Exhibit 3.1
AMENDED AND RESTATED
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
W. R. GRACE & CO.
September 22, 2021
FIRST. The name of the corporation is W. R. Grace & Co. (the “Corporation”).
SECOND. The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is 251 Little Falls Drive, City of Wilmington, County of New Castle 19808. The name of its registered agent at such address is Corporation Service Company.
THIRD. The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended.
FOURTH. The total number of shares that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 300,000,000 shares of common stock, and the par value of each such share is $0.01.
FIFTH. The board of directors of the Corporation is expressly authorized to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws of the Corporation.
SIXTH. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot except and to the extent provided in the bylaws of the Corporation.
SEVENTH.
Section 1 Limitation of Liability.
(a) To the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law as it now exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than permitted prior thereto), no director of the Corporation shall be liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages arising from a breach of fiduciary duty owed to the Corporation or its stockholders.
(b) Any repeal or modification of the foregoing paragraph shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.
Section 2 Right to Indemnification. Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved (including involvement, without limitation, as a witness) in any actual or threatened action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or, while a director or officer of the Corporation, is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as an employee or agent of the Corporation or as a director, officer, partner, member, trustee, administrator, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (an “indemnitee”), whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director or officer or in any other capacity while serving as a director or officer, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than permitted prior thereto), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, judgments, fines, excise taxes or penalties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time (“ERISA”), penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to an indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 3 of this Article SEVENTH with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation. The right to indemnification conferred in this Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH shall be a contract right and shall include the obligation of the Corporation to pay the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final disposition (an “advance of expenses”); provided, however, that an advance of expenses incurred by an indemnitee shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (an “undertaking”), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (a “final adjudication”) that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Section 2 or otherwise. The Corporation may, by action of its Board of Directors, provide indemnification to employees and agents of the Corporation with the same or lesser scope and effect as the foregoing indemnification of directors and officers.
Section 3 Procedure for Indemnification. Any indemnification of a director or officer of the Corporation or advance of expenses (including attorneys’ fees, costs and charges) under Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH shall be made promptly, and in any event within forty-five days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, twenty days, provided that the director or officer has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH), upon the written request of the director or officer. If a determination by the Corporation that the director or officer is entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Article SEVENTH is required, and the Corporation fails to respond within sixty days to a written request for indemnity, the Corporation shall be deemed to have approved the request. If the Corporation denies a written request for indemnification or advance of expenses, in whole or in part, or if payment in full pursuant to such request is not made within forty-five days (or, in the case of an advance of expenses, twenty days, provided that the director or officer has delivered the undertaking contemplated by Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH), the right to indemnification or advances as granted by this Article SEVENTH shall be enforceable by the director or officer in any court of competent jurisdiction. Such person’s costs and expenses incurred in connection with successfully establishing his or her right to indemnification, in whole or in part, in any such action shall also be indemnified by the Corporation. It shall be a defense to any such action (other than an action brought to enforce a claim for the advance of expenses where the undertaking required pursuant to Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH, if any, has been tendered to the Corporation) that the claimant has not met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under the Delaware General Corporation Law for the Corporation to indemnify the claimant for the amount claimed, but the burden of such defense shall be on the Corporation. Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel or its stockholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such action that indemnification of the claimant is proper in the circumstances because such person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal counsel or its stockholders) that the claimant has not met such applicable standard of conduct, shall be a defense to the action or create a presumption that the claimant has not met the applicable standard of conduct. The procedure for indemnification of other employees and agents for whom indemnification is provided pursuant to Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH shall be the same procedure set forth in this Section 3 for directors or officers, unless otherwise set forth in the action of the Board of Directors providing indemnification for such employee or agent.
Section 4 Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on its own behalf and on behalf of any person who is or was or has agreed to become a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expenses, liability or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 5 Service for Subsidiaries. Any person serving as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture or other enterprise, at least 50% of whose equity interests are owned by the Corporation (a “subsidiary” for this Article SEVENTH) shall be conclusively presumed to be serving in such capacity at the request of the Corporation.
Section 6 Reliance. Persons who after the date of the adoption of this Article SEVENTH become or remain directors or officers of the Corporation or who, while a director or officer of the Corporation, become or remain a director, officer, employee or agent of a subsidiary, shall be conclusively presumed to have relied on the rights to indemnity, advance of expenses and other rights contained in this Article SEVENTH in entering into or continuing such service. The rights to indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this Article SEVENTH shall apply to claims made against an indemnitee arising out of acts or omissions which occurred or occur both prior and subsequent to the adoption hereof.
Section 7 Other Rights; Continuation of Right to Indemnification. The rights to indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this Article SEVENTH shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or under any statute, by-law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. All rights to indemnification under this Article SEVENTH shall be deemed to be a contract between the Corporation and each director or officer of the Corporation who serves or served in such capacity at any time while this Article SEVENTH is in effect. Any repeal or modification of this Article SEVENTH or any repeal or modification of relevant provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law or any other applicable laws shall not in any way diminish any rights to indemnification of such director or officer or the obligations of the Corporation arising hereunder with respect to any proceeding arising out of, or relating to, any actions, transactions or facts occurring prior to the final adoption of such modification or repeal.
Section 8 Merger or Consolidation. For purposes of this Article SEVENTH, references to the “Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting Corporation, any constituent Corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another Corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this Article SEVENTH with respect to the resulting or surviving Corporation as he or she would have with respect to such constituent Corporation if its separate existence had continued.
Section 9 Savings Clause. If this Article SEVENTH or any portion hereof shall be invalidated on any ground by any court of competent jurisdiction, then the Corporation shall nevertheless indemnify each person entitled to indemnification under Section 2 of this Article SEVENTH as to all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees and related disbursements, judgments, penalties, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties, and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) actually and reasonably incurred or suffered by such person and for which indemnification is available to such person pursuant to this Article SEVENTH to the fullest extent permitted by any applicable portion of this Article SEVENTH that shall not have been invalidated and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
Section 10 Exclusive Forum. Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer or other employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director or officer or other employee of the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation or the bylaws of the Corporation (as either may be amended from time to time), or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation or any director or officer or other employee of the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrines shall be a state court located within the State of Delaware (or, if no state court located within the State of Delaware has jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware).