded in a manner described in Section 11(d)(i), the “Current Market Price” per share of Preferred Stock shall be conclusively deemed to be an amount equal to 1,000 (as such number may be appropriately adjusted for such events as stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock occurring after the date of this Agreement) multiplied by the Current Market Price per share of the Common Stock. If neither the Common Stock nor the Preferred Stock is publicly held or so listed or traded, “Current Market Price” per share of the Preferred Stock shall mean the fair value per share as determined in good faith by the Board, whose determination shall be described in a statement filed with the Rights Agent and shall be binding on the Rights Agent and the holders of the Rights. For all purposes of this Agreement, the “Current Market Price” of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock shall be equal to the Current Market Price of one share of Preferred Stock divided by 1,000. |
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| (e) | Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, no adjustment in the Exercise Price shall be required unless such adjustment would require an increase or decrease of at least one percent (1%) in the Exercise Price; provided, however, that any adjustments which by reason of this Section 11(e) are not required to be made shall be carried forward and taken into account in any subsequent adjustment. All calculations under this Section 11 shall be made to the nearest cent or to the nearest one-hundredth of a share of Common Stock or one hundred-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock or one-hundredth of any other share or security, as the case may be. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this Section 11(e), any adjustment required by this Section 11 shall be made no later than the earlier of (i) one (1) year from the date of the transaction which mandates such adjustment or (ii) the Expiration Time. |
| (f) | If as a result of an adjustment made pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii) or Section 13(a), the holder of any Right thereafter exercised becomes entitled to receive any shares of capital stock other than Preferred Stock, thereafter the number of such other shares so receivable upon exercise of any Right and the Exercise Price thereof shall be subject to adjustment from time to time in a manner and on terms as nearly equivalent as practicable to the provisions with respect to the Preferred Stock contained in Section 11(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k) and (m), and the provisions of Section 7, 9, 10, 13 and 14 with respect to the Preferred Stock shall apply on like terms to any such other shares. |
| (g) | All Rights originally issued by the Company subsequent to any adjustment made to the Exercise Price hereunder shall evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Exercise Price, the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (or other securities, other assets or amount of cash or combination thereof) purchasable from time to time hereunder upon exercise of the Rights, all subject to further adjustment as provided herein. |
| (h) | Unless the Company has exercised its election as provided in Section 11(i), upon each adjustment of the Exercise Price as a result of the calculations made in Section 11(b) and Section 11(c), each Right outstanding immediately prior to the making of such adjustment shall thereafter evidence the right to purchase, at the adjusted Exercise Price, that number of one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock (calculated to the nearest one hundred-thousandth) obtained by (i) multiplying (A) the number of one one-thousandths of a share covered by a Right immediately prior to this adjustment, by (B) the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such adjustment of the Exercise Price and (ii) dividing the product so obtained by the Exercise Price in effect immediately after such adjustment of the Exercise Price. |
| (i) | The Company may elect on or after the date of any adjustment of the Exercise Price to adjust the number of Rights, in lieu of any adjustment in the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock purchasable upon the exercise of a Right. Each of the Rights outstanding after the adjustment in the number of Rights shall be exercisable for the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to such adjustment. Each Right |
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| held of record prior to such adjustment of the number of Rights shall become that number of Rights (calculated to the nearest one-thousandth) obtained by dividing the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to adjustment of the Exercise Price by the Exercise Price in effect immediately after adjustment of the Exercise Price. The Company shall make a public announcement (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) of its election to adjust the number of Rights, indicating the record date for the adjustment, and, if known at the time, the amount of the adjustment to be made. This record date may be the date on which the Exercise Price is adjusted or any day thereafter, but, if the Rights Certificates have been issued, shall be at least ten (10) days later than the date of the public announcement. If Rights Certificates have been issued, upon each adjustment of the number of Rights pursuant to this Section 11(i), the Company shall, as promptly as practicable, cause to be distributed to holders of record of Rights Certificates on such record date Rights Certificates evidencing, subject to Section 14, the additional Rights to which such holders shall be entitled as a result of such adjustment, or, at the option of the Company, shall cause to be distributed to such holders of record in substitution and replacement for the Rights Certificates held by such holders prior to the date of adjustment, and upon surrender thereof, if required by the Company, new Rights Certificates evidencing all the Rights to which such holders shall be entitled after such adjustment. Rights Certificates so to be distributed shall be issued, executed and countersigned in the manner provided for herein (and may bear, at the option of the Company, the adjusted Exercise Price) and shall be registered in the names of the holders of record of Rights Certificates on the record date specified in the public announcement. |
| (j) | Irrespective of any adjustment or change in the Exercise Price or the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights, the Rights Certificates theretofore and thereafter issued may continue to express the Exercise Price per one one-thousandth of a share and the number of one one-thousandths of a share which were expressed in the initial Rights Certificates issued hereunder. |
| (k) | Before taking any action that would cause an adjustment reducing the Exercise Price below the then stated value, if any, of the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the Rights, the Company shall take any corporate action which may, upon advice of its counsel, be necessary in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and non-assessable shares of Preferred Stock at such adjusted Exercise Price. |
| (l) | In any case in which this Section 11 requires that an adjustment in the Exercise Price be made effective as of a record date for a specified event, the Company may elect to defer (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) until the occurrence of such event the issuance to the holder of any Right exercised after such record date the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon |
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| such exercise over and above the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock and other capital stock or securities of the Company, if any, issuable upon such exercise on the basis of the Exercise Price in effect prior to such adjustment (and shall provide the Rights Agent prompt written notice of such election); provided, however, that the Company shall deliver to such holder a due bill or other appropriate instrument evidencing such holder’s right to receive such additional shares (fractional or otherwise) or securities upon the occurrence of the event requiring such adjustment. |
| (m) | Notwithstanding anything in this Section 11 to the contrary, the Company shall be entitled (but not obligated) to make such reductions in the Exercise Price, in addition to those adjustments expressly required by this Section 11, as and to the extent that the Board, in its good faith judgment, shall determine to be advisable in order that any (i) consolidation or subdivision of the Preferred Stock, (ii) issuance wholly for cash of any shares of Preferred Stock at less than the Current Market Price, (iii) issuance wholly for cash of shares of Preferred Stock or securities that by their terms are convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Preferred Stock, (iv) stock dividends or (v) issuance of rights, options or warrants referred to in this Section 11, hereafter made by the Company to holders of Preferred Stock shall not be taxable to such stockholders. |
| (n) | The Company shall not, at any time after the Distribution Time, (i) consolidate with any other Person (other than a direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction that complies with Section 11(o)), (ii) merge with or into any other Person (other than a direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction that complies with Section 11(o)) or (iii) sell or transfer (or permit any Subsidiary to sell or transfer), in one transaction, or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning power aggregating to fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)), if (A) at the time of or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer there are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or agreements in effect that would substantially diminish or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights or (B) prior to, simultaneously with or immediately after such consolidation, merger, sale or transfer, the stockholders of the Person who constitutes, or would constitute, the Flip-over Party for purposes of Section 13(a) shall have received a distribution of Rights previously owned by such Person or any of its Related Persons; provided, however, that this Section 11(n) shall not affect the ability of any Subsidiary of the Company to consolidate with, merge with or into, or sell or transfer assets of earning power to, any other Subsidiary of the Company. |
| (o) | After the Distribution Time and as long as any Rights are outstanding (other than Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e)), the Company shall not, except as permitted by Section 23, Section 24 or Section 27, take (or permit any Subsidiary to take) any action if at the time such action is taken it is reasonably foreseeable that such action will diminish substantially or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights. |
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| (p) | Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, in the event that the Company at any time after the Rights Dividend Declaration Date and prior to the Distribution Time (i) declares a dividend on the outstanding shares of Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivides any outstanding shares of Common Stock, (iii) combines any of the outstanding shares of Common Stock into a smaller number of shares or (iv) issues any shares of its capital stock in a reclassification of the Common Stock (including any such reclassification in connection with a consolidation or merger in which the Company is the continuing or surviving entity), then the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock then outstanding, or issued or delivered thereafter but prior to the Distribution Time, shall be proportionately adjusted so that the number of Rights thereafter associated with each share of Common Stock following any such event equals the result obtained by multiplying the number of Rights associated with each share of Common Stock immediately prior to such event by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately prior to the occurrence of the event and the denominator of which shall be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately following the occurrence of such event. The adjustments provided for in this Section 11(p) shall be made successively whenever such a dividend is declared or paid or such a subdivision, combination or reclassification is effected. If an event occurs that would require an adjustment under Section 11(a)(ii) and this Section 11(p), the adjustments provided for in this Section 11(p) shall be in addition and prior to any adjustment required pursuant to Section 11(a)(ii). |
Section 12. Certificate of Adjusted Exercise Price or Number of Shares. Whenever an adjustment is made as provided in Section 11 or Section 13, the Company shall (a) promptly prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment and a brief, reasonably detailed statement of the facts and computations accounting for such adjustment, (b) promptly file with the Rights Agent, and with each transfer agent for the Preferred Stock and the Common Stock, a copy of such certificate and (c) if a Distribution Time has occurred, mail a brief summary thereof to each holder of a Rights Certificate in accordance with Section 26. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, the failure of the Company to make such certification, give such notice or mail such summary shall not affect the validity of or the force or effect of the requirement for such adjustment. Any adjustment to be made pursuant to Section 11 or Section 13 shall be effective as of the date of the event giving rise to such adjustment. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying on any such certificate and on any adjustment therein contained and shall have no duty or liability with respect to, and shall not be deemed to have knowledge of, such adjustment unless and until it shall have received such certificate.
