Exhibit 3.1
AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
BENTON OIL AND GAS COMPANY
OF
BENTON OIL AND GAS COMPANY
Pursuant to Articles 242 and 245 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), Benton Oil and Gas Company (the “Corporation”) hereby adopts this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which accurately restates and integrates the provisions of the existing Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) and all amendments thereto that are in effect on the date hereof and further amends the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation as described below.
ARTICLE ONE
The name of the Corporation, upon execution and filing of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, will be Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. The name of the Corporation was Benton Oil and Gas Company when the Certificate of Incorporation was originally filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on September 9, 1988.
The Board of Directors of the Corporation duly adopted a resolution proposing and declaring advisable the adoption of the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as described herein, and the Corporation’s stockholders duly adopted such Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, all in accordance with the provisions of Sections 242 and 245 of the DGCL.
ARTICLE TWO
The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation is amended by this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation as follows:
Paragraph 1. of the Certificate of Incorporation is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows:
“The name of the corporation is Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.”
ARTICLE THREE
The Certificate of Incorporation and all amendments and supplements thereto are superseded by the following Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation which accurately copies the entire text thereof and as amended as above set forth.
STATE OF DELAWARE
SECRETARY OF STATE
DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS
FILED 04:30 PM 05/20/2002
020321325 — 2172081
SECRETARY OF STATE
DIVISION OF CORPORATIONS
FILED 04:30 PM 05/20/2002
020321325 — 2172081
“AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
HARVEST NATURAL RESOURCES, INC.
OF
HARVEST NATURAL RESOURCES, INC.
1. The name of the corporation is Harvest Natural Resources, Inc.
2. The registered office and registered agent of the corporation is The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, County of New Castle.
3. 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 Delaware.
4. The total number of shares of stock that the corporation shall have authority to issue is:
A. | Common Stock. Eighty million (80,000,000) shares of the par value of $0.1 each; | ||
B. | Preferred Stock. Five million (5,000,000) shares of the par value of $.01 each. |
The Board of Directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by law and the provisions of this Article 4, to provide for the issuance of the shares of Preferred Stock in series, and by filing a certificate pursuant to the applicable law of the State of Delaware, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof.
The authority of the Board of Directors with respect to each such series shall include determination of the following:
a) The number of shares constituting that series and the distinctive designation of that series;
b) The dividend rate, if any, on the shares of that series, whether dividends shall be cumulative, and, if so, from which date or dates, and the relative rights of priority, if any, of payment of dividends on shares of that series;
c) Whether that series shall have voting rights, in addition to the voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights;
d) Whether that series shall have conversion privileges and, if so, the terms and conditions of such conversion, including provision for
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adjustment of the conversion rate in such events as the Board of Directors shall determine;
e) Whether or not the shares of that series shall be redeemable, and, if so, the terms and conditions of such redemption, including the date or dates upon or after which they shall be redeemable, and the amount per share payable in case of redemption, which amount may vary under different conditions and at different redemption dates;
f) Whether that series shall have a sinking fund for the redemption or purchase of shares of that series, and, if so, the terms and amount of such sinking fund;
g) The rights of the shares of that series in the event of voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the corporation, and relative rights of priority, if any, of payment of shares of that series; and
h) Any other relative rights, preferences and limitations of that series.
If upon any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the corporation, the assets available for distribution to holders of shares of Preferred Stock of all series shall be insufficient to pay such holders the full preferential amount to which they are entitled, then such assets shall be distributed ratable among the shares of all series of Preferred Stock in accordance with the respective preferential amounts (including unpaid cumulative dividends, if any) payable with respect thereto.
Pursuant to the authority conferred upon the Board of Directors by the Certificate of Incorporation of the corporation, the Board of Directors on April 28, 1995, adopted the resolution set forth on Exhibit A to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation designating the rights and preferences of a series of 500,000 shares of Preferred Stock, $.01 par value, designated as Series B Preferred Stock.
5. The Board of Directors of the corporation, acting by majority vote, may alter, amend or repeal the Bylaws of the corporation.
