S-3ASR 1 d740301ds3asr.htm S-3ASR S-3ASR

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 10, 2014

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

j2 Global, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   47-1053457

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

j2 Global, Inc.

6922 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 500

Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 860-9200

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

 

Jeffrey D. Adelman

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

j2 Global, Inc.

6922 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 500

Los Angeles, California 90028

Telephone: (323) 860-9200

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

 

 

Copy to:

Patrick S. Brown, Esq.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

1888 Century Park East

Los Angeles, California 90067

(310) 712-6600

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effectiveness of this Registration Statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box.  ¨

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box.  x

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  x

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   x    Accelerated filer   ¨
Non-accelerated filer   ¨  (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company   ¨

 

 

 


 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Each Class of

Securities to be Registered

 

Amount

to be

Registered

 

Proposed

Maximum

Offering Price

Per Unit (1)

 

Proposed

Maximum

Aggregate

Offering Price

 

Amount of

Registration Fee

Common Stock

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Preferred Stock

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Debt Securities

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Warrants or other Rights

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Purchase Contracts

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Units

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

Depositary Shares

  (1)   (2)   (2)   (3)

 

 

(1) There are being registered hereunder such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock, such indeterminate principal amount of debt securities, such indeterminate number of warrants or other rights to purchase common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, such indeterminate number of purchase contracts, such indeterminate number of units and such indeterminate number of depositary shares as may be sold by the registrant from time to time. Any securities registered hereunder may be sold separately or as units with the other securities registered hereunder. The proposed maximum offering price per unit will be determined, from time to time, by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder. The securities registered hereunder also include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock and amount of debt securities as may be issued upon conversion of or exchange for preferred stock or debt securities that provide for conversion or exchange, upon exercise of warrants or other rights or pursuant to the antidilution provisions of any of such securities. In addition, pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the shares being registered hereunder include such indeterminate number of shares of common stock and preferred stock as may be issuable with respect to the shares being registered hereunder as a result of stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.
(2) The proposed maximum aggregate offering price per class of security will be determined from time to time by the registrant in connection with the issuance by the registrant of the securities registered hereunder and is not specified as to each class of security pursuant to General Instruction II.D. of Form S-3 under the Securities Act.
(3) In accordance with Rules 456(b) and 457(r), the registrant is deferring payment of all of the registration fee.

 

 


PROSPECTUS

 

LOGO

COMMON STOCK

PREFERRED STOCK

DEBT SECURITIES

WARRANTS OR OTHER RIGHTS

PURCHASE CONTRACTS

UNITS

DEPOSITARY SHARES

 

 

From time to time, we may offer to sell the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in units. We may also offer common stock or preferred stock upon conversion of debt securities, common stock upon conversion of preferred stock, or common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of warrants or other rights.

Specific terms of these securities will be provided in supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated by reference, before buying any of the securities being offered.

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “JCOM”. On June 9, 2014, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $48.58. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on the NASDAQ Global Select Market or any securities market or other exchange of the securities covered by the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

 

Investing in these securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus.

 

 

The securities may be sold directly by us to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers, on a continuous or delayed basis. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is June 10, 2014


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

About This Prospectus

     1   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

     2   

Special Note On Forward-Looking Statements

     3   

Risk Factors

     5   

Use of Proceeds

     6   

Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges and Preferred Dividends

     7   

Description of Capital Stock

     8   

Description of Debt Securities

     12   

Description of Warrants or Other Rights

     21   

Description of Purchase Contracts

     23   

Description of Units

     24   

Description of Depositary Shares

     25   

Forms of Securities

     28   

Plan of Distribution

     30   

Validity of Securities

     32   

Experts

     32   

 

i


ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This document is called a “prospectus,” and it provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement containing specific information about the terms of the securities being offered. That prospectus supplement may include a discussion of any risk factors or other special considerations that apply to those securities. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change the information in this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, you should rely on the information in that prospectus supplement. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”

j2 Global, Inc., a Delaware corporation, also referred to in this document as j2 Global, has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a shelf registration or continuous offering process. Under the shelf registration process, from time to time, j2 Global may offer and sell securities described in this prospectus or any combination of such securities in one or more offerings.

Our SEC registration statement containing this prospectus, including exhibits, provides additional information about us and the securities offered under this prospectus. The registration statement can be read at the SEC’s web site or at the SEC’s offices. The SEC’s web site and street addresses are provided under the heading “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”

When acquiring securities, you should rely only on the information provided in this prospectus and in the related prospectus supplement, including any information incorporated by reference. No one is authorized to provide you with different information. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any document incorporated by reference is truthful or complete for any date other than the date indicated on the cover page of these documents.

We are not offering the securities in any state where the offer is prohibited. The distribution of this prospectus and any prospectus supplement and the offering of our securities in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this prospectus and any prospectus supplement come should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation by anyone in any jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

Unless the context indicates or requires otherwise, the terms “j2 Global,” “our company,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” as used in this prospectus refer to j2 Global, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Unless otherwise stated, currency amounts in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement are stated in United States dollars.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any document that we file at the Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, from which interested persons can electronically access our SEC filings, including the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules thereto.

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” the information we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and all documents we file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, on or after the date of this prospectus and prior to the date on which all the securities to which this prospectus relate have been sold or the offering under this prospectus and any prospectus supplement is otherwise terminated (other than, in each case, documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules):

 

    our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013;

 

    our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2014;

 

    our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 3, 2014, March 19, 2014, May 9, 2014 and June 10, 2014 (both); and

 

    The description of our common stock set forth in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act on May 5, 1999, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

Any information in any of the foregoing documents will automatically be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that information in this prospectus or in a later filed document that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference modifies or replaces such information.

Information in future filings incorporated by reference in this prospectus updates and supplements the information provided in this prospectus. Any statements in any future filings will automatically be deemed to modify and supersede any information in any document we previously filed with the SEC that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference to the extent that statements in the later filed document modify or replace such earlier statements.

Upon written or oral request, we will provide to you, without charge, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits which are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. Requests should be directed to: j2 Global, Inc., 6922 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90028, telephone: (323) 860-9200 In addition, these filings are available at our website at http://www.j2.com. Our website does not form a part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement.