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Section 13. Consolidation, Merger or Sale or Transfer of Assets, Cash Flow or Earning Power.
| (a) | In the event that, following the Stock Acquisition Date, directly or indirectly, (i) the Company shall consolidate with, or merge with and into, any other Person (other than a direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction that complies with Section 11(o)), and the Company is not the continuing or surviving entity of such consolidation or merger, (ii) any Person (other than a direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction that complies with Section 11(o)) shall engage in a share exchange with or shall consolidate with, or merge with or into, the Company, and the Company is the continuing or surviving entity of such consolidation or merger and, in connection with such share exchange, consolidation or merger, all or part of the outstanding shares of Common Stock is converted into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other Person or cash or any other property or (iii) the Company sells or otherwise transfers (or one or more of its direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiaries sells or otherwise transfers) in one transaction or a series of related transactions, assets, cash flow or earning power aggregating to fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any Person or Persons (other than the Company or any of its direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)) (any event described in clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of this Section 13(a) following the Stock Acquisition Date, a “Flip-over Event”), then, and in each such case, proper provision shall be made so that: (A) each holder of a Right, except as provided in Section 7(e), shall have the right to receive upon the exercise thereof at the then-current Exercise Price in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, in lieu of a number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock, such number of validly authorized and issued, fully paid, non-assessable and freely tradeable shares of Flip-over Stock, not subject to any liens, encumbrances, rights of first refusal or other adverse claims, as shall be equal to the result obtained by (1) multiplying the then-current Exercise Price by the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right is exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Flip-over Event (or, if a Flip-in Event has occurred prior to the first occurrence of a Flip-over Event, multiplying the number of such one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock for which a Right was exercisable immediately prior to the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event by the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such first occurrence) and (2) dividing that product (which, following the first occurrence of a Flip-over Event, shall be referred to as the “Exercise Price” for each Right and for all purposes of this Agreement) by fifty percent (50%) of the Current Market Price (determined pursuant to Section 11(d)(i)) per share of the Flip-over Stock on the date of consummation of such Flip-over Event; (B) such Flip-over Party shall thereafter be liable for, and shall assume, by virtue of such Flip-over Event, all the obligations and duties of the Company pursuant to this Agreement; (C) the term “Company” shall thereafter be deemed to refer to such Flip-over Party, it being specifically intended that the provisions of Section 11 shall apply only to such Flip-over Party following the first occurrence of a Flip-over Event; (D) such Flip-over Party shall take such steps (including the reservation of a sufficient number of shares of Flip-over Stock) in connection with the consummation of any such transaction as may be necessary to assure that the provisions hereof shall thereafter be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be, in relation to its shares of Common Stock thereafter deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights; and (E) the provisions of Section 11(a)(ii) shall be of no effect following the first occurrence of any Flip-over Event. |
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| (b) | “Flip-over Party” shall mean: |
| (i) | in the case of any transaction described in Section 13(a)(i) or (ii), (A) the Person (including the Company as successor thereto or as the surviving entity) that is the issuer of any securities into which shares of Common Stock are converted or exchanged in such share exchange, consolidation or merger, or, if there is more than one such issuer, the issuer whose common stock (or similar equity interest) has the highest aggregate market value; and (B) if no securities are so issued, (1) the Person that is the other party to such merger, if such Person survives the merger, or, if there is more than one such Person, the Person whose common stock (or similar equity interest) has the highest aggregate market value, (2) if the Person that is the other party to such share exchange, consolidation or merger does not survive the merger, the Person that does survive the merger (including the Company, if it survives) or (3) the Person resulting from the consolidation; and |
| (ii) | in the case of any transaction described in Section 13(a)(iii), the Person that is the party receiving the greatest portion of the assets, cash flow or earning power transferred pursuant to such transaction or transactions, or, if each Person that is a party to such transaction or transactions receives the same portion of the assets, cash flow or earning power transferred pursuant to such transaction or transactions or if the Person receiving the greatest portion of the assets, cash flow or earning power cannot be determined, whichever such Person the common stock (or similar equity interest) of which has the highest aggregate market value; |
provided, however, that in any such case described in the foregoing clause (i) or (ii) of this Section 13(b), (x) if the common stock (or similar equity interest) of such Person is not at such time and has not been continuously over the preceding twelve (12) month period registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and such Person is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of another Person, the common stock (or similar equity interest) of which is and has been so registered, “Flip-over Party” shall refer to such other Person; (y) in case such Person is a Subsidiary, directly or indirectly, of more than one Person, the common stock (or similar equity interest) of two or more of which are and have been so registered, “Flip-over Party” shall refer to whichever of such Persons is the issuer of the common stock (or similar equity interest) having the greatest aggregate market value; and (z) if the common stock (or similar equity interest) of such Person is not at such time and has not been so registered and such Person is owned, directly or indirectly, by a joint venture formed by two or more Persons that are not owned, directly or indirectly, by the same Person, the rules set forth in the foregoing clauses (x) and (y) will apply to each of the chains of ownership having an interest in such joint venture as if such Person were a Subsidiary of both or all of such joint ventures, and the Flip-over Parties in each such chain shall bear the obligations set forth in this Section 13 in the same ratio as their direct or indirect interests in such Person bear to the total of such interests.
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| (c) | The Company shall not consummate any Flip-over Event unless the Flip-over Party has a sufficient number of authorized shares of Flip-over Stock (or similar equity interest) which have not been issued or reserved for issuance to permit the exercise in full of the Rights in accordance with this Section 13 and unless prior thereto the Company and such Flip-over Party shall have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement providing for the terms set forth in Section 13(a) and Section 13(b) and further providing that, as soon as practicable after the date of any exchange, consolidation, merger, sale or transfer of assets mentioned in Section 13(a), the Flip-over Party, at its own expense, shall: |
| (i) | if required to file a registration statement under the Act with respect to the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights, (A) prepare and file such registration statement on an appropriate form and (B) use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to become effective as soon as practicable after such filing and remain effective (with a prospectus at all times meeting the requirements of the Act) until the Expiration Time; |
| (ii) | qualify or register the Rights and take such action as may be required to ensure that any such acquisition of such securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights under blue sky laws of each jurisdiction, as may be necessary or appropriate; |
| (iii) | deliver to holders of the Rights historical financial statements for the Flip-over Party and each of its Affiliates that comply in all respects with the requirements for registration on Form 10 under the Exchange Act; |
| (iv) | use its best efforts to obtain any and all necessary regulatory approvals as may be required with respect to the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights; |
| (v) | use its best efforts, if the common stock of the Flip-over Party is listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq, the NYSE or on another national securities exchange, to list or admit to trading (or continue the listing of) the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights on the Nasdaq, the NYSE or on such securities exchange, or if the securities of the Flip-over Party that may be acquired upon exercise of the Rights are not listed or admitted to trading on the Nasdaq, the NYSE or on another national securities exchange, to cause the Rights and the securities purchasable upon exercise of the Rights to be authorized for quotation on any other system then in use; and |
| (vi) | obtain waivers of any rights of first refusal or preemptive rights in respect of the common stock of the Flip-over Party subject to purchase upon exercise of outstanding Rights. |
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| (d) | In case the Flip-over Party has, at any relevant time (including the time of the Flip-over Event or immediately thereafter), a provision in any of its authorized securities or in its certificate or articles of incorporation, bylaws or other instrument governing its affairs, or any other agreements or arrangements, which provision would have the effect of (i) causing such Flip-over Party to issue (other than to holders of Rights pursuant to this Section 13), in connection with, or as a consequence of, the consummation of a Flip-over Event, shares of common stock (or similar equity interests) of such Flip-over Party at less than the then Current Market Price or securities exercisable for, or convertible into, common stock of such Flip-over Party at less than such then Current Market Price; (ii) providing for any special payment, tax or similar provision in connection with the issuance of common stock of such Flip-over Party pursuant to this Section 13 or (iii) otherwise eliminating or substantially diminishing the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights in connection with, or as a consequence of, a Flip-over Event, then in each such case, the Company may not consummate any such Flip-over Event unless prior thereto, the Company and such Flip-over Party have executed and delivered to the Rights Agent a supplemental agreement providing that the provision in question of such Flip-over Party has been cancelled, waived or amended, or that the authorized securities have been redeemed, so that the applicable provision will have no effect in connection with, or as a consequence of, the consummation of such Flip-over Event. |
| (e) | The Company covenants and agrees that it shall not, at any time after a Flip-in Event, enter into any transaction of the type described in Section 13(a)(i) through Section 13(a)(iii) if (i) at the time of or immediately after such transaction there are any rights, warrants or other instruments or securities outstanding or agreements in effect which would substantially diminish or otherwise eliminate the benefits intended to be afforded by the Rights; (ii) prior to, simultaneously with or immediately after such transaction, the stockholders of the Person who constitutes, or would constitute, the Flip-over Party for purposes of Section 13(b) have received a distribution of Rights previously owned by such Person or any Related Person thereof or (iii) the form or nature of organization of the Flip-over Party would preclude or limit the exercisability of the Rights. |
| (f) | Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event of any merger or acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to a merger or other acquisition agreement between the Company and any Person (or one or more of such Person’s Related Persons), which agreement has been approved by the Board prior to any Person becoming an Acquiring Person, this Agreement and the rights of holders of Rights hereunder shall be terminated in accordance with Section 7(a). |
| (g) | The provisions of this Section 13 shall similarly apply to successive exchanges, consolidations, mergers, sales or other transfers. In the event that a Flip-over Event occurs at any time after the occurrence of a Flip-in Event, the Rights that have not theretofore been exercised shall thereafter become exercisable in the manner described in Section 13(a). |
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Section 14. Fractional Rights and Fractional Shares.
| (a) | The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of Rights, except prior to the Distribution Time as provided in Section 11, or to distribute Rights Certificates which evidence fractional Rights. In lieu of such fractional Rights, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional Rights would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole Right. For purposes of this Section 14(a), the current market value of a whole Right shall be the Closing Price of the Rights for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date on which such fractional Rights would have been otherwise issuable. |
| (b) | The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions that are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock) upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Preferred Stock (other than fractions that are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock). Fractions of shares of Preferred Stock in integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts pursuant to an appropriate agreement between the Company and a depositary selected by it; provided, however, that such agreement shall provide that the holders of such depositary receipts shall have all the rights, privileges and preferences to which they are entitled as Beneficial Owners of the shares represented by such depositary receipts. In lieu of fractional shares of Preferred Stock that are not integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock. For purposes of this Section 14(b), the current market value of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock shall be one one-thousandth of the Closing Price of a share of Preferred Stock for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise. |
| (c) | Following the occurrence of a Triggering Event, the Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock, Common Stock Equivalents or other securities upon exercise of the Rights or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Common Stock, Common Stock Equivalents or other securities. In lieu of fractional shares of Common Stock, Common Stock Equivalents or other securities, the Company shall pay to the registered holders of Rights Certificates at the time such Rights are exercised as herein provided an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of one share of Common Stock, Common Stock Equivalents or such other securities. For purposes of this Section 14(c), the current market value of one share of Common Stock or other security (other than a Common Stock Equivalent) shall be the Closing Price of one share of Common Stock or such other security, as applicable, for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise, and the current market value of a Common Stock Equivalent shall be deemed to equal the Closing Price of one share of Common Stock for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of such exercise. |
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| (d) | The holder of a Right by the acceptance of the Rights expressly waives such holder’s right to receive any fractional Rights or any fractional shares upon exercise of a Right, except as permitted by this Section 14. |
| (e) | Whenever a payment for fractional Rights or fractional shares is to be made by the Rights Agent under this Agreement, the Company shall (i) promptly prepare and deliver to the Rights Agent a certificate setting forth in reasonable detail the facts related to such payment and the prices or formulas utilized in calculating such payments and (ii) provide sufficient monies to the Rights Agent in the form of fully collected funds to make such payments. The Rights Agent shall be fully protected in relying upon such a certificate and has no duty with respect to, and will not be deemed to have knowledge of, any payment for fractional Rights or fractional shares under any Section of this Agreement relating to the payment of fractional Rights or fractional shares unless and until the Rights Agent has received such a certificate and sufficient monies. |
Section 15. Rights of Action. All rights of action in respect of this Agreement, other than rights of action vested in the Rights Agent pursuant to the terms of this Agreement, are vested in the respective registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Time, the registered holders of the Common Stock); and any registered holder of any Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Time, any registered holder of shares of Common Stock), without the consent of the Rights Agent or of the holder of any other Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Time, of the Common Stock), may, in such holder’s own behalf and for such holder’s own benefit, enforce, and may institute and maintain any suit, action or proceeding against the Company or any other Person to enforce, or otherwise act in respect of, such holder’s right to exercise the Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate in the manner provided in such Rights Certificate and in this Agreement. Without limiting the foregoing or any remedies available to the holders of Rights, it is specifically acknowledged that the holders of Rights would not have an adequate remedy at law for any breach of this Agreement by the Company and shall be entitled to specific performance of the obligations hereunder and injunctive relief against actual or threatened violations of the obligations of the Company subject to this Agreement.
