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CERTIFICATE OF DESIGNATIONS, PREFERENCES
AND RIGHTS OF A SERIES OF
PREFERRED STOCK
OF
DESIGNS, INC.
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DESIGNS, INC., a corporation organized and existing under the General
Corporation Law of the State of Delaware,
DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:
That, pursuant to authority conferred upon the Board of Directors by
the Restated Certificate of Incorporation (as amended) of said corporation, and
pursuant to the provisions of Section 151 of Title 8 of Delaware Code of 1953,
said Board of Directors, at a meeting duly held on May 1, 1995, adopted a
resolution providing for the designations, preferences and relative,
participating, optional or other rights, and the qualifications, limitations or
restrictions thereof, of a Series of Preferred Stock, which resolution is as
follows:
See attached pages 2A-7A
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VOTE OF DIRECTORS ESTABLISHING
SERIES A JUNIOR PARTICIPATING CUMULATIVE
PREFERRED STOCK
of
DESIGNS, INC.
Pursuant to Section 151 of the General Corporation Law of the State of
Delaware:
VOTED, that pursuant to authority conferred upon and vested in the Board of
Directors by the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended as of the
date hereof (the "Certificate of Incorporation"), of Designs, Inc. (the
"Corporation"), the Board of Directors hereby establishes and designates a
series of Preferred Stock of the Corporation, and hereby fixes and determines
the relative rights and preferences of the shares of such series, in addition to
those set forth in the Certificate of Incorporation, as follows:
Section 1. DESIGNATION AND AMOUNT. The shares of such series shall be
designated as "Series A Junior Participating Cumulative Preferred Stock" (the
"Series A Preferred Stock"), and the number of shares initially constituting
such series shall be 300,000; provided, however, that if more than a total of
300,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be issuable upon the exercise
of Rights (the "Rights") issued pursuant to the Shareholder Rights Agreement
dated as of May 1, 1995, between the Corporation and The First National Bank of
Boston, as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agreement"), the Board of Directors of the
Corporation, pursuant to Section 151(g) of the General Corporation Law of the
State of Delaware, shall direct by resolution or resolutions that a certificate
be properly executed, acknowledged, filed and recorded, in accordance with the
provisions of Section 103 thereof, providing for the total number of shares of
Series A Preferred Stock authorized to be issued to be increased (to the extent
that the Certificate of Incorporation then permits) to the largest number of
whole shares (rounded up to the nearest whole number) issuable upon exercise of
such Rights.
Section 2. DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS.
(A) (i) Subject to the rights of the holders of any shares of any series of
preferred stock (or any similar stock) ranking prior and superior to the Series
A Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, the holders of shares of Series A
Preferred Stock, in preference to the holders of shares of common stock and of
any other junior stock, shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared
by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available for the purpose,
quarterly
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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 A Preferred
Stock, in an amount per share (rounded to the nearest cent) equal to the greater
of (a) $1.00 or (b) subject to the provisions for adjustment hereinafter set
forth, 1000 times the aggregate per share amount of all cash dividends, and 1000
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 A Preferred Stock. The multiple of cash and non-cash dividends
declared on the common stock to which holders of the Series A Preferred Stock
are entitled, which shall be 1000 initially but which shall be adjusted from
time to time as hereinafter provided, is hereinafter referred to as the
"Dividend Multiple." In the event the Corporation shall at any time after May 1,
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 or
combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of common stock (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of common
stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of common stock, then in each
such case the Dividend Multiple thereafter applicable to the determination of
the amount of dividends which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock
shall be entitled to receive shall be the Dividend Multiple applicable
immediately prior to such event multiplied 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.
(ii) Notwithstanding anything else contained in this paragraph (A), the
Corporation shall, out of funds legally available for that purpose, declare a
dividend or distribution on the Series A Preferred Stock as provided in this
paragraph (A) 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 $1.00 per
share on the Series A Preferred Stock shall nevertheless be payable on such
subsequent Quarterly Dividend Payment Date.
(B) Dividends shall begin to accrue and be cumulative on outstanding shares
of Series A Preferred Stock from the Quarterly Dividend Payment Date next
preceding the date of issue of such shares of Series A Preferred Stock, unless
the date of issue of such shares is prior to the record date for the first
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 A 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
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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
A Preferred Stock in an amount less than the total amount of such dividends at
the time accrued and payable on such shares shall be allocated pro rata on a
share-by-share basis among all such shares at the time outstanding. The Board of
Directors may fix in accordance with applicable law a record date for the
determination of holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock entitled to
receive payment of a dividend or distribution declared thereon, which record
date shall be not more than such number of days prior to the date fixed for the
payment thereof as may be allowed by applicable law.