 

2


SPECIAL NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference herein, contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events and are not guarantees of future performance. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the caption entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability and intention to:

 

    Sustain growth or profitability, particularly in light of an uncertain U.S. or worldwide economy and the related impact on customer acquisition and retention rates, customer usage levels and credit and debit card payment declines;

 

    Maintain and increase our cloud services customer base and average revenue per user;

 

    Generate sufficient cash flow to make interest and debt payments and reinvest in our business, and pursue desired activities and businesses plans while satisfying restrictive covenants relating to debt obligations;

 

    Acquire businesses on acceptable terms and successfully integrate and realize anticipated synergies from such acquisitions;

 

    Continue to expand our businesses and operations internationally in the wake of numerous risks, including adverse currency fluctuations, difficulty in staffing and managing international operations, higher operating costs as a percentage of revenues or the implementation of adverse regulations;

 

    Maintain our financial position, operating results and cash flows in the event that we incur new or unanticipated costs or tax liabilities, including those relating to federal and state income tax and indirect taxes, such as sales, value-added and telecommunication taxes;

 

    Accurately estimate the assumptions underlying our effective worldwide tax rate;

 

    Continue to pay a comparable cash dividend on a quarterly basis;

 

    Maintain favorable relationships with critical third-party vendors whose financial condition will not negatively impact the services they provide;

 

    Create compelling digital media content causing increased traffic and advertising levels, additional advertisers or an increase in advertising spend; and effectively target digital media advertisements to desired audiences;

 

    Manage certain risks inherent to our business, such as costs associated with fraudulent activity, system failure or network security breach; effectively maintain and manage our billing systems; allocate time and resources required to manage our legal proceedings; or adhere to our internal controls and procedures;

 

    Compete with other similar providers with regard to price, service and functionality;

 

    Cost-effectively procure, retain and deploy large quantities of telephone numbers in desired locations in the United States and abroad;

 

3


    Achieve business and financial objectives in light of burdensome domestic and international telecommunications, Internet or other regulations including data privacy, security and retention;

 

    Successfully manage our growth, including but not limited to our operational and personnel-related resources, and integration of newly acquired businesses;

 

    Successfully adapt to technological changes and diversify services and related revenues at acceptable levels of financial return;

 

    Successfully develop and protect our intellectual property, both domestically and internationally, including our brands, patents, trademarks and domain names, and avoid infringing upon the proprietary rights of others; and

 

    Recruit and retain key personnel.

In addition, our financial results could be materially impacted by risks associated with new accounting pronouncements.

Except to the extent required by law, we disclaim any obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this prospectus to conform our prior statements to actual results or revised expectations. We claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for all forward-looking statements.

 

4


RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and any subsequent annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, including any amendments thereto, incorporated herein by reference or filed by us after the date of this prospectus, that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. For more information, see the information provided under the heading “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the securities offered hereby. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations and financial condition.

 

5


USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital, acquisitions, retirement of debt and other business opportunities. We will disclose any proposal to use net proceeds from any offering of securities in connection with an acquisition in the prospectus supplement relating to such offering.

 

6


RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED DIVIDENDS

Our ratios of earnings to fixed charges for each of the five fiscal years ended December 31, 2013, and the three months ended March 31, 2014, and 2013, are set forth below:

 

    Years Ended
(unaudited)
    Three Months Ended
(unaudited)
 
    December 31,
2009
    December 31,
2010
    December 31,
2011
    December 31,
2012
    December 31,
2013
    March 31,
2013
    March 31,
2014
 

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges

    122.4        100.7        94.9        15.7        6.7        6.2        7.8   

Ratio of earnings to fixed charges and preferred stock dividends

    122.4        100.7        94.9        15.7        6.7        6.2        7.8   

We computed ratios of earnings to fixed charges by dividing income before income taxes and fixed charges by fixed charges. Fixed charges consist of interest expense and the estimated interest portion of rental expense.

 

7


DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is based upon our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”), our amended and restated bylaws (“Bylaws”) and applicable provisions of law. We have summarized certain portions of the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws below. The summary is not complete. The Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You should read the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws for the provisions that may be important to you.

Our authorized capital stock consists of 95,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, of which 6,000 are designated as Series A Preferred Stock and 20,000 are designed as Series B Preferred Stock. As of June 9th, 2014, the registrant had 47,722,456 shares of common stock, 5,064 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and 4,155 shares of Series B Preferred Stock outstanding.

Common Stock

Subject to the prior rights of any outstanding preferred stock, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of assets legally available for payment of dividends at such times and in such amounts as the board of directors may from time to time determine.

Each outstanding share of common stock entitles the holder to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of our directors, subject to any class or series voting rights granted to the preferred stock. There is no cumulative voting. The board of directors is expressly authorized to adopt, amend or repeal the by-laws in any manner not inconsistent with Delaware law or the certificate of incorporation, subject to the power of the stockholders to adopt, amend or repeal the by-laws. The certificate of incorporation may be amended by an affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding capital stock entitled to vote on the matter, subject to any class or series voting rights granted to the preferred stock.

The shares of common stock are neither redeemable nor convertible, and the holders of common stock have no preemptive or subscription rights to purchase any of our securities. Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive pro rata any of our assets which are legally available for distribution after payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to any preferential rights of the holders of preferred stock.

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “JCOM.”

Preferred Stock

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that our board of directors may authorize the issuance of one or more series of preferred stock having such rights, including voting, conversion and redemption rights, and such preferences, including dividend and liquidation preferences, as the board may determine, without further action by our stockholders.

Each share of our Series A Preferred Stock has a stated value of $1,000. Our Series A Preferred Stock is not convertible into any other securities. In the event Ziff Davis, LLC (ZD LLC), one of our subsidiaries, pays any dividends or distributions to j2 Global in respect of j2 Global’s membership interests in ZD LLC (subject to certain exceptions in respect of senior interests), holders of our Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a dividend in the aggregate with respect to all Series A Preferred Stock equal to 2.4449% of such ZD LLC dividend (but only to the extent such dividend and all other dividends paid in respect of our Series A Preferred Stock does not exceed an annual rate of 15%, compounded on a quarterly basis on the stated value of our Series A Preferred Stock).

 

8


Our Series A Preferred Stock has a liquidation preference over our Series B Preferred Stock and a liquidation preference over our common stock in an amount up to, with respect to all shares of our Series A Preferred Stock, 2.4449% of the assets of ZD LLC and its subsidiaries legally available for distribution to j2 Global, after reduction in respect of certain senior interests (the “Series A Minority Portion”), but in no event in an amount that exceeds the stated value of our Series A Preferred Stock increased at a compounded annual rate of 15% (the “Series A Cap”) and in no event in an amount that exceeds the lesser of j2 Global’s assets available for distribution and 2.4449% of the assets of ZD LLC and its subsidiaries legally available for distribution to j2 Global.

On or after January 2, 2019, our Series A Preferred Stock will be mandatorily redeemable by us in connection with certain sale, initial public offering or spin-off transactions involving ZD, LLC. All, but not less than all, of our Series A Preferred Stock is subject to redemption by us at our option at any time. If the redemption occurs in connection with certain sale, initial public offering or spin-off transactions involving ZD LLC, the redemption price will be equal to an allocable portion of the enterprise value of ZD, LLC implied by such transaction with respect to the Series A Minority Portion and based on certain factors to be determined by our board of directors in its sole good faith judgment, but in no event in an amount that would exceed the Series A Cap. If not in connection with such a transaction, the redemption price will be the Series A Cap.

Our Series B preferred stock is not convertible into any other securities. In the event ZD LLC pays any dividends or distributions to j2 Global in respect of j2 Global’s membership interests in ZD LLC (subject to certain exceptions in respect of senior interests and our Series A Preferred Stock), holders of our Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive a dividend in the aggregate with respect to all Series B Preferred Stock equal to 9.5579% of such ZD LLC dividend.

Our Series B preferred stock will have a liquidation preference junior to the liquidation preference of our Series A Preferred Stock and a liquidation preference over our common stock in an amount up to, with respect to all shares of our Series B Preferred Stock, 9.5579% of the assets of ZD LLC and its subsidiaries legally available for distribution to j2 Global, after reduction in respect of our Series A Preferred Stock and certain other senior interests (the “Series B Minority Portion”), but in no event in an amount that exceeds the lesser of j2 Global’s assets available for distribution and 9.5579% of the assets of ZD LLC and its subsidiaries legally available for distribution to the j2 Global.

