GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THIS LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Forming Part of the Terms and Conditions of the Offer
1. Guarantee of Signatures. All signatures on this Letter of Transmittal must be guaranteed by a firm which is a member of the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, or by any other “eligible guarantor institution,” as such term is defined in Rule 17Ad-15 promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (each of the foregoing being an “Eligible Institution”), unless (a) this Letter of Transmittal is signed by the registered holder(s) of shares (which term, for purposes of this document, will include any participant in The Depository Trust Company whose name appears on a security position listing as the owner of shares) tendered hereby and such holder(s) has (have) not completed the box entitled “Special Payment Instructions” or “Special Delivery Instructions” on the reverse of this Letter of Transmittal or (b) the shares are tendered for the account of an Eligible Institution. See Instruction 5.
2. Delivery of Letter of Transmittal and Certificates. This Letter of Transmittal is to be used either if certificates are to be forwarded with it or if tenders are to be made pursuant to the procedures for tenders by book-entry transfer pursuant to the procedure set forth in Section 3 of the Offer to Purchase. Certificates evidencing all physically tendered shares, or a confirmation of a book-entry transfer into the U.S. Depositary’s account at The Depository Trust Company of all shares delivered by book-entry transfer, as well as a properly completed and duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or a manually signed facsimile of it) and any other documents required by this Letter of Transmittal, must be received by the U.S. Depositary at one of its addresses set forth below prior to 5:00 p.m., New York time, or 12:00 midnight, Israel time, on the Initial Completion Date or Final Expiration Date (as defined in Section 1 of the Offer to Purchase), as applicable. If certificates are forwarded to the U.S. Depositary in multiple deliveries, a properly completed and duly executed Letter of Transmittal (or manually signed facsimile of the Letter of Transmittal) must accompany each delivery.
Shareholders whose certificates are not immediately available, who cannot deliver their certificates and all other required documents to the U.S. Depositary prior to 5:00 p.m., New York time, or 12:00 midnight, Israel time, on the Initial Completion Date or Final Expiration Date, as applicable, or who cannot complete the procedure for delivery by book-entry transfer on a timely basiswill not be able to tender their shares pursuant to guaranteed delivery procedure.
The method of delivery of this Letter of Transmittal, certificates and all other required documents, including delivery through The Depository Trust Company, is at the option and risk of the tendering shareholder, and the delivery will be deemed made only when actually received by the U.S. Depositary. If delivery is by mail, registered mail with return receipt requested, properly insured, is recommended. In all cases, sufficient time should be allowed to ensure timely delivery.
All questions as to the validity, form, eligibility (including time of receipt) and acceptance for payment of any tender of shares will be determined by the Purchaser, in its sole discretion. This determination will be final and binding on all parties. The Purchaser reserves the absolute right to reject any or all tenders that it determines not to be in proper form or the acceptance for payment of which may be unlawful. The Purchaser also reserves the absolute right, in its sole discretion, to waive any defect or irregularity in any tender of shares of any particular shareholder, whether or not similar defects or irregularities are waived in the case of other shareholders.A tender of shares will not have been made until all defects and irregularities have been cured or waived. None of the Purchaser, the Depositaries, the Information Agent, the Israeli legal counsel or any other person will be under any duty to give notification of any defects or irregularities in tenders of shares or incur any liability for failure to give any notification. The Purchaser’s interpretation of the terms of, and conditions to, the Offer (including this Letter of Transmittal and the instructions thereto) will be final and binding.
No alternative, conditional or contingent tenders will be accepted, and no fractional shares will be purchased. By execution of this Letter of Transmittal (or a manually signed facsimile of it), all tendering shareholders waive any right to receive any notice of the acceptance of their shares for payment.
If any share certificate has been lost, destroyed or stolen, the shareholder should promptly notify the U.S. Depositary. The shareholder then will be instructed as to the steps that must be taken in order to replace the share certificate. This Letter of Transmittal and related documents cannot be processed until the procedures for replacing lost or destroyed share certificates have been followed.
IMPORTANT: IF YOU SUBMIT A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL, BY WHICH YOU TENDER YOUR SHARES, AND THEREAFTER YOU DELIVER TO US A NOTICE OF OBJECTION WITH RESPECT TO THOSE SHARES, WE WILL DISREGARD YOUR LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. SIMILARLY, IF YOU SUBMIT TO US A NOTICE OF OBJECTION WITH RESPECT TO YOUR SHARES AND THEREAFTER YOU DELIVER TO US A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL BY WHICH YOU TENDER THOSE SHARES, WE WILL DISREGARD YOUR NOTICE OF OBJECTION. IF YOU SUBMIT A LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL AND A NOTICE OF OBJECTION CONCURRENTLY WITH RESPECT TO THE SAME SHARES, THE NOTICE OF OBJECTION WILL BE DISREGARDED.