Section 3. VOTING RIGHTS. In addition to any other voting rights required
by law, the holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall have the
following voting rights:
(A) Subject to the provision for adjustment hereinafter set forth, each
share of Series A Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to 1000 votes
on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Corporation. The
number of votes which a holder of a share of Series A Preferred Stock is
entitled to cast, which shall initially be 1000 but which may be adjusted from
time to time as hereinafter provided, is hereinafter referred to as the "Vote
Multiple." In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights
Declaration Date (i) declare or pay any dividend on common stock payable in
shares of common stock, or (ii) effect a subdivision or combination or
consolidation of the outstanding shares of common stock (by reclassification or
otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of common stock) into a
greater or lesser number of shares of common stock, then in each such case the
Vote Multiple thereafter applicable to the determination of the number of votes
per share to which holders of shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall be
entitled shall be the Vote Multiple immediately prior to such event multiplied
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 provided herein or by law, the holders of shares of
Series A Preferred Stock and the holders of shares of common stock and the
holders of shares of any other capital stock of this Corporation having general
voting rights, shall vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a
vote of stockholders of the Corporation.
(C) Except as otherwise required by applicable law or as set forth herein,
holders of Series A 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 holders of common stock as set forth herein) for taking any corporate
action.
Section 4. CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.
(A) Whenever dividends or distributions payable on the Series A 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 A Preferred Stock outstanding shall
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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 A Preferred Stock;
(ii) declare or pay dividends on or make any 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 A Preferred
Stock, except dividends paid ratably on the Series A 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) except as permitted in subsection 4(A)(iv) below, redeem, purchase or
otherwise acquire for consideration shares of any stock ranking on a
parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, provided that the
Corporation may at any time redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire
shares of any such parity 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 A Preferred
Stock; or
(iv) purchase or otherwise acquire for consideration any shares of Series A
Preferred Stock, or any shares of any stock ranking on a parity
(either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding
up) with the Series A 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 subsection (A) of this Section
4, purchase or otherwise acquire such shares at such time and in such manner.
Section 5. REACQUIRED SHARES. Any shares of Series A 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.
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Section 6. LIQUIDATION, DISSOLUTION OR WINDING UP. Upon any liquidation
(voluntary or otherwise), dissolution or winding up of the Corporation, no
distribution shall be made (x) to the holders of shares of stock ranking junior
(either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) to the
Series A Preferred Stock unless, prior thereto, the holders of shares of Series
A Preferred Stock shall have received an amount equal to accrued and unpaid
dividends and distributions thereon, whether or not declared, to the date of
such payment, plus an amount equal to the greater of (1) $1000.00 per share or
(2) an aggregate amount per share, subject to the provision for adjustment
hereinafter set forth, equal to 1000 times the aggregate amount to be
distributed per share to holders of common stock, or (y) to the holders of stock
ranking on a parity (either as to dividends or upon liquidation, dissolution or
winding up) with the Series A Preferred Stock, except distributions made ratably
on the Series A Preferred Stock and all other such parity stock in proportion to
the total amounts to which the holders of all such shares are entitled upon such
liquidation, dissolution or winding up. In the event the Corporation shall at
any time after the Rights Declaration Date (i) declare or pay any dividend on
common stock payable in shares of common stock, or (ii) effect a subdivision or
combination or consolidation of the outstanding shares of common stock (by
reclassification or otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of common
stock) into a greater or lesser number of shares of common stock, then in each
such case the aggregate amount per share to which holders of shares of Series A
Preferred Stock were entitled immediately prior to such event under clause (x)
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.
Neither the consolidation of nor merging of the Corporation with or into
any other corporation or corporations, nor the sale or other transfer of all or
substantially all of the assets of the Corporation, shall be deemed to be a
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Corporation within the meaning of
this Section 6.
Section 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 A 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 1000 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,
plus accrued and unpaid dividends, if any, payable with respect to the Series A
Preferred Stock. In the event the Corporation shall at any time after the Rights
Declaration Date (i) declare or pay any dividend on common stock payable in
shares of common stock, or (ii) effect a subdivision or combination or
consolidation of the outstanding shares of common stock (by reclassification or
otherwise than by payment of a dividend in shares of common stock) 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
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of Series A 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.
Section 8. REDEMPTION. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock shall not be
redeemable.
Section 9. RANKING. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of
Incorporation or a Certificate of Vote of Directors Establishing a Class of
Stock relating to a subsequently-designated series of preferred stock of the
Corporation, the Series A Preferred Stock shall rank junior to any other series
of the Corporation's preferred stock subsequently issued, as to the payment of
dividends and the distribution of assets on liquidation, dissolution or winding
up and shall rank senior to the common stock.
Section 10. AMENDMENT. The Certificate of Incorporation and this
Certificate of Vote of Directors shall not be amended in any manner which would
materially alter or change the powers, preferences or special rights of the
Series A Preferred Stock so as to affect them adversely without the affirmative
vote of the holders of two-thirds or more of the outstanding shares of Series A
Preferred Stock, voting separately as a class.
Section 11. FRACTIONAL SHARES. Series A Preferred Stock may be issued in
whole shares or in any fraction of a share that is one one-thousandth (1/1000th)
of a share or any integral multiple of such fraction, 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 A Preferred Stock. In lieu of
fractional shares, the Corporation may elect to make a cash payment as provided
in the Rights Agreement for fractions of a share other than one one-thousandth
(1/1000th) of a share or any integral multiple thereof.
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I, Joel H. Reichman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Corporation, do make this certificate, hereby declaring and certifying that this
is my act and deed on behalf of the Corporation this 1st day of May, 1995.
/s/ Joel H. Reichman
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By: Joel H. Reichman
Title: President and Chief
Executive Officer