On or after January 2, 2019, our Series B Preferred Stock will be mandatorily redeemable by us in connection with certain sale, initial public offering or spin-off transactions involving ZD LLC. All, but not less than all, of our Series B Preferred Stock is subject to redemption by us at our option at any time. If the redemption occurs in connection with certain sale, initial public offering or spin-off transactions involving ZD LLC, the redemption price will be equal to an allocable portion of the enterprise value of ZD LLC implied by such transaction with respect to the Series B Minority Portion and based on certain factors to be determined by our board of directors in its sole good faith judgment. Otherwise, the redemption price will be equal to the fair market value of such share as determined by our board of directors in its sole good faith judgment.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Delaware Law

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, the statute prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder unless:

 

    prior to that date, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 

   

upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation

 

9


 

outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding those shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and issued under employee stock plans under which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

    on or subsequent to that date, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and is authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.

Section 203 defines business combination to include:

 

    any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

 

    any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition involving the interested stockholder of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation;

 

    subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

 

    any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and

 

    the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by the entity or person.

Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws Provisions

Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in our control or change in our management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares, or transactions that our stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. Therefore, these provisions could adversely affect the price of our common stock. Among other things, our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws:

 

    permit our board of directors to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, with any rights, preferences and privileges as they may designate;

 

    provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors;

 

    provide that all vacancies, including newly created directorships, may, except as otherwise required by law, be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director;

 

    provide that stockholders seeking to present proposals before a meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at a meeting of stockholders must provide notice in writing in a timely manner, and also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice; and

 

    do not provide for cumulative voting rights (therefore allowing the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors to elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose).

 

10


Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent for any series of preferred stock that we may offer under this prospectus will be named and described in the prospectus supplement for that series.

NASDAQ Global Select Market Listing

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “JCOM.”

 

11


DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

This prospectus describes certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities. The debt securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series pursuant to a senior indenture entered into between j2 Global, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee (the “trustee”), a copy of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Such indenture is referred to herein as the “indenture.” The terms of the debt securities will include those set forth in the indenture (as supplemented by any relevant officer’s certificate or supplemental indenture) and those made a part thereof by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms for the securities in a supplement to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will also indicate whether the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities.

Because the following is only a summary of selected provisions of the indenture and the debt securities, it does not contain all information that may be important to you. This summary is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the indenture and any supplemental indentures thereto or officer’s certificate or board resolution related thereto. We urge you to read the indenture because the indenture, not this description, defines the rights of the holders of the debt securities.

As used in this “Description of Debt Securities,” the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” “the company” and “j2” refer to j2 Global, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and do not, unless otherwise specified, include our subsidiaries.

General

The indenture does not limit the amount of debt securities which we may issue. We have the right to “reopen” a previous issue of a series of debt securities by issuing additional debt securities of such series. We may issue debt securities up to an aggregate principal amount as we may authorize from time to time. The debt securities will rank equally with all of our other senior and unsubordinated debt. Our secured debt, if any, will be effectively senior to the senior debt securities to the extent of the value of the assets securing such debt. The debt securities will be exclusively our obligations and not of our subsidiaries and therefore the debt securities will be structurally subordinate to the debt and other liabilities (including trade payables, but excluding intercompany obligations and liabilities of a type not required to be reflected on a balance sheet in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States) of any of our subsidiaries. The prospectus supplement will describe the terms of any debt securities being offered, including:

 

    the title;

 

    any limit upon the aggregate principal amount;

 

    the date or dates on which the principal is payable;

 

    the rate or rates at which the debt securities shall bear interest, if any, or the method by which such rate shall be determined;

 

    the date or dates from which interest shall accrue;

 

    the date or dates on which interest shall be payable;

 

    the record dates for the determination of holders to whom interest is payable;

 

    the right, if any, to extend the interest payment periods and the duration of such extension;

 

    the place or places where the principal of and any interest shall be payable;

 

    the price or prices at which, the period or periods within which and the terms and conditions upon which debt securities may be redeemed, pursuant to any sinking fund or otherwise;

 

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    our obligation, if any, to redeem, purchase or repay the debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or otherwise or at the option of a holder thereof;

 

    if applicable, the price or prices at which and the period or periods within which and the terms and conditions upon which the debt securities shall be redeemed, purchased or repaid, in whole or in part;

 

    if other than denominations of $1,000 and any multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof, the denominations in which the debt securities of the series shall be issuable;

 

    the percentage of the principal amount at which the debt securities will be issued and, if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of such principal amount which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof or provable in bankruptcy;

 

    whether the debt securities are issuable under Rule 144A or Regulation S and, in such case, any provisions unique to such form of issuance including any transfer restrictions or exchange and registration rights;

 

    any and all other terms of the series including any terms which may be required by or advisable under U.S. law or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of the debt securities;

 

    whether the debt securities are issuable as global securities or definitive certificates and, in such case, the identity for the depositary;

 

    any deletion from, modification of or addition to the events of default or covenants;

 

    any provisions granting special rights to holders when a specified event occurs;

 

    whether and under what circumstances we will pay additional amounts on the debt securities held by a person who is not a U.S. person in respect of any tax, assessment or governmental charge withheld or deducted;

 

    any special tax implications of the debt securities;

 

    any authenticating or paying agents, transfer agents or registrars or any other agents with respect to the debt securities, if other than the trustee;

 

    any guarantor or co-issuers;

 

    any special interest premium or other premium;

 

    whether the debt securities are convertible or exchangeable into common stock or other of our equity securities and the terms and conditions upon which such conversion or exchange shall be effected; and

 

    the currency in which payments shall be made, if other than U.S. dollars.

We may from time to time, without notice to or the consent of the holders of any series of debt securities, create and issue further debt securities of any such series ranking equally with the debt securities of such series in all respects (or in all respects other than the payment of interest accruing prior to the issue date of such further debt securities or except for the first payment of interest following the issue date of such further debt securities); provided that if such additional debt securities are not fungible with the initial debt securities of such series offered hereby for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such additional debt securities will have a separate CUSIP number.

Conversion or Exchange Rights

Debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our other securities or property. The terms and conditions of conversion or exchange will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms will include, among others, the following:

 

    the conversion or exchange price;

 

    the conversion or exchange period;

 

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    provisions regarding the ability of us or the holder to convert or exchange the debt securities;

 

    events requiring adjustment to the conversion or exchange price; and

 

    provisions affecting conversion or exchange in the event of our redemption or required repurchase of the debt securities.

Redemption and Repayment

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, your debt security will not be entitled to the benefit of any sinking fund—that is, we will not deposit money on a regular basis into any separate custodial account to repay your debt securities. In addition, we will not be entitled to redeem your debt security before its stated maturity unless the applicable prospectus supplement specifies a redemption commencement date. You will not be entitled to require us to buy your debt security from you, before its stated maturity, unless the applicable prospectus supplement specifies one or more repayment dates.

