DESCRIPTION OF ORDINARY SHARES AND PREFERENCE SHARES
The following description of the Company’s share capital is a summary. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Companies Act 2014 of Ireland, as amended, and all its statutory instruments which are to be read as one with, or construed, or to be read together with such Act (the “Companies Acts”) and the complete text of the Company’s memorandum and articles of association, which are filed with the SEC and incorporated by reference herein. You should read those laws and documents carefully.
The statements in this section are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are subject to, the detailed provisions of the memorandum and articles of association of the Company, as may be amended from time to time.
Authorized Share Capital
The authorized share capital of the Company is €40,000 and $7,610,000, comprised of 40,000 euro deferred shares par value €1.00 per share, 750,000,000 ordinary shares par value $0.01 per share (“ordinary shares”), 10,000 A preferred shares par value $1.00 per share, and 10,000,000 serial preferred shares par value $0.01 per share.
As of September 6, 2021, the Company had issued 398,784,573 ordinary shares, 40,000 euro deferred shares, 10,000 A preferred shares, and no serial preferred shares issued.
The Company may issue shares subject to the maximum authorized share capital contained in its memorandum and articles of association. The authorized share capital may be increased or reduced by a resolution approved by a simple majority of the votes cast at a general meeting by those of the Company’s shareholders that are entitled to vote at such meetings (referred to under Irish law as an “ordinary resolution”). The shares comprising the authorized share capital of the Company may be divided into shares of such nominal value as the resolution shall prescribe. As a matter of Irish company law, the directors of a company may issue relevant securities, up to a specified threshold, without shareholder approval once authorized to do so by the articles of association or by an ordinary resolution adopted by the shareholders at a general meeting. The authorization may be granted for a maximum period of five years. However, it is customary practice in Ireland for such authority to be limited to a period of 12 to 18 months, at which point it must be renewed by the shareholders by an ordinary resolution. Pursuant to a shareholder resolution passed on April 28, 2021, directors of the Company are authorized to issue relevant securities, up to a specified threshold, without shareholder approval for a period expiring 18 months from the date of the passing of the shareholder resolution.
Irish law does not recognize fractional shares held of record. Accordingly, the Company’s articles of association do not provide for the issuance of fractional shares of the Company, and the official Irish register of the Company does not reflect any fractional shares.
Whenever an alteration or reorganization of the share capital of the Company would result in any shareholder of the Company becoming entitled to fractions of a share, the Company’s board of directors may, on behalf of those shareholders that would become entitled to fractions of a share, arrange for the sale of the shares representing fractions and the distribution of the net proceeds of such sale in due proportion among the shareholders who would have been entitled to the fractions. For the purpose of any such sale the board may authorize some person to transfer the shares representing fractions to the purchaser, who shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings relating to the sale.
The rights and restrictions to which the ordinary shares are subject are prescribed in the Company’s articles of association.
Ordinary Shares
Exchange and Trading Symbol
The ordinary shares are listed for trading on the NYSE under the trading symbol “ETN.”
Preemption Rights, Share Warrants and Share Options
Under Irish law certain statutory preemption rights apply automatically in favor of shareholders where shares are to be issued for cash. However, the Company has opted out of these preemption rights by way of a shareholder resolution, as permitted under Irish company law up to a specified threshold. The authorization may be granted for