Other Matters
The shares of common stock have no preemptive rights and are not convertible, redeemable or assessable or entitled to the benefits of any sinking fund.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Certain provisions of the DGCL, our Certificate and our By-Laws summarized below may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in his or her best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for our common stock.
Preferred Stock
Our authorized preferred stock consists of 5,000,000 shares, par value $1.00 per share, issuable in series. Our Board of Directors can, without action by stockholders, issue one or more series of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors can determine for each series the number of shares, designation, relative voting rights, dividend rates, liquidation and other rights, preferences and limitations. In some cases, the issuance of preferred stock could delay or discourage a change in control of us.
The issuance of preferred stock, while providing desired flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could adversely affect the voting power of holders of our common stock. It could also affect the likelihood that holders of our common stock will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation.
Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our stockholders can submit stockholder proposals and nominate candidates for our Board of Directors if the stockholders follow advance notice procedures described in our By-Laws. Generally, stockholders must submit a written notice between 90 and 120 days before the first anniversary of the date of our previous year’s annual stockholders’ meeting.
The notice must set forth specific information regarding the stockholder and the proposal or director nominee, as described in our By-Laws. These requirements are in addition to those set forth in the regulations adopted by the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Proxy Access
Our By-Laws permit a stockholder, or a group of up to 20 stockholders (with funds having specified relationships constituting a single stockholder), owning 3% or more of our outstanding common stock continuously for at least three years, to nominate and include in our proxy materials director nominees constituting up to the greater of two individuals or 20% of our Board of Directors (rounded down to the nearest whole number), provided that the stockholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the requirements specified in our By-Laws and subject to the other terms and conditions set forth in our By-Laws. A stockholder’s Proxy Access Notice must be submitted not less than 120 calendar days before the first anniversary of the date our proxy statement was released to stockholders for the previous year’s annual stockholders’ meeting.