If the applicable prospectus supplement specifies a redemption commencement date or a repayment date, it will also specify one or more redemption prices or repayment prices, which may be expressed as a percentage of the principal amount of your debt security. It may also specify one or more redemption periods during which the redemption prices relating to a redemption of debt securities during those periods will apply.

If the applicable prospectus supplement specifies a redemption commencement date, your debt security will be redeemable at our option at any time on or after that date. If we redeem your debt security, we will do so at the specified redemption price, together with interest accrued to but excluding the redemption date. If different prices are specified for different redemption periods, the price we pay will be the price that applies to the redemption period during which your debt security is redeemed.

If the applicable prospectus supplement specifies a repayment date, your debt security will be repayable at your option on the specified repayment date at the specified repayment price, together with interest accrued to but excluding the repayment date.

If we exercise an option to redeem any debt security, we will give to the trustee and the holder written notice of the principal amount of the debt security to be redeemed, not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days before the applicable redemption date except as otherwise set forth in the indenture. We will give the notice in the manner described below under the caption “—Notices.”

If a debt security represented by a global debt security is subject to repayment at the holder’s option, the depositary or its nominee, as the holder, will be the only person that can exercise the right to repayment. Any indirect owners who own beneficial interests in the global debt security and wish to exercise a repayment right must give proper and timely instructions to their banks or brokers through which they hold their interests, requesting that they notify the depositary to exercise the repayment right on their behalf. Different firms have different deadlines for accepting instructions from their customers, and you should take care to act promptly enough to ensure that your request is given effect by the depositary before the applicable deadline for exercise.

Street name and other indirect owners should contact their banks or brokers for information about how to exercise a repayment right in a timely manner.

We or our affiliates may purchase our debt securities from investors who are willing to sell from time to time, either in the open market at prevailing prices or in private transactions at negotiated prices. Debt securities that we or they purchase may, at our discretion, be held, resold or canceled.

 

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Consolidation, Merger or Sale of Assets

The Company will not

 

    consolidate with or merge with or into any Person; or

 

    sell, lease, convey, transfer, or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets as an entirety or substantially an entirety, in one transaction or a series of related transactions, to any Person,

unless:

(1) either (x) the Company is the continuing Person or (y) the resulting, surviving or transferee Person is an entity organized and validly existing under the laws of the United States of America, any state of the United States or the District of Columbia and expressly assumes by supplemental indenture all of the obligations of the Company under the indenture;

(2) immediately after giving effect to the transaction, and treating any indebtedness which becomes an obligation of the Company or any subsidiary as a result of the transaction as having been incurred by it at the time of the transaction, no Event of Default has occurred and is continuing;

(3) if, as a result of any such transaction, the properties or assets of the Company become subject to a mortgage, pledge, lien, security interest or other encumbrance not be permitted by this Indenture, the Company takes steps to or such successor Person, as the case may be, takes steps as necessary effectively to secure the debt securities equally and ratably with (or prior to) all indebtedness secured thereby; and

(4) the Company delivers to the trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an opinion of counsel, each stating that the consolidation, merger or transfer and the supplemental indenture (if any) comply with the indenture.

Defeasance and Discharge

Unless we say otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the provisions for full defeasance and covenant defeasance described below apply to each debt security as indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Full Defeasance

The indenture provides that we may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (except for certain obligations to register the transfer or exchange of debt securities of such series, to replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of such series, to maintain paying agencies and the treatment of funds held by paying agents) upon our deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money and/or government obligations in the same currency as such series that, through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants to pay and discharge each installment of principal and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of such series on the stated maturity of such payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and such debt securities. Such discharge may occur only if, among other things, we have delivered to the trustee an officers’ certificate or opinion of counsel to the effect that we have received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) a ruling, or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that holders of the debt securities of such series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amount and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred.

 

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Covenant Defeasance

The indenture provides that unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions: (i) we will no longer be obligated to comply with certain covenants; and (ii) the Event of Default described in the fifth bullet point under the caption “—Events of Default” will be inapplicable to such series. The conditions include:

 

    the deposit with the trustee of money and/or government obligations in the same currency as such series that, through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants to pay principal and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of such series on the stated maturity of such payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and such debt securities; and

 

    the delivery to the trustee of an officers’ certificate or opinion of counsel to the effect that the holders of the debt securities of such series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit and related covenant defeasance and will be subject to United States federal income tax in the same amount and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit and related covenant defeasance had not occurred.

Defeasance and Events of Default

In the event we exercise our option to effect covenant defeasance with respect to any series of debt securities and the debt securities of such series are declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any applicable event of default, the amount of money and government obligations on deposit with the trustee will be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of such series at the time of their stated maturity but need not be sufficient to pay amounts due on the debt securities of such series at the time of the acceleration resulting from such event of default. However, we will remain liable for such payments.

Default and Remedies

Events of Default

Each of the following will constitute an Event of Default under the indenture with respect to debt securities of any series:

 

    default in the payment of any interest when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days;

 

    default in the payment of principal when due;

 

    default in the deposit of any sinking fund payment, when and as due;

 

    default in the performance or breach of any of our other covenants or warranties in the indenture (other than a covenant or warranty that has been included in the indenture solely for the benefit of a series of debt securities other than that series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after written notice to us by the trustee or to us and the trustee by the holders of at least 10% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series as provided in that indenture;

 

   

unless the terms of such series otherwise provide, an event of default under any indebtedness for money borrowed by us (including a default with respect to debt securities of any series other than that series) or any subsidiary (or the payment of which is guaranteed by us or a subsidiary), whether such indebtedness or guarantee now exists or will hereafter be created, if (a) such default either (1) results from the failure to pay any such indebtedness at its stated final maturity or (2) relates to an obligation other than the obligation to pay such indebtedness at its stated final maturity and results in the holder or holders of such indebtedness causing such indebtedness to become due prior to its stated maturity and

 

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(b) the principal amount of such indebtedness, together with the principal amount of any other such indebtedness in default for failure to pay principal at stated final maturity or the maturity of which has been so accelerated, aggregates $25 million or more at any one time outstanding;

 

    certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization; and

 

    any other event of default that is described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The occurrence of an event of default under the indenture may also constitute an event of default under certain of our existing or future bank credit agreements. In addition, the occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our other indebtedness.

Consequences of an Event of Default

If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, other than an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, then in every such case the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, such portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), and upon such declaration such principal will be immediately due and payable. In the case of an event of default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, subject to us having paid or deposited with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay overdue interest and principal which has become due other than by acceleration and certain other conditions, rescind and annul such acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in that indenture. For information as to waiver of defaults see the discussion set forth below under the caption “—Amendments and Waivers.” Reference is made to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are “discount securities” (any debt security that provides for an amount less than its stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to the terms of that indenture) for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default and the continuation thereof.

The indenture provides that the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture at the request of any holder of outstanding debt securities, unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any loss, liability or expense. Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series; provided that (a) such direction will not conflict with any law or the indenture, (b) the trustee may take any other action that is not inconsistent with such direction; and (c) the trustee will have the right to decline any such direction if the trustee in good faith determines that the proceeding would involve the trustee in personal liability.

