DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
The following description of the material terms of our common stock is based on the provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation. For more information as to how you can obtain a current copy of our restated certificate of incorporation, see “Where You Can Find More Information.” Except where the context requires otherwise, in this Description of Common Stock and Preference Stock, the term the “Company” refers to Pitney Bowes Inc., a Delaware corporation, and does not include its subsidiaries.
Subject to the rights of the holders of any of our preferred stock or preference stock then outstanding, holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on matters to be voted on by our stockholders and to receive dividends, if any, when declared from time to time by our board of directors in its discretion out of legally available funds. Upon our liquidation or dissolution, holders of common stock would be entitled to receive proportionately all assets remaining after payment of all liabilities and liquidation preference on any shares of preferred stock or preference stock outstanding at the time. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or other subscription rights, and there are no conversion rights or redemption or sinking fund provisions with respect to common stock. As of December 31, 2016, there were 185,668,718 shares of our common stock outstanding, net of 137,699,194 shares of treasury stock, of which approximately 32,453,416 shares would be required for issuance upon exercise of all outstanding stock options, our dividend reinvestment and other corporate plans, and conversion of our 4% preferred shares and $2.12 preference shares. All of our outstanding common stock is fully paid and non-assessable, which means that the holders have paid their purchase price in full and we may not ask them for additional funds, and all of the shares of common stock that may be offered with this prospectus will be fully paid and non-assessable when issued.
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PBI.”
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification Matters
Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that a director of the Company will not be liable to the Company or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except in certain cases where liability is mandated by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.
Our restated certificate of incorporation also provides for indemnification, to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, of any person made or threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director or officer of the Company, or, at our request, serves or served as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against all expense, liability and loss, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, Employee Retirement Income Security Act excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement, reasonably incurred or suffered by that person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding. Our restated certificate of incorporation also provides that, to the extent authorized from time to time by our board of directors, we may provide to our employees and other agents rights of indemnification and to receive payment or reimbursement of expenses, including attorneys’ fees, that are similar to the rights conferred by the restated certificate of incorporation on our directors and officers or persons serving at our request as directors, officers, employees or agents of any other enterprise.
Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware applies to the Company. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder,” as defined in Section 203, for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes a merger, asset sale or a transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An “interested stockholder,” as defined in Section 203, is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns (or, in certain cases, within the preceding three years, did own) 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock. Under Section 203, a business combination between the Company and an interested stockholder is prohibited within the three-year period unless it satisfies one of the following conditions:
| • | before the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the board of directors of the Company must have approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |