ITEM 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
The Registrant is incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his or her duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct, or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law, or obtained an improper personal benefit.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the request of the corporation in related capacities against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlements actually and
reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit, or proceeding to which he or she is or is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue, or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
As permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, (A) the Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides the Registrant is authorized to indemnify its directors and officers (and any other persons whom applicable law permits) to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law and (B) the Registrant’s amended and restated bylaws provide: (1) the Registrant is required to indemnify its directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law; (2) the Registrant may, in its discretion, indemnify its other officers, employees, and agents as set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law; (3) the Registrant is required, upon satisfaction of certain conditions, to advance all expenses incurred by its directors and executive officers in connection with certain legal proceedings; (4) the rights conferred in the bylaws are not exclusive; (5) the Registrant is authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with its directors, officers, employees, and agents; and (6) the Registrant may secure insurance on behalf of any director, officer, employee, or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether the Registrant would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law.
The Registrant’s policy is to enter into agreements with its directors and executive officers that require it to indemnify them against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts that any such person becomes legally obligated to pay (including with respect to a derivative action) in connection with any proceeding, whether actual or threatened, to which such person may be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Registrant or any of its affiliates, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the Registrant’s best interests. These indemnification agreements also set forth certain procedures that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification thereunder. At present, no litigation or proceeding is pending that involves any of the Registrant’s directors or officers regarding which indemnification is sought, nor is the Registrant aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.
The Registrant maintains a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy. The policy insures directors and officers against unindemnified losses arising from certain wrongful acts in their capacities as directors and officers and reimburses the Registrant for those losses for which it has lawfully indemnified the directors and officers. The policy contains various exclusions.
See also the undertakings set out in response to Item 9 hereof.
ITEM 9. UNDERTAKINGS.
(a)The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1)To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i)To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii)To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement; and
(iii)To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;
Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or
furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and
(2)That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3)To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4)That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the Registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i)Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii)Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the Registrant or used or referred to by the Registrant;
(iii)The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the Registrant; and;
(iv)Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the Registrant to the purchaser.
(b)The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(c)Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.