No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy under the indenture, unless such holder will have previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing event of default with respect to debt securities of that series and the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series will have made written request, and offered reasonable indemnity, to the trustee to institute such proceeding, and the trustee will not have received from the holders of a majority in

 

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principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series a direction inconsistent with such request and will have failed to institute such proceeding within 60 days. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal and any interest on such debt security on or after the due dates expressed in such debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment, and such right will not be impaired without the consent of such holder.

The indenture requires that within 90 days after the end of each of its fiscal years we furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. If a default or event of default occurs and is continuing and if it is known to the trustee, the trustee will mail to each holder of debt securities notice of a default or event of default within 90 days after it occurs or when the trustee learns of such default or event of default. The indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any default or event of default (except in payment on any debt securities of such series) with respect to debt securities of such series if it in good faith determines that withholding such notice is in the interest of the holders of debt securities.

Book-entry and other indirect owners should consult their banks or brokers for information on how to give notice or direction to or make a request of the trustee and how to declare or cancel an acceleration of the maturity.

Amendments and Waivers

Modifications to, and amendments of, the indenture may be made by us and the trustee with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the relevant debt securities. However, no such modification or amendment may, without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security affected thereby:

 

    change the amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

 

    reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any debt security;

 

    reduce the principal or change the maturity of any debt security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation;

 

    waive a default or event of default in the payment of the principal or interest on any debt security (except a rescission of acceleration of the debt securities of any series by the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of such series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

 

    make the debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security;

 

    make any change to certain provisions of the indenture relating to, among other things, the right of holders of debt securities to receive payment of the principal and interest on such debt securities, waivers of past defaults and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment and to waivers or amendments; or

 

    waive a redemption payment with respect to any debt security or change any of the provisions with respect to the redemption of any debt securities.

The holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive, insofar as that series is concerned, our compliance with provisions of the indenture other than certain specified provisions. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to such series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal or any interest on any debt security of that series or in respect of a provision which, under the indenture, cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of that series affected.

 

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Modifications to, and amendments of, the indenture may be made by us and the trustee without the consent of the holders:

 

    to cure any ambiguity;

 

    to provide for our successor to assume the indenture;

 

    to provide for a successor trustee;

 

    to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder;

 

    to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act; or

 

    to make other changes specified in the indenture.

Book-entry and other indirect owners should consult their banks or brokers for information on how approval may be granted or denied if we seek to change the indenture or any debt securities or request a waiver.

Unclaimed Funds

All funds deposited with the trustee or any paying agent for the payment of principal, interest, premium or additional amounts in respect of the debt securities under the indenture that remain unclaimed for two years after the maturity date of such debt securities will be repaid to us upon our request. Thereafter, any right of any noteholder to such funds shall be enforceable only against us, and the trustee and paying agents will have no liability therefor.

Notices

Notices to be given to holders of a global debt security will be given only to the depositary, in accordance with its applicable policies as in effect from time to time. Notices to be given to holders of debt securities not in global form will be sent by mail to the respective addresses of the holders as they appear in the trustee’s records, and will be deemed given when mailed. Neither the failure to give any notice to a particular holder nor any defect in a notice given to a particular holder will affect the sufficiency of any notice given to another holder.

Book-entry and other indirect owners should consult their banks or brokers for information on how they will receive notices.

Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities for all purposes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

Regarding the Trustee

U.S. Bank National Association is the trustee under the indenture.

Except during the continuance of an Event of Default, the trustee need perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in the indenture and no others, and no implied covenants or obligations will be read into the indenture against the trustee. In case an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the trustee shall exercise those rights and powers vested in it by the indenture, and use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise, as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs. No provision of the indenture requires the trustee to expend or risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of its duties thereunder, or in the exercise of its rights or powers, unless it receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any loss, liability or expense.

 

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The indenture and provisions of the Trust Indenture Act incorporated by reference therein contain limitations on the rights of the trustee, should it become a creditor of any obligor on the notes, to obtain payment of claims in certain cases, or to realize on certain property received in respect of any such claim as security or otherwise. The trustee is permitted to engage in other transactions with the Company and its Affiliates; provided that if it acquires any conflicting interest it must either eliminate the conflict within 90 days, apply to the Commission for permission to continue or resign.

U.S. Bank National Association is the trustee under the indenture of our subsidiary, j2 Cloud Services, Inc., in respect of its 8.000% senior notes due 2020. We and/or our affiliates also maintain banking relationships in the ordinary course of business with one or more affiliates of the trustee.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS OR OTHER RIGHTS

We may issue warrants or other rights. We have no restriction on the number of warrants or rights or the number of distinct series of warrants or rights we may issue. We will issue each series of warrants under either a warrant or rights indenture or agreement. This section summarizes terms to be included in such indenture or agreement and terms of the warrants or rights that apply generally to the warrants or rights. We will describe the specific terms of your warrant or right in the applicable prospectus supplement. Those terms may vary from the terms described here.

Warrants

We may issue warrants, options or similar instruments for the purchase of our debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, depositary shares or units. We refer to these collectively as “warrants.” Warrants may be issued independently or together with debt securities, preferred stock, common stock, depositary shares or units, and may be attached to or separate from those securities.

Rights

We may also issue rights, on terms to be determined at the time of sale, for the purchase or sale of, or whose cash value or stream of cash payments is determined by reference to, the occurrence or non-occurrence of or the performance, level or value of, one or more of the following:

 

    securities of one or more issuers, including our common or preferred stock or other securities described in this prospectus or debt or equity securities of third parties;

 

    one or more currencies;

 

    one or more commodities;

 

    any other financial, economic or other measure or instrument, including the occurrence or non-occurrence of any event or circumstance;

 

    one or more indices; and/or

 

    one or more baskets of the items described above.

We refer to each property described above as a “right property.”

We may satisfy our obligations, if any, and the holder of a right may satisfy its obligations, if any, with respect to any rights by delivering, among other things:

 

    the right property;

 

    the cash value of the right property; or

 

    the cash value of the rights determined by reference to the performance, level or value of the right.

The applicable prospectus supplement will describe what we may deliver to satisfy our obligations, if any, and what the holder of a right may deliver to satisfy its obligations, if any, with respect to any rights.

Agreements

Each series of warrants or rights may be evidenced by certificates and may be issued under a separate indenture, agreement or other instrument to be entered into between us and a bank that we select as agent with respect to such series. The agent, if any, will have its principal office in the U.S. and have a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000. The prospectus supplement relating to a series of warrants or rights will identify

 

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the name and address of the warrant or rights agent, if any. Warrants or rights in book-entry form will be represented by a global security registered in the name of a depositary, which will be the holder of all the securities represented by the global security. Those who own beneficial interests in a global security will do so through participants in the depositary’s system, and the rights of these indirect owners will be governed solely by the applicable procedures of the depositary and its participants. We describe book-entry securities under the heading “Legal Ownership and Book-Entry Issuance.”