3. Inadequate Space. If the space provided on the reverse of this Letter of Transmittal under “Description of Shares Tendered” is inadequate, the certificate numbers, the number of shares evidenced by such certificates and the number of shares tendered should be listed on a separate signed schedule and attached to this Letter of Transmittal.
4. Partial Tenders (not applicable to shareholders who tender by book-entry transfer). If fewer than all shares evidenced by any certificate delivered to the U.S. Depositary with this Letter of Transmittal are to be tendered, fill in the number of shares that are to be tendered in the box entitled “Number of Shares Tendered.” In such cases, new certificate(s) evidencing the remainder of shares that were evidenced by the certificates delivered to the U.S. Depositary with this Letter of Transmittal will be sent to the person(s) signing this Letter of Transmittal, unless otherwise provided in the box entitled “Special Delivery Instructions” on the reverse of this Letter of Transmittal, as soon as practicable after the Initial Completion Date or Final Expiration Date, as applicable, or the termination of the offer. Unless otherwise indicated, all shares evidenced by certificates delivered to the U.S. Depositary will be deemed to have been tendered.
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5. Signatures on Letter of Transmittal; Stock Powers and Endorsements. If this Letter of Transmittal is signed by the registered holder(s) of shares tendered hereby, the signature(s) must correspond with the name(s) as written on the face of the certificates evidencing the tendered shares without alteration, enlargement or any other change whatsoever.
If any tendered shares are registered in more than one registered name, it will be necessary to complete, sign and submit as many separate Letters of Transmittal as there are different registrations of those tendered shares.
If this Letter of Transmittal is signed by the registered holder(s) of tendered shares, no endorsements of certificates or separate stock powers are required, unless payment is to be made to, or certificates evidencing shares not tendered or not accepted for payment are to be issued in the name of, a person other than the registered holder(s). If the Letter of Transmittal is signed by a person other than the registered holder(s) of the certificate(s) evidencing shares tendered, the tendered certificate(s) must be endorsed or accompanied by appropriate stock powers, in either case signed exactly as the name(s) of the registered holder(s) appear(s) on the certificate(s). Signatures on the certificate(s) and stock powers must be guaranteed by an Eligible Institution.
If this Letter of Transmittal is signed by a person other than the registered holder(s) of tendered shares, the certificate(s) evidencing tendered shares must be endorsed or accompanied by appropriate stock powers, in either case signed exactly as the name(s) of the registered holder(s) appear(s) on such certificate(s). Signatures on such certificate(s) and stock powers must be guaranteed by an Eligible Institution.
If this Letter of Transmittal or any certificate or stock power is signed by a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, attorney-in-fact, officer of a corporation or other person acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity, that person should so indicate when signing, and proper evidence satisfactory to the Purchaser of that person’s authority so to act must be submitted.
6. Share Transfer Taxes. Except as otherwise provided in this Instruction 6, the Purchaser will pay all share transfer taxes with respect to the sale and transfer of any shares to it or its order pursuant to the offer. If, however, payment of the purchase price of any shares purchased is to be made to, or certificate(s) evidencing shares not tendered or not accepted for payment are to be issued in the name of, any person other than the registered holder(s) or if tendered certificates are registered in the name of any person other than the person(s) signing the Letter of Transmittal, the amount of any share transfer taxes (whether imposed on the registered holder(s), or such other person, or otherwise) payable on account of the transfer to that other person will be deducted from the purchase price of the tendered shares purchased, unless evidence satisfactory to the Purchaser of the payment of the taxes, or that the transfer is not subject to tax, is submitted.
Except as provided in this Instruction 6, it will not be necessary for transfer tax stamps to be affixed to the certificates evidencing tendered shares.
7. Special Payment and Delivery Instructions. If a check for the purchase price of any tendered shares is to be issued in the name of, and/or certificate(s) evidencing shares not tendered or not accepted for payment are to be issued in the name of and/or returned to, a person other than the person(s) signing this Letter of Transmittal or if a check or any such certificate is to be sent to a person other than the signor of this Letter of Transmittal or to the person(s) signing this Letter of Transmittal but at an address other than that shown in the box entitled “Description of Shares Tendered” on the reverse of this Letter of Transmittal, the appropriate boxes on this Letter of Transmittal must be completed.
8. Questions and Requests for Assistance or Additional Copies. Questions and requests for assistance may be directed to the Information Agent at the address or telephone numbers set forth below. Additional copies of the Offer to Purchase, this Letter of Transmittal, the Guidelines for Certification of Taxpayer Identification Number on Substitute Form W-9, the Declaration Form (“Declaration of Status for Israeli Income Tax Purposes”) and other documents related to the Offer may be obtained from the Information Agent.