Section 16. Agreement of Rights Holders. Every holder of a Right, by accepting such Right, consents and agrees with the Company and the Rights Agent and with every holder of a Right that:
| (a) | prior to the Distribution Time, the Rights shall be transferable only in connection with the transfer of Common Stock; |
| (b) | after the Distribution Time, the Rights Certificates shall be transferable only on the registry books of the Rights Agent if surrendered at the offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purposes, duly endorsed or accompanied by a proper instrument of transfer and with the appropriate forms and certificates properly completed and duly executed, accompanied by a Signature Guarantee and such other documentation as the Rights Agent may reasonably request; |
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| (c) | subject to Section 6(a) and Section 7(f), the Company and the Rights Agent may deem and treat the Person in whose name a Rights Certificate (or, prior to the Distribution Time, any associated Common Stock certificate) is registered as the absolute owner thereof and of the Rights evidenced thereby (notwithstanding any notations of ownership or writing on the Rights Certificates or any associated Common Stock certificates made by anyone other than the Company or the Rights Agent) for all purposes whatsoever, and neither the Company nor the Rights Agent, subject to the last sentence of Section 7(e), shall be required to be affected by any notice to the contrary; and |
| (d) | notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither the Company nor the Rights Agent shall have any liability to any holder of a Right or other Person as a result of its inability to perform any of its obligations under this Agreement by reason of any preliminary or permanent injunction or other order, decree, judgment or ruling (whether interlocutory or final) issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or by a governmental, regulatory, self-regulatory or administrative agency or commission, or any statute, rule, regulation or executive order promulgated or enacted by any governmental authority, prohibiting or otherwise restraining performance of such obligation; provided, however, the Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to have any such injunction, order, decree, judgment or ruling lifted or otherwise overturned as promptly as practicable. |
Section 17. Rights Certificate Holder Not Deemed a Stockholder. No holder, as such, of any Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote, receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose to be the holder of the number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock or any other securities of the Company that may at any time be issuable upon the exercise of the Rights represented thereby, nor shall anything contained herein or in any Rights Certificate be construed to confer upon the holder of any Rights Certificate, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in Section 25), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by such Rights Certificate shall have been exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.
Section 18. Concerning the Rights Agent.
| (a) | The Company agrees to pay to the Rights Agent reasonable compensation for all services rendered by it hereunder in accordance with a fee schedule to be mutually agreed upon and, from time to time, on demand of the Rights Agent, its reasonable and documented expenses and counsel fees and disbursements and other disbursements incurred in the preparation, negotiation, execution, administration, delivery and amendment of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder. The Company also covenants and agrees to indemnify the Rights Agent for, and to hold |
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| it harmless against, any loss, liability, damage, judgment, fine, penalty, claim, demand, settlement, cost or expense (including the reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel) that may be paid, incurred or suffered by it, or to which it may become subject, without gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct on the part of the Rights Agent (which gross negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct must be determined by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction) for any action taken, suffered or omitted by the Rights Agent in connection with the execution, acceptance, administration, exercise and performance of its duties under this Agreement, including the reasonable costs and expenses of defending against any claim of liability arising therefrom, directly or indirectly, or of enforcing its rights under this Agreement. |
| (b) | The Rights Agent shall be authorized and protected and shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in connection with its acceptance and administration of this Agreement and the exercise and performance of its duties hereunder in reliance upon any Rights Certificate or certificate for Common Stock or for other securities of the Company, instrument of assignment or transfer, power of attorney, endorsement, affidavit, letter, notice, instruction, direction, consent, certificate, statement, or other paper or document believed by it to be genuine and to be duly signed, executed and, where necessary, guaranteed, verified or acknowledged, by the proper Person or Persons, or otherwise upon the advice of counsel as set forth in Section 20. The Rights Agent shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any event of which it was supposed to receive notice thereof hereunder, and the Rights Agent shall be fully protected and shall incur no liability for failing to take action in connection with any event unless and until it has received notice of such event in writing in accordance with Section 26. |
| (c) | To the extent the Company is not also a party to an action, proceeding, suit or claim against the Rights Agent concerning this Agreement or the performance by the Rights Agent of its duties hereunder, the Rights Agent shall as promptly as practicable notify the Company in accordance with Section 26 of the assertion of such action, proceeding, suit or claim against the Rights Agent after the Rights Agent has actual notice of such assertion of an action, proceeding, suit or claim or has been served with the summons or other first legal process giving information as to the nature and basis of the action, proceeding, suit or claim; provided, however, that the failure to provide such notice shall not affect the rights of the Rights Agent hereunder, except to the extent a court of competent jurisdiction determines that such failure actually prejudiced the Company. The Company shall be entitled to participate, at its own expense, in the defense of any such action, proceeding, suit or claim, if the Company so elects. The Rights Agent agrees not to settle any litigation in connection with any action, proceeding, suit or claim with respect to which it may seek indemnification from the Company without the prior written consent of the Company, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed. |
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| (d) | The provisions of this Section 18 and Section 20 shall survive the termination of this Agreement, the resignation, replacement or removal of the Rights Agent and the exercise, termination and expiration of the Rights. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, in no event shall the Rights Agent be liable for special, punitive, incidental, indirect or consequential loss or damage of any kind whatsoever, even if the Rights Agent has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage and regardless of the form of the action. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, any liability of the Rights Agent under this Agreement shall be limited to the amount of fees (but not including any reimbursed costs) paid by the Company to the Rights Agent during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event for which recovery from the Rights Agent is being sought. |
Section 19. Merger or Consolidation or Change of Name of Rights Agent.
| (a) | Any Person into which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated, or any Person resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent shall be a party, or any Person succeeding to the stock transfer or other shareholder services business of the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent, shall be the successor to the Rights Agent under this Agreement without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto; provided, however, that such Person would be eligible for appointment as a successor Rights Agent under Section 21. The purchase of all or substantially all of the Rights Agent’s assets employed in the performance of the transfer agent activities shall be deemed a merger or consolidation for purposes of this Section 19. In case at the time such successor Rights Agent succeeds to the agency created by this Agreement, any of the Rights Certificates has been countersigned but not delivered, any such successor Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature of a predecessor Rights Agent and deliver such Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case at the time any of the Rights Certificates has not been countersigned, any successor Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in the name of the predecessor or in the name of the successor Rights Agent; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement. |
| (b) | In case at any time the name of the Rights Agent is changed, and at such time any of the Rights Certificates has been countersigned but not delivered, the Rights Agent may adopt the countersignature under its prior name and deliver Rights Certificates so countersigned; and in case, at that time, any of the Rights Certificates has not been countersigned, the Rights Agent may countersign such Rights Certificates either in its prior name or in its changed name; and in all such cases such Rights Certificates shall have the full force provided in the Rights Certificates and in this Agreement. |
Section 20. Duties of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent undertakes to perform only the duties and obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, and no implied duties or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall perform such duties and obligations upon the following terms and conditions, by all of which the Company and the holders of Rights, by their acceptance thereof, shall be bound:
| (a) | The Rights Agent may consult with legal counsel selected by it (who may be legal counsel for the Rights Agent or the Company or an employee of the Rights Agent), and the advice or opinion of such counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent, and the Rights Agent shall have no liability for or in respect of, any action taken or omitted by it in the absence of bad faith and in accordance with such advice or opinion. |
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| (b) | Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement the Rights Agent deems it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter (including the identity of any Acquiring Person and the determination of the Current Market Price) be proved or established by the Company prior to taking, suffering or omitting to take any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a certificate signed by a person believed by the Rights Agent to be the Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer or Secretary of the Company, or any other authorized officer of the Company, and delivered to the Rights Agent; and such certificate shall be full and complete authorization and protection to the Rights Agent, and the Rights Agent shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it in the absence of bad faith by it under the provisions of this Agreement in reliance upon such certificate. The Rights Agent shall have no duty to act without such certificate as set forth in this Section 20(b). |
| (c) | Subject to Section 18(d), the Rights Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own and its employee’s, directors’, and officers’ gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct (which gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct must be determined by a final, non-appealable judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction). |
| (d) | The Rights Agent shall not be liable for or by reason of any of the statements of fact or recitals contained in this Agreement or in the Rights Certificates or be required to verify the same (except as to its countersignature on such Rights Certificates), but all such statements and recitals are and shall be deemed to have been made by the Company only. |
| (e) | The Rights Agent shall not have any liability for or be under any responsibility in respect of the validity of this Agreement or the execution and delivery hereof (except the due execution hereof by the Rights Agent) or in respect of the legality or validity or execution of any Rights Certificate (except its countersignature thereof); nor shall it be liable or responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Rights Certificate; nor shall it be liable or responsible for any adjustment or calculation required under Section 11, Section 13, Section 14 or Section 24 or responsible for the manner, method or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment or calculation (except with respect to the exercise of Rights evidenced by Rights Certificates subject to the terms and conditions hereof after actual notice of any such adjustment); nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Rights Certificate or as to whether any shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock will, when so issued, be validly authorized and issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
| (f) | The Company agrees that it will perform, execute, acknowledge and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments and assurances as may reasonably be required or requested by the Rights Agent for the carrying out or performing by the Rights Agent of the provisions of this Agreement. |
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| (g) | The Rights Agent is hereby authorized and directed to accept instructions with respect to the performance of its duties hereunder from any person reasonably believed by the Rights Agent to be the Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer or Secretary of the Company, or any other authorized officer of the Company, and to apply to such officers for advice or instructions in connection with its duties under this Agreement, and such instructions shall provide full authorization and protection to the Rights Agent and the Rights Agent shall not be liable for, and it shall incur no liability for or in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it in the absence of bad faith in accordance with instructions of any such officer. Any application by the Rights Agent for written instructions from the Company may, at the option of the Rights Agent, set forth in writing any action proposed to be taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by the Rights Agent under this Agreement and the date on or after which such action shall be taken or such omission shall be effective. The Rights Agent shall be fully authorized and protected in relying upon the most recent instructions received from any such officer and shall not be liable for any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by the Rights Agent in accordance with a proposal included in any such application on or after the date specified in such application (which date shall not be less than five Business Days after the date any such officer of the Company actually receives such application, unless any such officer has consented in writing to an earlier date) unless, prior to taking any such action (or the effective date, in the case of an omission), the Rights Agent has received written instructions in response to such application specifying the action to be taken or omitted. |
| (h) | The Rights Agent and any stockholder, director, Affiliate, officer or employee of the Rights Agent may buy, sell or deal in any of the Rights or other securities of the Company or become pecuniarily interested in any transaction in which the Company may be interested, or contract with or lend money to the Company or otherwise act as fully and freely as though it were not Rights Agent under this Agreement. Nothing herein shall preclude the Rights Agent from acting in any other capacity for the Company or for any other Person. |
| (i) | The Rights Agent may execute and exercise any of the rights or powers hereby vested in it or perform any duty hereunder either itself or by or through its attorneys or agents, and the Rights Agent shall not be answerable or accountable for any act, omission, default, neglect or misconduct of any such attorneys or agents or for any loss to the Company or any other Person resulting from any such act, omission, default, neglect or misconduct, absent gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct in the selection and continued employment thereof (which gross negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct must be determined by a final, non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction). |
| (j) | No provision of this Agreement shall require the Rights Agent to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties hereunder or in the exercise of its rights or powers if the Rights Agent believes that repayment of such funds or adequate indemnification against such risk or liability is not reasonably assured to it. |
| (k) | If, with respect to any Rights Certificate surrendered to the Rights Agent for exercise or transfer, the certificate attached to the form of assignment or form of election to purchase, as the case may be, has either not been properly completed or indicates an affirmative response to subparagraph (1) or (2) thereof, the Rights Agent shall not take any further action with respect to such requested exercise or transfer without first consulting with the Company; provided, however, that the Rights Agent shall not be liable for any delays arising from the duties under this Section 20(k). |
| (l) | The Rights Agent shall not be liable or responsible for any failure of the Company to comply with any of its obligations relating to this Agreement or any registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including obligations under applicable regulation or law. |
| (m) | The Rights Agent shall not have any duty or responsibility in the case of the receipt of any written demand from any holder of Rights with respect to any action or default by the Company, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any duty or responsibility to initiate or attempt to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise or to make any demand upon the Company. |
| (n) | The Rights Agent shall have no liability or responsibility to the Company, any holders of Rights or any other Person for interest or earnings on any monies held by the Rights Agent pursuant to this Agreement. |
| (o) | The Rights Agent shall not be required to take notice or be deemed to have notice of any event or condition hereunder, including any event or condition that may require action by the Rights Agent, unless the Rights Agent shall be specifically notified in writing of such event or condition by the Company, and all notices or other instruments required by this Agreement to be delivered to the Rights Agent |
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| must, in order to be effective, be received by the Rights Agent as specified in Section 26 hereof, and in the absence of such notice so delivered, the Rights Agent may conclusively assume no such event or condition exists. |
| (p) | The Rights Agent may rely on and be fully authorized and protected in acting or failing to act upon (i) any guaranty of signature by an “eligible guarantor institution” that is a member or participant in the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program or other comparable “signature guarantee program” or insurance program in addition to, or in substitution for, the foregoing; or (ii) any law, act, regulation or any interpretation of the same. |
| (q) | In the event the Rights Agent believes any ambiguity or uncertainty exists hereunder or in any notice, instruction, direction, request or other communication, paper or document received by the Rights Agent hereunder, the Rights Agent, may (upon notice to the Company of such ambiguity or uncertainty), in its sole discretion, refrain from taking any action, and shall be fully protected and shall not be liable in any way to the Company, the holder of any Rights Certificate or any other Person for refraining from taking such action, unless the Rights Agent receives written instructions signed by the Company or any officer thereof that eliminate such ambiguity or uncertainty to the satisfaction of Rights Agent. |
Section 21. Change of Rights Agent. The Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent may resign and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement upon thirty (30) days’ notice in writing to the Company, which resignation will become effective immediately upon the expiration of the notice period. In the event any transfer agency relationship in effect between the Company and the Rights Agent terminates, the Rights Agent will be deemed to have resigned automatically and be discharged from its duties under this Agreement as of the effective date of such termination, and the Company shall be responsible for sending any required notice. The Company may remove the Rights Agent or any successor Rights Agent upon no less than thirty (30) days’ notice, which removal will become effective immediately upon the expiration of the notice period, in writing, mailed to the Rights Agent or successor Rights Agent, as the case may be, and to each transfer agent of the Common Stock and the Preferred Stock, by trackable mail, in the event the Rights Agent or one of its Affiliates is not also the transfer agent for the Company, and, if such removal occurs after the Distribution Time, transmitted to the holders of the Rights Certificates in accordance with Section 26. If the Rights Agent resigns or is removed or otherwise becomes incapable of acting, the Company shall appoint a successor to the Rights Agent. If the Company fails to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after giving notice of such removal or after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the resigning or incapacitated Rights Agent or by any registered holder of a Rights Certificate (who shall, with such notice, submit such holder’s Rights Certificate for inspection by the Company), then any registered holder of any Rights Certificate may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a new Rights Agent. Any successor Rights Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such a court, shall be (a) a Person organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or of any state of the United States (so long as such Person is authorized to do business as a banking institution in such state), in good standing, that is authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust, stock transfer or stockholder services powers and is subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority and that has at the time of its appointment as Rights Agent, along with its Affiliates, a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000 or (b) an Affiliate of such Person. After appointment, the successor Rights Agent shall be vested with the same powers, rights, duties and responsibilities as if it had been originally named as Rights Agent under this Agreement without further act or deed; but the predecessor Rights Agent shall deliver and transfer to the successor Rights Agent any property at the time held by it hereunder, and execute and deliver any further reasonable assurance, conveyance, act or deed necessary for the purpose, but such predecessor Rights Agent shall not be required to make any additional expenditure or assume any additional liability in connection with the foregoing. Not later than the effective date of any such appointment, the Company shall file notice thereof in writing with the predecessor Rights Agent and each transfer agent of the Common Stock and the Preferred Stock, and, if such appointment occurs after the Distribution Time, transmit a notice thereof in writing to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates in accordance with Section 26. Failure to give any notice provided for in this Section 21 or any defect therein shall not affect the legality or validity of the resignation or removal of the Rights Agent or the appointment of the successor Rights Agent, as the case may be.
Section 22. Issuance of New Rights Certificates. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Rights to the contrary, the Company may, at its option, issue new Rights Certificates evidencing Rights in such form as may be approved by its Board to reflect any adjustment or change in the Exercise Price and the number or kind or class of shares or other securities or property purchasable under the Rights Certificates made in accordance with this Agreement. In addition, in connection with the issuance or sale of shares of Common Stock following the Distribution Time and prior to the redemption or expiration of the Rights, the Company (a) shall, with respect to shares of Common Stock so issued or sold pursuant to the exercise of stock options or under any employee plan or arrangement, granted or awarded prior to the Distribution Time, or upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of securities hereinafter issued
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by the Company, and (b) may, in any other case, if deemed necessary or appropriate by the Board, issue Rights Certificates representing an appropriate number of Rights in connection with such issuance or sale; provided, however, that (i) no such Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, the Company shall be advised by counsel that such issuance would create a significant risk of material adverse tax consequences to the Company or the Person to whom such Rights Certificate would be issued, and (ii) no such Rights Certificate shall be issued if, and to the extent that, appropriate adjustment shall otherwise have been made in lieu of the issuance thereof.
Section 23. Redemption and Termination.
| (a) | The Board may, at its option, at any time prior to the earlier of (i) the Close of Business on the tenth (10th) day following the Stock Acquisition Date (or if the Stock Acquisition Date shall have occurred prior to the Record Date, the Close of Business on the tenth (10th) day following the Record Date) or (ii) the Final Expiration Time (such time being hereinafter referred to as the “Redemption Period”), cause the Company to redeem all but not less than all of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.001 per Right, as such amount may be appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such redemption price being hereinafter referred to as the “Redemption Price”). Notwithstanding anything contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights shall not be exercisable after the first occurrence of a Flip-in Event until such time as the Company’s right of redemption hereunder has expired. The Company may, at its option, pay the Redemption Price in cash, shares of Common Stock (based on the Current Market Price of the Common Stock at the time of redemption) or any other form of consideration deemed appropriate by the Board. The redemption of the Rights by the Board may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board in its sole discretion may establish. |
| (b) | Immediately upon the action of the Board ordering the redemption of the Rights pursuant to Section 23(a) or such later time as the Board may establish for the effectiveness of such redemption, evidence of which shall have been filed with the Rights Agent and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right thereafter of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the Redemption Price for each Right so held. Within ten (10) days after the action of the Board ordering the redemption of the Rights, the Company shall give notice of such redemption to the Rights Agent and the holders of the then outstanding Rights by mailing such notice to the Rights Agent and to all such holders at each holder’s last address as it appears upon the registry books of the Rights Agent or, prior to the Distribution Time, on the registry books of the transfer agent for the Common Stock; provided, however, that the failure to give, or any defect in, such notice shall not affect the validity of such redemption. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of redemption shall state the method by which the payment of the Redemption Price will be made. |
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Section 24. Exchange.