General Terms of Warrants or Rights

The prospectus supplement will describe the terms of the series of warrants or rights in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered, including:

 

  the offering price;

 

  the currency for which the warrants or rights may be purchased;

 

  the designation and terms of any securities with which the warrants or rights are issued and in that event the number of warrants or rights issued with each security or each principal amount of security;

 

  the date, if any, on which the warrants or rights and any related securities will be separately transferable;

 

  whether the warrants or rights are to be sold separately or with other securities, as part of units or otherwise;

 

  any securities exchange or quotation system on which the warrants or rights or any securities deliverable upon exercise of such securities may be listed;

 

  whether the warrants or rights will be issued in fully registered form, in global or non-global form or in any combination of these forms;

 

  the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and expire;

 

  material U.S. Federal income tax consequences of holding or exercising these securities; and

 

  any other terms of the warrants or rights.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS

We may issue purchase contracts for the purchase or sale of:

 

    debt or equity securities issued by us or securities of third parties, a basket of such securities, an index or indices or such securities or any combination of the above as specified in the applicable prospectus supplement;

 

    currencies; or

 

    commodities.

Each purchase contract will entitle the holder thereof to purchase or sell, and obligate us to sell or purchase, on specified dates, such securities, currencies or commodities at a specified purchase price, which may be based on a formula, all as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may, however, satisfy our obligations, if any, with respect to any purchase contract by delivering the cash value of such purchase contract or the cash value of the property otherwise deliverable or, in the case of purchase contracts on underlying currencies, by delivering the underlying currencies, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement will also specify the methods by which the holders may purchase or sell such securities, currencies or commodities and any acceleration, cancellation or termination provisions or other provisions relating to the settlement of a purchase contract.

The purchase contracts may require us to make periodic payments to the holders thereof of vice versa, which payments may be deferred to the extent set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, and those payments may be unsecured or prefunded on some basis. The purchase contracts may require the holders thereof to secure their obligations in a specified manner to be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Alternatively, purchase contracts may require holders to satisfy their obligations thereunder when the purchase contracts are issued. Our obligation to settle such pre-paid purchase contracts on the relevant settlement date may constitute indebtedness. Accordingly, pre-paid purchase contracts will be issued under the senior indenture.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

As specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may issue units consisting of one or more purchase contracts, warrants, debt securities, shares of preferred stock, shares of common stock or any combination of such securities. The applicable supplement will describe:

 

    the terms of the units and of the warrants, debt securities and common stock comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be traded separately;

 

    a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units; and

 

    a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange or the units.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES

Please note that in this section entitled “Description of Depositary Shares,” references to “j2 Global,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer only to j2 Global, Inc. and not to its consolidated subsidiaries. Also, in this section, references to “holders” mean those who own depositary shares registered in their own names, on the books that the registrar or we maintain for this purpose, and not those who own beneficial interests in shares registered in street name or in shares issued in book-entry form through one or more depositaries.

This section outlines some of the provisions of the deposit agreement to govern any depositary shares, the depositary shares themselves and the depositary receipts. This information may not be complete in all respects and is qualified entirely by reference to the relevant deposit agreement and depositary receipts with respect to the depositary shares related to any particular series of preferred stock. The specific terms of any series of depositary shares will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. If so described in the prospectus supplement, the terms of that series of depositary shares may differ from the general description of terms presented below.

Fractional Shares or Multiple Shares of Preferred Stock

We may elect to offer fractional shares or some multiple of shares of our preferred stock instead of whole shares of preferred stock. If so, we will allow a depositary to issue to the public depositary shares, each of which will represent a fractional interest of a share or an interest in multiple shares of preferred stock as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Deposit Agreement

The shares of the preferred stock underlying any depositary shares will be deposited under a separate deposit agreement between us and a bank or trust company acting as depositary with respect to those shares of preferred stock. The depositary will have its principal office in the United States and have a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000. The prospectus supplement relating to a series of depositary shares will specify the name and address of the depositary. Under the deposit agreement, each owner of a depositary share will be entitled, in proportion of its fractional interest in a share or interest in multiple shares of the preferred stock underlying that depositary share, to all the rights and preferences of that preferred stock, including dividend, voting, redemption, conversion, exchange and liquidation rights.

Depositary shares will be evidenced by one or more depositary receipts issued under the deposit agreement.

Dividends and Other Distributions

The depositary will distribute all cash dividends or other cash distributions in respect of the preferred stock underlying the depository shares to each record depositary shareholder based on the number of the depositary shares owned by that holder on the relevant record date. The depositary will distribute only that amount which can be distributed without attributing to any depositary shareholders a fraction of one cent, and any balance not so distributed will be added to and treated as part of the next sum received by the depositary for distribution to record depositary shareholders.

If there is a distribution other than in cash, the depositary will distribute property to the entitled record depositary shareholders, unless the depositary determines that it is not feasible to make that distribution. In that case the depositary may, with our approval, adopt the method it deems equitable and practicable for making that distribution, including any sale of property and the distribution of the net proceeds from this sale to the concerned holders.

Each deposit agreement will also contain provisions relating to the manner in which any subscription or similar rights we offer to holders of the relevant series of preferred stock will be made available to depositary shareholders.

 

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Withdrawal of Stock

Upon surrender of depositary receipts at the depositary’s office, the holder of the relevant depositary shares will be entitled to the number of whole shares of the related series of preferred stock and any money or other property those depositary shares represent. Depositary shareholders will be entitled to receive whole shares of the related series of preferred stock on the basis described in the applicable prospectus supplement, but holders of those whole preferred stock shares will not afterwards be entitled to receive depositary shares in exchange for their shares. If the depositary receipts the holder delivers evidence a depositary share number exceeding the whole share number of the related series of preferred stock to be withdrawn, the depositary will deliver to that holder a new depositary receipt evidencing the excess number of depositary shares.

Redemption and Liquidation

The terms on which the depositary shares relating to the preferred stock of any series may be redeemed, and any amounts distributable upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Conversion of Preferred Stock

If the prospectus supplement relating to the depositary shares says that the deposited preferred stock underlying the depositary shares is convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock, preferred stock of another series or other securities of ours or debt or equity securities of one or more third parties, the following will apply unless we indicate otherwise in your prospectus supplement. The depositary shares, as such, will not be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for any securities of ours or any third party. Rather, any holder of the depositary shares may surrender the related depositary receipts to the preferred stock depositary with written instructions to instruct us to cause conversion, exercise or exchange of the preferred stock represented by the depositary shares into or for whole shares of common stock, shares of another series of preferred stock or other securities of ours or debt or equity securities of the relevant third party, as applicable. Upon receipt of those instructions and any amounts payable by the holder in connection with the conversion, exercise or exchange, we will cause the conversion, exercise or exchange using the same procedures as those provided for conversion, exercise or exchange of the deposited preferred stock. If only some of the depositary shares are to be converted, exercised or exchanged, a new depositary receipt or receipts will be issued for any depositary shares not to be converted, exercised or exchanged.

Voting

Upon receiving notice of any meeting at which preferred stockholders of any series are entitled to vote, the depositary will mail the information contained in that notice to the record depositary shareholders relating to those series of preferred stock. Each depositary shareholder on the record date, which will be the same date as the record date for the related preferred stock, will be entitled to instruct the depositary on how to vote the shares of preferred stock underlying that holder’s depositary shares. To the extent possible, the depositary will vote the shares of preferred stock underlying those depositary shares according to those instructions, and we will take reasonably necessary actions to enable the depositary to do so. If the depositary does not receive specific instructions from the depositary shareholders relating to that preferred stock, it will abstain from voting those shares of preferred stock, unless otherwise discussed in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Amendment and Termination of Deposit Agreement

We and the depositary may amend the depositary receipt form evidencing the depositary shares and the related deposit agreement. However, any amendment that significantly affects the rights of the depositary shareholders will not be effective unless a majority of the outstanding depositary shareholders approve that amendment. We or the depositary may terminate a deposit agreement only if:

 

    we redeemed or reacquired all outstanding depositary shares relating to the deposit agreement;

 

    all preferred stock of the relevant series has been withdrawn; or

 

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    there has been a final distribution in respect of the preferred stock of any series in connection with our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and such distribution has been made to the related depositary shareholders.

