EX-3.12 12 dex312.htm BYLAWS OF BORDEN CHEMICAL FOUNDRY, INC. Bylaws of Borden Chemical Foundry, Inc.

Exhibit 3.12

 

BORDEN CHEMICAL FOUNDRY, INC.

 

BY-LAWS

 

ARTICLE I

 

MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

 

Section 1. Place of Meeting and Notice. Meetings of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be held at such place either within or without the State of Delaware as the Board of Directors may determine.

 

Section 2. Annual and Special Meetings. Annual meetings of stockholders shall be held, at a date, time and place fixed by the Board of Directors and stated in the notice of meeting, to elect a Board of Directors and to transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting. Special meetings of the stockholders shall be called by the President or Secretary if directed by the Board of Directors. Unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors prior to any meeting of stockholders, the presiding officer of such meeting shall determine the order of business and shall have the authority in his or her discretion to regulate the conduct of any such meeting, including, without limitation, by imposing restrictions on the persons (other than stockholders of the Corporation or their duly appointed proxies) who may attend any such meeting, whether any stockholder or stockholders’ proxy may be excluded from any meeting of stockholders based upon any determination by the presiding officer, in his or her sole discretion, that any such person has unduly disrupted or is likely to disrupt the proceedings thereat, and the circumstances in which any person may make a statement or ask questions at any meeting of stockholders.

 

Section 3. Notice. Except as otherwise provided by law, at least 10 and not more than 60 days before each meeting of stockholders, written notice of the time, date and place of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called, shall be given to each stockholder.

 

Section 4. Quorum. At any meeting of stockholders, the holders of record, present in person or by proxy, of a majority of the Corporation’s issued and outstanding capital stock shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except as otherwise provided by law. In the absence of a quorum, any officer entitled to preside at or to act as secretary of the meeting shall have power to adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum is present.

 

Section 5. Voting. Except as otherwise provided by law, all matters submitted to a meeting of stockholders shall be decided by vote of the holders of record, present in person or by proxy, of a majority of the Corporation’s issued and outstanding capital stock.

 

Section 6. Notice of Stockholder Nominees. Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the following procedures shall be eligible for election as Directors. Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors of the Corporation may be made at a meeting of stockholders by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, by any nominating committee or person appointed to make such nominations by the Board of Directors, or by any stockholder of the Corporation entitled to vote for the election of Directors at the meeting who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 6. Such nominations, if made by a stockholder of the Corporation as such, shall be made pursuant to timely notice in writing addressed to the Secretary of the Corporation. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice shall be


delivered to or mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days prior to the meeting at which Directors are to be elected; provided, however, that in the event that less than 70 days’ notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so received no later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which such notice of the date of the meeting was mailed or such public disclosure was made. Such stockholder’s notice shall set forth: (a) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a Director (i) the name, age, business address and residence address of the person, (ii) the principal occupation or employment of the person, (iii) the class and number of shares of stock of the Corporation which are beneficially owned by the person and (iv) any other information relating to the person that would be required to be disclosed in solicitations for proxies for election of Directors pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any successor rule thereto; and (b) as to the stockholder giving the notice (i) the name and record address of the stockholder and (ii) the class and number of shares of the Corporation which are beneficially owned by the stockholder. The Corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as may reasonably be required by the Corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a Director of the Corporation. No person shall be eligible for election as a Director of the Corporation unless nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.

 

The presiding officer at the meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that a nomination was not made in accordance with the foregoing procedure, and following any such determination, the presiding officer shall so declare to the meeting and the defective nomination shall be disregarded.

 

Section 7. Notice of Stockholder Proposals. At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting business must be (a) specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, (b) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, or (c) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder entitled to vote on such business at the meeting who complies with the notice provisions set forth in this Section 7. For business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing addressed to the Secretary of the Corporation. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice shall be delivered to or mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days prior to the meeting at which the business would be acted upon; provided, however, that in the event that less than 70 days’ notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the meeting is given or made to stockholders, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so received no later than the close of business on the 10th day following the day on which such notice of the date of the meeting was mailed or such public disclosure was made. Such stockholder’s notice shall set forth: (a) as to each matter the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting and (b) as to the stockholder proposing such business (i) the name and record address of the stockholder, (ii) the class and number of shares of the Corporation which are beneficially owned by the stockholder and (iii) any material interest of the stockholder in such business. No business shall be conducted at any annual meeting except in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.

 

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The presiding officer at the annual meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare to the meeting that any stockholder proposal was not properly brought before the meeting and in accordance with the provisions of this Section 7, and following any such determination, the presiding officer shall so declare to the meeting and any such stockholder proposal shall not be acted upon.