| (a) | The Board may, at its option, at any time after any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, exchange all or part of the then outstanding and exercisable Rights (which shall not include Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e)) for shares of Common Stock at an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock per Right, appropriately adjusted to reflect any stock split, reverse stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction occurring after the date hereof (such exchange ratio being hereinafter referred to as the “Exchange Ratio”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board shall not be empowered to effect such exchange at any time after any Acquiring Person, together with all of its Related Persons, becomes the Beneficial Owner of fifty percent (50%) or more of the Common Stock then outstanding. From and after the occurrence of a Flip-over Event, any rights that theretofore have not been exchanged pursuant to this Section 24(a) shall thereafter be exercisable only in accordance with Section 13 and may not be exchanged pursuant to this Section 24(a). Before effecting an exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Board may direct the Company to enter into a trust agreement in such form and with such terms as the Board shall then approve (the “Trust Agreement”). If the Board so directs, the Company shall enter into the Trust Agreement and shall issue to the trust created by such agreement (the “Trust”) all or some (as designated by the Board) of the shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the exchange, and all or some (as designated by the Board) holders of Rights entitled to receive shares pursuant to the exchange shall be entitled to receive such shares (and any dividends paid or distributions made thereon after the date on which such shares are deposited in the Trust) only from the Trust and solely upon compliance with the relevant terms and provisions of the Trust Agreement. |
| (b) | Immediately upon the effectiveness of the action of the Board ordering the exchange of any Rights pursuant to Section 24(a) and without any further action and without any notice, the right to exercise such Rights shall terminate and the only right thereafter of a holder of any such Rights shall be to receive that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of such Rights held by such holder multiplied by the Exchange Ratio. The Company shall promptly give public notice (with prompt written notice thereof to the Rights Agent) of any exchange. The Company promptly thereafter shall mail a notice of any such exchange to all of the holders of such Rights at their last addresses as they appear upon the registry books of the Rights Agent. Any notice which is mailed in the manner herein provided shall be deemed given, whether or not the holder receives the notice. Each such notice of exchange shall state the method by which the exchange of shares of Common Stock for Rights shall be effected and, in the event of any partial exchange, the number of Rights which will be exchanged. Any partial exchange shall be effected pro rata based on the number of Rights (other than Rights which have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e)) held by each holder of Rights. Prior to effecting any exchange and registering shares of Common Stock in any Person’s name, including any nominee or transferee of a Person, the Company may require (or cause the trustee of the Trust to require), as a condition thereof, that any holder of Rights provide evidence, including the identity of the Beneficial Owners thereof and their Related Persons (or former Beneficial Owners thereof and their Related Persons) as the Company reasonably requests in order to determine if such |
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| Rights are null and void. If any Person fails to comply with such request, the Company shall be entitled conclusively to deem the Rights formerly held by such Person to be null and void pursuant to Section 7(e). No failure to give, or any defect in, any notice provided under this Section 24(b) shall affect the validity of any exchange. Any shares of Common Stock or other securities issued at the direction of the Board in connection herewith shall be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock or of such other securities, as the case may be. |
| (c) | Upon declaring an exchange pursuant to this Section 24, or as promptly as reasonably practicable thereafter, the Company may implement such procedures as it deems appropriate, in its sole discretion, for the purpose of ensuring that the Common Stock (or such other consideration) issuable upon an exchange pursuant to this Section 24 is not received by holders of Rights that have become null and void pursuant to Section 7(e). |
| (d) | In any exchange pursuant to this Section 24, the Company, at its option, may substitute shares of Preferred Stock (or Equivalent Preferred Stock) for shares of Common Stock exchangeable for Rights, at the initial rate of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (or Equivalent Preferred Stock) for each share of Common Stock, as appropriately adjusted to reflect adjustments in the voting rights of the Preferred Stock pursuant to the terms thereof, so that the fraction of a share of Preferred Stock delivered in lieu of each share of Common Stock shall have the same voting rights as one share of Common Stock. |
| (e) | In the event that there are not sufficient shares of Common Stock issued but not outstanding or authorized but unissued to permit any exchange of Rights as contemplated in accordance with this Section 24, the Company shall take all such actions as may be necessary to authorize additional shares of Common Stock for issuance upon exchange of the Rights. In the event the Company, after good faith effort, is unable to take all such actions as may be necessary to authorize such additional shares of Common Stock, the Company shall substitute, for each share of Common Stock that would otherwise be issuable upon exchange of a Right, a number of shares of Preferred Stock or fraction thereof such that the current per share market price of one share of Preferred Stock multiplied by such number or fraction is equal to the current per share market price of one share of Common Stock as of the date of issuance of such shares of Preferred Stock or fraction thereof. |
| (f) | The Company shall not be required to issue fractions of shares of Common Stock or to distribute certificates which evidence fractional shares of Common Stock. In lieu of such fractional shares of Common Stock, there shall be paid to the registered holders of the Rights Certificates with regard to which such fractional shares of Common Stock would otherwise be issuable, an amount in cash equal to the same fraction of the current market value of a whole share of Common Stock. For the purposes of this Section 24(f), the current market value of a whole share of Common Stock shall be the Closing Price of a share of Common Stock for the Trading Day immediately prior to the date of exchange pursuant to this Section 24. |
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Section 25. Notice of Certain Events.
| (a) | In the event the Company proposes, at any time after the earlier of the Distribution Time or the Stock Acquisition Date, (i) to pay any dividend payable in stock of any class or series to the holders of Preferred Stock or to make any other distribution to the holders of Preferred Stock (other than a regular periodic cash dividend out of earnings or retained earnings of the Company), (ii) to offer to the holders of Preferred Stock rights or warrants to subscribe for or to purchase any additional shares of Preferred Stock or shares of stock of any class or any other securities, rights or options, (iii) to effect any reclassification of its Preferred Stock (other than a reclassification involving only the subdivision of outstanding shares of Preferred Stock), (iv) to effect any consolidation or merger into or with any other Person (other than a direct or indirect, wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company in a transaction which complies with Section 11(o)), or to effect any sale or other transfer (or to permit one or more of its Subsidiaries to effect any sale or other transfer), in one transaction or a series of related transactions, of fifty percent (50%) or more of the assets, cash flow or earning power of the Company and its Subsidiaries (taken as a whole) to any other Person or Persons (other than the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in one or more transactions each of which complies with Section 11(o)), or (v) to effect the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, then, in each such case, the Company shall give to the Rights Agent and to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and in accordance with Section 26, a notice of such proposed action, which shall specify the record date for the purposes of such stock dividend, distribution of rights or warrants, or the date on which such reclassification, consolidation, merger, sale, transfer, liquidation, dissolution or winding up is to take place and the date of participation therein by the holders of the shares of Preferred Stock, if any such date is to be fixed, and such notice shall be so given in the case of any action covered by the foregoing clause (i) or (ii) at least twenty (20) days prior to the record date for determining holders of the shares of Preferred Stock for purposes of such action, and in the case of any such other action, at least twenty (20) days prior to the date of the taking of such proposed action or the date of participation therein by the holders of the shares of Preferred Stock, whichever shall be the earlier; provided, however, that no such action shall be taken pursuant to this Section 25(a) that will or would conflict with any provision of the Charter; provided further that no such notice is required pursuant to this Section 25 if any Subsidiary of the Company effects a consolidation or merger with or into, or effects a sale or other transfer of assets or earning power to, any other Subsidiary of the Company. |
| (b) | In case a Flip-in Event occurs, then, in any such case, (i) the Company shall as soon as practicable thereafter give to each holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible and in accordance with Section 26, a notice of the occurrence of such event, which shall specify the event and the consequences of the event to holders of Rights under Section 11(a)(ii), and (ii) all references to Preferred Stock in Section 25(a) shall be deemed thereafter to refer to Common Stock and/or, if appropriate, other securities. |
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| (c) | In case any Flip-over Event occurs, the Company shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, give to each registered holder of a Rights Certificate, to the extent feasible, and to the Rights Agent in accordance with Section 26, a written notice of the occurrence of such event, which notice shall describe such event and the consequences of such event to holders of Rights under Section 13(a). |
Section 26. Notices. Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Rights Agent or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given or made if in writing and sent by first-class or express United States mail, FedEx or United Parcel Service or any other nationally recognized courier service, postage prepaid, (or by email, if receipt is confirmed electronically) addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Rights Agent) as follows:
Xponential Fitness, Inc.
17877 Von Karman Ave., Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92614
Attention: Gavin O’Connor
Email: gavin@xponential.com
with a copy (which shall not constitute notice) to:
Paul Hastings LLP
200 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10166
Attention: Eduardo Gallardo; Jon Kubek; Dmitriy Molchanov
Email: eduardogallardo@paulhastings.com; jonkubek@paulhastings.com;
dmitriymolchanov@paulhastings.com
and
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
One New York Plaza
New York, New York 10004
Attention: Philip Richter;Erica Jaffe
Email: Philip.Richter@friedfrank.com;
Erica.Jaffe@friedfrank.com
Subject to Section 21, any notice or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or by the holder of any Rights Certificate to or on the Rights Agent shall be sufficiently given or made if in writing and sent by first-class or express United States mail, FedEx or United Parcel Service or any other nationally recognized courier service, postage prepaid, (or by facsimile transmission or email, if receipt is confirmed telephonically) addressed (until another address is filed in writing with the Company) as follows:
| Computershare Trust Company, N.A. 150 Royall Street |
| Canton, MA 02021 |
| Attention: Client Services |
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Notices or demands authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Company or the Rights Agent to the holder of any Rights Certificate (or, if prior to the Distribution Time, to the holder of shares of Common Stock) shall be sufficiently given or made if in writing, sent by first-class or express United States mail, FedEx or United Parcel Service or any other nationally recognized courier service, postage prepaid, addressed to such holder at the address of such holder as shown on the registry books of the Company.
Section 27. Supplements and Amendments. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 27, the Company, by action of the Board, may from time to time and in its sole and absolute discretion, and the Rights Agent shall, if the Company so directs, from time to time supplement or amend this Agreement in any respect without the approval of any holders of Rights (a) for so long as the Rights are then redeemable, in any respect, and (b) from and after the time the Rights are no longer redeemable, (i) to make any changes that the Company may deem necessary or desirable that do not materially adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights (other than the Acquiring Person, any Related Person thereof or any transferee of any Acquiring Person or any Related Person thereof), (ii) to cure any ambiguity or (iii) to correct or supplement any provision contained herein that may be inconsistent with any other provision herein, including any change in order to satisfy any applicable law, rule or regulation. Without limiting the foregoing, the Company, by action of the Board, may, at any time before any Person becomes an Acquiring Person, amend this Agreement to make this Agreement inapplicable to a particular transaction by which a Person might otherwise become an Acquiring Person or to otherwise alter the terms and conditions of this Agreement as they may apply with respect to any such transaction. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company shall be entitled to adopt and implement such procedures and arrangements (including with third parties) as it may deem necessary or desirable to facilitate the exercise, exchange, trading, issuance or distribution of the Rights (and the shares of Preferred Stock issuable and deliverable upon the exercise of the Rights) as contemplated hereby and to ensure that an Acquiring Person and its Related Persons and transferees do not obtain the benefits thereof, and any amendment in respect of the foregoing shall be deemed not to adversely affect the interests of the holders of Rights. No supplement or amendment to this Agreement shall be effective unless duly executed by the Rights Agent and the Company. Any such supplement or amendment shall be evidenced by a writing signed by the Company and the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall duly execute and deliver any supplement or amendment hereto requested by the Company in writing, provided that the Company has delivered to the Rights Agent a certificate from the Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer or Secretary of the Company, or any other authorized officer of the Company, that states that the proposed supplement or amendment complies with the terms of this Agreement. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Rights Agent may, but shall not be obligated to, enter into any supplement or amendment that adversely affects the Rights Agent’s own rights, duties, immunities or obligations under this Agreement. Prior to the Distribution Time, the interests of the holders of Rights shall be deemed coincident with the interests of holders of shares of Common Stock.
Section 28. Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Rights Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns hereunder.