Charges of Depositary

We will pay all charges of each depositary in connection with the initial deposit and any redemption of the preferred stock. Depositary shareholders will be required to pay any other transfer and other taxes and governmental charges and any other charges expressly provided in the deposit agreement to be for their accounts.

Miscellaneous

Each depositary will forward to the relevant depositary shareholders all our reports and communications that we are required to furnish to preferred stockholders of any series.

Neither the depositary nor j2 Global will be liable if it is prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond its control in performing its obligations under any deposit agreement. The obligations of j2 Global and each depositary under any deposit agreement will be limited to performance in good faith of their duties under that agreement, and they will not be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless they are provided with satisfactory indemnity. They may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or information provided by persons presenting preferred stock for deposit, depositary shareholders or other persons believed to be competent and on documents believed to be genuine.

Title

j2 Global, each depositary and any of their agents may treat the registered owner of any depositary share as the absolute owner of that share, whether or not any payment in respect of that depositary share is overdue and despite any notice to the contrary, for any purpose.

Resignation and Removal of Depositary

A depositary may resign at any time by issuing us a notice of resignation, and we may remove any depositary at any time by issuing it a notice of removal. Resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of appointment. That successor depositary must:

 

    be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal;

 

    be a bank or trust company having its principal office in the United States; and

 

    have a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.

 

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FORMS OF SECURITIES

Each debt security, warrant and unit will be represented either by a certificate issued in definitive form to a particular investor or by one or more global securities representing the entire issuance of securities. Certificated securities in definitive form and global securities will be issued in registered form. Definitive securities name you or your nominee as the owner of the security, and in order to transfer or exchange these securities or to receive payments other than interest or other interim payments, you or your nominee must physically deliver the securities to the trustee, registrar, paying agent or other agent, as applicable. Global securities name a depositary or its nominee as the owner of the debt securities, warrants or units represented by these global securities. The depositary maintains a computerized system that will reflect each investor’s beneficial ownership of the securities through an account maintained by the investor with its broker/dealer, bank, trust company or other representative, as we explain more fully below.

Global Securities

Registered Global Securities. We may issue the registered debt securities, warrants and units in the form of one or more fully registered global securities that will be deposited with a depositary or its nominee identified in the applicable prospectus supplement and registered in the name of that depositary or nominee. In those cases, one or more registered global securities will be issued in a denomination or aggregate denominations equal to the portion of the aggregate principal or face amount of the securities to be represented by registered global securities. Unless and until it is exchanged in whole for securities in definitive registered form, a registered global security may not be transferred except as a whole by and among the depositary for the registered global security, the nominees of the depositary or any successors of the depositary or those nominees.

If not described below, any specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any securities to be represented by a registered global security will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to those securities. We anticipate that the following provisions will apply to all depositary arrangements.

Ownership of beneficial interests in a registered global security will be limited to persons, called participants, that have accounts with the depositary or persons that may hold interests through participants. Upon the issuance of a registered global security, the depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the participants’ accounts with the respective principal or face amounts of the securities beneficially owned by the participants. Any dealers, underwriters or agents participating in the distribution of the securities will designate the accounts to be credited. Ownership of beneficial interests in a registered global security will be shown on, and the transfer of ownership interests will be effected only through, records maintained by the depositary, with respect to interests of participants, and on the records of participants, with respect to interests of persons holding through participants. The laws of some states may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of these securities in definitive form. These laws may impair your ability to own, transfer or pledge beneficial interests in registered global securities.

So long as the depositary, or its nominee, is the registered owner of a registered global security, that depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner or holder of the securities represented by the registered global security for all purposes under the indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement. Except as described below, owners of beneficial interests in a registered global security will not be entitled to have the securities represented by the registered global security registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of the securities in definitive form and will not be considered the owners or holders of the securities under the indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement. Accordingly, each person owning a beneficial interest in a registered global security must rely on the procedures of the depositary for that registered global security and, if that person is not a participant, on the procedures of the participant through which the person owns its interest, to exercise any rights of a holder under the indenture, warrant agreement or unit agreement. We understand that under existing industry practices, if we request any action of holders or if an owner of a beneficial interest in a registered global security desires to give or take any

 

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action that a holder is entitled to give or take under the indenture, warrant agreement, guaranteed trust preferred security or unit agreement, the depositary for the registered global security would authorize the participants holding the relevant beneficial interests to give or take that action, and the participants would authorize beneficial owners owning through them to give or take that action or would otherwise act upon the instructions of beneficial owners holding through them.

Principal, premium, if any, and interest payments on debt securities, and any payments to holders with respect to warrants or units, represented by a registered global security registered in the name of a depositary or its nominee will be made to the depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, as the registered owner of the registered global security. None of j2 Global, the trustee, the warrant agents, the unit agents or any other agent of j2 Global, agent of the trustee or agent of the warrant agents or unit agents will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the records relating to payments made on account of beneficial ownership interests in the registered global security or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to those beneficial ownership interests.

We expect that the depositary for any of the securities represented by a registered global security, upon receipt of any payment of principal, premium, interest or other distribution of underlying securities or other property to holders on that registered global security, will immediately credit participants’ accounts in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in that registered global security as shown on the records of the depositary. We also expect that payments by participants to owners of beneficial interests in a registered global security held through participants will be governed by standing customer instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with the securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of those participants.

If the depositary for any of these securities represented by a registered global security is at any time unwilling or unable to continue as depositary or ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and a successor depositary registered as a clearing agency under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is not appointed by us within 90 days, we will issue securities in definitive form in exchange for the registered global security that had been held by the depositary. Any securities issued in definitive form in exchange for a registered global security will be registered in the name or names that the depositary gives to the relevant trustee, warrant agent, unit agent or other relevant agent of ours or theirs. It is expected that the depositary’s instructions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the registered global security that had been held by the depositary.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the securities from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute securities from time to time in one or more transactions:

 

    at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

 

    at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

 

    at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or

 

    at negotiated prices.

A prospectus supplement or supplements will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including:

 

    the name or names of the underwriters, if any;

 

    the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale;

 

    any over-allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us;

 

    any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents’ or underwriters’ compensation;

 

    any public offering price;

 

    any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

 

    any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed.

Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.

If underwriters are used in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. The obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement, other than securities covered by any over-allotment option. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We will describe in the prospectus supplement, naming the underwriter, the nature of any such relationship.

We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.

We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.

 

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We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.

All securities we may offer, other than common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.

Any underwriter may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Over-allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum price. Syndicate-covering or other short-covering transactions involve purchases of the securities, either through exercise of the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution is completed, to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time.