 

Section 8. Voting Procedures and Inspectors of Elections. The Corporation shall, in advance of any meeting of stockholders, appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof. The Corporation may designate one or more persons as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the person presiding at the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting. Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of his duties in accordance with the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his ability.

 

The date and time of the opening and the closing of the polls for each matter upon which the stockholders will vote at a meeting shall be announced at the meeting. No ballot proxies or votes, nor any revocations thereof or changes thereto, shall be accepted by the inspectors after the closing of the polls except as provided under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

 

In determining the validity and counting of proxies and ballots, the inspector shall be limited to an examination of the proxies, any envelopes submitted with those proxies, any information provided in accordance with the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, ballots and the regular books and records of the Corporation, except that the inspectors may consider other reliable information for the limited purpose of reconciling proxies and ballots submitted by or on behalf of banks, brokers, their nominees or similar persons which represent more votes than the holder of a proxy is authorized by the record owner to cast or more votes than the stockholder holds of record. If the inspectors consider other reliable information for the limited purpose permitted herein, the inspectors at the time they make their certification shall specify the precise information considered by them, including the person or persons from whom they obtained the information, when the information was obtained and the basis for the inspectors’ belief that such information is accurate and reliable.

 

Section 9. Special Meetings of Stockholders. Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought before the meeting pursuant to the Corporations’s notice of meeting pursuant to Article I, Section 3 of these By-Laws.

 

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ARTICLE II

 

DIRECTORS

 

Section 1. Number, Election and Removal of Directors. The number of Directors that shall constitute the Board of Directors shall not be less than two or more than seven. The number of Directors of the Board of Directors on the date of the adoption and effectiveness of these By-Laws shall be two. Thereafter, within the limits specified above, the number of Directors shall be determined by the Board of Directors or the stockholders. The Directors shall be elected by stockholders at their annual meeting. Vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of Directors may be filled by a majority of the Directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining Director or by the stockholders. Directors may be removed from office in the manner provided in the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation.

 

Section 2. Meetings. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held at such times and places as may from time to time be fixed by the Board of Directors or as may be specified in a notice of meeting. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be held at any time upon the call of the President and shall be called by the President or Secretary if directed by the Board of Directors. Telegraphic or written notice of each special meeting of the Board of Directors shall be sent to each Director not less than twenty-four hours before such meeting. A meeting of the Board of Directors may be held without notice immediately after the annual meeting of the stockholders. Notice need not be given of regular meetings of the Board of Directors.

 

Section 3. Quorum. A majority of the total number of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the Board of Directors, the Directors present may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until such a quorum is present. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation, these By-Laws or any contract or agreement to which the Corporation is a party, the act of a majority of the Directors present at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be the act of the Board of Directors.

 

Section 4. Committees. The Board of Directors may, by resolution adopted by a majority of the whole Board, designate one or more committees, including, without limitation, an Executive Committee, to have and exercise such power and authority as the Board of Directors shall specify. In the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not he or they constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another Director to act in the place of any such absent or disqualified member.

 

Section 5. Compensation of Directors. Unless otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation of Directors provided that Directors who are serving the Corporation as employees, and who receive compensation for their services as such, shall not receive any salary or other compensation for their services as Directors of the Corporation. Directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors. Except as

 

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provided above, Directors may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary as director. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor. Members of special or standing committees may be allowed like compensation for attending committee meetings.

 

Section 6. Manner of Participation. Directors may participate in meetings of the Board of Directors by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all Directors participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in a meeting in accordance herewith shall constitute presence in person at such meeting for purposes of these By-laws.

 

ARTICLE III

 

OFFICERS

 

The officers of the Corporation shall consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Secretary, an Assistant Treasurer and such other additional officers with such titles as the Board of Directors shall determine, all of which shall be chosen by and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. Such officers shall have the usual powers and shall perform all the usual duties incident to their respective offices. All officers shall be subject to the supervision and direction of the Board of Directors. The authority, duties or responsibilities of any officer of the Corporation may be suspended by the President with or without cause. Any officer elected or appointed by the Board of Directors may be removed by the Board of Directors with or without cause.

 

ARTICLE IV

 

INDEMNIFICATION

 

Section 1. Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings Other Than Those by or in the Right of the Corporation. Subject to Section 3 of this Article IV, the Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party 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 the Corporation, by reason of the fact that he is or was a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a Director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

 

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Section 2. Power to Indemnify in Actions, Suits or Proceedings by or in the Right of the Corporation. Subject to Section 3 of this Article IV, the Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that he is or was a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a Director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation; except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable for negligence or misconduct in the performance of his duty to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the Court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

 

Section 3. Authorization of Indemnification. Any indemnification under this Article IV (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the Corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the Director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because he has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Section 1 or Section 2 of this Article IV, as the case may be. Such determination shall be made (i) by the Board of Directors by a majority vote of a quorum consisting of Directors who were not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, or (ii) if such a quorum is not obtainable, or, even if obtainable, a quorum of disinterested Directors so directs, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (iii) by the stockholders. To the extent, however, that a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding described above or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, he shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him in connection therewith, without the necessity for authorization in the specific case.

 

Section 4. Good Faith Defined. For purposes of any determination under Section 3 of this Article IV, a person shall be deemed to have acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, or, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, to have no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, if his action is based on the records or books of account of the Corporation or another enterprise, or on information supplied to him by the officers of the Corporation or another enterprise in the course of their duties, or on the advice of legal counsel for the Corporation or another enterprise or on information or records given or reports made to the Corporation or another enterprise by an independent certified public accountant or by an appraiser or other expert selected with reasonable care by the Corporation or another enterprise. The term “another enterprise” as used in this Section 4 shall mean any other corporation or any partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise of which such person is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as Director, officer, employee or agent. The provisions of this Section 4 shall not be deemed to be exclusive or to limit in any way the circumstances in which a person may be deemed to have met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Sections 1 or 2 of this Article IV, as the case may be.

 

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Section 5. Indemnification by a Court. Notwithstanding any contrary determination in the specific case under Section 3 of this Article IV, and notwithstanding the absence of any determination thereunder, any Director, officer, employee or agent may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction in the State of Delaware for indemnification to the extent otherwise permissible under Sections 1 and 2 of this Article IV. The basis of such indemnification by a court shall be a determination by such court that indemnification of the Director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because he had met the applicable standards of conduct set forth in Sections 1 or 2 of this Article IV, as the case may be. Notice of any application for indemnification pursuant to this Section 5 shall be given to the Corporation promptly upon the filing of such application.

 

Section 6. Expenses Payable in Advance. Expenses incurred in defending or investigating a threatened or pending action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding as authorized by the Board of Directors in the specific case upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the Director, officer, employee or agent to repay such amount unless it shall ultimately be determined that he is entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized in this Article IV.

 

Section 7. Non-exclusivity and Survival of Indemnification. The indemnification provided by this Article IV shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under any By-Law, agreement, contract, vote of stockholders or disinterested Directors or pursuant to the direction (howsoever embodied) of any court of competent jurisdiction or otherwise, both as to action in his official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office, it being the policy of the Corporation that indemnification of the persons specified in Sections 1 or 2 of this Article IV shall be made to the fullest extent permitted by law. The provisions of this Article IV shall not be deemed to preclude the indemnification of any person who is not specified in Sections 1 or 2 of this Article IV but whom the Corporation has the power or obligation to indemnify under the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or otherwise. The indemnification provided by this Article IV shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a Director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such person.

 

Section 8. Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a Director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a Director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power or the obligation to indemnify him against such liability under the provisions of this Article IV.

 

Section 9. Meaning of “Corporation” for Purposes of Article IV. For purposes of this Article IV, references to “the Corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting Corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued would have

 

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had power and authority to indemnify its Directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article IV with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as he would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.

 

ARTICLE V

 

GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Section 1. Notices. Whenever any statute, the Certificate of Incorporation or these By-Laws require notice to be given to any Director or stockholder, such notice may be given in writing by mail, addressed to such Director or stockholder at his address as it appears in the records of the Corporation, with postage thereon prepaid. Such notice shall be deemed to have been given when it is deposited in the United States mail. Notice to Directors may also be given by telegram. A waiver of such notice in writing signed by the person or persons entitled thereto, whether before or after the time stated in such notice, shall be equivalent to the giving of such notice. Attendance of a Director at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting except where a Director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened.

 

Section 2. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.

 

ARTICLE VI

 

AMENDMENTS

 

(a) Amendment by Directors. Except as provided otherwise by law, these By-laws may be amended or repealed by the Board of Directors.

 

(b) Amendment by Stockholders. These By-laws may be amended or repealed at any annual meeting of stockholders, or special meeting of stockholders called for such purpose, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the total votes eligible to be cast on such amendment or repeal by holders of voting stock, voting together as a single class; provided, however, that if the Board of Directors recommends that stockholders approve such amendment or repeal at such meeting of stockholders, such amendment or repeal shall only require the affirmative vote of a majority of the total votes eligible to be cast on such amendment or repeal by holders of voting stock, voting together as a single class.

 

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