Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
The Company is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware. The Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended (the “Act”), provides that a Delaware corporation has the power generally to indemnify its directors, officers, employees and other agents (each, a “Corporate Agent”) against expenses and liabilities (including amounts paid in settlement) in connection with any proceeding involving such person by reason of his being a Corporate Agent, other than a proceeding by or in the right of the corporation, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, such person had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. In the case of an action brought by or in the right of the corporation, indemnification of a Corporate Agent against expenses is permitted if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, however, no indemnification is permitted in respect of 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 that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such proceeding was brought shall determine upon application that despite the adjudication of liability, but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to such indemnification. To the extent that a Corporate Agent has been successful on the merits of such proceeding, whether or not by or in the right of the corporation, or in the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, the corporation is required to indemnify the Corporate Agent for expenses in connection therewith. Expenses incurred by a Corporate Agent in connection with a proceeding may, under certain circumstances, be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of the proceeding as authorized by the board of directors. The power to indemnify and advance expenses under the Act does not exclude other rights to which a Corporate Agent may be entitled to under the certificate of incorporation, bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
Under the Act, a Delaware corporation has the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any Corporate Agent against any liabilities asserted against and incurred by him in such capacity, whether or not the corporation has the power to indemnify him against such liabilities under the Act.
As permitted by the Act, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation contains provisions which limit the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duties as directors except to the extent such limitation of liability is prohibited by the Act. In accordance with the Act, these provisions do not limit the liability of any director for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders; for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, for certain unlawful payments of dividends or stock repurchases under Section 174 of the Act; or for any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit. These provisions do not limit the rights of the Company or any stockholder to seek an injunction or any other non-monetary relief in the event of a breach of a director’s fiduciary duty. In addition, these provisions apply only to claims against a director arising out of his role as a director and do not relieve a director from liability for violations of statutory law, such as certain liabilities imposed on a director under the federal securities laws.
In addition, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws provide for the indemnification of Corporate Agents for certain expenses, judgments, fines and payments incurred by them in connection with the defense or settlement of claims asserted against them in their capacities as Corporate Agents to the fullest extent authorized by the Act. The Company seeks to limit its exposure to liability for indemnification of directors and officers by purchasing directors and officers liability insurance coverage.
Reference is made to Sections 102(b)(7) and 145 of the Act in connection with the above summary of indemnification, insurance and limitation of liability.
The purpose of these provisions is to assist the Company in retaining qualified individuals to serve as officers, directors or other Corporate Agents of the Company by limiting their exposure to personal liability for serving as such.
Item 9. Undertakings
(a) The undersigned Company 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 of 1933;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this 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 this Registration Statement;
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in this Registration Statement or any material change to such information in this Registration Statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above do not apply if the registration statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8, or Form F-3 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Company pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, 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.
(b) The undersigned Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Company’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant
to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) 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 of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company 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 Company 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.