Any underwriters that are qualified market makers on the NASDAQ Global Select Market may engage in passive market making transactions in the common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of the common stock. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

 

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VALIDITY OF SECURITIES

The validity of the securities in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered will be passed on for us by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Los Angeles, California.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements of the Company incorporated in this prospectus by reference from j2 Global, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 have been audited by SingerLewak LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

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PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth the costs and expenses payable by the registrant in connection with the sale of the securities being registered hereby.

 

     Amount to be
Paid
 

Registration fee

                 +   

Printing and engraving expenses

     *   

Legal fees and expenses

     *   

Trustee fees

     *   

Accounting fees and expenses

     *   

Miscellaneous

     *   
  

 

 

 

TOTAL

   $ *   

 

+ Deferred in accordance with Rule 456(b) and 457(r).
* Estimated expenses not presently known. The foregoing sets forth the general categories of fees and expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) that we anticipate we will incur in connection with the offering of securities under this registration statement. An estimate of the aggregate fees and expenses in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being offered will be included in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers

We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who are, or are threatened to be made, parties to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such person as an officer, director, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided that such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was illegal. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who are, or are threatened to be made, a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that such person was a director, officer, employee or agent of such corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests except that no indemnification is permitted without judicial approval if the officer or director is adjudged to be liable to the corporation. Where an officer or director is successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action referred to above, the corporation must indemnify him or her against the expenses that such officer or director has actually and reasonably incurred. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide for the indemnification of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law.

 

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Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duties as a director, except for liability for any:

 

    transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit;

 

    act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

    unlawful payment of dividends or redemption of shares; or

 

    breach of a director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include such a provision. Article VI of our amended and restated bylaws provides:

“The Corporation shall indemnify to the full extent permitted by law any person made or threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person or such person’s testator or intestate is or was a director, officer or employee of the Corporation or serves or served at the request of the Corporation any other enterprise as a director, officer or employee. Expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by any such person in defending any such action, suit or proceeding shall be paid or reimbursed by the Corporation promptly upon receipt by it of an undertaking of such person to repay such expenses if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation. The rights provided to any person by this by-law shall be enforceable against the Corporation by such person who shall be presumed to have relied upon it in serving or continuing to serve as a director, officer or employee as provided above. No amendment of this by-law shall impair the rights of any person arising at any time with respect to events occurring prior to such amendment. For purposes of this by-law, the term “Corporation” shall include any predecessor of the Corporation and any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed by the Corporation in a consolidation or merger; the term “other enterprise” shall include any corporation, company, partnership, joint venture, trust or employee benefit plan; service “at the request of the Corporation” shall include service as a director, officer or employee of the Corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer or employee with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to be indemnifiable expenses; and action by a person with respect to an employee benefit plan which such person reasonably believes to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of such plan shall be deemed to be action not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation.”

Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, among other things, that a director who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption may be held liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved, or dissented at the time, may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing minutes of the meetings of the board of directors at the time such action occurred or immediately after such absent director receives notice of the unlawful acts.

We have also obtained a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for our directors and officers to insure directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment under certain circumstances.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement:

 

Exhibit
Number

  

Description

  1.1    Form of Underwriting Agreement*
  3.1    Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of j2 Global, Inc., dated June 10, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 10, 2014)
  3.2    Bylaws of j2 Global, Inc., dated June 10, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 10, 2014)
  4.1    Indenture, dated June 10, 2014, between j2 Global, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee
  4.2    Form of Debt Securities (included in Exhibit 4.1)
  4.3    Form of Specimen Preferred Stock Certificate*
  4.4    Form of Certificate of Designation*
  4.5    Form of Warrant Agreement*
  4.6    Form of Purchase Contract*
  4.7    Form of Unit Agreement*
  4.8    Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 7, 2011)
  5.1    Opinion of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
12.1    Statement of Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends
23.1    Consent of SingerLewak LLP, independent registered public accounting firm
23.2    Consent of Sullivan & Cromwell (included in Exhibit 5.1 above)
24.1    Power of Attorney (found on signature page)
25.1    Statement of Eligibility of Trustee on Form T-1 for Indenture

 

* To be filed by amendment or by a report filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and incorporated herein by reference, if applicable.

Item 17. Undertakings

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made of securities registered hereby, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the

 

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aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(A) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(B) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5) or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii) or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which the prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

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(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(6) That, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d)(6) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to supplement the prospectus, after the expiration of the subscription period, to set forth the results of the subscription offer, the transactions by the underwriters during the subscription period, the amount of unsubscribed securities to be purchased by the underwriters, and the terms of any subsequent reoffering thereof. If any public offering by the underwriters is to be made on terms differing from those set forth on the cover page of the prospectus, a post-effective amendment will be filed to set forth the terms of such offering.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

II-5


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Los Angeles, State of California, on June 10, 2014.

 

j2 GLOBAL, INC.  
By:  

/s/ Jeffrey D. Adelman

  Name:   Jeffrey D. Adelman
  Title:   Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

 

S-1


POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each person whose individual signature appears below hereby authorizes and appoints Nehemia Zucker, Kathleen Griggs and Jeffrey D. Adelman, and each of them, with full power of substitution and resubstitution and full power to act without the other, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent to act in his or her name, place and stead and to execute in the name and on behalf of each person, individually and in each capacity stated below, and to file any and all amendments to this registration statement (including post-effective amendments) and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing, ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

/s/ Nehemia Zucker

Nehemia Zucker

 

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

  June 10, 2014

/s/ Kathleen Griggs

Kathleen Griggs

 

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial Officer)

  June 10, 2014

/s/ Steve Dunn

Steve Dunn

 

Chief Accounting Officer

(Principal Accounting Officer)

  June 10, 2014

/s/ Richard S. Ressler

Richard S. Ressler

  Director, Chairman of the Board   June 10, 2014

/s/ Douglas Y. Bech

Douglas Y. Bech

  Director   June 10, 2014

/s/ Robert J. Cresci

Robert J. Cresci

  Director   June 10, 2014

/s/ W. Brian Kretzmer

W. Brian Kretzmer

  Director   June 10, 2014

/s/ Stephen Ross

Stephen Ross

  Director   June 10, 2014

/s/ Michael P. Schulhof

Michael P. Schulhof

  Director   June 10, 2014

 

S-2


EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
Number

  

Description

  1.1    Form of Underwriting Agreement*
  3.1    Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of j2 Global, Inc., dated June 10, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 10, 2014)
  3.2    Bylaws of j2 Global, Inc., dated June 10, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on June 10, 2014)
  4.1    Indenture, dated June 10, 2014, between j2 Global, Inc. and U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee
  4.2    Form of Debt Securities (included in Exhibit 4.1)
  4.3    Form of Specimen Preferred Stock Certificate*
  4.4    Form of Certificate of Designation*
  4.5    Form of Warrant Agreement*
  4.6    Form of Purchase Contract*
  4.7    Form of Unit Agreement*
  4.8    Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to j2 Global’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 7, 2011)
  5.1    Opinion of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
12.1    Statement of Computation of Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends
23.1    Consent of SingerLewak LLP, independent registered public accounting firm
23.2    Consent of Sullivan & Cromwell (included in Exhibit 5.1 above)
24.1    Power of Attorney (found on signature page)
25.1    Statement of Eligibility of Trustee on Form T-1 for Indenture

 

S-3