6. The corporation shall indemnify to the fullest extent then permitted by the law any person who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or otherwise (including an action, suit or proceeding by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, or serves or served at the request of the corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, actually and reasonably incurred in connection therewith. Expenses incurred by an officer or director in defending a civil or criminal action, suit or proceeding shall be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified by
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the corporation as authorized in this Article. The indemnification provided hereby shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those indemnified may be entitled under any statute, bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or directors or otherwise, both as to action in any official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding an office, and shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such person.
Any person other than a director or officer who is or was an employee or agent of the corporation, or fiduciary within the meaning of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 with respect to any employee benefit plans of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise may be indemnified to such extent as the Board of Directors in its discretion at any time or from time to time may authorize.
7. No director of the corporation shall be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director; provided that the liability of a director shall not be eliminated (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, THE UNDERSIGNED HAS SIGNED THIS Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation on May ___, 2002.
Peter J. Hill | ||||
President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
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EXHIBIT A
RESOLVED, that pursuant to the authority granted to and vested in the Board of Directors of this Corporation in accordance with the provision of its Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors hereby creates a series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation and hereby fixes the designation and the amount thereof and the powers, preferences and relative participating, optional or other special rights of the shares of such series, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as follows:
1. Designation and Amount. The shares of such series shall be designated as “Series B Preferred Stock,” par value $.01 per share, and the number of shares constituting such series shall be 500,000. Such number of shares may be increased or decreased by resolution of the Board of Directors; provided, however, that no decrease shall reduce the number of shares of Series B Preferred Stock to a number less than that of the shares then outstanding plus the number of shares issuable upon exercise of outstanding rights, options or warrants or upon conversion of outstanding securities issued by the Corporation.
2. Dividends and Distributions.
(A) Subject to the prior and superior rights of the holders of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock ranking prior and superior to the shares of Series B Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of shares of Common Stock, par value $.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Corporation, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose, quarterly dividends payable in cash on the first day of March, June, September and December in each year (each such date being referred to herein as a “Quarterly Dividend Payment Date”), commencing on the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date after the first issuance of a share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater of (a) $10.00 or (b) subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, 100 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 100 times the aggregate per share amount (payable in kind) of all non-cash dividends or other distributions, other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock or a subdivision of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise), declared on the Common Stock since the immediately preceding Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, or, with respect to the first Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, since the first issuance of any share or fraction of a share of Series B Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after May 19, 1995 (the “Rights Declaration Date”) (i) declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or (ii) effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (b) of the preceding sentence shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event, and the
denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) The Corporation shall declare a dividend or distribution on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in paragraph (A) of this Section immediately after it declares a dividend or distribution on the Common Stock (other than a dividend payable in shares of Common Stock); provided that, in the event no dividend or distribution shall have been declared on the Common Stock during the period between any Quarterly Dividend Payment Date and the next subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, a dividend of $10.00 per share on the Series B Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.
(C) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next preceding the date of issue of such shares Series B Preferred Stock, unless the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in which case dividends on such shares shall begin to accrue from the date of issue of such shares, or unless the date of issue is a Quarterly Dividend Payment Date or is a date after the record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive a quarterly dividend and before such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date, in either of which events such dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative from such Quarterly Dividend Payment Date. Accrued but unpaid dividends shall not bear interest. Dividends paid on the shares of Series B Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocatedpro rataon a share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board of Directors may fix a record date for the determination of holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock entitled to receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record date shall be not more than 30 days prior to the date fixed for the payment thereof.
3. Voting Rights. The holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have the following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each share of Series B Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 100 votes on all mattes submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, or effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the number of votes per share to which holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such number by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event, and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
(B) Except as otherwise set forth herein or as required by law, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of Common Stock shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) Except as otherwise set forth herein or as required by law, the holders of Series B Preferred Stock shall have no special voting rights and their consent shall not be required (except to the extent they are entitled to vote with the holders of Common Stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporation action.