9. Substitute Form W-9, Appropriate Form W-8. Each holder who is a U.S. Holder for U.S. federal income tax purposes (as defined in Section 5 of the Offer to Purchase, hereinafter referred to as “U.S. Holder”) surrendering certificates for payment is required to provide the U.S. Depositary with a correct Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”) on Substitute Form W-9 (provided herein) and certify under penalties of perjury that such number is correct and indicate whether such holder is subject to backup withholding by checking the appropriate box in part 2 of the form. Each U.S. Holder must date and sign the Substitute W-9 in the spaces indicated. Failure to provide the information on the form may subject such holder to a 28% federal income tax withholding on the purchase price and to a $50 penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service. The box in Part 3 of the Substitute Form W-9 may be checked if such U.S. Holder has not been issued a TIN and has applied for a number or intends to apply for a number in the near future. If the box in Part 3 is checked, the U.S. Depositary will withhold 28% of all reportable payments that such holder is otherwise entitled to receive until a TIN is provided to the U.S. Depositary. If such holder provides a properly certified TIN within 60 days, the U.S. Depositary will refund the withheld taxes upon such holder’s request.Each holder who is not a U.S. Holder must complete and submit the appropriate Form W-8 in order to be exempt from the 28% federal income tax backup withholding due on payments with respect to the Shares. The appropriate Form W-8 may be obtained from the Information Agent and the U.S. Depositary. Shareholders that are not U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisor regarding the appropriate IRS Form W-8 in light of their particular circumstances.
10. Declaration Form (“Declaration of Status for Israeli Income Tax Purposes”). Each holder surrendering certificates for payment who is eligible for an exemption from Israeli withholding tax, as described in Section 2 and Section 5 of the Offer to Purchase, is required to complete the Declaration Form included in this letter. See also “Important Tax Information” below and the instructions to the Declaration Form. Each holder must date and sign the Declaration Form in the spaces indicated. Failure to provide the information on the form may subject the holder to a 9.25% Israeli income tax withholding on the purchase price.
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11. Additional Offer Period. Promptly following the Initial Completion Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase), the Purchaser will publicly announce whether or not the conditions to the offer have been satisfied or, subject to applicable law, waived by the Purchaser. As required by Israeli law, if the conditions to the offer have been satisfied or, subject to applicable law, waived by the Purchaser and the consummation of the Offer would result in the Purchaser being the beneficial owners of more than 45.0% of the voting power of Elron, then if, with respect to each share owned by a shareholder: (a) he or she has not yet responded to the offer, (b) he or she has notified the Purchaser of his or her objection to the Offer, or (c) he or she has tendered such share but have withdrawn his or her tender prior to 5:00 p.m., New York time, or 12:00 midnight, Israel time, on the Initial Completion Date, such shareholder will be afforded an additional four calendar-day period, until 5:00 p.m., New York time, or 12:00 midnight, Israel time, on the Final Expiration Date, during which period he or she may tender each such share. See Section 1 and Section 11 of the Offer to Purchase.
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IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION
Unites States
Under U.S. federal income tax law, a U.S. Holder whose tendered shares are accepted for payment is generally required to provide the U.S. Depositary (as payer) with such shareholder’s correct TIN on Substitute Form W-9. If such shareholder is an individual, the TIN generally is such shareholder’s social security number. If the U.S. Depositary is not provided with the correct TIN, such shareholder may be subject to a penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and payments that are made to such shareholder with respect to shares purchased pursuant to the offer may be subject to backup withholding of 28%. In addition, if such shareholder makes a false statement that results in no imposition of backup withholding, and there was no reasonable basis for making such statement, a penalty may also be imposed by the IRS.
Many shareholders who are not U.S. Holders (including, among others, certain foreign corporations and certain foreign individuals) are not subject to these backup withholding and reporting requirements. In order for a shareholder who is not a U.S. Holder to qualify as an exempt recipient, such shareholder must submit a statement on the appropriate IRS Form W-8, signed under penalties of perjury, attesting to such shareholder’s exempt status. Forms of those statements can be obtained from the Information Agent and the U.S. Depositary. See the enclosed “Guidelines for Certification of Taxpayer Identification Number on Substitute Form W-9” for additional instructions. A tax advisor should be consulted as to such shareholder’s qualification for exemption from backup withholding and the procedure for obtaining such exemption, including the on the appropriate IRS Form W-8 in light of such shareholder’s circumstances.
If backup withholding applies, the U.S. Depositary is required to withhold 28% of any payments made to the shareholder. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the federal income tax liability of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund may be obtained if the required information is furnished to the Internal Revenue Service.
