Presenting a live 90-minute webinar with interactive Q&A Drafting Shareholder Agreements for Private Equity M&A Deals Structuring Provisions on Board Composition and Duties, Drag-Along, Tag-Along, Information Rights, and More THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015 1pm Eastern | 12pm Central | 11am Mountain | 10am Pacific Today’s faculty features: Stephanie Winer Schreiber, Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC , Pittsburgh Lisa R. Stark, Partner, K&L Gates , Wilmington, Del. The audio portion of the conference may be accessed via the telephone or by using your computer's speakers. Please refer to the instructions emailed to registrants for additional information. If you have any questions, please contact Customer Service at 1-800-926-7926 ext. 10 .
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Drafting Shareholder Agreements for Private Equity M&A Deals Stephanie Winer Schreiber, Shareholder. Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Pittsburgh, PA stephanie.schreiber@bipc.com Lisa Stark, Partner, K&L Gates LLP, Wilmington, DE lisa.stark@klgates.com
6 Introduction: Stockholders Agreements A stockholders agreement is a contract that structures the relationship among the stockholders of a corporation and sometimes the corporation itself Stockholders agreements are typically only seen in the private company context because it is simply not practical in the public company context Stockholders agreements allow for private ordering of a corporation’s governance structure and often accomplish governance structures that could not be accomplished in a corporation’s organizational documents (i.e., the certificate of incorporation and bylaws)
7 Introduction: Stockholders Agreements Stockholders agreements also often contain provisions, such as buy-sell provisions, that do not strictly relate to the management of the corporation, but allow the current stockholders to maintain control over the composition of the stockholder base itself Stockholders agreements may also address investor and management concerns related to access to information, confidentiality, and competition
8 Introduction: Key Provisions of Stockholders Agreements Board of directors composition and duties Treatment/waiver of corporate opportunities Appointment and removal of officers Voting rights Information rights Transfer restrictions Resolving deadlock Preemptive rights
9 Key Provisions of Stockholders Agreements Amendment and termination of shareholder agreement Governing law
10 Board of Directors Composition and Duties Interplay between bylaws and stockholders agreement Issues for consideration: Board composition/selection Actual stockholders or designees Who has the right to remove designated directors Does this change in the case of “for cause” removals Alternative quorum provisions
11 Board of Directors Composition and Duties Additional considerations: Restricted nomination rights Staggered board of directors Director fiduciary duty Appointment to committees Board observer positions Tied to percentage ownership Confidentiality considerations
12 Board of Director Composition and Duties: Delaware Issues Under Delaware law, the right to elect a director can only be vested in a class of stock, i.e., the common stock, as a class, by a provision in the certificate of incorporation. Director election rights cannot be vested in individual stockholders The stockholders agreement effectively allows individual stockholders or groups of stockholders (i.e., key holders) to be given rights to designate directors through agreements to vote stock in favor of their designees even though they own the same class of stock or are individual holders.
13 Board of Director Composition and Duties: Delaware Issues Per-share versus per-share designation schemes “Designated by the majority of the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock” “Elected by the Key Holders” “Removed by the affirmative vote of the Person or of the holders of more than fifty percent (50%) of the then outstanding shares entitled to designate that director.” Removal of directors only for cause where no staggered board Purporting to alter quorum or voting standards for director action does not work. Duties of directors of Delaware corporations cannot be altered in a stockholders agreement or by certificate of incorporation or bylaw provision
14 Treatment/Waiver of Corporate Opportunities Waiver of duty of loyalty with respect to corporate opportunities in stockholders agreements Problem for investors Determination of who is a fiduciary under applicable state law Narrowly defining scope of corporate opportunity Corporation a party to agreement Defining procedures for waiver of corporate opportunities
15 Treatment/Waiver of Corporate Opportunities: Delaware law issues Fiduciary duties of directors, controlling stockholders or fiduciaries cannot be altered with respect to corporate opportunities A charter or board resolution authorized by Section 122(17) of the DGCL affords minimal and untested protection for directors and officers in the event of a corporate opportunity claim
16 Appointment of Officers Stockholders agreements often give stockholders the right to influence the selections of key officers Special attention must be given to state’s requirements for bylaw, certificate or board resolution provisions Often limited to key officers – President Approval rights grants to stockholders Tied into removal rights Board of directors may retain certain rights such as suspension or removal for cause
17 Appointment of Officers: Delaware law issues DGCL § 142: “Every corporation under this chapter shall have such officers with such titles and duties as shall be stated in the bylaws or in the resolution of the board of directors” DGCL § 141(a): “The business and affairs of every corporation … shall be managed by or under the direction of a board of directors except as otherwise provided in this chapter or in its certificate of incorporation” Provisions in stockholders agreements which purport to determine officer composition or give the stockholders the ability to determine officers may not be valid
18 Voting Rights Supermajority voting requirements for directors Reserve powers for stockholders Usurping the obligations of directors Supermajority provisions Addition additional rights of stockholders May be set forth in a management agreement with the company
19 Voting Rights Voting restrictions and voting rights Setting forth provisions that must be contained in bylaws Co-sale rights Mechanics Pro-rata sale rights Acknowledgment that may chill sales
20 Voting Rights Drag along rights Who is granted drag along rights Other stockholders’ obligation Not dissent or raise objections Sell stock for same consideration and on no less favorable terms (subject to class differentiations) Take all actions reasonable necessary to consummate transaction Remedies for failure to deliver stock Execute documents approved by board Limitations on representations and warranties Limitations on indemnification
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