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Section 29. Determination and Action by the Board. The Board, or a duly authorized committee thereof, shall have the exclusive power and authority to administer this Agreement and to exercise all rights and powers specifically granted to the Board or to the Company, or as may be necessary or advisable in the administration of this Agreement, including the right and power to (a) interpret the provisions of this Agreement and (b) make all determinations deemed necessary or advisable for the administration of this Agreement (including a determination whether or not to redeem the Rights, to exchange the Rights or to amend this Agreement). Without limiting any of the rights and immunities of the Rights Agent, all such actions, calculations, interpretations and determinations (including for purposes of the following clause (ii), all omissions with respect to the foregoing) which are done or made by the Board in good faith shall (i) be final, conclusive and binding on the Company, the Rights Agent, the holders of the Rights and all other Persons and (ii) not subject the Board to any liability to the holders of the Rights (solely in such holders’ capacity as holders of the Rights), in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. The Rights Agent is entitled always to assume the Board acted in good faith and shall be fully protected and incur no liability in reliance thereon. Nothing in this Agreement shall modify the fiduciary duties of the directors to the Company and its stockholders, nor eliminate or otherwise limit the liability of the directors for breaches of fiduciary duty.
Section 30. Benefits of this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to give to any Person other than the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Time, registered holders of the Common Stock and as of the Distribution Time, the LLC Unitholder) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under this Agreement; but this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Company, the Rights Agent and the registered holders of the Rights Certificates (and, prior to the Distribution Time, registered holders of the Common Stock and as of the Distribution Time, the LLC Unitholder).
Section 31. Tax Compliance and Withholding. The Company hereby authorizes the Rights Agent to deduct from all payments disbursed by the Rights Agent to the holders of the Rights, if applicable, the tax required to be withheld pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or by any other applicable federal or state statutes in effect as of the date hereof or subsequently enacted, and to make the necessary returns and payments of such tax to the relevant taxing authority. The Company will provide withholding and reporting instructions in writing to the Rights Agent from time to time as relevant, and upon request of the Rights Agent. The Rights Agent shall have no responsibilities with respect to tax withholding, reporting or payment except as specifically instructed by the Company.
Section 32. Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement or the Rights is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement and the Rights shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated; provided, however, that notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any such term, provision, covenant or restriction is held by such court or authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable and the Board determines in its good faith judgment that severing the invalid language from this Agreement or the Rights would adversely affect the purpose or effect of this Agreement, the right of redemption set forth in Section 23 shall be reinstated and shall not expire until the Close of Business on the tenth (10th) day following the date of such determination by the Board; further provided, however, that if such excluded provision shall materially and adversely affect the rights, immunities, liabilities, duties or obligations of the Rights Agent, the Rights Agent shall be entitled to resign immediately upon written notice to the Company.
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Section 33. Governing Law; Submission to Jurisdiction. This Agreement, each Right and each Rights Certificate issued hereunder shall be deemed to be a contract made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable to contracts made and to be performed entirely within such State. The Company and each holder of Rights hereby irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or, if such court lacks subject matter jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, over any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement. The Company and each holder of Rights acknowledge that the forum designated by this Section 33 has a reasonable relation to this Agreement and to such Persons’ relationship with one another. The Company and each holder of Rights hereby waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any objection which they now or hereafter have to personal jurisdiction or to the laying of venue of any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any court referred to in this Section 33. The Company and each holder of Rights undertake not to commence any action subject to this Agreement in any forum other than the forum described in this Section 33. The Company and each holder of Rights agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, a final and non-appealable judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon such Persons.
Section 34. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed signature page of the Agreement by facsimile or other customary means of electronic transmission (e.g., “pdf” or DocuSign) shall be as effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof. A signature to this Agreement executed and/or transmitted electronically shall have the same authority, effect, and enforceability as an original signature.
Section 35. Descriptive Headings; Interpretation. Descriptive headings of the several Sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions hereof. The words “include,” “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation.” Each reference in this Agreement to a period of time following or after a specified date or event shall be calculated without including such specified date or the day on which such specified event occurs.
Section 36. Force Majeure. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Rights Agent will not have any liability for not performing, or for a delay in the performance of, any act, duty, obligation or responsibility by reason of any occurrence beyond the reasonable control of the Rights Agent (including, but not limited to, acts of God, terrorist acts, shortage of supply, epidemics, pandemics, war, terrorism, any act or provision or present or future law or regulation or governmental authority, civil or military disobedience or disorder, riot, rebellion, insurrection, fire, earthquake, storm, flood, strike, work stoppage breakdowns, interruptions or malfunctions of computer facilities, loss of data due to power failures, mechanical difficulties with information storage or retrieval systems, labor difficulties, war and civil unrest).
* * * * * * *
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.
| XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Gavin O’Connor | |
| Name: Gavin O’Connor | ||
| Title: Chief Legal Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Secretary | ||
| COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. | ||
| By: | /s/ Al Guinto | |
| Name: Al Guinto | ||
| Title: SVP, Client Management | ||
[Signature Page to Stockholder Rights Agreement]
Exhibit A
FORM OF
CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATION
OF
SERIES B PREFERRED STOCK
OF
XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
The undersigned hereby certifies that the following resolution was duly adopted by the board of directors of Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Corporation”), on October 11, 2026:
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority vested in the board of directors of the Corporation (the “Board”) by the Corporation’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “Charter”), the Board hereby creates, authorizes and provides for the issue of a series of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Corporation, to be designated “Series B Preferred Stock” (hereinafter referred to as the “Series B Preferred Stock”), initially consisting of 1,000,000 shares, and to the extent that the designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the Series B Preferred Stock are not stated and expressed in the Charter, hereby fixes and herein states and expresses such designations, powers, preferences and relative and other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, as follows:
Section 1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series B Preferred Stock,” and the number of shares constituting such series shall be 1,000,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board; provided, however, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock to a number less than the number of shares then outstanding plus the number of shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of outstanding options, rights or warrants or upon the conversion of any outstanding securities issued by the Corporation convertible into Series B Preferred Stock.
A-1
Section 2. Dividends and Distributions.
(a) Subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock (as defined in the Charter) ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series B Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of Class A common stock, par value $.0001 per share, of the Corporation (the “Common Stock”) shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the last business day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as a “Quarterly Dividend Payment Date”), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (i) $1,000 or (ii) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, plus 1,000 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation, at any time after October 12, 2026 (the “Rights Declaration Date”), (x) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (y) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (z) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each case the amount to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(b) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2(a) above immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided, however, that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior to and superior to the shares of Series B Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, a dividend of $10.00 per share on the Series B Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.
(c) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series B Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series B Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be no more than sixty (60) days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
A-2
Section 3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(a) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series B Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1,000 votes on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein or by law, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock shall vote collectively as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(c) Except as set forth herein or as otherwise provided by law, holders of Series B Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate action.
Section 4. Certain Restrictions.
(a) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 above are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:
(i) declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock other than (A) such redemptions or purchases that may be deemed to occur upon the exercise of stock options, warrants or similar rights or grant, vesting or lapse of restrictions on the grant of any performance shares, restricted stock, restricted stock units or other equity awards to the extent that such shares represent all or a portion of (x) the exercise or purchase price of such options, warrants or similar rights or other equity awards or (y) the amount of withholding taxes owed by the holder of such award in respect of such grant, exercise, vesting or lapse of restrictions; (B) such purchases necessary to satisfy the issuance of any shares upon the exercise or to satisfy the vesting and settlement of any options, warrants or similar rights or other equity awards pursuant to the terms of the Corporation’s equity plans maintained for the benefit its employees, directors and other service providers; or (C) the repurchase, redemption or other acquisition or retirement for value of any such shares from employees, directors, former directors, consultants or former consultants of the Corporation or their respective estate, spouse, former spouse or family member, pursuant to the terms of the agreement pursuant to which such shares were acquired;
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(ii) declare or pay dividends on or make any other distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series B Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any capital stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock; provided, that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such parity stock in exchange for shares of any capital stock of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock; or
(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series B Preferred Stock, or any shares of capital stock ranking on a parity with the Series B Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.
(b) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under Section 4(a) above, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
Section 5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series B Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board, subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein.
Section 6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.
(a) Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of capital stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have received $1,000 per share, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the “Series B Liquidation Preference”). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series B Liquidation Preference, no additional
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distributions shall be made to the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Common Stock have received an amount per share (the “Common Adjustment”) equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) the Series B Liquidation Preference by (ii) 1,000 (as appropriately adjusted as set forth in Section 6(c) below to reflect such events as stock splits, reverse stock splits, stock dividends and recapitalizations with respect to the Common Stock) (such number in clause (ii), the “Adjustment Number”). Following the payment of the full amount of the Series B Liquidation Preference and the Common Adjustment in respect of all outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock and Common Stock, respectively, and the payment of liquidation preferences of all other shares of capital stock which rank prior to or on a parity with Series B Preferred Stock, holders of Series B Preferred Stock and holders of shares of Common Stock shall receive their ratable and proportionate share of the remaining assets to be distributed in the ratio of the Adjustment Number to 1 with respect to such Preferred Stock and Common Stock, on a per share basis, respectively.
(b) In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Series B Liquidation Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred Stock, if any, which rank on a parity with the Series B Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such parity shares in proportion to their respective liquidation preferences. In the event, however, that there are not sufficient assets available to permit payment in full of the Common Adjustment, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of Common Stock.
(c) In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (iii) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the Adjustment Number in effect immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such Adjustment Number by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
Section 7. Consolidation, Merger, Etc. In case the Corporation enters into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case each share of Series B Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed into an amount per share (subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth) equal to 1,000 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, for which or into which each share of Common Stock is exchanged or changed. In the event the Corporation at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (a) declares any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (b) subdivides the outstanding Common Stock or (c) combines the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
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Section 8. No Redemption. The shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
Section 9. Ranking. The Series B Preferred Stock shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation’s Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, whether or not upon the dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the Corporation, unless the terms of any such series provides otherwise.
Section 10. Amendment. The Charter shall not be amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series B Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.
Section 11. Fractional Shares. Series B Preferred Stock may be issued in fractions of a share that entitle the holder, in proportion to such holder’s fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends, participate in distributions and have the benefit of all other rights of holders of Series B Preferred Stock.
* * * * * * *
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Corporation has executed this Certificate of Designation as of October 12, 2026.
| XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Certificate of Designation
Exhibit B
[Form of Rights Certificate]
Certificate No. R- _________________ Rights
NOT EXERCISABLE AFTER October 11, 2027 OR EARLIER IF REDEEMED OR EXCHANGED BY THE COMPANY OR AN EARLIER “EXPIRATION TIME” (AS DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT) OCCURS. AS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT, THE RIGHTS ARE SUBJECT TO REDEMPTION, AT THE OPTION OF THE COMPANY, AT $0.001 PER RIGHT, AND TO EXCHANGE ON THE TERMS SET FORTH IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT.
THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED BY THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE ARE OR WERE BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY A PERSON WHO WAS OR BECAME AN “ACQUIRING PERSON” OR A “RELATED PERSON” OF AN “ACQUIRING PERSON” (AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE RIGHTS AGREEMENT). ACCORDINGLY, THIS RIGHTS CERTIFICATE AND THE RIGHTS REPRESENTED HEREBY SHALL BECOME NULL AND VOID IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN SECTION 7(e) OF SUCH AGREEMENT.