4. Certain Restrictions.
(A) Whenever quarterly dividends or other dividends or distributions payable on the Series B Preferred Stock as provided in Section 2 are in arrears, thereafter and until all accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions, whether or not declared, on shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding shall have been paid in full, the Corporation shall not:
(i) declare or pay dividends on, make any other distributions on, or redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock;
(ii) declare or pay dividends on or make other distributions on any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series B Preferred Stock and all such parity stock on which dividends are payable or in arrears in proportion to the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are then entitled;
(iii) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration shares of stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, provided that the Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire shares of any such junior stock in exchange for shares of any stock of the Corporation ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock; or
(iv) redeem or purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series B Preferred Stock or any shares of stock ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, except in accordance with a purchase offer made in writing or by publication (as determined by the Board of Directors) to all holders of such shares upon such terms as the Board of Directors, after consideration of the respective annual dividend rates and other relative rights and preferences of the respective series and classes, shall determine in good faith will result in fair and equitable treatment among the respective series or classes.
(B) The Corporation shall not permit any subsidiary of the Corporation to purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of stock of the Corporation unless the Corporation could, under paragraph (A) of this Section 4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
5. Reacquired Shares. Any shares of Series B Preferred Stock purchased or otherwise acquired by the Corporation in any manner whatsoever shall be retired and cancelled promptly after the acquisition thereof. All such shares shall upon their cancellation become authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock and may be reissued as part of a new series of Preferred Stock to be created by resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors, subject to the conditions and restrictions on issuance set forth herein.
6. Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up.
(A) Upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no distribution shall be made to the holders of shares of Common Stock or of other stock ranking junior (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the Series B Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall have received, per share, the greater of $100.00 or 100 times (subject to adjustment as hereinafter set forth) the aggregate amount to be distributed per share of Common Stock, plus an amount equal to accrued and unpaid dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of such payment (the “Series B Liquidation Preference”).
(B) In the event that upon any liquidation (voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, there are no sufficient assets remaining to permit payment in full of the Series B Liquidation Preference and the liquidation preferences of all other series of Preferred Stock, if any, which rank on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) with the Series B Preferred Stock, then such remaining assets shall be distributed ratably to the holders of such parity stock in proportion to the amount to which the holders of all such shares are entitled to receive upon such liquidation, dissolution or winding up.
(C) In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common Stock, (ii) subdivide the outstanding Common Stock, or (iii) combine the outstanding Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, by reclassification or otherwise, then in each such case the aggregate amount to which holders of Series B Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event, and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
7. Consolidation, Merger, etc. In case the Corporation shall enter into any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which the shares of Common Stock are exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities, cash and/or any other property, then in any such case the shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall at the same time be similarly exchanged or changed in an amount per share (subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth) equal to 100 times the aggregate amount of stock, securities, cash and/or any other property (payable in kind), as the case may be, into which or for which each share of Common Stock is changed or exchanged. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights Declaration Date declare or pay any dividend on Common Stock payable in shares of Common
Stock, or effect a subdivision, combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (by reclassification or otherwise) into a greater or lesser number of shares of Common Stock, then in each such case the amount set forth in the preceding sentence with respect to the exchange or change of shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall be adjusted by multiplying such amount by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after such event, and the denominator of which is the number of shares of Common Stock that were outstanding immediately prior to such event.
8. Redemption. The shares of Series B Preferred Stock shall not be redeemable.
9. Ranking. The Series B Preferred Stock shall rank junior to all other series of the Corporation’s Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets, unless the terms of any such series shall provide otherwise.
10. Fractional Shares. Series B Preferred Stock may be issued in fractions (including, but not limited to, one hundredths) of a share which shall entitle the holder, in proportion to such holder’s fractional shares, to exercise voting rights, receive dividends, participate in distributions and to have the benefit of all other rights of holders of Series B Preferred Stock.
11. Amendment. The Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws of the Corporation shall not be further amended in any manner which would materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the Series B Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative vote of the holders of at lest 66-2/3% of the outstanding shares of Series B Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.