Purpose of Substitute Form W-9. To prevent backup withholding on payments that are made to a shareholder who is a U.S. Holderwith respect to shares purchased in the offer, such shareholder is required to notify the U.S. Depositary of such shareholder’s correct TIN by completing the Substitute Form W-9 certifying that (a) the TIN provided on Substitute Form W-9 is correct (or that such shareholder is awaiting a TIN), and (b)(i) that such shareholder has not been notified by the Internal Revenue Service that he, she or it is subject to backup withholding as a result of a failure to report all interest or dividends or (ii) the Internal Revenue Service has notified such shareholder that the shareholder is no longer subject to backup withholding.
What Number to Give the U.S. Depositary.Each shareholder who is a U.S. Holder is required to give the U.S. Depositary the TIN (e.g., social security number or employer identification number) of the record holder of tendered shares. If shares are in more than one name or are not in the name of the actual owner, consult the enclosed “Guidelines for Certification of Taxpayer Identification Number on Substitute Form W-9” for additional guidance on which number to report. If the holder has not been issued a TIN and has applied for a number or intends to apply for a number in the near future, the box in Part 3 of the Substitute W-9 should be checked. If the box in Part 3 is checked, the U.S. Depositary will withhold 28% of all reportable payments that such holder is otherwise entitled to receive until a TIN is provided to the U.S. Depositary. If the holder provides a properly certified TIN within 60 days, the U.S. Depositary will refund the withheld taxes upon the holder’s request.
Israel
The gross proceeds payable to a tendering shareholder in the Offer will generally be subject to Israeli withholding tax at the rate of 15% of the shareholder’s gain on such sale. The Purchaser has obtained an approval from the Israeli Tax Authority, or the ITA, with respect to the withholding tax rates applicable to shareholders as a result of the purchase of shares in the Offer. The approval provides, among other things, that tendering shareholders who (1) certify that they are non-Israeli residents and hold their Shares directly or through a foreign (non-Israeli) broker or financial institution, will not be subject to Israeli withholding tax, (2) hold their Shares through an Israeli broker or financial institution, will be subject to Israeli withholding tax as required by Israeli law, and (3) are shareholders not described in clauses (1) and (2) above, will be subject to Israeli withholding tax at a fixed rate of 9.25% of the gross proceeds payable to them pursuant to the offer..
The Israeli withholding tax is not an additional tax. Rather, the Israeli income tax liability of shareholders subject to Israeli withholding will be reduced by the amount of Israeli tax withheld. If Israeli withholding tax results in an overpayment of Israeli taxes, the holder may apply to the ITA in order to obtain a refund. However, the Purchaser cannot assure you whether and when the ITA will grant such refund
Purpose of Declaration Form. To prevent withholding of Israeli income tax on payments that are made to a shareholder with respect to shares purchased in the offer, each shareholder is required to notify the U.S. Depositary of such shareholder’s exemption by completing and signing the Declaration Form included in this letter. The Declaration Form should be completed by holders of Shares, who are either: (i) NOT “residents of Israel” for purposes of the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], 5721-1961 (the “Ordinance”), or (ii) a bank, broker or financial institution that are “residents of Israel” within the meaning of that term in Section 1 of the Ordinance, holding Shares solely on behalf of beneficial shareholder(s), and are subject to the provisions of the Ordinance and regulations promulgated thereunder relating to the withholding of Israeli tax, including with respect to the cash payment (if any) made to them with respect to Shares tendered by such beneficial shareholder(s) and accepted for payment by the Purchaser pursuant to the Offer
The foregoing description of certain tax withholding is only a summary and is qualified by all the terms of, and conditions to, the Offer set forth in the Offer to Purchase. In this respect, you are urged to read Section 2 and Section 5 of the Offer to Purchase.
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Facsimiles of this Letter of Transmittal, properly completed and duly signed, will be accepted. This Letter of Transmittal and certificates and any other required documents should be sent or delivered by each shareholder or that shareholder’s broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee to the U.S. Depositary at one of its addresses or to the facsimile number set forth below.
The U.S. Depositary for the offer is:
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
By Hand/Overnight Courier: | By Facsimile Transmission: (718) 234-5001 | By Mail: |
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company 59 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038 Attn: Reorganization Department | Confirm by Telephone: (718) 921-8200
| American Stock Transfer & Trust Company 59 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038 Attn: Reorganization Department |
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Questions or requests for assistance may be directed to the Information Agent at its address and telephone number listed below. Additional copies of the Offer to Purchase and this Letter of Transmittal may be obtained from the Information Agent. A shareholder may also contact brokers, dealers, commercial banks or trust companies for assistance concerning the offer.
The Information Agent for the offer is:
![MACKENZIE LOGO](https://capedge.com/proxy/SC TO-T/0001178913-04-000992/mackenzie.jpg)
105 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10016
call collect (212) 929-5500
or
toll-free (800) 322-2885
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