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RIGHTS CERTIFICATE
XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC.
This certifies that ______________, or registered assigns, is the registered owner of the number of Rights set forth above, each of which entitles the owner thereof, subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026 (as amended from time to time in accordance with its terms, the “Rights Agreement”), by and between Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the rights agent (and any successor rights agent, the “Rights Agent”), to purchase from the Company at any time prior to 5:00 P.M. (New York City time) on October 11, 2027 at the office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, or its successors as Rights Agent, one one-thousandth of a fully paid, non-assessable share of Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”), of the Company, at an exercise price of $15.00 per one one-thousandth of a share (the “Exercise Price”), upon presentation and surrender of this Rights Certificate with the Form of Election to Purchase and related Certificate properly completed and duly executed. The number of Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate (and the number of shares which may be purchased upon exercise thereof) set forth above, and the Exercise Price per share set forth above, are the number and Exercise Price as of October 12, 2026, based on the Preferred Stock as constituted at such date. The Company reserves the right to require prior to the occurrence of a Triggering Event (as such term is defined in the Rights Agreement) that, upon any exercise of Rights, a number of Rights be exercised so that only whole shares of Preferred Stock will be issued. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall having the meanings specified in the Rights Agreement.
Upon the occurrence of a Flip-in Event, if the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are Beneficially Owned by (i) an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person, (ii) a transferee of any such Acquiring Person or Related Person or (iii) under certain circumstances specified in the Rights Agreement, a transferee of a Person who, after such transfer, became an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of such Acquiring Person, such Rights shall become null and void and no holder hereof shall have any right with respect to such Rights from and after the occurrence of such Flip-in Event.
As provided in the Rights Agreement, the Exercise Price and the number and kind of shares of Preferred Stock or other securities which may be purchased upon the exercise of the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate are subject to modification and adjustment upon the happening of certain events, including Triggering Events.
This Rights Certificate is subject to all of the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Agreement, which terms, provisions and conditions are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof and to which Rights Agreement reference is hereby made for a full description of the rights, limitations of rights, obligations, duties and immunities hereunder of the Rights Agent, the Company and the holders of the Rights Certificates, which limitations of rights include the temporary suspension of the exercisability of such Rights under the specific circumstances set forth in the Rights Agreement. Copies of the Rights Agreement are on file at the office of the Company and are also available upon written request to the Company.
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This Rights Certificate, with or without other Rights Certificates, upon surrender at the principal office or offices of the Rights Agent designated for such purpose, may be exchanged for another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates of like tenor and date evidencing Rights entitling the holder to purchase a like aggregate number of one one-thousandths of a share of Preferred Stock as the Rights evidenced by the Rights Certificates surrendered shall have entitled such holder to purchase. If this Rights Certificate shall be exercised in part, the holder shall be entitled to receive upon surrender hereof another Rights Certificate or Rights Certificates for the number of whole Rights not exercised.
Subject to the provisions of the Rights Agreement, the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate may, in each case at the option of the Company, be (i) redeemed by the Company at a redemption price of $0.001 per Right or (ii) exchanged in whole or in part for shares of Class A common stock, par value $.0001 per share, of the Company. Immediately upon the action of the Board of Directors of the Company authorizing redemption, the Rights shall terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights shall be to receive the redemption price.
No fractional shares of Preferred Stock shall be issued upon the exercise of any Right or Rights evidenced hereby (other than fractions that are integral multiples of one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock, which may, at the election of the Company, be evidenced by depositary receipts), but in lieu thereof a cash payment shall be made, as provided in the Rights Agreement.
No holder of this Rights Certificate shall be entitled to vote or receive dividends or be deemed for any purpose the holder of shares of Preferred Stock or of any other securities of the Company which may at any time be issuable on the exercise hereof, nor shall anything contained in the Rights Agreement or herein be construed to confer upon the holder hereof, as such, any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company or any right to vote for the election of directors or upon any matter submitted to stockholders at any meeting thereof, or to give or withhold consent to any corporate action, or to receive notice of meetings or other actions affecting stockholders (except as provided in the Rights Agreement), or to receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, until the Right or Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate shall have been exercised as provided in the Rights Agreement.
This Rights Certificate shall not be valid or obligatory for any purpose until it has been countersigned manually or by facsimile signature by the Rights Agent.
* * * * * * *
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WITNESS the facsimile signature of the proper officer of the Company.
Dated as of __, 20__
| XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
Countersigned:
| COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, N.A. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
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[Form of Reverse Side of Rights Certificate]
FORM OF ASSIGNMENT
(To be executed by the registered holder if such
holder desires to transfer the Rights Certificate.)
FOR VALUE RECEIVED ______________________________________________ hereby sells, assigns and transfers unto___________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address of transferee) this Rights Certificate, together with all right, title and interest therein, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint __________________ as attorney in fact, to transfer the within Rights Certificate on the books of the within-named Company, with full power of substitution.
Dated: ________________, __________
|
|
| Signature |
| Signature Guaranteed: |
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CERTIFICATE
The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes that:
(1) this Rights Certificate [ ] is [ ] is not being sold, assigned and transferred by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement); and
(2) after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned, it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate from any Person who or which is, was or subsequently became an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person.
Dated: ________________, __________
|
|
| Signature |
| Signature Guaranteed: |
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NOTICE
The signature to the foregoing Assignment and Certificate must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above is not completed, the Company shall deem the Beneficial Owner of the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or a Related Person thereof (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement) and, in the case of an Assignment, shall affix a legend to that effect on any Rights Certificates issued in exchange for this Rights Certificate.
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FORM OF ELECTION TO PURCHASE
(To be executed if holder desires to exercise Rights represented by the Rights Certificate.)
TO: XPONENTIAL FITNESS, INC.
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise _______ Rights represented by this Rights Certificate to purchase the shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon the exercise of the Rights (or such other securities of the Company or of any other person which may be issuable upon the exercise of the Rights) and requests that certificates for such shares (or other securities) be issued in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number: _______________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Please print name and address)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If such number of Rights shall not be all the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate, a new Rights Certificate for the balance of such Rights shall be registered in the name of and delivered to:
Please insert social security
or other identifying number: _______________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (Please print name and address)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dated: ________________, __________
|
|
| Signature |
| Signature Guaranteed: |
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CERTIFICATE
The undersigned hereby certifies by checking the appropriate boxes that:
(1) the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate [ ] are [ ] are not being exercised by or on behalf of a Person who is or was an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person (as such terms are defined pursuant to the Rights Agreement); and
(2) after due inquiry and to the best knowledge of the undersigned, it [ ] did [ ] did not acquire the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate from any Person who or which is, was or became an Acquiring Person or a Related Person of an Acquiring Person.
Dated: ________________, __________
|
|
| Signature |
| Signature Guaranteed: |
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NOTICE
The signature to the foregoing Election to Purchase and Certificate must correspond to the name as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.
In the event the certification set forth above is not completed, the Company shall deem the Beneficial Owner of the Rights evidenced by this Rights Certificate to be an Acquiring Person or a Related Person thereof (as such terms are defined in the Rights Agreement), and the Election to Purchase will not be honored.
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Exhibit C
SUMMARY OF RIGHTS TO PURCHASE PREFERRED STOCK
On October 11, 2026, the board of directors (the “Board”) of Xponential Fitness, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), adopted a stockholder rights agreement and declared a dividend of one right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 22, 2026 (the “Record Date”). Each Right entitles its holder, subject to the terms of the Rights Agreement (as defined below), to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series B Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Preferred Stock”), of the Company at an exercise price of $15.00 per Right, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in a stockholder rights agreement, dated as of October 12, 2026 (the “Rights Agreement”), between the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as rights agent (and any successor rights agent, the “Rights Agent”).
The Rights Agreement should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the Board.
The Rights. The Rights will attach to any shares of Common Stock that become outstanding after the Record Date and prior to the earlier of the Distribution Time (as defined below) and the Expiration Time (as defined below), and in certain other circumstances described in the Rights Agreement.
Until the Distribution Time, the Rights are associated with Common Stock and evidenced by Common Stock certificates or, in the case of uncertificated shares of Common Stock, the book-entry account that evidences record ownership of such shares, which will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference, and the Rights are transferable with and only with the underlying shares of Common Stock.
Until the Distribution Time, the surrender for transfer of any shares of Common Stock will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with those shares. As soon as practicable after the Distribution Time, separate rights certificates will be mailed to holders of record of Common Stock as of the Distribution Time. From and after the Distribution Time, the separate rights certificates alone will represent the Rights.
The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Time. Until a Right is exercised, its holder will have no rights as a stockholder of the Company, including the right to vote or to receive dividends.
Separation and Distribution of Rights; Exercisability. Subject to certain exceptions, the Rights become exercisable and trade separately from Common Stock only upon the “Distribution Time,” which occurs upon the earlier of:
| • | the close of business on the tenth (10th) day after the “Stock Acquisition Date” (which is defined as (a) the first date of public announcement that any person or group has become an “Acquiring Person,” which is defined as a person or group that, together with its affiliates and associates, beneficially owns the Specified Percentage (as defined below) or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (with certain exceptions, including those described below) or (b) such other date, as determined by the Board, on which a person or group has become an Acquiring Person) or |
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| • | the close of business on the tenth (10th) business day (or such later date as may be determined by the Board prior to such time as any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person) after the commencement of a tender offer or exchange offer that, if consummated, would result in a person or group becoming an Acquiring Person. |
“Specified Percentage” means 19.9%.
An “Acquiring Person” does not include:
| • | the Company or any subsidiary of the Company; |
| • | any officer, director or employee of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company in his or her capacity as such; |
| • | any employee benefit plan of the Company or of any subsidiary of the Company or any entity or trustee holding (or acting in a fiduciary capacity in respect of) shares of capital stock of the Company for or pursuant to the terms of any such plan or for the purpose of funding other employee benefits for employees of the Company or any subsidiary of the Company; or |
| • | any person or group that, together with its affiliates and associates, (a) as of immediately prior to the first public announcement of the adoption of the Rights Agreement, beneficially owns at least the Specified Percentage of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, (b) continues to Beneficially Own at least the Specified Percentage of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, and (c) does not acquire shares of Common Stock to Beneficially Own an amount that equals or exceeds the greater of (i) the Specified Percentage and (ii) the sum of the lowest beneficial ownership of such person or group since the public announcement of the adoption of the Rights Agreement plus one share of Common Stock. |
In addition, the Rights Agreement provides (subject to certain qualifications therein) that no person or group will become an “Acquiring Person” solely as a result of :
| • | share purchases or issuances directly from the Company or through an underwritten offering approved by the Board, including (subject to certain additional requirements) issuances to LLC Unitholders pursuant to a share settlement upon the exercise of LLC Unit Redemption Rights; |
| • | an increase to such person or group’s Beneficial Ownership percentage caused solely by the Company’s repurchase or redemption of shares of outstanding Common Stock such person or group’s the exercise or vesting of any options, warrants, rights or similar interests (including restricted shares and restricted share units) that were granted by the Company; or |
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| • | becoming an Acquiring Person inadvertently, if the Board determines it was inadvertent and, as promptly as practicable, such person or group divests a sufficient number of shares so that such person or group would no longer be an Acquiring Person. |
Certain synthetic interests in securities created by derivative positions, whether or not such interests are considered to be ownership of the underlying Common Stock or are reportable for purposes of Regulation 13D of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are treated as beneficial ownership of the number of shares of Common Stock equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative position, to the extent actual shares of Common Stock are directly or indirectly held by counterparties to the derivatives contracts.
At the Distribution Time, proper provision shall be made by the Company in order to provide each holder (other than the Company) of limited liability company units (“LLC Units”) in XPO Intermediate Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“XPO Holdings”), with the number of Rights, evidenced by Rights Certificates, as would be issued to such holder as if such holder had redeemed all of its LLC Units and the Company had satisfied such redemption by paying such holder in Common Stock immediately prior to the Distribution Time and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the agreement of XPO Holdings.
Expiration Time. The Rights will expire on the earliest to occur of (a) the close of business on October 11, 2027 (the “Final Expiration Time”), (b) the time at which the Rights are redeemed or exchanged by the Company (as described below) or (c) upon the closing of any merger or other acquisition transaction involving the Company pursuant to a merger or other acquisition agreement that has been approved by the Board before any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person (the earliest of (a), (b), and (c) being herein referred to as the “Expiration Time”).
Flip-in Event. In the event that any person or group (other than certain exempt persons) becomes an Acquiring Person (a “Flip-in Event”), each holder of a Right (other than such Acquiring Person, any of its affiliates or associates or certain transferees of such Acquiring Person or of any such affiliate or associate, whose Rights automatically become null and void) will have the right to receive, upon exercise, Common Stock having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the Right.
For example, at an exercise price of $15.00 per Right, each Right not owned by an Acquiring Person (or by certain related parties) following a Flip-in Event would entitle its holder to purchase $30.00 worth of Common Stock for $15. If, hypothetically, the Common Stock had a per share value of $7.50 at that time, the holder of each valid Right would be entitled to purchase 4 shares of Common Stock for $15.
Flip-over Event. In the event that, at any time following the Stock Acquisition Date, any of the following occurs (each, a “Flip-over Event”):
| • | the Company consolidates with, or merges with and into, any other entity, and the Company is not the continuing or surviving entity; |
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| • | any entity engages in a share exchange with or consolidates with, or merges with or into, the Company, and the Company is the continuing or surviving entity and, in connection with such share exchange, consolidation or merger, all or part of the outstanding shares of Common Stock are changed into or exchanged for stock or other securities of any other entity or cash or any other property; or |
| • | the Company sells or otherwise transfers, in one transaction or a series of related transactions, fifty percent (50%) or more of the Company’s assets, cash flow or earning power, each holder of a Right (except Rights which previously have been voided as described above) will have the right to receive, upon exercise, common stock of the acquiring company having a value equal to two times the exercise price of the Right. |
Preferred Stock Provisions. Each share of Preferred Stock, if issued: will not be redeemable, will entitle the holder thereof, when, as and if declared, to quarterly dividend payments equal to the greater of $1,000 per share and 1,000 times the amount of all cash dividends plus 1,000 times the amount of non-cash dividends or other distributions paid on one share of Common Stock, will entitle the holder thereof to receive $1,000 plus accrued and unpaid dividends per share upon liquidation, will have the same voting power as 1,000 shares of Common Stock and, if shares of Common Stock are exchanged via merger, consolidation or a similar transaction, will entitle the holder thereof to a per share payment equal to the payment made on 1,000 shares of Common Stock.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. The exercise price payable, and the number of shares of Preferred Stock or other securities or property issuable, upon exercise of the Rights are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution:
| • | in the event of a stock dividend on, or a subdivision, combination or reclassification of, the Preferred Stock, |
| • | if holders of the Preferred Stock are granted certain rights, options or warrants to subscribe for Preferred Stock or convertible securities at less than the current market price of the Preferred Stock or |
| • | upon the distribution to holders of the Preferred Stock of evidences of indebtedness or assets (excluding regular quarterly cash dividends) or of subscription rights or warrants (other than those referred to above). |
With certain exceptions, no adjustment in the exercise price will be required until cumulative adjustments amount to at least one percent (1%) of the exercise price. No fractional shares of Preferred Stock will be issued and, in lieu thereof, an adjustment in cash will be made based on the market price of the Preferred Stock on the last trading day prior to the date of exercise.
Redemption; Exchange. At any time prior to the earlier of (i) the tenth (10th) day following the Stock Acquisition Date or (ii) the Final Expiration Time, the Company may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.001 per Right (subject to adjustment and payable in cash, Common Stock or other consideration deemed appropriate by the Board). Immediately upon the action of the Board authorizing any redemption or at a later time as the Board may establish for the effectiveness of the redemption, the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the redemption price.
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At any time before any Acquiring Person, together with all of its affiliates and associates, becomes the beneficial owner of fifty percent (50%) or more of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the Company may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by the Acquiring Person, any of its affiliates or associates or certain transferees of Acquiring Person or of any such affiliate or associate, whose Rights will have become null and void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one share of Common Stock, or one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (or of a share of a class or series of the Company’s preferred stock having equivalent rights, preferences and privileges), per Right (subject to adjustment).
Amendment of the Rights Agreement. The Company and the Rights Agent may from time to time amend or supplement the Rights Agreement without the consent of the holders of the Rights. However, after the Rights are no longer redeemable, no amendment can materially adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Rights (other than the Acquiring Person, any of its affiliates or associates or certain transferees of Acquiring Person or of any such affiliate or associate).
Miscellaneous. While the distribution of the Rights will not be taxable to stockholders or to the Company, stockholders may, depending upon the circumstances, recognize taxable income in the event that the Rights become exercisable for Common Stock (or other consideration) or for common stock of the acquiring company or in the event of the redemption of the Rights as described above.
Additional Information. A copy of the Rights Agreement has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to a registration statement on Form 8-A and a current report on Form 8-K. A copy of the Rights Agreement is also available free of charge from the Company.
* * * * *
This description of the Rights does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Exhibit 99.1
Xponential Fitness, Inc. Announces Adoption of Limited-Duration Stockholder Rights Plan
Review of Strategic Alternatives to Maximize Stockholder Value Remains Ongoing
IRVINE, Calif.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: XPOF) (“Xponential” or the “Company”), one of the leading global franchisors of boutique health and wellness brands, today announced that the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) has adopted a limited-duration stockholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan”).
As previously announced, the Company’s Board has initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value. The review remains ongoing and is being led by the Board’s independent directors, with Jefferies serving as financial advisor.
The Board, in consultation with its advisors, unanimously adopted the Rights Plan to protect the interests of all Xponential stockholders and in response to a recent significant accumulation of Company equity interests. The Rights Plan is intended to prevent any investor from accumulating a significant position in Xponential that could adversely impact trading in the Company’s Class A shares. The Company maintains an open and constructive dialogue with its investors and looks forward to continuing this dialogue. The Rights Plan will not prevent an acquisition of Xponential but should encourage anyone seeking to acquire Xponential to negotiate with its Board prior to attempting an acquisition.
The Rights Plan is similar to plans adopted by other publicly-traded companies. Under the Rights Plan, Xponential is issuing one right for each Class A share of the Company held by stockholders of record as of the close of business on October 22, 2026. Initially, the rights will not be exercisable and will trade with, and be represented by, the Company’s Class A shares. The Rights Plan is effective immediately.
Under the Rights Plan, the rights generally become exercisable only if a person or group (each, an “acquiring person”) acquires beneficial ownership of 19.9% or more of the Company’s Class A shares. In that situation, each holder of a right (other than the acquiring person or group, whose rights will become void and will not be exercisable) will have the right to purchase, upon payment of the exercise price and in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan, a number of Class A shares of the Company having a market value of twice the exercise price. For purposes of calculating beneficial ownership under the rights plan, derivative positions relating to the Class A shares are treated as beneficial ownership of the number of Class A shares equivalent to the economic exposure created by the derivative security, whether or not such shares would be deemed beneficially owned under federal securities laws.
If as of the time of this announcement an investor’s position in Xponential Class A shares (taking into account derivatives) is at or above the 19.9% threshold, that stockholder’s existing shares and derivative securities position (but not any replacement shares and securities) would be “grandfathered” and initially exempt from application of the Rights Plan, but the rights would become exercisable if such stockholder acquires additional shares and/or derivative securities after this announcement and, thereafter, the stockholder’s position in Xponential Class A shares (taking into account derivatives) is at or above the 19.9% threshold.
The rights are redeemable for a price of $0.001 per right, subject to adjustment, at any time before the rights become exercisable. Unless the rights are redeemed, exchanged, or terminated earlier, they will expire at the close of business on October 11, 2027.
Details of the Rights Plan, including a copy of the Rights Plan, will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These filings will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on Xponential’s website at www.xponential.com.
About Xponential Fitness, Inc.
Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: XPOF) is one of the leading global franchisors of boutique health and wellness brands. Through its mission to deliver the talents, assets, and capabilities necessary for successful franchise growth, the Company operates a diversified platform of five brands spanning modalities including Pilates, barre, stretching, strength training, and yoga. In partnership with its franchisees and master franchisees, Xponential offers energetic, accessible, and personalized workout experiences led by highly qualified instructors in studio locations throughout the U.S. and internationally, with franchise, master franchise and international expansion agreements in 49 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and 29 additional countries. Xponential’s portfolio of brands includes Club Pilates, the largest pilates brand in the United States; Stretchlab, a concept offering one-on-one and group stretching services; YogaSix, the largest franchised yoga brand in the United States; Pure Barre, a total body workout that uses the ballet barre to perform small isometric movements and the largest barre brand in the United States; and BFT, a functional training and strength-based program. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at xponential.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections of future performance based on management’s judgment, beliefs, current trends, and anticipated financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-Looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: franchisees’ ability to generate sufficient revenues; our ability to anticipate and satisfy consumer preferences; risks related to loss of reputation and brand awareness; our ability to manage changes in executive leadership; our ability to attract and retain key senior management and key employees; risks relating to expansion into international markets; macroeconomic conditions or economic downturns; geopolitical uncertainty, including the impact of the presidential administration in the U.S. trade policies and tariffs; general economic conditions and industry trends; and other risks as described in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the full year ended December 31, 2025, and other periodic reports filed with the SEC. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proved to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today’s date, unless otherwise stated, and Xponential undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
Contacts
Addo Investor Relations
investor@xponential.com
Media
Joseph Sala / Chloe Karp
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449